2025 was a record-breaking 12 months of journey in HoneyTrek Land. Touring to 29 international locations throughout Europe, Africa, the Center East, North America, and South America, we took on the world with as a lot gusto and gumption as we did the day we left on our honeymoon. Why such a whirlwind tour? We’ve been diligently researching our subsequent e-book on the World’s Greatest Glamping Locations and making an attempt our darndest to expertise as many main eco-resorts as attainable. In search of properties with inventive lodging, immersion in nature, sustainable practices, experiential eating, unusual adventures, and provoking proprietors (to call a number of of our standards)…we’re so thrilled with what we discovered! From Aurora Safaris, which made us understand the bliss of Scandinavian ice tub tradition, to Wolwedans, whose dedication to the Namib Desert’s atmosphere and area people introduced us to tears, this international glamping journey reminded us how proud we’re to be a part of the outside hospitality business. As Sarah Dusek, one of many true glamping pioneers, mentioned to us, “We need not simply to create entry to extraordinary locations in nature, however to maneuver the needle on fixing some huge world issues.” This concept of regenerative journey as a catalyst for constructive change saved us motivated as we schlepped our backpack on to one more in a single day bus, waited for a hitchhike within the beating solar, and forked over one other $800 for a long-haul flight, and blissful to share an amazing camp’s story.
From a sustainable journey perspective, we’re fairly proud to say that of the 29 international locations we explored in 2025, we entered 20 of them and not using a flight…and clocked a grand whole of 15,534 miles (two-thirds of the circumference of the earth) of overland journey! And we’ve upheld our dedication to by no means shopping for single-use plastic water bottles—14 years sturdy!
Along with sharing our favourite locations and a sampling of the world’s finest glamping locations, this 12 months in Evaluate weblog features a bunch of behind-the-scenes shenanigans, journey fails, and heart-warming moments that made 2025 one-of-a-kind!
Mexico: Baja Highway Journey
Baja is our blissful place, and highway journeys down the peninsula have develop into one in all our favourite methods to kick off the brand new 12 months. For our 4th annual journey, we leveled it up and caravanned with two of probably the most badass RVers we all know. JP & Elena have been correct nomads for almost 20 years, and while you put all our journey expertise and three classic rigs collectively, we had been a dream staff on wheels. Pooling our favourite locations in Baja, we created an epic itinerary by means of Mexico’s premier wine nation, a Pacific shoreline that rivals Massive Sur, cardon cacti labyrinths, and seashore tenting on a spit of paradise. Ssee video above.
Eire: Our 3-month Euro Journey Begins
Journey conferences are all the time an effective way to line up our 12 months’s route and partnerships (aka, how we make a residing), so we got down to Eire for “Meet the Media.” Plus, we’ll take any excuse to go to charming Dublin and hang around with our Irish pals Rose & Conor. After conferences, we wandered the cobblestone streets with our buds and ducked into cozy pubs to have a superb craic with some Guinness, dueling fiddles, and Irish hospitality.
Sweden: Winter Glamping Spectacular
Now to get glamping! The Scandinavian leg of our international glamping journey kicked off with a bang in Sweden, one of many world’s most sustainable international locations and an absolute fairytale in wintertime. We lined up 4 unimaginable eco-retreats within the far north to expertise the perfect of the northern lights, snowshoeing, dogsledding, and Lapland delicacies & tradition. From Grano Becksin, as soon as a dwindling village and now a beacon of hope for rural tourism, to the world-famous Treehotel, an architectural retreat that has hosted the likes of Kate Moss and Sweden’s Crown Princess, we struck glamping gold!
