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Welcome to Cheryl's Travel Blueprint! I’m a former Spanish teacher turned travel advisor, passionate about curating unforgettable experiences. My expertise lies in European adventures (with a special love for Spain), cruising, and all-inclusive Caribbean getaways. I specialize in creating tailored trips for families, multi-generational groups, and teachers—whether they’re traveling solo, with colleagues, or leading student groups.
In this podcast, we celebrate the joy of travel, uncover hidden gems, share practical tips and tricks, and embrace the spirit of adventure. Each episode features inspiring conversations with fascinating guests from all walks of life as they share their unique travel stories, lessons, and favorite destinations. Whether you're planning your next getaway or simply love to dream about the possibilities, this is your place to explore the world from wherever you are.
Let’s embark on this journey together! 🌍✈️
What if I told you that the most revolutionary act of travel isn't about how many countries you can check off your list, but how deeply you can actually experience just one place? Imagine travel not as a sprint, but as a meditation where every moment becomes a window into understanding, not just a checkbox on an Instagram feed. And stay tuned because midway through this episode, I'll be revealing an exclusive travel deal that will transform how you think about your next journey. And trust me, you won't want to miss this. So slow travel, a lot of people wonder what that is. And it's basically a travel belief based on mindful, immersive experiences in a single location for an extended period of time, valuing the quality of a place and its culture over the quantity of destinations visited. And when I think about slow travel, I think about an experience that I had a number of years ago. My husband and I went to Puerto Rico and we decided to stay in Fajardo, which is about an hour from San Juan. And we visited places like El Yunque, and that's home to the coquí. It's a tiny little tree frog. And interestingly enough, I think that is the only place in the world that the coquí lives. I don't think you can find it anywhere else. And El Yunque also happens to be the only rainforest in the U . S. Park Service. So definitely you want to check it out. It was amazing. We went to Luquillo Beach, we went to El Morro, and we visited the Bacardi Rum Factory. And aside from those things, we did a lot of driving. And you can, it's really easy to drive the island. So you can see all kinds of, you know, you can see all kinds of things outside of San Juan. You can visit, you know, local places that tourists don't necessarily go if you have your own car. And so it was definitely some slow travel. We just took our time, got to know it, got to know many parts of the island. And so I definitely recommend slow travel to you. And one of the reasons is because, you know, I'm not one of those people that likes to have an itinerary. I like to just I like to do my research, but I don't necessarily want to have an itinerary and have set times for doing things. So if you're the kind of person that can throw out your itinerary when you feel like it, then that's then it's probably a good fit for you. And I think the contrast between slow travel and traditional tourism is that when you go on a traditional tour, a lot of times, I think you tend to, well, I guess it depends on the kind of traveler you are. If you go with a group, you're on a tour bus with a tour guide, and you go from one place to the other, and you don't necessarily, I don't think, when I've done those kinds of tours, I mean, it's kind of enjoyable, but I don't feel like I can do things at my own pace, and I don't, I just don't necessarily enjoy all of the, You stop here, you go to a museum, you march through, you go to the next place, and then you go to the hotel. And if you're with a group, you're probably having group dining that's geared towards the same kind of people. So you're not getting authentic food either. If you're traveling by yourself and you're doing things on your own, you can choose where you want to eat. You can get recommendations from locals. You can stay off the tourist path and go places where you're not necessarily going to see a lot of tourists. You can go places off the beaten path. And you'll get to know people, especially if you decide to stay for a while. You might get to meet people. see people that you probably wouldn't have seen if you just stayed with the tourist track. So that's why I prefer slow travel. So, you know, before you decide that you want to go on one of these trips, it's probably a good idea for you to study what you want to learn beforehand. So I recommend, you know, guidebooks, anything that can tell you something about the places that you're planning on going to see. You can do, and when you do that, you're getting depth over breadth. Less is more. And you get cultural immersion from it as a result. You have more meaningful experiences because you can do a deep dive into the destinations that you're planning on visiting. And you can make educated choices, too. Consider ways of meeting locals and how you can spend time where the locals do. One thing that I like to do is go to Meetup. That's an app that I