• Airbnb's CFO said fewer foreigners are booking nights in the US than last year or earlier this year.
• Airbnb CFO Ellie Mertz also said Canadians, in particular, are pulling back on travel to the States.
• Canadians are visiting Mexico, France, Brazil, and Japan instead, she said on an earnings call.

The number of foreigners booking Airbnbs in the US has decreased from last year and earlier this year, with Canadians "traveling at a much lower rate," according to Airbnb's CFO.

CFO Ellie Mertz said during Airbnb's first-quarter earnings call Thursday that US reservations from foreign travelers were down, citing "economic uncertainty" as a factor.

"We absolutely have seen a decline in popularity of foreign travelers coming to the US," she said on the call.

"Guests who would have in a prior year come to the US are simply choosing a different location," she added.

Nights booked by Canadian guests to Mexico increased 27% between March 2024 and March 2025, according to Airbnb's letter to shareholders about first-quarter earnings.

In earnings calls this week, executives at Hilton and Booking Holdings, which owns Booking.com, Priceline.com, and Kayak, said that Canadian travel to the US had flagged, spotlighting Mexico as a place with upticks in Canadian visitors.

On the Airbnb earnings call, Merrtz said that Canadians are traveling more domestically. She also said they visit Mexico, Brazil, France, and Japan.

"In this moment, it's not necessarily that people don't want to travel, they are just using different destinations," Mertz said.

Canadians have expressed dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump's tariffs and remarks about annexing it as another state. Some have boycotted travel to the US.

Mertz also said that even if Canadians and other international travelers are choosing destinations outside the US, foreign travelers to the States only make up about 3% of Airbnb's business.

She said most nights booked on Airbnb in the US are by domestic travelers, and only a "single-digit percentage" of global nights booked come from international travelers to the US.

Shares of Airbnb closed higher by about 1% on Friday after the company reported earnings that were roughly in line with expectations.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told investors and analysts on the earnings call that he believes the booking platform has endured during past periods of economic stress because it offers travelers options at affordable price points.

"We started Airbnb during the Great Recession of 2008. People turned to us for a more affordable way to travel, and they started hosting Airbnb to earn extra income. Then, in 2020, when the pandemic hit, we provided a way for people to travel close to home," he said. "Today, things feel uncertain once again. But just as we've shown in the past, as the world changes, Airbnb will continue to adapt."

• I'm glad we brought our American kids to Athens, Greece, for their first international trip.
• The city had outdoor activities for us to explore at our own pace, plus many were educational.
• Plus, Athens was easy to navigate because English was widely spoken, and our kids felt welcome.

When our family had the opportunity to travel out of the US in 2023, we agonized over which European destination might be the best place to take our young children, who were only 2 and 5 years old at the time.

In anticipation of what would be our first international travel experience with kids, we wanted to find a city where our energetic boys would feel welcomed and there'd be plenty of activities we could enjoy together as a family. We also wanted a destination we could feel safe navigating on our own without mastery of a foreign language.

After countless hours of research and deliberation, Athens, Greece, topped our list. So, we went.

Based on our trip, it definitely seems like the best kid-friendly European travel destination we could've chosen to have a fun, welcoming, and educational adventure that our family will never forget. Here's why.

Many locals we encountered seemed to enjoy children and be patient with them

While planning our trip, we had anecdotally heard horror stories of families getting excused from cafés and restaurants in other European cities where quiet adult spaces are protected and the presence of noisy children is frowned upon.

On our trip, we didn't want to feel stressed about our kids being loud or end up being excluded from enjoying a café or nice restaurant.

Fortunately, we found the stories we read online about Athens being kid-friendly proved to be true. Most people we encountered in the city seemed genuinely happy to see our children, and it made us feel welcome everywhere we went.

Many locals treated our boys wonderfully — talking directly to them, fawning over them, bringing them booster chairs or special treats, and trying to make them laugh.

We found plenty of kid-friendly food options

It wasn't hard to find food for our kids (and us adults) to enjoy in the city.

Warm pita bread, hearty souvlaki, and sticky-sweet loukoumades (fried dough with honey) made up our picky eaters' diets in Athens.

My little one also enjoyed eating fresh chunks of tomato and cucumber from the (many) delicious Greek salads I enjoyed on our trip.

We even spotted a McDonald's in Syntagma Square that we planned to stop at if we'd gotten desperate for familiar food from home.

Exploring the ancient ruins was active and engaging for our kids

Our children burned plenty of energy walking around Athens and exploring the ancient ruins and sites, including the Temple of Zeus, the Hill of the Muses, the Roman Agora, and, of course, the Acropolis.

The ruins felt pretty laid-back, and we had plenty of freedom to explore at our own pace, which isn't often the case on a guided museum tour or at some ticketed indoor attractions.

As a bonus, our kids also learned a lot about Greek mythology and ancient Greek history along the way.