@honeytrek As glamping fanatics, we have now lengthy dreamt of staying on the Treehotel in Swedish Lapland. Commissioning Scandanvia’s main architects, this family-run inn reimagined the straightforward treehouse into lodging which have swept the journey awards and attracted celeb company, from Justin Beiber to the Crown Princess of Sweden. Now it was our flip, however which room to decide on? The disappearing Mirrorcube, the UFO flying saucer, woven twig Fowl’s Nest, or the brand new Biosphere manufactured from 350 birdhouses…see the place we perched and what it’s like to remain at one the world’s most inventive eco-retreats. @Treehotel #visitsweden #glamping #treehouse #lapland #swedishlapland #comfortablywild ♬ original sound – HoneyTrek
Northeastern Europe by Prepare: Sweden->Finland->Estonia->Latvia->Lithuania-> Poland->Germany
Certain, taking a airplane from Swedish Lapland to Berlin would have been quicker, however the place’s the enjoyable in that? We obtained a Eurail cross, and it provided us an opportunity to see a brand new a part of the world…jap Scandinavia, the Baltic States, plus our beloved Poland (in non-pandemic occasions), and arrive in Germany with extra recollections (and a a lot decrease carbon footprint) than we’d ever get from a flight. Staying a number of nights in every nation’s capital, we obtained a style of their nationwide historical past, tradition, structure, delicacies, and cosmopolitan residing earlier than taking our subsequent prepare journey by means of the countryside.
Whereas we all the time deliberate to go to Tallinn, Estonia (one of many best-preserved medieval cities in Europe), we would by no means have visited the fabulous cities of Riga, Latvia, or Vilnius, Lithuania in the event that they weren’t on our prepare route. Seems Riga has the densest focus of Artwork Nouveau structure on the earth, and Vilnius is house to an impartial republic of artists and free thinkers with its personal structure, forex, and zest for all times!
Every leg of the journey led to a higher appreciation of prepare journey…gazing out the window, strolling the aisles, eating in a sit-down restaurant, engaged on free wifi, and even getting a full night time’s relaxation in a personal sleeper cabin. Two weeks and three,878km later, we arrived in Berlin, so grateful we took the rail much less traveled. Watch the video above of our 7-country prepare journey and highlights from Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
Portugal & Spain: Iberian Peninsula Campervan Journey
Who doesn’t love the Iberian Peninsula, with its UNESCO cities, beautiful seashores, charming countryside, and vibrant tradition?! Having lived in each Spain and Portugal, and traveled there extensively through the years, we are able to now say this area is much more unimaginable as a campervan journey!
We rented a home on wheels from the Roadsurfer workplace in Madrid and headed south for Andalucia and the Algarve. With the liberty to take the backroads at our personal tempo, we found so many unimaginable locations and met pretty locals alongside the best way. When it got here to discovering campsites every night time, we’d open the useful Roadsurfer Spots app and discover such distinctive locations to remain…like Alqueria de Los Lentos, a Sixteenth-century grain mill on the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains with pleasant horses and a sizzling tub, or Monte Das Louzeiras in Alentejo, a vineyard bringing again the traditional custom of amphora pure wine-making and sharing it with campers, and World Tribe, an eco-living group and biodynamic farm in Huelva, who hosted a girls’s circle that obtained me to bop, cry, and chortle with girls I now name pals.
A lot extra immersive than renting a automobile and staying at metropolis resorts, this camper journey helped us get off the crushed observe, join with locals, and fall deeper in love with one in all our favourite components of the world.
Greatest Reminder of the 12 months
On a whim, we went to the workplace of my first newspaper job on the odd probability that my identical editor from 20 years in the past would possibly nonetheless be there. I pressed the buzzer: “Hola, ¿Editor José Luis está en la oficina?” I waited anxiously, pondering it was slim-to-none that he’d be there and even keep in mind me. The door opened, and he gave me an enormous hug. We spent an hour chatting, flipping by means of my article archives, and laughing about that experimental column we pulled off as a staff. This present day was such an amazing reminder, it’s by no means too late or too dangerous to succeed in out to an outdated buddy! To see this encounter and extra memory-lane moments from Sevilla, see the full gallery.
