You’d suppose on our thirteenth yr as full-time vacationers, we’d be sick of all of the shifting round. However we proceed to fulfill individuals who encourage us, discover locations that take our breath away, and study new issues on daily basis–about different cultures and ourselves. Typically we take into consideration planting a root, like this yr it was in historic Richmond and the uncrowded seashores of Baja, but it surely’s by no means as a result of we’re sick of touring, it’s as a result of these locations steal a chunk of our coronary heart.
This yr we traveled to eight international locations throughout North America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. Buddy the Camper traversed the West and dipped into Mexico, however we spared him his seventeenth cross-country street journey for our two East Coast journeys. We spoke at three journey conferences and attended two extra, to proceed our training on regenerative journey and cross-cultural connections. We starred in an Outdoors TV present and made the daring try and shoot a pilot for a journey present of our personal!
Although, the largest information of the yr simply occurred final week…we acquired the inexperienced mild for a second version of Comfortably Wild…and it’s going world! Learn on for our favourite adventures from 2024 and to see what’s cooking for 2025.
Baja Wellness
To start out our yr with a clear invoice of well being, we kicked off an annual custom of going to Baja California for physician appointments and a seashore detox. Los Algodones, Mexico is the dentistry capital of the world with 600+ dentists in a single sq. mile, providing amazingly reasonably priced and high quality care. After an ideal cleansing and crown (for $125!), it made us suppose that possibly there are different sorts of docs that flock right here too, so we discovered a unbelievable normal practitioner and dermatologist so as to add to our medical-tourism journey. Good factor too, as a result of it seems I had basal cell carcinoma! After cryosurgery, we took the remainder of the week for R&R, tenting alongside the northern Gulf of California, taking coastal walks, and popping into San Felipe for our taco repair. With the reward of a lovely seashore, we’re motivated to make one other journey for this yr’s annual checkups!
Starring in Outdoors TV’s Texas State of Thoughts
One of many biggest honors of the yr was Outdoors Journal selecting HoneyTrek for his or her “Texas State of Thoughts” TV episode and net sequence! To curate the most effective adventures within the Lone Star State, seasoned cyclists biked Hill Nation, skilled fly fishermen took on the Gulf Coast, wellness gurus blissed out in Dallas, and we used our world journey experience to focus on the wealthy tradition of San Antonio.
Because the premier outside media firm within the nation, Outdoors introduced their top-notch manufacturing crew, ensuring the cinematography, pictures, sound, and lighting have been impeccable…and we did our greatest to seize the essence of town! At first, we have been somewhat nervous about having 9 individuals with digital camera gear comply with us round for 2 days, however the Outdoors group has such good vibes and San Antonio is an superior city, so the shoot was an ideal success…give it a watch, above!
Multi-cultural Malaysia
We like Southeast Asia and have all the time needed to discover the melting pot of Malaysia. Manufactured from distinct cultures…Malay, ethnic Chinese language, ethnic Indian, plus 95 indigenous teams, and British influences from their colonial days…Malaysia provides a sturdy style of the continent in a single nation. We began within the capital of Kuala Lumpur, a metropolis of unimaginable contrasts, from old-world avenue markets to trendy skyscrapers that rival Manhattan.
From there, we pressed on to Perak, a central Malaysian state with lush karst topography, cave temples, and wild west vibes from its tin increase days! (Watch this video for 9 causes so as to add Perak to your subsequent Southeast Asia journey!) Although, few locations exemplify the great thing about multicultural Malaysia greater than Penang. As Nice Britain’s first colony and port in Southeast Asia, it introduced individuals from world wide to this little island, and collectively they created certainly one of Asia’s most unusual locations. In the present day, the outdated city is a UNESCO World Heritage Website, and that’s just the start of Penang’s UNESCO standing…25% of the island is a Biosphere Reserve with historic rainforest! See this gallery.
Biodiverse Borneo
The world’s third-largest island, fringed by coral reef, lined with a 130-million-year-old rainforest, and teeming with endemic species, this can be a place of epic proportions. Whereas Borneo is shared with two different international locations (Indonesia and Brunei), the Malaysian state of Sabah has essentially the most protected rainforest, the island’s tallest mountain, wealthy indigenous tradition (38 acknowledged teams making up 59% of the inhabitants), and stable tourism infrastructure to entry these wonders…making it the pure alternative for a Borneo journey!
We gave ourselves 12 days (we might have simply spent a month right here) to journey round Sabah and are so excited to share the most effective of Borneo with you. Learn this in-depth article, as we trek with orangutans, scuba dive the Celebes Sea, safari within the footsteps of David Attenborough, and hone in on the most effective issues to do in Sabah, Borneo.
