mad about travel

Soy periodista y llevo viviendo y viajando por Escocia desde 2005. Abrí este blog de viajes en 2011 para compartir mis aventuras y para ayudarte a planificar tus viajes por este país que me tiene atrapada desde el primer día… y para descubrirte esos lugares que no salen en las guías turísticas pero que te encantarán.

Aquí encontrarás la mejor guía para viajar por Escocia, independiente y escrita por alguien que vive aquí todo el año. Pero también los mejores planes y escapadas por Edimburgo, Glasgow, Inverness, las Highlands y muchos otros rincones que te enamorarán tanto como a mi.

El primer blog de viajes sobre Escocia, y el más completo...

Me encanta viajar y adoro Escocia. No quiero que viajes a Escocia o te escapes a Edimburgo. Quiero te enamores apasionadamente de este país al norte del Reino Unido con historia, leyendas y paisajes para parar un tren.

Después de mis 9 meses de Erasmus en la Universidad de Stirling, entre 2005 y 2013 venía cada año varias veces de viaje a Escocia. En 2013 conseguí un trabajo y me mudé a Edimburgo. Seguramente porque vivo aquí y suelo de salirme de las rutas turísticas en este blog encontrarás lo más típico que ver y hacer, pero también lugares que solo alguien local conoce. ¿Vienes?

Todos los tours en español por Escocia y Edimburgo

South West Coastal 300, 3 días recorriendo Dumfries y Galloway

Road trip por la Ruta North Coast 500 de Escocia: itinerario, paradas, mapas y todos los imprescindibles

29 cosas gratis que ver en Edimburgo

Viajar a Escocia en primavera: los mejores planes, lugares y consejos

Si vas a visitar Escocia en primavera y no sabes a dónde ir para disfrutar de la magia de los meses más coloridos del año aquí están los mejores planes y lugares… Y todos los consejos.

Fife Coastal Path, la ruta de la costa de Fife

Qué ver en South Queensferry: uno de los pueblos más bonitos de Escocia

28 consejos para preparar tu viaje a Escocia

Qué hacer en Edimburgo en primavera: los mejores planes y consejos

¿Viajas a Edimburgo en primavera? Pues toma nota porque aquí tienes los mejores planes, las mejores excursiones y todos los consejos para disfrutar de la magia de la primavera en la capital de Escocia.

Viajar a Edimburgo en abril

Los mejores Free Tours de Edimburgo en Español

12 lugares perfectos para ver la floración de los cerezos en Edimburgo

Museo Kelvingrove de Glasgow: guía completa

Glasgow es conocida como una ciudad vibrante y también por su rico patrimonio artístico y cultural – y a nosotros nos encanta. Uno de sus íconos más importantes es el Museo de Kelvingrove, ilustre representante de la identidad urbana e histórica y considerado una joya por sus habitantes. Kelvingrove Museum

35 excursiones desde Glasgow por libre

Viajar a Glasgow, Escocia – Guía Completa

Viajar a Glasgow con niños: las 29 mejores cosas que hacer en Glasgow con niños

Otros destinos.

Qué ver en Poznan – Guía completa para descubrirla en 1, 2 o 3 días

Poznan es la primera ciudad que visité en Polonia y le tengo un cariño especial. Aquí fue donde conocí a mi suegra y a la tía del polaco con el que comparto mi vida en Edimburgo y mis viajes. Fue mi toma de contacto con la arquitectura, la cultura y

Qué ver en el Campo de Gibraltar: 23 planes perfectos

Una visita al castillo de Malbork en Polonia, el mayor castillo de ladrillo del mundo

Comida típica de Polonia: 35 platos polacos que tienes que probar

Patricia Cuni

✍️ Journalist and travel writer. 💚 Living and loving #Scotland since 2005. 🌍 Exploring the world

Poznan es la primera ciudad que visité en Polonia y le tengo un cariño especial.

Qué ver en Bratislava en un día: 19 cosas que ver y hacer en la capital de Eslovaquia

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• Contact Mad about Travel
• Mobile. Phil - 022 151 0198 | Katie - 021 117 5176
• Location. Auckland, AKL North
• Email. [email protected]
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Meet the Team

About mad about travel.

Mad about Travel is a direct result of Covid19, after years of arranging ski, dive and adventure holidays for clients Phil and Katie Clark decided to go out on our own and start our own niche travel agency.

We are very excited to bring you our travel company where you deal directly with the people who own and run Mad about Trave l.

10 reasons to book with Mad about Travel

• We are an approved Travel Broker for Travel Managers Group Limited, a fully accredited IATA agent.  Travel Managers Group is owned by the publicly listed Flight Centre Travel Group. Our processes and policies are robust. We have access to some of the industry’s leading systems, and we have access to thousands of land suppliers, hundreds of airlines, and all ski, dive & adventure niche suppliers.  
• Your funds are strictly managed in a separate client funds account that is regularly audited. Our accounting processes are continuously audited and are robust!  
• We love our clients! We’ve found over the years, clients become friends! You allow us to participate in an industry that we love! MAD Travel Gurus are here to make your travel experience as unforgettable as we can! We achieve this by applying our experience and knowledge to get you the best deal to suit your needs and budget. All our Mad Travel Gurus have years of experience and are passionate about what we do!  
• We’ve been there, skied it, dived it or biked it. This means YOU get quality, first-hand advice from professional travel agents who know and love their jobs.  
• Our job is to listen to you first and tailor a package especially for you. This saves you time, stress and money. It also gives you a back up if something goes wrong.  
• The price is the price. We pledge to be honest and straight up with you.  
• If you book your whole trip through "Mad about Travel" you will get a seamless, integrated travel experience. You can rely on us! If you get a disruption early in the trip, we will ensure that any required changes in the rest of the trip will be made at the least possible expense to you. We will also work with your insurance company to help you reclaim any losses incurred.  
• You can call our emergency phone 24/7 and you will get a live, real Mad Travel Guru who will be able to advise you and help you.  
• You pay your deposit, airfares and insurance upfront. Then the rest is due 90 days prior to travel. If you book independently you will generally need to pay the whole amount upfront when you book.  
• We can look after your whole holiday! Right here, right now, in one place. This means if you have an issue, it's one phone call to a real person at "Mad about Travel". We can book just about anything, anywhere, please just ask us!  

