I enjoyed my solo trip to Uzbekistan, which I paired with time in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. This was my first trip to Central Asia, and it couldn’t have gone any better!

My trip across Uzbekistan took me to four of the most popular cities — Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva. I learned Persian miniature painting and suzani embroidery. I gawked at the metro stations in Tashkent and even took a day trip into Tajikistan.

And along the way, I fell in love with this incredible country. And so did many of you, my dear readers. I have never seen such a strong reader response to a trip I’ve taken before! I know many of you will be planning your own trips to Uzbekistan soon.

I love writing my What NOT to Do posts, teaching travelers what they should NOT do in different destinations. Because sometimes you need to know what not to do before you figure out what to do!

I hope this post helps you plan your own dream trip to Uzbekistan. Let’s take a look!

This post was published in May 2026.

Don’t assume Uzbekistan is an intimidating or difficult destination.

Let’s be honest — not a lot of people visit Uzbekistan before they’ve visited, say, Italy or Thailand or Mexico. It tends to be the thirtieth country people have visited, rather than the third, unless they are from Central Asia themselves.

Because of that — along with the erroneous belief that anywhere with “Stan” in its name is inherently dangerous — many people assume that Uzbekistan is best suited for expert travelers.

Here’s the truth: I was stunned at how easy Uzbekistan was to travel. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a very experienced traveler.

To start, Uzbekistan is a very safe destination where there is little violent crime and almost no street harassment. Additionally, Uzbekistan is a popular destination and has quite good infrastructure at a variety of price points.

On top of that, prices are affordable here. I spent on average $50 per night for a hotel, $2-3 for a Yandex taxi ride, and $6-8 for dinner. That makes it easier to justify staying in a nicer place or booking a higher class on a train.

The most important things for traveling Uzbekistan are researching the cities you’ll be visiting in advance, booking train tickets well ahead of time, getting an Uzbekistan eSIM, and downloading Yandex Go.

Something else I found interesting was that there were SO many large senior tour groups in Uzbekistan. And from a variety of nations, too — British, American, French, and I was surprised by how many Italian voices I heard.

Who knew the big, scary Stans would be so popular with older folks?

Overall, I have had near-breakdowns in popular travel destinations like Japan and Italy. I didn’t get anywhere close to a breakdown in Uzbekistan. My trip was just smooth, start to finish.

Don’t wait until the last minute to book train tickets.

I’m putting this near the top because it’s the most important tip on this list. Traveling by train is the best way to get around Uzbekistan — I took three different kinds of trains and found them fast, efficient, affordable, and very pleasant.

But train tickets tend to sell out extremely fast — especially the high-speed Afrosiyab trains running from Tashkent to Samarkand and Bukhara.

They often sell out the day they go on sale (!), which is 45-60 days before the trip.

Can you just take the bus instead? Of course you can — but it takes much longer. My high-speed train from Tashkent to Samarkand took two hours, while the bus takes about five hours. One of my guides told me his bus took seven hours due to traffic.

You can book train tickets on your own at railway.uz, or you can have an Uzbek travel agency book them for you at a markup.

I used the agency Orex CA to buy one of my tickets, just to see what the experience was like, and it was fine, but I could have done it myself with no issues. They charged me 40 USD for a ticket that would have cost about 17 USD, so expect a decent markup.

And if your train is sold out, contact an Uzbek travel agency. I heard that many agencies hold onto tickets on the popular routes, and release them close to the date if nobody buys them. So keep looking, just in case.

If you’re a bit nervous about buying the right tickets, I recommend reaching out to an agency at least 60 days in advance and having them order them as soon as they go on sale. The extra cost might be worth the peace of mind to you.

Don’t wear revealing clothing.

Whenever I visit a predominantly Muslim country, I get women asking me if it’s necessary to wear a headscarf in public. In most Muslim countries, a headscarf is only necessary when visiting an active mosque.

But I do like to dress similarly to local women when I travel solo. Sometimes that means wearing a long tunic that buttons to my neck (Southern Lebanon), sometimes it means wearing jeans even though it’s roasting out (Cartagena, Colombia).

So how do women dress in Uzbekistan? Some women wear the hijab and dress traditionally in long, loose dresses. Some women wear the hijab and dress in more modern ways, like blazers, wide-leg jeans, and bomber jackets. Some women don’t cover their hair and dress western-style.

But I will tell you this: you do not see Uzbek women wearing short skirts, overly tight clothing, or showing their cleavage. Many women dress stylishly, but they don’t show skin.

And that made me glad that I packed a wardrobe that covered my knees, shoulders, and cleavage.

For my April trip, I mainly wore two kinds of outfits: 1) a knee-length dress over cropped or full-length leggings with a denim jacket on top, or 2) a t-shirt and jeans. I would add on a few more layers (a long-sleeved wrap top, a cardigan) if it was cold.

For a few hours on my last day in Tashkent, I did take off the denim jacket and just wore the sleeveless dress over cropped leggings. Tashkent felt modern enough that showing my shoulders didn’t feel disrespectful.

For men and mascs, if you’d like to dress similarly to Uzbek men, I’d stick to wearing long pants and avoid shorts and tank tops. And PLEASE do not go for a jog shirtless.

I did see some women tourists who were dressed revealingly. In Khiva, I saw a western woman in her sixties wearing leggings as pants with a t-shirt that didn’t cover her butt. And in Samarkand, I saw two twenty-something Russian women in short shorts and tank tops.

They stood out in a bad way. Don’t be that person.

Don’t forget to download the Yandex Go app.

If you try to summon an Uber in Uzbekistan, you’ll be out of luck — here, the app of choice is Yandex Go, a popular app in former Soviet republics. Be sure to download it before your trip, because you need a phone number to confirm it.

Yandex is vital in Uzbekistan. You can use it as a taxi app, as a food delivery app, and you can even send items to be delivered elsewhere.

And Yandex rides are shockingly cheap. Most of the time, my rides were under 5 USD for a ride across the city, usually 2-3 USD.

I had a lot of early morning departures in Uzbekistan, the earliest at 3:30 AM (yuck!), and I never had to wait longer than five minutes for a Yandex driver. That impressed me.

(There was one exception though: at train stations shortly after trains arrived. When trains arrived, there was usually around a 15-minute wait for a Yandex. And I couldn’t order them early because there usually wasn’t any phone signal until we got to the station.)

Don’t visit Uzbekistan without an eSIM.

As a travel safety educator, I never visit anywhere without an eSIM — and that’s especially important for Uzbekistan.

I used an eSIM from Holafly for my trip, and it worked very well. I ordered it before my trip, chose the specific dates for it to be active, and it started working as soon as I landed in Tashkent.

In Uzbekistan, the single most important reason to get an eSIM is being able to order Yandex taxis from anywhere. I found this helpful when it was too dark to walk back to my hotel. I also found having an eSIM very helpful for navigating my way with Google Maps, translating menus, and communicating with my guides via WhatsApp.

Free wifi is not as widespread in Uzbekistan as it is in other countries, and often wifi networks require an Uzbek phone number in order to connect. I was so glad I had unlimited data and didn’t have to deal with that.

I found that my Holafly eSIM had excellent signal in the cities of Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva, though you shouldn’t expect signal on trains in the middle of nowhere.

I also love Holafly’s benefit called Always On. Every Holafly eSIM automatically provides 1GB of emergency data per month in more than 70 destinations. If you have a delayed flight or unexpected layover, you’re covered.

You can get 5% off your Holafly Uzbekistan eSIM with the code HOLAKATE, and 10% off monthly plans.

Don’t freak out if there isn’t a working seatbelt in your car.

This is one of the stranger things I noticed in Uzbekistan — seat belts are rarely accessible. In a typical Yandex taxi, either the seat belts will be pushed deep beneath the seat cushions, or there will be a cover on top of the backseat with no holes for seat belts.

In fact, I counted up the Yandex and taxi rides I took in Uzbekistan. I took 19 rides and there was a usable backseat seatbelt FOUR TIMES. That is it.

The craziest incident was with my driver who picked me up from Khiva’s train station. I noticed there were no seatbelts in the backseat, as usual, and he beckoned me to sit in the front seat, which had a working seatbelt.

I went to put my belt on and he got angry — gesturing to me, “No, don’t do that, you don’t have to do that.” I nodded and smiled and put it on and he got angrier, shaking his head.

“No. You are good. They are bad,” I told him, giving him a thumbs up while giving a thumbs down to the other drivers. He eventually gave up and drove me to my hotel.

From talking to locals, I learned that many Uzbek drivers think it’s an insult to their driving skills if a passenger uses a seatbelt.

So how do you deal with this? If you’re traveling solo like me, sit in the front seat. The front seat usually has a working seatbelt.

If it’s important to you to have working seatbelts in the backseat on every trip, you can hire a car service. These drivers tend to be more professional than Yandex drivers, and you can confirm for certain whether they have working seatbelts.

It will cost a lot more than 2-3 USD per ride, but it will cost less than hiring a driver for the day in France or Japan or Australia.

Don’t take a “Five Stans” tour.

Many people visiting Central Asia for the first time decide to see the region by a “Five Stans” tour taking in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Why not knock them all out at once?

Honestly, I understand the urge. But these three-week tours are quite rushed and only take you to the busiest places, when the magic often happens in the quieter stops.

Instead, if you’d like to visit a few different nations, I recommend you pair Uzbekistan with one or two other countries. A Two Stan or Three Stan tour is much more reasonable.

My 17-day trip to Central Asia began with five days in Kazakhstan, which was a good amount of time for Almaty and an overnight trip to Lake Kolsay, Lake Kaindy, and Charyn Canyon.

(My original plan was to do five days in Turkmenistan beforehand, but they rejected my Letter of Invitation, likely because I’m politically outspoken with a large following and They Do Not Like That. Oh well, it was their loss and guess what — I loved Kazakhstan!)

I then did a day trip to Tajikistan from Samarkand, visiting Panjakent, the Seven Lakes, and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins of Sarazm.

This day trip is easy to add into any Uzbekistan trip, and Tajikistan is visa-free for many nationalities.

Resist the urge to knock out all of Central Asia at once. That’s really a two-trip endeavor.

Don’t leave your wide-angle lens at home.

Now, this one is more for the serious photographers. Uzbekistan is a fantastic destination for photography — specifically, architectural photography.

The interiors of the buildings are filled with incredible geometric details — it’s the kind of art you can look at for hours and still discover new things.

However, it’s very difficult to photograph these interiors properly unless you have a wide-angle lens. Ideally, a very wide lens.

If you’re more of a casual photographer like me and you’d rather not cart around a ton of lenses, the iPhone has a pretty great wide-angle lens these days. While the quality is not what you’d get with most big lenses, I feel like it gets the job done.

Let’s compare two shots of the ceiling of the Aksaray Mausoleum in Samarkand:

You can see what a difference it makes!

So if you’re a photographer, bring your wiiiiiiidest lens.

Don’t buy a special lens if it’s not in your budget, but perhaps consider renting or borrowing one if you’re keen on photographing the interiors of these buildings.

Or maybe just use your iPhone, like me.

Don’t just sightsee in Uzbekistan — learn a craft, too.

I learned two traditional crafts while in Uzbekistan — Persian miniature painting and suzani embroidery — and honestly, these were the BEST things I did on my trip.

Before my trip, a company called CraftnCulture Uzbekistan reached out to me, asking if I would be interested in any of their workshops. WOULD I EVER! Making things is right up my alley, and I knew it would allow me to get to know Uzbekistan even better.

Craftnculture offers workshops in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara in everything from plov-cooking and bread-making to pottery-painting and mosaic-making to knife-crafting and wood-carving.

In Bukhara, I took a Persian mini painting workshop from acclaimed artist Rafael Toshev, who guided me through painting a pomegranate tree with watercolors on silk paper. (The silk paper is a lot more finicky than it looks!)

This was SO MUCH FUN. I had forgotten how nice it is to just draw and paint and make art.

I had the best time painting my piece and getting to know Rafael. While we had a translator, Rafael and I soon realized we both spoke French, and we gabbed away the whole time. By the end of the evening, I promised I would send my father-in-law to his upcoming show in London this summer.

In Samarkand, I took a suzani embroidery workshop and learned the art of Uzbek embroidery. Artist Feruza guided me, teaching me three different methods of traditional stitching before we settled on the easiest stitch together.

I like to sew and embroider, so I wasn’t a complete beginner — but a beginner can absolutely do this. It takes some time to get the hang of the stitching, but soon you’ll go on autopilot and fall into a trance.

Feruza and I got to know one another, and she told me she teaches suzani embroidery to everyone in her family — including the boys. She even showed me pictures sewing at the table with her toddler grandkids.

Best of all, Feruza gave me enough thread that I can continue sewing my piece at home.

Finally, while in Tashkent, I met up with Craftnculture company owner Yusuf, who himself guided me on a food and metro tour, which was the perfect introduction to the country.

I got to know him and learn more about the company, and honestly, I’d love to send SO many more people his way. Craftnculture is doing things right.

(I paid for the Persian mini painting workshop myself and Craftnculture comped me my suzani embroidery workshop in Samarkand and a Chorsu Bazaar and metro station tour in Tashkent.)

Don’t expect locals to speak English.

In many parts of the world, English is the go-to second language. In Central Asia, however, locals are likelier to speak Russian as their second language, especially if they’re over 40 or from a rural area.

In fact, people in Uzbekistan often defaulted to Russian with me, saying spasibo for thank you rather than the Uzbek rahmat.

And a few times, young women spoke to me in English on behalf of their families, their mothers and aunts smiling behind them.

Knowing a bit of Russian can be very useful here, and I recommend that you learn a few Russian words. Yes, no, hello, thank you, and numbers 1-5 can make communicating in Uzbekistan a bit easier.

But you never know what might be useful. On my Tajikistan day trip, one of my fellow travelers spoke Farsi and our guide spoke Tajik back — those two languages are mutually intelligible, so they were able to understand each other!

Don’t expect to book Uzbekistan Airways with your credit card.

If you’re flying domestically within Uzbekistan, you’ll be flying with Uzbekistan Airways. You might even be flying them internationally.

But Uzbekistan Airways does not take most international cards, including my American and Czech cards. I learned this when it was time to make the purchase and nothing would go through.

So what do you do if an airline doesn’t take your credit cards? I booked the flight through Expedia.

I never book with Expedia or any other OTA (online travel agency) — it’s much smarter to book directly with the airline, in case your flight gets canceled and needs to be rescheduled. I figured a quick flight from Urgench to Tashkent would be unlikely to have any issues.

And, in fact, it was fine. So if you’re booking on Uzbekistan Airways, book via an OTA.

Don’t go anywhere without cash.

Wherever I travel, I use credit cards most of the time — it’s better for points and better for tracking expenses in my YNAB budget.

But Uzbekistan is very cash-oriented. I even had to pay a few hotel bills with cash, which is something I hadn’t done in awhile.

I wouldn’t go anywhere in Uzbekistan without a decent amount of cash, because you’ll probably need to hit up an ATM sooner or later. In fact, when I was shopping up a storm in Bukhara, I had to go to the ATM three times in one day!

Some ATMs look normal but are only for with Uzbek bank accounts. One bank that I perused often was Kapitalbank, with bright yellow ATMs that are easy to spot.

Something else to keep in mind is that you may have a ton of bills on you. At one point I had basically the equivalent of $500 in $5 bills. Just something to keep in mind!

Don’t skip Tashkent.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, doesn’t get quite as much attention as its other cities, and people often cite it as boring. But that doesn’t mean you should skip it — I think it makes the perfect landing pad for getting to know Uzbek culture.

On my first full day in Tashkent, I did a Food Tour and Metro Journey in Tashkent. This was the absolute best introduction to the city and the country.

Yusuf and I started at Chorsu Bazaar, an immense round market, where he told me about the food and produce and had me try several different items. (I often get overwhelmed when solo in markets, so I really appreciated having a guide to show me what was good.)

Next he took me on a tour of several metro stations — and they are SUPERB. Tashkent has so many cool metro stations, each of them decorated from top to bottom in different styles. It’s truly a joy taking the metro there, just getting to enjoy the art.

We finished up at a big restaurant specializing in plov, where we shared three different kinds of plov.

(Yusuf laughed at one point because the staff didn’t know who to give the pot of tea because they didn’t know which of us was older. The younger person serves the tea in Uzbekistan! Yusuf is younger, so he served me tea. You get less than half of a cup at a time, and it’s handed to you with your right hand as you hold your left hand over your heart.)

Beyond that, I got to enjoy some cool coffee shops and parks in Tashkent. I’m glad I got to spend time there.

Don’t go all in on Samarkand.

Samarkand is known as the beauty of Uzbekistan, thanks to its glorious architecture. The Registan and Shah-i-Zinda Mausoleum are two of the most spectacular works of architecture in the country. Both stopped me in my tracks multiple times.

And visiting Samarkand is absolutely a MUST; I couldn’t imagine an Uzbekistan trip without it.

That said — just because a city has wonderful things, it doesn’t mean it has an equally wonderful vibe. I personally didn’t love the vibe of Samarkand as a city, and many travelers I spoke to (though, to be fair — not all of them!) felt similarly.

Samarkand is EXTREMELY touristy — it’s basically the Florence of Central Asia. And it welcomes plenty of Uzbeks, Central Asians, and people from all over the world. Because of the crowds, it feels more than a bit theme park-y.

There was also constant traffic in Samarkand, and the energy of the city felt a bit stressful to me. At times, it felt tough even finding a restaurant. A surprising number of restaurants open for lunch were closed for dinner. This did lead me to finding a few holes in the wall, though!

I’m saying this because I often see people go Samarkand-heavy in their itineraries. You don’t have to do that.

So how much time is good for Samarkand? I spent three full days there, with one day being my Tajikistan day trip, and that was the perfect amount of time. I could have added an extra day if I had wanted to day trip to Shahrisabz, another cool city nearby.

Don’t buy souvenirs until you get to Bukhara.

Uzbekistan has some of the best souvenir shopping I have ever experienced. Some of the most famous products here are silks dyed in colorful ikat patterns, traditional suzani embroidery pieces, and gorgeous patterned pottery.

And that’s not all. There are Persian miniature paintings, bread stamps in a variety of patterns, and tiny pairs of scissors shaped like birds.

Need to buy something for men (which I always find a challenge)? They’ve got knives, too! You bet I bought my husband a cool knife.

But the absolute best shopping in Uzbekistan is in Bukhara. I found the quality of products here to be generally better than what I saw in Samarkand and Khiva, and Bukhara happens to be the home of local arts like rug-weaving and gold zarduzlik embroidery.

Bukhara is also home to three traditional trading domes through which Silk Road travelers passed through on their journey (not unlike a duty-free shop at the airport today). These domes are still active today.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy something in another city. If you find something you love, buy it! I bought a piece of suzani embroidery from Feruza, my embroidery teacher in Samarkand, and her work is exquisite.

But I recommend you save the hardcore shopping for once you hit Bukhara. Oh, and budget a LOT more than you were planning. It took all my willpower not to buy an $819 long purple ikat silk jacket.

Don’t assume Khiva is too far away.

Khiva felt so much different than everywhere else. This is a stunning walled city in the heart of the desert and it genuinely feels like an oasis on the Silk Road.

But it’s far from everything, which is why some people skip it. It’s either a six-hour train ride from Bukhara or an 80-minute flight from Tashkent.

But it’s very much worth the journey. I took a sleeper train from Bukhara that departed at 5:42 AM and arrived around 11:37 AM, and it couldn’t have been more pleasant. My three compartment-mates and I slept a bit, then I read and relaxed with my feet up as we chugged across the desert.

Of course, you need to accept Khiva for what it is. The Ichan Kala, the area within the walls, is 100% geared toward tourism, not unlike Kotor, Montenegro, or San Gimignano, Italy. If you want to experience local life, you’re going to have to go beyond the walls.

But it is so beautiful, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it’s so visually different to the other popular cities of Uzbekistan.

And if you want to go further west, you can head to the city of Nukus, and even camp overnight at what used to be the Aral Sea, complete with shipwrecks suspended in sand.

Don’t only eat plov.

It’s easy to get sucked into only eating plov while in Uzbekistan. It’s ubiquitous, it’s cheap, there are tons of regional variations, and best of all, it’s absolutely delicious!

Plov is a rice dish made with meat, onions, carrots (often a mix of orange and yellow carrots), and other accoutrements like raisins, chickpeas, or apricots. Plov is where the word “pilaf” comes from!

And honestly, it’s easy to end up eating it for every meal in Uzbekistan. But I recommend you get out of the plov zone every now and then.

So, what should you eat besides plov?

Shashlik — meat kabobs grilled on a skewer — are a very popular option in Uzbekistan, probably second only to plov, and they also feel like a healthy option after days of heavier cuisine. I would usually get two meats and a vegetable skewer.

Laghman is a popular dish in Central Asia, thanks to the influence of the Uyghurs of western China. These hand-pulled noodles are thick and chewy, and are usually served in a soup with meat of some kind.

Shivit Oshi is a popular dish in Khiva: dill noodles topped with beef and potatoes. Delicious!

I found that restaurants in Khiva were good about communicating local dishes from Khiva and the surrounding Khorazm region.

And if you just feel like a snack, grab a samsa — a filled pastry. They usually come filled with meat, or sometimes pumpkin or other vegetables, but my favorites were stuffed with a mix of sautéed potatoes and onions.

Don’t come in summer (unless you have to).

I visited Uzbekistan in April, and that was by design. From what I read, spring and fall are the best times of year to visit, because the summers can be very hot and the winters can be cold and bleak.

April turned out to be a perfect month for Uzbekistan and the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. I had some cold moments (in the mountains of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan), but the days were lovely for the most part.

But Khiva was HOT. Some days, the midday temperatures were as high as 90 F (32 C). In APRIL. I spent the afternoons in Khiva holed up in my hotel room — there was no reason to be out when it was that hot.

Khiva may be hotter than the other cities, due in part to its location in the desert, but it got quite hot in Tashkent around that time as well. I can’t imagine how hot it gets in the summer months.

For that reason, I recommend you avoid visiting Uzbekistan in summer if possible.

(With my eternal caveat for teachers and other people who must travel in the summer — if summer is your only option, you can make it work. Just make sure you pace yourself and stay inside in the afternoons.)

At the same time, know that this isn’t necessarily the case for other parts of Central Asia. If you’re visiting high altitude places, especially in Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan or along the Pamir Highway, summer is THE time to go. Some places might be inaccessible outside in summer.

Don’t backtrack to Tashkent…unless you want to.

When I first booked my flights to Central Asia, I decided to fly into Almaty, Kazakhstan, and out of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. I would fly from Almaty to Tashkent in between. That’s what made sense at the time.

And so the Uzbekistan portion of my itinerary had me travel by train from Tashkent to Samarkand to Bukhara to Khiva, then I flew from Urgench Airport (near Khiva) back to Tashkent.

But when I was at Urgench Airport, I saw that people were boarding a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. WHAT? Who knew that was even an option?!

Turkish Airlines is very well-connected in Central Asia, and they run flights from Istanbul to Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Urgench.

Had I known that, I would have flown home from Urgench (assuming the price was decent). I didn’t really have a reason to go back to Tashkent, and because I always give myself a generous buffer with flights, I basically added on two extra days that I didn’t need.

However…I enjoyed those last two days in Tashkent.

I stayed at Lotte City Hotels Tashkent Palace, a four-star hotel in a nice neighborhood for just $117 per night. I went to the Museum of Applied Arts. I took long walks. I visited lots of coffeeshops. I hung out with my friend Megan.

