2025 Travel Plans

Just two trips booked so far. Jan. 1 for a week in Bonaire to make sure all of our dive gear is working properly.

Feb-May we have a bit less than two months in Bhutan & Nepal, mostly trekking. Starting the trip with 12 days diving in Raja Ampat (plan to ship our gear back so that we can travel light for the long part of the trip). As usual, DW put this one together for us.

Tentatively planning on Madagascar for October, but we'll see... Could be another North American driving trip instead.
 
We had to cancel our big Italy trip this fall because of a sick dog (terminal, inoperable tumor) and my husband needing to go through cancer treatment.

So - next year we start (on Jan 1) with 10 days in NYC for our anniversary. Older son will still be on break between semesters and can watch our dog.

We'll close the year with about 80 days in Italy for me to learn Italian to a proficiency level to pass the livello b1 test and take the test. This is replacing the trip we cancelled for this fall. We're looking at a few options for the middle of the year... but we want to wait and see the dog's longevity and how my husband recovers from radiation for his PC.

It sucks having to put stuff on hold during what should be the go-go phase... but it is what it is. We're definitely going to hit the gas on travel when we are clear of these issues.
 
Rodi, so sorry to hear about your husband and your dog. Surely the time to be home for loved ones. I hope your travel insurance will work with you.
 
I am signed up for a birdwatching tour to Oaxaca next spring. There are some truly spectacular birds there, and I'm going with a group of my best birding buddies, so I'm really looking forward to it! But I'll also be moving, some time in the same period, so I've left any other trips TBD.
We did a Christmas birdwatching tour long ago based out of Oaxaca City. The birding was fabulous. Oaxaca City is surrounded by mountains. We went to a different section every day.
 
Rodi, I'm sorry to hear about both your dog and your husband's cancer. It sounds like you are a resilient bunch and are weathering it with creativity and resolve. Wishing you the best and a well-deserved anniversary trip and Italy trip later in the year.
 
Biggest trip will be a Viking cruise in Egypt.
 
So far DGF and I will be on an 11 day southern Caribbean cruise with our usual travel partners in March. Two weeks after our return, we will head off to Bonaire for our annual 5 week dive trip. In September we have a 7 day Hawaii cruise scheduled with a bit of pre/post cruise shore exploring on tap. I have been to Hawaii a couple of times but DGF has not so I hear about it often. Need that monkey off my back.

We frequently do some last minute notice cruising during the year so I would expect at least one more in there somewhere.
 
A bit of snowbirding to FL in Feb., to see friends. A week in Maine in June with the kids at an Airbnb, then in Sept. we are going to Croatia/Slovenia on a tour with Tauck. The following spring ( 2026) we are going to Japan also with Tauck.
 
A bit of snowbirding to FL in Feb., to see friends. A week in Maine in June with the kids at an Airbnb, then in Sept. we are going to Croatia/Slovenia on a tour with Tauck. The following spring ( 2026) we are going to Japan also with Tauck.
Highly recommend sampling some štrukli at La Struk in Zagreb. Absolutely delicious. Can be savory or sweet - we tried a sweet dish at the end of a food tour.
 
Well, DW is hot to trot on a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos... our big problem right now is that when we decide to book the price goes up!!!

I told DW to just book it today but she did not... hopefully it adjusts tomorrow and we can get a reasonable price...

She still wants to the the Panama cruise... not sure when but she keeps talking about it..
 
Starting the trip with 12 days diving in Raja Ampat (plan to ship our gear back so that we can travel light for the long part of the trip). As usual, DW put this one together for us.
We've done similar trips in the past (and we're about to leave for a 2 week live-aboard sailing in the Banda sea), but I've never found a way to get gear back to the US at reasonable cost.

Like you (I assume) we fly through Jakarta on our way to Ambon (Sorong in your case). After our diving we fly with our gear from Jakarta to Perth Australia for a month-long trip there. We'll rent an air conditioned storage locker outside Perth airport to store, unpack and air-out our gear for the month. Bit of a hassle, but if you have a solution to ship gear back to the US, I'd love to hear it.
 
About a month ago we booked a cruise of the Galapagos, leaving in October. It's on a small ship so a lot different than a regular cruise.
 
We still have 3 trips planned in 2024 now that the summer is ending (we try not to plan travel during the summer as we spend most weekends at our beach home at the Jersey shore).
September- Hilton Head
November- Aruba
December- Cancun

2025 Travel Highlights include a Greek Islands and Turkey cruise from Athens in September on the NCL Viva ship, with another couple. We will probably add a few days on either before or after the cruise in Greece.
We have several other warm weather trips planned in January- May to Mexico and Dominican Republic, including President’s week in Cancun with our kids and grandkids (not relaxing, but always a great time spent together with our family).

We are also trying to plan a trip with our oldest Granddaughter who is turning 13 soon. We want to do an educational international trip with her and we are looking into the tour company Road Scholar which runs many small group trips for Grandparents and grandkids. Has anyone had any experience with this company?
Happy Travels all!
 
Well, DW is hot to trot on a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos... our big problem right now is that when we decide to book the price goes up!!!

I told DW to just book it today but she did not... hopefully it adjusts tomorrow and we can get a reasonable price...

She still wants to the the Panama cruise... not sure when but she keeps talking about it..

About a month ago we booked a cruise of the Galapagos, leaving in October. It's on a small ship so a lot different than a regular cruise.
We used Intrepid Travel for our Galapagos trip. Started/ended in Quito and they fly you to Baltra to board a 16 passenger boat for 8 days. They kept us busy all day with hikes, snorkeling, birdwatching etc., and the wildlife that we saw exceeded our expectations. Food was good, cabins comfortable, and they had honor system beer, wine, drinks. We had considered a cruise on Celebrity Flora/Xpedition but they were a lot more expensive and even the Xpedition had 48 passengers compared to our 16.

