Vacation Mavens Travel Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Kim just came back from her third cruise of the year and her first small-ship cruise on Windstar Cruises. TL;DR, she loved Windstar and small ship cruising! In this week's episode Kim dishes on everything you need to know about small ship cruising on Windstar.

Plus, hear about her pre-cruise excursions from Reykjavik including a small group Golden Circle tour with Hidden Iceland and hot springs experiences at the Sky Lagoon and Blue Lagoon.

Note: Kim was hosted by Windstar Cruises for purposes of her review. All opinions are her own.

Highlights of the Windstar Cruise experience:

• Small staff with personalized service
• Easier to make connections with fellow cruisers
• Very large cabins with a sitting area, walk in closet, and large bathroom
• Dining options
• Observatory lounge

OTHER EPISODES YOU MAY ENJOY

• Princess Alaska Cruise
• Holland America Caribbean cruise
• Barge and river cruising through France
• Off-the-beaten path in West Iceland
• Iceland family travel tips

Are you ready to go leaf peeping in New England this fall? Tamara shares some great destinations and road trips on where to go to northern New England including Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

• New England covers Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island
• If you are visiting in the fall, you will want to keep an eye on the fall foliage trackers and know that the further north you go, the earlier it will peak
• The prime time is late September through mid-October for fall travel
• How to plan a New England road trip: fly into Boston and then head north to Portland, Maine and then into the White Mountains of New Hampshire and then into Vermont
• You will need at least a week to do a road trip if you are flying in
• Otherwise you can easily plan a long weekend
• 7 Fall New England road trip options
• Best things to do in New England with kids
• The White Mountains in New Hampshire makes a great long weekend or even weeklong trip
• Where to go glamping in New England
• Where to stop on the Kancamaugus Highway in New Hampshire
• Vermont is great for couples with quintessential charming towns
• Burlington, Vermont is a fun getaway and Brattleboro is perfect for artists. One of Tamara's favorite towns is Manchester, Vermont.
• Tamara has done a wonderful romantic getaway at the Weston luxury inn in Vermont
• Plan a Vermont road trip
• Highwood Retreat in Vermont is an off-the-grid glamping spot great for couples
• Lumen Nature Retreat in Lincoln/N.Woodstock, New Hampshire
• Alpine Garden Glamping in the White Mountains has a great location with cabins, Hobbit Houses, and a treehouse and it is located on a winery
• Best lobster rolls in Maine
• Best vacation spots in Maine
• Boston to Bar Harbor Maine coast road trip
• Things to do in Portland, Maine in the winter
• Things to do in the Berkshires in the winter and summer
• Best family vacations in New England (for every season)

Other Episodes You May Like

• Fall travel destinations
• Off-the-beaten path in Maine
• Tamara's New England travels
• Planning a girls' trip to Maine

Well it has been a minute since we had a chance to catch up and record a podcast but in this episode Tamara shares her insights and experience from her recent family trip to Japan.

Kim and Tamara also share their love for Scottsdale, Arizona and some of the things they did on a girls' trip together. Read more at:

• Scottsdale girls weekend
• Reasons to visit Scottsdale in summer
• Best Scottsdale Arizona resorts for girlfriends trips
• Scottsdale weekend itinerary

Tamara also talked about her time in Paso Robles, California. You can read her Paso Robles itinerary to get inspired to visit this wine region.

Kim attended conferences in Walt Disney World (read her tips for using DVC points to save money on a Disney World vacation), Disney Land, and San Antonio. She also took a family cruise to Alaska aboard the Norwegian Bliss, which was different from her Alaska cruise on Holland America last summer.

Kim also took a quick press trip to Iceland, where she was able to explore Reykjavik and visit the Sky Lagoon.

We really dug into Tamara's 2-week trip to Japan which included:

• 5 Days in Tokyo
• 5 Days in Kyoto
• 3 Days in Osaka

If you are planning a trip, be sure to read Tamara's Japan travel tips!

When talking about how great Google Maps can be to figure out transportation in Japan, Kim also mentioned her post about using Google Maps to plan a trip.

Tamara was also just back from a short press trip to Waterton and Glacier National Parks.

We will be traveling a lot over the summer so expect to hear another episode in the late summer. Then you will hear about Tamara's trip to Scotland & Wales, her river and barge cruises in France, and Kim's amazing trip to Kenya.

Full Episode Transcript

[00:00:00.000] - Kim

Today, we're journeying to the land of the rising sun.

 

[00:00:14.520] - Tamara

Welcome to Vacation Mavens a family travel podcast with ideas for your next vacation and tips to get you out the door. Here are your hosts, Kim from Stuffed Suicase and Tamara from We Three Travel.

 

[00:00:29.740] - Tamara

Kim, I can't believe the last time I really talked to you was when we were together in Scottsdale in April.

 

[00:00:34.670] - Kim

I know. It's been a crazy travel season for us. Good. I love that travel's back and everything, but it's also crazy because I thought we would be talking more and we've seen each other so much at the beginning of the year. And then all of a sudden it's like, Oh, summer is almost over.

 

[00:00:47.920] - Tamara

Not quite. That was our intent was to have this monthly. We're struggling, guys. So if anyone is still listening and subscribe to us, which I hope that they are, we're going to do a quick little rundown of some of our recent travels. Now you'll see why we haven't been able to connect and record an episode.

 

[00:01:07.600] - Kim

Yeah, exactly. It's been insane. The last time you guys heard from us, we were headed to Scottsdale, which was middle of April, and we both, I think, had an amazing trip there. We both published our articles, so you can always head to Wee 3 Travel and Stuff Suitcase and see the stuff that we covered. But I loved Scottsdale. It was great.

 

[00:01:25.720] - Tamara

Yeah. I think Scottsdale just continues to be a place I want to go back to because there's so many beautiful resorts and hotels, so there's always some place new to check out. There's amazing spas. Then this time, we did a lot of really cool activities.

 

[00:01:41.370] - Kim

I loved how it was really I think Scottsdale is a great destination a combination for being able to do outdoorsy things. We did hot air balloons, horseback riding, a few different things. But we also did wine tasting and shopping and went to some museums. Then, like you said, went to an amazing spot, the Phoenixion. Scottsdale, if you are a spa person, that's where you want to go.

 

[00:02:03.230] - Tamara

I've been watching our friend, Colleen, that lives out in Scottsdale. She seems to be hopping around another spa every day. I'm like, Wow, I want to come be your friend right now.

 

[00:02:12.830] - Kim

I think everyone's been saying that, I want your job.

 

[00:02:15.790] - Tamara

I'm sure. I would definitely say romantic getaway, girlfriend get away. Scottsdale is amazing for that. There's plenty to do with the family as well because of all those outdoor activities. But definitely check out. I know I have an itinerary. You have some great suggestions on things to do in the summer and how to manage the heat out there. D efinitely check those out on our websites to see more.

 

[00:02:39.620] - Kim

So where did you head after Scottsdale?

 

[00:02:41.800] - Tamara

I went right from Scottsdale to T uson to see Hannah for a little bit. And then the following week, I went to Paso Robles, which I'd learned.

 

[00:02:51.090] - Kim

I always said it was Paso Robles. Oh, it's Robles.

 

[00:02:52.980] - Tamara

Yeah. And it's actually Robles. And I'm like, I feel silly saying Robles.

 

[00:02:57.270] - Kim

Yeah, it sounds like Marbles.

 

[00:02:58.630] - Tamara

But that is a wine region in central California near San Louis Biscoe. I just love it. I was there, I think it was nine or eight years ago with the family, and we were checking out some family friendly wineries there. But it has just exploded in terms of the number of wineries, but also really good food now. The downtown has expanded. I stayed in a new boutique hotel that was just I loved it, which was so cool. It has a rooftop bar. It had a wine, actually a champagne vending machine in the lobby. Oh, I saw that. I saw your story on that. Yeah. So I had a great time out there. And I definitely think anyone that's into wine, put that on your radar as a region to visit. You can easily spill a long weekend. I had a couple of really wonderful spots that I went for wine tasting, just those perfect, incredible views, great food, wonderful wine. I think where many, many years ago it was newer to the scene or it was well known for J. L oor, some of the bigger names. There's just so much going on out there.

 

[00:04:02.940] - Tamara

Where did you go next? Because I know you were really busy right after our.

 

[00:04:06.130] - Kim

Scottsdale trip, too. I had three trips back to back. I did go to Disney World for a conference and I got to ride the new Tron ride. I also checked out a new hotel, which was the Contemporary Hotel, which I had never been to. I loved that. I really do love the splurging on those Disney World hotels that have the monorail access and the ones we've been at Revere too with the Skyliner because, man, it's amazing how much easier it is just to get into and not have to deal with the bus system because then whenever I have to wait for a bus to one of the parks and it's like, inevitably I get there and I'm the last one, I've got to wait for 20.

 

[00:04:39.400] - Tamara

Minutes or something. I will say that's what I liked the most about Disneyland because I've never stayed on park at Disney World. I've only stayed at partner hotels and by hotels.

 

[00:04:50.150] - Kim

Yeah, it is a big splurge for sure. I have a great article about that, though, because we splurged and used... We rented DVC points to be able to stay, and it's still not cheap. It was for the graduation trip and stuff, and this one does a conference hotel rate. I'm definitely not saying it's cheap, affordable, but if you do want to splurge, renting DVC points, and I have a link, so if anyone wants it, or you can look up the how I saved $2,000 plus dollars at Disney World. I have how we did that in there. I actually just tried to do it for Disneyland, but they didn't have any availability because Disneyland only has one property, almost two. Anyways, I did that. But then right after that, I also went on another Alaskan cruise, which you and I have talked about a few times. I'll soon have a couple of articles updated, but this was more of just a family cruise, so I didn't actually treat it like a work trip, which was nice to.

 

[00:05:39.930] - Tamara

Just relax. Which cruise were you on this time, though? Because I feel like was it last summer that you did celebrity?

 

[00:05:44.310] - Kim

Holland last August, which I absolutely loved. I loved Holland. I haven't done celebrity in Alaska yet, but Holland America was awesome. This time we did Norwegian because my family has status with there, and so they like to book Norwegian. We did the bliss, which we have been on the bliss before for a little media sailing when they started it.

 

[00:06:02.560] - Tamara

That's the one that we took.

 

[00:06:03.920] - Kim

To Alaska. Yeah, exactly. Family trip. Yeah. Anyway, so that was that. Then I had one other conference, then back to Disneyland. I hit both the parks within about three weeks of each other, but that was a lot of fun and just...

 

[00:06:17.460] - Tamara

You should have really had a Disney.

 

[00:06:19.000] - Kim

Cruise in the middle. I should have. That would have been perfect. Yeah, exactly. But anyways, that was a wrap up for me. My final trip that I did was I went at the end of May and went to San Antonio for another conference. It feels like most of mine were conferences. I was just conference out. But San Antonio is a cool city. It's been a while since I've been there. I went there for one day when I went to school in Texas for a little while. It was fun checking out San Antonio. But I know you've done a lot of other travels that did not involve conferences.

