Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico

We flew in and out of the Tuxtla airport for its cost and convenience to the other places we wanted to visit while in the area. In our research, my husband and I had read that Tuxtla was not a tourist-friendly town but we really enjoyed our time there.

Getting from the airport to town was more expensive than I would have liked but it made the most sense. Supposedly there is a way to take a colectivo from the airport into town but the airport is about 30 minutes away from the city center, and I'm glad we paid for the taxi instead of wasting time trying to figure out the other hypothetical option. It cost $280 MXN which when we visiting in February of 2014 the exchange rate was $13 MXN to $1 USD.

We spent a lot of time just walking around Tuxtla and eating food. No one seemed to be interested in us which was a nice change from the more tourist-heavy areas of Mexico and a great introduction to Chiapas.

Food was pretty cheap and there are taquerias everywhere. A plate of three tacos was about $35 MXN. The only issue I ran into was that most restaurants don't serve hard liquor (I am not a beer drinker) and even a few bars only served beer.

We also took the orange autobuses (which are different than the colectivos) up and down Calle Belisario for 6 MXN per ride. This took us to Parque Central which seems to host an array of events; music, market, etc. But we stayed further west on Calle Belisario near a university in a Holiday Inn. We used points for our stay so I can't comment on pricing for hotels in the area.

There is a nice athletic park at the intersection of Calle Belisario and Calle Libramiento Pontiente Norte which has a track around the outside and soccer fields and playgrounds on the inside. It's a great place to wander around, relax in the shade, or take in a game.

General Notes on Chiapas

We chose to go to Chiapas because we had heard it was beautiful, safe and that the food was delicious. All of these things were true and we really enjoyed out time there. But I don't think this would have been the case if my husband was not a strong Spanish speaker. We rarely found locals who spoke English (even in our hotels which included Holiday Inns) and we are under the impression that most of the tourists visiting this part of Mexico are Mexican. With this knowledge, I would recommend this area as a great destination as long as you know there won't be a lot of help if Spanish is not spoken. Also, credit cards are not accepted in most restaurants and hotels nor are they accepted by the bus company we used, OCC. But the people are friendly though not very chatty, the towns we visited were interesting and did not seem exhausted with tourism (even the town of Palenque just seemed like a regular town with a few random English speakers wandering around). I can't wait to go back and explore others parts of Chiapas.

Island Solta, Croatia

Solta is a rocky island with a laid back attitude and lots of laid back locals. We spend two nights on the island in the town of Stomorska. We rented an apartment on Airbnb.com and were pleased with our apartment ($53 USD a night) and the view it afforded us (though the long climb up the hill was less desirable). We ate in the restaurants, lounged at the seaside, and wandered around the tiny town and neighborhoods. My husband even rented a bike for a day and rode around the island. He had to take a bus to another town to rent the bike. But for $10 for the day, it was an hilly adventure for him to enjoy while I relaxed at the beach. There's also a bee farm on the island that makes its own honey and helicopter rides offered along with other tours if you are so inclined. It was also a popular place for yachters to park for the night, plugin, and drink.  

View from our apartment above the town of Stomorska.

One of the small beaches near Stomorska.

Split, Croatia

Split is a very touristy city, but still worth visiting; but a warning would have been nice. Split is a hub for cruise ships and bus travel so during the day it is filled with people from cruise ships and people staying in town. I think if we were to visit again, we would visit more islands in the area via ferries during the day and enjoy the quieter evenings in Split. For this, the ferries work well as their prices were relatively inexpensive. Getting to one of the islands (Solta) was only about $6 USD for about an hour's ride.

The beaches near the Marjan were nice and not too crowded. There aren't really long stretches of beach but instead access to the water is broken up into different areas. It works out so you can choose the area you want to hang out in (more shade or deeper water or stretches of large rocks to sunbathe on). Note: The walk to this area takes about 20-30 minutes and there is not a lot of shade.

