Travel &
Family
Journalism

We help hundreds of thousands of individuals every month stay safe, healthy, and happy at home and while traveling!

Our writing, research, TV, radio, and podcast interviews have been featured all over the Internet and all over the world including on:

The Guardian: LGBT travel index puts Sweden top by Antonia Wilson
The New York Times: Turning child care into a new Cold War by Nicholas Kristof
Forbes: 20 most dangerous places for women travelers by Laura Begley Bloom
New York Post: US ranked among worst countries to raise a family by Ben Cost
The Times: The rotting corpse and other Airbnb horror stories by Andrew Ellson

And we’ve been featured on 100s of other websites and publications around the world including (but not limited to):

CNN, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg, USA Today, Fox News, Daily Mail, National Geographic, Travel & Leisure, Business Insider, MarketWatch, Lonely Planet, AFAR, CBC Canada, The Independent, Psychology Today, House Beautiful, Chron, CTV News at Six, ABC Australia, MSN, The Daily Telegraph, Thrillist, NZ Herald, Global News Canada, Mental Floss, Stern Germany, Spiegel Germany, RTS Switzerland, Jerusalem Post, InfoMoney Brazil, Observer, AJC, Yahoo, and GOV.UK.

Here is a sample TV interview on YouTube (which has over 1.2 million views) on the popular CBC consumer affairs show called, Marketplace. Asher was brought onto the show as one of the travel experts to talk about his Airbnb research study.

About us

Asher Fergusson

Asher has been traveling the world since he left Australia to study in the USA in 2004. He received a Master’s in Business Administration degree in 2013. He has lived all over the globe including India, Europe, Hawaii, and mainland US. He enjoys researching the travel industry, loves being a dad, cooking & eating delicious food, photography (took many of our photos), surfing big waves on Maui, camping trips and walking barefoot on the earth.

Lyric Fergusson

Lyric is an accomplished poet, best-selling author, award-winning screenwriter, amazing chef, singer/songwriter, and mommy of two amazing little kids! After growing up in Hollywood she decided to delve into a profound spiritual journey and became a yogi-monk for almost a decade. She enjoys helping Asher conduct research, writing for our blog, and loves traveling the world (Paris is her favorite city), and sharing her experiences with you!

Below is a sample of one of her songs 🙂

Recent Research

Please note: If you would like to be the first to know when we publish new in-depth research studies, subscribe HERE ➜

Is Airbnb Safe? 127,183 Complaints Expose Scams, Safety Concerns, Infestations & More (2021)

We analyzed 127,183 Airbnb complaints to find out which Airbnb guest problems are most likely to be complained about via Twitter. The 2.5-year project was done in collaboration with researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs in Colorado Springs. The project was funded by ASIS International (the world’s largest membership organization for security management professionals) and via a grant from John Jay College.

Read the full article ➜

The Worst (& Safest) Countries for LGBTQ+ Travel in 2021

Instead of relying on hearsay and anecdotes from other travelers, we took a deep look at LGBTQ+ rights, country by country. We’ve gathered data from a variety of trusted international sources to create a “LGBTQ+ Danger Index” that will help you find the worst (and safest) countries for LGBTQ+ travel.

At the end of the article we also have 37 LGBTQ+ travel safety tips shared by four travel experts.

Read the full article ➜

dad and children protesting in brooklyn new york

The Best Countries to Raise a Family in 2020

As parents of two young children, with the current climate of the world in flux, we wanted to dive deeply into the data determining which countries are the most ideal for raising a family. We’ve gathered critical statistics from 30 trusted international sources to create the “Raising a Family Index” that will help you find the best place for raising children in 2020. We also share a detailed section on why the US ranks so poorly along with our personal experience of raising a family in the US.

Read the full article ➜

How Much 5-Star Hotels Cost in the Top 100 Destinations Around the World

After having several nightmare experiences with Airbnb, my wife and I thought it would be good to know what it costs for a 5-star luxury hotel as a more reliable alternative to vacation rentals.