 

[00:06:51.170] - Tamara

Yeah, I'm like, Have I? I guess. You forget by now. Yeah, that's for sure. Well, I went back to T uson a week and a half later to pick up Hannah and bring her back from school. Then we were home for a week. Then we did our two week trip to Japan. Then I was home for, I don't know, two weeks. Then I just did a real quicky trip to Glacier National Park area.

 

[00:07:14.290] - Kim

Right. I forgot you went to glacier and I went to Iceland. I forgot to mention that. Oh, yeah. I'm blanking on June. I forgot June even existed. Sorry, I was just focusing on up to May, but yeah, definitely. I didn't get to experience the Iceland you got to experience because we stuck around Reykjavik and just explored a couple of attractions that were around there. So it was a quick, quick trip. But Mia is quite the little outdoor lover and cultured lover, so I definitely want to go back to Iceland with her because I know she'll just love to do some of the exploration that you've done.

 

[00:07:48.850] - Tamara

I was going to say, I'll meet you there. Yeah, definitely. I'm always ready to go back there. Yeah, well, I'll definitely put all of these links to articles in our show notes so you guys can read more. But I think.

 

[00:08:00.800] - Kim

That's a good way to do it. But I think we should dive into Japan because it is a very hot destination. I'm still so sad because ours was canceled. We were supposed to be going in April 2020, so we switched off and now you got to finally live the vacation that I was dreaming about back then. I think we should give everyone just a really quick rundown because I know that you have done an amazing job of writing a whole bunch of articles that are really going to be useful for people who are planning a trip to Japan. Let's just start off and give you an idea of how many days were you there and how maybe did you break up your itinerary?

 

[00:08:36.480] - Tamara

Yeah, absolutely. We took two weeks because especially coming from the East Coast, it's just such a long trip. Honestly, it's been on the top of our bucket list for so long, but we just haven't had two weeks where we felt comfortable to go that far knowing we're going to deal with jet lag on the way back. And then the flights are just always so expensive. But at least I was able to use points for one of our flights. So we took two weeks. I flew out on a Saturday morning. Yes, I got there on a Sunday, and then we were supposed to come back on Saturday, but we came back on Sunday because of a weather delay. But anyway, so I did five days in Tokyo, five days in Kyoto, and then three nights in Osaka. When I first started planning the trip, a lot of people told me that I would only need two or three days in Tokyo. But as I was looking at everything that we wanted to do, I was like, I really feel like I could easily spend a week here. It's just a fascinating city. There's just the ultra modern, and then there's the more traditional and each neighborhood is so huge.

 

[00:09:42.570] - Tamara

I think what many people don't realize is just how large the cities are. It's funny, I was talking to my mom before I left, and I don't think she's kept up on modern times as much. There's no way she's listening to this podcast, so I can say it. But she was like, Oh, I showed a picture when we went. She's like, Sky scrapers? I wasn't expecting that. I'm like, What do you think? It's rural villages. But this is the biggest city in the world.

 

[00:10:09.310] - Kim

Yeah, for sure.

 

[00:10:11.080] - Tamara

So it's so huge. And I'm used to going to Europe where even though the cities can be really large, we always stay in that historic, more central area where you're mostly walking. You're taking the metro, but you're primarily walking around a lot. And you may pick a neighborhood, I think about Paris. You pick a neighborhood each day. But in Tokyo, to get to a certain neighborhood, it might be 45 minutes on the couple of connections with the subway and stuff. So I'm glad that we did five days. That's crazy. I could end that was within without doing the Disney stuff, which I know many people like to do when they go there.

 

[00:10:49.630] - Kim

I do know that as a Disney person, it would be hard for me to go to Tokyo and not do Disney, at least Disney Sea, because it's considered a really unique park.

 

[00:11:00.330] - Tamara

Yeah, that's what everyone says. It's unlike any of the others. I get it. But we're not as.

 

[00:11:06.430] - Kim

Into the.

 

[00:11:06.990] - Tamara

Theme parks. Glenn was like, I am not going around the world to go to theme parks.

 

[00:11:11.590] - Kim

Exactly. When you have limited, yes, it's totally valid. I mean, it's very hard to figure out. I agree. I get what he's saying, but I also have that side of me that's like, Oh, but how can you be this close and not do it? So it's very hard to balance that. So, yeah, it sounds good. So you were saying, I know you guys... So I'm picturing Tokyo for my own planning. So you guys were in the Northwestern side of where you look at the downtown to the...

 

[00:11:38.990] - Tamara

Right. The Shizuku neighborhood, which some people were like, oh, do you want to stay there? It's like Times Square. And the area right around the train station is lots of neon, lots of crazy, especially at night. But we were honestly within a 10 minute walk to that, but where we were was more like, business, like government buildings, things like that. So it was really quiet, peaceful. It was great. And we stayed at the Hilton, Tokyo, and it was basically on top of... You could go just down an escalator and connect to two different subway stations. Plus they had a free shuttle if you wanted to the Shinkoku train station. So it was really very accessible. It felt very convenient. And there was plenty of restaurants and things around, but it wasn't super expensive. I don't know how expensive, really, but the Ginza area is much more high end. And then the Shiboya would be nice. But it totally.

 

[00:12:43.620] - Kim

Worked for us. We were happy with it. Nice. That's perfect. Yeah. I had looked at staying in the ginza area because of a few... I was also liked that it was closer to the Disney side, so it was a little easier to get out there. For those of you planning Genza area is basically opposite, diagonal across from where tomorrow states. I've heard the same thing from my research. You really have to allow a lot of time to transfer if you're going to different sides of what you consider the downtown center, 45 minutes to get across sometimes. Kind of crazy. Great. Well, what were some of the highlights then that you guys did when you were in Tokyo?

 

[00:13:17.970] - Tamara

We did a sushi making workshop with True Japan, and we really enjoyed it. The ladies were just really friendly and funny and nice. And so it was fun to see what goes into making sushi. And you probably know that I'm not a sushi eater, really. And we can talk about food later because it worked out better than I expected, except for a couple of times. But it was just fun. It's such a huge part of the culture. So I enjoyed that. We didn't do a whole lot of tours and things. We did a lot of exploring on our own. But the one thing that everybody has to do, which was as amazing as you would think, was the team lab planets, which is that immersive art experience where there's water and flowers and reflections. It's just unlike anything else. And it's really cool. And we've done the traveling, like van go immersive experience. But this was turning that up times 10 or more. And Hannah really loved it. It was really cool. The thing about it is you definitely have to book your tickets well in advance because just one of those things you have a timed entry.

 

[00:14:30.970] - Tamara

It's super popular. And honestly, when it comes to planning Japan, you really need to plan really far in advance. I mean, if you want to get restaurant reservations, some of them book up a month in advance. I think because some of them are so small that if they could take reservations, it might be for eight seats. And so they just go really quickly. And we weren't even there during cherry blossom season or golden week in early May when it's extra busy. difficult to do that. It was amazing. But I would say those are definitely highlights. I just loved exploring different areas. We did go, surprisingly, I liked this, but we went to a sumo wrestling tournament. Yeah, I wonder if I saw that. Which sometimes when people are there, they can see a practice. But there was actually a tournament going on while we were there. So that was something that I had figured out ahead of time. And when the tickets went on sale, I was able to book those the day that they were released. And it was a very cool thing. You don't want to spend hours and hours there because you don't know who the guys are.

 

[00:15:33.160] - Tamara

But just like you could see how excited everyone was to cheer for their favorite, the local person or whatever. And it's just such a dramatic theatrical type of sport. It was interesting. Yeah, for sure. Those are some of my highlights.

 

[00:15:48.770] - Kim

That's awesome. Because I know I saw some of the restaurant experiences you had. It seemed like sometimes you guys went simple and basic, but other times you went really over the top. Anything in Tokyo that you think somebody should splurge on or any savings tips for food or eating in Tokyo other than the restaurants making the reservations?

 

[00:16:08.160] - Tamara

Yeah, we did mostly the casual places in Tokyo. What I was trying to do, because I'm not a sushi eater, is have a variety of foods. And in Japan, all the restaurants really specialize in one thing. They do ramen, they do tempura, they do soba noodles, different things like that. So there's so many different styles of food to try within Japanese cuisine that we just booked a different style of food each night. And honestly, in some of them, we had to line up for the first night that we got there, we went to a place where it opened up five, and we got there at 445, and there was already probably 40 people in line for a 10 seat little place. And you basically you would wait till there was enough space in line. There was people sitting at the counter eating and then people standing behind them waiting for the second that they got up to sit in.

 

[00:16:56.790] - Kim

Their seat. Oh, my goodness.

 

[00:16:57.810] - Tamara

Oh, wow. And you had a vending machine, which is typical. Yeah, a vending machine to order from. So it's typical in a lot of ramen shops. So there's pictures and you just hit the button of what you want. You put in the money, you get a ticket and you hand.

 

[00:17:11.650] - Kim

The person the ticket. That's like McDonald's.

 

[00:17:13.780] - Tamara

Yeah. I'm just kidding. Those.

 

[00:17:16.820] - Kim

Screams in the middle. They have one at Tim Horton's as well. So of.

 

[00:17:20.940] - Tamara

Course, I made a mistake the first time because I saw people with a broth, which I thought was a ramen, and then a bowl of noodles. And I'm like, oh, that's so I saw on the machine that they had dipping noodles and they had ramen. And then you could add extra things, but only if you could tell what the picture was because it was otherwise in Japanese. And so I ordered dipping noodles because it looked really good and ramen because I thought that that's what people had. And then when I handed the girl the ticket, she was like, for one person?

 

[00:17:51.710] - Kim

Oh, no. And she was like, you.

 

[00:17:53.890] - Tamara

Want small or large? Because I was like, oh, is that not what they have? And she was like, no, they have. Because the dipping noodles come with a broth, so I thought it was that they had two.

 

[00:18:02.980] - Kim

Different things in front of them. Oh, and bologna.

 

[00:18:04.650] - Tamara

Yeah. Okay, got you. But I'm really glad that I did it because both were delicious. So I'm happy to sample both. But then Glenn ordered on his ramen, Scallions, and it was covered. It was like a mountain of Scallions because I was like extra. But it was like, if you get extra cheese on a pizza, it's like extra.

 

[00:18:23.110] - Kim

Extra extra. Oh, my goodness. Crazy. I mean, I love Scallions, but I don't know if I could handle the mountain of them.

 

[00:18:27.560] - Tamara

It was crazy. So you make those little mistakes. But we did a lot of the more casual things. And the hard thing is that honestly, I kept saying this, but there's very little in between. So there are the places where you... First of all, Japanese people love to line up, which is really hard when you're visiting and you're tired and you want to be able to eat with a certain time. People wait for two hours to get into this little ramen place or whatever. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, because you're like, I'm tired. I've been running all day. We were running like 5 to 9 miles. We were doing a lot of walking every day. So I'm like, I just want to sit down. So that's why we tried to do some reservations. But there were the really casual, inexpensive, really inexpensive places. And then there's the crazy, crazy high end... Some of the Sushi places, I'm like, there's no way. Because some of them charge up to like $500.

