beach – Bucket List In A Bikini

One Month In The Philippines: Best Bang For Your Buck-et-list.

With inflation on the high end, I have found it difficult to go on vacation without paying attention to how expensive everything has gotten. I truly despise this because who wants to go on a vacay and talk about how much everything costs? No, no, no. It is almost impossible though to go to a bar and not gasp at the $17 margarita or $35 piece of fish at middle-of-the road-places. Even my beautiful Costa Rica has fallen victim. When I moved to Costa Rica my dollar went so much further than it did in the USA. Now I am going to my regular restaurants and getting charged $17 for a kid’s menu chicken nuggets and fries. Are you kidding me? So are there any vacation destinations where you can achieve reasonable prices without sacrificing the beauty or quality of your trip? Why yes there is kids! The Philippines is my top choice so far in my travels which combines reasonable prices with paradise, adventure, and great food.

The Philippines is quite a journey. I knew with so far to fly and so much ground and sea to cover, I needed a month (at least). As this trip began to take form, it became very clear that the Philippines had those two qualities that seem to be nonexistent these days. Reasonably priced and beautiful! The best combo ever right? I booked a 30-day trip running an average of $100 per night. Like wow….I impressed myself with this. This is definitely my lowest average price per night for a vacay and it did not feel like it whatsoever. Let me say, these stays were not cheap…they were reasonable. There is a difference as we all know. Cheap means poor quality. Reasonable means a good price without compromising the quality, aka good bang for your buck! I did a combination of accommodations to include a couple of nice hotels, one cheapy hotel, Airbnb, campground, hostel, and houseboating. The houseboat was actually the most expensive part but should not be missed, which I will get to later. True and crazy fact…I spent less in 30 days traveling in the Philippines than I would have spent if I stayed home living my normal life in Costa Rica. I actually saved money to go on a bucket list trip!

Route

My route took quite a while to figure out. I really didn’t have any interest in doing anything but the islands and there were so many to choose from. In fact, there are over 7,600 islands in the Philippines so it almost feels endless with possibilities. Here is what I went with. Siargao – Cebu – Siquijor – Bohol – Puerto Princessa, Palawan – El Nido, Palawan – Coron, Palawan. Seven stops in 30-days! The most challenging part of this planning was the ferries. With so many ports, it is important to plan all of this ahead. Some ports don’t go to all of the islands, and some have several stops, while others are direct. I also found that it made much more sense to take the little hopper airplanes when the ferry rides were really long. On one of the legs, a one-hour plane ride was only $20 more per person compared to the five-hour ferry ride. So, lots of research to be done but once you get your route, the rest is a piece of cake.

Chapter 1: SIARGAO

Now that the trip is over and I can compare all the stops, Siargao is at the top of my list and only tied with one other stop for my absolute favorite place in the Philippines. I’m sort of crazy for palm trees and this island is literally covered in them. It is considered online to be one of the prettiest islands for this exact reason. It is also the surfing capital of the country. So if you are a surfer or simply want to stay in the most lively part of town, most definitely choose the area of Cloud 9 to General Luna. I stayed right smack in the middle of the two at Bravo Beach Resort. I was incredibly happy with this hotel and this was for sure one of the nicer places I stayed over the month. It is right on the beach with an excellent restaurant/bar. The sun rose every morning directly in front of the hotel. Being that the time change was a 15-hour difference from what I was used to, I was lucky to be up and sleepless three out of the six mornings for sunrise. Watching the sun come up is truly my favorite way to start my day and practice gratitude. These sunrises were some of the most beautiful I have ever seen! I even brought the bed sheets down to the beach for a little shoot because if you can’t get up for sunrise, it’s best to bring your bed to the beach! Ha ha

Enjoying the sunrise at Bravo Beach Resort.

Transportation

Another reason the Philippines is so reasonable is because it is so inexpensive to get around. My husband is a very experienced motorcycle driver so we opted to rent a scooter every day for about $6 per day. This is the main mode of transportation. I even saw teenage girls riding them all over the island solo. I don’t think I trust my driving enough for all that. I’m much more of a sit on the back and take pictures kind of gal. Regardless, this is how most people get around and it is certainly easy on the wallet. My mom will kill me for this photo but it does represent how I bopped around town. Barefoot and in a bathing suit. Don’t worry Mom, I did wear a helmet most of the time. 😉

Exploring the island of Siargao barefoot and in a bikini. Maybe that should be the new name of my blog!

Top Things To Do

Surfing Cloud 9: This is the reason Siargao has the title “Surfing Capital of the Philippines”. The Cloud 9 break is world-renowned and fit for all surfing levels.

Maasin River– Quite possibly the most Instagrammable site on Siargao. It’s absolutely beautiful and I can see why so many people come here to get that post-worthy photo. As always, the early bird gets the worm, beats the crowd and heat, and gets the photo with no one in the background. I love to have places like this all to myself so when it comes to exploring sites like this, you can catch your girl rising early.

Sugba Lagoon – Another must on Siargao! This is a full-day adventure. Plenty of tour companies are around to take you round trip from your hotel to Sugba and back to your hotel. We had the scooter so we did this all on our own, which was a much less expensive way to go. Once at the dock, you ride by boat out to the lagoon which is about a thirty-minute ride. It is truly paradise. Lots of activities including paddle boarding, kayaking, and snorkeling. Also, a very high diving board on the lagoon where I did my super daring jump and scream move. Impressive I know!

About to impress all the bystanders with my jump and scream move. LOL

Get a massage – Esse Massage and Spa was number one on Tripadvisor and did not disappoint! Absolutely amazing one-hour massage for $6. I went twice. This is a great thing to do if it’s raining or after a long day of exploring. And I mean you can’t beat an hour massage for six bucks! Add spas to the list of reasons this trip is the best bang for the buck. Very reasonable, not cheap. 😉

Palm Tree Viewpoint – Hands down the best viewpoint on the island! Miles and miles of palm tree heaven.

Palm Tree Viewpoint. This is pretty much how my dream backyard would look.

Nightlife/Dancing

I love a relaxing vacay and I love exploring during the day. But I also love the option to enjoy the night which is why Siargao was one of my favorite places in the Philippines. There was so much nightlife! There were dance clubs on the beach, reggae bars with live music, and after-parties that went on until the sun came up. My favorite was the live reggae music at Strums. Turn The Lights Down Low by Bob Marley is one of my favorite reggae songs. They nailed it at Strums!

Best Eats

Of course, my favorite thing to do on vacay is eat! The food on Siargao was really good. There was a variety of restaurants that were all reasonably priced with really healthy options.

CEV – The best ceviche of my life and that says a lot because I live in Costa Rica where I eat ceviche every week. I also broke at this restaurant and had my first restaurant margarita in three months. OMG…phenomenal!! I am a true margarita snob. It was nummy nums.

Shaka – As this blog goes on you will see how much I loved Shaka! It’s a chain throughout the Philippines and I ate there every time I came across one. It’s good, clean, healthy eats serving acai bowls and delicious treats. Super casual and reasonable, but amazing quality food!

Kurvada – Traditional Philippino food that is cooked by a family.

I started to take notice right away that the Philippino people are so genuinely happy and welcoming! I’ve been to a lot of countries where I have felt this way. This adds so much to my love of a location. It’s one of the main reasons I moved to Costa Rica. But on this trip, it became obvious right away that these are some of the nicest people I have ever met on my travels. I had to adjust to being called Mam. It will be “Mam” and “Sir” everywhere you go. I also felt so safe. I cruised around alone, as I do quite often on vacay. My hubby works a lot so I tend to wander off by myself to the local gym or explore around. Never ever did I feel threatened. Only the first stop and I am already head over heels for this country! Next island, Cebu!

Chapter 2: CEBU

Siargao was pretty far away on the map from the other islands we were visiting, so we flew from Siargao to Cebu. This was a four-hour plane ride so you can imagine how long the ferry would take, right? Cebu is the activity capital of the Philippines. This is the most popular place to swim with whale sharks. Sign me up! After six days of adjusting to the time change and staying in a nice hotel, I was ready to get active and adventurous!

Once we landed in Cebu we saw that this is a huge city. We were headed to the small little town of Moalboal which was another three-hour drive from the airport, so this was a full travel day. This town was so cute and def one of the best places to stay as a home base for your activities. We stayed in our first-ever hostel at Crazy Bears Hostel. I can’t believe it has taken me so long to stay in a hostel. $20 per night got us a private room with a shared bathroom. One great thing about staying at a hostel is that you meet people. Believe it or not, I’m actually on the shy side. Staying at a hostel forces you to get out of your shell and socialize. This was not a big hostel so we ran into the same people all the time in the common areas. Most of them had shared dorm rooms at $6 per night. Just goes to show how affordable travel can be!

