Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.
Name: Esther JuLee & Jacob Fu
Occupation: Full-Time Travel Bloggers
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Residence: NYC (until 2019)
College: Georgia Tech
College major: Chemistry // Business Management
Website: localadventurer.com
Twitter: @estherjulee // @jacobthefu
Facebook: Local Adventurer
Instagram: estherjulee // jacobthefu
Pinterest: Local Adventurer – Collecting Experiences in NYC + Worldwide
YouTube: Local Adventurer
Short bio: Hi, we’re Esther and Jacob and we are full-time travel bloggers. The idea of Local Adventurer was hatched when we moved out west and regretted not exploring more of Atlanta, the hometown we had lived in for most our lives. It’s easy to get comfortable and take your home for granted, so we wanted to practice finding adventure in our every day and open our eyes to the awe and wonder like our visitors do. Since then, we’ve moved to a new city every year to focus on exploring locally. We’ve moved from Atlanta > Los Angeles > Las Vegas > San Diego > Portland, and currently live in NYC.
How often do you fly? Usually once a month.
How many countries have you been to? 37
How many continents have you been to? 5
Favorite American city: San Diego, CA.
Favorite international city: Tokyo.
Least favorite country: Morocco.
I have no desire to go to: We eventually want to go everywhere.
Friendliest people in the world: Georgia, USA (it’s our home state so we might be biased).
Favorite World Heritage Site: Yosemite National Park.
Favorite airline: Delta.
Aisle or window: Window.
Favorite airport lounge: Skyclub.
Favorite U.S. airport: PDX.
Favorite international airport: Singapore.
Favorite hotel: St. Regis.
Favorite cruise line: Norwegian.
Favorite travel credit card: Chase Business Ink.
Favorite island: Galapagos Islands.
Favorite beach: Pfeiffer Beach.
Favorite National Park: Joshua Tree National Park.
Favorite fancy restaurant: French Laundry.
Favorite hole-in-the-wall: Tacos el Gordo.
Favorite fruit: Salak.
Favorite food: Pasta!
Least favorite food: Bugs.
Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Diet Coke.
Favorite travel movie(s): Futurama (can’t wait to travel through space!).
Favorite travel show(s): BBC Planet Earth.
Favorite travel podcast(s): “The Offbeat Life.”
Favorite travel book(s): “Wild.”
Favorite travel website(s)—besides JohnnyJet.com, of course! Californiathroughmylens, The Planet D.
5 things you bring on a plane: Headphones, Sharmbaa (jacket/blanket), cell phone charger, wipes (to wipe hands and germs from the tables), backpack.
What do you always seem to forget? Sunblock.
What do you like least about travel? Not being home with our cats.
What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport Duty Free store? Joe Malone Candles.
Favorite travel app(s): Our camera app and Google Maps :)
Most embarrassing travel moment: Crying during the Inca Trail.
I’m embarrassed I haven’t been to: Paris.
Worst travel moment: Losing my Canon 5D Mark III in NYC.
What’s your dream destination? Antarctica.
Best travel tip: Plan your trip but leave room in your schedule to discover and explore. If you’re anything like us, we want to maximize our time when we travel. But rather than packing our schedule tight, we plan the important things to us: food and photography. We know where we want to have our meals and where we want to be at sunset. The rest of the trip we leave a bit more free flowing. We’ll usually have a list of spots we want to check out and go down that list, but leave room to be spontaneous. Sometimes we might hear about something from a local that we had no idea existed and decide to check that out instead.