It was nice that we got to spend so much time doing activities outside, plus bringing our own snacks and water with us was easy.

Greek coffee was incredible for us tired parents

We couldn't get enough of Nescafé frappé — a light, foamy, sweet, and energizing signature Greek coffee drink.

It felt like the perfect pick-me-up on the go for us tired parents dealing with jet lag. I never encountered a frappe I didn't like, but the one from Cafe Plaka was the best, and the cute spot also served ice cream for the kids.

English is commonly spoken in Athens

You won't need to learn Greek to visit Athens — although learning a few phrases can be very helpful.

Most people we encountered spoke English as well as Greek, and many of the road signs in Athens had directions in both Greek and English, making the city a breeze for American tourists like us to navigate.

At the same time, we felt immersed in a foreign culture, with ample exposure to the local language as we walked the streets of Athens.

Plus, we were easily able to hop on a ferry to one of the beautiful Greek islands nearby

While visiting Athens, we got to take a two-hour ferry ride across the Aegean Sea to the breathtakingly beautiful island of Hydra.

Our boys were so excited about the boat ride, which had spectacular views. Once we got to Hydra, they loved walking around the car-free island, petting stray cats, and waving hello to the donkeys.

It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

• Lindsey Granger and Kolyn Boyd travel internationally with their toddler, Kynsley.
• They shared their top tips for international travel with young kids.
• They suggest building airline loyalty, packing medicines, and avoiding bus tours.

International travel can be as overwhelming as it is awe-inspiring, especially when traveling with a toddler or baby.

Enter Lindsey Granger and Kolyn Boyd, the Denver-based journalist and director/producer power couple who have traveled 167,000 miles with their 3-year-old Kynsley. They share their experiences on the "World of Travel" docuseries on Samsung TV Plus.

Kynsley has been on 10 international trips to seven countries, including the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, St. Lucia, France, the UK, Turkey, and Greece.

Granger and Boyd shared their top tips for traveling internationally with a baby or toddler with Business Insider.

Airline loyalty can go a long way when traveling internationally.

International travel often comes with connecting flights, which means there are multiple opportunities for delays and cancellations. So, airline loyalty can make a huge difference in how the carrier makes amends when things go awry.

Granger and Boyd learned this on a trip to Greece when Kynsley was 2. They booked with Delta, an airline where they'd built up a rewards status. What should have been a one-day, two-flight trip became a two-day, three-flight trip.

Their first flight was delayed, forcing them to take an additional connecting flight domestically to arrive the same day. Then, their international flight to Greece was canceled, so they were stuck overnight in New York City.

Granger recapped their entire journey with a manager. "Please show some more courtesy or sympathy for the travel plan," she recalls saying.

She said Delta then upgraded their entire group to first class for their round-trip flight to Greece.

"We'd spent so much money and accumulated so many points with Delta that we were able to use that as collateral in that situation," Boyd said. "They helped us all out because of the status that we had at the time."

If your child travels with another adult at any point during the trip, ensure you have the correct documentation.

Granger said it's important to ensure you understand all the passport and visa documentation your child needs to enter or exit the country you're traveling to, especially if your kid will be flying with another adult during your trip.

According to the US Government, many countries require a consent letter when traveling without both parents.

"Kynsley traveled with us to South Africa, and on the way back, she came home with my mom and dad," Granger said. "There were so many documents that she needed, rightfully so, to leave the country with her grandparents. I've read a lot of stories about people getting held up by not having those documents."

When traveling with a baby, pack a noise machine.

International destinations may lack certain comforts of home that babies and toddlers are used to, so Granger and Boyd suggest finding ways to bring those comforts along.

For example, when Kynsley was a baby, Boyd said she slept with a noise machine that played ocean and wind sounds.

"We traveled with the noisemaker so we could create the environment at home anywhere we went," Boyd said. "And we turned it up to 10."

Granger said they'd blast the sound machine at the front of her door on international trips.

"Even though at home it was lower, I knew all the noise happening outside, whether it was us or friends or family we were traveling with, would not distract her if she heard the sound that comforts her," Granger said.

If you're headed to Europe, pack a stroller that can manage cobblestone streets.

Granger and Boyd brought a cheap, folding stroller on their trip to Greece because they thought it would be easier to travel with than a heavy-duty stroller. But once they started to roll it on the cobblestone roads of Athens, they regretted it.

"It's a very old, beautiful place, but our cheap stroller could not stand up to the cobblestone," Boyd said.

Their stroller broke, and they had to buy a new one in Greece. So, the couple advises looking at the terrain of your destination and finding a stroller that can handle it.

"Don't sacrifice on the stroller," Granger said. "Having something that's super sturdy but also very small might be worth the investment."

Granger and Boyd recommend the Guava Roam Stroller because it's compact, foldable, and sturdy on all terrains.

