There’s nothing more beautiful than experiencing the sunrise or a sunset on the ocean. Although the Philippines wins in my book for best sunsets in the entire world, Croatia definitely gave it a run for its money while we were sailing through the Dalmatian Islands with Medsailors. After our overnight in Vis, we took off for Hvar (enjoyed some swimming activities along the way) and spent the evening in Korcula Town before heading over to Stari Grad. The day was a blur of sun, sailing, dolphins (didn’t grab my camera quick enough), seafood, drinks at sunset, and tons and tons of laughter and games. Do I even need to mention the gorgeous location?!? I couldn’t get over it. Our port stop was a bit of a drive from Korcula Town, ... Read More
Sailing to Vis, Croatia
In a matter of less than a week, Derik and I will be embarking on our second sailing adventure with Medsailors. It’s hard to believe it has already been a couple years since our last trip (seriously, where did the time go), and since we’re back in Europe, we though it would be fun to end this summer with another epic vacation. In all transparency, our last sailing trip was sponsored, but we had the best time in Croatia and believe in this friendly little company so much, we wanted to go again on our own dime! As we get ready for our second trip (location TBA), I thought I would take a few days and sort through photos and memories of our time in Croatia! Our first official stop was on the old military island of Vis. Vis, one of ... Read More
Norway in a Nutshell
Norway has always been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. There’s just something about the quaint little villages nestled between gigantic rocky cliffs, the tasty seafood that no one can ever get enough of, and all the friendly people that beckon a person to visit and stay a while. Last summer Derik was tied up with school and I had a bit of free time on my hands, so I took a couple weeks off and traveled to Germany to see my brother-in-law, sister, and three sweet little nieces. During the time I was visiting, we took a 5-day trip to Norway with Norway in a Nutshell, and I absolutely fell in love. I’d have to say out of the very few countries we’ve visited in Europe so far (I think our tally is at 7), Norway has stolen my ... Read More
Exploring Kenai Fjords National Park with Major Marine Tours
First of all, I can’t believe it’s been since May that I’ve blogged. I didn’t mean to take such a long break — I was trying to soak up every last minute I had in Alaska before leaving. I’ll be posting all about our adventures hopefully for the rest of this month and next, so we can move on to other things and new destinations! I’m super excited to share with you today about our time touring the gorgeous Kenai Fjords National Park with Major Marine Tours! I had a really good friend from Germany come visit me the last few weeks of June, and we wanted to take a cruise to see both the glaciers AND wildlife, and couldn’t quite decide what tour to choose. This is where Major Marine comes in, they had such a variety of cruise tours on their ... Read More
5 Reasons to Book a Yacht Charter This Summer
I would have never considered booking a yacht charter for summer vacation…until we got the chance to go on one last summer with MedSailors. I honestly thought yacht charters would totally out of our budget range, and that's why they were never in the radar. Turns out I was wrong, and I'm glad I was! We had the best time sailing the Dalmatian Coast (Croatia) for a week with Medsailors (they also have tours in Greece and Turkey), and I can't wait to tell you all about it within this next month! There are a couple different yacht charter options, you can either: rent out one for yourself (aka you are your own skipper), or you can join a company that provides skippered yachts (aka you don't have to worry about a thing). For us, skippered ... Read More
Bali Cooking Class
I've always wanted to join a cooking class. You'd think after visiting 20-something countries including Italy, Thailand, and Japan, we would have snuck a few in there, but alas, we failed to (shame). Because of this, we made it a point to schedule in a cooking class during our time in Bali, and for $27 USD we couldn't pass one up. Derik and I spent 30 days in Indonesian paradise last July, and found ourselves gravitating to Ubud on the days we didn't have anything planned. I'm not sure if it was the cheap villas, the cultural experience, or the mind-blowing food, but Ubud was love at first sight in 2012, and better yet in 2015. After reading a few reviews online, and our good friend Melanie (who, crazy enough, was on our tour through New ... Read More
Kaikoura Dolphin Encounter
The horn blared loudly signifying it was okay to jump in, and we slipped off the end of the boat into the icy cold water, immediately surrounded by a pod of 250-300 wild dusky dolphins. I couldn't believe my eyes as I sat there floating on top of the water looking to the left, right, behind, and below me — dolphins were everywhere! Having the opportunity to swim with dolphins may just be [hands down] one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in my entire life. Kaikoura truly is the hidden gem of the South Island, and if you're one of those that takes the extra time to visit, you'll know exactly why it's so special. This coastal town is nestled right between the ocean and the mountains, giving you scenic views every direction ... Read More
An Adventure Tour through New Zealand
Once Derik and I figured out we would be leaving New Zealand in a matter of a few weeks, we were hitting things pretty much full throttle trying to arrange flight tickets, get out of our rental agreement, what to do post-New Zealand, and packing up our stuff. We both had this nagging feeling like we hadn't seen enough of New Zealand (or even participated in an official New Zealand tour) to be completely satisfied before we left can you ever be completely satisfied?. Yeah, sure we lived in NZ for an entire year, but if you've ever visited you'll know what I mean when I say you can't ever have enough of "the most beautiful places on earth." That's where Haka Tours came in. First of all you should know that I love planning and knowing ... Read More
Central Otago Wine Tour
I knew from the second I found out New Zealand was prime wine country, that I wanted to go on a wine tasting tour. I'm not quite sure why it didn't make my NZ bucket list, but would it be cheating if I threw it on there real quick just to cross off? It should have been part of the list for sure! For Valentine's Day I wanted to do something fun and romantic with Derik, so I booked a last minute wine tour through Appellation Central Wine Tours. Central Otago (and Queenstown) is only a few hour drive for us from Dunedin, and honestly I have no idea why it's taken us this long to drop by this area during the summer! We've visited Queenstown three times previously, but all have been in the winter/early springtime. If it says anything, we're ... Read More
