What makes a destination "great"?

Is it the history, the food, the people, the land?  Is it that one special thing you just can't see anywhere else on the planet?  Maybe.  But above all, I think the greatness of a destination is decided mainly by the individual.  Travel is very personal.  The places we visit and enjoy reflect who we are.  One person dreams of spas in Las Vegas, another longs to trek through the Himalayas.  We're all different, and that's what makes our individual travel adventures so unique.

I asked some travel bloggers if they would share with us some of their all-time favorite destinations.  A hard choice for many, but I figure who knows the world better than those that travel for a living?  If we're going to go looking for some places to start our next travel adventure, might as well take a pass on TripAdvisor and go straight to the experts for advice.

I think you'll see by the choices below just how personal travel can be.  No two travelers chose the same destination.  Nobody went on about how they loved some tourist hotspot or the eighth wonder of the world.  Instead, the favorites below were chosen not for the "greatness" of the destination, but for the stories the destination helped to produce.

Enjoy!  And much thanks to all those travelers for sharing!

Europe

Paris: Scenes From A Paris Market | Beer & Beans

Romania: Meeting Counts And Vagabonds In Transylvania | Wanderlusting

Ireland: Secret Spots | A Little Adrift

Iceland: A Photo Essay | Don't Ever Look Back

Turkey: The Mini-Easter Island | Chicky Bus

Austria: A Photo Tour Of Vienna | Grounded Traveler

Slovakia: Exploring The High Tatras | The Family Adventure Project

Finland: The Kvarken Archipelago | Around The World In Eighty Years

Asia

 Oman: The Emerald Pools Of The Wadis | Snaps and Blabs

Japan:  The Snow Monkeys | Idelish

Mongolia:  The Modern Nomads Of The Gobi Desert | Otts World

India: Why Every Traveler Must Visit | Wandering Earl

Japan: A Quiet Walk In Kyoto | WalkingOn Travels

Nepal: Everest Base Camp | The Road To Anywhere

Bali: The Holy Water Of The Tirta Empal Temple | Act Of Traveling

Indonesia: Buffalo Soldiers Living For Death in Tana Toraja | Travels With A Nine Year Old

Thailand: I Kissed A Ladyboy  . . . And I Liked It | Man On The Lam

Philippines: That's A Wrap | With Two Kids In Tow

Nepal: Top Three Sites in Pokhara | Hole In The Donut

Indonesia: Boroburur Sunrise Tour | Yomadic

Thailand: Chang Mai, The Loy Krathong Lantern Festival | The Dropout Diaries

Mongolia: Hustai National Park | Lydia Schrandt Photography

Australia, New Zealand, and The South Pacific

New Zealand: The Smells of Rotorua | Y Travel Blog

Australia: Swimming With Sea Lions | Livin On The Road

Australia: The Ayers Rock Base Walk | Wandering Photographer

North America And The Caribbean

Chicago by Nomadic Samuel

Cuba: Fast Facts For Families | Have Baby Will Travel

Canada: Lake Louise, Alberta | Traveling Canucks

United States: Chicago - A Photo Essay At Night | Nomadic Samuel

Grenada: An Introduction | The Professional Hobo

United States: Jekyll Island, Georgia | Amberr Is Me

Africa

South Africa by Green Global Travel

South Africa: Skukuza And The Londolozi Game Reserve | Green Global Travel

Tunisia:  The Festival du Sahara at Douz | The Edventure Project

Botswana: The  Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | Travel 4 Wildlife

Central And South America

Colombia by Raising Miro

Peru: Beyond Machu Picchu | Time Crunched

Mexico: The Butterfly Reserve Of Michoacan | Living Outside The Box

Colombia: San Cipriano | Raising Miro

Panama: The San Blas Islands | Bodes Well

Peru: The Mysteries Of Dr. Cabrera's Stone Museum In Ica | Family On Bikes

Guatemala: The Real Magic Kingdom of Tikal | Discover. Share. Inspire.

Brazil:  Rio With Kids | Viajando com Pimpolhos

Costa Rica:  Glimpses Into A Ranchers Life | The Nomadic Family

If I missed you, and you would like to add your travel story to the list, just leave a comment or contact me.  I'll be happy to include you.  The more places we have to travel, the better!

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Last fall, a group of young travelers made their way around the United States on the Mama Bus.  I asked each of them to write a guest post for us about their most memorable moments.  This post is from 16-year old Jeremiah Wood.

The sun sent its first streaks of light early over the green mountains that surround my Uncle’s run down farm. My brother Jonathan, my Uncle and I ate a quickly ate our omelets made from Auntie’s fresh eggs, and then jumped in the truck and headed for the mountains. It was a two hour drive along dusty single lane roads, we were going to a logging site to see the machinery and learn about logging.

My Uncle is an interesting character, has been a logger all his life and is a walking talking fact book on the subject. He goes nowhere without his rat (ahem I mean his Dachshund) Molly, he drives a truck that runs most of the time, he has a heart of gold, and… well he’s kind of a redneck.

