Piggybacking off the recent summer Olympics, I'm highlighting France for this month's Destination Spotlight. France is a popular destination for first time travelers to Europe, as many airlines offer direct flights from the US to Paris, and France is well-connected by public transport, including a high-speed train system, making it easy to explore the entire country without needing a car.
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These three friends wanted to experience the culture of Japan by splitting their time between Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. They'd always had an interest in it, and one of them had gone years before and stayed in hostels, but they decided that they have moved far beyond youth hostels and capsule hotels for this trip.
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This month I'm highlighting a couple 2024 Christmas Market river cruise dates that have a discount for solo travelers! Typically solo travelers pay what's called a single supplement - an up-charge to keep a cabin or room that usually fits 2 people for just 1 person. These two itineraries below have that up-charge at just 10%! This is much less than the normal 50%+, making these last minute river cruise options amazing deals if you can make the dates work!
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This month I joined my colleagues in travel at an annual conference in Funner, CA, and it was indeed Fun! But more importantly, I was able to connect with tour operators and travel suppliers, network with my friends and colleagues, and win a Monarch Agency award!
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Sticking with the South Pacific theme from last week, this week I'm highlighting New Zealand for the Destination Spotlight! What comes to mind when you think of New Zealand? Is it the Lord of the Rings? Is it rugby? Maybe Taika Waititi? Or perhaps you know a bit about the native Māori culture. Whatever it is, New Zealand is an amazing place to visit!
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If Tahiti has ever been on your bucket list, now's a great time to start planning your trip. There are some amazing sales (I'm talking about up to 35% off regular room rates that represent thousands of dollars in saving!) going on now that you don't want to miss!
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These clients are a family coming from 3 cities in South Dakota. They wanted a roadtrip experience that wasn't too far away but that allowed for ample activities for everyone: grandparents, parents, and kids. As they lived in opposite ends of South Dakota, the range for how far away they wanted to go was fairly narrow, but in the end they decided upon the Fair Hills Resort in Detroit Lakes, MN.
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Not only is it my birthday month (yay! happy birthday to me!), but it is also the month we head up to the cabin for a family weekend and the one in which the Minnesota State Fair and the Minnesota Renaissance Festival begin! So much fun in just one month!
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Hailed as the "land of many waters," Guyana is a relative newcomer to the vacation bucket list but is an amazing country that is largely untouched from tourism. It has extensive rainforest with beautiful rivers and waterfalls (like the one above). For an eco-tourist or adventure-seeker, Guyana holds a special spot as it is full of tepuis (which are table top mountains or mesas) and wildlife.
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I know, I know, it's still summer! You can't think about Spring Break now... but I promise you, if you think about it now, you'll get better pricing, better availability and you won't be scrambling to plan your family's Spring Break trip later! Since I know most people already think about Mexico and the Caribbean for Spring Break, I'm here to offer a couple more unique suggestions for Spring Break 2025.
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This couple had a long bucket list of places they wanted to check out in Australia, but knew all of it wouldn't be possible. They wanted to maximize their time there, and called in a professional (hey, that's me!) to help figure out what was feasible and what would have to wait for another trip. They're going to have such a great time there!
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July's another 5 Wednesday month which means it's time for tips & tricks! This month it seems a great time to talk about navigating airport travel in general, especially with the recent Crowdstrike outage issues we've seen.
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We loved the city we used to live in, Robbinsdale, as it always felt like a small town right in the big city. Because of how much we still love it, not only is Experience Culture Travel in the Robbinsdale Chamber of Commerce, but we also love going to Robbinsdale for their Whiz Bang Days celebrations every July! One of our favorite aspects of the celebrations is the parade. It is one of the last pieces of Whiz Bang Days and occurs at 3pm on Sunday. We've hardly ever missed one!
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Vietnam is one of the countries that make up Southeast Asia, and is probably most well known for the eponymous war fought there. While there are definitely historical battle sites that can be visited, Vietnam holds so much more than that - and so many more beautiful things.
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I'm throwing the usual planning guide on its head this month: instead of telling you what to plan, I'm going to tell you what you shouldn't be planning for 2025, and that is Italy, particularly Rome.
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This particular client reached out to me with a request to visit Colombia, as he has been learning Spanish and wants to put himself in a position where he has to use what he's learned. His tutor is from Colombia, so he thought this would be a good first trip to take to Latin America. He didn't have too much time off work approved, so we fit in his trip into 5 days, not counting travel days on either end.
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Summer's kicked off and we're off to a good start. Last summer was the first summer where I had the kids home with me full time, and it got a little chaotic by the end. So, in light of that, this summer I made a daily schedule to try to keep a bit or order (while still allowing for a lot of fun)! One item on the list that I think will be good for everyone is cleaning the house - each person (me, EV, and Malcolm) has a designated hour of cleaning in the morning before being able to play with friends.
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If you're not familiar with the locations of the countries in southern Africa, you may not know where Zimbabwe lies: north of South Africa, east of Botswana, west of Mozambique and south of Zambia. For a landlocked country, it does offer a lot of water activities though - mostly due to the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls. Avid whitewater rafters (and beginners alike) often come here to experience the Class 5 water on the Zambezi, and those who love to fish will travel to try their hand at catching the Tiger Fish found in that very same river.
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Something that's often on people's bucket lists are those overwater bungalows. Most often found in the Maldives, Bora Bora, or even sometimes in the Caribbean, if you've ever wanted to experience this type of relaxation, you should start planning now!
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These clients realized that for their honeymoon, they wanted to go as far away that they may never get back to. Rio ended up being what the selected, and I think they'll have a grand time.
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