She said, he said: 2018 in review.

In 2018 we visited 19 countries — 16 of them for the first time. One or both of us visited US cities from San Francisco to Washington, DC, Carmel, Indiana to Miami, Florida.

All in all, Amy spent just shy of 5 months traveling and Keith wasn’t far behind. From stepping briefly into North Korea at the DMZ to nearly a month in different trips to Cuba we were fortunate to see more of the world in 2018 than any other year of our lives, and were even inducted into the Circumnavigators Club. We decided to look back on our 2018 travels as we look forward to 2019. As usual, we didn’t always agree. Check out our 2018 Year in Review He Said, She Said below.

Blue Blog, Monthly Review, Travel AdviceKeith SbiralJanuary 3, 2019Friends, upsanddowns, Travel Guide, #whereisthereddotComment

A Traveler’s Guide for Bacharach, Germany

When you think of small towns in Germany, Bacharach is what you’re imagining, even if you don’t know it. The town of less than 2,000 year-round residents includes timber-frame houses surrounded by an old city wall originally constructed in the 1300 and 1400s with vineyards and a castle-turned-hostel peering down from the hills above the town.

Blue Blog, Travel Advice, GermanyKeith SbiralNovember 29, 2018Bacharach, Travel GuideComment

9 Tips to Travel with Friends and Keep Your Friendships

I think about that line every time I travel with friends. There’s nothing like being out of your comfort zone and in an unfamiliar environment, whether for a weekend or a week, to help you get to know the “real” person.

Blue Blog, Travel AdviceKeith SbiralNovember 15, 2018Friends, upsanddowns, Travel Guide Comment

A Visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center, Abu Dhabi

While we were in Abu Dhabi, one of our favorite experiences was visiting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center. Because it’s a little complicated to visit, and because we saw several people learn the hard way about photo restrictions there, we wanted to share some tips and offer some suggestions for future visitors.

Blue Blog, Abu DhabiKeith SbiralNovember 1, 2018Travel Guide, MosqueComment

A Traveler’s Guide for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Once we knew we wanted to go to Tokyo, Japan, we needed to book a plane ticket to our next destination. There was one tiny problem: we weren’t sure what our next destination would be. We were both interested in more off-the-beaten-path places, but had varying comfort levels with some of the options we were considering.

Blue Blog, Travel Advice, Abu DhabiKeith SbiralOctober 30, 2018Travel GuideComment

Travel Basics for Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Our flight to Baku, Azerbaijan would leave from Dubai, so rather than go straight from Abu Dhabi to the Dubai airport, we decided to spend a few nights in Dubai. We still had some work to do in Dubai, but spent an entire day on a dhow in Oman and were able to spend more time exploring than we were able to do in Abu Dhabi.

Blue Blog, Travel Advice, DubaiKeith SbiralOctober 14, 2018Travel Guide, #whereisthereddot Comments

Travel North of the 38th parallel? Our trip to the DMZ.

I’ve read many books by people who’ve left North Korea, so I was really excited by the prospect of being able to visit the DMZ while we were in Seoul. It was one of the highlights of our time in Seoul, so we wanted to share a few tips for others who might be considering visiting. First, a little background.

Travel Advice, Seoul, Blue BlogKeith SbiralSeptember 25, 2018#whereisthereddot, Travel Guide Comments

Snorkeling in Oman (AKA Defeating Death in a Boat’s Bathroom)

That second title might seem melodramatic, but it’s not far from reality. Let me back up a second.

We knew our time in the United Arab Emirates would mostly be spent coaching clients and working on consulting projects, so we wanted to plan a true day off before we moved on to Azerbaijan.

Blue Blog, OmanKeith SbiralSeptember 17, 2018Travel Guide, upsanddowns, snorkeling Comments

See a Country in a Day: Our Daytrip to Andorra

The tiny country of Andorra sits about a three hour drive from Barcelona, landlocked between France in the north and Spain in the south. The “microstate” is one of the smallest countries in the world by both population (fewer than 80,000 people) and landmass (180 square miles). It is mainly known for its low tax shopping, skiing, and hiking that attract 10 million visitors each year. (Yes, you read that right – 10 million visitors each year in a tiny country with only 80,000 citizens.)

Frankly, not the kind of place where we’d normally want to hang out long-term, but as a day trip, why not? We had already booked several commitments in Barcelona (Sagrada Familia, the Picasso Museum, etc.) that required us to be in Barcelona all but one day of our time there, which happened to be the last full day of our trip.

Blue Blog, Travel Advice, AndorraKeith SbiralSeptember 11, 2018Travel Guide, #whereisthereddot Comments

A Guide to Guides: 21 Questions to Ask and Tips to Make the Most of a Group Tour or Private Guide

On our most recent Facebook Live (you can see them all on our Facebook page if you missed one), one of the questions was about using guides. It is important to us that RedDotBlueDot be a place where readers can learn from our mistakes and benefit from our experiences. So a more detailed answer to this question is in order . . . .

Travel Advice, Blue BlogKeith SbiralAugust 21, 2018Travel GuideComment

A Traveler's Guide for Seoul, South Korea

When we were deciding where to go in Asia, Japan was our number one choice. As we booked our tickets on Korean Airlines (using Ultimate Rewards points!) , we discovered that we could add a free stopover in Seoul, South Korea. While we didn’t want to cut short our time in Japan, ultimately the prospect of being able to visit the DMZ and see another city weighed out, and we found ourselves (the two of us and Keith’s mom, Betty) arriving in Seoul at 4:00 a.m. one humid morning in July.

Blue Blog, Travel Advice, Korea, SeoulKeith SbiralAugust 19, 2018Travel GuideComment