Review: Glowworm Waitomo & Ruakuri Cave Tour From Auckland, New Zealand

So I had heard that a must see when visiting New Zealand were the glowworms at Waitomo. It’s about a two and a half hour drive from Auckland and way back in 2018 when my Mom and I were originally planning this trip Down Under, we were going to rent a car and drive around New Zealand ourselves…on the left side of the road.

Well that was 6 years ago and since then, I’ve become a little less adventurous in the driving side of things and also bougier in general. So when we were re-planning this trip for 2023, we started talking about alternate ways we could see these worms! Continue reading “Review: Glowworm Waitomo & Ruakuri Cave Tour From Auckland, New Zealand”

Lessons Learned After 3 Years Of Airbnb Nomad Life

It’s been 3 years since I sold everything I owned and started living in Airbnbs. Every year, my thoughts, revelations and strategies for being a full-time nomad seem to change, so I like to record them here for posterity and in case they can help anyone else take full advantage of the awesome-ness that is long term stays. So let’s get into it! Continue reading “Lessons Learned After 3 Years Of Airbnb Nomad Life”

Review: Milford Sound Flight And Cruise Experience From Queenstown, New Zealand

I’ve been racking my brain and I can’t for the life of me remember how Queenstown or Milford Sound originally made their way onto our New Zealand itinerary. I guess that just shows how many years this trip was in the works, even before we planned to (and obviously didn’t) take it in 2020.

But somehow, it remained on our itinerary for our parred down 2023 trip to Australia and New Zealand and I’m so glad it was! I absolutely love seeing natural wonders, especially since our world seems to be losing them at a rapid rate (thx climate change). And Queenstown was one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever been.

Continue reading “Review: Milford Sound Flight And Cruise Experience From Queenstown, New Zealand”

Slow Travel Review: Puerto Vallarta, México – The Land Of Beaches And Birds

Welcome to my 4th International Slow Travel Review! I spent 6 weeks in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, México and want to share my experience with y’all. I originally heard about Puerto Vallarta (often abbreviated to its airport code PVR) from multiple queer friends saying it was a queer haven in México.

This intrigued me enough that I chose PVR as the destination for my 30th birthday celebration in 2019 where I played tourist for a week. I was happy to discover that PVR is the queer haven I had been told and that it’s also a gorgeous beach side town with turquoise water, an abundance of wildlife and delicious food. Continue reading “Slow Travel Review: Puerto Vallarta, México – The Land Of Beaches And Birds”

Review: Down Under Cruise And Dive – A Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Adventure

So my Mom and I were originally going to do a retirement victory lap around the world to celebrate my retirement in 2020. Obviously that didn’t happen 🙂 . But the main point of that trip was to go to Australia for the first time specifically to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef – a bucket list item for both of us.

Well after the pandemic calmed down, we finally made that trip in September 2023! However, because it’s us and we have not had the best travel luck, there was a fly in the ointment. A few days before we were set to go snorkeling on the reef, we heard from our contact that it might not happen because there were high winds as well as the king tides and visibility would be low so basically, even if we went to that spot, we might not be able to see anything. BUMMER! Continue reading “Review: Down Under Cruise And Dive – A Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Adventure”

Review: Virgin Australia Business Class

I’m always curious about airlines I’ve never flown before. So in my typical neurotic fashion, I always Google around to find reviews of new airlines before I fly them. And in the interest of helping anyone else that’s like me out there, this is my experience flying Virgin Australia for the first time.

However, I have flown Virgin Atlantic before. I flew Business Class to London for a weekend before I discovered travel hacking (unfortunately you read that right). Continue reading “Review: Virgin Australia Business Class”

Review: Los Arcos Snorkeling Tour in Puerto Vallarta, México

I first visited Puerto Vallarta, México in 2019 and from our house I could see Los Arcos National Park, which is composed of a group of islands off the coast of PVR. Someone told me that I had to visit because there was awesome snorkeling and wildlife over there.

However, I didn’t get a chance to go during that quick trip. I was too busy sipping margs, laughing in the pool and eating so much delicious food I could burst 😉 , I but promised myself that the next time we visited, I would go to that national park! Continue reading “Review: Los Arcos Snorkeling Tour in Puerto Vallarta, México”

Medical Tourism: A $38 Dental Cleaning In Puerto Vallarta, México

My adventures in medical tourism continue! After enjoying my experiences with a dentist in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Mérida, México I expanded my repertoire to another part of México: Puerto Vallarta! Continue reading “Medical Tourism: A $38 Dental Cleaning In Puerto Vallarta, México”