21 Best Travel Gifts for Adventurers and Globetrotters

TL;DRHere are 21 Christmas gift ideas for travellers from 2018, ranging from stocking-fillers costing next to nothing to bigger splurges worth several thousand crowns. The picks include an Aeropress travel coffee maker, a Kindle Paperwhite, a Fitbit Charge 2, a Bagind leather backpack, a Ravpower RP-PB095 power bank with 20,000 mAh capacity, a 55x40x20 cm cabin bag and The Travel Book, packed with 850 photos and covering 230 countries. Each entry comes with advice on who the gift suits best and where to pick it up.
Best travel gifts for adventurers

Are your friends passionate travellers and you have no idea what to get them? Or maybe you have a family member who loves exploring the world and you’d like to surprise them with a themed present? We’ve put together a list of our favourite travel gifts — things we either love and use ourselves, or would be thrilled to receive. Of course, not everything suits everyone. If your mate doesn’t camp, there’s no point buying them camping gadgets, and a pink Polaroid probably won’t thrill most blokes.

We’re well aware of that, which is why we’ve noted who each gift is best suited for. And to give our own loved ones a hint, we’ve also mentioned whether we already own each item. You’ll find travel gifts here ranging from just a few pounds to several hundred.

We’ve also included links to where you can buy each item. When shopping for gifts online, always use websites with easy return policies — that way there’s no stress if something doesn’t fit.

1) Travel Coffee Maker – Aeropress

  • Where to get an Aeropress: Check it out here
  • Who it’s for: Any traveller who loves quality coffee
  • Do we own one? Not yet, but it’s already been ordered as a Christmas present 🙂
  • We’d also recommend picking up a hand grinder and some good travel-friendly coffee to go with it.

As we write this, we’re sitting in our little beach house on Koh Samui, absolutely suffering. We can’t find filter bags for our coffee maker anywhere. We’ve gotten so desperate that we actually bought instant coffee. Although Thailand is a budget-friendly destination, a decent coffee at a restaurant costs a surprising amount — especially if you don’t want their overly sweet concoctions. An Aeropress would solve all our coffee woes in an instant.

Aeropress travel coffee maker

2) A Travel Book That Everyone Will Envy

Last Christmas, my dad surprised me with a gorgeous book — The Travel Book. I couldn’t actually sit down and enjoy it properly until several days after Christmas Day, because everyone kept borrowing it. Since then, it sat on our coffee table in Prague and I couldn’t put it down — nor could any of our guests. It features 850 photographs and covers 230 countries. And the images are truly spectacular.

The Travel Book by Lonely Planet
  • Where to buy it? I’d recommend ordering from Book Depository or Amazon. Book Depository offers FREE worldwide shipping, which is a nice bonus.
  • Who it’s for: Anyone who loves stunning photography. However, I’d recommend gifting it to someone who has a settled home. If your friend is constantly on the move, save this one for later.
  • Do we own it? YES.
What other books would we recommend? If they love city breaks, The Cities Book is fantastic, as is The Ultimate Travelist: The 500 Best Places on the Planet by Lonely Planet.

3) Audiobooks and E-books About Travel

I always tell everyone: please don’t buy me paper books for reading (unless they’re photography books). Instead, get me audiobooks or e-books for my Kindle.

Audiobook for travellers

Travel Audiobooks and E-books:

For hilarious travel writing, you can’t go wrong with authors like Bill Bryson or Paul Theroux. Whether it’s Bryson’s “Neither Here Nor There” about travelling through Europe, or any of his other travel memoirs, we promise you won’t be bored.

  • “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson (book, audiobook, and e-book available)
  • “Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe” by Bill Bryson (book, audiobook, and e-book available)
  • “The Great Railway Bazaar” by Paul Theroux (book, audiobook, and e-book available)

An Audiobook for Very Long Journeys:

This one isn’t travel-themed, but it’s brilliant and will keep them entertained for ages. If your friend owns an iPhone, there’s a good chance they’ll love this too. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is probably the best biography I’ve ever read (well, in this case, listened to).

  • Who it’s for: Anyone heading on longer trips who you know listens to audiobooks or podcasts — or owns an e-reader if you’re buying the e-book.
  • Do we own them? Yes.

4) Know Where They’re Heading? Get Them a Map or Guidebook

We never plan our days too far in advance, but we love reading up on the history of places, exploring where to go, and most importantly, figuring out what potential issues might crop up along the way. In Asia and Africa especially, it’s all too easy to fall victim to scams — guidebooks usually cover all of this. A good guidebook from Lonely Planet or Rough Guides can genuinely make your trip smoother and safer.

Lonely Planet guidebooks

That said, some guidebooks are frankly useless — particularly if they try to cover too broad an area. There’s no point buying a general guide to the western USA, where you won’t learn much because there’s simply too much to cover. It’s better to go for country-specific or region-specific guides. We had amazing Lonely Planet guides for Hawaii and Alaska, for instance.

  • Where to buy: Amazon and Waterstones have the widest selection of Lonely Planet and Rough Guides.
  • Who it’s for: Anyone who loves planning and learning fascinating facts about the places they visit
  • Guides we still don’t have: Mexico, Latin American countries, Vietnam, Myanmar, Kenya, and more.

5) A Bookworm’s Best Friend – The Kindle

Speaking of books, Lukáš and I absolutely swear by our e-readers. Every year I devour dozens of books on my Kindle, and it goes with me everywhere. Yes, I used to be a die-hard paper book fan too — but do you know how heavy those things are when you’re travelling?

  • Which one to buy: I’d recommend the Kindle Paperwhite — it has a backlit display, which is brilliant for reading in bed or on night flights
  • Where to buy it: Amazon is your best bet
  • Do we own one? Yes, we each have one
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

6) A Quality Cabin Bag

If you’re looking for a gift for a family member whose suitcase or backpack has seen better days, we’ve got some tips. Don’t buy a backpack without consulting them first — ideally, they need to try it on. What every traveller will appreciate, though, is a quality carry-on suitcase or bag. I’m putting heavy emphasis on the word quality, because nobody wants a cabin bag with dodgy wheels or one that weighs a ton even when empty.

American Tourister cabin luggage

We recommend two brands. The more affordable American Tourister and the pricier Samsonite. Both come with a lifetime warranty on the wheels as standard, which is reassuring. You could also go for a specialist travel bag from Osprey or Ferrino.

Ferrino travel bag

How to Choose the Right Size?

Airlines keep shrinking their cabin baggage allowances, so I’d recommend going for the smallest standard size (55x40x20 cm), especially if your friend flies with budget airlines like Ryanair or easyJet. Also pay attention to weight — the lighter, the better.

  • Where to buy them? American Tourister cabin bags are available here. Samsonite cabin bags can be found here. The Ferrino Tikal 40 travel bag is another great option.
  • Who it’s for: All travellers — except those who fly ultra-light with hand luggage only (7 kg limit, no cabin bag).
  • Do we own one? We have several American Tourister suitcases, but we’ve been struggling with one of our cabin bags recently — the wheels stick out past the size limits — so we’re planning to replace it.

7) Packing Cubes

This year I used packing cubes in my backpack for the first time and I’m absolutely hooked. No more rummaging through everything — I just pull out the cube with trousers or underwear, depending on what I need. Even Lukáš, who’s a master at folding, has been eyeing them up and thinking about getting some.

  • Where to buy them? A quality packing cube set is available here. If you’d prefer individual cubes, check this link. Amazon also has excellent budget-friendly sets.
  • Who it’s for: Any traveller — they work brilliantly in both backpacks and suitcases
  • Do we own them? Yes, though currently we’re using a borrowed set from mum. She got them from Tchibo (but they’re not always in stock).
Packing cubes for travel

8) Quality Outdoor Clothing

If you camp, hike, or cycle, you know full well how much quality clothing can make or break your experience.

That said, be careful before you dive into shopping. Ask yourself whether you know for certain what size your friend or family member wears. Have a scroll through their social media to get an idea of their style. Generally, it’s safest to buy items without big logos or busy patterns — a simple quality base layer or black leggings always works. If you’re worried about getting the wrong thing, go for base layers or high-quality socks. Yes, socks can genuinely be a brilliant gift.

Kari Traa outdoor clothing for travel

Where do we recommend shopping?

  • Merino wool socks from brands like Smartwool or Darn Tough are fantastic — we cycled in merino socks for six weeks and you can wear a single pair for four days without any smell issues
  • For beautiful, high-quality outdoor clothing, check out specialist retailers and brands on outdoor shops
  • My absolute favourite brand is Kari Traa — it’s a bit pricier, but nothing does your bum quite as much justice as their leggings
  • Who it’s for: Anyone who loves camping, hiking, and outdoor sports.
  • Do we own some? Yes, we wear all the brands we recommend. And we’re always happy to receive more.

9) Fitness Trackers

This one’s a classic. A fitness tracker is our best travel companion — we love checking how many steps we’ve taken, calories burned, and how well we slept. Modern fitness trackers don’t just count steps; they also monitor your sleep quality.

Fitbit Charge fitness tracker for travel
  • What we recommend: Personally, we’ve been loyal Fitbit fans for years. We currently own the Fitbit Charge 2, which works seamlessly with both iPhone and Android. I also think it’s one of the most stylish fitness trackers out there, with some gorgeous colour options — great travel gifts for women especially.
  • Who it’s for: Any traveller who hikes and enjoys staying active on the road.
  • Do we own one? Yes, we both have a Fitbit Charge 2.

