Hello, and welcome to all things travel. This week's episode is our January live episode. That just happened a few days ago. Julie. And I talk about travel resolutions that you should think about for 2024. New ways to travel and new thoughts about travel. Then we talk about different vacations for families at different stages of their lives. It's a really interesting discussion that Julie takes us through.
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Grab Ryan's free download for planning the ultimate family all-inclusive vacation: https://bit.ly/allinclusivevacationtoptips
Grab Julie's free download for a baby and toddler vacation packing list:
https://bit.ly/babytoddlerpackinglist
Ready to plan your vacation? Most families are confused and overwhelmed when planning a vacation. We work with you to plan a trip perfect for your family. Saving you time, money, and stress!
Join the travel conversations and the fun in the All Things Travel Show Facebook group!
Hello, and welcome to all things travel. This week's episode is our January live episode. That just happened a few days ago. Julie. And I talk about travel resolutions that you should think about for 2024. New ways to travel and new thoughts about travel. Then we talk about different vacations for families at different stages of their lives. It's a really interesting discussion that Julie takes us through.
~~~~~~~
Grab Ryan's free download for planning the ultimate family all-inclusive vacation: https://bit.ly/allinclusivevacationtoptips
Grab Julie's free download for a baby and toddler vacation packing list:
https://bit.ly/babytoddlerpackinglist
Ready to plan your vacation? Most families are confused and overwhelmed when planning a vacation. We work with you to plan a trip perfect for your family. Saving you time, money, and stress!
Join the travel conversations and the fun in the All Things Travel Show Facebook group!
Hello, and welcome to all things travel. This week's episode is our January live episode. That just happened a few days ago. Julie. And I talk about travel resolutions that you should think about for 2024. New ways to travel, new thoughts about travel. And then we talk about different vacations for families at different stages and their wives. It's a really interesting discussion that Julie takes us through. All right. Let's join the live from this past Sunday.
Ryan:happy 2024 because believe it or not, I mean, you got, we have not seen each other in forever.
Julie:I know, and we haven't like recorded episodes recently. I'm really excited.
Ryan:So speaking of episodes, This episode is going to come out on Wednesday, so there's going to be a quick turnaround. And Julie, did you know, this will be episode 195, which means we are only four episodes away from number 200 when it comes to All Things Travel.
Julie:that be five episodes?
Ryan:Well, after nine you have 96, 97, 98, 99, and then 200. The 200 is the fifth one.
Julie:I think we interpret our math a little bit
Ryan:Okay, whatever. Well, you're from the East Coast, so you look math differently. So we've got Facebook user that says, Hello friends. Hey, we're so glad you're watching us live for this episode recording. See the ticker down here. Make sure when you click on the screen, that you give StreamYard permission to link to your account. So that way we can see who it is.
Julie:See? is agreeing with me.
Ryan:Okay. All right. I was thinking on Julie's level and I am in the South. Well, okay, so so mid Midwest math okay It's fine, man. Oh my gosh.
Julie:Ha ha ha!
Ryan:Ganging up on me. So in so in Georgia and in Maryland, they do math completely differently.
Julie:That is so false. We do math the right way. I'm not, I'm just to stop while I'm ahead there. I'm just to stop while I'm ahead, right? Is we're excited for the 200th
Ryan:We are super excited for the 200th episode. Absolutely
Julie:on there too.
Ryan:Oh my gosh, there's so, there's many comments coming in. I love this. So, hey Michelle, how you doing? Michelle is one of our good friends, fellow travel advisor. And one fun thing about Michelle is, she just started planning a really cool cruise to Rome.
Julie:yeah.
Ryan:be excited hear about that. Michelle's been on the podcast several times, so maybe she'll hop on after that trip and Well,
Julie:Oh, I can't wait. That would be an awesome episode. But is that cruise in 20, did you say 2025?
Ryan:yeah, I mean, I want to plan out that far ahead. I've I've got episodes planned through 2027. I don't know about you, Julie.
Julie:So she says it's not until 2025. So we can also talk about planning for that cruise and the itinerary options. do all sorts of
Ryan:Sounds good. A whole series based around Michelle's trip. Julie, we are talking tonight, resetting our travel habits in 2024. Tis the season, right? I'm going to lose 175 pounds, I'm going make, you know, 30, 000 more dollars a year in my job, I'm going to, find that love of my life, I'm going to do all those things that people say they're going to do for New Year's resolutions. And I think travel fits in there too, right?
