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Best Fes Guided Tours

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Best Fes Guided Tours


We do not often recommend using all of your time in a city on tours. They do not leave room for your own exploration or traveling on your own time. They are typically very rigid and keep you from diving deeper into the things that stand out to you, especially if you are on a group tour.

However, booking a guided tour of Fes is the first thing we think that you should do and the thing that we did with our two days in Fes. The city is confusing to walk through and getting a first-hand tour from a local is the best way to get acquainted to this sprawling city. There is no doubt in our mind that if you try to tackle this city by yourself, you will get lost. It can even be confusing for a local.

But getting the right guide to take you through the various places and the hidden gems of the city was the best decision we made while in Fes. We saw things that there is no way we would have seen would we have tried to tour by ourselves. Not just getting guided, but also having explained what we were seeing was important otherwise we would have just been walking around the city aimlessly.

We want to walk you through the best Fes guided tours in this post. The ones that really stood out for us and the ones that will cover the things that you are going to want to do with your time in this unbelievable city. Buckle up and follow us through this list.


Best Fes Guided Tours

Fes Tours

Fes is a beautiful city with a lot to offer any type of traveler. It is one of the few cities that we have traveled to where we were overwhelmed. This is entirely because the intricacies of the Fes Medina. The Medina of any city is the oldest part and is usually characterized by winding alleyways opening up to small or large squares followed by more alleyways. Fes has the largest Medina possibly in the world and it is known for its tiny and winding alleyways that are at times so small you need to squeeze through them.

It really is an incredible place to wander and get lost. However, you may not really want to get lost or you may not even have the time to get lost. For us, we had two days in Fes and we knew we wanted to see as much as we could of this place while we could. We knew the best bet was to book a tour.

Regardless of what you want to do in Fes, and trust us there is a lot to do within Fes and outside of Fes, there is a tour that will help you get there and make the most of your time rather than you spending the limited time that you have in the city trying to figure out if you are walking in circle or if you have seen that building before.

Here are the best Fes guided tours:

 

  • Fes City Tours

    • This is one tour that we were so thankful we booked. There is no way that we could have navigated the maze that is the Medina of Fes. It is really hard to describe how intricate this place is, but there really is a mix of streets and alleyways that twist and turn through the Medina with a new smell and sight lurking around each corner.

    When we first arrived in Fes at night, we tried our best to find food while we were staying in the Medina. It was possible, we found what we were looking for after taking multiple wrong turns. Getting back to our accommodation was just as difficult.

    It was the next day that our tour was booked, and we were so thankful to have a great guide take us through the Medina and explain to us what we were seeing and where he was taking us throughout the day. We visited the palace, different gates, the university, different vendors and artisans, and so many more things. It was so helpful and there is no way we would have seen what we did if we tried to do that for ourselves.

    Do yourself a favor and book a tour of the Medina. It will really save you a lot of headaches and make the most of your time in the city. After you become more familiar with the Medina (which would take months) you can then take your time and walk around it on your own. When it comes to Fes day tours of the city, there are no better tours to choose from.

     

  • Day Trip Tours from Fes

    • There are two exceptionally great day trips that you can take from Fes. One being to the blue washed city of Chefchaouen that you have probably seen in your Instagram feed on one occasion or another. The other being a day trip to Meknes and Volubilis.

    Chefchaouen is a beautiful city and one that is a perfect day trip from Fes. The Medina of the city is washed completely in a magnificent blue color that makes so picturesque. There are Instagram opportunities around every corner in this city and enough souvenir shopping to fill an entire day.

    When we visited Chefchaouen, we stayed for two nights. This seemed like a lot in retrospect as we did not make any day trips from the city and the big draw is the Medina which is easily accomplished in one day. Still, it is a city that you must see in Morocco.

    With this tour, you have about four hours or more within the city exploring it with a guide and choosing from the things that are offered in the city as well as enjoying a lunch on a rooftop terrace. The tour includes pick up and drop off from and to Fes. This makes it the perfect way to see Chefchaouen while you are staying in Fes and really making the most of your time.

    The other tour to Meknes and Volubillis is one that we did not make during our trip to Morocco, but one that we have been recommended to see. We just did not have the time to fit this into our schedule.

    On this tour you are picked up and taken to explore the Medina of Meknes, see the historic remains of Volubilis, and see the holy town of Moulay Idriss. These places are beautiful and are worth making a day trip from Fes. At the end of the day you are returned back to Fes.

    These two tours from Fes are perfect ways to round out your trip to this incredible city. If time permits of course. But you may want to leave room for another Fes excursion to the desert.

     

  • Fes Desert Tours

    • Whether you want a desert tour from Marrakech to Fes or a desert tour from Fes to Marrakech, there are three day desert tours for you to choose from. This is something in retrospect that we wish we could have fit into our schedule. We did not know much about Morocco before we landed in the country. It was one of those trips that one of us wanted to slip this in our trip, but the other one was not too interested in it.

    It was not until a couple of years later that we started to see these Instagrammers posting photos of the beautiful Moroccan desert night sky and the experiences on these desert tours that we thought this would have been something that we should have done while we were in Fes. Still, we would have had to extend our trip or miss out on something that we did while we were in the country. And we are pretty happy with what we already did.

    Nonetheless, a desert tour is a must if you have the time to do it! There is so much to do and see from the Atlas Mountains, the desert itself, the Berber camps, and the experience itself staying in tents and seeing the incredible sky at night.

    Each of these Fes desert tips have amazing things to offer you and are highly rated. When choosing Morocco desert tours from Fes, think about how comfortable you will feel in the desert traveling by camel (sometimes they also have a vehicle) and staying in a tent at night. Is this something that would interest you for two or three days? Or would you prefer to stick to the city of Fes while you are in town?

    Make sure that you read the reviews from the experiences and understand what you are getting into before you depart on your desert tour from Fes.

 


 

Conclusion

With so many amazing things to do in and around Fes, you will likely need to pick and choose the things you get to see. Make sure that your first priority is taking a tour of the Medina. This absolutely requires a guide at least to become accustomed to the city first before trying to venture through the maze by yourself.

Fitting in a day trip to Chefchaouen is definitely recommended by us as we had an incredible time in the city, especially if you are looking to get some beautiful shots. The next for us would be choosing a desert trip if time permits. Obviously this takes a lot of time out of your schedule in comparison to the other tours, but it is definitely an incredible thing to experience while in Morocco. It is also a unique way to get from Fes to Marrakech or Marrakech to Fes.

Regardless, if you are planning a trip to Fes you are in for an incredible treat. The city stands out as our favorite city in the country and really made us fall in love with Morocco.

 

Have you ever visited Fes? What did you do while you were there? Let us know in the comment section below.

Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

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Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers


Ever since I was young, I have always been interested in maps. I guess this is what made me want to get out and travel the world to see destinations beyond finding where they were located on a map.

This also explains why our apartment is currently filled with maps. You can find them on our fridge magnets, on photos on our tables, and on our walls. There is no lack of maps in our place and it really shows off our love of travel.

The thing is, we did not always have these maps crowding the space in our house. It took us a while to decide that purchasing a map to display in our house was a gift we would give one another. It turns out, the perfect gift for a travel lover is a world map. Who would have thought.

To take it one step further than that, having a personalised world map created for the travel lover in your life really adds a special thoughtful touch to a gift. Then, if you could pin the places you have been and the places that are next on your list to go with different colored pins, then you really have a world map gift worth gifting to a travel lover.

This is where Conquest Maps comes in. The best personalised world map gift for travel lovers.


Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers



Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

Finding the perfect gift for someone can be difficult. So often we buy gifts for people that do not end up getting used. It seems that the things people will use consistently is a gift card or money, but who wants to give or receive something like that? It screams that there was no thought put into this gift. It is the easy way out.

When you are starting to think about the perfect gift for someone, you need to go to their basic loves in their lives. Think of their hobbies or the things that they do on vacations. For us, we love travel. For many others, they likely love travel to.

Have you ever wondered the perfect gift to get a travel lover? Something that really shows that you thought about them and something that they will actually use on an ongoing basis. We have the perfect give for you to purchase for that someone special in your life or for somebody that you can pool some money together to get a special gift.

Conquest Maps makes world map gifts for travel lovers. Begun in the basement of Ross Worden’s Columbus, Ohio home in 2013, Conquest Maps has grown to include many more things than just the pin board map that he made for his wife. Now the company makes a wide range of products to inspire the travel lover of your life including: world map decals, canvas art, framed signs, coasters, letters, and so many more accessories with the theme of travel.


Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

The company provides excellent customer support as shown in their reviews and with a direct contact message system in the bottom right corner of their website. Not to mention that their reviews for their products are overwhelmingly positive.

If you are looking for the perfect world map gift of any shape and size, this is the place for you. However, it is their custom map gifts including the personal world maps that you can pin your travels on that makes them stand well above the others. The quality in the print and design makes for the perfect gift for travel lovers.

Personalised World Map

The personalised world map is the perfect gift to give the travel lover in your life. Conquest Maps has created an incredible product for you to give or for you to ask for as a gift. A product that allows you to customize and create something personal. You will be able to further personalise it with pins of where you have traveled to and where you will be traveling to next.