Pack over-the-counter medications rather than purchasing them as needed at your destination.

When traveling to another country with Kynsley, Granger said she packs a first-aid kit with "every option available over the counter," from cough and cold to allergy medications.

"She rarely needs them, but there's always something that comes up when we're in another country and I'm not positive about their equivalent for something like Benadryl, for example," Granger said. "So instead of scrambling, I just have my whole tool kit on me."

Granger noted that her medicine bag is often pulled to the side at TSA checkpoints, so it takes longer to get through security.

"But that hassle is way less than the stress that you might have being international, where you don't have the right tools for your baby's sickness at 4 a.m.," she added.

Before your trip, look up local clinics and pharmacies.

If you forget or run out of medicine, or your child has an unexpected health concern, you'll want to be prepared. So Granger advises researching clinics and pharmacies in the area just in case.

She added that many hotels have on-call services. For example, Kynsley and Boyd got sunburn in Abu Dhabi, and they had a pharmacist deliver aloe vera at midnight.

Skip the bus tour.

You may be tempted to take a bus tour to get a lay of the land in a foreign country. Granger and Boyd have done so with Kynsley, but they regretted it. On these tours, Granger said Kynsley just wants to move around, not sit still.

"I think kids are just too antsy to spend hours on a bus just hearing somebody speaking over the loudspeaker, explaining what's out the window," she said. "I think there have to be more options for engagement."

Be wary of planning walking tours on busy streets.

When the family went to Greece, Granger wanted to kick off the trip with a food tour. Boyd and Kynsley joined for 10 minutes before going back to the hotel.

Why? A high traffic volume on cobblestone side streets, from cars to bikes and mopeds, made them feel unsafe with their 2-year-old in a stroller.

"They were taking us to hole-in-the-walls to try local food, and it was just uncomfortable with mopeds flying by," Granger said. "When you think about the traffic situation, it becomes harder when a baby is too little and can't walk, and with a small kid."

With a toddler, try taking public transportation in places with clean, efficient systems, like Europe.

When Kynsley was a baby, Granger and Boyd avoided public transportation because lugging baggage around with a baby is challenging, as is dealing with diaper changes when trying to catch a train. Now that Kynsley is 3.5 years old, they have started doing so in places like Europe, where they've found clean, efficient trains.

They said Kynsley sees the train as another activity and enjoys looking out the windows and walking up and down the cars.

"My No. 1 advice for traveling with a kid on a train is to avoid rush hour," Granger said. "So the middle of the day, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., is a great time to take the train with the kid. But other than that, just avoid it."

Download Google Translate and learn basic words if you're traveling to a country where you don't speak the language.

Communication can be challenging in foreign countries where you don't speak the language. And when you're traveling with a kid, there may be urgent situations where you need to get information right away, like where the bathroom is located. Granger recommends downloading Google Translate.

"Most times, Google Translate is the way that we learn to speak another language — very proper, not the way that people actually speak, but I think they usually get the gist and will point me in the right direction," she said.

Granger said that being patient and considerate is important when asking for help.

"You have to find somebody who looks open to having that conversation because people are just enjoying their regular days of their lives, not on vacation like you," she said.

Before trips, Granger also learns basic words like "toilet" and "pharmacy" to facilitate communication.

Jen Donahue can't help but wonder whether a fellow skier took a bit of subtle revenge on her during a recent trip to Canada. Donahue and her husband, who are from California, took a trip up to Whistler, British Columbia, in March to enjoy the slopes. On their very first gondola ride up the mountain, they were seated next to a Canadian couple. While almost everyone else they met on the trip was very nice, the woman in the couple, Donahue said, was "straight mean." She was angry about the US's recent antagonism toward Canada, insisting Donahue and her husband make sure they buy Canadian products while on their visit and expressing dismay at the state of political affairs between the two countries.

"I think they're taking it really personally. She felt, personally, 'How could you do this to us? We've been so kind to you,'" Donahue said.

The woman's husband eventually got her to lay off, but before they parted ways, she gave the pair of American travelers some advice on which ski run to try. "She sent us down the most awful way, and we were like, 'Do you think she did that on purpose?'" Donahue said.

The spring and summer travel season is upon us. It's a time when people are excited to take a much-needed break and head out on vacation, in many cases, to a foreign destination. This year, American travelers are confronting a novel political scenario as President Donald Trump has taken a hostile stance toward countries that have historically been considered strong allies, such as Canada and those within the European Union. He's put in place widespread tariffs. His administration has issued loud public complaints about trade and defense relations with Europe. The president keeps joking about taking Greenland from Denmark and making Canada the 51st US state in a way that seems increasingly not jokey.