Brunei: The Pleasant Sultanate
With an absolute monarchy that not too long ago carried out Sharia legislation, Brunei doesn’t current itself as a superb journey vacation spot. A lot much less, to achieve it from Sabah was going to take us over 10 hours by bus with 7 border checkpoints (each reminding us that smuggling medicine was punishable by demise!) However you realize us, we love a great overland problem and imagine there’s good to be present in each vacation spot, so off we went! See the gallery from our Brunei journey, together with the largest stilted settlement on the planet, the fascinating museum of the Sultan of Brunei (one of many richest people), and the pleasant locals who made our journey!
Singapore Past the Bay
Within the early days of HoneyTrek we slept on a bench within the Singapore Changi airport, and whereas some globetrotters would possibly rely that as a rustic visited, we knew Singapore deserved greater than that. Solely a nation since 1965, Singapore has actually come into its personal as world-class vacation spot for finance, expertise, and hospitality. However to be sincere, we have been apprehensive this glittering republic, identified for its skyscrapers, luxurious purchasing, and mega motels like Marina Bay Sands, could be somewhat too good for our liking. After taking the prerequisite go to to the gorgeous Gardens by the Bay and historic Lau Pat Sat market, we sought out the extra native aspect of Singapore. We ate at hawker stalls on the Previous Airport Highway Meals Centre, watched a Hindu ceremony preparations at Sri Mariamman Temple, explored the endentured-coolie houses-turned-shops of Chinatown, and partook in Ramadan festivities within the Muslim Quarter of Kampong Glam. We realized the great thing about this metropolis is in its worldwide enclaves and the way harmoniously individuals can stay in one of many world’s smallest international locations.
Timor-Leste: Coolest Nation You’ve By no means Heard Of
By April 2024, we had been to each nation in Southeast Asia…besides Timor-Leste. Beneath Portuguese rule for 400 years and occupied by the Indonesian navy from 1975-1999, this island nation has by no means hit the vacationer radar, however was calling our title. This journey was going to be expensive and logsitcally sophisticated, however we had a sense it could be a worthwhile journey…and it turned out to be the gem of our Asia journey!
With a rugged shoreline, colonial structure, considerable marine life, and charming villages, Timor-Leste is totally beautiful and was all of the extra particular with our new associates from Aero Dili. We befriended the flight crew and wound up occurring an off-roading journey to their favourite locations from Dili to Baucau. Watch this video above to find Timor’s uncooked magnificence, see our shenanigans, and why this is perhaps the good nation you’ve by no means heard of.
Capturing a Journey TV Pilot in Indonesia
Did you catch that we’re engaged on a pilot for a journey present?! We wish to get off the overwhelmed observe and spotlight the sweetness, range, and human aspect of regenerative journey. We wish to have fun individuals who’ve adopted their desires and brought dangers to create a vacation spot that provides unforgettable experiences whereas being stewards of the native surroundings and neighborhood.
When in search of the proper place for the shoot, we discovered Ngalung Kalla Retreat on the island of Sumba, Indonesia. See the gallery and keep tuned for the sizzle reel (it’s nearly finished!)
NJ Reminiscence Lane
The place did we stay earlier than we went nomadic? The charming Hoboken, New Jersey! Proper on the Hudson River, lower than a mile from New York Metropolis, The ‘Boken’s outside volleyball league is what first introduced me right here. Mike and I met enjoying doubles in Sinatra Park, we fell in love, and he wooed me to The Mile Sq.. We purchased a slice of a brownstone and spent three superb years in our first and final residence collectively. Twelve years later, we returned to our outdated hometown and state for a correct trip, and we will’t let you know how nostalgic it made us. Watch this stroll down Hoboken reminiscence lane (full with throwback pictures of us as volleyball teammates and our outdated condo) and a few nice street journey concepts from 18th-century Lambertville to Exit Zero in Cape Might in this gallery.
Richmond…Who Knew?
With a daring accolade like CNN Journey’s primary choose for “America’s Finest Cities to Go to,” Richmond was a spot we needed to expertise for ourselves. So whereas we have been in Virginia for a household marriage ceremony, we prolonged our journey to take a look at this trending metropolis. Set on the beautiful James River, the capital of Virginia has over 400 years of historical past to dive into, with spectacular museums, beautiful structure, and native characters from Thomas Jefferson to Edgar Allan Poe. In recent times, Richmond has actually hit its stride, embracing avenue artwork, African-American tradition, culinary expertise, and native delight. We spent 5 unbelievable days right here and may say, from their lots of of murals to the category IV rapids operating proper by way of downtown, it’s a metropolis that earns its stripes!