Mad Travel Guru

We are “MAD about TRAVEL”! We live what we sell We are both passionate skiers, divers and sailors, and love tramping and the outdoors. The holidays we take as a family mirror closely the holidays we recommend for our clients. This ensures you have a fantastic experience crafted by people who really care. We have found that clients become friends over the years! We specialise in Mountain, Adventure, and Dive holidays. We also love to help you with any other travel you are planning as we have travelled extensively around the world and have worked in the industry since 2000. As a family who love to travel we understand your needs. We can also help you with your business travel as we have both worked as corporate travel agents. Since 2007 Phil has been specializing in ski/board, dive and biking holidays. Phil has spent time skiing in Canada, USA and Japan (just about every major resort), dived in Fiji, Tonga and Thailand, biked through Europe and hiked in Morocco and Nepal.

• Phone. 022 151 0198
• Email. [email protected]

Katie Clark

Katie has worked in travel for 8 years (taking a break when the kids came along). Katie has travelled extensively in Europe including hiking in Norway, ticking off bucket list trips to China and Egypt and had her honeymoon (with Phil of course) skiing in Colorado. Mad about Travel is an approved Travel Broker of the Travel Managers Group, which is owned by The Flight Centre Travel Group and is one of New Zealand’s leading broker-based travel companies. Travel Managers Group are an IATA accredited and bonded travel agent. We would love to help you with your next adventure no matter how big or small! Company owners & Mad Travel Gurus Phil and Katie Clark.

• Phone. 021 1175 176
• Email. [email protected]

Phil and Katie from Mad about Travel have been with Travel Managers for 18 months and in the travel industry for 20 plus years!Their favourite moment has to be the restart of the travel industry this year!They still have clients from 15 years ago, which have been there from when they first joined Travel Managers!

What's your best travel experience in your time with TMG? mountainbiking in Rotorua

What makes them a special/loyal client? They book with me! Everyone who books with me is a special client!

What is the most memorable trip you have booked for a client? So many to choose from - everest base camp, ski groups to japan, truk lagoon dive liveboards and on and on. I love my job!

What is the most impactful customer service you have offered? My expert knowledge, and total commitment to service

What are the best thanks you have received from a client? referrals to other clients.....and someone gave me a pair of skiis once too.

What has been the biggest change/challenge you have experienced in the travel industry in the last 20 years? And how did you overcome that change/challenge? the last 2 years! Covid!!!! Kept the faith, started my own business with TMG. Covid was actually a blessing as it made us start Mad about Travel and go out on our own. Which so far has been a huge success! My clients are hunting me down and want to book with me!

Do you have any other comments/thoughts to share about celebrating TMG's 20th birthday? I'm loving having my own business, although its scary and alot of work. I have discovered the biggest item of value I have is my time!

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Local Matters

Introducing: MAD About Travel

April 23, 2021 3:05pm

They might be mad about travel, but Manly couple Phil and Katie Clark insist that they are not insane to launch a new travel agency a year into a global pandemic. Far from it, Phil reckons their timing is actually spot on. With the Australian bubble opening this week, the Pacific not far behind and thousands of Kiwis itching to get away from home, he says everything is ready to go.

“We’re doing it now because we felt it would come back this year. Now it’s all systems go and we’re feeling really good to be moving forward,” he says.

While MAD About Travel will specialise in Mountain, Adventure and Dive holidays – hence the agency’s initials – Phil and Katie can draw on more than 20 years’ experience to provide a full range of travel requirements, from flights to corporate packages.

Phil and Katie moved to the Coast in 2007 when Phil was headhunted by an adventure holiday company. After 13 years, however, Covid-19 hit, the travel industry stopped dead and Phil was made redundant.

“It’s been one hell of a year, but the big thing that Covid brought home was how much we love selling travel and how much we love our clients – we missed them desperately,” he says.

Phil says Covid-19 has made using a travel agent more important than ever, since they can provide full insurance and, if there are any outbreaks or other issues, swift assistance.

“Rather than you trying to ring the airline and waiting on hold for hours, we can change flights in seconds,” he says. “If you call an airline you get someone who doesn’t know you, but with your travel agent you have a person who knows and cares about you.

“We’re local, we’ve travelled all over the world, been in the business for years and we’re passionate about it.”

Phil and Katie are also passionate about sailing – Katie is the manager at Weiti Boating Club and Phil is a former commodore of Manly Sailing Club.

MAD About Travel is fully accredited and part of the Travel Managers Group, which is owned and backed by Flight Centre.

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26 Travel Products You'll Honestly Be Mad You Didn't Know About Before Now

If your step count on vacation is "too many," you need to invest in these tingling masks for achy feet, stat.

BuzzFeed Staff

1. Self-heating soothing foot masks  made with Epsom salts, lavender, and peppermint perfect for anyone whose step count goes up to one bajillion when they're traveling. Now instead of dealing with aching feet all night, you can get ahead of the situation with some ~self care~. 

Check out a TikTok of the foot masks in action. 

I'm a long-ish distance runner and these were certainly an interesting experience for my feet! You slide them on and after a few minutes feel a tingling, mildly burning (in a good way) sensation. It doesn't quite numb your feet, but it relaxes them. I kept them on for 30 minutes and then toweled my feet off, and the tingling sensation slowly faded over the next 30 minutes. After that my feet felt very refreshed and relaxed at a time of day when they're usually aching from all the miles I put in.  The whole thing was a mess-free, easy process, and I will definitely keep them on hand for longer run days! 

Promising review: "Very soothing. My husband and l used these on our European vacation and they definitely felt good on our feet!" — KS2018

Get a set of three pairs from Amazon for $20.97 . 

2. An expandable  jacket and bag gripper for your suitcase or backpack that lets you hang your jacket for easy access instead of stuffing it all the way back into your bags or carrying it around by hand. This is especially handy for rain jackets that need to dry off! 