Julie:It does. And I think this is a really fun way to think about travel in a new year. I think this is really cool. This isn't something that's always been on my radar, but I really love how we talked about this and what we came up with.
Ryan:We've got a couple travel resolutions that we want to talk about tonight and this first one julie is a biggie Use all your vacation days. 48 percent of Americans do not use all of their allotted vacation days.
Julie:What?
Ryan:So when you were in the workforce as physical therapist, did make sure to use all your vacation days?
Julie:I did. However, I did not have a lot of vacation days. You know, how healthcare is, don't get a lot of time off. So I had about eight days off a year plus some of the holidays. So I definitely used all my vacation days and use them sometimes in a little bit more of a savvy fashion with my three day weekends
Ryan:Kind of, kind of stacking on top of days that were already included there.
Julie:Yeah, I will say this is interesting to talk about now, and I would love to see like some other thoughts on the poll because, so for example, in 2023 and 2024, so many people work remote. So maybe you can travel a freely without using a vacation day per se, or a full day.
Ryan:Or you're somebody like me who doesn't have traditional vacation days, but I can work from anywhere and change kind of the how and where I work, maybe I introduce that in some way and still get that vacation travel time while still working.
Julie:Exactly. And I know my husband, so he works in computer field. They have unlimited PTO. And I know a lot of workplaces are transitioning to that type of model and finding that it really boosts morale because what happens is you actually take less time off.
Ryan:or you get more while you're while you're there because
Julie:you know, you're more productive during your work hours. So it's just an interesting way to kind of think about your vacation days, but our point is to take that time that that is there for you reset, to have a break. What better way to use that resetting time and break time than to take a vacation and experience something new and spend some time with your family by yourself or by yourself, you know, either way.
Ryan:And as a way to help you with that the second resolution is start some sort of vacation savings account So put money away For that upcoming trip Do you do this julie?
Julie:I do. Mm hmm. I do. It's built into my monthly budget to put a certain amount of money aside every month. And if I have a trip booked, I actually just, put it straight towards the payment
Ryan:And that's one of the reasons why we tell people it's an advantage to book early because then you can do this. You're not waiting until that final payment of, 4, 000. You're putting down 100 a month over the time, it makes it a lot easier. Using a savings account in some version really helps to, to grow that money, compound that money, and plan it out, and it also earmarks it so you're not accidentally using it for something else,
Julie:And that's
Ryan:can happen.
Julie:is, that's my big thing is it's more of a setting it aside to make sure I'm not using it for something else to make sure it's going towards the trip that it's supposed to go to.
Ryan:Yeah, absolutely. Number three then is go to a new place. And I say even local here, because not everybody wants to travel far. But I know growing up, this is what my family did. For spring break, we went to the same place every year. We went to the same hotel at Daytona Beach with the same people, believe it or not, with the same group of teachers from my hometown in Indiana. So the people my parents worked with, they went on spring break with. was, which was fun, because you had built in people that you knew, and parties, and friends to play with, but, it was the same thing every year. And, that's great, because you, you start to develop some traditions, but, is that really what travel's about? That's more of a vacation. But that's not really travel, I guess. And
Julie:Maybe if you're able to do two trips a year, that's a great option, or if you do that every other year. But I think it's definitely important to broaden your horizon, or at least have it in your plan to broaden your travel horizons.
Ryan:like I said, even local, so maybe it's choosing a day trip. Or a long weekend trip that place that's supposed to be close, we're going to do it this year because we've always said we want to do it. I know when my family lived in Vermont for several years while I had a job out there, Montreal was, was close. Maine was close. Well, what happened? We moved before We did any of that. it was kind of like, well, great that it's close, but if you don't go, you don't go.
Julie:I would say we're pretty fortunate in Maryland. We can get to so many states pretty quickly, York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, obviously pretty easily. And there's a lot to do in a lot of those states,
Ryan:Yeah.
Julie:we don't always get to do something new, but we do have a lot of options near us which is really great.
Ryan:So number four is kind of more of a esoteric one, I guess, if you will, when about travel. Do one thing that is uncomfortable.
