If you’re looking for a coastal town with tons of history, colorful architecture, and some of that quintessential Southern charm, this is the place for you. I mean, there is a reason why Travel + Leisure readers voted it the #1 city in the United States. There are plenty of ways to spend a fun weekend around Charleston, here’s how to spend an easy one!

Rio de Janeiro was one of my absolute favorite stops across the five countries and over 12+ cities I explored over these eight weeks, though many people warned me against it. If you are considering Rio, please do it! Do your research, find good spots, and explore. There is so much to the city and the people, I honestly can’t wait to return.

When I tell you that Buenos Aires was the most hyped destination of my trip… I do not lie. I had multiple people in multiple destinations in South America (and before), leading up to my arrival in this curiously European-vibed but South American-infused capital city, raving about Buenos Aires. The amount of “I could live there” and “ugh I wish I could have spent longer” were enough to get me psyched for this change of scenery.

I can’t say enough about the beauty of Peru. The colors, the landscapes, the llamas! I cannot wait to go back and explore more of this country. There were so many vivid colors in the landscapes but also the decor - I fully plan to recreate the Peruvian pom pom garland you see in so many shops, for my own home sometime soon.

I kicked off my eight weeks of backpacking in South America in Ecuador, where I would start my backward “J” trek through the continent. I decided to give myself time to explore Ecuador while keeping my itinerary a little “looser.” The only thing I had booked was my first three nights in Quito. I’m so glad I left myself open to everything I experienced in Ecuador.

I’m a sucker for a quaint and cozy small town. Add in some colorful buildings, a local bakery, and artisan shops and I’m looking at real estate. Birnam and Dunkled hold all the charms I dream about, even amidst dreary Scottish weather. Here’s what I got up to during my long weekend.

I heard from so many locals that the Isle of Skye is a stunning place to visit in Scotland. The weather was absolutely crazy but I made the most of my trip for the weekend. With my base set-up in Portree, here’s what I got into on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

I spent two nights with Fort William as my home base and then spiderwebbed out from there across the weekend. Here’s how I spent this weekend in the Scottish Highlands:

I spent six weeks in Edinburgh doing a patisserie course. I dedicated two weekends simply to exploring the Edinburgh city center. Here is what I’d recommend if you only have a single, jam-packed, weekend in the city!

Many might say that doing a National Park trip through Utah in July would be a sweltering-hot-fail. Many would be right, but we did it anyway. From Salt Lake City through four of the “Big 5” U.S. National Parks in Utah, here’s how we hit them.