Promising review: "I had this travel strap attached to my backpack as a just in case. It's small and hardly noticeable so it wasn't in the way. When I finally needed it while on a trip, it was a lifesaver. I was able to attach some shopping bags, thankfully being able to keep my hands free." — Jonesy96

(Psst — if you're looking for an attachable cup holder similar to the one in the reviewer image above, you can find one for $19.99 on Amazon !) 

Get it from Amazon for $13.99  (available in six colors). 

3. A hands-free (rotating!) phone mount designed for use on all airlines — not only can you mount it to the tray table of an airplane seat, but to the arm of a chair or any flat surface, so you'll be able to stream content easy as pie wherever you roam. Reviewers have used it on everything from their car dashboards to carry-on handles to office desks to bedside tables. 

Perilogics  is a small business creating hyper-functional tool holsters and bags for carrying your stuff on the go. 

Promising review : "I bought this nifty gadget about six months ago for a multi-leg, ultra long-haul trip and it more than held up the entire duration . I was able to finagle it to fit the tray tables on different planes and like others, I find the height just nice when clamped onto a stowed tray table . It also works on my roller carry-on handle during layovers." — Earendil

Get it from Amazon for $13.97+  (available in five colors and in sets of 2).

4. A compact but mighty  2-in-1 wall charger and portable power bank  for the ultimate hybrid travel gadget. This lets you use that one measly outlet in your hotel room to charge three devices at once — laptops included! — *and* holds its own charge to you can juice up all those gizmos when you're on the run, too. 

Promising review : "I traveled for four weeks and this nice unit was perfect — charged everyone's iPhones during the day, and my iPad and my computer while taking the train for a few hours at a time. Other than it being a little heavy for all day carrying, it was a perfect unit to buy." — Julie

Get it from Amazon for $79.99 (available in two styles). 

5. A water-resistant  insulated water bottle carrier to support your Hot Girl Vacation Walks — not only does this give you an easy way to free up your hands from your emotional support water bottle, but it comes with all kinds of handy pockets, zippered and for your phone, keys, and emergency snacks. 

Promising review: "Very handy when traveling or at the gym! I got this one after getting a different brand that is smaller. I love the extra pockets on this and the roomie section for ANY water bottle or a smaller water bottle and other stuff. The zipped pocket holds my iPhone Max just fine . Just took this on a cruise and several people commented wishing they had one . So much easier than a backpack or something for your water bottle." — Judy

Get it from Amazon for $16.99  (available in 11 colors). 

6. An Airplane Pocket tray cover  that slides seamlessly over an airplane tray to create an instant, deeply convenient hub — this comes with a number of pockets so you can keep track of all your devices, snacks, and other odds and ends without rooting around for them in the gross back pocket or your carry-on the whole flight. Bonus: this bb is an excellent way to prevent touching a germ-y tray, and it's fully machine washable. 

Check out a TikTok of the Airplane Pockets tray table cover in action. 

Airplane Pockets is a small business that specializes in sanitary, portable travel organization products. 

I used this on a roundtrip from NYC to Tokyo, both with connecting flights in Canada, and cannot sing its praises enough. It fit all four of the different tray tables I used it on and was so  ridiculously handy for keeping track of all my littler odds and ends like AirPods, the plane's headphones, earplugs, a sleep mask, a book, gum, a scrunchie, and little snacks.  The hanging end of it easily tucked into the built-in sleeve of the seat in front of me for takeoff and when other passengers needed to scoot past me in my aisle seat.  Usually, I feel like a hot mess and get frustrated rooting around in the grimy sleeve for my stuff, and this was such a refreshing solution!  Several flight attendants even asked where I got it to buy one for themselves! 

Get it from Amazon for $29.99. 

7. Plus a patterned travel tray for kids to keep messes to a minimum on airplanes and trains, complete with three different modes you can use it for "snacking," "tablet viewing," "contained toy play," and "free play." But more to the point, what flight wouldn't  benefit from a little sprinkle of mermaids, dinosaurs, and unicorns to liven up the decor? 

Lusso Gear is a small business that specializes in travel products. 

Promising review : "Absolutely love this for traveling with kids!!! We bought this for a recent trip with our daughter and it made snack time and playtime on the flight so much easier and mess-free . It’s sturdy, high-quality, and fits perfectly on the tray table and tablet. It’s also a nice extra layer of protection from germs when traveling. Our daughter loved the cute mermaid design too!" — Laura Knotts

Get it from Amazon for $26.95 (available in four prints). 

8. A flat RFID-blocking fanny pack you can either wear traditionally or sneakily wear under your clothes, keeping your valuables safe both from pickpockets and from your habit of getting distracted and leaving them everywhere you go (guilty as charged). 

Promising review : "Discreet yet spacious. I purchased this for a recent trip. I was able to fit my phone, passport, credit cards, and cash in it easily and it wasn’t bulky or obvious under my clothing . It was comfortable to wear for extended periods of time." — KailensMom

Get it from Amazon for $9.98+ (available in 21 styles and two sizes). 

9. A set of  silicone "EarPlanes"  designed with a twist-on structure to help relieve pressure that hurts your ears during altitude changes during landing and takeoff. Reviewers also swear by these for driving through altitude changes in the mountains and for helping with sinus pressure pain! 

Promising review: "This product has changed my life. I travel fairly frequently and always have issues with ear pressure on the plane. My ears will be clogged up, and it is painful to swallow for a day or two after short-distance flights. But now, I use these and fly incident-free. You are supposed to insert them before the plane takes off and then before landing. I have found that it works best if I leave them in the entire flight from before takeoff until landing, but they work almost as well if you take them out once you reach cruising altitude. " — Thomasina

Get a pack of one from Amazon for $7.95 .

10. A vacuum-free space-saving compression bag so easy to use that all you have to do is stick your clothes inside, zip up the bag, roll the bag, and watch all the excess air get squished out of them until your clothes magically shrink. Yes, maybe it's only a weekend trip, but some of us need OPTIONS!! 

