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Hello! Is this the first time you’ve visited our luxury travel blog?

Not sure how to find your way around all this travel lusciousness?

You’ll find endless resources on our top-ranking blog – everything from dreamy trip itineraries to packing guides.

But don’t worry, we’ll make it easy for you to get started.

Start Here Guide to Sand In My Suitcase

We’re Janice and George Mucalov, a Canadian couple with a passion for travel journalism.

Between us, we’ve traveled to all 7 continents. And we love sharing our tips on planning the best trips possible (close-to-home and afar)!

If you’d like to know more about us and Sand In My Suitcase, see here.

Navigating our site

You can search the Destinations tab at the top of our site.

As for Experiences, you can look for:

And don’t forget to check our Travel Planning and Resources guide! You’ll find useful hotel and airline booking tips, great travel booking sites and more.

Best Travel Guides

Journey through our indepth travel guides

When you need to dig deep, the following comprehensive destination guides are the first place you should look.

They cover places we know intimately.

What to do? Where to stay? How to get around? If you don’t mind us saying so, the following travel guides crush it!

1) Mexico guide (with pro insider tips)

If you’re planning a Mexico vacay, hop on over to our Mexico travel guide for essential Mexico information and tips.

You’ll find dozens of Mexico travel articles there. For example, check out these posts:

2) Insider guide to Cabo San Lucas

Within Mexico, we’ve traveled to Los Cabos (aka Cabo) dozens of times over the past 20+ years. We’ve gone so often, it’s like our second home.

So we’ve written a complete Los Cabos travel guide just on Cabo!

Check it out for travel information on topics like:

3) Canada guide: 37 bucket list places to visit

It’s no easy task coming up with the ultimate Canada bucket list! After all, it’s the second largest country in the world.

But as Canadians, we just had to write about our “home and native land.”

So the above guide covers 37+ of the most beautiful places to visit, when to go and how to get around.

4) Beautiful British Columbia guide (by locals)

British Columbia (BC for short) is Canada’s westernmost province. It’s our home – and you’ll love visiting it.

We’ve written tons about BC. And you’ll find it all neatly organized in our handy British Columbia travel guide.

Popular British Columbia posts?

5) Hawaii on your mind?

Hawaii travel planning

Ahhh, the seductive Hawaiian islands…

There are so many amazing things to do in Hawaii! Just one example: Hike up Diamond Head for jaw-dropping 360-degree views on Oahu.

Be sure to read our post on how to plan a trip to Hawaii.

And if you’ve never been to Hawaii, we’ve also written a complete guide to visiting Hawaii for the first time.

Kauai

Botanical gardens. Hiking coastal trails. Learning about monk seals. There are plenty of Kauai activities to enjoy beyond the beach!

Also check out these beautiful Kauai hotels.

Lanai

Rock these incredible things to do on Lanai (and get off the grid too).

Maui

Thinking about Maui? How do you choose between Maui or Kauai?

If you love chasing waterfalls, Maui is a winner; many of the most beautiful waterfalls in Maui are found on the oh-so-scenic Road to Hana.

And talk about Maui’s honeymoon hotels! From budget to splurge, they’re very romantic.

Speaking of hotels, check out our post on where to stay on Maui. Wailea vs Ka’anapali areas? Ritz-Carlton Kapalua or Montage Kapalua Bay? Get all the details on over 25 resorts plus pros and cons for different areas in Maui.

6) Heavenly hotels

Luxury hotel

Looking for romantic hotels in Europe?

Or are you trying to decide which resort with overwater bungalows in Bora Bora is right for you?

Or maybe you want to know about the best resorts in St. Martin and St. Maarten in the Caribbean?

See our hotel reviews of many of the hundreds of hotels and resorts (from cool boutique inns to luxury all-inclusives) that we’ve stayed at around the world.

Fishing boats at a Greek island

Croatia

Delicious wine. Medieval walled towns. Adriatic beaches with waters bluer than the blues of your dreams. that’s Croatia!

For the ultimate trip, see our 14-day Croatia itinerary covering the Dalmatian Coast.

Greece

Hey, did you know it’s illegal to wear high heels at the Acropolis? And 1 in 3 Greeks on the island of Ikaria live into their 90’s!

These 100+ facts about Greece are loads of fun.

USA

When you need a break from the kids, book an escape to one of these USA hotels with private in-room pools. Several are quite affordable too!

If you’re thinking of visiting California, what about a road trip? Discover 15 quaint and charming Northern California coastal towns on this road trip between Morro Bay and Trinidad.

On the other side of the country in NYC, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has more than 2 million pieces of art in its collection. If short on time, you’ll need to focus on exhibits you really must see at the Met.

Turkey

Here’s the perfect 2-week Turkey itinerary for a luxury trip.

And oooh! These 7 top hammams in Istanbul are cat-nip for luxury lovers.

Mallorca

There are so many delightful things to do in Mallorca – from swimming in idyllic coves and hiking ancient donkey trails to touring manor houses oozing history.

Portugal

We don’t envy you if you’re trying to decide between Porto vs Lisbon.

Lisbon is the colorful capital – it’s a no-brainer to visit. So is Porto worth visiting? Yes!

See our latest posts

You can find all our posts here. Enjoy!

Our top travel tips and resources

Hotels: Booking.com is great for scoring a “wow” hotel – or at least a decent one. (We especially like their flexible cancellation policy!)

Vacation homes, condos and rentals: We prefer and use Vrbo (Vacation Rentals by Owner).

Tours: For the best local food, walking and other guided tours, plus skip-the-line tickets to attractions, check out Viator (a TripAdvisor company) and GetYourGuide.

Car rental: Renting a car is often one of the best ways to explore off the beaten path. Discover Cars searches car rental companies so you get the best rates.

Travel insurance: SafetyWing is designed for frequent travelers, long-term adventurers and digital nomads. It covers medical expenses, lost checked luggage, trip interruption and more.

Travel gear: See our travel shop to find the best luggage, accessories and other travel gear. (We suggest these comfy travel sandals for city walking, the beach and kicking about.)

Need more help planning your trip? Check out our travel tips and resources guide for airline booking tips, ways to save money, how to find great hotels and other crazy useful trip planning info.

Pssst! If you make a booking or purchase through our site, we may earn a small commission (at no cost to you). Thanks!

About the authors

Luxury travel journalists and SATW, NATJA and TMAC “Best Travel Blog” award winners, Janice and George Mucalov are the publishers of Sand In My Suitcase. Between them, they’ve traveled to all 7 continents. See About.

Find destination guides, global food-and-wine stories, luxury hotel reviews, articles on cultural explorations and soft adventure trips, cruise reviews, insanely useful travel tips and more!