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Zuru Kenya is a sophisticated, high quality, visually impacting travel, leisure and lifestyle Blog. We seek to raise the profile of Kenya by showcasing its diversity in cultures, tastes, wildlife, stunning landscapes and more! Our passion for travel drives us to highlight what makes Kenya a top tourist destination (not only in Africa but worldwide) and the premier of wildlife safari. Our aim is to bring you relevant travel content that features Kenya's fascinating history and culture, her people, amazing sights & sounds and beautiful regions designed to aid you in planning and/or enjoying your trip to this beautiful country

Things to do

Reasons why you won’t feel like a loner, backpacking!!

March 4, 2015 zurukenya Leave a comment

Sipping my healthy smoothie by the Kilifi Backpackers bar counter, I watch as my friend tries to get a splinter off of *James (a fellow traveller’s) foot . Poor thing went swimming at the beach and left his stuff (bag, shoes, and bicycle) unattended. Unfortunately for him, “Cha kuokota si cha kuiba” finding is not stealing, is a rule some people live by on this ends, his bag and shoes got stolen and had he not left his bicycle somewhere in the bushes, his transport back “home” would have gone too! With his shoes gone, getting his bicycle from the bushes left him with a thorny situation.

Even after cleaning his wound when he got back from the beach, *James could still feel some sharp pain on the foot and that’s when he asked us to check it out. Funny thing though about this whole situation, I doubt he would have gotten any such assistance from fellow guests in a classic or luxury travel setting, everyone keeps to themselves! Imagine you and your friends enjoying your drinks in some luxurious hotel bar, laughing with each other about jokes nobody outside of your group will understand, based on memories and past experiences you had with those friends. Now imagine some random dude approaching you and asking for help with his foot situation. What would your reaction be? weirded out perhaps?

With backpacking, things are different. Sure, not everyone will be welcoming with open arms when you ask if you may join them for dinner, some people want to be left alone sometimes, but I guarantee you that 99% of people will say “sure, no problem”. See even though we were not really “buddies” with James, we were not really strangers per se, we had cheered him on during the daily beach volleyball, shared conversation over breakfast, heck we even got to “babysit” his beers!! so we were already familiar with him.

If you are setting out to travel on your lonesome and are worried about loneliness creeping up on you, fear not, backpacking is here!

Just like our time at Distant Relatives, you will realise that almost everyone backpacking is travelling alone as well. Moreover, everyone wants to make friends. As a matter of fact, you may have to TRY to be alone! It does not matter how introverted you are, it is impossible not to meet new people; for instance, at times you may just be sitted by yourself wanting some alone time when a stranger joins you for conversation.

Whether you’re lounging in a hammock on the balcony or frying something in the communal kitchen, at any moment you could strike up a conversation with a stranger and make a friend for life.

Aside from that, meeting new people is inevitable when staying in a hostel, or dorm rooms. You won’t have a choice but to get to know them. Just say hello and ask where they’ve been, where they’re going, how long they’ve been around and if they’d recommend anything cool to do or see.

I’m not sure it’s possible to feel lonely at a hostel and more often than not, you may end up craving some alone time.

In the backpacking world, it’s always someone’s first or last night and therefore a reason to go out – which means there’s a lot of drinking going on (A LOT!). Therefore, if parties are your thing, you will never fall short. Going out for dinner one night with several strangers and never seeing them again is part of the fun and it’s what happens. People are aware of it and it’s kind of the norm.

You meet great people, and then tomorrow they are gone. Maybe you will see each other again, maybe not. In some cases though, some of these people may end up being the group you travel around with, which is a great bonus!

Backpacking is a great lifestyle; It’s fun, social, has a youthful vibe to it and you get to meet amazing people. There will be people you meet who become your friends for a week, friends for a month and friends for life. Happy Backpacking!!!

Photo Credits: Distant Relatives Kilifi Backpackers

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We’ve been Nominated! -BAKE Kenya Blog Awards

March 2, 2015 zurukenya Leave a comment

We’re thrilled to announce that we have been nominated for two categories of the 2015 BAKE Kenyan Blog Awards;

Best Travel Blog
Kenyan Blog of the Year.

We would really love your support. Please head over to http://www.blogawards.co.ke/vote/ and kindly vote for us!!

We’d be very grateful.