HELLO, I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE. Despite all the rave reviews I was definitely skeptical of space-saving bags that didn't require a vacuum, and even as they were actively squishing my clothes into oblivion I still couldn't quite believe it. I had easily two suitcases worth of clothes I wanted to pack for a three-week trip to London, and I managed to neatly pack the entirety of my wardrobe in one roller carry-on bag. Truly all I had to do was put my clothes in the bag, push them to the bottom, and then sit on it to get the air out before sealing it up. I had tons of extra bags and make a habit of taking them with me in case other people joining me on trips need them to be able to pack souvenirs on the way home. I'm never taking a long trip without these again — these are worth every damn penny. 

Get a set of eight from Amazon for $15.87 . 

11. An adjustable  universal travel harness seat  for ages six months and up that magically converts almost any restaurant chair into a secure high chair for little ones. Now you don't have to reroute the whole fam when you show up somewhere that doesn't have any high chairs to lend. 

Liuliuby is a New York-based small business that specializes in stroller and car seat accessories. 

Promising review: "This thing was amazing! I give it  10 stars — it fit every type of chair we encountered on our Kenyan vacation! Kept our toddler controlled and made feeding on the go so easy. Very lightweight and packable, a vacation must-have!" — Kireme1

Get it from Amazon for $25.99 .

12. A rechargeable itty bitty mini white noise maker  with 15 nonlooping sounds that is an absolute space-saving *godsend* for parents or anyone traveling somewhere noisy. Pop this baby on in the hotel room and get the good night's sleep you deserve. 

Promising review: "I am a flight attendant and sometimes have a hard time falling asleep while away in my hotels without my home white noise maker. This is compact and rechargeable so it is super easy to keep with me on my trips! It also has great volume range from very low to quite loud! I would recommend even for home use if you don’t have a ton of space but want to use a white noise machine." — Faith Morris

Get it from Amazon for $18.99+ (available in ten colors and in packs of two). 

13. A portable hanging luggage organizer for the ultimate lazy unpacker hack — all you have to do is pack your clothes in this, fold it into your suitcase, and then magically unfurl it in a hotel closet for access to all your stuff. Guess who's going to be the first one to the hotel pool after check in??? (You. It's you.) 

Bonus: This works with your existing suitcase, unlike versions of this that come pre-built into more expensive versions! 

Promising review: "I was able to pack seven outfits and have way more space in this organizer. I just packed the clothes in the organizer, closed it up, and placed it in my carry on. Once I got to the hotel, I just hung it in my closet. It would be perfect for cruises since their is never any drawer space and very little room to move around." — jess

Get it from Amazon for $27.39+ (available in six colors and several sets). 

14. A  hanging cosmetic bag  whose motto is "No beauty product left behind!!" This clear-pocketed compact bag fans out so you have all your beloved makeup and skincare at your disposal, converting any hotel bathroom into home sweet home. 

I will scream this thing's virtues on every corner of this earth. I used this on an eight-day international trip. It fit a veritable arsenal  of products — all of my skincare, makeup, hair supplies, toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant were wedged in the different pockets, and still compacted easily and went right into my carryon backpack . It made setting up at the hotel a two-second process of hanging it up and having all my products instantly accessible to me and easy to put away. I cannot imagine traveling without it, especially now that I've used it on a multi-city trip where it was so handy to fold back up and take through several hotels. At one point, I forgot to properly close a lotion, and it exploded a bit, and the bag was super easy to clean from the inside! 

Get it from Amazon for $22.99+ (available in two sizes and 11 colors). 

15. Or for shorter trips, a  flat lay makeup bag   with seams designed so you can unzip it into a flatter surface and make it easier to find everything in your beauty arsenal. This is a BOON for hotels with especially small counter spaces. 

Promising review: "I had my eye on the round sack-style drawstring bags that open flat because of the appeal of being able to easily see all of my products, but didn’t like the idea that things might fall out through the gathered hole of the drawstring. This bag solves that while maintaining the easy visibility/access I was seeking! Very wipeable surface, holds lots, very functional. The material isn’t the highest quality, heaviest feel, but I don’t mind that." — Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $4.99+ (available in 32 styles and three sizes). 

16. A newly-updated  AirFly , a handy gadget you can use to connect your wireless headphones to the headphone jacks on flights so you can stream  The Fault in Our Stars  and bawl thousands of feet in the air again without dealing with the poor quality the airline's headphones or shelling out $$ for them. Bonus: you can use these to connect to audio jacks on gym equipment and gaming devices, too! 

Here's what BuzzFeeder Chelsea Stuart has to say about them: "Last year I splurged on some  AirPod Maxes  and for the amount of money I threw down on them, I was determined to get as much use out of them as possible and that included on plane rides.  With the AirFly Pro, I can connect my headphones via Bluetooth and use the seat-back screen without having to fiddle with the free wired headphones they hand  out that 1.) have horrible sound quality and 2.) don't fit my ears in the slightest. (I swear my ear canals are tiny or something??)"

Promising review : "I saw this on TikTok and bought it instantly for an upcoming trip. I wish I knew about this sooner so I could enjoy inflight entertainment without needed additional headphones. This allows for that, which is great. It works so well, my husband bought one as well. Highly recommend." — Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for  $34.99+  (available in two colors and four styles).

17. The iconic  Alleyoop Pen Pal , which features four quick, easy-to-use products in one tiny package. Each of the three pens comes with a curated color palette of four retractable colors to touch up brows, eyeliner, lips, and highlights, so you've got an entire quick makeup arsenal in the palm of your hand. 

Alleyoop  is a woman-owned small business that specializes in functional makeup products. 

Here's what former BuzzFeeder  Jasmin Sandal has to say about it:  "I gotta say, I love the concept of the Pen Pal from Alleyoop ! After using all of the functions (eyeliner, highlighter, lip liner, eyebrow pencil) and as someone who LOVES makeup but was applying as little as humanly possible during lockdown, I think it’s a great tool for anyone looking to streamline their routine. It's ideal to use for touchups come the end of the work day, or a subtle, minimalist way to apply makeup in the a.m. The brow pencil is particularly soft and pigmented, and filled in my eyebrows quickly. I just adore the ease of application of each product, and appreciate the universal, does-it-all-for-you concept. Plus, it saves me so much room in my already-overflowing makeup bag!"

Get it from Alleyoop for $20  (available in three shades).

