There are endless attractions and things to do in Las Vegas. I tried to write as many options as possible and the best things that we’ve done in Las Vegas

One of the best things was

One show- Michael Jackson Cirque Du Soleil show

We weren’t certain which show to see of Cirque Du Soleil. But after we read many reviews and because of the fact that we love Michael Jackson’s, songs we decided to choose this show. And I’m so glad we did.

It was undoubtedly the most amazing and exciting show I had ever seen. The combination between the dances, acrobatics, and Michael Jackson’s songs was absolutely hypnotizing.

The show brought him back to life and it’s something I never thought I would experience.
I can’t say enough to describe how good it was. I can just recommend it and say you must go see it.

The show is in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
We ordered from the site Vegas.com. On the day itself there’s a 14% discount. But you need to take into consideration that maybe there won’t be any good seats left


Casino

Obviously this is one of the main attractions in Las Vegas. For all the fans of lucky machines, poker games, roulette, and more, Las Vegas is the place to go to. Everywhere you look you will see a casino. I recommend to budget the amount you are willing to spend there. Otherwise you might lose a lot of money (or win a lot of money, of course ;))

Wandering around between Las Vegas Hotels

The hotels in Las Vegas are crazy!! Words can’t describe the huge size and luxury of each hotel. Every hotel is like a city. You can move from hotel to hotel for many days and still not see all. Many hotels have themes like Paris, New York New York, Venice, and more.

In the very big hotels on the main strip, there are many restaurants, bars, attractions, shops, and casinos. When you go into the Paris hotel you feel like you flew to Paris in a second and in the New York hotel you will get confused and for a moment you really can think you are there.

In some hotels there are trams so it’s really convenient to transfer between the hotels. If they don’t have a tram you can transfer by foot or by bus. You can but a one-day pass for it.


Attractions in Las Vegas hotels

One of the most familiar attractions in Las Vegas is

the Bellagio fountain

(in front the Bellagio hotel). It’s the most impressive fountain I have ever seen. The fountain’s show hours are Monday to Friday 15:00-24:00, Saturday and Sunday 12:00-00:00
The show is every 30 minutes and after 20:00 every 15 minutes.

Eiffel tower in Paris hotel

You can go up the tower with an elevator to get an amazing view of the city. We bought our tickets through Groupon so the price was reasonable. You can watch the Bellagio fountain from there. You will have a 360 degree city view so it’s awesome. The height of the tower is 540-foot

Roller coaster in the New York hotel

A roller coaster for the brave of you. When we went there the line was too long so we decided to skip it. The cost was 14$ a ride

Huge Arcade area in the New York hotel

It’s a huge and fun arcade that is suitable for children and adults. You can lose track of time while playing the games there.

Ancient Rome in Caesar’s Palace hotel

The hotel was built as an imitation of ancient Rome and it has so many spectacular statues from Greek mythology. It also has a big entertainment and shopping center called “The Forum”

Sailing in a Gondola in the river in the Venetian hotel

A romantic sail in the river to feel like you are in Italy.
There are so many other attractions in the hotels like a circus and there is a huge wheel that you can see all Las Vegas from it.

An Illusions show

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on Las Vegas shows, there are many discounts and coupons for simpler shows. After spending our budget for shows on one show we decided to look for something cheaper and in Groupon we found the illusions show of The Mentalist. The show was about an hour and he did some cool stuff that I personally didn’t understand how. The ticket cost 21$.

Ice bar in Las Vegas

A really cool and freezing experience. A bar with minus 5 degrees. The entire bar is made from ice and even the glass of the drinks is made of ice. And the chairs and everything. When you enter you get a coat and gloves, but I really recommend you to go there with thick socks and closed shoes because it’s really cold there. I personally didn’t succeed to stay there long because I froze but it was a unique experience. And again we bought tickets from Groupon at half the normal price.

I recommend you to check this site because it has many discounts to attractions in Las Vegas, as well as to go on a Helicopter to the Canyon and for tours and more.

Pool in the hotel

Because what can be better than to be in a pool with a good cocktail on a hot day in Las Vegas?

Go to parties

Las Vegas is known for its crazy clubs and amazing pool parties. Famous DJs from all around the world come to perform there. The easiest way to. know about all the parties during your stay is to sign with a public relations person who will update you every day what the parties are on that day and you can sign up for them.

On the first day we met a public relations person and he was dressed with an elegant suit ? We gave him our whatsapp number and every day he updated us about the parties and we told him to which parties we wanted him to sign us up.

His details: name: Dag phone 1(480) 395 7667

Recommended restaurants in Las Vegas

Japanese restaurant Yusho– in Monte Carlo hotel.

A good restaurant that experts in Ramen soups. We took two types of soups and both of them were awesome. If you want something filling, tasty, and at a reasonable price, this is a great option
Opening hours: every day 17:00-23:00

50 five Pizza in Aria Hotel

A thin pizza with a lot of cheese and a great combination of toppings. You can also take a slice take away instead of sitting in the restaurant if you want to save money and time (they make their specials also in take-away).
Opening hours 11:00-00:00

Gordon Ramsay Burger

looking for a great hamburger? It is definitely worth eating there. We ordered hamburgers from the special menu, they both were excellent. We ordered chips with parmesan which after a few bites filled us, but was very tasty, and we ordered 2 cocktails. I didn’t have high expectations for the cocktails in a hamburger place, but they were so good.
Opening hours Sunday-Thursday 11:00-00:00, Friday-Saturday 11:00-02:00

If you are looking for cheaper options you can eat in food courts in hotels like Monte Carlo, Mandely Bay, and more.

Recommended hotel in Las Vegas – Aria

We stayed at the Aria Hotel which was great. It’s a new, modern hotel in a central location. The rooms are of the highest standard anyone can ask for. We were in the 48th floor with an amazing view.

For more reviews you can read here reviews of Aria.
There are so many restaurants of all types, bars, Jewel club, many pools, shops, gym, and a tram.


