As professional travel agents, it’s our job to stay up to date and keep you informed about the ever-changing world of travel. Below you will find our latest batch of travel tips to help you travel better. Please read on, and, if you have any additional questions regarding these topics or others, we’re only a phone call, email or text away.
Reinebringen Mountain, Norway
The Rise of Solo Travel
Linger longer at the museum or head over to the castle? Turn in early to rest up for the hike tomorrow or stay out late to dance at the street festival? Skip the crowded public tour and get wonderfully lost in the alleyways and shops instead? Stick to your diet or indulge in gelato? When you travel solo, the choice is always yours and yours alone.
It’s no wonder solo travel has consistently been on the rise for years. Every day you travel unaccompanied is Independence Day, a day filled with wondrous self-indulgence blended with personal exploration. The resulting freedom is both empowering and uplifting, allowing you to soak in your new surroundings untethered by the tastes and whims of another. And while traveling with your partner, family or friends has its many advantages, traveling solo has its own.
Get expert help planning your escape
Planning Is a Piece of Cake
When our agency helps you plan your solo adventure, we throw out idea after idea about all the options you have. And when we do, you don’t have to say things like, “We’ll discuss this back at home and let you know.” Instead, you go with your gut and say “Yes!” to the wine-tasting tour. “Yes!” to the rainforest hike. “Yes!” to the Galápagos cruise.
Make every moment your own
Adventure at Your Pace
Go ahead, take a nap. Every day of your vacation is yours, and you can easily change plans at a moment’s notice without disappointing anyone. So, after waking up early to go whale watching, you can take the sky tram to the mountain peak with the friends you made on your morning cruise, or you can rest up back at the hotel to recharge for your afternoon glacier hike.
Let the unexpected shape your journey
Challenges Are Fun
The menu is in Portuguese? No problem. Missed the tour bus to the museum? You’ll find another way there. The more you travel solo, the more you’ll enjoy tackling challenges to prove your mettle. You’ll also become more observant of the people and places around you, which will ultimately make you a better traveler.
Open yourself to new connections
Making Friends Is Easy
There’s a certain mystique to solo travelers. Others see you and think, “Wow, that person must be adventuresome and have some amazing stories.” So, they approach and invite you into their circle. And you accept — because you are adventuresome, and you do have amazing stories.
Stay active and eat well while you travel
Your Health Is in Your Hands
When we travel with companions, we often choose restaurants and activities based on their preferences, so the diet and exercise routine goes out the window. Solo travelers, on the other hand, can more easily dine at restaurants with healthier options and choose longer hikes to stay fit. Or, since no one’s watching, you can get a second slice of chocolate haupia pie, a decadent coconut milk-based Hawaiian dessert, while in Maui. Our travel agency can turn practically any vacation experience into a solo one for your enjoyment. We know the easiest places to explore on your own, which areas women should avoid and which cruise lines have the best solo cabins. You’ll be physically traveling alone, but you’ll have our assistance every step of the way.
Start dreaming about what’s next
The Joy of Having a Trip on the Horizon
There is a particular kind of happiness that has nothing to do with being anywhere yet. It kicks in the moment you book, the second the confirmation lands in your inbox and the dates become real. Psychologists call it anticipatory joy, and if you have ever counted down the days to a trip with excitement, you already know what this means.
Studies show that the planning phase of a vacation generates as much well-being as the trip itself, sometimes more. Having something to look forward to gives ordinary days a sense of purpose. You find yourself looking up restaurants in Lisbon at 11 p.m., reading about the best time to see cherry blossoms in Kyoto or finally using that language app you downloaded two years ago. The trip on the horizon turns your regular life into a prologue.
This is one of the reasons our travel advisors encourage clients not to wait for the perfect moment to book — there rarely is one. But there is real value in having something planned, a marker on the calendar that says the world is wider than your current week. Whether it’s a weekend road trip or a two-week river cruise through Europe, the anticipation starts doing its quiet work on your mood the moment you commit.
So, if you have been sitting on a destination idea and thinking you will get to it eventually, let us help you get to it now. We will handle the flights, the accommodations and the details you would rather not think about, so you can focus on the best part: just looking forward.
Venture into Alaska’s Inside Passage for whale watching
Best Destinations for Winter Wonderland Travel
Not everyone heads south when the temperature drops. Some travelers look at snow in the forecast and think: “That is exactly where I want to be.” Winter travel offers some of the most visually spectacular experiences of any season, with quieter streets, smaller crowds and landscapes so dramatic they barely seem real.
Discover winter among Banff’s frozen lakes and peaks
Banff, Canada
Banff is one of North America’s most beautiful winter destinations. Frozen turquoise lakes, Rocky Mountain peaks and a charming town center make it hard to beat. Lake Louise alone is worth the trip: a sheet of blue ice surrounded by snow-capped mountains with world-class skiing close by. December through February is the sweet spot for reliable snow without the peak-season crowds.
Take in the Matterhorn from Zermatt
Switzerland
Whether you base yourself in Zermatt with the Matterhorn as your backdrop, Verbier or St. Moritz, Switzerland offers excellent skiing, great food and a level of comfort that makes the cold feel like a bonus. Non-skiers have plenty to enjoy too, from the scenic Glacier Express to evenings over fondue in century-old chalets.
Chase the Northern Lights across Finnish Lapland
Norway and Finland
These two are ideal for travelers looking for something beyond the slopes. Norway’s fjords in winter are stark and beautiful, best seen on a coastal voyage through mist and quiet waters. Finland, particularly Lapland, is one of the best places on earth to see the Northern Lights, with husky safaris, reindeer sleigh rides and glass-roof cabins made for aurora watching. Talk to one of our advisors and we can help you find the right fit.
Recharge somewhere designed for wellness
Different Types of Wellness Journeys
Many of our clients seek vacations that improve their personal health and reset their mind. Typically, this leads us to suggest a spa getaway or yoga retreat, someplace where you can spend quiet mornings in child’s pose and then afternoons getting a four-hand massage. However, there are many roads to wellness. Here are a few alternatives we can base your next journey on.
Choose a refreshing alcohol-free escape
Dry Resorts
Some wellness resorts provide everything you expect from a high-end getaway — serene beaches, excellent cuisine and daily entertainment — everything except alcohol. Because in today’s modern culture, where companies are making “hard” versions of every beverage under the sun, many of us would like to step back and take a dry break. These resorts have no alcohol on site, and even prohibit you from bringing your own. Instead, they provide a large selection of mocktails and adaptogenic juices to promote wellness and encourage socializing. After a few days, you’ll be thinking clearly again.
Disconnect from your screen and reconnect with yourself
Digital Detoxes
Phones are addictive, and that’s why digital detox wellness retreats are becoming so popular. Designed to break our dependency on endless scrolling and constant connectivity, these properties require you to surrender your smartphones, laptops and smartwatches as you check in (like in “White Lotus” season 3, if you’re a fan of the show). In their screen-free rooms and public places, you’ll be encouraged to reconnect with the physical world through reading books, journaling and stargazing. It’s amazing how aware you become of your surroundings without your phone around.
Prioritize rest on your next escape
Sleep Retreats
Who couldn’t use more sleep? Thanks to the rise of sleep tourism, more wellness resorts are offering sleep retreat packages. Guests arrive to re-establish their natural sleep cycles through a mix of temperature-adjusting mattresses, blackout rooms, sleep medicine, polysomnography (sleep tracking), professional consultations and circadian realignment rituals. This may very well be the best vacation you don’t remember — because you’ll sleep through most of it! But then again, you’ll return home revitalized and refreshed, just like you should after a great vacation.