18. A stuffable travel luggage pillow so the next time a flight deal is like, "No carry-ons allowed," you can be like, "Challenge accepted." This has a clever zippered compartment that lets you roll up your clothes and condense them to fit right into your "pillow," freeing up all the space in your backpack for toiletries and tech.  

Tube is a small business that specializes in uniquely-designed storage travel pillows. 

Promising review: "I bought this looking to both save space and gain comfort for those long airplane rides. I was pleasantly surprised that they worked so well and fit so much into them while not sacrificing baggage space. I could fit at least a full day's worth of clothes in it. Also works well if you have one of those backpacks with the attachment clip and loop system as you can use this as a strap to avoid purchasing another carry-on bag from airlines." — Victor Tolentino

Get it from Amazon for $34.95 .

19. A window seat BevLedge  that defies the time-space-economy-class continuum by freeing up space on your tray table. This has room for cups and all kinds of accessories like sleep masks, earbuds, and earplugs, so you can have all your comfiest things at your fingertips for the whole flight (and don't have to worry about knocking your drink off your tray 😬). 

BevLedge is a small business that specializes in travel accessories. 

Promising review: "A friend recommended this to me as a vital travel companion, now that I've returned to frequent flying. I initially thought of it as a novelty, but now that I've used it, it's a necessity. It keeps the workspace clear for my laptop, but it also organizes all the little pieces that can become so annoying to keep up with — glasses, earphones, etc. It got my seat mate's immediate attention, as well as a few other folks nearby. I suspect they'll have one soon. Watch for one soon in a window near you!" — Timothy G. Wolfe

Get it from Amazon for $19.99 .

20. A car backseat organizer you can pop right onto the back of a chair to easily hold snacks, drinks, and tech accessories to keep things away from pets and free up some DEEPLY necessary floor space during road trips. Bonus — there are sneaky hooks at the bottom to hold grocery bags! 

Promising review: "These are worth their weight in gold when you’re traveling with kids and pets! They are sturdy and well made, very simple to use and install, and to take out for cleaning if you have an inevitable spill. They keep everything neat and out of reach of the dogs. They are an attractive design that looks nice as well — they don’t look cheap. Everyone’s drinks and snacks stay nice and stable even on curvy back roads. We are all very pleased with how well these work for us!" — Melissa

Get it from Amazon for $17.99 . 

21. A luggage drink caddy  for anyone who considers the Starbucks mermaid a copilot — this sticks right into your wheeled luggage and has two roomy pockets for drinks, water bottles, your snacks, your phone, and whatever else was taking up room in your hands on the go. 

Promising review: "This cup holder is perfect! It helps me a lot! Last time I took a plane with a suitcase and a cup of coffee, when it’s my turn to check my passport and ticket, the coffee cup fell to the ground and coffee sprinkled. It was a nightmare! This time I bought this cup holder, it did do me a favor! I don't have to worry about where my cup and phone are! I can free my hands to do other things. I love it so much! Hope you love it too." — Philip

Get it from Amazon for $9.99+  (available in 25 colors).

22. Plus an  attachable luggage table to make an *instant* desk or meal tray in the airport without having to Hunger Games it out for the last sad table at the one open McDonald's in your terminal. 

Promising review : "Ingenious. How many times I have been an an airport with nothing to balance anything on, whether it be computer or coffee? So I have to hand it to the inventor that they have accomplished something truly useful. I really appreciate the ingenuity." — Anahata

Get it from Amazon for $39.95 . 

23. A refillable sunscreen sponge applicator  with a rollerball inside to make sunscreen application as quick, effective, and fun (?????) as possible. This unconventional gizmo has helped a lot of parents win the "PLEASE hop out of the water and let me sunscreen you" game once and for all. 

Promising review: "Used for the first time today on my 7-year-old. First time in his life he actually enjoyed having sunscreen applied to his skin! Very easy to use and not messy at all. Extremely pleased with this purchase!" — amyj

Get it from Amazon for $15.98+ (available in six colors and in multipacks). 

24. A small portable fabric shaver you'll especially love if you travel a lot for work. A few passes of this tiny gadget will have all your pilly sweaters, socks, and shirts back up to snuff in no time. 

Promising review : "This product makes removing annoying pills from clothing quick and easy. It's helped to make some of my work clothes look professional again, and I've been able to get pills off the sleeves of some of my jackets. Glad I purchased it to help with this." — E Greco

Get it from Amazon for $20.99+ (available in two colors). 

25. A 4-in-1  flying USB port  to condense the tangle of wires next to your bed or desk, whether you're traveling or dreaming of your next trip. This includes a 3.3-foot extension cord so your devices can stay close! 

Multitasky is a woman-owned small business established in 2020 that specializes in cute, functional gadgets for travel, office, and home use. 

Promising review:  "It does as it says it does, allowing my Dell XPS15 to operate a pair of USB devices from my lightning port! The laptop has two USB ports, one of which is always occupied by my USB mouse dongle and the other by my protected USB drive. If I wanted to plug in my phone to switch data or add another thumb drive to transfer a device, everything might have to be disconnected, but not anymore. It was really worth it." — Liberty

Get it from Multitasky for $25  (available in three colors). 

26. A compact travel detangling brush  designed for all hair types so you don't have to sacrifice precious space in your carry-on with your regular brush. (No offense to her, she has served you well!!)

Promising review: "I have very curly hair so I can sometimes struggle to find a hairbrush with bristles that don't end up getting caught and broken in my hair. This hairbrush has lasted through several trips without any issues, is the perfect compact size in that it is small but doesn't feel awkward to use as a hairbrush, and also comes in a number of cute colors. Definitely recommend!" — Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $7.99 (available in 8 colors and other styles). 

Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.

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8 Hotel Afternoon Teas Around the World Worth a Visit

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Table of Contents

1. The Palm Court at The Plaza, New York City

2. afternoon tea at claridge’s hotel, london, 3. h tasting lounge at the westin bayshore, vancouver, canada, 4. afternoon hi tea at the oberoi udaivilas, udaipur, india, 5. afternoon tea at baccarat hotel, new york city, 6. afternoon tea at the ballantyne, charlotte, north carolina, 7. petrossian bar at bellagio hotel & casino, las vegas, 8. mad hatters afternoon tea at sanderson, london, how to save on a hotel tea party.

