traverpolis - travel like a local

What to Expect at a visit to Elephant Nature Park

The most ethical way for tourist to visit the elephants in Thailand

Austin, TX and Lake Travis

I recently took a “girls” trip with my mom and sister to Austin, Texas. We stayed in downtown Austin as our home base, and enjoyed all the amazing food that Austin is known for. One of the cool things to see is the recently closed Graffiti Park. Once open to the public, this park filled with various graffiti art is…
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Applying for a Brazil Travel Visa in NYC

Brazil· South America

When planning a trip to Brazil, it can be a bit nerve-wracking when you realize there is an extra step to get a travel visa to enter the country, even if you are going for a short period of time. Americans are in fact very fortunate that there is only a short list of countries where our passports require a…
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Rio de Janeiro Travel Guide

Brazil· South America

After a brief overnight layover in Florianopolis (a cute Brazilian beach town that locals call “Floripa”) we eventually made our way to Rio, the last stop on our South America tour. We only had 3 days to see what this huge city had to offer, and it was not quite enough time. But we certainly packed as much as we…
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Montevideo Travel Guide

South America· Uruguay

Uruguay is a country that’s creeping up lists on travel sites and blogs, and increasingly becoming a place to know when it comes to travel bucket lists. The late Anthony Bourdain had an episode in Uruguay, where he explained their new-ish government after years of hardship has led them to being a country with an outstanding voter turnout rate, a…
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Taking the Ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo

Argentina· South America· Uruguay

The easiest way to get from Buenos Aires to several cities in Uruguay is via ferry. Buquebus is the ferry company that runs huge ferries that sail direct to Colonia, Montevideo, and Punta del Este. We took the Sunday morning ferry to Montevideo on the “Francisco” ferry, which is the large boat that runs between the two cities. Booking tickets…
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Buenos Aires Travel Guide

Argentina· South America

Our fist stop on our South America itinerary was Buenos Aires. After taking a long direct flight from Newark, we landed in Argentina’s capital to explore the incredible culture … and eat a lot of steak. My first thought after wandering around was that the city itself feels like a mix of a bunch of different European capitals, with a…
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