Budapest is a great destination in Europe that you will fall in love for. The ancient buildings, a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, bars, special atmosphere, and everything is cheap but high-quality.

We visited Budapest in February and it was freezing! But even though it was really cold we enjoyed it a lot.
We didn’t wander around like we are used to, but still we succeeded to visit enough places and have a great time

We definitely plan to go there again in a warmer weather, but if you visit Budapest in the winter I’m sure that my recommendation can be useful and most of them are also suitable for warmer months.
By the way, if you are looking for a cheap lodging option AirBnb is a great option. We stayed in the center for a really cheap price.

Search for other accommodations

Things to do in Budapest

Skating on ice (winter attraction) and visiting the castle

If you like skating, in the winter in Budapest there is a huge area where you can skate on ice outside, with music, and a musical atmosphere. This attraction is suitable for adults and children’s.
Part of the magical experience is that you skate in front of an impressive castle.

Skates rental prices
For an hour – 800 huf ~2.5 euro
For two hours 1500 huf ~4.8 euro
For three hours 2000 huf and for four hours 2400 huf.

Opening hours
In the winter (end of November- end of February) but can be changed
Monday-Friday 09:00-13:00 and 17:00-21:00
Saturday 10:00-14:00 and 16:00-21:00
Sunday 10:00-14:00 and 16:00-20:00

Address
Budapest, Olof Palme stny. 5, 1146 Hungary

Vajdahunyad castle

Regardless of skating on ice I really recommend to visit the castle. It’s a huge and beautiful castle. There is an option to enter its museum as part of the complete payment.
The entrance to the castle yard is free

Museum prices:
Adult 1500 huf
Child 550 huf

Opening hours
To the castle’s yard every day, any time
To the museum
Saturday-Sunday 10:00-17:00
Tuesday-Friday 1st of November until the 31st of March 10:00-16:00, 1st of April until 31st of October 10:00-17:00
Address
Budapest, Vajdahunyad vár, 1146 Hungary

Thai massage

In my opinion there is nothing more fun than a massage in the middle of the day. Especially after wandering around all day.
We looked for good recommendations for a Thai massage (since we had one in Thailand we are addicted).

We found several recommended places but we tried to call them all and only one of them had a free space for the day that we wanted. We went to this place “Spirit Thai massage” hoping that it would be good, and it was so good that three days afterwards I went there again 🙂

Prices:
8900 huf for 60 minutes of a traditional Thai massage (that’s what I did)
9900 huf for 60 minutes of a Thai massage with oil
They have also regular massages with oils like a Swedish massage and the price range is 11000-12500 huf for 60 minutes. You can also do 30 minutes massages.

Address (they have two branches)
The address of the branch that we’ve been
Dessewffy u. 47, 1066
Phone: +36 70 653 4387
Opening hours every day 10:00-21:00
Another branch
Address
Váci u. 39, 1056
Phone +36 70 524 6836
Opening hours every day 10:00-21:00

Jewish quarter tour

A fascinating tour and also very sad one. It’s definitely a highly recommended tour even if it’s very cold outside.  Regardless of the tour, the Jewish quarter is amazing and full of cool places, but the tour itself added to the place a deep understanding of what happened there during the Second World War.

Because the weather was so cold when we did the tour, instead of a group tour, we were (me and my husband Roman) the only ones taking it. We had a wonderful guide (Jorje) he had a comprehensive knowledge and we really liked to talk with him.

During the tour we passed through three synagogues, and one of them was the Dohány Street Synagogue (the second largest synagogue in the world). We didn’t enter it but after the tour you can go back and do so (it costs 10 euro per person). We took the free tour (based on tips) from the company Original Budapest Tours.

You can sign-in in advance for the tour or just show up at the meeting point.
The tour is every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 11:00

Meeting point outside Starback
Starbucks @ Budapest, Deak Ferenc u. 23, 1052
They also have other tours like the sites of Budapest that are every day at 11:00, 12:00 and 14:00 at the same meeting point.
There are more companies that offer free tours but we really enjoyed our tour

Great market hall

The largest market in Budapest. It’s huge, with a lot of sausages, meat, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, spices, and more stalls (we bought Hungarian paprika) 🙂
In the upper floor there are a lot of souvenirs and also a big area with food stalls. I recommend you to arrive hungry there because all the smells will make you drool.

I tried the langos; it’s a deep-fried pancake with toppings, there is a salty version or a sweet version. For this stall there was the biggest line so I decided that I had to try it, even though I don’t like deep-fried food (cause when I’m traveling I like to try the local food). I took the salty version with sausages. It was nice and if you are a fan of deep-fried food, I’m sure you will love it, but for me it was too oily 🙂 Roman tried food from another stall and had a traditional sausage and potato and was very satisfied

Address
Vámház krt. 1-3, 1093
Opening hours
Sunday it’s closed
Saturday 06:00-15:00
Monday 06:00-17:00
Tuesday-Thursday 06:00-18:00

Drinking wine in bars

If it’s winter you should order only hot wine. It’s so good and warm in your body 🙂
One of my favorite drinks in the winter in Europe is hot wine. They serve it almost everywhere.
It’s tasty and it costs about euro and a half.

There were two bars that we really liked – actually three, but in the third they didn’t serve hot wine (but I will still recommend it because it’s a really cool bar)

Szimpla Kert bar

A ruin bar that all the locals recommend. It’s a very big bar with several areas, a big yard and a cool design. It has a great vibe and a lot of people.

It suitable for a hot wine/beer in the middle of the day, or for a great hang out in the evening. They also have a varied food menu.
It’s located in the Jewish quarter

Address
Kazinczy u. 14, 1075
Opening hours
Sunday 09:00-05:00
Saturday-Thursday 12:00-04:00
Friday 10:00-04:00

Potkulcs bar

A cozy ruin bar with a nice yard (in the winter it’s less significant). They have a small variety of food so it’s less recommended to go there hungry. But if you want chips or a meat dish, they have those. Sometimes there are live shows there as well.