For many Americans living and traveling abroad, their home nation turning into a global frenemy is making things uncomfortable. Some are rethinking their travel plans, and those who remain undeterred are bracing for some thorny conversations. In recent days, I talked to tourists and expats about how tensions were playing out in their journeys, and the consensus was that while the situation isn't dire, it's making things awkward. People travel to get away from reality, but this year, they're having a harder time achieving that. As the saying goes, wherever you go, there you are — or, rather, there are your country's politics.

Donahue goes to Whistler once a year or so, and before this past trip, she had never had a political conversation in Canada. This time around, politics came up often — people would ask about it, they'd all hesitantly laugh, and she and her husband would explain they think it "sucks," too. "Everybody else almost felt sorry for us," she said. "It's embarrassing."

Inbound travel to the US from many foreign nations is expected to take a hit this year. Flight bookings from Canada to the States have plunged this year, and Canadian airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet have reduced flights to US destinations. Bookings from Europe to the US have fallen, too. Foreign travelers are turned off by America's inward turn and adversarial stance. They've also seen stories about tougher border security and travelers being detained upon entry into the US. Some countries, such as the UK and Germany, have put in place warnings for their citizens regarding travel to the US.

American tourists may also be scaling back some of their international travel plans. An analysis from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, of third-party air travel bookings from major US hubs to major European cities found that 12.6% fewer reservations had been made so far this year for June, July, and August compared with the same period last year. The Airlines Reporting Corp., which provides air transaction data, found that both international and domestic flight sales fell in February for US-based travel agencies compared to a year ago. International sales fell less than domestic sales, but both declines are a bad sign, given booking habits.

"Because of the deeper advance discounts and higher dollar price rise closer to day of departure, summer international tends to book sooner than domestic," Bob Mann, an aviation analyst, said in an email. He added that at a JPMorgan analyst-investor conference in March, multiple executives brought up poor recent sales, including international and transatlantic. "While one month is not a trend, it could signal an inflection point," he said.

To be sure, if Americans do scale back on air travel this summer, it may not be because they're worried about politics. Virgin Atlantic has said it's seeing a slowdown in travel from the US to the UK, citing economic uncertainty. Consumers are concerned about the economy and their own income prospects, and that may lead more of them to stay home or wait on booking. Still, for some travelers, the potential for negative international attitudes may be part of the calculation.

Even if American travelers aren't staying home, they're readying themselves for some questions and encounters they haven't dealt with in the past. On the American travel guru Rick Steves' blog, there's lengthy advice (and debate) about whether Americans are still welcome abroad. Forums on Reddit have intense discussions among expats and tourists about what to anticipate, how to handle tense situations, and a sense that this year is different from years past.

Leila Bulling Towne, an executive coach in California, told me she's rethinking her approach to her coming trips — she's going to Mexico in the spring, and then in June, she'll be in Germany and Belgium. She has both American and Irish passports, and she plans to travel with both, just in case. Bulling Towne has traveled a lot throughout her life, and she never imagined she'd be so worried about her reception as an American.

"I felt like in the past, the worst that maybe people assumed about Americans was that we were loud and maybe not polite in a church or didn't respect someone or assumed everybody spoke English," she said. "Now, I feel as if it's a little I'm not bringing the usual pride that I have as an American."

Bulling Towne has a lot of friends and family in Germany, and she said they'd been "quite honest that there's a pretty good anti-American sentiment" there. "As much as I can try and speak the local German dialect, I'm still going to be loud and clear coming through as an American," she added.

Carol Harms, a retired teacher from Seattle who's doing a lot of foreign travel in her golden years, told me in an email she tries to avoid the topic of politics as much as possible in her journeys "because, on a personal level, I am ashamed" of the Trump administration's actions. Politics talk doesn't make for great vacation talk, but it's sometimes unavoidable. She was just landing in London when the November election results came in, and people were "puzzled" — good-natured but curious.

In January, on a cruise in South Africa with a lot of Brits and Australians, almost everyone asked her about the election. "Most continued to be polite but were far less cheerful than before," she said. "One outspoken Trump supporter was avoided by most people." Now she's in Japan, surrounded by many Brits and Australians once again, and their attitudes have changed drastically. "Many of them are simply angry," she said, though it's not directed at her personally. "They feel completely let down."

Ambrose Conroy, a management consultant from California, has found that in many of his recent business travels, his clients in Ireland and Germany are clamoring for clarity.

"A lot of these people are people that I've known for a very long time. I think they're confused and frustrated by US policy," he said. "We're dividing the world with this right now, and unless we get simplicity and clarity, it's going to continue to be divisive."

Some American expats find themselves in situations where their home country is now antagonizing the country they call home. That's the case for Elizabeth Van Horne, an English teacher from Colorado who's been living in France since 2013. Her French accent is good enough that people don't immediately realize that she's American, but once they figure it out, they inevitably want to talk Trump. "He's front and center of all those conversations," she said. Some people treat her with a sense of concern — as though she's gone through a natural disaster. "The vibe that I've been getting is pity," she added.

