Alternative Goth Travel Guides & Destinations: shopping, clubs, bars, restaurants.

La Carmina is an award-winning travel & culture blogger, author and TV presenter, specializing in personal stories about underground culture worldwide. She’s particularly known for her Asia pop culture & Gothic subculture coverage, including her popular guides to Tokyo Goth Punk shopping, the alternative bars and theme parks in Osaka, and the coolest clubbing in Japan.

She travels constantly with her film team, for jobs related to travel TV and fashion (hosting shows on NBC, Travel Channel, Food Network, National Geographic, ABC and more). Some of La Carmina’s favorite adventures include sailing in Cebu, staying in a Godzilla hotel in Tokyo, wearing a sari to India’s Taj Mahal, exploring the golden pagoda of Yangon, and meeting Hobbits in New Zealand.

Carmina is also the author of several books with major publishers (for Penguin Random House / Simon & Schuster), contributes regularly to print and online publications (The New York Times, CNN Travel, Nat Geo, Business Insider, Sunday Times), and managed hundreds of travel writers as a project manager for Google’s Touring Bird site.

♥ Below are links to her travel stories, organized by city and country. She has been to over 70 countries worldwide, with more destinations to come. See the latest stories on her LaCarmina blog and @lacarmina Instagram.

♥ To work with La Carmina (on press trips, travel partnerships, TV hosting, ambassadorships etc) – contact her here. Read more about her expert experience on the Biography page.

She’s collaborated with Eurail, Japan Rail Pass, Luisaviaroma Italy, Experience Bucharest, World Tourism Forum, PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference, Easter Island Travel, and dozens of tourism boards, fashion labels and luxury hotels / resorts worldwide such as Japan Tourism, Visit Cape Town, Upper House Hong Kong Hotel, Ritz-Carlton Bali, and much more.

DESTINATIONS / 70+ countries worldwide

Asia
♥ Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Koya-san, Naoshima, Hiroshima, Fukushima, Tohoku, Shirakawa, Hakone)
♥ Hong Kong
♥ Korea (Seoul)
♥ China (Shanghai)
♥ Taiwan (Taipei, Taichung)
♥ Singapore

Southeast Asia
♥ Thailand (Bangkok)
♥ Philippines (Cebu, Lapu Lapu)
♥ Macau
♥ Indonesia (Bali, Ubud, Nusa Dua)
♥ Cambodia (Siem Reap, Angkor Wat)
♥ Vietnam (Hanoi, Halong Bay)
♥ Myanmar / Burma (Yangon)
♥ Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi)
♥ Laos (Luang Prabang)

South Asia
♥ The Maldives
♥ India (New Delhi, Agra, Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Varanasi)

Australia and New Zealand
♥ Sydney, Australia
♥ New Zealand (Auckland and North Island, Paihia, Waitomo)

Middle East
♥ Egypt (Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Aswan, Dahab, Nile)
♥ Beirut, Lebanon 
♥ Israel (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem)
♥ Jordan (Petra)
♥ Dubai
♥ Abu Dhabi, UAE

Africa
♥ Egypt (Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Dahab)
♥ Cape Town, South Africa
♥ Morocco (Fez, Marrakesh, Essaouira, Berber village)

Europe
♥ Iceland (Reykjavik)
♥ Romania (Bucharest, Dracula’s Castle, Transylvania)
♥ Turkey (Istanbul)
♥ United Kingdom (Manchester, Whitby Goth Weekend, London / Camden / Shoreditch)
♥ Switzerland (HR Giger bar in Gruyeres, Geneva, Montreux)
♥ Paris, France
♥ Spain (Barcelona, Granada, Seville, Madrid, Cordoba)
♥ Portugal (Lisbon, Porto)
♥ Greece (Athens, Santorini)
♥ Belgium (Brussels, Wallonia)
♥ The Netherlands (Amsterdam, Utrecht, Miffy museum)
♥ Slovenia (Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Portoroz)
♥ Scandinavia and Nordic Europe (Helsinki Finland, Stockholm Sweden, Tallinn Estonia, Copenhagen Denmark)
♥ Eastern / Central Europe (Zagreb, Budapest, Belgrade, Bratislava, Poland)
♥ Western Europe (Czech Republic – Prague, Italy – Florence, Milan, Venice, Germany – Berlin, Leipzig, Vienna)

(Note: La Carmina has been 70+ countries, but some of these trips were from before she started her blog.)

Central America and The Caribbean
♥ Mexico (Yucatan Day of the Dead, Mexico City CDMX, Tulum, Riviera Maya, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo)
♥ Havana, Cuba
♥ Panama
♥ Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico & Caribbean islands

South America 

♥ Easter Island (Rapa Nui, Hanga Roa)
♥ Chile (Santiago, Valparaiso)
♥ Argentina (Buenos Aires)
♥ Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo)
♥ Colombia (Medellin)
♥ Peru (Cusco, Machu Picchu)

North America / USA / United States
♥ Salem + Boston, Massachusetts
♥ New Orleans, Louisiana
♥ Austin, Texas
♥ Portland, Oregon
♥ San Francisco, CA
♥ Los Angeles, California
♥ New York City, NY
♥ Philadelphia, PA
♥ Maui and Honolulu, Hawaii
♥ Miami, Florida
♥ Phoenix, Arizona
♥ Las Vegas, Nevada

Canada
♥ Canada / Vancouver BC / Kelowna / Parksville and Victoria / Vancouver Island
♥ Montreal, Quebec City QC
♥ Banff, Alberta
♥ Toronto, Ontario

La Carmina is constantly adding new cities and countries to this list. See La Carmina Blog and @lacarmina Instagram for the latest travel updates, and add her on her Blue Check Verified social media Tik Tok, Pinterest, Youtube, Twitter (username @lacarmina).

♥ Interested in having La Carmina feature your destination, hotel, tour, conference or event?
She partners with select companies on individualized FAM and tourism trips, media / blog / social network showcases (tours, hotels, fashion brands etc), travel video and virtual reality TV shoots, digital influencer destination marketing, magazine shoots, speeches / conferences, travel journalism and more.

Read more abut La Carmina’s past collaborations and contact her (gothiccarmina at gmail dot comm). We’re open to discussing all creative partnership ideas!