I have traveled to 13 different countries so far. Here are my top 5 favorite countries and some pretty solid reasons as to why you should visit them!
*Note: I have not spent as much time in some countries as others or explored different areas/parts, I am basing this solely on my experience and where I have been!*
#5: England
London, England is such a vibe in a few different ways; from the food, The Beatles, the obsession with the Queen, and the culture of drinking tea. England is a very beautiful mix of old and modern & this may be because I am a huge fan of Harry Potter, but I am obsessed with the way their houses and buildings look! It makes me want to live in a small, brick house with a cute front step that may or may not move when someone enters the Order of the Phoenix.
Favorite Places & Things To Do:
Big Ben - It was a gloomy, rainy day when we saw most of the sites in London. Big Ben was one of my favorites. I love how tall it is and how you can see it from a far!
Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station - You can get your picture taken with the cart & scarf to look like you're headed to Hogwarts. They also have a gift shop in the station to buy lots of Harry Potter gifts and souvenirs!
Drink tea - this is the one, sad picture I have of English tea.
Buckingham Palace - We watched the changing of the guards ceremony at the palace, which was super cool.
Ride in a red double-decker bus & take photos in a phone booth - Double decker buses are so fun and this public transport makes it so easy to get from place to place in the city. We also had good fun taking pictures in the photo booths.
Things I wish I would have done:
Eaten more English foods, especially an English breakfast
Abbey Road - We saw it, but there was road construction over half of it so we did not get a picture. How lame!
We visited London, England while studying abroad for a semester in Spain. Unfortunately we only got to spend a long weekend there, but we felt like we did and saw so much for that short amount of time. Plus, we met Dierks Bentley! I would definitely go back and spend more time enjoying this beautiful city.
#4: Aruba
Aruba will always hold a special place in my heart because it is where my husband and I went on our first trip. Yes, I am a bit crazy and yes, I took my boyfriend of like 3 months on a trip to a honeymoon destination. It was his first time out of the country and he LOVED it.
Back then, him and I wanted to go on a vacation but we had no idea where to go. We were still doing long-distance in our relationship, I was off work for the summer, and he had vacation time to use. We ended up choosing Aruba because we put 6 travel destinations on a wheel and spun, promising to go wherever it landed. Aruba was the winner.
And basically Aruba is where we truly fell in love.
Favorite Places & Things To Do:
Eat at The Old Cununcu House - This is my favorite restaurant of. all. time. The vibes were incredible, with live music, outdoor seating and it being off the beaten path. You could tell this place was authentic in every way. It was recommended to us by our AirBnb host and we are so so happy we went there.
Lay out at Eagle Beach & see the famous Divi Tree - Eagle Beach is one of the more popular beaches on the island and it was the first one we chose to lay out at. The water in Aruba is so clear and the sand is so white. The famous Divi Tree is on Eagle Beach! There is also a bar right there in the sand that has a 2 for 1 happy hour special.
Drink lots of Aruban beer - When in Aruba you drink lots of rum cocktails and Aruban beer. Balashi is the name of the most popular beer there and my favorite type is the Balashi Chill. It is light and crisp and perfect with a lime. Plus, the bottle is super cute!
Go on a snorkel cruise & tour - We wanted to see sea turtles so bad! The best way to do so in Aruba is to take a snorkel cruise. We picked one of the many companies and hopped on a boat called Mi Dushi that would take us to 3 different snorkel spots, provided us with lunch, and let us drink free Dushi Boom Booms (a delicious tropical rum drink) all day.
Rent an ATV and drive a loop around the island - Aruba is small enough that you can drive around the entire island, stopping at the sights along the way, in the amount of time you have your ATV rental for! They even give you a map with recommended stops and how long to spend there, making it super easy to follow a prefect itinerary.
We stopped at the Arikok National Park, Baby Beach, & many more!
Swim at Conchi - In Arikok National Park, there is a natural pool called Conchi. It is super remote and can only be accessed by hike or an off-road vehicle. Even with an ATV it is pretty challenging to get there.
It is the perfect place to snorkel or swim. The water is very clear and the waves crash over the rocks into the pool.
Eat and dance at De Palm Pier - We ate at many delicious & memorable places during our time in Aruba, if you want to know the specifics stay tuned for my full Aruba itinerary & review, but De Palm Pier stands out to me for 2 reasons. The first is that it is on a super cute pier with an incredible view over the water. The second is that they had a live band with a dance floor. While we waited for our food to arrive we danced along with the band!
Want to see our 1-week itinerary which includes where we stayed & ate, what we did & saw, and tips & tricks? Let me know in my instagram messages and I will write a post about it for next!
#3: Ireland
In Ireland I visited Dublin & Galway, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland, with a group of girl friends for Spring Break. We flew to Dublin for St. Paddy's Day and then took trains to the other cities in order to get a good taste of all Ireland has to offer. Plus, I really love the song Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran.
Favorite Places & Things To Do:
Eat Corned Beef & Cabbage, especially on St. Paddy's Day - We arrived in Dublin on St. Paddy's Day ready to eat all the authentic Irish food and drink beer. We quickly found we could easily accomplish both of those things!
Guinness Brewery Tour & Tasting Room - There is so much to do at Guinness Storehouse. You can pick & choose from many different experiences like flight tasting, getting certified in Guinness beer pouring, & enjoying a pint in the rooftop bar. Even if you don't like the taste of Guinness there is plenty of fun to be had!
Shop Street Galway - Shop Street is the cutest little road in Galway with tons of shops and pubs. We went to The King's Head multiple nights because it was so cozy & they had live Irish music. It is definitely the most lively street in Galway.
