budget travel

Tandem Travel Tales: Rome, Part 2

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THE BAD AND THE UGLY

With as much as we’d like to glorify every day of our lives on the road, we wouldn’t be telling the truth. So we’ll get right into it with this one. Maybe you read the last post about all of the wonderful experiences we were able to have in Rome. Unfortunately, we didn’t begin our Roman adventure with sunshine and rainbows. We instead started off with… BED BUGS! Yep, those delightful little fear-mongering, filthy, blood-sucking pests. 

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Tandem Travel Tips: Krakow, Poland

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ALL ABOARD

The journey from Warsaw to Krakow was slated to be our first train ride of the trip. Having only traveled by train once before, I had little to no expectation. Long and short, the train we tried to book online didn’t even exist once we got to the station. So we ended up shorting ourselves three hours in Warsaw, leaving late morning, and embarking on a much longer train ride than expected.

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Tandem Travel Tips: Reykjavik, Iceland

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ICELAND? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

Hi there and thanks for waiting for our first official on-the-road post on Iceland. So far we’ve traveled through Iceland, Sweden, Poland, and we just landed in Budapest. The travels have been incredible, we’ve made friends along the way, and we’re a little exhausted. So bear with me while we start formulating our thoughts and compressing our ideas. We’re also still learning to do this as a team, so while both Steve and I execute and write well, we do so very differently which has been something we’ve been working through along the way.
For those we’ve spoken with and those we haven’t, our goal here is to not only document our trip to keep friends and family updated but to also give you insight on how this trip is possible. This includes budget, time, resources for travel, work exchange advice, packing details, planning, information on Couchsurfing, and really honest insight into our lives. We’re expecting highs and lows and we’re ready to be transparent. So, that being said, onto Iceland.

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Tandem Travel Tales: Jaco, Costa Rica

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THE JOURNEY TO JACO

We made our way to Jaco early in the afternoon by way of La Fortuna. It was about a 3.5-hour drive winding up at down the mountain to the shore. Steve was kind enough to drive and I dozed in and out while the sun unknowingly charred my right arm. We arrived ready to unload and relax for a bit before exploring the town. Per usual, we had picked out a rad, open-air loft through Airbnb that was close to the beach owned by a former professional surfer, Emmanuel. There was really only one rule for this place which was to lock the fridge before you go to bed. Don’t worry, there’s a story about that later.

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Tandem Travel Tales: La Fortuna, Costa Rica

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GETTING TO LA FORTUNA

La Fortuna is the perfect place to explore. With things like chocolate, hot springs, volcanoes, teepee tents, waterfalls, and wildlife, keep in mind that it also has the potential to squash your budget if you don’t pay attention. On our way from Heredia, we decided to slow our journey for treats and investigate the unique landscape around us.

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Tandem Travel Tales: Concepcion de San Isidro

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CONCEPCION DE SAN ISIDRO, HEREDIA

What a gem. Our discovery of Concepcion de San Isidro was unintentional but all thanks to Airbnb. We were looking for a spot to stay our first night in Costa Rica that was outside of downtown San Jose but didn’t require that we drive all the way to La Fortuna in the dark. What better place than a small, privately owned and operated coffee plantation. Ah, my heart.

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Tandem Travel Tips: Costa Rica Rental Car & Phone Advice

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WHY COSTA RICA?

How it began

Doesn’t Costa Rica sound like a wonderful place to spend the holidays? To be completely honest, we ended up here by accident and kind of frantically. We initially booked flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico to enjoy 9 days in one place. This was my version of strong-arming Steve into a slow travel vacation. Fast forward to a week later I was in pieces begging my grandparents to flee Florida before Hurricane Irma, where the eye was slated to land right over their home. And then Maria happened and Puerto Rico is still putting themselves back together 9 months later, mind you with minimal aid and acknowledgment from the US government. But I can’t even begin to start on that one.

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