Hey travelers,

Dubrovnik is often hailed as the Pearl of the Adriatic.

With its rich history, medieval architecture, and dramatic seaside setting, it deserves its reputation. But Croatia, and especially Dubrovnik, is no longer the underrated European destination it once was.

Cruise ships are capped at two a day, and even with that limit, the walled city still fills with visitors. Add in the steady stream of Game of Thrones fans tracking down King’s Landing filming spots, and the same ancient walls and streets that draw people to its enchanting Old Town can start to feel overwhelming, with the afternoon heat and crowds both peaking at once.

Across the southern border, Montenegro’s Boka Bay has a quieter, more under-the-radar feel than its neighbor.

Days here naturally revolve around being outdoors. Spend time hiking above the bay, boating along the coast, or taking winding drives through the mountains. It’s less sandy beaches and more swimming coves, with long lunches by the water and slow evenings in historic harbor towns.

Boka Bay is Europe’s southernmost fjord-like bay. The Dinaric Alps’ deep, pine green mountains drop almost straight down into the still blue water. Most trips center on Kotor, its UNESCO-listed old town a maze of marble streets, stone walls, and Venetian churches, with cats that seem to run the place. Just up the coast, Perast feels calmer and more refined, with restored Baroque palaces and a pedestrian-only village. Near the bay’s entrance, Herceg Novi also keeps its own well-preserved hillside town, with a relaxed local feel and several swimming spots.

Across the strait from Kotor, Tivat has become Montenegro’s modern luxury hub. Porto Montenegro turned a former naval base into an elegant, old-world-inspired marina that fills with superyachts, earning it the nickname the Monaco of the Balkans. And nearby Portonovi is home to a newer marina with stylish residences and upscale dining, all while preserving the bay’s relaxed atmosphere.

Where to stay depends on what aspect of the bay you’re looking to lean into.

One&Only Portonovi matured Montenegro’s status as a premier riviera with luxury hospitality and wellness tourism. Its spa built around Chenot, the Swiss wellness brand, plus a rare sandy beach make it a relaxing retreat and perfect for longer visits.

For something more boutique, Heritage Grand Perast is built into a cluster of renewed stone palaces in the small, car-free village of Perast. Its pool and terraces sit just above the shore, and many rooms have views across the water to tiny island churches offshore. This is the pick for a walkable, more local-feeling stay.

Regent Porto Montenegro sits right inside the world-class marina with rooms looking directly over the harbor, where yachts come and go throughout the day. It’s a classic, full-service kind of stay that makes an easy central base for strolling along the promenade and exploring the rest of the bay by boat.

Montenegro has only been its own country since 2006, and outside of the newer pockets, it still has a somewhat unfinished feeling in the best way. It spent years being the place people flew over on their way to Croatia. That’s shifted.

Currently Obsessed

Something I can’t stop thinking about.

Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel, an hour east of San Diego and in the middle of nowhere. This tiny desert town had gone quiet for decades until the mineral springs hotel got a full, surreal revitalization a couple years back. Bohemian design and an earthy color palette, combined with the magnetic energy, make it feel like a retro desert lodge fever dream. I stop by almost every time I’m driving that stretch of desert, and no matter how many visits, I can’t seem to take enough pictures because it’s that photogenic. I still haven’t managed to stay overnight, but that’s high on my list. The natural mineral pools are the soul of the adults-only retreat, running from the high 90s to just over 100 degrees year-round. With the desert finally starting to cool down, it’s the perfect time to soak in one. You don’t need to book a room to try them, since day passes are available too.

Worth Packing

One thing that earns its spot in the bag.

Okay technically this one can’t really be packed, but I’m never going on a summer trip without acquiring supplies to make an Aperol spritz. And fall doesn’t start until September 22nd, no matter how many pumpkin spice drinks have shown up at Trader Joe’s, so it’s still spritz season over here. And it couldn’t be easier to make one. The ratio is 3-2-1, three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol, one splash of soda, poured over a lot of ice, with an orange wheel garnish. Make one tonight. You’ve still got time.

If this got you thinking about your Euro summer plans for next year, I’d love to help make it happen. Gold Dust Travel is where to start.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.

— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel

Hey travelers,

When people think of wine country, it’s usually California’s Napa Valley.

It’s the world-famous hometown of American fine wine, with more than 400 wineries scattered across the hills. The beautiful countryside, world-class dining, and luxurious accommodations & spas mean a trip to Napa always delivers.

But if you’ve already done Napa, or you’re after something different and more laid-back, I want to put another place on your wine country list.

Valle de Guadalupe, in Baja California, is Mexico’s relaxed, unhurried wine region.

Just 90 minutes south of San Diego, set inland from the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by mountains, this compact valley produces roughly 70% of all the wine made in Mexico.

There are about 150 wineries, ranging from estates to tiny family operations tucked down dirt roads you’d drive right past if you didn’t know where to look. Olive groves line the way between design-forward wineries producing bottles that reflect the terroir, with a growing slant toward organic, biodynamic, and low-intervention wines. The valley forms a Mediterranean microclimate of warm dry days and cool ocean air drifting inland from the Pacific that makes Valle de Guadalupe a great place to make wine.

While the young wine scene is worth exploring, the food (in my opinion) is the better reason to go.

On one end there’s no-frills roadside taco stands like Taquería La Principal with plastic chairs and just two options on the menu, making some of the best tacos you’ll eat in Baja. The other end is farm-to-table elevated dining built right into the vineyards. The chefs work with whatever their on-site gardens produced that day. Restaurants like Deckman’s en el Mogor, with its open-air rustic setting and live-fire cooking, and Fauna, with its long community tables and hyperlocal rotating menu, are some of my all-time favorites. The dining scene also leans heavily on the valley’s proximity to the Pacific coast. The Michelin-starred Conchas de Piedra pairs its fresh oysters, clams, and abalone with sparkling wine from the winery next door and is the kind of place you can easily lose an entire afternoon.

From several Michelin stars to spots on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, the awards for Valle’s dining keep coming. Some serious recognition for a place still flying under most people's radar.

Adopting a leisurely mindset is key during a visit to Valle de Guadalupe. This is not the place to rush from reservation to reservation. And where you stay helps set that tone.

MIRA Earth Studios is for the design lovers. It’s an adults-only retreat made up of 10 standalone minimalist studios that blend right into the hillside with private jacuzzis and vineyard views.

Casa Olivea is a small farm stay immersed in a quiet, natural environment, with a pool and sustainable Michelin-starred dining at Olivea Farm To Table right on-site.

Banyan Tree Veya is the more luxury option, with 30 spacious hilltop villas and a wellness focus. Do morning yoga overlooking the vineyards, visit their on-site winery, Pictograma, or reset with a temazcal ceremony at the spa.

The same microclimate that makes Valle de Guadalupe a good place to make wine also makes it a good place to visit year-round. Harvest season, roughly August through October, is when the valley feels most alive. Whichever month you land on, booking ahead is recommended, since most of the hotels are small on purpose.

Insider Note

Something to keep in mind before planning your next trip.

There’s a new way to book hotels with me. My Client Portal lets you browse hotels, compare rates, see available perks, and book on your own whenever it’s convenient for you. It’s built for the simpler stays, like a last-minute overnight, a quick weekend away, or when you already have a hotel in mind. Right now it covers a curated selection of hotels, so for anything more involved I’m still the one to call, and either way, I’m your advisor and advocate throughout your trip. If you’re not a client yet, fill out my client intake form and I’ll get you set up with access.

What’s On My Radar

A place, opening, or experience worth knowing about.

Ski season and this year’s winter forecast. Forecasters and publications are putting the odds of a strong to historic super El Niño this winter above 90%, with a chance of it becoming the strongest on record since 1950. That kind of signal is expected to favor the Southwest and California as North America’s premier snow destinations this year. Mammoth Mountain, CA is one of the most historically El Niño responsive mountains in North America, and Taos, NM tends to catch both Pacific storms and Gulf moisture, so both are near the top of my list for the upcoming season. Southern Utah and Colorado’s higher-elevation terrain looks solid too. As of now, I’d skip the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest this year, since they’re sitting in the warmer, drier half of the pattern. Of course, we can’t predict exact snowfall, but a pattern this lopsided is worth planning your season around.