O'Connors Bar - Have you ever seen the music video for Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran? It was filmed at this bar! It is not only cool for that reason. It has a super eclectic vibe and is comfy & cozy with live music and great beers.
Hike to the Cliffs of Moher - Before we departed for Ireland, I had somewhere read about a hike that led to the Cliffs of Moher. So rather than taking the tourist route, we decided to give the hike a try. Somehow we found the trailhead and followed a path to the Cliffs. It. was. incredible.
Interested in more details about the hike? Stay tuned for a whole post on the hike details: where it starts, how challenging it is, how long it took us, tips & tricks, etc.
If you are in a rush, message me on Instagram for all of the deets!
Aran Islands - the Aran Islands are close to the shore of Ireland but require a ferry ride to get there. Even though I got sea sick it was totally worth the day trip to the island where we biked around and caught incredible views. I was super scared sitting on this cliff!
Giant's Causeway - We went on a bus tour to get to the coast of Northern Ireland, where we saw the Giant's Causeway, a famous rope bridge, did whiskey tasting & saw a few castles! The Giant's Causeway was super cool because it has hexagonal shapes stones & a small but beautiful hike.
Titanic Museum in Belfast - This may be the best museum that I have ever been to, and I have been to my fair share of famous museums for a midwesterner. Although Ireland does have another Titanic museum where you receive a ticket & find out which class you would have been in, etc. we went to the one in Belfast. It was definitely good for a group & is something you can do rather quickly, which we liked.
Things I wish we would have done/seen:
Southern Ireland - This would have required us to rent a vehicle, drive some challenging roads, & pay even more to have the car be an automatic rather than manual. Maybe someday!
Overall, we conquered a lot for the time that we were there. Everything worked out nearly perfectly for us, including the weather. We learned a lot about traveling, about a new country, and about each other.
#2: Costa Rica
Favorite Places & Things To Do:
Zip lining - Zip lining in Costa Rica is unlike anywhere that I have zip lined in the U.S. High above the trees, you can see the ocean (depending on which part of the country you are in) and the mountains surrounding you. It is exhilarating.
Doka Estates Coffee Tour - Coffee tours are very popular in Costa Rica. I love the Doka Estates one because they have amazing chocolate covered coffee beans and other yummy treats as well as their gourmet coffee.
La Fortuna Waterfall - A touristy hike down many many stairs to a waterfall where you can swim and enjoy the sounds of the rainforest surrounding you. Honestly, the noise of the rainforest up so far above was my favorite part of the experience.
Night hiking in the rainforest - This sounds way more terrifying than it is. A guide takes you through the rainforest at night with flashlights to show all of the fascinating, nocturnal animals that live in Costa Rica like snakes, sloths, and tarantulas.
Eat Gallo Pinto & Salsa Lizano - Costa Rican food is super simple but super delicious and very healthy in comparison to American foods, with a lot of meals consisting of rice and beans. A popular dish for breakfast, gallo pinto, is made up of rice, black beans, peppers, onions, and scrambled eggs. Put some of the special salsa Lizano on it and you have absolute heaven for breakfast. It is my favorite & a big reason why my next high school Spanish trip is set to go to Costa Rica in 2024.
Take dance, cooking or Spanish classes - This one put me out of my comfort zone a lot, but when studying Spanish in Costa Rica in college I did all three. We learned how to salsa dance, cook gallo pinto, and obviously speak better Spanish!
Enjoy the Pura Vida lifestyle - Pura Vida literally translates to pure life, but in Costa Rica it is a phrase that can be used for almost anything. It represents the way of life in Costa Rica, which is laid-back, carefree, and happy. Costa Ricans are notorious for being late and for not taking life too seriously. I can get behind that!
#1: Spain
Favorite Places & Things To Do: (I have so many it is hard to choose just a few!)
Eat all the Spanish foods, especially tapas!
Watch Flamenco - Flamenco is a style of dance that usually includes music and a performance that is super unique and entertaining! I highly recommend checking out a show if you are ever in Spain.
Tour & enjoy old architecture - Spain is full of old buildings! From castles, like La Alhambra pictured above, to La Sagrada Familia there is so many different types of old architecture to check out. My favorites are La Alhambra, La Sagrada Familia, Parque Guell, & the Royal Alcazar de Sevilla.
Go to a club - The nightlife in Spain is WILD! Spanish people love to party & stay out super late. Clubs in Spain stay open until 7-8 a.m... literally you leave the club and walk home in the daylight. One of my favorite clubs is Kapital in Madrid. It has 7 floors, each one with a different style of music!
Drink wine & sangria - I loved all of the wine we tried in Spain, especially one called El Novio Perfecto (love the name). One of my all-time favorite drinks is called Tinto de Verano and it is red wine or sangria mixed with lemonade. It is so yummy and perfect for summer, just like the name suggests.
Get lost exploring the narrow streets - while living in Spain, our phones did not work that great unless we were connected to wifi. One of my favorite activities became to explore a different part of the city that I lived in, Sevilla. I would do so by taking different routes through the. narrow streets and seeing if I could find my way back to where I knew was familiar. I just loved finding new parts that I had not seen before and new restaurants to try.
I find the narrow streets to be so fascinating because they do not exist where I live in the midwest.
After having lived in Spain for 6 months back in college, it is so hard to choose just a few of my favorite things about the country that will always have my heart. Heck, it is the biggest reason why I became a Spanish teacher! I cannot wait until I get to go back again someday.
Those are my top 5 favorite countries, so far! I anticipate a major change in the line-up very soon as I take my dream honeymoon to Greece this summer! Have you been to Greece? Think it can take the #1 spot? We shall see!
What is your all-time favorite country? Let me know in my Instagram messages!
-Mackensie
Yorumlar