Keynoting Camp Indie
When you’ve ever dreamt of ditching your desk job for a location-independent life-style, you’d love Camp Indie! Three enjoyable days have been had within the Berkshire Mountains, partaking in life-changing workshops + summer-camp-style enjoyable with like-minded individuals considering exterior the company field. From breathwork workout routines to 90s pajama events, it stuffed us up and taught us much more methods to seek out success and happiness. It was an honor to keynote this inspiring occasion and we will’t await subsequent yr. Hope to see you the weekend of June twentieth, 2025!
Really feel the Rush! Gold Nation Highway Journey
To get again to California’s Wild West roots and plenty of of my favourite locations as a Cali child, we took a three-week Gold Nation street journey. Freeway 49 winds by way of the Sierra Nevadas, connecting dozens of Nineteenth-century Gold Rush cities, from Yosemite Nationwide Park to Lake Tahoe. Along with historic websites, this route serves up beautiful mountains, raging rivers, alpine lakes, and wine nation for a street journey that’s acquired all of it! Learn this weblog for an in-depth information and see these movies for some highlights:
@honeytrek One in every of California’s biggest river rafting adventures is undoubtedly The Center Fork of the American. Set 2,000 ft deep in a canyon of the Tahoe Nationwide Forest, this river is beautiful and bursting with Class IV rapids. There’s even a Class VI speedy so gnarly the boat will get hurled over the 30-foot waterfall and the guides must catch it on the backside! Stuffed with thrills, magnificence, and good instances, this @All-OutdoorsCA Rafting is a must-do Gold Nation journey! #AmericanRiver #RiverRafting #PlacerCounty #VisitGoldCountry #accomplice @VisitCalifornia ♬ authentic sound – HoneyTrek
Puerto Rico Glamping Consulting
HoneyTrek Glamping Consulting, the place we assist camp house owners enhance their visitor expertise and enterprise total, is in its fourth yr. We normally conduct this as a five-hour Zoom workshop, however when the celebs align we love to fulfill the house owners on their land for a deep dive.
Jay, a budding glamping camp operator in Puerto Rico, had been saving our enterprise card for over a yr and phoned us as quickly because the deed to his 36 acres was signed. He was so enthusiastic about working with HoneyTrek and couldn’t have been nicer, inviting us to remain at his seashore home and tour us round PR, so we adopted our intestine to the airport and serendpity adopted go well with. The potential of this land was limitless, tucked within the lush mountains with views to a pristine seashore on the fringe of a colonial city, with an ideal neighborhood vibe. This residing context gave us so many concepts, and it’s been a pleasure to see them carried out!
Bonus: The ISA World Surf Championships occurred to be in Puerto Rico that week and within the hometown of our sports activities reporter buddy Jaimie! He scored us press passes and we acquired front-row seats to this Olympic-qualifying occasion!
Miami’s Wild Facet
We usually work with tourism boards on storytelling campaigns, although enjoying within the massive leagues with Go to Miami had us a bit nervous. From celeb influencers to creators in our circle we respect, the content material bar was set excessive for this glamorous metropolis of six million individuals…however we gave it our all!
Whereas identified for its lengthy sandy seashores, Artwork Deco motels, Latin tradition, trendy artwork, and posh nightlife, we needed to point out that Miami’s clubbing scene just isn’t its solely wild aspect. Inside its county traces, there are two nationwide parks, one of many world’s largest wetlands, the third-longest coral reef, extra tropical fruit farms than wherever within the USA, and the world’s first conscious pocket park to understand the great thing about nature. It’s the contrasts of Miami that make it so particular.
See our gallery with tricks to profit from Miami–from stay music in Little Havana to volunteering for sea turtles in Biscayne Bay.
Tunisia, Hidden Gem of North Africa
Tunisia completely blew us away. Roman ruins, Mediterranean seashores, rolling olive groves, and Andalusian villages…it had so many European qualities, but in addition the most effective of North Africa with bustling medinas, glittering mosques, wealthy Berber tradition, scrumptious delicacies, and the huge Sahara Desert.
Touring as a bunch of 5 seasoned traveler associates, we nearly didn’t use a tour firm, however we’re so glad we determined to go together with Tunisia Ecotourism. They helped us get deeper into the center of this dynamic nation and higher perceive its wealthy cultures. Touring from the three,000-year-old metropolis of Carthage to the untouched dunes of the Sahara, Tunisia’s breadth of wonders by no means ceased to amaze. Embraced by Tunisian hospitality, we have been welcomed into 18th-century guesthouses, bedouin desert camps, and troglodyte dwellings. We realized to decorate like Berber beauties, cook dinner rougag bread, make wool, and weave rugs. Getting off the overwhelmed path and connecting with native communities, we fell in love with a rustic we barely knew…and hope you’ll too!
Try this gallery and movies beneath for highlights from our 10-day journey throughout Tunisia, the hidden gem of the Mediterranean and jewel of North Africa.
