My First Time Traveling With Topdeck, And Why I Would Do It Again

*Not a sponsored post, all my honest opinion. 

I have always seen these travel group vacations in my IG feed. I have always been curious how they exactly work, so I decided for my 29th birthday to give it a try.

Outside Hassam II Mosque in Casablanca

I did my research on about 3 different travel groups for trips to Morocco. I compared reviews, the prices, what it included and I ended up choosing Topdeck Travel (www.topdeck.travel). This one had the best reviews on different websites and blogs, plus the price of the tour and what it all included was appealing. This is what my trip included:

Air conditioned van/coach (depending on the size of the group)

3-4 star hotels

Breakfast every day

3 lunches

2 dinners

Some Activities included

A permanent driver

A tour guide

I still had to pay for my flight, but I am pretty lucky that my birthday is on October. I can find cheap flights because it is the off season or shoulder season. I paid about $800 for round trip and a stop in Madrid for 3 days. I also had to pay for the rest of my meals that were not included, which was ok by me. You can find really good cheap food in Morocco. Also, it is mandatory to buy travel insurance for the duration of your trip, I ended up buying it with the insurance group they recommended, World Nomad Travel Insurance (https://www.worldnomads.com).  

A week or so before you leave, a representative from Topdeck will reach out to get your flight itinerary. This is to tell the driver what time to get you from the airport. I will be honest, I had some trouble finding my driver. I called topdeck and they were able to successfully help me find my driver. Make sure to download the app too, it was so helpful when trying to keep track what we will be doing the next day on the trip an you can chat with your travel mates on it too.

My roommate I was paired with was such a sweet girl, and I couldn't have asked for a better roommate. There were 7 of us girls on the trip, our tour guide said that his groups are usually more women over men. It seems that women are more adventurous and have Morocco on their list. You get paired with someone of the same gender, so don't worry about co-ed roommates if you are traveling alone. I was the only girl from the United States, because let's be honest, not many Americans, especially Latinas travel alone to a foreign country. I was with a group of Australian girls with beautiful souls and had so many more travel adventures that I did. They were all honestly so inspiring and loved having them as travel mates. 

Our first group picture as strangers

One of our last pictures, as family

I was very impressed with our hotel stays, I was surprised they were 3 star accommodations, because they seemed nicer. Our Breakfast was given to us at every hotel, some hotels had better breakfasts than others. But I would highly recommend to eat what you can during the morning, sometimes lunch can be hours later. Also, pro-tip: fill up your water bottle during your breakfast. Some tourist areas charge so much for water! 

We traveled in a nice coach van with A/C. I was actually surprised how spacious it was for us. Since we had such a small group we each had a row to ourselves. Make sure to download podcasts, audiobooks, music, movies and shows. You're going to want something to keep you busy and kill time while traveling to each new town or city. We made it to 12 different towns/cities in 10 days. So you can imagine how much we moved around and how much time we spent in the van.

While traveling, make sure to wear something comfy, but something that is culturally appropriate. I usually brought a light cardigan or scarf along the way to cover myself up when making way through town or during pit stops. Another good tip to to bring toilet paper with you or wipes, along with hand sanitizer. Not all places have somewhere to wash your hands or wipe yourself. 

Our tour guide was absolutely amazing! He was so kind and really treated us like family. He was our protector and was very thoughtful. I can say he personally made my trip memorable, by planning a birthday cake for me in the Sahara desert. I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life. It's little things like that which makes trips like these incredible. 

My birthday cake in the Sahara Desert 💓

I know what you are asking, were there any cons? Well not really. You couldn't really sleep in, because everyone had to wake up early to shower, get ready and eat breakfast to get on the coach by 8am. A good chunk of your time is used to travel by coach because you are trying to cover a lot in a short amount of time. But we did have free time everyday, to either nap, relax or chill by the pool. I didn't really complain because my life has been so hectic before I took the trip that it was nice to just sit and catch up on podcasts and audiobooks. 