Morocco: Africa Begins
Morocco has all the time fascinated and intimidated us in equal components. We had no doubts it will be stunning, with its towering sand dunes, historical cities, and lavish riads–however we had heard sufficient shady tales of medina mishaps that we weren’t certain it was well worth the trouble. Properly, after two weeks in Morocco, we by no means encountered a single unsavory character. Even in probably the most touristy areas, hawkers would make a concerted effort to offer vacationers deference, going so far as to say “I gained’t push you…be at liberty to take a look,” and one other cheekily confirmed us his menu and mentioned, “Don’t panic, I’m natural.” This heightened politeness and self-awareness virtually appeared as if phrase had gotten again to Morocco that it wasn’t cool to harass vacationers, and it was time to make issues proper.
From the artist in Aït Benhaddou, who gifted us an additional portray after we supported his work, to a random airplane passenger who bravely ferried our confiscated drone from Fes to the Marrakesh airport and wouldn’t settle for a dirham…the spirit of the Moroccan folks shines shiny. To not point out their legacy of inventive skills could make a typical home really feel like a palace and switch a mud village right into a UNESCO surprise.
So, whether or not the dangerous tales we’d heard about Morocco had been blown out of proportion or not, this journey reminded us to by no means decide a spot on rumour. Simply as necessary as touring together with your avenue smarts is bringing an open thoughts and coronary heart. With that, you can see good in each place, particularly in dazzling Morocco. See our favourite pics from Fes, the Sahara, Aït Benhaddou (you’ll acknowledge it from Sport of Thrones), and Marrakesh within the gallery above.
Immigration Mishap of the 12 months
We landed on the Fes airport, and the customs officer requested us, “Do you’ve a drone?” We had been carrying one in our bag for months and sauntered into Morocco not understanding that they had been unlawful! They subsequently confiscated our flying digicam and mentioned, “You possibly can decide it up on the airport while you go away Fes.” The one downside was that we had been departing Morocco from an airport on the opposite aspect of the nation. Getting our drone again turned a two-week saga, between it getting muled to Marrakesh by a form stranger (big like to my boy Jad!), getting the customs paperwork (which included Mike actually scaling an 18-foot wall to get out of the locked medina at 2am), after which praying it will get launched from the clutches of airport safety. The entire expertise was so ridiculous and miraculous that we turned it into its personal YouTube video (above).
Qatar: Making the Most of Layovers
When given the choice of a three-hour layover within the Doha airport or a day and a half to discover a brand new metropolis with an area buddy…we selected the latter, in fact! See our whirlwind tour of the capital of Qatar, with its ultramodern skyscrapers, dhow boats bobbing within the bay, Center Jap markets, World Cup stadiums, and gracious hospitality.
Kenya: Sustainable Safaris
Kenya’s Maasai Mara is arguably the world’s best safari vacation spot. The acacia-dotted savanna presents a every day wildlife particular starring 2.5 million herbivores and apex predators, showcasing the circle of life in all its drama. A number of safari camps provide a front-row seat to this biodiverse ecosystem and ancestral homelands of the Maasai folks, however the perfect ones are these actively conserving it, like Great Plains Conservation.
We had the privilege of staying at two of their Kenya properties, the adventure-focused Mara Expedition Camp and the Relais & Châteaux-accredited Mara Toto Tree Camp. Whereas most safari corporations are all concerning the animals, Nice Plains believes the Maasai persons are on the coronary heart of the Mara and has a large number of impression tasks that profit locals and company. From becoming a member of the Naboisho Ladies Craft Centre for a jewelry-making lesson to spending a day in Nkoilale village, visiting the native faculty, a soccer match, and the bridges GPC has constructed for the group, we obtained to know the individuals who make this place so particular and the assorted tasks Nice Plains does to help them.
And in relation to wildlife sightings, our journey was action-packed, together with a household of 25 elephants surrounding our automobile and a delight of lions main us on a giraffe hunt! Transferring from the riverine forest to the open grasslands over the course of our keep, we noticed 27 species of mammals (cheetah, zebra, leopard, hyena, elephant, topi, hippo, and Cape buffalo, to call a number of), and hundreds of animals in whole! However the perfect half about staying with Nice Plains? The proceeds of their luxe camps assist shield 1.1 million acres of wilderness throughout three African international locations. If safari is a once-in-a-lifetime expertise, make it rely for you, the locals, and the planet!