Staying in my first-ever hostel. AC and a private room for $20 per night.

Top Things To Do

Sardine Run – This town is really small so no need for a scooter here. Everything is walkable. The Sardine Run is located in Moalboal and is not to be missed! Again this was something we did on our own (no tour). Being just down the street, we left the hostel in our bathing suits with our go pro in hand and rented snorkel equipment right on the beach. We snorkeled the afternoon away with millions upon millions of sardines. This was a first for me! One minute you are snorkeling alone and the next you are caught in the run and can’t see anything but sardines. So cool!!

I took this photo while I was in the middle of the run with millions of sardines.

Swimming to get in the run. You can barely see them in the background.

White Beach – In all fairness this was not on the itinerary. We had planned to go canyoneering on day two. Kawasan Falls is another famous Instagrammable place to visit and a stop along an adventurous day of canyoneering. I was so excited for this day but I went a little aggressive with my plans for four days in Moalboal. After a long travel day and a sardine run on day two, we were tired! So we bailed our 6am wake-up call to canyoneer and opted to sleep in and go to beautiful White Beach. Honestly, we needed five days (not four) on this leg because this was an incredible day to spend too! I actually know better than to book back-to-back active days. Downtime here and there is a must for us. This beach was just a short tuk-tuk ride from Moalboal. Just a beautiful white sand beach with stunning turquoise waters. A perfect place to bring some sangria and order a fruit platter from a nearby beach stand as you watch the sunset, which is exactly what we did. It was a perfect day!

White beach. Relaxing, eating fresh fruit, and drinking sangria. Perfect day!

Swim with whale sharks – Drum roll…..The absolute best!! Here is the truth about this experience. The good, the bad, and the honest. Pros: Swimming with these gentle giants was one of the coolest things ever! I get a little nervous in the deep ocean but I felt so at peace with these creatures. Cons: It’s crowded. When you arrive, you are shuttled through stations from orientation to waiting for your boat to take you out to the sharks. An employee calls the group over the loudspeaker and it does feel a bit like a Disneyland ride. I mean I can see why it draws so many people every day so I guess they need to organize the crowd. You will only have 30 mins in the water with the whale sharks, and it goes fast. The staff feeds the sharks while you swim with them so it is not like a wild encounter. It is very much worth it though to get up close and personal with the whale sharks! Tip: Rent fins! You will only be given a snorkel mask with your ticket. Rent the fins to enjoy actually swimming with the sharks. It would be impossible to have the experience I had without fins. I swam alongside them while everyone else had to stay next to the boat as they held on dipping their head below water to look at the sharks. It’s exhausting to swim in the deep ocean without fins so trust me on this. The price for this excursion was 1,000 Php or $17 USA dollars. Ok, someone please tell me where you can have such a unique experience for such a low price. The list continues to grow for” best bang for my buck” vacays. This was the same price that I paid for my child to eat off the kid’s menu (for lunch) at one of my go-to Costa Rican restaurants. My mind was blown! Lastly, I originally planned to do the whale sharks and come back to Moalboal. Not a good idea, which we figured out in Moalboal. I suggest packing up and doing the whale sharks on the way out of town as you are headed off the island. It’s hours of driving to get to the sharks and on the way to the ferry station. So, I think it’s best to pack up and bring your bags with you to do the whale shark activity. We left our luggage in the car with our driver who waited for us. Then, head straight to the ferry station at about noon to head to the next island.

Thank goodness I rented the fins so I could actually swim next to the whale sharks.

Food & Nightlife In Moalboal:

Thailicious – Amazing Thai food, hence the name!

Shaka – Two for two! We ate here in our bathing suits for a super healthy meal post-Sardine Run.

Hungry Monkey – My favorite! The menu is like 15 pages long. So lengthy with lots of healthy options.

My Greek Taverna – Excellent Greek food but also one of the more pricier meals we had during our trip. Delicious but not reasonable for Philippine standards.

Nightlife – Not much to speak of. There were a couple of bars on the main strip with DJs but we opted to head back to our hostel to drink $2 cocktails and play jenga with cool peeps. Next island is Siquijor!

Chapter 3: SIQUIJOR

Pronounced suh·kee·hr. Cebu to Siquijor was another full travel day. We left our hostel at 6:00am, swam with the whale sharks, and then took two ferries to get to Siquijor. This is a pretty undeveloped island and not many options when it comes to getting there by ferry. This island is small but mighty!! It offers beautiful beaches, waterfalls, and a bit of nightlife. We arrived at our beachfront $80 per night Airbnb pretty late and hadn’t eaten anything. There is no food served on any ferries, just FYI. Our Airbnb host squeezed all three of us on her scooter to drive us to find a place to eat at 10:00pm. Just so incredibly nice!

It’s only noon and I have swam with whale sharks and drove three hours to get to the ferry station. Waiting at the ferry station to take the boat to Siquijor. I thought backpacking meant you were packing light. Ha ha.

Our Airbnb was located on the grounds of Republika. This was the only leg we had a tv and I don’t think we even turned it on. A one-month vacay with no tv…my kind of trip! It was nice to have a restaurant and bar right downstairs. I was impressed by their fresh-squeezed cocktails and healthy food. The fruit platter was enough for four people and I ate the whole thing myself. Delish.

Top Things To Do:

This entire leg was really chill. After sleeping in, working out in the room, and eating breakfast at noon, we would venture out for the day.

Lugnason Falls – Not to be missed! This was the first waterfall hike we had done on the trip. These falls are much less crowded and just as beautiful as Cuanago Falls, so that sold me on my choice between the two. You will be sent down the trail with a guide which is very important if you plan to jump or do the rope swing. I was not up for this because of the height of it all. Heights ain’t my thang. My hubby did all the jumps and the swing (as always). This is not for the beginner jumper! My husband said it was the scariest rope swing he had ever done. We actually saw someone swing and they got too scared to let go and ended up swinging back into a tree just hanging for dear life. This is where the guide comes in handy. If you don’t want to risk seriously injuring yourself then you can do what I did. Sit back and swim in the pools with a glass of wine people watching the crazies.

Yup, you can catch your girl relaxing and people-watching, not jumping.

Paliton Beach aka “Little Boracay”: Boracay was the one island that we didn’t make it to that I really wanted to see. It was out of the way of my route and the month filled up so quickly on me. Boracay is known for its pristine beaches and beautiful hotels. So, I was happy to enjoy Paliton Beach because it is nicknamed “Little Boracay”. This beach provided the most magical sunset ever…and I have seen my fair share of magical sunsets. Spend the whole day here kayaking and paddle boarding in crystal clear water, stay for sunset, and then stay an hour later. It gets prettier and prettier!

This sunset was just spectacular. The colors kept getting prettier and prettier.

Best Eats On Siquijor

Salamandas – This is the nicest restaurant I could find on the island and was #1 on Tripadvisor. Let’s go over my bill shall we? Two entrees and five cocktails at a beachfront restaurant with tiki torches lit all around and live music. Our drinks were top shelf and we spared no expense when ordering food. $32 FINAL BILL. Say whaaaaaa!!! We were trying to have a really fancy dinner and this was as pricey as we could get the bill. So now we have reasonable accommodations, transportation, excursions, and food. Why didn’t I move here?? LOL

Shaka – Three for three!!

Angel Wish – Huge raw seafood buffet to choose from. Pick your seafood, have it weighed, and they cook it how you want it. Blackened, baked, fried, etc. Delish! Two huge fresh seafood entrees and four cocktails. $35.

Dagsa – Very cool vibe at this place. Had live music and excellent seafood curry with a beautiful ambiance.

Next stop Bohol!

Chapter 4: BOHOL

The ferry from Siquijor to Bohol was $15 per person. Like, so reasonable! When we arrived we were surprised to see McDonalds and 711. This was our first experience of staying in a city and we were pretty excited to change it up! We decided to camp at Glamping Alona. Upon arrival, we upgraded our tent to a small cabin for the air-conditioning and ability to lock the door for $5 more per night. The total price was $30 per night. This place was so cute and one of our favorites! There was a beautiful pool in the middle of the property, a bar, a restaurant, and fire pits roaring at night. We did have to walk to the bathrooms but the plus was it was a hot water shower! Hot water showers were hit or miss to this point on the trip. I think most girls can agree that we hate shaving our legs in a cold shower. So, even though I had to walk the campground in the dark in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I was quite pleased with the hot water showers.

Top Things To Do

The first order of business was to rent our scooter which we did right from the campground. The second order of business was to get a pedicure. Your girl was way overdue! We headed over to the Alona Bliss Spa for two pampered pedicures. This was a two-hour pedicure for $16. I love these prices!

