Learning To Travel

Teaching you how far you can travel!

Travel Tips

What is the best luggage for my trip?

Travel Tips

“What is the best type of luggage for me to carry on my trip?” is a questions we hear all the time.

While the choice ultimately depends on personal preference, there are some key factors to consider to help you make the best decision for your personality and travel style.

The main choice is between wheeled luggage and backpack-style luggage with a few variations and hybrid options.

Backpacks

The most obvious advantage of backpacks is that they are great for going anywhere. Hiking a mile down a dirt road after hopping off a bus? No problem. Climbing six flights of stairs to a walk-up apartment in New York or Paris? Again, no problem. Many models even offer a zip off carry-on bag, getting you set for easy air travel, all with one bag.

The disadvantages start to crop up quickly though. You can only really carry one backpack at a time. Sure, you can add a smaller pack on front or a shoulder bag, but I find I start to look and feel like a pack horse – I certainly don’t feel classy or professional.

For our year abroad, I used the large-backpack-on-back/small-backpack-on front-approach, along with a small purse for quick access items like passport, phone, etc. I spent a lot of time with sore shoulders and sweatier, more wrinkled clothes than I would have liked, while putting bags down frequently ended up in a tangled mess of shoulder straps as I tried to remember what order I’d loaded up in.

While, the Osprey travel packs we used were front-loading and relatively easy to pack and find what we needed, the soft-sides and looser form still made it challenging to keep things in order and clothes tended to get pretty wrinkled. I also started to feel the lifting and twisting contortions involved in taking a relatively heavy pack on and off were more suited for a twenty-something than a forty-something.

Roller Suitcases

Roller bags on the other hand provide a neater carrying experience. No lifting or twisting required. On smooth surfaces, they are easily wheeled along, leaving your back and shoulders unencumbered – great if you have shoulder or neck pain and also if you’d like to carry a second bag, for instance a carry-on backpack with laptop or camera equipment. Roller bags tend to have a more solid structure, so they’re a bit easier to pack in an organized manner with less wrinkling.

Best Luggage - Roller Suitcase
This is me with the smaller of the two roller suitcases I am trying out right now.

On the down side, walking up long flights of stairs or hurrying up or down escalators is a challenge and covering long distances can be difficult, particularly if you are in a hurry or there are rough surfaces involved like gravel, curbs or frequent pavement gaps. If you’ve tried running with a roller suitcase, you know it rarely ends well.

Our Experience

For our year-long trip, we chose backpacks for their versatility. We weren’t sure how far we’d be walking or on what type of terrain and wanted to be ready for anything. I still think keeping our options open was a good choice for such a fluid trip, but in hindsight, we really didn’t hike all that far and rarely on surfaces that couldn’t have accommodated a roller. In actuality it seemed like I was putting my pack on and off a lot for relatively short periods of walking and I did feel I was carrying about as much weight as I’d want to be hefting on and off my back regularly at 25 pounds.

Best Luggage - year long trip
This is a horrible photo, but it is the only photo we have showing what we carried on our year-long trip. Osprey Porter 46 travel packs on back and small daypacks on front.

These days, I’m leaning toward the roller suitcase option and have picked up both small and medium-sized versions that I love at Wal-Mart to try out for a while. I love the option that 4-wheels gives of being able to wheel my bag alongside me on smooth surfaces, like airport hallways and sidewalks. This is by far the easiest luggage experience I’ve had.

I just returned from two weeks in Europe with the larger of my two bags, which weighed about 40 pounds and I loved it. With the weight and size of this bag, I don’t think a backpack would have even been a viable option. The biggest challenges were the few times that I needed to carry the bag down long flights of stairs (carrying worked fine, but elevators were usually an available option too) and one time that I needed to cover a mile or so on a gravel surface (which went surprisingly well actually).

Additional options:

As a subdivision of backpacks there are travel backpacks and backpacking backpacks. The latter are generally top-loading, making it challenging to locate any particular item inside, and strappy, leaving way too many parts to get caught in a luggage conveyor belt or other seam-ripping contraption in my opinion. Although I see many of them on the road, my opinion is that unless you are planning to actually backpack or walk very long distances with all of your gear, I belive this style is not the best choice.

