Episode 22: New Year, New Resolution

Mary Herendeen:

New year, new resolutions. 2022 went by quickly and although I'd intended to travel more, I watched my vacation time continue to accrue and my window of opportunity continue to close. Like me, some of you may have resolved to travel more in 2022, or maybe in 2023 in a way that brings you to your dream destinations affordably and comfortably.

Welcome to Traveling with AAA. I'm your host, Mary Herendeen. Today, we are learning how to ensure our travel goals are realized in the new year, and we're joined by Emily Kaufman. Emily is also known as "The Travel Mom." She shares her travel knowledge and advice regularly on TV shows like Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and on CNN. She has great advice, not just for families, but for all travelers. You may have followed her on social media @TheTravelMom or her website, TheTravelMom.com. Emily Kaufman, thank you so much for joining us today.

Emily Kaufman:

I'm so happy to be with you. It's so exciting to be talking about travel and encouraging people to step out of their comfort zones and have some new experiences.

Mary:

Yeah, thank you so much. We're super excited, I know I am. I had a little, tiny travel trip that I snuck in at the end of 2022, but like most, I've resolved to travel more in 2023. Emily, how do we make that resolution to travel more come to fruition? What are some things that stop us from doing it, and how do we overcome those obstacles?

Emily:

It's interesting how much we can overthink things. And travel, while we want to plan ahead, doesn't require that much energy. The thinking about travel versus actual traveling is much more intimidating, and there isn't really a perfect time for anybody to get away. When we wait for that perfect moment, we might not find it. So, just get out there, go do it, put that date on your calendar, and get away.

Mary:

Yeah, that's what happened with me. I kept not blocking that time off on my calendar, and when it finally like, “OK, I'm ready. I definitely need this,” there was limited time, I wasn't able to get the travel that I wanted, and flights were exorbitant. How do we overcome that? Besides just putting the date on the calendar, anything else that we could do?

Emily:

I think arming yourself with information about destinations is a really powerful place to start. One of the ways that you can do that is an ultimate free resource. Every place you're going to visit has a visitor and convention center website dedicated to showcasing the most comprehensive look at a destination. You can find out about special events, see special deals and offers, and find out what activities are in town. Do your research, arm yourself with information, then you can go and make a plan with confidence.

Mary:

Oh, I love it. Now, what if you want to travel more, but you're on a limited budget? I know some of us have also set a New Year's resolution to budget more and stick to that budget. How do we find ways to travel affordably?

Emily:

Oftentimes, if you proactively go in there, there are alerts that you can set for different travel apps that will alert you when there are savings on a flight that you're interested in. Also, travel agents are the most amazing resource you can turn to. They’re knowledgeable, they're experts in the field, they know when the big sales are coming up, and they know when there are added-value deals, so don't forget to use your travel agents.

Mary:

Yeah, travel advisors are awesome. I've used ours before and one of the great things is when I'm looking to travel, I might have a date in mind that I'm looking for on the calendar, but the travel advisors are able to tell me to look at a range of dates because they're finding something that's more affordable for me.

Now we've all seen the chaos at the airports over the holidays. In fact, I was impacted by that a lot. Do you have some tips for avoiding those situations, or at least making the best of them?

Emily:

The way that I advise people to deal with airport chaos is to make sure you're a member of the airline loyalty program, and oftentimes your credit card will give you certain status with it right away. If you're traveling significantly and you have that elite status, you get a dedicated phone number that will help you with resolving your travel plans.

Even if you're not a member of one of those loyalty programs, instead of getting in line behind everybody else who's dealing with the same problem, call the airline directly. Oftentimes they can put together a solution to your problem in a much faster way than if you go and you stand in line at the customer service desk. Also, program all that information into your phone before you leave. Make sure that you've got the apps for the airlines and your hotels because those help to keep things more simple and efficient.

Mary:

Yeah, that's important. I recently found myself at the airport with limited cell service trying to look up all these phone numbers, look up these different places, and downloading applications. So that was definitely a problem, and great advice to have that programmed in there, especially if you use a specific airline or a specific service.

You're known as The Travel Mom. Tell us a little bit about that. Are there some particular things to keep in mind when you're planning family travel?

Emily:

I started as The Travel Mom way back in 1996 when my kids were little. I had been a preschool teacher and people kept asking me for advice about how to travel with little ones. I really focused on sharing the message that kids don't tell time; they're creatures of habit; and they follow sequence, order, and routine.

So, let's say you're taking a trip to Hawai‘i and you're on vacation in a hotel room. If bedtime at your house includes a warm bath, a little story, and a snuggle with a special blanket, make sure you adhere to that same routine when you're traveling.

As your kids get older, they like to be involved in some of the vacation plans, and that's where that free resource of the visitor and convention center website can come in. You can get on there together and decide on some of the activities you might want to try together.

I also want to remind everybody that we are able to educate our kids through travel. It's the greatest teacher in the world. This is the time to step out of your comfort zone, have them try a new food, have them learn about a new culture. This will help make better citizens of the entire world.

Mary:

Yeah, thank you for that. I'm definitely excited to try that family planning travel tip you just shared. I have 2 little ones who are 8 and 4 and a half now. I don't want to wait until they're older to get out, but I also want to plan things that are going to be fun for them and me. Let's go ahead and take a break here. When we come back, we're going to hear about planning as a couple or solo travel.

Welcome back, everyone. We are still here with Emily Kaufman, and we're talking about traveling and family planning travel right before the break, but now let's hear about traveling as a couple without children. Any tips there?