10) A Personal Gift for Your Travel Companion

Want a beautiful and deeply personal gift for the friends, partner, or family you travel with? It’ll take a fair bit of effort, but the result is absolutely worth it. Photo book services like Photobox or Shutterfly let you create some of the most tasteful albums around. Using their easy online tools, you can create a keepsake that’ll last a lifetime. Take your time, pick your best photos, and add funny captions or memories from your trips together.

Custom travel photo album
  • Where to get one: Services like Photobox, Shutterfly, or Vistaprint Photo Books are all great options.
  • Lukáš and I can wholeheartedly recommend custom photo books — we even used them for our wedding. Everything always arrives beautifully packaged, too.

11) Polaroid Camera

This is another gift that Lukáš and I have been enjoying for years. The Instax is the perfect companion for trips with friends, parties, and even weddings. We still pull it out whenever someone visits, and it’s always a great laugh.

Fujifilm Instax Mini instant camera
  • Where to buy: The Instax comes in 9 colour variants — check them out here
  • Who it’s for: If your friends love hipster cafés, enjoy photography, and make scrapbooks — they’ll adore this too
  • Do we own one? Yes.

12) Mini Photo Printers

They’re all over social media this year, but we’ve actually owned one for several years already. Mini printers produce photos in that lovely Polaroid and Instax style, and they’re brilliant for creating albums. It’s a fun little gadget.

Canon Zoemini mini photo printer
  • Where to buy: The most popular option is the Canon Zoemini
  • If Canon isn’t your thing, there’s also the HP Sprocket Photo Printer
  • Who it’s for: Friends who love photography, scrapbooking, and that vintage aesthetic
  • Do we own one? Yes.

13) More Than a Tripod: Gorillapod

My greatest travel love is the Gorillapod. It’s a flexible tripod you can attach to practically anything — a massive chunk of ice (yes, I’ve actually done that), a tree branch, a metal railing. Literally anywhere.

Gorillapod flexible tripod

How to Choose the Right Gorillapod

Pay attention to the weight capacity when choosing. If your friend shoots with a DSLR, go for the 3 kg or 5 kg capacity. For mirrorless cameras, a 3 kg capacity is sufficient, and for compact cameras, 1 kg will do. It also works brilliantly with smartphones — you’ll just need to add a phone adapter.
  • Where to buy: Check the full range of Gorillapods here
  • Who it’s for: Solo travellers and couples alike — anyone who likes taking photos
  • Do we own one? Yes.

14) A Power Bank — The Gift You Can’t Go Wrong With

Every traveller uses a power bank. That makes it a safe bet as a gift for absolutely anyone who travels. But do be careful when choosing — we once bought a cheap one and binned it after a single trip (specifically, a Yankee brand started making a worrying buzzing noise while charging after just a month of use — trust us, you don’t want your external charger frying your phone).

Ravpower power bank charging a MacBook
A good power bank can even charge a MacBook

Which Ones Do We Recommend?

  • Premium option: Ravpower RP-PB095 20,000mAh — The best power bank we’ve ever owned. Ours is a proper veteran at this point and still going strong. We’ve thrown away plenty of others over the years, but this one seems to survive absolutely everything.
  • Budget option: Xiaomi Mi PowerBank 2C 20,000mAh — We haven’t used this one personally, but it’s one of the most recommended power banks by fellow travellers we know.
  • Do we own one? Yes, but we could definitely use a new one :))

15) Portable Bluetooth Speaker for the Beach

We never thought we needed one, but ever since we received a portable speaker as a gift, we use it every single day. We take it outdoors for meditation, bring it to the beach, and blast music in the kitchen while cooking. We were genuinely surprised by how good the sound quality is from such a tiny speaker.

JBL portable Bluetooth speaker

There are hundreds of options out there, but we’ve picked two that are truly worth it:

  • Who it’s for: Any traveller who loves music, enjoys beach holidays, or lives the digital nomad lifestyle
  • Do we own one? Yes.

16) Travel Hammock

The brave ones sleep in them; the less adventurous use them for lounging. You can also use a travel hammock as a picnic blanket or a sunshade.

La Siesta Colibri travel hammock
  • Which hammock to buy: The La Siesta Colibri Single or the Hamaka travel hammocks
  • Who it’s for: Anyone who loves camping, or if you know a dedicated hammock enthusiast…
  • Do we own one? Not yet, but we’d love one (well, I would — Lukáš isn’t quite as obsessed with hammocks)

17) Inflatable Travel Pillow

Yes, I absolutely love mine. I finally treated myself to an inflatable travel pillow and my journeys by plane, coach, and train have never been more comfortable. My only regret is that I didn’t buy one sooner — or that nobody bought me one as a gift.

Inflatable travel pillow Sea to Summit
  • Where to buy: I personally use the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Traveller, but you can find more affordable options on Amazon too.
  • Who it’s for: Anyone who frequently travels by plane (economy class!), coach, or train.
  • Do we own one? Yes.

18) Water Bottle

Wait — seriously? Everyone already has one! Well, that’s what we thought too, but our supposedly indestructible Contigo bottle finally gave up the ghost after years of use and started leaking. Not all bottles are created equal. For travel, you need a quality bottle that’s lightweight and absolutely won’t let you down. A really good water bottle will be genuinely appreciated as a gift. It certainly would be by us.

Contigo Ashland water bottle

Which one to get?

We’ve recently been most impressed by the Hydrapak Stash, particularly because it folds down to fit in your pocket when empty. But the real game-changer is that you can fill it even under those annoyingly small bathroom taps (you know the eternal struggle of trying to wedge a bottle under a tiny sink, right?).

Although our Contigo eventually wore out after many years (and honestly, the biggest issue was probably that we’d been using it for protein shakes), we still believe it’s one of the most reliable brands on the market.

  • Where to buy: This time around, we’d go for the Contigo Ashland 750. You can also find it on Amazon.
  • Or the Hydrapak Stash 750ml — these tend to sell out quickly, so check Amazon or specialist outdoor retailers for availability.
  • Who it’s for: Literally everyone
  • Do we own one? Yes, but we need another one.

19) A Leather Backpack That Can Handle Anything

I thought long and hard about going for leather. It’s always been a complicated relationship for me, because I genuinely value every animal’s life — we don’t even kill spiders or beetles at home. But after years of travelling, I’ve come to reassess my view on leather. The problem with faux leather is that it takes around 150 years to decompose. What I love about Bagind is that their backpacks are made from goat leather in India. In developing countries, goats are incredibly important — people care for them, value them for their milk, and when the time comes, it’s a significant event when the goat is eaten. I’ve been asked many times, in Uganda and Albania alike, whether I have a goat at home. In many parts of the world, goats are simply central to daily life.

What’s also great about a leather backpack is that it goes with everything — dresses, sportswear, you name it — which wasn’t really the case with my old Herschel. And it looks absolutely stunning in photos.

Bagind leather backpacks
  • Where to buy: bagind.cz
  • Who it’s for: Any traveller — just make sure they’re comfortable with leather first
  • Do we own one? Yes, we both have a Bagind.

20) Metal and Collapsible Straws

We’ve been on the hunt for a proper reusable straw for months. The amount of plastic waste generated by single-use straws worldwide is truly staggering.

Stainless steel reusable straws

Which ones to choose and where to buy:

21) Bum Bag — An Essential for Asia

Before we travelled to Asia, we never thought we’d need one. Now we can’t imagine travelling without one. After reading about how easily pickpockets operate in busy cities — some thieves can even scan your card details wirelessly without touching your wallet — we never leave the door without a bum bag or money belt.

Herschel Supply bum bag
  • Where to buy: Even better than a standard bum bag is a money belt that you can tuck under your shirt. We got ours from an outdoor shop, but it wasn’t great (the clasp was annoying), so we’d recommend looking for a better one from Herschel.
  • For women, I’d recommend a proper bum bag — especially if you often wear dresses. I’d pick either this pink one or this bright yellow one.
  • For men, I’d go with classic black.
  • Who it’s for: Anyone who travels to big cities — and an absolute must for trips to Asia
  • Do we own one? Yes, we have money belts, but we’re not entirely happy with them. We bought them in a rush and will probably swap them out at some point — me for a bum bag, and Lukáš for a better money belt.
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Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

The 20 Most Beautiful Places to Visit in Iceland

TL;DRIceland’s must-sees include the glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón, the waterfalls Goðafoss, Skógafoss, Detifoss, Gullfoss and Dynjandi, the geothermal area of Krýsuvík, Thingvellir National Park, the headland Dyrholaey, the mountains Eystrahorn and Vestrahorn, the village of Seydisfjördur and the hot river at Reykjadalur. Summer (June–August) is best for travelling, with temperatures of 10–15°C and up to 24 hours of daylight, while winter (December–March), hovering around 0°C, is your best bet for the northern lights. Geysir, the hot spring that gave its name to geysers everywhere, sits roughly 80 km from Reykjavík, and the 128-metre Hengifoss waterfall is reached via a 30-minute hike. Entry to most natural sights is free, though parking at Skógafoss will cost you around 1,000 ISK from 2025.

Iceland is probably the most beautiful and photogenic country that Lukas and I visited. I’m not exaggerating at all when I tell you that you can simply drive somewhere and stare. Still, there are places you shouldn’t miss.

