I studied hospitality management in Florida, and my first real job was behind the front desk of a small resort in the Keys. That's where I learned how hotels actually work — overbooking, room categories that sound identical but aren't, what "ocean view" really means once you've seen the floor plan.
From there I spent about two years as cabin crew on a regional carrier flying Caribbean and Bahamas routes. Same dozen islands, over and over, which is a different way to get to know a place than passing through once. Enough time on the ground to stop being a tourist and start knowing which beach the crew actually goes to on a layover, versus which one's on the cruise excursion.
I left the airline to guide small-group trips — eight to twelve people, Caribbean first, then Hawaii and the Greek Islands as demand grew. Guiding is where most of what's on this site actually comes from: the questions guests ask on every single trip, the mistakes they make right in front of me, the stuff that never makes it into a brochure.
Seven years and 27 islands in, I started writing it down — not another listicle assembled from other listicles, but what I'd actually tell a friend planning the same trip. That's this site.
I still do four or five research trips a year. If something on here is wrong or out of date, tell me — I'd rather fix it than leave it.
How I research a guide
Every island guide is written after a real visit — the date's on the page. I check prices and schedules close to publishing, not once and never again, and I flag anywhere a fact is still pending confirmation rather than guessing at a number. If I haven't been somewhere myself, I say so, and I frame it as digging in for readers rather than pretending to firsthand experience I don't have.
Get in touch
Question about a trip, a correction, or something that's changed since I published? Get in touch — a real person (me) reads it.