She teaches English to many business students, who historically have wanted to travel to the US to visit or even launch their careers. This year, she has only one student who wants to go to America; the rest are going to try Canada, Australia, or maybe the UK. A colleague who was going to visit the US with her family has decided to delay the trip.

"It's hard to see the place you love so much is being viewed so negatively," she said. Her infant son has dual citizenship, and she wonders what he'll think of the US when he gets older, if he'll want to visit or live there. "I don't know what his view will be."

The complications of traveling while American are hardly new. American tourists have long had a certain reputation — they're loud, they're entitled, they don't try to speak the language. There's a reason "tell people you're Canadian" is common travel advice, even if that may be an urban legend. (Though reporting for this story, I did come across a Canadian who was worried people might confuse her for an American while she was abroad.)

Trump is hardly the only politician whose policies American travelers have had to reckon with while on the road. During the George W. Bush years, they had to answer questions about a president who launched two unpopular wars and a culture that tried to make "freedom fries" a thing. More recently, with President Joe Biden, they had to explain why a country would try to reelect someone so old and try to justify some of his global policies.

Tom Predhome, a retired consultant from New York who moved to Malta in 2023, said Trump is a "natural topic of conversation" when people meet Americans there, but he also found under Biden there was a lot of concern about foreign policy, namely, Israel and Gaza. "You'll get people saying things like, 'Oh, Biden or Trump is really no different,'" he said. In 2017, he and his wife were with a tour group in Borneo, where the topic of Trump was so contentious that things between some American tourists almost came to blows. He remembers telling the tour guide, "I'm sorry. I apologize for my country."

The point of travel is that it's supposed to be a way to leave worries behind. It's a chance to escape from the day-to-day, to forget for a while about obligations and work and responsibilities — and, in theory, politics. I don't know about you, but my idea of a good time on vacation is not lying on the beach and chatting about how Republicans are going to keep their small-margin coalition together as they negotiate the next reconciliation bill.

But this travel season, Americans may have no choice but to face some of the Trump-composed music and deal with some less-than-friendly hosts. As much as Donahue was a little flabbergasted that the Canadian skier had sent her and her husband down a bad path, they heeded her advice with regard to what else to do while they were there. They bought Canadian products, including sweatshirts from a very obvious local brand. They tipped extra. Her husband wore the same sweatshirt with a Canadian flag and a beaver on it every day. "We wanted to blend in," she said.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• The Henley Passport Index ranks the most powerful passports in the world for visa-free travel.
• Singapore is in the top spot with its passport, which allows holders to travel to 193 countries.
• The US passport can access 182 countries — it's tied for 10th place with two other countries.

Thinking of visiting Brazil, Australia, or India with a US passport this summer? Not so fast ... or at least not before securing a visa.

Some of the best wonders of the world require US citizens to obtain a visa before takeoff, an inconvenience in planning that long-awaited international getaway.

US passport holders can access 182 countries globally without a visa, putting it in 10th place among world passports on the global mobility spectrum, according to the 2025 Henley Passport Index. Passports from 33 other countries provide more global mobility than a US passport and two other countries are tied with the US for mobility.

The index is a ranking of passports based on how many countries their holders can access without a visa and is based on data from the International Air Transport Authority.

Singapore is in the top spot with its passport, which allows holders to travel to 193 countries without first securing a visa. Japan had previously held the No. 1 position but has since fallen to No. 2, joining South Korea with access to 190 countries.

Below are the countries with the most powerful passports, ranked by ascending number of visa-free travel options, based on the Henley Passport Index. This ranking is accurate as of May 2025.

10. Lithuania, Iceland, and the United States

Passport holders from these countries can visit 182 countries without visas in 2025.

Until April, US citizens were able to visit 183 countries visa-free. However, Brazil now requires US citizens to secure a visa before entering the country, dropping US passport holders one spot on the Henley Passport Index.

9. Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, and Slovenia

Holders of these passports can visit 183 countries without a visa in 2025.

8. Estonia, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates

Travelers can visit 184 countries without a visa in 2025 if they have a passport from Estonia, Canada, or the United Arab Emirates.

7. Australia, Czechia, Hungary, Malta, and Poland

Travelers can visit 185 countries without visas in 2025 with a passport from Australia, Czechia, Hungary, Malta, or Poland.

6. United Kingdom

Holders of UK passports can visit 186 countries without a visa.

5. Greece, New Zealand, and Switzerland

Travelers can visit 187 countries without a visa in 2025 if they have a passport from these countries.

4. Austria, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, and Belgium

These passport holders can visit 188 countries without visas.

3. Ireland, Finland, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain

These passports give access to 189 countries without a visa.

2. Japan and South Korea

Holders of passports from Japan and South Korea can visit 190 countries without a visa.

1. Singapore

Travelers can visit 193 countries without a visa in 2025 if they have a passport from Singapore.