 

[00:19:19.820] - Kim

A person. Oh, my goodness.

 

[00:19:21.930] - Tamara

Insane. That's crazy. So there's just not a lot of middle ground is what I found. Okay, good to know. But the low end, not low end, but the inexpensive stuff is really good.

 

[00:19:31.970] - Kim

Yeah, of course. You just have to go on to wait for it.

 

[00:19:35.440] - Tamara

Yeah, exactly. And honestly, one day... So we had a bit of a rough start because Glenn had a stomach bug the day before we left. So the whole flight over and everything, he basically didn't eat for a couple of days. And then I had a really bad cold the day before we left. And for two days, I was so nervous, I'm testing. I'm like, Please.

 

[00:19:57.490] - Kim

Don't let it be.

 

[00:19:58.350] - Tamara

And it was. And it was just a cold, but I was still super congested, so it was just hard. And in Japanese society, you can't blow.

 

[00:20:06.290] - Kim

Your nose.

 

[00:20:06.970] - Tamara

In public. So I'm trying to be so discreet, going outside and blowing my nose and sanitizing and tucking it into my pocket know, like very... Like trying to be really conscious of that and trying to be super sanitary. But Hannah did end up getting a cold also. One day she was just not feeling up to going out and doing a tour and stuff. So we're like, just stay here and sleep. It was going to be the day that we toured one neighborhood and then we went to the sumo wrestling, and she wasn't super into that anyway. So we're just sleep. And then she went out on her own and she found a 7 11 because just like everybody says, 7 11 has amazing convenience food. So you can buy these really good sandwiches and all that stuff. So there's definitely plenty of ways that you can eat cheap there.

 

[00:20:56.090] - Kim

That's good to know. So then from Tokyo, you went to Kyoto? Yes. Kyoto is such a different vibe. Yeah, the bullet train, right?

 

[00:21:05.570] - Tamara

Yeah. So a couple of things to know about the bullet train is that we had gotten the JR pass, which allows you to use all the JR trains. We got the national ones, so you could use bullet trains as well, except the super fast ones weren't included. And we had gotten one that allows us to make seat reservations. And you also, if you're bringing luggage on the train, you now need to make a reservation for the luggage. And this is for more of a checked bag size luggage, not the carry on size. But we were there for two weeks, so we had checked bags. So you can make a reservation for the last row of seats where the luggage can go behind you, or there's a couple of spots on a luggage rack, but they're really cutting down on luggage on trains. Or you can ship your bags ahead, which we ended up actually a couple of times just shipping our bags ahead. And it only costs $20 a bag. It's waiting for you in the hotel when you get there. It takes 24 hours. So you need to have a small bag with all your stuff for.

 

[00:22:06.140] - Kim

Then one day. Yeah.

 

[00:22:07.320] - Tamara

But we took the bullet train and that worked really well. We saw Mount Fuji because it was a nice day out. So and we ended up like, we got to Kyoto and we just put our bags in a locker and then we took a local train out to Nara, which is about a half hour away or so, maybe 45 minutes. And there's a really beautiful, huge temple out there. But also it's known for their deer park, which Glenn, years ago, because we both work for a Japanese company, so he's been to Japan many times, but 25 years ago. And so he would always tell us about the deer in Nara that bow to you to get fed. Oh, right. And the deer have changed a bit in the last few years.

 

[00:22:53.320] - Kim

Yes. I've heard about this stuff. They have this issue at the monkey place, too.

 

[00:22:57.310] - Tamara

They were so aggressive. That's too bad. They were grabbing my shirt and pulling on my shirt. They nipped my butt. I'm like, Whoa. I feel like all these videos of Glenn and I trying to run away from the deer and we're like, Oh, no. Let's just get away from where the food is so that the deer are calmer. But it's funny because later in the trip, we went to the island of Miyajima, and they have wild deer there also. And one of them followed me into the visitor center, went over to the desk, grabbed a brochure, and then ran out.

 

[00:23:29.250] - Kim

Because they like to get the paper.

 

[00:23:31.240] - Tamara

And so the person comes running out behind the desk, yelling at the deer. And then there's three people in the street trying to wrestle the paper away from the deer.

 

[00:23:39.390] - Kim

Oh, my goodness.

 

[00:23:40.590] - Tamara

And I'm like, You think of deer in the headlights, these gentle creatures.

 

[00:23:45.240] - Kim

Yeah, exactly. It's sad when humanity is like, Yeah, I won't get there.

 

[00:23:51.560] - Tamara

No, it's definitely because there's too many tourists now. They're being fed. Definitely not a great situation. But we did enjoy the day trip out there. Yeah, for sure. I love everything about Japan. It's just so clean and orderly and polite and easy to figure out. My type A personality just really appreciates the order of things. I would like that too. The fact that everybody stands in a line and waits and then you get on when you get on. I love that because in a society where everyone's pushing or whatever, I get.

 

[00:24:27.400] - Kim

Super stressed out. Oh, my gosh, I hated it. We were on a cruise, a European cruise, and that attracts a lot of Europeans. I thought, Oh, you wait in line for your turn to go get your food that you want served. But no, people just come up from other directions and just walk right up. There's no line concept. I'm like, Oh, I like lines. What am I supposed to do? So sorry.

 

[00:24:49.240] - Tamara

I get that. You would love Japan. I think it's such a wonderful place to visit. I think there must be challenges if you live there within the culture. I recognize that I used to work for a Japanese company. I'm aware of many of those issues, but as a visitor, it makes it so pleasant. But anyway, I was going to say that they have lockers where you can store things. Everything is just easy. The trains, everything is in Japanese and English.

 

[00:25:19.260] - Kim

I know they did a big push with that before the Olympics were going to be there. They were trying to...

 

[00:25:25.180] - Tamara

And all of the trains have signs that say what the next stop is. Because sometimes you're on a subway and you're trying to look and you're like, Oh, yeah. They might not answer, but you're like, What was that?

 

[00:25:36.320] - Kim

What did they say?

 

[00:25:37.460] - Tamara

That's Charlie Brown's.

 

[00:25:38.740] - Kim

Teacher talking to you. Exactly. I've had that happen so many times.

 

[00:25:43.040] - Tamara

So that part was great. And Kyoto is just very different. So it is more traditional in the architecture. They preserved a lot of the traditional architecture. There's tons of shrines and temple s o that's the thing is that you could get a little shrine and templed out, but the architecture is so beautiful. There is a downtown center city that's more city like, but it's nothing like Tokyo.

 

[00:26:09.310] - Kim

Or Nagasaki. I remember when we were looking to stay in Kyoto, I seem to recall because we were going to go during... We were hoping for cherry blossom season, but I seem to recall there it's still pretty spread out and there's little neighborhoods in Kyoto even. It's like, okay, this one has more of this vibe and this one I can't remember where we were staying, but I was looking at the different things and getting the bamboo forest, like, oh, well, I'd have to leave here and we want to be near a train station.

 

[00:26:32.970] - Tamara

All those plans. Yeah, you do want to be near a train station because the metro system is not as well developed there. So we took a mix of busses, GR trains, private trains that you paid for the same way you'd pay for a subway. But when we stayed at the Hyatt Regency, which was probably about a 10 minute walk to one of the train stations, but there was a bus that stopped right outside that then went to the main Kyoto station, which is where we would get on to go to the bamboo forest. And then, yeah, so it was conveniently located, but you definitely needed to plan your travel because some of those destinations, especially many of them were taking slower local trains, and they could still take 45 minutes to.

 

[00:27:26.150] - Kim

An hour. That was one of the things in my planning that was the hardest is recognizing that there are so many different train lines, like brands, and you might have a pass with one, but it doesn't necessarily mean you can go on every train that's coming in. So it's an interesting thing that I've never... I'm sure maybe it's in other places around the world, but it's not something we think about in the states at all.

 

[00:27:49.420] - Tamara

The nice thing, though, is that we had our JR pass, which, by the way, I don't even know if they're going to be that useful after this fall because the price is almost doubling. It's going up. It's having some. Unless ticket prices are going up a lot also, you might just want to buy individual tickets.

 

[00:28:04.190] - Kim

Individual.

 

[00:28:04.600] - Tamara

Ticket, yeah. But we bought, as soon as we got, we had ordered the JR passes ahead, so we had our voucher that we had to turn in to get the actual pass. Then we went to an ATM because you needed cash for a lot of things. We have to also use cash to get an IC card. So this is the rechargeable card that you would use to get on the metro or the bus or something like that. But the nice thing is that unlike, Oh, I'm going to New York, I need a metro card. I'm going to this place, I need that card for their.

 

[00:28:32.660] - Kim

Subway system. Yeah, like Long Island Railroad and Metro card.

 

[00:28:35.370] - Tamara

Yeah, exactly. This card worked for all of them. And it also works for a lot of vending machines.

 

[00:28:41.990] - Kim

Some convenient stores.

 

[00:28:42.850] - Tamara

Yeah, the vending machine.

 

[00:28:43.690] - Kim

I forgot. And you reload it always with cash, though? You always have to reload it only cash. You can't reload it with cash.

 

[00:28:48.300] - Tamara

Yeah, which is so bizarre. It's like this is a digital payment system and I'm loading it with cash.

 

[00:28:53.590] - Kim

I wonder if it's because they want to make sure that you're actually paying for it. They don't want you to just be able to dispute it and have gotten the ride for free or gotten the food for free. You know what I mean? I wonder if it's a culture thing.

 

[00:29:04.840] - Tamara

I do know that it used to be, before COVID, a very cash based society. Now more and more places will take a credit card. And if you have, there's a lot of... Not many places take Apple Pay, but a lot of them do take a tap payment system, but more one that they have in Asia. I don't know if it's really worth signing up and trying to figure that out. Got you. I just basically used my.

 

[00:29:28.420] - Kim

Chip credit card. The IC card and.

 

[00:29:30.030] - Tamara

The card anytime for that. And the IC card for the metro, the bus, some vending machines, some required cash still. But yeah, it's just super convenient. So even though there are different trains, so yeah, maybe you can't use your free pass, not for you because you.

 

[00:29:44.710] - Kim

Paid a lot for it.

 

[00:29:45.480] - Tamara

But it's still pretty easy to get around.

 

[00:29:49.930] - Kim

Yeah, it's good. That's great. And I do want to quickly, before we jump over to finishing up Kyoto and going to Asaka, I did want to mention something that you did that I think was brilliant because I even had looked into doing it when we were planning our trip. And that was you had someone meet you at the airport, right?

 

[00:30:05.450] - Tamara

Yeah, I did. And don't do it. At least not for the company that I did. Okay, here we go. You and I had talked about it. I think it was about $75 to $100. It was the company that I bought the JR Pass from. I also arranged to rent a mobile hotspot, so that was taken care of ahead of time to pick up at the airport. And I arranged to have a greeter meet us after customs. And then what I was told was that that greeter would then take me to do the things I need to do at the airport, which would be pick up my mobile hotspot, exchange my JR Pass, get my IC card, find where I need to go to get my transfer.