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

How to Edit Photos in Lightroom and Use Presets

TL;DRYou can handle most photo edits in Adobe Lightroom with the basic tools — exposure, contrast, shadows, highlights, temperature and saturation — all in the “Basic” panel once you switch from Library to Develop. To create your own presets, click the “+” next to Presets in the side panel, save them under a name of your choice, then apply them to other photos using “Apply on Import” or “Copy/Paste Settings”. You can load other people’s presets, such as those from Travel In Her Shoes, via Lightroom → Preferences → Show Lightroom Presets Folder. Lightroom CC costs €12.09 a month, while the mobile version of Lightroom Classic is free but has limited features. For a deeper dive, the author also offers a detailed online course with 12 lessons and 2.5 hours of content.

How do you edit photos quickly, easily, and most importantly, make them look professional? Adobe Lightroom is the most efficient — and I’d dare say the best — program for professional photo editing, and Lightroom presets are the secret weapon that makes it all possible. It’s no wonder photographers and bloggers alike swear by it.

What Are Lightroom Presets and Why Use Them?

Thanks to presets, you can edit a whole batch of photos in just a few seconds — and even if you don’t have the best eye for it, they can still look stunning. And you’ll be surprised: it’s actually pretty straightforward.

In this article, I’ll first show you how to import photos into Lightroom, then give you a quick overview of basic edits, walk you through editing with presets, and finally cover how to create your own custom presets. I’ll also explain how to batch-edit all photos taken under the same conditions and how to easily export them.

Think of this article as an introduction to working with Lightroom — no single article can cover everything the program offers. If you want to learn Lightroom properly, I’d recommend finding a comprehensive online course that walks you through it step by step. I wrote a detailed review of one such course here.

Also, keep in mind that I don’t claim to know everything — this is simply how I do it. 🙂 But if it helps even one person out there, we’ll be happy.

But First — Where to Get Lightroom?

Adobe Lightroom Classic is free on mobile, but I should warn you that its features are quite limited. That’s why most photographers and bloggers use Lightroom CC on desktop. If you don’t have Adobe Lightroom CC yet and would like to get it, check out the Photography Plan for €12.09 per month.

I won’t encourage you to pirate the software — especially if you plan to sell your photos, I strongly recommend owning Lightroom legally.

How to Import Photos into Lightroom

Importing photos into Lightroom is just as easy as in any similar program. From the top menu bar, select File -> Import Photos and Video and choose the folder you want to import from. You can decide whether to copy the originals to your computer or simply add them to the Lightroom catalogue (in that case, the source drive must be connected every time you want to edit them).

Always make sure they’re sorted by capture time — “Sort: Capture time” — because you want all photos taken under the same lighting conditions to appear next to each other.

Once your photos are in the Lightroom catalogue, switch from Library to Develop. Without this step, you won’t be able to start editing.

Basic Photo Editing in Lightroom

In the side panel, under “Basic,” you’ll find the fundamental adjustments Lightroom offers. You can tweak the temperature and tint of your photo. If your camera spat out photos that are too blue or too yellow (who hasn’t been there!), a subtle — okay, sometimes not-so-subtle — slider adjustment can fix the issue.

Of course, this tool is also great for stylising your photos. If you want to give them a warmer or cooler feel, this is where you can have a play around.

Adjusting Light, Contrast, and Recovering Dark Areas

The most common adjustment you’ll need is exposure — either the photo is too bright and needs darkening, or it’s too dark and needs brightening. Under basic adjustments, you’ll also find contrast. You can fine-tune individual tonal ranges too. For instance, if the shadows are too dark, you can lift them slightly, or pull back the brightest spots using highlights.

The Difference Between Saturation and Vibrance

Yes, there is a significant difference between saturation and vibrance, and you shouldn’t confuse the two — at least when it comes to photo editing. When you increase saturation, you’re boosting the intensity of all colours equally. Vibrance, on the other hand, only increases the intensity of muted colours, leaving already-saturated tones largely untouched.

Saturation vs. Vibrance in Practice

Editing Individual Colours

In Lightroom, you can also adjust individual colours present in your photo. Need to make the sky a deeper blue? No problem. Want to shift the hue of a lake to make it more turquoise? It takes just a few seconds.

Sharpening Your Photos

If you scroll further down the panel, you’ll find “Detail,” which naturally offers even more adjustment options. I recommend only light sharpening — around 25 or so. 🙂

Creating Your Own Lightroom Presets

If you nail an edit and want to apply it to other photos, simply click “Copy” in the bottom-left corner, tick all the settings you want to carry over, and then hit “Paste” — and voilà! If the photo was taken under the same lighting conditions, you won’t need any further tweaks.

If the conditions differ, you’ll usually need to fine-tune the exposure, highlights, and shadows.

You can save your edits as a “preset” that you can then apply to any photos you import into Lightroom in the future. To create a preset, click the “+” button in the left-hand presets panel.

How to Get Beautiful Photos When You’re Still Learning Lightroom

Don’t despair if you can’t create gorgeous presets like those professional photographers or your favourite bloggers. Most of them went through the exact same struggle. The easiest way to learn how to create your own presets is to download or buy presets from creators you admire for inspiration (yes, everyone does it — they just don’t tell you). I’ve personally bought dozens of presets that I use as inspiration for creating my own. And sometimes I use them exactly as they are.

Check out our recommendations for free Lightroom presets and affordable ones that are worth trying.

If you want Instagram-worthy photos straight away, I’d recommend the Travel In Her Shoes presets. The price is quite steep, but they’re absolutely worth it.

How to Install Presets in Lightroom

If I can do it, anyone can. Once you’ve downloaded your presets, open Lightroom and go to the top menu bar -> Lightroom –> Preferences -> Show Lightroom Presets Folder -> Lightroom -> Develop Presets. Simply move the preset files in as a whole folder.

After applying the MAGIC SUNSET New York preset from Travel In Her Shoes, the photo looks like this:

All that’s left is a quick exposure tweak, and the photo is done!

How to Batch Edit Multiple Photos at Once

You’ve got a few options here. You can apply a single preset to all photos upon import. Simply right-click on a preset and select “Apply on Import.”

If your photos weren’t all taken under the same lighting conditions, edit one first, copy the settings, then select all the photos you want to apply the same edit to. Right-click -> Develop Settings –> Paste Settings.

How to Export Your Edited Photos

Exporting your photos is dead simple. From the top menu bar, select File -> Export Photos, choose your destination folder, and click Export.

That’s all for today! If you’d like a follow-up, let me know in the comments. Next time, we could tackle how to create a cohesive Instagram feed.

Bonus: Online Photo Editing Course for Lightroom

Want to edit photos like a professional photographer? Master one of the best photo editing tools out there and try an online Adobe Lightroom photo editing course from A to Z.

What the course covers:

  • 12 lessons — 2.5 hours of content
  • You want to edit photos but don’t know where to start
  • You’re drawn to the idea of making a living from photography
  • You need to organise your photos on your drive and in Lightroom
  • You want to learn new local adjustments
  • You’re not sure how to efficiently sort and manage photos
  • You want to know the essential Lightroom features and settings
  • You’re interested in creating your own presets
  • You want to sync photos with your phone
Online Adobe Lightroom photo editing course

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

How is Iceland in October and how much does it cost?

TL;DRIceland in October sits around 0 to 5°C (we even saw -1°C), but the biting wind makes it feel far colder, so skip the umbrella and pack waterproofs, a hat, gloves and proper layers instead. Four of us spent two weeks in Iceland and got through 111,529 CZK in total, working out at 27,882 CZK a person. That covered accommodation at 47,795 CZK (around 12,000 per person), 20,200 CZK in petrol and 15,493 CZK to hire a Suzuki Grand Vitara. Cooking for ourselves kept food costs down to just 120 CZK a day per person, since restaurant meals in Iceland run at least three times pricier than back home. From 1 October, plenty of restaurants and services in the less touristy spots shut down for winter, so it’s worth keeping a stash of food in the car.

At the end of September we went to Iceland for two weeks, we were a bit worried because on the first of October winter officially starts in Iceland. No, I’m not making this up, it’s common to find signs on restaurant shops saying “closed for winter, opening in April.” So what was Iceland like in October? What clothes to pack and how much did it cost for the four of us when we weren’t even camping?

Did you know that we prepare travel itineraries for you from roadtrips we have taken ourselves? And that includes the cost! We started with Canada and the USA, Uganda, you can come with us to the Tatras or Australia.

What temperatures to prepare for?

Right at the airport in Reykjavik, I picked up a newspaper with a huge headline that read “thank God summer is over.” I laughed a little, got a little scared and put my hat on my head. But when I read the article in detail, I realized it was just sarcasm. The Icelandic man wrote that he was glad it was already winter because there was no summer.

What may surprise you is that Iceland doesn’t experience extreme temperatures in winter thanks to the warm Gulf Stream. Average temperatures range from -10° to 0°, depending on whether you are in the Lowlands or the Highlands.

In October the thermometer showed the lowest temperature at -1 degree, but it was still terribly cold. Why? It doesn’t really matter what time the thermometer reads, the wind in Iceland is so freezing cold all year round that the temperature feels as low as -30°.

What clothes to wear

Don’t even think about leaving your winter jacket at home. S waterproof clothing you can’t go wrong in Iceland. Themoney you invest in aproper raincoat, waterproof trousers and boots will literally warm your heart in Iceland. Forget the umbrella, there’s a reason you won’t see them anywhere in the shops in Iceland. Yes, you guessed right, the reason is the wind. Hats and gloves will be your best friends.