There is also a class that combines the features of backpack straps and wheels which may be ideal for many short or lightweight trips. I’ve not yet had the opportunity to try one of these convertible bags out, but certainly will. In the meantime, if you have, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section. The downsides I notice seem to be a significantly higher price tag as well as added weight and reduced capacity due to the addition of the retractable handle and wheels.

To summarize, here are the key factors to consider when making the backpack vs rolling suitcase decision:

  • How far will you go on foot? Even relatively smooth sidewalks can get old after a mile or two pulling a suitcase.
    1. What will the terrain be like? Dirt roads or city sidewalks?
  • How much do you want/need to carry with you? If you are going to carry a lot, a backpack may just not be reasonable. Alternatively, if your bag is relatively small, hauling it onto a public bus or up a few flights of stairs may be no big deal, no matter what style of bag it is.
  • How do you feel about lifting and carrying a loaded backpack? Or more specifically, how does your body feel about it? Is twisting and lifting 20 to 30 pounds onto your back repeatedly a reasonable option?

So there you have it – Joyce’s opinions on luggage and how to choose the right bag for your trip. We’d love to hear what works best for you.

Where to Go – How to Choose the Right Destination

Travel Tips, Vacation Planning

Where To Go – How to Choose the Right Destination

Sometimes you know it’s time for a trip, but just aren’t sure where to go. Don’t let that uncertainty be a roadblock or an excuse for not traveling.

Here are some tips to figure out the right destination and get on the road.

Consult your list.
If you have a bucket list or other travel wish list of places you’ve dreamed of going, your decision may be easy. If your list has so many possibilities, that it’s still a tough decision, or if you don’t have a list, page thru travel magazines, pull out ads with locations that excite you, and browse Pinterest boards – these are all ways to zero in on and identify places you are drawn to.

Think about what you enjoy.
Are you into museums? Unique animals? Outdoor adventures like hiking or rafting? Historical sites? Do you love the ocean? The mountains?

Ask yourself what you most want from this specific trip.
What are you really wanting to experience right now? Are you looking to relax on the beach, experience a new culture or see particular sites like the canals of Venice, the Eiffel Tower or Machu Picchu? Are you looking for an adventure or a break from challenges? Do you want to “rough it” or experience a bit of luxury? Are you looking for a natural oasis or a bustling city? Volcano hikes or Cirque du Soleil in Vegas. So many questions, but the answer to each will bring you closer to the right destination.

Consider what time of year you’ll be traveling.
If you have a particular timeframe for your trip you can use that to simplify the decision. For example, Daryle and I tend to travel in January – it’s when our life schedule tends to allow, it’s generally a slow travel time with good values, and it’s our anniversary. It’s also the coldest month in most of the northern hemisphere, including our home in Colorado. So when we’re planning a January trip, we tend to look for warm locations near the equator or in the southern hemisphere where its summer.

 

Look at how much time you have.
This shouldn’t prevent you from going where you’d like, but it’s good to consider. If you cross a whole bunch of time zones, you are going to spend a significant chunk of time adjusting. The more north/south your travel is, the less of this you have to deal with. For instance, coming from the U.S., even southern Chile will only cost you a few hours change at most, whereas Europe or southeast Asia is going to flipflop day and night on you.

Compare travel expenses.
Once you have a short-list of potential regions or destinations, get on search sites to get a feel for the cost of traveling to these top choices. This will let you prioritize in terms of value and what you can get for your money. I use Skyscanner.net for flights, hotels.com & booking.com for hotels and Airbnb for other lodging options. I’m not looking to book anything at this point, just getting a feel for what is available and average costs to see what kind of trip we can get in each location with what I feel we have to spend.

At this point one or maybe a handful of favorites will emerge and you’ll need to see which you and your traveling companions are most excited about. It can be helpful to pick one and sit with the decision for a week or two. Pick up a travel guide and start researching and planning. As you start compiling a list of all the things you want to do and see, you will usually be able to tell by your excitement level if you’ve picked well. If so, start booking! Visit my post on how to plan your trip for a guide on where to start. 

