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Browse posts…
The State of the Trip: 2025 Edition
(5 minute read)
Tripologiste’s 2025 debrief turns a year of toilets, ethics, and pastries into a practical manifesto: the best Europe trips are well sequenced, paced for your nervous system, and funded with intention. Get the lessons, the 2026 travel checklist, and the “leave room for one beautiful mistake” rule.
Trip Planner vs. Travel Agent—And When to Use Each
(5 minute read)
Confused about trip planners versus travel agents? This guide breaks down who designs the strategy, who books the inventory, and why incentives matter. Learn when a flat-fee planner is best for multi-city Europe, when an agent shines, and how to combine both.
Travel Isn’t Neutral—And It Never Was
(10 minute read)
Travel is never just a vacation. Your passport, your spending, your photos, and your routes all carry weight. This essay reframes ethical tourism as curiosity and respect, offering practical questions to travel with eyes open, without killing the joy.
Slow Travel Is a Privilege—But It Might Be the Most Responsible Way to Explore
(10 minute read)
Slow travel is not just an aesthetic, it is a privilege. This essay unpacks who gets to travel slowly, why it can reduce harm, and how to adopt its principles even on limited time or budgets, from fewer bases to trains and local spending.
Cruise Ships Suck.
(6 minute read)
Cruise ships sell effortless luxury, but the real bill lands on oceans and port cities. This blunt breakdown covers dirty fuel, wastewater, overtourism, exploitative labor, and greenwashed promises, then offers better ways to travel: slower routes, nights onshore, and local-first spending.
Why We No Longer Trust TripAdvisor or Yelp for Travel Reviews
(6 minute read)
TripAdvisor and Yelp once felt indispensable. Now they are flooded with fake reviews, opaque algorithms, and pay-to-play incentives that punish small businesses and mislead travelers. Learn why we stopped trusting them, how to vet recommendations, and which sources we use instead.
How You Can Help Rescue Ireland's Tourism Industry
(4 minute read)
Ireland’s tourism engine took a brutal pandemic hit, and a fresh 2025 slump is raising alarms. This piece explains what’s driving the downturn, then shows how you can help: travel beyond Dublin, book local, go greener, and fuel the craic.
What We Stand For: Thoughtful Travel in a World That Needs It
(3 minute read)
Travel can expand empathy, or strip places into content. Tripologiste lays out a clear ethos for doing better, respect for place, cultural awareness, local-first partnerships, lighter-footprint routing, and honesty about harmful platforms. If you want itineraries that feel good, start here.
Love at First Site: Alternatives to Airbnb
(5 minute read)
Airbnb fatigue is real. This guide rounds up smarter places to stay, from Fairbnb and home exchanges to housesitting, boutique hotels, B&Bs, and modern hostels. Learn which option fits your values and budget, plus why booking direct can save money and headaches.
Why We Broke Up With Airbnb
(7 minute read)
Airbnb once felt like the antidote to hotels. Now it often means surprise fees, cleaning chores, inconsistent quality, and an impact on housing and neighborhoods. This piece breaks down the hidden costs, trust issues, and ethical tradeoffs, and why we stopped recommending it.
Becoming Tripologiste
(9 minute read)
Born between Burgundy and Texas, Paul Browning grew up making Europe feel like home. A spontaneous Corsica detour with friend Jonas sparked a travel philosophy, purposeful plans with room for magic, and the leap from lifelong wanderlust to Tripologiste, a European trip-planning studio.