The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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3 Things You Need To Know Before Visiting Cuba

cuba havana

Hi all! I’d like to introduce my friend Sarah, the first-ever guest author for The Girl Who Goes! I met Sarah back in 2018 when we were both assigned the same school as language assistants in Madrid. And just a few weeks ago, Matt and I were able to visit Sarah and her boyfriend, Kelan, in Ireland! As they told us all about their recent trip to Cuba — somewhere I’ve never been — I asked Sarah if she would write a few articles about visiting Cuba for me.

I’m so excited she took the time to share her experience and these essential tips for anyone planning a trip to Cuba, especially in light of the pandemic. I hope you all enjoy! –Cathy

Cuba is one of those bucket-list countries a lot of people talk about visiting. The allure of old buildings and cars, of an old world that appears to be simpler. However, before we visited Cuba in July 2022, we never could have anticipated how far back we were going!

We look back at our twelve-day trip to Cuba with great appreciation for our modern conveniences. Though we felt we had prepared well and done our research, we forgot one key issue — the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, Cuba had shut its borders for two years, and hence a lot of the information we had read was out of date. Luckily, I’ve a great friend Cathy who let me borrow her blog to tell you all about what Cuba is like now, as of summer 2022. [Read more…]

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Teotihuacan by Hot Air Balloon in Mexico City: What To Know

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Our view of Teotihuacan hot air balloons

While I first visited Mexico City as a solo female traveler in 2018, my most recent trip was completely different. First, I was working as a “digital nomad” while there instead of being on vacation; second, I was there for three weeks instead of five days; third, (my now-husband) Matt was there with me!

So despite my previous visit, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from my trip. All I knew was that I wanted to take Matt to the ancient city of Teotihuacan — one of my favorite experiences from the first time I went! But I had no idea what was going to await me in the ancient Mesoamerican city. (Did I mention that a pandemic had also come along since the last time?) So I did what most millennials would probably do: I opened Instagram, typed in “Teotihuacan,” and decided to check out the geo-tagged photos to scope out the current situation.

I was mostly expecting to see photos of sweaty, sun-baked tourists smiling under the Central American sun. (This is what happened to me the first time.) But instead, I found countless photos of… hot air balloons at Teotihuacan?

I’m not sure how I missed that during my first trip to CDMX, but apparently it’s super popular to visit the pyramids of Teotihuacan by hot air balloon! I personally LOVE unique travel experiences, and I’d never been in a hot air balloon before, so I knew I had to do it. We were on the bus into Mexico City’s center when I brought up the topic to Matt: “Sooooo, theoretically, how would you feel about taking a hot air balloon at Teotihuacan in a few days?”

Thankfully, he was totally on board with the idea! So once he gave me the “okay,” I got started on researching how to visit Teotihuacan by hot air balloon. We wanted to make sure we got the best experience, for the best price.

Of course, just like any popular travel experience, there are some Teotihuacan hot air balloon scams you need to be aware of. So here’s everything you need to know while planning your own sunrise voyage through the pre-Hispanic skies: Teotihuacan by hot air balloon.

[Read more…]

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3 Unique Airbnb Experiences To Try in Mexico City For Less Than $40

During our time in South America at the beginning of this year, we used Airbnb experiences for the first time. They’ve been around for awhile, but I had never really looked into the types of things they’d offered. But we really enjoyed both of the ones we did — a cooking class with a chef in Quito when other other plans for the day fell through, and a tour of Comuna 13 in Medellín.

Our first Monday in Mexico City was Memorial Day — a holiday for most in the American corporate world. But many of Mexico City’s top attractions like museums and parks are closed on Mondays. Wanting to make the most of our day off, I turned to Airbnb to find some unique experiences that we wouldn’t forget.

While I didn’t book them all for one day, their budget-friendly nature made me feel that I didn’t have to choose just one. So here are the three Airbnb experiences under $40 we tried in Mexico City. [Read more…]

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All About Puerto Villamil on Isabela, Galapagos Islands

puerto villamil

Choosing which of the Galapagos Islands to visit isn’t easy, as I’ve mentioned plenty of times here before. Besides Santa Cruz, which we flew into from Quito, we decided to visit one more island — Isabela. It’s famous for being the largest island, shaped like a seahorse, and with lots of wildlife to see. Puerto Villamil, on Isabela island, is the largest city and where most tourists stay.

