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Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort Panama Review: Worth It or Skip It?

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We spent the second half of a week-long Panama vacation at the The Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort Panama, a Marriott Autograph Collection property. We choose this property because we wanted to relax after what was a busy few days in Panama City, complete with day trips. We considered Bocas del Toro or Boquete but opted for The Buenaventura solely due to ease of travel (it is only two hour, highway drive from Panama City). This post reviews our stay at The Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort Panama.

The actually postcard perfect beach at The Buenaventura.

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Tottenham Hotspur Premium Travel Club Review: Is the Hospitality Package Worth It?

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Last January, Dan and I spent a long weekend in London with our friends, Bryan and Pryor. Bryan is a Tottenham Hotspurs supporter (yes, I have the lingo down), and the Hotspurs were playing in London on the one full day we were in town. We purchased Hotspurs tickets with access to the Travel Club Premium Lounge in the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium. This post provides a  detailed description of what you can expect when purchasing a Hotspurs ticket with access to the Travel Club Premium Lounge.

Here’s the group at the Tottenham Hotspurs match.

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Visiting The San Blas Islands as a Day Trip from Panama City, Panama

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Are you considering visiting Panama’s San Blas Islands, possibly as a day trip from Panama City?  This article explains the details of a day vist to the San Blas Islands, provides tips for visiting the San Blas Islands, and why I probably wouldn’t do it again, ha. And, by way of background, Dan and I visited the San Blas Islands as a day trip from our nearly week-long stay in Panama City, Panama in early April. I selected the San Blas Islands over other popular island destinations, such as Bocas del Toro due to the fact that you can drive from Panama City.

A Panama beer at the San Blas Islands.

The San Blas Islands

And what are the San Blas Islands you may ask? The San Blas Islands are a group of approximately 300 autonomous Panamanian islands off the northern coast of Panama in the Caribbean Sea.  Panama’s indigenous Guna (a/k/a Kuna) population reside in the San Blas Islands, which are famous for their Mola fabrics. Today, the Guna people earn nearly all of their money from tourism and selling handicrafts.

The San Blas Islands undoubtedly have some beautiful areas.

The San Blas Islands are currently popular with tourists for their crystal clear blue waters, as well as ecotourism. We found the San Blas Islands to be quite pretty, but pretty rustic and not easy to navigate for a typical tourist without some sort of guide. Indeed, you can’t even access them without taking a boat from the mainland. The Guna people have their own language and heritage, which is really interesting if you have time to read up on them. There is also a (free!) Mola Museum in Panama City that provides a solid background before visiting.

Mola fabric from the Mola Museum in Panama City.

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Eating Our Way Though Edinburugh During Hogmanay.

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Of course when in Edinburgh, we had to take a food tour (it is one of our favorite things to do!). A few options exist in Edinburgh in terms of food tours; we selected Secret Food tours based on Hogmanay availability. Our tour was part Edinburgh history, part food tour. This tour was a good way to try some Scottish classics that I would not be keen to try on my own (like Haggis!).

Cullen skink – a Scottish classic.

STOP ONE: THE EDINBURGH CLASSICS

We met our a guide, who is a Scottish native, outside St. Giles Cathedral at 11 AM. We did not go inside (we went the next day – highly recommend), but listed to about 15 minutes of Scottish, Edinburgh and Hogmanay history. This was quite interesting, especially given the ongoing Hogmanay celebrations. After meeting at St. Giles Cathedral, we walked down to Grassmarket for our first stop at the famous pub called Maggie Dickson’s.

Maggie Dickson’s Pub. 

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Restaurant Review: Mandhoo Restaurant, Conrad Maldives

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Dan and I visited the Conrad Rangali Island Maldives for the third time in November 2024. We had visited each of the Conrad’s 11 restaurants on prior visits except Mandhoo. As such, Mandhoo was a must visit for me on this visit. Honestly, we had been avoiding Mandhoo because it had always been billed, at least in our opinion, as the resort’s health food restaurant, and we just felt like that was not the vibe we were going for on vacation. While Mandhoo may have one or two healthier dishes than some other places, Mandhoo is just a normal restaurant with something for everyone. We will definitely return.

Mandhoo from afar.

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