Two-hour pedicures at Alona Bliss Spa for $16. Yes, please!

Alona Beach: Not my favorite. I found it to be overcrowded and touristy with too many boats in the water. It is lined with a boardwalk of restaurants and bars, all of which are quite pricey comparatively. This island isn’t known for the best beaches in the Philippines and it is better to head inland for activities.

Chocolate Hills: OMG…as I’m typing this I have to laugh. Google told us this was a three-hour drive round trip. So, we slept in a bit and drove the scooter. Google, I hated you on this day! You betrayed me Google! This ended up being six hours of driving round trip, not three. Have you ever ridden on a scooter for six hours? Not very comfortable at all. This is way too far to go on a scooter from Alona Beach, so opt to rent a car for the day or hire a driver. The drive was really beautiful though, and it was cool to see traditional Philippino villages instead of just the touristy stuff. The Chocolate Hills are a slight mystery to locals and visitors alike. Sometimes called the Eighth Wonder Of The World, the attraction is exactly what it sounds like: rounded hills that go brown in color during the dry season so they end up looking like giant chocolate truffles. There is no exact count but some count as many as 1,700 hills. It really is pretty magnificent. Be warned: You won’t be able to climb the hills — aside from the 214 steps to the observation deck at the Chocolate Hills Complex, a resort atop the biggest hill, in the town of Carmen. The complex also includes accommodations, a restaurant, and a gift shop. My hate for Google continued when we left as our Google Maps quit working on us and we had to go off of memory to drive the three-hour drive home in the dark through the mountains. Why did we sleep in? Why did we drive the scooter? It was scary not knowing where we were or if we were going the right way in pitch black for three hours straight. Sketchy is an understatement!

Spas – Spas are everywhere in Bohol. And after that scooter ride, we were in desperate need!!

Eats & Drinks

Garlic n Lemon Bistro – #1 on TripAdvisor for the area. The red chicken curry is to die for. Def go!

Wonderland Thai – Best Thai I had on the trip. Traditional and so delicious.

Shaka – Four for four! This was the best Shaka of all with a full menu of amazing food and a full bar.

Four for four at Shaka and the best one I found so far. That is a mango they made into a flower acai bowl.

Bamboo Place – My favorite craft cocktail bar. Since I started a much more strict diet months back, I became very picky about my cocktails. This place had the best craft cocktails of the entire trip!! Also, a DJ spun on most nights so this quickly became our nighttime hangout place.

Paddy’s Irish Pub – Located in the outdoor mall/plaza of Alona Beach. This is a true Irish Pub and one of the only ones in the Philippines (per the owner). Funny, I hadn’t noticed one Irish-looking person on the trip yet. But this bar was filled with Irish-looking people. They had accents and all from overhearing conversations. I guess the Irish take their Guinness very seriously! Kind of like me with my craft cocktails. Ha ha. We bellied up with the owner who kept pouring shots and the next day I came to find out that whiskey and gin do not mix. Ouchie!

Having a little too much fun at Paddy’s Irish Pub.

On our last day, we just relaxed and worked poolside at the campground. Super chill day before moving on to Puerto Princessa and El Nido. Next island (actually islands), Palawan!

My last day relaxing in the pool at Glamping Alona. Bye Bye Bohol. Next stop Palawan!

Chapter 5: PALAWAN

The province of Palawan is composed of the long and narrow Palawan Island, plus a number of other smaller islands surrounding it, totalling roughly 1,780 islands and islets. A little island hopper flight from Bohol to Puerto Princessa and we were in Palawan. What can I say about Puerto Princesa other than this? Skip it! Sorry, not sorry. We stopped here instead of taking a second flight straight to El Nido, Palawan. You need to fly here first from Bohol as there was no direct flight. I had planned to do the Underground River excursion here but the weather was absolutely terrible. We cut this leg down by a day because we really didn’t enjoy the area very much. Maybe I would have felt differently if we had done the excursion, which I read to be a magical experience. But it wasn’t in the cards for us unfortunatley. To boot, the restaurant selection was pretty bad and the bay was not the prettiest. The highlight of this leg was going out on the town and bumping into an actual dance club Tiki Resto Bar. To my surprise, they had a Lady Gaga cover going on. Oh hells yeah! I was mad I looked homeless in sweats! I had no idea we would encounter any fun here after a day of nothing to do. It ended up being an awesome show! I’m a little biased because I absolutely love Lady Gaga, but truly it was a freaking good show. The drinks were flowing and once the show ended we retreated to the hotel where we ended up having a late-night dance party with the staff. OMG….LOL. If I am ever feeling down in life, all I need to do is watch the video we made dancing the night away with the staff. It was hilarious and I’m pretty sure the front desk girl called in sick the next day. Ha ha. Goes to show you, that you can have a good time anywhere you go! Next stop, El Nido, Palawan.

Had the time of my life in my least favorite spot that I visited. Ha ha. Late-night dance party at the hotel.

Chapter 6: EL NIDO

Six-hour drive from Puerto Princessa to El Nido. We hired a private transfer for this and it was a bit of a scary ride as it was a torrential downpour for the entire six hours. Come to find out we were actually having a typhoon hit the area. When we arrived, we walked through town barefoot to get to our massage and dinner. It was pointless to wear shoes! I am not a barefoot walker so this was a first for me. Ha ha.

Another drumroll please… El Nido is the entire reason I booked this trip! The photos of El Nido are the epitome of beauty in the Philippines. Huge limestone cliffs line the white sand beaches and crystal clear ocean. It is truly magnificent!! This leg I booked the fanciest hotel of the trip and we stayed beachfront at the gorgeous Mahogonay Resort and Spa. It was absolutely perfect! We were away from the noise of downtown but still able to walk if we wanted to get to all the action. El Nido is known for some of the best nightlife in the Philippines, which by now you know I love my nights as much as I love my days. So, El Nido provides beautiful beaches in the day and the best nightlife in the evening. Def my favorite leg of the trip!

The most beautiful ocean waters are surrounded by huge limestone cliffs. Gorg!

Top Things To Do

Nacpan Beach – When the typhoon passed, we scooted as fast as we could to explore more. This beach is about a 30-minute drive from downtown El Nido and an absolutely beautiful drive. Nacpan Beach is a perfect place to post up for the day. It is lined with chairs and umbrellas for rent. The ocean was a little wild but very pretty. The road was really muddy to get in and out of this beach so I rode home barefoot and in my bathing suit (again). I did wear my helmet though Mom. We also stopped for some yummy street food on the way back.

Street food stop in my riding gear. Ha ha.

Taraw Peak – This is the highest peak in El Nido. Climbing to the top is definitely not easy. The terrain is rocky and steep with sharp limestone rocks, and it can be dangerous if you are not careful. I am kicking myself that I didn’t do this hike. Too much exploring by day and nightlife at night left me too tired to get up early. Go with a guide at sunrise and see the most beautiful view of El Nido. Don’t forget your drone!

I so regret not getting my lazy butt up to do this hike at sunrise.

Vanilla Beach – This was about a ten-minute scooter ride from downtown and a really great place to stay as well. You can’t walk downtown from Vanilla Beach, so I did prefer our area better. But if you have transportation downtown or don’t mind taking a tuk-tuk every time, Vanilla Beach is awesome! I think it’s a great place to stay for families and would be my choice to call home if I had my kiddos with me. To get to the beach you walk through an outdoor mall that includes McDonalds, shops, massage, a gym, and ice cream. I would feel fine letting my kids cruise up there from our hotel to have some freedom to roam around. They also have a zip line here for the young and young at heart. The beach is calm, safe for swimming, and oh so stunning. It is lined with nice hotels and beachfront bars with DJs spinning house music. It’s a chill vibe and a good mix of adults and kids.

Vanilla Beach sunsets with DJs spinning house music beachfront.

Spa – Hands down Namaste Spa. Truly amazing massages and I did a yoga class here as well.

Island Hopping On A Boat – This is the creme de la creme of El Nido and a not to be missed experience! There are four different tours in total and each tour is a separate day of exploring little islands. Due to the storm, all tours had been canceled but finally opened up on the last day we were spending here. Thank God! El Nido has year-round sunshine so the timing of this storm was absolutely terrible for us. But the gods shined down on us the last day. The tours opened up for us to close this leg out the way it was meant to be…out on a boat exploring. We did Tour A and went private. I highly recommend going private for this. They will tailor the day for you to avoid the crowds. This day was my favorite day of the entire 30-day trip! And as usual, my favorite days on vacay are on a boat. I felt so incredibly lucky that we were able to get to see the islands off of El Nido. It was a day filled with “pinch me” moments. If you only have one day to do a boat tour, I would choose Tour A. It is the best and most popular island hopping tour in El Nido. You will discover beautiful lagoons, beaches, snorkeling spots where you can swim and admire the corals, the colorful fauna, and its hundreds of fish species.

