Finally, someone who feels about Puerto Vallarta the way I did. At times I almost felt like I must have not visited the right areas. I felt great contempt for this tourist trap. I don't know what it is people love about it, I know it just was a big turn off for me and I don't mind some living in some other touristy areas, I actually lived for six years in a US tourist town, Sarasota Florida and loved it, but, PV, just felt like one big annoying pyramid scheme. PS, I lovvvve Mexico and though Mexico City has been on my list, I didn't make it over there during my past 3 visits to Mexico, but, I'll get there next time I visit the country. Appreciating all the stories you and Brent have shared on your site. Thank you.
I liked Bansko, obviously! LOL. I know you're not a digital nomad but I still think you'd enjoy it as it is a lovely mountain town that would be a pleasant place for several days. And from there you can visit Rilla Monastery, one of the more famous sites in Bulgaria.
We breezed through Sofia, so I can't speak to that but others have said it's a fairly interesting place, though definitely not world class. Plovdiv is another spot on our to see list when we return to Bulgaria.
As for Romania, we loved Brasov. Absolutely charming town with great access to nature, plus several other spots are within pretty easy visiting.
Sibiu is actually smaller, though it's old town definitely felt bigger. The old town is fantastic and could easily fill up several days. But Sibiu doesn't have much to offer outside of old town...
One of the things I didn't have time to mention was that Grimentz is famous for is the flower boxes filled with geraniums. It's so lovely to walk around town and see them all.
I haven't been to Switzerland yet but have been around southern Germany and Austria. I love the flower boxes so much. When I was growing up my mum grew alot of geraniums and I thought there were such a strange old fashioned looking plant. Now that I'm eleventy billion years old I think they are so vibrant and wonderful. I can literally picture myself sitting on that balcony with my laptop overlooking that gorgeousness.
Thanks. I appreciate hearing about Bulgaria. My husband and I are planning to go to Europe next summer and once we learned about Schengen we were concerned about where to go. How did you get there? Fly, train, or bus? And do you have any other suggestions for another locations that we can stay for a month? We live in the (hot) desert southwest and hope to be in Europe for a total of 5 months. ~Kathy
Hi Kathy, Sorry for the slow response. Been a crazy couple of travel days. First off, glad you enjoyed the post. Love hearing that!
As for Bulgaria, we were in Italy and flew directly to Sofia. You should be able to get direct flights from any major European cities, I would think. As for other suggestions outside of Schengen, we loved Croatia and really want to go back. And we loved our time in Romania and would definitely suggest that. We're probably going to go to Albania or Cyprus for part of the winter, so I'll be able to report more about those later. We also very much want to go to Bosnia Herzegovina.
Oh, and here's a Schengen hack we just learned! Poland will give Americans an additional ninety days in Poland after your Schengen time runs out! Perhaps you haven't thought about visiting Poland but we've heard great things and it's on our list!
Thanks Michael. We've been to Croatia and LOVED it...it is certainly a great option from staying past the time limit. And we were in Mostar for a few days (when we visited Bosnia) and it is a lovely little town too. Haven't been to Poland either but would like to know how that goes for you as well. We are looking for cooler weather during summer season so all these sound like options. And I guess there is Ireland too?? But likely more expensive. Looking forward to hearing what are Brent's favorites too. ~Kathy
Really want to see Mostar! I don't think Poland is in the cards this go around but only because it'll be too cold. But we'll definitely use it in the future!
But Ireland didn't make your "best" list. And we really want to do like you often do...."plant"yourselves in one location for the month and then rent a car to explore the rest. IF Ireland isn't on Brent's list. (hint, hint, hint) do you have suggestions about where the best place is to stay?
I enjoyed reading this until the end. Was it necessary to trash one place? Every place is someone's hometown. You got teared gassed in Turkey but felt the need to trash PV because it was too American.
Hey Neil, it never occurred to me that I was trashing Puerto Vallarta and I apologize for doing so. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Thanks for the feedback.
I follow you on twitter and enjoy your positive outlook - I used to travel a great deal for work. Some of my DC coworkers and friends would trash the more rural areas, but I always was reminded that every town bought much enjoy to many. I am sorry if I came off harsh. Travel well -
No worries at all. What you said about every place is someone's home is very true and really resonated. It's a good reminder. And it's funny because so many people have told us that places like Bulgaria, etc are terrible and dangerous and we're like, um, no.
So glad you liked it! Love hearing that. I definitely want to spend more time seeing our national parks. As for Arches, yeah.... What an amazing place.
I enjoyed reading this, thanks. I look forward to traveling when I retire. I can't wait.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for saying so because we really appreciate hearing that! Hope you can travel ASAP!
Finally, someone who feels about Puerto Vallarta the way I did. At times I almost felt like I must have not visited the right areas. I felt great contempt for this tourist trap. I don't know what it is people love about it, I know it just was a big turn off for me and I don't mind some living in some other touristy areas, I actually lived for six years in a US tourist town, Sarasota Florida and loved it, but, PV, just felt like one big annoying pyramid scheme. PS, I lovvvve Mexico and though Mexico City has been on my list, I didn't make it over there during my past 3 visits to Mexico, but, I'll get there next time I visit the country. Appreciating all the stories you and Brent have shared on your site. Thank you.