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A Glimpse of Kenyan History Through Pictures

February 23, 2015 zurukenya Leave a comment

Kenyan History

The foundation of the modern day Kenyatta Avenue was laid down by one James Kerr Watson an architect and the owner of the huge Donholm Farm, which was where the estate with the same name stands today in Nairobi. The road was then known as 6^th Avenue before it’s name changed to Delamere Avenue. After independence, the road was named after the President Mzee Kenyatta to the current name of Kenyatta Avenue.

Photo of Kenyatta Avenue in 1911. (Photo courtesy of Caroline Kere)

The McMillan Memorial Library was established as a private library in 1931 in memory of philanthropists Lord William Northrop Macmillan and wife Lucie. Lprd MacMillan was the owner of the vast Juja Farm near Thika. The McMillan Memorial Library became public in 1962.

The Macmillan Library with the Jamia Mosque 40’s (Photo by Harjinder Kanwal )

In 1909, Kamau wa Ngegi joined Church of Scotland Mission…

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Hilarious Origin of Names of Towns and Locations in Kenya

February 23, 2015 zurukenya Leave a comment

Kenyan History

Kenya is home to many trading centers and towns some with very interesting names, but have you ever thought of how the name of your town or village came about? Some of the names came about by what we can term as sheer coincidence and twists which are funny.

Dagoretti Corner: The place was originally known as “The Great Corner” and the Africans could not pronounce it correctly and the corrupted version became Dagoretti Corner which was directly from The Great Corner which has stuck to this day. The Great Corner was the site of the first airfield in Kenya; a patchy grass runway around the present Meteorological Department.

Rumuruti: Rumuruti is a town in Laikipia County about 40km north of Nyahururu. How did it get its’ name? The town was on the route from Nyahururu to Mararal which was commonly used by white settlers. They referred to the…

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Chakula Chetu

#NRW2015 Featured On NTV’s AM Live

January 28, 2015 zurukenya Leave a comment

Nairobi Restaurant Week is all the rage right now. Even the hosts of NTV AM Live, Sheila Mwanyigha and Kobi Kihara wanted to get in on it. The two hosted EatOut Kenya CEO, Mikul Shah, and Brew Bistro Lounge’s Soraiya Ladak and Chef Hector Sanchez for a morning chat about Nairobi’s only 10 day culinary event.

What does it take to feature in Nairobi Restaurant Week?

Mikul and Soraiya did a fantastic job of walking the hosts through the concept, where it came from and what the plan is for this year.

Chef Hector even did a live preparation of omena! OMENA! Can we adopt this one? I think we can adopt this one!

– Andrew Onyango, Eatout

Gallery

Travel Photo of the Day

Image January 27, 2015 zurukenya 1 Comment

Giraffe-Manor4-zuru-kenya — Wonder what their conversation was about?? photo credit: Robin Moore

Where to stay

The One of a kind Floating House of Kilifi Creek that’s right on budget

January 27, 2015 zurukenya Leave a comment

Across from the Kilifi bridge, as you head north towards Watamu, is an epic piece of property which is magical in its simplicity.

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The floating house that Rene Faber and his co-directors at Kilifi Boatyard – Peter Bateman and his wife Siba, built in 2007 is an outstanding work of art that is also a self-catering rental cottage that can sleep six.

Built almost entirely using hardwood, the light-brown boat house is permanently anchored right inside the Indian Ocean waters, a few metres from the shore.

floating-house-zuru-kenya

Inside, the simple house that has proved to be a major attraction for both local and foreign tourists – according to Bateman, offers an easy welcome for residents with generous common spaces, three bedrooms and a great deal of ocean breeze.

It is the open lounge covering half the upper deck that perhaps wins it all for this floating property, which provides an ideal space to enjoy near 360-degree views of the creek that extends about a mile into the mainland.

floating-house-deck-zuru-kenya

Bateman says the house was built to provide accommodation for tourists, which is complementary to the core business that Kilifi Boatyard provides; water sports facility, the sailing school and motor yacht repair.

“We needed to provide accommodation with a difference to complement the water sports and boat repairs service that we provide here,” he says of the floating house, the latest addition to the business started in 1976 to provide repair and storage of boats for sailors.

The highly-polished wooden floor, walls and stairway blend with ease, especially under the natural light from the translucent roofing to emphasise the strong attributes of the home’s interiors.

floating-house-interior-zuru-kenya

The location of the floating house on the heavily sheltered lagoon means that the waters will always be calm even when the waves in the open ocean are high, ensuring that even those prone to sea sickness because of the waves can cope.