If wine country’s on your list this harvest season or you’re looking ahead to ski season, I’d love to help make it happen. Gold Dust Travel is where to start.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.

— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel

Hey travelers,

Barcelona is still the default answer when Spain comes up, and it’s not hard to see why.

Gaudí’s buildings alone are worth the flight, La Boqueria is as vivid and chaotic as its reputation promises, and a plate of jamón on a terrace in the Gothic Quarter is one of the simple, great pleasures of European travel.

But Barcelona has spent the last two summers becoming the loudest example in Spain of a city actively pushing back on its own tourism. Soaring housing costs and overcrowded public spaces have locals fed up, and they’ve been marching through the old town with water guns in protest, under signs that read “tourists go home.” And the city is responding. Nightly tourist taxes doubled this year, and by 2028 Barcelona plans to eliminate the roughly 10,000 licenses that currently allow short-term vacation rentals. None of that makes the city any less stunning. It just means you’d be spending your trip somewhere that’s had enough company for now.

Three hours down the coast, Valencia gives you the same old-meets-new Spanish energy, with far fewer crowds.

The old town, Ciutat Vella, is one of Europe’s largest historic centers and feels like a medieval maze. Visit a Gothic cathedral that, depending which historian you ask, holds the actual Holy Grail, and stroll past the Silk Exchange, a UNESCO site that looks pulled from a fantasy novel. Then wander into El Carmen’s bohemian alleyways known for street art and buzzing nightlife.

A few minutes in the other direction is the modern opposite: The City of Arts and Sciences, a massive futuristic architectural and cultural complex with attractions like an opera house and science museum; the largest aquarium in Europe rounds it out. South of it all, Ruzafa is the trendy, creative neighborhood of indie boutiques, vintage shops, galleries, and cafes filling a walkable grid that still feels local.

And down at the water, the city beaches run more than twelve miles beneath 300 days of sunshine a year, Malvarrosa among them, backed by El Cabanyal, the old fishermen’s quarter of tiled houses and a slower, saltier pace.

Valencia earns its keep with foodies too. This is where paella was invented, in the rice paddies of Albufera Natural Park just south of the city. And the dining ranges from a growing number of Michelin-starred kitchens to the stalls of the Mercado Central, one of Europe’s largest markets, where a glass of horchata is a local specialty.

The hotels play the same historic meets modern game, whichever part of it you want to lean into.

Caro Hotel is a former palace turned boutique hotel in the heart of the old town, the only one in the city built inside a declared historic monument. It blends contemporary style with the building's own layered history: Roman mosaics and medieval coffered ceilings, worked into all 26 rooms.

Only YOU Hotel Valencia is the luxury pick downtown. Its earth tones and Art Deco details are inspired by Valencian artists and the Mediterranean, with a ninth-floor rooftop restaurant with 360-degree views of the city.

And for the beach stay, Hotel Las Arenas Balneario Resort is a member of Leading Hotels of the World sitting right on the sand, built on the site of an 1898 seaside spa, with grand, old-world glamour intact. Rooms look straight at the water, with a hydrotherapy circuit for days built around recharging.

Wherever you position yourself in the city, you’re close to the historic charm of the old town, the beach, and some of the best food in Spain, with more room to enjoy it all.

Built This Week

A trip I just put together.

A family trip to Kauaʻi for the first week of January, split across the island. First stop is Timbers Kauai in Līhuʻe. Full kitchen, private lanais, residential-style luxury built for quality time living together. Then north to 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay to close it out, an eco-luxury resort built into the lush cliffside overlooking the picturesque Hanalei Bay, with one of the best spas on the island and serious food to match. The itinerary includes highlights like a full day on a Nā Pali Coast boat cruise, exploring sea caves and landscapes only reachable from the water.

Worth Packing

One thing that earns its spot in the bag.

Liquid I.V.’s Hydration Multiplier. It’s no secret that flying dehydrates you, so I never travel without these. One packet in a bottle of water during a long flight, and you’re one step closer to arriving at your destination ready to explore, instead of needing a nap first. Sugar-free strawberry watermelon is my go-to, but I'm definitely intrigued by their new Grillo's pickle flavor.

If this got you thinking about your next trip, I'd love to help put it together. Gold Dust Travel is where to start.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.

— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel

Hey travelers,

If someone asks for the best beaches in the Caribbean, there’s a good chance they’re thinking of Turks and Caicos.

Grace Bay, the main strip of Providenciales, has consistently landed near the top of World’s 50 Best Beaches rankings. Turks & Caicos has luxurious hotels, the quintessential crystal-clear water and white sand beaches, and it’s popular for a reason.

So popular, in fact, that it’s in the middle of a real construction boom, with well over a thousand new rooms coming online in the next few years. Local reporting has started tying the pace of it directly to the erosion showing up on the beach that made the island famous in the first place. You can still have a beautiful vacation there. It’s just becoming a busier, more built-up version than it used to be.

Anguilla is the Caribbean island I’d point you to instead.

There are no towering hotels here, and no cruise ship crowds either, the harbor was never built for mega-ships. Jet skis are banned in Anguilla’s waters too, in an effort to protect its marine environment and preserve its beach tranquility. It was also just named one of the safest destinations in the Caribbean.

The 35-square mile island has 33 beaches to choose from. Shoal Bay is the true gem, a two-mile stretch of powder sand lined with a few beach bars grilling fresh seafood right on the sand. Rendezvous Bay runs even longer and provides the opportunity to have a stretch of pristine white sand all to yourself. Western-facing Meads Bay is the spot for sunset.

As if the beaches weren't enough, the food is the part most people don't expect. Anguilla's dining scene holds its own. Small, family-run places and everything from beachfront shacks doing fresh-caught lobster and conch straight off the boat to upscale dinners from chefs who trained in places like Paris before deciding an island was worth the trade. The best meal of the trip is just as likely to happen barefoot as it is in shoes.

Where Anguilla’s laid-back luxury vibe really shines is in the accommodation options.

Cap Juluca, a Belmond hotel, is the pick for couples, especially honeymooners and anniversary trips. It's 179 acres of Greco-Moorish white architecture curved around Maundays Bay, which has the finest sand on the island. With Pimms, its upscale restaurant right on the water, it's genuinely one of the most romantic settings in the Caribbean.

Malliouhana is Anguilla’s original luxury hotel. It’s been fully restored and sits above Meads Bay with tiered infinity pools cascading toward the sea. The colorful rooms are done up in pale yellow and aquamarine, feeling more timeless than trendy. Celeste, the cliffside restaurant, and Leon’s beach bar are worth a visit on their own. This is the pick for the boutique traveler.

And Zemi Beach House is for that true barefoot luxury style. It works just as well for a wellness reset or a relaxed family trip as it does for a couple’s getaway. It sits directly on Shoal Bay, with 76 rooms & suites across six oceanfront acres, with complimentary kayaks, paddleboards, and snorkeling gear for the reef just offshore. The spa inside a 300-year-old Thai teak house is a can’t miss.

With one of the smaller airports in the Caribbean, Anguilla is usually reached by flying into St. Maarten and either taking a short ferry or a puddle-jump flight over. The best time to visit is between December and April, for drier weather and calmer seas, and to steer clear of hurricane season, which peaks from mid-August through October.

Currently Obsessed

Something I can’t stop thinking about.

Schwa, in Chicago's Wicker Park, has to be one of the most unique Michelin-starred dining experiences out there. The chefs are the servers and it's BYOB on purpose because Chef Michael Carlson wanted an anti-pretension, neighborhood feel instead of what you usually get with fine dining. The 26-seat dimly lit restaurant plays loud music and feels more like a house party than a Michelin restaurant, except for the exceptional food. The famous truffle and quail egg raviolo has been on the multi-course tasting menu since Schwa opened in 2005, and I think about it often. I've been lucky enough to visit twice and I'm counting down the days until my next visit later this month. Pro tip: bring a little extra to drink for the kitchen staff and finish the night with a celebratory cheers, they've earned it.

Worth Packing

One thing that earns its spot in the bag.

Vacation's Classic SPF 50. This is the rare sunscreen I actually look forward to putting on. It smells incredible, somewhere between a real vacation and the best parts of childhood summers. It's also Hawaii Act 104 Compliant, meaning it skips oxybenzone and octinoxate, two ingredients linked to coral damage, so it's perfect for your next tropical getaway. Because protecting the ocean and your skin is cool.