Postcard perfect on Tour A off of El Nido.

Because we had a private boat, we had this beach to ourselves for an hour before other boats came in. So worth it to go private.

A true paradise on Tour A of the boat tour.

Tour A was my favorite day of the entire month-long trip.

Fav Restaurants And Bars

Downtown El Nido is filled with amazing restaurants and bars. You could never scratch the surface in five days, which was what I had. Here are some of my faves.

Big Bad Thai – Downtown beachfront amazing and reasonable Thai. Need I say more? Order the green curry. Aaaaamazing!

No Mames – Excellent Mexican food with a chill vibe, sunset view, and great bar.

Sava – The best place to watch the sunset for live music and great appetizers.

Tribu Kuridas Bar – Favorite beachfront bar with live reggae music in the sand. No wonder it’s my favorite.

All in all this stop barely beats out Siargao Island (my first stop). They are different, so it’s hard to compare but the limestone cliffs that meet the crystal clear water were some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. In fact, while out on our boat tour, we found ourselves alone at what my husband and I said was the most beautiful beach we had ever been to. Mix this with all the great restaurants and bars in El Nido and this takes the cake for my favorite stop. Another reason I find it to be the best choice is the location. Siargao is pretty far away from the other islands. I made it there because I had a month to spare. El Nido has more islands to hop to nearby. People travel all the way to the Philippines just to come to El Nido and I can see why. If you plan a trip here, this is a not to be missed stop. Last up, Coron!

Chapter 7: CORON

This was the flight I referred to earlier in the blog that was only $20 more per person for a 30-min flight vs taking a five-hour ferry ride. We flew Air Swift last minute and we were so happy with this change.

Coron is home to Coron Town which is a bustling and fun little city. But what I was most excited about was our first three-night stay on a houseboat located a short boat ride off the coast in the middle of a beautiful bay. Paolyn Houseboats!! This has been on my bucket list for years!! I don’t think I can write words to give this experience justice. In my opinion, this is a must when traveling to the Philippines.

Paolyn Houseboats – As we entered the calm bay by boat where all the houseboats are located, my breath literally escaped me. The bay is surrounded by huge green mountains and limestone cliffs. The houseboats are extremely private and very spread apart. Bathingsuits optional. LOL. I booked the Bamboo Houseboat which could have easily fit my family of six. Two queen beds, three twin beds, a full bathroom, an outdoor covered U-shaped dining room table for all your fresh meal deliveries, a huge deck, two stand-up paddle boards, snorkel gear, and a kayak. This houseboat cost me $297 per night and included three meals per day for two people. This was the most expensive leg of my trip. I do not suggest doing this with someone unless you absolutely enjoy each other’s company. You will be spending every minute of the day together with no other people in sight other than the staff at mealtime.

Our own little slice of heaven at Paolyn Houseboats.

The food at Paolyn was absolutely incredible. You will place your orders for all three meals 24 hours ahead. We opted to eat breakfast and lunch on our houseboat. Then at night time, we had the staff pick us up in the dingy rowboat to take us to the floating restaurant. I suggest eating one meal per day off the boat.

Breakfast in the sheets. No rush to do a thing.

Rowboat dingy ride home with our doggy bags of wine.

So what can I say about this leg that you most likely haven’t already figured out? It is very relaxing! We slept in, ate, worked out on the deck, ate again, took a nap, and did lots of water sports. We ate breakfast in the sheets and did some skinny dipping. It was very romantic and so great for us to really have time to say goodbye to the outside world and just focus on each other. We had the staff put the mosquito net around our bed and kept all of our windows and doors open to the ocean. So amazing to wake up to the calm bay just steps from my bed. Speaking of steps, I think I had a total of less than 2,000 steps in four days on this leg. Proof of how relaxing it was. LOL

Waking up to the calm bay just steps from my bed.

On the last day of our stay at Paolyn Houseboats, we rented a private boat to go snorkeling and to take us to the surrounding islands. This is all arranged through Paolyn and I highly recommend it. The beaches were so gorgeous and it was nice to break away from the houseboat for the day. This was it for us. After this day, we were headed to Coron Town which was the beginning of the journey home.

A perk of having a private boat driver is you have a personal photographer.

Deserted beaches that are only accessible by boat. Thank you Paolyn Houseboats for organizing this day for us.

As we boarded the boat to head to Coron Town, it was just so surreal that this amazing 30-day travel experience was coming to an end. Not much to report on Coron Town and we weren’t there very long. It’s lively though! There are lots of great restaurants, bars, spas, and a great gym. The one thing I can suggest here is hiking up the 721 steps to the top of Mt. Tapyas. The view was incredible at the top and they even have a Coron sign that is twinning with the Hollywood sign in the hills of California. A lot of people have messaged me about where to go for a ten-day-ish trip to the Philippines, as that is around the time most people have to get away. I know that my itinerary doesn’t work for a lot of people simply for the time needed. It really is difficult to do a month-long vacay, which is why it took me so long to take this trip. For a 10-day trip, I recommend El Nido, house boating in Coron, and Coron Town before flying back out. If you have a little more time, I would add on Cebu for the activities. You can thank me later for cutting out days upon days of research for you. 😉 Well, that’s a wrap. Time to fly home!

Waaaaoooow…..this was a long blog. This is by far the most work I have ever put into a blog to share with you guys. I had to write notes all the way through the trip because there was no way I could remember all of these details. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed and found all of this info useful. Most importantly (as always), I hope I inspired you to take a trip to the Philippines. You won’t regret it! And if you copy my travels, you may just save money by taking this trip vs staying home like I did. BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK-ET-LIST. He he.

Me writing my notes for this blog in my tiny cabin at Alona Glamping on Bohol.

Big shout out to my forever photographer and travel partner. None of this would be possible without you. I love you Tim.

Nicaragua: A Border Run Vacay.

Those that follow along with me on social media know that I am still settling into living in a new country, Costa Rica. Being that I am not a resident (yet), I am required to leave the country every 90 days. People (expats) like me do what is called a “border run”. For us, this means driving to the Nicaragua border, crossing from Costa Rica into Nicaragua, and circling around to come back to Costa Rica with a new visa stamp that is good for another 90 days. This entire process is quite quick. However, I decided to make a mini vacay out of my first border run, and explore the coast of Nicaragua for six days. This trip was a long time coming for me. My grandparents and mom migrated from Nicaragua, and I still have a lot of family members that live there. I have always had a huge desire to visit this country and see the roots of my heritage. I was blown away by the raw beauty of Nicaragua! Living in Costa Rica, I am used to areas being underdeveloped. However, Nicaragua is even less developed than Costa Rica. True raw beauty! I explored five beaches in six days, enjoyed the nightlife dancing until the early morning, and took a motorcycle through the jungle. Nicaragua is very reasonably priced, has nonstop perfecto waves for surfing, and the food was fresh and delicious. I highly recommend that the expats of Costa Rica spend at least a weekend in Nicaragua while completing a border run. It was only a three hour drive from my home in Costa Rica to my hotel in Nicaragua.

Bye bye Costa Rica. This is the very first trip I have packed in a backpack. I impressed myself.

GETTING TO THE BORDER

A lot of people hire a driver to take them to the border for border runs. This makes everything easy as they will help guide you through the process if you are a first timer. Once you have one border run under your belt, you will have it down and can easily drive yourself for the next run. If you choose to stay in Nicaragua, there is a family-owned parking lot that charges a small daily fee to watch over your car at the border. This is probably the cheapest option if you are going to spend some time in Nicaragua. Luckily for me, my parents were in Costa Rica and drove me to the Penas Blancas Nicaragua Border. Easy peasy. It took a minute to figure out the process, but if you just keep asking for direction, there are plenty of people who will help you to navigate. Side note….there will be miles of trucks lined up to cross the border. I was told they wait for days to weeks to cross. Once you see the trucks, keep driving past them all the way to the front of the line. This is the border crossing.

SAN JUAN DEL SUR

I paid my exit taxes in Costa Rica and my entrance fees to Nicaragua and crossed through. It is important to have small USA dollar bills on you for this process as they don’t give change. I also packed light. This was the very first trip I had ever packed solely in a backpack. I impressed myself. Ha ha. As you enter Nicaragua, it is very busy. Make sure to have phones, cash, and passports put away. I got a bit swarmed as we entered. Once through, I jumped in a taxi and headed to my first stop, San Juan Del Sur. SJDS is only a 25 minute drive from the border and a $25 cab ride. It’s a very popular spot to vacation. Everything in SJDS is walkable and there is no car needed for exploring this lively beach town. I chose to stay at the Hotel Alcazar. The location is perfectly set right in the middle of town with views of the ocean. I got the most expensive room at $80 per night. So nice to splurge for the best when the price is so reasonable! My room was on the top floor with a large private balcony overlooking the beach. There are so many dining options that are lined up beachfront, but my favorite place to eat was Dale Pues. I ate here 3 times and ordered the same thing every time… a schnitzel sandwich. So delicious!