I would take another trip with Topdeck in a heartbeat. The activities what we did were breathtaking and was everything I wanted to do in Morocco. If you are one of those people who don't want to wait for someone to travel with you, but don't want to be fully alone, this is an amazing option for you. You don't have to be a solo traveler either, grab your best friend, sibling or cousin and go. Don't wait, book it! Who knows, maybe we will be on the same trip with you one day. 

Dream come true, walking in the Sahara Desert in a bright dress, Sex and the City style...

Happy Travels!

Con Amor,

Adriana 💕

Morocco

I just got back from a solo trip from Morocco and let me tell you, it is one of the most magical places in the world. I have learned the Morocco was the most underrated places in the world of travel, and I recommend this beautiful place to everyone. I will be coming back to this beautiful country one day!

Airfare/flight
I paid about $600 round trip for my Morocco trip. I bought my flight about 3 months ahead of time. On the way there from Chicago wasn’t too bad, it was about 8 hours. But on the way back it took about 10 hours, so get yourself ready for a long flight!

Money
The country of Morocco uses Dirhams, you can get away with Euros in some places as well. The exchange rate when I went was 9.65 dirham to 1 USD

Food
I ate a ton of Tajine de Kefta in Morocco, that was the best dish I had and highly recommend it. Most of the food is trajines, couscous, fresh fruit juice, vegetables, kebabs, salads, and soup. The meals are super filling and healthy. Let me tell you, if you are on a tight budget just share a dish of couscous, none of could could ever finish a dish of it. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you are in luck! They have a number of options for you, everywhere I went offered vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Also, do not drink the water! Buy your water at your nearest grocery store, you will pay 3 to 4 times more at a hotel.

Language
The official language spoken in Morocco is Arabic, they speak a lot of French as well. If you speak English and Spanish you will get by perfectly fine.

Dress attire
Don’t bring your shortest shorts on this trip. Dress conservatively, think loose pants and linen shirts. Do not wear heels, wear some comfy flats, tennis shoes or sandals, the sidewalks are very uneven so be careful walking around. Bring something you can throw a shawl or a cardigan on, many places are still traditional and women are not allowed to show their shoulders or thighs. Plus it will save you any misery in the Medina’s from men hitting on you.

Shopping
I can’t say this enough, haggle, haggle, haggle. If they give you a price, ask to pay for half, so you can at least pay 25% less the first price. This includes taxis, haggle and do not get into the taxi until you agree on a price.

Weather
I went in the beginning of October and it was always 95 degrees and super sunny. Bring a hat, sun glasses and sunscreen!

Additional tips
-Use Google or Apple maps to get around, it’s so much easier than using a map
-There will be young men asking you if you want a guide through the Médina, do not say yes. Just keep walking and you will find your way through it. If you say yes, they will demand money.
-Keep a stern face aka “Resting Bitch Face”, if you smile too much men will take it the wrong way.
-Keep bags and purses in front of you at all times. Morocco is very safe, but like anywhere else in the world there are pickpockets.
-Bring toilet paper or packaged wipes like these, and hand sanitizer. If you do not want to use a eastern squatting bathroom ask if they have western or European toilets.

Keep an eye out for additional blog posts, I will be going into detail about what cities I visited and a review about Topdeck, which is the travel group I used (and highly recommend!)

Con Amor,

Adriana 💕

Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend

So this year my boyfriend decided to celebrate his birthday in Las Vegas, now I have been to Vegas 5 times so it’s getting pretty overrated to me. So I did my research like I always do and saw I can take a day trip to this beautiful wonder of the world, Antelope Canyon. I ended up taking the day trip solo, because everyone else stayed behind to watch the Bears play (we all know how that ended this season, and would never recommend staying behind to watch a game over experiencing something magical). So running on no sleep with sore and cut up feet, thanks to standing in new heels all night waiting for Nelly to perform Country Grammar, I was off to my day trip.

