This issue of our newsletter brought to you by the DIY Trip Summit​

Hello Reader,

Whoa, everyone!

It’s the last week of the year and we can’t help trying to make sense of it all. The lull between Christmas and New Year’s Day is perfect for a look back at our travels.

Simultaneously, we’re rallying for the new year, shaping plans loosely into the spring and fall so we’ll be home while family visits in the summer.

🧭 Where in the World?

Imagine our surprise when we saw our travel totals fed to us by TripIt, the app we use to track all our travel details, especially flights and hotels. Here are the totals for 2024:

Kris traveled 49,995 miles over 124 days. She took eight trips visiting 14 countries and 57 cities.

Tom traveled 52, 515 miles over 135 travel days. He took nine trips visiting 14 countries and 42 cities.

This info is as good as our data entry (which is easy; we just forward reservation confirmation emails to plans@Tripit.com.) Of note:

• Our TripIt travel year includes a couple short road trips. Driving mileage isn’t included above.
• Mileage doesn’t include all of our train travel because we were using the dedicated Rail Planner app for our Eurail travels in Europe this fall. (Check out our Eurail story below.)
• Here’s proof the two of us don’t always travel together. (Tom took two domestic trips and a jaunt to Amsterdam without me. I traveled to Menorca and Mallorca, Spain, without him.)
• In all, these travels took us to five continents! One the highlights for us this year was our first visit to Antarctica. (Thinking about it? Read our post about Antarctica.)
• By extension, you’ll see we stayed in around 50 hotels! Next week we’ll reveal the winners of our annual All Over the Map Hotel Awards.

✈️ Travel With Us

• There are only 3 spots left on our tour to Sligo, Ireland, with Ireland In Focus, October 17-24, 2025. And they're still offering a discount of $300 if you use the code "TP50" at checkout. Don't miss this distinctive deep dive into a small corner of Ireland. As a bonus, you'll get expert photo instruction from our host Ciaran McHugh and Tom.
• Watch here, too, for the announcement coming early January of our tour to Sweden and Norway in September.
• You can also "travel with Kris" – or at least cover all the planning aspects of travel to Europe – by registering for the free webinar, the DIY Trip Summit, January 7 - 9. Registrants will get links to daily sessions, available to view for 48 hours, and have access to live panels of experts answering your questions. Kris's session is "Packing Light for Europe" but she'll be tuning in to hear other experts cover trip planning, money-saving tips, and advice for savvy and safe travels. Register now to receive details, and then tune in for all or any parts that interest you from January 7-9.

🧳 Our Latest Posts

Traveling Europe with a Eurail Pass is alive and well. We just completed a fun, almost two-month tour by train of seven European countries. While we haven’t yet updated our travel notes from those destinations, we have written an all-new post about traveling Europe by train: Tips for Train Travel in Europe with a Eurail Pass.

For the new year, we’ve also updated our ‘round-up’ post about the Best Accessories for Every Kind of Travel. It makes a great checklist for your packing preparations, including electronic items, recommended packs, and accessories to keep you comfortable and healthy en route.

🗞️ Travel News From Around the Web

• Here's a discussion of the Safest Places to Travel in 2025, along with various definitions of safety.
• And, here are a lot of good tips on how to avoid pickpockets and street scams while you're traveling.

💸 This Week's Best Deals in Travel

​Apple AirTags are still on sale at Amazon. If you ever check bags, and you're not using these, you're taking a big chance. BTW, several US airlines are now incorporating the Apple AirTag technology into their lost bag systems.

📖 What We're Reading

Kris is deep into the multi-layered The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood.

Tom is working on book 2 of Elena Ferrante's Naples Trilogy – following My Brilliant Friend with The Story of a New Name. At the same time, he's also reading The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao, the Pulitzer Prize winner from Junot Diaz. All are brilliant personal novels of growing up in a world far different from the usual.

For our previous book recommendations, check out this list.

❝Travel Quote of the Week❞

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. – Mark Twain

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Happy travels and Happy New Year,

Kris and Tom

​ Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning ​Travel Past 50​ ​ Connect with us: Facebook, Threads, Instagram, ​ Join our Facebook community.

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