continuing on from the last one
Return to Orkney and Shetland - 58 days!!
Paris and a Mark Seymour tour of SW France - 152 days
I need to re-do my toiletries for the next trip. I accidentally got shampoo in both the shampoo and conditioner containers last time so they are washed out and ready for hopefully, the right contents!!
What about you?
Flying home tomorrow from Skopje.
2025 trip #1 finishing, next up, London in 60, Peru the week after that. Romania in the fall. A Rick Steves tour in December and a Road Scholar tour to Mexico in February.
We have a rare domestic trip in June, to the beach at Charleston (Isle of Palms). We are not beach people so haven't done a beach trip in maybe 10 years but our daughter is having their first baby any minute now and she asked to go while she's on leave, so to the beach it is! We were supposed to take them to France this past December but she wanted to save her PTO days so this is their make-up trip.
Next, it's back to Italy in 192 days. We are taking my husband's sister who has never traveled outside the US, and his other sister who went with us to Italy in 2023 which was her first trip outside the US. It's a retirement trip for the first - 20 years of teaching deserves a trip to Italy, I think! Always fun to go with people who have never been anywhere. Like seeing everything through fresh eyes!
Returned from 30 days in Sicily yesterday, going back to Italy (Puglia and Abruzzo) in 165 days.
Going to New Orleans tomorrow for the Jazz Festival.
Then Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.
Vienna and Bologna in 2 days!
So looking forward to it as we cancelled our trip last fall due to illness. Raring to go!
Had to purchase an entire new wardrobe as the illness caused a huge weight loss. Done and packed. Yippee!
209 days till departure for super short trip (Monday to Sunday) over Thanksgiving break with my special ed teacher sister to visit her youngest while the student does study abroad in Florence. My third visit to Florence and first anywhere in Italy for mother / daughter. Will mostly self tour but have a private guide (the incomparable Anna Piperato) for a 1/2 day tour that includes the Uffizi Galleries and Vasari Corridor. Staying at Hotel Accademia next to Basilica San Lorenzo and close to the Duomo.
Mother/Daughter trip to London and Ireland in eight days.
Heading to Italy in 167 days. Starting in Venice, then a couple weeks in Tuscany, a turffle festival in Alba and then finishing in Milan.
Just returned a few weeks ago from London and Paris with my two grandkids.
Next trip is in 139 days. I will be heading to Romania in mid September, along with a short trip to Budapest.
108 days until London, Paris, and Disneyland Paris for my niece's (pretty delayed) high school graduation trip. Learning new things about planning for a summer outing with a young adult with very different interests than me. I hope she still likes me at the end! 😂
Heading to the Scandinavia tour in 20 days! Yippee!
Italy for both. One south, one north. I am doing my final trial pack tomorrow before the real one on Tuesday.
5 days - the Puglia & Lazio regions plus Caserta & Matera
125 days - the Piemonte, Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, & Veneto regions
Pam, it’s good you didn’t mix up your toothpaste with some other refilled item, too! ; )
Heading to the UK followed by France in 35 days. We'll be gone almost 5 months in total. Interview for France visa in 12 days. This is different from all our past trips because of the visa requirement.
Thanks Mary for starting part 2, I love reading about where everyone is going.
We have a big move in 36 days and an epic road trip down the Al-Can driving from Alaska to California. My first time in the Yukon!
South Korea, Japan and China for 42 nights in 154 days.
And moving into 2026!! we are signed up for the RS Istanbul tour, then Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan, Greece, France, Germany, Czech, Austria, Hungary (still planning our epic retirement trip)!
Leaving Tuesday for four days each in Vilnius and Riga
Haven't booked anything yet but we have nailed down a preliminary plan for London the last 2 weeks of November. The theme is London and it's Christmas lights. Also joining me and my wife is my brother-in-law and his wife and my Mother-in-law. My MIL is 82 so possibly her last trip. It's the first time outside of North America-except for Hawaii for my BIL and his wife, so lots of different dynamics to work through.