And you know what? After nine days of family-run guesthouses, Uzbek food, and early mornings, it was nice to chill in a plush, anonymous hotel, order room service lasagna, and decompress a bit before flying home.

It might have added two extra days, but that was a great way to end my trip to Uzbekistan.

More on What NOT to Do:

• What NOT to Do in Prague
• What NOT to Do in Italy
• What NOT to Do in Croatia
• What NOT to Do in Iceland
• What NOT to Do in Mexico
• What NOT to Do in New York City
• What NOT to Do in Boston
• See all What NOT to Do posts here.

The post What NOT to Do in Uzbekistan appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

Let me tell you something about Madrid that hit me the moment I arrived: it feels like a city built for city connoisseurs. People who love dining, parks, museums, traveling on public transit.

I am very much a city person. My favorite thing about exploring cities is getting to pretend like I’m a local for a little bit, whether it’s dropping into a local bakery, spending some time reading in a park, or jumping on the metro to check out a new neighborhood.

And Madrid is a city-lover’s city — a metropolis filled with culture and vibrance. A venerated city.

Back on my first trip to Spain many years ago, I didn’t put Madrid on my original itinerary and my readers basically staged a mutiny until I rerouted. And yes — they ABSOLUTELY made the right call.

Here’s why Madrid has stayed with me — and why you should consider it for your next trip.

This post is brought to you by ES Madrid, including their photos.

Madrid Runs on Its Own Clock

If you’ve spent time in Spain before, you know that Spanish cities operate on a laaaate schedule. Lunch starts at 2 PM. Dinner starts at 9 PM. The streets fill up at 11 PM on a Tuesday. It’s not unusual to see kids running around on the street at midnight.

And Madrid, the cultural and geographic epicenter of Spain, is a place that takes this culture very seriously.

There’s a concept called the tardeo, essentially the late-afternoon social ritual, where people gather on terraces in neighborhoods like Salamanca for drinks before dinner. It’s a beloved tradition, and a civilized reminder that the day isn’t over yet.

And that’s just a nice pause before Madrid’s second act in the evening. If you’ve always been more of a night owl, the Spanish schedule will agree with you.

Parks and Greenery

One of my favorite places in Madrid is El Retiro Park (Parque El Retiro), a park that my readers insisted was unmissable. And once again, they were right. Retiro Park deserves to be named among the great urban parks of Europe, if not the world.

To me, Madrid feels more dense and urban than other Spanish cities — which is part of what makes it exciting to me. But the moment you step into Retiro, the contrast hits you immediately.

You go from city hum to enormous, calm greenery in about thirty seconds. There’s a rowing lake, the spectacular Crystal Palace (a 19th-century glass-and-iron greenhouse now used for contemporary art installations), and a monument to Alfonso XII that is so wonderfully theatrical.

I could have stayed here all afternoon. I’d go back with a book anytime. And that’s the highest praise I can bestow upon a park!

Art and Museums

If you’re a museum fan, Madrid is one of the great museum cities of Europe — especially when it comes to art museums.

The Reina Sofía is one of the best modern art museums I’ve been to anywhere, up there with the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the MALBA in Buenos Aires.

Picasso’s famous painting Guernica is there, showing the horrors of war. And you should prioritize seeing it — the scale alone is genuinely shocking, it fills the room in a way no photograph prepares you for.

But don’t go only for the Picasso. Wander around and find what moves you.

The painting that stopped me cold was one I’d never heard of: A World, by Spanish artist Ángeles Santos Torroella, painted in 1911. I stood in front of it for a long time. That feeling of unexpectedly discovering something that gets completely under your skin is exactly why I go to art museums.

Beyond the Reina Sofia, the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza round out what’s known as the Golden Triangle of Art. Between these three institutions, you have one of the most remarkable collections of art in the world, and serious museum-goers could spend multiple days here alone.

Culinary Wonders

I have a group of foodie friends in Prague. We come from several different countries, but we’re all obsessed with food, and we do regular trips to different European culinary regions each year, like the Basque Country or the South of France.

When we started talking about our next trip, Madrid rocketed to the top of our list. Two of my friends hadn’t been at all, and the rest of us would love to return and dive deeper into the food scene than we did on previous trips.

Mercado de San Miguel was one of my favorite stops on my one day in the city — a beautiful iron-and-glass market near Plaza Mayor with food stalls serving small portions of everything. Iberian jamón, pintxos, fresh seafood, Encurtidos y Gildas, wine. The format is perfect for grazing.

I must share that my personal highlight was meat in a cone. Like an ice cream cone, but filled with cured ham. Madrid invented this and should be celebrated for it!

Beyond the market, the city’s food story runs deep: century-old taverns in La Latina serving jamón and house wine, the city’s signature cocido madrileño (a deeply comforting slow-cooked stew of chickpeas, meat, and vegetables), and a serious fine dining scene for when you want something more ambitious.

Multiple Michelin-starred restaurants, innovative chefs, a culinary culture that takes itself seriously without being snobby about it.

And then…there are churros with hot chocolate. At any hour of the day.

Exploring Madrid Neighborhoods

I love cities that have distinct, interesting neighborhoods that feel different from each other. And Madrid is definitely one of those cities.

Malasaña is the creative indie heart of the city — street art, vintage shops, cafés that look like they were designed by someone who cares deeply about light fixtures. It’s where Madrid feels young and a little scruffy in the best way.

Chueca is vibrant and welcoming, Madrid’s LGBTQ+ hub, with great restaurants and a buzzy social energy.

Salamanca is where you go when you want to feel fancy — wide boulevards, upscale boutiques, those beautiful terraces.

La Latina is where you go on a Sunday morning to browse El Rastro, the city’s famous flea market, and reward yourself with vermut and tapas at one of the bars spilling out onto the street.

And if you like going off-map, the emerging neighborhood of Carabanchel is worth exploring — local art spaces, neighborhood bars, none of the tourist veneer.

Another option is the district of Chamberí — a very typical Madrileño neighborhood where you’re likelier to rub elbows with locals than tourists. Calle Zurbano, a street filled with boutiques, restaurants, and museums, is especially worth a stroll.

A Note on Madrid vs. Barcelona

I’ve noticed travelers tend to compare these cities, so here’s my honest take: they’re both great, but they’re different. Barcelona is lovely and photogenic and has cool architecture and beaches.

At the same time, Barcelona has been a hotspot for such a long time. Travelers are starting now to put Madrid in the same category.

If you are someone who loves the feeling of a big city — the energy, the density, the sense that real people live here and the city has a life completely independent of you — Madrid is your city. It’s less curated. It’s more itself. It operates on its own terms and prioritizes locals first.

That’s what I love about Madrid.

Planning Your Trip to Madrid

How to get to Madrid: Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) is well-connected from the US, with direct flights from major cities. The Metro runs directly from the airport into the city center — and it’s one of the most efficient metro systems I’ve experienced in any European city.

How to get around Madrid: Madrid’s city center is very walkable, and the Metro is excellent for longer distances. Staying central — neighborhoods like Malasaña, Chueca, or near the Prado — puts you within easy reach of most of what you’ll want to see.

When to go to Madrid: Madrid is a truly year-round city — you can have a great time no matter when you come.

Spring (April–May) and fall (September–October) are lovely months with comfortable temperatures and fewer crowds. If summer is your only option, that can work too: hotel prices can be lower, and the city empties out a bit as madrileños head to the coast, which means shorter lines at museums and restaurants.

And Madrid is excellent in winter as well!! Winter in Madrid brings milder temperatures than in most European cities, and there’s almost always sunshine and clear skies. That, plus lower prices and fewer crowds, makes it a great winter city break option.

How long to spend in Madrid: I recommend three full days for a minimum for exploring the city.

But if you’re interested in day trips from Madrid, five days is a good minimum. There are UNESCO World Heritage-listed day trips, including Toledo, Segovia, and the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.

For longer trips, Spain’s rail network also connects Madrid to Barcelona, Seville, and Valencia, making it a wise landing for a broader Spain itinerary.

For trip planning, Madrid’s official tourism site — esmadrid.com — is genuinely useful and well-organized.

Madrid has been quietly one of Europe’s great city destinations for a long time. I love how it’s under the radar a bit, and that’s what appeals to me about it.

And now I think it’s time to turn to the group chat and bring up a weekend in Madrid to my friends once again!

The post There’s So Much To Love About Madrid appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

April 2026 was a very exciting travel month indeed. I embarked on a 17-day solo trip to Central Asia, visiting Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan!

It was my first time visiting this part of the world, and I had an outstanding time. In fact, this might have been one of the best solo trips I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to go back and explore more!

Let’s take a look at the month.

Destinations Visited

• Prague, Czech Republic
• Almaty, Moon Canyon, Black Canyon, Saty, Kolsay Lake, Lake Kaindy, and Charyn Canyon National Park, Kazakhstan
• Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva, Uzbekistan
• Panjakent, Seven Lakes, and Durman, Tajikistan

Highlights

An incredible trip to Central Asia. It went incredibly smoothly — so smoothly that I was a bit surprised! It turns out that Central Asia is much easier to travel than you might think.

The most important thing is making sure you buy your Uzbekistan train tickets as soon as they go on sale (usually 45 or 60 days beforehand), as they can and do sell out quickly.

My trip started in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Almaty is a beloved city among my travel blogger colleagues, and I see why — it’s a wonderfully green city, super walkable, with lots of great cafes, excellent food, and views of snow-capped mountains in the distance (if you’re lucky and visit in mid-spring like me). It’s also an extremely affordable city. I could easily spend much more time there.

In Almaty I highly recommend taking a tour with Walking Almaty. The owner, Dennis, is a fascinating American guy who loves and is obsessed with Kazakh history and culture (to the point that he actually translated some Kazakh works into English for the first time).

Also, during our tour, Dennis literally helped an old lady cross the street. Like, it’s not a cliché — some people actually do that!

I also took a two-day tour to the natural wonders of the Almaty region of Kazakhstan: Moon Canyon, Black Canyon, Kolsay Lake, Lake Kaindy, and Charyn Canyon. A two-day tour is the best way to see all of these, as the one-day tours start super early, end super late, and are quite rushed.

All of these places were so cool to visit, but I especially adored Charyn Canyon, which looked like it was straight out of Utah or Arizona. You walk down the canyon as you’re surrounded by sandy rock formations.

The tour itself was big (43 people!) but fun, with great food and karaoke, and we spent the night in yurts.

Next up came Uzbekistan. I visited four cities: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva.

Bukhara was my overall favorite, with a calm, pedestrianized city center, beautiful architecture, and some of the most outstanding souvenir shopping I’ve experienced of anywhere I’ve visited in the world!

Samarkand had the best overall architecture of the trip, the kind of art that brings you to wonder — especially the turquoise tiles at Shah-i-Zinda Mausoleum. I also booked a photo shoot in costume at the Registan early one morning.

Khiva was very different — a walled city in the middle of the desert, very busy and catering 100% to tourism, but really beautiful and special and a treat for photography.

Tashkent wasn’t as cool as Almaty, but I still had fun there, including taking a food tour, visiting the Applied Arts Museum, and some cool coffee shops.

And I took a few craft workshops where I learned two Uzbek crafts — Suzani embroidery and Persian mini painting. I took a few classes with Craftnculture (they comped me the embroidery class and a food tour in Tashkent). You’ll hear more about those soon.

A cool day trip to Tajikistan. Did you know that Samarkand is only 50 minutes from the Tajik border? From Samarkand, I joined a small group tour to Tajikistan that visited the city of Panjakent and its bazaar; the Seven Lakes, perched up in the mountains; and the ruins of Sarazm, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (which, frankly, wasn’t that exciting).

Oddly, for me the highlight was the bazaar. It’s not a touristy area and people were excited to meet me and the other two guys on the tour. And Tajik women dress SO beautifully — it’s not unusual to see them wearing matching outfits covered with sequins and rhinestones. I saw one sparkle-covered woman working in a garden!

I have SO much to write about Central Asia, both on the blog and in social media, and I am looking forward to getting into that!

Good times in Prague. April is the month of the cherry blossoms, and though I missed most of them this year, I got a few days of pink blossomy goodness! April is also the month of green beer (yes, here green beer is for Easter, not St. Patrick’s Day).

We went to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. This exhibition has been traveling the world with quite a few artifacts from the Titanic. Overall, I found the exhibition a bit oversold for what they offer (so many of those artifacts are little twisted pieces of metal, or dishes), but I really loved learning the stories of the passengers.

I got an Ultra membership at Revolut, which means I now get three WeWork passes per month. So I’ll be coworking more often at the Prague WeWork, or maybe even other locations when I travel. I love my home setup (with cats!), but it’s nice to have a change of scenery, and I do work well around other people.

And at the end of the month, I saw Miguel in concert at SaSaZu. I adore Miguel and his album Wildheart is one of my favorite albums of all time. I think he has one of the best voices of any living singer. He put on a great show.

Challenges

Charlie’s phone was stolen while we were out one day. We were sitting at a table at Manifesto Market and a guy came up to us with a piece of paper wrapped in a plastic folder. He held out the paper and we told him we weren’t interested.

Turns out he had been holding the paper over Charlie’s phone, and he took it while it was covered. This is a common scam.

What sucks is that this happened in a place we love, Manifesto. We actually held our night-before-the-wedding party there. And Prague is a city that feels SO safe, and pickpocketing is quite rare here compared to other popular European cities like Paris, Rome, and Barcelona. Plus, we were in an area far from the touristy center.

It just goes to show you need to be cautious everywhere.

I broke my phone screen in Samarkand. I was standing at the Registan, dropped my phone, and suddenly a white line of broken pixels appeared on the screen. I weighed my options, and realized that even though it was still functional, it would probably be a good idea to replace it in case it got worse.

A quick Google found me a repair shop next door to a boba tea spot (sweet!), and I hung out, sipped and chewed my boba, and read my Kindle until the screen was fixed, costing a painful $259. I’m just glad I specifically allocate money in my YNAB budget for unexpected business mishaps and tech repairs.

(And if you’re keeping track, you are correct, I also had to replace my screen in November after slipping in the snow and smashing it to smithereens. Not my finest few months.)

Early mornings and lack of sleep in Central Asia. I spent much of the trip sleep-deprived because there were so many early mornings. Three early tours and activities, two early trains, three early flights, and one wakeup in the yurt at 5:00 AM when one of the girls’ phones went off.

The irony is that sometimes when I fly westward, I keep an early schedule the whole trip! Up at 6:00 AM, bed at 9:30 PM. But flying eastward makes you want to go to bed late and sleep in, and that, coupled with the early wakeups, completely threw off my schedule.

I got locked out of my room in Almaty — in a hotel with no on-site staff. And the full story of that is in my reel below…

Blog Posts of the Month

How to Get Cheap Flights with Dollar Flight Club — I love what Dollar Flight Club offers — they send you alerts for when there are way-cheaper-than-usual flights from your home airport to any of your dream destinations! Plus other destinations!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kate McCulley | Travel Blogger (@adventurouskate)

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So, something crazy happened in Almaty, and I told the story on Instagram. I got locked out of my hotel room. Which has happened to me before, and usually isn’t a big deal — but this was in a hotel that rarely has on-site staff.

The only way to contact the staff is via WhatsApp. But I had locked myself out of my room, which had my phone in it. So I had to go around the hotel knocking on random doors — and hilarity ensued.

For more live updates from my travels, follow me on Instagram at @adventurouskate.

What I Listened To This Month

I’m listening to all 500 of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, which I am enjoying immensely. I am loving discovering new artists and listening to albums I’ve somehow missed my entire life until now!

In April, I got back to form and listened to albums number 92-69.

Favorite Discovery: Super Fly by Curtis Mayfield. I knew I was going to love this — I love funk and soul and the 70s and blaxploitation anthems and everything I’ve ever heard by Curtis Mayfield.

But this is the kind of album that I wish we had more of these days — an album by a single artist, fully crafted around a movie. There are even plot points in the songs! What the hell did Freddie do?! I need to see the movie now!

Overall, this was SUCH a fun, funky, and groovy album. An absolute pleasure.

I also really enjoyed Dusty in Memphis by Dusty Springfield. I’d heard a few of her songs over the years, but listening to this album gave me such a deep appreciation for her gorgeous voice, which is a perfect match for the jazzy-poppy songs on this album.

Other Favorite Discoveries: Baduizm by Erykah Badu, The College Dropout by Kanye West, Back in Black by AC/DC, Hunky Dory by David Bowie.

Favorite Revisited Album: Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrisette. This was my most-listened-to album when I was in the seventh grade, and I am pleased to share that IT HOLDS UP AMAZINGLY. How is this album so good?!

Like Billy Joel’s The Stranger or Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, this album packs in a truly shocking number of incredible, memorable, and distinctive-but-cohesive songs. (And while it’s a recent album, I would put Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess into that category, too.)

And the album has such a specific musical sound and point of view, with a beautiful blend of pop and rock and the stories of a young woman who has gone through some dark times. Nobody could sing like this but Alanis.

I also want to give love to another favorite album of mine: Renaissance by Beyoncé, which happens to be my favorite Beyoncé album. This album is a celebration of the Black queer and trans artists who pioneered so many different forms of dance music and the culture around them.

What I love is that this album is so LAYERED and DETAILED. Nothing goes overlooked. There are so many dance genres represented: disco, house, funk, dancehall, techno, ballroom, that ubiquitous early 90s genre of “beautiful woman sings with scary-sounding man.” And it’s ultimately a celebration of being yourself on the dance floor.

Other Favorite Revisited Albums: Blonde by Frank Ocean.

Favorite Songs: “Cuff It” by Beyoncé, “All Falls Down” by Kanye West and Syleena Johnson, “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” by The Doors, “Back in Black” by AC/DC, “Freddie’s Dead” by Curtis Mayfield, “Just a Little Lovin'” by Dusty Springfield, “Self Control” by Frank Ocean, “You Learn” by Alanis Morrisette, “Straight Outta Compton” by N.W.A., “Family Affair” by Sly and the Family Stone.

Get the playlist: I’m creating a playlist of my favorite songs from the 500 albums — maximum one per album — on Spotify. You can listen to it here.

Random Music Thoughts: I’ve written before about how angry I get when thinking about how Kanye West has gone from one of my favorite artists to an actual, Hitler-loving Nazi. In part because it’s so hard conflating his brilliant early music with his repugnant views.

This month was especially stark — The College Dropout is such a fun and goofy and trailblazing album, so different from what hip-hop was putting out at the time, and it breaks my heart that either young Kanye turned into a Nazi or young Kanye was hiding his inner Nazi-ness all along.

*Disclaimer: QUITE A LOT of the musicians featured on this list are problematic in various ways — there are even two murderers in the mix. I’m looking at their music solely from an influential perspective.

What I Watched This Month

One of my all-time favorite TV shows is back: For All Mankind on Apple TV+! I love this show so much that I recommend to everyone.

When Charlie and I watched the first episode last year, we loved it so much that we proceeded to watch an episode every single night, 40 nights in a row, until we had watched it all.

This show starts in the 1960s and is an alternative history about what would happen if the Soviets had landed on the moon first. Because of this, the space race never ended — the US and the Soviets continued racing each other to have a base on the moon first, to get to Mars first, etc. As a result, space exploration is so more extensive and exciting.

Each season takes place in a different decade, following the original astronauts and their families as they age and technology progresses. The of-the-time musical cues are outstanding (I’m still not over the immaculate use of DMX’s “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” in season 4), and because it’s Apple TV+, they spent a ton of money on production, and it’s looks expensive.

This month, season 5 started, which takes place in the 2010s, and season 6 will be the final season. Each episode has 10 hourlong episodes, so there’s a lot to enjoy. WATCH IT!!

Also, I saw the movie Michael in the theater. The plot is thin, but the music and dance sequences are stunning, and Jaafar Jackson (and the young Juliano Krue Valdi) did an incredible, uncanny job as Michael Jackson himself.

This movie is a reminder that Michael’s music, from the early days of the Jackson 5 through the Bad era, is some of the best pop music ever created, and I loved getting to listen to it for two hours.

What I Read This Month

I always get a lot of reading done when I’m on a long solo trip!

Yesteryear by Caro Clair Burke (2026) — Natalie Heller Mills is one of the most followed tradwives in America, raising her six children on a farm in Idaho. Of course, she has a TON of help behind the scenes, but her followers don’t know that. But then Natalie suddenly wakes up in 1855 and has to live the lifestyle she’s been pushing.

This is one of the buzziest books of the moment, and I really enjoyed it. The subject matter is tantalizing and I genuinely had no idea what direction the book went in, leading to a surprising ending.

That said, I feel like this book was rushed. It felt like it could have done with more robust editing, though I understand that the publisher wanted the book out FAST. There were a handful of odd issues I think could have been written differently (her Harvard experience felt more like a big nondescript university, and really, her father-in-law is the popular Republican Senator from California?).

And unfortunately, it only touched the deeper issues of feminism and performance in the lightest way. If it the book had chosen to reckon with these issues more deeply, it could have been one of the best novels of the decade. So I do feel a bit bad that this is the final version of it.

The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley (2025) — Adela Woods is a 16-year-old competitive swimmer who becomes pregnant and is banished to her grandmother’s small town in the Florida panhandle. While there, she meets the Girls — a group of outcast women and girls who were teenage moms and raise their children together.

The book changes perspective between Adela; Simone, the oldest of the group, who has four-year-old twins and finds herself pregnant again; and Emory, who brings her newborn to high school and is determined to graduate against the odds.

I really enjoyed the characters and the setting of this book, and especially getting into the perspectives of teen moms who are seen as outcasts within their community. While it didn’t quite blow me away, this was a great read.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (2025) — Sybil Van Antwerp is a woman in her 70s who has written letters her whole life — to her brother, to her best friend, to writers like Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry, to her former colleague’s teenage child, to the dean at the university where she wants to audit classes.

This epistolary novel is a collection of letters to and from Sybil over the course of several years, as she struggles with relationships with her kids, is courted by two different men, and deals with the onset of a disability.

This book has been an unexpected breakout hit, and I see why! The letter-writing is an excellent device, showing you only what Sybil wants people to know and letting the truth seep in little by little in the other letters. Sybil is not a lovable narrator. She’s complicated, she’s gruff, she keeps people at a distance, and I love when women characters are allowed to have an edge like this.

One warning: there is an animal death in this book that really upset me, and to be frank, was handled in a cruel way and kind of ruined the reading experience for me. They’re making a movie of the book, starring Jane Fonda (who will be FABULOUS, as she always is), and I hope they cut the animal death altogether.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2022) — Carrie Soto is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, with a record of 20 Grand Slam wins. But in 1994, five years past retirement, a new young player named Nikki Chan is about to break her record. Carrie decides to come out of retirement at age 37 to be coached by her beloved father, battle Chan, and keep her record once and for all.

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, which are always told by strong, successful, and complicated women characters. The core of this book is a woman reckoning with who she is if she doesn’t have the one thing that she’s worked for all her life, and rebuilding a relationship between father and daughter.

That said, while an enjoyable read, I think Carrie Soto is Back is one of Reid’s weaker books (and Atmosphere is her best). Carrie’s father is from Argentina and they speak a lot of Spanish mixed with English, but honestly, the Spanish just seemed so cringeworthy to me, with no hint of Argentina, and it was painfully obvious that Reid doesn’t speak Spanish herself.

Orbital: A Novel by Samantha Harvey (2024) — This novel shares the thoughts of six astronauts and cosmonauts from different countries who have been orbiting the Earth together for the last nine months. Each of them ponder their existence and the beauty of our planet as they prepare to return to it.

