Latin America
Travel Tip Tuesdays are Back!
Travel Tip for today: Sightseeing
If you’re like us, then you probably enjoy visiting tourist sites every now and again. Whether it’s for the pictures, the experience or the bragging rights to say, “I’ve been there!”, tourist traps can be lots of fun – if only they didn’t have so many…. tourists! Here’s a tip: Go during lunch. Most tour companies (you know, those ones with the large groups of loud people all wearing the matching hats) will take a break from their touring for lunch and it will give you the perfect chance to see the site(s) up close or to snag the coveted photo op without everyone else in your way.
Happy sightseeing!
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2011 Lonely Planet Travel Destinations
The Lonely Planet just released their list of top 10 travel destinations for 2011! How many of these places have you visited? Are any of the countries on your summer travel itinerary? Let us know!
- Albania
- Brazil
- Cape Verde
- Panama
- Bulgaria
- Vanuatu
- Italy
- Tanzania
- Syria
- Japan
Brazil, Panama, Tanzania and Japan are all on our ’round-the-world itinerary! If you wan to read more about the individual countries and learn tips and tricks for your travel, check out what the Lonely Planet has to say about the 2011 list of travel destinations. Have any travel stories from these places? Please share them with us! We love hearing about other travelers’ adventurers and experiences!
Vanuatu
Tanzania
Categories: Adventure, Africa, Asia, Australia, Backpacking, Circumnavigation, Europe, Explore, Food, Globetrotting, Hiking, Italy, Japan, Landscape Photograph, Latin America, Mountains, Nature, Outdoors, Packing, Photography, Planning vacation, South America, Summer, Top Knotch Gear, Tourist Site, Trails, Transportation, Travel, Travel help, Travel Photography, Travel Tips, Trip planning, Water, white and blue
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Travel Tip Tuesday!
Travel tip #14: Wanderfly! www.wanderfly.com
When you’re thinking about taking your next trip, try using Wanderfly. It’s an online site that can help you plan your trip around whatever budget you have to spend. Just enter the time you want to travel (i.e.: early October, mid July, etc.), the city you’d leave from, the number of days/weeks you’d like to be gone and your rough budget per person. Then, the fun part. You can choose the TYPE of trip you want to take. Wanderfly has everything from adventure to eco, romantic to history. You can choose all the categories that interest you and Wanderfly will work its magic. Click ‘Get Going’ and Wanderfly will generate a list of destinations that fit your budget and type of getaway you’re looking for. It also gives you ideas for accommodations, activities and even includes pictures of each destination! Even if a vacation isn’t in the near future for you, it’s fun to experiment with different destinations to see what fun adventures Wanderfly will create for you. Check it out!
A great travel resource!
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Travel Tip Tuesday! – What kind of packer are you?
Travel tip #13:
Part 1: For this week’s travel tip (sorry, we missed last week), try taking this quiz provided by Independent Traveler to see what kind of packer you are! Once you answer the questions, some tips will be generated that will help you fit your packing style. It’s fun and easy!
Take the quiz here: http://www.independenttraveler.com/packing-quiz/
Part 2: Tell us which kind of packer you are on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TopKnotchGear) and you’ll be entered in a contest to win our newest paracord key chain with a bottle opener carabiner! It’s just perfect for those summer brews and you can customize the paracord colors! We’ll use a random number generator to pick the winner on Thursday, May 26th at 12:00PM EST.
WIN THIS! To enter, take the packing quiz and tell us what kind of packer you are - post your packing-type on our TKG Facebook wall!
I’m a last-second lightweight packer!
I always bring my pack as my luggage. If it doesn't fit in my pack, I don't bring it and I don't think twice about it. The quiz had me pegged!
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Our Travel Bucket List!
- Visit the wonders of the world.
- Cross every longitudinal line and every major meridian.
- Step foot on all 7 continents.
- Hike some of the Annapurna circuit.