Address
Csengery u. 65b, 1067
Opening hours: everyday 17:00-01:00

Prince of darts

A bar without a wine bar, but it’s so much fun there. I always saw movies with people that play darts in bars and I wanted to try it also and finally I had the chance to try it.
And it was the best game ever 🙂

In the bars there are many darts targets. We arrived there in the afternoon so we were alone, but usually in the evening it’s full of people.

We ordered beer and played for about 70 minutes. The darts cost 25 huf per minute so it’s about 1500 huf for an hour (5 euro).
It’s a cheap and cool place for hanging out.

Addrees
Szondi utca 5.
Budapest 1067
Opening hours
Every day
14:00-02:00

Westend city center

The second largest mall in Europe. If you are a malls lover and want to do shopping while you are visiting Budapest, this is the place to go to. You can spend hours there, or even a full day because it has about 400 shops. It’s huge/ it gave me a headache, but people who love shopping and malls will probably love it.

Address
Váci út 3, 1062
Opening hours
Every day 10:00-20:00

Budapest if full of trends and cool coffee shops. Everywhere you go you will see a nice coffee place to sit in. During our 9 days in Budapest we sat in several coffee shops, I chose my favorite ones for you, and here is the list.

Coffee shops Budapest

Alexandra coffee shop

This coffee shop is located on the second floor of a big book store.
If you want to feel that you are drinking coffee in a palace, don’t miss this place.

When you arrive to the entrance of the place you feel the luxury of it. Everyone is beautifully dressed and the design in incredibly impressive. I had never seen such a luxurious design of a coffee shop. You need to wait for a host that will take you to your table.

There many different types of coffee, chocolate drinks, and tea. There are also specials with whipped cream and different flavours. There are also different types of cakes and pastries.

We ordered a regular cappuccino with a brownie chocolate cake. And a special coffee with whipped cream and Nutella, and on the side a butter croissant. It was so delicious. Everything looked and tasted amazing.

The prices are a little bit higher than in other coffee shops in Budapest but it’s worth the money no doubt.

Opening hours: everyday 10:00-20:00
Address
Budapest, Andrássy út 39, 1061 Hungary

 

Eco Cafe

A cozy and organic coffee shop.
If you are looking for a place to sit and work on your laptop or just to come and drink a good coffee with an amazing sandwich or cake, then this is the place to go.

During our stay in Budapest, we had to work a little bit. Every time we wanted to work, we went to this place and sat there for hours. The atmosphere is very welcoming and nice, the coffee is very good, and the service is great. I fell in love with their toasted mozzarella sandwich, I think that I ate there about 3 times for lunch just because it was so good. Also their desserts are wonderful and healthy. I tried the carob orange ball.

They have a stamping ticket so every 10 coffees, one is free.

Opening hours: everyday 07:00-19:00 on Saturday and Sunday it opens at 08:00
Address
Budapest, Andrássy út 68, 1062 Hungary

 

Cafe Noe Cukraszda

A coffee shop in the Jewish quarter. We arrived at this place thanks to our wonderful guide tour Jorje, since we were online during this tour (just me and my husband), he suggested to stop at that place for a coffee and a great cake, and of course we couldn’t say no to this offer:) He recommended we try the Jewish cake flodni. It’s the signature cake of this place. We took a slice of the cake to share and 3 cappuccinos. The cake was made with layers of: palm jam, walnuts, apples and poppy seeds. It was so tasty and all the flavors combined perfectly.

It was a great recommendation. So if you are wandering around in the Jewish quarter, then stop for a coffee and a cake there. I’m sure that the other cakes are also great.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 10:00-19:00
Sunday and Saturday it’s closed
Address
Budapest, Wesselényi u. 13, 1077 Hungary


Bite Cafe

A great bakery that serves good coffee and great pastries. Their signature pastries are rolls in flavours of: chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon. Many come there and take away, while others stay to sit there to drink coffee and to eat a roll. I tried the cinnamon roll which was awesome.

Usually I don’t like this kind of pastry, but it was crunchy and the cream on it was so good. You need to try it at least once while travelling in Budapest

Opening hours : Monday – Saturday 07:00-20:00
Sunday 08:00-19:00
Address
Budapest, Teréz krt. 62, 1066 Hungary

 

Budapest is full of high-quality restaurants, cheap prices, good service and all this with a great atmosphere. No doubts that while traveling in Budapest you will have an amazing culinary experience. You can find there are many local restaurants, varying between Asian restaurants, vegan, and vegetarian ones and actually any type of restaurant that you wish to find.

Recommended restaurants

Hungarian restaurants

Regos Vendeglo

A Hungarian restaurant designed beautifully and suitable for a pleasant dinner or for a fun lunch. In the menu there are a lot of normal dishes and also special ones. We asked from the waiter to recommend us two starters and two main dishes.

He recommended us a bean soup with meat and salty pancakes stuffed with meat. And for the main dishes he recommended type of a type of gnocchi with mushrooms and a paprika sauce, and a deer dish. All the dishes were so good. The flavors were wonderful and even though I initially didn’t want to try the deer, I ended up tasting it and really loved it.

The service was excellent. Don’t miss this restaurant.
Price range: starters 2-6 euro, main dishes 6-11 euro.
Opening hours every day 12:00-22:00
Address
Budapest, Szófia u. 33, 1068 Hungary

 

Pater Bonifac Kisvendeglot

A Hungarian restaurant close to hero’s round.
The restaurant is cozy and intimate with a varied menu of local dishes. The atmosphere and the food were great. We took a mushroom soup and goulash dish. They were very good and filling.

Price range:
Starters 2-4 euro, 4-13 euro. Most of the main dishes are in range of 4-6 euro and only a few with higher prices.
Opening hours
every day 11:00-22:00
Address
Budapest, Dózsa György út 108, 1068 Hungary

 

Vegan restaurant

Slow Foodiez

The best vegan restaurant I have ever eaten in! It’s worth to eat breakfast or lunch there. I really recommend it even if you are not vegan.

