Split is a vibrant town on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, which is known for Diocletian’s Palace, a fortress-like structure erected by the Roman emperor in the 4th century. Now it’s full of restaurants, shops, cathedrals, hotels, and tourists. Note that the cruise ships dump huge crowds here, but if you see the tour guides holding up a flag followed by the masses, just head the other direction. They usually go for the area with...

If Korcula was the sleepy little sister island, Hvar is the glitzy high-rolling big sister, where the yachting crowd comes to see and be seen. On Hvar, you might go for a morning stroll and be so mesmerized by the scenery, that you’re still in the same spot at sunset! The Hula Hula Bar offers comfy lounge chairs for a pittance, with a view to die for. I stopped for a breakfast orange juice, stayed for a salad for lunch, and found myself...

With over 1000 islands off the coast of Croatia, I thought I’d give you a little series of posts on a few of my favorites. Since they all have such different personalities, this may help you choose where to spend your time, should you put Croatia on your bucket list. Let’s start with Mljet (pronounced Meeyet – in Croatia, J’s are pronounced like Y’s), which means “honey” and is the greenest island on...

Paradise can be had for a song in Thailand, just head south… After 10 days at a bare-bones silent meditation retreat, I needed to recover, meaning a beach, a cold beer and a hammock! Sabine, a woman from Germany that I met at the retreat, had reserved a little island bungalow on Koh Phangan for $16 a night and invited me to share for a few nights. $8 a night for paradise, how could I turn that down?! Having heard about the wild full and...

Heading to Hua Hin, in Southern Thailand… After traveling in English speaking countries, it can be a bit of culture shock to find yourself in a huge airport in Bangkok, where you don’t understand most of the conversations around you! But never fear, Thailand is exotic but also very tourist friendly, and many people speak at least some English, especially those in tourist-related jobs. The kind young clerk at the money exchange wrote...