How Atlas Obscura Co-Founder Dylan Thuras Packs for the World’s Most Unique Vacations
Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras shares his tips for finding weird places and what he packs to document his travels.
Dylan Thuras is off to vacation at the Gates of Hell.
It’s been a running joke between him and fellow Atlas Obscura co-founder Joshua Foer for ages. Before they even started the site, they agreed that if things were still going strong in a few years, they’d celebrate by cracking open a cold one at the giant flaming (and slightly terrifying) Darvaza gas crater in Turkmenistan.
“If we make it, I’ll see you at the Gates of Hell,” he recalls joking with Foer—and now, ten years later, the duo is finally making it happen. But Thuras doesn’t think you have to venture to Hades and back to experience something amazing. Atlas Obscura, a community-run travel guide to the world’s weirdest locations, specializes in finding hidden treasures anywhere and everywhere—and with nearly 19,000 entries and counting, chances are some of the oddest places on earth wait right outside your front door.
“These places don’t have to be far away; there are a lot of these amazing little stories,” Thuras says. “Whatever place you’re in, hopefully, you’re trying to figure out what it’s about and if there’s something more interesting—something that’s special, or playful, or fun, or kind of feels like it’s got some magic to it.”
Here, the delightfully curious traveler and artist shares what he packs to document the strange places he goes, as well as his tips for discovering the beautiful parts of the world hiding just under our noses.
