For McCool Travel’s 82nd travel interview, I am pleased to present Alyssa Ramos. Like many of my travel interviewees, I “met” Alyssa online through Twitter travel chats. She is well-traveled, adventurous, fun (I think), and generous (I also think). Enough of my thinking, let Alyssa do the talking.
Alyssa’s bio:
“Alyssa Ramos is a travel blogger and writer who claims residency in Los Angeles when she’s not randomly traveling the globe. She loves finding lesser-known places, and sharing travel tips and experiences in a fun yet informative way that inspires others to travel. She might always have lipgloss on, but she’ll also always be first in line for an adventure! Alyssa also loves giving back, especially through her travel-inspired charity, HeartSleeves.org.”
Alyssa Ramos
Hometown…
West Hollywood, California (Originally from Palm Beach County area in Florida)
Always in my luggage…
My Harvey’s “seatbelt” bag (it’s slash proof and fits EVERYTHING), MacBook Air, Tom’s shoes, portable chargers, GoPro, Maybelline “Lots of Lashes” mascara, a long black cotton dress, a scarf, dark sunglasses, business cards with social media info on them, granola bars.
3 favorite home-away-from-home places…
- Volunteer house in Muizenberg, South Africa
- the Casa Particular I stayed in for 2 weeks in Cuba
- the little apartment where I stayed in Bondi Beach
A favorite travel memory is…
Meeting some family members for the first time in Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba, where my grandparents are from.
3 favorite travel brands…
I’m obsessed with anything related to Virgin America, other than that probably SkyScanner and Kayak because they’re the most effective and least annoying.
3 money-saving travel tactics I use are…
- joining travel groups on Facebook because people always share sudden flight specials or deals
- using wi-fi to avoid a detrimental phone bill
- searching flexible dates on flights instead of specific dates
3 ways that I have fun while traveling are…
- talking to locals
- experience the local social scene
- seeing all of the sites that people recommend
8 word (or less) travel mantra…
“I’d Rather Buy a Plane Ticket Than a Purse” (sorry, it’s 9 words!! Can ‘a’ not count please? lol)
favorite non-travel website…
Hmmm non-travel is a tough one…does Facebook count? ;P Oh! I know, Fiverr.com, I go on there looking for a logo designer and end up getting an entire bikini line designed, and most projects are only $5! ThisisWhyImBroke.com is also pretty amusing.
most memorable souvenir…
I smuggled a little plant back from Cuba that I’m pretty proud of, haha. Also, I keep a little collage drawing that a little girl made for me at the school I was volunteering at in Muizenberg, South Africa on my bookshelf.
favorite cheap eat …
PIZZA!!! Or pad thai in Thailand…
recent discovery …
WOW Airlines has really cheap flights to Iceland, so I’m going there in a few weeks. Also that Fiverr.com site…I’m obsessed with it and want to design EVERYTHING.
I am fortunate to have met …
I think I’m fortunate to meet everyone but in particular – My family in Cuba, the editor of Geo Chic who gave me my first published travel magazine gig and editorial assignment in Cuba, the kids I volunteered with in South Africa, people who inspire me – Patricia Schultz, Lee Abbamonte, and Johnny Jet.
I would like to meet …
Whoever built things that I don’t understand how they were built, like the Egyptian pyramids, Easter Island statues, Giant’s Causeway, Stonehenge, etc. Maybe my soulmate too, that would be cool. Ha.
Thank you very much, Alyssa.
Follow Alyssa Ramos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her website.
Check out McCool Travel’s previous interviews. McCool Travel presents tips from travel experts in our 5 Minutes interview series—featuring travel industry giants, super frequent travelers, and adventurous persons. Previous 5 Minutes post: Raúl Colón.