We ordered a green shake that was very cheap and it was so refreshing. As a starter we ordered hazelnut soup (we shared it) that was creamy and with dedicated tastes. For our main dishes we chose a vegan sausage made from nuts that was served with a potato and cabbage salad on the side.

It was a filling and tasty dish in a Hungarian style. And the second dish we had was ravioli with spinach and cashew cheese and it was by far the tastiest ravioli I ever ate. So good!! I want to eat it again 🙂

For desert we took a chocolate orange cake and a mango with apricot cake. Those were excellent too.
They have special dishes every day and good breakfast. You should definitely go there.

BTW the restaurant change their menu often, so unfortunately there is a chance that when you be there, the Ravioli dish won’t be in the menu.

Price range:
starters 2-4 euro, main dishes 5-8 euro.
Opening hours
Tuesday -Sunday 10:00-18:00 on Monday it’s closed
Address
Budapest, Szondi u. 11, 1067 Hungary

 

Vietnamese restaurant
Dang Muoi Pho Bistro

From the moment you enter the restaurant you smell Vietnam’s spices: cardamom, eugenia, garlic, and other good smells. The menu has a big variety of authentic Vietnamese dishes. For starters we ordered steamed spring rolls stuffed with shrimp, egg, pork, and vegetables. It was a light and tasty appetizer. For main dishes we ordered pho soup (I must mention that the large sized bowl is huge 🙂 so ask for it only if you are very hungry).

And another dish called “bun cha” that is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes (meat, vermicelli noodles, and the best sauce ever). All the dishes were very delicious and really reminded me of Vietnam.

There is no AC in the restaurant so if it’s a hot day, you should take it into consideration.

Price range: 3-8 euro
Opening hours: every day 10:00-22:00
Address
Budapest, u 1065, Nagymező u. 51, 1065 Hungary

 

Black Cab burger

After a 3 hour tour in the Jewish quarter we were very hungry, so a hamburger was a great solution for us. I remembered that my friend had recommended me a good hamburger place so we decided to follow her suggestion.

We ordered two hamburgers: one was 220 g and the other 300 g with toppings and one side dish of French fries.
The hamburger was cooked perfectly and the bun was very good and of the right size (same size has the hamburger itself) the toppings were good, so it was a definitely a wise decision to go there.

Price range: 1.5-7 euro
Opening hours 11:00-23:45
Address
They have two branches:
Budapest, 1088, Rákóczi út 19, 1088 Hungary
Budapest, Mester u. 46, 1095 Hungary

 

Indian Restaurant

Taj Mahal

Great Indian restaurant with cool vibes and full of people. The restaurant is pretty big, but it’s full most of the time. The waitresses all wear traditional Indian clothes and the place is decorated really nicely.

We ordered two vegetarian dishes: palak paneer (Indian cheese with spinach), malai kofta (Indian dumplings), fish in curry sauce, and basmati rice. The dishes were so good. We really enjoyed our dinner there. If you are an Indian food fan you will love this restaurant.

Price range
Starters 1.5-6 euro, vegetarian dishes 5-8 euro, meat dishes 8-10 euro, fish dishes 9-13 euro.
Opening hours:
Tuesday-Sunday 12:00-23:00
Monday it’s closed
Address
Budapest, Szondi u. 40, 1067 Hungary

Roman and I went on a couple trip to Georgia Europe with the purpose of doing some hiking trails in the mountains and between villages, to enjoy the amazing nature of Georgia and also to be in authentic villages and eat local food.
We traveled there in October and luckily we had perfect weather without rain. It should be taken into account that the month of October can be rainy and then it is not possible to go on hiking trails. It is best to come to Georgia in the months of June to September.
We started our route in the capital city of Tbilisi where we arrived by direct flight from Israel.
Our trip was full of walking and in retrospect I would have added another day or two to rest.
In any case, this trip exceeded all our expectations and we are already waiting for our next trip there and this time it will be in a different lineup with our two daughters.

Tips before flying to Georgia

SIM abroad

I personally recommend using an ESIM, which is an electronic SIM, and recommend Airalo. I was very satisfied with their user experience (simple tutorial videos for operating the SIM card) and everything worked without any special problems. I wrote more about them in an extended post on the subject of taking a SIM card abroad and also about other options such as buying a local SIM card.

Blog followers have a 15% discount code for the Airalo company to purchase an ESIM – to redeem the discount, click on this link. The discount code is already included in the link. See it at checkout.

The biggest drawback at the moment is that some devices do not support an electronic SIM. How can you know if your device supports the electronic card? Very simple: go to this link and you can see. Link to which devices support ESIM.

Car rental in Georgia

I do not recommend renting a car in Georgia, there are bumpy roads and the drivers there drive really fast. It is best to take local taxis and the train. In addition, it is also possible to go on organized trips in some places or on jeep trips.
If so, you decide to rent a car then you can search for a car in the search engine Papam Papam. Personally, I really like to search through them because they save me time (instead of going to several websites) and they also have the option of filtering out non-recommended rental companies.

Attractions in Georgia

There are two websites through which you can find various attractions in Cyprus such as wine tours, jeep tours and more. I recommend searching on the following sites: Get your guide and Viator.

Tbilisi, Georgia

How many days to be there? 1 day- 3 days

Lodging in Tbilisi

We booked a shared room in a hostel called Nest Hostel Tbilisi in advance, and coordinated with them to pick us from the airport because we landed in the middle of the night.

The room had 4 beds and a shared bathroom with other rooms as well. It cost us 40 Lari. There is also an option to request a private room and it cost 70 Lari (I guess the prices might have changed since we were there). We were pleased with this hostel, the workers there are super nice and the location is great.

