Your vacation & travel planning resource to inspire more fulfilling journeys

Be inspired to travel differently.

With our busy lives it's more important than ever to use precious vacation time to recharge and refocus. That means planning a trip that includes unique experiences, flexible schedules and time for relaxation. Compass & Key hopes to inspire more fulfilling travel through curated destination guides that allow you to immerse in new cultures, connect with natural spaces and embrace the energy of a place and its people.

Explore Our Destination Guides

Itineraries for Wandering

You want to avoid being a tourist, but you still need a place to start. Compass & Key provides self-guided walking itineraries to put you in the right areas to explore while also highlighting specific points of interest that are culturally and historically significant.

Beyond the Guidebooks

We've consumed the travel guides, magazines, review sites, blogs, vlogs (you get the idea) on your behalf. Then we speak to locals to learn about unique destinations and ways to see the main attractions without the crowds.

Recharging in Nature

You've heard that nature can heal, but when it comes to your precious few vacation days, a visit to a natural space can be rejuvenating. Whether it's trekking a mountainside or visiting a local park, we incorporate nature into all of our guides.

TRAVEL SMART

While we enjoy little luxuries at Compass & Key, and certainly appreciate a good bargain, you'll find that the cost of most of our experiences will be a happy medium of the two. After all, this is an investment of your hard-earned money, and value is important.

GUIDES ON THE GO

Easily save and access Compass & Key itineraries during your trip through our preferred mobile apps. Just look for the save button at the bottom of each itinerary page. You can even access itineraries offline, either through the apps or via our PDFs saved to your mobile.

Our Newest Travel Guides

The Islands of Malta

An Open-Air Museum in the Mediterranean

Acadia National Park

Where Sun Meets Mountain

Seville

Southern Spain's Capital of History, Cuisine, and Culture

Follow Along on Instagram

Spring is emerging in London, and it's a delight, especially as the UK's lockdown starts to ease. We can resume spending time with a friend outdoors (starting today, hooray!).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I've been absent from social media for a much-needed br

Souvenirs to love ➙ a hand-carved wooden spoon from East Glacier, Montana, just outside Glacier National Park. I reach for this beauty whenever I cook, but especially for a nourishing stew. This vegetarian West African Peanut Soup from @cookieandkate

Even if we're not wandering far these days, spending time in a park, garden, woodland, or any green space can be restorative in many ways.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In looking back at all of my wandering tips (written pre-pandemic), I'm glad to realize that

Have you ever visited a genuine ghost town? 👻 Bodie State Park is the real deal; a fascinating destination that's definitely worth the detour when you're visiting Yosemite National Park. Link in bio for this itinerary, one of seven self-guided tours

Remembering a special night out in the stately dining room of the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, considered one of the most beautiful in any National Park. If you're visiting this summer, dinner reservations are only open for hotel guests, but park visi

Oh, how I love the genius of #Etsy creators. This vibrant National Park canvas map from @ellothereoutdoors offers an interactive way to catalog your NP adventures - just add a tree sticker (sheet included) to the Parks you've checked off your list.🌲

#Yosemite is open today, reservations required, as part of its phased reopening plan! I’m fondly recalling our hike to Sentinel Dome, with outstanding views into Yosemite Valley. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To learn how to register for day-use passes

⨠Tag a friend you want to take to Yosemite National Park when it reopens! 🏞 ✤
Swipe right for a few favorite moments from our Yosemite adventure five years ago. Link in bio for my Yosemite Destination Guide, including seven hikes and excursions in a

Gaze across a verdant meadow from your Adirondack chairs on the front porch of the Victorian-era Wawona Hotel in Yosemite. 🌲 Swipe right to see how little it has changed since a 1903 historic buildings survey. Wawona is closed for electrical repairs

Dreaming of this view today...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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My research into off-the-beaten-path hikes in #Yosemite led us to Inspiration Point, the signature view of the park enjoyed by 19th-century visitors via Old Wawona Road, abandoned in the 1930s. Leavi

“I believe that travel expands our hearts and our minds. Compass & Key is a passion project: a curated planning tool to make authentic travel more accessible.”

— Tara Anbudaiyan, Compass & Key Founder

Travelers: Start Your Planning Here