Q&A: TRAVEL

How would you describe your travel style? I would describe our travel style as accessible luxury with a bit of adventure. Hotel-wise, I do prefer to stay somewhere high-end and we will gladly book a five star hotel if it’s a good deal or a special trip—however, we travel a lot and it’s simply not worth it for us to blow it out at a Ritz-Carlton in every destination. To be honest, I think a high-end hotel chain can take away a bit from feeling immersed in the culture anyway. I don’t want a Cartier store in the lobby—I want a unique, memorable travel experience. My ideal hotel is an upscale boutique that feels luxe and has amazing, personalized service, but is still authentically reflective of wherever we are.

J & I love food and exploring the best restaurants of a particular locale, both high end and hole-in-the-wall local, is a huge priority for us. Thankfully, J is into the adventure aspect of travel—which I wouldn’t explore as much on my own—so we will usually integrate a hike or nature-themed day trip. We also love to explore local markets and museums, dabble in the art scene and experience a bit of nightlife.

How do you decide on your travel destinations? The first components in deciding our trips are how long we have to go away and the time of year. If it’s a long flight and a big time difference (ie. Asia), two weeks is the absolute minimum for us including travel time. For a long trip, we like to incorporate three elements whenever possible: city, beach and adventure, so we’ll plan our trip around those. For a week or long weekend, we look for an inexpensive direct flight anywhere. Sometimes we’ll already have a destination or two in mind, other times we research flights by plugging our dates into the “Explore” option on Kayak or Skyscanner (both amazing apps if you’re not already using them)! Then I’ll look into accommodations, weather, etc. to see if it’s a good fit.

In terms of time of year, we generally like to travel during “shoulder season”—months that aren’t peak times and prices but still have great weather and something going on. If we are planning a trip during a busy travel time, like Europe in August, we’ll look for destinations that are more off the beaten path (for example, last August we visited Malta and Tunisia which are always cheap and never crowded). The only exception to this is visiting a “party destination” with friends where crowds add to the fun, such as Punta Del Este for New Years or St. Tropez in late summer (if you’re into that kind of thing).

Do you use a travel agency, and if not how do you research your trips? We don’t use travel agencies, but I wouldn’t rule it out for a destination where one would be particularly helpful. In a new place with a lot of driving involved, we will often hire a local guide or driver. In many instances, it’s better to find a guide once you get there, but we’ve also found amazing guides through friends and TripAdvisor (search “Things to Do”). If I haven’t done much research beforehand, I love to do a walking tour to get an idea of a new city on the first day. TripAdvisor is a good resource to find one, and you can always dip out if you’re not loving it. We also self-drive a LOT, but it helps to have a husband who drives defensively and isn’t afraid of a manual transmission.

Not using an agency involves a good deal of research, but that’s part of the fun (for me, at least). Through many years of trial and error I’ve developed a bit of a system that works really well for our travel style. For hotels, I like Fodor’s guides online. I love that they list pros and cons for each hotel, and the “Fodor’s Choice” star is a sure bet for something high quality and authentic. Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure are other sites I rely upon for both hotels and restaurants, and I’ll usually cross-reference all three. If a name comes up on all publications, I know it will be amazing. Condé Nast in particular has great, in-depth articles on a wide variety of destinations that are full of ideas for meals and one-of-a-kind experiences you might not hear about anywhere else. The NY Times “36 Hours” feature has great ideas for shorter stays. For lesser-known destinations, I have found Lonely Planet can be the only site with detailed travel guides, and they do a great job of providing a thorough list of restaurants and activities. Within the US and in bigger international cities, Uber guides are weirdly amazing too—they send an automatic email once you’ve used the app within a new city, with the most popular destinations that are freakishly on point.

Do you and your husband plan trips together, or who is the planner? I’m more of the planner as I don’t mind doing lots of research beforehand (see above). Generally we choose the destinations together. Then I’ll narrow it down to two or three hotels, J looks them up and we officially decide on them together before booking. I pick out the bulk of the must-do experiences/restaurants and he handles more of the logistics once we’re there—driving, making friends, sporadic day trips, rental cars, etc.

What are the three most essential items you bring when traveling? That’s too limiting, can I do five?  

For the plane: (1) fully charged iPad mini stocked with podcasts/books/magazines/movies/TV shows—important to conserve your phone battery, (2) lip balm, (3) healthy snacks (New Yorkers, I always order a By Chloe salads and snacks via Postmates the night before or day of), (4) a smaller wallet-sized messenger bag for easy access to passports and essentials, (5) an inflatable neck pillow.

For the trip itself: (1) emergency meds: melatonin, anti-nausea, herbal antibiotics, my migraine medicine, (2) Four Sigmatic instant coffee, (3) an empty canvas tote for a beach day and/or the inevitable extra goodies I acquire on the trip, (4) SPF!!!!!, (5) nipple stickers.

How did you get into traveling? Travel is in my blood. My paternal grandfather worked for Swiss Air his entire life, and he and my grandmother traveled all around Europe. I grew up hearing his travel stories and adventures and still ask about them whenever I see them. On my mother’s side, my chic great-grandparents traveled literally all over the world (like, when you had to take a boat), and my childhood memories include flipping through photo albums of them on camels in front of the pyramids in Egypt, browsing furniture markets in Italy, and at their vacation home on Collins Avenue in Miami.

Though I did travel with my family growing up, studying abroad through Semester at Sea in college was an incredible, life changing experience that opened me up to a world of travel not planned by my mom. If you aren’t familiar with the program, it’s worth peeping—we traveled to 12 countries over the course of a semester, including Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia, India and Japan. Five or so years later, I met Jeremy, who shared my love of travel and, like me, planned to keep it a forever-priority in his life. Now we’ve traveled to more places together than we have apart! I can’t imagine a person I’d rather explore the world with.