Everyone will advise you to layer. Instead of thick warm clothes , reach for several layers of thermal clothing. Again, you won’t regret it. And don’t forget your swimsuit, because Iceland is the land of hot springs. And it would be an eternal shame not to enter at least one.

To tent or not to tent

Yes, there are people who go camping in Iceland in October and November. But if they don’t have the right equipment, they talk about sleepless nights in the unreal cold and sleeping on heated toilets. If you’re travelling in a car with two people, sleeping in the car is an option, you’ll be cold, but you’ll survive the week that way. I wouldn’t go for more days. I would only really reach for a tent with good equipment and experience with camping in winter and extreme conditions. And don’t take a sleeping bag with a comfortable temperature below -10°. It won’t be enough anyway. If you decide to go camping, be sure to read Radka and Ivar’s article about it, what the rules are for sleeping in a car and camping in Iceland.

How “expensive” is the accommodation?

Accommodation for four people can be found for 700-1000 CZK per person. For four people for 14 days it cost us 47 795 CZK, i.e. about 12 thousand per person. You will sleep in cabins, cheap hotels or hostels. Don’t worry about hostels in Iceland, most of them were luxurious.

Why make snacks even if I don’t want to save

In Iceland, food in restaurants is three times more expensive (at least) than here. If you don’t mind, still keep a sufficient supply of food in the car.Restaurants are definitely not at every turn (well, not every other turn either) and in the winter, the less touristy places, which is most of Iceland, are closed (yes, winter starts on October 1).

How much does food cost in supermarkets

If you cook and prepare your own snacks, you can save quite a bit on food. There is no point in bringing too much stuff from Bohemia. Supermarkets have very similar prices to ours, only fresh food is much more expensive, but you can’t bring that in your suitcase anyway.

We were in the restaurant only once, it cost us for four people 1 195 CZK, the rest of the time we cooked and made snacks and the total cost of the meal was only 6 636 CZK. That’s 1 659 CZK per person (for 14 days), that’s 120 CZK per person per day!

What did we cook?

We cooked Mexican tacos with avocado, lentil soup, chickpea soup, but also classic pasta with pesto or tomato sauce. For breakfast we used to have bread with hummus, jam, yoghurt with muesli or we used to make eggs and pancakes.

What is the most expensive in Iceland

Petrol and car rental. Make sure you get a quad bike in Iceland, especially if you’re not heading here in the summer and want to go somewhere other than the main circuit. Yes, you’ll hear of people driving a small car, but trust us, some of the roads are of similar quality to those in Uganda and it’s not worth the risk. Renting a Suzuki Grand Vitaraa XL cost us 15 493 CZK.

Petrol in Iceland costs 43-45 CZK per litre, if you want to drive around Iceland, count on 3500 km. Petrol cost us a total of 20 200 CZK.

So how much did it cost in total?

Iceland for two weeks cost us 111 529 CZK for four people, that is 27 882 CZK per person. If you are going to Iceland and are thinking about how to save money, we recommend going with as many people as possible. We looked at the budget Gabiinwanderland who went as a couple for 9 days (largely camping) and came up with 31k for Iceland! So you can sleep comfortably in hotels, hostels and airbnb with four people and have Iceland cheaper. Gasoline and car is the most expensive.

 

Tips and tricks for travelling around Iceland

What to pack

Take a look at our travel packing guide to help you prepare. Choose the right travel backpack, check out the travel gadgets and don’t forget anything important at home.

Where to get tickets

Search for cheap airline tickets at Kiwi , they’re our favourite portal. Be sure to read our instructions how to get cheap airline tickets.

Car rental

We commonly use a grader DiscoverCars.com to help us choose a car provider.

Reservation of accommodation

Booking.com is our most popular hotel search engine. We always compare hotels with local apartments and rooms on Airbnb ( 725 CZK discount ). Read, how we find cheap accommodation .

Don’t forget about insurance

Travel insurance is an absolute must. For shorter journeys, choose AXA ( 50% discount ) and for longer journeys the British insurer True Traveller . Take a look at comparison of all insurance companies and choose the one that suits you best.

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

Essential Camping Gear: Our Tried and Tested Favourites

TL;DRThe essential kit for tent camping includes a fire starter that works even in damp or rainy conditions (around £4, with Pinguin a recommended brand), an inflatable or self-inflating sleeping mat, a travel pillow (from £6), at least three torches or headlamps, and a quick-drying outdoor towel in size L or XL. Worth packing too: travel-sized toiletry bottles, spices and salt in resealable bags, folding camping cutlery and cookware, and wet wipes for when a shower isn’t an option. If you’re camping with a car, you can go for extra comfort with folding camp furniture, portable grills, stoves or even a full camping kitchen setup.

We’re passionate campers who’ve been fortunate enough to camp in the USA, Canada, Uganda, and across Europe. We’ve camped with a campervan and on bikes. Over the years, we’ve figured out which camping gear is truly worth bringing along. We don’t claim to be experts, but if this article helps even one person pack smarter, we’ll be happy. Take our tips with a pinch of salt and let us know in the comments — what’s the one piece of camping gear you can’t live without?

Fire Starter for Lighting a Stove or Campfire

If you’re just getting into camping, a ferro rod fire starter might seem unnecessary. After all, you’ve got matches, right? But matches can get damp overnight. A plastic lighter can leak or even explode. That’s why it’s always better to have a reliable fire starter on hand — it works in wet conditions, even in the rain, and will likely last you a lifetime. For around 4 €, it’s an absolute no-brainer.

We went with a fire starter from the Czech brand Pinguin. The link leads to their fire starter category, as the specific model tends to sell out quickly.

Pinguin fire starter for camping

Inflatable Sleeping Pad

I still remember how Lukáš talked me out of bringing an inflatable mattress when we went camping in Hawaii for two weeks. To this day, I blame him for the fact that we only brought basic foam sleeping pads. My back was killing me the entire time (yes, I’m a princess) and I could barely sleep.

Pinguin inflatable sleeping pad for camping
Pinguin inflatable sleeping pad

Self-Inflating or Inflatable Sleeping Pad?

If you’re cycling or trying to keep your pack weight down, go for an inflatable pad (don’t worry — you won’t need to blow it up by mouth or use a special pump; you simply inflate it by stomping with your foot). Inflatable pads weigh less than self-inflating ones. You can pick up a basic inflatable mattress for around 15–20 €, but if you want proper quality, we recommend the Czech brand Pinguin. Each pad comes with a repair kit, just in case you manage to puncture it (yes, it’s happened to us).

Travel Pillow

I don’t own one yet and I long for it every single time we camp. Most travel pillows pack down into a tiny 10-centimetre pouch and weigh around 50 g. I honestly can’t believe we still don’t have one. Anyway, I’m planning to order one before our trip to Thailand — an inflatable pillow like this is useful on every trip, and prices start from around 8 €.

Browse the selection here.

Camping Lantern

Lukáš and I always carry at least three torches. We hang one inside the tent, and then we each have one for the walk to the loo so we don’t trip over anything. When we were camping in the USA in our campervan, we also brought a lantern along.

It looked similar to this Vango lantern.

Travel Toiletry Bottles

I’m surely not the only one who’s had shampoo leak all over their suitcase, backpack, or rucksack (and yes, I triple-checked the cap was on tight — I swear). I started using travel bottles pretty early on, but tried several brands and they all started leaking before long.

In the end, I invested in some fairly pricey ones from Kikkerland, and so far they haven’t let me down. The one downside? They’re hard plastic, so squeezing out the last bit of shampoo is a pain — you end up having to shake it out. Some people have told me IKEA does decent ones, but I haven’t tried them personally.

I personally have a larger set with spray bottles, but right now I could only find this one available.

Travel toiletry bottles for camping

Quick-Dry Towel

This is one of those items that practically every camper owns. Having an antibacterial, quick-drying, ultra-lightweight outdoor towel is a game changer — not just for camping but also for staying in hostels.

My advice? Go for the largest size you can. We underestimated the size the first time (trying to save a few quid) and ended up having to buy another one anyway. Go for a size L or XL. There are loads of brands on the market. We personally use a quick-dry towel from Sea To Summit.

Quick-dry travel towel

Spices and Salt in Small Bags

This might be my favourite tip for any trip where you plan to cook. Pack some salt and spices in small resealable bags. They take up virtually no space, and suddenly you can turn a plain pot of red lentils into several completely different meals.

Collapsible Camping Cookware

We stumbled across collapsible containers by accident in a supermarket and took two with us to Iceland. It’s certainly not a must-have, but once you try it, you’ll wonder how you managed without. You can adjust the container size to fit its contents, collapsible mugs fit much better into a rucksack or bike pannier, and you can even get collapsible kettles and pots (though I still can’t quite picture how those work).

You’ll find a great selection of camping cookware here.

Travel Coffee Maker

We love good coffee, and we’ve been eyeing up the AEROPRESS travel coffee maker for months. If you’ve got a recommendation for a great brand, let us know! And if you haven’t heard of the Aeropress yet, definitely check it out. 🙂

Aeropress — the ideal travel coffee maker

Wet Wipes

Wet wipes are my best friend on every trip. I usually carry one pack for my hands and another for my face (cleansing wipes — yes, I’m a girl). Whether you’re cycling in 40-degree heat or you simply couldn’t find a shower, having something that gives you that fresh, clean feeling always comes in handy. 🙂

Got Plenty of Space? Treat Yourself to Some Comfort

Camping isn’t just about what you can squeeze into a backpack. More and more people are heading out to camp by car. In that case, you might as well treat yourself to proper comfort — after all, the car can carry it! Great additions include folding camping furniture (tables, chairs, or loungers), portable grills and stoves, or even compact camping cupboards and full camp kitchens.

