5 Places to Travel in the Summer if You Don’t Like Hot Weather

May 11, 2017

As Summer is fast approaching, many people are looking at where they can spend their Summer vacations and travel to some place amazing. And while the majority of you out there are probably thinking from the title of this post, wouldn’t you want to go somewhere warm and enjoy the warm weather that Summer has to offer? Well, there are also some of us that don’t like hot weather or have a hard time with too high of temperatures. I don’t physically do well in hot weather and I’m often looking for places in Summer to head to escape the heat, so if you’re like me, here are 5 places to travel in the Summer if you don’t like hot weather!

Alaska

I often dream about someday owning a little vacation house in Alaska so we can escape there during the Summers and get some cooler weather. Alaska is a great place to head all Summer long for long daylight hours and cooler temps than most of the continental US.

Iceland

You’ll definitely find a respite from hot weather in Iceland in the Summer and while they might get into the 70’s and low 80’s a few times throughout the season, most of the time in the peak months you’ll still be cooler here than most of the rest of the world.

Australia /New Zealand

If you want Winter in the Summer, head to the Southern hemisphere to places like Australia and New Zealand where their seasons are opposite.

Maine / New England

Most of the upper North East United States stays somewhat cooler in the Summer months and as you get farther North in to States like Maine, you’ll find much more pleasant temperatures than farther South.

Scandinavia

Countries like Sweden and Denmark offer mild cooler Summers than most of the rest of Europe. So if you’re looking to beat the heat, you could head to cities like Stockholm or Copenhagen for a bit of a respite.

How to Pick an Airline : Should I Choose Low Cost or Not?

May 10, 2017

I’ve been helping some family members look at airfare deals lately and it got me thinking that I haven’t written too much here on Land of Marvels for how to pick an airline for your travels. There are so many choices out there now for travel all over the world and sometimes it’s hard to know which airline might be the best choice for you. Should I choose low cost or not? Should I upgrade or not? All these questions are valid and hard to know the answers to, so today here’s my best tips for choosing whether a low cost carrier might be the best option for you or not.

Are you flying for an experience or just to get to your destination?

The first question you should ask when picking a low cost carrier or not is your motives when flying. Do you want an experience, decent food, a comfortable lie flat seat and attending flight attendants? If you do, then you’re probably better sticking with the normal large carriers and upgrading to a higher class than economy. But if you’re flying just to get to your destination and you don’t really care, then a low cost carrier might be the perfect option for you at a huge discount!

Not all low cost carriers are created equal.

The first and most important thing to know about the low cost airlines out there is that they are not all the same and they are not created equal. There are some that are way better than others so it’s helpful to get all the facts and then choose. For example, for cheap flights within Europe I much prefer EasyJet over RyanAir due to a few different factors. Flying from the US to Europe, I much prefer Norwegian Air over a lot of other carriers because they fly Dreamliners and the plane is a lot nicer. So do your research and find out what each airline choice has over another and then make your choice.

Pay to pick a seat, but not to buy a meal.

I will always suggest picking a seat when booking, even if you have to pay for it. There is nothing worse than being stuck in a horrible seat for 10 hours. So even if you have to pay, pick your seat when you book your ticket. Also take a look at the seat maps before you book so you know where you’ll want to sit. On different airlines, I like to sit in different places – for example, most of the time I like to choose to be near the front of the cabin or in an exit row, but on Norwegian Air, they have 2 rows in the back by the window with only 2 seats and a ton more leg room that I always book. So take a look at the seat map and then pay to book your seat when you book your flight.

On the low cost airlines, most of them make you pay for a meal. In truth, usually the food is pretty bad anyways so I opt to buy food at the airport before my flight instead and bring it on the flight.

Upgrade the day of the flight, not when you book.

Most of the low cost carriers still have a business class section on the plane and while it’s not going to be the lie-flat pods that most large airlines have, it’s definitely an upgrade from economy. When you book, usually those upgraded seats are still pretty expensive compared to the cheap economy fares. The trick is to wait until the day of your flight or whenever you can check in and upgrade then. Usually the upgrade costs + your fare is a lot less than you’ll pay farther out.

Go direct versus stopovers.

