The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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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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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…]

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The Quito Countdown Is On…

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23 months since my last international trip. 20 months since the COVID-19 pandemic took over the Western world. And 18 months after we originally planned this… our Ecuador trip is only a little more than one month away!

To be clear, we’ve postponed this trip several times. Back in February, I was wondering whether we might finally make it work in 2021 — along with musings of other potential travel destinations (none of which panned out). Luckily, we had a much better 2021 than we did 2020. With trips to Milwaukee, the Pacific Northwest, Ann Arbor, and several visits to Washington DC, we were able to scratch the travel itch — at least domestically.

But after all this time, lots of waiting, three COVID vaccine doses each, and Ecuador passing the U.S. on the percentage of their population being fully vaccinated, we decided: it’s finally time. [Read more…]

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Why We Decided to Move to Helena, Montana, for a Month

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A snowy day in Yellowstone

Ouch, it’s been two months since my last post. That’s definitely the longest I’ve ever gone without writing something new here, and I want to be clear that The Girl Who Goes is NOT over… it’s just that the girl isn’t able to go very much these days.

But I haven’t given up on traveling forever, and with the first COVID vaccines being administered in the U.S. today, I’m feeling excited about my travel prospects for 2021!

Anyway, today’s my birthday so I decided I should write SOMETHING today, of all days. So I’ll share the story of my last travel adventure, during the month of October in Montana. [Read more…]

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8 Things to Know Before Visiting Morocco

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Courtyard view of our riad palace in Fez

Morocco! It was never a place I’d thought much about, but since moving to Spain, it had been at the top of my bucket list. Not only is it super close geographically — and therefore, relatively inexpensive — but its cultural history has long been intertwined with Spain’s. I finally got the chance to visit! I highly recommend it, so here are a few things you should know before visiting Morocco. [Read more…]

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Trip Itinerary: Portland, Mt. Rainier NP, and Olympic NP

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Our trip from Portland to Mt. Rainier to Olympic brought us tons of amazing views, like this one.

A few weeks ago, our beloved exchange student Gaia left the United States to return home to Italy. It was tough on all of us — particularly on my 16-year-old sister Carrie. The girls had become extremely close over the past 10+ months, and it wasn’t easy when Gaia’s time in the U.S. came to an end.

I wanted to help Carrie cheer up, so I decided to take her on a trip. Last year, the two of us visited Seattle and Vancouver together; despite our extensive travels, the Pacific Northwest was a region we’d left largely unexplored. This year’s destination: Portland, Mt. Rainier National Park, and Olympic National Park.

We spent 4 full days and 2 half-days of travel. I’ve broken down my itinerary below — keep reading if you’re interested in planning your own trip! [Read more…]

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Trip Planning 101: How to Start Planning Your Trip

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My favorite way to start trip planning is with good-old fashioned books.

One day, I was living my life like normal. And then it hit me: my trip to Thailand was suddenly just over a month away. And besides booking my flights, I hadn’t done any trip planning. Considering it was my first time traveling to Asia, I really needed to get things together. Fast.

The good news is that after so many trips, I have the whole trip planning thing down to a science. (Which is great! Because having things officially planned makes it seem so much more real, and super exciting.) So… when you find yourself with a trip sneaking up on you and no plans, here are a few of my favorite trip planning tips. [Read more…]

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Hotel, Hostel, or Airbnb: Pros and Cons

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Traveling can be exhausting! After the end of a long day, where will you finally get that much-needed shut-eye? Hotel, hostel, or Airbnb?

When I was growing up, lots of road trips meant we would usually stay in hotels. It also meant that we didn’t always know where we would end up at the end of the day. Since we didn’t have advance reservations, I remember my parents stopping at different hotels, trying to find one that still had a vacancy — while my sister and I hoped it would have a swimming pool. [Read more…]

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3 Unique Things to Do in Toronto, Canada

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Hey everyone! This past weekend I took my first trip north of the border — up to Toronto, Ontario. (I don’t really think I count the quick stop we made on a road trip as a kid, just to say we did it.)

I didn’t really know what to expect, but I landed at the airport with an open mind and zero plans. That’s one of the best things about traveling alone! But thanks to my AMAZING Airbnb hosts, Zairah and Martin, my weekend unfolded quite nicely.

Here are my top 3 recommendations for unique things to do in Toronto. [Read more…]