Apart from the floating house, little else has changed in the boatyard whose ownership has changed three times in the past couple of years.

It first belonged to the late Dickie Mason then his son Philip Mason and later to Faber- one of the current directors.

floating-house-kilifi-zuru-kenya

“It was critical that we started providing accommodation if we were to attract local tourists because the dynamics have changed quite a lot that have discouraged sailing,” says Bateman, citing that among his clients are families from Nairobi.

The boathouse represents an alternative form of accommodation at the coast, where investors are rushing in to put up establishments that challenge the traditional tourist hotels.

Self-catering villas and apartments are perhaps the hottest class of property at the Kenyan coast, driven by shifting client demands.

floating-house-kilifi-creek

Hoteliers have had to introduce flexible holiday packages that come at a discount compared to the contemporary tourist facilities.

In the floating house, for instance, residents can fix their own coffee using the installed appliances though there is a main restaurant that still provides catering for main meals throughout the day. Daily room service is available similar to your ordinary hotel room.

zurukenya-floating-house

Basic amenities such as electricity and water are connected to the floating house from the mainland, linked through a suspended wooden wharf.

Zurukenya-floating-house-kilifi

Bateman says that the history of the facility dates back more than 35 years when Dickie was operating the boat repair business under a palm tree while the restaurant was a small makuti shack.

Today, the restaurant on the mainland, where the sailors would stop over for a meal or drink while their boats were being repaired, is still a simple outdoor eatery right on the shoreline only that most of the patrons are not on the move but locals who appreciate a late lunch and a cold beer.

zurukenya-floating-house

Despite its uniqueness, the floating house may not be the most expensive on the Kenyan coast but it certainly stands out.

-Moses Michira, Business Daily.

Image source: Traveling Kenya

Lifestyle

These Striking Wedding Photos From Kenya Are Guaranteed To Take Your Breath Away

January 26, 2015 zurukenya 3 Comments

Wedding photographer Jonas Peterson has shot brides and grooms in all sorts of beautiful places around the world, but he says this recent wedding in Kenya might be the most spectacular of the bunch.

“I didn’t know Africa would touch me so deeply,” the Melbourne-based photographer wrote on his blog. “It sung to me in a way I didn’t know possible, found new chords and played on strings I didn’t know I had inside me.”

Credit: Jonas Peterson

In late September, Nina — a wildlife photographer and senior marketing advisor to wild cat conservation organization Panthera — and her fiancé Sebastian tied the knot in national wildlife reserve Maasai Mara in front of their closest friends and family.

“The bride of the Maasai normally wear a lot of jewelry, and the necklace, called enkarewa, is especially important,” the bride told The Huffington Post in an email. “When I first told my closest friend in the Maasai community about our wedding, he came back to me with a necklace and bracelets as a special gift made for me by his family. The stick carried by Sebastian was also a gift from the local Maasai community.”

Credit: Jonas Peterson

Over the last several years, Nina has spent many months in Maasai Mara following a pride of lions for a project about the world’s last wild lions.

“During this time, I have become very close friends and almost family with the Maasai, who have welcomed me into their lives,” she told HuffPost Weddings. “Because we were planning to hold our ceremony on the land of the Maasai, it was very important to us to incorporate some of the traditions of the Maasai culture into the ceremony…After the announcement [of husband and wife], a traditional Maasai song and dance followed according to tradition.”

According to the bride, the two cultures and nature merged “in the perfect moment and the best day of our lives.” We’ll allow the gorgeous photos below to do the talking.

Jonas Peterson

In a blog post published on Once Wed , the bride detailed the many ways Mother Nature “was with [them] every moment of the wedding”:

Approaching the ceremony site in our safari Land Rover, the clouds were building up to an unusually dramatic storm, yet on the other side of the horizon, the sky was perfectly blue and the sun was shining. As we walked down the aisle the white rose petals at the center of the ceremony had attracted a number of white butterflies that circled around us on the ground…At the end of the ceremony the sky was almost black. As we were walking back down the aisle and the Maasai started singing and jumping, a herd of wildebeest stormed across the savannah and the wind started blowing…Just as we got into our car, the sky opened and huge raindrops started falling. The groom wondered (as did some guests) whether the love of his life had made a deal with Mother Nature.

more incredible photos from the big day;

– The Huffington Post | By Kelsey Borresen

Lifestyle

How to make the most of Nairobi Restaurant Week

January 22, 2015 zurukenya 2 Comments

Nairobi Restaurant Week #NRW2015 kicks off today.