See our top 20 photos in this gallery and the movies under for Mara Expedition Camp in motion and the craziest wildlife encounter as a mama giraffe takes on 9 lions on this battle royale!
Namibia: Glamping in The Oldest Desert within the World
We’ve all the time believed that tourism has the ability to strengthen the atmosphere and native communities, however we have now by no means seen an instance as awe-inspiring as Wolwedans. Within the Eighties, when few acknowledged the sweetness and biodiversity of the Namib Desert, wildland philanthropist Albi Brückner & his son Stephan risked every part to guard it. Working with landowners to tear down their cattle fences and take a pledge of conservation, they created Namib Rand, one in all Africa’s largest non-public nature reserves, and the Wolwedans Assortment of lodges to help their efforts.
What began as a easy camp within the dunes has developed into 4 eco-lodges providing the final word luxurious: 2,500 acres of pristine wilderness per visitor! We had the enjoyment of staying at each Dune Camp and Desert Lodge, every with sweeping views of the mountains, a sea of pink sand, and their twinkling Worldwide Darkish Sky Reserve (1 of simply 3 in all of Africa). Days had been full of adventures, from fats biking to nature walks with San Bushmen. Alongside the best way, we discovered zebra, oryx, and the majestic fantastic thing about the oldest desert on Earth.
For extra on their revolutionary conservation and group impression tasks (defending 518,000 acres of wilderness and elevating $1.7 million for charity) and one of many coolest locations you may keep in Africa, see this behind-the-scenes video and Instagram Gallery above for our Namib Rand Adventures.
Craziest Hitchhike of the 12 months
We couldn’t go away the Namib Desert with out seeing the famed Soussleivei, a 900-year-old petrified forest nestled between huge pink dunes. The one downside was that there was no public transportation to get there! It took a grand whole of seven hitchhikes (together with one spooning with two locals within the truckbed of a jalopy), 10+ hours standing on the aspect of two desolate desert roads, and one nervous breakdown to get the place we would have liked to go, however we made it! With endurance, optimism, and a little bit of masochism, there may be all the time a method!
Angola: Uncharted Vacationer Territory
Overlanding from Namibia to Angola was a complete wild card. All we actually knew was that this southern African nation was a Portuguese colony for ~400 years and was embroiled in a decades-long civil struggle till 2002. To plan this journey, we figured we’d get to the border city of Rundu, Namibia and collect some native intel on going to the neighboring city of Calai, Angola…however we couldn’t discover anybody who had been! Google Maps made it seem to be you needed to drive eight hours out of the best way to cross the river, and Reserving.com pulled up zero outcomes for resorts…however this solely made us extra curious and desperate to discover Southern Angola!
We walked throughout a floating bridge over the Okavango River into the nice unknown, obtained our passports stamped, and hopped on a mototaxi till we discovered a guesthouse–and a unbelievable one at that! We took a canoe journey that even the maritime police had been skeptical about, nevertheless it was an unimaginable journey for us and the fisherman who had by no means taken passengers in his dugout.
The rugged Calai village was an journey sufficient, however we didn’t wish to go away Angola with out exploring the countryside. We knew the sandy roads hadn’t been touched because the colonial days, and the prospects of hitching a experience had been slim, but when we’ve discovered something in journey…it’s to be daring and lead with a smile. We discovered an Angolan man at our visitor home with a 4×4 pickup truck (a complete rarity on the town) and requested if he wished to go on a highway journey, and he mentioned he was planning one for the next day and we may be part of. It was a 12-hour scenic tour, with a particular cease to satisfy the regional queen, sundown beers over the river confluence, and a useful cultural trade.
