Sam Spector is a staff writer at The Royal Tour. Please scroll down for an index of all of his articles here.

Sam Spector is the rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Cum Laude with a BA in Judaic Studies from the University of California, San Diego. While in college, Spector spent a summer abroad at the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Spector attended the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he spent over a year studying at the Jerusalem campus, and then continued his studies at the Los Angeles campus where he received his M.A. in Hebrew Letters and his rabbinic ordination. He began his career as the assistant and then associate rabbi of Temple Judea in Tarzana, CA. With his love of history and religion, he has traveled to more than 50 countries across five continents, many off the beaten track, with often an emphasis on culture, religion and history. Some of his favorite destinations include: Laos, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Zanzibar, Cuba, Peru, Oman and Albania. He has led group trips to Israel and Central Europe that are focused on Jewish history and religion. In addition to English, he speaks conversational Spanish and Hebrew. Spector lives in Millcreek, Utah, with his wife and travel buddy, Jill, who works in the hotel industry, and his dogs, Nezek, a Brittany Spaniel, and Walter, a Chocolate Labrador Retriever.

The Magic of Zanzibar

How to Maximize Your Doha Layover

Albania? Yes, Please!

Why Luang Prabang Is My Favorite City

Orcas Island: A Jewel in the Northwest

What About Belize?

Don’t Skip Cyprus

Beirut and Southern Lebanon

Exploring Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley

Maasai Mara and Nairobi, Kenya

Colombia’s Isla Grande

Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Cappadocia, Turkey

Spectacular Serbia

Remembering Auschwitz

A Day in Bethlehem

Eastern Peru Beyond Machu Picchu

What to See in Western Peru

The Paradise Called St. Lucia

Experiencing Sinai

The Terezin Concentration Camp

The Utah State Capitol

Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The Micro-Nation of San Marino

Ohrid, North Macedonia

How Travel Saved My Paternity Leave

Trinidad, Cuba

Colombia’s Tayrona National Park and Santa Marta

Tucson, Arizona

Traveling with an Infant

Hakone and Mt. Fuji

Magical Fez, Morocco

Why You Should Visit Bali

Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula

The Cocktails of Havana

A Day in Singapore

The Island Nation of Malta

Puerto Rico Beyond San Juan

Israel’s Yad Vashem

Antigua, Guatemala

Kamakura, Japan

Moab, Utah

Portugal: Is This the Most Baby Friendly Country on Earth?

Lovely Lisbon, Portugal

Sintra, Obidos, and Evora: Day Trips from Lisbon

Germany’s Rhineland

City of the Future: A Weekend in Dubai

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Four Days in Istanbul

Baku, Azerbaijan

Vancouver, BC

All About Mostar

Quba: Azerbaijan’s Red Village

A Day Tour in Northern Armenia

Tbilisi, Georgia

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Two Layovers in Beijing

Montenegro: Budva and Kotor

Tips for Traveling While Jewish

A Visit to Charleston, SC

Why You Should Visit Savannah

Utah’s Goblin Valley

Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park

Muscat, Oman: The Legacy of Sultan Qaboos

Seeing Northern Oman

Utah’s Bear Lake: The Caribbean of the Rockies

Vik and Southern Iceland

Bru na Boinne, Ireland

Dublin’s Libations

Western Ireland