There are several choices for the style of the map that you can have printed. You can choose the map from: world, USA, Europe, North America, Caribbean, and States to have printed for your canvas.

You can also choose from several styles of the map including an old world feel to a modern slate black and white map. There are customized color maps you can choose and rustic vintage maps. Not to mention you can order a full piece map or a three panel piece that breaks the map into thirds.


Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

Sizes for the one piece maps are 24″ x 16″, 36″ x 24″ and 48″ x 32″. Generally the bigger the size you get the better with being able to see the smaller countries and cities on your map and to be able to pin as much as you want to. The sizes for the three panel maps are 48″ x 32″ and 54″ x 36″.


Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

Further personalise your world map by replacing the standard text in the legend where it states your choice of map. Instead of “World Map” you can write the name of the person you are buying it for or write your names if this is a couple gift. You can also include the colors of the pins in the legend and what they stand for. For example, red pins mean that you have been there and blue pins mean that you are going there next or they are on your bucket list.

A personalised option is available on the product page with a button to click for personalisation for $20 more and a text box to write your text to be included. You will then receive a proof in 1-2 business days for you to proofread the spelling. Once you approve the proof, they will print, assemble, and ship your map.

These maps have a custom internal frame to support the canvas that the map is printed on and to allow you to pin your travels on your personalised world map. Furthermore, the frame has a cork backer to allow you to stick your pins into the map without trouble.

Push Pin Travel Maps

Looking for the best world travel map with pins to share your travels in your home? Conquest maps has you covered with their push pin board maps. Travel is something to share and take pride in. A push pin world map will help inspire you to get out there and travel more. Every time you see it, you will reflect on the memories you have made in each destination.

The best part of a push pin travel map is the ability to pin your travels on them and completely customize your map for yourself. You can purchase your world travel map with pins or purchase your pins separately as an added on accessory with your world map print.

The cork backer on your framed world map allows you to pin your travels or even your bucket list trips for you to display your world map pin board in your home.


Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

The pins that represent places you want to travel to will fuel your desire for more travel and getting to those places. There is nothing better than having something in your home reminding you of your travels and your future travels.

We have always wanted something to display our travels in our own home. Something that would look nice and function as a piece of art within our home. We could never find something that had everything we wanted or they were way out of our price range to justify piercing pins through it. Especially when they did not have the cork backer that allowed the pins to actually stay in the canvas.

These maps have everything you would want for a world map that you can pin your travels on. They look beautiful as if a work of art in your living room, they are completely personalised world maps, and allow you to pin your travels. These world map pin boards are the perfect gift for any travel lover. The perfect item to share your travels with your significant other. The best way to show off your travels and the places that you will travel to next.

Conclusion

We love these maps by Conquest Maps. There is no better gift that you can buy the travel lover in your life. Especially if you want to be able to personalise a world map and be able to pin your travels for display, this company has what you are looking for.

If you are just looking for a smaller gift with a world map inspiration to it, they have so many other products to offer. World map decals for your wall or laptop, world map printed letters, travel inspired canvas framed art and framed signs, coasters, and so many more accessories to help personalise your custom printed map.


Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

We are in love with these products. For so long we wanted that map that we could show off our travels in our home, and we found the perfect one for us. It was such a great gift for us as travel lovers to have.

 

Have you purchased a world map from Conquest Maps or another company? Let us know what you thought of it in the comment section below!


Custom Push Pin Travel Maps

Best Personalised World Map Gift for Travel Lovers

Best Travel Shoes: Men and Womens

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Best Travel Shoes: Men and Womens


When you are traveling, you want to have the fewest amount of items in your luggage or backpack. There is only so much that you can throw over your back and only a limited amount of space within your carry-on or checked baggage. Making the most of that space is something that experienced travelers have learned to perfect.

You can practice different ways to pack your bags or even just packing less by eliminating the things that you do not need. Or, you can pack items that are multi-purpose and are going to be the most valuable when you are traveling.

When it comes to the best travel shoes, one such brand comes to mind. Vessi Footwear has created the first waterproof knit shoe that is lightweight and the perfect shoe to take on your travels. They will keep your feet warm and dry in various climates and weather conditions, not weigh down your backpack, stay dry so you do not need to pack more than one pair of shoes for your trip, and will keep you comfortable and stylish while on the road.

 


Best Travel Shoes Men and Womens




Vessi Footwear
Click the image above and use promo code puddles10 for 10% off.

 

Best Travel Shoes for Men and Women

Finding the perfect travel shoe is difficult. There are so many factors that need to be considered and there just does not seem to be that shoe that checks all of the boxes.

You want your shoe to be breathable because you are on your feet all day when you are traveling and you do not want your shoes to be soaked at the end of the day from your sweat. Yes, I sweat a lot when I am traveling. Or just in general. Having a breathable shoe is extremely important to me. Vessi’s shoes allow my feet to breath and let my body heat out.

At the same time, the material keeps water from penetrating through to my sock. This waterproof shoe keeps my feet from getting wet and inevitably cold. It is never fun to be walking around in the rain and coming back to where you are staying to have a soaked pair of socks and a drenched pair of shoes that you may need the next day. The material also makes them extremely easy to clean.

They are lightweight and extremely flexible which allows for the perfect fit and a comfortable shoe. It also makes it easy to travel with, easily fitting into your backpack or eliminating the need of having an extra pair of shoes all-together.

Whether you are looking for the best men’s travel shoes or the best women’s travel shoes, Vessi has a style and color to match your preference. With a slip-on and a couple of sneakers available in their lineup, their styles are sleek with timeless colors to choose from.

The cushion of the shoes are comfortable, lightweight, and antibacterial to keep things fresh. Everything about this makes this the best men’s walking shoes for travel or the best women’s walking shoes for travel. Whichever you are shopping for and whether you are walking or running through the streets during your travels, Vessi Footwear has your feet covered.

 

Vessi Footwear Review

Vessi Footwear was started by Tony Yu, Mikaella Go, and Andy Wang with a Kickstarter campaign back in November 2017. This Kickstarter was extremely successful, since bringing in more than 7,500 backers raising more than $1,000,000 of their $20,000 goal.

It is evident that this shoe addressed a major issue that people were willing to put their money behind to back. There are so many applications for this shoe, especially for travelers. There is no doubt in my mind that this is our shoe for many travels to come.

The shoe is made of a membrane created by Vessi called Flash Knit that is made of millions of pores. These pores are small enough to block water entering the shoe and large enough that body heat from within the shoe is able to escape making it a breathable shoe. This material also makes it extremely easy to clean. It is a stretchy knitted material which makes it easy for these shoes to slip on and slip off when needed.

With so many positive reviews on this shoe, there is no doubt that they are here to stay with worldwide appeal from climates that are wet to climates that experience harsh winters. Walking through the slushy streets while your feet stay dry and warm will never be a dream in the winter.


Best Travel Shoes Men and Womens

Let’s dive into what makes these shoes the perfect travel shoe for you.

  • Best Travel Running Shoes

    • Is running your forte? It is not mine. However, going for a run during your trip usually requires you to have an extra pair of shoes with you or using those same sweaty shoes from your run for your traveling during the day. This is not always the worst thing if it is something you need to do. But it is something you would probably prefer to avoid.

    Vessi Footwear provides the best travel running shoes, while also providing the best walking shoes as well. Their comfortable shoes are perfect for going for a run, but the material that they are made of also makes them breathable so you will not have the same worries of making your shoes soaked from your sweat. Nor will you be worried about soaking your feet if you are running in the rain at any point.

    They provide the best of both worlds all in one shoe which makes them the best travel running shoes for you to take on your next trip.


    Best Travel Shoes Men and Womens

  • Best Shoes for Backpacking

    • Backpacking is an amazing way to see the world. Packing a bag that can be carried on to any plane and moving from destination to destination is incredibly freeing. Except that everything needs to fit into that backpack. With such limited space, you want to make the most of it. You also do not want to break your back carrying a massive backpack around the world.

    When looking for the best shoes for backpacking, you need to consider a two major things with your shoes:

    1. Purpose

      2. Why pack something you do not need? This should be your first question when packing your bags. Do you really need this for your backpacking trip? How many pairs of shoes do you really need? Can you get away with just one?

      If you were to only pack one shoe, then Vessi Footwear’s shoe is the perfect shoe for you to pack. With all of its benefits that we have discussed from being waterproof to being lightweight, it is the best backpacking shoe for you to pack.

    2. Weight

      3. Sure, you can pick up a shoe and think that it does not really matter how much it weighs. But when you are packing your backpack, you will quickly realize how adding a little bit of weight here and there and compromising on the weight will quickly add up and eventually lead to a bag that will weight more than you! Not really that heavy, but I am sure you understand what I am getting at.

      You want a lightweight shoe to pack, while wearing your heavier shoes so that you do not have to add those to your bag. Those heavier shoes will likely be your hiking shoes. The shoes in your bag you want to be your comfortable walking shoes that weight little to nothing. This is why Vessi Footwear’s shoes are the perfect shoe for you to pack in your bag because of how lightweight and comfortable they are.

    With these shoes meeting and surpassing both of these requirements when looking for a shoe, they are the best backpacking shoe for you to pack for your next trip. Possibly the only shoe you will need to pack for your trip.


    Vessi Footwear
    Click the image above and use promo code puddles10 for 10% off.

