Top Travel Tips and Destinations for 2019

If there is one section of the blog that I really want to expand, its TRAVEL. I’ve done numerous trips and documented them on this site. You can find them under the TRAVEL tab in the navigation bar. I attended the Dallas Travel & Adventure Show this past weekend and got so many great travel tips, that I decided to do a blog post and share them with you. You’re going to want to SAVE this blog post as well as SHARE it. Plus, I’m announcing a special event opportunity in Dallas that involves fine wine. Because travel and wine make a great pair!

The Dallas Travel and Adventure show is open to the public but it was the first time that I attended. They invited me and gave me a media pass so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to learn as much as I could about what’s new in travel, interesting destinations and secrets only travel professionals know. Boy howdy, am I glad I attended. I got so much information that I decided it was a good, general Travel Tips blog post.

I was excited to meet Pauline Frommer, who with her father Arthur, still runs Frommer’s (now an online travel guide site). Before everything went electronic, I used to buy a Frommer’s Guide for the destination we were going to travel to. I have still have these travel guides in hard copy and believe that these are some of the best travel resources. As Pauline explained in her presentation, they only hire local journalists to write their guides and never send writers on FAM (familiarity) or Press trips. So you truly are getting the perspective of a local.

While visiting various booths to gather information on destinations as well as attending several presentations, I learned a lot of Top Travel Tips that the industry knows and uses. I also learned of the Top Travel Destinations for 2019 that should be on all of our lists. Let’s GO!

Top Travel Tips

Booking Airfare and Foreign Currency 

1. When looking for the best airfare, use Skyscanner.net or Momondo. No matter which site you use to search and book airfare, book airfare on Sundays – it tends to be 17% less on this day. The most expensive day to book airfare is on Friday (tends to be up by 12%). Fly on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday if you can.
2. When traveling to a foreign country and using a credit card, ask that they charge your purchases in local currency. If they charge you in US dollars, the exchange rate is high plus they will charge you a fee.
3. Beware of Travelex ATM’s in airports. While everyone is encouraged to have the currency of the country you’re visiting, try to get it before you leave home.

Destinations that are Over Visited | Alternative Choices

There are many destinations that have become overcrowded due to too many tourists. We’ll blame beautiful photography and travel bloggers for that. Ha! Here are some destinations to avoid due to large crowds as well as an alternative suggestion that is still a great travel treasure waiting for you to discover.

1. Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast, Italy – instead try Basilicata and Puglia, Italy
2. Barcelona, Spain – try Girona, Figueres or Roses, Spain
3. Costa Rica – perhaps Belize or Panama would be of interest
4. Iceland (last year had more visitors than inhabitants) – You’ll do much better in Faroe Islands
5. Maya Bay – try the Similan Islands. Scuba diving in the Andaman Sea is said to be spectacular!
6. Bali – why not discover the Komodo, Indonesia
7. Machu Picchu – Try Choquequirao instead. Either way, you will be in Peru.
8. Dubrovnik – How does Rovinj sound? Croatia is beautiful!

Best Sites for Booking Rentals

1. AirBnB.com
2. Homeaway.com
3. FlipKey.com
4. VRBO.com
5. OneFineStay.com (this is my personal recommendation; I’ve used them on this trip)

Best Auto Rental Site

I found this fascinating. Instead of renting from a specific car rental company, go to AutoSlash.com This site will help you find the best car rental in your destination. It will also add any discounts and coupons automatically. And if the rental fee drops between the time you book and travel, you will receive the additional savings on your rental car. Who knew?

River Cruises | Biggest Travel Trend

All river cruises are not the same. The advantage of River Cruises is that they are small and intimate as compared to ocean liners. They are always all-inclusive and tend to have an older demographic. You can read about our Viking River Cruise in several blog posts. We traveled the Danube River and I would highly recommend it. Here are some of the River Cruise Lines you might want to explore.

Over The Top – Uniworld, Tauck, Scenic

Luxurious – Amawaterways, Viking Cruises, Avalon Waterways

Budget – Emerald Waterways, Croisi Europe, Grand Circle, U by Uniworld, Vantage

Family Friendly – AmaWaterways, Tauck

Best Rivers to Travel – Danube, Mississippi, Mekong

Top Travel Destinations for 2019

These are destinations suggested by Frommer’s and are in no particular order. For details on why you should consider these locations, refer to their guide. I love lists like this because they make me think about places that were previously perhaps not on my radar. Do you have a bucket list of travel destinations?

Collioure, France | New York State (did you know that  New York has more ski resorts than any other state in the US?)  |  Singapore  |  Bulgaria  |  Zimbabwe  |  Parintins, Brazil |  Egypt |  Memphis, Tennessee | Estrada Nacional 2, Portugal (this is like driving Route 66) – Portugal was the most important country in the 17th century!  |  Austral Islands, French Polynesia (airfare down by 30%)  |  Hollywood, California | Normandy, France | Olympic National Park and Sequim, Washington (2 hours from Seattle)  |  Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia  |  Matera, Italy (hard to get to but it’s apparently worth it; located in the arch of the boot of Italy) – this cave city dates back to 4,000 B.C. | Virginia | Nagasaki, Japan  |  Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve, Labrador, Canada

I hope this blog post was helpful. Leave me a comment and let me know what destinations are on your bucket list. I’m always fascinated by where people like to travel.

xoxo – Tanya

Special Event Invitation

Pete and I visited the Jordan Vineyard & Winery last summer and we absolutely loved it! The Dallas release event for the 2015 Cabernet is April 24! Want to attend the official release of the 2015 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 100% in French oak barrels? Hosted by Jordan Associate Winemaker Maggie Kruse and Chef Kent Rathbun, the evening will feature a cocktail-reception-style party with passed hors d’oeuvres and passed plates—all paired with Jordan wines. This is your opportunity to taste the 2015 vintage before its May 1 release, and they’ll be serving it in 750ml bottles from a one-of-a-kind wine barrel luge, made by Dallas artist Richard Maxwell, which will be auctioned off at the end of the event with proceeds benefiting a local charity. You’ll also enjoy the 2015 vintage served from the 18-liter Jordan Melchior, pre-release tastings of the 2013 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon in magnum, the 2017 Jordan Chardonnay and the Jordan Cuvée by Champagne AR Lenoble. There are limited tickets available. Click here to buy yours!

shop the post

PIN this picture to share these tips