The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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A Review of the Sunrise Cog Train to Pikes Peak, Colorado

sunrise cog train pikes peak - feature

Earlier this month, Matt and I went to Colorado Springs for about four days — one of our friends was having her wedding there, so it was the perfect excuse to squeeze in some domestic travel as we wrap up our time in the U.S. this fall. And when we told friends we were going to Colorado Springs, they had two questions: “Are you going to feed the giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo?” and “Are you going to take the Cog Train to Pikes Peak?

While I had been to Pikes Peak on my two prior visits to Colorado Springs, both times I’d driven up to the summit by car. But we’re all about unique experiences, so we decided to check out the cog train to Pikes Peak. [Read more…]

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Trip Review: Colorado Springs, Colorado

garden of the gods colorado springs

This past weekend, one of our good friends and former co-workers got married out in Colorado Springs! When she sent us the save-the-date, we were so excited that it was only two weeks after our wedding reception — it was easy to decide to stay in the U.S. at least until after her wedding. And it had been a few years since our last visit to Colorado, so we figured we might as well make a trip of it. So on Thursday afternoon, we flew to Denver, and we returned to KC on Monday night.

We had about three and a half full days in Colorado Springs, and we sure packed a lot in! Of course, we did some of the “typical” Colorado Springs things like going to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Garden of the Gods, but I feel like we also had a few less-common experiences that really made our trip special. [Read more…]

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A Review of LEVEL Airlines: Boston to Barcelona

level airlines review

Over the years, I’ve flown between the U.S. and Spain on a few different airlines. Usually, I fly with Iberia, American, or Norwegian. But for our most recent trip, we tried an airline I had never even heard of before — LEVEL Airlines.

Usually, we try to travel during the off-peak seasons to find cheaper tickets, but we had a few reasons for needing to be in Europe this August-October. Not only were we applying for our Spain digital nomad visa and checking out our destination wedding venue a year in advance, but we also wanted to get engagement photos taken in Porto, Portugal. We accepted the fact that we were going to have to pay more for plane tickets than we’re used to.

However, we found LEVEL Airlines to be about on par with what we typically pay when flying between the U.S. and Europe. From Boston to Barcelona, it was $540.50 per person. We did have to use Southwest points to get us to Boston from Kansas City, but it was worth it for the cheap flight on to Spain.

Here’s what you need to know about LEVEL Airlines and my review of my experience. [Read more…]

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The Best & Worst Cities To Change Airports for Cheaper Flights

change airports - chicago

When we travel internationally — whether it’s to Europe, Central or South America, Asia, or elsewhere — we often find and book the cheapest flights from bigger cities to our destination. From Kansas City, where we live, there just aren’t as many cost-effective options. Typically, we use Southwest points we accrued in our former lives as corporate consultants to help us get from KC to our destination city.

Our favorite place to transfer is Boston (like we did for this Europe trip we’re on right now) because Boston only has one airport and we only have to change terminals, but a lot of big hub cities have multiple airports. And Southwest typically flies into the smaller airport of the two. Which means we have to plan the transfer into our travel day. Depending on the airports and cities, this can range from a minor pain to a major one.

The four cities we’ve transferred airports on a travel day are Chicago, Fort Lauderdale/Miami, New York City, and Houston. Here’s a review of what it’s like to change airports using public transportation in those four cities, ranked from best to worst, with ratings based on a few factors. [Read more…]

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How To Transfer from Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL) to Miami Airport (MIA)

fort lauderdaile to miami airport - tri rail feature photo

The Tri-Rail Train helps you transfer from Fort Lauderdale to Miami airport.

Somehow, more than five years after quitting my corporate job that helped me rack up hundreds of thousands of Southwest Airlines points, I still had points left. And I kept using them to my advantage as long as I could. Our typical strategy was to use the Southwest points to fly for free from Kansas City to a bigger cities with better direct flights. So when we went to Costa Rica, we flew from Kansas City to Fort Lauderdale for free, and then booked our actual flight to San José from Miami.

But we did have to transfer airports: from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. With more airlines offering layovers at different airports in the same city/region these days, it’s important to know how to get from Fort Lauderdale to Miami, or vice versa, most efficiently.

So here’s what you need to know about transferring airports between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. [Read more…]

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How To Get Around Manuel Antonio Without a Car

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Our closest bus stop when we visited Manuel Antonio without a car

When we visited Costa Rica in April, we flew into San José, but our actual destination for our trip was Manuel Antonio. That meant we had to decide how we were going to get to Manuel Antonio from San José. While some of the most popular options are renting a car or hiring a private shuttle, we decided to take a bus. But this also meant that we were going to have to spend our week in Manuel Antonio without a car.

I was initially nervous about getting around the Manuel Antonio/Quepos area without a car. Since I’d never been there before, I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like. Would we have to walk miles to get to restaurants or the beach? Would there be taxis, and if so, would they be easy to find when you needed one? In the end, we stuck with our original plan to take the bus to Manuel Antonio and wing it from there. And it turned out great.

So if you’re planning your own trip to Costa Rica, here’s how you can get around Manuel Antonio without a car. [Read more…]

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A Review of Tracopa Bus: How To Get to Manuel Antonio from San José, Costa Rica

manuel antonio from san josé - tracopa bus

When we went to Costa Rica in April, we decided to stay in the Manuel Antonio National Park area the whole time. Having Manuel Antonio as our home base helped ensure we made the most of our week in Costa Rica, rather than spending half our time traveling from one place to another. But our flights from the U.S. would take us to San José, Costa Rica, which meant we would need to decide how we’d get to Manuel Antonio from San José.

Manuel Antonio is on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast, while San José is basically in the dead center of the country and would require several hours of driving in any direction to find a beach. Luckily, there are plenty of options for getting from Manuel Antonio to San José — it just comes down to your personal preferences and your budget. [Read more…]

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Top 3 Things To Do in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

things to do manuel antonio - costa rica ziplining

We stayed busy with plenty of exciting things to do in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica!

After deciding that we were going to spend our week in Costa Rica in the Manuel Antonio National Park area, there was something else we needed to do: book some activities to help us explore the best of what Manuel Antonio could offer! With four full days in which we did not have to travel, we decided to book three things to do in Manuel Antonio. And we saved one day for relaxing on the beach.

I love booking activities through the platform Viator, so we searched there to find some of the best and highest-rated experiences in Manuel Antonio. (Plus, when you book with Viator, they reward you with credit for future experiences!)

On Monday, we spent the morning and afternoon trekking through the jungle, ziplining with a small group. Tuesday, we explored a chocolate and coffee farm just a bit out of town. And Thursday, we finally went into Manuel Antonio National Park with a private guide who helped us see all kinds of wildlife.

We had an amazing time and I highly, highly recommend all three of these experiences! So if you’re looking for the best things to do in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, here are my recommendations. [Read more…]

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5 Things To Know Before Visiting Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

manuel antonio sloth

Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular areas of Costa Rica to visit. We visited in April 2023, and we had so much fun! Not only is Costa Rica a beautiful, friendly country, but Manuel Antonio was the perfect place to visit for a week — or longer!

If you’re planning your own trip to Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, here’s what you need to know. [Read more…]

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5 Things To Know Before Visiting Costa Rica

costa rica - toucan

In my last post, I detailed pretty much every single thing we did during our week in Costa Rica. While Costa Rica is the 28th country I’ve visited, and I felt like I had a decent idea of what to expect, every country is different and has its own quirks and characteristics to be aware of.

So, for this post, I wanted to share some important things you’ll want to know before you visit. Here are five things to know before visiting Costa Rica! [Read more…]