  • Best Lightweight Travel Shoes

    • Lightweight is important when traveling. You only have a finite amount of space to fit the things you want to travel with. You also only have so much weight that you can carry by yourself. Not that you want to max that out as well. Just because you can carry a certain amount of weight does not mean that it is comfortable to do so and that you will want to do that when traveling in a place you have never been before.

    Vessi Footwear’s shoes are the best lightweight travel shoes and as a result the most comfortable travel shoes thanks to the material used to create them and the design of the shoe. The material is extremely lightweight and the entire top part of the shoe is made in one piece which reduces any additional weight that would be added to the shoe.

    Along with the lightweight of the sole to go along with the complete package of the shoe, this creates the perfect lightweight experience that also contributes to how comfortable these shoes are. No matter your travel style, you want to be comfortable in your shoes. Having large clunky shoes on your feet do not make for an enjoyable walking experience. Having lightweight shoes that make you feel like you are walking on clouds makes for the most comfortable walking shoes for travel available.


    Best Travel Shoes Men and Womens

  • Best Waterproof Shoes for Travel

    • Having a waterproof shoe for traveling is extremely important to us. It will rain when you are traveling. Wherever you are and at any time. This is why it is nice to have a shoe that will protect you from this. Vessi Footwear shoes are the best waterproof shoes for travel. Period.

    The upper portion of the shoe is created as one piece which makes no seams to allow water to sneak through. This makes the shoe a completely waterproof unit until the ankle.

    The material that the shoe is made of is not treated with anything to make it waterproof. Some shoes claim to be water repellent or this can be added on to the shoe, but this is an added treatment to the material that makes the shoes less breathable, only makes the shoe “water repellent” and not waterproof, and needs to be reapplied after some time.

    Vessi Footwear has created a material that is waterproof. With millions of pores in the material, they are too small to allow water to seep into the shoe keeping your feet from getting wet whenever you introduce the shoe into water. The material is also breathable, allowing moisture from within the shoe created by your body heat to escape.
    Seems too good to be true, but it works like a charm.



  • Best All Weather Shoes for Travel

    • No matter what the weather is where you are traveling to, you want to know that your shoes have you covered. Literally. If you are looking for winter travel shoes, then these are the best shoes to keep your feet both dry and warm. The material, as discussed, keeps your feet from getting wet. Because they keep your feet dry, they also keep your feet from freezing.

    We have all been there in the winter time and stepping in a puddle of slush that immediately soaks your foot and now you are stuck with a wet foot that will begin to freeze in the winter cold. Now, this will no longer happen to you. In addition, even if you do not step in that puddle of slush, these shoes keep your feet extremely warm regardless of how dry or wet your feet are.

    Since the material is extremely breathable, you are also keeping your feet from over-sweating in the heat of the summer. From summer to winter, you have the best shoe on your feet. They are the best all weather shoes available for your travels.

 

Conclusion

Get 10% Off Your Next Order

Use the Promo Code puddles10

Vessi Footwear is our travel shoe of choice. It is difficult finding the perfect shoe that has everything that we are looking for. Vessi Footwear created a shoe that checks all of the boxes. Everything we needed for traveling.

From being lightweight to creating a breathable material that also repels water, it seems as though they have accomplished the impossible. Especially since this waterproof material is not treated, but the characteristics of the material itself.

Not only this, but also as travelers you are likely looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint. At Vessi Footwear, they are working hard to reduce their impact on their environment, including working to reduce their production knitting time from 45 minutes down to just 7 minutes per shoe.

If you are looking for the best travel shoe, look no further. We think you have found your choice.

 

If you own a pair of Vessi Footwear, we would love to hear what you think. Alternatively, if you are thinking of purchasing a pair or enjoy a different shoe for traveling, leave a comment below!


Best Travel Shoes Men and Womens

Best Area to Stay in Cape Town, South Africa

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Best Area to Stay in Cape Town, South Africa


There is no doubt about it, Cape Town is a beautiful city. Situated on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean with a massive mountain watching over the city and many famous attractions within the surrounding area, this city is a place you need to have on your bucket list. It was for us.

Cape Town had always been on our list of places to travel and we made it the first stop on our month long trip to make sure we crossed it off of our list early. The city is filled with something for every type of traveler and we loved every minute we were in the city, even when we did not get our luggage for a couple of days after landing.

Our biggest question when planning our trip to Cape Town was not what to do, but where to stay. Our biggest concern was safety as it is known that Johannesburg is not the safest city in the world to visit, but Cape Town being across the country from the capital it is much safer. Still, whenever you travel we always recommend that you know your surroundings and keep an eye on your personal belongings. Just because we felt safe in the city does not mean that we were not aware of our environment and kept our hands tightly on our phones when we had them out.

We want to take this post to talk about what the best area to stay in Cape Town is, as well as the different areas you should stay when you are in the city and why.


Best Area to Stay in Cape Town, South Africa




Booking.com


Where to Stay in Cape Town

Considering where to stay in any city is important. We always tell people to consider three things when booking accommodation. Safety, proximity, and what it offers.

  1. What is the Safest Place to Stay in Cape Town

    2. This is priority number one when you are traveling. You do not want to step outside your hotel in the morning and be fearful of what you will be presented with. You also do not want to return to your accommodation late at night and be scared to walk outside. Knowing the area that you are staying in and what to expect from it is extremely important when traveling. Staying in Cape Town is no different. This is why the areas we discuss in this post have taken into consideration the general safety of that area.

  2. What Area Should I Stay in Cape Town

    3. Being close to certain attractions in certain areas is important when you are traveling as well. You do not want to be way outside the city just because the accommodation was cheap. This will waste a lot of your time and money just getting into the city. This is why we did not consider locations outside of Cape Town like in the winery areas or towards Simon’s Town where the penguins are. Yes. That is right. Penguins in South Africa.

    You want to be in the city and close to certain attractions or more interesting places. This has been taken into consideration when choosing the areas you should stay in Cape Town as well. However, Uber was great in the city and fairly inexpensive. Even though we rented a car while we were in Cape Town to complete our road trip, we still traveled around the city using Uber because it was cost effective and we did not want to worry about parking.

  3. What it Offers

    4. Knowing what your accommodation offers is important as well. Hotels offer a more comfortable stay and are likely to offer more to you as a guest. If this is important to you then this is the way you want to go. If you need parking or anything special with your accommodation, make sure you are booking appropriately.

    Last, but not least, view is important. Though not necessarily a deal breaker when booking accommodation, we always take it into consideration and see if we will be treated to a lovely view of the city so that we can get some beautiful sunrise or sunset photos right outside our hotel.


Where to Stay in Cape Town, South Africa

Best Places to Stay in Cape Town

  • Accommodation in Bo Kaap

    • Bo Kaap, formerly the Malay Quarter, is a historical area in Cape Town that is set at the foot of Signal Hill in Cape Town. It is a beautiful area of Cape Town with cobble streets and vibrantly colored houses. It climbs up the bottom portion of Signal Hill and provides a great view of the city looking towards Table Mountain.

    This makes it the perfect area to stay when you are in Cape Town. It is where we stayed during our four days in the city and it made for some beautiful sunrises. It was the perfect picturesque place to stay while in the city. Another convenient aspect of Bo Kaap is that it is also set close to the city center.

    We stayed in Bo-Kaap at a beautiful place which is unfortunately no longer listed. It was not the most fancy accommodation as it was a shared house, but the view of the city was incredible and something that we would be willing to pay more for. With this area of the city being situated at the foot of Signal Hill, it is slightly higher than the rest of the city and it provides amazing sunrise views with Table Mountain directly across from it.

    If we went back to Cape Town, we would likely stay at the hotel in Bo-Kaap to get more of those views. It is slightly more expensive, but worth every penny with the views of the city that it offers.

    Our Bo-Kaap Recommendation

    17 on Bloem Cape Town



  • Hotels in Cape Town City Centre

    • Cape Town is a great city with a lively night life as well. The city centre has some great entertainment to offer from live music to great food. We took advantage of this one night by going to Mama Africa and it was one of the highlights of our time in Cape Town. We also walked around the city centre during the day and had a great time seeing more of the big city life outside of the waterfront area.

    Sometimes it is better to stay closer to the action, and looking for hotels in central Cape Town can provide you with a better location to the big city life. If this is what interests you when traveling and you see yourself going out each night you are in Cape Town, then perhaps booking a hotel in the city centre is the right choice for you.

    It is likely the least safe area on this list. Nonetheless, during the day we felt completely safe and were in some fairly crowded spaces at times in the city centre. Like we mentioned before, keep aware of your surroundings and your belongings as you always should when traveling. At night, it was a little bit more sketchy, but we managed. Still, if you are used to this type of travel then it will not come as a shock to you. Look for a place near Bree Street, this is the main street of the city centre.

    Our City Centre Recommendation

    The Sentinel Luxury Apartments

    91 Loop Boutique Hostel



  • Cape Town Waterfront Hotels

    • The V&A Waterfront is an exceptionally beautiful place to stay around when you are in Cape Town. It is the perfect place to stay during sunset or to catch a ride on the Cape Wheel, the massive ferris wheel in the area. It has a lovely mall that you can wander around and it is really a nice area of the city. This makes staying here the perfect choice if you are looking for a more quiet and calm area that is still central to all of the action.