But after spending a few days in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz, Puerto Villamil was a lot different from what I expected. So here’s what you need to know if you’re planning to visit Puerto Villamil on Isla Isabela. [Read more…]

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All About Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands

marina puerto ayora

When you visit the Galapagos Islands, the chances are pretty good that you’re going to arrive via flight from Guayaquil or Quito. And that means you’re very likely going to fly into Baltra Airport, just north of Santa Cruz Island. At that point, you’ll likely commute from the airport to the channel via bus, take a water taxi across the channel to Santa Cruz Island, and then take a bus 45 minutes south to the opposite end of the island — to Puerto Ayora

Regardless of which islands you’re planning to visit during your Galapagos Islands trip, most will likely include some time spent in Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban center on any of the islands. Not only is it the most populated “city” with the most to do, but it’s also a starting point if you wish to travel to any of the other islands.

Here’s what you need to know about Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz. [Read more…]

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How to Get From the Airport to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz – Galápagos Islands

arriving in the galapagos islands - puerto ayora from the airport

When it comes to visiting the Galapagos Islands, planning your trip can seem overwhelming. With 13 major islands and a few smaller ones — and only so much time — it’s not necessarily easy to decide which ones you should visit.

In the end, we decided we would spend time on just two: Santa Cruz and Isabela. Only four of the islands are inhabited by humans, and Santa Cruz and Isabela are two of them. I’m planning to write more articles about the Galapagos, but here’s your starting point of how to get to Puerta Ayora on Santa Cruz from the airport. (And keep in mind — this is based on doing a Galapagos trip on your own, independent of a tour group or cruise.) [Read more…]

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5 Things To Know Before Visiting the Galapagos Islands

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The Galapagos Islands are unlike anywhere I’ve ever visited before. But in advance of our trip, I actually didn’t do a ton of research because I felt overwhelmed. First of all, most information out there seems to pertain to cruises, and we obviously weren’t doing a cruise. And second, a lot of it comes from travel agencies trying to convince you to book their tours and services.

When we went, I kind of just showed up for our flight and figured it out from there. Which worked out! But not everyone loves traveling that way. So, now that I’ve been there, I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the things I wish I’d known before we went.

[Read more…]

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How To Visit the Galapagos Islands Without a Cruise

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If you know me, and the way I travel, I like to do things independently when I can. For example, a lot of people visit Alaska by taking a cruise, but not me — my friend Megan and I rented a car and spent a week driving nearly 2,000 miles through the state’s wilderness.

When it was time to plan our trip to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, I felt the same way. A lot of the information out there related to visiting the Galapagos is about what cruises you can take. I had to work harder to find what I needed about visiting on our own. It wasn’t easy, but I’m here to share with you to make it easier to plan your trip to the Galapagos Islands without a cruise. [Read more…]

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A Quick Guide to Medellín’s MetroCables

medellin metrocable

Hi friends. This was originally not meant to be its own post — I thought I could contain it in the MetroCable section of my post about the best things to do in Medellín. But I forgot how wordy I can be when I write. Especially when I feel like I’m addressing a gap in knowledge that exists on the internet. So this one goes out to all the travelers planning trips to Medellín and feeling confused about the whole MetroCable thing.

Because a lot of the information out there just isn’t very clear. A lot of it is outdated, too. [Read more…]

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Top 5 Things To Do in Medellín, Colombia

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I’ve said this before. But one of my favorite things to do when traveling is to take a vacation from my vacation. This is especially true when I’m staying in a home base somewhere for a long period of time. Why not take advantage of whatever geographic situation I’m in? When we stayed in Helena, Montana, for a month, we took a vacation to Yellowstone and planned another one to Glacier. When I went to Thailand, I took a detour to Cambodia for a few days.

Since we were in Quito for so long, I wanted to take the opportunity to visit another country while were were in that part of South America. And I thought Matt’s birthday was the perfect excuse. So I plugged our dates into my favorite flight app, Skyscanner, to figure out where we could go for a long weekend, for fairly cheap. That’s where Medellín, Colombia, came in.

I may eventually do another post about whether or not Colombia is as dangerous as everyone says it is. (Spoiler alert: I lived.) But if you choose to visit this beautiful and vibrant city, here are a few things you must do. [Read more…]