You’ve been told for years that you need to get there. That there’s nothing like it. That it’s an experience you’ll never forget. The mystery. The history. My goodness, the beauty. Any traveler worth their salt wants to get there, period.

After years of dreaming, months of planning, and days of hiking, you finally turn the corner and see it. Machu Picchu.

Now what?

This is the first question that our Colombia travel specialists often get when planning travel there. Americans in particular have concerns about traveling to a country so recently known for its centrality to the drug trade, and the violence that was born of it. I’m going to be honest with you. There’s part of us here at Global Basecamps that wants to lie to you. Part of us wants to say “wait 10 more years for things to settle down,” or “the security is not quite there yet.” There seems to be an exclusive club of travelers these days, a secret cabal of people in the know. They know Colombia tours have been safe for years. They know its beaches are top notch. They know it is absolutely one of the best countries to travel in almost because so few people go there.

Global Basecamps is incredibly proud to have been named a finalist for TravelAge West's Trendsetter Award for Upward Bound, Rockstar Agent Under 40. Our Travel Specialist Andres Zuleta, has been a part of the Global Basecamps family since 2009 and specializes in customizing travel to Japan and South America.

Hotel B in Lima’s bohemian Barranco district is one of our favorite hotels in Peru’s eclectic capital of Lima. To experience the best Peru tours, we see no reason to stay anywhere else.

There are other five-star luxury hotels in Lima worth mentioning. They have ocean views, perfect rooms, and undeniable service. But part of our job at Global Basecamps is to not just put you in a perfect (if forgettable) hotel, but to leave you wowed by your hotel. A true “Best of Basecamps” property is more than a perfect review on a website. There are hotels in the world’s biggest cities that feel like they’ve been there forever. Their sense of history compliments their pristine reputation and A-level service. Hotel B has this sense of history, which is confusing because it’s literally Lima’s newest hotel. (As of Summer 2013)

One of our own recently returned from his trip to Okinawa, Japan. He was kind enough to share some of his pictures and experiences with us! This is How We Travel.

I recently had the fortune to travel to Okinawa. Despite having lived for several years on Japan's mainland, this was my first visit to Okinawa and in every way it exceeded my expectations.

I flew into Tokyo and connected directly to Naha, Okinawa's largest city on Okinawa Honto, Okinawa's main island ("honto" just means "main island"). If I had to do it again, I would spend 1-2 nights in Tokyo at the start, because by the time I arrived in Okinawa I was exhausted (and a ramen in Tokyo would have been a nice treat after the 10-hour flight). On the flip side, I was thrilled to wake up the next morning already in paradise... so for shorter trips, flying into Okinawa directly makes perfect sense.