Low cost carriers are popping up all over these days but they are still only flying out of certain airports and it’s worth figuring out whether having stopovers or having to travel to other airports to fly out of is still cheaper than just a normal fare on another airline. For example, when we fly Norwegian Air to Europe we have to fly out of LAX (though they are starting to fly out of Seattle this Fall which I’m really looking forward to!). So even if we’re getting a super amazing airfare deal (like our $350 round trip tickets to Stockholm in January), we still have to get to LAX and have a layover, etc. Another example is flying Iceland Air to mainland Europe, where you have to say go from Seattle to Reykjavik and then on to Mainland Europe with a layover in Iceland. You’ll want to see if it make sense financially and time-wise to have stopovers. I always try to go as direct as possible as it just relieves a lot of stress!

5 of the Most Magical Travel Moments in the World

May 9, 2017

Travel for me is magical; it brings out these kinds of moments that often get overlooked in our daily lives and routines, moments that I have no other word for than pure magic. Whether it’s a sunset that paints the whole sky in spectacular color or standing alone among ruins in an ancient place imagining all those that walked that ground before you, travel has a way of evoking magic all around us in a world that often attempts to remove anything extraordinary we might find. And while moments like I’m describing don’t happen all the time and not on every trip or every place I visit, I have found over the years of frequent travel that those magical moments are the reason I keep going – they are the spark that I crave to explore more. And while they might not happen all the time, there are some moments that you can chase yourselves, some that happen more than you think. So if you’re craving a little something extraordinary in your life, here are 5 of the most magical travel moments around the world and they will for sure change your outlook on life and our world in general.

The Great Wall of China in the Snow

One of the top travel memories in my entire life occurred when I was standing on the Great Wall of China in late November, snow slowly falling around me, a quiet stillness embracing my every breath and not more than 4 other people nearby. We arrived right as the Great Wall opened, and in the 30 minutes before the tour buses arrived, I spent those moments completely enveloped in the world around me. I remember looking at Nick and all I could muster was “wow” to describe the scene around me. Magical is the only word I can come close to when describing that snowy morning on the Great Wall of China.

Machu Picchu in the Dawn Fog

Machu Picchu is one of those destinations that is magical is every way; it’s incredible and awe inspiring. But when I felt like I was truly overcome with a sort of magic was the second visit of our trip when we arrived at the monument in the early dawn hours and climbed up the ancient stairs to the top of the hill above the famous ruins. Once up there, I stopped for a bit to catch my breath after a steep climb and the high altitude making it hard to breath. As I sat on an old stone looking out over the mountains of Peru, I watched as the thick fog that was enveloping everything slowly seemed to peal away, revealing a scene straight out of a movie as Machu Picchu suddenly appeared right below me. It was one of those moments that I relive over and over and something I’ll never forget.

Cruising the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska

As someone who love animals and a scenic adventure, I was especially excited for our cruise on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. And even though the rain was pouring and while it said August on the calendar, it felt more like January with the cold wind sweeping off the water, I couldn’t pull myself away from the top deck of our boat, cruising out over open water seeing otters and whales and puffins and glaciers. I just remember staring out at the open expanse of ocean before me, as the fog hugged the coastlines around us and watching humpback whales jump in and out of the water and thinking, this is pure magic. There is something about witnessing nature at its best that makes me rethink everything about our world and see the beauty in everything around us.

Waterfall of the Gods at 3am in May

One of the most distinct travel memories of my whole life occurred in a country I adore, Iceland. And while every trip we’ve taken to Iceland has been memorable for different reasons, when we drove North on our second trip there, that’s when the real magic happened. We were staying in Akureyri in Iceland’s North for a couple days, a region that is remote and hard to get to. And after hours and hours of driving the previous day, we decided to wake up in the middle of the night and head to the Waterfall of the Gods at 3am. As this was in late May, we were able to experience the midnight sun where the sun never fully sets, but results in an ambient soft light all through the night. I’ll never forget that moment standing above the famous Waterfall of the Gods at 3am, with just Nick and not another human soul for miles. The pure beauty of nature was what made the magic in that moment, the sheer power of this massive waterfall and the pure transient nature of humans on Earth. And yes, the photo above was really taken at 3am!

Sunrise at Lanikai on Oahu

I have a love/hate relationship with Hawaii and while I’ve lived there and travel back and forth often for work, I can’t deny the beauty in corners of the Islands. And while Hawaii can be stunning all over, for me nothing quite exudes that magic like watching color spill across the sky at sunrise at Lanikai Beach on Oahu. If you make it to the Windward side of the island before the sun rises, you’ll be treated to an intense painting of color over a teal ocean and white sand beaches with no one around. It’s one of those moments when you’re just thankful to be alive (and awake so early) and in awe of what our Earth really is.