This is a beautiful elegy, and well deserving of all the awards it has received. While it tends to hold each of the characters at arm’s length, you soon learn that the wonder of it is how beautifully they each care for our planet.

Audition: A Novel by Katie Kitamura (2025) — A Broadway actress is approached by a young man who believes he may be her son. From there, two different narratives spill outward, and the relationship between the two of them veers in some truly wild and confounding directions.

I really loved Katie Kitamura’s Intimacies, about an interpreter working at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, but this novel didn’t do much for me. I appreciate it for being well-written and for taking some big risks, but it overall left an unpleasant aftertaste.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss (2016) — I listened to this audiobook a few years ago and wanted to read it and actually take notes this time, because it’s really helpful.

This book is all about how to negotiate and get what you want. And while I do think it’s a bit overly tailored to men in general, and straight white men in particular, there are lots of excellent tips here that I would love to put to use.

Coming Up in May 2026

This month will mostly be spent in Prague, but Charlie and I do have a trip at the end of the month. We’re heading to England — and while we visit London frequently to see his family, this trip is about exploring new parts of his country.

We are going to Cooper’s Hill for the annual cheese-rolling! After watching the We are the Champions docuseries on Netflix, which profiles a strange and unusual competition in each episode, we knew right away we had to witness the cheese-rolling for ourselves. We actually booked our hotel more than a year in advance.

It’s not as fun and cutesy as it sounds. The hill is STEEP and it’s not uncommon for people to flip over themselves violently and break bones. In fact, it’s not an official event because of the injury risk.

No, we are not taking part in the cheese rolling. We are here strictly as spectators for the event, and pub-goers afterwards.

We’re padding out the trip with some time in the Cotswolds (which I visited in 2015 and really enjoyed), and the city of Bristol. In Bristol, we have a reservation at Wilson’s, a new Michelin star-holder featured in Apple TV+’s docuseries Knife Edge! It looks like a wonderful, sustainable restaurant and we’re really looking forward to eating there.

We’re also visiting Cheddar Gorge, which feels like a pilgrimage to me, as this is where cheddar cheese originated! CHEESE TRIP! (Man, I should take Murray the cat here someday. He loves cheddar, too.)

We are missing three of our favorite food festivals in Prague for this trip (Pivo a Burger, Korso Krymská, and The Italians’ catalogue party), so it better be good!!

What are your plans for May? Share away!

The post AK Monthly Recap: April 2026 appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

If you’re dreaming of traveling somewhere in 2026 and were dismayed at the price of flights, you’re going to want to read this post.

2026 is an unusual year for flights. With volatile oil pricing and last-minute schedule changes, some flight routes are looking much more expensive than usual.

But that’s not the only thing that’s happening. Some flight routes are dropping — even as much as 35%.

But of course, it’s often hard to know which flights are dropping because no human has the bandwidth to monitor every cool route and check it each day.

But there’s a tool that can help — and can be fully customized to your needs. Let’s take a look at Dollar Flight Club, which has recently been updated and is better than ever.

This post is brought to you by Dollar Flight Club, who provided compensation and a Premium membership.

Why get Dollar Flight Club?

Dollar Flight Club is a flight deal platform that works to get its members better flight pricing by monitoring deals.

The premise is simple — they monitor airfare around the clock, compare it against historical pricing, flag the actual deals that are much lower than usual (not just what the airlines call a “sale”), and send you alerts.

So is it actually saving people money? Indeed, it has. Dollar Flight Club has 3.5 million members, and they’ve already saved an estimated $5 million on airfare in 2026 alone. (Let me add: IT’S ONLY APRIL.)

The company is on pace to save members $20 million by year’s end. Deals routinely run up to 90% off!

Founder Jesse Neugarten describes Dollar Flight Club as “less of a search engine and more of a personal travel scout,” and that framing captures what makes it different.

Google Flights and Momondo work if you already know exactly where and when you want to go. Dollar Flight Club works for people who just want to go somewhere cool, and would love to pay less money than usual.

When you sign up, you choose your departure airport (up to four) and your dream destinations (up to 10). Dollar Flight Club monitors the routes and sends you alerts when something pops up — including alerts for destinations you might not have considered.

You can get Dollar Flight Club for free, as there’s a free tier, but there is also a paid Premium tier with more deals and perks.

My Experience with Dollar Flight Club

First off, I’m so glad that Dollar Flight Club works around the world. So many travel tools are US-centric, maybe with Canada included if you’re lucky, and it’s good to know that those of us who live in different countries can use this, too.

I started by putting Prague in as my departure airport (maybe I’ll add Vienna in the future, it’s a 4.5-hour bus ride away), and for my dream destinations, I selected a mix.

For my actual dream destinations of Peru, Brazil, the Maldives, and New Zealand, I added Lima, Rio de Janeiro, Malé, and Auckland. I also added Johannesburg and Nairobi, as they are good hubs for flying to more random spots in Africa, and I tacked on Boston and New York, as I visit my family there a few times a year and would love to do so for cheaper.

Since I added my Dollar Flight Club profile this week, no spur-of-the-moment deals have shown up. But it shows me what HAS shown up in the last few months for Prague:

Newark for $496. Nairobi for $564. But there’s also Marrakech for $141, Hurghada for $173, San Francisco for $529, and Seoul for $524. I would hop on Marrakech or Seoul at those prices for sure!

And then I added Boston, New York, and London, as I fly through those airports pretty often. And JFK has some good deals — Guayaquil, Ecuador for $329! Maui for $473! Paris for $548!

This works for travelers like us.

I think Dollar Flight Club is especially worth it for people like Adventurous Kate readers: experienced travelers who have been to many places, have a long list of dream destinations, are flexible and adaptable, and are happy to spend a little bit more to get better travel experiences.

If you’re the kind of person who sees a $300 deal for Ecuador and your heart starts to beat faster in excitement, even though you haven’t thought THAT much about Ecuador, Dollar Flight Club could be an excellent investment for you.

If you have less flexibility — like looking for specific destinations on exact dates — or if you have to schedule your time off from work months in advance, it might not work as well for you.

And you never know — maybe you’ll have the trip of a lifetime to a destination you hadn’t even considered before.

New Updates on April 20

On April 20th, Dollar Flight Club introduced lots of new features, leading to a much stronger member experience. Three things launched:

Powerful new filters and search. You can now narrow deals by departure airport, price range, airline, destination, flight class, deal type, and deal status, all at once. Whether you’re hunting for a sub-$300 business class seat or a nonstop economy flight to Europe, the filters make it easy to get what you actually want.

An interactive map view. Every active deal is plotted as a price pin on a global map. Zoom into a region, see what’s cheap from your home airport, and click straight through to book. Instead of “wait and hope Lisbon goes on sale,” you can say: “I want to go somewhere in July — show me everywhere under $500.”

Enhanced destination recommendations. Each deal now includes best times to visit, local activities, neighborhood insights, an affordability rating, and partner perks like exclusive Viator discounts on tours and experiences. It’s all about making your travel experiences even better.

Overall, these features make Dollar Flight Club feel less like a typical aggregator and more like a travel scout.

How to Find Deals Right Now

Airfare volatility cuts both ways, so a few things worth knowing:

1. Start from the deal, not the destination. Open the map first and browse around. The list of places you’d love to go is probably longer than you realize.
2. Keep your travel window loose. With fares swinging 35%+ on some routes, flexibility is where the real savings happen.
3. Book fast on mistake fares. If you take anything from this post, remember this: mistake fares tend to be caught within a few hours. If a deal looks too good, be sure to verify it first. Keep in mind US-based flights have a 24-hour cancellation window.
4. Consider Premium for international. The free tier is genuinely useful, but the bigger international savings — plus perks like TSA PreCheck discounts and airport lounge access — live in the premium alerts.

The Takeaway

If you’re the kind of person who checks flight prices for fun, keeps a running list of “someday” destinations, and is happy to say yes when a surprise deal shows up, Dollar Flight Club is built for you.

Especially now that the new map, filters, and destination pages turn browsing into something closer to daydreaming with a budget.

You can try Dollar Flight Club here. The free tier costs nothing to sign up for, and you can always upgrade to premium if you’d like more.

Good luck, and let me know what crazy flight deals you get!

The post How to Get Cheap Flights with Dollar Flight Club appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

After two quiet months at home in Prague, while living through one of the coldest winters we’ve had in years, it was time for something better.

A bit of sunshine. A bit of warmth. And a bit of time in the South of France.

Here’s what I got up to in March 2026!

Destinations Visited

• Prague, Czech Republic
• Toulouse, Narbonne, Montpellier, and Marseille, France

Highlights

A fun and foodie trip to southern France. Charlie and I take each other on trips for our birthdays, and as soon as we found out that Les Grands Buffets existed, that’s what he wanted to do for his!

And with three of our friends in tow, we flew to Toulouse, had a decadent night at the buffet in Narbonne, spent a few pleasant days in Montpellier, and finished up in Marseille.

Toulouse was a revelation — and it quickly became one of my favorite cities in France! Toulouse is about the size of Prague, with just over one million residents. But it feels so chilled out by comparison.

Toulouse looks different from every other city in France, thanks to the pinky-red bricks of the buildings in the city. There are tons of cute little restaurants and boutiques everywhere, and I would genuinely come back here just to shop and eat. The city has a great vibe, too. I can see why people want to live here.

The buffet experience at Les Grands Buffets in Narbonne was incredible — one of my top foodie experiences, ever, and we already want to return in the future.

I’ve already written a full post about the buffet experience, so I won’t repeat myself here.

I will only share that we ate SO much delicious food, and for 65.90 euros per person, we got fantastic value, at least double or even triple the value of what we would have paid for that much food in a regular restaurant. If you’re a foodie traveler or a French food enthusiast — or especially a cheese freak — you should make an effort to go once in your life.

Next up was Montpellier. Montpellier is a small university city in the south, and it felt a bit like a baby Paris on the Mediterranean, thanks to its Haussmann architecture with a few palm trees poking out here and there.

We ate great food in Montpellier, especially after hitting up the markets and bakeries. The eclairs at Maison Bonnaire were especially memorable. Overall, I think this would be a great city to spend a week in when you need to recharge. Just go for strolls, visit the beach, eat good food, and repeat.

And we finished our trip in Marseille…and I’ll put that in the “Challenges” section. You’ll soon see why.

A nice and productive trip to Berlin. Charlie and I went to Berlin to attend ITB Berlin, the largest travel trade show in the world. Oddly, this was the first year we both went.

The show was successful for us both, with lots of good meetings. And we got to spend time with lots of our blogger friends, including some I hadn’t seen in many years.

On our final night in Berlin, we went to see Belle & Sebastian with our friends Daryl and Mindi. They played their first album, Tigermilk, and sounded just as good as they did 30 years ago. The venue, Metropol, was really cool — it kind of felt like a freaky church.

I’m happy to add that this was the first concert I’ve been to of an artist I discovered in my Rolling Stone 500 albums challenge. How awesome is that?

Charlie and I joined a trivia team in Prague! I always feel like I can’t join a team or any kind of regular activity because of my travel schedule, but our friend Jamie invited us to join, and this is the perfect solution — you simply volunteer to join on the days you can make it. There’s no pressure to show up every week.

Our team plays the same pub quiz each week on Monday nights — Prague’s toughest quiz, in fact. Some of the questions will genuinely stump you, especially the cryptic questions.

But it’s been going well. I’m loving working together with a team of new friends. And the first week we joined, we actually won!

And in case you’re wondering, Lewis the cat is STILL being very snuggly with me. Last month, Lewis started climbing into my lap almost every day. I’m happy to report that he’s still doing it. Sometimes Charlie and I will sit on either side of the couch and battle for Lewis’s affections.

Challenges

Marseille was a bit of a bust. We knew we would only have an afternoon and evening there, and since it was a Sunday, we had to take a 2.5-hour bus from Montpellier to Marseille, rather than the train that runs the other six days of the week.

And once we got there, it was raining — a cold, intense rain that came down in sheets. And if you’ve been to the Mediterranean in the off-season, you know that they have no clue how to heat anything properly. People were eating outside in tents, shivering in their heavy coats.

But we made the best of it! We found a cafe with the heater blasting next to the open front door, then we grabbed a table at Les Grandes Halles du Vieux-Port, an indoor food hall with a lot of great restaurants. We spent the afternoon eating seafood and drinking rosé before picking up some Savon de Marseille (the city’s famous soap) and heading to our hotel.

I definitely want to return to Marseille and experience the city properly. There are direct flights from Prague, so maybe a long weekend in late spring or early fall sometime…

And then I got food poisoning. It hit once I was home, about 24 hours after we had our seafood extravaganza in Marseille. (Charlie and Nick were fine, so I’m thinking it might have been a bad oyster.) Thankfully it wasn’t a violent kind of food poisoning — just nausea and stomach cramps for three days.

Finally, Les Grands Buffets is NOT an easy place to make content. I kind of had that feeling going in, so I stuck to just doing quick phone photos and videos rather than bringing out the good camera or video camera.

But if you want to make Actually Decent Content at Les Grands Buffets, I recommend you book multiple seatings, because the night goes by FAST and you probably can’t eat what you want to eat *AND* make content about it.

On top of that, the lighting is dim, and it’s loud and crowded. So just know that. I thought I would share that as a head’s up for other content creators.

Blog Posts of the Month

What’s It Really Like to Travel to Madagascar? — A huge, detailed recap about why this country, while so challenging at times, is absolutely worth it.

Les Grands Buffets — Worth It or Not? A Detailed Review — Les Grands Buffets in Narbonne, France, is an epic French buffet and one of my favorite food experiences I’ve ever had. But would it be worth it for you?

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Madagascar is not for everyone. My first video from Madagascar! I posted this video on Instagram and on TikTok.

While Madagascar is an incredible destination and I loved my time there, it is absolutely not a destination for everyone. Or even most travelers. You need to ask yourself a number of questions.

What I Watched This Month

Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model on Netflix. This documentary examines the legacy and harm of America’s Next Top Model, and interviews many of the people involved.

I only watched Top Model occasionally back in the day, but I did see some of the more memorable episodes (like the one where they made them up to be different races!). And through a 2026 lens, WOW. This show was MESSED UP and they did some truly horrific things.

The worst was getting the models and a group of local men extremely drunk, then one girl who was blackout drunk ended up hooking up with one of the men. She has no memory of it. This was all filmed. And the next day, and for years after (!), the show shamed her for cheating on her boyfriend — when she was a victim of sexual assault who couldn’t possibly consent!

It also made me think of Below Deck: Down Under Season One, when one member of the crew attempted to sexually assault another crew member, a woman who was blackout drunk, and 1) the film crew stopped it and 2) the assaulter was kicked off the boat immediately and fired the next morning. I’m glad times have changed and we are able to see an assault for what it is.

I also watched a lot of Season 2 of Paradise this month. I absolutely loved Season One of Paradise, but I’m not sure I’m loving it as much this season. I think it might be the influence of The Pitt — I love the hyper-realism of that show.

And Paradise, as with the show runner’s last show This is Us, there are a lot of overwritten monologues, strange coincidences, and manipulative emotional moments. Not sure I’m into that anymore. Make more shows like The Pitt!

Finally, I saw Project Hail Mary in IMAX, and it might be my favorite IMAX experience I’ve ever had. The movie is fantastic and flies by, and it’s beautifully filmed and so faithful to the book. An absolute joy, and so uplifting. One that is very much worth seeing in the theater.

What I Listened To This Month

I’m listening to all 500 of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, which I am enjoying immensely. I am loving discovering new artists and listening to albums I’ve somehow missed my entire life until now!

In March, I listened to albums number 112-93. Not a big month for listening.

Favorite Discovery: Supa Dupa Fly by Missy Elliott. WHAT A GREAT HIP-HOP ALBUM. What I love about Missy’s music is that it feels so timeless. She always makes futuristic-sounding music without any of the cheesiness that weighs down other rappers. You could have made this album today and it wouldn’t have sounded dated at all.

This is an incredible album for dancing, grooving, driving, and just vibing. Everything on the album has a specific point of view, but the songs are diverse and each have a different sound.

Missy and Timbaland were a match made in heaven (and still are) — but I think she deserves more respect on her own, both as a rapper, a singer, and a producer.

Other Favorite Discoveries: When the Pawn… by Fiona Apple, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John, Automatic For the People by R.E.M., Take Care by Drake, Control by Janet Jackson, Court and Spark by Joni Mitchell.

Favorite Revisited Album: Nothing revisited! Everything was new to me this month. I think I listened to When the Pawn… once or twice as a teenager.

Favorite Songs: “Limp” by Fiona Apple, “You Don’t Wanna Fuck With Me” by Missy Elliott, “When I Think of You” by Janet Jackson, “Me Myself and I” by De La Soul, “The Ballad of Danny Boyle” by Elton John, “Car on a Hill” by Joni Mitchell, “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones, “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight” by R.E.M., “Asking For It” by Hole.

Get the playlist: I’m creating a playlist of my favorite songs from the 500 albums — maximum one per album — on Spotify. You can listen to it here.

Random Music Thoughts: As the list ticks down, there are fewer and fewer artists introduced for the first time. The only newcomers this month were Television, Hole, The Allman Brothers Band, Drake, and Missy Elliott.

*Disclaimer: QUITE A LOT of the musicians featured on this list are problematic in various ways — there’s even a murderer in the mix. I’m looking at their music solely from an influential perspective.

What I Read This Month

Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane by Lindy West (2026) — Lindy West’s husband Aham told her he was going to be polygamous and she had to either accept it or end their relationship. She didn’t want it. Aham had not one but two secret girlfriends. So she decided to go on a solo trip across the US to see if she could handle being alone. At the end of the book, she decided to start dating Aham’s girlfriend. And now they’ve been in a triad for years.

I am a big Lindy fan, and the book itself is really good in a lot of ways. I love her voice and her humor, and the parts about travel were the strongest parts of all, even if I didn’t necessarily agree with her on a lot of things. I loved how she wrote about Florida, of all places, specifically the Forgotten Coast and that whole lesser-known region of Florida.

But there are a lot of alarming things about her relationships in both this book, and its aftermath.

I wrote a lot about this in my newsletter last week, and I’m not going to repeat myself. But I will say this: since this book came out, it is clear to me that Aham has been publicly humiliating Lindy for a long time now, and has been emotionally abusive not only to her, but random women (including writer Scaachi Koul, who wrote a piece on the book).

I want her to get away from Aham, because she deserves much, much better. But I have the feeling that all this discourse is going to make Lindy double down.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021) — Middle school science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up from a coma on a space shuttle and can’t remember why he’s there. Soon, he remembers that the sun is dying, and that scientists on Earth have sent him there to find a solution. But soon after arrival, he discovers another ship, an unusual ship the likes of which he’s never seen — and realizes that he’s not alone.

It was my top priority to read Project Hail Mary before seeing the movie, in part because I thought Weir’s first novel, The Martian, was a much better book than a movie. I devoured it in 48 hours! I adored this story and how it turned into a buddy comedy. It almost follows the plot of a typical romantic comedy, only it’s platonic. More uplifting sci-fi!

I’ve heard the audiobook is great, too, but I chose to read it because I figured I’d zone out at the more science-y parts. You couldn’t go wrong with either.

Coming Up in April 2026

This month I have a big adventure planned — I’m traveling solo to Central Asia! This is a new region for me and one I’ve wanted to cover from the perspective of a solo female traveler.

I’ll be visiting Kazakhstan first, mostly basing in Almaty, with an overnight trip to Charyn Canyon, Black Canyon, Moon Canyon, Lake Kaindy, and Kolsai Lake. Next I’ll fly to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and travel by train to Samarkand, then Bukhara, then Khiva, before flying back to Tashkent. While in Samarkand, I’ll be doing a day trip to the Seven Lakes of Tajikistan.

If all goes according to plan, these will be countries number 97, 98, and 99 for me.

In Uzbekistan, I’ll be trying out lots of crafty activities and diving into their textiles. They have some of the best silks in the world, and gorgeous traditions when it comes to embroidery, pottery, and wood carving. I also have a photo shoot planned in Samarkand.

I know a lot of people are apprehensive about traveling at the moment, so I want to share why I’m comfortable traveling here at this time. First off, these countries in Central Asia are extremely safe for travelers in general, and solo female travelers specifically. I’ve done lots of research and talked to friends who travel here often.

Secondly, these countries are never involved whenever violence or war kicks off in the Middle East. Life has been continuing as usual in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

And finally, I’m not flying through the Gulf. I’m flying Prague-Frankfurt-Almaty on the way there and Tashkent-Istanbul-Prague on the way back, which is an itinerary that allows me to avoid flight disruptions.

I’m really excited to share Central Asia with you.

Any plans for April? Share away!

The post AK Monthly Recap: March 2026 appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

Is eating at Les Grands Buffets worth it? If you’ve wanted to feast on endless plates of lobster and foie gras while drinking champagne, this should be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for you!

This incredible restaurant in Southern France is one of the most famous restaurants in the entire country, featuring all-you-can-eat classic French dishes for a shockingly reasonable price.

When my husband Charlie and I learned about Les Grands Buffets, we decided within about 30 seconds that we would go there for his birthday. As luck would have it, three of our friends wanted to come along — Klara, Petr, and Nick!

Was this restaurant worth it? It was SO worth it. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, but much of why we had a great time was because we researched and planned our trip well.

Here’s a detailed report about what Les Grands Buffets is like, what we ate, and what you need to know before planning your own trip here!

This post was published in March 2026, based on my visit to the buffet in March 2026.

What is Les Grands Buffets?

Les Grands Buffets is a decadent buffet restaurant located in Narbonne, France. It also happens to be one of the most famous restaurants in the country, frequently featured in international press, and a bucket list item for foodies from around the world.

Restaurateur and Narbonne native Louis Privat, along with his wife Jane Privat, opened Les Grands Buffets in 1989. The restaurant was originally supposed to be the cafeteria for a local sports complex.

Privat loved the classic French cuisine of Chef Auguste Escoffier, the culinary legend who modernized French cuisine in his 1903 cookbook, Le Guide Culinaire, and revolutionized how the restaurant industry works today. Privat also feared that French bistro cuisine was disappearing — dishes like frog legs, tripe, snails.

And so he created France’s first all-you-can-eat buffet, featuring exclusively traditional French dishes, all for a reasonable price (more on that below). And it was an immediate hit.

Today, Les Grands Buffets welcomes around 400,000 guests per year, most of them French. The restaurant serves both lunch and dinner 365 days per year.

You can see my full video about the experience here:

Les Grands Buffets Cost

Most notably, this all-you-can-eat buffet has a flat rate of 65.90 EUR* per person (2026 rate). That is the full price for all food and service, for either lunch or dinner — including all the lobster, crab legs, caviar, truffles, and foie gras you can eat.

*NOTE: The price goes up every year. I’ll try to keep this post updated with the current price, but double-check Les Grands Buffets’ website to confirm what the price is now.

You often hear about people at buffets filling their plates with lobster and crab legs, trying to get the best value for money. (Indeed, one guy in my city was banned from a hotel buffet for going every week and eating all the lobster. They had to post his picture because he kept making reservations under different names.)

But at Les Grands Buffets, you don’t have to front-load the expensive stuff for it to be worth it. Almost any kind of meal you could create here would cost far more at a regular French restaurant than what you’d pay at the buffet.

Wine and beverages are an additional fee, but prices are quite reasonable — they’re not far off from what you’d pay at a winery. In fact, if you like the wine, you can order it to take home at the producer’s price (takeaway only, for a minimum of six bottles).

