The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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City Review: Zagreb, Croatia

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After spending five weeks in Spain, it was time to set off for the second leg of our two-month trip. First stop: Zagreb, Croatia.

Neither of us had ever been to Zagreb or Croatia before, and I was eager to visit it as one of the last two new countries I needed to achieve my goal of 30 countries at age 30. Croatia was number 29! We flew direct from Madrid to Zagreb, where we spent three days exploring Croatia’s capital city.

Here’s what you need to know about visiting Zagreb, Croatia. [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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Day Trip: Sevilla to Córdoba, Spain

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Knowing that we were going to be spending all of August and a bit of September in Sevilla, we figured we’d at least take a day trip from Sevilla to Córdoba while we were there. It was a city I’d heard so much about, and I’d never had the chance to visit! But with the temperature typically above 100°F (~37C) in both Sevilla and Córdoba, it was looking like we’d have to save Córdoba for another trip to Andalucía. We went to Cádiz to escape the heat one weekend instead.

Luckily, on our last full day in Sevilla — a Monday, which was Labor Day at home — the high temps in Córdoba dropped to the low 80s and we decided we’d make the trip from Sevilla to Córdoba after all. Unlike when we’d gone to Cádiz, we didn’t have any problem finding seats on the train, so we took the RENFE Media Distancia train, which cost €11 per person each way, and got us from Sevilla to Córdoba in one hour and 19 minutes.

If you want to plan your own day trip from Sevilla to Córdoba, here’s what you need to know. [Read more…]

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Day Trip: Sevilla to Cádiz, Spain

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Benefits of taking a day trip from Sevilla to Cádiz — getting to see the sea!

Spending the entire month of August in southern Spain was a CHOICE. As much as we love Sevilla the 112°F (~45°C) days were tough to stomach. Initially, I wanted to take a day trip to Córdoba, but the forecast looked basically the same there, and I knew we wouldn’t be able to enjoy sightseeing in those conditions. So I started to research places within an hour or two from Sevilla that could give us a true respite from the heat, just for a day. And that’s how I found Cádiz.

It seemed like everyone else had the same idea, considering that it was nearly impossible to find a train from Sevilla to Cádiz that still had seats available for any weekend day we were in Sevilla. Eventually, we were able to find a spot on the first train of the day on a Friday morning, but everything coming back later that day was sold out… so we turned to popular European carpooling app, BlaBlaCar, for the trip back home. (More on that later.)

Anyway, if you want to plan your own trip from Sevilla to Cádiz, here’s what you need to know! [Read more…]

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Everything You Need To Know About Visiting Barcelona

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Park Güell

To those who are here because they’re coming to our 2024 wedding outside of Barcelona — this is for you! 🤍 And to those who stumbled across it because they also want to know everything they need to know about Barcelona — this is for you, too.

Whatever your reason, I’m glad you’re here. I’m going to try my best to introduce Barcelona and Spain for anyone who’s visiting for the first time. [Read more…]

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The Best & Worst Cities To Change Airports for Cheaper Flights

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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)

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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…]