My journey to Adventure

2/7/2025 0 Comments

know before you go: monaco

During my trip to the South of France in June 2024, I jumped at the opportunity to also visit Monaco, just a short train ride away. After seeing the movie Monte Carlo, it had been on my list for years and I was so glad to finally be able to visit. Honestly, it was just like in the movie. There was history and glamour and beauty and so much fun. Let's take a look at one of the smallest countries in the world.

what to see and do

1. Walk around to the old town of Monaco. Make sure to go all the way around and to Fort Antoine for the view on Port Hercules and the surrounding mountains. Then head to the other side for a view that is just as beautiful on Port Fontvieille. Walk the narrow streets to see what you might discover. Have a bite to eat in one of the restaurants and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
2. Visit the palace. Yes, you read that right, you can buy tickets at the entrance, no reservations required, and go inside the palace. There are audioguides in multiple languages and you can even buy tickets to visit the garage with all of the expensive cars. I absolutely loved this visit and it was a good introduction to the history of Monaco as well.
3. Visit the Monte Carlo Casino. While you can't go past the main lobbies unless you are exchanging money for coins, it is still worth a visit to see this iconic building.
4. Relax at Larvotto beach. Have a drink or a meal at one of the beach clubs or take a swim.
5. Visit the Oceanographic Museum.
6. Check out the exhibitions at Grimaldi Forum. While the expositions are temporary, you might find one you like during your visit and the Forum is worth a visit in and of itself.

where to stay

I'm not going to lie, Monaco is expensive. I would have loved to rent a penthouse with a view on the bay and Monte Carlo, but I'm not one of the rare people with the money to do that. All jokes aside, a regular hotel room in Monaco would still set you back a few hundred euros per night so, if like us, you would like a more budget friendly option, know that it is totally possible. We opted to stay in Nice as a base to explore most of the Riviera and did not regret it. AirBnBs and hotels were reasonably priced and the train and buses in that area are top notch. The day of our visit to Monaco, we simply took the train for 20 euros (roundtrip) and arrived about 30 minutes later. If your plan is to visit Monaco by train, like we did, just make sure you are staying in one of the towns on the train path and you'll be golden.

how to get around

There are lots of options to get around Monaco and Monte Carlo, the two main cities of the country. Buses run frequently, we saw a lot of taxis and there are even hop-on-hop-off buses that loop to the main attractions. But it is also totally possible to walk the whole way, which is what we ended up doing. It was a 30k+ steps kind of day up and down hills and staircases, not a possibility for everyone, but if you like walking, we loved slowly discovering the two cities.

how long should you stay

This depends on how deeply you want to explore Monaco. If you want to spend a day at the oceanographic museum or spend an evening at the casino, you might want to spend more than one day, but after one day, I felt like we had seen what we wanted to see. We arrived early in the morning and left before dinner and I don't feel like we missed anything.

While Monaco isn't exactly the kind of place you visit for a whole week. It was totally worth the small detour. Every street was more beautiful than the last, the view on the mountains and the sea was incredible and the visits were interesting and fairly priced. What more could you look for in a destination?

my 14-day itinerary to visit greece in the summer

I don't think I have ever met someone who doesn't have Greece on their bucket list and it's not difficult to figure out why. The country is a traveler's dream come true! History, architecture, beautiful scenery, paradise islands, delicious food, perfect weather, what else is there to want? While I don't think it's possible to see everything there is to offer in one trip, and we definitely had some tough choices to make, I loved our Greece itinerary!

We visited Greece in the height of summer, so our itinerary focused mainly on the islands, as being close enough to the sea at all times for a quick swim was our main objective. We also were going on a mostly budget friendly trip, so we traveled by train and ferries instead of flying from island to island.

Choosing which islands to visit was a tough decision. There are so many and they all seem to have their own specialty or unique perk. Our goal was to see as much as possible in 14 days, but we also didn't want to rush and would rather fully appreciate each destination, so we settled on 4 islands: Paros, Naxos, Santorini and Milos. The reasons we chose these 4 are: they are easily reachable by ferry from Athens and close enough from each other that we wouldn't spend too much time on a ferry from one island to the other. They also seemed to be a good mix of authentic and touristic so we knew we would be immersed in the culture, but we would still have an easy enough time without speaking the language or hiring a private transport.

Mykonos seems to be a perpetual disagreement online with half of the people saying it's a must visit and the other half saying it's a total disappointment. In the end, we decided not to visit as it is one of the more expensive islands and neither my friend and I are big into partying so we preferred putting our money elsewhere.

Now that I have explained all of our decisions, let's get into our itinerary!

Athens - day 1

We flew into Athens and arrived mid-morning. Our first day was supposed to be a simple settle-in day, where we would walk around the neighborhood of Plaka, buy some snacks, exchange money and try not to fall asleep until night-time. Thanks to Air Canada, it turned into an unwanted shopping spree, but we were thankful not to be missing out on anything since we had nothing planned for that day anyway.

We spent the night in an Airbnb in Athens that we had reserved for two nights. For more information about Athens, you can check out this article.

meteora - day 2

On day 2, we had booked a tour to visit Meteora out of Athens. We had to be at the train station at 8 AM so we woke up extra early to take the subway to the train station, and then the train to Kalambaka (which was included in our tour), where we would board a small bus that would take us around on a guided tour of the monasteries of Meteora.

The tour was great, and I don't think we would have seen or done more if we had visited by ourselves. The heat was intense, but since we made frequent, but short stops, it wasn't a problem. We were able to enter three monasteries, but we also made multiple stops at view points so we could see the monasteries that weren't open for visits on that day (from what I understood, they rotate except for one or two that are always closed to the public).

It was a huge day, especially being jet-lagged, but the train ride gave us some time to relax. We arrived back in Athens after 10 PM and still had to take the subway back to our AirBnb and pack for our early departure the next day.

paros - days 3-4 and 5

We took an early ferry from Athens to Paros and arrived on the island at lunch time on day 3 of our trip. I loved Paros! Honestly, I would have stayed there for a whole week if I could have. It was mostly quiet, the beaches and villages were beautiful, transportation from one place to another was pretty easy compared to other islands we visited, and prices were good. It was great!

The rest of day 3 was spent taking a bus to Piso Livadi, where we were staying, spending some time at the pool, and exploring that area. Staying in Piso Livadi was a dream. The beach is nice, the village is small, but there are plenty of restaurants, the area is quiet and relaxing, just what we needed after the crazy beginning of our trip (we still didn't have suitcases by that point).

On day 4, we took the bus to Naoussa, one of the bigger towns of Paros. Naoussa is a beautiful traditional Greek-island village filled with cute oceanside restaurants, little alleyways full of fragrant flowers and little souvenir shops, terrasses with views on the bay and a small port with fishing boats. It's basically the Greek village of your dreams. We spent the morning exploring the streets and boutiques and the afternoon at the beach. The beach in Naoussa is a short walk from the main area of the village, but there are trees for shade, the water is comfortable and the waves are just big enough to rock you from side to side, plus it's a sand beach. We took the bus back to Piso Livadi for dinner and a quiet evening by the water.

On day 5, we spent the morning at the pool before grabbing the bus back to the town of Parikia to take the ferry to Naxos.

naxos - days 6 and 7

We arrived in Naxos at the end of the afternoon and had to go to the airport to collect our luggage (finally!) so we arrived at our AirBnb in Agios Prokopios in the late afternoon. We dropped off our luggage, finally changed out of the clothes we had been rotating through since we arrived in Greece, and went out for dinner along the beach and even stayed for sunset.

Agios Prokopios has one of the best beaches on Naxos, and we were so tired from the beginning of our trip that we spent all of day 6 at the beach. It was glorious! There are many beach clubs that offer lounge chairs and beach umbrellas, but there are also free sections and the sand was very comfortable. The only thing you have to know that we learned the hard way is that the ferries pass by this beach far far away, but make big waves. So about 15 minutes after the ferry is gone, there is a set of big waves that crash on the beach and will steal all of your belongings in their paths. When you see the waves coming, make sure you grab all of your stuff and carry it to safety or hold it until the waves have receded. Fortunately, it only happens once or twice a day!