TBEX Alaska
After we acquired invited to talk on the Anchorage version of TBEX, the premier journey running a blog convention, we jumped on the probability to attend this week-long occasion in some of the lovely states with a few of our favourite peeps! Every time we go to TBEX, our friendships develop deeper with our content material creator neighborhood–whether or not we’re sharing concepts at a roundtable dialogue or mountain climbing into the wilderness.
After the periods, there was loads of playtime, from turning the Alaska Railroad right into a shifting dance celebration to a three-day journey with Revel Treks & Excursions + BlueWater BaseCamp into the Chugach Mountains, full with kayaking, mountain biking, glamping, moose-spotting, and new associates! Try this gallery for our Alaska highlights.
Colorado Residency
We hold coming again to Colorado for therefore many causes…it’s beautiful, there’s all the time a lot occurring, and our household lives right here! Regardless of the thinner air at a mile excessive, we discover Denver to be an ideal place to catch our breath between tasks and reconnect with our neighborhood, so we did two housesits right here this yr! First, was a Civic Heart condo that we scored in the course of the first-ever Outdoors Competition of all issues superior open air, and the second was a bungalow within the lovely LoHi neighborhood, with a superbly lazy cat.
We have been so completely happy to be round our household for the vacations, from trick or treating with our 1-year-old nephew to Thanksgiving with our cousins (full with vegan dishes and CU Boulder Soccer). Plus, native blogger associates Jules & Sherry all the time know the VIP haps, so we had some splashy moments too, like sitting entrance row at Denver Trend Week and the Mile Excessive Tree Lighting with the mayor!
See a few of our favourite moments from residing like a Denver native and our epic aspect journey to Leadville…the two-mile-high metropolis!
HoneyTrek Cares
For every of the tourism board tasks we do all year long, we give again 5% of the finances to native nonprofits and volunteer with them every time attainable. We do that as a result of we wish to assist the surroundings and under-served communities, but in addition expertise vacationer locations in a constructive approach whereas displaying extra vacationers how enjoyable volunteering could be. From undeniably cool experiences like releasing child sea turtles to the less-sexy invasive species elimination, every volunteer day connects us with superior locals and provides us a deeper appreciation of the place.
Listed here are among the volunteer orgs we supported in 2024 and hope you possibly can too! Wetlands Institute, James River Affiliation, MORAES marine science, Particles Free Oceans, Mending Partitions therapeutic arts, American River Conservancy, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Comply with the Footsteps adaptive sports activities, and Belief for Public Lands.
We Received The Glamping Pioneer Award!
We’ve been glamping world wide and writing about this type of eco-travel since 2012, however we nonetheless can’t imagine we received the American Glamping Affiliation’s Business Pioneer Award! Of their phrases, “The 2024 award goes to HoneyTrek, a trailblazing duo whose imaginative and prescient, ardour, and dedication have impressed the glamping neighborhood and past. Their groundbreaking work and relentless advocacy for sustainable journey proceed to pave the way in which for a brighter, extra adventurous future in glamping. HoneyTrek exemplifies innovation and serves as a shining mild for all the trade….With a deal with eco-friendly lodging and immersive outside experiences, HoneyTrek conjures up others to discover distinctive, significant journey. Their dedication to innovation in glamping makes them true pioneers, frequently elevating the bar for journey vacationers worldwide.” What an absolute honor!
Comfortably Wild Will get a Second Version!
BIG NEWS! We simply acquired the inexperienced mild from Falcon Guides for a second version of our glamping e-book, Comfortably Wild! Whereas the primary version featured the most effective outside lodging in North America, this spherical we’re embarking on a seven-continent quest for essentially the most conscious and galvanizing getaways on the planet! Not simply Prime 10 Lists and AI-generated outcomes, we wish to meet these small enterprise house owners, strive the actions, share meals, and sleep of their wonderland…whether or not that’s in Monaco or Mongolia.
We’re so enthusiastic about glamping, as a result of when finished proper, it honors the surroundings, native communities, and friends for holidays with a constructive impression for all. With passionate individuals on the helm, it’s regenerative journey in its most lovely type, and we’re so excited to honor them and encourage extra individuals with this new (hardcover!) e-book. See extra information right here.
2025 Preview
This world version of Comfortably Wild goes to majorly form our 2025. Our plan is to begin within the Southern Hemisphere (both Oceania or South America) then head to Europe by late Spring, Africa in summer time, and Asia by fall;. We’ve got an extended record of locations we’re culling down, however you probably have stayed at an awe-inspiring eco-lodge, safari camp, glampground, or boutique lodging immersed in nature ANYWHERE on the planet, we’d love to listen to your options.
Cheers to an ideal 2024 and an thrilling yr forward,
Anne & Mike
