Planning Guides

City and vacation planning guides for our favorite places around the world, including Japan (Kyoto, Tokyo, Osaka), California (Los Angeles, Laguna Beach), and many more!

Our Experience Doing 6 Weeks in Japan with a Baby

For the last decade, we assumed that traveling to Japan with small kids would be a nightmare. In fact, we made a concerted effort to visit as much as possible before having a baby–including multi-month “bucket list” type trips–because we feared that would be impossible with an infant or toddler. After spending well over a […]

2024 Japan Fall Colors Forecast & Autumn Foliage Viewing Guide

Our 2024 fall colors forecast for Japan offers peak viewing info & tips for popular autumn foliage spots, including Kyoto, Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Himeji, and Nara. We’ll also share strategy for visiting the best temples, shrines, and evening illuminations. (Updated September 6, 2024.) Autumn is one of the most stunning times of the […]

Ultimate 2024 Tokyo, Japan City Guide

Our 2024 Tokyo travel guide offers info & tips, things to do, transportation info, where to eat, best hotels, avoiding crowds, itineraries for the city, and more. Whether you’re visiting for cherry blossom, fall colors, or in between, we’ve got you covered. (Updated February 28, 2024.) Tokyo can be an intimidating place to visit. As […]

2024 Laguna Beach, California Planning Guide

Laguna Beach is the perfect relaxing vacation destination in Southern California, and this planning guide offers tips for visiting, things to do in 2024, hotel & restaurant recommendations, and what to know before your trip to Orange County. (Updated February 28, 2024.) We love Laguna Beach. It’s our favorite of the beach cities, and one […]

Ultimate 2024 Paris, France City Guide

Our 2024 Paris travel guide offers info for making the most of your vacation, including things to do, transportation tips, hotel recommendations, where to eat, and more. It also covers how to efficiently see the city–where to stay and step-by-step itineraries. (Updated February 28, 2024.) Paris is a world capital of culture: everything from art to food […]

Ultimate 2024 Los Angeles City Guide

Our 2024 Los Angeles, California planning guide offers visit tips, including top things to do, best places to eat in L.A., hotel advice, and how to transportation hacks for SoCal’s notorious traffic. LA is one of our favorite cities in the world, and we’ll help you experience the touristy highlights and hidden gems. Maybe you […]

Ultimate 2024 Kyoto, Japan Planning Guide

Our Kyoto, Japan planning guide offers tips & tricks, recommendations for hotels and other accommodations, best temples & shrines, transportation hacks, where to eat, crowd info, what it’s like to visit post-reopening, why we love the city, and more. (Updated January 3, 2024.) If you’re already in Kyoto and are scrambling to figure out what to […]

2024 Universal Studios Japan Guide & Tips

This guide to Universal Studios Japan offers tips & tricks for visiting Osaka’s popular theme park, which is home to Super Nintendo World, Harry Potter, Jaws, and more! This includes USJ strategy & info about where to eat, what to do, how to avoid crowds, minimize wait times, and more! (Updated January 3, 2024.) After being […]

Grand Cayman Island Planning Guide

The Cayman Islands are the Caribbean’s most picturesque place, popular with travelers and cruise-goers. This vacation planning guide offers tips for visiting Grand Cayman, best & worst things to do, where to eat, hotel & resort recommendations, beach photos, and more. (Updated January 3, 2024.) We love Cayman and look forward to our next visit; […]

Pacific Coast Highway Guide: California Road Trip Tips

I love road trips, and my favorite in the entire United States is the stretch of Pacific Coast Highway between Southern and Northern California. This guide will help you plan the perfect ocean-side vacation along PCH, with a multi-day itinerary, tips for where to stay, what to do, dining, and more! Formally known as California […]