Meet Valerie Stimac, a travel writer who specializes in astrotourism and space tourism. She is creator of the travel blog Valerie & Valise, and the Space Tourism Guide website, which focuses on all things space-related. A regular contributor to Forbes and Lonely Planet, she is author of the book Dark Skies: A Practical Guide to Astrotourism, published in September 2019. Valerie shares what sparked her love of travel, how she became an astrotourism expert, and why this type of travel still works during a pandemic. She offers useful insights, tips and resources during this fascinating and timely conversation.
What You’ll Learn
- How Valerie was bitten with the travel bug
- Why she loves Alaska as a destination
- About her first international travel experiences
- How she funded her early travel and made it a priority
- Tips for affordable travel
- How she began blogging and travel writing full time
- What led her into astrotourism and space tourism
- How she wrote her new book within a very tight deadline
- More about what sparked her interest in the night sky
- Definitions of Astrotourism and Space Tourism
- Why total eclipses should not be missed
- Why astrotourism is a timely travel topic
- Upcoming celestial events to look out for
- Tips for getting started with stargazing
- Favorite tools and resources
- How travel has changed her
About Valerie Stimac
Valerie Stimac is a San Francisco Bay Area based travel writer and blogger who specializes in astrotourism and space tourism. She runs two sites – a personal travel blog, Valerie & Valise, and site focused on space and astrotourism, Space Tourism Guide. She is also a regular contributor to Forbes and Lonely Planet, and her first book, Dark Skies: A Practical Guide to Astrotourism, was published by Lonely Planet in September 2019. You can say hi to Valerie on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Resources Mentioned
- Dark Skies: A Practical Guide to Astrotourism
- The Universe
- Night Sky App
- The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse in 360
- Lisette’s 2017 Total Eclipse Video
- Star Voyage – Kitt Peak Observatory
This episode is sponsored by Waypoint Goods, makers of beautiful and functional travel scarves and journals. Globetrotter Lounge podcast listeners get a 15% discount – enter JETSET at checkout.
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