We got here to Angola with zero expectations (even a number of jitters) however had been met with pure kindness and unbridled journey…precisely what we dream of in journey! Read our blog all about it.
Botswana: Desert & Delta
Botswana has two UNESCO World Heritage Websites, however there wasn’t an effective way to mix the perfect of the nation’s wilderness and historical tradition…till this epic new Desert & Delta journey.
Beginning within the Okavango Delta, one of many world’s most pristine and distinctive wetlands, we cruised by means of the river of grass and lilies to Nxamaseri Island Lodge. With rooms related by boardwalks over the water and thru the forest cover, this historic lodge is in whole concord with nature. Waking as much as a refrain of hippos, we’d go on safari every day by flat-bottom boat or mokoro canoe by means of the flooded land. Our information and river bushman, 9, taught us the methods of the delta—from the numerous makes use of of waterlilies to recognizing the elusive sitatunga antelope.
Whereas there may be loads of wildlife within the Okavango Panhandle, its actual magnificence lies in its entry to age-old cultures. This brings us to our second UNESCO World Heritage Web site…Tsodilo Hills, one of many highest concentrations of rock artwork on the earth by Africa’s oldest residing tradition! “The Louvre of the Desert,” “The Land of the Gods,” Tsodilo Hills is the place 4,500 historical work may be present in simply 10 sq. kilometers. Going again 20,000 years, the San Bushmen are the first artists, illustrating scenes of their lives as hunters and gatherers and the shamanic visions that guided their method. It’s outstanding that the colour and element of the artwork haven’t pale away, and neither have the artists.
In collaboration with the native San tribe, Desert & Delta created the Tsodilo Hills Sleep-Out expertise as a launchpad for cultural trade. Impressed by the Bushmen’s conventional dwellings, conical twig huts had been easy but elegant lodging. Dinner was cooked over the hearth with substances that the San would hunt and collect. Time across the fireplace was storytelling by means of music and dance, in opposition to the backdrop of Botswana’s most sacred mountain. We watched in awe, desirous about the tens of hundreds of years of custom that went into every step and what a privilege it was to share even a grain within the sands of time with the oldest residing tradition in Africa. Watch this video for our unforgettable Tsodilo Hills experience.
Greatest Deal of the 12 months
The tourism business desires you to imagine that an African safari ought to run you $1,000 an evening. However we booked one on the fly by means of our guesthouse in Botswana’s legendary Chobe Nationwide Park for below $100! That value included a riverboat safari, sport drive, nationwide park charges, teatime, dinner, and lodging…and we had the identical wildlife sightings as a luxurious clothing store. Now, this isn’t to discredit the worth of luxurious lodges which have distinctive hospitality, beautiful lodging, extremely skilled employees, and many who admirably put their income in direction of conservation and group improvement; they’re actually well worth the splurge! We simply need ALL wildlife lovers and vacationers to know…For those who dream of happening an epic African safari, it’s inside your attain! Watch this video to see for yourself.
Zimbabwe: Prepare from Victoria Falls to Pretoria
Africa by prepare? Sure! It’s referred to as Rovos Rail, and it’s one of the vital luxurious on the earth. For the previous 36 years, the Vos household has been restoring historic trains to their most glamorous days and adventurous routes. Beginning our four-day journey in Victoria Falls, one of many Seven Pure Wonders of the World, our locomotive and its 36 well-appointed suites rolled from Zimbabwe to the capital of South Africa.
Throughout our 1,400 kilometers of journey, we took in unimaginable surroundings, from the spray of Vic Falls to the rugged cliffs of the Soutpansberg Mountains…whether or not we had been having fun with a four-course meal within the eating automobile or lounging in our suite. Whereas there was ample time to chill out, there was simply as a lot alternative for journey, with a safari in Hwanage Nationwide Park and a cultural tour to Motobo: a rhino sanctuary, rock artwork haven, and burial place of Rhodesia’s founder, Cecil John Rhodes. On the finish of every day’s excursions, we had been all the time met with champagne and nights spent reminiscing with new pals.