By doing this research we’d know our options and whether or not we could afford to stay at the best accommodation in any given destination to which we might be going.

We’ve created this resource to help you plan your next vacation and to show that it is possible to find affordable opulence if you go to the right place!

Read the full article ➜

The Worst (& Safest) Countries For Solo Female Travel

To measure women’s safety abroad, one cannot look at only data on street safety, rape or violence. It also depends on the general attitude of the culture, minutiae of the legal system, and systematic oppression of local women. These issues can affect everything, from easily getting a taxi alone to having your voice be heard in a conversation to even needing a male escort for your personal safety.

Read the full article ➜

See all research articles

Our Passions

Travel

We love traveling! Together we have visited and lived in almost 20 countries—Asher has been abroad for his entire adult life, and Lyric has resided in nine different US states. In other words, we are always on the go and our passion is sharing tips to help make your adventures as amazing, safe and smooth as possible.

asher lyric and kingsley fergusson in sardinia italy

Family

In 2016, we welcomed an incredible baby boy named Kingsley into our lives. Kingsley has already been to Paris and Sardinia — he is a fantastic little traveler! In 2018, we had our second child, a girl named Aurora. We love sharing tips on how to maintain a healthy, happy, and balanced family lifestyle in addition to traveling with a baby.

Self-care

Lyric has experienced health challenges throughout her life which has lead us to became aware of the importance and power of home spa technologies. Our self-care review pages, including the best portable saunas, best infrared heating pads, and best TENS units, will help you find the tools you need to rejuvenate and strengthen your body so you can conquer your day.

Food

Exquisite food is the foundation of life! Every place we travel, we go in search of the most mouth watering meals available. Asher is a vegetarian and Lyric is paleo. We sample, photograph, and write about these meals so we can share them with you! We also love sharing our recipes and cooking tips for at-home delicacies.

In-Depth Reviews

We’ve compiled a list of almost one thousand in-depth reviews to help you find quality products for all areas of your life. Assisting you to make informed decisions is our #1 goal. Our motto? Keep it simple, do your research and have fun!

asher lyric fergusson family in santa barbara

Travel Packing Lists

Through our travels, we realized that there is a real need to help people travel smarter, safer, and be more informed about what to bring and what NOT to bring for various destinations all over the world. One major aspect of our website is, in a nutshell, all about being prepared and staying safe while traveling abroad. Therefore, one of our most-loved topics to write about (apart from our in-depth research studies) are detailed packing lists showing exactly what to pack for any trip.

See all our packing lists ➜

Babies & Toddlers

Raising a family in our hectic world can feel complex and overwhelming. In 2016 we were thrown headfirst into parenthood with little knowledge of what we actually needed or what to expect. Five years and another bundle of joy later we’ve made it our mission to research, experience, and learn what parents can’t live without during these critical years. The goal? To help every selfless, sleep-deprived mama and papa out there thrive during these precious and challenging times by reviewing the best baby and toddler products available. We get you equipped with what you need — and leave behind what you don’t.

See all our reviews ➜

Home, Garden, Self-Care, and more!

We love making our home a “nest” that is both nourishing and stabilizing for our family… So, we dove into the wild and wonderful world of home improvements. Over the last five years, we’ve bought, sold, and moved four times across the US ultimately landing ourselves back in Maui, Hawaii. Through our adventures, we’ve become experts at making any space feel awesome — on a budget. We’ve compiled helpful product reviews covering everything from kitchen supplies to home improvement to self-care gizmos and home gym ideas to help you turn your house into a home.

See all our reviews ➜

Gift Guides and Family Product Reviews

One thing that is certain while raising a family is the constant need for coming up with clever gift ideas. Whether is birthdays, holidays or family get-togethers we’re always needing to think of that perfect present. To help you out, we’ve created these gift guides for children ages one through seven.

We have also started reviewing toddler gear and everyday products we have first-hand experience with. See below.

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