Drone moment:<\/strong> Langkawi from the air is surreal\u2014emerald-green water, mangrove forests that give way to limestone cliffs, secluded sandy beaches without a soul in sight. My DJI Mini produced some of my most-liked photos of the year here. Over 800,000 likes on a single drone video of the Sky Bridge.<\/p>\n India was the culture shock of the year. And I mean that in a good way. Rajasthan in March is hot (35\u00b0C+), loud, chaotic, and at the same time the most colorful place I've ever seen. Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur \u2014 three cities, three completely different worlds.<\/p>\n Highlight:<\/strong> The Taj Mahal at sunrise. Yes, it's the most obvious touristy moment there is. But there's a reason why millions of people travel there: it really is as breathtaking as in the photos. Even more so because no photo can truly capture its scale and detail. My tip: be at the entrance by 5:30 a.m. The gate opens at 6:00 a.m., giving you 30-45 minutes with relatively few people. By 8:00 a.m., the peace and quiet is over.<\/p>\n The food:<\/strong> Thali platters for 1-2 euros \u2014 five different curries, rice, chapati, raita. In two weeks in India, I didn't spend a single euro on bad food. The Indian cuisine in Rajasthan is more diverse than anything I've ever had in German restaurants.<\/p>\n San Sebasti\u00e1n and the Basque Country were the culinary highlight of my year\u2014and probably of my life. The city has the highest density of Michelin stars per square kilometer in the world, but you'll find the best food in the pintxos bars of the old town.<\/p>\n Highlight:<\/strong> A pintxos tour through San Sebasti\u00e1n's old town. Eight bars, each serving a pintxo (\u20ac2-3) and a glass of Txakoli (local, lightly sparkling white wine, \u20ac2.50). Total cost for a legendary evening: under \u20ac50. My favorites: Gilda (pickled anchovy, olive, and pepperoni on a toothpick\u2014simple and brilliant) and the foie gras cream on brioche at La Cuchara de San Telmo.<\/p>\n A local gave me this tip: Never eat where the tourists are. In San Sebasti\u00e1n, that means: Avoid the first row of bars at the harbor. Go one street further down; that's where the grandmothers cook.<\/p>\n In June, I spent a week sailing from Nice to Sardinia via Corsica. No engine, just wind. For someone who usually travels by plane or van, it was a completely new experience\u2014and one of the most relaxing of my life.<\/p>\n Highlight:<\/strong> The coast of Bonifacio (Corsica) from the sea. White limestone cliffs that drop vertically into the turquoise sea, with the medieval town perched above. And the Grotte di Nettuno in Sardinia, which we explored by dinghy at sunset. Drone footage from a sailboat is technically challenging, by the way\u2014the constant wind and the boat's movement make takeoff and landing on deck quite an adventure.<\/p>\n Summer was spent in the eastern Mediterranean. First Meteora and the Greek islands (Santorini, Crete), then across to the Turkish Aegean coast.<\/p>\n Greece highlight:<\/strong> Meteora at sunrise. The monasteries perched atop the rocky peaks, the first light of day, mist in the valleys\u2014one of the most photogenic places I've ever visited. I was up there at 5:30 a.m. and had the view all to myself for 45 minutes. The drone footage of Meteora is among my best work this year\u2014the vertical cliffs with the monasteries on top look like another world from the air.<\/p>\n Surprise T\u00fcrkiye-Aegean:<\/strong> I knew Istanbul and Cappadocia, but the coast around Bodrum, Fethiye, and the Lycian Way completely surprised me. Better than the Greek islands, cheaper (food: 501,000 euros less than on Santorini), and the food is in a league of its own. A fish meze dinner at the port of Ka\u015f for 15 euros per person\u2014that's barely enough to get you a salad on Santorini.<\/p>\n Venezuela was the riskiest and most rewarding travel destination of 2023. The country is economically devastated, the security situation complex, the infrastructure dilapidated\u2014but the scenery is by far the most spectacular I've experienced in South America. And tourism is practically nonexistent, which means: you're alone. Truly alone.