If you find yourself starting to stress about picking the “right” destination, remember there are really no wrong destinations. Amazing experiences wait for you everywhere if you are willing to travel with open eyes and a curious heart. The most important thing is that you pick somewhere and make it happen.

 

Planning Your Vacation – Where to Start

Travel Tips, Vacation Planning

Planning your vacation can be a daunting task, but by breaking it down into the most basic components it becomes quite manageable and can even be a lot of fun in itself. Here are the basic steps we take each time we plan a trip.

Peruse some guidebooks and websites. At this stage you don’t necessarily need to buy guidebooks, you can simply check out your local library or bookstore just to take a look. Do some web searches on things to do in your desired destination, and check tourism bureau sites. Look for what excites you and what makes your destination unique. What is your destination known for? Are there great hikes? Legendary surf breaks? Unique foods? Historic sites? Begin to compile a list of the things that you are really excited about and wouldn’t want to miss. If there will be multiple people making this trip with you, have each make their own list and rank the items on it.

This is also a good time to look into what type of weather to expect during your intended trip – and to make some schedule changes if it is not what you were hoping for.

This South African hike ranged from cliff tops to beaches and included the opportunity to see hundreds of seals sunbathing and surfing and was high on my priority list for our drive around the country in 2014.

Research primary transportation options. If you will need to fly to get where you are going and your vacation timing is flexible, do a number of price comparison searches using a variety of dates to get a feel for seasonal pricing trends. Skyscanner.net is a great online resource for these searches.

If your dates are set, use Skyscanner to determine the cheapest airports and airlines for your desired flight path. It can be useful to price your trip as a series of one-way individual flight segments rather than only as a single round-trip package. This isn’t always better, but often provides more and sometimes cheaper options.

Example: We live in the middle of the country and often find that instead of booking a series of connecting flights, say from Denver to Europe, it is better to book a direct New York to Europe flight and then separately find and book a cheap flight from Denver to New York. Sometimes we can even work out the bonus of a long stopover this way. Twenty-four hours in New York can be a blast.

We also frequently fly in and out of different airports with short hops in between so we can see more.

Example: On a recent trip to Hawaii, we flew to Kona on the Big Island, spent a week there, and then took a short flight to Oahu, where we spent our second week, before flying home from Honolulu.

Research other short-distance transportation options such as train, ferry, rental cars or public transportation – both for getting to your destination if it’s not too far, or for exploring once you are there. Overland travel lets you see more of an area’s towns and countryside than skipping over it all by air. Additionally, flying to a nearby, cheaper airport can sometimes be an option as well, if there is an easy secondary form of transport to your final destination.  

Example: My mom and I are planning a trip to Scotland this fall. Our flight arrives in London at 10am and we are ultimately headed to Edinburgh. Rather than spend all day in the airport waiting for an evening flight to Edinburgh, we’ve chosen to take the train. It’s a 4.5-hour journey, instead of the 1.5 hour flight, but we will have a chance to get out to see London for a few hours (assuming our flight is on-time) and to see a lot towns and beautiful countryside along the way. In the end, we’ll arrive at about the same time as if we’d flown. It is always worth looking at all the options before just assuming there is only one way to get somewhere.

Scottish Countryside – The train ride north from London is much more relaxing and enjoyable than another flight.

Research lodging options. I usually start with hotels first, using a site like Booking.com or Hotels.com. This gives me an idea of what price range we’ll be looking at. Particularly if the prices are prohibitively high, I also check Airbnb. In some locations hotels and Airbnb prices are comparable and in others, dramatically different. You can read more about our comparison of these and more lodging options here.

Example: On a recent trip to Miami, we found the hotels very expensive, but our own entire apartment through Airbnb very affordable – the Airbnb price was less than half the price of an average hotel. Plus we got to live in a quiet neighborhood, have our own small kitchen, patio for relaxing outside and free parking for our rental car – a huge additional cost saver compared to downtown hotels.

Our Little Havana Airbnb included a small kitchen, comfy bed and every amenity we could think of from snacks to spare toothbrushes for less than half the cost of an area hotel.

