Category Archives: Trip Reports

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A Cheap Day in Bogota, Colombia (Monserrat, Funicular, Roasted Corn & Uber Rides)

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Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.  Before I go on, I wanted to give a quick shoutout to all the people who attended my SF Travel Hackers weekend meetup in SF on Saturday – it was great to talk to all of you.  This post is the second trip report from my recent South American trip (part 1: Aloft Bogota Colombia Airport Hotel Review (SPG Category 1 + Free Airport Shuttle)).  In this post, I will show you how cheap things are in Bogota, Colombia.  The current exchange rate as of February 13 is 1 US Dollar = 2,878 Colombian Pesos (You can round up to 3,000 to make the math simpler in your head).

1 USD to Colombian Peso

During our time in Bogota, we took 2 Uber rides.  The first ride was from the Aloft Bogota Hotel to Montserrat (one of the highest peaks in the city with a great view of the city) and the second from somewhere in town back to our hotel.  The first Uber ride was 12,300 Colombian Pesos (~$4.27 for a 35 minute Uber ride) and second Uber ride was 11,000 Colombian Pesos (~$3.82 for a 19 minute ride).

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My Favorite Hyatt Lounge in the World is…

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Do you have a favorite hotel lounge? I don’t mean one that’s good, but rather one that takes good and turns it into GREAT. Seems to me, many lounges are fine, or even good, but in each hotel chain there are usually a few standouts.  I previously mentioned my 13 criteria for the perfect hotel lounge.

I’ve already talked about my favorite Sheraton lounge, so what’s my favorite Hyatt lounge?  There are many Hyatt lounges that I like that are quite good. But the one at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, B.C. is great! I’ve stayed there many times and it never disappoints. And if I’m paying cash for my hotel stay, I always use Pruvo to monitor for price drops!

Besides the wonderful downtown location of this hotel, the lounge totally gets it. It has 11 of the 13 criteria! The lounge is on a high floor and even has an outdoor area with amazing views of the mountains. I’ve only seen a few lounges with outdoor seating and in a beautiful setting like Vancouver, it’s perfect.

The lounge staff is wonderful. Totally helpful without being at all intrusive. Their breakfast spread is excellent, and dinner time is filled with real food and salad. I’ve noticed they change up their menu to match the seasons and weather. This makes so much sense. And evening hours are late enough, so there’s no rush.  (Photos courtesy of the excellent lounge staff)

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Reminder: SF Travel Hacker Meetup @ Super Duper Burgers (Saturday February 11 from 12-2pm)

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Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  I just wanted to remind those of you in the Bay Area about my meetup scheduled for this afternoon at Super Duper Burgers.  As a reminder, this location is on Market Street between Montgomery and Powell Street BART stations.

  • Where: Super Duper Burgers, 721 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103 (Google Maps)
  • When: Saturday, February 11 @ 12-2pm

Super Duper Burgers Yelp

No need to RSVP, just show up and be ready to eat and talk travel.  Have a great weekend everyone!

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Immigration & Travel Survival Guide for US Citizens, Green Card Holders, Visa Holders & Foreign Travelers

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Buenas dias everyone,

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for many in the United States, particularly foreign visitors and green card holders. As a US citizen living abroad with a Mexican partner, the unpredictability of recent immigration policy changes (and the actions of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials) plus the repeated demonization of immigrants and Mexicans is scary. Here are some thoughts I have on things to be aware of and ways to keep yourself safe.

All Travelers Entering the United States from Abroad

ACLU Know Your Rights Guide. Screenshot from aclu.org

ACLU Know Your Rights Guide. Screenshot from aclu.org

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a Know Your Rights guide about encountering law enforcement at airports and other US ports of entry. The short version is this: if you’re a US citizen, you have the right to not answer questions or to speak to an attorney, but doing so will likely mean you have a bad day.  Green card and visa holders may be denied entry for refusing to answer questions or comply with the requests of agents, and often do not have the right to speak to an attorney unless arrested. I am not a lawyer, but my recommendation in most cases is to answer questions truthfully and succinctly, providing only the information requested without unnecessary detail. Continue reading →

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Grant is Coming to a Travel Conference Near You (Maybe)

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Good afternoon everyone, with the announcement of FTU (Frequent Traveler University) Advanced Minneapolis a few days ago, I thought it would be fun to share my next 3 travel conferences:

Tickets are sold out for FTU Advanced Seattle, but if you are persistent, you can usually find last minute tickets for sale the days before the conference starts.  Tickets for FTU Advanced Minneapolis just went on sale, so there should be plenty of tickets available.  Lastly, tickets to the Chicago Seminars are not available yet, but the date has been set.  I will be at all 3 events *proudly* wearing my Travel with Grant shirt.

I have never been to a Family Travel for Real Life (FT4RL) conference, but I am eagerly waiting for them to come out to the West Coast.  I just started gift card reselling, so I am considering attending a ResellingDO event sometime in the future.  Are there any other travel conferences you recommend attending?

Grant and Ray Chicago Seminars 2014

Ray (the original credit card churner) and I at Chicago Seminars, 2014

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