We spent 178 EUR for six bottles of wine: four bottles of Champagne Monopole at 25 EUR each, and two bottles of red recommended by our server at 39 EUR each.

In total, each of us paid 106.50 EUR altogether — 65.90 EUR for the food and service, 5 EUR for the reservation insurance, and 35.60 EUR for wine.

For a four-hour meal of outstanding dishes, luxury items like lobster and truffles, and several glasses of wine each, I think that’s outstanding value for money. Perhaps one of the best value for money meals I’ve ever had.

Is Les Grands Buffets right for you?

I knew right away that Les Grands Buffets was perfect for me and my extremely foodie group of friends. We’re always going out to different restaurants at home in Prague, and we love traveling to eat different things.

But if you’re not sure if the restaurant is quite right for you, this will help you narrow it down:

Les Grands Buffets is for:

French food fanatics. If you’re a big fan of French cuisine, this place should be on your bucket list to visit once in your life.

Culinary travelers. If you’re not necessarily into French food, but love eating at interesting places, you should definitely come here.

Cheese lovers. I mean, this place holds the Guinness World Record for the largest cheese selection in the world. If that doesn’t bring you in, I don’t know what will!

Les Grands Buffets is NOT for:

Young children. While Les Grands Buffets doesn’t explicitly ban children, the restaurant makes it clear that children are charged the full adult price, they do not offer kids’ meals, and to please consider whether your child can handle a three-hour meal. Children are not allowed to walk around the restaurant alone, and they don’t offer storage space for strollers. (My advice? Take the extremely strong hint and don’t bring your kids.)

Picky eaters. While buffets can often be a good choice for picky eaters, this particular buffet is full of decadent, rich recipes and few simple dishes.

Vegans. While vegetarians, though limited, can get by and enjoy themselves, the selection of fully plant-based items is extremely limited.

People sensitive to noise and crowds. While not as chaotic as a Vegas buffet, keep in mind that it can be loud and boisterous here.

Last-minute travelers. If you don’t book your reservation early, you’re unlikely to get a reservation at all. You may find an opening if you’re lucky.

How to Get Reservations for Les Grands Buffets

We literally planned our entire south of France trip around when we could get a reservation for Les Grands Buffets — and you should do the same, as it’s not easy!

My friend Klara took charge of getting a reservation. At the time we began looking (December 2025), no reservations had been released for March 2026, so she signed up for the email list on their website. In mid-December, she got an email from the restaurant saying that further reservations had opened up.

When the reservations opened, she went to reserve and learned you reserve a spot in a specific room: the Salle à Manger Max le Verrier and Salle à Manger Ann Carrington (two regular indoor dining rooms in dark wood), Jardin Hervé di Rosa (the outdoor garden terrace, where reservations may be cancelled in the event of bad weather), Tente d’Apparat Jean Baptiste Nolin (an indoor room with an elegant curtain), or Salon Doré Jean de la Fontaine (an ornate gold and white Baroque salon).

We got the Salon Doré, which the staff call the Gold Room in English.

The reservation must be held with a credit card, and the deadline to pay is 30 days ahead. If booked 37 days in advance, you can pay a 5 EUR “cancellation guarantee” per person, which allows a free cancellation up to 11 days before the reservation. (We took this option.) You can also make a 20 EUR nonrefundable deposit in advance, which will be deducted from your final bill.

Reservations cannot be changed; they must be cancelled and rebooked. If you have a reservation in the outdoor garden and the weather is bad, you can cancel without being charged.

No-shows are charged 50 EUR per person.

For reservations, I recommend that you book as early as possible. While we were able to get reservations three months out, that’s because we got them the day they were released.

Right now I’m looking at six months in the future, out of curiosity, and there are just a few reservations left for dinner. So if you can book six months in advance or even longer, that’s even better.

Our server told us that it’s much easier getting a reservation midweek than on the weekend. Klara confirmed that there was zero availability on Friday or Saturday when she looked. I encourage you to aim for a midweek reservation for that reason.

While the reservation process at Les Grands Buffets is fairly intense, honestly, that’s the hardest part. Once you have a reservation, you can kick back and look forward to your trip.

My Personal Experience at Les Grands Buffets

The first thing you should know is that Les Grands Buffets is in a strange location — inside what looks like a mall with a glass pyramid in front of it (no, not quite the Louvre). It’s actually a sports center called the Espace Liberté, home to a skating rink, swimming pool, and bowling alley.

Klara, Petr, and Nick decided to go to the buffet two nights in a row, while Charlie and I decided to spend a night in Toulouse and join them at the buffet on the second night. This was great, because it gave them a chance to learn the ropes and tell us what to do!

If you have time, I recommend heading to the bowling alley’s pub for an aperitif. It’s a bit of an odd choice, but the bar is cozy, with lots of dark wood and brass, and an espresso martini is just what you need to keep up your energy.

Our reservation time was at 7:30 PM, and we arrived promptly and were directed to a waiting area behind a partition. Klara showed the reservation on her phone. As the host read her name, we were invited to walk through a sanitizing doorway and enter the restaurant.

The first thing we saw was an old-fashioned scale — yes, people can and do weigh themselves before and after! Just know that it will tell you you’re about 15 kilos lighter. What a delightful scale.

We were escorted to our table in the Gold Room — a Baroque extravaganza of white columns, gold trim, and red velvet curtains. Enormous chandeliers hung overhead, casting patterns of shadows across the curved white ceiling.

Soon Klara, Petr, and Nick were telling us about their experience the night before. Just then, a server brought a giant (fake) cake out for Charlie’s birthday, and played André Claveau’s “Happy Birthday” on a vintage gramophone!

Our server Frédérique introduced herself and we ordered the first of several bottles of Monopole Champagne. Fun fact — this is the same champagne that was served on the Titanic! How cool is that?!

And with that, it was time to explore the buffet itself.

Food Stations at Les Grands Buffets

And now what you’re waiting for — THE FOOD! Let’s take a look at what the buffet actually offers.

I was surprised that the actual buffet was smaller than I expected. Definitely much smaller than a Vegas buffet. Even so, they use their space well, and it’s not overcrowded.

Amuse-bouche buffet. This section has deviled eggs topped with black truffle, piperade basquaise, tartelette pissaladière, and aspic studded with ham and hard-boiled eggs.

Seafood buffet. The piece de resistance of this area is the lobster tower. In addition to cold and warm lobster, you can enjoy Étang de Thau oysters, snow crab legs, seafood soup, smoked salmon, herring, mackerel, and anchovies.

Foie gras buffet. This was the most impressive section of all — considering how much foie gras costs ordinarily, it’s wild that you can get unlimited foie here! A server builds you a platter with several kinds of foie, including foie brûlée (THE BEST!), duck foie gras with Armagnac, truffle foie gras, and more.

Pâté en croûte buffet. Several kinds of pâtés baked in crust, from Guinea fowl pâté en croûte to Rouen duck pâté en croûte to the beautiful Aurora’s pillow.

Cooked meat and terrine buffet. If you’re a charcuterie fan, this is your zone. 10 kinds of saucisson, pig’s ear preserved in jelly, nine hams you can carve yourself, head cheese, duck and pork rillettes with cornichons, plus the biggest lump of nduja I’ve ever seen.

Hot dishes and rotisserie. Some of the hot dishes are served in trays, but special entrees you order at the rotisserie section (limit one per person each time you wait in line). Gratinated mussels, escargots, coquilles St. Jacques, frog legs, sweetbreads vol au vent, roasted lamb, hare à la Royale, and SO much more.

Canard au sang. There is a small station just for the pressed duck (canard à la presse). A few times throughout the night, there is a full-on ceremony where a whole-roasted duck is carved and the carcasse is pressed to create a blood sauce, then flambéed. Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” plays throughout.

The silver duck press is special — it was originally used at the legendary restaurant La Tour d’Argent and was purchased at auction in 2016 for 40,000 EUR. Today, Les Grands Buffets is the only restaurant in France that serves canard à la presse at every lunch and dinner service.

Carving station. Next to the canard au sang is a small carving station where a chef will serve you prime rib, suckling lamb, and suckling pig.

Cheese buffet. There are 111 cheeses here — the Guinness World Record holder for the largest cheese selection in a restaurant — so go nuts! There are hard cheese, soft cheeses, blue cheeses, truffle-studded cheeses, and my two favorites — a sumptuous, melty Brie full of black truffles, and the tête de moine cheese from Switzerland that comes off in a spiral!

Cakes. All kinds of baked desserts, like feuilletine chocolate royal cake, Paris-Brest with praline cake, and Black Forest gateau, plus crème caramel, crème brûlée, floating islands, poached pears, caramelized baked apples, and much more.

Blazed desserts. If you’re in the mood to light your dessert on fire — and who isn’t? — you can get crepes suzette, blazed rum bananas, and Baked Alaska.

Frozen desserts. Yes, they have ice cream, and plenty more! You can get sorbet-stuffed lemons, oranges, and coconuts; chocolate profiteroles; and many kinds of sundaes.

Chocolate fountain. And there’s a chocolate fountain on the scene, with melted dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate, served with meringues, palmiers, and macaroons.

The Dining Experience

As soon as we were ready to hit the buffet, we headed straight to the seafood section, laser-focused on that lobster fountain! I filled my plate with lobster, oysters, crab legs, and a spoonful of caviar — why not?

One nice thing about the service is that your server keeps an eye on you at the buffet and brings you anything you might need. When I came back to my table with crab legs, she brought me a cracker, a pick, and some wet naps.

(That said, the service wasn’t always speedy, and a few times we had a table covered with empty dishes as our server chatted with other guests. Klara, Petr, and Nick said they had perfect service the night before, so perhaps this is something that can vary.)

From that point on, we were up and down constantly. After perusing their extensive wine list, we ordered a bottle of red to go with all our champagne.

And the nice thing about going to the buffet in a group of five is that you can tag-team the buffet and each get different things. I never would have ordered a quenelle (a creamy fish dumpling) or crepes suzette, but I definitely tried them both!

Throughout the evening, I kept an eye on the time. The starters would close at 10:30 PM, the rotisserie section at 11:00 PM, and the desserts and cheeses at 11:30 PM. I would not miss out on one last oyster.

And before we knew it, I was feasting on my final cheese plate, it was 11:35 PM, and the dining room lights flashed — the universal signal for yes, you’ve enjoyed yourself, now please leave the restaurant so we can clean up and get home at a reasonable hour.

The Best and Worst Things We Ate at Les Grands Buffets

First off, the quality of the food at Les Grands Buffets is almost universally quite good. While it’s not super-fancy, gorgeously plated Michelin food, the food here is better than what you’d get in almost any French restaurant.

The Best Things on the Menu

Foie brûlée. My friends and I all agreed that this was the BEST thing we ate at Les Grands Buffets. It’s like a foie gras and a creme brûlée had a baby — rich, sweet, and topped with a sugary crust. I’m not a foie person in general, but this took my breath away (and everyone else’s, too).

Snow crab legs. Cold, soft, and naturally buttery. And the shells were pretty easy to crack, too, which isn’t always the case! I could have eaten far more of them.

Foie and truffle soup. Who would put foie gras and truffle in a soup, together, and top it with a pastry crust? Les Grands Buffets! I tried this on a whim and it was so good.

Truffled scrambled egg. At the rotisserie section, Nick ordered a scrambled egg with generous amounts of truffles. We all shared and enjoyed that one.

Coquilles St. Jacques. Charlie and I enjoyed scallops cooked in their shells with vegetables in a creamy sauce. Full of flavor and beautiful to look at, too.

Turbot in beurre blanc. A delicious and light fish that we shared between the five of us and probably could have enjoyed for a second round.

Brie with truffles. This cheese is made locally and it’s so rich, oozy, melty, and creamy — but then you get to the black truffles and it reaches new levels of decadence. Klara and I especially loved this one.

Truffle deviled egg. There was a tiny hard-boiled egg half (perhaps a quail egg?) topped with a truffle in the amuse-bouche section that was DIVINE.

The Most Disappointing Things on the Menu

I want to be clear — nothing we ate at Les Grands Buffets was BAD, so to speak. There were simply some dishes that didn’t measure up to the standards of the others.

Charcuterie. The charcuterie wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t interesting or different. The five of us visit Italy often and try different cured sausages, and these paled in comparison. As for the carvable hams, Klara said, “If it’s not Iberico, what’s the point?” Truth.

Caneles. I love canele pastries, but I found the caneles at Les Grands Buffets to be stiff and nearly stale.

Cold lobster. Charlie thought that the cold lobster, while pretty good, paled in comparison to the warm lobster.

Escargots. My friends tried these the first night and didn’t think they were that great as far as escargots go.

Pig’s ear in jelly. Well, that item is a hard sell, period. I tried it out of curiosity. Not my thing.

Asparagus. My friends tried some and found it stringy and overcooked.

Sweetbreads vol-au-vent. Klara, Petr, and Nick will jump at the chance to eat strange things, but none of them were a fan of this.

Orange cream with Tonka beans. I expected it to be sweet and citrusy; it had more of a bitter taste.

Paris-Brest cake. This cake is like a cream puff with pecan cream inside. Nick astutely pointed out that Klara barely touched hers the first night and I barely touched mine the second night. Draw your own conclusions.

There were also a few items that we didn’t agree on. I thought the canard au sang, the famous pressed duck, was pretty good, but Klara didn’t like it at all.

Les Grands Buffets Tips

As you plan your trip to Les Grands Buffets, here are some of my top recommendations to have a good time:

Book your reservation as early as you can. This is the most important thing. As soon as you have an idea of when you’d like to go to Les Grands Buffets, get on the website and start planning! Aim for mid-week if you can.

Study the menu in advance and prioritize what you’d like to eat ahead of time. We were at the restaurant for four hours and the time FLEW by. I felt like I moved lightning-fast, had a course of everything, and still didn’t get to try the chocolate fountain. You can see the menu on their website.

If you have dietary restrictions, the restaurant asks that you contact them in advance. They offer vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, but not halal dishes. Speaking personally, I don’t think there are enough plant-based dishes to make the restaurant worth it for vegans.

Dress appropriately. The dress code at Les Grands Buffets calls for no sportswear, shorts (excluding dress Bermuda shorts, but NOT CASUAL BERMUDA SHORTS!), swimwear, board shorts, tank tops, sports jerseys, flip-flops, or hats.

Don’t bring anything bulky. Les Grands Buffets doesn’t offer storage for luggage, strollers, or any large items.

Pace yourself and don’t overload your plate. This isn’t a race to eat all the crab legs. Try a bit of everything, but don’t feel the need to “make it worth it.” It will be worth it no matter how much you eat.

Cleanse your palate. We discovered a coconut cream with passion fruit in the dessert section — “blanc manger au lait de coco coulis de passion” — that was a perfect light treat between savory courses. Sorbet would also work well.

Keep an eye on the time. The appetizer buffet closes at 3:00 PM/10:30 PM for lunch/dinner; the rotisserie and hot buffets close at 3:30 PM/11:00 PM; and the cheese and dessert buffets close at 4:00 PM/11:30 PM.

Plan a relaxing day afterward. The next day, we didn’t feel like doing much. Charlie, Nick, and I took a quick train ride to Montpellier, checked into our apartment, chilled out, and got some Lebanese takeout that night.

How to Get to Narbonne, France

You may not have heard of Narbonne, a city in southern France, but don’t worry — it’s surprisingly easy to get here. Narbonne is located in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France, and it’s conveniently located on several train lines connected to major cities with airports.

This is how long it takes to get to Narbonne by direct train:

• Toulouse, France: 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Girona, Spain: 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Barcelona, Spain: 2 hours and 10 minutes
• Marseille, France: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Another option is renting a car — and this area is perfect for a road trip! The roads in these parts of France and Spain are in great shape and easy to drive.

If you’re flying in from another continent, you’ll have the greatest selection of flights to Barcelona.

But if you’re already in Europe, play around with different locations and see what you can get! Budget airlines fly a LOT of weird routes that you might not know exist. In addition to Barcelona’s large airport, there are small airports in Girona, Toulouse, Montpellier, and Marseille. Any combination of these cities would be lovely.

Toulouse and Girona might not be the most famous cities to visit in Europe, but I happen to love them both, and they are each worth at least two days of your time. (Not to mention they’ll have far fewer crowds than Barcelona.)

Either way, Narbonne makes an easy and lovely stop in the middle of your trip.

Where to Stay in Narbonne, France

If you’re coming to Narbonne by train, I recommend securing accommodation between the train station and Les Grands Buffets, which are about a 30-minute walk apart. If you’re coming by car or staying longer to explore the town, you have more leeway.

We stayed at Maison du Cloitre Couvent des Carmes, a beautiful property in a former convent which is about a 10-minute walk from the train station and a 20-minute walk from Les Grands Buffets. We walked all the distances, but Uber exists here if you need it.

Top-Rated Places to Stay in Narbonne

Here are some places to stay within a short walk of Les Grands Buffets:

• Top-Rated Luxury Hotel in Narbonne: Le Mosaïque — Absolutely gorgeous design hotel in the heart of Narbonne’s city center.
• Top-Rated Mid-Range Hotel in Narbonne: Maison du Cloitre Couvent des Carmes — Where I stayed! Comfortable apartment-style accommodation in a quiet neighborhood.
• Top-Rated Budget Hotel in Narbonne: Hotel Le Puech — Affordable, clean, and very close to Les Grands Buffets.
• Top-Rated One-Bedroom Apartment near Les Grands Buffets: Marina — A nice apartment tucked away in a residential neighborhood close to Les Grands Buffets.
• Top-Rated Two-Bedroom Apartment near Les Grands Buffets: Kalipay — This two-bedroom apartment is a seven-minute walk from Les Grands Buffets.

Find deals on places to stay in Narbonne here.

Best eSIM for France: Holafly

I never travel without an eSIM — both for safety and peace of mind — and Holafly is my top eSIM recommendation for trips to France.

Gone are the days of hunting down a phone shop, passport in hand. With eSIMs, you install your plan in about 2 minutes at home via QR code — and it activates the moment you land.

In France, an eSIM is essential for planning a metro journey in Paris, translating a menu in Bordeaux, summoning an Uber in Nice, and booking train tickets on the fly.

Unlike most eSIMs, Holafly offers unlimited data and connects through France’s major carriers, giving you strong LTE and 5G speeds. You buy a plan for the specific number of days you’re visiting.

And one feature I especially appreciate from Holafly is Always On. Even if your data plan runs out, every Holafly eSIM automatically provides 1GB of emergency data per month in 70+ destinations. It’s a great safety net in case of delayed flights, unexpected layovers, or any moment when you desperately need to get online.

Use code HOLAKATE for 5% off your Holafly eSIM or 10% off monthly plans.

Get your Holafly France eSIM here. Visiting multiple European countries? Holafly’s Europe eSIM covers 30+ countries on a single plan.

Planning a trip around Les Grands Buffets

Charlie and I were traveling with three friends, and the five of us had slightly different itineraries overall. But here’s what Charlie and I ended up doing:

• Day One: Morning flight to Toulouse, night in Toulouse.
• Day Two: Afternoon train to Narbonne, dinner at Les Grands Buffets, night in Narbonne.
• Day Three: Morning train to Montpellier, night in Montpellier.
• Day Four: Full day and night in Montpellier.
• Day Five: Morning bus to Marseille (would have been a train if it hadn’t been a Sunday), night in Marseille.
• Day Six: Early flight home to Prague.

My friends and I planned our trip around the days of direct flights to Prague, and we were primarily interested in culinary experiences. But if you have more time and flexibility, you can turn this into a longer, more detailed itinerary.

Is there anything I would change? I would add in a visit to Carcassonne, a small town on the train line from Toulouse to Narbonne that is home to a gorgeous castle. We passed it on the train and it was so beautiful — I’d love to go see it for real!

Toulouse and Montpellier are two wonderful (and very different) cities that are excellent places to spend your time. We could easily have spent an extra day in each place.

If you want to add in more destinations, the towns of Nîmes and Arles are right between Montpellier and Marseille, and both are well worth exploring.

More time in Marseille would have been nice, especially since it was cold and rainy on our one afternoon there. Marseille is also an excellent base for day trips to places like Aix-en-Provence, Cassis, and the Calanques.

What about the Spanish route? If you land in Barcelona, you can easily explore the Costa Brava, one of my favorite regions in Spain, on the way to Narbonne.

Some places worth visiting are the city of Girona; the beach towns of Tossa de Mar and Cadaques; the cultural hub of Figueres; and you can even do a bit of hiking in the Pyrenees if you’d like.

Is Les Grands Buffets Worth It?

YES, Les Grands Buffets is worth it! Les Grands Buffets may be one of the MOST worth it experiences I’ve ever had. Literally, as I type this, my friends and I are texting each other that we need to go back someday.

I am still blown away by the extraordinary value we experienced, and all the diverse French dishes we got to try, all for just 106.50 EUR per person: 65.90 for food, 5 EUR for reservation insurance, and 35.60 EUR for wine.

I definitely want to return to Les Grands Buffets someday. And when I go back, I might just eat oysters, crab legs, foie gras, desserts, and cheeses.

To me, that would be time and money well spent.

More on Christmas Markets in France:

• Solo Female Travel in Paris: Is it Safe?
• Best Area to Stay in Paris: Neighborhoods, Hotels, and More
• The Truth About Visiting Paris in Winter
• 33 Most Famous Streets in Paris
• How to Plan a Day Trip to Paris from London
• How to Spend a Layover in Paris
• 100 Travel Tips for Paris
• The Art of the Chilled Out Trip to Paris
• A Taste of Alsace in Strasbourg and Colmar
• The Problem with Alsace Christmas Markets
• Ribeauvillé Christmas Market: France’s Best Christmas Market

Is Les Grands Buffets your kind of destination? Share away!

The post Les Grands Buffets: Worth It Or Not? A Detailed Review appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

This month was intended to be a quiet February at home — and for the most part, that was what it was. A nice, low-key period to build my energy reserves before beginning a busy year of travel.

But then the best thing happened — Lewis the cat started crawling into my lap. And it was SO good.

Destinations Visited

• Prague and Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

Highlights

A major breakthrough with Lewis. After five years of living with us, Lewis has started climbing into my lap. And I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have him show me so much love.

I sit on the couch and Lewis climbs on the shelf behind it, then starts climbing down my chest. He sticks his butt in my face (that part is not as fun) and kneads my legs for awhile, then he turns around, sits on my lap, and kneads my belly. Then sometimes he just stays, putting his paws on me and looking deep into my eyes.

This is so wild and unusual, especially since Lewis has always loved Charlie the most and he often shrinks away when I try to pet him. But now he loves me.

Best of all? He’s been doing this almost every day. All I have to do is sit on the sofa and he’ll be climbing on me in no time.

My first zabijačka! A zabijačka is a Czech pork roast that takes place in February. They butcher whole animals and serve every part of it, nose-to-tail, which is super sustainable but makes for some adventurous eating! (I had some bread topped with pig brain and scrambled eggs. It was good.)

I feel like many of you would be put off by a zabijačka, in part because they usually hang the pig carcass or head outside the event, but this is a very Czech event that teaches you so much about the culture here.

All the nonalcoholic beers! Charlie and I are on a 75-day sober period from January 1-March 16. Before Valentine’s Day this year, I had never tried a nonalcoholic beer in my life — I usually just get a sparkling water. But I tried a nonalcoholic beer at the zabijačka, and I was shocked what a difference it made.

Nonalcoholic beers makes it feel like I’m actively participating, not being the token sober person — and they don’t alter my mind at all. What an achievement. In the last few weeks, I’ve now tried six different nonalcoholic beers, from options at microbreweries to Guinness 0.0, and I’m thrilled at how good they are!