For the uninitiated, Restaurant Week is when hundreds of establishments, from fine dining standbys to hip new eateries, offer special prix-fixe lunches and dinners to much enthused foodies.

NRW-Blog Post-NC

This event has been a proven tradition amongst many major cities around the World including Cape Town, London, New York and Tokyo to name a few and although it is still quite a new concept in the country, last year’s launch was a big success. This year’s NRW will feature over 50 restaurants offering 2 or 3-meal courses.

Organised by Taste Events Ltd (A partnership between EatOut and

SHK Consulting), the event will run till 1st of February, giving food lovers an awesome 10 days to sample as many restaurants as they can. #NRW2015 is therefore bigger than last year’s encompassing two full weekends.

Menus will cost Ksh1,500 or Ksh2,000 depending on the establishment. Some establishments will be offering a 2 course selection from the same menu at lunch time for a reduced price of Ksh Ksh1,000 or Ksh1,500, again depending on the establishment. This will however not include a complimentary cocktail.

This year’s title sponsor, Magnum Cream Liqueur from Liquid Africa will be offering a complimentary Magnum cocktail, or a glass of Magnum on the rocks; for those who prefer theirs served plain on the rocks. Magnum is a luxurious cream liqueur which has tantalizing hints of caramel, chocolate and rich toffee making it perfect for anytime of the day even as dessert after a hearty meal.

Some of the best fine-dining restaurants on board this year include; Soaring Eagle Spur, Secret Graden, Villa Rosa Kempinski, Bhandini, Mambo Italia, Artisan at Sankara,DusitD2 Soko, amongst others.

Whilst you should look forward to having a great experience, it’s important to take a step back and see if you’re actually getting a good deal. A lot of people are going to restaurants they wouldn’t go to because it’s Restaurant Week, which is part of the idea, but they’re less in tune with what those restaurants are doing.

Are you being served a raw deal?

At first glance, Restaurant Week seems like a win-win for both restaurants and guests. Customers pay a fixed (and ostensibly lower) price while getting to try a new restaurant and its specialties.

For all its benefits, Customers, rightly, want a good dining experience and a good deal. Restaurants on the other hand, rightly, want to fill seats during an otherwise slow month—the original purpose behind the promotion—and satisfy guests without losing money.

But here’s the thing: a ton of people turn out for Restaurant Week. “Amateur eaters” are seduced by the seemingly low prices and a desire to experience the new culinary fad. As a result, wait times can stretch on, and service may lag due to the sheer volume of orders and tables.

The premise of restaurant week is that restaurants you may not normally visit will lower their prices and offer their best dishes or most creative items in order to lure you back in the future. This is however not the case for all establishments involved.

You might find restaurants that don’t take the event seriously and serve extra-small portions. With menus being extremely limited, the value just isn’t there.

The quality of food often drops, too. Cheaper options that may not otherwise appear on the standard menu show up on the prix fixe as a way for owners to save money with the “special” menus. There are restaurants that normally have very particular ingredients and offer really outstanding quality products, and then you come into Restaurant Week and it’s all very conventional. The meal should at least be representative of the kitchen’s style.

Taking all of this into consideration, those prix fixe costs suddenly don’t seem like the best deal in some establishments.

Still, some eateries use the program to deliver great value. There are a few places out there where the special prix fixe is as good a deal as the regular menu. It’s the delight in discovering those that keep many coming back for more.

It can be bad (sometimes) for restaurants too!!

Restaurant Week can certainly be great for restaurants — it amps up exposure and brings in new customers during an otherwise slow month.

It is also a good opportunity for restaurants to showcase to people who may have otherwise not dined with them.

But it can also have the opposite effect. Dining out during Restaurant Week doesn’t necessarily offer a true glimpse of what a place is actually like. Crowds and long wait times annoy a restaurant’s best customers, and those deal-seeking diners are not necessarily going to come back. Which is really bad, given that increasing repeat business for restaurants is one of the main goals of a publicity program such as Restaurant Week.

It can also be rough on the servers leading to a subpar service. When you get down to it, the waiter isn’t making as much money.”

Ultimately, Restaurant Week can turn out to be a pain. But if you do decide to go, here are some tips for doing it right:

Do your research — some menus might be dumbed down, especially the higher cost ones. Try to find restaurants that stick as close to their main menu as possible. If the regular menu, and what they’re offering you doesn’t match up, then you’re looking at a place that’s faking you out. There are also plenty of restaurants where you actually pay more during Restaurant Week than you would a la carte.

