2022 Travel Recap & What’s to Come in 2023
Cheers to a Happy New Year 2023 to all of you!
Whether you're doing something glamorous to celebrate or ringing in the New Year at home, I hope you have a safe and happy celebration. I'll be celebrating in a yurt in North Georgia as long as the weather cooperates!
As we look to 2023, I wanted to spend some time reflecting on this past year of travel and what is to come for Brilliant Escapes and my clients next year. Where are you dreaming of traveling next year? In 2024? Let's start planning that exceptional escape now!
2022 was the year I started traveling again, actually taking international vacations and staying in resorts and being a tourist. After three years of not going much of anywhere, it felt exceptional to plan a week-long stay at a resort or to even start dreaming of traveling to even further locales in the coming months. For many of you, 2022 was the year you also started traveling again, in earnest, and started to plan some of your dream trips for 2023. I can already tell 2023 is going to be a big year (and a busy one!). So many of my consultation calls with clients have included talk of multiple destinations, multiple trips that they want to take - the dreaming is real! I’ve been spending a lot of time with clients recently helping them narrow down a destination before we even start building the itinerary. After so many years of not being able to explore, the possibilities now seem endless. One of the benefits of working with a travel advisor is that I can help you narrow down the options OR even help you expand them. And I am really looking forward to doing so much more of that for all of my clients next year.
I’ve been spending some time around the holidays focusing on building and growing my business in 2023, specifically thinking about content I will include in these emails next year and in my social media (follow me @brilliantescapes). I’m eager to share with you all more about Southeast Asia, one of my favorite parts of the world, as well as include details about unique destinations or experiences you may not be aware of that I can help you plan.
So happy to be back on a dive boat in Turks & Caicos!
2022: Back in the Habit (of Traveling)
The year was supposed to start with a 40th birthday trip to Turks & Caicos where I’d spend a week in Caribbean paradise and scuba dive for the first time in two years….due to Omicron, the trip was postponed until early April, but we still made it happen (the photo above is me so happy to be on a dive boat)! Finally taking that trip was probably what I needed to bring Brilliant Escapes back to life at 100% after a bit of a Covid-hiatus. That feeling of being renewed by travel? I felt that. Being in a sublimely beautiful location with someone I love? Incredible. Getting to scuba dive again in one of the most exciting diving destinations in the world? Unbelievable.
The next few months of Spring and Summer were light on travel for me with just a few mini trips to Chicago and New York, but I was definitely back to future travel planning mode after that trip to Turks. And my clients were traveling to Greece, Italy, and Costa Rica during summer and Fall. I spent a week in the Florida Panhandle in the Fall, on the lovely stretch known as 30A, and then a long weekend in Riviera Maya, Mexico to celebrate a wedding of a good friend. We’ve already made plans to return to that same Mexican resort (and there will be diving next time)! The year ended with just a few short trips again to Chicago and New York, as well as Greenville SC (and falling just short of my next Delta Medallion status).
2023: Exceptional Escapes Start Now
My clients will be traveling to the Dominican Republic, Italy, Vietnam, Alaska, and more. And I'm currently working on proposals for trips to Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, the Caribbean, Scandinavia, and New Zealand. I’m hoping to round out that list with travel to a few remaining continents - who wants to visit South America or Africa next year?
After spending a lot of time on beaches and resorts this year…I’ll be doing more of that in 2023! We’ve got another trip to Florida lined up for Spring Break (if you’re thinking it’s time for you to start planning your Spring Break trip, you’re definitely right!). I’ll then be traveling to Europe for the first time since pre-Covid for my host agency’s annual conference in Mykonos! I’m really excited to go back to Greece and see one of the islands I haven’t visited! I’ll be putting the finishing touches on my trip soon and will be sharing more as it gets closer. While some of our time will be spent doing conference things, we’ll also have some free time to explore all that Mykonos has to offer with the guidance of our preferred partners.
Let’s not forget about traveling around our own beautiful country. I’d like to plan some travel in and around the US this year - I’ve got a few groups of friends with whom I would love to travel and there’s a long overdue trip to New Orleans on the list, a casualty of early Covid travel cancellations (perhaps staying at the Maison de la Luz?). Other possible destinations include Nashville and maybe a trip out west as I’ve been wanting to go out to some of the National Parks that I’ve never seen. Look out for a future email in January with more on one of these western destinations. If you're thinking about getting away, but staying within the US, there are so many incredible destinations and trips we can plan together!
There’s also some long overdue dive trips that I would love to take, potentially in 2023. The Cayman Islands are a top destination for scuba diving, as well as the island of Bonaire - both have been recommended to me by many divers and since I got back into the water last Spring, I’m really itching to go again! If you are interested in dive travel or just learning how to dive so you can scuba dive on your next trip, let’s talk. I’m a PADI-certified Divemaster and would be thrilled to help you plan your first or your 300th dive.
Where are you dreaming of traveling in 2023? How can I help you make that dream happen? One of the benefits I offer my clients is EASE: pulling together the details and recommendations, booking reservations, and ensuring that everything goes as smoothly as possible. The extra amenities and services that I can secure for you are just the cherry on top! If you haven’t worked with a travel advisor before, maybe 2023 is the year you contact Brilliant Escapes to experience what a stress-free, expertly planned vacation is like.