 

[00:30:45.390] - Kim

Get the train.

 

[00:30:46.220] - Tamara

I figured, hey, it's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.

 

[00:30:51.800] - Kim

And especially.

 

[00:30:52.310] - Tamara

After traveling.

 

[00:30:52.820] - Kim

For 20 hours.

 

[00:30:53.250] - Tamara

And I want to be jet lived. Yeah, exactly. This will be useful. It was such a waste of money because first I'm trying to talk to the guy, I'm like, okay, we need to go to an ATM, and he's not even understanding what I'm saying. I'm like, You're a greeter. I'm not coming in there with like, everyone should speak English, but his job is.

 

[00:31:11.680] - Kim

To meet people. When you pay people. Yeah, exactly. I know a lot of times they'll have if you want to in English or if you want to in... You can specify a language, but.

 

[00:31:20.330] - Tamara

It seems like it's... Yeah. So one person had my name up and then she called this guy over. So it's like a service they do for multiple people. They had multiple greeters there. I don't know if I just got an inexperienced person, but I went to the counter of the mobile WiFi hotspot place and that person spoke perfect English, no trouble communicating at all.

 

[00:31:40.320] - Kim

And it was easy to find. And you were able to easily find everything.

 

[00:31:42.690] - Tamara

Yeah. I mean, he led me there, but I could have found it on my own, no problem. And then I was trying to explain that I wanted to go to the JR ticket office to get our pass, but also see if he could help us make reservations. Yeah, exactly. Because I wanted to make the reservations as soon as I had my pass because I wanted to try to get the luggage reservations. And he was just like, Oh, no, they don't do reservations here. And I'm like, Oh, well, that's part of why I wanted to pay for this service because I wanted somebody to help me translate what my need was. And meanwhile, we were back and forth, just not understanding each other. So then I get in line at the JR ticket office. I get up there, perfect English from the person that's behind the desk, completely easy to talk to. They didn't make the reservations there. They told me where to go in the Tokyo station or Shinchu station, whatever, which I did the next day. That person also spoke really good English, was able to communicate no problem. And then I was trying to explain that I want to get an IC card.

 

[00:32:38.620] - Tamara

And he was like, Well, you can get the one that requires a deposit or not a deposit. I'm like, I don't care? Can you just tell me where? And he didn't know where to go. Finally, the guy that was behind me in line at the JR ticket office was like, Oh, you want this line right here. And I'm like, Thank you. Then I'm like, What? Then I had arranged for an airport limo bus to take us from the airport directly to our hotel. I just thought first day, and it's really, it's inexpensive. Taxis there are very expensive, but this is inexpensive. And instead of having to drag some bags on multiple trains and subways, I thought it's easy. And so I was like, I thought all that would take us an hour and a half, maybe, from the time we arrived. So I had booked a later bus, but it was really quick to do all of it. So I was like, Oh, maybe we can get an earlier bus. So I was trying to get him to help us with that. No. So I ended up just doing it on my phone. But then he had to come down and he was like, No, I have to wait.

 

[00:33:42.890] - Tamara

Because I was like, Okay, we're all set. Thank you. Bye. And he's like, No, I have to wait till you get on the bus. I'm like, All right, well, can you just stand over there? Because I'm like, I'm done.

 

[00:33:52.120] - Kim

Yeah, exactly. You did not help me. Wow. Okay, well, that's good tip. Good to know.

 

[00:33:56.970] - Tamara

What not to.

 

[00:33:58.150] - Kim

Do, I guess. What not, yeah. No, I mean, it's good because I had considered that too because I was thinking the same thing like, Oh, my gosh, how am I going to get my pass? I was thinking all that same stuff.

 

[00:34:07.930] - Tamara

Cool. I think a lot of things with travel, it feels so overwhelming. But once you're there, you're like, Oh, this is not as bad as I.

 

[00:34:13.260] - Kim

Thought it was going to be. Well, especially in a country that you can't even get around with. It's like, Oh, I speak a little Spanish. I speak a little French. It's just like, None of that's going to help you. You don't want to go in being a ignorant traveler who's just like, Oh, why don't you speak my language in your country? Exactly. I can't stand people like that. But anyways, okay, good to know. Anything else about Kyoto you wanted to mention? I did think it was awesome, your little tip about the bamboo forest. It wasn't really a tip, but I was so happy that you had that experience because I heard the same thing.

 

[00:34:44.990] - Tamara

When I was there, even, I saw some people on Instagram that seem to be there at the same time, but a couple of days before me. And they showed just this mass of people walking through. Because the word is out that for many of these things, you need to get there early. And so even if you show up at 7 AM, there's still this massive crowd of people funneling through this little area. And I don't want to do that. It was an hour away. No one's getting up at 5 AM to get to a place by 7 or whatever just to take a photo. My family doesn't roll like that. They're like, I don't really care about your photo. We just want to see it. And so we decided to sleep in a little bit. We went, we had lunch, then we went to the monkey forest. And I will say the whole Arashima area is, for a touristy area, so much nicer than I expected. It was really lovely. And there's a really pretty river that runs along that on some days you can run boats. It was really nice. Anyway, so we went to the monkey park first because Glenn loves monkeys, although it's such a steep climb up there, he was like, This better be worth it.

 

[00:35:53.700] - Tamara

Actually, there was a fan of it that was like, This better be worth it for your monkeys. But it was cool. We saw a lot of baby monkeys. The monkeys were not aggressive at all. They just hung out as long as you followed the rules. You weren't staring at them in the eyes to challenge them or something. Then we went to a temple, then we went to the forest. So we got to the Grove, not really a forest. It's much smaller than you think it's going to be. We got there maybe like 2.30, 3 o'clock, and it was fine. There was people there, but no crush of crowd and plenty of space to have a photo. Yeah, there's people in the background, but that's fine. Honestly, we just wanted a couple of family photos. I'm not going to win an Instagram competition over it, but it was nice. And it's really beautiful. It's really pretty. But sometimes I think doing the opposite of what everyone says.

 

[00:36:47.700] - Kim

You should do and work out. Especially when it's been around for so long, people are saying do that because it's very much like, oh, the gates open at seven. And so everyone who's built up, it's just like Disneyland. People say, oh, rope drop, rope drop. And you get there. And if you get there late, there's such a long line to get in. And then people come 30 minutes after opening and they walked right up to the turnstiles. There's something about that.

 

[00:37:10.900] - Tamara

Yeah. And I looked at Google Maps is wonderful. It was so helpful for the travel, figuring out the trains because it would say what platform, but also what car to get on if you were transferring. And then when you were leaving the station, what exit to take because those train stations are huge. So you're like, you don't know where you are when you come out. So it was really, really helpful. And it would tell you like eight minutes, 3 stops, here's the name of your stop. This is how much it's going to cost. It was really very helpful. But you can also look for attractions, and it'll show you the busiest times, like a little graph.

 

[00:37:47.100] - Kim

Yes, for sure.

 

[00:37:47.990] - Tamara

I was like, Okay, it looks like 10 to 2 is super busy. Who knows how accurate it is, but let's go.

 

[00:37:53.690] - Kim

After it. I have a good article about how I use Google Maps and you can make a custom and saver on map to help you with your planning to help see stuff for not just road trips, but also when you're planning a city vacation. But that's a good thing. I always forget about how they have that busy season section. I should add that to my post because.

 

[00:38:11.540] - Tamara

That's a.

 

[00:38:12.160] - Kim

Useful thing.

 

[00:38:13.300] - Tamara

When you're trying to figure out, especially for public transportation, many times the night before, I would look like, Oh, how long is it going to take? Because we need to know what time should we be done breakfast? What time do we need to leave? I like that there's a little drop down where you can say when you're departing or when you want to arrive because it changes. Especially public transportation may not have as many trains when you're looking late at night versus when you're going in the morning.

 

[00:38:42.000] - Kim

Totally. That's awesome. I always worry about the train, the car thing, because even in New York, sometimes I've been like... Because I'm not used to using trains often. When I first started going to New York and doing that, the Long Island Rail Railroad and stuff, they have certain cars they don't open the doors to all the time. During different hours of the day. I'm always like, Oh, how do I know what car I'm in? It's definitely one of those Charlie Brown teacher's voices. Sometimes I'm like, I have no idea where I'm at.

 

[00:39:10.980] - Tamara

That's the other great thing. In Japan, it's like, on the avement on the platform, it has numbers. So it's like, you know exactly what car that's going to be. Oh, man. And then everyone lines up single file behind those on either side of the.

 

[00:39:26.830] - Kim

Door for.

 

[00:39:27.350] - Tamara

Everyone to come out and then they go on.

 

[00:39:29.780] - Kim

It's lovely. Lovely. Nice. Okay, so then your last little stop was OSAKA. So why don't you tell us a little bit about that? Because I had planned that we were going to fly into Tokyo and out of OSAKA, but you ended up going back to Tokyo to go home. But what did you do in Osaka?

 

[00:39:45.130] - Tamara

Yeah, flying out of OSAKA would be ideal, but for us, Delta doesn't do that. So we had to go back to Tokyo. So OSAKA is known as the Japan's Kitchen, so it's known for its street food. So I knew I wanted to take a food tour when we were there because it's just that's really one of the things it's well known for. So I ended up... We actually got there, we explored a little bit. We did the... You made a sky building, which actually Glenn did not do. No surprise that when we went up high, especially there's these glass enclosed elevators that go between two towers on the 39th floor. And he was like, Are you kidding me? No way am I doing that. So Hannah and I did that. And then that night we actually went to a baseball game, which was really fun because Japanese culture is really into baseball. And it was like being at a college game in a way because they were playing Hiroshima, so that's not far away. Half the stadium were Buffalo fans and half the stadium were carp fans and they all sat on the right side.

 

[00:40:49.140] - Tamara

So it's like one half was red, one half was white. And they each had a cheering section in a band. And so you felt like you were a little bit at a college game with the marching band thing. It was a lot of fun. But then the next day we took a food tour with Arrogato Travel, and they have food tours in multiple cities. If you want to do a food tour in any of the cities, I would definitely recommend them. The guide was amazing.

 

[00:41:13.870] - Kim

It seemed like you had a really good time.

 

[00:41:15.920] - Tamara

Yeah, she was really wonderful. She had lived in the US for a little bit. I think she went to the University of Wisconsin. She lived somewhere else in the Midwest, too, but it's just such a funky, fun city. We toured this area called Shenzakai. It was built after World War II to attract Westerners and has more of a Coney Island vibe is what they were going for. It has carnival games and all these street food things. It's just so funky and retro. I think anywhere else I would have been like, Oh, this is cheesy. But it was actually really cool. And all throughout that area and the Dontambury area of Osaka, all of the food places, it's like Vegas for food places because they all have these three-dimensional facades with a giant octopus or a giant crab, and they're moving and lit up, and it's just so funky. There was one place where you could fish for your own fish, and then they cook it for you. It's almost hard to describe, but it is just bright lights, really funky, interesting, but lots of street food, lots of fried food on a stick, or like.

