220: African Safaris
Vacation Mavens
Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! . Did you know that Kim has been on safaris in four African countries? Today she shares some great tips that will help you decide where you might want to go, understand the differences between various safari experiences, and provide some advice for planning an African safari trip. You can read more about a few of Kim's safari experiences here:
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219: German Christmas Markets Trip
Vacation Mavens
Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! . In this episode, Tamara talks about her two-week German Christmas Markets road trip! If you have this magical holiday trip on your radar, make sure to give this episode a close listen and check out the following articles:
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Barge and River Cruising Through France
Vacation Mavens
Before we say goodbye to summer and pull on our flannels and break out the pumpkin spice, Tamara and Kim are back with a recap of Tamara's European summer travels including a month spent exploring France by river and barge cruise! Tamara first spent two weeks in the United Kingdom, on a road trip through both Scotland and Wales with two other travel writers. She then took the Eurostar down to France and spent one week cruising through the Canal Nivernais on the Hotel Barge Elisabeth. Next, she went to Bordeaux and her husband joined her for a weeklong river cruise with AmaWaterways. Tamara...
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217: Scottsdale and Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka)
Vacation Mavens
Well it has been a minute since we had a chance to catch up and record a podcast but in this episode Tamara shares her insights and experience from her recent family trip to Japan. Kim and Tamara also share their love for Scottsdale, Arizona and some of the things they did on a girls' trip together. Read more at: Tamara also talked about her time in Paso Robles, California. You can read her to get inspired to visit this wine region. Kim attended conferences in Walt Disney World (read her tips for using DVC points to ), Disney Land, and San Antonio. She also took a family cruise to...
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216: Ireland and Northern Ireland
Vacation Mavens
Kim took a last minute spring break trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland with her younger daughter and this week on the podcast, she tells us all about it! She flew into Dublin and then stay at a country estate hotel in Northern Ireland before visiting Belfast, the Causeway Coast, Derry/Londonderry, and Galway before looping back to Dublin. See Kim's articles on: Ireland Trip Highlights: in Northern Ireland Belfast - Titanic Belfast and city architecture - Carrick-a-Rede bridge, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle in Derry - walk the walls around the city Galway - Kim...
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215 Oceanside Disneyland California
Vacation Mavens
Spring break is almost here and on this episode Kim and Tamara share their experience on a girls' trip in Oceanside, California and then their mother-daughter trip to Disneyland with their girls. If you want some inspiration for a SoCal getaway, be sure to listen in!
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214 Northern Italy + Big Announcement
Vacation Mavens
Happy New Year! We are back and apologize for taking so long to release a new episode. Moving forward, we will strive to have one episode a month to share our travels and tips, as we continue to each put more time into our respective websites. But first, Tamara has a big announcement and that is that she is hosting a women-only small group trip to Iceland in September 2023! You can get all the information on and she really hopes that some listeners will be able to join! Note that there is a discount of 15,000 ISK if you register by January 15, 2023. Next Tamara tells us all about her...
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213: Glacier Country, Montana
Vacation Mavens
This episode is sponsored by Glacier Country Tourism. All opinions are our own. This week, Tamara shares what it is like to visit Glacier Country, Montana on a girls' trip and Kim shares her thoughts on this scenic part of Northwestern Montana. From Missoula to Whitefish, Kalispell to Glacier National Park -- if Montana is on your bucket list, give this episode a listen! Read more: Things to do in Glacier Country, Montana Glacier Country is a tourism region of Northwestern Montana that covers eight counties To get to Glacier Country you can fly into Missoula or Glacier Airport in Kalispell,...
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212: Summer Travel Catch Up
Vacation Mavens
We are back from our summer travel and packed a whole lot into a one episode recap! We apologize in advance for some audio difficulties on this one, especially after taking so long to get it live. Thanks for hanging in there with us! On this episode we cover Tamara's summer trips to: Nantucket (read her ) New Brunswick, Canada (, , and ) Prince Edward Island, Canada () Sailing on the And Kim shares about her adventures: Mediterranean cruise on Costa Cruise Lines () Gorilla trekking in Uganda Alaskan cruise on Holland America Graduation trip to Disney World and Universal Orlando ()
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211: NYC to Bahamas Cruise
Vacation Mavens
We are still catching up about our spring break trips and this time Kim shares the ups and downs from a Norwegian Cruise Lines voyage from New York City to the Bahamas with stops in "Orlando" and Norwegian's private island. Listen in and see if you are ready to set sail. In NYC, Kim stayed in the Hyatt Centric in Times Square for 2 nights before her cruise. The hotel was part of the American Express Fine Hotels Collection and she was able to get a $200 statement credits on her Amex Platinum Card. The hotel has a good location, but slow elevators and the rooftop bar is not open to minors....