Things to do in Tbilisi

Trips and tours from Tbilisi

Book tickets to Tbilisi: City Highlights Guided Walking Tour
Book tickets to Tbilisi: Cooking Class with a Local Family
Book tickets to trip from Tbilisi: Kazbegi, Gudauri & Zhinvali Guided Group Tour
Book tickets to a Day Trip to Kakheti Wine Region Including Seven Wine Tastings

Mestia, Georgia

How to arrive to Mestia from Tbilisi?

Train to Zugdidi and then a taxi or marshrutka (minivan shared taxi) to Mestia.
The train departs every day at 21:50 and arrives at 06:30.
We booked a private car in the train. The road was cool and we slept all the way.

In Zugdidi we decided to share a taxi with another couple instead of the marshrutka, it cost almost the same. The way to Mestia was pretty stiff, I had nausea from all the spinning but at least the road was so beautiful that it helped. Also the driver stopped twice, once near a big dam and later near an amazing lake view. We arrived to Mestia at around 11:30am

How many days to spend in Mestia?

3-6 days. The trek to Ushguli takes about 3-4 days and there are other treks that you can do like one day to the cross on the mountain. It is also very nice to wander around Mestia.

Lodging in Mestia

Things to do in Mestia

I recommend you to go to the tourist center in Mestia town center. You can take maps for the treks for free and also see which other treks you can do.

Kazbegi, Georgia

How to arrive to Kazbegi?

If you get there from Mestia you can take a marshrutka to Zugdidi (around 4p, you need to check the schedule with them). From Zugdidi you can take a night train back to Tbilisi. From the train station you go to the marshrutka station. We waited there about 2 hours until the marshrutka arrived and got full.

If you go there from Tbilisi go to the marshrutka station near the train station around 8am (it’s worth checking the schedule)
It’s a ride of about 3.5 hours with a few stops.

How many days to be in Kazbegi?

3-4 days

Lodging in Kazbegi

Things to do in Kazbegi

Signagi Kazbegi

How to arrive Signagi?

If you go from Kazbegi, you can take a marshrutka from the town center to Tbilisi and from Tbilisi take a taxi.If you arrive from Tbilisi take a taxi.
We found another couple to share the taxi. It’s about 2 hours of ride.

How many days to stay there?

2-4 days

Lodging in Signagi

David Zndarshvili– a beautiful guesthouse with an amazing view and great people and food.

For more detailed information about Signagi visit our post “Signagi a town from the 18th century”

Tips and comments about Georgia

Everybody knows that Georgia is the perfect place for trekking. And if you didn’t, now you know.
But there is so much to see in Georgia and so many places to visit

I want to recommend you visit Signagi in the region of Kakheti. This is a town that is surrounded by walls from the 18th century. It’s an incredibly romantic town. It’s surrounded by wineries and vineyards. Because the town is uphill there is an amazing view from it.
There are great restaurants there, as well as markets, and unique things to do and see.

Lodging in Signagi

We stayed in David Dzanashvili’s Guesthouse Sighnaghi. We took a room on the second floor where there is a balcony that overlooks an amazing view of the ancient walls.

The room itself was big and clean and had a private bathroom (it was a big and good change for us, after the other rooms we had while trekking)

When we arrived at the guesthouse the owner (David’s wife) showed us the room and afterwards brought us bread and cheeses to the balcony. We sat there to eat the tasty cheese and enjoyed the breathtaking view.
It’s such a peaceful and relaxing town.
We arrived there after 7 days of challenging treks and this was a fantastic way to finish our trip.

Restaurant that we really loved in Signagi

Pheasant’s Tears – in the first evening we went to eat at this restaurant; what attracted us there was the fact that they have a winery in the basement (and we love wine 🙂 )
We also read that they have a tasting menu for wines and dishes, it sounded good for us.

This was an amazing choice and we had the best time.
Each dish was served with a different wine.

The wines had really strong and unique flavors. We really loved them. One of them was a red wine that smelled like blue cheese and another was a white wine with flavors of apricot but a delicate taste that was not like a liquor. We loved them so much that afterwards we bought the bottles of the two of them in order to take back home with us.

The dishes themselves were very nice and combined great with the wine. We also took a short tour of the winery.
That was an excellent dinner.

There are other great local restaurants that you can try, as well as restaurants that have BBQ. And it’s really fun to eat in the guesthouse itself. They cook great local food and, because the guesthouse is pretty big, the dinners there are with many other travelers so the atmosphere is so fun.



Things to do in Signagi

Wineries tour

On the second day we did a winery tour with David the guesthouse owner and with a couple from Spain that stayed in the guesthouse as well. David drove us from place to place and waited for us at each point. He was so friendly and nice. He stopped for us in 2 wineries, a monastery, a wine museum, and a huge wine factory. In each winery we tasted wines and had a tour. In the big factory we also had a tour and we saw the modern way they make wine. We bought 2 more bottles to take with us back home 🙂 Not everyone loved the Georgian wines because their flavors are very strong and different from the regular wines that we are used to drinking but we liked the unique flavors.

Wandering around in Signagi

just go and explore it by foot. It’s a small and really beautiful town. The people are super nice and always smiling. The town is not flat so even though it’s small, walking there can be a little bit exhausting.

Local market

In the town you will find small markets and small stalls on the street. We bought the Georgian cheese also to take back home. It’s so delicious with delicate flavors and it reminded me of a salty white cheese with a soft texture. We also bought some spices that they have. One of them was the spicy spice. It’s so good. I added it to all the dishes every time we ate.

Do a walk to the walls

The walls are from the 18th century and you can do a nice walk there and observe the fantastic view.

Get a massage

On the first day when we arrived we decided to spoil ourselves after all the trekking and find a place for a massage. We went to the Kaboni hotel and booked two massages for the both of us. I booked the sports massage which was strong and good for my muscles. I felt really loosened afterwards and it was a good way to start the vacation in Signagi.

So why visit Signagi?

Because it’s a beautiful small town with a unique atmosphere, great view, friendly people, great wineries, and food.
I definitely recommend to add this place to your bucket list in Georgia. You will feel like you went back in time and once you are there you won’t want to be anywhere else.