A day trip to Hradec Králové. Charlie and I were in the mood for a day trip, and people always say good things about Hradec Králové, a town just over an hour’s drive away.

It’s a nice little town! You can climb to the top of the bell tower, stroll along the river, enjoy some parks, and eat at a variety of restaurants. I had the impression that Hradec Králové values taking good care of its town. A lot of what we saw felt new and refreshed, and there was even a covered staircase that pumped in classical music!

I wouldn’t name Hradec one of the best day trips from Prague, but it’s definitely a pleasant day trip if you’ve been living here for awhile.

Our first outdoor coffee of the year. The weather warmed up JUST enough to get a few coffees while sitting outdoors — and what a pleasure it is, after the coldest winter I’ve ever experienced here.

Good times in Prague. I visited the Museum of Communism for the first time (SO MANY PARALLELS TO THE US GOVERNMENT TODAY); we saw a wonderful performance of Our Town by the Prague Shakespeare Company; we found a new restaurant we love (Sensa). I still love living here.

And I bought a sewing machine! I’m excited to start some new projects.

Challenges

There was a scary incident with Murray this month. I had bought some skincare products at the new Korean skincare shop at the Palladium Mall, and after bringing them home, I put them in my cabinet.

Except for a free sampler packet of a serum. Which I didn’t discover until I found Murray chewing the packet, the serum leaking out of the holes his teeth had punctured. (Of COURSE he was chewing it — it was shaped like a Churu.)

I immediately freaked out, especially once I googled and found out some ingredients in that serum are toxic to cats. But because it was such a small amount and he was acting normally, I decided to just keep a close eye on him.

And he was fine. I was told to wash the area around his mouth, give him water and food, and watch for drooling, vomiting, and weakness in his back legs. Well, Murray got a lot of Churu that night, served up high so he would always stand on his back legs.

Overall, Murray showed zero symptoms, and while I’m incredibly grateful, I’m also devastated that I could have seriously harmed my beloved cat. Especially when I’m so careful about keeping toxic items out of their reach.

My advice to pet owners is to put those free samples somewhere your animals can’t reach as soon as you get home. Honestly, I don’t even LIKE the free samplers, but they always give them to you, and it feels like a waste to throw them away…

Posts of the Month

• What’s it really like to travel to Madagascar?
• A Typical Day on a Star Clippers Caribbean Cruise
• Star Clippers Grenadines Review: A Royal Clipper Adventure

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I visited 13 Caribbean islands this winter. Which ones were the best? — I needed to do a post about the whole trip that fit together! I really enjoyed my time in the Caribbean, and feel like I know so much more about the region now.

What I Watched This Month

The Pitt. Are you as obsessed with The Pitt as I am? Is this the most addicting show ever?!

Anyway. Season two has arrived, less than a year after season one ended (please do more of that, TV executives!), and it dives even deeper into the awful conditions caused by the US healthcare system, and the impossible choices that healthcare workers are forced to make each day. It’s SO good.

In other news, I finished watching Better Call Saul this month, many years after the series concluded. I’ll just say one non-spoiler thing: it was SO REFRESHING to watch a show about a middle-aged man who respects his partner SO much.

He doesn’t say one bad word about her behind her back, ever. He doesn’t denigrate her publicly or privately. He doesn’t let the chores piles up for her. He respects her brilliance and sees her as an equal. And he even keeps that up as he’s pulled deeper into the criminal world.

That is so rare. And it shouldn’t be.

What I Listened To This Month

I’m listening to all 500 of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, which I am enjoying immensely. I am loving discovering new artists and listening to albums I’ve somehow missed my entire life until now!

In February, I listened to albums number 135-113. 

Favorite Discovery: This Year’s Model by Elvis Costello. I’ve never really listened to Elvis Costello before, but I really enjoyed this album, which sounds like a rock & roll throwback even for when it was released, in the late 70s. A fun album and a great listen for walking or driving.

Other Favorite Discoveries: Hejira by Joni Mitchell, Disintegration by The Cure.

Favorite Revisited Album: good kid, m.A.A.d. city by Kendrick Lamar. This is Kendrick’s first major label album, and it announced him as the unparalleled new artist.

good kid is a concept album — it tells the story of a teenage boy living in Compton, a good kid who nonetheless feels himself being pulled into crime. It takes place in a single afternoon and is told in a nonlinear way.

Kendrick grabs his mom’s van. He and his friends rob a house. His friend is killed. And he realizes he needs to break away from the cycle of violence and create a better life for himself.

This album contains what I consider the saddest hip-hop song ever written, which always brings tears to my eyes — “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.” It’s told by Kendrick’s peers, who know instinctively that they’re going to die young, but they want him to sing about them when they’re gone.

Other Favorite Revisited Albums: Late Registration by Kanye West, The Joshua Tree by U2.

Favorite Songs: “Money Trees” by Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock, “Little Red Corvette” by Prince, “Pump It Up” by Elvis Costello, “We Major” by Kanye West, Nas, and Really Doe, “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2, “Fu-Gee-La” by the Fugees, “Amelia” by Joni Mitchell, “I’m the Only Woman” by Mary J. Blige, “Lovesong” by The Cure, “B-Boy Bouillabaisse: A Year and a Day” by the Beastie Boys.

Get the playlist: I’m creating a playlist of my favorite songs from the 500 albums — maximum one per album — on Spotify. You can listen to it here.

Random Music Thoughts: As we get down into the final 100 albums, I am SO glad that I decided to do this challenge. I can’t tell you how much of a positive impact this project has had on my life. At this point, it looks like I’ll finish in June or July of this year.

*Disclaimer: QUITE A LOT of the musicians featured on this list are problematic in various ways — there’s even a murderer in the mix. I’m looking at their music solely from an influential perspective.

What I Read This Month

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (2024) — Forty years ago, Carl Fletcher, the patriarch of a wealthy Jewish family in Long Island, was kidnapped and held for ransom. While he was released mostly unharmed five years later, the family’s inability to deal with the trauma has had a debilitating effect on all three of his children.

One of his sons attempted to replicate his family’s life and lives with paralyzing anxiety. Another son, a failed screenwriter, is careening through sex and drug addiction. His daughter, a contrarian disgusted by her family’s wealth, has thrown herself into union organizing. And then a major change happens to their lives and things intensify.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK. It’s one of my favorite novels I’ve read in quite some time, and I can’t recommend it more highly. I really love deep dives into dysfunctional families, and this one is just so rich with so many well-drawn, specific characters.

There is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone (2025) — This book reveals what it’s like for the working homeless people of America. We have images in our minds of homeless people being in that position due to mental illness or addiction, but the truth is so much more bleak than that.

The actual number of homeless people in America is about six times higher than the official reported numbers. Why? They don’t count people who are temporarily crashing with family, or staying at an extended-stay motel. But a lot of people end up in these situations because there is literally no housing that they can afford or that will accept them.

This book focuses on five families living in Atlanta. They adults all work. But between bad credit, evictions on record, and the fact that Atlanta is gentrifying at a lightning-fast rate, so few landlords accept Section 8 vouchers, and there are so few housing protections in the mostly red state of Georgia, people fall through the cracks fast.

This book is the spiritual sibling of Matthew Desmond’s Evicted, a book that hits many of the same themes (and was one of my favorite books of the year when it came out). I recommend you all give it a read.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Quilting by Laura Erlich (1998) — I’m learning a bit about quilting, and though this book is pretty old-fashioned, it was nice to get all the steps laid out in order in a way that complements the modern resources I’m finding online.

Coming Up in March 2026

The month began with a three-day visit to Berlin for the ITB travel show. I go to this event every now and then, but this might have been the best year yet, with lots of great networking and fun times with my blogger buds.

Up next is Charlie’s birthday trip! We’re going to southwest France with a few of our friends!

The main event of the trip is eating at Les Grands Buffets, an incredible buffet of fine French food that is somehow ridiculously good value for money. (Just look it up on Instagram or YouTube and you’ll see why people are nuts about this place.)

We are starting our trip with a day and a night in Toulouse, followed by Les Grands Buffets in Narbonne, then two nights in Montpellier, then flying home from Marseille.

While I’ve been to France more often than almost any other country (except Italy and the UK), I have never been to France’s southwest, and I’m excited to explore a new region in a country I love. I’m also excited to Eat All Of The Things.

What are your plans for March? Share away!

The post AK Monthly Recap: February 2026 appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

If you’re looking to travel to Madagascar, boy, are you in for an adventure! Madagascar is one of the most unforgettable places I’ve ever visited.

If you want to see some of the most unusual landscapes and wildlife you’ve ever seen, meet warm and welcoming people, and experience a land only barely touched by tourism, Madagascar is the place for you.

Madagascar has been a travel priority of mine for quite some time, and while I love traveling solo, I always knew I wanted to go with a tour. Madagascar is a gnarly destination, with some of the worst roads in the world, and I knew it would be much easier letting a tour handle the logistics.

I had been looking for the right Madagascar tour for years, but it was tough finding one that included all the places I wanted to visit: the Grand Tsingy, the Avenue of the Baobabs, and Nosy Be and its surrounding islands.

Then I came across the Madagascar tour from Rock My Adventure, which included all these places, and much more — and I was sold!

Rock My Adventure is a small tour company run by Helen Davies, an Africa specialist and travel blogger. Although Helen and I have a ton of mutual friends, we had never met — but after looking through her site and reading her testimonials, I knew I would love this trip.

So how did it go? I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE IN MADAGASCAR, though there were definitely some big challenges along the way!

This is a big post. Go make yourself a cup of tea, sit back, and let me tell you about what it’s like to travel to Madagascar!

This post was published in March 2026, based on a trip taken in September 2025.

Madagascar is not for everyone. Or most travelers.

What makes you want to travel to Madagascar? Do you want to see lemurs and other cool wildlife? Do you want to swim in turquoise waters? Do you want to hike in a stone forest and see giant baobab trees?

Do you want to meet wonderful, friendly people, the most adorable kids, and experience a destination that doesn’t have a shred of overtourism?

I mean, those are easy questions. Who wouldn’t want to do those things?

Now I should probably ask some harder questions.

Are you willing to travel on the roughest roads you’ve ever experienced in your life, for the better part of a day?

Are you okay with high temperatures and zero air conditioning?

How do you feel about not having access to a real toilet for several days, and just squatting behind trees?

Are you okay with getting piggy-backed into canoes when water levels are high?

Are you emotionally prepared to see devastating poverty first-hand?

Are you okay with the fact that in the event of an emergency, medical care will be extremely limited?

And maybe you can handle all this, but would it be enjoyable for you?

Overall, I think Madagascar is a destination best suited for very seasoned travelers who have experience traveling in developing countries. It’s also essential to be flexible, easygoing, and able to deal with setbacks along the way.

And if you relish the tough, dirty, fun days of travel, you’re going to love your time in Madagascar!

Conversely, I will gently say that Madagascar is not the place for you if you need air conditioning, if you don’t do well on bumpy roads, if you value a good level of comfort, or if you like organization and predictability.

And I will say that I had so much fun on this trip because it was a group trip. When you go through tough travel moments, you can laugh together and commiserate together. It makes setbacks much easier — and even fun, on occasion.

Had I been doing this trip solo, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much. That’s the truth.

Places to Visit in Madagascar

What struck me first about Madagascar was how different it felt from mainland Africa. In fact, it reminded me more of Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia, from the pousse-pousse rickshaws to the street food stalls.

In certain parts of Madagascar, I noticed that many people have Asian facial features, especially in the capital and the central highlands.

That’s not a coincidence. The Malagasy people are descended from Austronesian seafarers of Southeast Asia, who arrived about 1000 years ago, and the Bantu peoples of East Africa. You see this Asian influence in everything from agriculture to cooking.

Here are some of the places that I visited on my Madagascar trip — though keep in mind that Madagascar is enormous, and this represents just a small part of what the island has to offer!

Antananarivo

Unfortunately I can’t speak much about the capital of Antananarivo, because there were protests that shut down the city at the time of my visit. I’ll get more into that later in this post.

Antananarivo — or Tana, as the locals call it — has some cool sights to see, including markets like Analakely Market and the Route Digue Handicraft Market, as well as Lemurs’ Park and the Queen’s Palace Viewpoint.

Outside the city is Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important cultural landmarks in the country.

While I didn’t get to explore the city much, I can tell you that Hotel Sakamanga is lovely, feels like a museum, and has a great restaurant. If you stay there, please give Manga the kitten a cuddle for me!

Antsirabe and Lake Tritiva

The city of Antsirabe is a popular destination for travelers en route from Antananarivo to destinations further south. In this city, you can enjoy beautiful French architecture and take a ride on a pousse-pousse (Madagascar’s answer to the rickshaw).

While we didn’t have much time in Antsirabe, we did get to spend time at Lake Tritiva, which is about an hour’s drive west of the city. This lake is the most enchanting shade of teal and surrounded by tall stone walls.

You can hike around the whole lake, if you’d like, or just hike down to the water’s edge. We hiked down to the edge, got plenty of photos, then made our way up again.

In Antsirabe we stayed at Couleur Café, which was a beautiful property with little cottages and had the coziest, warmest bedding (which was important as this was one of our cooler temperature destinations!).

Tsiribihina Boat Trip

Of all my experiences in Madagascar, the most special and unique one was the three-day boat trip down the Tsiribihina River.

Our boat was incredibly basic. There wasn’t even a toilet on board; we would simply pull over to shore and squat behind trees and bushes. At night, the crew put up tents and built us a simple bush toilet.

During the day, we chilled out, watched the landscape go by, visited small villages, and went swimming in a gorgeous swimming hole as lemurs leaped through the trees.

Our chefs prepared us delicious food (some of the best of our trip!), and at night, our crew sang and played music for us by the fire. Far from any light pollution, we enjoyed a sky full of brilliant stars.

This part of the trip deserves its own blog post, and I want to write more about it soon! But most of all, I feel like this was where we got to know Madagascar on a deep, intimate level. Most travelers don’t experience that.

Before our trip, we spent a night at Princesse Tsiribihina, a nice little hotel in the town of Miandrivazo, close to the start of the river journey.

Tsingy de Bemeraha National Park

If you’re interested in the landscapes of Madagascar, Tisngy de Bemeraha National Park is likely at the top of your list. This stone forest located in western Madagascar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It’s also quite an adventure to get here. The gateway town to the Tsingy is Bekopaka, which is a drive of several hours on Madagascar’s extremely rough B-roads (more on those below).

Hiking the Grand Tsingy is the big adventure here. I absolutely loved this technical hike, which requires clipping yourself in, Via Ferrata-style, and climbing onto tiny footholds. It can be a LOT if you have issues with heights, especially since you must cross a rickety bridge over a canyon near the end.

But you’re not up for that hike, there are other options. You can take a boat through the canyon and admire the scenery, and you can do a much smaller, less-intense hike in the small Tsingy. Two of the girls on our tour skipped the big hike for the boat ride and small hike and had a great time.

In Bekopaka we stayed at Le Soleil des Tsingy, which has a luxury feel and an incredible infinity pool that is THE ABSOLUTE BEST after a hot, sweaty day in the Tsingy. Just know that there’s no AC and the nights here were hotter more than anywhere else in Madagascar.

Kirindy

Kirindy Forest is a dry deciduous forest located in the west of Madagascar and makes a good stop between the Tsingy and Morondava. This is a great place to see Madagascar’s unique wildlife in their natural habitat.

I recommend spending one night and going on guided forest walks both at night and in the morning, because you’ll see different kinds of wildlife at different times of day.

At night, you might spot dwarf lemurs and mouse lemurs. The mouse lemurs are super tiny and love to poke their heads out of holes on trees!

By day, there are several kinds of lemurs you might spot, as well as cool geckos and lizards.

And if you’re lucky, you’ll spot a fossa! The fossa is a lemur-hunting predator, and it has the body of a cat and the face of a rat — it sounds strange, but I swear it’s a very cool animal. We were lucky to see a fossa during our visit.

In Kirindy we stayed at Relais du Kirindy, which had simple ensuite cabins, as well as a swimming pool. I’ve heard it’s a bit nicer than the accommodation they offer directly in the park.

Morondava

Morondava is a seaside city in western Madagascar, and it’s one of the most popular places to visit in the country. I really loved the vibe in Morondava; it felt casual, beachy, and full of life!

In town I recommend taking a pousse-pousse ride to get a feel for the place, and check out stores and markets. You can spend time on the beach (though don’t wear skimpy swimwear in public here). And there are a few fun bars if you’re in the mood for nightlife!

Morondava is about a 45-minute drive from the Avenue of the Baobabs (Allée des Baobabs), which is one of the symbols of the country. Here you can photograph the baobabs at sunset (or, with fewer crowds, at sunrise), or plant your own baobab trees. Keep in mind that this place gets crowded!

The coastline from Morondava south to Toliara is home to the Vezo people — nomadic or semi-nomadic fishers who rely on the sea for survival. Two of the girls and I took a canoe to the village of Betania, where we got to know some of the local kids and women, and had our faces painted in the Vezo style.

In Morondava I stayed at Chez Maggie Hotel & Restaurant, which might not have been the fanciest place we stayed in, but it was one of my favorites. So cozy and welcoming with friendly staff, in a nice beachside neighborhood, with air conditioning and great food.

Nosy Be

Nosy Be, an island off the northwest coast of Madagascar, is the most touristy spot in the country. Some people fly to Madagascar and only visit Nosy Be, which blows my mind! You can even find direct flights to places like Milan and Verona.

Nosy Be is a great base for diving or snorkeling, if you’re into that, or just chilling out. There is a decent nightlife scene here. And if you’re up for a massage on the beach, you’ve got plenty of options, for a fraction of what you’d pay elsewhere.

Nosy Be is surrounded by smaller islands, and these islands are popular spots for day trips. Nosy Sakatia is popular for swimming with whale sharks or giant turtles; Nosy Tanikely is a small marine national park; Nosy Komba is home to a lemur sanctuary.

Overall, I think Nosy Be is a fantastic place to end your trip to Madagascar. A few days on the beach are the perfect balm after long, rough travel days — especially if you splurge on a more upscale hotel like Maison Ylang, which I absolutely adored.

Plus, it might be easier for you to fly onward without having to fly back to Antananarivo. (I would recommend doing so if possible.)

But I don’t think Nosy Be is special enough to warrant a trip without going elsewhere in Madagascar. If you want to go to a tropical island in an affordable country, I’ll always advocate Koh Lanta in Thailand. Come to Nosy Be when you have time to explore more of Madagascar.

Now that we’ve talked a bit about the destinations, let’s get into what it’s really like to travel to Madagascar!

Get ready for the worst roads of your life.

I’m sure you’ve driven on some rough roads before. But I don’t think you’ve experienced anything as bad as the B-roads of Madagascar.

B-roads are Madagascar’s secondary roads. They are unpaved, poorly maintained, and absolutely require a 4×4 vehicle. They can be quite dangerous, especially when they become muddy and often impassable during rainy season (January to March).

You might be reading this blog post thinking that you’re a good driver, that you can handle the roads. I beg you to reconsider. If anything goes wrong, nobody is coming to help you. Our expert drivers know these roads like the back of their hand, and even they had a few popped tires along the way.

(At one point, we drove past a tourist driving down the road to Bekopaka with a terrified look on his face. “Is he crazy?” I burst out. “Yes, he’s crazy,” our driver replied with a laugh.)

B-roads make up most of the journey from Morondava to Bekopaka and the Tsingy de Bemeraha, so if you want to see the Tsingy, you’re getting there by B-roads. (There is a tiny airport in Bekopaka for private or charter flights only.)

And even the paved roads can try your patience. When traveling from Antananarivo to Antsirabe, we had to turn around and take a longer, circuitous route because the road was blocked.

And when you come to a river, the fun REALLY begins.

Surely there would be bridges along popular routes? Nope, not in Madagascar!

Instead, drivers carefully maneuver their SUVs onto a wooden raft perched on top of a few canoes. You walk onto the raft behind them. Then the raft operator fires up the loudest motor you’ve ever heard, black smoke billowing everywhere, and the raft chugs its way to the other side.

You walk off. The SUVs drive off. And you keep going until you hit the next river.

Madagascar is so much more beautiful than I expected.

Of course, I knew Madagascar was going to be beautiful in some places! But the sheer beauty of our surroundings But I didn’t think I would be stunned as soon as we left Antananarivo. Just the surrounding rice paddies were gorgeous against the mountains!

Here are some of the landscapes you can experience in Madagascar:

Spiky gray stone forests in Tsingy de Bemeraha National Park.

Idyllic tropical beaches with palm trees and turquoise water in Nosy Tanikely.

Pink sunsets behind wild fields and rice paddies in Miandrivazo.

A rocky waterfall and swimming hole in the middle of nowhere, just off the Tsiribihina River.

And of course, Madagascar’s iconic baobab trees are one of the symbols of the country. This is their most famous spot, Avenue des Baobabs near Morondava.

And the wild thing was that we only saw a tiny fraction of Madagascar! Madagascar is massive — the world’s fourth largest island — and the long drives make you feel like you’re driving it from end to end. Not so.

The people are the true highlight of Madagascar.

When I think back to my time in Madagascar, I think of the incredible people I met. The two young guys we met in a bar in Morondava after midnight, where we joined them in a dance party.

The teenagers I excitedly talked to about 2Pac, as they were wearing 2Pac t-shirts, before I realized that people all over Madagascar wear 2Pac t-shirts but have no idea who he is.

The couple at the hotel in Belo Tsiribihina, who helped when I sheepishly asked if they could help me kill a cockroach on the curtain. The woman crushed it with her fingertips. I shrieked, “Avec les mains?! Avec les mains!!” (with the hands!) and the three of us laughed hysterically, even breaking into giggles when we saw each other the next morning.

Our incredible boat crew. Brilliant, hardworking, and absolutely gifted musicians.

And the children of Madagascar are truly wonderful. When we stopped in remote villages, the kids wanted to hold our hands. Even the teenagers. We would be walking as a group and some of us would have two kids holding onto each hand!

The kids would come running when we pulled over in our bus or boat, and they would stick to us like velcro.

However, travelers have not always treated Malagasy children well, so I have some advice to share.

Do not give the kids money. Do not give the kids candy, no matter how much they say, “Bon-bon? Bon-bon?”

(Side note: when we were in the Tsingy, one of the girls offered key lime candies to everyone in our group, including our thirty-something guide Julien. He exclaimed, “Oh! A bon-bon?” and it was like he became a kid again!)

Instead, Helen got stickers for the kids — individual stickers on paper. They would hand out one sticker to each kid, only when we had enough for everyone. That’s a nice treat for kids that doesn’t rot their teeth or create a culture of begging.

Additionally, please think carefully about the photos you choose to share. I personally choose not to share clear photos of children’s faces on the internet. That’s why I shoot so often from behind.

Do I have photos of kids’ faces on my phone? Tons! Including selfies with us all squished together! Those photos are precious to me, but children deserve privacy, so I don’t share them publicly.

Speaking French will help you enormously.

If you studied French in high school and you’ve been jealous of your Spanish-speaking friends navigating through Mexico with aplomb, I promise you, in Madagascar your day has come! This is one place where you can speak French constantly!

Malagasy people speak Malagasy as their first language, and there are local dialects and regional variations, but French is the second language children are taught in school. French is often the primary language for official government or business matters in Madagascar.

While some people who work in tourism speak English, it’s nowhere near as widespread as French.