Whereas most individuals suppose getting round Africa requires bush planes or rugged overland automobiles, Rovos Rail was simply the connection we had been on the lookout for.
South Africa: The Rainbow Nation’s Hottest New Eco Resort
Not simply an eco-resort, Few & Far Luvhondo, in South Africa’s “Forgotten Mountains,” is a 100,000-hectare conservation and carbon-sequestration undertaking. Open for lower than a 12 months, this ground-breaking getaway has already develop into a world media darling and earned a spot on Time Journal’s "World’s Biggest Locations." We’re undecided what number of of these journey writers have had the privilege of staying at this six-suite resort within the Soutpansberg Vary, however after mountaineering into the 2-billion-year-old mountains, monitoring leopards, swimming in secret waterfalls, volunteering with ecologists, and sleeping in an opulent mattress below the celebrities, we are able to affirm that Few & Far Luvhondo is a transformative expertise. See the gallery from our keep and skim our full account in our article in Glamping Business Americas Magazine.Eswatini: Highway Tripping The Kingdom
The Kingdom of Eswatini, the final absolute monarchy in Africa and one of many continent’s smallest nations, is usually missed. We’ll admit we additionally skipped it on our first journey to Southern Africa (again when it was referred to as “Swaziland”)…however now we all know it deserves much more consideration!
Crossing the border on the fringe of the three.6-billion-year-old mountains of the Barberton UNESCO World Heritage Web site, we had been immediately impressed. Simply exterior the capital, they’ve a monolith, solely second in dimension to Australia’s Uluru! As for safari in Eswatini, we went to Hlane Royal Nationwide Park and noticed extra rhinos within the wild than the opposite 14 African international locations we’ve visited–mixed! Making this safari expertise (stuffed with giraffes, zebras, nyalas, hippos, and elephants) all of the extra particular…we had been in a position to do it as a self-drive, and didn’t see a single different automobile on our 6-hour journey.
Eswatini tries to court docket vacationers, notably South Africans, with a nightlife district, casinos, and craft markets, however that was our least favourite half. As a substitute of going to those staged cultural villages, we ate at native markets and stayed at Swazi Dreams, a community-based undertaking bringing again the standard beehive dwellings and alluring vacationers to interrupt bread with an in a single day keep.
Eswatini was an sudden grand finale to our 2.5-month journey by means of Africa, and a continued reminder to take the highway much less traveled.
Camper Mishap of the 12 months
Upon reuniting with Buddy the Camper after 5 months in storage, we realized our automobile keys had fallen out of our backpack someplace in Africa. Excellent news is that we had a hidden spare to the entrance door, dangerous information we didn’t have one for the padlock, so Anne needed to squeeze by means of a 1.5-foot-wide hole within the trunk to get into the home. Watch the epitome of a battle bus in this hysterical video.
USA: Bay Space Work & Play
After 5 months of hardcore journey by means of Europe and Africa, we would have liked a second to recharge our batteries. We went to Anne’s house state of California to meet up with her household in LA, then pricey pals within the Bay Space, all whereas doing two housesits to offer ourselves a while and house to ourselves. We additionally wanted to refill our journey coffers, so we landed storytelling gigs with Go to Berkeley and Go to the SF Peninsula! For our greatest suggestions and tales on the Bay Space, watch the movies under and skim Things to Do in Berkeley and our SF Peninsula Road Trip Guide.Burning Man Revisited
We first skilled Burning Man in 2018 and by no means forgot the acute pleasure and inspiration we felt from this protopian gathering. Now, feeling the burden of 2025’s political local weather, it was time to return to The Playa. The one downside was that Burning Man began in two days, we didn’t have tickets or bikes, and Buddy the Camper was removed from prepared for his maiden voyage into the mud. However with that Burner can-do spirit, we drove in direction of Nevada with a “Want Tickets” signal on our again window. Finally, we scored a pair, obtained Buddy dialed in, and made it by means of the gates to a giant welcome-home hug.