This is a trip that I recommend you booking through a travel agency, ahead of time. I looked into different blogs and played with numbers to see how much it would be to go alone or to go with a group, and the group turned out to be the best option. Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Indian reservation, so you need a Navajo Indian as a guide. Rather than trying to find one, you’re better off having a tour group do it for you.

Website that I used for the tour: https://www.taketours.com/las-vegas-nv/1-day-antelope-canyon-horseshoe-bend-fully-guided-bus-tour-from-las-vegas-624-4794.html

So my tour was scheduled to leave at 4:15am, I got on the bus and they fed us “breakfast” which was some sponge cake. Then I knocked out for the 4 hour drive. I woke up during a pit stop and had to figure out where we were because I woke up in the middle of a snow storm. Our guide went into Subway to pick up our lunch and then we were off to Antelope Canyon.

Once we got to the Navajo Reserve the individuals who signed up for the upper Canyon got off first. They loaded up in a covered pickup truck and were on their way. The rest of us who signed up for the lower Canyon stayed on the bus and made our way over to the souvenir building to get ready for our tour. You are not allowed to bring bags or purses down with you, so make sure to not bring too many valuables on the day trip.

Once we got into our groups were had to make our way down to the entrance of the Canyon, this was about a 10 minute walk. I advise you to jump in front of the group and make friends with your assigned tour guide, I ended up doing that since about 90% of my tour only spoke Mandarin and wanted to talk to someone for a bit. Come to find out, my tour guide was a professional photographer and makes money on the side doing photo shoots and photography of the Canyon.

Once we made it to the entrance we had to climb all the way down to the Canyon, thankfully there are stairs, but many were very steep. Word of advice, on the steep ones climb down backwards, like you’re climbing down a ladder, you can thank me later.

Once you made it to the ground you can start taking your beautiful pictures. If you have an iPhone like me, use the “Vivid Warm” or “Vivid Cool” filter. You’re pictures will turn out amazing, that was the advice given to me by my photographer tour guide. Take as many beautiful pictures as possible, the tour goes by fast. But do me a favor, live in the moment. It’s absolutely breathtaking down there, take it all in and realize how blessed you were to make it. It’s honestly surreal, you feel like it’s not real life by the beauty of it.

Our next stop was Horseshoe Canyon, that was absolutely breathtaking as well. I highly recommend wearing hiking boots for this one. The 10-15 minute hike there isn’t horrible but the altitude makes it more difficult. The rocks are a little slippery so be very cautious when getting to the edge.

I highly recommend taking this tour, while it is an all day trip is is so worth it. This was honestly the best part of my entire trip. I would recommend the following to enjoy your Antelope Canyon Day Trip to the fullest:

• Book the tour ahead of time, they charge a fee if you book your trip on the Las Vegas Strip. I was lucky enough to purchase the last seat on the bus too.
• Choose the Lower Canyon, the tour guide told us that it was the better of the two. 
• Bring food your own, their food packages are not worth the extra cost.
• Dress in layers if you are traveling in Fall and Winter.
• Bring a book to read or something to watch, it’s a long trip.
• Wear waterproof shoes or hiking boots, your feet will get wet in the canyon.
• Enjoy the moment, we live in a very “social media” society. You can post your pictures later, you can’t do this again.

I hope every single one of you get to experience this beautiful place, it’s breathtaking and you won’t regret it. I asked the mother and daughter that was in my group if this was real life, and they had to reassure me it was. Even if you have to do a solo trip there like me, do it! Life is way too short not to live it fully.

Con Amor,

Adriana 💕

My First Time Using Airbnb

This past trip to New Orleans, LA I did something I have never done, I stayed in an Airbnb. I must say while I was really nervous, I am so glad I made the decision to stay in an Airbnb over a hotel. Here are some tips that I learned during my experience and while researching other blogs.

Our Shotgun House in New Orleans

Look into locations: You will have the choice between entire place, private room or shared room. When we were booking we wanted to stay somewhere safe and easy access to the French Quarters. Look into public transportation near your place or if it is in walking distance of where you will be spending most of your time.