On day 7, we were already leaving Naxos. We took the bus early to Naxos town and left our luggage in a locker at the port so we could explore the town for a few hours. We walked to the castle for breakfast, strolled around the streets and went to Portara for some pictures. We took the ferry in the early afternon and made our way to Santorini.

santorini - days 8-9 and 10

We arrived in late afternoon in Santorini and took the bus to our hostel in Karterados, then had a quiet evening near our hostel.

On day 8, we rented a quad bike to visit the island and went to Akrotiri and red beach, to Estate Argyros for a wine tasting, to the black beach of Perissa and to Imerovigli for sunset. I loved the visit of Akrotiri. It was super interesting and so different from what we had seen in Greece so far. The beaches of Santorini were disappointing and you can see why here, but with the heat, the swimming breaks were important. The tasting at Argyros was not cheap, but we had a private visit of the estate and winery, tasted 4 wines with their food pairings and had a great time! All in all, a full, but amazing day.

On day 9, we took the bus to Fira and then a different bus to Oia and spent the early morning exploring the streets of Oia before they got too crowded. We then went to Ammoudi Bay for a swim and came back to Oia to buy some food and find a great spot for sunset.

On day 10, we lounged by the pool all morning and then took the bus back to the ferry port to go to Milos.

For all the information on Santorini, check out this article.

milos - days 11-12 and 13

We arrived in Milos just in time for dinner and made our way to our hotel in Pollonia.

On day 11, we had purchased tickets for a full day boat tour and I have no regrets! That was probably my favorite day of the whole trip! You can check out this article for the full information.

On day 12, we visited a bunch of beaches on Milos. Honestly, after the beaches we had seen the day before on the boat tour, I guess my expectations were high, but I wasn't impressed by the beaches on the North side of Milos. Sarakiniko was pretty, but the water was gross and even Papafragas was pretty, but had a lot of trash. It was still a good day and we did manage to find a few places to go for a swim. Having some kind of transportation and not having to rely on buses would have been a godsend on that day though!

On day 13, we relaxed at the beach for the last time and made our way to the ferry port in Adamas to go back to Athens.

athens - day 14

We arrived in Athens pretty late and took the subway to our second AirBnb.

On day 14, we visited the Acropolis early in the morning as they had closed it in the afternoons because of the heat the last few days and we didn't want to miss our chance. We spent the afternoon at the Acropolis museum which was great and air conditioned, and spent the evening walking around Plaka before having dinner on a terrasse with a view of the Acropolis. A wonderful last day in Greece!

what you need to know before building your itinerary

1. Ferry days are a lot! The days where we were taking the ferry from one island to the next took a lot out of us. We had to pack everything, take an early bus to the ferry terminal in case the bus would be late or full, carry all of our luggage in the heat, wait up to an hour for the ferry in the shade, but no wind or air conditioning so it was HOT, climb aboard the ferry at the same time as 100 other passengers or more that were pushing us around, go to the back of the ferry to put our luggage away, fight the hordes of people back to the front of the ferry to show our ticket and climb to the upper levels, find a seat, freeze in the air conditioning for up to 3 hours and then do everything in reverse once we docked. Greek ferries equal craziness. People bring enormous quantities of luggage, the employees are yelling left and right, people have crying kids and strollers that they need to carry in their arms up the stairs once they get on the ferry, they sell more tickets than there are places on board, it is a zoo. Going back, I would visit less islands and spend more time actually enjoying the ones we were visiting. I enjoyed every island we visited, but the ferry days were a pain and I feel like we wasted so much time in transit.

2. Your budget will make your comfort level vary a lot. Greece is definitely possible on a budget, especially if you travel during low or shoulder season. But I'm not going to lie, there is a large difference between staying in a caldera villa with a pool in Santorini and staying in a hostel in a smaller village. There is a large difference between paying for taxis everywhere or hiring a driver, and taking public transportation everywhere. If I was planning this trip again, I would lower my expectations about the amount of things we could do, especially using public transportation, which was unreliable on some islands or ran only a handful of times everyday. Switching islands less would also have lowered our frustration at waiting for the bus with our luggage in the heat.

All in all, I adored my trip to Greece. It is one of the most beautiful destinations I have visited so far and I would go back without hesitation. The boat tour of Milos and the town of Naoussa were two of my favorites on this trip, but there are so many beautiful places to see in Greece and so many interesting things to do that anyone will find something to their liking. Learn from my mistakes and don't think you can do it all, but enjoy every moment spent in this gem of a country.

know before you go: Athens, Greece

No matter where you are heading in Greece, Athens will probably be where you take your first step off the plane and it has too much to offer to run away to the islands without planning a few days to explore the capital. From its archeological wonders and history to its food and cute neighborhoods, you will need, at the very least, two days to visit Athens, but it could easily be more. Keep reading for my best tips on visiting the city.

where to stay

Athens is actually pretty cheap, even in the height of summer, considering the price of accommodation elsewhere in Greece. We easily found small appartments for rent for about 100 CAD (in 2023) that were walking distance from the Acropolis. Of course, there are luxury accommodations as well, and the neighborhood of Plaka is more expensive, but a 10-minute walk from the main touristic areas, you'll find plenty of places to stay if you are looking for budget options. Since most of the attractions are located in the same general area, it is worth staying there, even if you find a cheaper accommodation farther out of the city center. You will end up spending what you are saving on your commute anyway, so it isn't worth it. Make sure you are a walkable distance from the Acropolis and your visit will be super easy.

what to do

Acropolis: Of course you have to visit the Acropolis! You can buy the tickets at the booth, but you can also purchase them online so you can go straight to the line to enter the site. It is one of the busiest attraction in the world, so expect big crowds and arrive armed with an important reserve of patience if you are visiting in high season. I do recommend visiting early, especially in the summer months. Not only is it less crowded if you arrive right as it opens, but the temperature in Athens in the summer can also get very high and, while visiting in the heat is less comfortable, this advice is mostly because they can close the Acropolis if it gets too hot, to prevent multiple cases of heat stroke.

I recommend bringing cold water and sunscreen, also wearing comfortable shoes. I remember seeing ladies in heals having trouble navigating the uneven grounds and, I don't know about you, but twisting my ankle on vacation is not my idea of a good time. Be aware that you do have to climb stairs made out of rocks that are as old as the Acropolis and not always the same height and not exactly level. You do have to walk around on uneveen rocks while discovering the different buildings. I'm not saying you need hiking shoes, I was fine with sandals, but go with what you need to be comfortable and safe.

Acropolis Museum: The Acropolis Museum is such a must in my opinion. Not only does it contain the real monuments as the ruins of the temples on the Acropolis are mostly replicas, but it also explains the full history of Athens, how it was build and why they chose this location. You can also see the statues from up close since they were installed at eye level instead of on the roof of the temples.

The visit is really interesting and there are multiple levels so I would plan at least 2 hours to have time to enjoy it properly. The ticket also gives you access to the ruins of old Athens located underneat the museum which was also fun to see.

Plaka: The neighborhood of Plaka, which is right next to the Acropolis, is the pretty and touristic part of Athens and is worth discovering. Yes there are plenty of souvenir shops and restaurants and it's not exactly authentic, but the streets and houses are so beautiful. There are flowers and trees everywhere and you sometimes stumble upon ruins. There are cats walking around freely and the atmosphere is calm yet festive. It's just a nice place to get lost in and to aimlessly walk around. If you do want souvenirs, it's also one of the cheepest places as the prices are way higher on the islands.

Dinner with a view: While staying in Athens, you have to eat on a terrasse with a view on the Acropolis at least once. The prices are reasonable, the restaurants are all really cute, the food is great and the view is just magical. I can't recommend it enough!

how to get around

Public transportation in Athens was so easy and convenient, I think renting a car or even taking cabs would have been a waste of time and money. From the airport, the train took us directly to the city center for 8 euros. After that, we took the subway to the train station and ferry terminal, but with AirBnbs being so cheap in the city center, there is no reason to look for a place further away and we were a 5-10 minute walk to the Acropolis and almost every other attraction.

what you need to know

Like I said previously, the heat and the crowds in the summer are quite intense. If you can visit in the spring or the fall, it would probably be better. Otherwise, I found Athens to be a very simple city to visit. Finding directions and using public transportation was easy, the attractions didn't require any advance booking or complicated instructions to follow. We were able to communicate in English or French easily everywhere we went. Honestly, one of the easiest places I have visited in a while. I also found myself feeling really safe in Athens. We had to walk around and take the subway at night a few times and I didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

While Athens was definitely not our main reason to visit Greece, I found I really enjoyed my time in this city. Did I convince you to add a few days in Athens to your Greek itinerary?

