Eastern Europe 2022

Update to the upcoming tour to Eastern Europe that was planned for September of 2021. 

I have moved this tour to September of 2022.  The new departure date is September 20 and return October 2.  The prices have also changed. Cost of this trip is now $2149 plus air fare, which cannot be booked yet. 

The itinerary remains the same.

Since this tour has moved to 2022, it would be possible to add on the Passion Play at Oberammergau. The play was moved from 2020 to 2022 due to COVID. If you are interested in adding the Passion play to the tour let me know at the time of booking.  Price for the passion play add on varies depending upon seating and which accommodation you choose. Cost for the add-on will be between $400 and $1400 US dollars. 

It is of course, always possible to simply book a tour whose main focus is the passion play. Those tours are from 6 to 12 days with varying costs. 

Don't forget the 10 night cruise in June of 2022. I still  have a few open staterooms for this fantastic trip in Scandinavia! 

The world is slowing opening up for travel. Are you ready? 

Domestic Travel in the Midwest

 With the roll out of the COVID 19 vaccines so many of  us are getting more and more ready to travel, the reality is so many of our favorites are still closed to visitors. While that should change in the (hopefully) near future, we can look to domestic travel, something we often overlook. 

In just two weeks, I am planning a road trip through parts of the Midwest and South as I make my way to Florida and back. 

Looking to minimize my risk, I already searched out some stops along the way to share with all of  you. 

Some of the places I will be sharing are local distilleries in the heart of Kentucky bourbon country. Civil War relics and one woman's quest for freedom and her road from slave to spy to an icon of woman's suffrage movement. 

Chocolates, port, beaches, great food I will share some insider tips for hunting shark teeth and sea shells. 

Stay with me as we explore archeology sites, visit the most haunted city in the United States, learn about plantation life for both owners and slaves and take a tour in the Appalachian mountains as we search for wild horses. 

We will discover all of this and more as we opt in to see the US. 

Follow on facebook, twitter and instagram as we traverse part of the midsection of the US. 

Can we travel safely?

If you are like me, you long for the opportunity to get out and travel, see parts of the world  you haven't been and yearn to visit old familiar places, like old friends.  

With the pandemic still out of control you might be wondering if we will ever be able to continue to work on our bucket lists. While international travel is still on hold, we can still travel domestically. 

The key is to do it safely and to minimize your risk to not only catching the virus, but also spreading it.

Planning is key. 

I am taking a trip in just under a month. I am 'road tripping' from the upper Midwest to Florida. Here I will chronical planning, preparation and scenes from the trip. 

First step is to decide how many days. This particular trip I am planning on 10 days. 

Next, I will make sure I have enough face coverings to double mask each day. In planning my activities, I will keep in mind to keep it outdoors as much as possible and/or social distance as well as keeping my face mask properly in place. 

I am in the second group of eligibility for getting the vaccine and if I can get it before I go, I will do so. I know this is a subject that has become politicalized, but it shouldn't be. Nor am I saying you must get it before travel. I am only saying I will get it when I can and hopefully before I leave. 

Now for the fun part! Planning!

I know that I am boarding two dogs so I have made the reservations for them and made arrangements for a friend to take my parrot and check on my cat while gone. 

This makes my first day pretty easy. I will be leaving after work, so all packed up the night before. Then dropping off the dogs and then hitting the road. 

Travel in the Midwest during March is always a bit iffy as one never knows if/when a snow storm or blizzard will strike. I am doing my planning as if there will be no issue, buy I am aware that all things will need to be fluid to accommodate changing weather patterns. 

Being aware of the pandemic issues, this particular trip I will plan on eating 'on the run' as opposed to eating in dining rooms. So, a cooler will be part of the items I will pack along with easy to keep foods for the drive. Much like camping. 

I will also stock up on paper maps. While GPS is helpful, nothing replaces a paper road map if you find yourself hitting detours or wanting to know how far to the next town to fuel up. Call me old school, but there is just something that is tangible about paper maps that you don't get from a GPS. 

For this trip I will need Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and West Virginia. I have many of these that are only a year or so old but others I will need to update. Tip: you can contact each state independently to get one for free, or you can stop in at the first tourist information station as you cross the state lines to get one. 

Stay tuned for more on planning!

Travel 2021

Planning is key to a fun and successful vacation and, with January almost gone, it is not too early to start for 2021 summer plans. 

I am cautiously optimistic that travel overseas will open by this fall. As you know, I have a tour scheduled for Eastern Europe for late September. The good news, this tour is  small group allowing social distancing throughout the length of the tour. Great pricing with huge savings and a generous no change fee by the tour company should the need arise. 

The Eastern Europe tour is 13 days for less than $2000 plus airfare. For complete details please visit Trip Along Travel web site (htpps://tripalongtravel.com), facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/beckytripalongtravel) or email me at becky@tripalongtravel.com for all the details. 