Plot a basic itinerary. With all this basic research done, you should feel good about picking some dates and starting to rough out an itinerary. I usually draw out a calendar and I always use pencil, as it’s a bit of a puzzle working out the best way to fit everything in.

Based on the lists of things each person in your group wants most to experience, start to fill in the calendar, allowing more time than you think you need for each one and including an extra day in each location if possible to allow for bad weather or unexpected cool additional things you discover once you arrive.

This initial plotting should give you the information you need to decide if you want to visit multiple locations and if so, how many days you’ll want to stay in each place.

Example: On our trip to Miami, we were also planning to visit the Florida Keys, but it wasn’t until we started mapping out the activities and locations we wanted to include that we realized we needed more time in the Keys and less in Miami than we’d originally thought, and that we wanted to split our time in the Keys between the town of Marathon, mid-way down the Keys, and Key West.

This is an example of one of my rough itineraries. From a trip to Hawaii last year where we stayed in 5 different towns, it was a bit more complicated and involved a lot more erasing and rearranging than some.

Outline a basic budget. With this proposed itinerary completed, you know how long you’d like your trip to last. Now, based on all the information you’ve gathered on transportation, lodging and specific activities or attractions you’d like to experience you should be able to put together a basic estimate of what your trip will cost. Make sure to also add in a daily estimate of food costs based on whether you will be eating at restaurants, cooking your own food, or a combination of the two.

Do not stop here!

This step is where sometimes you have to get creative or make a few concessions. I always start off with my ideal trip and then have to start prioritizing and arranging things to make it work. Maybe that means I don’t get to go snorkeling with dolphins AND manta rays, maybe we commit to making a certain number of meals at “home”, or maybe we decide we’re not willing to compromise on much and the trip just needs to be shorter instead. There are endless negotiations at this step – just believe that you can make it work, because you can.

And example of a rough budget for the same Hawaii trip as the previous itinerary photo. We ended up dropping a number of these things to make it fit our budget, but we had an unforgettable trip.

Whenever I start to get discouraged in this phase, I find it helpful to ask myself, “Would you rather have half of these experiences than none at all?” Since the answer is always yes, this lets me carry on excitedly with planning, even as I cut amazing things from the plan.

Inevitably there will always be more that you want to do than time or money allows. That is why you will never be done traveling. Instead of allowing yourself to get overwhelmed or sad about this, remember that every new experience you have on this trip is one you wouldn’t have had if you had stayed home. Every new experience is the direct result of your being brave enough to take time out and to plan and take this trip.

Start booking! Once you have your basic itinerary and a budget you feel is feasible, you can start actually booking some things. I usually start with airfare because it’s generally the most expensive and can vary quite a bit depending on day of the week. Then we fill in with intermediate transportation and lodging.  However, it’s important to start with whatever is most important to you. If there is something you absolutely must do, book that first and build the rest of your trip around that. You don’t want to get non-refundable plane tickets and hotel reservations in place and then find out the show you just had to see is sold out the day you’ll be in town.

I hope this little bit of guidance is enough to get you excited about planning your next trip and to give you an outline that makes it easy to get started. If you take things one step at time you’ll be counting down the days until your dream trip before you know it.

Get A Passport

Travel Tips

Maybe you don’t need to get a passport maybe you already possess a current and valid passport. Please feel free to skip this article. I am writing it because I have talked to too many people who have said to me, “I’d love to travel but I don’t even have a passport.”

Get A Passport

get a passport

This is why I believe for anyone who has a desire to travel soon or in the future the first step is to get a passport even if you have no idea when or where you are going to travel. A U.S. passport if valid for ten years so why not take care of this minor speed bump as soon as you can?

Fortune Smiles On The Prepared

It was Louis Pasteur who said that “fortune smiles on the prepared mind,” and I believe that holds true for wannabe travelers as well. In order to make those dream vacations happen, we need to be constantly preparing, taking small steps day to day, in order to lay the groundwork for making them possible.

If you’ve never owned a passport there is something magical that happens when it arrives. You receive this very official looking little book full of blank pages just waiting to be stamped. With a crisp new passport in hand, it is hard not to get excited about travel.