Our 15-day road trip for a full tour of Iceland

Visiting Iceland is pretty much like visiting a new country everyday. That is how much the scenery changes from place to place, and the activities vary greatly according to the region. Of course, there is so much to see and do that, in our two-week trip, we had to make a lot of decisions and prioritize the things we most wanted to do and I am so happy with the way this trip turned out.

Since Iceland is a big circle, there are basically two ways to plan your road trip: you can go clockwise or counter clockwise. We opted to go clockwise as the western and northern parts of Iceland weren't going to be the main part of our trip, so we would be stopping less frequently and driving for longer distances while in that area. It seemed logical to us to get the most driving done earlier in our trip since we would be less tired and more impressed by everything around us so the road would appear to go faster. I have to admit that the shorter distances at the end of our trip were incredible as we were able to see multiple attractions in the same day and we were pretty tired after two-weeks of hiking, so it was easier. I did get used to the quieter regions though and it was a shock when we got to the busy southern part of Iceland. Anyway, I don't think there is a bad way to go around, it just depends on what you prefer.

This is the itineray that we did, but it could easily be shortened if you only had 10-14 days. Honestly, I wouldn't try doing the whole ring road in less than 10 days since you would only have time for the drive and not enough to actually stop at any of the sights. You could also add many days as there is so much to see and do in Iceland!

day 1 - reykjavik

Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland and its biggest city (which honestly doesn't mean much). It is a really pretty city, although we only spent one day there. We walked around all afternoon, visited the church Hallgrimskirkja and the conference center (Harpa), and also went to the Sun Voyager statue.

Walking in the streets of the town center was fun. There are plenty of cute restaurants, the buildings are colorful and often have fun paintings on them, the city is also very easy to navigate which I was grateful for after our red-eye flight.

Visiting cities wasn't our main interest in traveling to Iceland, so one day in Reykjavik was plenty for me, but I can also understand why someone would want to stay longer. There are fun museums and activities and everyone was really nice.

For more information, check out my article on Reykjavik here.

day 2 - sneafellsnes peninsula

Sneafellsnes peninsula is one of the reason we decided on a full two-week trip. It is not on many itineraries, but it is so beautiful. We stopped for a hike at Glymur waterfall (more info on that here), took some pictures at the stone bridge and Budakirkja (the black church), and then drove to Kirkjufell where we were spending the night. It was a long driving day, but I wouldn't have changed it. We unfortunately didn't have time to visit the cave of Vatnshellir, but the view along the whole drive was incredible. Waterfalls, glaciers, lakes, the ocean, it was all beautiful and we could have stopped for pictures every minute.

day 3 - Grundarfjordur to Humavatnshreppur

We started the day at the most photographed waterfall in Iceland: Kirkjufell. We then drove all day to our AirBnB in Humavatnshreppur. We of course stopped along the way at every viewpoint, waterfall, crater, pretty bend in the road, etc. We ended the day at our AirBnB where our hosts had a ranch with maybe fifty horses and we made new friends. Icelandic horse are just so stinking cute! They are tiny, with long bangs and lashes and they seem so gentle.

day 4 - Akureri and myvatn area

The next day, we quickly drove past Akureri to make our way to Namafjall, Leirhnjukur and the active area around lake Myvatn. This was one of my favorite days in Iceland. We saw lava fields, walked around mud holes that bubbled and smelled of sulfur, saw craters and so much more. It is one of the most unique areas in a very unique country. There aren't many places in the world where you can see so many geothermal features in one place. I have been to Yellowstone also and this felt completely different. We drove back to spend the night in Akureri and enjoy the atmosphere of the second biggest city in Iceland.

day 5 - Husavik, asbyrgi and dettifoss

We started the day at Godafoss waterfall which is basically a smaller version of Niagara Falls, but in a much cooler landscape. And then we made our way to Husavik, a small port town known for its whale excursions. We didn't go on the boat tour as we have seen whales many times in Canada in similar excursions and we had to make choices. There was no way we could see everything in two weeks. The village of Husavik is so pretty though. You can see glaciers accross the bay and some of the boats seem to have been inherited from Vikings. I also wish we could have driven to the northernmost point in Iceland, but we chose to visit Asbirgy canyon and Dettifoss. Both were impressive, though not my favorite parts of Iceland.

day 6 - myvatn area and egilsstadir

On our last day in the Myvatn area, we went to Grjotagja and its caves full of warm and blue waters, and then spent some relaxing hours in the warm waters of Myvatn baths. Myvatn baths is a smaller, still under construction, version of the Blue Lagoon. Though it is smaller and not as mainstream as the Blue Lagoon, it is just as blue and just as fun. The main differences are that Myvatn is much quieter, quite a bit cheaper, but doesn't include the mask and cocktail that comes with the package at Blue Lagoon. We then drove to Egilstadir for the night.

day 7 - seydisfjordur and faskrudsfjordur

On day 7, we drove to the town of Seydisfjordur. The road there was amazing. There were a lot of waterfalls, the fjord was impressive and I loved the history of the town which used to be completely cut off from the rest of civilisation during the winter months. We then drove around a few of the eastern fjords to our AirBnb in the heart of the fjords, of course stopping along the way everytime we saw something interesting.

day 8 - the eastern fjords to hofn

This was our only rainy day of the trip and, honestly, it was the best day for rain as we had planned on driving most of the day, only stopping when we saw something interesting, but we didn't have much planned. We did end up visiting the viking village that was pretty underwhelming in my opinion. It could be a great tourist attraction, but it was very expensive and not well maintained at all. It used to be a movie set, but was just left there to rot. We spent the night in Höfn.

day 9 - diamond beach and jokulsarlon

Day 9 was also one of my favorite days in Iceland. Diamond beach, although very crowded, was incredibly beautiful. More so than you think looking at the pictures. It seems strait out of Frozen. We then spent part of the afternoon on a zodiac tour of the lagoon that was so much fun. For more info on the zodiac tour click here. We saw some seals and saw icebergs fall from the glaciers, it was great!

day 10 - glaciers, skaftafell and road to vik

We started the day going back to diamond beach for a quieter time enjoying the scenery. I 100% recommend going early in the morning or in the evening so you can peacefully enjoy the view. We then headed to Skaftafell national park and stopped on the way for glacier pictures. We then visited Fjadrargljufur canyon which is absolutely beautiful!

day 11 - reynisfjara, plane wreck and vik

A lot of day 11 was spent at Reynisfjara beach. Although the waves are treacherous, the view is stunning and the beach is beautiful and fun to walk. We also walked to the plane crash. Honestly, if you are short on time, you could easily skip it. We went to get some photos, but it is a long walk and there isn't much left from the crash. We went back to Vik for the night and really enjoyed the atmosphere of the small town. The restaurants all seemed great and the streets were animated and fun.

day 12 - all the waterfalls on the way to selfoss

Day 12 went by so fast! We seemed to be stopping every 15 minutes and there was so much to do! We started with Skogafoss that offered us this beautiful rainbow, than headed to Seljavallalaug swimming pool (it's in such a nice landscape, but one of the pipes bringing the hot water seemed to be broken and the water was very murky so we didn't end up swimming there), to Irafoss and to Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui. We spent the night in Selfoss and were treated to some auroras in the evening.

day 13 - golden circle

The golden circle is probably made of the most popular attractions in Iceland since they are closer to Reykjavik and can be easily visited in a day by hiring a tour. Most people stopping in Reykjavik on cruises will take this excursion. Honestly, I really loved the geysirs, but the rest was nice, but not great after seeing everything else Iceland has to offer. I would have been disappointed to only see this part after coming all the way to Iceland.