found, and you can just go there and type in the city that you're gonna be visiting and see what kinds of events are going on. That's one way to meet people. You can also, you know, you can take classes, like maybe cooking classes that are offered by locals. And that's another way to get to know people and make it fun. So I told you a little earlier that I was going to share with you a travel special. And I found a couple of things that might be interesting. And these would be great places to do some slow travel. There is a guaranteed upgrade offer at the W in Costa Rica at the Reserva Conchal. If you book, you can receive a guaranteed upgrade from Wonderful to Fabulous Rooms or from Fabulous to Spectacular Rooms. This is only valid for the W in Costa Rica in Reserva Conchal. And the travel dates are between now and December 23rd of 25. And you have to book by December 23rd. November 30th of 25 to get that deal. Another one that I found is Hyatt's Inclusive Collection. They have a wide range of hotels. You can enjoy sun -kissed savings at Hyatt's Inclusive Collection with hotel discounts up to 40%, $200 off in resort coupons, upscale in -room welcome amenities, and an elevated turndown service on one of the nights during your stay. And lots of exclusive perks and they do offer these in Europe as well. So the travel dates are from now until December 20th of 26 and you need to book that by January 7th of 26. So continuing to talk about solo travel, there are lots of upsides to it. For example, it promotes sustainability. by using less flying because if you choose to stay in just one location, you don't have to fly from one city to the next or take a train from one city to the next. So that makes it more sustainable. You can minimize your waste because if you're staying in one place, you might be inclined to stay someplace that has a kitchen. And you can, therefore, you can go to the grocery store and buy groceries, you're saving money on food, and then you're using less single -use items. And that supports local economies, because you're spending more time and money in one area. And you're also going to the grocery store, and that's another way of support. So it does have a great economic impact on local communities. So, You know, and another great thing about about slow travel is that there are there's a lot of personal growth potential. You can do a deep dive into local culture, meeting people that you can connect with on more than one occasion. As I mentioned before, you can do those meetup groups. You can overcome some of your travel anxieties for those of you that have them, because it is kind of scary to go to a new place and because you don't know what you're going to expect. But this gives you the opportunity to embrace something new. You can learn about some place in depth and learn its quirks, customs, and the types of foods that they enjoy and what the locals are like. So those are some great upsides to slow travel. Some top destinations. I did a little bit of research into what people are into now and Bali, Indonesia is a top spot for its mindful living. Kyoto, Japan for serenity. Porto, Portugal. is a good place to go if you want to unwind. And the Amalfi Coast in Italy, it is absolutely beautiful. They've got cliffside villages and lemon groves. So you can get into a lot of good things there. Luang Prabang, Laos, it has tranquil riverside setting and it has a spiritual atmosphere. So those are some places you might want to check out. And thinking about all of these places, when you think about your budget, One of the great things about slow travel is that you can reduce your cost, because if you're staying in one place, that reduces the need for travel to a different location. Your accommodations for longer visits can sometimes be discounted because you're staying longer. And as I mentioned before, you can go to local markets for groceries, and that's saving you money because you don't have to go out all the time to eat. That's just much, it's just friendlier to your budget doing that. And you can also prioritize lower cost activities over expensive tours. You can walk to more places, you can use public transportation. So those are great things you can do. And you can develop a local mindset. If you stay long enough, you're getting a chance to just get into the rhythm of what the locals are doing. And you can do a lot more than that. activities and experiences. And they can be community focused because you're spending time and you're getting to know people, hopefully. Or even if it's just a small, you know, even if it's at the grocery store, you see the same person a couple of times. It's kind of nice. So your mind, it's good for your mind shift, mindset to shift that way. So. If this episode has expanded your travel horizons, if it's made you see the world not just as a place to visit, but a place to truly understand, then you cannot miss what we have coming up. Subscribe to Nostalgic Travel Talks right now, whether you're a seasoned traveler or just dreaming of your first adventure. We're here to transform how you see the world one story at a time. In our next episode, we're diving deep into second city destinations, avoiding huge crowds and popular destinations. And I hope to see you there, so don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.