Goats on the Road are travel bloggers whose main goal is to make travel a lifestyle. Traveling and Living in Peru noticed that they had been in Peru before and reached out to them to get the best Peru travel tips for you if you are planning on visiting the Inca land.
Continue reading the interview we did to Nick Wharton from the Goats on the Road team and don’t forget to also check out their blog for more amazing traveling tips!
– You mention in your blog that you used AirBnb to travel in Peru. How was this experience and what would you recommend to those who are thinking about this as an option for accommodation?
– We had an excellent Airbnb experience in Peru. We stayed in some lovely accommodations in both Lima and Cusco and we couldn’t recommend it more. The best thing to do when booking through Airbnb is to filter down your results. Always change the max price to something within your budget and add your dates in before searching if possible.
We always like to tick the box that says “Entire Home” and “Superhost”. The former ensures that we have a kitchen and a living room in most cases and the latter ensures that the host is well-reviewed.
– You seemed worried not to find people your age during your 5-day hike in the Sacred Valley. Why was this important to you and why should other tourists try to find contemporary groups?
– The Machu Picchu trek is a pretty long one. Ours, in particular, was 5 days, so we wanted to make sure that whoever we were with was willing and able. We’ve had some treks before where older people have not been able to complete the challenge. Having said that, we’ve been on treks where older people pass us on the trails! So this isn’t always true. We just wanted to have a group of people with us that were of similar interests and fitness level. Even though we had a couple of people over 60 on the trip, they did really well and we all got along great.
– You also mention that your trip to Peru was a holiday and that you weren’t working as a travel blogger, which made it feel different. In your perspective, what are the pros and cons of being a travel blogger?
– First of all, I love being a blogger. It’s the best job in the world. We love it so much that we have created a free course to help new bloggers start, build and grow a successful blog. But enough of shameless self-promotion haha.
Blogging does have its downsides when traveling. The main issue for us is that we start seeing the world through a lens. Sometimes it’s hard to take our audience out of our minds and simply enjoy the moment. That is why we like to do at least one trip per year where we don’t work with any brands, we pay for the entire trip ourselves and we just have a holiday. The only thing we’ll do is check email every few days and maybe post on social media a few times. We love that we get paid to travel thanks to blogging, but we also recognize that we need a holiday sometimes.
– Finally, what did you love the most and what didn’t you love so much about your trip to Peru?
– We loved pretty much everything about Peru. The people, the culture, the incredible natural beauty, the colorful clothing, the food… everything. If there’s anything that we didn’t love about Peru, I guess it would be the bit of hassle you get when you enter the main square of Cusco. There are quite a few people trying to sell things there, but even that isn’t really a negative because we understand that they just want to earn a living. It can be overwhelming sometimes, but it’s all part of the experience. Plus, it’s handy when you actually need something!
The “Goats” are Nick and Dariece, a couple from Canada who has been traveling for 8 years. They are adventure-loving, wine-drinking, culture-seeking videographers, photographers and writers who founded the Goats on the Road travel blog.
They have managed to travel for years thanks to their time dedicated to their travel blog, where they also inspire and seek to help other aspiring travel bloggers do the same thing! Follow them on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to stay updated with their travels and tips!
By: Ermelinda Maglione
Cover Photo: Goats on the Road