    We spent quite a bit of time here as we really enjoyed the mall and had to make a couple of trips back for essentials since our luggage was lost and we did not get it until a couple days into our trip. We did not mind though. It gave us an excuse to come back to this beautiful area of the city a couple of times and enjoy the beautiful sunset.

    This is a sought after area, so make sure you book your accommodation well in advance and expect to pay slightly higher than other places in the city. On the plus side, it is likely the safest area on our list.

    Our Recommendations

    Signature Lux Hotel by ONOMO

    Harbouredge Apartments


    Cape town at night from Bo Kaap

  • Accommodation in Cape Town Near the Beach

    • Cape Town has a couple beautiful beaches within the city. Though you are likely heading further outside of the city to get to some more beaches. Fortunately if you want accommodation next to the beach in Cape Town, then Clifton Beach is within the city and the place you want to be.

    We never had a chance to visit this part of the city. Beaches are not necessarily at the top of our priority list when traveling. If we have some spare time, we may visit a beach. But unless there is something that really stands out to us in the area, we are not going to make it to one. In this area, the beach is the main attraction. However, if you are willing to stay further out of the city to be near a beach and also want more things to do around that area, then visit the map on this page and zoom out. Scroll further south for more beaches and to Simon’s Town if you want to visit a beach and swim with penguins at the same time!

    Our Recommendations

    Hamilton Court 2

    First Group Riviera Suites

  • Cheap Accommodation in Cape Town

    • Budget accommodation in Cape Town is not necessarily the worst thing to consider. There are still some places that will fit any budget, you just need to look for them and make sure that they are in a safe area and offer what you are looking for.

    Unfortunately, most of these places will be a shared place like a room in a house or a shared room in a hostel. Still, it will save you a little bit of money and will be worthwhile if you are staying in the city for a longer amount of time and want to save some money.

    Fortunately, we compiled a small list of places you can consider to book based on a couple of different areas we suggested above. Make sure to read about what you are booking and what is offered in these places because they are shared.

    Our Budget Central Recommendations

    Urban Hive Backpackers

    Long Street Backpackers

    Our Budget Beachfront Recommendation

    Albatross Guest House


i want to travel for a living

Conclusion

We hope that the areas that we discussed in this post provide you with some insight into booking your Cape Town accommodation. These are the areas that we feel are the safest, closest to popular attractions within the city, and offer the most to you as a guest. The recommended hotels are our choices based on what we found online, but you may wish to look further into some more options by viewing the map attached in this post.

If one of these areas do not interest you, perhaps you would prefer to stay in a smaller city like Simon’s Town (zoom out of the map and head south towards Cape Point Nature Reserve). If tasting Cape Town’s famous wines is a top priority for you, then stay close to some of the world famous wineries surrounding the city (zoom out and find the hotels surrounding the winery regions).

Though there are more options to choose from when visiting Cape Town, if we were to return to the city we would definitely stay within the city and likely back in the Bo-Kaap area. It has the best combination of the three things we look for whenever we are booking a hotel. Safety, proximity, and it depends on what the hotel has to offer.

 

Have you ever been to Cape Town? Where did you stay? What was your experience like? Leave a comment below.

Best Cape Town Guided Tours

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Best Cape Town Guided Tours


Tours are not necessarily what we seek out when traveling to a new destination. However, we are happy to book them when necessary or when we want to take more of a back seat approach to our travels. They also come in handy when trying to make the most of your trip and to get more insight into a place that you would otherwise not know about.

Tours are necessary when going diving with sharks because more than likely you do not have the equipment to go diving with sharks on hand when you are traveling. Going on a wine tour is always nice to do especially in such a beautiful wine country. Also, learning more about a culture and getting first-hand experience of a destination from a local is a great way to either get better acquainted with a destination before exploring it further yourself or to make the most of the time that you have left in a destination.

This is where traveling Cape Town comes into play. With so much that you can do in and round this city, it is nice to be able to book some tours in order to accomplish it all. We missed out on some things when we were only there for four days. We also could have really used a tour of Table Mountain rather than hiking the mountain ourselves and accidentally taking one of the most difficult paths. A food tour of the city also would have introduced us to more South African cuisine while we were there.

All of these reasons and more is why we have a lot of recommendations for the best Cape Town guided tours that are available to you.

 


Best Cape Town Guided Tours

 

Typically we use guided tours for three different reasons.

  1. Limited Time

    2. This happens often to us as we tend to travel very fast and need to make the most of our time. This means that we book tours that will take us around certain places in the city to make sure that we do not miss what we came to see. This helps us not waste any time while in a destination and maximize the things we see.

  2. Getting Acquainted with the City

    3. This is a great way to use tours, and we tend to do this with cities we are unfamiliar with. We will book tours once we arrive in a destination to get acquainted with the city and to know where we want to travel to. Sometimes this can be a walking or cycling tour. Sometimes this can be a hop-on hop-off bus tour. Either way, it is a great way to learn more about the city when we first arrive. Especially when you are likely extremely tired when you first land in a city, you do not want to be wandering around getting lost right off the bat.

  3. Equipment or Expertise-Specific Activities

    4. Obviously we could not have gone paragliding in Pokhara, Nepal or fishing in South Africa without booking a tour. These are activities that require equipment that we do not travel with or expertise that we just do not have and are not able to learn while there. This is when booking a tour is absolutely essential.

 

Cape Town Guided Tours

We have compiled a list of tours in and around the city of Cape Town that are at the top of our list for things to do. The tours have been organized into lists of city tours, food tours, tours from Cape Town, and a few other activity-specific tours. This will help you pick and choose which tours fit best into what you want to do and where you want to go.

Cape Town is a beautiful city with something for every type of traveler. There was no shortage of activities to fill this list. Whether you just want a local to show you around the city so that you are more

  • Cape Town City Tours

    • The best way to get to know more about a city and the areas is to learn from a local. This is where walking tours, cycling tours, and bus tours help to get you introduced to a city like Cape Town. Booking one of these early in your trip will help you get more comfortable to your surroundings and introduce you to areas you will want to revisit. It also gives you a chance to ask as many questions to a local as you can to prepare you for your trip. Alternatively, you can book one of these late in your trip to make sure you accomplish something that you did not earlier in your trip.

    • Cape Town Walking Tour

      • In this tour you can walk the streets of Cape Town townships while getting a drive to various locations where you will explore. This is the perfect walking tour if you want to learn more about every day life in Cape Town.

    • Cape Town Cycling Tours

      • Bike through some of Cape Town’s points of interest. See more than a walking tour while learning what you can from you local guide. This is the perfect alternative to the walking tour if you are comfortable cycling.

    • Cape Town Bus Tour

      • If you do not feel like biking, then the hop-on hop-off bus tour is the perfect thing for you. Get a full day pass and see more of the city or the areas of the cities that are on your to-do list. Also with this pass is a cable car pass to Table Mountain and a free walking tour included.

    • Cape Town Food Tours

      • Get exposure to food and music with this recommended tour. With a drumming experience and meal involved, you get to really experience the culture that Cape Town has to offer.

    • Cape Town Hiking Tours

      • A visit to Cape Town is not complete without hiking its famous mountain, Table Mountain. The iconic mountain towers over the city and has a massive plateau at its peak giving it the name. It is an incredible hike, and one that if you are not prepared for may catch you off guard as it did to us. We did not buy a map or a tour and decided to ask our driver to drop us off at a trail head. It turns out we followed the path of one of the hardest trails which included some free climbing and some dangerous parts. It really took our breath away. Both in climbing and in the view at the top. Make sure that if you are not booking a tour that you plan your route accordingly. We suggest a tour.


     

  • Tours from Cape Town

    • Though Cape Town has some incredible tours within the city, it also has some beautiful tours outside of the city as well. Actually, a lot of the tours here were at the top of our list when we were visiting the city. Things like visiting Cape Point Nature Reserve and seeing the penguins at Boulders Beach were things we could not miss. We also have on this list a tour that we wish we would have taken and definitely regret not doing it. Seeing great white sharks up close.

    • Cape Point Tour

      • Cape Point Nature Reserve is a beautiful place and a must-visit if you are in the area. The best part about going here is the view of the ocean from the lighthouse and the incredible sound of the rough waters crashing against the rocky shores. You will see some wildlife here as well. There is also a museum that you can visit where you will learn of the many stories of boats that this treacherous area has claimed.

    • Cape Town Penguins Tour

      • Penguins? In South Africa? This was our reaction when we first heard about this. Yes, an area near Cape Town is home to a large colony of penguins and you can get right up next to them and even swim with them! This was such an amazing experience for us and one that we would recommend anyone do when in Cape Town without hesitation. Penguins are the best and to be able to get that close to them was unbelievable. Just be respectful when you are there.


       

    • Winelands Tour Cape Town

      • Cape Town is a well-known region for their world famous wineries. This makes it the perfect time to visit as many of the wineries as possible. How do you do this? Book a guided tour of the wineries and make the most of your time there. It is not possible to drive it yourself and to taste all of the wines. Legally. And it is no fun if somebody has to be the designated driver. So book a tour and enjoy it with a group of people. Or book a private tour and enjoy your time together in a more intimate setting while somebody takes you from winery to winery. Full day or half day, there are guided wine tasting tours of Cape Town to cover you. Do yourself a favor and book a Cape Town vineyard tour. You will not regret it.