If this got you thinking about your next trip to the Caribbean, I'd love to help you bring it to life. Gold Dust Travel is where to start.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.

— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel

Hey travelers,

Places like Sedona sit at the top of a lot of people’s desert wish lists, and for good reason: dramatic landscapes, vast sunsets, hikes that turn into something spiritual.

The red rock formations are spectacular in person. People come from all over just to stand at Cathedral Rock, feel the famous energy vortex, and take in the summit views. It’s every bit as beautiful as promised.

The catch is timing. Summer is usually when most people are looking to get away and reset, and that’s when Sedona can be hardest to enjoy at its best. Temps sit in the high 90s and sometimes climb past 100 degrees from June through August.

Santa Fe, New Mexico is where I send people next, or instead, depending on the time of year.

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If what you loved about Sedona was the energy healing and the crystal shops and the sense that the desert was healing you, Santa Fe has that same current running through it, just braided in with a serious art scene and some of the best food in the country.

The capital city sits at an elevation of 7,000 feet, more than half a mile higher than Sedona, and that elevation is what keeps summer comfortable instead of one long hot stretch. Summer days usually top out in the mid-80s with nights that drop into the 50s, so it’s the kind of place where you actually want the patio table outside and can also enjoy your hotel’s fire pit after dinner.

Santa Fe has something for every kind of traveler: the outdoorsy, the artsy, the wellness-focused, and the foodies.

Walk the Plaza, where you’ll find turquoise and silver spread out on blankets by the artists who made them, and the smell of roasted green chile drifting out of almost every kitchen you pass.

For the hikers, Bandelier National Monument has Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings carved into volcanic rock, connected by trails and ladders you can climb, and high desert views the whole way up. Ghost Ranch, an hour north, lets you hike the same landscape that shaped Georgia O’Keeffe’s work.

The art scene spans from Canyon Road’s galleries showcasing traditional Southwestern and contemporary works, to the original Meow Wolf, an immersive, interactive space full of playful mind-bending designs built for touching and exploring.

Travel + Leisure just voted Santa Fe the #1 city in the U.S., citing exactly this mix: the Native American and Hispanic culture, the adobe architecture, the green chile, and the high desert scenery. It’s definitely not a secret, but the prices haven’t caught up to the accolades quite yet.

There’s no shortage of great places to stay in Santa Fe, whatever vibe you’re going for.

Bishop’s Lodge, an Auberge property, spreads across 317 acres of foothills outside town with subtle nods to the state’s ranching roots. You’ll find rooms and casitas with warm, contemporary design, a spa set into the hillside, horseback riding, and enough space to properly disappear for a few days.

Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi, in the heart of Santa Fe’s Plaza district, is an intimate, polished stay steps from the galleries and museums. Handcrafted furniture, fireplaces, and local art fill the rooms, and it’s backed by a Michelin Key award and an on-site restaurant worth planning a dinner around.

El Rey Court, a reinvented 1936 motor court on old Route 66, has become one of Santa Fe’s most stylish boutique stays. The original adobe-and-timber architecture remains intact, now dressed up in hip, colorful Southwestern design, plus a lively on-site bar with wood-fired pizza and live music by the pool.

Santa Fe is one of the few desert destinations that works for peak summer, but spring and fall are just as good.

What’s On My Radar

A place, opening, or experience worth knowing about.

Folegandros, one of the quieter islands left in the Cyclades. There’s no airport, so arrival is by ferry only, the whitewashed clifftop Chora is car-free, paths lead up to the sunset-lit Panagia church, and time slows over long, lazy lunches. Gundari opened there in 2024, the island’s first luxury hotel, with 27 suites and villas built into the cliffside, swim-up bar at the edge of the pool, and an organic farm on-site. The restaurant is run by Lefteris Lazarou, Greece’s first Michelin-starred chef, and the whole thing landed on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Hot List within a year of opening.

Worth Packing

One thing that earns its spot in the bag.

Cowboy hats are having a real moment, and the only way that works for travel is if it survives the journey, preferably without wearing it on the plane. Monday Swimwear’s Exuma Hat is raffia with a wire brim, so it’s packable and holds its shape after being folded into a bag. It works at the beach, in the desert, or wherever summer takes you.