Anyway, we went to Kerid crater, Gullfoss, Strokkur geysir and Thingvellir, the places where the two techtonic plates meet. That was also pretty neat and I enjoyed watching the people who were diving in the crevace in between the two techtonic plates.

day 14 - Hveragerdi and road to keflavik

This was our last day of road tripping before heading back to Keflavik. We were completely exhausted, but still visited the town of Hverargerdi for its geothermal features and to visit a natural hot spring. The hot spring was an abosulte highlight of the whole trip. It was called Reykjadalur and you have to work for it as it is about an hour hike uphill to the hot spring, but it is so worth it. The trail brings you to a shallow spring with multiple bassins where you can sit, relax, soak in the hot water and look at the sheep walking around. Although it was quite popular, it didn't feel crowded and we easily found a spot were we could be by ourselves. There are also little walls for privacy where you can change. Don't be like me and bring plenty of water and snacks because after being in the hot water for a while I almost fainted...

day 15 - blue lagoon

Day 15 was our last day before our flight back to Canada and we took full advantage to soak in the warm waters of the Blue Lagoon and sip on cocktails. The Blue Lagoon is so spacious that, even though it is without a doubt the most popular attraction of all of Iceland, it doesn't feel crowded at all. It was super relaxing and we took our time exploring the whole lagoon, getting algae masks and enjoying our drinks. What a perfect way to end a perfect trip!

Like I said, our itinerary wasn't perfect, but it allowed us to see and do what we most wanted and to maintain our energy levels. To be fully honest, Iceland can be a challenge physically. You have to walk a lot, mostly uphill, and the distances are longer than they seem on a map as the roads are so narrow and the speed limit so low. The conditions are also everchanging and we were lucky to have beautiful weather almost everyday, but the weather can turn very quickly and can make your plans impossible even with the best of intentions.

My main recommandation is to plan for extra days in case of bad weather around the activities you most want to do if possible so you can switch the plan around if you need to. Also plan on easier days along the way. If, like us, you are active, but not a marathon runner, Iceland won't require particular training, but you will need rest days where you are still walking, yes, but not hiking or walking long distances.

Our trip was in September and I ended up spending days in t-shirts where I could have easily worn shorts, and days in my winter jacket. Sometimes both happened on the same day. Plan for layers, hiking boots are saviors on the uneven terrain, and don't forget rain pants. If it ends up raining during your trip, you won't want to spend the whole time inside when you could be exploring.

Let me know if you have any questions about Iceland in the comments below and I hope you enjoy your visit to the country of fire and ice!

Itinerary: 14 days in the south of france

I spent two wonderful weeks exploring the south of France with my mom last summer (2024) and I am so excited to share our itinerary with you. We were able to combine exploring the Riviera with driving around Provence on this trip while still being able to relax and take in our suroundings. While I wish I could move to Provence for a whole summer (at least!), two weeks gave us enough time to visit costal villages and cities, to go on hikes and kayaking, to frolic in lavender fields and swim in the Mediterranean sea. We couldn't have planned it better!

before we start

First, you have to know that most of this itinerary could be switched around according to what we felt like doing that day and the weather. We slept in Nice the first five nights and took the train or the bus everywhere so days 2-5 could be switched around on the spot since there were no advance reservations required for any of it. Days 10 and 11 and days 12 and 13 could also have been interchanged as they were in the same region.

Second, we planned our trip to fall on the last week of June and the first week of July because we wanted to be in the middle of lavender season and before the peak tourist season. The weather was perfect for visiting except for our first four days in the Riviera which were unseasonably cold and rainy. It wasn't particularly hot, so we didn't spend a lot of time swimming in the sea or at the beach, but we were mainly hoping to visit the towns so, for us, it was perfect. Most importantly, there were no crowds anywhere so we could explore the towns at our leisure.

Day 1 - arrive in Nice

Being from Canada, most of my trips to Europe start with a red-eye and, while I try to stay awake as long as I can to fight jetlag, I also never plan anything on the first day. Flights can be delayed, luggage can be lost (remember that first day in Athens in 2023 when we spent the whole day shopping?), you never know!

We spent that first day slowly getting to our accommodation (the tramway takes you right from the Nice airport to the city center), and exploring the neighborhood. We grabbed some food for the next few days, went to the beach, had dinner and went to bed pretty early.

We rented an appartment near the Alsace-Lorraine tramway station which was great. We were a 5-minute walk to the beach, a 10-minute walk to the train station and about a 20-minute walk from the neighborhood of old Nice. For these first few days, we didn't rent a car as we never needed one. Most places we visited, having a car would have been a hindrance as parking spaces are not common nor cheap.

Day 2 - Monaco

On day 2, we took the train early in the morning to Monaco. 20 minutes later we were already in this new country and arriving at the station. We spent the whole day walking around and exploring. For more information, check out my article on Monaco here.

Day 3 - Eze

We spent day 3 exploring the town of Eze. We took the train to Eze-sur-mer, and then the bus to Eze. I would recommend leaving for Eze very early. There are not nearly enough buses and they won't let you on unless there is a seat available. We had to wait for a second bus an hour later, and even then we barely got on thanks to two very nice ladies that we met while waiting for the bus. You would also have the option to take an Uber from the train station as it is a short drive to the town of Eze.

Expect a lot of walking on cobblestone streets in the old town of Eze. Confortable shoes are a must, but the town is so pretty. Not only are the streets and shops so cute, but the view on the ocean and surrounding moutains is astonishing. You have to climb to the botanical garden, all the way at the top, for the most beautiful view on the surrounding landscapes, waterfalls, statues, flowers, etc.

Day 4 - Nice

While Nice was our homebase for most of our stay on the French Riviera, it is also totally worth exploring on its own. The old town is gorgeous, the markets are so fun and the food is incredible. We also climbed to the castle for a beautiful view on the city and beach on one side, and the harbour on the other.

You would need at least a full day to visit Nice, but I was glad to have part of our first day and a few evenings, plus this full day, because there was so much to see and I loved the atmosphere of Nice. There are flowers everywhere, the architecture is beautiful, you can walk basically everywhere, I really enjoyed this city.

Day 5 - Menton

I can't say if Menton was my favorite in all the towns we visited on the Riviera because it was the sunniest day or because the town in itself is great, but I really enjoyed visiting Menton. The town is completely painted in shades of yellow and orange that contrast with the sea and climbs all the way to the top of the mountain. The beach is beautiful, the view is mindblowing, the lemon granitas are delicious, there are many terrasses where you can sip a cool drink in the shade, the staircase to the church in the middle of the town is beautiful and blends in so well with the houses, it's just a perfect vibe all around! You really can't go wrong with visiting Menton! Plus, it's also reachable by train from Nice in just under an hour!

day 6 - St-Tropez

On the morning of day 6, we took the tramway back to the airport to get our rental car and drove to Ste-Maxime, the town located right accross the bay from St-Tropez. We dropped our luggage at the hotel, parked the car in a public parking in Ste-Maxime and took the ferry to St-Tropez.

The reason we decided to stay in Ste-Maxime is the price. While we did want to visit St-Tropez, it wasn't worth spending around 250 euros for one night just to walk around the town for half a day. And while it is fun and worth a visit, there isn't much to do that you won't find elsewhere in the Riviera for half the price.

We spent the full afternoon exploring St-Tropez, walking around the harbour to look at the yachts that we will never be able to afford, having some gelato and taking pictures. It was definitely fun, but I didn't regret our decision and I was ready to leave by the end of the day.

day 7 - beach day and road to marseilles

The next day, we drove to the beach of Pampelonne to spend a relaxing day by the ocean. We left mid-afternoon to drive to Marseille. While our AirBnb near the train station was great and perfectly located, finding a place to park was a hassle in Marseille and I didn't love the city. It was dirty and, while I didn't feel "unsafe" per se, I didn't feel at ease either. I was glad we were only staying for two nights. We had dinner by the harbour and walked around to the Mucem museum and Le Panier neighborhood which were both nice, but we didn't stick around when it started getting dark.

day 8 - calanques

Our main reason for going to Marseille was to visit the Calanques and that was one of the highlights of our trip. We left Marseille very early to drive to the parking lot by Belvedère de Port Miou. It did fill up after we arrived, even on a cloudy week day, so I wouldn't arrive later then 10 AM. We walked to Calanque de Port Pin and went swimming for a while before walking to Calanques d'En Vau for lunch. In mid-afternoon, we walked all the way back to the car and drove back to Marseille.