Read reviews: The reviews will tell you more details about the place and how the host is. This is a good place to see who easy it was to get around town and if the photos are really true.

Contact hosts: If you are planning to go during high time or months in advance it would be a good idea to send a message the host before booking. We ran into a situation where the hosts did not update their prices for Mardi Gras or they did not have their place available at that time. Make sure that your place of interest is available, and keep places as back up just in case they do deny your request.

Choose the required amenities: There is a long list of different amenities that different Airbnb's offer. Such as air-conditioning, dryer, full kitchen, gym, indoor fireplace, parking, self check-in, washing machine,Wi-Fi amoung other amenities. During my trip we needed access to Wi-Fi because half of us were taking classes at the time. So to have easy access to the internet was necessary. A full kitchen was also important because there were times where we didn't want to go out to eat, we just wanted to cook a quick meal or snack. Make sure to look into all the amenities that you need.

Research the house rules: Before booking make sure to look through the house rules and see if they are something you can follow. If you do not feel comfortable with the house rules, just move on to the next available place.

Get tips from host: No one knows the area better than your host. Ask questions about where to eat, go grocery shopping or about public transit. They will be honest with you and tell where to go and how to get around easily.

I would definitely do another Airbnb, I had such a wonderful experience and had a wonderful host. It came out much cheaper than staying at a hotel during that time. A basic hotel would have cost us $1,000 a night but we got a deal of $391 per night for the whole house. This is definitely the way to go when trying to save money when wanting to travel.

I hope you find these tips helpful and give Airbnb a chance to see for yourself that this can be a great way to travel differently and to save money!

Con Amor,

Adriana 💕

How to do Mardi Gras right!

Mardi Gras are one of those things that we all hear about and we hope to experience once in our lives. Well 2018 was the year for me to experience one of the biggest celebrations on Earth. I will be going through tips that will help you enjoy Mardi Gras to the fullest.

Ladders for children up and down the street.

One thing that surprised me the most is that Mardi Gras is truly a family friendly event in New Orleans, Louisiana. Generations of families come out and enjoy the multiple parades that occur during the wonderful celebration. Sometimes we see on TV or Movies that ladies have to flash in order to get beads, that's false. I got about 15 pounds of beads from 5 parades without having to show any skin. If you end up taking the little ones, just keep them away Bourbon Street in the French Quarters. There should not be any children on that street to begin with, but even less during Mardi Gras. You will see people camping out and BBQ-ing the day before to save their spots, be courteous of their spots. You will also see these ladders with a seat on top of it, those are made for the children so they can catch more things. Trust me, you will get so much stuff no need to worry that you won't get anything.

The app to track all of the Mardi Gras parades. 

If you are trying to catch as many parades as possible you should download the WWL Mardi Gras Parade Tracker, my boyfriend was the one who found this helpful tool. This app gives you a schedule of all the parades going on, the path of the parade and minute by minute update on where the parade is. You can plan your parade watching around this app. If you are a fan of Popeyes Chicken like I am, they tell you where the nearest locations are for that too.

Beads and goodies from our first parade

With it being winter in New Orleans, make sure you have a rain coat with you. The rain during this season is very on and off. If you will be attending the night parades it will be a good idea to dress in layers, when it gets cold in New Orleans it is a bone chilling cold. Make sure to keep your valuables close to you, during times like these pickpockets are trying to get everything they can. There are these wonderful little things called athletic fanny packs or running belts, they stay really close to your body and it will be harder for a pickpocket to get to you. I personally kept everything in my bra, because I did not trust having anything in a small purse.

Our delicious cream cheese Kings Cake!

Eat King Cake! It is absolutely delicious, I do not have much of a sweet tooth but this has to be one of my favorite treats. It is a tradition in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Everyone takes a turn to cut the cake and there is a baby inside. If you end up with the baby you will have good luck for the entire year, you will also become the King or Queen of the party. Since you got the baby you will also have the responsibility to buy the cake next year and throw the Mardi Gras Party.

My coconut from the Zulu parade.

