Hello Reader,

🧭 Where in the World?

We are currently in the world of the FIFA World Cup, among fans from around the world who are enjoying great play and incredible stories from both famous and unknown football (soccer) teams and players. Besides the thrilling games which have filled our calendar the last couple weeks, it's been genuinely heartening to watch stadiums full of fans from around the world having a great time here — and reminding us that whatever the headlines say, people generally like each other just fine...despite political interference. What will we do when the World Cup matches are over? For sure, we are planning to attend games in person when the World Cup returns to Spain and Portugal in 2030. We did attend games in Spain the last time it was there in 1982.

🧳 Our Latest Posts

We've recently updated two of our key Travel Tips posts: How to Get Global Entry — And Why Every Frequent Traveler Should, and Best Way to Exchange Currency When Traveling (And the Mistakes That Cost Hundreds). Check them out and find out how you can get Global Entry for free, and how you can save hundreds of dollars in foreign exchange fees when you travel abroad.

Curious what a small-ship Alaska cruise is really like? We’ve now gathered all the details you might want when considering a small ship cruise through the Inner Passage. We answer your questions about what we loved, what surprised us, and what you should know before booking with American Cruise Lines.

🛫 Get Going: Tours We Recommend For You

We know many of you are looking into travel to Italy later this year. Happy to announce we’re headed to Sicily in October, with our friends at Elective Study Abroad. Undoubtedly, we’ll be enlightened by studying Palermo and the Evolution of the City, and undoubtedly, we’ll match that with fun over regional food and wine. Sound interesting?

Just two spots remain, so enroll today and use the code TP502026 to save $250.

🗞️ Travel News From Around the Web

• We always like these photo collection posts, especially when there's a reason (250 years of the U.S.) and, better, some very high-quality photos both from a long time back and very recent. Here's The Guardian's compilation of iconic American photos, including some from some of our all-time favorite photographers such as Robert Capa, Robert Frank, Dorothea Lange, and Margaret Bourke-White. Some are joyous, others, like the one from our hometown of Minneapolis, are very hard to look at.
• Have you ever been stuck in an airplane sitting on the tarmac for hours? We have. According to all indications, being stuck for hours is about to become a more frequent occurrence. Why don't they let you off, you ask? Unfortunately, you won't be surprised at the answer. Hint: money.
• We've certainly noticed that prices for accommodations have been rising, especially in Europe. Here's one of the reasons why, as local governments are restricting the AirBnB-style rentals that have driven up housing costs for locals. As the article points out, tourism restrictions are more politically palatable than tariffs.
• Since the United Kingdom instituted its Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) requirement early last year, one of the most prominent scams on the internet is the "brokers" who have cropped up to "handle" your ETA application, often charging hundreds more than the actual fee of £20. Be careful when you Google ETA, because you'll get about a dozen of those broker sites before you see the actual site. Be careful to only use the actual UK Government's ETA site, or you'll pay the price. In case you're wondering if it's harder to use the government site, it's not. We did it in about 5 minutes, and the approval arrived very quickly.

To keep this newsletter free we partner with sponsors like 1440, a free daily newsletter that provides unbiased news (that Tom actually reads most days.) Check it out, if only for a quick summary of today's news.

💸 This Week's Best Deals in Travel

• We recommend Thrifty Traveler's newsletter frequently here. We've found that it's just the best for finding the best airfares in both dollars and points. For example, a few days ago, we were notified of dozens of destinations in Europe that were on sale for less that $500 round trip. Recently, we took advantage of a deal we heard about from Thrifty Traveler, and booked flights to Spain for the equivalent of $500 in points. And, if you subscribe via our link, you get an automatic $20 off the normal $129 fee. If you don't like it, there's also a 100-day money back guarantee. That's hard to beat.

✈️ Points and Miles News

• Our favorite travel credit card, Chase Sapphire Preferred, has an enhanced sign on bonus going right now of 100,000 bonus points when you spend $5000 in the first three months after getting the card. There's a $95 annual fee for the card, but you'll more than make that back with annual $100 hotel credit...and, of course, the points. It's our most used card, and we recently paid for our nice hotel in for a few days in Madrid with its points.

📖 What We're Reading

We've both been football – soccer to us Americans – fans since we first visited Spain in 1975. So we've pretty much been glued to the World Cup since it started a month ago. So far, the tournament has more than its fair share of controversy, a lot of it related to VAR (Video Assistant Referee.) Tom was a soccer referee for years and recently went back to his favorite soccer book, For the Good of the Game, written by two FIFA level referees. On the surface, it's about how to handle a match, but by extension it's a really good book about how to think about life.

Kris is reading Patti Smith’s memoir, Bread of Angels, the story of a child born to be an artist.

Find most of our recommendations at our Amazon book shop — or, if you prefer supporting independent booksellers, Bookshop.org is excellent. Art book lovers: Taschen's catalog is a rabbit hole worth falling into.

❝Travel Quote of the Week❞

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. ― John Muir

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Happy travels,

Kris and Tom

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

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