Hiking the Calanques is perfectly doable, but it is definitely not easy. I had running shoes, which were fine, but to be honest I would have loved my hiking boots. Definitely don't attempt it in flip flops! The rocks are often covered with sand and it is slippery, you also have to hike all the way up the cliff and then all the way back down to the water on the other side with no shade. Bring food and multiple bottles of water. I am not the fittest person, but I am used to walking and hiking long distances and I was fine. There were people running past us, but we also saw a lot of people struggling on the climb back up from Calanques d'En Vau. Since there is no other way out, make sure you can make it back up.

day 9 - marseilles and camargue

On day 9, we spent one last morning exploring the parts of Marseille we hadn't seen yet, like the Palais Longchamp and Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde. We then drove to the Salines de Camargue. The pink lakes were totally worth the detour and we couldn't believe the colour was natural. There were also sunflower fields everywhere on the road to the lakes so it was a very nice afternoon. We then drove to our AirBnb in Cavaillon, ready to start exploring Provence the next day.

day 10 - avignon and fontaine de vaucluse

We started day 10 early to drive to Avignon and spent the morning exploring the old town. We walked around the gardens and fortifications, then visited the Maison des papes and the bridge before having a small lunch on a terrasse. We then drove to Fontaine de Vaucluse for the afternoon to walk around the village and take pictures of the springs. We drove back to Cavaillon for dinner. For more information on the towns we visited in Provence, click here.

day 11 - Gordes and roussillon

On day 11, we basically replicated day 10. We spent the morning exploring Gordes and then the afternoon visiting Roussillon. Both villages were beautiful and so worth a visit. We then drove to Valensole where we would be staying for the last few days of our trip.

Day 12 - valensole and lavender fields

You can't go to Provence and not spend a full day checking out every lavender field you come across. We also visited the villages of Valensole, Riez and Manosque. We really took our time exploring the region and enjoying the scenery.

day 13 - gorges du verdon

We spent the entire day exploring Gorges du Verdon by hiking, driving, kayaking and there was so much to say about this whole day that I wrote a whole article just about that. You can find it here.

day 14 - road back to nice and beach day

On day 14, we had to drive back to Nice as our flight was leaving early the next day. We took our time driving through the mountains as the road was very narrow and consisted mostly of switchbacks up and down mountains. We then spent the afternoon at the beach for one last swim on this beautiful trip.

I have to say, I really loved this trip and how diverse and complete it felt. We saw so many things, but I didn't feel rushed or like we only saw the surface. There are so many things in this region that we didn't have time for, but I am so satisfied of what we did see and do. Renting a car to visit Provence was a great idea as we got the opportunity to stop anywhere we wanted on the road and didn't waste any time on public transportation. Honeslty, I wouldn't change anything of this whole trip!

how to spend a day in the gorges du verdon

start the day early with a hike in Basses gorges

We headed to Basses Gorges (low gorge) early in the morning and arrived at about 9 AM, which was a blessing as it wasn't too hot yet for a hike, we were practically alone when we started and there were a lot more people on our way back to the car, and it allowed us to pack more stops into our day. Plus, like everywhere else in Provence, finding a parking spot in Basses Gorges wouldn't have been easy if we had arrived later.

The hike starts just after the village of Quinson from Valensole. You can park before the bridge, by the road if you are lucky to find a spot or there is more parking space by the lake, if you turn left just after the bridge. The beginning of the hike is well indicated on Google maps, on the right after the bridge, there are some steps to climb, but then you follow along the river. If you want, you can do a loop and climb to the top of the mountain and come back around that way, but from what I was told, there aren't many view points at the top and, in this heat, we decided to just walk along the river to the end of the trail and back. It's about a 5 km hike and there are multiple staircases, narrow pathways and inclines, but the trail is well maintained, well indicated, and definitely not hard if you are a good walker.

We spent the whole time in awe of the color of the river, the canyon walls and the general beauty of the landscape. We climbed back in the car after this hike, it wasn't even noon, and I was already satisfied with my day. We could have stopped there and it would have been enough for me.

drive to pont du galetas and stop at the Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon viewpoint on the way

The most popular spot in the Gorges du Verdon is, whithout any doubt, the Pont du Galetas or Galetas bridge. It marks the entrance to Hautes Gorges (high gorge) and one of the best viewpoints on the canyon and the myriad of boats, kayaks and paddle boats floating on the river. On the way there, we were treated to some of the best lavender and sunflower fields in the region before driving by the viewpoint seen in the picture below, in the village of Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon. I definitely recommend stopping at this viewpoint to admire the view and take some picture as it is such a beautiful landscape and one of the rare places you can actually stop on the side of the road. The road after this point is very narrow and composed of many, many switchbacks up and down mountains.

rent a kayak or paddleboat to explore hautes gorges

Although it was very crowded and, therefore, a challenge to navigate our kayak through the narrow gorge without bumping into other boats, I'm still glad we rented the kayak. Hautes Gorges is a beautiful area, with high canyon walls, gorgeous waters and plenty of caves or rocks where you could stop for a short exploration break. The amount of people cliff jumping made me a little uncomfortable as it narrowed even more our path with the kayak, but I enjoyed the view and the time on the water immensely.

relax and go for a swim at plage du galetas or plage de chabassole

There isn't a lot of place to lie down in the sun, but there are some beach areas where you can relax, places where you can walk in and out of the lake, and even places to sit in the shade. After our hike and kayaking, we were ready for some R&R!

other activities you could try

There are so many activities on offer in the Gorges du Verdon. We saw many people paragliding, you could explore Moustier-Sainte-Marie, which is the closest village to Hautes-Gorges and perched high in the mountains, you can go horseback ridding, it's possible to go rafting or rent an electrical boat and so much more. It really is a diverse area where everyone will find something they love.

One day was just enough time to make me fall in love with the Gorges du Verdon. I have a feeling I will see more of this destination in future trips, and I would jump at the chance to stay there for a longer amount of time. Are the Gorges du Verdon on your South of France itinerary yet?

The 5 most scenic villages to visit in provence

gordes

Gordes is a beautiful village built on a hillside in the Parc du Luberon. And I'm not the only one saying it is gorgeous, as it was named the most beautiful village in the world by Travel + Leisure. Not only is Gordes easy on the eyes, but the view on the surrounding landscape from its winding roads is a sight to behold as well. I felt like I had just stepped in Beauty and the Beast.

Although the parking situation is quite messy and you have to arrive early, the best day to visit Gordes is during its market on Tuesdays. You will find shoes and pashminas, olives and fruit jellies, toys and souvenirs and plenty of other hand-made goods. You can also have a taste of multiple local specialties.

We spent half a day in Gordes and the other half in Roussillon and I felt like I had seen everything that I was visiting for, but you could also visit the castle and surrounding wineries, or use Gordes as your home-base to visit the other villages of the Luberon.

There is a small rest stop just outside of Gordes with the viewpoint from the picture above. Honestly, I recommend getting to Gordes very early, especially on market days. When we arrived at the viewpoint, we were lucky and someone was leaving, but when we drove past it on our way out, there was a line of cars waiting for a place to park and it was causing a traffic jam all the way down the mountain. It would be completely worth the wait for this view in my opinion, but if you can avoid the hassle by arriving early, that's even better.

I still haven't decided if my favorite view was the landscape seen from Gordes or the view on the town of Gordes, but it was pretty everywhere we went. I loved exploring the crooked streets and looking at the houses covered in vines and flowers.

roussillon

Roussillon was really special. Just like Gordes, it was built on top of a hill and offers a nice view on the surrounding fields. What made it different was its color. Roussillon was built near an ochre mine, so the houses were covered in the mineral, giving them this orange and red tint.

I loved walking around the colorful streets, visiting the old church and admiring the view from the terrasse of the restaurant. The only downside of Roussillon for us was that we arrived early afternoon and had to park all the way down the mountain and walk about 1,5 km to the village. Uphill of course ;)

The village has many restaurants and little shops, but the main thing to see in Roussillon is the Sentier des Ocres or "Trail of the Ochres". There are two loops that you can walk, one 30 minute loop and one 50 minute loop. Personally, we did the longer one, took our time and plenty of photos, and still, we were done in 30 minutes, so it's really not a long hike and you can definitely do it in comfortable sandals, but it brings you down to the floor of one of the old quarries where you can admire the different shades of the mountains and ground and have a nice view on the landscape and village.

fontaine de vaucluse

Being from the province of Quebec where the lakes and rivers are mostly brown, I have to admit that I'm a sucker for blue, green and clear water. Fontaine the Vaucluse just took a look at my expectations and went "wow that's the bare minimum". The river is so clear, not only can you see the bottom, but you can clearly see the leaves on the underwater trees. This river is actually an outflow of ground water and located in the middle of a canyon.