Cheers to a successful border crossing on foot. Costa Rica to Nicaragua.

My balcony at Hotel Alcazar overlooking San Juan Del Sur Beach. Amazing! I slept in late this morning from all the late night dancing. So much fun!

My favorite restaurant in San Juan Del Sur. Dale Pues!

San Juan Del Sur is a party town! It had been a minute since I danced my butt off until the early morning hours. I certainly took advantage of the packed nightclubs on the beach bumping great music all night long. So fun! I felt completely safe in this area walking around at night. Of course, I always practice common sense while traveling. I found this area to feel very safe and non-threatening. The key for me is to blend in. I don’t wear jewelry, I don’t dress in any way to create attention, and I stay in areas that have a lot of people around. It also helps that my husband is a pretty built guy. We truly never have any trouble when we travel, and I’m sure his build has something to do with that. Regardless, I did walk around alone and felt very secure.

After hopping around and exploring all nooks and crannies of SJDS, we decided to rent a motorcycle to start exploring different beaches in the area. My husband is pretty much the only person I would trust to drive me on dirt roads through the jungle of Nicaragua. LOL. He is very good at driving a bike. However, if you aren’t experienced in this area, you can rent a car in the town of San Juan Del Sur to explore the surrounding areas.

Exploring by dirt bike on dirt roads through the jungle and to the beaches of Nicaragua.

We hopped from beach to beach. My favorite beach (by far) was Playa Maderas, which was about a 25 minute drive north of San Juan Del Sur. We took the bike there and stayed all day watching the surfers ride nonstop perfecto waves while sipping margaritas and eating fresh seafood. It’s a smaller beach but absolutely paradise. After spending the day there, I knew I wanted to spend a few nights. This area is much different than SJDS. There is no nightlife whatsoever to speak of. People come here to surf, enjoy the beach, practice yoga, and disconnect.

Another great beach that I loved was Playa El Coco. I would have loved to stay a few nights here as well. However, the ecolodge is only open on the weekends and the timing didn’t work out for me. If you aren’t able to stay here, this is definitely worth driving to spend the day here. I had the best seafood soup since moving to Central America at Playa El Coco. This is a huge beach with great waves. What I loved most about it was the ecolodge. There are cabanas and hammocks all along the beach to relax the day away in a breathtaking setting.

After four days of exploring the coast and four nights of late night dancing, we moved hotels and headed to Hush Maderas to relax. This adult only slice of heaven sits in the treetops with the howler monkeys and overlooks beautiful Playa Maderas. I stayed in the penthouse suite, which was the entire top floor of the hotel. It was floor to ceiling windows, a wraparound balcony, a gym, and a living room in the suite. This is hands down the largest hotel room I have ever stayed in, and came with a price tag of $120 per night. I told you Nicaragua was affordable! Hush Maderas offers many other rooms to fit any budget, including dormitory rooms. Everything about this hotel is top notch. The food was so fresh, healthy, and delicious. The drinks were all fresh squeezed. I sat poolside at the infinity pool with the most incredible views of the ocean. I felt so spoiled. They offer yoga lessons at the hotel and in room massages. We got one of the best couples’ massages of our lives in our hotel room for $30 each. Winning!

This was my stunning view from the balcony of the penthouse suite. $120 per night is a steal!

Wraparound balcony of the penthouse suite.

Pool overlooking the ocean and Playa Maderas. Heaven!

Fresh squeezed margaritas and healthy fresh food. Happy girl!

Power bowl and veggie burrito. The food was ridiculously fresh and healthy.

After six days of exploring Nicaragua, I really didn’t want to go home. I felt as though I had just scratched the surface of this country. There is so much to see! I headed back to the border and crossed with a new visa stamp to stay in Costa Rica for another 90 days. Border run turned vacay was a total success!

First border run a success. I love my forever travel partner!

Amazing trip to see where my family migrated from. Until next time Nicaragua!

For my unedited photos/videos of this trip, you can head over to my Instagram account @bucketlistinabikini and watch my “Stories” of Nicaragua.

Much love,

Jessica

UPDATE TO NICARAGUA BLOG 08/01/2022

TreeCasa Resort. San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.

I have just arrived home from another “border run vacay”, except this time we made it a family vacation and brought along the kiddos for their first trip to Nicaragua. As you read above, the last time we stayed at an adult-only hotel. For this trip, I wanted to find a very family-friendly hotel that the kids would love. We chose TreeCasa Resort which sits high up the mountain in the treetops above the beach of San Juan Del Sur. This resort features treehouse family accommodations with a stunning pool that includes a waterslide and rock waterfall to jump off of. My husband and I lazed the day away as the kids enjoyed all the fun the grounds had to offer. A true playground for adults and kids!! There are so many activities to choose from including hiking, biking, horseback riding, private beach, spa, and a complimentary shuttle down the hill to the town of San Juan Del Sur.

Treehouse family accommodations at TreeCasa Resort.

TreeCasa Resort is a true playground for adults and kids!

Living our best life at TreeCasa Resort.

Waterslides are always a hit on vacay with the kids.

Jump 11,873 off of the rock waterfall. Ha ha.

Although this is a family-friendly resort, my husband and I did get to sneak away for some adult time on the grounds. These grounds are huge, safe, and secure. After dinner, we tucked the kiddos back in the room with a movie and headed out to get some cocktails at the bar. It was so nice to have no worries at all and know the kiddos were happy as could be back in the spacious room. We also snuck in a morning couples massage at the spa while the kids went to breakfast. It was amazing!! Lastly, we took a guided hike one morning while the kids slept in. We hiked to the highest platform on the property. The views looking down on San Juan Del Sur were incredible.

Couples massage time while the kids are at breakfast. Yes, please!

Guided hike up to the highest point on the property. These views were incredible!

If you read along with me you know I am quite the foodie. I basically spend my life dieting saving up to go crazy eating while on vacation. Hashtag TRUTH. The food at TreeCasa is over the top delicious, healthy, and filling! You will not go hungry at this resort. I indulged in the enormous lobster tails two of the nights. Just wow! My other favorite dish was a 2 pound fried whole red snapper. I ate the entire thing. LOL. I will start the diet when the trip is over. Ha ha.

Me enjoying another night of lobster tail dinner paired with bacon wrapped asparagus, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and a little bubbly.

Nicaragua continues to be our go-to for our border run fun. It is just such an easy hop from our home in Costa Rica. If the kiddos are with us, TreeCasa will continue to be our resort of choice. TreeCasa makes a great vacation just staying on the grounds of the property. However, the location of this resort is so central that you can also explore surrounding areas very easily. You can take the shuttle down the hill to explore the town of San Juan Del Sur or hop over to Playa Maderas for some epic surfing. It really is a perfect home base. So close to everything but also tucked away in the serenity of the treetops with the birds and monkeys.

I spent so much time relaxing in this hammock on my balcony listening to birds and howler monkeys.

A family vacation we will cherish forever at TreeCasa Resort. San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.

I have already booked our next trip to Nicaragua and this time my parents will be joining us as we explore the cities of Nicaragua. Stay tuned!

All of my unedited moments from TreeCasa Resort can be found on my Instagram Stories “TreeCasa”.

Thanks for reading!

Jessica

Tulum, Mexico: Traveling During A Pandemic To A Boho Chic Paradise.

It has been a dream of mine to take a vacation in Tulum, Mexico for some time. I have spent time in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, but had only visited Tulum for the day on past trips. I loved it so much that after spending time there on a couple of day trips, I dedicated months researching condos for sale, coming very close to purchasing one. If you look in my “About Me” section of this blog, one of my goals was to retire in Tulum. Quite a statement after only taking a couple of day trips there. I guess it’s safe to say I fell in love on my day trip visits, so you can imagine my excitement to plan a two week trip!

Tulum is located about a two hour drive south of Cancun, and close to the border of Belize. It has a very boho chic vibe with crystal clear Caribbean waters, and white powder sand beaches. It’s paradise!

Mexico has always held a very special place in my heart. I got married in Zihuatanejo, renewed my vows in Puerto Vallarta, celebrated my husband’s 40th in Cabo San Lucas, and have spent time in a total of eight different locations in Mexico.

