Crowded and touristy streets in Dubrovnik

Why You Shouldn’t Visit Dubrovnik (But Should Still Go To Croatia!)

Croatia has taken off as a tourist destination, and more and more tourists visit Dubrovnik every year. It’s famous, of course, as the filming location for Game of Thrones, and beautiful images of this seaside castle town are everywhere. Dubrovnik is certainly picturesque. There’s no denying that. But, as a vacation destination, think Disneyland rather than quaint historic city. We visited Dubrovnik in April, which is not the height of tourist season, and not even[…]

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Overnight Layover in Amsterdam: 6 Things to Know

On our way back from Sicily, we ended up with an overnight layover in Amsterdam. We had never been before, and we weren’t sure if such a short visit would be worth it. Here’s what we learned! 1. Airport transit is incredibly easy. Like, truly, so so easy.  We got on a train at the (very beautiful) airport.  We rode the train for about 15 minutes. We arrived in the city center.  Done! 2. Lodging[…]

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Sicily in winter - you'll have the place to yourself!

Should I Visit Sicily in Winter?

Here’s the big question: Should you visit Sicily in the winter?  In December? January? February? March? Could off-season secretly be the best time to visit Sicily? We traveled to eastern Sicily in February, and we stayed for ten days.  We based ourselves in Catania and Noto, and we also took day trips to Ragusa and Syracuse. Would we recommend traveling to Sicily in the winter?  Eh, maybe. Depends! We’ll lay out the pros and cons[…]

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Driving in Sicily: the Ultimate Guide

If you’re going to Sicily, you’re probably considering renting a car. Because the best of this incredible region is not in the major cities of Catania and Palmero, but the public transport network is not very robust. We don’t usually rent cars on our trips as they’re expensive and a bit of a hassle, but we quickly realized we’d need one if we wanted to get to Noto and the other small towns in the[…]

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Tasty pasta in a great Noto, Sicily restaurant!

The Best Restaurants in Noto, Sicily

We were staying in Noto, Sicily for five days in February, and food was scarce. Presumably the locals were cozy in their apartments, eating home-cooked Sicilian cuisine.  But we, the visitors, were looking for places to eat in Noto, and this proved far more challenging than expected. Eventually, we succeeded and found the tasty pasta that we dreamed about – here’s our list of the best restaurants in Noto, Sicily. We arrived in Noto on[…]

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