How the Middle East Changed My Life

May 8, 2017

With so much in the news lately about the Middle East and with what’s happening in that part of the world these days, I find myself continuously drawn back to my memories of growing up there. If you’re new here, I’ve written a lot about my birthplace and subsequent childhood in Saudi Arabia and honestly, the Middle East change my life. I’ve also talked a lot about being a third culture kid and what that meant for me when I finally moved back to the States as a pre-teen girl, not sure of where I belonged, not sure of where my life would go while trying to balance my life in Saudi and my citizenship in the US.

When you hear about the Middle East, you might feel horrible about what’s happening in Syria. You might wonder how loved ones are doing while being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan to fight against terrorists, or you might not understand what’s going on in that part of the world and immediately assume all Muslims are out to get us. When I hear about the Middle East, I think of home. I think of the place that accepted me, that taught me about acceptance, that showed me no matter who we pray to, no matter the color of our skin or the head covering we might wear, we are all the same.

A lot of people in my own country and around the world don’t know anything about the religion of Islam other than what is spread falsely. Many people couldn’t even pinpoint on a map where Saudi Arabia or Jordan or Syria even are. So with that mindset, how can we even begin to help heal the divides? How can we even begin to start to change the view? When we think of these places as geographical countries that we just hear about on the news instead of home of millions of human beings, how can we even possibly all move forward together in understanding?

After we moved back to the States, I spent the next handful of years really struggling. I didn’t feel like I fit, I didn’t feel like my peers understood me or where I came from, I didn’t feel like myself. It took me a long time to come to terms with who I was and what my background meant for me going forward and it was because of how the Middle East changed my life that I fully realized who I am. I might be fair skinned with blue eyes and born to American parents, but the Middle East will always be a part of me, it will always be my compass. The Middle East changed my life. When I process world issues, I think about the first 12 years of my life as a little blond girl at home among the mosques. When I hear someone say something completely ignorant about the Middle East, I remember back to all the amazing Muslims I call friends. When I see world leaders making comments about how hurtful Islam is as a religion, I know they must have not ever stood in the middle of an Arab city and heard the chanting from the magical call to prayer.

My childhood in Saudi Arabia might not have been conventional but it’s the single most important part of me. It’s my guide. It irrevocably changed my life and I am profoundly grateful for the lessons I learned there and the guidance that my experience there still gives my heart every single day.

Interested in reading more about my childhood in Saudi Arabia?

See all of my posts on the country!

On the Horizon : Road Trip to Yellowstone

May 5, 2017

Welcome to my newest series here on Land of Marvels! One of my favorites things about the travel blogging community is the resource for information – connecting with other people all over the world to help us travel better and enjoy it more! So in this new series, I’ll be posting about places we’re headed upcoming in our schedule and asking the community for information. My hope is that it won’t be just information for myself but also for anyone else planning a trip to these locations!

And so when we have a trip planned somewhere, I’ll do an “On the Horizon” post about it and ask for suggestions and comments for those locations, perhaps tips or specific places to see so that we can all be proactive about planning trips together!

Our next trip upcoming at the end of May is a really interesting one and I can’t wait! Let’s jump into advice for Glacier National Park and Yellowstone (as well as surrounding areas)! We are road tripping from Portland up through Eastern Washington into Montana, down into Yellowstone and then back through Idaho and Eastern Oregon so if you have any advice for any of the locations below, please let me know in the comments!

Cities/Locations we’ll be visiting or staying in:

The Palouse – Eastern Washington

Kalispell, Montana

Glacier National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Sun Valley, Idaho

Baker City area of Eastern Oregon + Wallowa Mountains

Over to you … what do you recommend?

5 Reasons Why I’ll Always Love a Great Landscape

May 4, 2017

While I’m truly a city girl in my day to day life, over the years of traveling, I often find myself drawn to incredible natural great landscapes and places that are outside of the big cities around the world. And while I still love a few days in a city like London or Paris, a great landscape really pulls me in and offers something entirely different. So the next time you’re wondering where to travel to, here’s 5 reasons why I’ll always love a great landscape!

1. A sense of peace.

Sometimes when we travel, I just want to go somewhere peaceful, somewhere that will soothe me and that offers an escape from our busy daily lives. Great landscapes around the world can offer that calm sense of peace that you might not get in a city.

(Photo – The Great Ocean Road outside Melbourne, Australia)

2. Awe at the world around us.

I’m constantly in awe at the incredible planet we live on and the world around us. Traveling great landscapes around the world always pulls this home for me and makes me realize how lucky we are to call this beautiful planet home!