Barcelona is a city that is full of attractions; with tapas, sangrias, bars, shopping, parks, museums, architecture, and whatnots.
It has everything from everything and people full of life and joy.
I have made a list with my favorite things in Barcelona. Some of them are more familiar and some of them less.

I stayed twice in Barcelona. One time in the Catalonia Plaza Hotel which was great, and the other time in an airbnb at a side street in La Rambla.

Search for other accommodations

Things to do in Barcelona

Dinner at a fancy restaurant

In Barcelona you can find delicious, high-quality food and excellent service. If you are in the mood for a gourmet restaurant, then Barcelona is the city for that.
We deliberated between several restaurants and in the end we chose Montiel restaurant.

This was a perfect decision because it was undoubtedly one of the best meals we have ever had.
This restaurant has a fixed menu and the price is ~70 euro for a person for an 8 dishes meal.
The price is a little bit expensive but it’s worth it.

We ate dishes of: kobe beef, lobster, and special cheese, and each dish was served beautifully. There wasn’t one platter that was disappointing.
Everything tasted amazingly good and the service was 5+++.

If you want to eat a meal that you will remember all your life, this is the restaurant to go to.
Opening hours: every day 13:00-14:30 and 19:00-22:30
Address Calle Flassaders, 19, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Phone
+34 932 68 37 29 28

Gaudi tour

There are a lot of free tours (based on tips) that you can do in Barcelona. We decided to do the one through Gaudi’s eccentric life. During this tour you pass through structures that Gaudi designed. It is really interesting, usually we pass buildings without knowing anything about them,, and with this tour they tell you the story that stands behind each structure.

The tour duration is about 3 hours. I recommend you to go with comfortable shoes for walking. We took the tour of runnerbeantours company.


Going to a cool bar

In Barcelona there are plenty of nice bars. We’ve been in several of them, but the bar that we liked the most was Boca Chica cocktail bar.
It’s located in a building in which on the first floor there is a restaurant, on the second there is a bar, and on the last floor there is a club.

The bar is designed with high class and luxury. The service is very good and the cocktails were excellent.

The cool part of this building is that when you go down to the bathrooms it’s a full floor that has not only toilets but also a DJ. You can go there with your drinks and people are dancing there. It’s weird and cool.

A tour in a boat

When the weather is warm, one of the nicest things to do in Barcelona is a tour in a boat and see all the city from the sea.

There is a  40 minutes tour and another for an hour and a half. We did the 40 minutes one and I think it’s the exact time that we needed. You can book the tour in advance from the internet or to go to the harbour and to buy a ticket there.

Boat tour schedules:
October-November 12:50, 13:15, 15:15, 16:15
December 12:15, 13:15, 15:15
January 12:15, 13:15, 15:15
Fabuary 12:15, 13:15, 15:15, 16:15
April-June 12:15, 13:15, 15:15, 16:15, 17:15
July-September 11:45-19:15 every half hour
Website to book a tour

La Boqeria tour

Two-thirds of the way up on the ramblas, on the lift you will see one of the largest and most famous markets in Europe.
This is one of the markets we liked visiting the most.

There you will see tourists and locals, and food from all around the world in the same plane. You can find bars and restaurants as well. You can buy their hard cheese and sausages. You can drink a fruit shake or fresh fruits. You can find their fresh breads, and more, and more. This is a culinary experience for all the senses.

Address
La Rambla, 91, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
Opening hours monday-saturday 08:00-20:30, on sunday it closed


Eating tapas and drinking sangria

I think that I drank sangria every day in Barcelona; it’s so tasty and cheap that every time I wanted to drink it.
In Barcelona there are a lot of tapas restaurants and if you like to taste a lot of dishes instead of only one big one, then the world of tapas in Barcelona is exactly what you need.

I really liked Cervecería Catalana. There is a big selection of tapas and a great atmosphere.
Address Carrer de Mallorca, 236, 08008 Barcelona, Spain

Another great place is the Ticket bar. But for this place you need to book a table in advance. It’s considered as one of the best tapas restaurants.
Address Av. del Paraŀlel, 164, 08015 Barcelona, Spain
And don’t forget to try the desert catalana cream. It’s so good.

Parc Guell

Parc guell is definitely one of the most famous sites in Barcelona that was designed by Gaudi.
It was ordered by Eusebi Guell, who wanted to create a styled park for the nobility of Barcelona.

The park has many entrances; the most impressive one is the main entrance, which is from Carrer d’Olot.
In this entrance you will see two houses and one of them is actually a museum. And at the beginning of the stairs you will see the statue of the famous dragon.

There is a lot what to see in the park, like rocks, and poles that look like they grow from the ground like tree trunks (Gaudi was very inspired by natural shapes and he used them in his work).
On the upper side of the park there is a wonderful view to observe the entire park and Barcelona. There is also a nice, small restaurant where you can buy something to eat and, of course, a sangria.

The entrance from the main road costs money. You can enter from other entrances, but the arrival to them is more complicated and includes climbing many stairs. There is a bus station near the main entrance. It’s also possible to buy tickets online.


Ciutadella Park

A huge park and probably the greenest abode in Barcelona. It invites you to relax, to charge you energy, to walk, and to do picnicking.

In the park you can find many shaded areas so it’s fun to go there and just sit on the grass and relax. In the park you can find a Zoo which is one of the main attractions. There is also a beautiful lake and many visitors come there for a walk near the lake. There is an option to rent a pedal boat. There is also a zoological museum in the park,

The entrance doesn’t cost any money and it’s really recommended to visit there and to enjoy the beautiful sculptures and the calming atmosphere.
address
Passeig de Picasso, 21, 08003 Barcelona


Cable car and the magic fountains

I recommend going up the cable car while there is still light outside, this way you will have a great view of all Barcelona. After raising in the cable car, go visit the magic fountains. The fountains change their colors and move accordingly the music. The duration of the show is 15 minutes.

