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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! 🌍✈️
Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. Ready for an adventure? Whether you're revisiting cherished moments or planning new escapades, Nostalgic Travel Talks is here to inspire your wanderlust. Let's take off! Hello travelers and dreamers, and welcome back to Nostalgic Travel Talks. I'm your host Cheryl Johnson, founder of Nostalgic Travel, where we believe every trip should be filled with meaning, magic, and maybe even a little mischief along the way. Today's episode is a good one, because whether you're already planning your next big adventure or just daydreaming from your office chair, I'm giving you the inside scoop on what's trending in travel for 2025. From slow travel to cruising 2.0, to why everyone in their neighbor suddenly cares about second cities. We're covering it all. Plus, I'm sharing the must know tips that will help you dodge the travel disasters and actually enjoy the journey. And because we love a little fun around here, stay tuned for a rapid fire round of Pack It or Pass, where I'll tell you which trends are a must and which ones you can leave on the tarmac. So let's dive in. If you're dreaming about your next big escape or even your next weekend getaway, listen up because today I'm diving into the top travel trends of 2025 and giving you the real talk on what you must know before you pack that suitcase. Spoiler alert, it's not all about Paris and Pinterest perfect beaches anymore. And if you want help crafting a trip that's as trendy or as timeless as you want it to be, check the show notes to book a free planning session with me. So we're going to start with the five big travel trends you need to know. The first one is purposeful and nostalgic travel. The word nostalgic is part of my name because I feel that it's really important to make connections and have really good memories when you think back on your travelers. Travelers are trading in checklists for connections. So think family reunions, roots trips, and revisiting meaningful places. You can do volunteering, and think of it as a chance to make deeper connections. One of the things that I've had many opportunities to do is cultural exchange programs. Those are wonderful ways of getting to know more about a destination in a more meaningful way, and just creating lifelong memories. Another idea is to choose eco friendly and sustainable travel options. Those are also purposeful travel things that you can do. The second trend that I want to share with you is slow travel and second cities. Say goodbye to tours, crowds and hello to hidden gems. It's about quality, not quantity. Slow travel refers to just a slower pace of travel, making meaningful connections wherever you are, focusing on the journey itself and bringing intention and responsibility for the environment along with you. Second cities refers to not the primary city in a region, but a city that's second to the largest city as far as population, economic status and political influence. Second cities are good choices because they won't be as crowded as primary cities and nobody really, really enjoys being stuck with a bunch of tourists during high season. So it's just a great option for you. The third tip for you is cruises. Cruising isn't just for retirees anymore. There's so many things you can do on a cruise ship. You can do yoga classes, all kinds of group fitness, wine tastings. there's so many excursions you can go on and you can do, there are lots of options. You can do adults only sailings, you can choose either a river cruise or an ocean cruise. You can choose adults only but you can also find cruise ships that are child-friendly. So there are lots and lots of options out there for you. Tip number four is BLEASURE travel. It's the new work life balance. You can extend your work trip by a few days. So you can enjoy the destination that you're at. And if you work remote, you certainly have a lot more, a lot more options. You can combine your work with a chance to get a just to have a different place to to look when you're when you're done with your with your work responsibilities, you can go someplace and and check out the beach or see some excursions that you might not have had a chance to do if you were if you were still at home, it's just a way to shake things up a little bit. Tip number five is travel with a conscience. Echo lodges, local artisans and mindful footprints are in over tourist, touristed destinations, not so much. It's important to prioritize local communities and make echo friendly choices when you're thinking about your travel plans. So many cities are suffering from over tourism and, and having protests and things like that. So making these kinds of choices can help by choosing nature based activities, and buying things from local vendors and staying in boutique hotels that are locally owned so that the people that are part of the community can benefit from your decisions. I'm going to shift gears now and give you some quick tips for travelers in 2025. So some things that you should keep in mind. First is to book earlier than you think. 