Attending a hotel’s afternoon tea party can be a classy way to experience a luxury hotel — even if you're not staying there.

Some hotel tea parties are so extraordinary that they're practically worth planning a trip around. We’re spilling the tea on eight of the most exquisite afternoon tea experiences in New York City, London and beyond — plus how to save on your bookings.

(Photo courtesy of The Plaza – a Fairmont Managed Hotel)

Like a scene straight out of the movie “Eloise at the Plaza,” sip on afternoon tea under the soaring stained-glass dome of The Palm Court in New York City’s iconic Plaza Hotel. The historic hotel has been serving afternoon tea for more than 115 years in an elegant affair that requires formal attire.

Kids are welcome, and there’s even a specific version of the menu with an Eloise theme available to children under 13.

(Photo courtesy of Claridge’s)

Tea is a classy affair at Claridge’s, a British landmark that began operations in 1856. Tea is served in The Foyer & Reading Room alongside a classic combination of finger sandwiches, scones and pastries. It’s all served on fine bone china and silverware, made specifically for Claridge’s.

(Photo courtesy of The Westin Bayshore Vancouver)

On weekends, the H Tasting Lounge at The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver transforms into the Hundred Acre Wood. And though Westin is Marriott’s wellness-focused brand , this particular hotel equates wellness with whimsy thanks to its Winnie the Pooh-inspired afternoon tea.

You might channel your inner bear and drizzle honey in your cup, and much of the food is honey-infused, too. That includes a snack tray dubbed “Pooh’s Pot of Gold” featuring cotton candy with honey crystals. Savory dishes include honey-smoked salmon and salad with honey-poached chicken. One of the desserts is a meringue whipped to resemble a beehive, served with — what else? — honey mousse.

The Oberoi Udaivilas sits on the banks of Lake Pichola, in Udaipur, India, a destination that ranks as one of American Express Travel's 2024 Trending Destinations . Afternoon tea at the opulent hotel is reminiscent of an English tea experience while embracing local cuisine, including shufta (a sweet dish of dry fruit, sugar and saffron) and Anjeer badam ladoo (fig and almond sweet dumplings).

(Photo courtesy of Baccarat Hotel)

The tea party at Baccarat Hotel offers another option for afternoon tea in NYC. And some of the packages — which are named for historical, royal personalities — are ultra-luxurious.

The “Princess of Monaco - Grace Kelly” package goes for $125. Meanwhile, bigger spenders might splurge on the “King Louis XV Caviar Tea,” which costs as much as $450, depending on the type of caviar you choose.

The cheapest package is designed for kids and inspired by “The Little Prince.” For $85, the tea service includes chicken and waffles, apple cider doughnuts and a mini-lobster roll.

(Photo courtesy of The Ballantyne)

The Marriott-owned Ballantyne touts its classic Southern hospitality, but its tea service embraces Western Europe. You sip tea from London-based Rare Tea Co. and nosh on French macarons.

Plus, the Ballantyne occasionally hosts themed tea service, like the “Bridgerton” afternoon tea party inspired by the Netflix hit series. There, English Regency attire is encouraged.

(Photo courtesy of Bellagio Hotel & Casino)

In a city known for alcoholic beverages, Las Vegas offers a fair amount of tea. That’s particularly relevant as more young people cut back on alcohol. Just 62% of Americans ages 18 to 34 say they drink, according to a Gallup Consumptions Habits survey of 1,015 adults conducted in July 2023. That’s down from 72% two decades ago.

For tea on the Las Vegas Strip, visit Petrossian Bar at Bellagio Hotel & Casino, which features a live pianist tickling the ivories on a grand piano.

(Photo courtesy of Ennismore)

For a whimsical experience, head to the Sanderson hotel in London. Inspired by “Alice in Wonderland,” the menu includes a sandwich filled with smoked carrots and seaweed creme mousse called “The Cheshire Cat.” There’s also a White Rabbit-inspired carrot cake on the menu.

Unlike many of the other hoity-toity tea parties on this list, afternoon tea here is a more casual affair, with no fancy dress required.

While delightful, splurging on a fancy hotel tea party is typically not cheap. Here are some ways to save:

Pay with a hotel credit card: Many hotel-branded credit cards grant bonus points on hotel spending (which often includes spending at their restaurants, too).

These co-branded credit cards (usually associated with big hotels or airlines) are popular. In fact, almost 74 million U.S. consumers accrue rewards by using co-branded credit cards, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2023 Consumer Credit Card Market Report.

Some co-branded credit cards also offer statement credits on qualifying travel purchases. Sometimes — though not always — purchases at hotel restaurants can trigger those credits.

on Chase's website

on American Express' website

Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after spending $1,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card.

Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.

• 3 points per $1 at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.

• 2 points per $1 on other travel purchases (such as airfare, taxis and trains).

• 1 point per $1 on all other eligible purchases.

• 6 points per $1 at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.

• 3 points per $1 at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.

• 2 points per $1 on all other eligible purchases.

Terms apply.

• 7 points per $1 on eligible purchases with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio.

• 5 points per $1 at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations.

• 3 points per $1 on all other eligible purchases.

• 4 points per $1 at Hyatt hotels and resorts.

• 2 points per $1 on dining, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, gym memberships, and local transit and commuting.

Flex your hotel elite status: Some hotel loyalty programs offer freebies to elite status members, which can help cover the cost of tea. For example, Hilton Honors members with Hilton Honors™ Gold Status or higher receive a daily food and beverage credit at certain hotels. The credit’s value varies by property but can run as high as $25 per guest (up to two guests) per day. Marriott Bonvoy members with Platinum Elite status or higher are eligible for a similar credit, but it’s only at certain hotels, and it’s just $10 per stay. Neither credit will cover a tea service completely, but it can make it cheaper.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

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The Aeta Tribe of Yangil, Zambales

“Ang pera, pwedeng nakawin. Ang buto,  kahit nakawin, itatanim pa rin sa lupa at papakinabangan ng aking mga anak at apo."

