Lake Como is on the bucketlist of many, and after visiting the beautiful region myself in November, I can really see why George Clooney comes so often to his lakeside Villa Oleandra. But Lake Como is large, and the roads are narrow so travel around the lake is slow-paced. Therefore it’s best to know which villages are worth a stop and which aren’t. Let’s see what are the best villages around Lake Como.
Last weekend I visited the beautiful coastal town of Oostende in Belgium. I opted to stay in Hotel ’t Botteltje ***, a hotel close to the beach that entirely revolves around beer!
Read More »Hotel ‘t Botteltje: brewery-themed hotel in Oostende, Belgium
I spent last weekend in Oostende, a city along the Belgian Coast that was once the home of James Ensor and Marvin Gaye. My first thought was that the Belgian coast wasn’t really the place to go to during winter. But the city has more than enough to offer in low season to experience a pleasant weekend during Winter in Oostende. If you book a stay now, you’ll receive a gift worth 95 euros!
I recently got to stay a few days on Ameland, one of the Dutch Wadden Islands. During my time there, I stayed in Hotel Nobel. Hotel Nobel is located right in the centre of the tiny little town of Ballum.
Recently I got to visit the Dutch Wadden Islands. Ah yes, these exotic islands are known for their white sandy beaches, colorful houses and beautiful Caribbean women. Right? Not quite, but here’s why they’re still worth the visit!
Joining a cycle gang, going to a nightly rave to create light art, cycling in weird industrial areas only to pull up at a giant inflated refugee and wake up the next morning in a cute little historical city. Although it does sound like the plot of Hangover 4, it’s actually just a recollection of how I spent a weekend in Brabant!Read More »A weekend in Brabant: short trip to Breda and Bergen op Zoom
UPDATE 9/9! Every cruiseline with ships in the Caribbean area is closely monitoring Hurricane Irma’s path. At the time of writing, Hurricane Irma has passed over Antigua and Barbuda, Sint Maarten, BVI, USVI, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. It is said that Irma will head north to pose threats to Florida and the Florida Keys. Here’s an overview of which cruises are affected by Hurricane Irma. Meanwhile Hurricane Jose is nearing a Category 5 status and is followings a similar path, threatening islands already ravaged by Irma. Here’s an overview of which cruises are affected by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose:
Read More »UPDATE: Which cruises are affected by Hurricane Irma?
When planning your trip to Iceland, you have probably been inspired by pictures on Instagram by one of those bloggers (I’m one of them) and have been overwhelmed with the amount of cool stuff there is to see in Iceland. And now you’ve stumbled upon this page. Great, yet another guy with an opinion on Iceland! Don’t close this page just yet, I’ve tried to add a bit of information here and there that I hadn’t seen anywhere else on the web. I also tell you the minimum amount of time you should ideally spend at each location. Let’s take a look at which natural attractions in South Iceland are an absolute must-see.
In my humble opinion, the gorgeous Snaefellsnes peninsula can and may not be skipped during a visit to Iceland. If you just want to explore the highlights, it only adds a day to your journey. So here’s my recommendations of things to see on a one day trip to Snaefellsnes, plus the minimum amount of time you should spend on each location.
Read part 1 of ‘10 hidden gems in Iceland’ here.
We continue our quest to find the best hidden gems in Iceland. We’ve already seen Hjörleifshöfði, Landbrotalaug, Bruarfoss, Kaldidalsvegur and the Thakgil hiking region, but there are a few more off-the-beaten-path locations that are a must on anyone’s trip in Iceland! Here is our top 5:
Read part 2 of ‘10 hidden gems in Iceland’ here.
With Iceland becoming an increasingly popular destination, it’s getting harder and harder to escape the tourists and see what others don’t. Yes, you’ll probably end up in all the Insta-famous locations like the black sand beach anyway (I went there too), but with this post I want to encourage you to explore some of the more off-the-beaten-track locations in an off-the-beaten-track destination. And you can take off-the-beaten-track quite literally in Iceland! Here’s my top-10 hidden gems:
As you guys might have seen on my Instagram stories (follow me here!), my trip to Iceland was part of a stopover on my way to the Pacific Northwest. Icelandair offers the option to have a stopover in Iceland up to 7 days, without having to pay extra for your flight. So basically I only paid for a return flight Brussels-Portland but had 2 trips in 1! On my flight towards the United States, I had the opportunity to experience Saga Class, which is Icelandair’s take on Business Class. Allow me to tell you a bit more about it!
The most famous Icelandic myth is the one about elves, the hidden people or huldufólk that live in big rocks. Some say that many Icelanders still believe in huldufólk, to such extent that road works or building projects are sometimes altered to keep the hidden people happy. So this first myth of course is long debunked, but what other myths or misconceptions exist about Iceland?
When I was in Iceland I decided to rent a drone, a DJI Mavic Pro to be more precise. Is this something I would recommend? To most people: yes! It turned out to be a great experience. Read on to learn why.
Have you always wanted to experience Business Class? We all hope to be magically upgraded when there are seats available just because we’re friendly at the gate, but this only happens in your dreams. That doesn’t mean business class is only for the happy few! Business Class does not have to cost you thousands of dollars and it’s more easily accessible than you might think. Icelandair has a service called Class Up.
Read More »Class Up: cheapest way to experience Icelandair’s Saga Class
During my first trip to Iceland, I wanted to see the highlights, but I also wanted to get away from everything and explore some more remote locations. My offroad experience was limited to Belgian tracks, and that is by no means comparable to what you’ll come across in Iceland. So what better vehicle than a Land Rover Defender? I rented mine from Kuku Campers.
When I visited Oregon, I wanted to see all of it, not just the coastline. So my travels led me east, towards Dufur. Who would have thought! Okay, I know what you guys are thinking: “Ben, where the hell is Dufur? And why would you even get a hotel there?” And I would say: why the hell not? I slept at Balch Hotel.
If after reading this post you’re still in total dispair about what hotel to pick in Portland, fear not my friends as I present you the Jupiter Hotel. This hotel gives off major ‘motel-meets-modern’ vibes and I’m into it.