New Year, New Travel Goals

Happy New Year! Now that it is the new year, everyone is setting their new year's resolutions, so why not set your travel resolutions? Traveling takes quite a bit of effort. You need to determine where you want to go, set the goal to travel there, start saving, book your flights/hotels/attractions etc. All of that can seem quite overwhelming, so start with the basics!

Set Your Intention
It all starts with a positive mindset! You must make a mental shift and think of yourself as a traveler. You are not too old, too young, too poor, too scared. You are a traveler! I truly believe that for the vast majority of people, travel is a possibility. It may take months or even years of preparation and careful saving, but you can do it! Travel doesn't have to be to the other side of the globe to be fulfilling. Just find an adventure that's right for you and go for it!

Pick a Destination
If you're feeling overwhelmed by the actual planning process, focus on the fun! Scroll through travel blogs, look at beautiful travel pictures and get inspired! This is the part that is easily the most enjoyable so dive in now! Looking at travel pictures on social media can help keep you motivated to stay on track with saving and the nitty-gritty planning.

Start Saving and Planning Now!
Now is the time to start getting ready for your trip! For many of us, travel is a really big financial and personal investment. Big trips take lots of planning, so you have to start early. It's better to save up and make your trip everything you dreamed of than to rush it and have a mediocre trip - or worse! End up paying off credit card bills for years.

Travel far, travel responsibly, travel often. Start now! If you'd like help getting started, check out my website MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Australia/ New Zealand Planning Begins

I am SO excited for our next really big trip - Australia and New Zealand! We are aiming to go next February or March and stay for two whole weeks. Heck yes. But right now, I'm at the most overwhelming part of the trip - the planning phase! Everything looks so beautiful, and I want to see everything!

Here are some of my favorites based on reading reviews and doing some research:

Nevis Swing in Queenstown, NZ

This is essentially the world's biggest swing and is similar to a bungee jump. I had the opportunity to jump off the world's largest bridge bungee jump in South Africa, and now I'm hooked! It just looks jaw-droppingly gorgeous. I'm not sure if we will end up having time for this activity, but I will be thrilled if we can squeeze it in!

Sydney Bridge Climb

This is a classic! It looks so fun and adventurous! Right up my alley for sure!

Hikes in New Zealand

We are big hiking enthusiasts, so of course we will be doing some hiking while abroad! Though likely this will just be day hikes this time around. Some of my favorites (again, based on pictures) will be Fox Glacier, Midford Sound and the classic Volcano hike. I think we will probably pick our favorite and build that into our itinerary. We'll just have to see! But how cool is it that you can see a volcano and glacier in the same country??

Hobbiton

Finally, my husband is a big Lord of the Rings fan, so I can almost guarantee we will do something related to the movies. Whether that's a full-fledged visit to Hobbiton or just stopping to see some places where scenes were filmed, we will just have to see! 

Great Barrier Reefs

I think this one we will definitely end up doing! You see so many pictures of the Great Barrier Reef, and I just want to experience that in person! Whether that be just seeing it from a boat, snorkeling or even going up in a plane has yet to be determined. Either way, I'm excited!!

Planning a trip is a big undertaking, but I absolutely love it! If you would like some help getting your trip organized, check out my website MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com! 

Hobbiton (North Island, Nearish to Auckland)

Bright Angel Trail

Our first hike at the Grand Canyon was the bright angel trail! It was so fun and SO exhausting! It is inadvisable to try to hike from the trailhead all the way down to the river and back up in one day. With that in mind we decided to hike down to Indian Gardens or Plateau Point and back up. We were staying at Mather campground so we caught the free shuttle to the trailhead and started our adventure.

It's 4.5 miles from the trailhead down to Indian Gardens (which is lush and beautiful!), so it's a 9-mile round-trip hike if you choose that route. Also, side note, Indian Garden is the perfect place to relax, eat some lunch and get some water. There is also a ranger's station there, which is always good to know.

We were feeling pretty good, so we decided to go the extra mile and a half out to plateau point, adding another 3 miles onto our hike. It was so worth it! We got to see the river and really take in the views. Unfortunately, there were some people messing around on the rocks and not being very respectful. I would highly recommend being a little cautious and staying on the trail if you do decide to venture out to the point. It's really windy, and it only takes one huge gust to blow you off. Be careful! Honestly it was a really great experience.

For me, this trail was an absolute must-do. I highly recommend it! Just be safe, pack lots of water and snacks and bring a trail guide. I suggest you check out this trail guide: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/BrightAngelTrail.pdf
It was tremendously helpful!

As always, if you'd like help planning your next adventure, visit MilesintoMemoriesTravel.com.

Coasteering and Cliff Jumping in Portugal

We spent a few days in Lagos, Portugal to relax during our honeymoon.... but of course we had to squeeze in some adventure! I found amazing reviews for something called "coasteering." If you're anything like me, you've never heard of coasteering. I really wanted to go cliff jumping (safely) so I started doing some research, and that's when I stumbled across coasteering! It's a combination of hiking, swimming, rock climbing and cliff jumping to make your way along a coastline. It's a lot more swimming and rock climbing that hiking, but it was amazing! 

We started by hiking down from the parking lot to the water and did our first little jump! For the first 2 lower jumps we were allowed to any trick we wanted, so of course I had to do a backflip! 

The views were beyond amazing! And the weather was perfect... but we were definitely glad to have those wetsuits.

Also, thank goodness for those life vests! That swim seemed to go on forever! My husband and I definitely had to take some breaks.

This is an action shot of the group making our way along some rocks. We even had a few times where we were in a cave and had to put feet on one side and hands on the other and kind of shimmy along. It was so fun!

This was one of our bigger jumps! They told us to put our arms out to stabilize before bringing them in tight for impact. I apparently turn out to be quite majestic when I cliff jump. #FallingWithStyle

All in all, cliff jumping and coasteering were AMAZING! We had so much fun and I 10/10 would do it again. In fact, if my husband and I travel near the coast (any coast) again anytime soon we are for sure going to be on the lookout for other coasteering tours. I would recommend going with a company who knows what they are doing. Our tour was very professional and we had the proper safety equipment which was reassuring. Be careful, do your research and get out there and enjoy the adventure!

Adventure Vs. Relaxing Honeymoon - Which is better?

My fiancé and I are getting married in June and we are so excited for our honeymoon! We both love to travel and adventure, but we know after the craziness of our wedding, we might want to relax on our honeymoon. That sparked the great debate: Adventure vs. Relaxing honeymoon - which is better? There are definitely pros and cons for both, so I'll walk you through our decision-making process.

Let's start with relaxing. After a crazy 6 months of wedding planning, we are already starting to feel burnt out. If we had a few days to just get away from the madness and celebrate our new marriage, we both know that it would be amazing. We both love a good beach day, but aren't sure if a resort of beach town would be the best use of our time off; we really want to make the absolute most of our special trip.

As for adventure, we just had the trip of a lifetime in South Africa this past August. We went bungee jumping, hiking, visiting with elephants and monkeys and even shark cage diving! It was insane! By the time we made it back to the US we were almost more tired than before we left. It was an absolutely amazing trip, and we definitely wouldn't trade it for the world.

We ultimately decided to compromise and do a little of each! We will be going on a road trip through Portugal! There are plenty of beaches where we can rest and relax, but there is lots to see and do as well! We will be splitting our time between slow, relaxing days and adventuring days exploring local towns and immersing ourself in the culture. We may even take a day trip over to Seville in Spain! It's going to require plenty of planning, but I'm up for the challenge. 

I'd love to help you plan your special trip! Check out MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com for more.