29 Places I’d Love To Go Back To

If time and money weren’t an issue, where would you go?

We’ve spent the past two years working while traveling.

Both time and money have been a daily challenge.

But the work we do ,(and the people managing the Internet and power grid in the countries we’ve been to) has allowed us to successfully work and travel for over 2 years.

We are now returning back to America because we want to once again spend time with our families and be part of their lives in-person.

But given unlimited time and money…

Here are 29 places we have already been that we will love to return to.

(In some cases we’ve noted the things we would do there.)

1. Tanzania, Africa – tour the tanzanite mines, see the Serengeti
2. El Cid Resort, Cancun, Mexico
3. Munich, Germany – Could live here
4. Germany – Pretty much most places we’ve been
5. Puerto Iguazu, Argentina (see the falls at midnight with the rainbows)
6. Mendoza, Argentina – spend another weekend enjoying the wineries
7. Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
8. Chichicastenango, Guatemala
9. Granada, Nicaragua
10. Boquete, Panama
11. Quito, Ecuador – neurotic crazy city, but awesome too.
12. Cuenca, Ecuador – See the surrounding hill country and take Spanish classes
13. French Polynesia – this time I would go to Bora Bora or Moorea
14. New Zealand – almost anywhere in New Zealand. We could probably live here if our family did.
15. Bali – do more diving and see more of the island
16. Malaysia – but see more of the country outside of Kuala Lumpur
17. Hong Kong (Hong Kong Island)
18. Brunei
19. Chiang Mai, Thailand – stay inside the old city walls during a cleaner air quality season.
20. Hoi An, Vietnam
21. Udaipur, India
22. Bilaspur, India
23. Hyderabad, India – Nothing can prepare you for a trip to India except a trip to India. This time we know what to expect – and the food… oh the food was so good.
24. Slovenia – Viktorija and family, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!
25. Krakow, Poland
26. Budapest, Hungary
27. Northern Italy
28. Rome, Italy – live in an apartment for a month
29. Mallorca, Spain – Stay at an all-inclusive resort, see the castle on the hill above Palma, see the old defensive castle on the water, go diving.

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Air Tahiti Nui: Last Day For a Great Sale

http://www.airtahitinui-usa.com/tahitihotdeal/default.asp
In 2009, Carrie and I got a crazy deal on airfare from Los Angeles to New Zealand, which via 3 nights in Tahiti.

We had to be willing to fly on certain days and at certain times, but we got three free nights in Tahiti because of it.

We did this through Air Tahiti Nui.

Air Tahiti Nui is once again running an amazing deal… round trip airfare from California to Tahiti is $700, but today is the last day of the sale.

We’re in Europe, but we are passing along travel-relevant deals because we thought you might like to know.

http://www.airtahitinui-usa.com/tahitihotdeal/default.asp

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Tahiti: What I would have done differently

Knowing what I know now, I would have rented a car on Tahiti.

Initially, we planned to only stay on Tahiti for 3 days, and then go to Moorea (another island of French Polynesia which can be accessed by plane or ferry).

We spent pretty much the first three days catching up on sleep and playing in the ocean and pool at the Radisson. I wouldn’t do that differently at all.  When there are so many beautiful things to see on Tahiti and the other islands, it seems a shame to have gone to Tahiti just to play in the water, enjoy the beach, and enjoy the pool, but I’m really glad we did this.

However, to get the most out of three days in Tahiti, here’s what I would have done differently:

Rented a car.

I don’t often recommend this.

No matter where you are, there are always good ways to get around without renting a car, and often with people who know more than you will in just a few days of visiting somewhere,

However, in Tahiti, you can actually save money, and maybe do more, by renting a vehicle.

If you are just spending 1 night in Tahiti on either side of going to another island, this advice may not apply.

However, here’s how renting could have saved us money on Tahiti.

We took an “island tour” which pretty much was a guy driving us around the island for 3 hours.  It was nice to see the whole island, but not all that informative.  It cost 4,000/pp (about $45/pp) – $90 total, even though we were two people in a van of 8.

We had a transfer to the hotel from the airport – 4,000 (because it was at night).
We had a transfer to the airport from the hotel – (3,000, plus a stopover in town – 1,000) 4,000.

$90 total to get to and from the airport.

We had a cost to get to the SCUBA place and back from the SCUBA place. (I think was about 2,000 each direction (hard to know b/c was factored into the cost, but I think that was about 4,000 total that could have been saved.)

$45 total for SCUBA transport

In total, we spent ($90+$90+$45) $225 to get around.

We could have rented a car for 4-5 days for that amount, done the island tour ourselves using the Wikipedia history (which would have been better than our guide – who was fine, just not that informative), gone snorkeling wherever we wanted, and driven ourselves to the SCUBA place.

This is not to say that I was not pleased with what we did.

I LOVED Tahiti.

