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2016 was a great travel year. My wife and I were able to take a month long European holiday over all of July, visiting 6 countries and soaking in the history and culture. For this we paid a grand total of $350 for flights (fees and cheap intra-Europe RyanAir tickets). Out of 33 hotel nights, we paid for a grand total of 4. I even covered the bulk of our train travel with Arrival+ miles. It was by far our biggest travel hacking win to date.

We had a few other trips as well, including a winter vacation in Canada, a visit to family and friends in Colorado, and a quick jaunt to Portland, Oregon to surprise my in-laws. All of this made possible by miles and points. I am truly grateful that I fell into this hobby. It has allowed my wife and I to do and see so much for a fraction of what we would have paid. Actually, we wouldn’t have paid for most of it, so it is simply a blessing.

La Turbie, France

Hiking from Monaco to La Turbie, France was one of our favorite travel moments of 2016

As we march into 2017, there are three trips to which I am really looking forward:

  1. Long weekend in Vancouver – My wife and I are actually leaving today for a little New Year’s getaway in British Columbia. The trip is a Christmas gift to my wife, and she is ecstatic. We plan to enjoy the brilliant Christmas light display in Stanley Park, walk the Capilano suspension bridge, and possibly venture up to Squamish for the sea-to-sky gondola, if the weather is clear.
  2. A little trip down under – Not long after our trip to Vancouver, I will be headed to Australia for nearly a week. This was my first time redeeming miles for a premium cabin, so I am more than a little excited. I’ll be flying United Polaris first from San Francisco to Seoul on a 747 (even got seat 1A), and then in business class from Seoul to Sydney on an Asiana A380. With such a short time to visit (since I am forbidden to use my PTO by my wife….see #3), I’ll likely not see much more than Sydney. But I know it will still be a fantastic experience!!
  3. Costa Rica to adopt our children – This one will happen last, but it is by far the one to which we look forward most. My wife and I have been in the adoption process for just over 3 years, and our agency is very hopeful that we will be matched in the next couple months. Roughly six weeks after we get our referral, we will head to Costa Rica for 6-8 weeks to meet and bond with our children. With a whopping zero children currently, we know it’ll be quite an adventure. Our lives will be forever changed. And we cannot wait. 🙂 (PWAC: Please note this post is not written by me (Dan) – I think 6 kids is plenty thanks! 😀 )

I could throw a few more trip ideas on the list (as I always have plenty), but the unknown adoption timeline prevent us from planning much more than 2 months in advance.

How about you….where are you headed in 2017?


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