 

[00:42:30.660] - Kim

A fair.

 

[00:42:31.420] - Tamara

No, I'm just kidding. And the takeyaki octopus balls is like, that's where that's from. So that's like really huge. Afterwards, we went to the Don Donburi and we had Okonomiyaki. My family always laughs at me because for some reason I could never get this out. And Hannah and Glenn are like, Why can you not say this word? But Okonomiyaki, so it's like the Pancake type of thing with egg and cabbage and other things thrown in that they make on a griddle in front of you. So they have it in Kyoto and other places, but it's really known there. And in Hiroshima also, they have slightly different versions. That was just fun. So to do all the street food stuff, to have the good food tour, we really loved that. And then on our last, what was supposed to be our last day, we went to Hiroshima and we did a tour. I have a whole itinerary where it has a link to the tour company that I booked. Our guide was really sweet. He was wonderful. I highly recommend that. So we did the whole atomic bomb dome and museum, which was really heavy, obviously.

 

[00:43:36.130] - Tamara

And you have very confused feelings.

 

[00:43:39.080] - Kim

About it. Yeah, being.

 

[00:43:40.620] - Tamara

A member. Our role in that. But then we went to Miyajima Island, which is just a short, like, ferry ride. And it is just beautiful. We were there, it was raining. So there was all these mist and clouds on the mountains. And it just had this magical feel to it. But it was such a... I would love to spend a night there. It wasn't overcrowded, but when the people left, have.

 

[00:44:07.840] - Kim

It more to.

 

[00:44:08.650] - Tamara

Yourself type of thing. But there's a really famous Tori Gate that's in the water that looks high tide like it's floating, or when we were there during low tide, so you can walk out to it. And just a shrine. It's just a really pretty lush... That's one thing that really, I don't know why it surprised me, but Japan, outside the cities, it's so lush. You're like, Oh, right. These are islands.

 

[00:44:34.300] - Kim

Yeah.

 

[00:44:35.380] - Tamara

And that's why I liked about Kyoto too, because it's like a city that's nestled in a valley surrounded by these lush mountains. Not like towering.

 

[00:44:43.150] - Kim

Mountains, but these really lush. And it has a nice little river or stream or something through it too.

 

[00:44:47.450] - Tamara

So that was how we finished. I loved that. And then unfortunately, then we got stuck in a delay on a train coming back because there was a lot of rain. And then we found out our train for the next day to get back to Tokyo in time for our plane was canceled and we were hoping it was going to be all fixed by the morning. But Glenn woke up at five and he said it wasn't. And so then we were up for a couple of hours trying to figure out, what are we going to do? Because we were like, oh, we'll fly up to Tokyo. And by then, all the planes were booked until 3 PM. But we had a 625 flight and we would have had to get our luggage, get to another terminal, recheck it. We're like, that's never going to work. If we get there at 415 or I don't know, it was 435 o'clock or something is when we would have arrived. Never would have worked. So we're like, all right, let's see if we can stay an extra night here and let's book stuff for tomorrow. And let's call Delta and see if they can switch us.

 

[00:45:40.700] - Tamara

So then we had such a long travel day home because we flew from Osaka to Tokyo. And then we had to do Tokyo to LAX instead of Tokyo. We were booked on a Tokyo to Atlanta. So then at least the last little leg is short. Then we're in LAX for four hours.

 

[00:46:00.110] - Kim

Then you had a six hour flight.

 

[00:46:02.380] - Tamara

Well, and then it ended up being delayed. So we came out, we were luckily at the lounge and we actually went on the patio. The Delta Lounge in LAX has a patio, so it's loud but it was really good. It was just nice to get fresh air.

 

[00:46:16.400] - Kim

After all.

 

[00:46:16.980] - Tamara

That time. I actually went and I took a shower. I didn't even have any clothes. We had even checked everything, so I didn't even have any clothes to change into. But I'm like, I'm just taking a shower anyway. Yeah, for sure. And so then we came out of the lounge. We're like, Go to the gate. They're like, Oh, we're waiting on a crew member still. We're going to wait to board you. And then they started boarding us. We're like, Okay, I guess everything's all set. And then we're sitting on the plane and an hour later, they're like, Okay, the pilot's now in the parking lot.

 

[00:46:42.550] - Kim

And we're like.

 

[00:46:43.320] - Tamara

Oh, my gosh. Seriously? It was the pilot. They weren't even on premises when you boarded us. So we were delayed a couple hours. So we ended up... We got home at 315 in the morning. We'd been going for 30 hours, I think, or more, like 33 hours maybe.

 

[00:47:02.380] - Kim

That one did you have? Did you have any of the upgraded seating for any of those legs?

 

[00:47:06.890] - Tamara

Luckily, because we had booked our tickets in premium select, which if you know Delta, there's like Delta 1, which is like the nice pod lay flat thing. Then there's premium select, which has like a footrest that comes out and it reclines, but not like all the way, but it reclines some. Then there's comfort plus, which is basically like a regular seat with a little.

 

[00:47:26.290] - Kim

More leg room. Like me coming.

 

[00:47:28.590] - Tamara

So the reason we went through LAX is that's what we could get for premium economy. Oh, good. Okay. I mean, premium select on that, the longest leg from Tokyo to LAX. Then LAX to Boston doesn't have that. So I think we were in, I think, we were in Comfort Plus. I don't even know at that point. I was uncomfortable, that's for sure. But yeah. And then we flew into Boston, which we had flown out of Providence. So my car is still in Providence. So I had to get a car service to pick us up, bring us back. T he next day I'm like, Hannah, can you drive me down to get my car? Whatever. That's a.

 

[00:48:03.840] - Kim

Whole long story. It worked out. It sounds like you guys had an amazing trip and it was awesome. I know, like I said already and mentioned, Tamara has quite a few blog posts and she'll link them in the show notes, but you can also just go to Wee 3 Travel. I'm sure it's pretty easy to find them, but I know she has all of her itineraries that are if you guys know Tamara, they're very in-depth with a lot of detail. So super helpful if you're thinking of planning a trip. I think it was great. I'm glad you guys had a good time and glad I got to hear about it a little more.

 

[00:48:31.780] - Tamara

Yeah, it was definitely a bucket list trip. I think being there and being together as a family was wonderful. I think we all acknowledged, we don't know when we're going to have that opportunity again. Just know Hannah is going to be very busy the next few years. S he's going to be more than happy to take a trip with us when she can. We might just know when that will be.

 

[00:48:52.240] - Kim

Exactly.

 

[00:48:52.840] - Tamara

I'm glad.

 

[00:48:53.360] - Kim

We got to do it. Yeah, that's awesome. Perfect.

 

[00:48:56.710] - Tamara

What's next?

 

[00:48:58.290] - Kim

I don't even know. You're like, What day is it? What month is it? Exactly. The big thing on my agenda, I'm trying to take the summer off a little bit. We do have a trip up to Canada to visit family coming right up for Canada Day. Happy Canada Day to those of you Canadians that might be listening. Then happy fourth of July to the US Americans that are listening. We are doing that. Then I have a fun trip. You'll be moving Hannah back to school, but I am going to be flying to Kenya and doing a Simara J. W. Marriott stay, which I just got a steal on points for. I'm using points to fly some nice flights as well. That's what's coming up for me. My fall is going to be crazy and booked again, but at least I have. It looks like I'm trying to keep my summer a little more calm. Although that Africa trip, I cannot wait. It's during the Wilder Beast migration. That's a pretty big trip to be. I'm really excited. It's going to be during the Wilder Beast migration, too. So hopefully we'll get some amazing pictures. I got to rent a lens, it reminds me.

 

[00:50:04.360] - Tamara

I was telling somebody about the points deal that you got on that. Everyone just can't even believe it. What a lucky straw.

 

[00:50:11.400] - Kim

That was. Oh, my gosh, it was amazing. I don't know if this would work always, but I'm just a little tip for you guys, if you guys are points people. If you know of any future opening hotels that haven't opened yet, that are opening in the future, just maybe keep an eye on their points rates because that's what happened. This hotel hadn't opened yet. It was opening in April, and in February or something, I saw someone mentioned, Oh, my goodness, they've got nights for 20,000, 20 ish thousand points a night. With Marriott, if you book five nights with points, you only pay for four nights. So it's like book five nights, get one free thing. I don't know how to.

 

[00:50:49.500] - Tamara

Explain it, but you get it. And it's an all inclusive property.

 

[00:50:51.920] - Kim

It's all inclusive property. So all the game drives are included, all the meals are included, everything. I'm paying 93,000 points total for five nights for two people.

 

[00:51:00.640] - Tamara

That's like one night at a nice city hotel.

 

[00:51:04.320] - Kim

Yeah, I know. I was looking at a Fairfield Inn in New York in January, and there were like 65,000 points. So it gives you a little idea there. But anyways, so that's what's up for me. But what about you?

 

[00:51:14.810] - Tamara

As you hear this, I will probably either be in Scotland or Wales, depends on how quickly I get this out. So I leave shortly for a week with a couple of other travel writers, a week in Scotland, a week in Wales, and then I'm going to be home for a couple of weeks. And then I'm actually going to have two weeks in France, which I don't think I've even had a chance to tell you about. But I'm going to do... Glenn and I are going to go to France. We're doing the Taste of Bordeaux River cruise on Amman Waterways. Oh, nice. And then something else that came up. I was invited to do a press trip on European Waterways, which does hotel barge cruises. And I was trying to look at dates in the fall, but they didn't have any availability. But they're like, Well, how about this one on August sixth, which would have been the day I was flying back from France. I was like, Well, I will already be in France. It's to an area that I've been to before. So I was hoping to see something new, but I think it just works out for me to do this back to back, a more traditional river cruise versus a hotel barge cruise just to have these new experiences because I'm not a big ship person, but I'm definitely been wanting to try some of these other types of things.

 

[00:52:28.570] - Tamara

And my friend Michelle is going to come join me for that one because Glenn can't stay for the two weeks.

 

[00:52:33.830] - Kim

Take off that whole time.

 

[00:52:34.800] - Tamara

That's awesome. And then as soon as I get back, Hannah will come back and we have one day at home and then we fly her to Arizona.

 

[00:52:43.570] - Kim

Okie dokey. Well, thank you guys for tuning in again. If you're still with us and still listening, as you can see, we have a few trips on the agenda, so we're not quite sure when we'll make another episode. But as always, we always appreciate you guys tuning in and we'll try to share again soon.

 

[00:52:58.280] - Tamara

Yeah, hopefully, maybe the end of the summer.

 

[00:53:00.250] - Kim

Talk to you later.

 

[00:53:01.640] - Tamara

All right, bye bye.

Let us whisk you away to the land of chocolate, cheese, and gorgeous mountain trails! This week we chat with Claudia Laroye, from The Travelling Mom, who has visited Switzerland over two dozen times. She shares her love of all things Swiss and best tips for planning a trip to Switzerland.