A first for us is a river cruise in 18 days from Amsterdam to Basel.
My wife and I leave in about a month for 10 days in northern England, Wales and London. After our son’s college graduation, yay. Then in late September a Road Scholar trip to Romania, one of the few European countries I haven’t visited. As one of many Federal government employees taking buyout offers to retire, I guess I’ll have more time to plan more such adventures …
Our next trip isn't until the fall, but it is a Rhine river cruise where three of our favorite singer-songwriters will be performing on board during the evenings. Can't wait!
Booked or Nearly booked
Hopeful
- 11 May: Montenegro (fishing)
- 27 June: Vienna and Rome (obligation)
- July/August: Not sure. Some place within about 2 hours by Wizz or Ryan that is not too terribly hot. Maybe Georgia or Armenia; or just sweat it out and take the train to Lviv or Kyiv.
- 21 September: Washington DC, San Antonio, College Station, Houston (family, obligations, class reunion .. dont ask)
- October: Bosnia & Herzegovina (fishing)
- November: Its a toss up between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan or .....
Obligation means these arent places I would go if I were in complete control.
Just returned from 10 days in Mexico (a "short trip"). Still sunburned, jetlagged and doing laundry.
Shetland: July 2025 ("short trip"). Leaving in 72 days (Pam, we might see you there!). 98% booked, 90% planned.
Puglia: September-October 2025 ("long trip"). Leaving in 142 days. 100% booked and 85% planned.
Easter Island: November 2025 ("short trip"). Leaving in 199 days. 85% booked and 75% planned.
Fairbanks (for the Northern Lights): January 2026 ("short trip"). Leaving in 254 days. 0% booked, 10% planned.
Philippines and Thailand: March-April 2026 ("very long trip"). Leaving in 324 days. A SCUBA diving trip. 30% booked and 40% planned (and looming large, given the complex logistics). Have outbound flights booked but need to book return flights, accommodations, diving, and internal transportation. Task list for this one currently weighing heavily on me.
Iceland: June 2026 ("short trip"). Leaving in 408 days. Just penciled in right now, nothing booked and subject to change.
Greece: We have multiple destinations vying for slots in the fall of 2026 and beyond. Most likely candidate for September-October 2026 currently is Greece. It'll be a "long trip" (it's gotta be, Greece is logistically and touristically complicated). We'll see about all that.
(We define short trips as under 2 weeks, longer trips are usually 4-6 weeks; once in a long while we do a longer trip of around 6-8+ weeks.)
So little time, so many places...
I've just started a Pilgrimage around all 42 Cathedrals in England and the Isle of Man (with Wales and Scotland to be added in a later phase).
For Phase 3 in a few weeks time I will be buying the most expensive ticket which exists on National Rail- a 14 day All Lines 1st Class Rail Rover, for a huge £960 after railcard discount of over £400.
Pilgrimage does not have to be all about hairshirts, the this case it makes perfect sense logistically and financially.
Today is Day 2 of Phase 2, as Phase 1 was a little warm up, but with serious wow moments at Southwell and Sheffield Cathedrals.
33 days before my flight to Zurich for the Rick Steves 12 Days tour of Switzerland!
72 days before my flight to NYC for a 4 day weekend
149 days before my flight to Cluj Romania for a 2 week tour with Adventures with Sarah.
in 2026 (I didn't count the days):
10 Days in Cotswolds tour with Seymour Travels, April 2026
8 Days in Scotland, Rick Steves tour, August 2026
Returned from 3 nights in Yosemite last Thursday.
Fly to Bay Area to see my beloved SF Giants play in early May. Staying with friends I’ve known since high school. We graduated in 1969. You do the math.
Considering Nova Scotia in the Fall. Nothing confirmed.
One month from today, I return to London to hug my granddaughter (and her parents) exactly one year to the day since I last hugged her.
