How social media could change the airline experience VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

Let’s face it, air travel just isn’t a lot of fun anymore. Between mile-long queues at the airport, the delight of full-body scanners and oh-so-fun pat-downs, the possibility of being detained at customs for no apparent reason, and being crammed into uncomfortable seats on packed-to-capacity airplanes only to hang out on the tarmac for two hours — well, it’s all rather dehumanizing. (more…)

The devil is in the details: Why the Internet is changing the way we travel VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

I realize an hour has passed, as I search online for a hotel in San Francisco for an upcoming trip. A whole hour has passed, and I’ve come no closer to finding a room — unless I’m willing to pay more than US$300 a night or stay in a 12-person dorm with a shared bathroom. (more…)

Creating your own bucket list VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

Costa Rica has become synonymous with ziplining — the “sport” of suspending your body from a cable and then zipping through the air high above the rainforest canopy. (more…)

Moral ambiguities and ethical conundrums VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

The reality is, if you travel, you’re going to come across situations that make you uncomfortable. Things may seem black and white from the comfort of home, whilst flipping through guidebooks and daydreaming about your upcoming trip, but they’re every shade of grey when you find yourself in a foreign country and completely out of your element. (more…)

Happy anniversary, Chic Savvy Travels! VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

It was one year ago today that Chic Savvy Travels went live, though the idea was in the works for much longer. Before Tanya and I met, we both wanted to start our own travel website, but it wasn’t until that fateful day at a press event when we started talking travel that the concept of Chic Savvy Travels came to life. (more…)

What a Type A gal can learn from travel VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

I’m a Type A personality. I like making lists. But when I get to the point where my ever-growing to-do list causes me more anxiety than sense of accomplishment, I realize it might be time to get on a plane and go far, far away. (more…)

Sunsets and dirty diapers in San Blas, Panama VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

A few weeks ago I thought I had discovered paradise. I was on an island, one of about 400 tiny islands that make up the semi-autonomous region of San Blas off the Caribbean coast of Panama. Here, the indigenous Kuna Yala have managed to retain control of their land and resist development, at least in the form of hotels and resorts (though there’s a few yachts floating around). (more…)

ATM woes in Panama — and learning to take my own advice VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

People often ask me travel-related questions, but all too often I don’t follow my own advice. A few days ago I was in Bocas del Toro, a string of tropical islands in the Caribbean off the coast of Panama — a lovely spot that happens to have only one ATM. And my card didn’t work. And I had about $10 left in my wallet.­­­­ (more…)

Topless bungee jumping and other acts of stupidity VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

I was flipping through a magazine the other day and came across an article about “most embarrassing travel moments.” The winner was a woman who went bungee jumping and lied about her weight to the super-hot instructor, telling him she was about 10 pounds less than she actually weighed. As a result, when she jumped, she didn’t graze the surface of the river below — she plunged in waist deep and, when she rebounded out of the water, her top was gone. You can see why this woman won.

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Why we need to travel VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

When you’re traveling solo, there will undoubtedly be moments when you doubt your decision. Like when you’re being interrogated by corrupt officials with large guns at a border crossing. Or when some guy keeps trying to grope you on a 16-hour bus ride. Or when you’re curled up on a mattress in a $1-a-night thatched-roof hut with stomach cramps and fever — and the realization that no one in the world knows where you are. Sometimes it’s just a moment of homesickness — longing for a real cup of coffee, not Nescafe with ants in the sugar bowl. (more…)

Meet our chic savvy contributors… VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

There’s a lot of exciting stuff going on at Chic Savvy Travels — not the least of which is our new Token Guy blog with travel writer Mike Barish. We’re lucky to have a roster of fantastic contributors, and we have a few new faces I’d like to introduce, including our Chic Savvy Mamma, a style guru and a world traveler whose adventures are sure to inspire. (more…)

The art of spontaneity VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

You step off the plane in Bangkok and you’re hit with 40 C heat and high humidity, and you have to deal with a 12-hour time change after sitting in a middle seat for half a day of your life beside someone who was snoring like a grizzly bear. And your tummy isn’t feeling so great. (more…)

Fiesta burgers, pig’s feet and cheese in your hot chocolate VAWN HIMMELSBACH, Chic Savvy Travels

One of my friends, who just returned from India, was telling me about a woman he met who only wanted to eat “American” food while she was there. During my travels, I’ve met several people who refused to eat the local food — including one girl who spent a month in Thailand and ate nothing but steamed rice because she was afraid of getting sick. (She got sick anyway.) (more…)