Julie:What's an example of that,
Ryan:I'll have a couple of examples of these coming up. Maybe it's, instead of flying somewhere, maybe take a road trip.
Julie:Oh, okay. like
Ryan:if, if you're, if you're not used to that, or maybe it's what we were just talking about. You're used to going one place and you decide to go someplace else. Maybe you're not a city tourist person. So you decide to go to a city and try that out.
Julie:Think like, you know, trying different foods, I
Ryan:different foods, learn and grow through travel. Yeah. So maybe it's, you're used to just going and sitting on the beach. So maybe the next time you go back to that community, maybe you take a tour, a walking history tour or something to learn something about it. I know we had when Wendy Was on here talking about going to to Nassau. She said, I really want to take the time to learn about Nassau So they went on, that walking rum tour That doesn't sound too uncomfortable, but you get what I mean kind of putting yourself out there maybe a different way
Julie:Yeah.
Ryan:Now now this next one. I know you and I have different experiences and different thoughts about this Travel solo.
Julie:Oh, yeah. Maybe.
Ryan:do you think about this? Do you not
Julie:there's two ways to look at it. I guess you could take it either way, depending on your personality type or what you want to do. Is it travel solo, as in like that whole trip is just you? Or are you saying like, travel solo, like, I'm traveling by myself meet up
Ryan:It could be either of those. I think it's, again, it kind of says that comfort level. So, for instance, after our agent training in a few weeks, I'm going to take some time by myself, and I've got an Airbnb, I've got a car, and I'm going to spend some time and go to a place that I really like, but intentionally be by myself so that I can spend time. That doesn't bother me. I like that I can go at my own pace. For other people that would be absolutely terrible. Or,
Julie:a place you've been to, right? Mm
Ryan:yes. Or, the other example is, there's a group of us going to Amsterdam for work this spring. We're all traveling separately and meeting other there. And this is actually,
Julie:not with your families. You're traveling with a different group.
Ryan:Correct. So I have traveled to Europe multiple times, but I've never done it by myself. I guess that would kind of go along with this. The next one is try a new form of travel. So again, maybe it's a road trip. Maybe it's a train. Maybe it's you know, like that that you're not used to. A cruise, absolutely. So, you know, taking the time to try different types of travel could be a resolution for 2024.
Julie:And I think that's like an easy one to do kind of as you're, as you've experienced different vacations in the past couple of years, it's easy to say, okay, let's try this one
Ryan:So this spring, a group of us are going on a river cruise. And, you know, that's going to be new for me. I love the idea of river cruising. I've certainly sold river cruising. But personally, I've never been on one. I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be an
Julie:think you're really going to like it, Ryan. I think that's going to be like your thing.
Ryan:my style, right? Yeah. Ha,
Julie:think it is your style.
Ryan:ha. So, hey. The last one Is take that trip. I still think, even in heading into 2024, I still think there's kind of a travel hangover. With 2020 and COVID, and people are still kind of catching up for what does travel mean in their lives right now, and what we're finding, Julie, is that more and more people are wanting that trip, taking family, we've always said we wanted to do this, we're gonna do it, gosh darn it, and even if 2024 is not the year that you take it, plan
Julie:You're planning I have
Ryan:it
Julie:this is something that is really, really prevalent right now. Like this thought of taking that trip that you've always looked forward to., when we're recording this, obviously, and you know, we're live. So it's January the 7th is the first week in January and nearly every client I've talked to so far this week that's the kind of trip that we are planning is the big trip. And most of them are not planning for travel in 2024. They're planning for 2025, 2026. I had someone ask me about 2028 earlier this week. obviously we can't book
Ryan:Right. We're not booking 2032 yet. So everybody
Julie:not doing it, but their idea was, Hey, this is a really big trip and I want to get ahead on saving money, getting an idea of what they could look like so that we can all start planning. I have had a couple of people book for 2025 and 2026. Thinking, now I've got, this is the big trip. It's on the books. Now we can start paying it
Ryan:There's a psychological benefit to that too. Just besides paying it off. It's fun It's fun we were talking about going to Tokyo But now we are going to Tokyo and we can start we can start watching the documentaries And we can start reading the books and we can start looking at the blogs and and all that stuff online. Absolutely
Julie:I have seen this idea everywhere this past week. And I think it's really exciting. I think it's really exciting when we can help people create that memory and, and, start that big, big trip planning, take
Ryan:Which one is kind of a light bulb for you of, Yeah, I can see myself doing that.