       

    • Whale Watching and Shark Tours Cape Town

      • Taking these tours is sure to invoke some adrenaline into your travels. Jump in a cage and get face-to-face with great white sharks or spot whales from a more safe distance. Either way, embarking on one of these tours will be sure to make you experience these creatures up close and personal and create memories you will never forget.


     

  • Cape Town Safari Tour and Garden Route Tours

    • These tours were chosen as safari tours departing from Cape Town. This saves you from needing to have your own transportation to get to the place where the safari will begin. Instead you can still have the enjoyment of a fully guided tour. One tour is a full day tour, whereas the others are multi-day tours so be prepared for a little bit more of a time commitment. However, our tour of Addo Elephant National Park was one of the most incredible experiences we have ever been on. Being so close to the animals in the wild was incredible and something that we will never forget. A Cape Town safari tour is something that you can not pass up on when you are there. It is also nice to be able to book the Cape Town Garden Route tour along with the safari because it is a beautiful drive.


     

  • Cape Town Helicopter Tours

    • This can really put the cherry on top of any trip. The ultimate view of Cape Town. A helicopter tour of Cape Town will really put into perspective the beauty of this city and everything that you were able to see while you were there. This is the best way to top off your trip. An experience that you will never forget. If you want more of a hands-on experience, then book a tandem paragliding tour of Cape Town and get the real adrenaline experience high above the gorgeous city.


 

Conclusion

As you can likely see, Cape Town has so much to offer. You can spend months here doing something everyday and feel like you have more of the city to see. This is why we recommend booking in a few tours into your trip. Especially to just take your hands off of the controls and being able to relax when you are traveling rather than worrying how to get somewhere or where you are going to eat.

This is when a tour will come in handy and help you to enjoy the moment in your travels. Alternatively, you can book a tour like diving with sharks to add some excitement in your travels. This is something we missed out on while we were in Cape Town and would absolutely be the first thing we do if we ever return. It is one of the best places to see Great White sharks in the world. Unfortunately our time in the city was short and we had to make the most of the time that we had.

Do not lose out on booking guided tours while in South Africa. Make sure you plan them in advance so that you know the places you are definitely not going to miss out on.

 

Have you been to Cape Town before? What tours did you take? What tours did you wish you would have taken? Leave a comment below.

Visiting Xochimilco from Mexico City for a Boat Ride

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Visiting Xochimilco from Mexico City for a Boat Ride


A fiesta on a canal. That is the best way to describe Xochimilco to somebody in one sentence. It really is an enjoyable time to sit back on a wonderfully decorated boat and to drift along a canal with a drink in one hand, snack in another, and mariachi bands in the background.

Visiting Xochimilco from Mexico City for a boat ride is essential when staying in the city. There is no reason why this should be missed. Especially if it is placed at just the right time in your itinerary. If you know you have a long day the day before, then it is the perfect activity for the next day. Get somebody that you met, a group of people, or meet people there on the day of and go in on a boat ride here and have a fiesta.

It is the perfect time to unwind from the pressure and stress of traveling. A time for yourself. With the people you want to be with partying with people you may not know, but bonding over the enjoyment of Xochimilco and everything that this canal has to offer.


Visiting Xochimilco from Mexico City for a Boat Ride


 


 

Visiting Xochimilco

We arrived at Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas in Xochimilco on a Monday at 11:00 a.m. There was nobody there. The locals in the market were just beginning to open their doors. There were a few locals in the scattered grouping of boats, but nobody on the canal and just one person trying to sell us on a canal ride.

There are many different entrances to the canal, though we were recommended to visit Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas. While we deciding when we should get on a boat to see if more people would show up, we shopped around the market that stretches along a small section of the canal in this area. We watched as some locals were painting and decorating pieces of a boat that would later be assembled.


Xochimilco, Mexico City

The best time to visit Xochimilco is on the weekend during its operating hours. This is when you can take advantage of the fiesta that happens on the canal. It is also the busiest time. It is probably better to get there at 10 a.m. when things kick off to get your boat and get on the canal before things get crazy. However, there are more than enough boats on the canal at any given time.

Weekdays are great if you are looking for a more relaxing cruise on the canal. As we said, we arrived at 11:00 a.m. on a Monday. It was around noon when we finally decided to get onto the boat and there was only one other boat on the canal, though several other smaller boats offering drinks, snacks, and services. It was a lovely cruise and we were able to really enjoy the time together.

The best part about this was that we also got to experience the party aspect of Xochimilco on the second half of our canal cruise as more and more boats were departing and joining in the festivities. We loved our experience here. Complete your day by visiting the nearby Coyoacan area and seeing the Frida Kahlo museum and so much more.


Xochimilco, Mexico City

How to Get to Xochimilco from Mexico City

We have one way to recommend getting around Mexico City. And that is Uber. Sure public transportation is great to be able to see more of the local life of others. We have heard of a lot of stories about it being much safer than people think. But we also got several stories from our AirBnB host about people getting pick pocketed while on public transit.

We were not interested in taking the risk, especially with our limited amount of time in the city. We want to make the most of our time, so Uber is the best bet. Not to mention it is incredibly inexpensive and convenient in Mexico City. The traffic here is bad and driving here would be enough to cause you to have a mental breakdown if you were to rent a car.

The taxis here look broken down and barely holding on. We avoided those. Uber has a great infrastructure in place to assure your safety and comfort. The forty minute drive from La Condesa, Mexico City to Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas, Xochimilco was roughly 100 pesos.


Xochimilco, Mexico City

Xochimilco Boat Tour

When we were ready, we paid the $500 pesos to get on a boat to a gentleman who we were approached by when we first arrived. He hailed one of the drivers, and we followed him along the large assortment of boats to one of them at the very back with good access to the canal. There are literally probably one hundred boats parked along the canal all painted and decorated with vibrant colors and each has its own name.

We got in and our driver spoke to us in Spanish (we do not speak Spanish) and pushed us off with a long paddle until we got through to the opening of the canal. We enjoyed the wakening of the locals on the banks of the canal either farming or preparing their day.


Xochimilco, Mexico City

Along your ride are smaller boats that will approach your boat and offer you various snacks, drinks, and services. For example, we got a taken of us while cruising on our boat. There were mariachi bands that you can pay for and they will board your boat and play for you. We could definitely see how this could turn into one massive party on this canal if we were to visit on the weekend.

The one hour canal ride takes you to a flower shop / market where you get out to stretch your legs and to see what there is for sale here. Unfortunately there was no reason for us to purchase a plant to bring back with us, but we did get a cool little Groot flower pot to bring back with us.

From here, we board our boat again and are taken back to the beginning. On our way back is when more and more boats embarked. Mariachi bands were playing and people were enjoying drinks. The party was just starting on this Monday. It was a great balance for us to depart and really enjoy the peace and tranquility, while on our way back we were able to enjoy the party that was just beginning. We would not have wanted it any other way.


Xochimilco, Mexico City

Xochimilco Boat Price

A one hour tour on the canal is $500 pesos. This is a fixed price and generally is not negotiable. This is per boat though, so you can get a group of people together on a boat to pitch in. You can have roughly 20 people on a boat and splitting this $500 peso charge.

Is the tour worth this price? Absolutely. As mentioned before, this tour includes half an hour to a flower market / shop along the canal where you will have time to look around the shop and then hop back into the boat to make your way back to the beginning. Any other extras like snacks, drinks, mariachi bands, or photos are extra along the tour.

You can meet people there or somewhere along your travels to try and split the cost of the boat tour in order to make it more economical. However, if you are going to do this it is better to do it before you get to the gate of Xochimilco so that the salesperson does not see that you are not arriving together.

There is a longer tour that you can also purchase which will take you to the Island of Dolls, but this was not in our budget nor were we interested at the time to do this tour.


Xochimilco, Mexico City

Conclusion

Add Xochimilco to your Mexico City itinerary. It is the perfect unwind from any pressure and stress that comes from travel. The perfect canal ride with drinks, snacks, and music. Is there a better way to engulf yourself in Mexican culture?

We think not. And though we arrived when there was nobody, we were on our way back along the canal when the party was getting going. There is no doubt that this is a great one hour tour whether you enjoy a quiet time and want to go during a weekday or you want to fiesta on the weekend.

 

Have you been to Xochimilco before? What was your experience here? Let us know in the comment section below.

Where to Stay in Mexico City

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Where to Stay in Mexico City


Mexico City is a wonderful destination filled with so much history and culture. It is unfortunate that the country of Mexico has been portrayed so negatively in the media. However, this is not the case. Sure there are areas in the capital city that you should avoid. And whenever you travel, you should be aware of your belongings, where you are, and who is around you.

There are places where to stay in Mexico City that we will explore in this post. Areas and hotels or AirBnBs that we would recommend you stay while you are in the city. There are certain things you need to consider when you are in Mexico City in terms of the area you are staying and the proximity to the places you want to visit.

We all know that where you stay in a city can make or break you trip. You do not want to find out that a place is infested with insects or that you are fearful of getting back to your hotel at night. This is why it is important to do the research in advance to plan where you are going to stay.