Applying for a passport is pretty straightforward though it does take about six weeks from start to finish unless you want to pay extra to speed up the service. Which is another reason to get one sooner rather than later. Imagine if a travel opportunity came up and you had to pay through the nose just to get a passport!

There are plenty of services out there who will want to help you get a passport but your best bet is to head to the State Department’s website and follow their “passport wizard” to find the best way to get yours.

Click here for the State Department’s Passport Wizard.

If this is your first time obtaining a U.S. passport it will cost you $145. $110 for the passport and a $35 execution fee. (Click here for complete & current fee schedule)

Documents You’ll Need

In order to get a U.S. passport, you’ll need to prove you are a United States citizen. One of the following documents will work for that (must be the original):

  • birth certificate
  • old U.S. passport
  • consular report of birth abroad
  • certificate of naturalization/citizenship

Plus you will need photo identification to back up the documents, one of the following is required:

  • valid driver’s license
  • undamaged U.S. passport less than 15 years old
  • certificate of naturalization
  • valid government ID (state ID)
  • valid military ID

If you do not have the required documents check with the State Department on what else can be used.

Passport Photo Requirements

You will most likely need to provide your own photo for your passport unless you apply for the passport at an agency that is equipped to take your photo.

Do not feel you need to pay for a “passport photo” as most places charge way too much for this. At Walmart, a 2×2 passport photo is $7.44 but a 4×6 print is $.09! Using an online photo editor like PicMonkey.com you can easily create a passport photo and have it printed on the $.09 print.

Here are the basics you need when it comes to a passport photo:

  • the photo must be in color
  • 2 by 2 inches in size
  • printed on photo quality paper
  • taken within the past 6 months and showing your current appearance
  • must be of your full face, front view with a plain white or off-white background
  • between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head
  • wear normal street attire
  • uniforms should not be worn
  • religious attire is okay if it is worn daily
  • do not wear a hat or anything that obscures your hair and hairline
  • if you wear glasses they should be in the photo
  • dark glasses are not acceptable

Click here for examples of what is an acceptable passport photo.

U.S. Passport Application

Lastly, you’ll need to fill out a DS-11 which is the application for the passport. You can either do this by hand or electronically.

Click here to download the PDF of the DS-11.

Click here to fill it out electronically.

Passport Application Acceptance Facility

You do not mail your passport application in, it MUST BE submitted in person at an application acceptance facility. The State Department has a webpage that will help you find the one more convenient for you. Facilities with “photo on site” will be able to take care of the photo requirements for you.

Click here to search for acceptance facilities.

Begin Before You Believe

Right now you might be thinking that a vacation or trip is just not going to happen anytime soon so why bother going through the hassle and expense of getting a passport? It is because these small acts that you take toward a big dream that will day help you make it a reality. Even though a dream vacation seems like an impossibility you must begin acting like it is possible now. I think you’ll be surprised to see what happens if you do.

Now go get your passport!

 

African Safaris – Private Game Reserve vs. National Park

Animals & Nature, Safari, Travel Tips

For as long as I can remember, “take a safari” has been on my bucket list, so when an opportunity finally presented itself, Daryle & I jumped on it. Only after the trip, did I realize just how much there was to know when choosing an African adventure. In an effort to help you make your once-in-a-lifetime trip just the one you imagine, I want to share some things we learned during our time in Africa.

I didn’t realize that safaris came in so many varieties and the first big thing I didn’t know was that there are two main types of areas where safaris happen – on private reserves and in national parks. There are significant differences between the two and of course pros and cons to each.

During our three months in Africa, we were lucky enough to experience safaris in both types of areas, so I now have a much better idea of what I’d want to know if I was choosing my once-in-a-lifetime safari. First, I’d like to give a quick overview of two very different safaris we took – one in each type of area – and then I’ll summarize the pros and cons of each.