However, if you’re going to Tahiti, and planning to stay on Tahiti instead of one of the other islands for a few days, I definitely recommend renting a vehicle.

The island is not that big.  On a day without much traffic, you can drive around the whole island in 2-3 hours… with traffic might take you longer.

I also recommend staying at the Radisson.  It was less expensive than other hotels (the Hilton is closed, by the way).  It was really nice, and the staff was super helpful and friendly.  (Hint: Booking on Radisson’s web site for 3 nights or more gave us the cheapest prices – cheaper even than they offered us when standing at the check-in desk.)

As for us, when we go back to French Polynesia, we’ll be spending 1 night on either side of our travel on the island of Tahiti, and spending the rest of the time exploring Bora Bora, Moorea, and/or some of the other islands of this most unique part of the planet.

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Shaving Your Face Gives You Better Suction

Today is our last day in Tahiti, French Polynesia.

We have lots of pictures and some stories to share, but mostly, we’ve spent our 5 days here on the island catching up on sleep and relaxing.

Most people seem to think of our travels as a “vacation” rather than a lifestyle.

For us however, this time in Tahiti has been a nice vacation.

Today, our last day, we are super excited because we are going SCUBA diving.

We got certified in SCUBA in Panama back in November last year, and haven’t been SCUBA diving since, so I’m REALLY looking forward to it.

What better way to spend your last day on a tropical island paradise than exploring the world below the island?

One thing I learned early on with SCUBA is that I can’t have a goattee while SCUBA diving because it prevents the mask from getting good suction to my face.

So I spent some time today giving myself a really good shave.

This makes to make sure no water is leaking into my mask due to of mustache hairs preventing the mask from getting a good seal.

For those who are interested in SCUBA diving in Tahiti:

A 2-tank dive trip (which means that we go to two different locations and get to dive twice on the same boat trip), costs 11,800 per person through the hotel concierge (cheapest we’ve found).

However, since there are two of us, this price is reduced to 23,000, which means we’ll have 4 hours of SCUBA time (1 1/2-2 hours underwater) for about $240.

This may sound kind of expensive (and is definitely expensive compared to diving in Panama), but everything is expensive here in Tahiti.  We’re excited to explore the underwater world here and see if it’s as amazing as the views and sounds we’ve been experiencing above the water.

We will let you know how our diving in Tahiti goes.  We leave in an hour!

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How Can You Afford To Travel: Eating In Tahiti

Perception

Reality

The name “Tahiti” brings certain images to mind.  Those images might include:

• Walking on black sand beaches
• Swimming in clear and calm oceans
• Watching wildlife and visiting waterfalls in a tropical paradise
• Trying delicious food in fancy restaurants
• Drinking exotic drinks from a coconut

We’ve done some of these things so far.

But do you know how many restaurants we’ve eaten at since arriving in Tahiti on Monday?

Exactly 0.

Before we came to Tahiti, we heard that the food was expensive.

So we went to Wal-Mart and bought a bunch of food and snacks that were safe to pass through customs.

This means we bought non-perishable food.

This includes things like

• Beef jerky
• Triscuits, Ritz, Wheat Thins
• Tuna
• Peanut Butter
• Trail Mix

Since arriving in Tahiti, this is what we have been eating.

So instead of spending $50-$100 on a meal for 2, we’ve spent $50 for 5 days meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for 2.

This saves us somewhere between $300-$1000 during a week spent in Tahiti.

I know no one will feel sorry for us, and you shouldn’t feel sorry.

Everything we’ve done and are doing is our choice.

But remember, the title of these posts is “How can YOU afford to travel?”

The purpose of these posts are to think about alternative ways of doing things so that you can afford to do whatever you want to do in life:

• travel
• pay for your kids’ college education
• give more to your church or favorite charity
• have time to pursue your interests or passions

We’re perfectly happy with the fact that we’re in a beautiful hotel, sitting on our balcony, listening to the ocean, while gnawing on beef jerky and triscuits, and drinking our corked bottle of two buck chuck.

We will be buying fresh items like cucumbers and cheese on our trip into town (free shuttle 2x/day from the hotel, instead of $40 taxi rides).  We also plan to eat out once or twice while here in Tahiti,

But every meal spent eating at a fancy restaurant is not something we will do this trip to Tahiti.

A return to Tahiti will, without a doubt, happen within our lifetimes, and perhaps then we’ll spend money on fancy dining and overpriced drinks.

But it’s likely that even 10 or 20 or 30 years from now, we’ll be spending the money instead on SCUBA diving, buying Tahitian pearls, and taking tours to learn about the history and culture of such a fascinating and beautiful place as Tahiti.

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Wait A Minute, You’re Going to Tahiti?

“Wait A Minute, You’re Going to Tahiti?  Weren’t you just in Central America?”

So started the recent conversation with a family member.

Yes, we were in Peru less than two weeks ago, Ecuador 3 weeks ago, and Colombia 5 weeks ago.

And we just spent 5 days in

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