Porto is a new favorite destination for savvy travelers who love food, wine, scenery, and old world architecture. Marta, a proud Porto native, is busy with our popular new UnTour there! She is our UnTours staff person and welcomes UnTourists on this exciting new program in Portugal. Guests enjoy her hospitality and appreciate the knowledge…
This time of year we celebrate the end of a fun and exciting season of UnTours. We also celebrate UnTourists who have shared their photos. In November, we put 12 of our favorite UnTours Photo Contest entries up for popular vote, and the people have spoken. The 2019 winner is: Karen Munoz! She traveled with…
Jackie Johnson is a regular on our Ireland UnTour and has been generous with her photos and reports from the road. In her first dispatch from her most recent Kenmare sojourn, she shared the ups and downs of her travels. She also shared so many excellent food photos, I circled back and asked her for…
In our first in a series on overtourism, we talked about finding alternatives to very popular cities, like seeing Holland from a base in Leiden rather than Amsterdam. You can read more about that here. We still find ourselves in popular tourist cities though, and you will too. After all, we all want to see…
In southern France in the late 1800s, a new crop of painters were moving their medium in exciting new directions that would radically reshape our notions of art. The Post-Impressionists favored bold color, visible brushwork, and sentiment in their work. Yet Post-Impressionism was not a cohesive movement, so much as a period of creative transition…
Our UnTours Photo Contest was such a success last year, we have decided to keep it going. Please help us choose a winner for 2019! We’ve narrowed it down to the 12 finalists you see here. The winner will receive a free iPad. Take a look at the competition and vote for your favorite on…
The Livraria Lello is one of the most famous bookstores in the world, and it is for good reason. Tucked into the attractive, atmospheric pedestrian shopping zone of Carmelitas, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the charming town of Porto. Numerous travel magazines and websites have named it the world’s most…
Tapas have become one of Spain’s most popular culinary exports, small dishes served alongside local wines at cozy bars throughout the country. Tapas bars are popular gathering places and an excellent spot to rub elbows with locals. Pull up a barstool and join us as we introduce you to some of the most common dishes…
La Fiesta de los Patios da Cordoba, the Patios Festival, is a uniquely colorful tradition in Cordoba that dates back to 1918. So much of the city’s beauty is cultivated in the private courtyards of local people, who lovingly fill their outdoor spaces with layers of geraniums and other potted flowers. Many of these picturesque…
What is overtourism? Overtourism has become a catchall term for the oversaturation of a neighborhood, region, or city with tourists. Just when a place hits this critical tipping point is up for debate, but we can all agree it is a growing concern, a blight that undermines the quality of life for locals and erodes…