Health*Conscious*Travel

17/05/2026

Want an inside view of what luxury glamping looks like? Come into my tent cabin at the brand new Under Canvas Yosemite, which opened last month just outside the Groveland gate. Picture sitting around a campfire toasting marshmallows, wandering through pine forests and stargazing under inky skies…. Then retiring to your spacious heated tent complete with sofa, bathroom, and super-comfy bed.

And pups are as welcome as people! Under Canvas has made an art out of creating outdoorsy but luxurious home bases for visiting the most popular national parks, from Arches to Yellowstone and Zion.

No more roughing it, and no more two-hour drives to cram in a day trip! Under Canvas Under Canvas Yosemite

19/02/2026

01/04/2025

“Nowhere except perhaps the Caribbean Sea have I seen so many variations of blue. From teal to turquoise, from azure to aqua, they compete with each other in the depth and vividness of color.

Those blues and the intricate mosaic artistry of the mosques, madrassas (religious schools), and minarets they adorn are luring a fast-growing number of travelers to retrace the storied Silk Road, along which caravans carried textiles, spices, and perfume between the East and West. With four of the route's wealthiest and best-preserved cities surrounded by colorful desert — beyond Tashkent, Khiva's Itchan Khala, the historic center of Bukhara, and Samarkand are all UNESCO sites — Uzbekistan beckons you to wander ancient walled towns, shop for rugs in labyrinthine bazaars, visit with families in desert yurts, and discover a multilayered culture spanning 2,000 years of history.”

- an excerpt from my recent story on Why Uzbekistan is the Country to Visit Now for Smart Luxury. Link here and in my bio!

In Uzbekistan, the intricate mosaic artistry of the mosques, madrassas, and minarets it adorns is luring a fast-growing number of travelers to visit the storied Silk Road, along which caravans used to carry textiles, spices, and perfume between the East and West. With four of the route's best-preser...

03/11/2021

Think of the Dead Sea as the world’s largest natural wellness spa. Its unique geographic characteristics as the lowest body of water on earth at - 4 meters, or - 12 feet, below sea level, means the water absorbs high levels of minerals from runoff. The silt on the seabed is extremely rich in magnesium, potassium, nickel and more, in addition to being incredibly salty.

For centuries, people have used Dead Sea mud to treat health conditions ranging from arthritis and back pain to psoriasis, acne and other skin conditions. And recently, a great deal of research has backed up these claims, showing an anti-inflammatory effect.

Speaking of salty, the high sodium content makes you incredibly buoyant in the water - you literally can’t sink!! Floating with your full body weight on top of the water is incredibly relaxing and restorative. The traditional multi-step treatment, a process involving a sea soak, then application of mud followed by a salt scrub, leaves your skin feeling ten years younger.

I admit to some skepticism at first, but after a few days on the Red Sea in Jordan, I can highly recommend this as a wellness experience! VisitJordan Tourism/Jordan Jordan Tourism

21/06/2019

Here in St. Barth, it's a rainbow of golden sand, red roofs, green palms, and blue, blue water. My first Caribbean island experience and definitely won't be my last! But someone tell me how one island can have four different nicknames??!!

23/05/2019

On your next Hawaiian vacation, here's how you can help plant native hardwood trees and help bring back endangered species. My latest for Sierra Magazine. -travel

Planting koa, milo, and ohia has a side benefit

23/04/2019

ProCosta is a nonprofit that does important conservation work protecting endangered leatherback sea turtles and other species. It was exciting to join them for an afternoon, watching them catch, tag, measure and release black turtles, a subspecies of Atlantic greens. They also take a skin sample to test for diseases, and they maintain a census, naming each turtle tagged. Because I correctly guessed the weight of turtle number two, a rare male, I got to name him. I chose Bart after my beloved elderly cat. The last photo is Bart swimming back to freedom thinking, I imagine, WTF? But recording numbers is a key part of making sure these ancient creatures survive.

20/01/2019

Tuscany in winter is: fog in the valleys, quiet town squares, leafless vineyards, deserted cobblestone alleys, misty sunrises, uncrowded Saturday markets, woodsmoke in the air, Christmas lights and crèches still on display, steaming coffee shops, Sunday morning church bells, and everywhere a sense of waiting.

20/06/2018

The Silk Road between Pakistan and China has been on my travel "must" list since I spent a year living in Kathmandu... This trip and 6 more are described vividly here by fellow writer Jill Robinson. Is one of these your next epic adventure?

For discerning travelers, the question is always where to go next. We’ve searched the world for the best itineraries that offer unparalleled access in places both close to home or farther afield.

18/06/2018

Sharing some of my meanderings down Highway 49, the Golden Chain highway linking all the historic towns of the Mother Lode. This part of California gets neglected by visitors in favor of our gorgeous coastline and the Sierra Nevada mountains. But there are amazing adventures to be found here - without the crowds. And some fab food, too!