Where to Stay in Mexico City

 




Booking.com


 

Where to Stay in Mexico City

There are certain areas in Mexico City that you should focus on when booking your hotel or AirBnB. There are safer areas in the city and places that you should avoid. You never want to worry about getting back into your hotel at night. You also want to know that there is security in your building or a gated entrance.

Safety is always the first thing you should consider whenever staying in a city. This is why staying in a hotel is a good recommendation when in Mexico City. Generally hotels have good security and you will have peace of mind knowing that your personal possessions that stay in your accommodation are safe and that when you are returning to your place at night is likely safer. Also, hotels generally offer air conditioning whereas booking a stay in someone’s place does not necessarily guarantee air conditioning. This can be an important aspect as air conditioning is not everywhere in Mexico City, so having a place that offers it especially in the heat of the summer is important.

You should then consider what you want to see and do when you are in Mexico City. You do not need to plan your entire day-to-day itinerary, but doing a quick search online to see the different things you can do and see in the city and plotting them on a map will give you a good idea of approximately where you should be staying in the city.

We went ahead and plotted a few important points on the map below. These are points of interest that you will need to consider when choosing your accommodation. Though they do not represent everything that you can do in Mexico City, it does provide areas of interest that you should be considering when choosing your accommodation.


Where to Stay in Mexico City

Now, when considering where your accommodation is in terms of public transportation is not too important in Mexico City. This is because we highly suggest that you use Uber in the city. This is because public transit, though extremely inexpensive, has been known for pick-pocketing as warned by our host. Taxis look like they are breaking down. This leaves Uber being a still relatively inexpensive option to get around the city. It also provides a comfortable ride and safety knowing that you have the Uber network backing you and knowing where you are and where you are going.

Looking at the Booking.com map above, there is a reason why there is a large cluster of hotels available in the following two areas that we will recommend you stay in Mexico City. It is because these are among the safest and lovely areas to stay within the city. They are both at the top of our list for areas that we would return to when back in Mexico City.

La Condesa

This is the area that we stayed and the one recommended to us to stay by James and Sarah of The Whole World or Nothing. We did stay in an AirBnB, but we got really lucky in terms of it having a gated entrance and security. This was not something we had considered when choosing the right place to stay.

This is why it is important to look for the small details when you are looking for the right accommodation. Hotels are generally safer and provide a slightly more comfortable stay. However, we were happy with our choice of accommodation in Mexico City.

La Condesa is full of wide streets and tree-lined side roads. It is right next to Chapultepec Park which is a massive park filled with all types of attractions. This made it an ideal choice for us while staying in the city. Our place was also on a main road which lead directly towards the Historic City Center which made for a slightly cheaper Uber ride. However, every ride in Mexico City is inexpensive.

There are Lime scooters in La Condesa and the surrounding area which you can ride if you can download the app and make your way through the prompts. We could not.

From morning to night, we walked the streets of La Condesa. The side streets are less lit up at night, but we felt safe walking them and never felt as though we were threatened. The main streets are lit up and have traffic passing by on a continuous basis at night.

Roma

Split up between Roma Norte and Roma Sur, these two areas are right next to La Condesa with similar characteristics. This makes them still a lovely choice for a place to stay. However, Roma Norte is the better choice of the two.

Roma Norte extends slightly further north of La Condesa and is set mostly east of it. It is filled with side streets that would entertain any foodie for days on end. It is the perfect place to stay if you are interested in trying the food that Mexico City has to offer. We dined in a few different places in Roma Norte while we were in Mexico City and loved the experience.

We walked the streets in the morning, during the day, and late at night when the sun had gone down. There were still people on the streets and still felt very safe while walking at night. Though you should still be cautious of your environment at night.


Where to Stay in Mexico City

Our Suggested Hotels in Mexico City

We have made a list of our suggested hotels that are in these two areas to save you some time having to search for the right hotels in the right areas. These are hotels based on location and safety, as well as comparing reviews between several visitors and their star ratings.

Casa Decu

Casa Decu is our mid price range choice for a place to stay in Mexico City. It is also the most bang for your buck as far as a hotel is concerned in the areas we are talking about. It is a lovely designed hotel that provides a wide range of amenities for your stay in Mexico City. It includes a terrace to get a view of the city and is a lovely walking neighborhood technically not in La Condesa, but right next to it.

Kuarti Posada Viena

This is our budget choice for those wanting to stay in a less expensive place, but still feel safe in the surroundings and have the comfort of a hotel. This place offers more of a Mexican style interior filled with lovely colors and a view of the city from your room. You will love the area outside of this hotel and walking around the area. However, there is no WIFI available in this hotel. Make sure to pick up a SIM card with data on it.

Capital Luxury Apartments and Offices

Between the top two in price range is Capital Luxury Apartments and Offices. Much like the top two, you will be located in a beautiful neighborhood with a safe place to walk outside. However, you will have more amenities in terms of having a kitchen at your disposal if you want to take advantage of cooking with the local ingredients you pick up at a local market. This place is ideal for lengthy stays if you are looking for a sleek space to work and live in.

Conclusion

We hope that this article has helped you make your decision on choosing the right area and ultimately the right accommodation for your trip. We always believe that making the right decision on where to stay has to do first with the safety of that area and second with the proximity to places you want to see.

Knowing the safety is obviously priority number one whenever you are traveling. Your trip can quickly become ruined if you are robbed or worse. We always recommend wherever you are traveling to be aware. Be aware of your belongings and where you have them on you. Keeping things in your back pockets is not recommended. Also, be aware of your surroundings and who is around you. Being preventative is the most important to being safe.

The next priority in choosing your accommodation is knowing its proximity to the places on your itinerary. You do not need to plan out your entire itinerary, but knowing the places that are important to you or the places that are must-see will help you know the best place to stay in terms of proximity to these places.

Once you know this information, you will know where to stay in Mexico City.

 

Have you stayed in Mexico City before? Where did you stay? What was your experience? Let us know in the comment section below.

Best Guided Tours of Mexico City

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Best Guided Tours of Mexico City


Mexico City is a beautiful city. The capital of Mexico, it has so much history and culture to offer any style of traveler. From food, architecture, entertainment, and day trips, you have more than enough for weeks to keep you busy in this city. This is why if you have limited time, it is best to book a guided tour of Mexico City in order to get to accomplish the things you want or may not have known before visiting.

When you only have a limited time in a city, you need to make the most of every minute. Every hour. Every day. When traveling, you may not know exactly the places you need to see and how to get there. We have been to places where we look back and cannot believe we missed out on some things that we did not know about before.

This is where booking a guided tour comes in to play. When you book a tour, you have made a commitment. There is no accidentally sleeping in and missing out on part of the day. Otherwise you have wasted the money and the experience. You also know that you are getting a local to show you the places that you may otherwise have missed out on. And you get information from a local that you may not receive especially if you do not speak the language.

With all of these advantages, there is only one disadvantage. You have committed yourself to someone else’s plan and someone else’s schedule. Therefore, we do not necessarily recommend booking a tour every day of your travels. But strategically placing a tour throughout your trip will help take the pressure off of you knowing how to get from point A to point B and being able to just go with the flow.


Best Guided Tours of Mexico City

 

Best Tours of Mexico City

Booking the right tours of Mexico City can really help you see everything that this city has to offer in a limited amount of time. Whether you want to get more comfortable with the city and its people before traveling it by yourself or you are just trying to see as much of the city as possible, these are the best tours of Mexico City that you need to go on.

  • Hop-On / Hop-Off Bus Tour

    • If you have just one day or two to see as much as you can in Mexico City, then perhaps the Hop-On / Hop-Off bus tour is for you. We took advantage of this on our last day in the city to see as much as we could that we may have missed. The key to this bus is to make sure that you know the few different routes and where they connect so that you can get off and get onto the next bus to take you to a different part of the city.

    Map out your route and get on the bus that makes sense for the things you wanted to see. One ticket gives you admission to all of the buses for 24 hours. This makes it the perfect choice for just one or two days in the city.


  • Tours in Mexico City

    • What is better than Mexican food? You NEED to go on a food tour in Mexico City to take advantage of all of the marvelous food that the city has to offer. Some of these places you would miss if you were not to go around with a local or if you had limited time in the city. Not to mention the markets that the city has scattered throughout that will provide so much to satisfy your senses and likely leave you a few dollars shorter.

    Ever been to a Lucha Libre event? This is the perfect Mexican entertainment show that you cannot miss when visiting the country. Get a mask and enjoy the experience of a show you will not forget. The crowd gets so into it and the wrestlers are incredible performers.


  • Xochimilco

    • Xochimilco is a party. But on a boat. It is an incredibly fun time that is essential when visiting Mexico City. Basically you get onto a wonderfully decorated boat and a person paddles you around a canal while other boats are doing the same. You can bring drinks and snacks onto the boat. Other smaller boats are passing by and you can hire a mariachi band to join you on your boat to sing, get snacks and drinks from passing boats, get your photo taken, and all of this while everyone around you is enjoying the same atmosphere.

    This is up there on a list of things you must do when in Mexico City. Not only that, but also along your way to or from the canal you can also visit the Frida Kahlo Museum. This is Frida Kahlo’s blue house where she resided in Mexico City and is a great glance at her life and upbringing in the city alongside her partner Diego Rivera and the many guests they had in their home.