ON THE PODCAST

00:30 - What Tamara Learned from the Switzerland Tourism Board

13:26 - Talking with Claudia

17:30 - Number one area to visit in Switzerland

19:44 - When to visit

25:30 - How to plan your itinerary

36:30 - Planning early

38:47 - Getting around

47:18 - Swiss foods

54:30 - Final tips

55:35 - Favorite place to take a family photo

57:30 - Claudia’s favorite travel gear

1:00:45 - What’s next for Claudia

1:02:28 - Coming next for Kim and Tamara

ABOUT CLAUDIA LAROYE

Claudia Laroye is a freelance travel writer, blogger and editor. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and two sons. In addition to The Travelling Momfamily travel site, Claudia is the Contributing Editor forTwist Travel Magazine, the Curious Travel Mama on TravelMamas.com, and contributes to a wide variety of print and online publications around the world. She writes about adventure, family, luxury and sustainable travel. Follow Claudia Laroye on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

TIPS FOR VISITING SWITZERLAND

• If you are only able to visit Switzerland for a few days you should definitely stay in Zermatt. This is an iconic area of Switzerland and has all of the elements that you would think of when imagining Switzerland. This is a little village that is very easy to access by train.
• Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen are also great areas to visit that have the iconic mountains. These alpine destinations can all be considered sweet spots of Switzerland.
• Even if you do not ski, the winter time is still a great time to visit with plenty of other snow sports or even just watching ski races and walking around the villages. If you venture into the cities you will find some great museums.
• Keep in mind that Switzerland is an expensive destination and both winter and summer are their high seasons. Switzerland has a high quality environment and you will find that because of this everything is going to run a bit more expensive.
• Summer time may be the right time to visit for your family due to the wide variety of outdoor activities that you can find and explore. There is hiking, boat rides, ziplining, cycling, and much more.
• You could plan your itinerary in a sort of loop if you are coming and going from the same airport. You could also plan your itinerary more of a one way trip if you decide to fly in and leave from different locations.
• For families that are keen on spending 10-14 days in Switzerland, you can plan your itinerary to  look something like this:
  • Spend your first day or two in Zurich visiting the old town, Swiss National Museum, FIFA World Football Museum, and the Uhrenmuseum Beyer Zürichwhich is a watchmaking museum and is one of Switzerland’s most important industries.
  • You could that take a day trip to Lucerne and visit the Museum of Transportwhich is an outstanding museum to learn everything about all modes of transportation.
  • Then you could spend a day or two in Bern visiting the Gurten, Bear Park, swimming at Marzilibad, visiting the Einstein Houseand Alpine Museums. You can also walk through the limestone arcades in Bern’s Old Townand visit the Westside Mall for BernAqua water park.
  • Take a day trip to Ballenberg which is the Swiss Open-Air Museumthat displays over 100 original Swiss buildings and architecture.
  • If you love Gruyere cheese, medieval towns, you could make a day trip to Gruyere.
  • Next you could visit Interlaken, Thun and take a boat tour on the Lake of Thun, view the famous Monch, Eiger and Jungfrau mountains.
  • Head to the Bernese Oberland Alps and spend three or four days in Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen or Adelboden. In this area you can explore the outdoors by going hiking, cycling, zip lining, ride gondolas and cog-railways up mountains. You could also take a ride on the Jungfraujochwhich is the highest railway in Europe to glacier area between Jungfrau and Monch peaks. Plus you could do day trips to neighbouring villages.
  • You could than spend some time in Lausanne and visit the Olympic Museumin this French-speaking town on Lac Leman.
  • Next you could spend one to three days in and around Zermatt. Take Gornergrat cog-railway up to 3,125 m and see some amazing views of Matterhorn and several glaciers. Then if you want to spend some more time outdoors you can hike down or around the area.
  • If your schedule and interests allow to visit the Italian-speak part of the country, you could spend time in Bellinzona and Lugano in Ticino. Bellinzona has three UNESCO castles, a wine-making regions, and Lugano is beautifully situated on the Lake of Lugano.
  • Than make your way back to Zurich for your flight.
• Once you know that you can go to Switzerland you should start your booking as soon as you can. Try to book at least six months in advance if not more. That way you will will have more options and won’t have to worry as much about that hotel you wanted to stay in being booked.
• Renting a car may not be the best option due to to parking. If you planning to visit from North America you should think about purchasing a Swiss Travel Passbefore you go. Getting around Switzerland by train is very easy. Plus if you have a child that is under the age of 16 and are with an adult with a travel pass they travel for free! There are a few different option when it comes to the Swiss Travel Pass. Then along with transportation, you can also get into hundreds of museums for free.
• Outside of Toblerone there is plenty of other chocolate in the area. There are also some amazing cheeses that you will find. Though keep in mind that meat in Switzerland is not cheap. Fondue is very popular in both the winter and summer. Though it is recommended that you not drink cold drinks when you are enjoying fondue because it could upset your stomach with the hot cheeses. Swiss honey is also amazing but can be quite expensive. So if you have an opportunity to try some at a breakfast buffet you should definitely try some.
• Here are some other food items you should think about trying while in Switzerland:
  • Rosti - shredded potatoes, fried and covered with eggs, ham or cheese.
  • Raclette - toasted cheese served with potatoes, meats and pickled onions and cornichons.
  • Sussmost - a bubbly apple juice, non-alcoholic.
  • Rivella - a soda made from milk whey, this may be an acquired taste for many.
  • Fruit pies - the Swiss love their pastries and fresh fruit pies.
  • Dried meat - Bundnerfleisch is a type of air-dried beef, delicious with raclette cheese.
  • Basler Lackerli - a traditional hard spice biscuit, made from honey, hazelnuts, almonds, candied peel, and Kirsch. Invented in the 15th century.
  • Thomy mustard - a famous mustard brand in Switzerland.

BEST PLACE TO TAKE FAMILY PHOTO

Getting a photo with the Matterhorn in the background is a great place to snap a photo, as well as in the historical town of Bern.

FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR

Claudia loves to wear her Scarpahiking shoes or BirkenstockGizeh sandals or Allbirdsshoes to walking around town. She pairs those with her Athletapants and Kit and Aceor Lululemontops and pashminas, and an Arcteryxlayer.

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

Reasons to Visit Canada in 2017 - Episode 39

Swiss National Museum

FIFA World Football Museum

Uhrenmuseum Beyer Zürich

Museum of Transport

Bear Park

Einstein House

Alpine Museums

Bern’s Old Town

BernAqua water park

Swiss Open-Air Museum

H.R. Giger Museum

Jungfraujoch

Olympic Museum

Swiss Travel Pass

Family Trips App

FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!

If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, orGoogle Playand leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcaseand We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebookor Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Happy Easter, Passover, and Spring to all our listeners! This week Kim is giving us the low down on her massive road trip from Seattle to Disneyland, including stops along the California Coast. If you have ever thought of taking an epic California coast road trip, don't miss this episode!

ON THE PODCAST

00:30 - Thank you Listeners!!

01:18 - Talking with Kim about her road trip

01:50 - Itinerary

07:15 - Redwoods

08:45 - Fort Bragg

14:52 - San Francisco

22:37 - Unplanned stops

26:30 - Cambria

33:06 - Ventura

37:37 - Disney

40:19 - LA

41:58 - Going home

43:05 - Final tips

50:15 - Where to take a family photo

52:30 - Kim’s Favorite Travel Gear

56:28 - Coming next week

TIPS FOR PLANNING A CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP

• If you rent a car and drive one direction and fly back, you can drive from Seattle to Southern California in a week. Even if you are not a Seattle or California resident you could still have a great road trip if you plan to make your road trip one way and take flights.
• It is highly recommended that you take your California road trip from north to south. Since you will be on the right side of the road, it makes it easier to get off and back onto the highway at scenic overlooks. Though you should know that if you are not a fan of heights, driving on the Pacific Coast Highway from north to south can have quite a few spots where there will be a drop off on that side of the road that may make you nervous.
• If you plan on visiting the Redwoods on your road trip. You may be tempted to stop as soon as you start seeing them, to start you exploring but you should really wait until you get to Crescent City, then get on the 101.
• Fort Bragg (not a military base) in California makes a great overnight stop. This is where you will also find a glass beach. The glass there is actually from a dump that years ago pushed the glass to the shore where it got washed up after storms. Keep in mind that this cove that will have the glass is somewhat hard to get to, go make sure you have good shoes if you are adventurous enough to find and explore the beach. And remember to leave the glass on the beach and leave no trace!
• If you are planning on visiting San Francisco on your trip you should definitely think about renting bikes and riding across the Golden Gate Bridge. You can also walk the bridge but that will take quite a while. There is a lookout on the other side of the bridge that has a great view of the bridge and city.
• Don’t be afraid of making any unplanned stops. They could out to be a highlight of your trip!
• You may want to think about staying in Monterey, California. There is so much to do in Monterey and nearby Carmel, plus starting from this area instead of San Francisco will give you more time to stop along the coast.
• Make sure to fill up on gas, bring snacks, and use the bathroom before you leave the Monterey/Carmel area, as there are not many places to stop until you get to Big Sur.
• Piedras Blancas is a great place to stop and see the Elephant Seals. If you or your child have any interest in animals you may want to think about making this one of your planned stops. Springtime is a great time to see them otherwise they may not be there.
• Universal Studios LA is very different than Orlando. There are less rides and it is more about the movie sets. If you do plan on going, it is highly recommended that you do the studio backlot tour. This is an absolute must if you plan on going to Universal on this or any trip you make to California. Make sure to ask to ask to be in the third car of the tram!
• Make sure to have a mapped plan of the route you want to take. If you just rely on GPS to get to each point on your trip. The GPS may want to keep taking you on the shortest or quickest route rather that the one you want to take. If it does you could miss out on some coastal views or additional stops you want to make.
• Plan accordingly for gas prices they tend to be pretty high in California. Also make sure to be aware of rush hours when you are driving to or from cities on your route. This could get you caught in some slow traffic if you don’t try to plan around them.
• If you are renting a car and you have any issues with the car try to get the car to the nearest rental company, depending on which you used, and they may be able to help you quicker that waiting on hold if you call them to find out what to do.

BEST PLACE TO TAKE FAMILY PHOTO

If you are going to San Francisco you should definitely get a shot on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge where you can have the bridge on one side and the city on the other.

FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR

Kim loved wearing her leggings for driving around since they are so comfortable and perfect for the long times in the car. One huge time saver would be to make sure everyone has slip on shoes, which will make taking stops that much quicker when getting out of the car.

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

Things to do in Fort Bragg

North Coast Brewing Co.

The Beachcomber Motel

Best Place to see the Redwoods on the California Coast

The Lodge at the Presidio

Tips for Driving the California Coast

Oceanpoint Ranch

Pelican Inn & Suites in Cambria

Robin’s Restaurant

Linn’s Restaurant

Crowne Plaza Hotel

Alamo Car Rental

Visiting Los Angeles with Kids

FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!

If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, orGoogle Playand leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcaseand We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebookor Twitter. Thanks for listening!

