Welcome to tropical Paradise, Martinique

If you are looking for place where summer never ends, miles long beautiful white sand beaches, tropical forest, swimming with turtles or sunbath on volcanic black sand beach while drinking rum-juice, stop looking because -> Martinique has it all.

We traveled to this Caribbean island in February and stayed 2 weeks.
This is our experience of Martinique.

Best time to travel to Martinique?

Temperature on island is average 27 Celsius (80 f) all year long. However, there is a chance of hurricanes in summer and fall, so it is advised to travel in dry season, from November to May. Islands peek season if from December to March. If you want to avoid peek season prices and crowds, travel in pre-season months. We traveled in February and, comparing to Croatia summer season, there wasn’t as many tourists on the island.

How to get there?

Being French department in Caribbean, the cheapest flights are from France, Paris. From Paris you can also find affordable flights to Guadeloupe, St. Barth and St. Martin, other, equally beautiful, French Caribbean islands.
Flight duration is between 7 and 9.5 hours, depending on flight carrier. We flew with Corsair and had a lovely experience.

How to get around?

Martinique has ​​1128 km2 and is easily to get around by car. Who doesn’t like a good road trip? We wanted to see as much as we could and explore the island driving around “like a local”.

We rented a car with IZYCARLOC rent a car agency. They replied promptly, on a very good English and the car was easily booked online.
Since they have office 5 minute drive from the airport, they pick you up and drop you off at the airport. It is full “door to door” service.

We got PEUGEOT 208, which price starts at 28€ per day. They also provided us with baby seat and insurance.
You can get a bigger car, but keep in mind some inland roads are small village roads. Instead of bigger, go for stronger car. There is a big climb if you are going to the volcano and most of the north part has a lot of big inclines on the roads.
We did 1.050 km all around the island and spent 120€ total on gas.

Here, you can find their Instagram – @izycarloc

Where to stay on island?
We stayed in Saint Joseph, little town in the center of the island in “green country”. We traveled with a baby Oliver, so we wanted to have only one “home” for 2 weeks. We picked 2 bedroom “TAHITI TOUCH” trough Airbnb.

TAHITI TOUCH is really amazing! It has all you need on vacation: comfort, clean, has all the appliances and very nice hosts. We arrived late and didn’t make to the supermarket, so they helped us with some basic food to “live trough the night” and they gave us croissants for breakfast. This will never be forgotten! Thank you.

Siant Joseph is a perfect location to stay longer and still explore everything. To go all the way up north to the Anse Ceron (black sand beach) we had 1.5 hour and the same to the south towards Anse des Salines, white sand beach. So we were exactly in the middle of the places we wanted to visit.

You will save some time, kilometers and money, if you sleep a few nights in the black beaches of north and gradually move to the south where white tropical beaches await you.

Things to do in Martinique?

BEACHES

From north to south there are numerous beautiful beaches. I will list all the ones we visited, with city names, in the order of preferences.

1.Anse Ceron (Saint Pierre)

2. Grande Anse des Salines (Saint Anne)

3. Anse Dufour (Anses d’Arlet)

4. La Pointe Marin (Saint Anne)

5. Les Anses d’Arlet (Anses d’Arlet)

6. Anse Couleuvre (Saint Pierre)

7. Plage de La Brèche (Presqu’île de la Caravelle)

8. Pointe du Bout (Trois Ilets)

MUSEUMS & DISTILLERIES

Very nice break from the beach you can get in many Martinique museums.

1.Habitation Clément destillery

2. Depaz Rhum destillery

3. Jardin de Balata, botanical garden

4. Anse Cafard Memorial, open space museum

5. La Savane des esclaves – history museum

6. Maison de la Canne – house of sugar

7. Schoelcher library

NATURE

It is beautiful everywhere you go, but some big “nature spots” are:

1. Mont Pelee

2. Presqu’île de la Caravelle peninsula

3. Saut du Gendarme

4. Didier waterfall
5. Etang des Salines

6. Mangrove forest

What should we write about next? Do you need detailed beach descriptions or would you rather learn more about Jardin de Balata botanical garden? Let us know in the comments or leave a message on our Instagram page @dianomaya

Where to stay in Amsterdam?

