About me

Hi! I’m Jan. I live in Prague, Czech Republic, and own and run several companies, which gives me great (but not unlimited) freedom to roam the world. When I travel, I go hard—exploring fast and intensely during the day but always unwinding in a comfortable hotel at night.

I started this travel blog after realizing how tough it can be to find reliable, authentic travel info. You wouldn’t believe how many “travel bloggers” never even visit the destinations they write about!

On Next Level of Travel, there's no sugarcoating. You can count on my real opinions and insights from my firsthand experiences. If a tourist attraction isn’t worth your time, I’ll tell you flat out, like skipping overrated stops in my 2-week Spain itinerary. And when I uncover something truly special—like the perfect mix of culture and nature in Cape Town—you can trust it’s worth adding to your itinerary.

My goal with this blog is to provide complex and practical information so you can plan your vacation without loose ends. For example, my itineraries are fully planned-out trip guides, so you can just grab them and go. From the buzz of Tokyo in 3 days to road-tripping the mountains and beaches in a 3-week Thailand adventure, I design trips that combine adventure and comfort—and skip the boring parts.

I also love exploring the bigger picture—history, geography, politics, and even the quirky fun facts that make each place unique. All of this is sprinkled into my articles to inspire curiosity about the world.

And just to be clear: this is not a budget backpacking blog. I’m not here to provide hacks for budget travel. My trips follow the standard pattern of traveling by plane, staying in comfortable hotels, and renting a car to get around—but you won’t find me lining up for overpriced tourist traps or hyped spots that don’t deliver.

Fun facts

| Travel stats

| My favorites & not-so-favorites

| FAQ

FAQs

Fortunately, I don't travel full-time. I believe it's my biggest passion precisely because I have something to look forward to. If I were traveling all the time, it would lose its spark. My full-time job is as a Private Equity investor and owner of the digital agency myTimi, which employs around 100 people. You can read more about at my linkedin profile.

I’d love to say that it was the USA, since it's the country that has stayed in my heart as the best for its nature and people. But in reality, it was actually Thailand—though that was more than 15 years ago, and my travel style has changed a lot since then. So, I’ll give it another go soon enough to do Thailand justice.

You know, I really wanted to love Georgia. I had seen all those incredible photos of mountains and monasteries, and I was ready to dive into the trails and soak in the history and landscapes. But my experience traveling in the country as a whole disappointed me so much. The real issue is the massive gap between expectations and reality. While all those fluff bloggers rave about how friendly the people are in Georgia, my experience outside of Tbilisi was quite the opposite—almost everyone I met either tried to scam or rob me. Sure, the mountains are beautiful, and the historical monuments are old, but that doesn’t make up for the behavior of the people. Besides, if it's mountains you're after, the Alps offer equally stunning views, with far better infrastructure.

I always follow the same pattern when planning a trip. First, I dive into every guidebook to pinpoint the most interesting things to see in the country. Then, I meticulously read through all the blogs to craft the best possible plan. My approach is to create a freestyle itinerary—locked in with locations for specific dates, but with flexible activity options each day. So, I know exactly where I’ll be, but I leave room to choose from multiple activities on the day itself. From this, I finalize my itinerary. About six weeks before the trip, I book the plane tickets. Based on my itinerary, I then book interstate flights and hotels (usually through Booking.com), with the car rental being the last thing on my list. After visiting the country, I refine the itinerary and make sure to revisit it a few years later, so I can continually improve and perfect it.

It was during COVID in 2020, when I was really missing travel, that I started preparing all my itineraries and future plans. That’s when I noticed a gap—certain niches and places weren’t well-covered from a personal perspective, especially for travelers who aren’t necessarily on a tight budget. And with my entrepreneurial spirit, I decided to do something about it. So, I started.

I’d like to finish exploring South America, which I honestly love so far, and then revisit the entire USA. In the meantime, I’d love to take shorter vacations around Europe—which I tend to accidentally overlook—and some parts of Africa, as they’re the closest regions to my home city, Prague.

About me

My favorites & not-so-favorites

FAQs

Do you travel full time?

Which country was your first big international trip to?

Which country was your least favorite?

What is your travel style?

When did you start this travel blog?

What are your current travel plans?