Now you're probably thinking, "wasn't this article about the villages of Provence?" And yes, the village, Fontaine de Vaucluse, is located on either side of the river Sorgue. You'll find cute little terrasse restaurants and souvenir shops, there are also crepe stands and gelato and granitas. We also visited the old paper mill, which is a free visit, but unfortunately, due to a land slide, we weren't able to go to the actual fountain, the source of ground water. It was still one of my favorite places in Provence and a nice afternoon enjoying the view and strolling through the village.

valensole

Valensole was one of our home-bases to visit the region, and while the village isn't much, it was a perfect starting point to visit the lavender fields, surrounding villages and the Verdon Gorges.

Like I said, the village in itself isn't much. There are a few restaurants, small grocery stores, a few little shops, and that's pretty much it. But it looks like the village from Tangled and, no matter which road you take in or out of Valensole, you will find lavender, sunflower and even poppy fields. It is a beautiful area of Provence and you can't go wrong with spending time there.

Our personal favorite lavender fields were on the road between Manosque and Valensole and between Valensole and Riez, but there were also really nice ones near Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon. Honestly, it really depends on which fields were just harvested, but on any road from or to Valensole, you will pass some beautiful flower fields, mostly lavender. We visited Valensole at the beginning of July and every field was in bloom, it was incredible. The fragrance in the air was also beyond anything I had ever smelled. At the end of our visit, I felt like my hands smelled of flowers.

avignon

Avignon is probably more of a city than a village, I'll admit, but it is still a must see. First, because I grew up with the "Pont d'Avignon" song. You can look it up, but it's basically a nursery rhyme that says that everyone dances on the bridge of Avignon. Of course I had to go and dance on the Pont d'Avignon! Second, the visit of the "Maison des papes" (house of the popes), was really well done, rich in history, but also fun.

We spent half a day in Avignon before our visit to Fontaine de Vaucluse and we had plenty of time to walk around, visit the Maison des papes and the bridge and get something to eat.

The bridge from the song is actually called Pont Saint-Bénezet and used to be made of 22 arches that allowed people to cross over the Rhône river. Today there are only 4 arches left and, though you can't cross the Rhône using this bridge anymore, it is possible to visit and walk on it still. The visit includes an audioguide in multiple languages explaining the history of the town of Avignon as well as the bridge itself. There are videos and signs with the techniques used during the construction and what it would have looked like whole.

Although my dancing skills are clearly sub-par, I really enjoyed the visit. The information was interesting and well presented, and I loved that every remaining part of the bridge we were able to explore. There were stairs to take us down to the pillars and the Saint-Benezet chapel was also open for visitors.

The Maison des papes was the other main attraction to our visit in Avignon and this ticket gave us a reduction to visit the bridge.

Upon entering the palace (because, let's be honest, that is what it is) every visitor was handed a tablet guiding us to each section of the visit. We could also scan signs in every room to have the description and a 360 visual reconstruction of what the room used to look like. There was also a treasure to look for which upped the ante and motivated us to look at every part of each room with attention.

This is the view on the Maison des Papes and its courtyard from the Jardin des Doms. The next pictures are also from the Jardin des Doms which is a beautiful garden with a viewpoint on the Rhône and an access to the fortifications surrounding the city.

Visiting Provence has it's challenges. The roads are very narrow, there are very few parking spaces for a lot of visitors and it included quite a lot of walking uphill, but, as you can see, the views are definitely worth the challenges.

The best moment to visit New York City according to a tour guide

One of the best advantages of being a tour guide who travels to New York City once a month is definitely to see the city every season. I'm not going to lie, there is something to see all year long in the city that never sleeps! Since I understand that it isn't possible for everyone to visit once a month, or even once a year, here are my pros and cons for every moment so you can visit during the time that means the most to you.

New Year's eve

I have always been honest and you know I will continue to be in my travel tips, so this is why I will say that I found New Years Eve in New York to be a tad disappointing. I had fun and the group I was with did too, but most of the group left early as participating in Times Square festivities means arriving at noon. You are not allowed a big back pack, if you leave, even just to go to the bathroom, you are not allowed back in, you barely see the ball drop unless you are way at the front, let's just say it's not a comfortable experience. There are also fireworks in Central Park that can get very crowded, but can be less overstimulating than Times Square.

Most restaurants in the city have special events that you need to make reservations weeks in advance to participate in, but it can be totally worth it. Since they don't want to have to remember what everyone ordered and print out bills, they usually have a cover (somewhere around 200$) and then have an open bar once you're inside. If you choose your restaurant wisely, some will even guaranty you a spot for the ball drop.

You can't underestimate the weather in your plans. Last year was very comfortable, but New York can be humid, windy and pretty cold. So if you plan on being outside for hours, make sure you are ready for it.

The part I found the most disappointing for my group was that, unless you are in New York only for the festivities and have no other plan, everything else was super crowded or closed. You could barely walk on Fifth Ave, you had to push your way through Times Square (when it was open), the library was closed, you couldn't even see the Bull through the crowd, Bow Bridge in Central Park was a restricted area because of the fireworks, every store was a mad house, it was ridiculous. Every activity you also needed to make reservations weeks in advance.

For people who have never been to New York and want to see the sights, it really isn't the best time, but for people who want to be in the middle of the action and celebrate New Years with the best atmosphere, it is definitely the place to be!

Easter

Easter weekend is one of the most popular weekend for tour groups visiting New York as it is a four-day weekend for most, especially for students. The weather in New York can still be unpredictable, but is usually pretty nice. While it is one of the busier weekends, it wasn't crazy and overwhelming like other holidays. I rather enjoyed it! Plus the Hat Parade looked so much fun! I didn't have to chance to attend, but we could see people with crazy hats on the street making their way to the parade.

Depending on the weekend Easter falls on, it can also be a good time to see the cherry trees in Central Park.

Spring

Spring is definitely my favorite season of all to visit New York! I would say, from mid-April to the end of May, the weather is perfect. Warm during the day, cool at night, with a small breeze, mostly sunny, the dream! I visited at the end of April, and though the cherry trees were not in bloom anymore and the magnolias were at the end of their bloom, every single other tree and plant seemed to be in bloom. There were flowers of every color everywhere you looked in Central Park, there was a tulip field in the yard of Brookfield Place, Bryant Park was full of life, it was just so beautiful to see every park in the city seem to come alive.

For the restaurants, some of them keep their terrasses open year long, but the others will have opened theirs by mid-April. Plus, as long as you are not traveling on a holiday weekend, spring is pretty quiet in New York. I saw no crowds whatsoever.

4th of july

I personally loved visiting on 4th of July weekend. It seemed most New Yorkers had left the heat of the city for the country side or the beach and it was pretty quiet everywhere. That's not to say you shouldn't make reservations for most activities, but at least you'll have space to enjoy them and you might be able to get tickets on the day of.

While it will be hot outside and you will want to carry water bottles and sunscreen with you, I didn't find it suffocating. Every store, restaurant and indoor activity has AC if you can't take the heat anymore, but I found it quite comfortable personally. I walked all the way from the City Cruises pier to the Vessel, and then walked the High Line all the way to Little Island and then up Fifth Ave to the library and, while I made sure to eat and hydrate properly, I had no problem.

Summer

Except for 4th of July apparently, summer vacations are a busy time in New York City. It's never as crazy as the winter holidays, but you do need to prepare your vacation in advance if you want to do some activities and you will need to plan your accommodation in advance as well.

The other point to consider is that it is hot in the city in the summer. From mid-July to the end of August, some days are unbearable. While the tour groups are able to keep mostly the same schedule year-round, in the summer, we make sure to stay in the shade when outside, the bus driver carries a cooler filled with iced water bottles, and we do outdoor activities early morning. Another thing you might want to consider is having your accommodation closer to the activities you want to do, as taking the subway in the heat is really unpleasant and, depending on your tolerance, walking in the heat might not be recommended. You might want to consider the hop-on-hop-off buses that I wouldn't normally recommend as they are expensive and New York has great public transit, but could be a good idea in the summer.