Julie:that trip.
Ryan:Take that
Julie:The one talked about.
Ryan:what does that mean? What does that mean for you and your family? Have you, have you come to any ideas?
Julie:My travel schedule for 2024 is pretty crazy. Like it is really, it is really ambitious. I have to have a really good travel business year, but there is so much built into this year that we have been looking forward to for many, many years. That is not like. We woke up January 1st and said, let's do all this travel in 2024. It just so happened that it all was happening in the same year, whether that was because the ages of my kids or the way that our anniversary fell things like that, that, that we're celebrating various things. So we are really excited with some really cool trips coming up this year and we'll obviously be talking about them as they come. But I'm not ready to give away all the details
Ryan:So speaking of taking that trip you did some work this week where you kind of broke down if people need help thinking about what that trip is, you did some work in kind of segmenting different kind of trips. And so
Julie:Yeah, this really fun.
Ryan:that and, and get some ideas for people. Mm
Julie:Awesome. Okay, so, the way I kind of thought about this is, my specialty in planning trips is planning with families, right? And mostly families with little kids, but then, Obviously those little kids start to grow up and their trips change and their destinations change things that they're looking for and their trip changes. So I thought it was just kind of fun to go through and provide a little bit of a template of if this is your family makeup, this is the trip you should look for this year. I just thought that was a fun thing to do. the first one I thought of was if you have a family and your kids are under the age of eight, you should go to Walt Disney World. And the I came up with, did you say why?
Ryan:Why?
Julie:Oh, so the reason came eight is because I felt like you're old enough to remember, you're old enough to, to have those memories with you for a while, you're also tall enough and probably also brave enough enjoy all of the attractions at Disney.
Ryan:Very good. Yeah. thought this through.
Julie:magical age, you're You're still very immersed in the magic when you're there, but you're old enough to enjoy, like, the grown up rides.
Ryan:You have a little bit more stamina, maybe you're more of an adventurous eater, and from a planning standpoint, from a parent standpoint, what is the magic around being eight or nine when you go to
Julie:You are not yet considered an adult,
Ryan:You are not considered an adult because Disney
Julie:dining is a little
Ryan:absolutely, so because when you are 10, Disney has decided that you are a legal adult in their eyes, and therefore, must pay adult prices.
Julie:pay extra. Yes. that's really good point, Ryan. That actually did not cross my mind I wrote this list. I just think that's a really great time to go. So going along with your family's ages is kind of how I broke down. If your kids are younger, and I kind of kept six as the cutoff
Ryan:And, and remind us of your kids ages, because you're, you're, you're in this group here.
Julie:yeah, they are barely five. Like, she just five last week. My son is almost three and my youngest is almost one. this my age group here, next one. I said, if you're a family with kids under six. And I chose six because I think that at that age, like, they're tall enough for a lot of the attractions at Disney. But, like, they still need to be in a stroller because they don't quite have the stamina to go around the parks. They're still picky eaters. They're still kind of nervous and scared about a lot of the rides. So I think this is the best time for a Disney cruise. Cruising, I, I, I, I absolutely was obsessed with the Disney cruise that we went on. It
Ryan:You are a true convert from last
Julie:I am a convert. It was so much easier for us than the parks. it's much more compact. The best thing about the Disney Cruise is that, you know, everything is age appropriate for your kids. That was so huge for me. I had no concerns about the crowd on the ship. If, if we would run into any sort of, situation where my kids would be uncomfortable or I would be uncomfortable for them. I, I know all the movies were appropriate. the music was appropriate. The food was appropriate. So that was really to me. Whereas on the other side, if you have a family where you have tweens, they're, you know, young teenage, Royal Caribbean cruising is your, is the way to go for you.
Ryan:Now what, let me, let me break in with one thing because what don't want people to hear when we're talking about younger kids and Disney is Don't go. Like, don't think that they can't get something out of it or say, I'm going to wait and take my kids until they can remember it. Because one, they're not really going to remember it. And two, you still get to remember it. You as the parent or the grandparent get to have those memories and those pictures. So,
Julie:Right. I'm saying that not a time to go, but I do have a lot of people that come and ask, you know, Is it too young to take them to Disney? I will never say no.