If a last minute summer trip is calling, I'd love to help you build it. Gold Dust Travel is where to start.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.

— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel

Hey travelers,

Mykonos is the Greek island summer that most people picture. The beaches are beautiful and the energy is electric. The windmills, the whitewashed streets, the dinners that turn into dancing. It delivers.

What’s changed is that delivering it has gotten expensive. The dining scene has tilted toward high minimums and beach clubs feel more like velvet-rope experiences than a great afternoon at the water. The shopping is designer and the harbors are full of megayachts. And even at those prices, you’re still sharing the streets with tons of cruise ship day-trippers. Greece introduced a €20 per-passenger levy on Mykonos last summer just to manage the volume of cruise visitors.

The island still has what made people fall in love with it. It’s just increasingly built for travelers who can spend their way to the best version of it.

Which is why I keep sending clients to Paros instead.

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It was voted the #1 island in the world by Travel + Leisure in 2025, so it's not a hidden gem. Paros has something close to what Mykonos had before the scene shifted, and it's still offering it at better value. For now.

The water here is even clearer than what you'll find on Mykonos. The Blue Lagoon, reachable only by boat, is the kind of turquoise that makes you understand why the Greek islands end up at the top of bucket lists. Beaches range from Kolymbithres, known for its striking granite formations rising out of the sea, to secluded coves and spots built for water sports. The beach clubs are here too, for long leisurely afternoons with cold drinks and lively music.

And if you're coming for the energy, Naoussa has it. It's the hub of the island, a real fishing village that got chic without losing itself. Narrow whitewashed streets, boutique shops, a harbor lined with restaurants that fill up every night. The evenings here are vibrant. The waterfront tavernas are made for long dinners that spill into the night, with table dancing and white napkins twirled overhead.

Through all of it, Paros has managed to hold on to a Greek feel that other islands have slowly given up.

If you want a day away from the coast, Lefkes is a medieval village in the hills that most visitors (wrongfully) skip entirely. It has terraced marble houses, a quiet central square, olive groves running all the way down the slope, and authentic dining.

And when you want to leave the island without going too far, tiny neighboring Antiparos is the island’s boho alter ego. It’s laid-back, charming, and just a 10-minute ferry ride away.

Where you stay in Paros depends on how close you want to be to the action.

I've stayed at Cosme Paros and it earns the recommendation. It sits right on the beach with an infinity pool overlooking the sea, a beachfront restaurant and club, and a service level that makes you feel looked after. It's walking distance to Naoussa but set apart enough that it has its own quiet.

Parīlio is the design pick if you want something inland and more intimate. It’s a member of Design Hotels with 33 suites set in a valley of amber fields above Naoussa, with an acclaimed kitchen that makes it easy to just stay put for dinner.

And Andronis Minois, on the western side of the island, is a Small Luxury Hotels of the World property with 44 suites by the sea, Olvo restaurant for dinners over the Aegean, and a quieter pace than the Naoussa end.

The best time to visit Paros is early June or late September, when Naoussa is lively without being overrun and you’re not fighting the meltemi winds. September is when the water is at its warmest.

Built This Week

A trip I just put together.

A California coastal road trip for a client who wanted a real summer vacation without leaving the country. The route runs north from San Diego, with a couple of nights in Santa Barbara for beaches and wine tasting. Then up to Cambria Beach Lodge, a boutique stay right on Moonstone Beach, before visiting Hearst Castle and making the iconic Big Sur drive up Highway 1, which reopened earlier this year after nearly three years of closure. Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, the views that make you pull over again and again. Ending in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the charming storybook village with a ban on chain restaurants.

It's a road trip summer, and California does this better than anywhere. Windows down, beautiful weather, and the scenery shifting from dramatic coastline to wine country to sun-soaked beaches, all in one drive.

Worth Packing

One thing that earns its spot in the bag.

The Trtl neck pillow. I’ve tried many travel pillows and this is the only one that actually solves the head-bobbing problem on a long flight, without a lie-flat seat of course. It’s a wrap pillow with internal support that holds your head to one side so you can actually sleep, and it takes up almost no space in your bag compared to traditional neck pillows. I won’t fly to Europe without it.

