New landscapes, a radically different climate, unknown dishes... Is it really surprising that I associate all these elements with the urge to travel?

I’m kicking off my first travel journal since VF reopened!

This will mostly be to share my impressions and a few photos, with a bit of a delay, but I’m starting this journal while I’m still here.

A big thank you to those who helped me plan this trip!

I was able to organize this trip to one of the most expensive countries in the world thanks to the home-exchange principle. Not necessarily a direct swap, but through a points system, which is more flexible for choosing where you want to go without it having to be a reciprocal exchange.

Who among us hasn’t dreamed of having a ticket to Tahiti, Bora Bora, or the Marquesas in their pocket—preferably a one-way trip to "paradise"?

For years, travel forums embodied the spirit of mutual aid on the web. Travelers voluntarily shared their experiences, great tips, and hidden spots. This collective generosity seemed endless.

There’s a region in the United States that stands apart—deeply American yet surprisingly familiar.

Some trips are born twice.

Ours was supposed to happen in 2020. Everything was ready: the itinerary, the flight tickets, the hotel reservations and Machu Picchu, the rental car, the dreams of high altitudes and wide-open spaces. And then the world stopped.

I remember that before leaving, I was a bit afraid I wouldn’t feel that same sense of wonder I had 2 years earlier in Botswana (see my travel journal). That fear was unfounded... the magic worked its charm once again!

Our trip to Norway was two years ago already, but I thought it might still be interesting to share, and it’ll let me dive back into it and relive it a little by proxy.

This autumn 2025, I’m off on my 11th trip to Japan. I’ve neglected the south for too long, so like last year, it’s my main destination. After the 2017 and 2024 travel journals, I’m heading to the Japan most tourists don’t see—all by public transport, of course.

From March 27 to 29, 2026, the Occ'ygène festival returns to the MEETT in Toulouse. My Atlas / Voyage Forum and Les Rencontres Voyageurs are welcoming Cimalp as a partner for this year's event.

"Traveler meet-ups" are a must-attend event for all adventure enthusiasts, right in the heart of France’s most beautiful gatherings.

After a pretty disastrous weather-wise stay in Gran Canaria, we’re hoping this time the sun will show up in Puglia. It’s not a sure thing since the weather’s been pretty rough across Europe in early May.

Hi everyone,

We traveled to Norway in the summer of 2025, from July 17th to 29th, to visit Senja Island and the Lofoten archipelago with a rental car. The main theme of these twelve days was clearly hiking, along with a few visits and experiences, and nights spent in a tent or in the car (which made it possible).

This journal recounts a trip to Rajasthan that’s already over a year old and that I’m only now getting around to writing up. The summer of 2024 marked my return to India—my tenth trip—after six long years away since my last solo wanderings in Tamil Nadu back in 2018 (the journal for which is published on this site).

Not usually a fan of organized trips, during my stop in Labuan Bajo on Flores in May 2024, I started looking for a fisherman who could show me the islands around Komodo. At the port, I met Ari, a former spearfisher who knows the islands well—especially the best spots for fish and coral.

Quebecers: absolutely wonderful people when it comes to welcoming tourists—especially French ones—and how they treat us. You can ask them for advice at the supermarket, for info here and there, and even distant cousins are super helpful!

We’ve noticed we’re having issues with sending out the newsletters. Could those of you who signed up to receive it let us know if you didn’t get the December 2025 one?

After sharing some safari photos from southern Tanzania, I’d love to show you the ones from our latest safari in Kenya in October 2025.

The cocktail recipe: endless beaches, a dazzling palette of colors, some breathtaking hikes, and excellent cuisine...

For the tasting, follow along in the pages of this travel journal! 😉

Nous avons dû faire des choix, car impossible de tout voir en 2 semaines. Mais franchement, nous sommes très très contents du parcours. Nous avons pu voir encore plus de choses que nous le pensions!

Hey everyone! We see some amazing plans—and also posts that go unanswered despite being for pretty popular destinations. We want to liven things up to help you travel more often with travel buddies and in total safety. Let us know what you're missing!

Last year, I accidentally discovered a "nature reserve" in the Waterberg by sheer chance. Just one night, but I was so thrilled that I went back this year for 3 nights. It was perfect for breaking up the trip between Marakele and Mapungubwe.

So I’m gonna try to pick up posting travel journals again, starting with destinations where there aren’t many recent stories. I’ll kick things off with our 2-week trip exploring the western part of Cuba. Our itinerary, covered in a 1954 classic American car with our driver Yoan, who spoke excellent French.

Hello everyone!

Blue (lots of it), white, villages with steep alleyways, hundreds of churches, and... thousands of stairs? Welcome to the Cyclades 🙂!

Durant ce voyage, nous avons vu des paysages magnifiques et grandioses, beaucoup d’animaux et d’oiseaux avec des impressions de « seuls au monde » en nous disant « que la terre est belle ».

Nous avons été enchantés de la diversité des paysages. Alors oui, pour être aride, c’est une île aride (mais j’adore). Pas ou très peu de personnes sur les circuits de rando. Certains circuits plus difficiles que d’autres. Mais dans l’ensemble, peu de dénivelé donc c’est plus facile que les îles de la Gomera, la Palma etc...

We’re going to have our hot-air balloon baptism over the Teotihuacan site and the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon! We had to give up on this experience about a dozen years ago in Myanmar, over the temples of Bagan, for budget reasons. In 2019, we were supposed to do it over the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, but the unpredictable weather (too much wind) didn’t allow the flight to go ahead. So this year, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

A server walks down the central aisle offering crepes for sale, which I suspect are filled with ground beef. I'm in Central Asia, in Uzbekistan, somewhere between Bukhara and Samarkand.

I chose the title "notes"—random notes, drafts, I'm not quite sure what I'll write, but it's certain this won't be a linear travel journal.

We’ve read it all about Bali: mass tourism, non-stop parties, ferry disasters, the kingdom of “Instagrammers,” pollution, “Bali belly”... But luckily, this island isn’t just about Kuta’s beaches and the Lempuyang Temple.

We were torn between the north and the south of the kingdom—the fear of smoke from slash-and-burn farming and a real desire to just chill on the sand tipped the scales toward the south...

What if we rented a car?