In this edition of Celebrity Travel Addicts, we speak with Steven Kreimendahl and Jazmin Harb Andrade, the traveling couple behind the blog Travel to Blank. We chat with Steven and Jazmin about sustainable travel, what travel means to them, the most exotic place they’ve ever visited, and much more. Check out their favorite destinations around the world and find out where they’re headed next!
We both grew up traveling with our families and our love of travel is what actually grew us together. While we were used to vastly different types of travel before we met, traveling together allowed us to encounter many obstacles as a couple and overcome them, crafting a stronger relationship.
Travel means getting out there and exploring something new, whether it is around the world or around the corner. We often see people get caught up in the fact that they are unable to travel to some distant land and at the same time have not taken advantage of what their own region has to offer. Travel is important because it introduces us all to new ideas, new cultures, and new life perspectives. It allows us to better realize the vast diversity this world has to offer and how to be inclusive and understanding of everyone’s background.
Travel to Blank is focused on creating walking guides to a growing number of cities and destinations around the world. It has also expanded into road trip itineraries, dog-friendly guides, and romantic getaways. Our content is not about reaching a certain travel type, as we have stayed in hostels and all-inclusive resorts and everything in between. It is all about immersing yourself into a destination for the best experience. It grew out of our own frequent travels when friends and family started to ask us for travel ideas or to help plan their vacation. Writing up the guides allowed us to skip that step and just send the whole plan to them!
Sustainable tourism is hard to pinpoint, but for us it is a basic understanding of how to ensure future generations can enjoy the same experiences we have. You can think about it on a local or global level. Each destination has so much more to offer than its top five highlights and visiting more off the beaten path attractions allows a city to sustainably handle an influx in visitors. While it is unrealistic to expect every action in someone’s trip is the most sustainable option, every step we collectively take makes a huge difference.
In Boston everyone should walk along the Freedom Trail for a short history of the city and the founding of the country. In Guayaquil make sure to climb the 444 steps to the top of Las Peñas to the iconic blue and white striped lighthouse.
Our travel time varies throughout the year and has changed over time. In 2018 we spent three months on a road trip around the United States living in our minivan. This year Jazmin has had more opportunities to travel and is just finishing up close to three months of near-continuous travel for different projects. In reality, we do not always have the ability to travel together due to work requirements or campaign budgets. Our favorite places to travel are ones rich in natural beauty, be it a beach, rainforest, or breathtaking mountains.
Our main goal is to inspire our audience to get out and explore. It is so easy to put travel on the backburner in life, but the value of the experience and personal connections made should inspire you to do something new today!
Ecuador, Morocco, and Israel.
The best things to do in Ecuador are go diving in the Galapagos, hike at the Cotopaxi volcano, enjoy the swing at the end of the world in Baños, stay at an indigenous community in the Amazon Rainforest, and of course, try all the regional foods!
Jazmin has been to over 50 countries and Steven has been to over 40 countries, but he has been to all 50 US states.
Mexican, Ecuadorian, and Italian.
It is hard for us to recommend food as our diet limits us from eating pork or shellfish among others, which is unsurprisingly a staple in many traditional foods around the world.
National Lampoon’s Vacation is up there in the list of great travel-related movies. It provides a very realistic look at everything that can go wrong while on the road and makes any road trip mishaps we encounter seem trivial.
There is not one airport that jumps out to us as being particularly noteworthy. However, if you are a frequent traveler it is worth looking into a travel rewards credit card that includes a Priority Pass for lounge access at a long list of airports!
We visited Kathmandu, Nepal about a year after the destructive 2015 earthquake. Many of the buildings and sites still had significant damage and at the time there were increased trade tensions with India, leading to a gas and commodity shortage. Even with so many challenges the people we met at our hotel, as tour guides and just on the street were so welcoming and friendly. Everyone we encountered was happy to share their own life story and unique perspective on everything.
While I would have to say my favorite travel companion is Jazmin, I know her answer is going to be our dog, Gordo.
Simple, explore more.
We got to spend a week in the Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador which is the most biodiverse land per square kilometer in the entire world.
While planning is an important part of travel, prepare the mindset to go with the flow, as it is inevitable that something goes wrong.
We can never travel without a camera to document our travels; our phone to plan, organize, communicate and navigate; emergency cash just in case; and a solid pair of walking shoes to explore in comfort!
Our next big trip will hopefully be to South Africa. Being a long flight with so much to see it is hard to find enough time on our calendar to fit it all in.
It is not a travel-specific quote, but a short section of a famous quote from Hillel, “If Not Now, When?”
We are headed to Italy for Thanksgiving with Steven’s family.
We are Steven and Jazmin of Travel to Blank. We have been exploring the world together since the moment we met. Jazmin was born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador and Steven in Boston, MA. They now call Raleigh, NC home with their two chocolate labs, Gordo and Floyd, but you will most likely find them on the road. Please reach out to us if you have any questions about travel or would like to meet up for a drink during one of our future travel adventures.
You can follow Steven and Jazmin’s adventures on their website, Travel to Blank. Be sure to also follow their travels on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and subscribe to their YouTube channel!
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