Fountains address
Pl Carles Buïgas, 1
Magic fountains schedule
Afterwards you can go back down with the cable car or by feet.


Go and watch a soccer game in camp Nou

If during your stays in Barcelona there is a soccer game, I recommend you to go and watch it. Even if you are not a soccer fan] and you never watch games on TV, the experience there is electric and special for everyone. In the stadium there are almost one hundred thousand sits.

And to see a game in a full or almost full stadium it’s something that’s hard to express in words. We booked our tickets from the official site of Barcelona. In the morning before the game we went there to take our tickets. The metro station is nearby so it’s very convenient.
address
Carrer d’Aristides Maillol, 12, 08028 Barcelona

Hoi An is a beautiful, magical city. I recommend to spend a minimum of 3 days, the more the better! If you’re ever in Vietnam, then you shouldn’t miss it, it combines both beauty and leisure and it just feels magical. We took a flight from Hanoi to Danang.

So, you are probably wondering what is there to do! Good thing I wrote you the top 10 things you can see, do, and eat! Enjoy!

Things to do in Hoi An

Sleep in a high standard hotel

Hoi An is the perfect place to stay at a good hotel. In most places in Vietnam we stayed in nice guesthouses that are really cheap, but in Hoi An we spent a little extra cash to stay at a luxurious hotel.

The perfect hotel for us was Truc Huy, and it had a value for money! We paid $25 per night including breakfast. It’s. That. Cheap. It’s not in the ancient city, but they offer free bikes that you can ride with to the city and be there by 10 minutes. Things we loved about this hotel: Great stuff, Awesome pool, beautiful room and good breakfast.

More reviews about Truc Huy

Another hotel that was excellent is La Residencia Hotel &Spa. Its location was in the ancient city, so that was a bit more convenient. The downside was that the pool was indoors!

They offer free shuttles to get to the beach, and it has a nice buffet breakfast. The rooms are nice, large, and clean.

More reviews about La Residencia Hotel & Spa


Go to a Cooking Class

If you’re into cooking classes, I highly recommend checking out Thuan Thun.
It combined going grocery shopping at the market with the instructor, sailing through coconut trees, a short tour that shows how to make rice milk, and lastly a fun and delicious cooking class!

We chose the noon class, and we were literally the only ones! It was a private class and course!
Sailing on the boat was really relaxing, and passing through the coconut trees was surreal. In the class we made 4 courses and each dish was really good and appetizing

 

Visit My Son

My Son is a historical place that has some Hindu temples, that is located in the village Doi Pho. In 1999 My Son was declared as an actual site. It is a beautiful place that is about 40km from Hoi An.

We rented a scooter from the hotel for $5 per day and spend the day there! It was a downhill ride and it was really lovely! Entrance is about $7. You can also take a full day tour, or get there by a taxi.

There are shuttles that take you from one temple to the other. We preferred walking, because the scenery was just beautiful



Relax on the beach

Hoi An is a leisure city, and it includes visiting its beautiful beaches.
You can get to the shore with a taxi, bikes, scooter, or choose walking. There are a few beaches and there are tanning beds in each of them.

If you buy food and drinks, you will most likely get the tanning bed for free. You can also bring a towel and just lay on the sand.
The beaches are not as impressive as they are in Thailand, but they are nice and clean. Besides, what can be so bad with just chilling in the sun?

Sew clothes

Hoi An is a city that is known for having a lot of tailors, and a lot of them can customize your clothes! I got really excited when I heard that idea.

You can sketch your own outfit, show them a picture of something you like, and they will sew the exact same thing and it would be a lot cheaper if you were to buy the original.
You can also pick the fabric and the colors that you like, and the quality is super good. I have clothes that were sewn 4 years ago and they are in perfect condition.

Roman actually got his wedding suit tailor made in Vietnam 🙂
Clothes is actually not the only thing you can get! You can also get shoes, sandals, bags, bathing suits, and belts! So basically you can customize an entire new wardrobe 🙂
I recommend a great tailor named Hien Nguyen, and her shop is called SU. Address:  48 trang hung dao.

Enjoy a Vietnamese buffet

In Vietnam you will find restaurants that also serve buffet.
The price is more expensive than that of a regular meal, but if you have an option of paying $22 for a buffet you shouldn’t think twice.

I recommend going there hungry. You will find all the amazing Vietnamese foods, and you won’t be able to have enough.

They serve soups and seafoods, dumplings and dim sum, and special Vietnamese beef dishes.
We really liked The Market restaurant.



Get a massage

We got a 90 minute massage and it was fantastic.
As amazing as the massage was, the service was excellent as well. They came to pick us up from the hotel and also gave us a ride back.

After the massage we got some delicious tea and cooking. I highly recommend checking out Pandanus Spa

Strolling Around the Ancient City

The ancient city in Hoi An is one of the nicest ones I’ve ever seen, and especially at night!  It is filled with lights, loads of bars, restaurant, fantastic scents of delicious foods, and there is ever a river in the middle of it! It is truly magical and you can spend an entire day.

There are great bars with happy hours. There is also a night market with souvenir and food stands

 

Ride Bikes

One of my favorite things in Hoi An is that you get to ride bikes all the time.

We rode our bikes to the beach, to the ancient city, and just explored with them.
In the area of the hotel Truc Huy there were a lot of beautiful rice fields with great biking or running trails

Eat Cau Lao

Cau Lao is the most famous dish in Hoi An. It is super delicious and also very cheap! .
It was good in every single place that I’ve tried it, so find a place that you like and go for it!

One of our favorite places in Vietnam was Tam Coc. And one of the main reasons for it was the place we stayed in.
Tam Coc is about 2 hours driving from Hanoi.

There is a more touristic part and a non-touristy part. We only visited the touristic area once, but our guesthouse was located 30 minutes walking from the touristic part and we loved it.
It was isolated, but it was easy to reach other places from it. It was peaceful and relaxing. The family who runs the guesthouse is so friendly and nice; though most of them don’t speak English, but we managed to communicate. And, leaving that aside, the view from this guesthouse is breathtaking.

