Hello Reader,

🧭 Where in the World?

Greetings. This is our first email of 2026. While we’re still emerging from the holidays and looking to the new year, we want to thank you for subscribing to this newsletter and for following Travel Past 50 – our blog, our Facebook page and community, and on Instagram. Most of all we appreciate your comments and questions, whether they are about our posts or about your own travel plans. Thanks for continuing to read and reach out to us.

🗞️ Travel News From Around the Web

• One of our best travel discoveries lately is the establishment of Touchless ID for TSA Pre approved flyers. Tom just used it to fly to and from Las Vegas and the process is significantly quicker, and the lines significantly shorter, to get through airport security. If you have a US passport, you can register with your airline account. Check it out.
• The New York Times has just released their 52 Places to Go in 2026 picks. This annual list always has some great suggestions, including one we particularly liked Number 21, Sorolla's Spain. Joaquin Sorolla was a Spanish Impressionist painter, and we just visited a large exhibit of his works in his hometown of Valencia. Also on the list was one of the real gems of Italy, Assisi, the home of Saint Francis, and the amazing basilica dedicated to him painted by the best of the Italian early Renaissance painters.
• And, not to be outdone, Conde Nast Traveler has an article on where you should travel in 2026 according to your Zodiac sign. According to our signs, we should be visiting Minas Gerais in Brazil (also one of the Times' picks at #24) and Chilean Patagonia. Oddly, both of those spots are (sort of) in our plans this year. Maybe we should start taking our horoscopes more seriously.

💸 This Week's Best Deals in Travel

• Free virtual trip-planning event. The 2026 DIY Trip Summit, all about planning your unique independent travel to Europe, will be held January 13-15. With over 30 speakers, you are sure to find some topics of interest – and you can watch at your leisure any time during the Summit. Speakers provide bonus content you can download, like Travel Past 50’s travel resource list and booking tips! Don’t miss Kris’s presentation on January 13. Claim your FREE ticket now for this 3-day, online event, January 13-15, 2026. DIY Trip Summit: Europe Beyond the Crowds. NOTE: Upgrade to a First Class Pass if you’d like extended time to watch the presentations and access to valuable bonus packages. (Travel Past 50 is offering limited travel consultation to pass holders, for example.) Early bird pricing through January 12.
• REI membership bonus. Join once for $30 to get lifetime benefits and a $30 bonus card when you make a $50 purchase by March 12, 2026.
• Our new go-to travel charger/adapter. Tom had dinner and some very pleasant conversation at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week with the very interesting people from Tessan, who make about every type of charger and travel adapter you can think of – both for your home and for the road. He picked up Tessan's new 65-watt travel adapter, which is much smaller, lighter, better constructed, and less expensive than the old one we've been carrying. Check it out for yourself, as well as their other products for home and away.

🧳 Our Latest Posts

• We didn’t send greeting cards (again) this year, but we did assemble a new post we are excited to share: Road Trips in Spain: Best Regional Routes. We think you’ll like the photos there more than grandkid photos, and the post has good practical information about renting a car and driving in Spain (most of which applies all over Europe). The real fun of the post, though, is in the ideas for seven regional road trip itineraries. If you think you know Spain, hop in a car and discover villages, coastlines, and mountains a world apart from the major cities.
• We’ve refreshed our 2019 post about a Mekong River Cruise. What struck us as we reviewed the story (based on travel in 2019) were the many conversations we had with local people and their willingness to talk about the changing Delta region. Notable was the refrain: “Vietnam is not a war, it’s a country.” Enjoy the read.**

🛫 Get Going: Tours We Recommend For You

• South America February 21-Mar 3. We’re gearing up! Join us for wine, tango, brief tours, and relaxation with small group of independent travelers. This will be Tom’s and my first visit to Santiago since we lived there in 2011. Find the South America Wine and Culture itinerary here. Email Kristin@TravelPast50.com for booking details, subject line South America Tour.
• Sligo, Ireland, October 2-9, 2026. We’ve had so much great feedback about this trip with Ireland in Focus, we’re certain it will sell out again. Meet the artisans, enjoy staying in a 17^th Century manor home, and feel the personal connections to this magical and historic county in northwest Ireland. Save $300 per person using code TP50. You can read more about our trip to Sligo here, and listen to Kris talk about it with Travel Writers' Radio.
• ​Elective Study Abroad: Istanbul, November 1-8, 2026 Dive deep into your destination with intriguing coursework and casual excursions while luxuriating in wonderful accommodations for the week. Adult study abroad is a great way to launch your next travel to Europe. Join us for an Elective program in Istanbul, or book the course that suits your interests. Save $250 per person using code TP50. Read about our course with Elective Study Abroad in Montpellier, France.
• New Travel Past 50 Tour to Spain. Plans are afoot for our next custom tour to Spain, dates in October-November 2026 and itinerary to be determined. Are you interested? Send us a note and we’ll be in touch.

📖 What We're Reading

Tom has just finished Heartwood by Amity Gaige, an engaging story of a woman who gets lost while hiking the Appalachian Trail in Maine and the back stories of the two women who form an unlikely partnership to find her.

Kris finished reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics, well worth wading through the protagonist’s penchant for bibliographic details to unravel the crime with her and hear her hysterical high school valedictory speech. (Cervantes comes to mind.) She's currently reading George and Martha, The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends, by James Marshall to our granddaughter, and The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff.

You can see most of the books we recommend in one place at our Amazon book shop. If you'd prefer an alternative to Amazon, there is Alibris.com, where we frequently buy used books, and Bookshop.org, which supports independent booksellers. And, if you're into art books, like we are, check out the catalog at Taschen, the world's foremost publisher of art books.

If you buy a book through our links, we make a small commission at no additional cost to you.

❝Travel Quote of the Week❞

There are flowers everywhere for those who want to see them. – Henri Matisse

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Happy travels,

Kris and Tom

P.S. What more can we do for you? Reply to this newsletter and ask us anything.

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

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