Like the rest of Croatia, getting an apartment (apartman) in Split was pretty common. They tend to cost less than a hotel room and we were able to rent a small studio apartment for about 50€ per night which seemed to be the going rate for a studio or one bedroom.

Makarska, Croatia

I have to admit that I was not impressed with Makarska when I first arrived. For me it reminiscent of the overbuilt beach towns of Florida but with less Americans and more Bosnians. There are apartment buildings everywhere renting rooms, finding good food was difficult at best and the beaches were overrun (and weren’t that spacious to begin with). But, once we wandered into the Old Town, I warmed a bit. Overall, I would say that there are better beach towns on the mainland of Croatian that are less crowded (keep in mind we were there in earl September. I can only imagine what it is like in the height of summer.)

For those who like the club scene, there was a really cool club at the south end of the bay that is carved out of a cave. There are also a number of bars that serve some decent drinks. Some had live music that was pretty good, but most were fairly standard bars.

Blagaj, Bosnia & Herzegovina

About 20 minutes outside of Mostar is a small town called Blagaj which you can get to by bus. There's a fortress on the top of the hill there (locally known as Stjepan Grad) with amazing views of the surrounding area. The fortress is overgrown and dilapidated but that somehow makes it more worth seeing. You walk up a road (follow the one and only sign) and then hike up the switchbacks which takes a total of about 45 minutes. The trail is hard to find in the brush but the frustration is worth the view from the top and its free Note: keep an eye out for an arrow made out of rocks. We missed the arrow and spent a long time looking for the trail. 

Also, there's a Dervish house at the base of a mountain. There are restaurants in the area because of the picturesque views of the cold, turquoise waters coming out of the cave at the base of the mountain. You can rent canoes there, but the water level seemed way to low for canoeing in September 2013.   

Girona, Spain

Girona is a picturesque town that has a lot to offer if you are ambitious or is a great town to wander aimlessly if you are less ambitious. There is more than enough to do to keep you occupied for a handful of days or it could be wonderful base for side trips in the region.

We spent one morning walking the ancient walls of the city. Starting behind the cathedral and walking south, it was a wonderful way to see the breathtaking view of the town and the surrounding landscape. It took just under an hour and it was free.

We wandered the streets of the old town and the new. There is more history (the cathedral, St. Felix's church, etc.) in the old town but there is more shopping (H&M, Zara, etc.) on the newer side of town.

Foodwise, Zanparzan was a great find. The night we went in, it was standing room only for awhile. Luckily, we were able to snag a table quickly, camped out, and ate to our heart's content. The pinxtos where delicious and were about €1.40 each. We also stumbled upon a Mexican restaurant that was actually worth going to (I find that Mexican food outside of the States and Mexico usually isn't very good). It was not cheap (about €15 for an entrée and margarita) but the food at Maguey, Cort Reial 1, was a nice change from tapas and pinxtos.

While in Girona, we stayed in any apartment we found on www.airbnb.com. The man who owned the apartment, Oriol, also has a bike tour company (click here for the website). While we did not have the opportunity to take a tour with Oriol, he was such a wonderful host that I can only imagine the tours to be well planned, entertaining, and a great way to spend a day.

View from our apartment in Girona.

For side trips from Girona, I recommend going to the tourist office and asking for bus schedules. We looked online but couldn't always find good, basic information. Also, keep in mind there are two bus stations in Girona. One is just outside of the old town but the other is further south in front of the train station.

We also took a daytrip to the small town of Bezalu. It was picturesque and lovely. There is a lot of history to see there. Unfortunately, because it is such a small town most of these "attractions" are closed to the public unless you take a 30 minute walking tour of town, which only takes place a few times a day and is only offered in Spanish. But if you want to get into the “sites,” go to the tourism information center to find out the starting times for tours and do so as soon as you arrive in town.The start times for the walking tour are also posted outside most of the main sites.

Bezalu, Spain