We are back from our spring breaks and this week, Tamara is telling us all about her family trip to Morocco. Tune in for tips on visiting Morocco with kids and what you need to plan your own trip.

ON THE PODCAST

00:30 - Talking with Kim about her ski trip

13:55 - Talking about Tamara’s trip to Morocco

14:30 - Weather in Morocco

16:36 - How long to spend

18:28 - Travel to and from Morocco

19:40 - Itinerary

24:40 - Riads

29:39 - Food tour

34:20 - Shops

37:28 - Camping in the Desert

45:30 - Marrakech

51:15 - Cooking class

54:14 - Language

55:04 - Money

59:29 - Final Tips

1:01:55 - Favorite Place for a Family Photo

1:02:45 - What to wear

1:04:47 - Listener’s tip

TIPS FOR VISITING MOROCCO

• The weather during the spring is very nice, though you have to keep in mind that it changes depending on the area of country you are staying in. So the further north you are, the colder it will be, then it will warm up the further south you go.
• When planning your trip to Morocco the best time to go will be in the springtime. The temperatures ranged from 50 to 80 during the day and about 40 to 60 at night. This will also depend on the area of the country you are staying in. November to January is not the best time to go because it tends to get quite rainy. Then in the summertime, the temperatures get very hot, so keep that in mind when planning when to go to Morocco.
• You will need at least a week to explore what the country has to offer. Ideally two weeks in Morocco would be best, so that you can really explore. Make sure that you travel around to different areas rather than just picking on area and staying there the whole time. Get out of the touristy areas of the country a get a taste of the true Morocco.
• Keep in mind that depending on how many places you want to visit there is a lot of driving involved. For instance if you want to spend a night in the Sahara desert it could take you an 8 hour drive to and from the desert. So you will need to plan accordingly.
• Be aware that if you ask around on how long it will take to get somewhere, you will most likely be told that it will take less time that it actually will take.
• If you are a squeamish person you may want to really do some research before planning your trip. You will definitely see some eye opening sights, like animal parts just hanging or laid out in the open. This is not a location for a germaphobe and you need to be careful where you eat.
• You may want to look into hiring a driver for your trip to Morocco. This will save you some headaches and if you are not comfortable driving in foreign places. This may not be in the budget, but it is definitely worth looking into.
• Make sure to keep an eye out for different stands that sell souvenirs and authentic merchandise. You will find that there are a lot of places that sell imported knockoffs.
• Something that may be on your bucket list is camping in the desert. If so you should look into the experience when visiting Morocco. This is a big commitment considering the drive it takes to get to and from the area.
• If you like food you should definitely look into taking a cooking class when you are in Marrakech. It could turn into the highlight of your trip.
• In major areas you will find that most speak English, but in smaller areas that are less touristy you will hear a lot of French and Moroccan Arabic.
• The money in Morocco is the Moroccan dirham, and you can’t get this out of the country. You can exchange at the airport or you can go to an ATM. But keep in mind that for the ATM you can only take out 2,000 dirham at a time which is about 200 dollars, and you can only take out a max of 4,000 dirham a day. You also find that very few places take credit cards.
• Having a driver can really make a big difference on how your trip will go. A thing to keep in mind is that there are police everywhere, so if you are planning to drive around yourself you need to keep an eye out because they do pull people over quite a bit. The roads are mostly narrow and winding. You may also come across some areas that are in the mountains and you will be on a narrow with a drop off one side and mountain on the other. So, if you are a nervous driver in areas like this you should definitely look into hiring a driver.
• Keep in mind that you are in a conservative country and will need to wear clothing that is appropriate. Pants or skirts need to be below the knee, keep your shoulders and cleavage covered. Loose and flowing is a good option because you will be able to cover the areas that need to be covered and not get overly hot in the weather.

BEST PLACE TO TAKE FAMILY PHOTO

If you plan on experiencing the desert, this is a great place to get a family photo while you are there!

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

Keystone Colorado

Lina Ryad & Spa

Epic Morocco

Riad Fes

Riad Madu

L’ma Lodge

Four Seasons Marrakech

Riad Kaiss Marrakech

Chefchaouen Morocco: 5 Important Facts to Know Before You Go

50 Essential Morocco Travel Tips for First-Time Tourists

How Much Does a Morocco Trip Cost?

Plan a Perfect 7-day, 10-day, or Two-week Morocco Itinerary

FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!

If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, orGoogle Playand leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcaseand We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebookor Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Today is World Autism Awareness Day and we wanted to share some tips and strategies for traveling with kids on the Autism spectrum. Nicole Thibault shares her personal story and learnings to encourage families that feel that travel isn't possible or is just too hard. Learn about some of the resorts, theme parks, and brands that have been certified to support guests on the Autism spectrum.

ON THE PODCAST

00:32 - Talking with Tamara traveling with special needs

05:10 - Talking with Nicole

09:25 - Advice on whether or not to travel

13:40 - Certified destinations around the world

14:30 - What age to go

15:58 - Flying with kids on the Autism spectrum

18:30 - Tips for visiting uncertified locations

20:34 - My Villa Key

22:30 - Theme parks

28:16 - Cruising

32:40 - Preparing your child

35:11 - Final tips

36:25 - Favorite Travel Gear

ABOUT NICOLE THIBAULT

When Nicole Thibault opened her travel agency, Magical Storybook Travels, in 2015, she knew she wanted to create a travel business that catered to ALL families, including those with Autism and other Special Needs. She takes great pride in assisting families with their vacations, especially those who thought that they might not be able to travel with their child with Autism.

In addition to Magical Storybook Travels, Nicole also owns Spectrum Travel Social Story Videos, a production company that creates destination-specific travel videos that help children with Autism and anxiety get acclimated to a destination prior to travel. These videos greatly reduce the anxiety and fear for a child with Autism about traveling to an unknown destination.

Follow Nicole on Instagram.

TIPS FOR TRAVELING WITH AUTISM

• If you are thinking about taking a vacation but have concerns regarding traveling with a child or adult with Autism, here are some sites that may answer some of your questions; IBCCESwhich is a company that partners with destination to provide training to employees to create accommodation for families that are on the spectrum, and Autism Travelis a site that will list all of the destinations that have been through the training.
• The best part of these two sites is that the company really looks at these destinations through the eyes of someone with autism. They make sure that 85% of the staff at each location has been through the training. They will also supply some planning tools on their site to help families.
• The best place to start is to take small trips at first. Then progressing to longer times away from home. Depending on progress and comfort, you could try plane trips to take vacations further away.
• Autism Travelis a site you can count on to know that each destination listed has employees that have been through training and that they will be ready for you family.
• Most kids are diagnosed around the age of two or three. With that being said you should wait a couple years for your first vacation. In those couple years your child will have some therapy under their belt and may better be able to handle the situation.
• Flights may be difficult, especially for the first time. TSA Careshas a hot line that if you call them and give them a heads up on flights at least 72 hours before, they will have someone meet you outside security that will walk you through security so you won’t need to wait through the regular 20-30 minute line they will take you through a seperate area to go through security.
• If you need to travel to a location that is not a certified destination. You may want to think about going on the hotel’s website where you will be staying, and show your child pictures of the lobby, room, even the outside of the hotel. With those pictures you can create a social story about how this is where you will be staying. Maybe even talking about how long you will be there. This can give your child a sense of calm and ease about the trip.
• My Villa Keyis a certified Orlando Vacation site with IBCCESwhere you can stay in a villa of your own. They make sure to use cleaning supplies that are not to strong smelling. The walls are painted in muted tones so there is nothing too bright that could cause sensory overload. The doors are equipped with an alarm system so that if you child is a runner you will know when they open the door. There is also a lock on the gate at the pool so that you know they will not be able to get in there without your supervision or even out before you are with them to leave.
• Prepare your family if you are planning on going to a large Theme Park like Disney. Have a talk with everyone explaining where you are going what you will see. Maybe showing pictures of the park and the rides that are there.
• Do some research on accommodations the park may offer for children or adults with disabilities. You may also want to put together a bag with items that will help your child with any sensory issues. You could have noise canceling headphones, little toys, hand sanitizer, scented lip balm. Anything that will help your child get through any unexpected issues.
• Royal Caribbean was great with helping out anyway they could to make Nicole and her family's cruising experience the best.
• Teaching your kids to be friendly to all kids no matter if they are in a wheelchair, have Autism or even just shy can make a big difference in social situations.
• Don’t be afraid to take a chance on traveling!

FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR

Nicole loves to be comfortable; wearing shorts, t-shirts, sandals. She also like to wear her Lands’ End fleece for when she gets cold. Eagle Creek makes a backpack that you can roll up that Nicole loves to use on her travels.

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

Morgan’s Wonderland

R Family Vacations

IBCCES

Autism Travel

TSA Procedures  

TSA Press Release - has all the information you will need and links to find out more

My Villa Key

Fact on the DAS pass for Disney

Sesame Place Autism Social Story Videos

Spectrum Travel Social Story Videos YouTube channel

FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!

If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, orGoogle Playand leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcaseand We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebookor Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Happy anniversary to us!! Thank you to all of our listeners who have been with us all along our three year journey and those who have joined in along the way. This week we are celebrating our third anniversary by recapping our top 10 most popular episodes of all time.

ON THE PODCAST

00:30 - 3 years, top ten episodes

01:57 - New York City

05:36 - Summer Travel

08:36 - Norwegian Bliss Cruise Ship

10:18 - Our Top 100 Travel Products and Experiences

14:07 - More Summer Travels

15:44 - Travel Apps

20:24 - Black Hills of South Dakota

21:58 - First Trip to Italy

23:10 - Mexico All-Inclusive Resorts

27:02 - Saving Money for Vacation

32:40 - Next Episode

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

#1 New York City with Kids - episode 54

#2 Summer Travel - Yellowstone, Montana and a Midwest Road Trip - Episode 103

#3 Our Experience on the Norwegian Bliss Cruise Ship - Episode 104

#4 Our Top 100 Travel Products and Experiences - Episode 100

#5 Summer Travels - Arizona, New Mexico, Toystory Land, Italy and Montana - Episode 102

#6 Best Travel Apps - Episode 90

#7 Visiting the Black Hills of South Dakota - Episode 105

#8 Planning a First Trip to Italy - Episode 84

#9 Guide to Mexican All-Inclusive Resorts - Episode 109

#10 Tips for Saving Money for Vacation - Episode 87

Disney Cruise Guide for First Timers - Episode 91

Columbia

Momondo App

Autoslash

Secret Flying

FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!

If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, orGoogle Playand leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcaseand We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebookor Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Does the winter weather have you down? It is time to start thinking about spring break and summer vacations. This week we are talking about another warm-weather destination, the Florida Keys. Bryanna Royal from Crazy Family Adventure has spent a month in the Florida Keys and shares her tips for visiting the Florida Keys with Kids.

