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Hola! I'm Stephanie

theViatrix

I'm an award-winning travel expert who's using over 15 years of industry experience to help you get MORE out of your travels. Sign up to get weekly travel inspo delivered straight to your inbox.

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Featured Post

You, me & Ratatouille

Have you ever had one of those transcendent food moments, Reader? Like at the end of Ratatouille, where the food critic takes a bite and is instantly transported to his childhood? I’ve had a few, and of course they’ve all been while traveling. Like the best peach I’ve ever eaten. My mom and I were on a cross-country road trip from Seattle, where I grew up, to Middlebury, VT, where I was about to start college. Yes, my mom and I are identical Somewhere in upstate New York, near Lake Ontario,...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read

Reader- I wanted to make sure you knew: tomorrow’s the last day to join my Insider Oaxaca trip. If you’re still on the fence, let me share this spot-on IG post from my friend Janessa (@janessajstorlie on Instagram) about why travel is so important: Now, Janessa is an incredibly supportive friend, and she’s also completely right. Travel IS important for our mental and emotional health—in fact, that’s one of the core beliefs of my business. For me, travel is all about connection (something...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

The most expensive trip I ever took was to London and Scotland. I had been given some free hotel nights at a luxury hotel in London, and used that as an excuse to plan a trip for me and Iñigo that just got more and more expensive (the exchange with the pound didn’t help at all). We stayed at some iconic hotels, took in spectacular scenery, and did fun activities like touring castles and whisky distilleries. But every time the bill came, we gulped a little. At some point, we just started...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

On Monday, I wrote to you about why I decided to cap my Insider Oaxaca trip at just 6-8 participants, keeping it not just small, but super small. If you missed that email, you can read it here, but the TL;DR is that I wanted to create a trip that has all of the advantages of group travel and none of the drawbacks. But, Reader, you and I know that group size is just one piece of that. So what else makes this trip special? Here are five important differences from your typical group tour: We’re...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

I hear you, Reader—I don’t do group tours either. Not to knock them; in fact, I started my career in the travel industry leading groups around Spain and Europe. They’re an efficient way to explore a destination; they provide access to expert guides and activities you probably couldn’t arrange on your own; shared costs mean a lower price point; and they’re a great way to meet like-minded travelers! But when I was developing the itinerary for my upcoming Insider Oaxaca trip, I knew I wanted...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

Hola hola, Reader, Yesterday morning I was walking through the Boston Public Garden thinking about how much I like that park, and also how bleak it looks in winter compared to the rest of the year. It doesn’t help that they’re resurfacing the pond, so there are backhoes and piles of dirt instead of ice skaters this year. But I think it’s going to be glorious this spring, once the construction fencing is gone, the trees are blooming and the tulips are out. So this naturally got me thinking...

3 months ago • 1 min read

Hi, Reader! How’s your week going? I know it’s only Tuesday, but if your week is anything like mine, it’s already looking a little cray. Which is exactly why I thought I’d tell you about a few things I’ve been enjoying lately. Some things are travel-related and some not so much, but either way, I hope they brighten things up a bit, whether your week is awesome or ugh. The Amplifier By now you know that I highly value expertise and curation over algorithms and crowdsourcing. Do I care what...

3 months ago • 2 min read

Hola hola, Reader - Question for you: when you travel, do you like to explore a new place, or revisit a favorite spot? That’s always a hard one for me to answer. At my old job, it seemed like every day I was texting Iñigo with a new place I really wanted to go, usually inspired by which industry reps came into the office or what tours my colleagues and I were arranging. Sometimes it was “We HAVE to get to Egypt ASAP,” and other days it was “OMG I want to go back to Mexico City soooo bad.”...

7 months ago • 1 min read
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