Planning Your Next Adventure?

Don’t forget to read:

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

Why We’ll Never Take E-Bikes on a Long-Distance Trip to Greece Again

TL;DRThe authors will never again attempt long-distance electric bike touring in Greece, after a month and a half riding from Czechia through Slovenia (Lake Bled), the Dolomites and the Balkans in July heat above 35°C left them wrecked. The heavy e-bikes (25kg empty, 50–60kg loaded), late-night online work and having to skip detours like Meteora and Mostar all took their toll. A single charge got them 70–190km depending on terrain, yet they still couldn’t properly sightsee or fit in any hiking. The trip wasn’t cheap either — paid campsites and ducking into restaurants and cafés to escape the heat added up — and meals were mostly beans and spaghetti cooked in one pot. Their advice: stick to shorter trips, a week at most, and travel light.
studium fb

After our wedding in July, we set off on a long-distance cycling trip on ebikes to Greece to find out what such a journey really entails. We couldn’t find a single other person — in our home country or anywhere in Europe — mad enough to head south on these heavy beasts (an e-bike weighs roughly 25 kg without any luggage). It was one of the most fascinating months of our lives, a genuine adventure — but one we’ll never repeat. Why?

1) E-bikes are massive heavy monsters that try to kill you

Lukáš and I hadn’t stopped since April — we were writing our theses, sitting final exams, and planning a wedding. On top of all that, we were both working full-time.

Long-distance cycling on e-bikes was no picnic at the start.
Long-distance cycling on e-bikes was no picnic at the start

Maybe we should have test-ridden them first

We sat on our brand-new e-bikes for the very first time (yes, we’re insane) only once they were fully loaded up. In other words, on departure day. I couldn’t even get going until my third or fourth attempt, and for the first two weeks I was falling off regularly like a sack of potatoes (Lukáš fell less often, but he wasn’t immune either). Fully loaded, each bike weighed around 50–60 kg — absolute beasts.

On social media, we happily blamed all our troubles on our two “beauties.” But I’ll confess now — it was our own fault for never riding them beforehand. How do I know? By the end of the trip, we were cruising along like we owned the road!

Charging was never a problem

Riding e-bikes genuinely made things easier, and I’d wholeheartedly recommend them. Ours could manage 70–190 km on a single charge depending on the terrain (190 km being completely flat), and people will let you charge the batteries everywhere. You just have to ask. We once even charged up in a greengrocer’s shop. Just promise me that when you first bring yours home, you won’t ride them straight to Greece, alright?

2) Working while cycling isn’t impossible, but it’s like working with stomach flu

Halfway through the trip, we had to take a 3-day break for non-stop work
Halfway through the trip, we had to take a 3-day break for non-stop work

Lukáš and I both work online. Thanks to that, I’ve got a whole collection of stories about incredibly unusual places I’ve worked from. When something’s urgent, I can sit down on the ground, switch on mobile data, and work — even in a toilet if I have to. I’ve worked in Uganda at 2,500 metres above sea level and next to bins in an alleyway leading to Prague Castle.

We also worked during our 3-month road trip across America, so we didn’t expect it to be a problem on bikes. And guess what? It was. A massive one.

A quick look around and back on the road
A quick look around and back on the road

I honestly don’t know what was worse. Being exhausted from pedalling all day, or not being able to just pop down the road for Wi-Fi when the campsite connection wasn’t working (on a bike, even 10 km is a real detour — especially when you’ve already done over 100). On top of that (and this should have been obvious), you can’t do anything while cycling. Normally on road trips, I get half my work done in the car. Here, I had to wait until we stopped somewhere.

What’s worse — the heat or the exhaustion?

A typical day looked like this: we’d get up between six and seven, frantically pack the tent, and fifteen minutes later we’d be half-asleep, hammering away at the pedals. We’d stop at a supermarket for a yoghurt drink instead of a proper breakfast, just to save time. From Central Europe all the way to Greece, temperatures never dropped below 35°C.

We were battling the heat on our bikes right from the start
We were battling the heat on our bikes right from the start

At midday, we’d stop for an hour or two for lunch, then carry on until the evening (with plenty of stops for cold drinks, of course). We’d arrive at a campsite between six and eight, have a quick wash, cook dinner, then hunt for Wi-Fi and work until midnight. We often couldn’t start working until half past nine, and I probably don’t need to describe how shattered we were (we definitely didn’t need any sleeping pills).

The internet wasn’t always fast, and sometimes it didn’t work at all. It was far from idyllic. Exhaustion, too little time, and constant stress — I felt like I was working through a bout of stomach flu. In fact, this might have been even harder.

3) You have to kiss your freedom goodbye

We knew we’d have to skip a lot of places, but we ended up skipping far more than expected. Basically everything that wasn’t directly on our route. I know travel isn’t about seeing everything. But this robbed us of hiking in the mountains (stunning mountains — and if you know us, you know how much we love trekking).

We could only look at the mountains
We could only look at the mountains

The idea of leaving fully loaded e-bikes — carrying everything we owned — unattended somewhere was simply out of the question. I mourned so many hikes, the Greek Meteora, and Mostar. Places I’d been looking forward to that turned out to be impossible to reach on an e-bike. Where’s that legendary freedom you’re supposed to feel when travelling by bicycle?

4) You never properly see anything

You’d think six weeks would be plenty of time for a trip across Europe. But even so, you barely manage to see anything. Spending a few hours somewhere means you hardly make any progress. At the beginning, we tried to enjoy it — we swam in Lake Bled and explored little towns. That didn’t last long. Not once we realised how far behind schedule we were. Plus, there are loads of places you simply can’t reach on a bike.

5) The weather is your worst enemy

Yes, it was a pretty foolish idea to ride to Greece in the peak of summer heat. But we eventually got used to the 40°C temperatures. We learned to dodge the worst of it by getting up early and waiting out the midday sun in cafés and restaurants.

It was either boiling hot, or this
It was either boiling hot, or this

The real nightmare came when we hit torrential rain and freezing cold in the Dolomites. It poured relentlessly all day and all night, and we’d never felt so helpless. We were soaked to the bone, the tent was soaked, the sleeping bags were soaked. Our entire life was soaked! Alright, I’m being dramatic, but our only pair of long trousers and long-sleeved top were drenched, and we had no idea what to do because the rain just kept coming. On top of that, we often found ourselves in situations where there was literally nowhere to shelter from the weather.

6) Cycling is expensive

Cycle touring isn't the cheapest way to travel
Cycle touring isn’t the cheapest way to travel

We naively assumed that travelling by bike would be cheap. But if you want to do it legally, you’re paying for a campsite every single night across Europe. And in that scorching heat, we frequently ended up in restaurants and cafés. If you’re sitting comfortably indoors right now, you might think we’re soft — but try cycling eight hours a day in 40°C heat. You’ll stop counting the pennies pretty quickly. So how much did it all cost? That’s a story for another article.

7) You eat the same thing for six weeks straight

At first we used fresh ingredients, but then we realised that spending 2 hours cooking meant getting nothing else done
At first we used fresh ingredients, but then we realised that spending 2 hours cooking meant getting nothing else done

Since we camped almost every night, we cooked on a tiny portable stove with a single small pot. Coming up with anything more sophisticated than beans or spaghetti after a full day of riding was simply beyond us. And half the time, the ingredients we needed weren’t even available.

Final thoughts

Our e-bikes are currently parked in Písek — where we'll ride next remains to be seen.
Our e-bikes are currently parked in Písek — where we’ll ride next remains to be seen.

We actually fell in love with cycling (bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?). But not enough to want to go on a fully loaded trip longer than a week, for all the reasons listed above.

I’ve listed plenty of complaints, but the truth is the biggest issues were mainly work and not being able to go hiking. The e-bike itself is a fantastic thing — our beasts are currently parked in Písek, Czech Republic, and whenever we’re home, there’s a good chance you’ll spot us riding them around the countryside.

You can read all the articles from our trip on the Reportér magazine website. [visual-link-preview encoded=”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”] [visual-link-preview encoded=”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”]

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

Why I Would Always Choose Study Before Travel

TL;DRThe author would always pick studying over travelling, because university gives you five things that travel simply can’t replace: deep subject knowledge, critical thinking, a broader perspective through seminars and lectures, hands-on experience (like hours spent developing film in a darkroom), and valuable contacts — both fellow students and role models in the field. She herself studied journalism at Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences in the Hollar building, and went regularly to the Summer School of Journalism in Havlíčkův Brod. These are her five concrete reasons for never swapping her studies for travel — and as she puts it, there’s plenty of time left for travelling later in life.
Study abroad before travel

Lately, social media has been flooded with declarations that travel teaches you more than school ever could. Celebrities openly brag in the media about how they hated school and it was useless. It’s no wonder that many young people start thinking they should ditch their studies, grab a backpack, and spend a decade wandering the world. Whether you choose to study abroad or at a local university, travel does teach you a lot — greater tolerance for other cultures, independence, resilience, and adaptability — but there are things it simply cannot replace.