Hello World, we are in Amsterdam!

Yes, we visited Amsterdam in Netherlands during the Easter holiday, completely by mistake. We booked EasyJet flight from Split, Croatia for 60 EUR (return ticket for 2 people). The ticket was so cheap that I didn’t even thought about checking the dates.
Why is she writing about this, you ask?
During any holiday, extended weekends and similar “fun dates”, popular cities all around the world are packed with visitors! There are huge lines at the museums, you can hardly find a restaurant with available table and, in Amsterdam case, ques for canal rides were just too long.

Traveler’s tip – never book a “holiday date” for your vacation, if you can.

Nevertheless, we had wonderful time just strolling around Amsterdam canals and streets. Let’s begin our Amsterdam story with some basics, our accommodation!

Where to stay in Amsterdam?

We looked for accommodation on Google.com, again, and found XO Hotels Amsterdam.  They have 8 Hotels on different locations all around the city, so we decided to check out their website.
XO Hotels Amsterdam literally have a Hotel for any type of traveler: from luxury to backpacker and from family to business friendly hotel. If you are looking for city hotel, they have one. If you would rather stay next to Vondel park, they have one that location too. We have chosen XO Hotels Couture, honestly, mostly because of it’s colors. I mean, look at our room!

CHECK IN / OUT

They have self service check in and out! This was our first time experiencing check in without hotel staff and I must say, we loved it! There are 3 computers at the Hotel entrance and you start with“check in” box on the screen.
You need to write down the Name on the reservation, or reservation number and voila! Your reservation pops in front of you and you are ready to make your keys.
They placed empty room cards close to computer. You have to take one and put it on the scanning machine. If you need two, just repeat the process.
After you are done, computer prints out little note which has your room number, check out time, breakfast buffet working times and price (if not included), restaurant working hours and WiFi details. I mean, you have to love this!
I was a receptionist, lifetime ago, and I really respect this system. Repeating these information, million times a day, gets tiring after a while.
If you are old school, Hotels Couture’s staff is close by to help you with your check in.

ROOM

We got wonderful double bed room, on 10th floor. As soon as we entered, we fell in love with the view! I made myself a cup of complimentary tea, grabbed my book and sat down to the most beautiful rainy sunset window view.

BED

We booked Standard Double/Twin room and were given one queen bed, as we noted in our reservation that we are a couple. Bed was clean and comfortable, do I need to say anything more?  That is all we needed after long walks in the city. We were so happy to come home to this cozy thing!

BATHROOM

The bathroom was very spacious, clean and really modern with rainfall shower. We had full size mirror above the sink, which is every girls dream….or maybe just my dream (as I was raised in the house with only one tiny mirror).

LAPTOP CLUB

You know that we bring our work with us, everywhere we travel. That is the reason why we always need place to set up our “laptop club”. It is basically our office on a road, but we don’t really like calling it office, it sounds too “normal”. We call it laptop club instead :).

COMPLIMENTARY

You will be given the WiFi password, obviously, a TV with international channels and also couple of other treats. We got bottles of water, tea & coffee bags in the saloon and also slippers & toiletries in the bathroom. Amsterdam guides, which they left for us on the table, were of so much help! Without it, we wouldn’t have know that flower festival has started the day we landed :).

BREAKFAST

Definitely include breakfast in your room booking, because they have very rich buffet breakfast. We stayed enough days to try everything on the menu and we give it 5 stars :).
Thing that we loved the most was “orange juicer”, you must try it. It squeezes fresh oranges right in front of you.
Thing that we appreciated the most were Easter eggs, served on the Easter day. It was so much fun for the children that were staying in the Hotel, but also for us adults 🙂

BAR

Last, but not least, we also went down to the Hotel’s bar. We have a habit of going to the hotel’s bars and I will tell you why. Usually, we come late into Hotel, to tired to go anywhere. To avoid feeling like we are missing the day in the city, by staying in our room, we go down to hang out. These kind of adventures are always the best. You get to met Hotel staff, ask about what to do in the city and meet new interesting travelers, which has always been our luck! Do you have a story from the Hotel bar’s? We have so many, wanna hear about it?