After several cancelled and postponed trips since the pandemic hit, I was thrilled to hear that Tulum had opened up for tourism. Yes, I was nervous to travel. Yes, I was very nervous to fly. And yes, I was nervous to be out of my own country while the positive cases around the world were present. That being said, I was also VERY itchy to take a trip! After months of shelter in place (aka quarantine), I had made a choice that (for me) it was time to get back to enjoying life. It was time to start living with the virus, and not hiding from it. Certainly not questioning the seriousness of this issue. I find it to be very serious! However, fear had been controlling my mind set, and physical actions for months. I don’t feel that the fear completely left me until I arrived at my hotel in Tulum. I was overtaken by the peaceful paradise on the beautiful beach.

Accomodations

I chose to stay at the Diamante K. And let me tell you, this is not your average hotel! It fits right in with the vibe of Tulum, and delivers very boho chic accommodations. It is a beachfront hotel located in a National Park, and is just 2.5 kilometres from the ruins. It offers cabana style rooms with thatch roofs, beach club, restaurant, bar, and spa. We enjoyed a very relaxing oceanfront couples massage that was much needed after a long flight. Upon arriving, my husband and I were checked in to the most beautiful suite! Our room looked directly at the ocean. We were so close to the ocean that I could throw a rock into the water from our room. Of course my first order of business was to get a fresh squeezed spicy margarita. As I was ordering “fresh squeezed”, the bartender giggled and said that I didn’t need to order it that way as all the drinks were fresh squeezed. Ahhhh….jackpot! The food was amazing too. I ate breakfast there almost every day, and switched between the huevos divorciados (divorced eggs) and huevos rancheros. So good! Lunch and dinner were just as delicious. I had my fair share of fresh fish, ceviche, and guacamole. The food and drinks were superb, and very reasonable.

Back to our room…we had a bathroom that was completely outdoors. Outdoor showers in the jungle make me happy! I never sleep well on my first few nights of being somewhere new. So, I enjoyed the most picturesque sunrises right from my room, or I would take a few steps outside and sit oceanfront to watch the show. I’m not a morning person at home, so this was really refreshing to enjoy this time of day. The birds seem to come alive at sunrise, and are peacefully loud. It’s really nothing less than paradise. One huge bonus about this hotel is that there are no TV’s on the property. This couldn’t have come at a better time in my life. Just what the doctor ordered to take a mental break from the chaotic news going on at home in the USA.

We should have had our names engraved in these exact seats! Aside from eating and drinking here, we finished off almost every evening with a night cap while staring at the moon.

My outdoor bathroom at the Diamante K. Outdoor showers make me happy! 🙂

Transportation

The Diamante K is pretty close to the Hotel Zone, and downtown Tulum, however it is not walkable. We tried our hand at the cute beach bikes, but it was just too hot to get around this way for our liking. We then rented a little jeep that looked like a toddler toy, and broke down twice. Lastly we tried a motor bike/scooter. There are not many people that I would trust to ride on a scooter with, but my husband happens to be one I do. We rented from Tours R Us, who gave us a great deal. They had the best selection of vehicles that we had seen in our entire two week stay. They are located in the heart of the Hotel Zone, and offer much more than scooters. I highly recommend!

Tours R Us for all your transportation needs. Located in the heart of the Hotel Zone.

Hotel Zone/Downtown Tulum

A boho chic vibe is my favorite kind of vibe, which is why I probably love it so much here. Tulum is sort of a Miami-meets-jungle kind of place. There are amazing restaurants, beach clubs, and bars.

Favorite Restaurants: It is so hard to share my favorite restaurant. I literally did not have one bad meal in my entire two weeks. If f I have to choose, it would be Hartwood. We ate at so many great places but this was my favorite meal. I had tuna tostadas, a whole fish, and passion fruit spicy margaritas. Very cool ambiance and thumping chill music. If you are looking for a more casual meal, my favorite cheap eat in the Hotel Zone is the outdoor food truck bar named Tulumunchies. It has several food trucks that offer tacos, burgers, pizza, and poke bowls. We opted to eat here several times throughout the trip.

Tulum munchies — Tulumunchies surrounded by food trucks for the cheap eat win!

Favorite Bar: Hands down Clan-Destino! This is a very casual bar with a DJ, and a cenote in the middle. It tripped me out when we walked in to find people swimming in the little cenote at night. Very fun place!

Favorite Beach Club: Papaya Playa Project. This place is absolutely awesome! We came here for the day, and reserved a bed on the beach. The club has a DJ with sand as a dance floor, pool, and an awesome restaurant and bar. It wasn’t the cheapest stop, but it was one of our favorite days spent in Tulum.

ppp (1 of 1) — Papaya Playa Project. My favorite beach club!

Downtown Tulum: On nights where we felt like changing it up a bit, and spending a little less money, we would head to downtown Tulum. My favorite dinner here was at Burrito Amor. The burritos come wrapped in banana leaves, and they pride themselves on clean ingredients. Delish! This area is also where we scored all of our souvenirs to bring home.

Activities & Tours

After days of unwinding and getting to know Tulum, we were ready to do some exploring. I took a friend’s suggestion and booked a tour to the Sian Ka’an Bioreserve. This tour was booked by our hotel, through a company called Mayikal Experiences, and boy did we luck out! We had the most knowledgeable guide, who not only was a great deal, but was also a blast to spend the day with. He made sure we saw dolphins, huge turtles, and 1,000 pound bird nests. He led us snorkeling to swim with sting rays, huge schools of fish, and lobsters. The water was some of the most beautiful water I have ever seen in my life. I’m sure I have written this in past posts, but this time I mean it. Haha. It was truly crystal clear! My hubby did back flips off the back of the boat as we enjoyed our day frolicking. We finished it off with an oceanfront fresh lobster lunch. Absolutely perfect day! I can not recommend this tour, and the tour company enough! Because of Covid, Sian Ka’an would not allow tours with people who were not from the same family, so we got private! Such a great day!

sian kan 5 (1 of 1) — Perfect day at Sian Ka’an.

Can’t take a vacay without getting in the backflips.

My second choice for exploring Tulum would be to visit the cenotes. There are over 6,000 cenotes in the area available for endless exploring. We had planned to do the cenotes at the end of our trip. Don’t ask me how two weeks came and went so quickly, but all of a sudden the end of the trip had shown it’s face (to our disappointment). We ended up not wanting to trade one of our very last days of relaxation for the cenotes because we had visited them on our last trip. So we skipped it this time. If you are new to this area, exploring the centoes are a must!

Photo Ops

Tulum has some very famous photo ops. My favorite was Daniel Popper’s towering wooden sculpture Ven A La Luz, which stands at the entrance to the Ahau Hotel . Be prepared to wait in line to get this photo. Also, don’t visit in the middle of the day because the sun is right above you, and the lighting is much too bright. Go in the morning or evening. A trip to Casa Malca is sure to give you some great pics as well! This was Pablo Escobar’s mansion that was turned into an artsy hotel. Very beautiful property! I was so bummed to see that Azulik was closed. I was hoping to explore that beautiful property as well, and enjoy a sunset dinner above the trees in one of their dining nests. Next time!

Casa Malca (1 of 1) — Casa Malca. Pablo Escobar’s mansion in a previous life.

What It Was Like In Tulum During The Pandemic

I felt very safe in Tulum with the Pandemic going on. Besides the fact that being surrounded by paradise made me forget about it completely, Tulum did take lots of precautions to keep the virus at bay. All hotels, restaurants, and bars were limited to a 30% occupancy. We were required to temperature check, and wash/sanitize hands before entering most places. All of the staff we encountered in the Hotel Zone wore a mask, however tourists were not required unless entering a store-like establishment. We were required to wear a mask entering places of business in downtown Tulum. Most of the tours surrounding Tulum were open, some cenotes were open, however the ruins were closed. Because our hotel was located in a National Park (which was also closed), the only people that could come near our hotel were guests that were staying there or people who had made reservations to enjoy the facilities.

As we all know, we are living in a world that is changing by the day. What I experienced could be different by the time you read this. The best bet is to contact the hotel you are considering prior to travel to ask how the current Covid situation is in Tulum.

Tips

Here are the items I did not use on my trip: 1) High heels. Although I saw many gals very glammed up at the higher end places, I opted to stay in sandal flats. I did a lot of walking, with a lot of time spent at the beach, so heels just didn’t work for this trip. I was either barefoot or in sandals the entire time. 2) Curling iron. Save the weight in your bag and leave it at home. It’s absolutely pointless with the humidity and heat. 3) Workout bands and shoes. OOPS! I was having too much fun to workout, although yoga classes are huge in the area. 3) Really dressy clothes. I couldn’t get out of my bathing suit and cover ups. LOL! For the guys…my husband also didn’t wear anything dressy. He lived in shorts, tank tops, and flip flops.

Make sure to bring cash with you everywhere! Many businesses only accept cash.