Domestic travel is certainly on the rise. National parks, state parks and local attractions have seen a boon during the pandemic as people, longing for adventure, have rediscovered their own back yards. This is a wonderful, unexpected, silver lining to the pandemic that has gripped the world. 

Maybe this year you will plan to see Mesa Verde in Colorado. This ancient site has some accessible sites, easy hiking and more demanding hiking segments for those that choose to take the extreme rugged road. 

Perhaps take in the Great River Road route along the Mississippi and stop at St. Louis and Hannibal MO before you end at New Orleans. There are any number of historical sites to see along the way and you will find many options for paddleboat cruises, many that offer dining and entertainment. 

Over the next few weeks, I will be putting together a personal vacation and I will invite you to follow along and join me virtually as I travel later this Spring. Keep tuned! 

Don't forget to check out the website for details on the Budapest trip. I am also taking a group to Scandinavia & Russia in June of 2022. Details are also on the website. Check it out!

Until next time! Keep safe and keep dreaming of that next trip!

 

Cruise planning for 2022

It is never too early start planning your next vacation. The earlier you start brainstorming ideas, the better prepared you are when the time comes to pack up and take that first step of the new adventure. 

While Covid19 has certainly put a dent in our plans, it hasn't stopped them. Now with the availability of testing and more importantly, a vaccine, travel will soon open up to us. 

I foresee 2022 being the year they really open up all of the cruises. The hospitality industry, and cruises in particular, have taken a huge hit during the pandemic. All of the cruise lines are struggling and looking to safely restart as soon as they can. 2022, I think, will be their year. 

I am working on putting together a cruise for June of 2022 with the Royal Caribbean line. This particular cruise that I am putting together is a 10 day cruise around Scandinavian countries and will include a stop in Russia. Estonia, Latvia, Denmark and more are on the list of ports of call. 

On board, the amenities are nothing to sneeze at. Water slides, rock climbing walls, miniature golf, glow in the dark laser tag, on-board surfing and an ice rink!

Pricing right now is fantastic, starting at $870 per person/double occupancy. (THIS WILL NOT LAST)

Contact me today for more information or to reserve your stateroom. 

(Photos courtesy of Royal Caribbean)

The Journey Begins

If you are like so many of us, you are looking forward to seeing the backside of 2020 and starting to plan your next travels for 2021 or even 2022. 

Perhaps you became engaged during the pandemic, Yippee, and are now considering a destination wedding at a lovely all inclusive resort for you and your guests. Maybe you had to cancel your wedding or honeymoon plans and not sure what you'd like to do once the world opens to travel. 

Trip Along Travel is here to help. 

Becoming more and more popular, weddings that take place with the back drop of an ocean, sunny skies and white sandy beaches are hard to beat. 

Have you considered a trip to Bora Bora, Fiji or French Polynesia? Surprisingly affordable, this may be just the ticket to start your new lives together. 

Or perhaps you would like to go to the City of Light and say your vows against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower in Paris? 

Always an option, have the wedding at your home venue, but take your honeymoon in Italy!

Weddings and honeymoons are as unique as you are. At Trip Along Travel we will work with you and your wedding planner to make your day shine. 

From all inclusive stays in Mexico or Caribbean, Greek Island hopping, African Safaris and everything in between, contact me at Trip Along Travel for more information. 

Becky

becky@tripalongtravel.com

www.tripalongtravel.com 

Reflections

 2020 will go down as one of the worst years in history I suspect. So many things ground to a halt as the pandemic surged out of control. 

Travel plans placed on hold or canceled altogether. Airlines, hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants struggling to stay afloat or closed their doors forever. 

Communities that depend upon tourism have been hit particularly hard this last year. 

Wildfires raged in the western states and hurricanes savaged the southern states. Riots erupted across the world, as well as in our own back yards. 

It wasn't all doom and gloom though. 

Venice, that lovely city built along water ways, saw the canal water clear and dolphins coming into the harbor. You could see the bottom of the canals as the water traffic slowed to almost a stop. 

                                            Getty Images

Air pollution cleared in places such as the Taj Mahal, as people stayed home and left much smaller carbon footprints. 

                                                   Lonely Planet

People rediscovered their own back yard and visited local, state and national parks in record numbers. The Smokey Mountains being one of the top domestic destinations this year. 

With the advent of the vaccine, we will soon be turning the corner on the pandemic. 

Now is the time to look to book travel for 2021 and 2022. 

Super deals on both domestic and international trips are currently available with generous no fee change dates. 

Dream big, plan for tomorrow and contact me to help make those travel plans come true. 

If you are dreaming of a trip to see Dracula's Castle, consider joining me in September to do just that along with seeing so much more of the Carpathian Mountains and savor some of the best foods I have ever enjoyed. 

2021, the best is yet to be!

                                           Carpathian Mountains