"Money can be stolen. The seed, even if stolen, will still be planted and will benefit and feed my children and grandchildren."

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“Pasalamat kami sa Diyos dahil merong gubat. ”

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“Refreshingly Mad”: 10 Facts About the First Pole-to-Pole Journey Around the World

I n August 1982, a ship rolled into Greenwich, London, bearing explorers who hadn’t been home in three years. They had been at the North Pole, the South Pole, and many places in between—covering some 52,000 miles overall and earning them the distinction of being the first people ever to circumnavigate Earth’s surface from pole to pole.

Find out how the Transglobe Expedition came to be, what it accomplished, and why then-Prince Charles had cause to call it “refreshingly mad.”

1. The Transglobe Expedition was Ginnie Fiennes’s idea.

In February 1972 , Lady Virginia “Ginnie” Fiennes proposed a seemingly harebrained scheme to her husband of 18 months, Sir Ranulph “Ran” Fiennes: a journey around the world—not latitudinally, as was the custom, but longitudinally, crossing through the Arctic and the Antarctic. 

The two, both still in their twenties , had no experience as polar explorers. But they were already pretty accomplished adventurers, with a joint résumé that included leading the first hovercraft trip up the Nile and the first overwater traverse of British Columbia. Once Ran warmed to his wife’s idea, they published a request for volunteers that read, in part, “No polar experience necessary. Hard work, great danger, and no pay. No guarantee of success or glory.”

Ginnie and Ran passed most of the ’70s assembling a team, securing funding, and becoming experts in their chosen roles. Ginnie would be base leader, which put her in charge of all communications to and from the explorers, the sponsors, and everyone else involved in the venture; she spent years mastering radio operations. Ran, as expedition leader, took prospective members of the land team on training missions in the UK’s mountainous regions and the Arctic . 

2. The journey spanned three years and five continents.

On September 2, 1979, the expedition set sail from Greenwich, London, in a 213-foot-long ship called the Benjamin Bowring (nicknamed the Benji Bee ). The land team stopped in Paris and then in Barcelona, where the Benji Bee picked them up and deposited them in Algeria . In late fall 1979 , after a trek across West Africa, they were taken by the Benji Bee for a brief stopover in Cape Town before charting a course to Antarctica.

They arrived on the coast in early 1980 and journeyed inland to overwinter near Ryvingen Peak . In late October , Ran and two companions—Charles Burton and Oliver Shepard—set off for the South Pole on snowmobiles while Ginnie stayed at the base to run communications. The trio reached the Pole on December 15 and headed east across the continent, reaching New Zealand’s Scott Base about a month later. The next several legs of the journey were mostly via the Benji Bee : Auckland to Sydney to Los Angeles to Vancouver to Alaska’s Yukon Delta by June 1981.

Ran and Burton started up the Yukon River in inflatable boats and soon switched to an 18-foot-long whaleboat (procured, as always, by Ginnie), which they guided through the Northwest Passage. They then swapped that for snowmobiles to take them partway to the North Pole; eventually, they abandoned the machines to hike on foot, dragging their sledges of supplies behind them. The pair reached the North Pole on April 10, 1982.

The penultimate segment of the expedition was mostly a waiting game for Ran and Burton, who spent more than three months drifting on an ice floe as the Benji Bee slowly battled its way to them from the Arctic island of Spitsbergen. The two parties reunited early on August 4 ; and on August 29 , the Benji Bee sailed into Greenwich—completing the Transglobe Expedition and making history in more ways than one.

3. It combined some of polar exploration’s biggest feats.

The Transglobe Expedition earned the Guinness World Record for the first surface circumnavigation via both geographical poles. In other words, its participants had completed a trip around the world, hitting the North and South Poles, by land and sea only; they didn’t fly at all (though planes were hugely necessary in delivering supplies to them along the way).

It was also a grand amalgamation of the greatest landmark moments in the history of polar exploration. They reached the South Pole, which Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had first done in 1911 (beating Robert Falcon Scott of England by mere weeks). They journeyed across Antarctica, which Ernest Shackleton had famously failed to do in 1914 and Vivian Fuchs had accomplished in 1958. They sailed the Northwest Passage, which Amundsen had first done in 1906 (and which many people, including everyone on the Franklin expedition , had died trying to do before him). And they hit the North Pole —such a tantalizing moving target that we’re still not really sure which early 20th-century explorer got there first.

And even when the Transglobe adventurers weren’t covering new territory, they were often still doing it in groundbreaking ways—or just faster. They were the first people to traverse the Northwest Passage from west to east in an open boat, for example; and they crossed Antarctica in 67 days , beating Fuchs’s record by weeks.

4. Then-Prince Charles was the expedition’s royal patron.

The explorers had a powerful ally in then-Prince Charles , who served as the expedition’s royal patron. “It is an extraordinary adventure, and, in my opinion, gloriously and refreshingly mad,” Charles said before it began. In addition to seeing them off at Greenwich, Charles also met them in Sydney and later hopped aboard the Benji Bee on the River Thames to sail into Greenwich with the explorers at the very end of the expedition.

They also had at least 1000 sponsors who donated everything the participants required, from clothing to the Benji Bee itself. Because the Fienneses had no budget for their adventure, they had a strict rule against accepting anything that wasn’t free. That included labor: Nobody involved in the expedition got paid for their work. Still, the explorers did rack up a debt of £106,000—about $135,000, which amounts to roughly $439,000 today when adjusted for inflation—during the journey. They partially repaid it with the advance on Ran’s memoir, To the Ends of the Earth , as well as by “selling wall charts, T-shirts, pamphlets and left-over equipment,” he wrote .

5. The Transglobe explorers brought cricket to the South Pole … 

One of the expedition’s lesser firsts involved cricket. When Ran, Burton, and Shepard arrived at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in December 1981, Ran wrote that they were greeted by “friendly and hospitable” American scientists who shared meals with the newcomers “in exchange for washing up dishes and cleaning the canteen.” The two groups also faced off in the first cricket match ever played at the South Pole. The Brits won.