One of my favorite parades was the Zulu parade, I promise you it is the best one, do not miss it! Get close to the floats and make sure you get a coconut. If you get one, you get good luck for the entire year. If you get two, give one away. Giving one away gets you two years of good luck. 

If you ever get the lucky chance to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans enjoy it to the fullest! Make sure to plan a year ahead to get the best options and prices. I hope these tips help you along the way.

Con Amor,

Adriana💕

Vacation Money Wall

As mentioned in my last post I have started my debt-free journey. While that means I am on a budget, that doesn't mean that I am throwing travel out the window. Before I had no issue putting plane tickets, hotels and vacation packages on a credit card, then making payments every month. I have definitely learned that paying cash or with a debit card is the way to go. While reading Love Your Life Not Theirs I have learned about "sinking funds". This basically means that you save up money little by little, every week or every payday to save up for upcoming or reoccurring expenses. This gave me the idea of making a Vacation Money Wall.

Vacation Money Wall in my bedroom

My money wall this year are for the upcoming trips I have planned New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Oaxaca, and a New Years Trip to somewhere warm. My portion of the house on Airbnb and my plane ticket have already been paid for Mardi Gras, so now I just to save up spending money. I get paid weekly so I take out $60 a week and split it up accordingly. It is much easier to take out cash little by little every payday rather than having to come up with a large amount of money by the time of the trip. 

It very important to keep in mind to keep on top of this type of saving and to not take money from it when money gets tight. It is a nice motivation to put the envelopes somewhere you can see them everyday, it gives you a little more motivation to keep stuffing your envelopes. Imagine how liberating it is to come back home from your vacation and you do not have to worry how to pay off that credit card bill, you actually come back relaxed. 

I love this quote I found on Pinterest, it is a perfect example of why the Money Wall is such a great idea!

A good example to keep in mind while doing this new form or budgeting is that it gives you such a peace of mind when planning your travel. When you go on social media you might see all of these people traveling to these gorgeous places, but what we might not know is that they charged everything on their credit card, from the airline tickets to the new designer sunglasses. They maybe paying off that trip for years to come, while you already paid everything in cash and can start saving for your next trip!

What do you do to budget for an upcoming vacation?

Con Amor,

Adriana

Wanderlust Wednesday: The ArcelorMittal Orbit

As many of you know I am a MBA student and since being a student again I unfortunately don't travel as often as I used to. While I miss it dearly, I know this is only a pause and better things are to come. Since it is Wednesday, I figured I would do a Wanderlust Wednesday post. There are moments I start think about past trips and I was recently thinking about my last trip to Europe. I had the blessing to visit London and Paris, both absolutely beautiful places.

While researching what to do I came across an interesting activity, The ArcelorMittal Orbit. What is this you ask? Well I will explain....

If you are an adrenaline junkie like I am this is up your alley, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is a slide that is as tall as the Statue of Liberty. This is the longest and tallest tunnel slide in the world!

So what you have to do is figure out what date and time to go. Reservations fill up quick, so the earlier the better. Make sure to give yourself enough time to get there, we took the Metro and it was quite a walk from the station. When you get there you cannot take anything with you, so you can either lock it up in their rental lockers or give your personal items to a friend who is scared of heights like I did. You will check in and they will send you the elevator or stairs. The view from top is beautiful, you get to see everything. I do not have photos of that since I was not allowed to take anything up with me. Oh and if you were wondering, they do have bathrooms up there. Just in case the nerves get the best of you. Once you are finished taking in the views you will hop in line. The employees will hand you this goofy looking hat and arm sleeves for protection. Once you have it on and get to the opening of the slide they will lay this mat down with a pouch for your legs. You hope right in and have the ride of your life.

While it was a 40 second ride it was honestly so much fun, plus its the fun way to re-live your childhood. Who else can say they rode the longest and tallest tunnel slide in the world?!

Me after riding the slide

The ArcelorMittal Orbit

 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

 5 Thornton Street

London E20 2AD, UK

http://arcelormittalorbit.com/