All posts tagged: beach

VIDEO: COOK ISLANDS VLOG

I’ve sat on this for awhile. It’s been a year and a half since my trip to Cook Islands! I kind of half assed doing a VLOG- but since I’m going again for the 2nd time next month I thought I’d slap something together before my trip there, and at least put this out there. I really want to start doing more Youtube content even if the videos aren’t amazing. I  want to always be uploading consistent and constant content for you guys, so it would mean so much if you would support and subscribe to my channel! It will help motivate me to release more video content and all the tutorials you ask for! Anyway, enjoy this VLOG from the beautiful Cook Islands! And you can read my original blog post from Cook Islands  here. xx-Nicole

MY TULUM GUIDE

Just got back from Tulum, and already getting so many questions on recommendations on what to do there, where to go and obviously where to eat 🙂 Thought I’d share my favorite spots with you guys. I highly suggest renting a car when arriving in Cancun. You can rent a car for super cheap, and it gives you the flexibility and freedom to do whatever you want on your own time and not have to rely on finding taxi’s everywhere you go. Tulum is a 1.5 hour drive from the Cancun airport and it’s a straight shot on the highway basically. It’s an easy drive. Tip: Check to see if your credit card provides rental car insurance benefits. You can decline their insurance and use your CC’s- I would print a copy of the insurance terms your CC offers and give to them in a hard copy form. Good way to save money, and most of the time you can get crazy cheap deals at any rental car company at the Cancun airport. THE REAL …

8 DAYS IN TUNISIA

Everybody goes to Morocco- at lease everyone in my world of travel blogging. I’ve never been to Morocco and I’m DYING to go,  its on the top of my list.  I was planning a trip to Morocco this past October and changed my mind…I chose to travel to Tunisia instead. I hadn’t seen anyone I know travel there before, therefore I was interested in it. I was in Italy for two weeks and ended my trip in Sicily, which  is just a short one hour flight into Tunis. I decided to spend 3 nights in Tunis, and 5 nights in Hammamet, Tunisia. I really didn’t know what to expect but I was curious about the culture and excited to learn about it. I found the people to be warm and genuine, and overall I felt good vibes everywhere I went. Tunisia is a Muslim country in Northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean sea and the Sahara Desert. They speak Arabic and French. I recently got the new EOS R camera from Canon and was eager to …

COOK ISLANDS

I just got back from the Cook Islands. When I tell people I went there, I pretty much get a lot of blank stares. I think a lot of people don’t really know where that is, and I admit I didn’t either when I was pitched to visit. WHERE IS COOK ISLANDS? Cook Islands is a bunch of small islands in the middle of the South Pacific ocean northeast of New Zealand between French Polynesia and American Samoa/Hawaii. There make up a compilation of a several small islands, and I visited the largest  island of Rarotonga and a smaller island called Aitutaki. FLIGHTS TO COOK ISLANDS: I went with the Cook Islands Tourism Board for one week. I flew direct on Air New Zealand from Los Angeles into Rarotonga, which is a 10 hour flight. There is only 1 direct flight a week on Air New Zealand. We took an 11:30pm flight on Saturday night and arrived in Cook Islands early Sunday morning. Because it was a sponsored trip flights were covered, but I got …

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA

This year I visited Cartagena, Colombia and it made my top list of favorite places I’ve visited thus far. I’ve had another insane year of travel, so I’m finally catching up on all my travel posts to wrap up 2017. Because I went with a group, we had a schedule we had to stick to so wasn’t able to venture so much on my own to hit up the best restaurants and food spots so I will be back to create my own Cartagena guide. I plan to go back in 2018, but thought I’d share my pictures from this trip in the  meantime. I went to Cartagena with Foray Collective and Maaji Swimwear. I went with a few of my favorite blogger babes and the best word to describe the trip is magical. We stayed in the heart of Cartagena in a beautiful house put together by Maaji, which is a Colombian swimwear brand. The city of Cartagena is colorful with a Spanish charm. It almost feels like you are on a movie set, …

OAHU, HAWAII

In the beginning of this year I wrote my Hawaii travel guide on the islands of Oahu, Maui and Kauai. I recently just went back on a girls trip with my mom and sister to celebrate my sister’s birthday. We only visited Oahu this time but wanted to write out my favorite moments and adventures from the trip! I love Oahu. I feel it is the most well-rounded of the islands- it has the city culture of Waikiki while still possessing the beauty of Hawaii’s nature and beautiful beaches. My mom really wanted to stay at The Kahala Hotel & Resort in Honolulu because we vacationed there as a family when I was little with my grandparents, and she felt the need to go back years later and experience it again with my sister and I. The Kahala Hotel & Resort is probably considered one of the nicest, if not the nicest resort on the island. It’s in a quiet part of the island and the resort feels remote and removed from all the action of …

CARNIVAL IN JAMAICA

I got invited by the Jamaica Board of Tourism to experience Carnival in Jamaica. I have always wanted to go to Carnival in Brazil and Trinidad & Tabago, so was really excited to go to experience it for the first time. I had been to Jamaica twice before, both when I was younger and with my family. I remember a few specific instances on both trips where I felt a little unsafe and uncomfortable, but totally went this time excited and with an open mind. I ended up having a great time, but there are some things you need to know about Jamaica before deciding to book a trip there. I got so many messages and comments from people seeing my pictures and videos from Jamaica, telling me they want to go there because of my pictures and how I made it look. First of all, Jamaica is beautiful, so it’s not hard to take pretty pictures there. But, it is also my job to make places look way better than they actually are, or …

MY GUIDE TO MAUI, HAWAII

If I could choose to move one place in America (besides maybe New York), it would hands down be Maui, Hawaii. I had the opportunity to spend six days in Maui and was able to really explore the best the island has to offer. Below is a full break down of my MAUI MUST SEE’S: WHERE TO STAY The Four Seasons Resort Maui Wailea is one of my new obsessions. With an extensive and stunning new renovation recently unveiled at the end of 2016, the newly designed resort takes perfection to a new level. With floor to ceiling transformations of its luxury guest rooms and suites, the resort is in even a better place than ever before. The new aesthetic honors the nature and beauty of the island while still maintaining a contemporary feel. I stayed in one of their luxury suites with a beautiful garden and ocean view. With a spacious living and dining room, bathroom, bedroom and two large balconies, it really gave you the feel of being in your own private home …

HAWAII VIDEO

Hey guys! Check out my video from my recent trip to Hawaii. Be on the look out for my full Hawaii travel guide where I share the best things to do and see on the islands in my next post. Would love your feedback on the video! Video Produced by: HungryApe | @HungryApe Directed and Edited by: Solmaz Saberi | @SolmazSaberi -Nicole