- See Mount Everest (bonus points for climbing to base camp).
- Hike some of Kilimanjaro.
- Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.
- Kayak through the mangroves in Everglades National Park.
- Visit the Grand Canyon.
- Visit all National Parks in the United States.
- Become fluent in French and Spanish. (Bonus points for using it abroad).
- Become certified SCUBA divers.
- Teach English abroad.
- Volunteer with a children’s organization abroad.
- Install water filters in a 3rd world country.
- Experience a sunrise in the Serengheti.
- Party on top of a skyscraper in Hong Kong.
- Climb a mountain (the entire thing – height doesn’t matter).
- Star gaze in South America.
- Take a National Geographic Linblad tour.
- Spend an extended time at a Buddhist monastery.
- Take tango lessons in Argentina.
- Visit the Amazon rainforest.
- Hug a koala.
- See the fjords in Norway.
- Celebrate Oktoberfest in Germany.
- Learn wine appreciation – and become connoisseur.
- Visit a medicine man and/or a shaman.
- Get our fortunes read overseas.
- Sleep in a hammock on a beach.
- Take a roadtrip across the U.S.A.
- Hike the Appalachian Trail – the entire thing!
- Swim with dolphins.
- See a whale in the wild.
- Swim/slide off of a natural waterfall.
- Hike the trail to the Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong.
- Go on a mediation retreat.
- Take a helicopter ride over a volcano.
- Hike a volcano.
- See the cherry blossoms in bloom in Japan.
- Visit the family castle in Scotland.
- Eat authentic Italian food – in Italy.
- See the Olympics in person.
- Have a romantic dinner in Paris.
- Visit the Holocost concentration camps & memorials.
- Celebrate New Years in different countries (specifically Sydney and Hong Kong)
- Visit Iceland.
- Experience the Iditarod in Alaska.
- Experience Holi Day (Festival of Colours) in India.
- See the dragon boat festival in China.
- Carnival in Rio.
- Visit the Mount Gay Rum distillery in Barbados.
- See the Tour de France.
- Smoke a real Cuban cigar – in Cuba. Whilst drinking Cuban daiquiris.
- See the Northern Lights. (Bonus points for getting crystal clear pictures of them.)
- Go on a bike tour of Vietnam.
- Take cooking classes in India and Thailand – learn to make authentic coconut curry!
- Eat fresh seafood (this is a big deal for us because we’re both long-term vegetarians)
- Rock climb at Joshua Tree and Red Rocks
- Photograph penguins in their natural habitats.
- Visit the Jane Goodall Sanctuary in South Africa.
- Witness a tea ceremony in Japan.
- Live out of a pack for an extended period of time (which we’re planning to do anyway!)
- Celebrate the Festival of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico
- Experience the Full Moon Party in Thailand.
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Classic Cuban Daiquiri
The weather’s getting warmer and summer is right around the corner. ‘Tis the season for relaxing, getting a tan and drinking tasty summer cocktails.
When I was in college, one of my favorite places to dine in Ann Arbor was at Café Habana. (Not that I went out to eat much – I was, after all, a poor college student. But when I felt like treating myself, Habana was my first choice.) While they only had 2 dishes on the menu that were vegetarian (both were delicious, though), I would trot down the street to indulge in their classic Cuban Daiquiris. With only 3 ingredients, this drink is quick, easy and absolutely divine!
The Cuban Daiquiri
- 3 oz. white rum (preferably Cuban)
- Juice from 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons of white sugar (you can add more/less as desired)
Mix all ingredients, shake with ice and drink up! You can even garnish your martini glass with a sugar rim and a lime twist if you’re feeling glitzy. (Just remember to drink responsibly.)
The Cuban Daiquiri - BEST COCKTAIL IN THE WORLD
Categories: Adventure, Alcohol, Cuba, Drink, Food, Globetrotting, Latin America, Outdoors, Random, Recpie, Summer, Summer Recipes, Travel
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