Blog
Travel stories, tips, and destination guides
8 Gelato Shops To Fall in Love with Florence
Discover the best gelato in Florence, Italy. From historic Vivoli to hidden gems near the Uffizi, explore 8 gelaterie that will make you fall in love with the city.
Traveling Down the Roads of History in Nis, Serbia
I have been in Serbia a total accumulation of a couple of years now. When someone is coming to Serbia, I always recommend **Niš**. This is just a snippet of why.
Top 5 Things to Do in Pioneertown (20minutes up the road from Joshua Tree)
**Pioneertown is a bizarre step back into a different era. **
Top 10 Best Places to Eat: Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley & Twentynine Palms
We temporarily moved to Yucca Valley on a whim. Where is that you ask? 45 minutes east of Palm Springs and adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. We knew it would be remote, but truth be told, it w...
A Stroll through Dubai's Creative Heart: Exploring Alserkal Avenue
Dubai is known for its expensive cars and innovative overground trains but there are actually a few excellent spots to go walking. One of these is Alserkal Avenue. If you are a fan of contemporary...
Tahiti's 3 Best Hikes!
**Hike 1: MONT AORA'I **--- Ridgeline Vistas **Hike 2: FARAURA VALLEY **--- Cascading Waterfalls **Hike 3: MT MARAU **--- Sunrise views
Gliding (Un)Gracefully through the Water
Excited to leave Tawau, our pick up could not have arrived soon enough. We hopped in the van and headed to the airport to pick up two more people. Slightly annoying as we definitely would have stay...
A Perfect Day in the Mountains of Banff
**Start your morning off right** 
Not all Travel is Lovely
Not all travel is lovely. The last couple of weeks have been incredible but I have to admit, fatigue is setting. Sometimes places smell.The smell of sewage and rotting trash permeates your nose and...
Spitting Junks of Jade
The local lore of Ha Long Bay is dominated with tails of dragons and jade. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor commanded his dragons to defend the Bay from Chinese invaders. Spitting chunks of jade...
Motorcycling in Vietnam: A Layer Cake of Chaos
Whew, just returned from 3 days of motorcycling through the Mai Chau area of Vietnam, which was extraordinary. In some ways, the most incredible thing is that we exited the experience (mostly) unsc...
Northern Vietnam Itinerary Locked and Loaded
Whelp, we've finally got the next couple weeks lined up and booked. It's been a fast and furious pace figuring out where to go, what to do, how much to spend, what to cut, etc. We have roughly 9 we...
Waiting for a Bus that Never Shows Up
I can count on one hand the number of times I have taken the bus in the states. I was lucky enough to always have a car or someone to drive me to and from the places I needed to go. Well, that was ...
Nouméa: Snorkeling with No Less than 25 Sea Turtles
Travel is a funny thing. I am sitting here, our last morning in Nouméa, at the Babar Cafe while 'The Greatest Love of All,' plays in the background. Yep, that Babar. The cute and curious elephant f...
Singing the Song of the Open Road
When we quit our jobs in 2007 to travel for a couple years, it was fairly simple. Sell the cars, put a few boxes in a friend's basement, and away we went. Fast forward 15 years to 2022 and that's j...
I Spy the Wine Gods at Work
Waking up this morning I have a smile on my face. Last night was one of those nights that I revel in when traveling. Maybe it was the wine gods at work. The connection, the conversation, the mergi...
Nurse sharks scratch their backs in the sand
We left the island. Well, the island of Tahiti anyway.
Juggling with Chainsaws
Days like today are the inspiration. They're the food that feeds the dream. And it tastes delicious and I want to gorge myself on it like Thanksgiving leftovers.
Internet in New Caledonia. It's… rough right now.
Quick thoughts for the day coming at you from Noumea, New Caledonia. It's 4:41am, and I'm sort of trying to be on the right schedule as I have a meeting tomorrow at 3am local time. It's not the sch...
Life Splunking with a Hand-drawn Map
Well, here we are again. Kicking off another long adventure into the unknown. I'm sitting on a balcony in Mahina, Tahiti, listening to the waves crash on a black sand beach at 5:17 in the morning. ...
Stingrays are Raccoons of the Ocean
Whelp. That went fast. We're closing out a month here in Tahiti, and it feels like it went in about a split second.
A Day In and Around Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil, at the head of the Taff Valley and only 35 minutes from Cardiff, is ideally placed to explore Brecon Beacons National Park but also has some delights of its own. It is a town that ...
Sunday Brunching in Bronx's Riverdale Neighborhood
By: Bridgette Austin
The Best Coffee in Coeur d'Alene
The city of Coeur d'Alene is perhaps best known for its location on the shoreline of Lake Coeur d'Alene, in the northern part of Idaho. The small city is a favorite travel destination for many, w...
Experience Turtuk with an Evening of Village Exploration
*By: Zenia D'Abreo* Turtuk, a town in the Leh-Ladakh Union Territory of India, is a place from the dreams. This mountainous terrain is blessed with gushing rivers and trees so tall they seem to be ...
An Afternoon of Island Hopping in Stockholm
- An afternoon is all you need to see 12 of Stockholm city's 14 islands. - Explore the city's various personalities from hipster hangout Södermalm, past the medieval centre of Gamla Stan, to the be...
