Recently, from my home base in Vienna, I boarded a train to Brno, Czechia (the Czechs want you to call it Czechia now, not the Czech Republic). Before arriving I...
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If you hate bucket lists, and prefer to travel rather than commute, then welcome to The Travel Tortoise - your home for sustainable travel and long-form destination guides.
Recently, from my home base in Vienna, I boarded a train to Brno, Czechia (the Czechs want you to call it Czechia now, not the Czech Republic). Before arriving I...
Read MoreI often ask the question “is ___ worth visiting?”. Well, nowhere that I’ve written about so far is worth visiting more than Warsaw, the capital of Poland. This city is...
Read MoreI recently visited Lisbon in December. I was looking for a European city break with decent weather for that time of year. I was blown away by the Portuguese capital,...
Read MoreWhen planning a trip to Sicily, Taormina often tops the list of must-visit destinations. Known for its stunning views of the Ionian Sea, its ancient Greek theatre, and picturesque streets,...
Read MoreNot only is Lake Garda totally worth visiting, but I think it’s the best Italian lake to visit! Yes, I do love a bold statement, but after spending time in...
Read MoreThere’s nothing like the adventure of taking a ferry to France, with its great food, wonderful history and scenic landscapes (just don’t tell ’em we said that). But with so...
Read MoreWelcome to Spain’s geographically blessed, yet architecturally bereft underdog, Santander. The capital city of Cantabria on Spain’s northern coast hasn’t had the best of luck over the years, and as...
Read MoreVienna is blessed when it comes to art museums and galleries to visit, but, if like the Tortoise, you’re a bit of philistine when it comes to art, but you...
Read MoreHi, I’m James, aka ‘The Travel Tortoise’. A long-time nomad/gypsy/traveller I write destination guides and other resources about green(er) European travel. My natural instinct is to go off-the-beaten-path, so when researching trips abroad I got pretty tired of reading the same old generic content, hence The Travel Tortoise was born.
It may help to know that I’m more likely to be doing something food or wine related, or be out in nature, rather than gradually losing my will to live in an art gallery, or self-indulgent museum. As such, think of this travel blog as a ‘Philistine’s guide to….’ if you wish, and who knows, perhaps we’ll even level up our cultural game along the way?!
Whether it’s my home base in Vienna, further afield in Portugal or Italy, or less popular destinations in central Europe, wherever I go, I try to write informative, and sometimes silly travel guides to make you laugh and your travel planning easier. If all that sounds like your cup of tea, then dive in because there’s plenty here for you.