I speak French, and I found that this opened my world in Madagascar SO much. I was able to have real conversations and connect with people, and I even made local friends. The picture above was taken in the village of Maromandray, along the road to Miandrivazo, and this older gentleman wanted to tell me all about farming haricots verts.

While of course our local Malagasy guide, Stella, spoke French, I was the only other person on our tour who spoke it. That meant I was often helping my friends communicate when Stella was busy handling logistics, which made the journey smoother for all of us.

And if you don’t speak any French, it helps to learn a little bit. Of course, “bonjour” and “merci” are important. “Comment t’appelles-tu?” (though I tended to hear “Comment tu t’appelles?” more often) and “Je m’appelle” can be helpful when introducing yourself to kids.

The poverty will rip your heart out.

If you’ve traveled in the developing world, you’ve probably witnessed a good amount of poverty. I’ve seen devastating scenes in South Africa, Cambodia, Greenland, and the United States that I’ll never get out of my head.

But Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, and you should be prepared for that.

A lot of villages don’t have any kind of plumbing at all. Some have basic latrines, but many people just crouch behind trees.

A lot of people, especially children, wear torn clothing and no shoes. Schools are ultra-basic, with almost no supplies and far too many kids sitting on a dirt floor.

I noticed that nobody in Madagascar wears sunglasses on bright sunny days. Then I realized that nobody wears eyeglasses. How many people are walking around with blurry vision?

At one point on the road to Bekopaka, we stopped in a village when another vehicle in our convoy got a flat tire. This village doesn’t get foreign visitors often, and they actually introduced us to a baby girl that had been born that very morning. I am still flabbergasted that we got to experience a moment this special.

The baby girl looked like a doll, with tiny black eyelashes and perfect cupid-bow lips. I whispered that I wished her a wonderful life. But what kind of life could she expect to have?

So what can you do as a visitor to Madagascar? Don’t give money (or candy) to individuals. Instead, spend your money as close to the ground as you can.

It’s good to hire local guides and drivers. Spend money in locally owned guesthouses and restaurants. Buy souvenirs directly from locals. Tip generously. Consider giving money directly to a schoolteacher, because you don’t know what supplies they need most.

Another thing? In most countries, the idea of leaving behind your used, worn-out clothes and shoes while traveling would be seen as extremely rude. But in Madagascar, they’re often received with deep gratitude. If you’re planning on replacing your sneakers soon, consider leaving your old pair behind.

Madagascar wildlife is incredible.

If you’re looking for a country with unique wildlife, you can’t do much better than Madagascar. Madagascar separated from the African mainland about 160 million years ago, then separated from the Indian subcontinent about 90 million years ago.

Because of that, the wildlife has had quite a long time to evolve. Combine that with a variety of diverse ecosystems, and you have some of the most interesting wildlife spotting in the world.

Lemurs, of course, are the main attraction (and the one every kid has heard of!). And while lemurs are adorable, there are plenty of other cool animals you can see in Madagascar.

Going on a night safari in the Kirindy Forest, we were able to spot dwarf lemurs. They are so cute and cuddly with big bellies.

We were extremely lucky to see a fossa, an animal with a body shaped like a cat and a face shaped like a rat! They very occasionally come out at Kirindy, and this one came out when we were there!

The chameleons were probably the coolest reptile we saw. I love how their tails curl up into a spiral — and how they give the most fantastic side-eye!

It was amazing seeing the baby lemurs! The babies cling onto the front of their mother for three weeks, then the back of their mother until they’re three months old. This tiny, skinny baby was brand new.

And my favorite wildlife sighting of the trip was a cuddle puddle of lemurs, cuddling together on a tree branch on the way back from the Grand Tsingy! Look how much they love each other!!

In Nosy Sakatia, you can swim with giant sea turtles. These are the biggest sea turtles I’ve ever seen — about a meter from nose to tail.

I love an interspecies friendship, and on Nosy Komba, I found out that the lemurs and tortoises get along pretty well!

There are three tortoises living at the sanctuary on Nosy Komba. “Those two are named Pablo Escobar and George Bush,” our guide told us.

“Pablo Escobar and George Bush?!” I exclaimed. “What’s the third one named, Saddam Hussein?”

“Caroline.”

“Caroline…is that a reference?”

“No, we just like the name.”

Food in Madagascar

How is the food in Madagascar? I ate a lot of tasty food, but I wouldn’t characterize Madagascar as a foodie destination by any stretch.

Local meals are simple — a bit of fish or meat with rice, and sometimes some vegetables. While some people talk about the French influence in Madagascar, I personally didn’t notice much Frenchness in the local food.

Zebu is the local cattle in Madagascar, and when you’re eating beef in Madagascar, you’re eating zebu! We ate zebu steaks, zebu burgers, zebu and chips.

Romazava is one local dish I recommend you try. It’s basically the Malagasy version of beef stew, served over rice.

There are three restaurants I especially recommend in Madagascar. The best of the three is Mad Zebu, which is in such a random place — the town of Belo Tsiribihina, which is a stop en route from Morondava to Bekopaka.

The food at Mad Zebu is sumptuous, elegant, and beautifully plated. Despite its name, our group loved the fish and vegetarian dishes the most! The restaurant is extremely popular with tour groups passing through, and you must reserve in advance.

Another restaurant I enjoyed was Nosy Tagada in Nosy Be, around the corner from our hotel, Maison Ylang. This restaurant serves a mix of French and international fare. I loved their sesame-crusted tuna steak and their savory galettes.

And if you’re in Antananarivo, the restaurant at Hotel Sakamanga serves great food as well, in a cozy atmosphere.

Can you travel to Madagascar in luxury?

This may seem like a strange thing to talk about, but I know people who talk about India or Ecuador or Cambodia and say, “Yeah, I’d go, but I’d do it in luxury.” Can you isolate yourself from the challenges of Madagascar travel if you “do it in luxury?”

In a word, no.

We stayed at some luxury properties in Madagascar, including Soleil des Tsingy in Bekopaka. And as a longtime travel industry veteran, my impression is that Madagascar is learning, but it’s not ready for luxury travel yet.

Imagine staying at a stunning luxury property, the kind of place that gives you a towel and a welcome cocktails when you arrive. And at dinner, the server brings your main dish first and your appetizer second because the kitchen wanted to make the main dishes first.

Or you’re staying in a beautifully decorated room, but it’s oppressively hot all night long with no AC or air flow.

Or the advertised wifi only works when a maximum of two people are trying to use it at the same time.

Or you bring your laundry to be washed, the receptionist says just to leave it on the front desk, you say no, that you’re not leaving a pile of dirty underwear there, he offers to throw it in a basket, you agree, and after coming back, he politely asks if you’re single.

None of this is meant to insult the hardworking Malagasy people. I just say this to illustrate that there is more to luxury than aesthetics, and creating a luxury experience requires extensive training and investment. Madagascar will get there eventually. It’s just not there yet.

Beyond hotels, can you skip the B-roads and river crossings and just fly to Bekopaka? Only if you have the funds to charter a private flight.

Can you experience fine dining? In the capital, sure, and at Mad Zebu, but not so much otherwise.

Can you book a nicer boat on the Tsiribihina River with a toilet on board? LOL, don’t ask.

If you DO want a luxury experience in Africa, you could go almost anywhere in Southern or Eastern Africa. Tanzania, South Africa, Rwanda, Botswana, Namibia…those countries are full of luxury travel experiences that will blow you away. Just don’t expect that in Madagascar.

Is Madagascar Safe?

Is Madagascar safe to visit? This is always a tough question to answer, because most destinations are genuinely quite safe, but occasionally bad things do happen.

Overall, for the most part, Madagascar isn’t enormously dangerous for travelers.

Criminals do not target tourists in Madagascar beyond a bit of petty crime. In Antananarivo and other cities, it’s smart to keep your belongings in a secure handbag that zips, to not flash any valuables, and to only take official taxis.

Instead, safety concerns in Madagascar tend to be more about infrastructure than crime. Your biggest risks will be roads in poor condition, long overland journeys, and limited medical care.

You should plan your trip assuming that you’ll always be a long, difficult journey from a clinic or even a pharmacy. I got some prescriptions from my doctor in advance, which I talk about further down in this post.

What about traveling solo? Again, I always knew that I wanted to travel Madagascar as part of a group, not solo, and that’s why I chose Rock My Adventure’s Madagascar tour.

The only time I faced any negative male attention was the one time that I briefly walked alone at night in Morondava, on a busy street with lots of hotels and restaurants. Some young men in a group stared at me and catcalled.

It wasn’t threatening, but it was uncomfortable, and I wouldn’t walk alone at night in a desolate area in Madagascar.

Overall, most travelers will enjoy Madagascar without incident. However, I happened to be in Madagascar during an exceptional time: a period of unrest that resulted in a military coup. I’ll share more about that in the next section.

My Unusual Experience: Protests in Antananarivo

There’s one very big thing that happened during my time in Madagascar: there were country-wide protests in late September and early October 2025. Our group flew from Morondava to Antananarivo on September 25, and our hotel happened to be in the epicenter of the protests.

Young adults in Madagascar were protesting the power cuts, water shortages, and a corrupt government. I agree fully with the protestors; Malagasy people have so little and deserve better.

The protests turned violent. As we pulled up to our hotel, people were running everywhere and pushing a dumpster toward us in the street. The hotel staff grabbed us and rushed us inside.

We went into the courtyard and Helen made the decision that we would eat at the hotel that night instead of going out.

An hour or so later, the police began tear gassing the neighborhood, which wafted into our area and was painful to our eyes and throat. The hotel staff handed out face masks and we headed inside, sealing ourselves away.

We were supposed to fly to Nosy Be the next day, but the flight was cancelled, so we headed out of town to a small local guesthouse in a safe location in a gated community. The family that ran the guesthouse treated us with SUCH kindness.

By then, there was a curfew in Antananarivo and in other cities in Madagascar. Supermarkets and attractions were closed; we sneaked into a convenience store that kept its back door open to buy some provisions. There was pretty much nothing to do other than hang out and wait.

Around this time, the US government updated Madagascar’s travel advisory to “Level 3: Reconsider Travel,” and the UK and several other countries made similar updates.

Then our flight the NEXT day was cancelled, too. The airport was canceling pretty much every domestic flight after 1 PM.

Eventually, thanks to Helen’s tenacity at the airport counter, she got us on another flight to Nosy Be after two extra days in Antananarivo. Unfortunately, a few of our tour members chose not to continue with us, lest they miss their flights home.

I want to be clear — this was not a massive hardship. At times it was scary, and annoying, but ultimately, it was an inconvenience.

And it didn’t last forever. Shortly after we got to Nosy Be, the president of Madagascar was evacuated from the country and the military took over leadership. Yes, this was a coup. My Malagasy friends have been pleased with this result.

After reorganizing some flights, I was able to fly direct to Réunion and back to Europe from there. Madagascar is now back to normal, and is just as safe for travelers as it was at the beginning of our trip.

Overall, situations like these are rare, but a risk you take when traveling in developing countries with limited infrastructure like Madagascar. It’s a risk I was willing to take in exchange for experiencing a magical place.

I want to emphasize that the trip was absolutely brilliant otherwise and I’m so glad we had Helen to navigate us through a complicated and unpredictable situation.

One last thing is that I recommend registering with STEP — the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program — if you’re an American, or your country’s program that notifies the embassy that you’re there. They will email you updates about the situation if anything like this happens during your trip.

Theoretically, STEP is also supposed to help you get evacuated if necessary. But as we saw after the US and Israel started bombing Iran in February 2026, trapping Americans in the Middle East with no way to escape, this may not happen at all.

You need to book Madagascar Airlines flights early.

When traveling long distances in Madagascar, it’s best to travel by flight. Even if you’re the kind of traveler who likes the rhythms of overland travel and getting to see the landscapes, I promise you, you will want to fly.

Take the journey from Antananarivo to Morondava. It doesn’t look very far on the map, but the fastest bus journey takes about 12.5 hours. (One of my Malagasy friends told me he regularly takes the 24-hour bus. YIKES.) You could avoid that by taking a 90-minute flight.

The problem is that internal flights are limited and they book out EXTREMELY early. Helen had us book our flights early for this reason. Our trip was in September, and she notified us in January that the flights had been released.

A few months ago in a Facebook group, I heard someone lamenting about the lack of flights available last-minute and whether it would be worth it to just go to Nosy Be and nowhere else in Madagascar. Well, you already know how I feel about that!

My advice to you: start planning your Madagascar trip at least a few months in advance and book your internal flights right away. This is not a destination that you can wing at the last minute.

I would not bring kids to Madagascar.

Now, this might be one of the more controversial things about this post — especially considering that two of my travel blogger colleagues each brought their kids to Madagascar within a month of my visit.

I’m not a parent, but I enthusiastically advocate for taking your children to unusual, nontraditional destinations.

However, when you travel anywhere, I think it’s wise to hope for the best-case scenario but plan for the worst-case scenario. That includes planning for illness and injury.

Getting sick or injured in Madagascar means traveling to a poor quality medical clinic, especially if you’re in a rural area. It could mean a very long overland journey over B-roads while dealing with that illness or injury. Medevac helicopters are not common in Madagascar.

Would I accept that risk for me, as an adult? Of course. That’s a risk you take when you travel to remote places.

But would I want to subject a child to that risk? No, I would not be comfortable with that.

And let me be clear — I think Africa is a great place to travel with kids. But I would personally choose an African country with better infrastructure and healthcare facilities, like South Africa, Kenya, or Botswana.

Of course, the chances that you’ll actually have an emergency are slim, but when kids are involved, it’s just as important to plan for the worst as it is to hope for the best.

Traveling Madagascar with Rock My Adventure

I am SO glad that I traveled to Madagascar with Rock My Adventure! This Madagascar trip is one of the best trips I’ve ever taken.

What I loved about this trip was that it was a mix of adventurous days with nice, comfy accommodation, excluding the days we spent camping (and every hotel where we stayed had hot water!).

Our itinerary included a lot of activities, but wasn’t too fast and exhausting, like many tours can be. Every Malagasy guide and driver we had was wonderful, especially Stella, who traveled with us for most of the trip.

Our group was mostly women, from 30-somethings through 60-somethings, from the US, Canada, and the UK.

Rock My Adventure is a small travel company run by one person, Helen Davies. She has deep relationships with local fixers and people on the ground, putting money into local pockets, which is why the trips are so good.

For that reason, there aren’t tons and tons of trip departures like the big companies. The Rock My Adventure Madagascar trip is run once per year.

Would I do more Rock My Adventure trips? Hell yeah! In fact, I’ve already signed up for my next Rock My Adventure trip — Botswana and Victoria Falls, and I’m bringing my husband this time!

And don’t forget, you can get £100 off any Rock My Adventure tour with the code KATE100!

Best Time to Visit Madagascar

When is the best time of year to visit Madagascar? It’s important that you time your trip for the dry season, which is approximately from May to October.

Some destinations can be worth it in the shoulder season, or even off-season. I happen to love Paris in the winter, which is very much low season. I love Koh Lanta in November, the shoulder season, when the quick rainshowers lead to stunning sunsets.

But Madagascar is not like either of those. If you travel in rainy season, or even shoulder season, the B-roads could turn into mud and might not be passable.

Considering the rough experience you’ll have on the B-roads during the dry season, trust me, you don’t want to risk it being any worse.

A trip to Madagascar is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Give yourself the best chance by planning it during the high season. I promise it won’t be that touristy.

Best eSIM for Madagascar: Holafly

I never travel without an eSIM — both for safety and peace of mind — and Holafly is my top eSIM recommendation for trips to Madagascar.

Gone are the days of hunting down a phone shop, passport in hand. With eSIMs, you install your plan in about 2 minutes at home via QR code — and it activates the moment you land.

In Madagascar, an eSIM is essential for calling a taxi in Antananarivo, translating a menu in Morondava, finding a money change office in Nosy Be, and booking flights on the fly.

Unlike most eSIMs, Holafly offers unlimited data and connects through Madagascar’s major carriers, giving you strong LTE and 5G speeds. You buy a plan for the specific number of days you’re visiting.

And one feature I especially appreciate from Holafly is Always On. Even if your data plan runs out, every Holafly eSIM automatically provides 1GB of emergency data per month in 70+ destinations. It’s a great safety net in case of delayed flights, unexpected layovers, or any moment when you desperately need to get online.

Use code HOLAKATE for 5% off your Holafly eSIM or 10% off monthly plans.

Get your Holafly Madagascar eSIM here. Visiting multiple African countries? Holafly’s Africa eSIM covers 25+ countries on a single plan.

Be sure to visit a travel doctor before you travel to Madagascar.

Visiting a travel doctor is a good idea before traveling to a developing country or a country where malaria is present. Madagascar falls into both categories.

Your regular doctor does not have the experience for this. A travel doctor has detailed up-to-date information on every country in the world and how to protect yourself.

I visited the travel doctor in Prague, and after a discussion, we decided that I would get vaccinated for dengue fever, rabies, typhoid, and hepatitis A. I currently have active vaccines for yellow fever and hepatitis B (good for life) and tetanus (good for 10 years).

Dengue fever is a fairly new vaccine, and it’s only available in the EU, UK, and a few countries in Latin America and Asia at this time.

We also decided that I would take antimalarials, and he prescribed me malarone. (Doxycycline is another antimalarial, but it makes you super sensitive to sun. I burn terribly when I take it.)

On top of that, we talked about how to prevent mosquito bites: using a mosquito repellent with 50% DEET, and covering up at dawn and dusk.

Separately from the travel doctor, I contacted my GP, told her I would be traveling in very remote areas with no healthcare facilities, and asked for prescription medication in case I got a UTI or severe food poisoning. She prescribed me both.

What to Pack for Madagascar

Pocket-sized wet wipes. Yes, you’ll be peeing behind trees, and perhaps pooping, too. Wipes are essential. I found the pocket-sized versions to be best, as you can carry them discreetly in your pocket rather than lugging a giant package. Keep in mind that no wipes are flushable, even if they say they are.

Pocket-sized hand sanitizer. Village kids love to hold your hands, but I think we all know that kids are constantly sick! Use the sanitizer afterward.

Mosquito repellent with 50% DEET. Extra-strong mosquito repellent is beyond essential for Madagascar, and a critical part of keeping yourself safe from malaria. Never go out without it.

Electrical tape. This is the one thing I didn’t bring that I wish I had. Electrical tape can fix anything, and it would have been very useful when my mosquito net in Kirindy didn’t close all the way.

Head lamp. I found my head lamp extremely useful when doing a night walk in the Kirindy Forest, but they’re also useful if there’s a power outage.

Water bottle. The water is not safe to drink in Madagascar, but it makes more sense to buy a big bottle of water and just refill your personal water bottle when you need it. Alternatively, you can use a LifeStraw to purify local water before you drink it.

Sun protection. The sun is quite strong in Madagascar, and in addition to reef-safe sunscreen (important for Nosy Be and anywhere you might swim), be sure to bring a wide-brimmed hat and a light long-sleeved shirt. There isn’t much shade at the Tsingy, so you’ll need these.

Sarong. A sarong has a million uses, but in Madagascar, it can be a way to connect with others. A lot of women wear sarongs tied around their middle, and if you tie your sarong like them, they’ll like that.

Extra prescription medication for emergencies. Parts of Madagascar are so rural, you won’t be able to reach a clinic or even a pharmacy. I had my doctor prescribe medication for a UTI and medication for food poisoning, just in case. I didn’t need either, but I was glad I had them!

Pepto-bismol tablets. Easy to travel with, and ideal for settling upset stomachs. I brought around 20 tablets and wish I had brought more, in part because I shared them with friends who weren’t feeling well.

Laundry detergent sheets. While many hotels provide laundry service, I find it helpful to wash undies in the sink every now and then. I also brought a sink stopper, which is helpful when doing a full sinkful of laundry but not necessary if you’re only washing a few small things.

Do you need to pack a mosquito net for Madagascar? Not for most trips. Mosquito nets are part of life in Madagascar and they’re on every bed. However, one of the girls on our tour brought a pop-up mosquito net for our two nights of wild camping, and it was much cooler for her than it was for us in the regular tents.

Consider adding on Réunion or Mauritius.

Madagascar is so far from everywhere! If you’re traveling this far, why not add on a little side excursion?

Réunion and Mauritius are two islands, each around the size of Rhode Island, and located within a two-hour flight of Madagascar. I decided to add a week of solo travel split between the two islands.

Personally, Mauritius didn’t do much for me, though I see why some people like it. I did appreciate seeing the Hindu temples, a few waterfalls, and the big market in Port Louis, Mauritius’s capital. If you’re looking for a beach resort experience, though, Mauritius is the island for you!

But Réunion blew my mind. Such a gorgeous and idyllic island, located in the middle of nowhere, with stunning volcanic scenery, delicious food, and perhaps the most enjoyable driving of my life. Come here if you love adventure, flowers, and wild landscapes (and it helps enormously if you speak French).

I’ve been talking up Réunion ever since, and I would love to come back for longer.

Both islands have direct flights to Madagascar, and onward to Europe, which makes them a good stopover in either direction.

Is Madagascar worth it?

Madagascar thrilled me, challenged me, brought me back to my roots, and made me appreciate the life I have. I absolutely loved my time in Madagascar — excluding the worrisome moments during the unrest — and I am so glad I visited.

Madagascar is not the place to go for a casual travel experience. Go in knowing that it’s going to test you physically, mentally, and emotionally.

But if you’re okay with a bit of discomfort, Madagascar will reward you with magnificent natural beauty, heartwarming kindness, and a glimpse of a world far from anything you’ve ever experienced.

If you’ve read this post and think Madagascar might be for you, you should go. It’s worth it.

More on Africa:

• Solo Female Travel in South Africa: Is it Safe?
• The Ultimate South Africa Road Trip Itinerary
• Best Offbeat Things to Do in Cape Town
• Guide to Stellenbosch, South Africa’s Best Wine Town
• How to Rock a Trip to Johannesburg
• Visiting South Africa in the Winter: Worth It or Not?
• This Is Why They Call It Magical Kenya

More on what it’s like to travel here:

• What’s it like to travel to Greenland?
• What’s it like to travel to Curaçao?
• What’s it like to travel to Albania?
• What’s it like to travel to Antarctica?
• What’s it like to travel to Armenia?
• What’s it like to travel to Guyana?
• What’s it like to travel to Lebanon?
• What’s it like to travel to Japan?
• What’s it like to travel to Antigua and Barbuda?

Have you been to Madagascar? Share away!

The post What’s it really like to travel to Madagascar? appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

What does a typical day look like when you’re sailing the Caribbean on a gorgeous tall ship? Sailing on a Star Clippers cruise could not be more different than a day on one of those overbloated cruise ships!

So I decided to write about what an actual day is like aboard the Royal Clipper.

There were so many great days — the day we spent in Tobago Cays, sailing on a catamaran and having a beach barbecue. The day we spent in Martinique, exploring Fort-de-France and swimming off the marina platform.

But my absolute favorite day was spent across two islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. From exploring the city of Kingstown to climbing the mast to basking on the beach in Bequia to having an onboard pirate party, it was the perfect mix of adventure and fun!

Star Clippers hosted me and Charlie on the Royal Clipper’s weeklong Grenadines itinerary, and we loved it so much, we’re already thinking about our next trip.

If you’re curious about what it’s like to sail on a small ship in the Caribbean, you can see my detailed review of the Royal Clipper and Grenadines itinerary here. It’s well worth a read.

Let me tell you about a perfect day aboard the Royal Clipper!

This post was published in February 2026 and was based on a December 2025 cruise.