Our experience in a Private Game Reserve – Our first safari was on a private reserve in South Africa. This was an easy intro as the trip came as an all-inclusive package deal with food, 2 game drives a day, expert guides and the opportunity to schedule additional guided day tours to local sites and animal encounters. All we had to take care of was flights and transportation to the lodge, which the lodge was happy to arrange. We quickly saw 4 of the Big 5, frequently with no other vehicles around. The reserve we’d selected was relatively small and fenced, rather than one that bordered a national park with free flow of animals between, so we did realize after a few days that we were seeing the same three elephants and family of cheetahs, but the close-up views and uncrowded perfect photo ops made it hard to complain. On our first game drive, our guide was able to identify the likely location of a leopard – notoriously hard to spot – in the bushes nearby, based only on the call of a bird. He then took our Land Cruiser off-trail to follow her as she hunkered down in some thick brush. We happily watched for some time as she lay there in the dappled sunlight keeping an eye on everything.

Our experience in a National Park – Our second safari was in Chobe National Park in Botswana. The first thing we noticed that set this experience apart from our first safari was the sheer number and diversity of animals we saw. From almost the moment we set out, we were able to see crocodiles, Cape buffalo, hippos, several species of antelope and dozens of birds, frequently all at the same time. We didn’t see as many of the big 5, and no cats, but we saw a much greater variety of more common animals, which were still all new to us and much larger herds of animals such as Cape buffalo and elephants. At one point, we watched completely entranced as a herd of about 20 elephants of all sizes emerged from the woods and ambled down to the water’s edge for a drink.

The Advantages of Private Game Reserves

A more personalized experience. Our guide would frequently ask our small group what we wanted to see on that particular drive and then tailor the route to our desires. We were also treated to a stop on each morning game drive where we could get out of the Land Cruiser and stretch our legs while our guide brewed fresh coffee. During these stops, there were no other people in sight and we felt like we were out in the bush on our own. We had the same experience one evening while we enjoyed a beer and sunset from a hilltop with a view to the horizon.

The ability to drive off the main roads. This is possibly the most important difference. The ability to travel off-road tracking animals greatly enhances your chances of seeing certain animals, particularly large cats, as in our experience with the leopard and of getting a more close-up view. Our experience with the leopard was almost magical, she passed so close to us we could almost have touched her, we were the only vehicle there and she didn’t seem bothered by our presence in the least. Seeing such a magnificent animal at such close range was breath-taking – not to mention great for photos.

A relaxed, uncrowded feel. Private reserves usually limit the number of vehicles that gather at a wildlife sighting to 2 or 3, creating a more peaceful feel and reducing the likelihood of other people and vehicles in your photos – not to mention being less likely to stress the animals or change their behavior. Many times we found ourselves alone watching the elephants tearing small trees apart for dinner or a cheetah perched on a low branch surveying the plains. I’ve read accounts of people having amazing one-on-one encounters on self-drive safaris in national parks as well, but the opposite is quite common, with hundreds of vehicles trapped in a “lion jam” jockeying for position to get a brief glimpse of a faraway cat.

Professionally guided game drives. Vehicles are driven by professional guides, usually with a tracker on board. These guides and trackers are not only knowledgeable about where to find the animals you are looking for, but also about their behaviors, which keeps you safer and also lets you learn more about what you are seeing. These guides also are frequently in radio contact with one another and can alert each other to sightings increasing your chances of seeing more elusive species. National parks do frequently also offer guided game drives, so this is not exclusive to private reserves.

Night drive options. Private reserves are more likely than national parks to offer night game drives, good for spotting big cats and nocturnal species like aardvark, aardwolves and civets.

The Strengths of National Parks

A variety of options for varied budgets. National parks tend to have more self-catering lodging options in a variety of price ranges. You can still find luxury lodges and camps, but that is not the only option. You can also often opt to drive your own car throughout the Park – see next bullet. It’s important to note that not all private reserves are outrageously expensive, but they seem to be inclined that direction.

The ability to self-drive. Again, this option can save you some money. You can usually still opt for guided drives with a professional guide which will enhance your chances of seeing the animals you are after, but you can select drives on a more a la carte basis, so you can enjoy a combination of guided and self-drive. When you self-drive you can choose your routes, aren’t limited to a set length of time and you don’t have to negotiate with other guests or your guide in order to be allowed to sit and watch a particular animal for hours if you like.