It wasn’t the last time the South Pole was the site of a cricket match. On January 17, 2012, another group of British visitors played cricket against an international team of researchers at the same base to mark the 100th anniversary of Scott’s arrival at the South Pole. The Brits won that match, too.

6. … And came face to face with polar bears near the North Pole.

During the months they spent camped out on an Arctic ice floe, Ran and Burton weathered a number of close calls with polar bears , which they did their best to frighten off by banging pots together and sometimes firing their guns. In one haunting face-off with a bear who refused to be cowed by the noise, Ran actually did shoot the animal in its foreleg. It stopped in its tracks and shuffled off into the water, with “no sign of a limp” despite all the blood, Ran wrote in To the Ends of the Earth .

The frequency of the polar bears’ visits called for constant vigilance that sometimes bordered on paranoia. Once, Ran recalled , “I heard a rhythmic scuffling that I was certain must be a bear. It turned out to be the sound of my heartbeat against the canvas earflaps of my nightcap!”

7. A fire at their Arctic basecamp threatened the mission.

Polar bears were far from the only threat to the success of the expedition. As Ran and Burton were trudging toward the North Pole, a massive fire—whose cause remains a mystery—broke out in the garage back at Alert, their basecamp in Nunavut, Canada. Ginnie reached it first and watched with a few other Transglobe volunteers as eight gasoline drums inside the garage exploded . Gone were all the supplies, including snowmobiles, that a plane was meant to ferry to Ran and Burton during their trek north.

Ginnie transmitted the news to Ran and Burton and encouraged them to press on, which they did, while she scrambled to procure replacement supplies for them, which she did. The disaster wasn’t without a silver lining, though: Now that the expedition seemed like it could fail, the whole world suddenly started paying attention to it. As Ran wrote , “after the night of the fire nearly every action that we took, and one or two that we didn’t, became news from London to Sydney, from Cape Town to Vancouver.”

8. The expedition earned Ginnie the first Polar Medal ever given to a woman. 

In 1987, Queen Elizabeth II awarded the UK’s prestigious Polar Medal to Ran, Ginnie, and Burton—making Ginnie the first woman to ever receive it. Two years earlier, she’d been the first woman ever granted membership to the Antarctic Club, an exclusive UK-based dining club [ PDF ].

9. The expedition’s canine sidekick set a world record.

Ginnie’s Jack Russell terrier , Bothie, who kept her company through the long, cold months running communications in the Arctic and Antarctic, earned an honor of his own: an entry in 1984’s The Guinness Book of Pet Records as “the only dog to have visited both the North and South Poles.” (He reached both spots by plane.) The Fienneses also co-authored a book all about his adventures entitled Bothie the Polar Dog .

At the North Pole, Bothie wasted no time in peeing at the base of the flagpole that bore the Union Jack, “which we were not entirely happy about,” Ran wrote in the book. “Since there were no other vertical objects in the vicinity he was forgiven.”

10. It gets a shout-out in Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher .

In episode 6 of Mike Flanagan’s horror miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher , viewers learn a little about the backstory of Arthur Gordon Pym , the Usher family’s steely lawyer (played by Mark Hamill). According to patriarch Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), Pym was a member of the Transglobe Expedition who reached the North Pole, where he allegedly discovered that the Earth was hollow—and harboring a hidden “realm of beings who lived beneath us out of time and out of space.” Ran Fiennes has never mentioned that.

This article was originally published on mentalfloss.com as “Refreshingly Mad”: 10 Facts About the First Pole-to-Pole Journey Around the World .

U.S. tourist faces 12 years in prison after taking ammunition to Turks and Caicos

An Oklahoma man faces up to 12 years in prison on a Caribbean island after customs officials found ammunition in his luggage.

Ryan Watson traveled to Turks and Caicos with his wife, Valerie, to celebrate his 40th birthday on April 7. They went with two friends who had also turned 40.

The vacation came to an abrupt end when airport staff members found a zip-close bag containing bullets in the couple's carry-on luggage. Watson said it was hunting ammunition he had accidentally brought with him — but under a strict law in Turks and Caicos, a court may still impose a mandatory 12-year sentence.

"They were hunting ammunition rounds that I use for whitetail deer," Watson told NBC Boston in an interview conducted last week that aired after their first court appearance Tuesday.

"I recognized them, and I thought, 'Oh, man, what a bonehead mistake that I had no idea that those were in there,'" he said.

The couple were arrested and charged with possession of ammunition. Authorities seized their passports and explained the penalties they faced.

Valerie Watson said in the interview: "When I heard that, I immediately was terrified, because I was like we can't both be in prison for 12 years. We have kids at home, and this is such an innocent mistake."

The charges against her were dropped, and she returned home to Oklahoma City on Tuesday after the court hearing to be reunited with her two young children.

"Our goal is to get Ryan home, because we can’t be a family without Dad," she said.

The couple also spoke about the financial burden of a much longer-than-planned trip. "This is something that we may never recover from," Ryan Watson said.

The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas issued a warning to travelers in September about a law that strongly prohibits possession of firearms or ammunition in Turks and Caicos, an overseas British territory southeast of the Bahamas that is a popular vacation spot.

It said: "We wish to remind all travelers that declaring a weapon in your luggage with an airline carrier does not grant permission to bring the weapon into TCI [Turks and Caicos Islands] and will result in your arrest."

The embassy added: "If you bring a firearm or ammunition into TCI, we will not be able to secure your release from custody."

The embassy and the government in Turks and Caicos did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The same thing happened to another American, Bryan Hagerich, of Pennsylvania, who was arrested after ammunition was found in his luggage before he tried to board a flight out of Turks and Caicos in February. He said he accidentally left it in his bag.

Hagerich was on a family vacation with his wife and two young children but has now been in the country for 70 days. He spent eight days in prison before he posted bail.

"It’s incredibly scary. You know, you just don’t know what the next day may bring — you know, what path this may take," Hagerich told NBC Boston.

"You know, it’s certainly a lot different than packing your bags and going away with your family for a few days. It’s been the worst 70 days of my life," he said.

Hagerich, once a professional baseball player, was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the MLB 2007 June amateur draft from the University of Delaware.

His case goes to trial May 3.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.