29 Days until departure
Well, this time yesterday, I had no plans to go anywhere. Currently (5:53 am), I am sitting aboard a flight that is supposed to depart for Rome in about 15 minutes.
There, I have a long layover and will meet my mother-in-law's plane when she arrives a little after noon from Turin. Then we will take a flight together to Reggio Calabria, get a taxi to the port, and take the ferry over to Messina, her birthplace.
Yesterday, her 88-year-old twin sister passed away. Neither my husband nor his brother are able to accompany her, so I am doing the duty. The taxi driver who always took her and her sister around will pick us up when we arrive and shuttle us around wherever we need to go. The funeral will be tomorrow.
I am not sure how long we will stay in Messina or when I will go back to Paris. I hope that it will work out that I can "escort" her back to Turin, spend the night and then I can take the train back home. But we will see what she needs to get done down there these next few days. Maybe we will again end up doing some sort of flight combo. Of course when she arrives in Turin, she has the support she needs so doesn't really need me for that.
I had been wanting to get back to Sicily, but it wasn't exactly these conditions I was envisioning! Cross your fingers for me that my Italian is up to the challenge for these next few days with completely non-English speaking family and acquaintances.
46 days until our trip to Greece and The Netherlands.
58 days until extended trip to Italy, Portugal, Scotland & London (total 40 nights)-partly w/HS grad 👩🎓
155 (approx) days until Japan with daughter, son in law and 8 month old granddaughter (in planning stage)
217 days until Montreal and Quebec City (in planning stage)
Going to VA Beach this weekend to visit family/friends - booked.
Maybe Yosemite in a few weeks.
England in mid-September on the way to Asia to see family - booked.
Christmas with my husband's family - booked.
Maybe Scotland in February 2026 - accompany husband on work trip - fingers crossed we stay employed!
Love this thread, excited to see all the different places people are visiting!
15 days until we leave for Copenhagen.
23 days until our bike & sail tour starts.
Mallorca for two weeks at the end of the month followed by a quick laundry turnaround for a trip to Riga, then it's a long weekend in Cork. July and August haven't been planned yet however I like the idea of a summer trip to Sopot. A solo trip to Baku and Tbilisi in September followed by a week in Estepona in October.
Oh, Kim, good luck in your compassion travel and with your Italian. A sad reason for a trip, but it's kind of you to be there for your mother-in-law.
58 Days until I fly out to Paris, spend 1 night, then off to Sarajevo for 28 nights to begin my Retirement Slow Travel & 5 months in Europe. Down to 21 days until retirement.
Kim - hopefully all goes smoothly for everyone. Well done for whomever had to put all the details together so quickly.
We leave for RS “Best of Adriatic” in 8 days with an addition of 6 days in Paris after.
We will be home from our 46 day trip to Europe on Tuesday (had to detour through Fargo).
Next trip- summer road trip starts in 29 days in our camper van. Route 66 to Chicago, Fargo, across ND and Montana to Sandpoint ID (visiting brother), wine tasting in Oregon, then home around July 7ish.
Thanks Patty and CWSocial. We went on Tuesday and came back on Thursday. Talk about a quick and intense trip. This weekend I am laying low. Besides the early and late hours (the Bolt came to pick my up for the airport at 4 o'clock Tuesday morning, and i walked back into our apartment after midnight Thursday night into Friday ) and the emotion of the situation, there was also for me the exhaustion of using my rudimentary Italian for three days straight. I am glad I went but very glad it is over.
Now I am working on something much more fun: going to meet my sister-in-law and nieces for a week in Amsterdam in August. No, that is not my preferred travel time AT ALL, but that is when they will be in Europe to pick up my eldest niece from a short three-week “study abroad” program in London — so in order to see them, I will make the effort. Here I go to booking.com looking for the “air conditioning” filter !!! Getting ready to purchase my Eurostar tix too.