Editor’s note: I spent two full weeks in Santo Domingo a few years back, and while the city wasn’t as well kept up as the historic portions of San Juan or Cartagena, I found my time there to be incredible. (You can read my guide here.) In this piece, Sam - in a way only…
Editor’s note: back in 2021, as the world was just beginning to open up from COVID, Curacao was my first destination. I spent three weeks on the island, and fell absolutely in love with the place and its people. It is really great to see that Sam felt similarly, even in a much shorter span…
Today I was supposed to take a ferry from here to the nearby island of Anguilla. Anguilla, a British overseas territory about 20 minutes by boat from Marigot on the French side of Saint-Martin, is known for having some of the best, most pristine beaches in the Caribbean. But with the forecast calling for on…
After the 2024 election, I left Twitter. Elon Musk’s acquiring of the platform and subsequent turning it into a right-wing disinformation center was too much for me, and I just couldn’t continue. I joined Bluesky. (By the way, if you are on that platform, please find me here. And if you aren’t on it, please…
Lots of people have been to the Bahamas. I’m one of them, and like a large percentage of them, I was there as part of a cruise. It was lovely. Others go for the resorts, clean beaches, blue waters. Those are also lovely. Well, I’m looking for a different Bahamian experience. I’ll be in the…
Back in Los Angeles, I sip my coffee while going through my notes and photos from my trip to Cartagena. It’s good coffee, an Italian blend I really enjoy. But it isn’t the same. During my two weeks in Colombia’s premier Caribbean destination, I was treated to some of the best coffees - both simple…
I’ve spent the past several hours writing and re-writing this article, and yet here I am starting over. I pride myself on finding deeper meaning in the things I do, in seeking out those little nuggets of history or a cultural gem, things that bring learning to something that most don’t associate with it. But…
Sometimes one winter getaway to a tropical paradise just isn’t enough. This winter, I have two amazing tropical trips back-to-back. Literally, they are back to back as I am home for five days between. So I decided for the purposes of the trip introduction to combine them into one, my Tropical Winter. The journey begins…
The day includes some of the things I dislike most in the world. Loud music, and specifically people dancing to it when I can’t get away, is not something I love. Likewise, overly intoxicated people, who tend to be the ones dancing. Even sand is something not destined to make Jonathan a happy guy, especially…
Editor’s note: one of the best things about having writers on The Royal Tour other than myself is to experience a shared destination from a different perspective. While my Puerto Rico trip was largely an in-depth look at San Juan, Sam Spector journeyed to other places on the island, and uses that experience to share…