Before I dive into why I would never choose travel over education, let me say a few things. I absolutely don’t think everyone needs to go to university. I believe it’s wonderful when someone decides to become a skilled bricklayer, a florist, or a hairdresser. This article is simply about me — about why I would always choose university before travel.

Living in Canada gave me incredible experiences and made me stronger.
Living in Canada gave me incredible experiences and made me stronger.

1) There Are Things You Can’t Learn Without University

Our generation wants everything now. But not everything can happen overnight. You can’t become a doctor or a lawyer on the fly, and you certainly can’t get there through self-study alone. But it’s not just about those professions. At university, you explore subjects in a depth you’d never reach on your own. Maybe they don’t even interest you. Chances are you’ll never directly use most of that knowledge. But what it gives you is an understanding that nothing is black and white, that every problem has multiple layers worth examining. It teaches you to approach issues critically — because sure, down at the pub, everyone’s got an opinion on everything, but nobody actually knows much of anything.

2) Seeing the World From a Broader Perspective

Our world moves fast. Most of us are just glad to get through the daily juggle of work and family, with little appetite for deep discussions. Debating, having your own views challenged, and seeing the world through the eyes of people outside your bubble was one of the most fascinating aspects of university. Of course, some institutions don’t give enough space for debate, but that’s a topic for another day. While studying, you have a unique opportunity to attend all sorts of discussions and guest lectures. Sure, you can do that after graduation too — but hand on heart, how many of us actually make the time once real life kicks in?

From my social media, you might think travel is my number one priority. But it has always been education, family, and friends first. Then work and travel.
From my social media, you might think travel is my number one priority. But it has always been education, family, and friends first. Then work and travel.

3) You Get to Try Things You’d Never Otherwise Experience

I didn’t study chemistry or nanotechnology — that would make this point even more compelling. I studied journalism (and loved every minute of it!).

During my first years as an undergraduate, I spent hours in the darkroom developing film and enlarging photographs. I’ve never had a bigger adventure packed into one tiny room.

 
I remember once trying to threaten my dad: 'Fine, I'll start bringing home bad grades.' And he calmly replied: 'Go ahead. They're your grades.' I never did bring home bad ones, and my mum used to laugh when I got a less-than-perfect mark because she had to console me. I was a nerd. I probably still am.
I remember once trying to threaten my dad: “Fine, I’ll start bringing home bad grades.” And he calmly replied: “Go ahead. They’re your grades.” I never did bring home bad ones, and my mum used to laugh when I got a less-than-perfect mark because she had to console me. I was a nerd. I probably still am.

4) The Connections You Make

Studying journalism meant I was surrounded by people heading into the same or very similar fields. Just being part of that community is enriching in itself. My classmates (far more successful than me, I might add) now work at major TV and radio stations, and whenever I turn on the news or the radio, it’s only a matter of seconds before I hear a familiar voice.

At uni, I had the chance to meet people I’d looked up to since secondary school — some of them even taught me or ran a few of our seminars. I tried to squeeze every last drop out of my studies. In the early years, before I started working, I was running from one internship to the next, taking courses, attending workshops and lectures (for several years I went to a summer journalism school, for instance). Those first years at university were the most wonderful. Thanks to all those activities, I didn’t just discover what I’d enjoy doing — I also figured out what I’d never want to do in a million years.

5) Learning to Navigate the System

This point might sound a bit funny, but it’s true. At university, you’ll have more than a few frustrating encounters with bureaucracy. In the best cases, it’s just wrestling with course requirements and a glitchy exam registration page. Living in Europe means living within a system. And university is basically a training ground for the annual battle with your tax return, sorting out a mortgage, or dealing with insurance companies. Of course, no matter how much practice you get, you’ll still never remember what can be submitted online and what requires printing a mountain of paperwork and handing it in at exactly the right counter. Because the system keeps changing. And our stress levels keep rising accordingly. 🙂

And the number of cafés I discovered during my uni years :-D
And the number of cafés I discovered during my uni years 😀

When I walked away with my master’s degree, I felt a genuine sadness. I wouldn’t trade those years of study for anything in the world. I’m the kind of person who didn’t want to miss a single class, and I honestly looked forward to most of my lectures. Sure, I sometimes half-heartedly rushed through an assignment, and occasionally I skipped something. But my years studying at Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences in Prague were beautiful, exciting, and magical — and I don’t regret for a second that I didn’t spend that time travelling instead. After all, I’ve got a whole lifetime for that.

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

Australia Roadtrip: Visas, Best Routes & Costs

TL;DRAn Australian road trip needs the eVisitor 651 e-visa, which is free, valid for a year and lets you enter multiple times for stays of up to 90 days. The classic routes are the east coast (Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef), the centre from Adelaide to Darwin via Uluru, and the south from Perth to Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road, with a detour to Tasmania. The author drove Sydney–Melbourne–Adelaide–Alice Springs–Darwin, nearly 9,000 kilometres in a month. Car hire, including insurance and the one-way drop-off fee for returning it in a different city, came to roughly 1,700 AUD, and total spending for the month, flights aside, worked out at around 40,000 Czech crowns. December and January are best for the coast, June to September for the red centre and Uluru, and camping outside designated sites is banned.

The red continent “Down Under” should be on every traveller’s bucket list at least once in a lifetime. Playing with kangaroos, watching lazy koalas, diving at the Great Barrier Reef or witnessing the sunrise at magical Uluru are experiences that will stay with you forever. And although Australia has a reputation for being an expensive country, you can actually travel here on a budget. An Australia roadtrip is the ideal way to explore the continent — sleeping in the wild and cooking outdoors will keep your travel costs to an absolute minimum. Let’s take a look at the perfect Australia roadtrip and everything you need to know.

In this Australia guide, I’ll cover:

  • Flights and travel insurance
  • Travel visas
  • Choosing the ideal route
  • Hiring a car
  • Camping in Australia
  • Prices in Australia

How to plan an Australia roadtrip

Flights and travel insurance

If you’re flying to Australia from Europe, the flight will be one of your biggest expenses. With a bit of luck, you might snag return tickets on sale for around €600, but realistically expect to pay around twice that.

A great way to reach the red continent is to fly from New Zealand, or to visit Australia during a trip through Southeast Asia. Plenty of budget airlines fly to the smallest continent from these regions, offering much more affordable fares. Keep an eye on carriers like Jetstar, AirAsia and Scoot for competitive prices.

It goes without saying that you should arrange travel insurance before you depart. To find out which insurers offer the best coverage for the best price, read our comparison here.

Visas are a must for Australia

Don’t forget to sort out your visa before you travel. If your Australian adventure won’t last more than 90 days, the best option is the free electronic visa eVisitor 651, available to EU and UK passport holders. This is the entry permit most travellers choose. Applicants typically receive their visa confirmation via email within a few hours or days. The eVisitor visa is valid for one year, and you can enter the red continent multiple times on the same visa.

Best time for an Australia roadtrip

There’s no universal rule for when to visit the red continent. Your decision will depend on which areas of Australia you plan to explore. Although most of us imagine the country as a scorching, barren desert, the truth is that Australia actually has 6 different climate zones.

Australia roadtrip

Many travellers choose to visit Australia during the European winter, from December to February. At this time of year, you’ll meet crowds of backpackers hoping for great weather and warm temperatures. The east and south coasts are definitely a good choice during this period, especially if you want to enjoy surfing or snorkelling. However, travelling through the outback in summer can be extremely uncomfortable, and you may encounter closed trails designed to prevent hikers from venturing out in dangerously high temperatures.

Australians themselves prefer to explore the red centre during the European summer. The period from June to September offers pleasant temperatures and campsites that aren’t overrun with tourists. If you decide to travel Australia at this time, keep in mind that it will be winter in the south of the continent — and by that I mean temperatures dropping below zero. We weren’t prepared for this, and some of those freezing sleepless nights will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Best routes: where to go

Online you’ll find several popular routes designed to maximise experiences while minimising time behind the wheel. Probably the most popular is the east coast route, running from Sydney or Brisbane north to Cairns. The main attraction along this route is the Great Barrier Reef. If you love the ocean, surfing and diving, this is the road for you.

Slightly less travelled is the route through the centre, with Uluru as its golden — or rather red — highlight. You’ll start in Adelaide and finish in Darwin. This route is made for adventurers who want to experience the Australia they know from geography books. The downside is hundreds of kilometres spent in the car, with whole days passing without anything particularly noteworthy.

Uluru Australia

The third, southern route, runs from Perth to Melbourne. Not only will you drive one of the most beautiful roads in the world — the famous Great Ocean Road — but you can also stop off in pristine Tasmania along the way.

Consider these routes as suggestions only — ultimately, you can explore Australia however you like. Just make sure to calculate how many days you’ll need for your custom roadtrip. After much deliberation, we chose the route Sydney – Melbourne – Adelaide – Alice Springs – Darwin. Our main priorities were seeing the red centre, and we didn’t want to miss Sydney either. In one month we covered nearly 9,000 kilometres, and I can wholeheartedly recommend this route.

But even this route doesn’t have to be your limit. Flights to Australia are expensive, so don’t be afraid to embark on a three-month expedition, criss-crossing the red continent. I even know some adventurers who saw literally everything in Australia and drove more than 20,000 kilometres.

If sitting in a car all day isn’t your thing, you can combine your roadtrip with domestic flights. Plenty of budget airlines operate in Australia and can get you where you need to go for very little. You can hire a car in every major city, so the only thing left to plan is what to do about your camping gear.

