{"id":98880409,"date":"2014-07-22T14:40:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T14:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/travel-trends\/surf-s-up-jessie-on-a-journey-talks-exotic-beach-vacations\/"},"modified":"2018-10-25T06:59:15","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T10:59:15","slug":"surf-s-up-jessie-on-a-journey-talks-exotic-beach-vacations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/surf-s-up-jessie-on-a-journey-talks-exotic-beach-vacations\/","title":{"rendered":"Surf\u2019s Up! \u2018Jessie On a Journey\u2019 Talks Exotic Beach Vacations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Planning an exotic beach vacation can <\/em>be as stress-free as your time spent on the sand. We asked pro wanderer and OneTravel Twitter chat co-host Jessie Festa<\/strong> of Jessie On a Journey<\/a> <\/strong>to share her best summer packing tips, favorite exotic beaches, and the sand-loving bloggers you can\u2019t afford NOT to follow.
\nAnd if you like what you see here, don\u2019t forget to join @OneTravel<\/strong><\/a> and @JessonaJourney<\/strong><\/a> for a special Twitter party on exotic beach getaways (July 24th, 2014 at 2pm EST). It\u2019ll be chock full of tips, tricks, and deals. Follow #OneTravelChat<\/strong> to participate. The sand, sun, and surf beckon!<\/p>\n

What’s your favorite music to listen to\/books to read while on the road\/in-flight?<\/strong>
\nTypically when I\u2019m on a plane I spend more time writing. I know you can purchase Wi-Fi on flights nowadays but it\u2019s usually expensive, so I use the excuse to write without distractions and just let whatever thoughts I have flow from my mind to my fingertips. In terms of reading I typically find blog posts that sound interesting before my flight and download them onto my phone to read later. I have the Newsify App which I\u2019ve loaded all my favorite travel and lifestyle sites onto and it turns them into a magazine format, so I can browse easily to find what might interest me. For music, I listen to what I normally would at home, which is everything from Pink Floyd to Maroon 5 to Armin van Buuren. It all depends on my mood.<\/p>\n


\nWhen\/why did you start blogging about travel and what has been your favorite post to date?<\/strong>
\nI started blogging in the summer of 2011, with Jessie on a Journey<\/a>. Epicure & Culture<\/a> came a few years later in winter of 2012. After graduating from the State University of New York at Albany with a BA\/MA in Communication & Rhetoric, I realized I had no desire to work in an office. Throughout college I had studied abroad, taught English in Thailand and backpacked solo through Europe, and knew I couldn\u2019t give up the travel lifestyle. I started reading other travel blogs and decided if I pursed it aggressively enough, I could make a living out of it. To date, my favorite posts are Going Against Societal Norms: Following My Dreams Instead Of The Crowd<\/a> (Jessie on a Journey) and In Search Of Australia\u2019s Quintessential Dish<\/a> (Epicure & Culture).<\/p>\n

\"Surf\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tell us about your first travel experience.<\/strong>
\nGrowing up I always traveled with my family, doing road trips around North America to different theme parks and going on Caribbean cruises; however, it was when I studied abroad in Sydney, Australia, that I truly felt like a \u201ctraveler.\u201d It was so exciting, not just visiting a place but being immersed in the culture, meeting the people and feeling the beat of the city. Before I was even back in New York I had a solo trip booked to Thailand.<\/p>\n


\nTell us about the beaches you\u2019ve traveled to.<\/strong>
\nI grew up on Long Island, right outside of Manhattan in New York, so I\u2019ve always been a beach person. My dad and brother each own a boat and go fishing, crabbing and clamming almost every day, and we have some beaches that have harbor seals and from where you can go whale watching. It always amazed me how accessible it was from NYC but how people didn\u2019t know about it. While I obviously have a soft spot for Long Island, the most beautiful beaches I\u2019ve ever seen in my life would have to either be Fakarava — a lesser-known island that has some of French Polynesia\u2019s best diving — or The Exumas, an almost untouched part of the Bahamas. Both have the most translucent yet deep blue waters and soft golden sand I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

What are your favorite exotic beaches and why? <\/strong>
\nThe two mentioned above would be my favorite. I also traveled to Okinawa, Japan, last year and was amazed at the beautiful beaches. I really enjoyed the star sand beaches on Iriomote, made up of small fossils dating back 550 million years. This island is great for having an adventure-filled day<\/a> and then relaxing on a unique strip of coast. On Taketomi Island<\/a> you can immerse yourself in traditional culture and do the same.
\nWhat are some tips for packing properly for a beach trip? <\/strong>
\nIf I know I\u2019m going on a beach trip I typically pack less. It\u2019s a great excuse, especially as a woman, for not packing makeup or hair appliances and just going au naturel. You\u2019ll never need more than a carry-on with sunscreen (or you can buy that in your destination), a bathing suit, a hat, sandals, a few sundresses\/shorts-and-t-shirt ensembles and you\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n


\nWhich beach attractions are worth it and which should you skip?<\/strong>
\nFor me, when I go to a beach I want to get to know THAT beach. If there\u2019s a beach known for windsurfing, do windsurfing. If there\u2019s another beach that does cookouts and is littered with beach bars, order a cold brew and chow down. I love when beaches have nearby woodland or jungles so you can do a hike and then cool off in the waters of the beach. Each beach has its own \u201cpersonality,\u201d so go with the flow of where you\u2019re at instead of trying to make the experience something else. For example, Tobago\u2019s Pigeon Point is all about eco-friendly water adventures, so that\u2019s what I spent the day doing. It was here that I actually learned to stand-up paddle board<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Are there Instagram accounts\/island life bloggers we should follow before embarking on an exotic beach vacation? <\/strong>
\nI often blog about beaches on my Instagram<\/a> as well as my sites, with some top posts including 6 Secret Beaches To Visit In Saint Lucia<\/a>, Exuma Cays: The Galapagos Islands\u2019 Quirky Sister?<\/a> and Fraser Island: The Largest Sand Island In The World<\/a>. Other bloggers and personalities that often cover beaches I recommend include Islands Magazine Blog<\/a>, Alex in Wanderland<\/a>, Uncommon Caribbean<\/a>, @IslandPics<\/a>, @Beaches_N_Resorts<\/a>, @Wonderful_Places<\/a>, @MrMattBell<\/a>, @BestVacations<\/a>, @MarginalBoundaries<\/a> and @TravelingWithMJ<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\nWhich little-known beaches should we add to our bucket list?<\/strong>
\nI think Japan is a place few people associate with beaches, but there are some many non-touristy and beautiful stretches of coastline in Okinawa. Kangaroo Island in South Australia also has some secret beaches worth exploring. The destination itself is remote and great for land and water safaris — not to mention wine tasting. Closer to the US, island-hopping in the Exumas will introduce you to a wide-array of interesting beaches — some with swimming pigs (Big Major Spot), nurse sharks (Compass Cay) and endangered Exuma Island iguanas (Bitter Guana Cay)!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Surf\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Planning an exotic beach vacation can be as stress-free as your time spent on the sand. We asked pro wanderer and OneTravel Twitter chat co-host Jessie Festa of Jessie On a Journey to share her best summer packing tips, favorite exotic beaches, and the sand-loving bloggers you can\u2019t afford NOT to follow. And if you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98880409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98880409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98880409"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98880409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98898047,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98880409\/revisions\/98898047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98880409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98880409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onetravel.com\/going-places\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98880409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}