LOCATION AND TRANSPORT

Hotel is located slightly outside of the city center, but there is a tram stops literally right in front of the hotel. Tram NO.2 takes you directly to the city “hot spots” within 20 minutes.
You can also buy 24, 48 and 72 hours Tram ticket, which we highly recommend. There is vending machine in the hotel lobby, where you can get your “GVB” Amsterdam transport ticket.

I feel like I wrote down everything about our stay… is there anything else you would like to know about XO Hotels Couture? Send us your questions in the comments, we will be happy to answer them all!

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On the road with Avax again!

Hello world!

We are on the road again! We left our comfortable “Boutique Apartments Possonium”  and jumped into our Suzuki. 

Ok, now that we got discounts out of the way, I can tell you where we are going 🙂
We are going on 15 minute drive from Bratislava to Devin Castle, wohooo!

Devin Castle is a castle in Devin, so obviously.

It is up on hill that overviews Danube and Morava river. If you have been reading my blogs, you know I am fascinated by water, big water like rivers, seas and oceans. I have deep respect and admiration for big waters and in this place we have two big rivers crossing paths, amazing!
Well, it also has huge Neolithic Castle on top, oldest one in Slovakia.

Entrance fee for Devin Castle is 5 EUR and it takes you into the walls to the top. The castle stands just inside Slovak territory on the frontier between Slovakia and Austria. How crazy is that? We could actually see fields of Austria from the top.

The second thing, very much worth of seeing in Devin, is a public path along the river bank. There are several hikes and bikes trails around the castle. We were there in a beginning of March, so river Morava was throwing in huge chunks of ice into Danube. River shore, in some places, looks like it could be beach during the summer, though.

There are few restaurants in Devin, so if you have time try fine Slovak cuisine. We didn’t have time. We spent all day walking around Devin castle, it was cold, so there was just a two of us wandering around. We completely lost the track of time, that eventually, it was our time to leave, not to eat.

We are driving to Budapest and can’t wait to see it again. Remember, we were there in 2016, it was our first blog ever!! Check it out -> HERE.

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What Camera do We Use for Vlogs?

Hello world!

We shot “Camera Gear” video while we were in Strasbourg, France. It was something completely different for us and we had so much fun, as you can see in video 🙂

In the beginning we had iPhone 5 and shot amazing timelapses with it.

Very soon we bought GoPro 3 Black and filmed our trip to Thailand & Cambodia.
WARNING BEFORE WATCHING:
* Music on these videos is horrible!! This was before we learned about “No copyright music”. Would you like us to do video “How we pick music for our videos?”.

Later we transferred to GoPro 4 Silver, which we use still today and highly recommend.

Big part of our “Camera Gear” family was, and still is, Canon 700D. Most photos on our Instagram account are taken with this camera. Are you following us on Instagram jet?

So, we had regular camera, iPhone and underwater camera. Only thing missing was areal camera! We decided to buy GoPro Karma, but at the time was pulled out of the market, so we ended up buying DJI Mavic Pro. Maya has love/hate relationship with it. Let’s be clear, you have to love it because it can shot 4K areal photography, period. However, it does have mind of his own and lot of little glitches.

New baby in our family is Lumix GH5! We spent all our savings on this camera and we think it was totally worth it! Don’t you?

If you got this far – THANK YOU FOR READING 💓
Would appreciate if you leave your questions in comments below.

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Sailing in Croatia, Vis to Hvar

Hello world!

We are sailing!! Maya wanted to sail for a while now, so it is crossed from her’s bucket list!

We were invited by Frode Borge and his lovely wife Hege to sail with them from island Vis to Hvar, on their beautiful boat “Le Salon”. Plan was to sail and to have business meeting with Frode.

We arived to Vis day before, if you haven’t already, go see blog about our adventure there: HERE.  Next day, we jumped on board towards Hvar island.

