TripCast360

South Africa might be one of the most complete travel destinations in the world. What do we mean by that? South Africa has a total package of locales within it borders that few countries can offer. From spectacular beaches to the excitement of a safari, from bustling big city life to some of the best cuisine on the planet, it's no wonder this country is one of the most sought after tourist destinations of the 21st century.

To help us explore South Africa we invited our guest Dana Givens to explore this popular gem. She’s a fiction author, podcaster and lifestyle journalist. Her published works have appeared in Travel Advisor, the New York Times, Essence, Lonely Planet, Forbes and Insider to name a few. She’s a published author and marketer for some of the world’s top brands like Ralph Lauren and Bluefly.

Dana tells us about her travels to South Africa with stops in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. As she told us during the podcast, her two weeks in the country is not nearly long enough to see it all. She can't wait to get back. You can learn more about Dana on her website vmonet.com.

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Listen to this wide ranging discussion on eco-tourism and sustainable travel. We discuss its value to the local communities and the greater role that plays to healing our planet.  This podcast reveals some of the world's best practitioners of eco travel and how their efforts make it better for all of us.

Our guest is Merissa Principe.  She's a New York-based travel writer who says she  got the itch for travel at birth. After living in Germany for three years teaching pre-school on an Army based her desire to travel became a passion. She landed a job at CBS writing travel and lifestyle stories and never looked back. Her website citygirlriss features content from travel and lifestyle to beauty, fashion, home care and recipes. 

A portfolio of her writing can be found at merissaprincipe.com. Here’s a link to one of her stories: Top 3 Eco Friendly Vacation Spots.

Merissa's passion to protect our planet will leave those who listen wanting to do better.

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Sint Eustatius, or Statia as it is known by locals and travelers in the know is a Dutch Caribbean paradise of unspoiled natural beauty, culture and diversity. Our guest is Charles Lindo, Director of Tourism at Sint Eustatius. Diving, nature, beaches and history, it's all here for the taking. Oh, and the best part, the population of the entire island is just over 3,000 people making it the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of busy city life.

Listen as we discuss everything from underwater adventure, to hiking the volcano and an array of accommodations to suit just about any taste.  Getting too Statia is easier than you might think. Simply fly into Sint Maarten and take a 20-minute flight, or hop on the new ferry service from Sint Maarten or St. Kitts.

It's time to discover Sint Eustatius. 

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It's a small country that packs a powerful punch. The Netherlands is known for its canals, bike trails, architectural beauty, windmills, art, museums, cheese and tulips, but if you stop there, you've missed a country of culture and a people whose welcoming spirit is so infectious you'll find yourself with a bunch of new lifelong friends.

Our guest is travel writer extraordinaire Katherine Parker Magyar. She recently returned from The Netherlands (September 2021), or Holland as its known to many and shares the pleasures of Amsterdam and the museums of The Hague, arguably one of the world's most iconic and beautiful cities that most of you never thought of as a tourist destination.

Katherine's works have appeared in such stalwart publications as Forbes, Architectural Digest, Departures and Business Insider to name a few. You can follow Katherine on her website KatherineParkerMagyar.com.

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America has over 12,000 miles of coastal shoreline (Atlantic, Pacific, & Arctic Oceans, Gulf of Mexico). These shorelines encompass  some of the world's most beautiful drives. From Maine's rugged coast to the soft sugary beaches of Florida's Gulf Coast, to Pacific Coast Highway, arguably the most iconic drive of them all, these vista offer a glimpse of planet earth at its finest.

Our guest is Charles McCool of McCool Travel, a platform that shows travelers how to increase happiness and reduce stress on every trip. One of McCool's specialities is road trips. His story Ultimate US Coastal Scenic Drive Resources Guide  serves as a backdrop for this podcast. We discuss all the adventures mentioned above that include trips to Hawaii's Big Island, parts of the Alaska Coast and numerous stops along the eastern seaboard from Maine to the Florida Keys. We look at the culture of each region along with how you should plan one of these drives.

But don't just stop there, visit McCool Travels website for tips on travel all over the world. The content is written in an easily digestible format with real inside tips, not something they read in a guide book.

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Our guest is Elizabeth Kelsey.  Elizabeth has written on topics ranging from travel, wellness, culture, and food, to luxury lifestyle. She joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on Thailand and trends in the luxury travel markets worldwide. Kelsey is uniquely positioned to discuss everything Thailand. She lived in this amazing country for a decade. From Chiang Mai to Bangkok to Phuket, Kelsey shares the charms of each region and why it's such a wonderful tourist destination. Several reports suggest Bangkok is the third most visited city in the world following Las Vegas and Paris.

Scroll through her Instagram page @elizabethakelsey for some wonderful images of Thailand.