<\/p>\n Highlight:<\/strong> Angel Falls (Salto \u00c1ngel), the world's highest waterfall with a 979-meter free fall. Filming it with a drone was a lifelong dream. Three days of travel by boat up the R\u00edo Carrao, an overnight stay in a hammock in the rainforest, and then suddenly: this incredible waterfall emerging from the clouds. The drone footage\u2014wisps of mist, the waterfall, the endless rainforest below\u2014is among the best I've ever produced. Over 2.3 million views on YouTube.<\/p>\n The honest side:<\/strong> Venezuela is not an easy travel destination. There's a dollar black market (officially illegal, but practically essential everywhere), power outages, water shortages in some regions, and military checkpoints. I would only recommend it to experienced travelers who know what they're doing. But for them\u2014an absolute must.<\/p>\n A short stop in Europe: Dubrovnik, Split, then up to Ljubljana and Lake Bled.<\/p>\n Disappointment:<\/strong> Dubrovnik in October. Not the city itself\u2014it's breathtakingly beautiful, the city walls an architectural marvel. But the crowds, even in the off-season, are overwhelming. Game of Thrones and cruise ships have turned an authentic medieval city into an open-air museum. A beer in the old town: 8 euros. In Split, 300 km north: 3 euros.<\/p>\n Surprise:<\/strong> Slovenia. Ljubljana is one of the most beautiful capital cities in Europe\u2014green, compact, hardly any tourists, fantastic food. Lake Bled is as photogenic as on postcards, but the real discovery was the Vintgar Gorge\u20141.6 km of wooden walkways over emerald-green water in a canyon. A drone's dream.<\/p>\n The year ended in the Canary Islands: two weeks in Fuerteventura, kitesurfing with Sotavento, drone flights over the dunes of Corralejo, and then home for Christmas. The Canary Islands in winter are my insider tip for European content creators: 22-25\u00b0C, perfect light, cheap flights from Germany (from \u20ac80 return with Ryanair), and the landscape is as diverse as an entire continent.<\/p>\n Overtourism is real and it's getting worse.<\/strong> Dubrovnik, Santorini, Bali \u2014 these places are losing their charm due to the sheer number of visitors. My best travel experiences in 2023 were in places that don't (yet) appear on every Instagram feed: Penang, the Turkish Aegean coast, Venezuela, Slovenia.<\/p>\n Food is the most honest travel guide.<\/strong> You can tell a lot about a country's character by its food. Malaysia, the Basque Country, and India have the best food I've ever eaten\u2014and none of it costs more than \u20ac10 per meal (unless you go to a Michelin-starred restaurant). The best meal of the year: A thali in Jodhpur for \u20ac1.50.<\/p>\n Slow Travel > Fast Travel.<\/strong> In 2023, I consciously visited fewer countries than in previous years (18 in 2019), but spent more time in each place. The result: deeper experiences, better content, less jet lag, and more genuine encounters with locals. Quality over quantity\u2014that applies to content AND to travel.<\/p>\n What many don't see: Every year of travel involves planning. I don't just choose my destinations on a whim, but based on content potential, collaboration opportunities, and seasonal light conditions. Malaysia in January has perfect light on the west coast (Langkawi, Penang), Rajasthan in March has the golden hour over the desert, and the Mediterranean countries in summer offer 14 hours of daylight. This sounds calculated, but it isn't\u2014it simply ensures that I'm in the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n In 2023, I conducted a total of 380 drone flights and produced over 48,000 photo and video files. Of those, perhaps 500 made it onto my social media channels. Selection is the most time-consuming part of my job: choosing the three best photos from 200 taken in a day, editing them, adding captions, and posting them at the right time. An average Instagram post takes 2-3 hours to create\u2014the actual shot often only takes seconds.<\/p>\n The most successful posts of 2023 were all drone footage: Angel Falls (2.3 million views), Meteora at sunrise (1.8 million views), and the Pitons on St. Lucia (1.1 million views). This confirms a trend I've observed since 2021: drone content performs 3-5 times better than ground-based photos on Instagram and YouTube. The reason is simple\u2014bird's-eye views are something the average tourist can't produce. It's my unique selling point and the main reason why tourism boards want to work with me.