Palmižana, Paklenci otoci

The weather wasn’t as ideal, it was cloudy and windy, which made Maya little sea sick. She just needed a little adjustment to sailing boat life. Once we docked to Palmižana, Paklenci otoci near Hvar island, she was felling much better.

We did our meeting while rocking on Frode’s sailing boat. Is there a better way to do business meeting??

The city of Hvar

After the meeting we sailed into Hvar, for dinner. Hvar is one of many islands on Croatian coast and a great place to experience Adriatic lifestyle to fullest. City of Hvar offers great gastronomic experience, it will seduce you with is historical center and vivid nightlife.

We had a late night sail back to Split. Easy sail, Maya was fine :). Thank you Forde & Hege for this amazing experience!

We are coming back from this trip energized and prepared for new challenges upon us. Feel free to contact us, should you also wish to work with us, at maivcevic@gmail.com

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Behind the business meeting in Vis

Hello world!

We are back in VIS island, CROATIA! Maya‘s family has a house there, so we look for any excuse to visit island. This time we were there on business, but we managed to film some behind the scenes for you.

We took Jadrolinija ferry from Split. Return ticket fee is approx. 15 EUR. You can find seasonal prices on their website.

City of Vis

Ferry docks in Vis city ferry port and the entrance in the bay is always magnificent! If you are not in a hurry, stay on ferry deck and watch city from bird view.

Žena Glava

Maya’s father and his brother have house in middle of the island, in little village named Zena Glava (eng. Woman Head). 

We love coming to Zena Glava, enjoying life in a peace and quiet. In winter times we come to harvest olive trees Maya’s father, Nikša, has planted there. We dream about the day when we will have something beautiful as Nikša’s Olive garden.

Komiža city

When we are with Nikša, we always go to Komiža. This time, we took quick detour at place called “The red rock’s”(Crvene stijene), right above Komiža city. This place contains more than a dozen trails up for free climbers. It also hides one of many Tito’s tunnels. Vis has always been of significant strategic importance for World War II leader Tito, that’s is why he built tunnels and bases all around the island.

When in Komiža we always take a walk down the riva promenade. One picture you can count 100% you will catch, is local elderly siting at benches by the sea.

We always, but always, have a drink at Speed bar. We are there so much that we actually met the owner :).

If you are looking for good place to eat, KONOBA BARBA, has our highest recommendation.

Tell us your island experience! Have you visited island Vis before? What are your impressions of the island?

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Robinson style vacation on Drvenik Mali

Hello World!

We are in Drvenik Mali, tiny island near Trogir. Our friends Maja and Milan have been posting their summer pictures on Instagram (make sure you follow them -> @majaimore) and gave us serious wanderlust! So, we invited ourselves :).

How to get to Drvenik Mali?

We drove from Split to Trogir and parked our car there. There are free parking places in the city (if you have time and patience to look for it), but you can also leave your car on paid Public parking, near Jadrolinija ticket office. Maja and Milan have a car on island, so we didn’t have to go with ours. However, you can take car on board the ferry to Drvenik Mali, but then you have to embark in ferry port Seget Donji (not Trogir). The boat departs from the Trogir and Seget Donji waterfront to Drvenik Mali and back to Trogir every day.

So, we took Jadrolinija ferry in Trogir and enjoyed smooth sail to Drvenik Mali. Keep in mind, ferry’s first stop is Drvenik Veli, you go out on second stop.

Island has no paved roads and there is not much to do there; but it has beaches from your dreams! Maja & Milan studio house has no TV, internet or electricity, but has outdoor fireplace and two happy people!

Vela Rina bay

Their house is in Vela Rina bay, well hidden beautiful sandy beach in the of middle Dalmatia. So, all you have to do in the morning is take your beach towel, swimsuit & flipflops (well, camera too, if you are photography freak, like us) and stroll down to the beach.

We still can’t decide if, in Vela Rina, sunrises or sunsets are better? What did you like better? Tell us in comments and make sure you like, share and don’t forget to:

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Wellness and Spa Weekend

Hello world!

We are in Krapinske toplice!! We are visiting perfect place for relaxation, wellness and amazing gourmet experience, Villa Magdalena.

