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Travel Tips

Travel Tips from Holly — practical notes from planning real trips.

Tourists and bicycles in the Piazza del Duomo beneath Brunelleschi's terracotta dome in Florence, Italy

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Travel Tips1 min read

The Italy Reservation Calendar: What Opens When, and What Sells Out First

The Vatican, the Colosseum, the Uffizi and the Last Supper all open on set days and sell out fast. Here is the calendar I keep for every Italy trip.

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The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge stretching across a chasm between steep coastal cliffs in Northern Ireland
Travel Tips2 min read

Driving in Ireland as an American: What Nobody Tells You Before You Land

The left side is the easy part. The rental-car insurance, the road widths and the first day are where Ireland trips get expensive or stressful. Here is how I plan around them.

An open brass compass and a green leather travel journal on stone, beside folded linen and greenery
Travel Tips5 min read

How We Design a Trip You Simply Disappear Into

The Emerald Atlas planning process, from the first quiet conversation to the final itinerary — and why the details are handled long before you touch a boarding pass.

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