Quick travel guides for nomads
Johnny Some options I found and what my friends and other IG users I know thought about them.
Most aesthetically beautiful eastern European city, and popular expat location.
Prague’s status has gone up so much higher than I expected since I’ve first visited here in 2009. If you haven’t stayed updated on Prague lately, I think you’re missing out. It is absolutely the scene right now. I think it’s one of the best places to live for many reasons. But also because it’s very centrally located to many other awesome towns. Great for a dynamic social lifestyle.
I consider Prague to be something like a perfect combination of Paris, Rome, Berlin, London, Budapest. It’s beautiful, posh, cultured, but also chill, hipster, small, cozy, walkable. It’s the absolute best of both worlds of big city and small city. There’s lots to do but yet cozy enough to walk and relax instead of feeling like you have to jump all over town to get anywhere. Green space, buildings, bridges, parks, cafes, clubs, bars, arts…there’s something for everyone. Many cool people I know have already lived here and/or been traveling here for events and things.
You can see the highlights in 3 days, but you seriously might want extra time to really enjoy its beauty.
Big yet still walkable Central Eastern European city full of authentic local life.
Budapest is unique in its culture, located towards eastern Europe but is not a Slavic country. They have their own culture, their own vibes, and unique architecture that feels eastern European yet doesn’t look like the typical eastern European stuff. Rich history and many things to do.
If you enjoyed Prague, Budapest is considered a grittier but still beautiful and very fun authentic travel destination. The city is divided into 2 parts “Buda” and “Pest” (pronounced like “pesht”) separated by the Danube river in the middle.
Romantic Italian tourist destination…big yet still charmy.
The 3 most popular tourist cities in Italy are probably Rome, Florence, and Milan. (I didn’t check btw, just a gut feeling.) Rome is epic with its massive size and endless array of historical monuments/buildings. Milan is more like a modern metropolis, known for fashion and things of Italy today.
Florence is smaller than those 2, but packs as big of a punch and so much more charmy. Massive cathedral of beautiful styling, much more impressive to me than Milan’s duomo. The city center feels like a giant old town, with many squares and cobbled stone walkways. People everywhere and NO CARS or public transportation. It’s a walking city dazzling your sights with every step. In 10 minutes of walking, you go past bridges and water-views, historical buildings and squares, statues and monuments, gardens and museums, shops and stores, bars, cafes, and restaurants.
It’s like a really big small Italian town, if you know what I mean. Small enough to digest in a couple days, big enough to live in and find things to do. Come see why the smaller Florence brings in so many millions of tourists despite lacking the size of Rome, Paris, London.
3 days is enough to see most things and still have moments to relax and enjoy this beautiful city.
Tips to detect quality, avoiding fakes and typical salesman tricks.
Bought my first leather jaqueta in Florence (2014) after checking out 30-50 stores. I loved his jackets the most because: high quality, they were very nice looking (not too trendy or out-dated), reasonably priced, great customer service (without any of the annoying sales tactics listed below).
He passed my stringent test with flying colors. I’ve repasted my forum comment from TripAdvisor below:
Well-established Slavic country with colorful Eastern block charms, and without the tourists.
As an American in Europe, I’d say Poland is probably the first truly Slavic eastern-European country you’ll reach. It’s close enough to easily arrive from western Europe (neighbors Germany/Czech), yet far enough to maintain its own vibe and doesn’t have hordes of western tourists and foreigners like those 2.
Poland is truly a gem for me. Kind people, great food, cheaper than the rest of western Europe (but not cheap). And I love that it has a different set of tourists, mostly all European and many from further east and south of Europe…it’s kind of the international hub for them. What you get here is IMO a much more authentic eastern European vibe than Czech Republic (because of its Disneyland tourist presence with bigger old town and charmier bridges/water-points).
5-10 days would easily cover 2 to 3 cities. And give you a full range of Poland’s charms.
Huge epic city full of ancient/medieval world wonders.
Rome is a giant place full of “wow” things everywhere you look. Historic monuments, buildings, and waterfronts…with tourists clamoring everywhere to get the best photo. Even if you never paid attention in history class, you will definitely recognize many things here from movies and books throughout your life. I was drunk the very first night here and even still, I kept saying “OH CRAP, I seen this before!” on every block I walked.
Where and how do you begin to digest the magnitude of this place? I’ll help you chop it down to digestible size! What I love most about this place is that despite it’s tourist value, it’s still very much a real and liveable city with lots of locals and local places to explore.
I’d recommend at least 4 days to feel like you not only saw everything but got to enjoy the Roman vibes. Rome is also nice because even though it’s geographically in the center, the culture and mentality feels more like southern Italy. More warm, friendlier, different foods and different vibe from usual northern Italian cities (like Milan, Turin). Btw, an Italian will tell you Rome has a distinct central Italian vibe and is not exactly southern, but definitely more like the south than the north. 😉
Helpful tips for dealing with ATM machines when you travel.
The main concerns are money conversion rates, bullshit fees, and safety.
A row of 5 beautiful colorful Italian beach towns, each with their own unique beach landscape and waterfront play areas.
