A Guide to Planning a Trip with Friends

The planning of my first group trip came in four stages: the first stage took place at a crowded bar in New York City last winter. My friends and I had mixed cocktails with imagination and were letting our words run wild with promises of traveling together one day. We called out destinations as easily as we ordered drinks and in that moment it felt like planning the trip would be just as effortless.

Healthy on Hiatus: Staying Sick-Free Abroad

I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a hypochondriac-the type of person to cringe when reading WebMD, sweat profusely at the slightest increase in my heartbeat and sleep with a bottle of mosquito spray when in a third world country. While my tendency to lean towards the dramatic when it comes to health is something to scoff at when home, when abroad my worry about contracting something has led me to prioritize avoiding sickness during my travels. From probiotics to basic street-wise habits, these are my top tips for staying healthy while on hiatus.

Debunking the Scary Hostel Myth

Hostels have a bad reputation and can often conjure up images of dangerous, dirty and downright uncomfortable accommodations. The stigma surrounding hostels can send travelers running into the arms of all-inclusive resorts, ultimately separating them from the culture of the destination they are visiting and costing them a fortune.

What to Consider When Planning a Long-term Trip

Although one of the big step towards planning my trip had been to save money—that less than glamorous stage that required me to confront and confess my spending habits-the first step had been to figure out where I wanted to go, when I wanted to go & how much it would take me for to get there.