Jack, our guide to the site was waiting for us in his pickup as we turned onto Bear Camp road. Bear Camp road runs over the Klamath Mountains and is extremely dangerous during the winter, and must be driven with care even in the summer when we drove it. Multiple people have been stranded for days or even weeks before being found.

We came around a bend in the road and suddenly the sun finished rising over the mountains and lit up the earth. It was as if someone flipped a light switch in a dark room, you could almost hear the trees yawning as they woke up and reached for the sky, the same way they have been for hundreds of years.

The dust billowed up from the truck ahead of us; my Uncle slowed down to a near stop and drove the truck forward carefully. It was impossible to see through the dust and it took minutes for it to settle again so you just slow down and keep driving, very, very carefully. We traveled this way for two hours; we would slowly drive through the dust cloud, and when we got through it Jack would be there waiting for us and then we’d do it again, and again, and again.

My Uncle pointed out mountains, past logging sites, and where forest fires had swept through years before, and occasionally muttered something about the air conditioner blowing the dust inside the cab.

We finally reached the site where six men were hard at work, three at the bottom, and three at the top. Logging on hills and mountains is very difficult, so there is a lot of specialized equipment to help.

At the top of the hill there is a machine called a “Yarder” it’s similar to a crane, but it has a more complicated pulley system. The way it works is that a steel cable is attached to the top of the yarder (which is placed uphill of the area being logged) and runs downwards where it is attached to a tree, backhoe, bulldozer, or large pickup truck.

Then a pulley runs up and down on the cable, the workers below attach the logs to the pulley and then signal for the operator to pull the logs up. When the logs reach the top they are disconnected from the pulley and loaded on trucks.

My Uncle taught me about the individual responsibilities of each person, and pointed out who was doing their job correctly (and incorrectly). One particular mistake caused a $500 log to be snapped in half (my Uncle wasn’t happy about that one). After a few hours at the logging site we kept going down Bear Camp Road and went out to lunch at a little place overlooking the Rouge River.

On the way home I looked out across the beautiful, rugged mountains of Oregon and thought about how lucky I am, to be on this trip, to have great friends, and great family joining us on it, shaping it, and adding their own little part.

Thanks to Jeremiah for such a thoughtful, well-written piece.  Family and Travel:  A great combination.

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This came out of nowhere.

We lived in Los Angeles for 3 years and never once did we even bring up traveling to Hawaii.  It's never been a place we wanted to go.  Not for any particular reason mind you, but I think at some point we took it off the radar and we just never let it back in.

But over the past few weeks Hawaii has been popping up everywhere for me.  It all started in my inbox.  Email after email of advertising from the great islands first sparked my interest (despite my efforts, I am still at the mercy of advertising).  Then I picked up a random magazine at the dentist and found a story about an actor who lives in what he calls - "island heaven".  And today I came across an article on Hawaii written by Paul Theroux, who just so happens to make his home in Honolulu.  Now, when one of the greatest travelers of all time chooses to settle down in a place, you should take notice.  So, I'm taking notice.

Over the past few months Heidi and I have re-discovered how much we lust for the great outdoors.  We love nature - all of it.  We love camping, hiking, animals, rain, wind, and sweat.  We love seeing what's around the next bend, and around the next bend, and around the next bend.  In fact, we love to get outside so much, that we've decided to start developing a new blog around it and really make getting outdoors our life's passion.  No sense staying home and watching others live "the life" on TV.  As long as we have the ability to get out, we're gonna do it.  And this brings us to Hawaii.

There aren't many places on Earth that can match the natural feast that Hawaii brings to the table.  These tiny islands offer up 11 of the planet's 13 climate zones - including snow!  Yes, it snows on Hawaii - who knew?  Hawaii also boasts some of the cleanest air on the planet, it has endless hiking trails and beaches to explore, it's a melting pot of cultures, and, of course, it has some of the most active volcanoes in the world.  Adventure at every turn.

Now I thought Hawaii was expensive, and I suppose generally speaking it is, but we can be pretty savvy when it comes to saving a few bucks.  Plus, I told you we're not missing out anymore over a few dollars.  Live it or don't.

We plan to drive into LA and park our car in some free wasteland while we hop the cheapest flight we can to Hawaii.  I'm sure once we arrive in Honolulu we'll want to crash at the Modern Honolulu for a night or two and enjoy the fine life for a moment, but then it's time to get out and smell the hibiscus.

Did you know camping in Hawaii's state parks is under $20 a night?  That's everywhere!  $20 US a night!  In Hawaii!  We will be doing this for a few weeks - I promise you that.  I can't wait!  We'll just bring our backpacks, rent a car for a few weeks, and camp like rock stars next to volcanoes.  Who knows?  Maybe we'll even score a house for a while or that luxury hotel will take pity on us and offer us up a free night!  A man can dream, right?

So who's been to Hawaii and wants to give us some advice?  We could use it!

This is a new series I'm starting 'cause I'm just getting too itchy about travel.  I need to start thinking about places we're gonna be going.  No place is too luxurious or too uncomfortable for us.  Feel free to email us and let us know what's on your travel agenda and if you know of a place we just shouldn't pass by.

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