(Photo – Antelope Canyon in Northern Arizona)

3. Landscapes awake a spiritual side of us.

In some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes I always feel a sense of a spiritual awakening if you will. An incredible view gives you a feeling deeper than you can explain sometimes and often in those spots, you’re also not around as many people which adds to that feeling of spirituality.

(Photo – Godafoss Waterfall in Northern Iceland)

4. You’ll experience more away from the crowds.

The big cities of the world are wonderful, but there is something about being out in nature away from the crowds of people and really just connecting to what’s around you!

(Photo – Rolling hills of Tuscany, Italy)

5. It’s just beautiful.

And finally, the great landscapes of the world are just simply beautiful and draw us in with their unique features. Our world really is a beautiful place and when you can get out there and witness the beauty for yourself it really makes a mark on your soul.

(Photo – Fall colors in Vermont, USA)

#BloggingDesk : Real Life vs the Highlight Reel

May 3, 2017

As a travel blogger, I realize that we do somewhat of an injustice to real life in this forum on the internet, we share gorgeous photos of incredible destinations around the world, the most beautiful corners of our homes, or unique views of our home cities. And while it may seem to everyone else that life is a beautiful little slice of paradise where nothing ever bad happens and everything is constantly picture-perfect, that’s a huge disservice to the world and to our communities and to ourselves. We’ve all been there, scrolling through our Instagram feed which feels more and more curated these days, where people we follow seem to be living a dream life without the huge to do lists, never ending errands and personal issues that plague most of us on a daily basis.

But here’s the deal: don’t believe everything you see. We have to be able to distinguish between real life and someone else’s highlight reel. And yea, there are moments in my life that feel like magic, times when I’m traveling or at home and everything seems to fit into place and I think to myself “this is amazing.” But that’s about 5% of my life – the other 95% is working late, to do lists that never seem to end, errand after errand, chore after chore, trying to keep up on my DVR and hustling so I can afford to keep traveling or chasing those dreams on the horizon.

For me, in all honesty, the past few months have not been a highlight reel. And while yes, we’ve taken multiple trips in that time and a lot of it has been wonderful, behind the scenes you don’t always see all else that’s going on. Between insane amounts of work and deadlines that have had me working very long hours in the evening and on weekends and while traveling, to family issues that I don’t always share, home maintenance issues costing more than anticipated and dealing with the IRS on some mistakes our old accountant made years ago, we’ve definitely not had a smooth ride of it as of late. And I’m not telling you all this for any other reason other than I’m right there with you. Real life isn’t always glamorous or easy or beautiful, sometimes it’s straining and tiring and feels like everything is flying at you at all times and you’re just trying to your best to not get hit. There have been moments when I really did seriously consider just selling everything I own and moving to a little horse farm in the middle of Iceland to get away from it all.

But here’s the thing – even in those times when we feel like our lives aren’t what they should be or what we’d like them to be, there are moments when I look around and realize how very beautiful this life is however chaotic or crazy it might seem or how un-Instagram it might feel. So the next time you’re feeling like someone else’s highlight reel is how your life should look, just remember that they aren’t showing you everything. And since I don’t think the idea of social media is changing anytime soon, we still have to make a conscience effort to not compare ourselves to someone showing us only 5% of their life and we have to remember that we’re all going to struggle sometimes, we’re all going to go through things in life but at the end of the day, if you can look around and take it all in, breath and keep going, that’s all that matters.

Looking for more posts on Blogging?

See our archives here for Blogging posts.

Travel Tips : What to Do When a Hotel Cancels your Reservation

May 2, 2017

During our trip to DC we were driving out to Lexington, Virginia on Saturday for a family wedding. We had booked to stay at a little boutique hotel in downtown Lexington about 7 months prior to the wedding through Hotels.com. Friday while we were still in DC, I got a call from Hotels.com telling me that the hotel had overbooked and that we would have to pick another hotel to move to. I told them I wanted to call the hotel first to see what was really going on and that I’d call them back. Long story short, I think it was the hotel that somehow moved our reservation (even though they had rooms) and it was all taken care of in about 20 minutes. But if for some reason a hotel cancels your reservation or moves you, here’s what I would always suggest doing!

Go directly to the hotel first.

Instead of going through whoever you booked through (in my case Hotels.com), call the hotel directly first and find out what’s going on. In my case, it was an error in their system which then got directed to Hotels.com and my reservation with them so the hotel was able to straighten it out right away.

