I spent 5 days in the Great Smoky Mountains with just a backpack. Here are 9 items I'm glad I packed and 1 thing I didn't need.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
A composite image of a white sheet behind everything the author packed: toiletries, books, clothing and tech gear, and the author smiling in front of a mountain on a foggy day
A backpack was all Business Insider's reporter needed for a five-day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I booked bedrooms on 2 different overnight Amtrak trains. One key difference sets them apart.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
A composite image of the author lying in the bottom bunks in Amtrak bedrooms
A Business Insider reporter spent a total of 83 hours in two Amtrak bedrooms.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

8 things I learned when I sailed solo on my first cruise, from how to meet people to having to pay a 'single supplement'

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
The author smiles in a sunhat in front of a cruise ship.
Business Insider's reporter traveled solo during her first cruise on Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The highlight of my trip to the Great Smoky Mountains was finding an epic ride to my Airbnb while stranded in the rain

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
A composite image of an aerial tram above trees on a foggy day, and the author with an umbrella
Business Insider's reporter didn't expect to find a tramway above the Great Smoky Mountains.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I took my first adults-only cruise. Take a look around the luxury ship with a tattoo shop and a playground for grown-ups.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
A pool seen from the top deck of a Virgin Voyages cruise ship with purple and blue pool chairs.
Business Insider's reporter cruised on board Virgin Voyages' Valiant Lady, a luxury, adults-only ship.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I'm a New Yorker who went to Seattle for the first time. Here are 9 things that surprised me.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
The author, wearing a camera around her neck, stands smiling on a Seattle rooftop with a view of the city behind her.
Business Insider's travel reporter took her first trip to Seattle, and it was full of surprises.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I spent $2,200 for a private bedroom on a 53-hour Amtrak ride. Here are 7 reasons I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
A composite image of a train parked outside with snow on the ground and the author sitting in an Amtrak bedroom with a window behind her
A Business Insider reporter took Amtrak's California Zephyr from Chicago to Emeryville, California.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I spent a night at a buzzy Hilton in Chicago. My $240 room was way more luxurious than I expected.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
The author sitting in a robe on a couch in her room at the Wit hotel with floor-to-ceiling windows in the background
The author enjoys her room at theWit hotel in downtown Chicago.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I took the longest train ride in the US. 6 things surprised me about the 53-hour adventure across the country.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
The author sits in an Amtrak bedroom with a mirror on the left back wall and a window on the right
A Business Insider reporter spent 53 hours on Amtrak's California Zephyr train.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I spent 48 hours in Chicago for the first time and left with 4 regrets

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
A view of Millennium Park in Chicago in the winter
A Business Insider reporter has some regrets about her first trip to Chicago.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

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