7:00 AM: Wake Up

Charlie and I have been early to bed, early to rise throughout this trip. There’s something about the ocean waves that makes you want to rise with the sun.

The schedule for the following day is delivered to our cabin the night before, with the full program in English, German, and French. We’re spending today in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Our morning stop is Kingstown on the island of St. Vincent; in the afternoon, we’re anchoring in Admiralty Bay on the island of Bequia. And tonight is pirate night — something we had no idea we had to prepare for!

I throw on my outfit for the day — my black Camellia dress, cinched with my black Isabel Marant belt, along with some Birkenstocks — and head down to breakfast.

7:30 AM: Breakfast

The dining room bell starts clanging at 7:30 on the dot, letting us know it’s time to eat! It’s easy to overindulge on a cruise, especially one with food this good, so I make an effort to eat a healthy breakfast.

I head up to the egg station and say good morning to Chef Mark from the Philippines. He makes me a vegetable omelet to start the day off right.

8:30 AM: Into the Tender

Today, like most days, the Royal Clipper is anchored off-shore. To get from the ship to shore, we climb down the gangway and hop into the tender, which brings us to the cruise ship terminal.

Charlie and I are two of the first people out today. Along the way, our friend Sally from the UK asks me about my Insta360 camera, as people often do, so I take it out and take a shot of the three of us in the tender. This camera is the best for selfies!

8:45 AM: Kingstown

So what do you do in Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent and the Grenadines? There are two main attractions: Fort Charlotte, with its panoramic views of the harbor, and the botanical gardens, which are located up in the hills.

We learned the night before that Fort Charlotte is currently closed for refurbishment, so we decide to just take a walk around the city.

Our first stop is a local bank to hit up the ATM. St. Vincent uses the East Caribbean dollar, along with six other Caribbean nations and territories, so we take out enough money to use in St. Lucia and Dominica too. What we don’t expect to see is Santa and anelf hanging out in the lobby!

From there we walk around the streets, taking in Heroes’ Square and its statue, as well as several small markets. It’s interesting to walk around and get a glimpse of Vincy life.

We stop by a street seller with bandanas and Charlie has immediately found his pirate night costume.

“What color do you think?” he asks. “Red?”

“No,” I say. “It’s too…”

“Too cowboy,” we say simultaneously.

“Grab the black one!” I suggest. “That’s piratey.”

Later, a truck drives down the street blasting Caribbean-style Christmas music, and dancing a float behind it are the same Santa and elf we saw in the bank!

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new country is to check out the local supermarket. We head into a grocery store and walk out with two unusual sodas: sparkling dragonfruit and pineapple!

And that’s about enough Kingstown for us. On the way back, we run into a couple we dined with one night on the ship. “How is it?” they ask. We shrug. “Not the most exciting place, but definitely worth a walk around.”

10:00 AM: Coffee at Carib-Beans

We notice a little coffee shop in the Kingstown ferry terminal called Carib-Beans, so we decide to drop in. The coffeeshop is painted in pastel shades and festooned with houseplants and local art.

We order a pair of iced lattes, which come served in clear glass mugs.

And from the first sip, we’re smitten. This coffee is fantastic! A month later, we reminisce and agree that this was the best coffee we had during our four weeks in the Caribbean.

Carib-Beans has additional locations at the airport and at the Paradise Beach Hotel. Don’t miss them if you’re in Kingstown!

10:30 AM: Back to the Royal Clipper

One nice thing about Star Clippers is that we don’t have to come back at a specific time — the tenders run every 15-30 minutes, depending on the location. From the coffee shop, we simply walk through the cruise terminal and wait a few minutes for the tender to arrive.

While waiting, we spot the ferry taking locals from Kingstown to Bequia. We’ll be following that same route in a few hours!

Now, let’s hope that it’s time for mast climbing.

10:45 AM: Mast climbing!

As soon we we’re back on board, we charge up to the Sun Deck and see that mast climbing is in full swing! There is a guest halfway up the ladder, and one sports guy is at the bottom with a clipboard and another is in the crow’s nest welcoming people up.

Charlie and I give our names to Tino, the sports guy from Montenegro, and he tells us to go put on closed toe shoes. Down in the cabin, I put on my trail runners and swap my dress for a merino wool tank top and bike shorts.

Back on deck, the last people climb down from the nest. Tino gets us into harnesses and gives us mesh backpacks to carry our cameras up safely.

Our friend Sally from the tender earlier has zero interest in climbing the mast, but she’s keen to watch, and she kindly offers to take photos of us.

And then we make it to the top!

Now, I know I talk about my Insta360 camera a lot, but LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS. Especially look at the last two photos next to each other. The one on the left was taken with the Insta360; the one on the right was taken with an iPhone.

Sure, the iPhone has better resolution. But the kinds of photos you can get on the Insta360 are SO much better. I love this camera and it’s become a fixture on my travels.

After around 10 minutes in the crow’s nest, we head back how to climb down safely, and soon we’re back on the Sun Deck.

Once we’re finished, I’m delighted over how it was even less scary than I thought it would be. Just fun!

11:30 AM: Widow’s Nest

At the front of the ship is the “widow’s nest” — two triangular pieces of netting that up to five people can lounge in on each side. Our friends Erika and Norm from the US are hanging out here, and we decide to give it a try.

The views are great — this is the only place on board where you can see the figurehead, the wooden woman carved onto the ship — but the nest isn’t that comfortable to lounge in. It’s not like a comfy catamaran net; these knots are huge and really dig into you!

The verdict? Do it once, for about 30 seconds, and take photos. That’s all you need!

12:00 PM: Lunch

Today’s buffet lunch is Italian-themed. I grab some chicken piccata, arancini, marinated artichokes, and prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe, along with a salad. There’s also a pasta station dishing up carbonara and ragu.

But of course, my favorite part of the lunch buffet is the dessert selection, and today I’m fervently hoping that they have tiramisu.

Indeed, there is tiramisu. But the best dessert of all that day is called a “cappuccino” and it’s a coffee-flavored mousse served in a little coffee cup. It is SENSATIONAL.

12:30 PM: Set Sail for Bequia

Since we’re visiting two different ports today, the ship is setting sail at midday. Our next destination is Admiralty Bay, Bequia.

Many people hang out on the Sun Deck to watch the sails go up, but since we’re in the middle of lunch, we’ll catch it next time.

2:30 PM: Into the Tender

We have two options for our destination today, the crew tells us: we can take the tender to Port Elizabeth, the main town on Bequia, or we can take it to Princess Margaret Beach.

Hmm. Elizabeth vs. Margaret. Is it even a question?

Obviously we’re going to Princess Margaret Beach! Charlie and I hop in the beach-bound tender, along with four of our friends, and we admire the colorful wooden homes tucked into the hills as the tender pulls up to the pier.

We land right in front of Jack’s Beach Bar, and I’m already wondering — would I be a regular here if I lived in one of those stunning clifftop homes?

2:45 PM: Princess Margaret Beach

Now THIS is what I’ve been waiting for. Princess Margaret Beach might be pretty close to perfect. Sure, the sand is golden and soft; sure, the sea is calm and vibrant, ranging from cobalt to aquamarine.

But what sets this beach apart most is that it’s edged with big, lush trees, whose branches actually provide a good amount of shade. It’s so rare to find shade that good on a Caribbean beach!

Add in some little rum punch stands and views of the wooden bungalows perched above cliffs, and you’ve got bliss.

Charlie and I befriended two of the younger couples on board and have been calling ourselves “the young’uns.” (Most people on the Royal Clipper are around 55-75. Wonderful people, for sure, but it’s definitely nice to spend time with people closer to your age!)

Erika and Norm are from the US and close to Charlie’s age; Cat and Ben are from the UK, the youngest ones on board at around 30, and are on their honeymoon!

We float in the water; we hang out on shore; we drink some extremely potent rum punches from a local seller. I can’t think of a better way to honor Princess Margaret than day drinking on a beach name after her.

As the sun peeks out from behind the clouds again, I grab my cameras and take tons of photos and videos. Soon I end up chatting with a local man sitting underneath the trees. He worked in the UK for most of his adult life, but is now retired and back to living on Bequia year-round.

“Man, you’ve got it figured out,” I tell him. “Make your money in the UK, then come back to paradise.”

He laughs and agrees.

4:30 PM: Back to the Royal Clipper

Boy, is it hard to leave Bequia! This is one destination where I’d love to come back for at least a few days. Maybe even a week. While we didn’t get to see a ton of it, this island just has the most wonderful vibe.

We board the tender and zip back to the Royal Clipper. Back on board, I shower before our next activity.

5:30 PM: Engine Room Visit

A few days earlier, Captain Sergey told us that he doesn’t understand why everyone always wants to visit the engine room — but apparently Star Clippers passengers LOVE this. And I’m one of them! I love a peek behind the curtain.

Chief Engineer Hitesh from India gives us a talk about the ship and how it works. Apparently we’ve been using wind power for 40% of our trip.

And then we head below deck to walk through the engine room itself. No photos are permitted, but my main takeaway is just how loud it is down here, and how tough it must be to work there. I leave with an even deeper appreciation for our hardworking crew.

6:00 PM: Maritime Story Time with Captain Sergey

After the post-engine room discussion, I excuse myself and head into the Piano Bar for Maritime Story Time with Captain Sergey from Estonia. I don’t know what to expect — stories of pirates? Crazy guest antics that make Below Deck look like The Love Boat?

No. This time he’s going to talk to us about The Maltese Falcon — one of the most modern, luxurious sailing vessels in the world.

This ship could be a bond villain’s lair. It has that vibe. And pretty much everyone in the room is drooling as Captain Sergey shows us photos of the ship from every angle.

7:00 PM: Set Sail for Martinique

Tonight is pirate night! We didn’t bring any costumes, so I just throw on my black Camellia dress and wind my pink and black sarong around my head. That’s quite piratey! The ship brought out plenty of props for us to play with.

Charlie wears his flashiest shirt, with swirls of blue and brown, and tops his head with the black bandana he bought in Kingstown.

And while I was downstairs, Charlie was teaching one of the bartenders how to make his favorite cocktail: the almond cigar.

I need to spotlight this couple from the UK, whom we dined with a few times — not only did they bring awesome pirate costumes, they had the best style out of everyone on board.

Every day, he wore a cool patterned shirt. Every day, she wore a funky pair of sunglasses. And they were always the first ones on the dance floor!

7:30 PM: Dinner

When it comes to dinner, you can be seated with other guests or put together a table of your own choosing. Tonight we’re sharing a table with our four friends, the young’uns.

At dinner, you’re offered the choice of two appetizers, one soup, one sorbet, four main dishes, one salad, one cheese plate, and three desserts. Additionally, you can always order a steak frites, pasta dish, or bowl of consommé.

I’ve never seen anyone ask for one of EVERYTHING, but I’m sure it’s happened! Most people have three or four courses.

This evening, I choose:

For my appetizer, crab balls. Little fried balls of crabmeat served in a garlic dill sauce. Very nice.

I usually choose either the soup or sorbet for the second choice, and tonight I chose pumpkin ginger soup.

For the main course, rack of lamb. I’m not the biggest lamb fan in general, but I wanted to try it on board, and it was delicious and perfectly cooked. (Charlie, a huge lamb fan, asks for a second plate and our server obliges!)

And for dessert, dark chocolate woven baskets filled with strawberry mousse and topped with strawberries.

10:00 PM: Pirate Party

It’s party time! By the time we make it up to the Tropical Bar, the games are in full swing, led by cruise director Monja from Italy and the sports guys, Jakub and Tino.

People are throwing darts when we walk in. Charlie and I try our hand, and nope — turns out we’re really bad at darts!

We head to the bar for a drink. Every day, there’s a cocktail of the day available for €7 rather than the usual €8 — usually a basic cocktail like a Mai Tai or a Tequila Sunrise.

Today it’s the Singapore Sling, something that I’ve never actually tried. I take a sip. Apparently it’s made with gin and cherry liqueur. There’s a reason I’ve never had one. Time for a piña colada!

The games continue. There’s a ring toss competition, a “guess the weight” contest, and soon four men line up to see who can drink a beer through the straw the fastest. We laugh and I think to myself, surely I did this in college at some point.

11:00 PM: Off to Bed

For being one of the younger people on board, I’m not lasting very long into the evenings! Charlie and I say our goodnights and head back to our cabin.

It was a very good day — one of many days on the Royal Clipper. And the fun continues! Tomorrow, we have a busy day planned in Martinique.

More on this cruise:

• Star Clippers Grenadines Review: A Royal Clipper Adventure

More on the Caribbean:

• Puerto Rico Seriously Has it All
• What’s it like to travel to Curaçao?
• A Weekend in St. Croix, USVI
• Can Americans go to Cuba? Yes, plus what it’s like
• 18 Cool Places to Visit in Cuba
• What’s it like to travel to Antigua and Barbuda?
• Rocking out on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua
• Caye Caulker, Belize: A Good Place to Go Slow

Does Star Clippers look like your kind of cruise? Share away!

The post A Typical Day on a Star Clippers Caribbean Cruise appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

Imagine going on a cruise…and finding it full of people who hate cruises. It’s a paradox, isn’t it? And yet that’s exactly what I experienced on my first cruise with Star Clippers, a weeklong Caribbean adventure aboard the Royal Clipper.

It began on embarkation day in Barbados. We were standing on the Sun Deck, gazing up at the Royal Clipper’s five towering masts, when one of our fellow passengers nodded toward two massive cruise ships in the harbor. “Aren’t you glad we’re not on one of those?”

“We are SO glad we’re not on one of those!” I laughed.

This moment repeated itself again and again throughout the trip. Even when a medium-sized cruise ship popped up somewhere, someone would inevitably point to it and say, “Boy, am I glad I’m on this ship instead.”

I’ve done one large cruise before, and while I had fun, I knew the whole time that large ship cruising is not my thing. But I’ve done two small ship cruises before — to Antarctica in 2018 and to Eastern Canada in 2019 — and I learned that small ship cruising is VERY much my thing.

Cruising on small ships means you’re able to visit tough-to-reach places. You’re unlikely to experience crowds anywhere. It’s much easier to get to know your fellow passengers, and the atmosphere is much quieter and more intimate.

For years, I’ve been wanting to try a small ship cruise in the Caribbean, especially one that visits tiny, hard-to-reach islands inaccessible to big cruise ships. And in my research I found Star Clippers, with their three stunning tall ships and their Grenadines itinerary.

I reached out to Star Clippers and they generously offered to host me and Charlie on their weeklong cruise. I gave them plenty of feedback on our experience, and you’ll find that honesty reflected in this detailed review.

This post was published in February 2026, and our trip took place in December 2025.

Sailing on the Royal Clipper

What I soon learned was that the Royal Clipper is the main character of the trip. THIS is why people book these trips! They are in love with the ship and how it makes you feel.

In 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records certified the Royal Clipper as the world’s largest square rigger in service.

The Royal Clipper is the largest of Star Clippers’ three ships, with a capacity of 230 passengers; we had 199 passengers on our trip.

And that small size makes a big difference. You don’t have to deal with some of the drawbacks of large ship cruises — fighting for deck chairs, endless corridors, crowded excursions led by umbrella-waving guides.

One important thing to know is that the Royal Clipper is not designed for the same level of accessibility as large cruise ships. Many disabled travelers choose large cruises for their elevators, wide corridors, and step-free access throughout the ship, but the Royal Clipper is not built that way.

There are no elevators on board, and many of the staircases are steep. Some of the doorways involve holding two doors open in different directions while stepping over a threshold step, which even I found challenging.

Additionally, many of the doors are heavy (I caught my finger in the bathroom door one night), and going ashore requires walking down gangway steps and climbing into a tender rather than stepping or rolling onto a pier.

For that reason, I don’t recommend cruising with Star Clippers if you have mobility challenges. The ship is beautiful and the experience is unique, but accessibility is not its strong point.

That said, if you ARE comfortable with stairs, uneven surfaces, and an active ship environment, the Royal Clipper offers experiences you will never in a million years find on a large cruise ship.

Here are a few of the ways you can enjoy this tall ship environment.

Mast Climbing

One special thing that Star Clippers offers is a chance to climb the mast to the crow’s nest. (Me: “There aren’t…laws against this?”) As soon as I learned this was a thing, I knew I had to take part!

Mast climbing is usually offered two times during the journey; it was offered four times on ours, only when the ship was anchored. Around five people go up at a time. You put your camera in a sealed bag on your back, put on a harness, clip yourself in, and climb the rope ladder to the crow’s nest.

From the crow’s nest, you have panoramic views of the ship and whatever islands are in the distance. Once you’re up there, you can take your camera out and take as many photos as you’d like before going down again.

Was this scary? There are times that I don’t love heights, but I didn’t think this was scary at all! My harness was secure and the experience felt well-managed. Overall, the exhilaration was well worth it.

(Another thing: a lot of photos in this post were taken with my Insta360 camera. I absolutely LOVE traveling with this camera, but I think it’s at its very best on ships and boats. You can get so much more out of a selfie with a 360 camera than your phone.)

Swimming Off the Ship

But my absolute favorite activity onboard was swimming off the marina platform in the back of the ship. The sports team opens the platform on occasion while the ship is anchored.

The crew puts out a rope attached to several floating rafts, and you can dive in the water, take a nice swim, or just lie on the rafts and float away. Either way, the highlight is getting to take in views of the Royal Clipper as you swim.

Just being in the sea and looking upward at that spectacular ship — the masts, the lines, the gold lettering on the bright blue — is an experience. You belong on that ship.

I had two swim sessions — one in Martinique and one in St. Lucia — and they were SO full of joy. Especially in St. Lucia, because we had a magical setting with panoramic views of the Pitons.

If you’re comfortable swimming in deep water, I highly recommend you make time for at least one swim off the Royal Clipper.

Photo Safari

And on the final day of your sailing, if conditions are good, you’ll get to take part in the photo safari! The crew gathers people into the tenders and you slowly circle the Royal Clipper as it raises the sails.

Our photo safari took place in Soufrière, St. Lucia, with the Pitons rising dramatically in the background. This was the most beautiful place we visited over the past week, and getting to photograph the most beautiful ship against such an iconic backdrop, bathed in golden Caribbean light, felt like a gift.

Everyone on board was in a great mood, and it was the perfect way to commemorate our beautiful week sailing through the Caribbean. I brought my big Sony camera, my iPhone, my Insta360 camera, and my Osmo Pocket 3 video camera, and I used them all nonstop.

Exploring the Royal Clipper

Royal Clipper Cabins

One big difference from a traditional mega ship is that cabins on the Royal Clipper are on the smaller side, and only a few have balconies. I know a lot of people are serious about their balconies, to the point that they wouldn’t go on a cruise without one, but again, the Royal Clipper isn’t a typical kind of cruise.

Our Category 2 cabin had a double bed with one side against the wall, a chair, and a small desk. There was ample storage space for our suitcases under the bed, and we had enough drawers for all our clothing. Housekeeping is excellent, and cabin stewards clean your cabin twice per day.

Practical tip: be careful with the reading lamps above the bed. They can be opened and adjusted into different positions, but the default position is right where you put your head, and cabin stewards reset them into this position after cleaning your cabin. I hit my head on those metal, angular lamps more than once.

Our bathroom was small but functional, with everything we needed, including soap, shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner.

One thing about the bathroom is that the floor can get QUITE wet, especially if you shower while the ship is sailing, but sometimes even when it isn’t. I suggested to Star Clippers that they add a squeegee to each cabin — it would make it so easy to sweep up all that water after showering.

I definitely appreciated the amount of bathroom storage space — especially once I realized the mirror was a vanity that opened and kept things securely behind it!

The ship uses European electrical outlets throughout, so bring an adapter if you need one.

Communal Spaces

If you’re looking for a place to hang on the Royal Clipper, you have a few options. The Sun Deck is home to three swimming pools, lots of beach loungers and umbrellas, a bar, and lots of places to hang out and take in the views.

The next deck is the Main Deck. Here you’ll find the Tropical Bar, which feels like the main hanging-out spot on the ship, which is covered but has open sides.

There is also a small library, which is nice and quiet and has a selection of books in many languages, and the Piano Bar. There is an observation lounge, which was the meeting space of one of the charter groups on our sailing, and there are a handful of cabins.

The next deck is the Clipper Deck. This deck is mostly full of cabins, including ours. There is also the Sloop Shop, selling a variety of Star Clippers-themed clothing and some small souvenirs, and the Excursion Desk, where you can sign up for excursions.

The next deck is the Commodore Deck, where you’ll find the dining room and more cabins. On the end of the ship, you’ll find the marina platform (swim platform).

And one floor further down, you’ll find the Captain Nemo gym, lounge, and spa. The gym has a few cardio machines and some free weights; the spa has a hammam.

What kind of people cruise with Star Clippers?

On our trip, most of the guests were from the US or UK, with a smattering of other countries represented. We met a few German speakers, and our cruise director Monja did the announcements in English and German. The literature we received each day was in English, German, and French.

Age-wise, most guests were between age 55 and 75. However, people tended to be in decent shape, as you need to be able to climb a lot of stairs and hold heavy doors in order to navigate the Royal Clipper.

There were a handful of younger people on board. Some were traveling with their parents or families; there were a few younger couples and friend groups as well. Charlie and I ended up bonding with two of the younger couples, one from the US and one from the UK, and the six of us “young’uns” hung out a lot!

Are kids allowed on Star Clippers? They’re technically allowed from the age of six months, but there are zero child-centric facilities on board, so it’s not a popular choice for young families.

As for diversity, I’m sure there were plenty of queer people on board, but I didn’t notice any queer couples, and you could count the people of color on one hand.

You should also know that some of your passengers may be part of an outside group. As we embarked, we learned that an American Bible study group made up a good percentage of our fellow passengers.

Now, I’ll be honest — when I first heard this, I was a bit apprehensive. I wondered whether having a religious group on board might affect the overall vibe of the ship.

Honestly, it didn’t affect the vibe whatsoever. Everyone was friendly, respectful, and entirely nonjudgmental. In fact, the two best friends we made on the ship were part of the Bible study group! It was a good reminder not to make assumptions.

Overall, I found the passengers on the Royal Clipper to be interesting, well-traveled, and great conversationalists. I always say that no matter where you go around the world, 98% of people are wonderful and the other 2% are not, and that was certainly true on our journey.

Food and Drink on the Royal Clipper

Now, one of the most important aspects of any trip is the food, and this is where Star Clippers shines. We found the food to be excellent across the board.

Star Clippers serves three meals per day. There is a breakfast buffet from around 7:30-9:30 AM, a themed lunch buffet from around 12:00-2:00 PM, and a plated multi-course dinner in the evenings from 7:30-10:00 PM.

In addition to the three main meals, they serve a simple continental breakfast in the Piano Lounge from 6:30 AM-10:30 AM, light snacks in the Tropical Bar from 5:00-6:00 PM, and late night snacks in the Tropical Bar from 11:30 PM-12:30 AM.

Food

I found the breakfast buffet to be pretty typical: hot trays of eggs, bacon, sausage, and beans for the Brits; lots of pastries and baked goods; yogurt and its many accoutrements; lots of fruits; an omelet station with eggs to order.

Every day, the lunch buffet had a theme: seafood, Italian, Asian. There would be trays filled with themed dishes — meat, fish, and vegetarian options — along with interactive stations like carving or pasta stations, and plenty of salad stuff.

The buffet food wasn’t fancy, but it was tasty for the most part.

But my favorite part of lunch was the dessert buffet. THE DESSERTS WERE SO GOOD. And there were so many of them! Piña colada mousse. Eclairs. Chocolate cake. Silky cappuccino cups. Tiramisu. All in little portions so you could try them all.