Then go back to your booking agent.

Even if you get it sorted with the hotel, be sure to also call your booking agent (in my case Hotels.com) and confirm with them that the hotel has your reservation shown in their system. You want to make sure it’s good on both ends with them and with the hotel.

Demand that your reservation be honored (especially if it was booked way out).

If they fight you on it, demand that your reservation be honored, even if that means you have to be upgraded to find a room for you. In my case, I had booked 7 months out and mentioned that as well that I shouldn’t be the room canceled when I had booked so far in advance.

If they can’t honor your reservation, demand compensation.

If for some reason they really are overbooked and you get bumped from your room, demand that you get compensated not only for the refund of your booking but also an extra compensation for the hassle of the situation. You might have to be firm with them, but it’s worth it. I ended up getting my reservation back from the hotel as well as a $100 voucher for a future Hotels.com booking which made up for the inconvenience.

An Evening with Thomas Jefferson : Twilight at the Tidal Basin

May 1, 2017

One of the monuments that we’ve never stopped and fully seen in Washington D.C. is the Thomas Jefferson memorial at the Tidal Basin. We’ve driven by it before, but this time we were determined to see it in person. So we headed there around sunset after leaving Georgetown and made it just in time for the twilight colors of the evening and the moody clouds overhead to highlight this beautiful monument and the surrounding monuments at the National Mall. We missed the best cherry blossoms in the area, but the Tidal Basin is still one of those spots in DC well worth seeing!

Heading to Washington DC?

See all my posts on the city here!

Travel Tips : How to Handle a Loud Hotel Room Neighbor

April 28, 2017

We recently had an unfortunate incident at our hotel in Alexandria (The Alexandrian) on our recent trip to the DC area and while we’ve stayed in hundreds of hotels around the world, this issue was our first of the kind. Long story short, we arrived back at the hotel around 7pm from our day around DC and realized that our neighbors had about 4-6 people in their room and seemed to be drinking and talking really loud (like we could hear every word loud). We figured they would calm down so we watched some TV and then proceeded to get ready to go to bed since we had be on the road early in the morning to head to a family wedding. Around 9pm, they still hadn’t quieted down so I called the front desk who sent someone up to the room and asked them to quiet down. After that, our neighbors proceeded to get louder and make comments like “our a**-hole neighbors are calling the front desk on us…” So we dropped it and hoped they would quiet down. In the next 5-6 hours they never stopped and after another phone call to the front desk at 3am where they were still going strong, where nothing happened, we resorted to a horrible night sleep. The following morning I complained again upon check out and they did take our parking charge off and then followed up by email with extra Marriott points which was nice, but in my opinion not enough. Upon further research, if this happens to you, you actually have more leverage than you think with hotels, so after going through this, here’s what I would suggest for how to handle a loud hotel room neighbor.

Call the Front Desk Multiple Times

I called twice, but in retrospect, I should have kept calling until someone did something about the situation. A front desk person knocking on their door and asking them nicely to quiet down wasn’t doing anything so they should have resorted to calling security or doing more about the situation. If they don’t do enough, keep calling. This is also a good timeline and record for you the following day when you complain to say that you had to call down numerous times.

Don’t Approach the Neighbor Yourself

I read a lot on the internet about situations like this afterwards and everyone of them said not to approach your neighbor yourself. Whether they might be drunk or rude or physically abusive, it’s better to let trained hotel staff handle the situation.

Ask to Move Rooms if they Don’t Offer

No one I spoke to in the two times I called the front desk offered to move our room and they should have. In retrospect, I wish I would have asked to move rooms immediately upon the first call at 9pm and we would have had a good night’s sleep. If they don’t offer, ask to move rooms and push them to do it.

Request Compensation if they Don’t Offer

When we checked out the following day, the chipper girl at the counter beamed “how was your stay?” I replied with honesty, “actually last night was horrible.” Upon that, I explained what happened and that we basically spent $200 something for a hotel for the night where we didn’t even get to sleep. When they didn’t offer anything other than an “I’m sorry to hear that” I immediately asked for compensation of some kind. She did take off our $80 parking tab for 2 nights, but to be honest in my opinion for something that was more in their control they should have done more.

After we left, I also tweeted Marriott and expressed my discontent about the situation and the manager of the hotel reached out via email and offered me 5,000 Marriott points which was a nice touch after the fact, though I wish the hotel would have done more to make us a priority during the situation itself.