Staycay at the pool in my community. For a minute I thought I was in the Caribbean. 🙂
Yes ladies, it’s time for some fun in the sun! Summer officially starts in 6 days. Do you have plans to make it a good one? And by good one I mean are you getting out to see world? A few ideas if you need a little nudge to get going:
A visit to Napa Valley never disappoints.
1 – The staycay – I absolutely love the staycay. There is ALWAYS somewhere nearby that you have not taken total advantage of, while others are getting passports and traveling thousands of miles to experience. Being in the Bay Area, I love the variety. I’ve done a day in Napa Valley, an overnight visit to San Francisco (I highly recommend Hotel Zeppelin), a drive to Sausalito, a road trip to Pismo Beach, a weekend in Santa Cruz, blah blah blah. The point is to get out there and appreciate what others have to sacrifice to enjoy.
2 – The mini getaway – This will take a little packing, or shopping when you get there. I like to do a 3 night Friday to Monday. Friday to travel, unpack and unwind, Saturday to venture out (for me that may be a half marathon), Sunday to venture out a bit more (for me that’s a relaxation day from the half marathon complete with wine tasting, maybe a spa visit), and Monday to travel home, unpack, and unwind. I’m heading to LA for my next mini getway – can’t wait! No half marathon this time, but lot’s of unwinding and relaxation. Ahhh. If you’re on the west coast, I’d like to recommend Temecula, CA, Vegas and Carmel, CA too. Next mini getaway on my list (after LA) is Sedona, AZ. I’ve heard nothing but good about Sedona.
The Paris 6
3 – The real deal vacay – Now this is the trip that you plan for months, or years. I say years because I know we have other things in life that we’ve got to pay for, like mini trips. LOL! I’ve already started planning my 50th bday in Dubai – in 2018. Okay, so I like to plan ahead. Except for that time I planned my bday trip to Paris for 6 in 3 weeks – I digress. For your real deal vacay you may need a passport. It takes 6 weeks to get one and costs about $140. More if you need it quicker. Fortunately you can get one in as little as 8 days for a fee. You’ll also want to get familiar with the currency in the place you’re visiting, as well as the language and the customs/culture. Since I’ve lived in the Middle East, Dubai shouldn’t be a problem as far as culture. In fact I only chose Dubai because my friends are afraid to visit my childhood home of Saudi Arabia – they’ve recently opened the border to tourists. Jeddah, anyone? If you do want to do something a little more grand this summer, it really isn’t too late to plan it. When I did that “emergency” Paris trip I got so much info from TripAdvisor in planning my itinerary. And until noirbnb is up, there’s airbnb, vrbo or homeaway if you want something more like home than a resort to really get a feel for the culture.
The time I visited my exchange student in Brazil and got totally submerged in the culture.
4 – The last minute travel plan – With summer only being 3 months long, if you haven’t even thought about planning anything yet you’re already on the cusp of missing out on some summer travel fun. Here’s some help for you. If you live near a cruise ship port, a 3 or 4 day cruise may be a good choice. It doesn’t take up a whole lot of vacation time or money, and If you wait until a week or so before the cruise, you may get the best price as they try to fill up the ship. Also, I’ve used the hotel tonight app to book a room at the last minute when I volunteered to give up my seat on a flight that landed me in Vegas for the night (incredibly impromptu getaway).
5 – A travel agent – yes or no? Good question. It depends on the level of assistance you need with planning your summer fun. I love to do internet research and ask around, so I’m pretty good at planning my own trip. But if your trip is with a group and requires collecting money, or requires more planning than you have patience for, I’d suggest an agent. I’ve not done a trip with them but I recently stumbled upon the Travel Divas Facebook group and have found the ladies to be very helpful when asking about trip ideas. Travel Divas is a travel company geared towards Divas of color. They have so many wonderful trips listed on their events tab, so that’s a great way to go – just pay, show up, and travel with Divas such as yourself. Can you beat that? I’ve got my eye on a few of their trips so maybe we’ll run into each other.
So what’s your summer going to look like? Please feel free to brag all about it below! Big or small, near or far, travel is such a wonderful thing. I hope you’ll treat yourself well and venture out to enjoy life, just like a Well Diva should. 😉
