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_outlineWondering what is in store for the National Parks this summer? The Vacation Mavens chat with John Tillison, a former park ranger and publisher of the Park Ranger John website, to get his take on planning a visit to the National Parks in 2020 and what to expect. Plus we talk about virtual Junior Ranger programs that you can do at home.
ON THE PODCAST
00:30 - Sponsors - COMRAD Socks and Moon Travel Guides
00:56 - Talking with Kim and Tamara about summer plans
03:40 - Talking with John Tillison
04:30 - What is happening with National Parks right now
06:30 - What to expect this summer
11:55 - Junior Ranger Program
19:30 - Virtual Tours
23:05 - Parks to visit
29:55 - Where John wants to go first
30:35 - John’s Favorite Travel Gear
33:20 - Coming up next
ABOUT MOON TRAVEL GUIDES
This episode is sponsored by Moon Travel Guides.
What’s the best way to explore the world’s greatest cities like a local? On foot! Leave the tourist traps behind and discover local favorite spots in cities like Paris, Rome, New York, and Amsterdam with the City Walks series from Moon Travel Guides, which now includes a brand-new guide to Tokyo! As the pocket-sized companion to Moon Japan, Moon Tokyo Walks is the ultimate way to experience Tokyo’s infectious energy and futuristic charm at your own pace, without missing a beat. Visit moon.com or your favorite bookseller to grab your guide.
ABOUT COMRAD SOCKS
This episode is also sponsored by Comrad Socks. Comrad compression socks are an essential no serious traveler should board a flight without — at least on LA-NY or transoceanic segments — and makes a major difference in how your legs and feet feel during the flight, upon arrival, and the next day. Their aim is to make the best, most stylish, comfortable version of what’s traditionally been a boring but useful product—and that’s why travel customers that already know and wear compression are getting excited about. Receive 20% off your first using discount code VACATIONMAVENS.
ABOUT JOHN TILLISON
John was a Law Enforcement Park Ranger for 20 years before starting Park Ranger John. The goal of Park Ranger John is to share the things I learned while working and living in parks. I want our readers to have the best experiences possible in the parks they visit.
Follow John on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
TIPS FOR VISITING NATIONAL PARKS
- As the National parks start to open you may see different rules and regulations for each park depending on the crowds that they are getting. Some parks may only be available for scheduled visits rather than just showing up.
- Crowd control has always been a top priority for National Parks and you will see that this is still a fact as the parks are slowly re-opening. Make sure that you are contacting the right people to find out what each park is offering as they start to open up again, whether it is a visitors center or the local Park Rangers. Facebook and Twitter have been a really up to date source of information for what is going on for each of the parks.
- The Junior Ranger Programs are a really great source of learning for a bunch of different age groups. The way the program works is that you would find a ranger at a visitors center or contact station and ask about the program. They will give you a booklet and throughout the day you will go through the visitors center and learn some of the history of the park. Then you will go out into the park and do some activities. Once you do the worksheets in the booklet you will take it into the ranger and take a pledge and receive a Junior Ranger Badge. This is not something that you can do in five minutes. You will need to make sure that you are getting the booklet as soon as you get there if this is something that you want to do for your visit.
- You can also earn a Junior Ranger Badge virtually. Different parks are offering some other virtual learning tools right now that kids can take advantage of. Just visit John’s site for information on the Junior Ranger Programs so that you can learn at home.
- You can look up National Park webcams and just look around at different parks at home.
- The average National Park visits is about 3 - 4 hours, usually between the hours of 9am and 4pm. So if you want to visit at a less busy time you should keep that in mind when planning your visit. The first couple weeks of June or the very end of August also tend to be less crowded due to school openings and closings. Unfortunately that won't necessarily be the case for this year!
FAVORITE TRAVEL GEAR
John loves his Zamberlan boots because if his feet aren't happy he is not happy! He also likes to wear layers because it is easy to dress up or down, and clothes that dry quickly.
MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST
2019 Least Visited National Parks
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!