Where My World Traveler Grandma Thinks You Should Travel Next

This July, my grandma, Sheila Siener, turned 90 years old, and while that’s a pretty big number that she wouldn’t be thrilled with me sharing to the world, her adventurous spirit proves that she is no average 90-year-old.

Ever since my grandma was a kid, she’s been daydreaming about traveling the world. When I sat down with her to talk about her travels, she pulled out a clip she had saved from the September 2020 issue of Travel + Leisure:

“For a moment, I allowed the warmth of his description to carry me to the mountains of India. It seemed impossible that I would ever travel so far again. I’d barely left my house for months. But the fantasy of some wild corner of Asia gave me strength and excitement and wonder – all of the things that travel has always brought me.” 

At the bottom of the page, my grandma had written, “This is what travel does for me!” 

Her dreams of traveling the world became a reality when she first crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1963. As of 2025, she has crossed the Atlantic Ocean 80 times, the first time in 1963. For over 60 years, she’s visited more countries than she can count, documenting every journey in a scrapbook. 

She told me her favorites that I’ve written about, along with plenty of travel tips and attractions to visit. So, if you are also a daydreamer with a desire to travel the world, here are the top places to visit from my world traveler grandma.

Nepal

In 1996, at 61 years old, my grandma went to Nepal, where she hiked across the Himalayas. But before you book your solo travel tickets to Nepal, this is the type of travel you cannot do alone. In fact, my grandma highly recommends traveling in groups with guides. These guides provide opportunities to visit multiple cities, see the less popular tourist attractions and truly connect with the culture. If you prefer less structured or solo traveling, then she recommends doing lots of research before visiting. However, hiking through the Himalayas requires a traveling group.

After flying into Kathmandu and visiting Buddhist temples and outdoor markets, my grandma and her group got on a bus and headed towards the mountains. There they hiked for 18 days and a total of 70 miles. They had 31 sherpas– who are guides specific to Nepal who help guide people through the Himalayas and carry belongings– and slept in tents in makeshift campsites while taking in the beauty of the mountains before them. 

My grandma described this trip as a “test of endurance,” so make sure you understand your limits before you take on a demanding trip like this one. However, if you’re the type of person who likes to be one with nature, my grandma recommends going to Nepal. She went whitewater rafting, rode on an elephant, and best of all, she got to see the Himalayas up close.

If you have a strong desire to see the Himalayas, grab a walking stick, beware of monkey pee from monkeys up in the trees and get ready for an amazing trek across Nepal. 

Turkey

I have never seen my grandma ever talk about food as much as she talked about the food in Turkey. So, if you’re going to go to Turkey, make sure you’re hungry!

In 2009, my grandma traveled to Turkey, where she got to see multiple attractions and eat lots of delicious food. One dish she mentioned was tagine. Tagine is a stew made with meat, vegetables and spices, but cooked in this big cone-shaped pot with a hole in the center of it, also called a tagine. 

While she ate her way through Turkey, she visited the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia, where she saw intricate tile work and artwork. When visiting popular tourist attractions, beware of smart pickpockets. To avoid losing important items, my grandma travels with a money belt she wears around her waist and under clothes. There she keeps her money, passport and credit cards. She also wears her backpack in front of her in densely populated areas and leaves anything that she doesn’t want to lose (such as nice jewelry) at home.

After spending some time in Istanbul, my grandma went to Cappadocia and saw a whirling dervish ceremony, which is a Sufi tradition. Men dressed in white spin around in a meditative dance to connect with God. Also in Cappadocia, she visited the Göreme Open Air Museum. There they have caves called fairy chimneys that people would live in to hide from the Ottoman Empire. Here’s a heads-up from my grandma: no photography is allowed in the caves. You’ll get yelled at if you try to take a picture!

In Antalya, my grandma got on a boat called a gulet and sailed up the coast of the Aegean Sea, where the water is a beautiful turquoise blue. She also visited the ruins in Ephesus, where she saw the intricate mosaic floors and ancient architecture.

When going to Turkey, make sure you bring your appetite and your camera and take advantage of all the museums and history that Turkey has to offer.

New Zealand

Did you know that there are way more sheep than people in New Zealand? Well, my grandma sure saw a lot of sheep when she visited.

Both my grandma and grandpa flew into Auckland, New Zealand in 2005. There they saw plenty of sheep and herding dogs as well as beautiful landscapes and geological wonders on the islands.

They climbed through the extinct volcano, Mount Tarawera, and found out that lava fields are incredibly slippery. They saw geysers like the ones in Yellowstone and visited the fur seal colony in Turanga Bay. While New Zealand is stunning to look at on the ground, my grandma would recommend taking a different approach to seeing the sights of New Zealand.

In a small, coastal town called Christchurch, my grandma went on a hot air balloon ride and watched the sunrise over the Southern Alps. Her one piece of travel advice for New Zealand was to go on a hot air balloon ride, just as long as you’re not afraid of heights.

Honorable Mentions

Before I reveal the top place my grandma would recommend people visit, she has some honorable mentions. These weren’t quite in her top places that she’s visited but still recommends people travel to if they have the chance.

Morocco – If you’ve ever had the desire to ride a camel, do so in Morocco.

Chile –  There’s beautiful mountains to hike or ski on, and if you’ve ever wanted to get close to Antarctica, you can look out over the Strait of Magellan in Puntas Arenas.

China – Ride on a boat down the Yangtze River in Chongqing and see the Three Gorges Dam.

Switzerland

I knew Switzerland would be on this list before I even introduced this article to my grandma. She’s been to Switzerland 13 times, and it’s the one place she’s made sure our entire family has gotten the chance to see at least once.

In 2015, I traveled with my grandma for the first time to Switzerland. There, I got to experience the feeling of a travel fantasy coming alive that my grandma had always told me about. We also got to stay at her favorite hotel, Hotel Gletscherblick, which I highly recommend. I’d go back to Switzerland just to eat their cubed french fries.

My grandma would recommend visiting some of the smaller mountain towns, such as Meiringen. According to her, every big city is the same after a while, and the smaller towns are where you can really experience the culture.

Climb up the mountains of the Swiss Alps, where the air is super clean and you can see far into the distance. However, if you aren’t that intrigued by beautiful landscapes, there’s usually a restaurant on top of whatever mountain you’re climbing. But beware of the misleading Swiss cheese plate! My mom ordered one as a light snack and ended up with five pounds of cheese, which she ate for the rest of the trip.

Switzerland has great public transportation that can take you almost anywhere you need to go, but sometimes the cost can add up. By a SwissPass to avoid spending a lot of extra money. A SwissPass allows for unlimited travel on public transportation across Switzerland.

My grandma has traveled all of Europe (yes, all), yet Switzerland is where she keeps coming back to. She’s made friends at Hotel Gletscherblick, practiced her German with locals and brought her family to Switzerland to make travel memories together. So, if you want to travel to Europe, the entire Siener family would recommend Switzerland. 

Go See the World!

My grandma told me that as a child she used to think, “There’s a world out there, and I want to see it,” and see it she has. My grandma has traveled, explored and had once-in-a-lifetime experiences that she has shared with me my whole life.

Now, I get to share her stories with the world. If you want to hear more travel stories from her, comment below! She always has time to talk about travel, especially with her favorite (and only) grandchild.

If you are an aspiring traveler, take some advice from my grandma and go see the world! Hopefully her recommendations can guide you on your own adventures.