ON THE PODCAST

00:32 - Talking with Kim and Tamara about Florida

06:25 - Talking with Bryanna

09:55 - Florida Keys

11:30 - Not about the beaches

12:10 - Getting around the Keys

13:05 - Where to stay

16:30 - How long to stay

17:28 - When to go

19:43 - Must do activities

30:10 - Day trips

33:49 - Campgrounds/Hotels

37:14 - Food

40:30 - Final tips

41:51 - Where to take a family photo

42:02 - Bryanna’s favorite travel gear

45:37 - Where Bryanna is going next

ABOUT BRYANNA ROYAL

Bryanna, her husband, 4 kids, and dog sold everything, bought an RV and our traveling full-time around North America. If they aren’t out climbing mountains, hiking to a waterfall or playing at the beach they are most likely at the local donut shop trying to find the best donuts in North America! They write about things to do with kids at the destinations they visit, full time family travel and working from the road at www.crazyfamilyadventure.com.

Follow Bryanna on Facebook, Instagram, Youtubeand Twitter.

TIPS FOR VISITING THE FLORIDA KEYS WITH KIDS

• There is more to the Keys than just Key West. The Keys are made up of five destinations; Key West, the Lower Keys, Marathon, Islamorada and Key Largo. If you really want to get the most out of the Keys you should think about maybe doing a road trip, where you can hit all of the Keys rather staying and experiencing only one of them.
• Be aware that the Keys are not about the beaches. The Keys are surrounded by a coral reef, which messes with the white sand beaches that come to mind when thinking of Florida. This means there are a lot of great snorkeling spots that you can do right off of the beach.
• Since the Keys are so long, you shouldn’t try to stay in one of the Keys and drive to explore the rest since you will be spending a lot of time in the car. It is also not a great drive at night since the roads are mostly two lane.
• Hawks Cay Resortis a great resort to stay for families located in Duck Key.
• You could definitely visit the Keys in a week, but if you can spend ten to fourteen days, that would be the best. If you are able to spend at least ten days for your trip you will really get to explore each of the Keys at a more relaxed pace.
• You can still have some really great weather if you visit the Keys in the Winter or Fall but be prepared, it could always turn rainy and overcast.
• Must do activities in the Florida Keys could include:
  • John Pennenkamp Coral Reef State Parkis a great place to visit. They offer glass bottom boat tours, kayaking, and much more. This state park is located up in the northern Keys.
  • If you are going into Marathon, Florida, you should think about checking out the Turtle Hospital where you can see all of the turtles that they are rehabilitating. They also have a surgery area, that if they happen to be conducting a surgery there is a window where you can see and learn what they are doing.
  • There are also locations in the middle Keys area were you can rent a pontoon, or even just go kayaking.
  • When you get to Key West, the best activity you should think about doing is a tour through Fury Adventures. They will take you out on a big boat for six hours and do activities like snorkeling, jet skiing, parasailing and more. This is a great way to get out on the water!
  • If you want to spend some time off of the water the Key West Aquarium is a great spot to do that. This is a small aquarium but has a lot to offer like signing up to feed the shark! If you are really interested in this, make sure to ask the front desk as soon as you get there to see if they are doing it that day and get your kids or yourself on the list.
  • The Shipwreck Treasure Museumis a really cool place to visit. They have a lot of different artifacts from shipwrecks that happened in Key West and their basement is actually below sea level.
  • There is also the Florida Keys Eco - Discovery Centerthat is free to go to and it is a great place to go to learn more about the reefs, area and the ecosystem!
  • If you like to see the sunset you should check out the Sunset Festival on Mallory Square Dock. You can definitely bring your kids but be prepared for loud people and some crowds.
• If you are interested in exploring a little bit out of the Keys you should think about visiting Dry Tortugaswhich is an island that has an old fort on it. You have to take a ferry to get there and the trip takes about two hours, but it is so beautiful! If you are really feeling adventurous you can actually camp out on the island. You will need to bring all of your supplies with you but it would be a great experience.
• If you are thinking of camping in the Keys you should check out the State Parks for their campgrounds but for some of these you will need to book at least eleven months in advance.
• In Key West there is a place called Island Dogs Barand Lagerheads Beach Barare both great places to eat the beach bar you can literally eat your food with your toes in the sand! Then by the seven mile bridge in Marathon there is a place called the Sunset Grillewhich has a pool in the restaurant and you can sit and relax with your food or even a cocktail while your kids enjoy swimming.
• You will find a lot of supplies you will need while you are there. For example snorkeling gear, if the place does not provide it there is always places you can rent the gear you will need.
• Since the weather can be unpredictable be sure to pack layers!

BEST PLACE TO TAKE FAMILY PHOTO

Bryanna suggests that you take your family photo at the southernmost point of Florida, but be sure to go early in the morning or you could be waiting in line for a couple hours to get your picture taken. If that doesn’t matter to you, taking a family photo on any beach with the ocean behind you will be a great photo!

FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR

Bryanna loves to wear her Adidas sandalsbecause they are so comfortable and easy to slide on and off. When she is not wearing those she like her plain black flip flops that you can dress up if you want too.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission.

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

RV Travel Tips - Podcast Episode 012

Top Ten Florida Keys Beaches

The Ultimate Florida Road Trip

Family Fun in the Florida Keys

Hawks Cay Resort

John Pennenkamp Coral Reef State Park

Turtle Hospital

Fury Adventures

Key West Aquarium

Shipwreck Treasure Museum

Florida Keys Eco - Discovery Center

Sunset Festival Mallory Square Dock

Dry Tortugas

Casa Marina Resort

Bahia Honda State Park

Curry Hammock State Park

Sunshine Key RV Resort

Island Dogs Bar

Lagerheads Beach Bar

Sunset Grille

FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!

If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, orGoogle Playand leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcaseand We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebookor Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Puerto Rico has come a long way in its recovery from the hurricanes in 2017 and is waiting for you! Seriously, you can help in the recovery by spending your vacation dollars here. And why not, between beautiful beaches, a rainforest, history, and culture, there is so much to show the kids -- and you don't even need a passport. This week we chat with Jessica van Dop DeJesus from The Dining Traveler, who has literally written the book on dining in Puerto Rico and she shares her favorite places to visit.

 

ON THE PODCAST

00:32 - Talking with Kim and Tamara about Puerto Rico

08:59 - Talking with Jessica

12:22 - What is it like to visit Puerto Rico

14:54 - Where to stay

18:14 - Bioluminescent bays

22:17 - Hotels to stay in

24:20 - Experience local culture

28:23 - How to get around

29:23 - Must try local foods

33:40 - Tips for visiting

35:18 - Where to take a family photo

35:53 - Jessica’s favorite travel gear

58:54 - Where Jessica is going next

40:31 - Next week’s episode

ABOUT JESSICA VAN DOP DEJESUS

Jessica van Dop DeJesus is a food and travel content creator and founder of The Dining Traveler. She began traveling over twenty years ago as a young Marine and has lived in a variety of places from Okinawa, Japan to Baghdad, Iraq. From serving as a translator in the Senegalese countryside to interviewing chefs in Peru, she loves learning about new cultures and people.

She has traveled to over fifty countries and lived in six, fueling her appetite for travel. When she's not traveling, she's a home with her Dutchrican family in Washington, DC. You can also see her writing in publications such as Travel Channel, Modern Luxury, Edible, Southern Living, and Telemundo.

She's a graduate of University at Albany '00 (undergraduate) and Boston University '07 (MBA). Follow Jessica on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

TIPS FOR VISITING PUERTO RICO

• As you know Puerto Rico was hit with a category 5 hurricane in late 2017. Don’t let that knowledge stop you from visiting though, the island has made great progress in rebuilding. Plus your tourism dollars will add to the money it takes for the island to continue to rebuild.
• There are many areas of the island to stay, though if this is something you are worried about, the southwest coast has the least amount of damage from the hurricane. The beaches there are very calm, and it is highly recommended that if you are traveling with younger kids and you want to hit some beaches you should head over to the southwest side of the island.
• The Combate Beach Resortis a great locally owned hotel to stay in if you are thinking of staying on the southwest side of the island. Close to the beach with easy access. There are a few other hotels you can stay but most of this area of the island is Airbnb or rentals.
• The outer islands are very beautiful and since you have to take a ferry or a small plane to get to them, they are far less crowded. The islands are inhabited, but not with many people, making visiting the pristine beaches an experience you won’t get many other places.
• If you are looking to experience bioluminescent bays, Puerto Rico has three of them. There is Vieques (or Mosquito Bay as called by tourists), which is the brightest, then Laguna Grande in Fajardo and also La Parguera.
• San Juan is a great place to stay as your vacation base. You can get to a lot of different places in about an hour.
• The El Conquistador Resortis a great resort to stay for families. They have a large water park as well as a spa and other activities. La Concha Resortis also a great resort for families to stay along with the Ritz-Carlton Reservewhich is a more luxury hotel that has just reopened and houses an amazing spa.
• About an hour drive from San Juan is an area called Guavate which is well known for their restaurants serving pork, playing live music and dancing. If you want to experience some true local authentic food and entertainment you should definitely check it out. The food is also not expensive, a family of four could eat to a meal for less than $40.
• Visiting El Yunque Rainforestis a fun place for both tourists and local to visit. It is only about 45 minutes from San Juan. They still have some trails closed but if you have a family that loves outdoors and likes hiking, this is a must see adventure.
• Old San Juan is a beautiful place to visit and if you do some research there may be some gallery shows or events going on that you can explore.
• There are some small islands off of Fajardo that you may want to look into visiting. They have catamaran tours and snorkeling available, and you may see some sealife like sea turtles.
• Ponce is a beautiful town to visit with its great boardwalk and art museums. There is a great mix of history and culture in the town.
• If you are comfortable driving you should definitely think about renting a car. It will definitely give you more freedom to go places when you want to or even just leaving to go to your next destination that you want to explore instead of waiting for a ride.
• A lot of the beaches have shacks where you can get great food. Make sure you try the empanadas, which can be stuffed with octopus, meat, sea food, or even just cheese and sauce making a kind of fried pizza. Alcapurrias is another must try dish, which everyone makes a little differently, but the dough is typically made out of green plantains which is stuffed with meat or crab and then fried. Roasted pork is also a must try food!
• Kasaltais a great bakery in Ocean Park that has some great sandwiches!
• Lot 23is an area that has been turned into a food truck park and has a variety of food and picnic benches to eat. Everyone can get something different and enjoy as a family.
• If your family is adventurous you should definitely look into rental properties or even Airbnbs. As well as renting a car to be able to get around as you please.

BEST PLACE TO TAKE FAMILY PHOTO

Jessica recommends a sunset shot with your family if you make it to the southwest side of the island. Though if you don’t make it to the southwest you can get some great shots at El Morroin Old San Juan.

FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR

Jessica loves to wear maxi dresses at night and loves to wear a blazer with her outfit and her Todsloafers.

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

Combate Beach Resort

El Conquistador Resort

La Concha Resort

Ritz-Carlton Reserve

El Yunque Rainforest

Kasalta

El Morro

Lot 23

FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!

If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, orGoogle Playand leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email or leave us a voicemail at +1.641.715.3900, ext. 926035#. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcaseand We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebookor Twitter. Thanks for listening!