How to arrive to Tam Coc from Hanoi

We took a local bus. There is also a tourist bus bit it’s more expensive and we prefer to experience the local life so we chose the local bus. First we took a bus to Giap bus station.
We navigated all the time using the Moovit app in order to search for a bus and to see where the stop that we needed to get off at was.

From the Giap bus station we took a bus (more like a mini bus) to Ninh Binh. When you arrive in Giap, go straight to the cashier and they will tell you where the bus to Ninh Binh is and you can buy the ticket there. The bus cost about 3usd.
We had to wait a little bit until the minibus was full and then we started our ride. The ride was fine and it was quick.

When we arrived at Ninh Binh we shared a taxi with two girls to our guesthouse. We booked this place in advance because it looked nice, was cheap, and had really good reviews. But when we arrived there we couldn’t imagine it would be so pastoral and incredible.

About Chez-Beo guesthouse in Tam Coc

This guesthouse is located between mountains and a rice field. There are several huts made of bamboo and a little river near them. There are free bikes for the guests to use. At dinner all the guests sit together with the family who runs the guesthouse and they serve great dishes at the center of each table so you can taste all the food. The price for dinner is very cheap; about 2 usd per person and every night they serve other delicious dishes. We met great people there that were from all around the world (Germany, France,England, Estonia Israel, USA ,and more).

When we booked the place we only did so for two nights but after a minute of being there, we told them that we would stay for 3 more nights (we actually wanted more but they were already full).
And aside from all I described, the price was very cheap for this kind of place.

The guesthouse’s name is Chez Beo homestay. I recommend to book it in advance because they are full most of the time. To read more reviews about Chez Beo

Things to do in Tam Coc



Comments about the guesthouse

Tam Coc is super beautiful and really special. I definitely recommend the Chez Beo guesthouse for a unique and local experience.

Hanoi is so awesome. It’s a city of chaos that works somehow and that has all the Vietnamese street food you can imagine. You can spend days after days just wandering around and trying as many dishes as you can.
The nightlife there is awesome because you can drink cheap beer and enjoy the cool atmosphere of the city.

Where to sleep in Hanoi?

If you are looking for a place that will cost you about $14 per night, then I recommend Hanoi Home Hotel.

If you’re traveling with a larger budget and can afford $50 per night, I recommend Romance Hotel.

Free tour in the old quarter

Hanoi Free Tours is a company that offers free tours (based on tips). The guides there are Vietnamese students who work in this company in order to practice their English and to earn some money.

Our guide was an 18-year-old guy that speaker English really well. The tour was for about 3 hours. We were the only ones in this tour (just me and Roman) so it was like a private tour and it was awesome.

Our guide told us about the history of Hanoi and Vietnam in general, he knew a lot of stuff. He shared with us stories about the way he lives. We asked him many questions and he was so nice and answered everything. He even took us to his favorite place to eat sandwiches and to a hidden gem to drink coffee with a view to the lake. He also gave us tips and recommendations.
I really recommend this type of tour. The company offers other tours too, like in the French quarter or a food tour.

Water park inside a mall – Vinpearl Water Park

Update from 2024 : the waterpark closed permanently

A great option for a rainy day. It’s a great way to spend your day. I wrote more about it in the post “Water Park Inside a Mall in Hanoi, Vietnam”. Also, in the mall there are other activities, like 3d movies and ice skating so those are also great options

A Snake meal in the Snake Village

An amazing, exotic, and tasty experience. If you are looking for an adventurous meal this is something you have to try. The whole experience is unforgettable. We went there with an Austrian couple we met in Tam Coc and we had an amazing time. You can read more about it in the post “Exotic and Unforgettable Snake Meal in the Snake Village Hanoi Vietnam”

Wander around the old quarter and try local food

The streets in the Old Quarter of Hanoi are magical. They’re so crowded and with so much noise and everywhere you look there is street food and local restaurants which are the charm of Hanoi. I can’t describe it in words. You have to be there to understand. Some people hate it and think it’s too noisy, but I fell in love with this city the moment my feet stepped on it.

If you love street food you will get lost with all the profusion of options. Just explore the city and try everything you see 🙂

Help the locals practice their English

Another cool thing about Hoan Kiem Lake, is if you sit there, there is a big chance that a local student will approach you and ask if they can practice their English with you. I met a cute girl in high school and we talked for about 20 minutes. I asked her about her life and she asked me about Israel and it was awesome. We took selfies 🙂 She was so nice and very shy and I really liked this opportunity to talk with a local and also to help her with her English.

Vietnamese Women’s Museum

A really interesting museum about Vietnamese Women during the years. It’s about the women in the Vietnamese war, about the way they raised their kids, and much more. What we loved about this museum is that you get an audio headphone in the entrance and in each display you can hear in the headphones the story about it. It makes it more realistic and more detailed. Like with a tour guide.

Ticket price: about 2.5 usd including the audio headphones

Address: 36 Lý Thường Kiệt, Hang Bai ward, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Opening hours: every day 08:00-17:00

Phone: +84 4 3825 9129

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

The museum gives information about Vietnam and all its ethnic groups. It has really interesting displays including different houses and buildings in the gardens. The museum offers a real insight into the cultural and family aspects of the Vietnamese people.

Price ticket; about 2 usd

Address: Nguyễn Văn Huyên, Nghĩa Đô, Cầu Giấy, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 08:30-17:30. Closed on Monday

Phone: +84 4 3756 2192

Hoan Kiem Lake

This is the main lake in Hanoi. We really loved to buy cold coffee or a fruit shake for take-away and to go to sit near the lake. It’s so peaceful and beautiful. You can spend hours just sitting there

There are more things to do in Hanoi, many museums, many types of tours and many, many food options. I really recommend to come to this city with an open mind and to focus on the unique experience that you won’t have anywhere else in the world. Just one last tip, when you cross the road, walk fast, straight forward and don’t stop in the middle 🙂