Taste the Day Away in the McLaren Vale Wine Region
Just south of South Australia's capital city of Adelaide is the McLaren Vale wine region. Bounded by nineteen miles of pristine coastline to the west and gently cradled by flowing, undulating hills...
A Night Out in Nashville
*by: Tavia Melhus*
Escape the City with a Day Trip to the Perth Hills
Visiting Perth isn't complete without a day trip out of the city. Most people head to the Swan Valley to soak up culinary and vineyard delights. But if nature and history is more your style, you ca...
Top 12 Places to Explore Like a Local in 2020
*Happy New Year!* New year, new travel, new adventures. Each new year is exciting because it means time for making new travel plans to new places or revisiting favorites more in depth.
How to Spend an Afternoon in Zürich, Switzerland
Although it's Switzerland's largest city, Zürich is a perfect mix of pristine infrastructure and quaint, peaceful history. The stately presence of the city's many clock towers and church steeples ...
A Perfect Winter Day in Wicker Park, Chicago
You've heard of the Magnificent Mile in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. You can spend an entire day grabbing haute couture and reveling in some fine dining experiences there without even wa...
Top 12 Places to Explore Like a Local in 2019
*Happy New Year!* New year, new travel. A new year means time for making new travel plans and to new places if we're lucky enough. Of course we're here to help you make all your travel dreams come ...
Labas rytas, Vilniau! - Ideal Early Morning in Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, boasting an almost infinite variety of historical, cultural, and architectural gems. A multicultural city, where east meets west and was once the last bastion o...
The Perfect Afternoon in Salta, Argentina ("The Beautiful One")
The city of Salta, in the north of Argentina, truly deserves the nickname of "*La Linda*" (the beautiful one") It is characterized by its colonial buildings, amazing landscapes, and a vast cultural...
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: Quick Morning Walk & Kayak Tour
Lake Geneva is a charming rural lakeside town in southeast Wisconsin nestled between three metropolitan centers in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison. It is quintessential Main Street Americana with s...
Plan Your Weekend Visit to Mont St Michel
*L'abbaye *sits in a vast *baie* (bay) that stretches from the north(east) end, north of Avranches, to the south(west) end of San Malo. Smack in the middle of this *baie* is an extraordinary wonder...
A Perfect Morning in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Busy. Chaotic. Humid. Three reasons why many tourists use [Colombo](https://natnzin.com/2017/02/21/colombo-travel-guide/) only as a pit stop before they head to others parts of Sri Lanka, the sun-k...
Shopping in Soho, NYC
Guide Overview:
Good Morning from Scottsdale
Long known for being the home to a slightly older crowd, I'm here to tell you that things in Scottsdale have changed. People of all ages have heard the call and are flocking to the "Valley of the S...
Top 12 Places to Explore Like a Local in 2018
*Happy New Year!* **Travel more** is a timeless New Year's resolution made year after year. If travel is one of **your** resolutions this year, then of course we're here to help you make it come ...
Zaoshang Hao Shanghai! (Good Morning, Shanghai!)
Early mornings in Shanghai are a special treat since it is one of the rare times of day when Shanghai is not hustling and bursting with life, culture, and sound. If you can, wake up before the sunr...
Saturdays in Stuttgart
It's quite typical for the Germany tourists to be drawn to the beer gardens in Munich, the history-filled Berlin, or the charming towns dotted along the Rhine River. But, hidden among those popular...
A Florence local's top 3 places to see/eat/sleep
**Seeing**The UffiziChurch of Santa CroceForte Belvedere**Eating**Sott'ArnoIrene FirenzeIl Borro Tuscan Bistro**Sleeping**JK PlaceHotel MinervaSoprar'Arno SuitesPalazzo Belfiore **Florence, Italy**...
Easy like Sunday Morning in Ojai, California
**This Guide Will:**
An Ideal Morning in Inland Los Angeles
Many people confuse Los Angeles with Hollywood - probably one of the most famous places in the world, but just a small part of Los Angeles, an enormous city that can engulf many of the US's other c...
A Saturday Morning in Kansas City
*By: Jill Dutton*
Top 12 Places to Explore Like a Local in 2017
*Happy New Year!* **Travel more** is a top New Year's resolution people make each year. If travel is one of **your** resolutions this year, we're here to help you make it come true!
Top 7 Packing Mistakes To Avoid For Your RTW & Long-Term Trip
In my most recent post, I told you what to pack. In today's post I have 7 common mistakes you should avoid when packing for your round-the-world (RTW) or long-term trip.
What to pack for a long-term or RTW Trip (Female Edition)
In our previous post, we gave a break-down of [what to pack for a long-term or round the world (RTW) trip for guys](http://web.archive.org/web/20120107073514/http://blog.unanchor.com/2011/03/what-t...
What to Pack for A Long-Term or RTW Trip (Male Edition)
From experience, packing for a 1-year trip was the hardest aspect of preparing for it. Now, [having traveled and lived out of my backpack](http://www.lifeaftercubes.com/) for well over a year, it's...
Top 12 Places to Explore Like a Local in 2016
There are 2 bonus locations we wanted to share with you that appeared the most on the best places to visit lists but we do not have an Unanchor itinerary for (yet):