Car hire

Another major expense in your budget will be hiring a car. Prices vary widely, and the biggest factor is the type of vehicle you choose. The cheapest options are small cars, regular sedans are a bit more, and campervans, vans and caravans are the most expensive. We opted for an affordable Ford Falcon estate, which comfortably fitted four of us plus all our luggage.

Australia car hire

Choose your vehicle’s drivetrain based on your chosen route. If you plan to drive on unsealed roads, we recommend going for a 4WD. On the other hand, if you’re not easily deterred, you can cover decent distances off-road even with a two-wheel drive.

Car insurance is no less significant an expense than the rental itself. It’s entirely up to you whether or not you insure your temporary home on wheels. You can choose the often overpriced insurance directly from the rental company, or find a better deal with an external insurer. Be aware that even with insurance, coverage usually doesn’t apply when driving on unsealed roads. We opted for windscreen-only insurance, which cost us 70 AUD (around €42). It proved well worth it — our windscreen got cracked multiple times by stones flying off passing road trains.

Australia road train

Rental companies will charge an additional fee if you return the car in a different city from where you picked it up. This is called a one-way fee, and it typically runs into hundreds of Australian dollars. In our case — picking up in Sydney and dropping off in Darwin — it was 200 AUD (around €120).

Our trusty car, which we affectionately nicknamed “The Ship”, cost us roughly 1,700 AUD (about €1,020) for a month, including windscreen insurance and the one-way fee. We rented from Travellers Autobarn, which I can recommend with a clear conscience. For those of you heading to Australia for a longer adventure, it may actually be worth buying a car outright. Just keep in mind the risk of breakdowns, and make sure you allow enough time at your final destination to sell it. To compare rental prices from multiple providers, we always use DiscoverCars.com.

Avoid driving at dusk and at night. There’s a high chance you’ll hit a kangaroo or other wildlife on the road.

Before you leave home, don’t forget to get an International Driving Permit — don’t get behind the wheel in Australia without one. In the UK, you can get one from the Post Office for around £5.50, and it’s issued on the spot.

Australia

Camping in Australia

Wild camping — as in “set up your tent or car wherever you please” — is illegal in Australia. To avoid hefty fines, follow the local rules and only sleep in designated spots. The easiest and most expensive option is staying at paid campsites. Fortunately, Australia has countless free campsites across the continent. To find them, you’ll want to download apps that map these locations.

Pick up a local SIM card with data for your trip. Consider an eSIM from Holafly or Yesim for hassle-free connectivity. Bear in mind, though, that you won’t find much signal in the outback.

The most well-known apps are Camper Mate and Wiki Camps — we recommend downloading them before your trip. Besides overnight spots, these apps also list showers, laundries, petrol stations and Wi-Fi hotspots. It’s important to know whether your vehicle has a “self-contained” certification. If it does, your choice of campsites will be much wider. But don’t worry — even without a built-in toilet and sink, you’ll find plenty of places where you can legally camp in Australia. Just don’t expect any luxury at the free sites — quite often the only “facility” will be a drop toilet.

Camping in Australia

You probably won’t want to haul camping gear across the globe, so I recommend bringing only the essentials. If you’re planning to rent a campervan on the red continent, most gear will be included with the rental. Everything else can be picked up cheaply at stores like Kmart. Our group brought just a quality sleeping bag, sleeping mat, headlamp and a water filter. Adapt the rest of your gear to the areas you’re visiting. In the outback, don’t forget extra water canisters for drinking water. Sunscreen and a hat are essential, and depending on the region and time of visit, you may also need very warm clothing.

Prices in Australia

Although Australia has a reputation for being expensive, prices aren’t quite as shocking as people make out. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep a detailed budget at the time, but excluding flights, my total spending came to roughly €1,600 (about 1,900 AUD). I spent a month on the red continent, shared a rental car with 3 friends, slept mainly at free campsites and prepared my own food. In short — a proper budget holiday in every sense.

Buying food at supermarkets is the most cost-effective option. We survived mainly on pasta, rice, beans, sausages, toast with peanut butter and hummus. For cooking, we used our camp stoves as well as good old campfires and the public barbecues found all over the country. When we wanted to treat ourselves, we’d pick up a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket, or grab a burger or fish and chips. A significant chunk of the budget also went on beer and wine, which we enjoyed practically every day on the road.

The price of petrol or diesel depends heavily on where you’re filling up.

The cheapest fuel we found was around 1.3 AUD per litre (roughly €0.78), but in the middle of the outback the price can climb above 2 AUD per litre (around €1.20).

If you want to enjoy the full Australian experience and pay for activities like surfing, diving or visiting a wildlife park, you’ll need to dig deeper into your wallet. National parks are generally free to enter, with the Uluru – Kata Tjuta area being an exception. But don’t let paid attractions put you off visiting the continent. You can still put together an amazing holiday itinerary while spending very little.

Books we recommend for planning an Australia roadtrip

Tips and tricks for travelling in Australia

What to pack

Check out our packing guide for travellers, which will help you prepare. Choose the right travel backpack, browse travel gadgets and make sure you don’t leave anything important at home.

Where to find flights

Search for cheap flights on Kiwi — it’s our favourite flight search engine. Be sure to read our guide to finding cheap flights.

Car hire

We regularly use the comparison site DiscoverCars.com to help us choose the best car rental provider.

Booking accommodation

Booking.com is our favourite hotel search engine. We always compare hotels with local flats and rooms on Airbnb (get a discount here). Read about how we find cheap accommodation.

Don’t forget insurance

Travel insurance is an absolute must. For shorter trips we choose AXA (50% discount) and for longer journeys the British insurer True Traveller. Check out our comparison of all insurers and choose the one that suits you best.

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

How to (Not) Plan Your Dream Wedding and How Much It Costs

TL;DRYou can plan your dream wedding without a coordinator in just a few months, but the big things — venue, dress, invitations — need booking well ahead, while everything else can wait until a month before. The authors describe their wedding for 30 guests at Stodola Suška near Znojmo, which they wouldn’t recommend now given how unreliable the staff turned out to be, suggesting the gardens at Mitrowicz Chateau as a better bet. Total costs came to 222,254 CZK, with the biggest chunks going on music, the celebrant, photography and video (62,000 CZK), guest accommodation (32,000 CZK) and the dress (32,900 CZK). Their advice: splash out on a photographer and videographer, and hold the ceremony in the evening — a midday slot means worse light for photos and less sleep beforehand.

Everyone tells you your wedding will be the best day of your life. But nobody warns you about everything that can go wrong (and I’m not even talking about the weather). That’s what we’re here for. Consider this your honest wedding planning guide so you can make fewer mistakes than we did. You’ll find out how quickly you can plan a wedding like ours, roughly how much it costs, whether you need a wedding coordinator or a DJ, and how to keep your guests entertained.

The Day Before the Wedding, It Looked Like Our Guests Would Starve

Our wedding was supposed to be a fairy tale planned without stress, drama, or frayed nerves. And a fairy tale it turned out to be. Everything went exactly as it should have (no, it wasn’t a disaster — it was magical), but we were on edge the whole time. The day before the wedding, we were desperately searching for pizza delivery to our venue because it looked like half our guests were going to starve.

The perfect wedding

How Quickly Can You Plan a Wedding

Lukáš proposed in December 2017. We wanted a summer wedding, which meant we needed to find a venue as fast as possible. I suspected the most beautiful ones might already be fully booked. We managed to grab a Thursday slot (26 July 2018) — the rest of the summer at our dream venue was long gone. Once we’d secured the venue, I started sorting out the dress. The venue, dress, and invitations are really the only things you need to arrange well in advance. Everything else we sorted out just a month before the wedding.

We planned our wedding online

Rings and Dress — All Bought Online

I had a crystal-clear vision of my wedding dress, which I’d found on Pinterest. A gorgeous two-piece number with a fairy-tale skirt and a loose lace top. I couldn’t find anything similar in local bridal shops. Then it hit me — why search for something similar when I could just order the exact dress I’d pinned? I tracked down the studio that made it, sent my measurements, and prayed that Lukáš had measured me correctly. When they arrived, they fit like a glove, and I smugly declared that our wedding was going to be completely stress-free.

The same approach worked for the rings. We visited several jewellery shops and nothing caught our eye. That evening, I picked a ring online in about five minutes, telling myself that the little band I’d be wearing was probably the most boring ring in the world, because it’s just a circle. Once again, I struck gold. The ring arrived looking even more beautiful than it had on the website, and I decided it wasn’t such a boring circle after all.

I thought I had this whole wedding thing figured out. But then the first real problems appeared.

No Hairdresser — I Did My Own Makeup

I couldn’t find anyone locally I’d trust with my look for the big day, so I decided to do my own hair and makeup. That morning, I lounged in bed with my maid of honour watching The Simpsons, and before lunch I hopped out, curled my hair, did my makeup in fifteen minutes, and went to eat. I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxed pre-wedding morning.

TIP: Want to look flawless but not confident enough to do your own makeup? Put yourself in the hands of a skilled makeup artist. DIY makeup and hair for the wedding

A Wedding in Reverse — Why You Should Get Married in the Evening

A long lie-in and plenty of time — that’s what an evening ceremony gave us. The wedding kicked off with a reception at five o’clock, meaning I had until at least two in the afternoon, when we’d scheduled photos with Lukáš and the bridesmaids. So why an evening wedding? Getting married at noon is the worst idea because if the sun is out, you’re guaranteed the harshest lighting conditions for photos. Hard light and harsh shadows are nobody’s friend. Plus, you actually get a decent night’s sleep beforehand.