It was an unimaginable 9 days, partaking in as lots of the 3500+ occasions as we may, from live-music yoga to jewellery making with playa mud, and reveling within the 400 larger-than-life artworks on show. On the closing night time, standing with 70,000 new pals across the Temple Burn, watching our handwritten prayers and woes waft into the universe, we left with a brand new hope for humanity and a objective to make it final till subsequent 12 months. For those who’ve ever questioned about Burning Man, don’t miss our video, above.
5000th Day on Honeymoon
This September, we crossed 5,000 days on our HoneyTrek! Constantly touring for over 13 years and not using a homebase, we discover ourselves at house wherever we go and amongst household in each tradition we meet. Seven continents and 91 international locations later, the sweetness, information, and kindness on the earth encourage us to maintain exploring. And there couldn’t be a greater technique to have fun our 5,000-day milestone than with our household, pals, and NBC! Watch this enjoyable phase, the place 9News anchors Sam & Alexandra interview us about our journey and the issues we’ve discovered alongside the best way.
Chile: Our South America Journey Begins at The Journey World Summit
For the fourth continent on our glamping quest, we deliberate a 3-month, 8-country tour of South America, completely kicking it off with the Journey Journey World Summit in Patagonia! Hosted by the Journey Journey Commerce Affiliation. The most important international community of journey journey leaders, that is rather more than a convention; it’s a week-long occasion to be taught, play, join, and mobilize for a greater journey business.
This 12 months, 700 journey outfitters, eco-lodges, tourism boards, journey advisors, conservationists, and 30 hand-selected media had been in attendance. It was not solely an honor to be on the short-list of journalists, but additionally to be a speaker on the mainstage panel: “Content material Creation & Storytelling: The Nice Debate in Journey Journey.”
ATTA is aware of you may’t confine adventurers to a convention corridor, so half of the occasion was spent within the fjords, glaciers, subpolar forests, excessive desert, and volcanic mountains of Chile. Mid-conference, all 700 of us launched into a “Day of Journey.” For Mike, this meant crusing to the southern finish of the Patagonic Icefield to observe Gray Glacier calve cannonballs of blue ice. Whereas Anne plied a fjord to succeed in Bernardo O’Higgins Nationwide Park to discover two extra awe-inspiring glaciers, adopted by a farm-fresh feast at a third-generation estancia. Plus, we prolonged our ATTA adventures with a visit to Chile’s nook of the Polynesian Triangle, the mysterious Rapa Nui, and a four-day trek in Torres del Paine Nationwide Park–each epic (see galleries under).
Argentina: Scouting Sentio Camps
In pinpointing the “finest glamping, we have now to steadiness the tried and true five-star eco-resorts with the subsequent sizzling factor. With our finger on the heartbeat of the outside hospitality business, we heard a few glamping camp-meets-conservation undertaking within the depths of Salta, Argentina. The place the Juramento River cuts by means of the Andes, a Nineteenth-century estancia has been quietly defending 65,000 acres of wilderness. Few have set foot on this pristine panorama, past their 6 species of cats, 264 hen species, and a handful of households who’ve been caretaking the land for generations.
To proceed as a personal conservation space, the proprietor, Hank, needed to discover a accomplice who appreciated Condor Valley’s magnificence, historical past, and potential for journey…enter Sentio Camps. This fabulous new glamping vacation spot is about to open within the winter 2026, however we obtained a sneak peek of their outside hospitality choices–from river rafting by means of a 60-million-year-old canyon to wine tasting at South America’s first solar-powered winery. See the gallery above for Northern Argentina’s subsequent nice getaway…
Paraguay: South America’s Neglected Nation
Not many vacationers go to Paraguay or know a lot about this landlocked South American nation, however we had been fascinated by it! Do you know 90% of Paraguayans communicate an indigenous language (greater than another South American nation)? That 40% are of Italian descent? Or that it’s a digital nomad mecca with zero % tax on international earnings? Discover out extra stunning and enjoyable information about Paraguay on this gallery from our latest journey.