Make a reservation, especially at your favorite spot. Restaurant Week is always busy, and you might not be able to get in. The menu is limited to the first 250 patrons at each outlet so the earlier the better!

Chances are many of the best restaurants were booked weeks ago. Don’t be afraid to call if a restaurant is booked to see if some tables are unloaded last minute by reservation hoarders. Sometimes, restaurants will extend their promotions after Restaurant Week (or offer the prix fixe year round). Plus, it never hurts to make sure there are no cancellations!

Be Nice – If you do go out late, realize servers have likely been running around more than usual by the time you get there. A little extra kindness can go a long way — not being snappy is a good way to increase your chances of getting your food quickly and accurately, something that holds true no matter what time you dine.

Do Lunch – If you’re able to make time in the middle of the day, lunch is a good option. Not only are the the courses cheaper, dining rooms are less likely to be jam-packed, and the service and kitchen staff will both be fresh. It’s a good chance to try places you might not venture during the evening.

Branch Out – Sure, everyone wants to go to the hot spots of the moment, but you might get better service (and find out about a fantastic dish before your friends do) if you try some of the older, more established restaurants on the list.

Tip Well – Do tips actually act as incentives for good service? Not exactly, since your server won’t know what you leave until your meal is over, but if Restaurant Week patrons decide as a group to leave better gratuities, it could put an end to the front-of-the-house griping that traditionally comes with the promotion. Happier servers = happier guests, simple as that.

Don’t Double Book – If you can get them, it can be tempting to book several reservations for one evening, and then choose whichever one you most feel like on the night of. This is definitely not cool, since it leaves restaurants on the hook with empty tables and lost revenue. See “Tip Well” above; making the promotion smoother for servers and managers ends up making it smoother for everyone.

Last year, four days into the weeklong culinary experience, restaurants registered a significant increase in patrons wanting to take advantage of the unique experience with establishments like Bamboo, Zen Garden and Jiko at Tribe Hotel selling out their 250 limited-edition offering within three days with several others such as About Thyme and Pablos, Best Western recording similar numbers as well.

Whether you plan to sample the finest food the city has to offer or not, it’s a given that Nairobi Restaurant Week is growing up to be the biggest culinary event in the country (if it isnt already).

If you do get to attend though, Good meals? Bad meals? Tell us about them in the comments.

Check the participating restaurants and their menus here.

Lifestyle

13 travel resolutions you need to keep in 2015

January 19, 2015 zurukenya Leave a comment

13 travel resolutions you need to keep in 2015 How many times have you broken a New Year’s resolution? If your answer is all the time, here’s one to try for 2015: Travel more.

Instead of shooting for the stars, or trying to right a habitual wrong, make a promise that you have every incentive to want to keep.

The below jet-setting guide contains feasible, affordable and do-able goals that are sure to skyrocket the quality of your year (and overall number of Instagram Likes).

Because, who doesn’t want to scratch off a once-in-a-lifetime destination, have an epiphany during a walkabout, or make a spur-of-the-moment decision that ends up being unforgettable? No one, that’s who.

Check a trip off your bucket list

Whether it’s conquering Machu Picchu or witnessing the spectacle that is the Northern Lights, chop your bucket list by one item. These dream trips are no joke: They require some heavy lifting before they can become a reality.

Start hoarding vacation days and putting aside paychecks so you have enough time and money saved up before the end of the year. There are a handful of apps that can easily help you manage and help to reach your goals, like iWish and Bucket List Pro.

Invest in chic luggage

Why does it feel so great to update your Facebook profile photo? Because sending a message to others that you look good, feels good. Like any other hobby, traveling is an extracurricular activity that begs for you to look the part, and owning must-have travel gear will motivate you to use it.

For women, Vogue and Refinery29 cull super-cute accessories, and for men, Details has everything from stylish clothes to sleek and necessary gadgets so you both can travel in style.

Explore your own city

No one is a tourist at home, so it’s common — and somewhat embarrassing — to have major, must-see sites in your own city that you have never actually set your eyes on. The next time a friend or family member comes to town, have yourself a tourist day and keep your secret safe by doubling as an educational host.

Once the mainstream attractions are out of the way, head off the beaten path for urban hidden gems. From an outdoor bike racing track in New York City to an abandoned Nazi camp in Los Angeles and a Technicolor church in Washington, D.C.’s arts district, reference Thrillist for city lists of creative things to do that you didn’t even know existed.

