Viewing posts in: Hotel

13 Apr 2016 Travel

Sailing in Santorini

*stretch* Hello my loves!!!

If you’ve kept up with my husband & me on social media you know that we went to Greece & Turkey for our third wedding anniversary! Despite falling extremely sick halfway through, we had an incredible trip and it was one of my favorites yet. We began in Santorini, then Athens, & closed out our travels in Istanbul. Santorini has always been my dream destination and I was so excited to finally check it off of my bucketlist – it did not disappoint and I’m already dreaming about coming back. During our stay, Canaves Oia hotel took us on a semi-private day cruise around the island on a 50 foot yacht via Sunset Oia Sailing. We got to explore the volcano, swim in the hot springs, and check out a black beach as well as a red beach! The crew grilled lunch right on the side of the boat and it was such a lovely day. We opted for a day tour but there are sunset tours available as well, our trip was literally the very beginning of the tourist season so I feared that an evening trip would get a bit too chilly! The boat was awesome – super comfortable, clean, and very spacious so even though we were worried at first seeing how many people were on our trip (with kids!! who brings that many kids to Santorini?! lol!), we always had a ton of space to ourselves and lots of privacy. We even comfortably took a nap after lunch on the ride back! No matter how long your stay in Santorini is, I highly recommend blocking off a day for this tour, you’ll get to see the island in such a way that you could never from land and you really get to take in just how massive the cliffs are. Santorini is truly incredible.

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27 Aug 2015 Travel

Iguazú Falls|Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa|Argentina

Las Cataratas del Iguazú is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and was an amazing place to begin my first trip to South America! To clear up any confusion over nomenclature – the falls are located on the border between Brazil and Argentina; Internationally, they are known as Iguassu Falls but locally they are named Cataratas del Iguazú in Argentina & Cataratas du Iguaçu in Brazil.

The falls are easily accessible from either country and the border is a very quick and easy journey as long as your visas & paperwork are all squared away. We flew into Foz do Iguaçu International Airport in Brazil and crossed the border into Argentina straight from the airport via taxi. You will need a visa to enter Brazil; the cost for Americans is $160 but luckily, it is good for 10 years. While Argentina doesn’t require a literal visa, there is a reciprocity fee of $160 which is also valid for 10 years. You will not be able to pay the Argentinian fee at the border so be sure to get it done online ahead of time and have your printout ready. Aside from the visa and reciprocity fees, the rest of our journey to Iguazú Falls was pretty easy and we totally had luck on our side. We landed in Brazil around 6pm and were in our cab within an hour. We headed over to the taxi line and asked about a flat rate to our hotel across the border in Argentina. We paid about $40 USD. Our driver drove us to a station to get our Brazilian exit stamp and even escorted us inside; we then drove over to the border and were able to pass very quickly and easily. We were traveling on a Monday evening and there was no line at all. Very simple; It felt very much like crossing the US border into Canada. The whole journey airport to hotel was about 45 minutes. 

We stayed at the Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. The ultra convenient thing about this hotel is that it is inside the Iguazú National Park so starting our day the next morning was very easy and convenient. Our time in Puerto Iguazú was limited so the little time-saves really added up. Sheraton guests are required to pay the entry fee for the park as we enter the grounds to get to the hotel – but remember how luck was on our side?? No one was at the booth and the gate was open! The concierge even said that we were fine as long as we stay in the park. Woop! I believe the entry fee is about $23 USD per person.

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