Planet Hoppers | January 2019

January 2019

2019 will be a very exciting year for us! We’ve just launched our newly redesigned website today and we're growing our social media daily with new travel inspirations. We’re also adding new destination experts to our team and developing new authentic travel experiences. Let's make the new year your best travel year yet.

Featured Trip Of The Month

TAI AND JOSH's ANNIVERSARY IN PATAGONIA

Itinerary

Full Interview Transcript

Additional Photos

We’ve never been to South America. Patagonia was a destination we wanted to visit since we started seeing each other. For our 10-year wedding anniversary, we decided that’s where we wanted to go.

Patagonia just sounds adventurous and remote. We didn’t really know what it was. I don’t think before we went we could even describe the region. We knew there would be glaciers and penguins and mountains and cold. That sounded exotic and adventurous. The other part was choosing a location that’s sort of uncommon. Everyone seems to be going to Iceland or Italy or even Bora Bora, but I don’t know anyone that’s been to Patagonia. I liked the idea of going to a place that is more unique and that not everyone has been, that way we didn’t have any preconceived notions.

When we saw this view at the beginning of our trip, we already knew the distance we traveled was worth it!

One of the cool places we went to was Torres Del Paine National Park – it was ridiculous. It was the most scenic place I’ve ever been to. The landscape was just really incredible - grey skies, black mountains with snow-capped peaks, and crazy aqua blue water. My favorite part of the trip was the Perito Moreno Glacier. It was breathtaking. They describe a glacier as being alive so there is rumbling and cracking and we got to see layers fall off.

Beef and lamb were staples. That was on every menu everywhere. I knew about beef but we didn’t realize they were so well known for their lamb. In the Chilean lake district, there was a lot of fish. In Ushuaia, because the water is so cold there they have king crab, but they don’t look like what we have, they are super spikey. The meat is just as good as regular king crab and affordable. There were empanadas everywhere.

6 of the 15 days were travel days and that’s a lot but the tradeoff is you get to see everything. It’s just like they say, it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. One leg of the trip took us 3 boats and 4 busses to get from A to B. That could sound daunting, but it was a cool day. The experiences of those modes of travel were pretty unique.

I describe the tour as being similar to Orange Theory Fitness in that it pushes you harder than you’d normally push yourself. Normally when we go on vacation we relax, chill out and don’t make it out of the hotel until at least 1:00 pm. On this trip there was something to do at 7:00 am almost every day - either catch a flight, a bus, a boat ride, or do a tour. We had about two nights in each destination. You arrive, settle in, get up the next day and do a tour, have dinner and drinks and then the next day you’re on to the next destination. The mode of transport was different every day. You get to see so much that way and you can learn what places you want to come back and stay longer.

P.S. Yes, they have Patagonia stores in Patagonia.

Where In The World Is This Planet Hopper?

Read about this fantastic trip in next month's issue. Here's a hint:

Planet Hopping In Progress

December

Randazzo family holiday in Maui
Chris and Ed in Japan
Kraft family in Asia plus Mekong River Cruise
Srivastava family in Australia with New Year’s Eve Gala at the Sydney Opera House
Ananth family holiday in France
Lam family in Chile with New Years Eve fireworks in Santiago
Chamberlain family in Thailand, Cambodia and Hong Kong
Raman family holiday in Thailand
Fritz and Jennifer in Bora Bora and New Zealand

January

Karen and friends’ New Years in Dubai
Jason and friends sailing the Maldive Islands
Gilliland’s anniversary in the Middle East
Verma family’s Northern Lights in Finland
Loredana and Badr’s Honeymoon in Asia
Megan and Reese discovering art and culture in Asia
Gabriel and Amy exploring Sri Lanka

Are you debating whether to go traveling with your kids? Here are the Seven Top Reasons why you should. Now, where should go? Click for a list of the Best Family Vacation Destinations.