Travel with a close companion

You and your best friend aren’t getting any younger. If you’ve been brainstorming co-trip ideas for years, there’s no time like the present. From girlfriend getaways in Charleston and Miami to mancations in Las Vegas or Montreal, turn your best pal into a travel buddy.

After spending 24 hours together in uncharted waters, you might want to kill each other, you’ll certainly learn something new about one another, and no matter what, you’ll emerge with an even stronger bond.

Unplug for a week, or weekend

Leave your phone at home. In today’s day and age, everyone is so reliant on mobile and technological devices that a weeklong rejuvenating spa retreat might not be enough relaxation to steer you back to center.

“Digital detoxes” are leading the growing unplugging trend by stripping participants from any connection to the outside world, and that includes social media. When you quietly camp in Big Sur, watch real birds chirp in Chile and graduate from a Stress Release & Burnout class in Thailand, that vibrating urgency of your smartphone will be a distant need.

Set out on a road trip

A rocking playlist, a full tank of gas and the right passengers are the only components you need to have a successful road trip. Whether driving across the country or down the coast, hitting the pavement as the wind blows through your hair is a rite of passage that every American should experience at least once.

If anything goes wrong during your travels, it’s sure to make for one helluva story when you reminisce about the adventure. For bucket-list drives, here’s a list of 10 that take the tank.

Take a walking, hiking or biking tour

Active travel companies like Backroads, Butterfield & Robinson and National Geography offer guided excursions where you can truly take in the sights. The mantra of these groups is that by seeing less, you will see much, much more. The organized journeys take travelers across continents for an up-close-and-personal cultural adventure.

When you’re pedaling through the countryside of Tuscany, coming face-to-face with elephants during a Tanzania walking safari, or boarding a junk cruise through Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, you aren’t just seeing the locales, you’re living them.

Go to a new U.S. city

You don’t have to spend a fortune or hop continents to soak in a spectacular sight. Have you crossed San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, earned a necklace made of beads in New Orleans, or skied down Aspen’s Colorado Rockies?

What about listening to the sound of Niagara Falls, kicking up pavement through Badlands National Park or waterskiing across Lake Tahoe? There’s no shortage of homegrown lore in the U.S., so go ahead and pick one.

Plan a solo trip

When the “Eat Pray Love” wanderlust won’t quiet, it’s time for an introspective adventure. Budget Travel has a list of 35 destination recommendations and Condé Nast Traveler narrows theirs to 10.

No matter where you go, do the research. Since traveling alone can up the risk ante, you can also hook up with groups of other solo travelers through communities like the Travel Buddies app, which gives users profiles and filters to find others with shared interests.

Brush up on a language you learned in school — and use it

It’s time to break out the foreign language textbook. If you learned Spanish or French in high school, college or while studying abroad, take a refresher course, and then travel somewhere that will have you using what you’ve re-learned in the field.

The best way to experience another culture is by immersing yourself in their ways and customs, but language isn’t exactly like riding a bike. Use Duolingo, which is a free app and website that will have you conjugating verbs again soon with their video game-like approach.

Check out a festival

From music to food and wine, there are enough festivals across the country to keep you busy for the entire year. For tunes, kick off the music circuit with Coachella in April, followed by Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza in the summer months, and then head down to Austin City Limits for the closing set in October.

On your nibbling and imbibing menu, the appetizer is the New Orleans Food & Wine Experience in May, the main meal is the Aspen Food and Wine Classic in June and for dessert, devour the savory treats at the NYC Wine & Food Festival in October.

Use all of your vacation days

Most people are guilty of telling a vacation-day white lie. This year, throw down the gauntlet and promise yourself that binge-watching, staycationing on the couch and being hung over in bed are no longer reasonable uses of this valuable time away from work.

Instead, vow to actually take advantage of the desk freedom and spend it the way it’s intended: outside. You’re sure to squeeze in an extra trip or two a year.

Book a last-minute trip

When it comes to last-minute travel, Groupon, Living Social and JetSetter are your best friends. Sign up and you’ll be privy to deals that can often be too good to turn down.

Lastminute.com is another one-stop shop where you can grab an entire travel package, including cars and hotels. Be flexible, impulsive and spontaneous, and the result will be you living a little.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Travel.

-By Jackie Strause, Yahoo Travel