Zoe Rosenberg contributed to an earlier version of this report. This story was first published in January 2023 and updates were made in January 2024, June 2024, October 2024, March 2025, and May 2025.

• I went to Costa Rica for the first time, and it was gorgeous, but the trip was riddled with mishaps.
• Next time, I'll be better prepared for possible bathroom creatures and power outages.
• I've also learned a lot about dealing with sunburn, bug bites, and dehydration.

At the beginning of the year, I had the opportunity to go to Costa Rica for the first time.

I encountered stunning natural views, new-to-me foods, and beautiful wildlife. However, the trip also came with its fair share of obstacles.

Here are six mishaps from the trip that I think could happen to anyone — and how I learned to prepare for them.

The power went out multiple times.

My lodging experienced full power outages multiple times during my trip, often overnight.

After some research, I learned that this is pretty common in certain parts of the country. The chef who came to work in our kitchen even kept a headlamp with him.

We had plenty of candles on hand, but it would've been very helpful to have a portable battery bank (or three).

Beware of bathroom creatures.

In beautiful, tropical environments like Costa Rica, it's not uncommon for part of your accommodations to be partially or totally outdoors.

In our case, the bathroom for our accommodation was outdoors.

One time, on a 2 a.m. bathroom run, I encountered a scorpion. I was barefoot, which could've ended very poorly for me. Luckily, I spotted it before I got too close, and we just had a staring contest — no one was hurt in the process.

I never wanted to risk that again, so slip-on house shoes became my best friend anytime I needed to run outside.

There are a lot of bugs.

Costa Rica is fairly close to the equator, so the climate is hot, humid, and wet. Essentially, it's a paradise for bugs.

I quickly learned that essential oils, natural bug repellents, and even chemical sprays weren't enough to keep them away at times.

The best (and least sticky) solution I eventually found was keeping a tinned citronella candle nearby whenever I was sitting outside.

The sun can also be really intense.

Because of its location, the sun is also brighter in Costa Rica than where I'm from in the Midwest of the US.

Unfortunately, the sun-care products I found there were more expensive than what I'm used to. I should've stocked up before my trip instead of waiting to buy things once I landed.

Even with sunscreens, hats, and UV clothing, there's a chance you'll burn — I certainly did. I'd also prepare for that by packing some soothing aftercare products.

I know what I'm going to pack for every boat trip going forward.

Being stranded in the ocean was an experience — to say the least.

During a boating excursion, the engine stopped working. We were within eyeshot of the shore, but it quickly became obvious that we were going to be stuck for a while.

Although I didn't intentionally prepare for this, I was glad I had reef-safe sunscreen on me — within 15 minutes of baking under the sun , everyone in the boat needed to reapply.

Between the big bag of trail mix I had and the skipper's cooler of fresh pineapple, no one went too hungry.

We were far enough out that the water was fairly calm, but we also had plenty of Dramamine to help keep people's motion sickness in check.

All in all, it wasn't as scary or shocking as it could've been, but I'm always going to keep snacks and supplies on hand for future boating activities.

Dehydration is not to be taken lightly.

If you're not used to being in a humid climate, it can be hard to tell when you're starting to get dehydrated. My skin was damp with and without sweat, thanks to the tropical rainforest environment.

I was very grateful that a friend brought chewable electrolyte tablets and was willing to share. They helped me stay hydrated while we were stranded in the ocean, and they were super helpful during an hourslong hike to a waterfall.

I also took one before the flight back to America, and I really noticed a difference in my hydration levels on the dry airplane. I don't think I'll ever travel without them again.

• Uber will soon charge a 1.5% fee for preferred currency pricing in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe.
• Preferred Currency Pricing applies to debit or credit card payments, not gift cards or Uber Cash.
• Users can avoid the fee by disabling the setting in the app's account and wallet sections.

If you live in the US, Canada, UK, or Europe, Uber rides abroad are about to get more expensive.

The Points Guy reported on February 14 that Uber will automatically opt users residing in these areas into Preferred Currency Pricing on February 27. This setting charges a 1.5% conversion fee to pay in the user's home country's currency rather than the local currency of their destination.

Preferred Currency Pricing is only available when paying with debit or credit cards — not gift cards or Uber Cash.

The setting may be useful for saving money abroad if you have a credit card that charges extra for foreign transactions, but if your card doesn't have these fees, you'll be paying more with this setting on.

How to avoid foreign transaction fees on Uber

To avoid the 1.5% fee, you can turn off the preferred currency pricing in settings and instead opt to pay in local currency. First, open the app and tap "Account." From there, tap "Wallet" and scroll down past payment methods to "Preferred Currency."

Then, tap "Set preferred currency" and select "No preferred currency" from the options. Lastly, hit "Confirm" at the bottom of the options.

You can also change to "No preferred currency" on any ride before booking it at the check-out stage. Happy riding!