We also examine the luxury travel markets. What are today's high-end travelers really looking for in a vacation destination? How can the average middle class person experience luxury travel. It might be a little easier than you might think if you are willing to travel internationally.

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Have you ever thought about relocating to Costa Rica? Our guest is International Living Magazine writer Kathleen Evans. Kathleen is a permanent resident of Costa Rica. She works and lives part time in the Tamarindo region located on the country's northwest coast. Listen as Kathleen gives us a half-dozen reasons why she and her family chose Costa Rica in the first place---among them property ownership for expats and an above average healthcare system. Oh by the way, the cost of living isn't bad either.  Imagine waking to the sounds of the Pacific Ocean. How about seeing a howler monkey or two scurrying about in the canopy above.

Kathleen is more than her Costa Rica experience. Her website, katsjourney features stories on everything from finances and sex to food, wine and her other global adventures. 

It's Pura Vida - translation "pure life" or "simple life."

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Bonaire is the often overlooked island of the ABC chain (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) in the Caribbean. Our adventure travel specialist Katherine Parker Magyar just returned from Bonaire and paints a wonderful picture of one of planet earth's best sustainable and eco-friendly tourist destinations. It's an island surrounded by largely protected waters which makes scuba diving and snorkeling (including night snorkeling) among the best in the world. In fact, Bonaire charges a small fee for certain water activities with all the funds reinvested to protect the local waters.

For the 28th straight year, Scuba Diving Magazine Readers Choice Awards recognized Bonaire as the number one Shore Diving experience in the Caribbean/Atlantic. Visitors to Bonaire also love kite and wind surfing.

Bonaire is more than water activities. As Katherine is quick to point out, the people of Bonaire are oh so friendly. That friendliness encouraged Katherine to learn a few words in Papiamentu---a Spanish creole language with mixtures of Dutch and Portuguese spoken throughout the ABC islands. Listen to this podcast and tell us how you think Katherine did.

We almost forgot, have any of you had an Avocado Daiquiri? Katherine did, and she loved it.

We discuss local cuisine, the resort Katherine enjoyed during her stay, along with hiking and yes, we even talked about donkeys.

Once a Visitor Always a Friend. To learn more about Bonaire go to tourismbonaire.com.

You should check out Katherine's website katherineparkermagyar.com for some great stories about global travel. Her works have appeared in  Departures, Architectural Digest, Forbes, The Daily Beast, The Week, TripSavvy, Business Insider, World Travel Magazine & more—

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Jamie Edwards and her family, 13 in all,  spent two weeks in Croatia (August 2021). It's her third trip to what's quickly turned into a vacation hotspot, especially for A-listers such as Beyonce and Jay Z, Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie, Bono, Neil Patrick Harris, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart to name a few. So what make's Croatia so special? We're going to answer that in this podcast.

Jamie and her family planned a rather unique trip that included both land and sea. They spent the first week at Villa Barbara on the Istrian Peninsula---a heart-shaped piece of land in northwest Croatia near the borders of Slovenia and Italy. The villa features six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. And oh, the amenities; tennis and basketball courts, a golf range, ping pong, foosball, billiards, and bicycles. By the way the pool and hot tub are a pretty good bet for the less active among us. The villa is a short drive to local villages to enjoy the culture and local cuisine.

Their second week was spent on a gulet exploring the spectacular islands of Croatia while worshiping both sun and sea. The Gulet Perla is about 100 feet in length and features seven bedrooms all with their own private en-suite bathroom. Jamie's came with a chef who prepared some sumptuous meals morning, noon and night. Swimming, island exploration and spectacular sunsets are just the beginning of life at sea.

We'll leave it to you to answer, What is the Best Way to Explore Croatia, Land or Sea?

You can learn more about Jamie on her wonderful website Iamlostandfound.com. There you will find Jamie's story about Croatia, The Best Way to Explore Croatia. Land and Sea.

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Our guest is award-winning journalist, television host and media entrepreneur Melissa Noel. She's an internationally recognized Caribbean diaspora leader with proven impact at the intersections of media, sustainable travel and social advocacy. She is known for her dynamic content that consistently highlights underreported stories for outlets including Huffpost.com, Essence.com, One Caribbean TV, NBC News, Caribbean Beat Magazine, LonelyPlanet.com and ABC News. You can learn more about Melissa on her website melissanoel.com. 

We had a wide-ranging discussion on the diaspora's cultural influences on the Caribbean and how those in the millennial generation and younger travel with cultural experience at front of mind. 

In addition, we spent a significant amount of time discussing her native Guyana, one of the world's most eco-friendly tourist destinations and how they seamlessly mixture cultures from all over the world into a true melting pot.

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