Emily:

I think when you're traveling as an adult couple, you have a lot more flexibility and versatility to really immerse yourself in a destination. Whether you want to learn how to make something, do a cooking lesson with a chef, or you want to go off and have a biking experience, these types of experiences for adult couples are spectacular, and it's not enough for people just to go to a destination anymore and sit by the pool. That's just one piece of it, so there are loads of ways that you can truly immerse yourself in the culture.

Mary:

We're seeing a larger trend of couples, solo travelers, and family travelers wanting to be a part of the culture that they're visiting, and really take that back with them. So that's exciting.

Now on solo travel, and I plan to do some solo travel this year, not having done a whole lot of traveling on my own, it's a little intimidating. How does a single traveler make their travel resolution come to fruition?

Emily:

I travel solo a lot. I've been married for 35 years. I have adult children, and I still love the opportunity to get out there and explore on my own. My 32-year-old son is actually in Japan right now by himself.

Mary:

Wow.

Emily:

He found something really interesting. He's at a hotel that has a bicycle that you can use, and he got out on the bike to go explore, ride, and get the lay of the land.

I also find Google Translate really helpful if you're international. I'm a big believer in sitting up at the bar at restaurants by myself. You can find good conversation and get to know people versus sitting at a table feeling kind of isolated and alone.

There are also solo traveler groups if you're interested in those types of things, or many places where it's ideal to be a solo traveler, like a health and wellness retreat.

Mary:

Yeah, absolutely. I imagine working with a travel advisor on that, ensuring that they understand you're traveling alone and getting their help to find ways that you can still be around other people while traveling, and really enjoy the place that you're going.

Now, what do you see as the hottest travel trends for 2023?

Emily:

The hottest travel trends we're seeing are people want experiences. It's not, like I said earlier, not enough just to go sit by the pool. They want to have an experience, and a travel advisor can certainly help you with the wide range of offerings at hotels. Whether you want to take a cooking lesson with a chef on property, or maybe you're in Hawai‘i and you want to learn how to make a lei, or you want to participate in local programs, they can help you do that through all of these hotels right now. They've become completely supportive of helping guests to take home memories that exceed just sitting by a pool and relaxing.

Mary:

Yeah, you've traveled a ton and I know you've probably got a ton of experiences to share. Is there one experience that you think people who are making New Year's resolutions should have?

Emily:

I'm a big believer that we go to the same places year after year when we vacation. We go to the same restaurant at that same place, sit at the same table at that same restaurant, and oftentimes order the same dish.

Mary:

Guilty.

Emily:

I want to encourage, motivate, and inspire people to step out of their comfort zone and have a new experience through travel. Travel is the greatest teacher in the entire world, and the entire world is a plane ride away.

Let's say you're not really comfortable going somewhere brand new yet. When you go to your same familiar place, how about trying a new restaurant or a new activity instead of going to the same place over and over again? We discover how truly capable we are when we open our minds and do that.

Mary:

Yep. I say it a lot. The magic happens outside of our comfort zone, right? Since I'm guilty of doing that, I don't often or always follow my own advice. Now, you said that travel is the greatest teacher. Are there any destinations that stand out in the coming year?

Emily:

International travel is always an amazing experience. I never thought that I would be one to enjoy a river cruise, especially all by myself. For me, the European river cruises are a way to truly experience a myriad of destinations. If you haven't been on a river cruise before, you simply get on and off really easily. It's not like the great big cruise ship where you're going through the security and it's a big production. I love these river cruises. They drop you off right in the village, in the heart of little towns. To me, those types of experiences are really meaningful.

Mary:

Wow, that's incredible. That actually does sound amazing, and I could see that being at the top of a few people's list this year.

Before we go, I always ask this of our guests, what's one most important travel tip that you would ask travelers to keep in mind?

Emily:

Flexibility and patience are key. Nobody responds well to a person who is stressed out. And remember, in travel there will be bumps along the road. It's just part of it, and you got to go with the flow. If your flight is delayed a little bit, or your luggage gets misplaced, you're going to have to move along, and let go of all that hostility because you'll miss your vacation.

Also, no matter where you are, a smile goes so far. I have never had a problem where there's been a language barrier simply by leading with kindness.

Mary:

Wow, thank you for sharing that. You're so right about that flexibility. I recently had to practice that myself since my flight was canceled, and it ended up with me driving to my destination, and bringing some other stranded travelers along the way and making some new friends.

Emily:

Well, how about that? You stepped outside of your comfort zone and you had a new experience. You made some new friends with people you probably would've never crossed paths with before, and it became a great adventure.

Something I want to mention to people is I don't just talk about travel. I give trips away. There's no money involved. It's the way I give back, and every single week through my social media @TheTravelMom, I give away a different trip.

Mary:

Oh, that's exciting. I'll definitely be following there and looking out to see who the lucky winners are. That's amazing, and you're right, I did get an experience I never would have had if I hadn't been flexible, open, and had a positive attitude. And for these strangers, now friends, these fellow travelers, it was great for them to get back home and I will consider them friends for life. So, thank you.

Emily:

Oh, I'm glad that you got to do that.

Mary:

Well, we definitely appreciate you being on the show. Emily Kaufman, The Travel Mom, we appreciate you. For our listeners, you can follow Emily on social media @TheTravelMom, and you can check out her website, TheTravelMom.com. Also, thank you to our listeners for being with us.

If you're planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA travel advisor. You can check out aaa.com/travel or visit your local branch. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe. I'm Mary Herendeen, thank you for Traveling with AAA.