• I took my kids to Dubai, and our first trip to the city was amazing.
• However, I should've budgeted more time and money because we didn't get to do everything.
• I also wish we'd spent more time in the desert and had a little more downtime.

Dubai boasts the tallest building, the biggest mall, and the water park with the most water slides in the world. Despite these claims to fame, I still considered it a stopover city, not a full vacation destination.

When I booked my family's flights to India, which included a stop in Abu Dhabi (less than an hour from Dubai), I decided to extend the layover so we could explore for three days.

My kids and I had a great time, but now that we've seen all the city has to offer, I wish I'd done some things differently.

I should've booked a longer trip.

Once I started looking into how to spend our time in Dubai, I realized that the three days I planned were not nearly enough.

If I had to plan the trip over again, I'd schedule at least four or five days in Dubai.

Even though I am not a big shopper, I surprisingly wish I had more time to explore the Dubai Mall. In particular, I wanted to try the indoor skating rink and ski slopes and explore more of the impressive indoor Chinatown.

I also should've planned further in advance.

Since this was just a stop on the way to our larger vacation, I didn't do much advanced planning.

Unfortunately, that meant we weren't able to do everything we had originally hoped.

I discovered too late that tickets to Dubai's Museum of the Future, which I'd wanted to visit, sell out months in advance.

We definitely needed more downtime throughout the trip.

Since our time was limited, I felt pressure to be constantly on the go. Nevertheless, I wish I'd squeezed in a couple of hours of downtime to relax.

That also probably would've helped us acclimate to the time difference from the East Coast.

I carefully selected a beautiful hotel, Andaz Dubai The Palm, that's right on the beach and has a gorgeous infinity pool. However, it would've been nicer if we'd had a little more time to actually enjoy its relaxing amenities.

The city was even more expensive than I'd budgeted for.

I knew Dubai was expensive, but I didn't realize how pricey it was until I started looking into activities.

I originally planned on taking my kids to the top of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, and visiting its observatory. However, once I saw the price of the tickets, I abandoned the idea.

I couldn't imagine shelling out nearly $200 for the three of us to have what would probably be an hourlong experience.

Even though we skipped it, my kids and I posed for plenty of photos in front of the Burj Khalifa and appreciated its height from afar.

Other activities were more expensive than I expected as well, including the Dubai Mall Aquarium. Tickets started at about $50 a person.

I didn't realize how far apart some of our must-visit stops would be.

The Burj Kalifa is right next to the Dubai Mall, but the city's famous mosque, markets, Global Village shopping area, and local cultural center are all fairly spread out.

The distances between sites made getting around time-consuming and expensive. I wish I'd paid more attention before booking activities to make better use of my time and cut down on transportation costs.

For example, since we visited the Dubai Mall during the day, we weren't able to see its spectacular evening fountain show. I thought we'd be able to dash over one night, but we always found ourselves too far to make the trip worthwhile.

We didn't spend nearly enough time in the desert.

Some of my favorite travel experiences have involved being in the desert, so a desert safari was at the top of my list for our Dubai trip.

I booked the least expensive option with the luxury tour company Platinum Heritage.

Although I enjoyed everything I did in Dubai, this was the most fun and unique. My family spent a fantastic evening climbing sand dunes, spotting wildlife, getting henna tattoos, riding camels, enjoying a traditional Arabian feast, stargazing, and more.

When it was over, I wished I'd booked more time in the desert — or at least had us spend the night.

• I'm a mom and travel writer; my family often travels with me.
• I've been working to encourage my son to be independent while we travel since he was young.
• He carries his own luggage, helps us plan our trips, and earns money for souvenirs before we go.

Before our last international vacation, my 7-year-old walked around our house wearing his carry-on backpack, testing it to ensure it wasn't too heavy for our long-haul trip. He navigated the airports fantastically. Sure, he needed help at times, but seeing him take ownership in the real world is so incredibly rewarding.

One of my goals as a mom is to teach my son to be independent, including when we travel. It's not always easy — sometimes it's quicker to do things myself — but how will he learn if I don't let him try?

Here are a few tips we've used to encourage independence on our family adventures.

He packs his own carry-on backpack and suitcase

Kids need a lot of stuff to stay entertained. Our son packs his own carry-on with our supervision, which often includes a stuffed animal, activity books, video games, and lots of snacks. This way, he knows what he has to play with and what there is to munch on, so he doesn't ask, "What can I do?" or "What can I eat?" quite as often.

He also packs his own suitcase. We tell him the weather and how long we'll be gone, and he picks outfits accordingly. He lays each complete outfit on his bed. Then, depending on where we're going, he adds a pile of extras. These can be anything from bathing suits and goggles to beanies and jackets.

He carries his own belongings

Getting him to carry his own things while we travel is a big one. We've encouraged our little one to carry his own backpack since he was only a year old. Granted, his first one looked like a rocket ship and was teeny tiny, but this habit led to more independence (for him) and a free hand (for me).