  • Day Trips from Mexico City

    • We loved visiting Puebla. It is an incredibly beautiful city full of historic structures and lovely markets. Not to mention the shrine and archaeological site upon a massive pyramid in the neighboring Cholula. The problem with doing this trip by yourself in a day is that you are so stretched for time and are constantly on your phone trying to get an Uber and rushing through each stop. Being able to book a tour that takes care of all of this for you is so worth it.

    One day trip we missed was going on a Volcano hike. We were so close to booking this tour, but it just did not fit into our schedule. There is no way that we would miss this if we were to visit Mexico City in the future. Other day trips we missed as well was the trip to Cuernavaca, Taxco, and Hidalgo. You only have as much time as you have. If that makes sense. And we had to pick and choose the places we could visit.

    We do not regret going to Puebla during our day trip, nor do we regret this next recommendation.



  • Teotihuacan

    • Though this could fit in the previous category, Teotihuacan is in our opinion the best day trip that you can make from Mexico City. Though it is not necessarily difficult to get to (get to the bus station, purchase a round trip ticket, wait for the bus, take the two hour ride, do your thing, and then find the bus stop near the entrance and wait for the bus to get back to Mexico City) it is definitely more convenient to have somebody else take you there and walk you through the massive archaeological site.

    There is a reason that this trip is a full day trip. This site is so massive and there is so much that you can learn from somebody if you go with the right person. Unfortunately we did not. And I feel that we missed out on so much information about the history of this incredible piece of Mexican history. Looking back at it, we would have definitely booked one of these tours. Especially getting early admittance into the site before all of the crowds and being able to get some photos in during the perfect lighting of the early morning.


Conclusion

We stand by choosing a tour during your travels. It is not necessarily something we do every trip. However, every once in a while it is nice to be able to have someone show you around their country or city. To be able to not have to worry how you are going to get from one place to another and get to places you may not have been able to see.

These are all tours that you can use to make the most of your time in Mexico City. They also cover all of the bases that the city has to offer. A food tour to wet your appetite, a lucha libre event to entertain, a walking tour to learn more about the city, a bus tour to cover all the places you missed, and day trips to satisfy every traveler. By the time you finish this list, you will have completed what you wanted in Mexico City or be extremely comfortable to go anywhere and do anything in the city.

We loved Mexico City and a trip to the capital of Mexico will really complete a trip there. Never did we feel unsafe visiting this beautiful city and could not have imagined going to this country without seeing what this place offered.

From Mexico City to Puebla: Day Trip Itinerary

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From Mexico City to Puebla: Day Trip Itinerary


It turns out Puebla is the only city in Mexico City that celebrates Cinco de Mayo. Did you know that??

I definitely did not until researching about when we should visit Puebla and stumbling onto it and promptly scheduling it for our May 5th day trip from Mexico City. The reason why it is celebrated in Puebla is because that is the stage where the battle was fought and won by the Mexican Army over the French Empire on the same date of 1862.

The thing about scheduling something in your itinerary for a specific date is that you need to keep track of what day it is. And when you are traveling, keeping track of what day it is can become difficult quickly. So, on the morning of May 5th in our AirBnB, this is what the conversation between myself and Natalie sounded like.

Natalie: “What are we doing today?”
Mike: “We are going to Xochimilco to do a boat ride and then maybe walking around the area and coming back to walk around Chapultepec.”
Natalie: “Sounds great, where do you want to grab breakfast?”
Mike: *Stunned expression* “Wait, what day is it?”
Natalie: “The fifth.”
Mike: “Never mind, we are going to Puebla today to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, let’s go!”


And thus began our day trip to Puebla to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.


From Mexico City to Puebla Day Trip Itinerary

 


 

Mexico City to Puebla Day Trip

Puebla is at the top of our recommendations for day trips from Mexico City. The city is filled with history. Almost like an extension of Mexico City, but with more color.

There is a lot to cram into a day in this city, so you could definitely add another day to this trip. However, in keeping with what we did when we were in the city and to keep this to a day trip, we have added everything that we did and that we missed when we were in the city.

In order to accomplish everything on this list you will need to make the most of your day trip. Make sure that you get to the bus station before 7 a.m. to get to Puebla shortly after 9 a.m. to get the most done in the day. This is where we messed up as we did not get into Puebla until after 11 a.m.

 

Things to Do in Puebla


Zocalo, Puebla, Mexico

  • Zocalo

    • Zocalo is the city center of Puebla and the perfect starting point in the city to see the historic buildings. From the bus stop we took an Uber to as close as we could get to here before our driver had to let us out to walk a few minutes because of the Cinco de Mayo festivities. This Uber cost us a little over 100 pesos. From this point you can enjoy the main square of the city and relax or use it as a starting point of your walking tour to the next few places on our list.


    Puebla Zocalo

  • Catedral de Puebla, Capilla del Rosario, Templo de Santo Domingo

    • With Catholicism being so prevalent in Mexico, there are several important structures in each city you visit. Puebla is no different with these three within a short walk from Zocalo. They are definitely worth checking out and have free admission if open to the public.


    Puebla Cathedral

  • Biblioteca Palafoxiana

    • Founded in the mid 1600s, this library was the first in Mexico and considered one of the first in North America. It holds many texts from the fifteenth century until now and is a beautiful architectural piece. There is a tour and a cost of admission that goes along with entering of approximately 35 pesos.

  • El Parián

    • This is a market where you can purchase all of the souvenirs, street food, or shop the local craftsmen shops. We walked in to a cigar shop where they were rolling the tobacco right in front of us. There were also numerous food stalls and souvenir shops. This is really a great place to go for a stroll and to see what the city has to offer you when it comes to shopping and eating.

  • Estrella de Puebla

    • An iconic observation wheel that allows you to get a beautiful view of the city and its surroundings. It is a little bit out of the way so it is best to take an Uber from Zocalo to it before going to Cholula or on your way back from Cholula to get to the bus station. From Cholula to here, it cost us around 100 pesos. Either way, it is always nice to get a wonderful view of the city from way up. The cost is approximately 40 pesos.


    Puebla, Mexico

    Puebla and Cholula, Mexico

  • Cholula

    • Next to Puebla city is Cholula, another city that you need to visit should you be in the area to see the next two places on our list. Despite Puebla providing us with gorgeous flashbacks to Cuba and its beautiful historic architecture, Cholula’s two attractions really made the trip from Mexico City worth it. Do not miss out on these two. If you only have one day to do both, you will definitely have to use Uber to get her to make the most of your limited time. We took an Uber from Zocalo to Cholula and it cost about 150 pesos.

  • Shrine of Our Lady of Remedies

    • Built atop a pyramid, this shrine was constructed in the late 1500s. The hike up from street level is steep and lasts only about 10 to 15 minutes. The view of the city is wonderful. On clear days you can even see the volcano in the background, but these days there is a lot of dust and smog covering it up so we did miss this view. There are small food stalls and souvenir shops at the top. You can only peer into the altar and no photos are allowed, but you are free to walk around the structure and grab as many photos as you want. It is really a gorgeous place to see for yourself.


    Our Lady of Remedies Cholula

  • Zona Arqueológica de Cholula

    • Located at the foot of the hill to the top of the Shrine, this site is home to the Great Pyramid of Cholula or Tlachihualtepetl. It is said to be the largest architectural site of a pyramid in the New World and the largest pyramid in the world, though from a distance it just looks like a big hill that the shrine sits atop of. However, it is still being excavated and is known to be the site of a temple. We did miss out on entering this incredible place as we ran out of time, but definitely would recommend it based on what we hear from other travelers here. Cost of admission is approximately 70 pesos per adult.

 

Best Places to Eat in Puebla

With not every place being open during the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, we were not able to pick and choose the restaurants and cafes that we had on our list. Still there were a lot of places open and we have some recommendations below.

  • Catalina Cafe

    • This was our first stop when we got to Zocalo. It was our second choice as we walked east from the square towards a cafe that was on our list. Unfortunately, that one was closed. Fortunately, Catalina Cafe is a lovely little two story cafe with good coffee, cakes, and pastries for you to choose from.


    Catalina Cafe, Puebla, Mexico

    Catalina Cafe, Puebla, Mexico

  • La Gran Fama

    • If you have a sweet tooth, then La Gran Fama is the number one choice for hand made candies and sweets. Founded in the 19th century, you can find a wide variety of snacks to satisfy any craving for sweets.


    La Gran Fama, Puebla, Mexico

    La Gran Fama, Puebla, Mexico

  • La Textileria

    • A more commercialized Mexican style restaurant available in Puebla around Estrella de Puebla that you can visit. They served some delicious bread with a wide range of salsa dips that we were excited to try. The tacos were amazing, from crab to shrimp.


    La Textileria, Puebla, Mexico

    La Textileria, Puebla, Mexico

    La Textileria, Puebla, Mexico

    La Textileria, Puebla, Mexico

 

Bus From Mexico City to Puebla

Puebla is an easy 2 hour to 2.5 hour bus trip from Mexico City. We took an Uber from our AirBnB in La Condesa to the Mexico TAPO bus station which cost $70 pesos.