Our “Dream Venue” — The Worst Choice We Made

While everyone admires our wedding venue in photos, I actively talk anyone out of choosing it. It was beautiful, sure, but if we hadn’t been in the middle of university exams before the wedding and had even a little time to search for somewhere new, I’d have changed it in a heartbeat. What would I pick today? Probably the gardens of Mitrowicz Castle, because the owner is brilliant.

When we visited the venue manager at Stodola Suška for our first meeting in December, we were thrilled. She came out with all the right phrases: “anything is possible,” “we can handle the catering, vegetarian is no problem,” and “we’ll decorate everything exactly how you want.” We drove away buzzing, paid the deposit, and didn’t think about it again.

Wedding catering wasn't straightforward

The Manager Tried to Force Goulash and Schnitzel on Us

By the second meeting in February, the excitement had faded. The manager pushed a menu full of schnitzels, goulash, and a roast pig, because “that’s what guests enjoy.” I left feeling utterly defeated and miserable — the only consolation being that we could still change it. After carefully studying the menu she’d offered, though, we realised there was no way to piece together the light, healthy reception we’d envisioned.

After an extensive search for the right caterer, we contacted I Feel Good in Prague about two and a half months before the wedding. After a brief chat about our vision, they put together a perfect menu and even offered a tasting picnic. We excitedly told the venue we wouldn’t be needing their catering and looked forward to the picnic.

Stodola Suška review
We wouldn’t recommend Stodola Suška for a wedding

You’re Not Using Our Kitchen!

But the venue manager’s response was a flat-out no. We were stunned — there was nothing about this in the contract, and nobody had ever mentioned it. When we demanded an explanation, she suddenly said she’d try to convince the owner. She kept dodging and stalling until just 3 weeks before the wedding, when we finally got a clear answer: no outside catering allowed, because they wouldn’t let us into the kitchen. She offered to have their own chef cook our I Feel Good menu instead.

With the bridesmaids

Your Guests Will Go Hungry, Declared the Manager in Charge of Catering

I’d love to tell you that was the end of the headaches, but it wasn’t. The day before the wedding, we arrived at the venue and the manager announced — in front of the bridesmaids and family — that the guests would go hungry. I stared at her in disbelief. How could roughly €1,800 worth of food for 30 people not be enough? “You worked out the portions with the chef yourself, so surely the maths adds up,” I protested. “Yes, but you said your guests don’t eat much.” “EXCUSE ME?” That was the last straw. Lukáš pulled me away, reassuring me it would be fine. For the record: half the food was left over. But we spent the entire day before the wedding figuring out where to order extra food.

I’d also love to tell you that was the only issue with this fairy-tale venue, but it wasn’t. Not a single promise they made was kept. They forgot to set up the sound system and the fairy lights on the wedding arch in advance. Thankfully, we hadn’t relied on the manager and brought everything ourselves just in case.

Beautiful wedding dress and flower crown

How We Handled the Music

We went with live music for the ceremony, but for the indoor reception we relied on Spotify. And honestly, it was one of the best decisions we made. We had two playlists — one calm and chilled for before the ceremony, and another for dancing afterwards.

What’s Worth Investing In

I always knew my big wedding splurge would be the photographer. And I’m so glad that, while the venue choice was terrible, the photographer was an absolute winner — Olda from Něco Modrého (Something Blue). I think his photos speak for themselves. But what they won’t tell you is that Olda isn’t just a brilliant photographer — he’s also a wonderful person you’re genuinely happy to have at your wedding. We liked him so much that we consider him a friend today (and we hope he feels the same).

Our other big investment was the team from DIB Production. We saw their work about six months before the wedding and instantly knew we needed them. We didn’t just want a wedding video — we wanted a DIB wedding video.

Your Guests Will Entertain Themselves — But Here Are Some Ideas

We worried about what our guests would do at the reception. Turns out, there was nothing to worry about. You don’t need anything. No games, no gimmicks. That said, a few touches can add a bit of extra fun.

Wedding games and activities

1) Chocolate Fountain

Our biggest wedding hit. Who says food can’t be entertainment?

2) Polaroid Photos and a Guest Book

Signs reading “I want to get married too” and “I only came for the food” lured even our grandparents into posing. By the end of the evening, we had a full wedding guest book stuffed with Polaroids.

Fun wedding signs

3) Where We Have to Travel Within a Year

We let our guests decide where we’d travel the following year. They dropped destination suggestions into a box, and in the early hours of the morning we drew three at random. How we’re getting to Antarctica, we still haven’t figured out.

4) A Message to Open in Ten Years

When I was little, I wrote a letter to my future eighteen-year-old self. This time, though, it wasn’t me writing to my 35-year-old self — it was our wedding guests. They had the chance to write us a message that we’ll open in 10 years.

TIP: If you do want to plan a few activities, check out these creative wedding game ideas. The perfect wedding

Do You Need a Wedding Coordinator?

Our wedding was magical, despite all the planning headaches and all the stress caused by the venue. And yours will be too. You don’t need a coordinator or months of work to plan a beautiful wedding. All you need is a clear vision, a wedding planning checklist, a few phone calls and meetings. And nerves of steel.

How Much Does a Wedding Cost

We didn’t set a strict budget, but roughly planned for the wedding to cost around €8,000, expecting about 55 guests. In the end, only 30 of us attended, but it still cost more. The final bill came to approximately €8,900 — not counting our time, six months of driving back and forth to the venue, and various small expenses.

  • Venue hire: €800
  • Music, officiant, photographer, videographer: €2,480
  • Hotel accommodation for all guests: €1,280
  • Catering: €1,775
  • Flowers: €480
  • Guest transport after the wedding: €50
  • Wedding invitations: €50
  • Outfits for the bride, bridesmaids, and groom: €1,315
  • Wedding rings: €520
  • Chocolate for the fountain: €40
  • Guest book: €36
  • Instax film: €68

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!

How to Save Up to 13% on Travel With a Travel Card (Flights, Stays & More)

TL;DRThe Twisto card can save you up to 13% on travel by combining cashback with a Premium account discount – that’s 7% on accommodation through Booking.com (4% cashback plus 3% Premium discount) and 4.5% on flights through Kiwi.com (1% cashback plus 3% Premium discount). Twisto also gives you better exchange rates on foreign currency payments than most banks, free travel insurance from UNIQA (with English-language… actually, in your own language) cover for trips up to 30 days, including winter sports, plus a waterproof contactless payment wristband. Premium costs 99 CZK a month (the first three months are free), while the basic version stays free forever. Sign up with the promo code LOUDAVYMKROKEM and you’ll bag a 300 CZK bonus on top.
Travel card for saving money while travelling
If you’re anything like us, you’re always on the lookout for ways to travel cheaper. And the biggest expenses are always flights and accommodation. We’ve written before about how to find cheap flights and stays, but now we’ve stumbled on yet another way to grab both for EVEN LESS — and it all comes down to using the right travel card.
We’ve been using a payment card from Twisto.cz for almost a year now, but it only clicked a month ago that it’s brilliant for travelling. It’s a service that offers a payment card with travel insurance, cashback and the option to pay off your spending once a month.
This article is just a quick taster of how you can use a travel card like this to save on the road. If you want the full picture, read our HUGE TWISTO REVIEW over on our other blog.

What exactly does this travel card offer?

Cashback of up to 13% on card purchases

For travel, the most appealing cashback comes from Booking.com (2%–4% on every reservation) and Kiwi.com, where you get 1.5% of your flight price back. At the moment there are roughly 60 retailers offering cashback, including pharmacies, electronics shops and even clothing stores.

Better exchange rates abroad than your usual bank

High street banks used to happily slap us with up to a 5% fee for paying in a foreign currency. That doesn’t happen with this travel card — and with the euro, for example, the difference works out at more than a couple of cents per unit, which really adds up on bigger purchases.
Travel card exchange rates

Free travel insurance for trips up to 30 days, winter sports included

The insurance is arranged through the UNIQA insurance company and covers the whole family if you’re travelling together. Compared with other similar cards, you get clear terms you can actually read through and understand — no fine print buried in jargon.

An extra 3% off every foreign payment with Premium

Premium costs about €4 a month (the first 3 months are free). The basic version is free forever.
WHICH MEANS that with a Premium account, you can get up to 7% off accommodation (4% + 3%) and 4.5% (1% + 3%) off flights!
Travel card discounts on hotels

Payment wristbands

On top of the card itself, you also get a contactless payment wristband you can even swim with. No need to carry your card around, no one can copy your details from it, and it’s 100% more secure. Plus, there’s something quite satisfying about paying for your shopping with a flick of the wrist.
Travel card payment wristband

Paying your bills for you

Whenever a bill lands in your inbox, you just forward it on and they take care of it for you. No more typing payment details into online banking by hand.

A bonus just for signing up

And now the best part — the reason we decided to write this article in the first place. Because we’re one of the most active users, we got a special promo code that gives our friends a sign-up bonus (registration is free and takes just a moment). And since we count all our readers as friends (and no one told us not to), we’re sharing the link with you too.

How do you claim the free bonus?

Just click HERE and register, or enter the promo code LOUDAVYMKROKEM when signing up.

Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation

Don’t Overpay for Flights

Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.

Book Your Accommodation Smartly

The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance

Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.

Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).

Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.

Find the Best Experiences

Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!