Whether Greece has been on your mind or you’re thinking about a road trip summer, I’d love to help put something together. You can see how I work at Gold Dust Travel.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.

— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel

Hey travelers,

There’s usually a very specific dream people are chasing when they book Tulum.

Barefoot, bohemian, a little wild, the kind of beach that feels like a real find even when it’s on every list. For a stretch, Tulum delivered it: low-rise boutique hotels in the jungle, the Caribbean a few steps away, long and relaxed dinners, somewhere that felt untouched by the traditional resort system. Gradually it became something different. Beach clubs with steep cover charges. Four-figure rooms at places that don’t necessarily deserve the price tag. A see-and-be-seen crowd that leans harder into the party than the peace.

And then there’s the thing the photos leave out. Sargassum, the brown, sulfurous seaweed that drifts onto Mexico’s Caribbean coast, has gone from a manageable nuisance to the variable that not so quietly defines the trip. Sometimes ankle-deep, sometimes thick enough to close the beach entirely. That dream of walking from your room across an uncrowded beach into clear blue water might not be the reality.

That trip still exists somewhere else: Puerto Escondido, on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico.

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Puerto Escondido is a surf town first and everything else second. Playa Zicatela, known as the “Mexican Pipeline,” is one of the heaviest surf breaks out there. The culture around waves like that is laid-back, unpretentious, oriented toward the water, and sets the tone for the whole place. La Punta, the calmer and more bohemian neighborhood at the southern end of Zicatela, is where the design-forward hotels and good restaurants have gathered, along sandy, mostly unpaved roads. There’s nightlife if you want it: mezcal bars, music that goes late, an eclectic crowd. But the nightlife doesn’t run the place. You can be in bed by ten and feel like you called it right.

The food is its own case for going. Puerto Escondido sits where Pacific coast seafood and mountain Oaxacan cooking meet: fresh-caught fish, mole negro made the way it’s been made for generations, tlayudas, and mezcal from small producers.

Since nothing worth knowing about stays a secret for long, the boho-chic town is growing faster than it was, which is why now is the right time to go.

The hotels here have distinct personalities, based on how barefoot you want your days to be.

Hotel Terrestre, a Grupo Habita project, sits about 30 minutes outside of town on a secluded stretch of coast: 14 off-grid villas by architect Alberto Kalach, solar-powered and self-sufficient, with slatted walls that let the ocean breeze through, and rooftop plunge pools overlooking the jungle canopy and Pacific Ocean. It's intentionally low-tech and genuinely unlike anything else.

Casona Sforza, also Kalach’s work, sits at the south end of town: only 11 rooms, where sun-drenched arches and vaulted ceilings meet contemporary bohemian flair, right at a private stretch of sand. Adults-only, sustainably built, and Wi-Fi that’s limited by design.

And in the heart of La Punta, Hotel Humano is one of the newest openings from Grupo Habita: 39 rooms around a palm-lined courtyard pool, a rooftop bar with sunset views, and energy that’s global, social, and a little sexy. The one to book if you want to be in the mix.

Getting to Puerto Escondido takes a little more intention than Cabo or Cancún, which is part of what keeps it the way it is. There are nonstop flights into Puerto Escondido (PXM) from Houston and Dallas, and the best window to visit is November through April. May to August if you’re looking for big surf.

Currently Obsessed

Something I can’t stop thinking about.

Hotel Wren in Twentynine Palms, CA, a 1940s motel reimagined into an adults-only desert retreat. I visited in March and it’s been in my recommendations ever since. Only 12 suite-style rooms that feel more like well-designed apartments than hotel rooms, each with a private patio, fire pit, and kitchenette. Minutes from the north entrance to Joshua Tree National Park, a pool made for floating and nothing else, complimentary light breakfast in the lobby each morning, and an on-site bodega called Windsong that’s stocked with local goods, wine, and snacks. Quiet, intimate, and a place you leave a lot more relaxed than when you arrived.

Worth Packing

One thing that earns its spot in the bag.

The square-toe Havaianas, not the standard version, are just elevated enough to go from the beach to lunch without a wardrobe change, they pack flat, and work for every trip you’ll take this summer.