Like with any transport throughout Mexico City, we always recommend taking an Uber. It is reliable, safe, and cost effective. The metro system would be cheaper, but it will take up more of your time. We were also warned by our host of pick-pocketing incidents being frequent. Taxis in Mexico City do not look reliable, so we steered clear of using them.

Once you arrive in Mexico TAPO, you have a wide selection of busing companies to take you to Puebla Terminal CAPU. You will enter the station and be presented with a circular forum with ticket sales along the borders. We went with OCC without wasting any time checking other vendors. A round trip per person cost us $192 pesos.


Mexico City to Puebla, Mexico

You do have to specify your departure time in both Mexico City and from Puebla, so make sure you give yourself enough time for what you want to do in Puebla. We gave ourselves an extra hour leaving at 6:30 p.m. from Puebla and it was a little bit of a rush to get done what we wanted to do. Leaving at this time brought us back to Mexico City before 9 p.m. and then getting an Uber back to our AirBnB took us past 9 p.m.

You will be provided with a gate number where the bus will be departing from and you will just be looking for when your bus is departing. On our way back from Puebla it was a little bit more confusing as we had to ask one of the representatives where our gate was. It is easy to ask by showing the ticket even if they do not speak English.

 

Getting Around Puebla

While in the city, we walked a lot. We did take an Uber from the bus station to Zocalo and walked around every place that we could as most of them are within walking distance. When we could not walk and had to get somewhere fast, Uber was the best option.

 

Cinco de Mayo in Puebla

Unfortunately we just missed out on the Cinco de Mayo parade in Puebla. However, there were so many things going on within the city from markets and small shows if we followed the Cinco de Mayo event plan. With a list in hand of things we already wanted to do in Puebla, we did not bother trying to visit these small shows, but were excited to see the markets, street food vendors, and stalls throughout the city.

There were a lot of people on the streets celebrating, and especially when the parade cleared that passed by close to the Zocalo area, people flooded into the main area of the city to take part in the markets and to eat.

Is Puebla worth visiting on Cinco de Mayo? If you want a lot of people around and enjoying the festivities of open markets and artists in the park areas, then absolutely. Definitely get up early to get to the parade if this is what you are interested. We really enjoyed the atmosphere of the city on this day, but it definitely would not be for everyone. It was very busy, and we did not get to enjoy some of the performances that we could have seen because it did not fit into the things we wanted to see in Puebla which we thought were more important at the time.

 

Conclusion

We enjoyed our time wandering around the city of Puebla. The architecture is worth the trip alone. Let alone the great street vendors, history, and attractions to visit. It is second on our list of day trips from Mexico City, with Teotihuacan being the best day trip that you can do from Mexico City.

Unless you want to see the parade and enjoy the crowds of locals in the city, then I would plan your Puebla day trip around Cinco de Mayo. Though there are a few different cultural performances around the city, there are still so many other things that will occupy your time during your day trip.

Make sure that you add Puebla to your itinerary whenever you stay in Mexico City. It is the perfect day trip city to visit to round out your stay in the capital.

Setting Travel Couple Goals

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Setting Travel Couple Goals


Setting and working towards accomplishing goals as an individual, but also as a couple is extremely important to the improvement of you as a person and the relationship as a whole. If you can set goals to personally achieve both professional and individual milestones, you are more likely to accomplish these milestones and be more willing to continue this trend of self-improvement in the future.

The same thing can be said about setting couple goals in your relationship to achieve in order to keep your relationship flourishing. There is no doubt that relationships take work. They are not easy. Both sides need to be willing to work on themselves as an individual and work to make time for the improvement of their relationship as well.

We feel that you can include in your goals, travel couple goals. If you are reading our blog regularly then you would know that we are a travel couple that are working towards creating a travel lifestyle where we can work anywhere we want in order to travel new places. In order to work on this goal, we set micro-goals as a couple to work to achieve this milestone. This is just one of the professional goals that we set, but we also work to establish the same type of goals as a couple in a relationship.

All of these goals that we set and keep track of hold us accountable as a couple in a relationship and an individual to make sure that we are working towards something in our lives, that we are working to being the best person that we can be, and that we are both happy in our relationship. In order to accomplish the goals that you want as a couple or an individual, use affirmations to think more positively on the actions that you need to take in order to get to where you want to be. This positive thinking will bring positivity into your life.


Setting Travel Couple Goals

What Are Travel Couple Goals

Travel couple goals are goals that we set together as a couple so that we both know what we are working towards at any given time. Setting goals is about more than just thinking about it. We have found in the past that we think about our dreams, but when you have such a major milestone to achieve, then it seems like such a difficult thing to get to.

When you dream of a milestone goal without putting it on paper, it just stays in your head floating around. When you put it on paper, it becomes much more real. Something that you have put in stone that you want to accomplish and will begin working towards.

However, there is so much more to thinking of a milestone goal than just putting it on paper. If you have a goal that you want to achieve that takes a significant amount of time to get to, you will likely get discouraged by not achieving it over time. This often times leads to inaction on your part when you are not seeing progress.

There are two parts to this. One is setting micro goals within your milestone or macro goal. The other is setting realistic and achievable goals in order to avoid becoming discouraged in your process to achieving your macro goal.


Visiting Teotihuacan: The Best Mexico City Day Trip

Setting Micro and Macro Travel Couple Goals

We talked about thinking of a macro goal that you want to achieve as a travel couple. Perhaps you already have this in mind or maybe you have not discussed this as a couple before. Now would be the time to sit down together and talk about what your goals are together as a couple to accomplish in terms of travel.

For example, our macro goal is to create a travel lifestyle where we can work from anywhere so that we can live and travel anywhere in the world and still have an income.

This is a macro goal because this is a goal that will take years of hard work and determination to accomplish. There are also things that we need to define within this goal to determine whether or not we have achieved this. One thing we need to determine in our goal is how much income needs to be generated on an ongoing basis in order to qualify us to be able to live anywhere. Once we have determined this, then we know exactly what we are aiming for.

However, your macro goal can be different than this. You can even have multiple macro goals. We have a macro goal in our relationship as a travel couple that we will visit a minimum of one NEW country every year. You can decide that your macro goal is to visit thirty countries before you turn thirty or to visit every country.

Whatever your macro goal is, you now need to work to break this goal into micro goals that range from simple to more complex and also range from the time it will take you to accomplish this goal.

The reasoning behind this is that if you have these micro goals written down and are able to accomplish them on a consistent basis and checking them off as you go, you are more likely to remain motivated in your pursuit towards your macro goal. Keeping on track is the most important part of accomplishing that macro goal, so you want to make sure that you are remaining dedicated towards that. Having a partner in your relationship is perfect for accomplishing your goals. They can work to keep you accountable and remaining focused on your goal together.


La Ciudadela, Mexico City Walking Tour

Breaking Up a Macro Travel Couple Goal

This is how we broke up our macro goal:

We began with our goal of wanting to create a travel lifestyle that allows us to live anywhere and generate an income.

We took that goal and decided how we were going to do this. In the past I taught English in South Korea that allowed me some time to travel neighboring countries and to travel a country I had never been to before. This was great and the closest I have ever been to my goal, but it did not provide us the freedom to travel at any point in time or to live anywhere. It did generate income and allowed me to live somewhere else in the world I had never been before.

Therefore, to be able to live anywhere and generate income I need to be able to start a business or get a job that allows me to work from anywhere. Since moving back to Canada, I started my own business. I have never wanted to look back to working for someone else. Unfortunately my current business is location-based which means I cannot live anywhere, but I have to live here in Canada.

This makes my micro goal being based on starting an online business that can be managed from anywhere in the world. My next decision is what kind of online business and revenue stream I want to be bringing in to be able to generate an income while living anywhere.

I decided that I wanted to apply my creativity and wanting to improve different aspects of myself to creating an online business. This is why we began several different blogs on different niche subjects, as well as podcasts based around these subjects. These were the businesses that I wanted to create something around. Deciding upon revenue streams from these websites meant doing a little bit of research about different ways that these can be monetized.

A lot of people monetize their websites, blogs, and podcasts, through affiliate marketing, advertising, sponsors, and selling their own products. These are the revenue streams that we wanted to explore as part of our micro goals. With each of these revenue streams, we created more micro goals to be able to achieve each of these revenue streams ranging from implementing them, earning our first sale, and so on.

Other micro goals involved in achieving our macro goal include writing blog posts, recording and publishing podcast episodes, creating social media content, hiring a virtual assistant to take some of the work load off of our hands, researching and implementing more tools, and so on.

As you can see, there are numerous micro goals that can fit into your macro goal and your micro goals can be ever-changing whereas your macro goal remains the same.


Palacio des Belles Arts, Mexico City Walking Tour

Conclusion

Take the time to think of your own travel couple goals to set. Begin with your macro goal and break it down into step-by-step micro goals. Putting this down onto paper solidifies that this is something that you want to accomplish in your life. It becomes something that is set in stone and really begins to materialize what you want to accomplish. It also helps you keep yourself and your partner accountable towards achieving this goal.

Setting travel couple goals is the best for your life and relationship together. You have the best opportunity to work with each other to accomplish what the two of you want to achieve in life. Divide and conquer or work together to achieve what you may not be able to achieve separately.

Comment below with what your travel couple goals are, we would love to hear from you!

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