Ryan:Yeah.
Julie:I think the experience I just went through, the cruise was more enjoyable for
Ryan:Oh, absolutely.
Julie:That being said, we go to Disney frequently. So my kids have had that experience.
Ryan:So tell us why Royal Caribbean with tweens. Mm
Julie:So World Caribbean's kids clubs are very different than Disney kids clubs. Disney kids clubs are very themed very immersive, and that's a huge benefit for that younger age group. And tweens, you don't really need that. They kind of it's corny. So you don't need to pay that premium for that really special kid programming.
Ryan:And there's tons of activities for that group. I mean,
Julie:Yeah, the iFly, the bumper cars, the sports arenas, I toured Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas a couple of weeks ago. They had like this massive indoor sports complex. And I was like, this is so cool. It doesn't work for my family right now, but I can think of a ton of clients that that would be perfect for their kids ages.
Ryan:so I've got, now, now we're headed into my
Julie:Your
Ryan:have an, I have an almost 18 year old and an almost 15 year old, so squarely in the teenager years, and they still want a vacation with me, so I'm going to take of
Julie:ha ha!
Ryan:to spend time with Dorky Dad where should I take them? What kind of vacation should I be thinking about?
Julie:So here's where I suggest an all inclusive. And I like this for this age group because you're in a safe environment of your all inclusive resort, but there's still a lot going on. So you can give them a little bit of that independence if you're comfortable with it. while still being in the same area that they are in.
Ryan:I like that idea
Julie:some teenagers, they tend to have a larger appetite than younger children, and already for their food, so no worries on that. This is also the age group where they think it's really cool to get the virgin pina coladas or the virgin strawberry
Ryan:Oh man.
Julie:and are all
Ryan:Virgin Miami vices all day All long. The kids are
Julie:And you've already paid for it, so you just don't care, you And I, so I think that, that works really well for them.
Ryan:I think
Julie:chance for you to get them out of the country for the first time, but in a pretty, pretty
Ryan:yeah and I would add to this that, taking my kids to Europe the first time a couple summers ago felt like the right time for them, you know, they would have been what about 13 and 16 that felt
Julie:went to
Ryan:we went to Italy, they were around that, that felt like the right time. Because they were interested, they weren't bored. They were excited to be there. So I
Julie:And they have, like, the stamina, like you mentioned, to, like, keep up with the trip, basically.
Ryan:Alright, so the last group that you want to talk about, Julie, is our kids are no longer with us. We are empty nesters.
Julie:are
Ryan:Is this a different type of mindset when it comes to travel?
Julie:I definitely think it's a very different mindset. You're taking trip that you've looked forward to, for a very long time. And I think now is the time that you go to Europe. You plan the trip you've always dreamed of, whether you want to go see one country or multiple countries on a cruise. There's so many different ways to do that. I think this is a time a lot of people trace their family history maybe and plan a trip around that. I think that's the time that you plan your Europe trip. I wish people wouldn't wait so long to do it, but I get it because taking the kids there can be a lot. And it's almost for most people, probably more enjoyable to just do just the 2 of you
Ryan:This is a time where you can plan more trips, maybe depending on if you know what your
Julie:and a longer
Ryan:longer trips. And it's also a time where you can plan some of those trips where you're reconnecting with your partner,
Julie:That, and you probably also have the money to spend on the better
Ryan:That's really interesting how you broke those down. And I hope that helps people to think about, okay, this is where my family is, or this is where we're going to be. We haven't taken that cruise yet. Based on what Julie's talking about, it might be time.
Julie:And I think this is something that I have a lot of clients that ask me about like, well, should we do this? Like, should we do the all inclusive now or should we do the cruise now or should we do Disney now? This is a conversation I find myself having over and over again.
Ryan:Well, hey folks, thank you so much for joining us tonight adding in with some comments some ideas, we really appreciate that. The first Sunday of February, we're going to be live again, and we'll come up with topic to talk about then.
Julie:Perfect! I wait!
Ryan:All right. Bye folks.