About Sand In My Suitcase
Welcome to Sand In My Suitcase, our luxury travel blog with a twist of adventure!
We’re Janice and George Mucalov, lawyers by profession, now travel writers – much more fun, don’t you think?
Our travel articles and photos are published in leading U.S. and Canadian magazines and newspapers like TravelAge West, Islands.com, Cruise & Travel Lifestyles, NUVO, Taste of Life, Interval World, Travel Professional and Canadian World Traveller.
Sand In My Suitcase blog
But the reason you’ve come here is our blog, Sand In My Suitcase, right?
Here, you’ll find destination guides with travel tips, cruise reviews, soft adventure travel articles, hotel reviews (including reviews of some seriously gorgeous hotels around the world) and lots of plain old (but practical!) travel information.
You’ll also find “close-to-home” and armchair travel content for the current “new normal” in everyone’s lives.
Start here!
This will take you straight to how we can help you (e.g., local Canadian info? Mexico travel tips?), our most popular posts and more...
BEST TRAVEL BLOG
We began our luxury travel blog in 2012.
It won 1st Place for “Best Travel Blog” in the 2017 Society of American Travel Writers (Can. chapter) annual awards.
And we’re tickled that we’ve won many more travel writing and blogging awards too!
See our video about our blog
Luxury travel blog with a twist of adventure
We write about luxury adventure travel – and we have a crush on cruising (especially small ship and river cruises).
Yes, that includes luscious five-star hotels and deluxe cruises with suites and butlers. But also expedition ships and more affordable boutique inns oozing charm and character. Venturing off-the-beaten-path. (Mozambique and Komodo Island, say hello!) Even getting a little, er... sandy sometimes, knowing there’s always a soft return.
Please don’t travel until it’s safe
Right now, we’re staying home – like you probably!
When we do travel, you’ll find us hiking, kayaking, bicycling, scuba diving, strolling city streets from end to end (poking our heads into this and that) – and taking lots of photos!
Janice never says “no” to a spa treatment.
Ethnic cuisine, good wine and losing ourselves in long conversations with local guides and people? Also a big part of the enjoyment of our travels – which we like to share with you, our readers.
And if there’s an English book store or coffee shop around, George will find it.
Giving back
We’re not totally hedonistic though :-).
If we can, we prefer to write about hotels, cruises and tours that help in some way to make this world a better place. We donate 10% of what we make each year from our travel writing and blogging to Doctors Without Borders.
Travel writing memberships
We’re both members of the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC).
Janice is also a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA).
We write what we honestly think
All thoughts, views and words expressed in our travel stories and posts are our own. And we dish on the good and tell you about the not-so-good.
We adhere to the codes of ethics for professional travel writers set by SATW, TMAC and NATJA.
Affiliate links
Some links in our blog are affiliate links, for example to Booking.com. We earn a small commission if you click on these links and make a booking or purchase through them. For details, see our Disclosure policy.
Guest posts
We also love to feature guest posts by talented writers and photographers (meet the team).
Dive into our travel blog!
Okay, that’s enough about us. Go now and take a peek at some of our travel posts.
The gloriously scenic Kandy to Ella train: A first class journey
Sri Lanka’s Kandy to Ella train ride is insanely scenic! Heads-out-the-train experience in 1st class? Yup! Plus clean loos.
Crystal Cruises review: Luxury on the reimagined Crystal Serenity
Elegant? Yes! Check out Crystal Cruises and our review of the revamped Crystal Serenity, from the suites to Chef Nobu’s Umi Uma restaurant.
Places to visit in Ottawa, Canada (winter is a great time)
With impressive Parliament buildings, cool museums and a buzzing downtown, Ottawa is great to visit in winter! Bonus: Go skating on the Rideau Canal.
Swim with whale sharks in La Paz, Mexico: Wondrous!
The moment we first saw a massive whale shark glide slowly by? Wondrous. You can swim with whale sharks in La Paz, a 2-hour drive from Cabo.