Brazil: Ecotourism Mecca of Mato Grosso do Sul
As the primary nation on our HoneyTrek, Brazil will all the time maintain a particular spot in our hearts. Again in 2012, we traveled right here for six weeks and overlanded 6,000 kilometers, however we had been all the time bummed that we by no means made it to the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland! Flash ahead 14 years, and the area has solely gotten higher…with Bonito changing into the journey capital of Brazil and the world’s first licensed carbon-neutral ecotourism vacation spot!
We simply spent ten days in Mato Groso do Sul, and it was much more stunning and adventurous than we imagined. From abseiling into blue grottos to river safaris in jaguar habitat, to not point out reconnecting with Brazilians…a number of the most vibrant and fun-loving folks we’ve met in our on HoneyTrek…we love this place and know you’ll too. See our Instagram Highlights for all our adventures and our posts on Bonito and The Pantanal, under.
The Guianas: A Three-Nation Overland Journey
The Guianas? , that pack of three international locations within the prime proper nook of South America that’s lined in over 80% rainforest, don’t communicate Spanish (or Portuguese), and are mainly land-locked Caribbean islands? Barely anybody has heard them. So on a whim, we determined to overland French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana by hitchhike and native bus (on their one connecting highway) to see what they had been all about!
First off, French Guiana; it’s not a former colony of France, it’s a literal a part of the European Union with Euro forex, 220-volt shops, and good wine. Whereas being France’s second largest area, it looks like a forgotten outpost of wood Seventeenth-century maisons, boulangeries, and palm-lined promenades. Then, as a complete counter to its lost-in-time vibes, French Guiana is house to Europe’s beacon of know-how and innovation: The Guiana Area Middle and Europe’s Spaceport, the continent’s major rocket launch web site. Its different declare to fame? Satan’s Island, the Alcatraz of South America, and the topic of the film Papillon.
We will’t wait to share extra about our time in French Guiana, celebrating Suriname’s fiftieth anniversary of independence from the Netherlands, and our Amerindian cultural immersion within the rainforest of Guyana. Remember to follow along here.
Colombia: Andes Mountains to the Caribbean Coast
And final however not least, Colombia! From Bogota to Cundinamarca, Cartagena, Medellin, and Guatape, we took our first chunk out of this dynamic nation and cherished it! We discovered a divine coffee-plantation farmstay for our “Domesticate” chapter, we did a mind-blowing Impulse Journey tour led by gang members in one in all Bogota’s most harmful neighborhoods, we lived like locals with our Colombian buddies in Medellin, went gaga for colonial structure and caribbean vibes in Cartagena, and blissed out at one of the vital distinctive glamping camps on the earth on the shores of Peñol-Guatapé Lake. As you may think about, being our twenty ninth nation of the 12 months, we haven’t fairly gotten to this one but on Instagram, however preserve an eye fixed out for our posts in mid-January…so we have now many unimaginable moments and journey tricks to share!
2026 HoneyTrek Journey Preview
Diving into the final leg of our glamping e-book analysis, we’re heading to Asia and Oceania! We’ve got awe-inspiring properties lined up in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mongolia, and New Zealand, however we’re nonetheless culling our checklist, so when you’ve got any eco-resort strategies, please ship them our method! Come Could, we’ll doubtless tuck away someplace in Southeast Asia to catch our breath and get writing! By June, Buddy the Camper might be very lonely, having lived in a storage unit many of the 12 months, so we’ll take him for a spin across the American West and transfer our author’s den between the woods and a few housesits (we write higher with a cat on our lap). That mentioned, the 12 months can’t be all about Comfortably Wild, so we’re scheming a household journey to Alaska and are all the time on the lookout for journey storytelling gigs to assist pay the payments for all this world exploration!
Thanks to everybody who made it to the top of this monster weblog and to everybody who’s adopted our HoneyTrek through the years. The journey continues!!!
Trending Merchandise