Final Thoughts

All in all, I came to find out that although I have LOVED all of my travels in Mexico, Tulum takes the cake as my favorite. It is definitely a place that I will visit again and again. That’s saying a lot because I don’t usually like to repeat destinations.

One thing this trip deeply reminded me of was that I travel to have balance in my life. It’s important to feed your soul with what makes you happy, and for me that is traveling. I need to escape reality sometimes! With the pandemic, I was neglected balance in my life. I had been glued to the scary news every day. I was also getting way too emotionally involved in the chaos going on in the USA. This trip gave me back my balance. With no TV’s available, I was forced to listen to crashing waves in lieu of the news. And guess what??? As I’m sitting here writing this blog from back home, I have yet to turn on the news this entire week. I think I’m avoiding it at this point, as I’m still riding the mental high from this trip. Tulum gave me back my balance when I needed it most, and reminded me to enjoy my life no matter what is going on around me.

PS…YouTube video is on the way!

Panama City, Panama: Old World Charm Meets Modern Day.

I flew into Panama City on a red eye and was lucky to be picked up by business associates of my husband, who gave us a tour of the city. I learned a lot in those three hours, along with having the best empanada of my life. Street food is safe to eat in Panama, and delicious! There are also fresh juice stands which are quite common, and so refreshing. I had two large fresh juices, which didn’t quite sit well with my three hour car ride. Best to always have quarters on you in Panama City as the bathrooms are public, but cost 25 cents. I learned interesting facts along this tour, such as the tap water is safe to drink, everything is negotiable in Panama (even the high end retail stores), and I got a detailed explanation of the definition of a Push Button. A “Push Button” in Panama is a very private motel (aka a love motel). Complete discretion and privacy is the main goal of these establishments. They are called “Push Button” because typically you can pull up to a window, push a button, slide some money through a slot, get a key, and head to a room all without actually seeing a person. Being that prostitution is legal in Panama, I’m sure these motels come in quite handy for those in need of privacy. This was personally not the most useful information to me, however it made for a very comical conversation. Our final stop along the tour was at the Fish Market for some ridiculously delicious, fresh, and cheap ceviche. After a red eye flight and a three hour tour, I was ready to relax at my hotel.

I decided to stay in the Casco Viejo area of Panama City. Casco Viejo (Spanish for Old Quarter) is the historic district of Panama City. It was built following the near total destruction of the original Panama City, which was attacked by pirates in 1671. I guess you can say it is the new old Panama City. After reading blog after blog about how this neighborhood is the hip and trendy area of the city, it sounded like a good fit. In the Casco Viejo neighborhood, you will find a huge difference from the busy metropolis of Panama City. This area is filled with old world charm of Spanish colonial buildings, boutique hotels, rooftop bars, and amazing restaurants. You won’t find any chain hotels or restaurants here. Everything is mom and pop.

Chasing sunsets on the rooftops of Casco Viejo.

Panama City metropolis vs Casco Veijo neighborhood.

I booked a room at the absolutely stunning American Trade Hotel. It is located in the heart of Casco Viejo, and everything you would want to see in this area is within walking distance. This hotel is the epitome of mixing old world charm with modern day luxury. This is one of the only hotels in the area with a pool. Let me tell you…it is necessary. Panama is hot and humid and I did not accomplish to have even one good hair day during my stay. Back to the hotel….Did I mention it was stunning? From the beautiful balcony room, food, ambiance, location, pool, grounds, service, adjacent jazz club, bar….I could go on and on. I spent a lot of time at the hotel on this trip, and it truly made my vacation unforgettable.

Old world charm meets modern day luxury in the lobby of the American Trade Hotel.

Having some vino on my beautiful balcony.

Headed in for some smokey scotch, cigar, and smooth jazz at Danilo Perez’s Jazz Club, which is part of the American Trade Hotel.

The food in Panama was phenomenal! I love to eat, and some of the dishes I had here completely blew my mind….dishes I had never heard of or tasted before. The cocktails are also superb. Rum is Panama’s alcohol of choice, however those that read my blogs know that I am a spicy margarita kind of gal. Panama did not disappoint! Every cocktail I had was fresh squeezed, and delicious. As you take the first sip of these drinks, you already want a second one.

Enjoying some fresh squeezed spicy margaritas at the rooftop bar Casa Casco.

I was only in Panama City for six days. I can officially say that I ate and drank my way through Casco Viejo. My favorite dining experience for traditional Panamanian food was Diablicos. They put on a show while you eat, and it was very lively, and fun. It is located directly in front of the President’s Palace, so you get to check that out during your walk to/from. My favorite Rooftop Bar? Well, I have two! Casa Casco, which is directly across the street from the American Trade Hotel, is a super chill spot with great drinks and postcard perfect views of Panama City. If you want a more lively rooftop scene, the best place to go (hands down) is the Tantalo. It is the closest you will get to a nightclub experience in this area. It is all outdoor on the rooftop with great music to dance to and a VIP area. BTW, the restaurant at this hotel is also amazing! I had my favorite meal of the trip at the Tantalo Kitchen. It was a clay pot of tamale mash on top of a bed of slow roasted pork. YUMMMY!

Eating traditional Panamanian food and enjoying the show at Diablicos.

Ok, I think I have beaten in how great the food and cocktails were in this old world Spanish neighborhood. On to the Panama Canal! If you go to Panama City, you simply can’t miss out on visiting the Panama Canal. It is the number one visited site in Panama. The Panama Canal is a waterway that has created a shortcut between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. It takes ships (on average 8-10) hours to travel the Panama Canal. This compares to 2 weeks if a ship tried to bypass the canal, and travel around South America. The best place near Panama City to see the ships go through the lock system is Miraflores Visitor Center. The viewing center is directly in front of the locks, so you get a front row seat to watching these huge ships pass through. They also have a restaurant buffet where you can eat lunch, and have wine while taking in all the action. You can visit the museum, and watch a film in both Spanish and English about the history of the Panama Canal. The best time to visit the Panama Canal changes daily, depending on when ships are scheduled to go through.

Having a Titanic moment…waving hello and goodbye to ships passing through the Panama Canal.

When you look at the Panama Canal on a map you can see why they chose this location to create this shortcut.

With one day left to spare, and being so close to so many beautiful islands, I decided it was time for a change of scenery. I got up at 6:00am to catch a 1.5 hour ferry ride to Contadora Island. I felt like I had been transported to another world! It was a small and jungly island with beautiful white sand beaches, and crystal clear waters. I purchased a day pass from the Mar y Oro Hotel which included lunch, two welcome drinks, and umbrella/chairs on the beach. It was absolute paradise, and a really relaxing ending to my trip! If I had one more day (which I always wish I did on vacay), I would have most definitely visited the San Blas Islands. Here you can rent private cabanas to spend the night in paradise. The cabanas don’t have much to them. They have no electricity and sand bottom floors. But who cares, because you can almost have the entire island to yourself for the night. Although still in Panama, these islands belong to the Kuna Indians On this excursion you can snorkel with star fish, and see how these indigenous people live. It wasn’t so bad leaving something behind that I was desperate to do and see because now I am anxious to go back. Until next time Panama!!

Beautiful Caribbean Ocean of Contadora Island, Panama.

Contadora Island is a mix of jungle and beach.

Italy For A Month: How To Plan From Scratch.

So, let’s start from the very beginning…straight-up from scratch. Probably the most common question that I am asked is how I plan my trips on my own. Where do I start? Well it usually involves me staring at the computer scratching my head with a glass (ok a bottle) of vino in hand. And little by little my trips take form. I hope to write multiple blogs from this 30 day trip to Italy but for this blog, I’m going start with how to plan it. I did all of this planning on my own and felt so overwhelmed when I started. This is my story of how my Italy trip came to life.

I rarely take big trips in the summer. I always get my big break right after Christmas. I’m running out of new places on my bucket list to explore in a bikini at Christmas, so this year I opted for a summer vacation. I chose Italy. I didn’t know where the heck to start as I really had never vacationed there. I went about 20 years ago but I just drove across the border and ate lunch. Doesn’t count. As always, I was on a budget for this trip, and I knew one month in Italy isn’t cheap. Hotels were out! I went VRBO and Airbnb all the way through, and kept my budget at $200 per night. If you haven’t traveled through these two sites, you are missing out. Click on this link to join for free and get a credit for your first reservation: Airbnb They are awesome!