Greater habitat and animal diversity. Generally, because national parks cover more area, there is greater habitat, and therefore animal, diversity than on a private reserve. Your chances of seeing more animals and larger groups of these animals is higher. For example, in Chobe, we saw several herds of 10-20 elephants, while our private reserve only had three on the property. We also saw a herd of Cape buffalo so large, we had to wait fifteen minutes for them all to cross the road, engulfing our vehicle in the meantime. National parks are excellent for general wildlife viewing, you’ll likely see far more relatively common animals like giraffes, zebras, antelope, birds and baboons than in a private reserve. However, you may be less likely to see the shy and stealthy predators, like lions, leopards and hyena.

How to make your decision

Goals – A national park experience is excellent for the unmistakable and overwhelming feeling of being immersed in Africa, with giraffe and zebra around every corner, but if you have a list of animals you are counting on seeing, especially if it includes leopards and lions, your chances are likely better on a private reserve. 

Budget – You can make your money stretch farther in a national park with less expensive accommodation options and the freedom of self-driving. I think it’s important to think of a safari as a once-in-a-lifetime trip though and to keep in mind that a bit of a splurge is probably called for – you will most likely only so this once and you will remember it forever, so don’t skimp. However, you can likely make your adventure last longer and stretch your money farther in a national park.

Time – If you have a lot of time to scour the corners of at national park, you will undoubtedly have a number of priceless moments all to yourself, but if you have just a few days as many of us do, you may be able to make more of your time on a private reserve or at the very least by investing in a few guided game drives.

My recommendation

I believe the ideal is to split your time between a private reserve and national park. For instance, if you have 5 days, spend 3 at a reserve and 2 at a national park. Because we started at a private reserve and I’d already seen all the “big” animals I’d wanted to see, when we went on our national park safari later, I enjoyed it just as much, if not more, but for different reasons. I wasn’t fixated on locating certain animals, so I was thrilled with every bird, rodent or mammal we saw and just reveled in the experience of being in Africa. However, I’m not sure I would have been this satisfied if I hadn’t already seen the leopard and rhinos at the reserve.

private game reserve vs national park

Long Distance U.S. Train Travel

Travel Tips

Have you ever driven over a set of train tracks and wondered what it would be like to use the Amtrak train travel to travel by rail? Or maybe you’ve taken plenty of commuter trains but never realized that you could use the same mode of transportation to see the country.

YouTube player
Video from a train trip we took in 2021.

Daryle & I had taken trains in Europe, Zimbabwe, and Morocco, as well as the commuter trains, running up and down the coast of the northeast U.S. (the train in Zimbabwe from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls was an adventure to say the least) but we hadn’t ventured to try Amtrak train travel in the U.S. – until this Fall.

We had decided it was time to visit family in Illinois and found incredibly inexpensive one-way airline tickets from Denver for $65. To make this trip not only a family visit but a real vacation as well, we booked several days in Chicago before heading out to family in the suburbs. We also decided to take Amtrak’s California Zephyr for the return trip – a 17-hour cruise through the heartland of America. As an experiment, we decided to forego the added fee for sleeping accommodations in favor of sleeping in our seats. We learned a few things we’d like to pass on about long-distance train travel in general and sleeping in particular.

Amazing Things About Train Travel

You don’t have to be at the station hours early like at the airport. You show up with your ticket and file on when the train arrives.

The cabins are spacious. Your seat has plenty of legroom, and rows are spaced far enough apart that you can recline your seat without feeling like you infringe on the space of the traveler behind you.

amtrak train travel

You can move around freely – get up and take a walk, get out at one of the stops along the way to stretch. There is generally an observation car and a café car as well. The observation car has swiveling lounge chairs and a curved glass-paneled ceiling for a better view of the scenery. And you’ll also find a cafe that sells sandwiches, sodas, and snacks and has tables, ideal for sitting to write or playing a game as the countryside rolls by.

Everything on a train seems relaxed.

People are generally friendly and talkative, the exact opposite of air travel, where it is highly unlikely even the person in the seat next to you says more than “hello.” The optional dining car experience is a good example. Three meals a day are available in the dining car, and if you have a party of 3 or fewer, the dining car host will seat you with another person or group. Frequently a meal in the dining car is a brief chance to meet delightful people on a different journey and from a different place. This is one of my favorite train-travel opportunities. I always enjoy meeting people when we are traveling, and hearing a bit of their story and having dinner together is a perfect opportunity.

