Niteo Tours Blog | Explore, Encounter, and Embrace
Villa del Balbianello
I have visited Lake Como on a number of occasions. From the first time I laid eyes on the setting, I was in love. In love with the luscious gardens protected by thick, stone walls. In love with the sleek sailboats of the rich and famous. In love with the small, cobble...
Airport Fast Track: An easy-to-understand guide on skipping long lines
Earlier this year I was wheeling my carry-on through the security line at the Minneapolis airport. The gentleman in front of me did not at all look the part of a traveler. Not because he looked like he'd just finished plowing a cornfield, but because of his bewildered...
Five Reasons Why Slovenia Is One of My Favorite Destinations
A few years ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed of writing a blog on traveling to Slovenia. The sparsely populated country once part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia wasn’t even on my radar. Even if it had been, there are plenty of other destinations I would...
TEN FUN FACTS about Liechtenstein
There is something super enjoyable about saying the word “Liechtenstein” (Leeck-ten-shtine). Go ahead, say it out loud and see if you agree. Our recent tour took us to Liechtenstein, where we enjoyed a gorgeous lunch of a bright salad, traditional beef stroganoff, and...
My Story: A Service Day in Sapa, Vietnam
Jennifer Erickson recently explored Vietnam with Niteo Tours. Here's a story of the service day that was incorporated into this customized tour. The taxi van climbed the one-lane road into the clouds. Peering out the window over the edge of the mountainous terrain, I...
A Mexican Hacienda and the Best Guacamole Ever
Two years ago we visited a sprawling hacienda in the highlands of Mexico. This wasn’t a created-for-tourists hacienda but one that’s been around since the 1500s. Pancho Villa himself made it a stopover and the owners obliged. The owners figured hosting him was...
Conquering Jet Lag
If you travel quickly across multiple time zones, you will likely suffer from the temporary condition known as jet lag. Your body's internal clock (that tells you when to sleep and when to wake) needs time to get synched to a new schedule. In the meantime it isn't...
Celebrating Italian Cuisine
Italian cuisine is simple. My Italian friend gasped when she opened up my heavily stocked spice cupboard typical of American households. “Why would anyone need so many spices?!” she complained. (After visiting her kitchen I clearly understood why she was overwhelmed....
Hidden in Plain Sight: Locating the Monarchs
Blog and photos courtesy of Brian Overcast, Niteo's Mexico Guide, who lives in Morelia. Scientists didn't know where the monarch butterfly went to winter until January 9, 1975. I know that because my dad had the National Geographic magazine with that...
The Cloud Forest of Doi Inthanon
We took a little road trip outside of Chiang Mai to the highest point in Thailand – Doi Inthanon National Park. Up a steep and winding hill we climbed, leaving behind the typical jungle forest floor and bright skies to ascend to the very uncommon (and towering) pine...