He enjoys the responsibility of being in charge of all his favorite belongings — at least most of the time. On a recent layover in Heathrow, my tired kiddo needed a little help, and I was happy to oblige.

We teach him about financial independence

A few weeks — or even months — before a big trip, I make a list of chores, which ranges from raking leaves to washing cars, folding laundry, and dusting the house. The list goes on the refrigerator, and a small amount of money is assigned to each task. As my son completes a chore, I mark it off the list.

Before we leave for vacation, we tally up the money he's earned by completing tasks. The total is what he has to spend on our trip. He puts it in a wallet, which my husband and I hold. When we get to souvenir shops and toy stores, we discuss how much he has left, and he chooses his travel treasures accordingly.

He helps plan family vacations

Our little family of three discusses where we're planning to travel together and what we'd like to do there. And we continue fleshing out our itinerary throughout our trips. My son gets a voice. If there are attractions that he wants to go to — such as a castle, a swimming pool, or a toy store — we listen and involve him in the conversation.

Planning together teaches decision-making and negotiation skills. Since there are always too many things to do and not enough vacation days, our chats also touch on time management. By valuing our son's opinions and appreciating his interests, he gains confidence in his choices.

We lead by example when things go wrong

My son notices how I react when things go wrong. Unfortunately, no matter how much you plan, travel is full of unexpected challenges. Roadblocks, however, can be excellent learning moments for kids.

To encourage my son to solve problems successfully, I try to lead by example by not harping on what went wrong but focusing on a solution instead. This, of course, is obviously easier said than done. I've lost my cool more times than I'd like, usually when hungry. It helps that I pack snacks for myself now, too.

Over the past seven years, my son's backpacks have gotten bigger, and his voice has gotten louder. My hope is that his independence will continue to evolve as he grows into a confident and capable traveler.

• It's not the most popular take, but I don't like celebrating the holiday season.
• Instead, I book long, international trips to places I've always wanted to visit but never had time.
• I love getting to see a new part of the world and give that priceless experience to my kids.

When my children were little, I felt the magic of the holidays deep in my bones.

Nearly every weekend, we dashed to see a light display or rode the Polar Express while drinking cups of rich hot chocolate.

Then, my kids got older.

As tweens and teens, they became hard to please. They seemed impervious to the joyful spirit of the holidays, grumbling when I booked holiday events and complaining about the gifts I chose for them.

I know this is developmentally appropriate, but it hurts. Last year, I decided to opt out of Christmas in favor of something I love: travel.

Instead of spending time and money on creating an extravagant day that would be stressful and (likely) unappreciated, I took my family on a trip to Morocco.

It was such a great experience that I've made international travel our new holiday tradition.

December happens to work for all our schedules

There's no substitute for seeing the world and getting an up-close look at different cultures and ways of life. I also think it's the best way to raise empathetic, open-minded children, and I'm very fortunate to be able to provide them with these experiences.

However, my kids' school schedules make it hard to go anywhere for more than a few days. I try to make the most of our summers, but that's when it's hot and crowded in many parts of the world.

Luckily, the kids reliably have an extended school break around Christmas each year, making the holidays an ideal time for our family to travel.

It's refreshing to visit parts of the world where Christmas is just like any other day

Another big reason I travel during the holidays is to escape the stress of them, so I like to pick destinations where Christmas isn't widely celebrated.

In many parts of the world, it's just an ordinary day, so attractions aren't closed — aka, we don't sacrifice any vacation time.

Last year, in Morocco, I saw a smattering of holiday lights and small Christmas trees, mostly in hotels. That was perfect for me because I felt very little pressure to make Christmas Day magical.

I've figured out how to make holiday travel as easy as possible

In order to make holiday travel easier, I book group tours.

Although I didn't originally intend to travel this way, I planned last year's trip in a rush, so it was the easiest and fastest way to make sure we could cover a lot of ground in the time we had.

It turns out that not having to worry about booking hotels or planning the logistics of getting from place to place was a welcome reprieve.

Even though I had more time this year, I decided to skip the stress and use the same tour company as a gift to myself.

I may not like Christmas, but I'm not a complete Scrooge

Skipping the holidays isn't for everyone, but it works for me.

Even though I no longer have the will to create an elaborate Christmas at home, I don't want my children to miss out completely.

Every year since my kids were little, I've taken them to the over-the-top Christmas displays at Gaylord National Resort in Maryland, and that has continued. We do all the Christmas things in a single day, from building gingerbread houses to seeing Santa.

It's the perfect way to continue a holiday tradition without any pressure to be perfect — and minimal whining from my kids.

Additionally, I've always believed that experiences are better than physical gifts, and now that we travel, I keep presents to a minimum. However, on Christmas Day, I let my kids choose a special souvenir to commemorate the holiday.