If this got you thinking about your next beach vacation, I’d love to help make it happen. Gold Dust Travel is where to start.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.

— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel

Hey travelers,

The Italian coast dream is a real one.

Positano, those Amalfi cliff towns, and usually a visit to the island of Capri. I understand why they fill up imaginations the way they do. Capri has the glitz and glamour, the legendary piazzetta, and the hotels hanging over water that is genuinely, impossibly blue. It’s cinematic in a way that earns the reputation, and the island delivered on it well enough that the whole world showed up.

On a busy summer day the island of Capri receives up to 50,000 arrivals, on an island of roughly 14,000 people. New 2026 rules now cap organized tour groups to help manage crowds in the narrow streets.

The beauty is still there. Summer just has a lot of company.

Sardinia in September is the same dream with considerably more island to it.

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Some of Sardinia’s beaches have earned the nickname “Little Tahiti”, and the water lives up to it in person, crystal-clear and that Gatorade shade of blue. The Costa Smeralda delivers the glamour: luxury hotels and the vibrant hub of Porto Cervo, with yachts in the harbor, designer shops, and aperitivo with a view. Mid-September is when all of it peaks. The August crowd thins, hotel rates come down 30-40%, and the sea stays warm.

The island of Sardinia is bigger than the Costa Smeralda, though, and that’s what makes it worth the trip.

Just inland, San Pantaleo is the artsy counterpoint: a hilltop town of artisan shops, galleries, and cafés on a stone piazza. Head further in and you’re in the Supramonte, a mountain range made for hiking, with small villages tucked into the landscape and a quiet that takes a moment to settle into. East toward Baunei, the coastline turns rugged, limestone cliffs dropping to remote beaches mostly accessible only by boat or a long hike in. Cala Goloritzé, on the Baunei coast, was named the most beautiful beach in the world in 2025.

The secret is getting out, and with Delta making the first-ever nonstop flight from the US (JFK to Olbia) this summer, Sardinia has never been this easy to reach for American travelers.

Where you stay depends on which version of the island you’re after.

Aethos Sardinia is the design-forward coastal choice, a boutique hotel in Cannigione with infinity pools and views over the Bay of Cannigione and the La Maddalena Archipelago.

Romazzino, a Belmond hotel on the Costa Smeralda, sits directly on the white sands of Spiaggia del Romazzino, with turquoise water, vintage 1960s coastal architecture, and a slow glamour to it.

Up in the San Pantaleo hills, Petra Segreta is a Relais & Châteaux property styled after a traditional Sardinian farmhouse, built of granite and stone set into the landscape, with a Michelin-starred restaurant on-site and the whole northern coast 20 minutes below.

Su Gologone is out in the Supramonte mountains above Oliena, famous as a restaurant long before it was ever a hotel, with a spring-water pool, local Sardinian craft and culinary experiences, and a stillness you don’t find on the coast.

September is when the island is at its best, and none of it is as well known as it’s about to be.

What’s On My Radar

A place, opening, or experience worth knowing about.

The Baby Grand just opened in Coronado, and it's now at the top of my list for a special stay. Consortium Holdings, the group behind the iconic Lafayette Hotel (iykyk), took a former motel on Orange Avenue and spent six years and $18 million turning it into 31 rooms packed with maximalist details like seashell headboards and tropical wallpaper, a lagoon-style pool complete with sand, and a hidden oyster and champagne bar behind a mirror wall. There's open-fire dining, lobby music composed by Swizz Beatz, and the whole thing is described as a place that feels lost to time. Rooms start at $350/night.

Worth Packing

One thing that earns its spot in the bag.

Everyone has opinions about checked luggage vs. carry-ons, but the bag that actually makes carry-on-only travel work is your personal item. I took my carry-on for two full weeks in Vietnam without checking a bag, and the thing that made it possible was having the right bag underneath the seat. Two I reach for depending on the trip: the Calpak Luka Duffle, which is structured enough to stay organized, and the Beis Mini Weekender when I need a little more room. Both also ride right on top of a rolling carry-on so you're not carrying the weight of overpacking.

Now you just need somewhere to take it.

If an Italian island summer has been on your list, I’d love to help you put it together. Gold Dust Travel is where to start.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.

— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel