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The 27 Best Breweries, Distilleries, & Bars in Louisville, KY: A Local’s Guide

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Louisville, Kentucky is a city that’s famously known for a drink: bourbon.  Sure, it’s technically Kentucky that invented Bourbon, but Louisville has embraced it, built upon it, and created a drinking scene honoring it.  Whether you’re stopping in Louisville on your way to do the Bourbon Trail or just visiting Louisville because it’s the best city ever (though I’m slightly biased, as a local), you can’t skip out on tasting a few Louisville specialties. We spent a few weeks exploring my old Kentucky hometown and drinking a ridiculous amount, discovering everything from the best Louisville breweries to amazing Louisville bourbon bars and, of course, incredible Louisville distilleries. Of course we ate a lot, too: make sure to check out our foodie guide to Louisville! Whether you’re a bourbon drinker or you just haven’t spent enough time in Louisville yet to develop a taste for it (it’ll happen… give it time), there are tons of incredible places to grab a drink in Louisville, bourbon or otherwise.  Louisville, KY is an must-visit booze tourism destination!

Here’s what you’ll find in this local’s drinking guide to Louisville, Kentucky.

Psst: Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for a FREE downloadable Google Map of the best Louisville bars, bourbon, breweries, and distilleries!

By the way, did you know that we have a BUNCH of posts about Louisville? It is my hometown, after all! Take a look below at our other Louisville travel guides.

We’ve also compiled all of our suggestions for where to go, what to do, where to visit, what & where to eat, and what & where to drink (and taste bourbon) into one downloadable PDF Local’s Guide to Louisville. Subscribe below to get the download and save it to your smartphone or tablet to take with you on your trip to Louisville!

A Mint Julep at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Getting a Mint Julep at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky is like a rite of passage. If you don’t do it, did you really visit Louisville?

Here’s where to get the best drinks in Louisville, from craft beer to bourbon to cocktails and everything in between! But first, a quick primer on the most famous drinks in Louisville, Kentucky.

Famous Louisville (& Kentucky) Drinks

    I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned, but bourbon is a pretty big deal here. Even if you come to Louisville saying “I’m not a bourbon person,” first of all, how dare you, and secondly, expect that to change by the time you leave. With so many brands and varieties, there is truly something for everyone on the bourbon spectrum. Each of these drinks will be served at just about any Louisville bourbon bar!

    The official cocktail of Louisville is The Old Fashioned – a spirit forward cocktail made with bourbon, sugar or syrup, bitters, and orange peel. This bittersweet king of cocktails varies from place to place, but it’s always delicious. I won’t blame you if you thought “Hold your horses,” (get it, cuz Kentucky?), “that’s the official cocktail? What about Mint Juleps?!” Well I’m getting there.

    The Mint Julep is the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby, not Louisville. I’m pretty sure that’s just an excuse to have multiple kinds of Official cocktails – very clever, Louisville government. No trip to Churchill Downs is complete without an ice cold Mint Julep. It’s the perfect cocktail to sip in the hot sun while you cheer your horse on while wearing a ridiculously fancy hat. Made with bourbon, simple syrup, muddled mint, and shaved ice, these boozy mint snow cones pack a punch. Oh, and of course they have to be served in a silver Mint Julep tin (or a Derby Glass).

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    Another famous Kentucky cocktail deserving of it’s own vessel is the Kentucky Mule, for those sweet drink lovers. A great summer cocktail, it is made from bourbon, lime, and ginger beer then thrown into a copper mule mug. Delicious!

Bourbon tasting is a must-do activity when you're in Kentucky. Conveniently, you can visit several bourbon distilleries without leaving Louisville! One of our faves is Angel's Envy in the heart of downtown Louisville.

Bourbon tasting is a must-do activity when you’re in Kentucky. Conveniently, you can visit several bourbon distilleries without leaving Louisville! One of our faves is Angel’s Envy in the heart of downtown Louisville.

The Best Louisville Distilleries

    Let’s be real here. Going to Kentucky and not going bourbon tasting is like going to Mexico and never having a taco. Not only is it hard to actually pull off, but why would you want to!? As fun as it is to go out into Bourbon country and tour a distillery, sometimes the logistics can pose a challenge. But fear not! There are actually several bourbon distilleries in Louisville where you can enjoy tours and bourbon tastings without leaving the city.  Here are our picks for the best Louisville distilleries.

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Situated right in downtown Louisville is the Angel’s Envy distillery. These small batch bourbon distillers pride themselves on making a smooth sipping, unique finished bourbon.  What do I mean by finished? After the usual aging process, Angel’s Envy bourbon is then aged in port barrels. The end product? A deliciously complex introductory bourbon, perfect for both sipping and mixing into cocktails. There’s also an incredible Rye Whiskey finished in rum barrels! Guests can take a full tour of the gorgeous Louisville distillery along with a bourbon tasting, or the speed round called the Sensory Tour, which also includes a bourbon tasting (and chocolate, too).

  • Angel’s Envy | Address: 500 East Main St, Louisville, KY (Downtown)

Two things Louisville loves – theater and bourbon – merge at another downtown Louisville distillery: The Evan Williams Experience. Visitors have the choice between two tours and tastings. The first is a film and unique historical walk through the founding of the distillery to today. We recommend this for anyone who hasn’t done a full blown distillery tour, as you’ll learn a lot about the process of bourbon making. The other option is a Speakeasy Tour, which takes guests through a safe and into a Prohibition era bar where you’ll sample the premium bourbons. Both tours include tastings, as well as a souvenir distillers glass.

Located next to Museum Row sits Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. Wanna talk credentials? The first bourbon this family made went into the barrel in 1889. You know what else happened that year? Montana, Washington, and the Dakotas became states. It’s pretty safe to say these guys know bourbon, y’all. Unlike some of the other bourbon distilleries in Louisville, Peerless Distilling does everything from milling to shipping all under the same roof. What does that mean to you? Well it means you can see every step along the way!

Located just 5 miles from downtown Louisville you’ll find The Bulleit Experience. Take a $10 tour and tasting and you’ll get a chance to explore the office where Pappy van Winkle himself used to work, later inspiring what is now one of the most loved and expensive varieties of bourbon available today (last time I checked, you can get a shot of Pappy Van Winkle for $100 at my favorite bourbon bar in San Francisco, so there’s that). Sadly, they aren’t handing out any sample-sized bottles of Pappy, but the tour is still fantastic and well worth a stop.

It’s not just bourbon you can taste in Louisville! Recently the Butchertown based Copper & Kings has been making waves in the brandy and absinthe arena. But hey, this is bourbon country, so you better believe bourbon plays a role. Their American style brandies and apple brandies are aged in bourbon barrels to give it a signature sweetness and smoothness. Even the absinthe is unique. Unlike most absinthes that get their green color from dyes or steeping plants, their absinthe is clear and comes in four flavors: regular, ginger, lavender, and citrus. Not only are the tours great, but they also host an event called Mixt&pe, where bartenders craft their own cocktails inspired by songs from an album. Check it out. It’s fire.

You can't go to Louisville and not get a Mint Julep, or 2, or 3. The real deal is served in a Mint Julep cup, like this one, which we got along with our brunch at Silver Dollar on Frankfort Avenue in the Clifton neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky.

You can’t go to Louisville and not get a Mint Julep, or 2, or 3. The real deal is served in a Mint Julep cup, like this one, which we got along with our brunch at Silver Dollar on Frankfort Avenue in the Clifton neighborhood of Louisville.

The Best Louisville Bourbon Bars

Y’all didn’t think we were done with bourbon already, did you? In addition to Louisville distilleries, there are tons of Louisville bars that specialize in bourbon & whiskey.  In fact, there are so many Louisville bourbon bars that they have their own name: the Urban Bourbon trail (cute, right?).  To quality for the Urban Bourbon trail, bars in Louisville have to offer 50+ different varieties of bourbon – and a staff that can walk you through nosing each of them like a pro. You can even get a little passport to stamp, just like the real Bourbon Trail! Once you’ve filled up your passport, you can trade it in for a souvenir t-shirt. How awesome is that? I wish they gave out t-shirts for eating your way through Louisville, too. I’d have a whole wardrobe. To help you on your Urban Bourbon journey, be sure to download the app to help guide you to the nearest bourbon bar.

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One of our fave Louisville bourbon bars is Doc Crow’s on Whiskey Row, which serves up delicious food alongside a plethora of bourbon. Try anything from the smoker, the mint julep lemonade, and for dessert order the Wilbur sundae with brown butter praline ice cream, candied bacon and cinnamon pork rinds.

Historic Whiskey Row is  also home to the speakeasy themed Down One Bourbon Bar. With over 160 bourbons, you’ll find whatever rare bourbon you’ve got your heart set on here, plus a few more you’ve never heard of – all alongside some absolutely fantastic food, of course. Consistently ranked and awarded as one of the best Bourbon Bars in America, Down One is an incredible bourbon bar that can’t be skipped when visiting Louisville.

Bourbon, burgers, and beer: if you’re a fan of any of these things, you’ll definitely want to visit Sidebar at Whiskey Row. Local legend has it that their burgers are the best in town. Pair your burger with a barrel aged cocktail (yes, y’all) or an expertly crafted bourbon cocktail.

Looking for a bourbon bar to celebrate a special occasion? Or just like any excuse to be fancy? We love Buck’s, an upscale bourbon bar in the beautiful historic Old Louisville neighborhood. Be sure to give yourself time to take a stroll around the neighborhood, which is one of our absolute favorite places to explore in Louisville

When it comes to bourbon, we like to pair ours with brunch, which is our favorite excuse to visit Harvest, Butchertown Grocery, and Proof on Main – all excellent bourbon bars and restaurants as well. We’ve got more information about each of them, along with our other fave spots for the best brunch in Louisville, over at our Louisville food post.

Now some of you might be wondering, “I don’t know where to begin. I don’t have a favorite bourbon! Can I do a tasting of a bunch of kinds of bourbon and figure out what I like?” This is Louisville, y’all! Of course you can! Head down to NuLu and check out Taste Fine Wines and Bourbon for a $7 tasting of Kentucky’s finest small-batch bourbons. It’s not a bourbon bar, but we thought it was fitting for this section anyway.

At Great Flood Brewery in Louisville, Kentucky you'll find delicious craft beer flights and of course, plenty of bourbon barrel aged beers!

At Great Flood Brewery in Louisville, Kentucky you’ll find delicious craft beer flights and of course, plenty of bourbon barrel aged beers!

The Best Louisville Breweries

I was under 21 when I moved away from Louisville, so I might be mis-remembering, but it seems there are a TON of amazing new craft breweries in Louisville! And yes – there’s plenty of bourbon barrel aged beer. Don’t worry. That was my first question, too.

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I think a defining characteristic of craft breweries is placing quality over profit and output. While that’s evident at all of these Louisville breweries, it’s especially obvious with Monnik Beer, located in Germantown. Monnik Beer sources all of their ingredients locally and won’t put a single drop they don’t love in your glass. Their beer list is long and varied, making this a crowd pleaser bar for anyone looking to grab a beer in Germantown.

  • Monnik Beer | Address: 1036 E Burnett Ave, Louisville, KY (Germantown)

“Like our namesake, the mighty Ohio River, we never stop moving forward” is the tagline for Mile Wide Beer, and it shows. The brewery was once a biscuit factory and the very first brewpub in Louisville, and Mile Wide has turned it into something truly special. They have food trucks, arcade games, pub games, and plenty of space for you and your friends to enjoy great beers. Be sure to check out the Wooderson, a mesquite smoked blonde ale. Any “Always Sunny” fans? You’ll get a kick out of the McPoyle, a nitro milk stout.

Tucked unobtrusively into a space on Bardstown Road in the Highlands neighborhood, Great Flood Brewing is much larger inside than it first appears from the outside. The taps at this Louisville brewery offer everything from Bourbon Barrel Aged beer – see, we told you – to excellent Saisons and dark stouts. In addition to their own brews, Great Flood serves up a few notable outside offerings, such as the delicious Beer X-Tacy (a play on a much-beloved, but now closed, local record store called Ear X-Tacy, RIP).

I do love me a bar that sticks to a shtick, and Apocalypse Brew Works certainly has a shtick: It’s the end of the world, might as well drink! This excellent Louisville brewery’s tasting room is called “The Fallout Shelter,” and it serves up small batch brews. The beers are all appropriately named: there’s Cream-ation, a cream ale, ashes not included; Sunspot Stout, an oatmeal stout; and Fallout Dust, a peppery specialty beer. One of my favorite things about Apocalypse is their dedication to sustainable brewing practices. Just because their theme is a dead planet, it doesn’t mean they can’t help prolong that fate.

Old Louisville Brewery started as a passion project between two brothers and has grown steadily for the past few years. They are located in the heart of Old Louisville, one of my favorite (and Louisville’s most beautiful) neighborhoods. It’s proximity to University of Louisville makes this a lively spot, but not so much so that you feel old. They also feature the number one quality in any bar: dog friendly! With 12 rotating taps, there’s always something new and fun to try at this Louisville brewery. Grab a glass of their refreshingly crisp Raspberry Wheat, Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout, or the tangy “Kentucky Common,” a throwback to the early 20th century when bourbon mash was reused to make beer.

The Bloody Mary at Butchertown Grocery in Louisville Kentucky comes with a hunk of buttery bone marrow in it. Yummy! Butchertown Grocery is an excellent Louisville bar.

The Bloody Mary at Butchertown Grocery in Louisville Kentucky comes with a hunk of buttery bone marrow in it. Yummy! Butchertown Grocery is an excellent Louisville bar, especially for weekend brunch, which is a totally valid time to be looking for a bar.

The Best Louisville Bars

In a town (and state) that is known for their pride in alcohol, you better believe that Louisville bars are second to none. In addition to the aforementioned craft breweries, you can find some unique bars to get a little taste of everything. 

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     NuLu – aka New Louisville, a super hip up and coming neighborhood – is home to a number of fantastic Louisville bars. One of our favorites is Garage Bar, a bar slash restaurant with delicious brick oven pizzas and an amazing patio, all set in a converted mechanic shop! Personally, whenever I go I feel like I stepped into the Cars movie, except without Owen Wilson ruining his career (psst – remember when Owen Wilson was in Steve Zissou? His character was from Louisville. His accent, however, was not).

  • Garage Bar | Address: 700 E. Market St, Louisville, KY (NuLu)

 Down the street from Garage Bar in NuLu, fans of tacos and/or craft cocktails will love to see Galaxie Bar. Galaxie has a rad hidden patio area called Outer Space that’s open for dancing on the weekends, and hosts tons of awesome events. Every Wednesday they even have a Trivia Night, so get those know-it-all friends of yours down there (as you may have guessed, we’re a lot of people’s know-it-all Trivia Night friends).

  • Galaxie Bar | Address: 732 E. Market St, Louisville, Ky (NuLu)

Mag Bar in Old Louisville isn’t the kind of Louisville bar you go to looking for a fancy craft cocktail. It’s the kind of dive bar where you go to have an amazing night that you may or may not remember fueled by cheap drinks and brand new besties that you’ll end up dancing with all night long while shouting the words to some song you barely know. Mag Bar hosts tons of eclectic events from trivia to themed dance parties to bingo to DJ’s and local bands that you’ve never heard of but will probably end up buying a CD of by the end of a night (are CD’s still a thing?). Simultaneously described as “old school” and “hipster,” Mag Bar is a much-loved local hot spot.

  • Mag Bar | Address:  1398 S 2nd St, Louisville, KY (Old Louisville)

    If you’re looking for a unique Louisville bar that caters to beer lovers (*raises hand*), head over to The Highlands neighborhood and check out Holy Grale. Its building was once a church – hence the clever name – but they serve you more than just a sip of communion wine. They’ve got 27 rotating taps, which include (to my delight) hella Belgian beers!  Y’all know we love our Belgian beer. 

  • Holy Grale | Address: 1034 Bardstown Road Louisville, KY  (The Highlands)

The Highlands is also home to the best Irish bars in Louisville, all conveniently clustered together. There are 3 Irish bars right next to each other, and everyone has a different opinion about which one is “best,” but our favorite is O’Sheas.

If you like live music, be sure to stop by the Highlands Taproom and see who’s playing.

    Over in Germantown, a must visit Louisville bar for beer lovers is Four Pegs. With a dozen beers on tap and an incredible comfort food menu, this place is sure to fill you up. While you’re there, be sure to get the Kentucky Poutine and a Beer Burger – a burger topped with beer sauce and a fried green tomato!

    If you’re looking for a fancier Louisville bar, there’s 8UP in Downtown, a chic rooftop bar overlooking the city and serving up craft cocktails. 8up is the perfect place to bring a date and watch one of Louisville’s famously beautiful sunsets.

  • 8up | Address: 350 West Chesnut Street Rooftop, Louisville, KY   (Downtown)
Mint Julep in at Rye in Louisville, Kentucky

Look, don’t judge us. We got a LOT of Mint Juleps while we were in Louisville. You know – for research. Besides, it was Derby Season! … Also, this one was in a really pretty souvenir glass. (From Rye on Market.)

Map of the Best Bourbon, Breweries, Distilleries, & Bars in Louisville

Use our handy map to locate the best places to drink in Louisville on the go!

Travel Tip: Download this map to your smartphone for offline browsing (click here for instructions).

By the way, did you know that we have a BUNCH of posts about Louisville? It is my hometown, after all! Take a look below at our other Louisville travel guides.

Planning a trip to Louisville? We’ve compiled all of our suggestions for where to go, what to do, where to visit, what & where to eat, and what & where to drink (and taste bourbon) in Louisville into one FREE e-book: the Local’s Guide to Louisville. Subscribe below to get the download and save it to your smartphone or tablet to take with you on your trip to Louisville!

Are you thirsty? After writing all this, we sure are. Have you ever been to Louisville? Are you a bourbon drinker? Or were you like “where the heck is Louisville?” before you clicked on this post? I hope you know now, right?! Leave us a comment below!

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Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Home of bourbon whiskey... and a lot more! A local's guide to the 27 best breweries, bars, and distilleries in Louisville, KY. The perfect Midwest or South travel destination for booze tourism! Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Home of bourbon whiskey... and a lot more! A local's guide to the 27 best breweries, bars, and distilleries in Louisville, KY. The perfect destination for booze tourism!

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Disclaimer: This post was written in partnership with Go To Louisville. All opinions, recommendations, things that we may have done or said while ~researching~ for this post, and poorly executed jokes are entirely our own and totally not their fault.

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Comments

  1. drivebytowns says: June 17, 2017 at 11:36 am

    You had me at Angel’s Envy and Bulleit and bourbon-barrel-aged beer…. I’m bookmarking this (and your restaurants round-up) for the next time I visit my parents in Asheville. We drive through Louisville, and it’s a good spot for an overnight to break of the drive.

    Reply
    • Lia says: June 17, 2017 at 2:04 pm

      Oh definitely! It would be the perfect place to overnight. We’ve done Asheville from Louisville a couple of times too, it’s a very doable drive.

      Reply
  2. Alissa says: June 17, 2017 at 12:23 pm

    Thanks for this super in-depth post! I’ve never been to Louisville (or Kentucky, for that matter) but if I ever make it over there I will keep this in mind. I’ve always wanted to try a mint julep… and your photo made it look quiiiiite tasty 🙂

    Reply
  3. Dany says: June 17, 2017 at 1:03 pm

    Hubby loves to visit breweries and even if I’m not a huge drinker, I still find it’s an interesting experience. Kentucky sounds more and more tempting, thanks to you!

    Reply
    • Lia says: June 17, 2017 at 2:06 pm

      I’m kinda the same way! I don’t drink at home and I’m not a big drinker in general, but when we travel I LOVE going to breweries and distilleries and wineries. I’m a booze tourist but not a big drinker 😛 So weird!

      Reply
  4. Maša says: June 17, 2017 at 1:40 pm

    Haha Love it! As an alcohol aficionado – sold in a first paragraph. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Emily Hines says: June 17, 2017 at 7:46 pm

    I freaking love Garage Bar! I had no idea there were this many breweries there now. Need to go back asap

    Reply
    • Lia says: June 17, 2017 at 7:53 pm

      Yeah, I was kinda surprised too! Louisville is comin UP lately. We’ll be there again for a bit this month, lmk if you feel like driving down 😛

      Reply
  6. Candiss says: June 17, 2017 at 8:42 pm

    Ah! I needed this soo bad when I was in Louisville for a wedding in November I was too tired from my own travels to research anything! Next time though!

    Reply
  7. Tracy Schwartz (@_Travelist_) says: June 17, 2017 at 9:30 pm

    Best in-depth post on Louisville. I have yet to visit but it’s on my list of places!

    Reply
  8. Kristin says: June 17, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    I don’t think you left a single bar out either! 😉 Have you done Lexington yet? Equally as awesome cocktail spots!

    Reply
    • Lia says: June 17, 2017 at 11:08 pm

      Not at all. Like, I think I visited Lexington a couple of times growing up for maybe like, school field trips? Now I’m hearing from all my friends (and my dad, believe it or not) all about how Lexington is apparently cool now. So I guess it’s time to check it out!

      Reply
  9. operatingrn says: June 17, 2017 at 11:23 pm

    You certainly do thorough posts. It has been a couple of years since I was in Louisville. Sounds like I need to go back.

    Reply
  10. Janis says: June 18, 2017 at 7:47 am

    Really enjoyed this post and your one on restaurants in Louisville, its making me want to plan a road trip around Kentucky. I like the look of the Mint Julep 🙂

    Reply
  11. Megan Starr says: June 19, 2017 at 10:36 am

    I am not a huge spirits fan, but I saw beer in there and it made my mouth water 😛 Definitely keeping this in mind for my next trip that way!

    Reply
  12. Charlotte says: June 19, 2017 at 7:48 pm

    I’d love to go to Kentucky! This is so detailed I’ll definitely be back here when I do 🙂

    Reply
  13. Claire says: June 20, 2017 at 10:36 pm

    I’m so glad you included distilleries here too, not just breweries, I don’t drink beer but love to explore other drinks!! The mint julep is a must for me I think, and on old fashioned while I’m at it! 😉

    Reply

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ABOUT

Meet Lia & Jeremy

Recent Posts

  • I spent years at war with my body. It wasn't a mental thing, either: it was an all-out physical brawl. Trigger warning - I'm going to talk about eating disorders and self harm in this post. Please take care of yourself if you're feeling vulnerable today! . When I was a teenager, I succumbed to the same societal pressure bullsh*t that many of us do. Someone hurt me and I was struggling, and the nearest outlet for my anger and hurt was myself. I hated my body. I punished it. I carved angry words into my skin - you can still see the scars. I starved myself. I made myself throw up what little food I did eat, and then run for hours on treadmills or ellipticals, like a deranged hamster - just in case any evil calories might get the opportunity to deliver nutrients to my body. . This was me at 15: a bobble-head lookin' body with stick arms and a big potbelly, face and cheeks constantly puffy and irritated, poorly bleached blonde hair falling out in clumps. Had I achieved society's idea of attractiveness? Hardly. . It wasn't until a doctor actually said the words "if you keep this up, you will die" that something clicked. See, I have a heart problem. Not because of the eating disorder, but it certainly didn't help. My heart, suffering from the punishment I was inflicting on myself, was giving up. It dawned on me that I might actually put myself in a grave at age 16. . And then I was like, "wait, hang on - that's f**king stupid." What would my death achieve? Would the patriarchy collapse? Would the men who had hurt me stop abusing other women? Would anything change, would there be any positive outcome in the world? UM, NO. It was like giving up and letting society WIN. . And then I got angry. . I spent the next few years devouring feminist theory, going to therapy, growing out my leg hair, and getting my body confidence on. I've been fully recovered for about 8 years, and my confidence is THROUGH THE ROOF. I love myself as passionately as I once hated myself, and I use my body, and my voice, as a platform for creating positive change in the world every single day. . I'm f**king awesome. And you are, too. Love yourself today and every day. You deserve it.
  • Last week was Teacher Appreciation week, and Jeremy is a teacher. (And I'm his chronically late wife.) But hey, every week should be Teacher Appreciation week! ... which makes it OK that this is coming a few days late, right? Right!?!? Ahem. . Here's the thing about teachers: they're some of the most undervalued, under-appreciated people in the USA. They're underpaid and overworked. They raise our children, not just when it comes to the knowledge in their little childreny heads, but their social and emotional development too. . When it comes down to it, kids spend more time with their teachers than their parents. And yet, we think it's all good to pay teachers less than a living wage while they work 60 hours a week (because lesson planning and grading doesn't magically do itself - that's night and weekend work). If anything, summer is just the time when teachers can "relax" back to a nice 40-hour workweek. And don't even get me started on the teaching situation in my home state of Kentucky, where teachers are striking after finding out that their pensions vanished into thin air. But I digress. . Teachers are amazing. They're incredible. They're superheroes in sweaters and cardigans and sensible shoes. And I'm constantly in awe of them, and of my husband. Jeremy loves his kids so much - and yes, we both think of them as "his kids," because they are. Jeremy is the kind of teacher everyone wishes they had: sassy, funny, knowledgeable, fair, and willing to bend over backwards and sideways to help out a struggling kid. He challenges his students to be the best possible version of themselves, to achieve as much as he knows they can, while encouraging them every step of the way. . Jeremy is fortunate to work at a school here in Oakland which is founded on core values that he aligns with, and his fellow faculty members are equally as dedicated, passionate, and committed as he is. Not all teachers have that privilege, and it's something that we are thankful for every single day. It just barely makes the lack of pay and long hours worth it. Or at least, it helps mitigate the sting. . Do you have any teachers in your lives? Give them some love in the comments!
  • I'm gonna let you in on a secret about being a full-time travel blogger: it isn't all jet-setting around the world in flowy skirts taking glamorous pictures in front of brightly colored walls. I mean, obviously that's part of it, or this picture wouldn't exist. But you know what I mean. I want to lift the glittery, gilded, frolicking-on-the-beach-with-a-coconut curtain up and show y'all what it's REALLY like - which is why I've got a new post up with 25 things nobody tells you about being a full time travel blogger (link in bio)! . I usually post about my day-to-day tasks in my Instagram Stories, complete with boring to-do lists like "finish my taxes" and "put on pants, maybe." But this week I haven't even had time for that level of basic-ness. For those of you wondering about my radio silence on Instagram Stories, I apologize (to all 5 or 6 of you). Between my conference next week and only posting twice in April and my Pinterest course and a massive freelance commission that's due next week, I've been freakin' the flip out, y'all! . But here's the thing: no matter how overwhelmed I feel, no matter how panicky that in-over-my-head-what-am-I-doing voice in the back of my mind gets, no matter how much I may be quietly (or loudly) freaking out - I wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world. . This job has allowed me to take FOUR amazing trips with family and friends - just in the last 4 months. Those memories are more important to me than any accolades or bylines (although y'all know I love me some fancy bylines). So all the stress? Worth it. . What are some things you've always wondered about full-time travel blogging? Peep the new post, and drop me a question below! . . . #DameTraveler #girlslovetravel #gltlove #MyTinyAtlas #femaletravelbloggers #darlingescapes #girlaroundtheworld #globelletravels #ladiesgoneglobal #sheexplores #sheisnotlost #thetravelwomen #wearetravelgirls #colombiagrafia #GaleriaCo #colombia_greatshots #travelcolombia #igerscolombia #icu_colombia #loves_colombia #colombia_folklore #visitsouthamerica #PassionPassport #ig_latinoamerica_ #loves_americas #realismomagico #colombia_estrella #ig_colombia #loves_colombia #cartagenacolombia
  • I keep having these "OMG, is this my life?" moments. I have them whenever a reporter for a Very Important Publication reaches out with a request for a quote or an interview or an article they want me to write. Lately, it seems that's been happening more and more, which is SO COOL. Last week alone, I was featured in BOTH Travel & Leisure AND Forbes. Will someone pinch me, please?! I'm living my dream! . I remember when I first started my blog... well OK, actually, 2 years after that. Because when I first bought my domain and hosting I attempted to install Wordpress, broke my entire site, and spent 2 years paying for a blank, white page instead of... I don't know, asking someone to help me fix it. 🤦I eventually set it back up on Blogger, and even though it was 2016, it looked straight out of 2005. Yikes. . Anyway, I remember reading other travel blogs with this awe-struck feeling. As I prepared for our year-long honeymoon, I found myself coming back to certain blogs again and again to seek their advice. I developed that "I don't know you, but I feel we should be BFFs" reader crush on my favorite blogs, and then tried to figure out why I was crushing on some blogs versus others. What were they doing to make me feel that way? Without realizing it at the time, I was doing competitor research! . I felt SO star-struck over those bloggers, especially the ones I knew were full-time. (Full disclosure: I TOTALLY still have bloggers that I fangirl over.) But these days, I consider many of the bloggers I idolized 2 years ago to be my peers. One of them is even my business partner, @HappytoWander! What is my life?! . I've hit so many milestones in less than 2 years, it hardly even seems real. But that's the beauty of this industry: it is brand spanking new, and we're all still figuring it out as we go. Success is there for the taking. . So if there is absolutely anyone out there who feels star struck by lil' ol me, guess what? Pretty soon we'll probably be peers, and I'll be coming to you for advice and you'll be like UGH I'M NOT TELLING YOU ALL OF MY SECRETS LIA STAHHHP. Just you wait! . Do you fangirl over any bloggers? Which ones, and what do you love about them?
  • This time last year to the DAY, we were on the tail end of our year-long honeymoon. We hopped on a plane to go spend a month in Mexico: we house-sat two adorable dogs in Puebla, ate our way through Mexico City, and shook sand from every nook and cranny of our bags (& bodies) in Isla Mujeres. Spending a month in Mexico pretty much killed tacos for me, because they will NEVER be as good as they were in Mexico. See also: elote, tamales, mole, chamoyada.... the list goes on to infinity. . But other than the extra 20 lbs I'm still carrying around from our honeymoon, everything has changed since last May. It's incredible to look back a year into the past to see how different our lives look today. We're not nomads living out of backpacks anymore (though you might not know that from our laundry habits). We're not broke travelers who will go way out of their way to save a couple of bucks, or do things like sleep in a tiny concrete room with no A/C on 2 twin beds because the hostel was cheap ... and located directly on the beach (if anyone needs a rad hostel recommendation for Isla Mujeres, let us know). . Today, our lives look very, very different. We have an apartment, with a patio, which is walking distance to everything we need - from boujie coffee to boujie groceries, with a boujie rent to match. We have jobs that we LOVE. But I'm not working in an office earning a salary, yearning for my next vacation. I'm a full-time travel blogger! Isn't that crazy??! I didn't even know that WAS a job. . If I could go back a year and tell us that this would be our lives in a year, we'd over the moon. This is exactly what we wanted after our year-long adventure. Long-term travel is amazing, but it's not something that everyone wants to do for ... you know, the LONG term. After a few months of constantly moving from place to place, started craving stability and routine like crazy. I guess we're pretty f***king basic after all. . Basic or not, we're loving our lives. We wake up every day thankful and excited. I want to hold onto this feeling forever. And I can't WAIT to see what next year holds!
  • This beautiful photo taken in Isla Mujeres, Mexico doesn't tell you the full story. In fact, it's a little bit misleading. See, you might see this photo and think "I want to visit this exact spot!" But you shouldn't. This is a place I recommend NOT visiting in our Isla Mujeres guide. . Why would I recommend not visiting somewhere with crazy blue water and waving palm trees? There's even a reef and a zip-line. What's not to love?! . We very rarely advise against visiting somewhere, but in this case, we felt strongly enough to speak out. See, this waterfront adventure park has another attraction that it advertises to its visitors: Dolphin Discovery. Imagine a tiny pen holding an imprisoned dolphin, there for you and thousands of other visitors to pet, touch, ride, feed, and do whatever they want to this poor animal without its consent. After a long day of being invaded by tourists, the dolphin will stay in its little pen, recovering from the oils transferred to its delicate skin by the sticky, sunscreen-covered hands of the tourists that delighted in petting it. It is a prisoner held against its will. . In the past few years, we've educated ourselves about eco-friendly, sustainable tourism. As travel bloggers, staying educated and giving informed advice is our duty. And even though we love animals and want to snuggle them all, we do not support any attraction where wild animals are kept in pens and allowed to be touched or pet or held for human enjoyment. . NEVER touch, feed , or cage wild animals. And if we see you posting a photo with a wild animal, rest assured: we are judging you HARD. . Were you aware that tourist attractions featuring wild animals are typically harmful and abusive ? Leave us a comment below! . #oceanside #TravelDiary #LovetoTravel #darlingescapes #exploretheworld #PassionPassport #LetsGoSomewhere #exploremore #BestVacations #MyTinyAtlas #PassionPassport #travelstagram #destinationearth #sidewalkerdaily #igersmexico #loves_mexico #mexicomaravilloso #mextagram #ig_mexico #vivamexico #coastline #vive_mexico #instamexico #instavacation #liveauthentic#flashesofdelight #mexicanoscreativos #travelogue #islamujeres_ig #islandlife
  • When we quit our jobs to take a year long honeymoon, we had this idea in our minds that travelling for a whole year would change us somehow. Everyone says they "find themselves" when they travel, and we were fully prepared to find ourselves, too. . We figured we'd find ourselves doing things like waking up at dawn, doing sunrise yoga, drinking exotic juices, spending the morning meditating or journalling or pensively reading impressively titled books, before casually taking off on a 10 mile hike or some light skydiving, and then turning in at a reasonable hour. . Instead, we pretty much found ourselves doing exactly what we usually do at home, except in exotic places: waking up late, heading immediately in the direction of coffee, working all day, watching Netflix all night, and then turning in 3 hours later than we said we would. Every time we tried to do something adventurous or athletic, it typically resulted in painful and expensive failures. Our honeymoon was pretty much a series of unfortunate events (heyooo there's that Netflix addiction again) but we had a blast anyway. . By the end of our honeymoon, we realized that the selves we'd found were not the adventurous, super-human, very fit Travel People we'd hoped we might be. Instead, we found that we were EXACTLY the people we'd always known we were. . Reality didn't hit us all at once, though. It took a year of reality slapping us repeatedly in the face, stranding us on waterfalls and getting us lost on mountains and yelling at us WAKE UP IT'S NOON HOW ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP?!?! But we finally grew to accept ourselves, with all of our many, many, many, many flaws. . The year long honeymoon may not have changed our personalities or identities or anything like that. But it did change our lives: thanks to the little blog I started for fun to document our journey, I'm now a full time travel blogger! And being my own boss means I get to sleep in as much as I want. So it all worked out. . Have you ever "found yourself" while traveling? Who'd you find, and was it who you expected?
  • I never really "got" Instagram. Before I was a travel blogger and social media was part of my job description, Instagram was one of the social media platforms that just didn't make sense to me. Looking at pictures of people I didn't know in real life holds absolutely no appeal to me. I'm a naturally curious person, and when I see something I like, I want to learn more. . On Pinterest, visual inspiration came with information: click on picture and you can learn how to re-create it in a recipe, tutorial, or guide. Instagram, on the other hand, came with pithy, cliche quotes and emojis. I didn't get it, and I resigned myself to a life of lowly Instagram non-fame. . And then I met some people who finally showed me how to enjoy Instagram. A group of amazing local travel bloggers here in San Francisco who are all KILLING it on the 'gram. Together, sliding through the DM's, we lifted each other up and supported each other's successes. We shared our secrets and stories and learned from each other's strengths. . And then we became IRL friends! Last weekend, we all met up here in San Francisco - some even flew in from across the country. And the sisterhood was REAL, y'all! I've never enjoyed waking up at dawn ever in my life, but with these ladies, it was worth it. And yes, we did it all for the 'gram. . I got more than just a few rad IG photos (including this one) from these amazing women. I got a tight-knit group of friends, spread out all over the country and at times, the globe. And now? I "get" IG. My feed is full of beautiful, inspiring women, and I'm privileged enough to call them my friends, too! . Have you made any friends through Instagram? Tell me about them and drop a tag, below! . . . #alwayssf #sanfrancitizens #sanfranciscolife #passionpassport #californialiving #sanfranciscobay #visitsf #citybythebay #nowrongwaysf #girlgetters #thesanfrancisco #alwayssf #igerssf #igsanfrancisco #mysf #iheartsf #ilove_sanfrancisco #CitizenFemme #DameTraveler #wearetravelgirls #sheisnotlost #GirlsWhoTravel #girlslovetravel #radgirlslife #thetravelwomen #girlsvsglobe #femaletravelbloggers #girlsjustwannatravel #ladiesgoneglobal #wearetravelladies

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