More 30-Day Trips
As many of you know, I do have a full-time career between all these travels!
My job is quite seasonal and the way my schedule shakes out every year, I have a nice chunk of time off in January & February – which became the perfect time to do my annual round-the-world trips.
But after Round the World #4, I had a revelation.
I also typically have a convenient block of time off around June and July. Which meant I had time to take a summer trip, too!
But since I use all of the miles I accrue in a year of business travel to purchase my RTW ticket each year, I knew I didn’t have enough miles for two round-the-world airline tickets a year.
So, I came up with the idea of a regionally-focused trip each summer with just one long round-trip flight and a lot of shorter flights (or trains, ferries, etc). It seemed like the perfect way to spend extra time getting to know a particular region of the world each summer.
I consider these mid-year journeys my “RTW 1/2” trips and Europe seemed like the ideal choice for the debut of RTW 4 1/2. Later trips focused on Central America, the Himalayas, Oceania, the Balkans and more.
These trips are a wonderful example of 30-day itineraries for travelers who want to spend their time exploring a certain region of the world instead of globetrotting all the way around it!
Here are the links to all of the summer 30-day trips:
RTW 4 1/2: The Europe Edition
Europe was the natural choice for the first edition of the summer 30-day trip! I was also thrilled to have not one, but two of my friends, jump at the chance to join me in exploring some of Europe’s most wonderful cities. Highlights: Rome, Mykonos, Munich, Zurich, Prague, Salzburg, Vienna, Krakow, Stockholm, Oslo, Reykjavik, Tallinn, Helsinki, and Copenhagen.
RTW 5 1/2: The Oceania Edition
Inspired by a Delta fare sale from Atlanta to Sydney that I just couldn’t resist, what better time to explore Oceania in 30 days? I was joined by my friend Shannon for the first two weeks in Australia and New Zealand. And then I struck out on my own around the South Pacific. Highlights: Sydney’s Bridge Climb, Auckland, Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa.
RTW 6 1/2: The Balkans Edition
This summer focused primarily on the Balkans region but I also squeezed in the Mont Blanc Marathon and a Mediterranean cruise on the way over! The highlight of the month was definitely exploring all six of the Balkan republics that made up the former Yugoslavia (Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Slovenia). Another milestone, I hit the 100 country mark when I arrived in Bulgaria!
RTW 7 1/2: The Central America Edition
This summer it’s all about Central America & Ecuador! The highlights of this summer’s 30-day trip include a chartered sailing trip around the remote San Blas islands, a dolphin-trainer-for-a-day experience in Honduras and a land-based alternative to the expensive cruises around the Galapagos Islands.
RTW 8 1/2: The Himalayas Edition
This summer the destination is Asia, especially the Himalayas! The highlights include a scenic flight over Mount Everest (as close as I ever need to get!), a high-altitude hike to Bhutan’s Tiger’s Nest Monastery and an incredible few days exploring Myanmar. Itinerary also included Tibet, Beijing, Thailand, and Kathmandu.
RTW 9 1/2: The Moscow to the Med Edition
Inspired by a Delta fare sale to Moscow, this trip was a great opportunity to explore Russia and its neighboring countries before making my way south toward the Mediterranean. Russia was definitely a highlight, but Riga, Crete and the tiny island of Symi were wonderful surprises. An incredible hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia was another check off the Bucket List.