The main positive point to visiting in the summer, other than school vacations, is the free activities offered. Bryant Park has outdoor movies and concerts, Lincoln Center has free concerts, most parks have table tennis, chess boards, etc. Central Park will have plays and shows. There is a street fair on 6th Avenue practically every Saturday and a parade on Fifth Ave almost every Sunday. The city seems to vibrate with energy.

Labor day

Labor day is a good time to visit New York City. While some attractions might be closed on Monday for the holiday, most activities will be open. Since everyone is getting ready to go back to school or work, it isn't one of the more popular weekends so crowds are pretty light. The heat is more bearable, but the weather is still warm and nice. Altogether, there is no particular advantage to visiting for Labor day, but it is still one of the best moment in my opinion.

Fall

After spring, fall is the nicest season to visit New York City. From mid-September to the end of October, the weather is so nice, the leaves slowly turn to orange, the city seems to breathe properly. There are practically no crowds, every outdoor attraction is still open before it closes for winter. They start installing Christmas decorations and ice rinks in mid-October so you can go ice skating in shorts with barely anyone else there. I definitely recommend! I personally visited over Halloween with my family and we loved it. Every tourist was in Salem for the weekend and it felt like we had New York to ourselves. We had two days of summer weather and two days of grey and rain, but we managed to organize our days so we could be inside during the rain and it was the perfect weekend.

thanksgiving

I believe every season has it's pros, but DO NOT VISIT DURING THANKSGIVING WEEKEND! It was crazier than New Years. Black Friday on Fifth Ave was a circus and it wasn't even worth it as there are barely any sales on Fifth Ave. The Rockefeller Center was a mad house, Bryant Park was loud and over-crowded, Times Square was just a bad idea, you get the jist. The whole group got on the bus to go back home on Sunday and we collectively breathed a sight of relief. I think my head spun all the way back to Canada. Honestly, if your goal is to see the sights and see the Christmas decorations, any other weekend in November or December will be better than this hell on earth.

december

December will have some Christmas crowds, but it is worth it. I would avoid the Christmas holidays, but otherwise it shouldn't be crazy, but rather nice. All the decorations and special activities will be on. You will find ice rinks everywhere with little booths for hot cocoa. The weather should be mostly pleasant, not too cold, and barely any chance of snow. The Christmas Spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall starts showing in November and the show is totally worth it. Honestly, a good time to visit!

weekends vs weekdays

Obviously, weekends are generally busier than weekdays, although there is more traffic at peak hours on weekdays. In the summer, there is no big difference, there are crowds all through summer. Opening hours can vary a lot though from weekdays to weekends, though. Some stores will be open later on weekends while most buildings have better opening hours during the week. You should check ahead of times and plan your schedule accordingly. Times Square will have a better ambiance over the weekend, but it will also be more crowded. I also love going to Central Park during the weekend as cars are not allowed in the park, but dogs are allowed to be off-leash until 9 AM so it makes for a fun visit.

concerts and sport events

If you are visiting for a concert or sport event, make sure you arrive early and plan your transportation ahead of times. The subway can get very crowded before important Yankees games. Most big concerts nowadays are actually in the Met Life stadium which is in New Jersey, about a 20-minute drive from Manhattan. You can get there by bus, but I wouldn't recommend taking the last one out as the stadium has space for 80k people and you won't be the only person relying on public transportation. Same thing for football games. All in all, events like these don't really have an impact on your trip to the city, but if you plan to attend I would make plans to be there early and plan for the fact that it might take a while before you can leave the stadium after the event, especially using public transportation.

Honestly, you can't really go wrong when visiting New York City. It really depends on your budget, tolerance of crowds, the activities you want to do, and what you wish to see. I hope the article was able to help you decide the best time for your visit. You can also check out my best tips for visiting NYC down below and let me know in the comments if you have any questions. Enjoy your visit to the Big Apple!

Greece highlight: sailing around the island of milos for a day

Why it is a must while visiting milos

Like I said before, the villages of Milos are really pretty, especially Klima with its colorful doors and balconies. Just like on every other island, the white little houses, fragrant flowers, quaint restaurants and crooked streets are just as you would imagine after watching any movie set in Greece. Milos also has a unique and fun beach called Sarakiniko that feels just like walking on the moon. You can read more information about this beach in my article about my favorite beaches in Greece here. The downside to Milos is that the island is very big and the public transportation isn't exactly efficient. Also, while Klima and Sarakiniko are both reachable by land, most of the beautiful attractions of the island have to be reached by boat. All of the beaches you will see in this article are not or barely reachable by land (by barely I mean you would need to take a long dirt road and then climb down a wooden ladder that looks very unstable to reach the beach). You would need to go on a tour or hire a boat to reach them. And let me promise you, they are the most worth it beaches you have ever seen!

what kind of tour or boat should you look for

Hiring a boat, was definitely not in our price range, but if it is for you, go right ahead! I would hire it for a full day as a halfday would mean a lot of time cruising to and from your destinations and I don't think it would be worth it. Basically, if your budget only allows half a day of renting a boat, I would personally prefer going on a full day tour instead. A lot of boat tours will take you to Kleftiko and back, which would be a shame as the island has so much more to offer and I loved the stops that we made along the way to more private beaches and bays. I would make sure the tour goes the whole way around the island, that way you get more swimming stops and less cruising around just to get there. Our tour also made a stop in Blue Bay on the island of Poliegos and it was one of my favorite stops along the way. I have never seen water so blue and clear in my entire life. The tours are not cheap, but most companies offer sensibly the same thing so we just read the comments and found the cheapest option that looked the most complete, with the best comments, and went for that.

what was included in our tour

We went on a full-day tour with Milos Adventure. Our tour left from Adamantas, the main port of Milos, early in the morning and brought us to Pollonia, on the North side of Milos just before sunset. The bus ride back to Adamantas was included, but since we were staying in Pollonia, we just ended the tour there. There were 12 passengers for 3 crew members on a catamaran with two big nets at the front and a huge covered area at the back. We had a snack in the morning, a full lunch with dessert and two more snacks in the afternoon, and drinks were also included. We had a long swim in a bay in the morning, then stopped at Kleftiko for lunch and some more swimming (about an hour and a half), and then made two more stops on Milos before making one last stop on Poliegos. It felt like we spent the whole day swimming and the boat tour was there just to give us a break. Of course we could have stayed in the boat, but my friend and I took advantage of every minute we had in the gorgeous turquoise water.

how it went

I'm going to be honest, I had the time of my life! The one difficult part was trying to get some shade as everyone started to congregate in the shaded area of the boat as the day progressed and there wasn't quite enough room there for everyone on the tour, but other than that, it was absolutely amazing. The food was delicious and there were a lot of options and plenty for everyone. Milos was an incredible surprise as soon as the boat left the dock. We could see the shores and little villages on the top of cliffs, and every beach we stopped at was even more beautiful than the last. It ended our trip to Greece with a bang and I have been recommending these tours to everyone who tells me they are heading to Greece since the minute I got back. It was definitely a splurge for us, but I would gladly stay in hostels more often to be able to afford activities like this one. I have never regretted it and, once again, the choice was the right one!

The pictures really don't do justice to the beauty of Milos and Poliegos! I can't say enough how much I recommend this activity. And now, after all that swimming and all that sunshine, there is only one thing to do: get an amazing dinner at one of Pollonia's seaside terrasses. For some dinner inspiration, check out my article of the best food to try in Greece, available below. The title picture was actually taken right after our excursion around Milos.

know before you go: santorini, greece

how to Deal with the crowds

Alright! This is the first thing we are talking about because this is what is going to make or break your trip. It doesn't matter where you stay or what you do, if you are not ready for the crowds, you are not ready for Santorini, and I am saying this with love as a person who was not ready for Santorini. We had no choice but to visit in July in the peak tourist season, but if you can visit in shoulder season, there would be a tiny bit less people. I'm trying to be funny, but I'm not lying. From what I have seen and read, you can basically visit Santorini with crowds, or visit in the middle of winter when nothing is open. But there are ways to still enjoy your time without being completely overwhelmed during your whole trip.

We found that the crowds mostly stick to Oia, and while the village is absolutely beautiful and deserves to be seen, there are plenty of other sights to see and villages to visit outside of Oia. We did visit Oia in the morning while it was bearable, spent the afternoon at peak crowd hours away, and came back in the early evening to get ready for sunset (we'll come back to that later). All of that to say, I encourage you to venture outside the crowded alleys of Oia and discover all that Santorini has to offer. You won't regret it!

