Viator Travel Blog

It’s always a difficult question — “Where are you going on your next trip?” I’ve been thinking about this question recently, mainly because I don’t have a definite answer. For the first time in ages, I don’t have a trip planned. Sure I have a few weekend getaways up my sleeve, but there’s no mega-trip [...]

In April 2007 I hopped on a plane and headed to the Eastern European countries of Estonia and Russia. Here are some observations and thoughts on what I saw, heard, smelled, tasted, touched and experienced while traveling through these former Soviet Union countries. Tallinn, Estonia You can actually walk to and from the airport. About [...]

On a recent trip to Europe I had the pleasure of spending time in Istanbul, Turkey. The city is enchanting, bustling with people, and can intrigue any visitor. Istanbul has it all from ancient history to delicious food to phenomenal art and architecture to endless shopping…the list could go on forever. I want to share [...]

I arrive in Barcelona only to be swept off to Mar Bella for the Sunday gay beach party, coinciding with the Loveball gay and lesbian festival. The first afternoon in Barcelona is a blur of mojitos, watching a drag queen in purple wig and silver platform shoes dance to the village people, and then plunging [...]

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of posts from Jeff Gates, the New Media Lead Producer for the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Managing Editor for its blog, Eye Level. Jeff is on a family vacation, which sounded like a great excuse to publish his trials and tribulations from the road. You [...]

Sometimes it is the little things that put a smile on your face. Case in point: Last week I was emailing with a friend of a friend about his upcoming trip to Las Vegas. He’s planning to pop the question AND get married all within 24 hours, assuming his girlfriend agrees, and he had a [...]

Years ago when I lived in an apartment near a local donut shop, every morning I would awaken to the smell of fresh donuts being made. I’d get up, hop on my bike and ride over for a fresh bear claw or a good old glazed donut – the best I’d ever had. Of course, [...]

Rising from the sun-drenched tropical savanna of northwest Costa Rica, the tidy, Spanish Colonial town of Liberia has become a top tourist destination in recent years, despite its decidedly non-touristy (by Costa Rican standards, at any rate) demeanor. Lovely Guanacaste, Costa Rica The capital of Guanacaste Province and an important agricultural center, Liberia is home [...]

When I get off the plane on trips to Washington D.C. and see the nation’s capital on the drive from Reagan airport a sense of patriotism comes over me. Yes, a bit strange, even surprising from a person who lives in the liberal/radical bubble of San Francisco. I know I am crazy, but I love [...]

Yes I have written about Chicago before, but seriously now, there is no better city to visit in the summer than sweet home Chicago. So it is humid on some days. So Michigan Avenue is crowded with people. So getting a bleacher seat for a Cubbie game can be a small fortune. Chicago is by [...]