We recently spent 13 hours in the air on an American Airlines flight from Philadelphia (PHL) to Doha (DOH). It’s one of the longest flights we’ve ever taken – and our first time testing premium economy that far. We’ll tell you everything including how much we paid and if it was worth it.
Here’s our honest ranking of six destinations that didn’t live up to the hype (with #1 taking the crown for disappointment), plus one iconic site that’s 100% worth the journey if you plan it right.
The best beginner destinations blend culture and adventure with comfort and an infrastructure that’s set up for tourism. Here are our favorite spots that we found to be easy to navigate but also different enough from our own environment to provide an exciting international experience.
Driving through the Atlas Mountains was phenomenal. In some ways it looked like The American Southwest or Australia’s Red Centre. In other ways, it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It had a unique character, belonging only to Morocco.
We spent New Year’s Eve in Merzouga, located in the Moroccan desert about 30 miles from the Algerian border. The small village is at the edge of incredible sand dunes, thus it is frequented by travelers and truly makes you aware that you are in the Sahara desert. Our desert inn was quaint and adorable. A live local band, Moroccan feast, bonfires in the court…
As we traveled north, we explored the imperial cities of Meknes and Fez, which are known for their medinas (the old quarter of an Arab city in North Africa). I enjoyed the Meknes medina more than the one in Fez because it was open and inviting with large stands full of spices, dates, figs, and olives. The Fez medina was a narrow labyrinth full of…
We arrived to a cold and rainy Casablanca, but it cleared up long enough to take a walk along the beach. Our hotel was situated on the ocean amidst many beach front restaurants that I would imagine are very lively when the weather is warm. The Atlantic Ocean was incredibly more powerful and majestic than it is on the east coast of the United States….
This is one of my favorite photos from my travels. I usually approach religious sites with academic curiosity, but the energy I felt at the wailing wall in Israel was overwhelming and unforgettable. I watched from afar as many individuals approached the wall, put their hands on it, poured their faith into it, and quietly secured their prayer notes in stone before slipping away, back…