Rather than worrying that talking to a stranger in the passageways would be awkward, it would be awkward not to talk to your dining companions. Maybe you’ll make new friends, and if you find you aren’t enamored with their company, dinner doesn’t last that long, and you can quickly escape back to your seat.

You can bring pretty much whatever you want.

There are limits, of course, but the luggage size and weight limits are much higher than for air travel, and there are no additional fees, so you can be more liberal when packing. On our recent trip, we were allowed two large pieces and two carry-ons. Food is also allowed, and since the luggage limits are more generous, it’s reasonable to pack a lunch.

You can enjoy the journey.

Instead of being magically transported to your destination, like in air travel, you get to see every mile in between – well, except for the part you pass through at night. This may be why you prefer air travel, and that is fine, but I love staring out the window at countless small towns and the “inside” of cities. Unlike highways, designed with what the traveler will see in mind, railroad planning was purely utilitarian. The train tracks are almost always through parts of town you would likely never see otherwise – you see the back sides and the alleyways, go through the factory districts and the outskirts. I find this view fascinating and can spend countless hours watching it all roll by.

Downsides Of Amtrack Train Travel

Trains are almost always late.

It’s not a way to travel if you are in a hurry, and you shouldn’t plan any tight connections. Many people have told me about how their train was late, and both times we’ve traveled overnight, we’ve woken up to find the train still and silent (i.e., not moving) for some indeterminately long period of time. Our last ride from Chicago to Denver was about an hour late, which is on time in train terms.

As already mentioned, the train isn’t fast.

That’s the point, but if you embrace the chance to slow down, this slower pace becomes the best part of train travel. Enjoy it. Bring that book you’ve been meaning to read, a journal to record your thoughts as you let your mind unwind, or a game to play with your family or traveling companion. Eat dinner with strangers. Enjoy a drink in the café car as the world speeds by.

It’s not a particularly smooth ride.

Reading was fine, but writing was a bit more challenging. However, the tables in the café car make writing and laptop work a lot more reasonable than trying to use the seat-back tables. Music and downloaded books are perfect. I spent some time working on my Spanish with Duolingo. It’s a chance for some of those things you never get around to.

The cabins are often cold.

You may want to take advantage of that extra luggage allowance to bring a blanket and make sure to dress in layers and wear or bring socks, even if it is 100 degrees outside. If you don’t want to schlep a blanket around at your destination, you should be able to pick up an inexpensive fleece blanket at Wal-Mart or another discount store for under $10. When you reach your destination, pack it up or donate it to a charity shop.

Sleeping can be tough.

Our most recent trip was an experiment to see how well we could sleep in the regular coach seats. The answer for me was “not very well.” If you can sleep on an airplane, you can most certainly sleep on the train. However, I rarely get any sleep on an airplane, even red-eye, and I found the train seat only marginally better. The seats do recline a bit farther than airplane seats, and there is a footrest that kicks out for your lower legs, but I still couldn’t get comfortable and found myself curling up on one side, then the other, stretching out on my back, sleeping about 20 minutes each time. It was passable but not comfortable. (Adding the aforementioned blanket would likely have helped as well, as I got colder and colder as the night went on.)

If you can afford it, get a roomette; these tiny bunk-like accommodations are surprisingly comfortable but will add several hundred dollars to your trip. If not, be prepared for a crappy night’s sleep. It’s a cheap ride, and you can catch up on sleep when you arrive. On a side note, there did appear to be a good number of empty seats on our train, so depending on your route, if you’d like to gamble, you may be able to move around and get two seats side by side for a bit more room.

So, there you have it, the good, the bad, and the ugly of Amtrak train travel in the U.S. My feeling is that most of the negatives can be mitigated with good planning (like bringing a blanket) and a relaxed travel schedule and that overall it’s a delightful way to travel that allows travelers to enjoy not just the destination but the journey as well.

Happy traveling!

amtrak train travel in the united states

Amtrak train travel