I also quickly learned that most desserts didn’t make multiple appearances, so, well, I HAD to try everything!

Dinner is a more formal affair, with multiple courses. Most people dress up a little nicer than their day clothes, and men are required to wear long pants.

Servers sit you at tables with other guests, and I found this was the best way we got to know our fellow passengers.

Each night, you can choose between two appetizers, one soup, one palate-cleansing sorbet, four main dishes (at least one meat, one fish, and one vegetarian), and three desserts (one is always a different kind of ice cream). You can also order a salad of the day or cheese plate for one of your courses, and they offer two wine bottle recommendations.

We would usually get an appetizer, either the soup or the sorbet, the main dish, and the dessert.

Here is a sample menu:

The single best thing we ate on the Royal Clipper was this plate of roast beef. It was so tender, so flavorful, and I was impressed that every single plate was cooked to the proper temperature.

Charlie and I were having dinner with a father and son from the US that evening, and all four of us got the roast beef. Then as we finished, our server grinned and said, “You want more beef?” I declined, but the three guys all said yes.

Well, our server brought them not just a little bit more beef, but A SECOND PLATE. They were as happy as clams.

(And as soon as we learned this was a thing you could do on the Royal Clipper, we may have ordered second plates once or twice more.)

While the food quality at dinner was excellent, I felt like the beef dishes were the best of the bunch. Every steak I had was exemplary. Charlie, for his part, loved the lamb dishes as well.

While the food was delicious, it was very Eurocentric, so don’t expect global cuisine. I would have loved more international dishes than a single Asian-themed lunch (especially since our chefs were from the Philippines and Indonesia and could probably turn it out!).

Does Star Clippers cater to dietary restrictions? They do. We got to know a vegan guest who had been on several Star Clippers cruises, and in her words, “They’ve gotten a lot better over the years,” and “I can get by.”

At dinner, you always have the option to order a consommé, pasta dish, or steak frites if you don’t like anything on the daily menu. We tried the steak frites one night and enjoyed it.

One random tip: try to have dinner with someone celebrating a birthday! Every night, the servers sang to those celebrating birthdays and brought them a chocolate birthday cake to share with their table mates. One night we happened to be eating with someone celebrating a birthday — and that cake was SCRUMPTIOUS.

Drink

Star Clippers doesn’t offer drink packages, which makes them different from traditional large ship cruises. And I think that’s a good thing, as it keeps the binge drinkers away.

So everything is à la carte, but the drink prices are extremely reasonable. On our journey, soft drinks were €3, beers were €4-5 each, house wines were €4. Cocktails were €8, the cocktail of the day was €7, and mocktails were €5.

You can also order wine by the bottle, and we were delighted to see that they weren’t marked up very much. One night, we ordered a bottle of one of our favorite Italian reds, Brunello di Montalcino, for just €42. That would probably cost €35 at the vineyard.

And if you order a bottle and don’t finish it, they’ll put your name on it and save it for next time.

Filter coffee and tea are included for free, but espresso-based drinks are extra (€2 for espresso, €2.50 for cappuccino). These coffees are made with Nespresso pro capsules. Charlie and I found this disappointing, as Nespresso is mediocre coffee, but because George Clooney is in their commercials, people think it’s fancy.

I think it would be wise for Star Clippers to invest in a real espresso machine with decent beans, and I talked about this with their team. I think this is an easy way to uplevel their service for a fairly low cost. Charlie and I would have bought two or three coffees each per day if they had been better.

Activities and Entertainment

Once again, the Royal Clipper isn’t a megaship — don’t come here if you’re expecting constant activities all day. People come on the Royal Clipper to soak up the vibe.

There were a few daily activities, though. Each morning, there was a yoga class and a “morning gymnastics” session (a bodyweight workout adaptable for all fitness levels) before breakfast.

Occasionally, during the morning or the afternoon, the sports team would offer mast climbing or swimming off the marina platform. Never both at the same time, as each activity required the full sports team.

Captain Sergey did a few “Story Hour” sessions, telling stories from his life at sea. There was an engine room tour one day (Captain Sergey: “I don’t understand why people are always so interested in this, but you can go see the engine room…”), which gave me a deeper appreciation for the hardworking crew.

There is a spa on the Royal Clipper, with a variety of massages, facials, and body treatments available, as well as a hammam.

On our day in Tobago Cays, the crew did a barbecue on the beach for everyone.

But there was always organized entertainment in the Tropical Bar after dinner. One night, it was a pirate party! Everyone dressed up in their most pirate-y outfits (I wound my sarong around my head; Charlie bought a black bandana in St. Vincent, and the ship had plenty of props to pose with), and we played goofy games for prizes.

One night there was a talent show (both crew and guests participated, and obviously, the Filipinos dominated the karaoke!). Another night, a fashion show. Other nights, just music and dancing.

But the most special event was a Grenadian steel band performance. We were anchored in Grenada until late in the evening, so the ship was able to host a local band.

And they were so fun! Starting with “Dancing Queen,” they played a variety of pop songs on the steel drums, and you couldn’t keep people off the dance floor.

Star Clippers Grenadine Islands 7 Nights Itinerary

Star Clippers’s Grenadine Islands 7 Nights itinerary starts and ends in Bridgetown, Barbados. (This cruise does not enter any port in the US, so keep that in mind if that’s important to you.)

What I love about this itinerary is that most of the ports are small, intimate, and inaccessible to larger ships. We anchored at sea and took tenders in at every port except Fort-de-France, where we docked at a pier.

Here is the itinerary:

• Day 1: Embark in Bridgetown, Barbados (afternoon)
• Day 2: Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (afternoon)
• Day 3: St. George’s, Grenada (afternoon)
• Day 4: Tobago Cays, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (all day)
• Day 5: Kingstown (morning) and Bequia (afternoon), St. Vincent and the Grenadines
• Day 6: Fort-de-France (morning) and Grand Anse (afternoon), Martinique
• Day 7: Marigot Bay (morning) and Soufrière (afternoon), St. Lucia
• Day 8: Disembark in Bridgetown, Barbados (morning)

Here’s an overview of the destinations and what we did each day.

Barbados

We spent four days in Barbados before our cruise, and I’m SO glad we did. Barbados is an island with a million things to do, as well as some really nice white sand beaches. No matter what kind of trip you want to have, you can have it here.

That said, we found Barbados to be staggeringly expensive compared to other Caribbean islands, so keep that in mind as you plan your trip. (How expensive? At one cafe we got a breakfast sandwich, an order of waffles, and two cappuccinos and our bill came to $50 USD.)

My favorite experiences in Barbados were taking a Barbados food tour, which was fun, educational and delicious — I highly recommend it! I took a full day around-the-island tour, which was good for photo ops and getting to know a lot of the island (Rihanna’s childhood home is included!).

We also enjoyed beaching and swimming at Dover Beach and spending Friday night at the Oistins Fish Fry, an island tradition with lots of food, drinks, and music.

We decided to stay in a budget hotel for this portion of our four-week Caribbean trip, and chose the Melbourne Inn. Let me tell you — this place doesn’t look fancy, but its punches way above its weight! Comfortable rooms with balconies, a surprisingly nice pool area, and the friendliest, most wonderful staff.

And it’s in a perfect location near Dover Beach, close to a grocery store, and walking distance from The Cake Lady, THE best spot for coffee, cake, and breakfast!

I highly recommend adding a few days in Barbados before or after your trip. But keep in mind that if your cruise leaves on Saturday, as ours did, you might want to come beforehand so you can experience the Friday Night Fish Fry.

My friend Nicola’s website Next Stop Barbados was an excellent resource for planning our trip.

Embarkation

On the first day of our cruise, we were able to drop off our luggage at the Star Clippers stand at 12:00 PM, with boarding beginning at 4:00 PM. Charlie and I dropped off the bags promptly at noon and took a taxi from the port to Harrison’s Cave for their drive-through cave tour. It was a fun tour and we paid for the driver to wait for us, which was a stress-free way to get back on time.

The cruise terminal in Bridgetown has an outdoor bar that serves both food and drinks, as well as a handful of shops. There is free wifi if you need it.

Once boarding began, we made our way up the gangway onto the Royal Clipper, accepted a glass of champagne, and queued into the Piano Bar for check-in. This was where we handed over our passports for the week, the crew ran my credit card for future expenses, and we received our cabin assignment and ship card, which doubles as your room key and onboard ID.

Next came a very important step: signing up for excursions at the excursion desk on the Clipper Deck. Unlike large cruise ships, Star Clippers doesn’t offer advance excursion booking; you simply add your name to the list after boarding.

Sign-ups are first-come, first-serve, and they close two days ahead of time. I recommend signing up right away, as popular excursions — like our top priority, the catamaran trip in Tobago Cays — fill up quickly.

We unpacked, watched the safety video, had welcome snacks in the Tropical Bar with our fellow passengers, took a tour of the ship, and enjoyed our first dinner on board.

But the real magic happened after dinner, when the Royal Clipper set sail for the first time. The crisp sails unfurled against the inky blue sky and we stared at them in awe.

I was completely unprepared for the sheer majesty of sailing on a tall ship. Right then and there, I realized that this was why people travel with Star Clippers again and again.

Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Union Island was our first stop among several in the Grenadines, and if you’re looking for a laid-back island that’s off the beaten path, it’s a great spot. There is almost nothing on Chatham Beach, where we docked for the afternoon.

We were directed to land on the beach and turn left, and at the end of the beach we would find a decent snorkeling spot. The beach was strewn with stones, but the snorkeling was excellent — I was surprised how many cool fish we saw!

There was a small bar on this side of the beach dishing up cocktails (cards and Apple Pay accepted, which surprised me!).

Top tip: Apparently there is a really cool bar with a hot tub on the right side of the beach as you land. Our friends discovered this after a tip from Captain Sergey, but we didn’t hear about it from anyone on the crew. So make sure you don’t miss it! I wish we had known about it.

St. George’s, Grenada

Grenada is the spice island of the Caribbean, with colorful homes tucked into the wild, jungly hills. We decided to take the Chocolate and Falls excursion, which included visits to a waterfall and a chocolate factory.

To be honest, this was the one excursion we regretted taking. It was a very long drive in a small, cramped bus (though I appreciated the lovely scenery), and road works and accidents along the route delayed us even more.

Our first stop was Concord Falls, with a waterfall flowing into an emerald-green pool. We watched a local man jump in from the top. And while that was cool, he aggressively hounded everyone in the group for tips. I actually put a tip in the box, and on the way out he glared at me and said, “I didn’t see you give me a tip.” “I DID TIP!” I sputtered.

By the time we got to the Diamond Chocolate Factory in Victoria, it was closed for the day and we couldn’t see any production. We did a quick walk through the garden and they gave us chocolate samples to try in the gift shop. That was it.

The chocolate was delicious, especially the nutmeg chocolate, and we bought some bars to take home. But overall, the excursion fell short of expectations, and that sentiment was shared by many of our fellow passengers.

On a brighter note, I did hear that people on the snorkeling excursion had a fabulous time, so if you’re taking this trip, that might be a better fit for you.

Full disclosure: Star Clippers did list the driving time on the excursion sheet, and it’s not like they could have predicted the delays, which added an extra hour of driving time. I did give the Star Clippers team specific feedback about this excursion.

Tobago Cays, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Now, if you dream of crashing on a desert island in the Caribbean, Tobago Cays is the place for you! These islands feel straight out of Robinson Crusoe, with pristine beaches and very little development.

Charlie and I love a catamaran trip, so we booked a catamaran sailing excursion with snorkeling. This turned out to be the best excursion of our trip!

After landing on the island of Petit Rameau, we boarded the catamaran and sailed off for some snorkeling. The waters were choppier than I expected, and the catamaran crew had us wear bright orange vests for visibility. The snorkeling wasn’t as good as Union Island, but we did see a few cool fish.

Top tip: there are several catamarans that do this excursion, and they all look identical. Make sure you memorize the name of your boat so you know which boat to swim back to!

Next, we landed off the island of Mayreau and swam to shore. And I fell in love with this tiny island! A perfect, quiet, sandy beach with wooden shacks dishing up freshly caught fish and rum punch. The vibes were immaculate. We didn’t have much time here, but I’d love to return for a full day.

Finally, the catamaran sailed back to Petit Rameau, where the Royal Clipper crew had set up a beach barbecue with burgers, sausages, chicken, fish, a bar, and all the fixings. We ate outside at picnic tables (though only half of them had shade).

From that point on, we had plenty of time to swim, stroll the beach, and gallivant. A second group of passengers went out on the catamaran excursion in the afternoon. When Charlie and I had had enough sun, we jumped on the tender back to the Royal Clipper.

Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Kingstown, a city located on the island of St. Vincent, is the capital and transit hub of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Charlie and I hadn’t booked an excursion, so we decided to just walk around the city a little bit. We strolled, visited some markets, took in the atmosphere, and tried some local dragonfruit and pineapple sodas. We would have visited the fort for the view, but it happened to be closed for refurbishment during our visit.

We did hear from a few passengers that the excursions here were excellent, including an off-road adventure and a visit to the botanical gardens. If I came to Kingstown again, I would definitely do one of those.

Top Tip: the ferry terminal in Kingstown has a cute coffee shop called Carib-Beans that served THE best coffee we had during our month in the Caribbean. Well worth a visit!

Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Bequia was my favorite stop of the entire trip and the number one place I want to return to. Compared to other islands in the Grenadines, it’s fancier and more developed than Union Island or Tobago Cays, but not nearly as luxe as Mustique, a favorite of the British Royal Family.

The ship anchored in Admiralty Bay and the crew gave us the choice of taking the tender to the port or Princess Margaret Beach. We chose the beach, and headed there with our four friends.

This beach was DIVINE. Nice soft sand, clear turquoise water, beautiful views of immaculate wooden homes built into the hills. Best of all, there was actually decent shade — the beach is lined with thick, lush trees and plenty of room to stretch out beneath them.

Did I mention this beach ALSO had little stands serving up rum punch? “Day drinking in the Grenadines? We’re definitely honoring Princess Margaret the right way,” I joked as we toasted.

After a few hours of swimming and sunning, we headed back to the ship.

I would love to come back to Bequia for at least a few days. One of my blogger friends was here around the same time, and he loved exploring the island by motorbike.

Fort-de-France, Martinique

I had no idea what to expect in Fort-de-France, but this city ended up charming my pants off! Martinique is part of France, and it’s obvious from the moment you arrive, from the Renaults and Peugeots everywhere to the BNP banks and the Galeries-Lafayette department store to the scent of butter in the air.

I love visiting French overseas departments like Réunion and St. Pierre and Miquelon because you can always get classic French food mixed with fresh local produce.

We did some research on where to eat and were the first ones off the ship. Our first stop was Pâtisserie Hery, an artisan patisserie where we enjoyed authentic French pastries, including a traditional croissant and a supreme round croissant stuffed with pistachio cream and dipped in chocolate. They also serve a delicious hot chocolate.

We strolled around the city, photographing the street art and landmarks like Bibliothèque Schoelcher and Cathédrale Saint-Louis, and stopped for a cappuccino at a little cafe called Jaden Centre-Ville.

We made our way to the Marché Couvert, the city’s covered market, and tried some fresh fruit juices and bought a few postcards for our postcard wall at home.

While it rained for most of our time on shore, Charlie and I both feel like we’d like to return to Martinique and explore much more.

Grand Anse, Martinique

We actually didn’t get off the ship here. It was drizzling when we docked, so I figured we’d just chill out for the afternoon. Well, soon the sun came out, and we went swimming of the back of the Royal Clipper! Those hours were well spent.

Marigot Bay, St. Lucia

In St. Lucia, we chose the Panoramic Tour excursion, which picked us up in Marigot Bay and dropped us off in Soufrière, with some interesting stops along the way. We were practically plastered to the windows, as the scenery was so gorgeous! St. Lucia really is the beauty of the Caribbean.

In Marigot Bay we stopped long enough to eat some bananas, try some banana ketchup, and take in the view from above — and what a view it was!

Soufrière, St. Lucia

Soufrière, a town in the south of St. Lucia, is home to the Pitons, the two conical mountains that are the symbol of the island. Once rounding the view pictured above — yes, we stopped for plenty of photos — we visited two destinations in Soufrière: the Diamond Botanical Gardens and Qualibou Volcano.

Our guide, Delicia, showed us through the botanical gardens and shared her favorite local remedies. Charlie and I are actually going to try some at home! Apparently when you grate nutmeg into a bottle of vinegar and leave it for a few weeks, it becomes a good salve for your joints.

St. Lucia is home to the only drive-in volcano in the world, Qualibou Volcano. Don’t expect fiery lava here, just a lot of steam and that signature sulfur smell! You can go in sulfuric mud baths here if you’d like; I didn’t partake, but it looked fun.

Our tour finished with a local buffet lunch overlooking another view of the Pitons. Charlie took the time to get some aerial shots with his drone from here, as St. Lucia is a very drone-friendly country.

Overall, I’m glad that we chose this tour. Delicia was a wonderful guide, the scenery was spellbinding, the bus was comfortable, and the gardens and volcano were really cool. Best of all, I got killer photos of the Pitons!

The town of Soufrière itself wasn’t very exciting, so we decided to return to the Royal Clipper. Later that afternoon, it was back onto the marine platform for another gorgeous swim, followed by our photo safari, circling the Royal Clipper in the tender at the sails went up, bathed in the delectable light of golden hour.

Debarkation

Debarkation in Barbados was simple and well-organized. On our last full day on board, we settled our bill and added a gratuity for the servers and cabin attendants. That evening, we left our luggage outside the cabin, tagging our bags with the color corresponding to our chosen transfer.

We joined the bus transfer to the airport with a few dozen of our fellow passengers. You should know that the luggage is transferred separately — the luggage truck arrived about 30 minutes later. That wasn’t an issue, as Star Clippers makes sure you get to the airport with ample time before your flight.

While waiting to check in, Charlie, our friends and I grabbed pizza and milkshakes at Chefette, Barbados’s most beloved fast food chain. I have to say, that milkshake was exactly what I needed after a week at sea.

And from there, the four of us said our goodbyes and Charlie and I hopped on our flight to our next destination: the island nation of Dominica.

Kate’s Thoughts on the Itinerary

It was this specific itinerary that attracted me to Star Clippers in the first place, and I loved the places we visited. I appreciated that we visited small ports and hard-to-reach islands. I think the only port where we saw a big cruise ship was Grenada.

A few lightning round answers:

Best beaches: Princess Margaret Beach in Bequia, followed by Mayreau island in Tobago Cays.

Best snorkeling: Union Island in the Grenadines.

Best city: Fort-de-France, Martinique.

Best places to explore independently: Fort-de-France and Bequia.

Best places to explore by excursion: Kingstown and Soufrière.

Best excursion overall: Catamaran ride in Tobago Cays.

Of course, when you factor in excursions and exploration, you can have any kind of trip you want — adventurous, low-key, snorkel-y. I think we had a good variety throughout our trip.

Travel Tips for Star Clippers Caribbean Cruise

Seasickness on a Star Clippers Cruise

Do you need to worry about seasickness on the Royal Clipper or any other Star Clippers cruise? Honestly, seasickness can vary a lot from person to person, and it can be tough to predict.

I will say that a smaller ship like the Royal Clipper can often feel more queasy than a large cruise ship, but again, this is personal. Charlie and I both had a few moments of seasickness, but we got through them.

When sailing during mealtime, we found it more comfortable to sit facing the front or back of the boat, rather than the sides.

I recommend bringing non- or less-drowsy motion sickness medication at the very least. (Or take a drowsy one and chase it with an espresso martini.) Some people find motion sickness bands helpful.

Alternatively, your doctor can prescribe a scopolamine patch. I used these in Antarctica, but after a few days I experienced the rare side effect of blurred vision, so I switched back to Dramamine.

Internet on a Star Clippers Cruise

Star Clippers has internet packages available. The good news is that they use Starlink, so the internet is fast, but the bad news is that they’re data-based, which means apps running in the background can eat through your data in just a few minutes.

I personally never purchase data-based packages for this reason.

My recommendation? Get an eSIM card that covers most of the Eastern Caribbean. We used this one from Airalo. It worked in every destination except Martinique (which we didn’t need anyway, as it’s part of the EU and our Czech SIM cards worked there).

While it didn’t work while we were out at sea, we had internet access whenever we were anchored.

What to Pack for a Star Clippers Caribbean Cruise

Comfortable casual clothing. What you wear is always a personal decision. I pretty much live in merino wool year-round, so I wore four Wool& dresses for most of the trip: the Camellia dress (my favorite hot weather dress) in teal and black, and the Isabelle dress in magenta and green.

I was glad to have a Wool& tank top, a pair of Wool& bike shorts, and closed-toe sneakers for mast climbing; I mainly wore deck shoes and Birkenstock sandals while on board.

Appropriate dinner wear. There isn’t a formal night, like on other cruises, but I did find many people dressed up a bit for dinner. Women have a bit more leeway, but men are asked to wear long pants at dinner.

A lot of women wore casual sundresses or tops with skirts or slacks. A lot of men wore short-sleeved button-downs with long pants. It’s your call.

Water shoes. A good idea if you’re snorkeling or beaching. The beach we visited on Union Island had a lot of rocks and water shoes would have made it more pleasant.

Reef-safe sunscreen. I recommend you bring reef-safe sunscreen as a default when you’re swimming anywhere, and that’s absolutely true for the delicate reefs of the Caribbean.

Sun protection. A wide-brimmed hat, sarong, and a light long-sleeved shirt can be very helpful.

Reusable water bottle. The Royal Clipper has fountains in the Tropical Bar where you can fill your bottles with filtered water. Don’t add to the plastic problem.

Dry bag or waterproof phone case. While your electronics are pretty safe while on the tender, you might want to bring these for other boat trips and when you may have to swim to shore (like on our catamaran excursion in Tobago Cays).

Clothing for White Night and Pirate Night. You don’t have to dress up, and they have some pirate props for the party, but hey, if you have a corset top and ruffly skirt you wish you could wear more often, this is your chance!

Other Star Clippers Tips

Don’t do excursions every single day. I got this tip ahead of time, and I’m glad I heeded the advice. Excursions are fun, but they can eat up all your free time.

I recommend doing a bit of research and picking out 1-3 excursions that you want to do the most, and a few ports that you’d rather explore on your own. And if there are some that hold no interest for you, you can always stay on the ship and enjoy the atmosphere.

If mast climbing or swimming off the marina platform are an option, don’t wait — do them. These activities only happen if conditions are good, so this might be your only chance.

Don’t overpack. There is a reasonably priced and speedy laundry service on board, and we used it three times. Just wash what you need to be washed.

Is Star Clippers Worth It?

Well, after reading this post, you should have a pretty good idea of how much I loved my time on the Royal Clipper! Charlie and I had a blast and have been talking about this trip constantly.

In fact, we’re already thinking of doing another cruise with Star Clippers — possibly in Europe this time. We like the look of some of their itineraries visiting Corsica and Sardinia. Once again, it’s all about the small ports.

And if we could bring a group of our friends on board? Even better.

When I look back at my time on the Royal Clipper, my mind goes straight to mast-climbing, or swimming off the marina platform, and watching the sails go up at sunset. More than anything, Star Clippers is about the magic of being on a tall ship — and that experience is staying with me.

The Star Clippers Grenadines itinerary starts at €2,350 ($2,790) per person. You can find more information on StarClippers.com.

Does this look like your kind of cruise? Share away!

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