Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.
Name: Bret Love & Mary Gabbett
Occupation: Co-founders Green Global Travel, Freelance Writer/Editor/Photographers
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Residence: Woodstock, GA
Website: Green Global Travel
Twitter: @GreenGlobalTrvl
Facebook: Green Global Travel
Pinterest: greenglobaltrvl
YouTube: Green Global Travel
Short Bio: Green Global Travel is an ecotourism, nature/wildlife conservation & sustainable living website that we launched in late 2010. Our central goal is to help save the world, one story at a time. We’re pretty passionate about indigenous cultures, and hope to one day launch a non-profit arm devoted to conservation and cultural preservation projects all around the world.
How often do you fly: About once a month on average, but sometimes more.
How many countries have you been to: Around 25 and counting!
How many continents have you been to: 5: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Hoping to make it 6 with a visit to Antarctica in 2013.
Favorite American city: In terms of metropolises, our hometown of Atlanta is pretty awesome. New York is great, too, but we can only stand to spend so much time in a given city before we need to escape to nature.
Favorite international city: Cartagena, Colombia. The history, the culture, the food and the people are all incredible.
Least favorite country: The ones I can’t visit due to war.
Favorite World Heritage Site: Gonna have to go with the Galapagos Islands. Loved the wildlife, and our experiences there changed our lives and really helped launch our site’s success!
Favorite airline: It used to be Delta, but in recent years I’ve found their customer service to be a bit lacking. I love AirTran for domestic travel. And we just flew Royal Jordanian Air for the first time, which was really nice.
Aisle or window: Aisle. When you’re 6’2″ and built like a linebacker, every inch of extra legroom is crucial.
Favorite hotel: Our favorite we’ve ever stayed in was the Fairmont Orchid on Hawaii’s Big Island. I’ve been there several times, and the Gold Key Concierge Service, Spa Without Walls and beach activities (snorkeling with sea turtles, canoeing with whales, etc.) were all incredible.
Favorite island: Sanibel Island, Florida is our home away from home. It’s very quiet, more than 1/2 of it is devoted to a wildlife preserve (Ding Darling), and it’s one of the top shelling beaches in the world. We try to visit at least once every two years.
Favorite fruit: We love all berries and melons. And bananas. And mangos. OK, this one’s too hard…
Favorite food: Sushi! I’d eat it every day if we could afford it.
Least favorite food: Anything with raw onions. I’d rather eat just about anything than put an onion in mouth.
Drink of choice (In the air and on the ground): We don’t usually drink on the plane (dehydration + jetlag), but Bret loves mojitos and Mary’s always up for a good glass of wine.
Favorite travel movie(s): The movies that inspired me to travel were adventurous films like Indiana Jones, The Emerald Forest and Out Of Africa. But also really love nature documentaries: March of the Penguins, Winged Migration, African Cats, etc.
Favorite travel show(s): Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, Globe Trekker, Jeff Corwin’s Ocean Mysteries, Wild Kingdom and Man Vs. Wild were all hugely influential.
Favorite travel book(s): I was really inspired by National Geographic and Outside Magazine, so I tend to love books by guys like Jon Krakauer, Sebastain Junger and Bill Bryson. My early favorite, though, was Thoreau’s “Walden; or, Life In The Woods.”
Right now I am reading: Nothing. I’m too busy writing!
Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines: National Geographic, Afar, Budget Travel
Five things you bring on a plane: Laptop, headphones, snacks, earplugs and reading material.
What do you always seem to forget: Nothing, honestly. We’ve become VERY methodical about our packing.
Favorite travel iPhone app(s): Would you believe I don’t even have a smartphone? I think we may be the only bloggers in the world who only use our phone for calls and text messages.
What’s your dream destination: We’ve been dying to go to Kenya/Tanzania for years! Bret did a South Africa safari back in 2000 that really changed his life and inspired what became Green Global Travel, but Mary’s never been on safari. We’re really hoping to go there, or possibly Botswana, in 2013.
Favorite travel charity: We have quite a few charities we’re passionate about, and started the Travel Bloggers Give Back Facebook group last year to encourage bloggers to write/share stories about non-profit organizations more often. Some of our favorites are Heifer International, Kiva, Water.org, World Wildlife Fund and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Best travel tip: People think being a more eco-friendly traveler is hard or costs money, when in fact it can save you money! We wrote a post about 10 Simple Steps to More Sustainable Travel, that we’d love for everyone to read. It’s a lot easier than people think, and every little bit helps to save this precious planet we all love to travel!
wow!!! nice information for those who are traveler and trekker thanks for you such a nice information. thanks