How to get from Split to Villa Magdalena?

We took A1 highway from Split and had 5 hour drive to Croatian Zagorje. Krapinske Toplice are just 45 km from Zagreb.

Villa Magdalena has 6 apartments and 18 double rooms. Our room was simply wonderful and bed was super comfortable! Room had balcony with view of mountain Medvednica and hydro massage bathtub, in the living room, with chromo therapy and spring thermal water. Mindblowing!

On Villa’s top floor is a wellness oasis with heated indoor pool, whirlpool, saunas, showers, heating seats, balcony with deck chairs and a gym.

Hotel also offers massages and we gladly booked 4, well 2 each :). Our review is simple: Book as many massages as you can afford! Getting a massage, with calm and relaxing music in background you can easily free yourself from everyday stress, refresh your body and find a moment for yourself.

Last, but not least, Hotel restaurant was real gastro experience. Their professional, young, staff was flawless. We had half board; breakfast and dinner included in our accommodation price. We booked Wellness romance package, but you can choose from several other packages they offer.

We are back next Monday with new island experience.

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We had a day cruise, you can have a week!

Hello world!

We are on a cruise, wohoooo! Yacht Korab invited us for one day cruise on Brač island. Isn’t that amazing? We have been trying to find different ways to escape everyday life and being on the sea is definitely a good way to relax and get away.

Step one: get on board Korab Yacht and sail away.

The sun deck is perfect to take sip of your coffee or just read a book with the sound of the sea.

Step two: jump from the top of the boat and swim in hidden Croatian bays.

Korab is equipped with kayak and stand up paddle board if get bored with “regular swimming and snorkeling”.

Step three: have typical Mediterranean lunch on Korab deck, while sailing by magical Adriatic little towns.

Step four: “go back”, unfortunately that was situation for us, but you can stay over night.

The yacht is designed to accommodate 12 passengers in 6 luxury cabins equipped with a bathroom. One-week and two-week cruises are on offer. Choose a route and create your own vacation & gastro delight.

Big thanks to Mate, owner and captain, for letting us see Yacht Korab’s magic for a day.

We are driving up north Croatia next week, for wellness getaway, so stay tuned. If you like our adventures -> like, share and don’t forget to:

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Escape community hidden beach

Hello world!!

Where are we this time? We have no idea! Only thing that we know is that we are on Hvar island, Croatia. Exact location is hidden and are ok with that.

Escape community

We were invited by Escape community event on Hvar island. Didn’t really asked much about it, we just said YES! Escape lasted 6 days, but we had to work (like most of our summer), so we came last day of event. We borrowed tent from a friend (as we camped only once before) and we were ready to go.

Hidden location near Vrbovska

We took ferry from Split to Stari grad, where Escape team member Uroš picked us up. They drove us from Vrbovska trough dirt road for about 30 minutes. We had no idea in what direction they were driving, so their “hidden location” will stay hidden…at least for now.  Finally, we arrived and it was like Mediterranean Wonderland -> pine forest, right by the sea, music playing, adults walking on slackline, while children painting their faces. Honestly, we felt “escape” as soon as we stepped out of the car.

We found Petra (one of Escape team member) lying in handmade barrel swing at the entrance. Maya knows her since she was just a kid and she was happy to see what a beautiful women and amazing entrepreneur she has become.

Petra showed us around Escape “Wonderland”. There are several beaches on site with few cabana’s, arts & crafts workshops, healing practices and massage area, kitchen & bar, few dance floors, movie theater and camp with toilets & showers. You can take yoga class, book rock climbing and diving tour, take stand up paddle and explore hidden bay, or just chill in one of many hammocks. Most important is to let go, play and enjoy far away from everyday life – and so we did.

We made video, but to tell you right away, we didn’t film much this time, just soaked Escape vibes. We hung out with Maya’s friends and Escape team members, Žile, Monga & Dragana; and had really chill time. We learnt that Escape is neither a festival nor a party. It is not just a vacation or a summer camp. Escape is love. Escape is community.

See you next year Escape!

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