<\/p>\n For 2024, I plan to focus more on vertical short videos (reels, shorts). Engagement rates for reels now exceed those of static posts by a factor of 8-10. This is changing how I produce content: Instead of one perfect photo per location, I now shoot 3-5 short video clips, which I then edit together into a 15-second reel. The time spent per post decreases, and the reach increases. Content creation is a continuous process of learning and adaptation.<\/p>\n The Turkish Aegean coast. I'd ticked Turkey off my list after Istanbul and Cappadocia\u2014wrong. The coast between Bodrum and Antalya is breathtakingly beautiful, incredibly delicious, and half the price of Greece. Ka\u015f and Fethiye are my new favorite spots on the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n Dubrovnik. Not the city\u2014the crowds. Even in October, the old town felt like a queue at an amusement park. Cruise ships disgorge thousands of day-trippers daily. My advice: If you're going to Dubrovnik, go in February or March.<\/p>\n Privately, my expenses are around \u20ac25,000-\u20ac30,000 (flights, accommodation, food, insurance, visa). It sounds like a lot, but it's cheaper than an apartment in Munich. The majority of my travel costs are covered by collaborations with tourism boards and hotels\u2014but that only comes with a certain reach and a clear creator profile.<\/p>\n Angel Falls, Venezuela. A 979-meter waterfall shrouded in mist, rainforest as far as the eye can see, not a soul in sight. The photo has received over 1.2 million likes and was shared by National Geographic. But my personal favorite: Meteora at sunrise\u2014the monasteries perched on the rocks in the first light look like a fantasy world.<\/p>\n Yes, but with a focus on Africa and Oceania. A Kenyan safari in February, Australia's east coast in late autumn, with Europe and possibly Japan in between. The goal: fewer countries, more depth, even better content. Updates on my channels<\/a>.<\/p>\n My main camera is the Sony A7 IV with the 24-70mm f\/2.8 G Master lens\u2014a combination that covers 901,330 of my shots. For drone footage, I use the DJI Mini 5 Pro (under 249g, permit-free in most countries). And for action shots and underwater photography, I use the DJI Action 6 Pro. Total equipment weight: about 2.5 kg. However, a good smartphone with a decent camera is perfectly adequate for most travelers\u2014801,330 of my Instagram Stories are filmed with my iPhone.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nMarch \u2014 India: Rajasthan, Chaos & the Taj Mahal<\/h2>\n
April & May \u2014 Basque Country: A culinary revelation<\/h2>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/reise-jahr-2-f1.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nJune \u2014 Mediterranean sailing trip: Corsica & Sardinia<\/h2>\n
July & August \u2014 Greece & T\u00fcrkiye-Aegean<\/h2>\n
September \u2014 Venezuela: Angel Falls & the adventure of my life<\/h2>\n
October \u2014 Transit through Croatia & Slovenia<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNovember & December \u2014 Canary Islands & Home<\/h2>\n
The Numbers \u2014 My Travel Year 2023<\/h2>\n
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\n \ncategory<\/th>\n Number<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Countries visited<\/td>\n 10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Air days<\/td>\n 147<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n flight kilometers<\/td>\n ~120,000 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Drone flights<\/td>\n 380+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Photo\/video files<\/td>\n ~48.000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n favorite destination<\/td>\n San Sebasti\u00e1n (Food) \/ Venezuela (Adventure)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n What I learned in 2023<\/h2>\n
The content strategy behind my year of travel<\/h2>\n
FAQ \u2014 My travel year 2023<\/h2>\n
Which country surprised you the most in 2023?<\/h3>\n
What was the biggest disappointment?<\/h3>\n
How much does a year of travel like yours cost?<\/h3>\n
What was your best drone photo of 2023?<\/h3>\n
Do you plan to travel a similar amount in 2024?<\/h3>\n
Which camera do you use for your travel photos?<\/h3>\n