info_outlineWe have talked about the Big Apple before from a local's perspective and the borough of Brooklyn, but what do you do on your very first visit to NYC? Tamara and Kim talk with Claudia from The Travelling Mom to get her advice (and share their own) about what to do, where to stay, what tours to take, and where to eat for NYC first-time visitors.
ON THE PODCAST
00:30 - Talking with Kim and Tamara about NYC
03:14 - Talking with Claudia Laroye
06:15 - Planning your stay
10:30 - Traveling into and around the city
14:44 - Favorite hotels
19:12 - Must see attractions
24:40 - Tours
27:48 - Food locations
32:30 - Broadway tickets
37:12 - Final tips
37:45 - Claudia’s favorite travel gear
38:50 - Coming up next for Claudia
ABOUT CLAUDIA LAROYE
Claudia Laroye is a travel writer and editor living in Vancouver Canada. She is the founder of The Travelling Mom, editor of Twist Travel Magazine and writes freelance articles for print publications around the world.
Follow Claudia Laroye on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
TIPS FOR VISITING NYC
- When you are planning to visit New York City you must think about how long you want to spend there. There is so much to see, even locals probably haven’t seen it all! Whatever you plan on doing, try not to over book yourself. Give yourself time to just walk around not rush from one location to the next so that you can fit it all in.
- Try to only choose five to ten activities if you plan on spending a long weekend. This is more than enough to fill your time. You should also plan on using the subway system, it can really help you get places without traffic or tiring yourself out walking to the other side of the city.
- Make sure to wear good comfortable shoes. You will be logging a lot of steps on your days in the city.
- Depending on what you plan on visiting in the city you should really look into getting a CityPASS. This might just save you some money on your visit. It can also save you some time too as the CityPASS allows you to skip the line at some attractions like the Statue of Liberty.
- Depending on which airport you are flying into, you can catch a train into Penn Station. You should keep in mind though that depending on the time of your flight and when you will be getting on a train, these are commuter trains so during rush hour they will be very packed and may have standing room only.
- Depending on the time of year you plan on visiting, hotel stays can get pretty pricey. January is usually pretty cost effective in terms of hotel prices. You should also keep in mind that rooms in NYC are usually compact. With that in mind you can figure out the best options for you and your family.
- The Best Western Plus Hospitality House is a really great place for families to stay. The location is great, plus they have some areas inside that offer great space to hang with the family. The rooms offer ensuite kitchens that you can stock up on food and snacks, that is great for late night and early morning hunger.
- These are must see locations for first time visitors to the Big Apple.
- Empire State Building - this is a very iconic place to visit and the views from there are just stunning.
- Time Square - it is free and a great place to walk around both during the day and night.
- Walking The High Line
- Walking through Central Park
- See a Broadway show
- Visiting some museums
- The MoMA
- The Natural History Museum
- The Guggenheim
- The Metropolitan Museum
- Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
- For those that really love art there are some other smaller museums around the city.
- 9/11 Memorial
- Statue of Liberty
- Rockefeller Center - with the skating rink in the winter months
- If you want a great introduction of the neighborhoods in NYC, the hop-on and hop-off tours are great for first time visitors. But other than that, depending on what your interests are there are tours for almost everything.
- If you really want to see a Broadway show when you are visiting you should look into booking through the theaters ahead of time. If you are not sure if you want to go or can afford it, try the TodayTix app/website.
FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR
Claudia made sure to wear really great walking shoes/boots to NYC and likes pairing them with her black Athletaleggings and her Lululemon wraps and sweaters.
MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST
Episode 150 - Things to do in Brooklyn
Tips for Visiting NYC for First Timers - The Travelling Mom
BareBurger - offers vegan options
FOLLOW US AND SPREAD THE WORD!
If you liked this show, please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play and leave us a review! Have a question or comment? Send us an email at [email protected]. You can also follow our travels on Stuffed Suitcase and We3Travel, or follow the Vacation Mavens on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Thanks for listening!