Cinque Terre is no longer the “secret” it once was 20 years ago. It’s now one of the most popular (and crowded) tourist spots for good reason. By staying at just one of the towns, you are in close proximity to easily explore the other 4. It’s fun to explore the towns, take photos of cute colorful buildings, hangout by the water, eat and drink at Italian-esque places with water views, even go hiking between the towns for amazing “wow” photos.
You could technically do it all in 2 days (dedicating one to hiking) but I’d like to put 3 to relax and enjoy the beaches and night restaurants/bars more. My first visit was in 2009, second in 2014, and third in 2022. And I think I’m never going back. I’ve seen enough and it only got worse each time…more crowded and touristy and coastal hike trail closed. I’d personally go elsewhere with those days.
Colorful & chaotic Italian tourist city of crowded canals and narrow streets.
Venice is an absolute madness of a city full of tourists taking postcard-worthy photos from every corner. Colorful buildings, bridges, shops, walkways from every angle. Buildings, boats, waterfronts, squares, and people everywhere.
Colorful charmy Eastern European charm.
Krakow is a definite European highlight in Poland. Cheap-er, colorful, cozy, picturesquely beautiful and fun. Easy to explore within a couple days and plenty to do (mostly all within walking distance). Still close enough to Western Europe but should get you curious to see more of Central Eastern Europe.
Warm Italian hospitality with its familiar food and culture that you’ve seen in movies, restaurants, and pop culture references everywhere.
Italy is both exotic yet familiar at the same time. Making it an easy and popular destination for first-time travelers. I know Italy so well since my mother’s family lives here. So I spent lots of time doing tourist things but also local things.
It’s a tiny country with so many must-see destinations. You can hit 3-4 main ones in 10 days…or spend a month and really live it.
Colorful hilly Mexican town with lots of culture and museums.
Guanajuato is a perfect-sized town. Small enough to feel like you saw all the main parts in 2 days. Big enough for you to discover more and more should you decide to live there. It’s a hill city with lots of angled streets and corners to wander around. On the hills you can see colorful views of houses and buildings on the other hills.
There’s also a full range of “real Mexico” life here. Nice and fancy shops/restaurants as well as more cheap local shops/eateries. It’s fun, it’s beautiful. And worth exploring from the usual beach-side Mexico.
Beautiful picturesque little town with the Mexican Disney castle.
One of the lesser-known towns in Mexico by foreigners (who usually opt for beach destinations). San Miguel de Allende is a popular vacation destination for Mexicans (usually rich ones), despite many of them dismissing it as “fake Mexico”. The label is somewhat true and IMO makes it more impressive as a travel destination.
What does this “fake Mexico” town have that sets it aside from everywhere else?
It’s pretty, it’s posh, it’s popular. And artsy, and great food and cafes. Just a really nice, super nice, postcard nice place to be.
Very easy to recharge your SIM card, you have 3 simple options:
Popular tourist stop, but generally disliked by most native Brazilians. But has hidden charms.
Salvador is widely known as a dangerous big city, ugly, with annoying sellers at the beaches. Most Brazilians will say you should visit only the old town part to take some tourist photos and immediately go off to other (better) cities in the Bahia region/state.
And I agree with half of it. That yes…Salvador does have a “nice” colorful old town area with tourist value, and is super dangerous. And that yes, the beaches have tons of annoying sellers who come by every minute.
But I would also say that Salvador DOES have its charm if you know where to go. The people who DO like Salvador are usually locals who grew up here or people from big city Sao Paulo who like the warm people and accessible beaches here (Bahia region in general). They prefer it over the more excessively contrasty (and “superficial”) Rio de Janeiro.
While the old town Pelourinho can be seen in 2 days, to enjoy the everyday local life in Salvador…you’ll need to spend a couple more days at least.
I compared reviews and watched videos for nearly a dozen different models…JBL, Bose, Sony, UE, Anker, Tribit.
So much has changed in this space. And the market has really opened up a lot for the MICRO category. It’s not about being portable anymore, but rather to be really really small. With small size comes with many challenges…sound quality, loudness, battery life, durability, shape.
This company makes fantastic lifetime-lastime travel products!
I bought a backpack from them and it looks and functions great even after years of ownership. One of the best purchases of my life. Also, you can tell it’s a quality company because they sell repair parts & kits right off their site. Their products are truly made to last a lifetime!
My backpack looks and functions as beautifully as when it was new:
Everything beautiful. Briggs & Riley products will outlast you!
Beautiful raw “roots” type of beach-town with dozens of amazon beaches and the best magical beach vibe in the world.
I don’t know how to begin describing it. And part of me doesn’t want to because I’m hoping you won’t find it and ruin it. After seeing what happened to Tulum (Mexico), I’m deathly afraid of that happening here. Itacare really is one of the most perfect places in the world. I’ve watched people come here and get stuck…extending their stay 3 times and constantly changing flights and crying when they had to leave. It’s THAT GOOD.
You can try to book 5 days, but hahaha…trust me. You’ll probably get stuck and want to do at least 2-3 weeks. I highly recommend not being silly and planning anything less than 5 days. You will absolutely regret it with every bone in your body.
Small cute colonial town in Northeast Brasil.
Go here because it’s got some personality and vibe, rather than the big city Recife nearby. It’s relatively safe, cheap, and some interesting viewpoints. Easy to spend just 2 days to see all main parts…or spend 3 or 4 if you want to relax.