Traveling in Belize with Career Expert Julie Hochheiser Ilkovich

Back in 2014, career expert and content strategist Julie Hocheiser Ilkovich packed her bags and moved to Belize for 6 weeks with her husband. How ddid she do it? We ask her about her decision to become a digital nomad, how she prepared for the trip, and what she learned about the Central American country of Belize and herself during her stay. Julie and Ines–fresh from her trip to San Ignacio and Cay Caulker–also share their best Belize travel tips including must-see excursions and ruins in the Cayo District, the surprising cosmopolitan food scene in tiny Cay Caulker, all the not-to-be-missed water sports and tours, and more!

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S2E15: Traveling with Parents

 

Traveling with parents may be scary, but we are here to help! Kathy recently returned from a successful trip to Iceland and England with her parents in tow, while parental travel has always been a part of life for Ines. Together the ladies give tips and and insights for a successful trip with the people who love you the most (or at least they did before the trip). In addition to offering overall survival strategies, we talk about the importance of picking a place (and a pace) that you can all enjoy, ways to include your folks in the trip planning process and how your parents will surprise you in the most unlikely ways. We also share listener stories and advice for surviving and thriving when traveling with your elders.

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How to Leave a Podcast Review

 

Nothing helps boost our profile – and our spirits – like when our listeners leave us positive reviews on iTunes. The more reviews we get, the higher we get pushed in iTunes and the easier it is for people to find out podcast. And it only takes two minutes!

Don’t know how? Here’s a simple tutorial on how to leave us a review in five easy steps using your iPhone.

S2E13: Vulnerable Travel with Char Stoever, LGBT Diversity Trainer and Peace Corps Alum

 

As travelers, we constantly put ourselves in vulnerable positions by exploring unfamiliar languages, cultures, social mores and even physical terrain. Char Stoever is an LGBT diversity trainer and Peace Corps alum assigned to Nicaragua who coined the term “vulnerable traveler.” She joins us to talk about how to view vulnerability as a learning tool and relationship builder instead of as a weakness. Opening up is never easy and does require care, particularly for members of marginalized groups. But, as Char discusses, the rewards often outweigh the risks and can lead to a more authentic travel experience. We also touch on self care while traveling and avoiding the “1000 Things to See Before You Die” trap.

Listen to the episode on Podbean or iTunes.

Listen to Our Latest Episode and Win!

 

Our latest episode is about women’s health while traveling. As you can imagine, the word “vagina” comes up A LOT. But how many times exactly? That’s what we want to know, and there’s something in it for you.

Tune in to our latest episode, Women’s Health While Traveling, and send us your best guess of how many times we say vagina. It has to be the exact word – no nicknames, no euphemisms – and it has to be the combined sum of the number of times the word is said by all three of the conversation participants: Kathy, Ines, and our women’s health expert Christina Tanner.

You can submit your guesses to xxwilltravel[at]gmail[dot]com. You can also follow us and submit them via Twitter.  Or give us a like on Facebook and submit your answer as a comment on this post. We also accept submissions via mail. Email us for contact info. All guesses must be submitted by Tuesday, February 21st at 12:00 am CST. The first correct guess wins a mystery prize from the XX, Will Travel prize vault.

 

Top 5 Episodes of 2016

This was a banner year for the ladies of XX, Will Travel. We took our first trip together to beautiful Louisville, KY! We celebrated our second season with a live podcast recording (sort of)! And we had the chance to meet and interact with our listeners (which will definitely happen more often in 2017)!

We look forward to the year ahead and bringing you the best in independent women’s travel stories. Big things are in the works, so thanks for coming along for the ride by listening and supporting us.

Until then, you can catch up on our top five episodes of 2016 after the jump.

Happy holidays and go forth and travel!

Ines and Kathy

S2E7: Road Trips with Meryl Williams

 

In this episode, writer, podcaster and queen of the road Meryl Williams discusses the essentials of the great American road trip. So stock up on car snacks, make some playlists, and join us for the ride! Listen on Podbean or iTunes.

For more Meryl, visit her at @merylwilliams, and subscribe to her podcast and newsletter, both called The Sleeper Hit.

SHOW NOTES

Where the Hell is Matt? (Video of the man who danced his way around the world)

Wall Drug

 

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Meet Meryl Williams, Road Trip Maven and Fellow Podcaster

 

Meet Meryl Williams! Meryl is a writer based in Columbus, Ohio who previously lived in Chicago and Portland, Oregon. She’s documenting her experiences playing roller derby via her TinyLetter. You can find her at www.MerylWilliamsMedia.com and on Twitter @MerylWilliams.

Meryl is also the host of the podcast The Sleeper Hit where guests talk about what’s underrated, over drinks! You can subscribe on iTunes.

Find out more about Meryl after the jump:

S2E4: How to Plan a Trip From Scratch: Accommodations

Resort, hotels, boutique hotels, hostels, AirBnbs, couchsurfing…with so many options, how do you choose the perfect accommodation for your trip? On our latest installment of our “How to Plan a Trip from Scratch” series, we talk where to stay, when to stay and how to book it. Kathy and Ines discuss their preferred accommodations, give you tips on how to find the best one, describe the perfect host or guest, and also share their favorite hotels around the world and the nightmarish ones they’ve encountered.

Listen to our episode here.

Catch up on the rest of our “How to Plan a Trip From Scratch” series:

Getting Airplane Tickets

Budgeting

Choosing a Place

To get all our episodes, subscribe on iTunes (and leave a review if you love us!) or follow us on Podbean.

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Kathy Listens to Podcasts

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my own podcasting responsibilities that I miss out on listening to the great audio that other people are creating. So this October I challenged myself to listen to 31 new podcasts in 31 days. My only caveat was that I’d try to focus on podcasts hosted by or featuring women and people of color, since podcasting, like the majority of the world, is dominated by white men.

I’ve listened to 15 different podcasts this month, sometimes listening to multiple episodes of the same one if it grabs my attention, and I now realize that 31 shows was a rather lofty goal. Fortunately, I’ve found some gems that have made their way into my regular rotation, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite discoveries.

(PS: If you know of any great travel podcasts – or just great podcasts – leave them in the comments. Perhaps it’s my own ego, but I just can’t find any travel shows I really love.)