We flew into Quito 5 days early and stayed 4 nights in the old city and one night in the newer downtown. Fun city with lots to do. We did a birdwatching trip to the cloud forest with a private guide - absolutely amazing.
 
I’m still planning trips for 2024!

The only 2025 trip I have planned at this point is our yearly ski trip to Whistler, but technically that starts in 2024 and goes into 2025.

I’m hoping to visit Asia again in 2025, probably Japan. It’s been over 7 years since my last visit which is too long.

I’ll also make my obligatory Europe trip(s), at least once to visit family.

But first I need to finish off 2024 planning…
 
We've done similar trips in the past (and we're about to leave for a 2 week live-aboard sailing in the Banda sea), but I've never found a way to get gear back to the US at reasonable cost.

Like you (I assume) we fly through Jakarta on our way to Ambon (Sorong in your case). After our diving we fly with our gear from Jakarta to Perth Australia for a month-long trip there. We'll rent an air conditioned storage locker outside Perth airport to store, unpack and air-out our gear for the month. Bit of a hassle, but if you have a solution to ship gear back to the US, I'd love to hear it.
I don't have the particular information accessible while traveling. But what we did was arranged via a third party (which took care of all international entry/exit paperwork) for DHL to pick the gear up at our Bali hotel after diving was over and before we went to Malaysia. The problem is the reasonable cost. Last year, it may have been over 400 USD to ship 50 pounds back. The next XX pounds was the same amount or more--so we just ditched a pair of fins. We are flying via Singapore this time; will look at storage options there, as we plan to spend a day or two luxuriating there between Nepal and coming back home.
 
The problem is the reasonable cost. Last year, it may have been over 400 USD to ship 50 pounds back. The next XX pounds was the same amount or more--so we just ditched a pair of fins. We are flying via Singapore this time; will look at storage options there, as we plan to spend a day or two luxuriating there between Nepal and coming back home.
Thanks! That's pretty expensive (and we'll probably have more than 50 lbs between us). The storage facility in Perth will only cost $2/day (with a 30 day minimum) so it will save a lot of money and should ensure we won't have any mold issues if the gear is not perfectly dry. It's a hassle to drag the bags from the airport to the storage building but it's hard to pass up those kinds of savings.
 
I have a couple of trips planned for 2025.

1) A road trip to Turkey. Leaving Geneva, driving across northern Italy to Ancona to board a ferry to western Greece. Then driving though northern Greece to the Turkish border or taking a ferry to Turkey via a greek isle (Kos or Rhodes). Then drive along the southwestern coast of Turkey, from Izmir to Antalya. Then norhteast to Kayseri and Cappadocia. Then South to Alexandretta and Antakya.

2) a train trip from Geneva to St. Moritz in Switzerland via the Glacier Express. I was supposed to take that trip this summer but my partner was injured at work right before leaving and the trip had to be canceled.
 
We have a Caribbean cruise planned for this winter to soak up a few days of sunshine. Then we have a tour to Spain and Morocco planned. I’m considering additional options. I figure this is our chance as our travel days are winding down.
 
There are 12 days between the two trips. We will spend them in Catalonia Spain, probably staying at 2 different locations. We’ve already visited most of the Barcelona main tourist sites (and they were all well worth it), but there is still tons to see and do in the region!

I researched a bit of the Costa Brava, the region north of Barcelona.

But I was considering a destination for April and other possibilities would be Portugal and Greece, which both have better weather.

All beautiful places.
 
Booked through Odyssey Unlimited-small group tour (12-24 max) to Croatia. Then Portugal later in 2025 with same group. Most of our past travel was by the seat of our pants. I booked through online piece meal hotels.com and air fare. Toured Austria, Czech Republic, and Hungary never sure of the places we booked😂, just took our chances. Traveled by train. Three different languages, three different currencies. All on our own. It was fun, challenging, and we were confused a lot. Plus, we carried our luggage. This was in 2019. For some reason I had wild hair to be young again.

Done with the college aged travel mind set and want first class travel and someone to carry my dam luggage. From now on, our tours are organized. No worries. A friend suggested Odyssey Unlimited. She had many good experiences with them and a very small group.
 
If I can hold on for a bit longer, I will celebrate (?!) my 80th in the spring. We have booked a 2 week Viking Ocean cruise starting in NYC with stops in Halifax, Newfoundland, Greenland and Iceland, terminating in Reykjavik. Fortunately, we live close enough to NYC that we can get there by train and avoid the NY airports.
 
Still waiting to decide where to snowbird. It will probably be SE Asia when the flight come on sale in November/Dec. Could also be Mexico/Central America as a backup.

Far too early for us to think about a spring trip. Chances are high that it will be southern Europe as per.

We are fairly independent and spontaneous travelers. We never seen to book very far in advance. DW says she only knows when she sees the respective travel book coming from the library! DW was getting a little aprhensive a few months ago when she saw books on Kenya, Tanzania, etc!

Shortest notice were four days for Cuba, eight days for Thailand, and three days for Mexico. Longest was two months for Portugal because of a fabulous flight offer on TAP that we could not turn down!
 
Last edited:
Undecided between Patagonia (Chile and Argentina) in January and Spain in February
Italy with family in June
Wales in August
Maybe Australia at the end of the year
 
Back
Top Bottom