I was traveling with my husband and two children (ages 8 and 3). I knew it would be nice (and less expensive) for us to have a kitchen and cook at our rental vs. being in a hotel. Having to order room service for every meal gets pricey. When I’m vacationing, I’m usually planning my next trip so the more I save from one trip is more I bank for the next. Also, hotels in Italy don’t work like they do in the USA. In the states you can get a “double” room and have two double/queen beds. It is easy to stay with two small children in one room with that bed setup. In Italy, a “double” room means two twin beds. If you have four people, you need to upgrade to a suite, and I quickly found that my budget of $200 per night in the areas I wanted was simply not going to fly. VRBO and Airbnb was the answer for me!

Step 1: Plan your route. When you think of Italy, what do YOU want to see? Me personally… Venice, Rome, and Positano were at the top of my list. Then I thought, I’m going to fly all that way and when will I get to Italy again? Maybe I can do one extra week and see more? I decided on 30 days to explore but you can do this in three weeks if you are ambitious or just choose a few places and go for two weeks. There is SO much to see in Italy. So much history that you feel guilty sleeping in. You have to go, go, go, so you don’t miss a thing. I booked a longer trip to really work in relaxing too. I wanted one day to explore for every one day of relaxing.

When traveling through Italy it is best to go top to bottom or bottom to top.

I decided to go top to bottom because I knew this would be a busy trip, and I wanted to finish it off on the beach relaxing on the Amalfi Coast.

Step 2: Once you have an idea of your route, you have to check flights to make sure they will work with your itinerary. At the time of my planning, AirBerlin was the cheapest ticket from San Francisco to Italy. They were actually $500 cheaper per ticket which is a lot when traveling with four people. I later found we paid the price for that cheap ticket but we will get into that later. AirBerlin flew into Milan (top of map) and they flew out of Naples (bottom of the map). The flight out of Naples only went on one day per week so I had to plan for that. Once I figured out what my flights were, I broke the trip apart leg by leg. I decided on this route:

Lake Como: 5 nights/ Venice: 4 nights/ Florence: 5 nights/ Cinque Terre: 6 nights/ Rome: 4 nights/ Amalfi Coast: 6 nights. One month in Italy!!

Step 3: Find the VRBO/Airbnb to stay at sticking to my budget of $200 per night. This was the fun part to me. How did I choose which places to stay? I read review after review on the VRBO/Airbnb sites….like hundreds of reviews. I hate the reviews that say “it was a nice place…I highly recommend!”. Ok well thanks for those riveting details, but you didn’t say crap about the property. I want to know things. How far to restaurants and bars? Do you need a car? How does “this” area compare to “that” area? I want details people! If I can’t find exact answers to my questions through the reviews on VRBO/Airbnb, I usually Google the exact question I have with the word “Tripadvisor” after the question. If I’m between two areas to stay, I will Google “Positano vs Amalfi, which is better? Tripadvisor” Most of the answers to my questions come right up on Tripadvisor which is where I read hundreds more reviews. Tripadvisor, Oh How I love Thee! None of my trips would come to life without the reviews on this site.

Step 4: Plan transportation. I did not want to rent a car in Italy. Many people do and give reviews about their days explored with the freedom of their own schedule in their own car. Not for me. First off, the roads are pretty wicked in Italy. I consider myself to be a very bad driver on the safe roads in California. We are talking about a girl that totaled her car 3 times during her 16th year of life! Oopsie! So, driving on these winding roads that seem like they have one lane, honking as you approach a sharp turn to warn oncoming traffic that you can’t see. Hmmm, yes I don’t think this blog would have ever come to life because I probably would have died attempting to drive these roads. Another reason? When I travel, I tend to eat and drink my way through for most of my entertainment. I wanted the freedom to indulge in lots of great food accompanied but lots of great vino.

I chose all accommodations to be in the heart of the action in each destination so that I could walk everywhere or take a cheap cab ride. To get through the country we rode the Trentitalia train. One month of traveling through Italy on this train cost me less than the cabs to/from the airport. The train system is so easy, so affordable, so comfortable, so reliable, and such a nice way to travel! You get to see the country as you travel through, which was just lovely. Each ride was only about two hours with the exception of one four hour train ride. Tip: Get to the station early to buy some snacks and wine. More important tip: Have all the electronics charged for the littles so that you can enjoy those snacks and wine while riding in style.

train — Training to Cinque Terre. Sipping on vino while the kiddos play electronics.

I sprung for three long and pricey cab rides (transfers). One from the Milan airport to our first property in Lake Como. After flying for 13 hours with two small children, we just wanted to get there. The train from Milan to Lake Como isn’t as convenient as the other legs as the train we needed only left every three hours. Just didn’t want to hassle with that after a long flight. The second transfer was taking us to our last leg of the trip, Naples to Positano. When heading south to the Amalfi Coast, the train won’t take you any further than Naples which is about an hour from Positano/Amalfi (see map). We got off the train in Naples and took a private transfer (cab) to Positano. Not very cheap at $130 Euro but it beat getting off the train and walking to the nearest bus stop which was reported to be incredibly crowded. You may have to stand the entire hour plus ride on the bus and deal with pickpocketers. It was so worth the private transfer! Last high priced ride was Positano to the Naples airport. This flight left once per week, so we could not have anything go wrong and risk missing the flight. We also had to leave at 4:30AM, so the transfer allowed us to sleep the entire ride to the airport. And that’s a wrap on transportation! It was right around $700 for four people to travel through Italy for 30 days. You certainly can’t rent a car for that.

Step 5: Plan to pack. Please someone tell me how in the heck I am supposed to pack light traveling to Italy with a toddler and 8 year old for one month? There are things you need when traveling with kids…car seat, stroller, toys, electronics, etc. I have to share with you the biggest find for packing light if you have a toddler. It is Care’s Fly Safe safety restraint system. Cares Kids Fly Safe Airplane Safety Harness. This gem is FDA approved and buckles your toddler into the airplane seat just like a car seat except it’s a just a belt. Not only does it keep your little one safe but it also keeps them from running all over the plane, all while packing up into a small little carrying bag that fits in your purse.

seat belt — Little guy all comfy for his 13 hours of traveling, and I didn’t hit 20 people in the head carrying a huge car seat onto the plane. Winning!

I then purchased an airplane stroller that is specific to traveling and folding up small for planes and trains. I bought it off my Facebook for $10! Tip: I made $2,700 selling things out of my garage on Facebook that went directly to paying for this trip. I also allowed my kids to pack a scooter each. With as much walking as we planned to do in each location, I knew they would get so worn out and our days would be shortened due to exhausted kids. Instead of walking everywhere, they scooted the days away and we were able to explore as much as we wanted.

Lastly, I got three pieces of luggage that were the largest we could go without going overweight, and incurring fees on the airline. There is soooo much debate online about how big of a bag is too big of a bag to travel through Europe with. It’s really a simple answer…you can pack as large of a bag that YOU can handle. There is no one to help you up the many many stairs in between changing trains. There is no one to help you load your bag onto the train. No one to help you load the bag on ferries or cabs. And if you plan on walking after getting off the train vs. taking a cab, you will be the one lugging that bag through town. You get the point. Luckily, I married a man with big muscles. My bag was a big one, and I got to pack as many bikinis as I wanted. I don’t recommend this for everyone but it worked ok for us.

This brings me to my final plug of the trip. Remember that great deal I got on my airline tickets that was $500 cheaper per ticket than all the other airlines? Well, you get what you pay for. The airline ended up losing our son’s bag on the way there. Thank goodness it wasn’t mine! Ha ha. I can’t tell you how crazy it was to see how long the lost luggage line was at the airport in Milan. It took us about 30 mins to get through the process of reporting our lost bag and we were 2nd in line. Can you imagine how long it took the 20th person in line to get through this process? What a terrible way to kick off your trip! We were very hopeful that our bag would arrive any day on our trip, but in fact…it never came. My kids went all the way through a 30 day trip in Italy with nothing but the clothes on their back. This lost bag also had all of our liquids, including all of my beauty products. Of course we bought things along the way but it was such a pain in the butt! I later heard that this is actually a common problem when traveling to Europe (explains the super long lost luggage line) and in actuality, your bag is just sitting in the airport waiting to be delivered. Due to under staffing, there is just no one attending to these lost bags. In fact, no one even answers the phone in that area of the airport. Trust me I called a million times. Horrible! How will I make sure that this never happens again?? GPS in my luggage…DUH!

LugLoc Luggage Tracker – The Worldwide Smart Lost Baggage GSM Locator – Track The Exact Location Of Your Bag Globally (not just bluetooth like others) – Rechargeable battery that lasts 15 days

OMG, what a genius idea! You never lose track of your bag and you know where it is at all times, even if the airline claims that it is lost. I will never travel without one again! My kid’s bag was found and delivered to us two days after we arrived home in California…32 days after it was lost.

Losing the bag was devastating at first but in the end, we had so many laughs about my son going all the way through Italy with one pair of underwear and them wearing the same outfits in all our family photos.