2025 travel is looking pretty busy so if you snooze you will lose on those dream dates. You can save money by booking earlier and there will be more choices for flights, hotels, and attractions before those things sell out. And you'll also have more flexibility and it'll just be much less stressful for you when you're making those decisions when you don't have to settle for things because everything else is sold out. The second quick tip is really important. Getting travel insurance is so so important nowadays. So many things can happen, you could have a volcanic eruption, an airline strike or a weather event that could put your trip in jeopardy and you've in the trip that you know, when you take a trip, you're making an investment. So you want to protect that as much as you can. So many unexpected things can happen. And this gives you peace of mind, unplanned events like medical events, during a time away from home can make it really, really worth it to have that. Sometimes you miss a flight connection, note due to no fault of your own, there could be a delay on the part of the airline. But then if you miss your connection, sometimes you'll miss, like, say, for example, you're going on a cruise, you might miss your connection, making you late for your cruise ship, although you should kind of plan to be there a day ahead for a cruise anyway. But these kinds of things can happen. So you want to protect yourself as much as you can. This third tip is to stay flexible. There's so many things that can happen when you're on a vacation, there can be flight changes, gate changes, weather issues, there's so many plot twists when it comes to travel. So if you can be flexible, you can maintain your sanity and patience is definitely a virtue. My fourth tip is for you to invest in tech savvy tools. Think about smart luggage, translator apps and mobile boarding passes. Those can really be lifesavers for you. Also, don't forget your power adapters if you're going on an overseas trip. Definitely have spare chargers on hand. And think about the for example, the when you're if you're traveling internationally, customs and border patrol, they have a mobile app for going through customs. So that's very handy to help you get through those long lines. And if you're in a city that you're unfamiliar with, it's really a great idea to have a GPS app, or if it's a city that has mass transit, to download those apps as well before you travel. And my last quick tip for you is to trust a travel advisor. The internet is great for ideas, but when it comes to actual planning, you need a human who knows how to pivot when things get spicy. We research hundreds of destinations, find deals that you won't have access to, and we're your advocate while you're away and can help in a crisis so that you're not alone. Well, we're almost to the end of this episode, but I do have time for one more segment. It's called Pack It or Pass. All All this talk about travel trends has me wondering what your thoughts are about these trends. So I'm going to throw out some ideas and tell you what my opinions are. And I'm hoping that you will put yours in the comments. So the first one is AI generated vacation itineraries, Pack It or Pass. I'm going to say pass because there's still no AI that knows your travel dreams better than a human who can actually listen to you. Second one, micro occasions, those are super short two or three day trips, I would definitely go on a micro occasion because they're perfect for people who are really busy, but still need a break. How about this one paying $500 a night to sleep in a luxury tree house. Personally, I'm going to pass on that but I don't see anything wrong with that if that's your thing. I think that's a really fun, unique vacation option. So if that's something that that you enjoy, I think you should definitely take advantage of it. For me, though, I would really enjoy a nice luxury hotel with a spa. Next booking a cruise, especially one that has a wine tasting theme, I would absolutely do this. It's just sounds amazing. Another one wellness retreats with digital detox, which means no phones allowed. I would definitely want to take advantage of this. I think that's something that would be really difficult for a lot of people because I know I am guilty of getting on my phone and, and just kind of losing track of time sometimes. So that's why I think it would be great. But you know, I think if you try it for a couple of days, that might be a nice vacation from your phone. How about selfie museums and pop up Instagram installations? I think those are kind of they sound really fun. I love those kinds of things. It's just kind of a, it's kind of silly, but at the same time, it can really be it can really be a fun little thing for you to do. So that's a wrap on this round of Pack It or Pass on which trends you would pack and which ones you would ditch. So what thinking about those let me know on Instagram or drop me a message. I love hearing from my listeners and I would love to hear what you think about those things. Travel in 2025 is all about slowing down making memories and traveling smarter not harder. If you're feeling inspired or a little overwhelmed by all of these trends, I'm just a message away. Check the show notes to plan your next trip with me. And if you've loved today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your fellow wanderlusters. Thank you for tuning in to Nostalgic Travel Talks. I hope today's episode inspired you to dive deeper into your next journey. If you enjoyed our conversation, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. It really helps others discover the show. And if you want even more insider tips, exclusive travel deals and personal stories, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Just head over to my website website nostalgictravelco.com and hit subscribe. up for my newsletter. Just head over to my website website nostalgictravelco.com and hit subscribe. Until next time, keep exploring and keep making those unforgettable travel memories.