Where to stay

You will find accommodation in Santorini, in summer, in the range of 100$ CA per night to multiple thousand dollars per night. At first glance, it seems impossible to find anything affordable, and while I wish I was the type of person who could afford (or who got offered) a suite in a cave hotel with a turquoise infinity pool and a view on the caldera, I am not that person, and chances are, you aren't either. Once again, I encourage you to venture outside of Oia, or even the main villages on the caldera. Here are your options:

By the beach, on the opposite side of the island from the caldera, you'll find plenty of larger hotels for every budget. While you will be further away from the action, you'll have a room by the beach and the opportunity to escape the craziness when you are done with it.
There are hostels in the center villages. That is the option we went for. While we weren't by the beach or by the caldera, we were a short bus or ATV ride from either. We ended up paying 115$ CA for a private room in a hostel with a pool. Our central location allowed us to take the bus easily almost everywhere, being in a village where actual locals live allowed us to have grocery stores and plenty of restaurants close by while enjoying fair prices, plus, we got to walk in the quiet little white village when we had enough of the crowds, but still wanted to explore. You'll find below a picture of the view from our room. Maybe not Instagram worthy, but perfect anyway!
If you absolutely want the caldera view, you'll find more affordable prices the further south you go. Oia will have the most expensive rooms, Imerovigli will be a little better, Fira will have a decent price range, etc. I'm not saying it won't be a splurge, but it might not cost a kidney.

how to get around

We spent our whole trip to Greece using public transportation, and while each island had a different way of doing public transportation and it was always an adjustment (hello to you Santorini buses making everybody climb aboard until it was jam-packed and then having the bus driver go around for everyone to pay him), we found it was pretty easy and very worth it financially. Saving up on every other island, allowed us to rent an ATV for one day in Santorini. We could have visited all of the spots we visited using the bus system, but it was a lot faster and more direct using the ATV and it was a fun activity. One-day cost us 50 euros plus the tank of gas that was not cheap, but I found it worth it for the time that we saved. There is no way we would have been able to see as much as we did in one day without it. Plus, we only needed our canadian drivers license to rent it and insurance was included.

what to visit

There is so much to see in Santorini!

On our first full day on the island, we rented the ATV and visited the ruins of Akrotiri which are still being excavated and are basically a Pompei where people had time to get away. The ruins are so well preserved and it was a fascinating visit. We also went to the red and black beaches. You can read my article on my favorite beaches in Greece for more information on those here. We went to the highest peak on Santorini for a view on the island and caldera, we had a wine tasting at a winery, which included a tour and was so interesting as the vines grow completely differently than the would everywhere else due to the high winds and heat, and went to Imerovigli for sunset. What a complete and exhilarating day on Santorini. Except for the red beach, there were no crowds anywhere,and we really got to enjoy every moment!

On day two in Santorini, we took the bus to Fira, and then Oia, early in the morning to explore the streets of Oia without the crowds. The village is so pretty and there are plenty of little alleyways to explore, shops to visit and churches to photograph. We even found a nice little book store in the basement of a house. When the heat and the crowds got to be too much for us, we climbed down the stairs to Ammoudi bay to go for a swim. There were a lot people there, but it was still a nice swimming spot and we really enjoyed the atmosphere of the bay. We had gelato before we felt ready to go back up the stairs to Oia. There are donkeys to help you up the steps, but in the heat I felt really bad for the poor animals. We stayed for sunset (more on that later) and took the bus back after dark.

On our last day in Santorini, we had to be back on the bus by noon to catch our ferry, so we spent some time by the pool and relaxed for a while.

I would have liked to visit Fira and see more of Imerovigli, but with the heat and crowds, I had reached my limit of stimuli.

how long should you stay

You could definitely spend more time in Santorini, but I had enough after three days. I needed to go relax on a quieter island and I needed less expensive food. I wouldn't have shortened our stay though. Less time would have felt really rushed and we wouldn't have been able to see everything we wanted to see or take the time to enjoy it. I think two full days would be the bare minimum. I didn't feel at any point like we didn't have enough time though. Two full days, an evening and a morning was perfect to me.

The summer heat is something you do need to take into consideration while planning the number of days you want to visit though. I don't mind the heat and we always organized our days in Greece to be close to a swimming spot in the afternoon, but if you know the heat might be an issue for you, I would plan for more days with time in the afternoon to relax, go back to your accommodation or at least find some shade and cold drinks.

tips for sunset in oia

Here we go, sunsets in Oia! I need to start by saying, now that I have seen it, I get the hype. Now that I have lived it, did I fully enjoy it? Sadly, the answer would have to be no. Is it worth it? I think I would have regretted not going, but I have seen better sunsets in more enjoyable places.

If you do want to see the sunset in Oia, you need to be ready for it. Crowds started gathering at 6 PM for an 8:30-9 PM sunset and crowds can really bring the worst out of people. Keep in mind that it is hot. If you plan on waiting in your spot for a while you will need plenty of water and I would recommend fruits and some kind of salty food so you don't get too dehydrated. We decided to go to the ruins of St Nicholas castle and brought plenty of snacks and cold water. We brought our books and waited for hours, but if you're going to do sunset in Oia, you might as well commit, right?

Once the sunset starts, no matter how early you got there and no matter the spot you chose, people will be climbing over you to see and putting their cameras in your face to get a picture. I'm not going to lie, it was a circus. I had a lady sitting on my hand, I bumped my head on someone's camera when trying to turn around, I was almost pushed off the edge at some point, but when the sun hit the water, people started to leave and we got to enjoy blue hour by ourselves, which was completely worth it.

Although Oia is probably the only place where the sun will set over the water, I did really enjoy the sunset in Imerovigli. Over there, the sun sets over the village of Oia and there was literally no one but us. If you aren't willing to brave the crowds of Oia, this would be a very good option in my opinion.

After all of this, I hope I didn't discourage you form visiting Santorini. There is a reason the island is so popular, and while I enjoyed my visit of other islands more, I don't regret choosing to add Santorini to our itinerary. Is Santorini on your bucketlist? Let me know in the comments!

YOUR CART

what to see and do

where to stay

how to get around

how long should you stay

other articles you might enjoy

Athens - day 1

meteora - day 2

paros - days 3-4 and 5

naxos - days 6 and 7

santorini - days 8-9 and 10

milos - days 11-12 and 13

athens - day 14

what you need to know before building your itinerary

other articles you might enjoy

where to stay

what to do

how to get around

what you need to know

other articles you might enjoy

day 1 - reykjavik

day 2 - sneafellsnes peninsula

day 3 - Grundarfjordur to Humavatnshreppur

day 4 - Akureri and myvatn area

day 5 - Husavik, asbyrgi and dettifoss

day 6 - myvatn area and egilsstadir

day 7 - seydisfjordur and faskrudsfjordur

day 8 - the eastern fjords to hofn

day 9 - diamond beach and jokulsarlon

day 10 - glaciers, skaftafell and road to vik

day 11 - reynisfjara, plane wreck and vik

day 12 - all the waterfalls on the way to selfoss

day 13 - golden circle

day 14 - Hveragerdi and road to keflavik

day 15 - blue lagoon

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before we start

Day 1 - arrive in Nice

Day 2 - Monaco

Day 3 - Eze

Day 4 - Nice

Day 5 - Menton

day 6 - St-Tropez

day 7 - beach day and road to marseilles

day 8 - calanques

day 9 - marseilles and camargue

day 10 - avignon and fontaine de vaucluse

day 11 - Gordes and roussillon

Day 12 - valensole and lavender fields

day 13 - gorges du verdon

day 14 - road back to nice and beach day

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start the day early with a hike in Basses gorges

drive to pont du galetas and stop at the Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon viewpoint on the way

rent a kayak or paddleboat to explore hautes gorges

relax and go for a swim at plage du galetas or plage de chabassole

other activities you could try

other articles you might enjoy

gordes

roussillon

fontaine de vaucluse

valensole

avignon

other articles you might enjoy

New Year's eve

Easter

Spring

4th of july

Summer

Labor day

Fall

thanksgiving

december

weekends vs weekdays

concerts and sport events

other articles you might enjoy

Why it is a must while visiting milos

what kind of tour or boat should you look for

what was included in our tour

how it went