I'm sure you're going to love Mexico City!
Some interesting choices - thanks for sharing! Makes me even more anxious to get to Bulgaria. It's in our plans for next year.
Really look forward to hearing what you think! Where will you be going?
No details yet, just a general plan to visit Bulgaria and Romania some time between April and July. Open to suggestions!
I liked Bansko, obviously! LOL. I know you're not a digital nomad but I still think you'd enjoy it as it is a lovely mountain town that would be a pleasant place for several days. And from there you can visit Rilla Monastery, one of the more famous sites in Bulgaria.
We breezed through Sofia, so I can't speak to that but others have said it's a fairly interesting place, though definitely not world class. Plovdiv is another spot on our to see list when we return to Bulgaria.
As for Romania, we loved Brasov. Absolutely charming town with great access to nature, plus several other spots are within pretty easy visiting.
Sibiu is actually smaller, though it's old town definitely felt bigger. The old town is fantastic and could easily fill up several days. But Sibiu doesn't have much to offer outside of old town...
Thanks very much, Michael! Will tuck this information away for when we firm up plans. Lately, we are hesitant to do that too far in advance...
I hear you. We make no concrete plans more than a month out!
I really enjoyed hearing about your favourites. I am now madly researching Grimentz and Bansko. Looking forward to hearing Brents.
One of the things I didn't have time to mention was that Grimentz is famous for is the flower boxes filled with geraniums. It's so lovely to walk around town and see them all.
I haven't been to Switzerland yet but have been around southern Germany and Austria. I love the flower boxes so much. When I was growing up my mum grew alot of geraniums and I thought there were such a strange old fashioned looking plant. Now that I'm eleventy billion years old I think they are so vibrant and wonderful. I can literally picture myself sitting on that balcony with my laptop overlooking that gorgeousness.
With your time in Germany and Austria, I'd bet you have a good sense of Grimentz then. As for being eleventy billion years old, I feel you... LOL
And you should definitely put yourself on that balcony!
Thanks. I appreciate hearing about Bulgaria. My husband and I are planning to go to Europe next summer and once we learned about Schengen we were concerned about where to go. How did you get there? Fly, train, or bus? And do you have any other suggestions for another locations that we can stay for a month? We live in the (hot) desert southwest and hope to be in Europe for a total of 5 months. ~Kathy
Hi Kathy, Sorry for the slow response. Been a crazy couple of travel days. First off, glad you enjoyed the post. Love hearing that!
As for Bulgaria, we were in Italy and flew directly to Sofia. You should be able to get direct flights from any major European cities, I would think. As for other suggestions outside of Schengen, we loved Croatia and really want to go back. And we loved our time in Romania and would definitely suggest that. We're probably going to go to Albania or Cyprus for part of the winter, so I'll be able to report more about those later. We also very much want to go to Bosnia Herzegovina.
Oh, and here's a Schengen hack we just learned! Poland will give Americans an additional ninety days in Poland after your Schengen time runs out! Perhaps you haven't thought about visiting Poland but we've heard great things and it's on our list!
Thanks Michael. We've been to Croatia and LOVED it...it is certainly a great option from staying past the time limit. And we were in Mostar for a few days (when we visited Bosnia) and it is a lovely little town too. Haven't been to Poland either but would like to know how that goes for you as well. We are looking for cooler weather during summer season so all these sound like options. And I guess there is Ireland too?? But likely more expensive. Looking forward to hearing what are Brent's favorites too. ~Kathy
Really want to see Mostar! I don't think Poland is in the cards this go around but only because it'll be too cold. But we'll definitely use it in the future!
Are we LOVED Ireland!
But Ireland didn't make your "best" list. And we really want to do like you often do...."plant"yourselves in one location for the month and then rent a car to explore the rest. IF Ireland isn't on Brent's list. (hint, hint, hint) do you have suggestions about where the best place is to stay?
It wasn't there because we visited it twenty years ago on our honeymoon, so it wasn't part of our digital nomad journey!
Interesting choices - thanks for sharing! Now I'm even more anxious to get to Bulgaria! It's on our 2022 list...
I enjoyed reading this until the end. Was it necessary to trash one place? Every place is someone's hometown. You got teared gassed in Turkey but felt the need to trash PV because it was too American.
Hey Neil, it never occurred to me that I was trashing Puerto Vallarta and I apologize for doing so. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Thanks for the feedback.
I follow you on twitter and enjoy your positive outlook - I used to travel a great deal for work. Some of my DC coworkers and friends would trash the more rural areas, but I always was reminded that every town bought much enjoy to many. I am sorry if I came off harsh. Travel well -
No worries at all. What you said about every place is someone's home is very true and really resonated. It's a good reminder. And it's funny because so many people have told us that places like Bulgaria, etc are terrible and dangerous and we're like, um, no.
Love this! Thanks for sharing. We love our national parks as well. Arches was fabulous!
So glad you liked it! Love hearing that. I definitely want to spend more time seeing our national parks. As for Arches, yeah.... What an amazing place.
You're welcome! Let us know what you think!