2026 plans and destinations?
Where are some places y'all are looking to be this year? For our fam of four, heading back to Japan is top of the list, and we're kicking around some Baltic and Central Europe too.
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That sounds amazing! I’m not quite FI yet, so trying to focus on planning travel around the seasons of life and trying mini-adventures that mirror potential larger post-FI adventures. One of the items on the big bucket list is a cross country national park trip, so this year we’re going to try a mini version and head from southern New England to Mammoth Cave, New River Gorge, and Shenandoah.
Building out the trips that work for where you are now is exactly what matters!
You're going to have such a great time. I haven't been to Mammoth Cave yet. Are you planning to go rafting in New River Gorge? Our kids were 8 and 11 at the time, and it was their first whitewater rafting trip. We had a brilliant time.
Shenandoah is so stunning. Around the center of the park near Big Meadows, the Harry F. Byrd Sr. Visitor Center typically has a lot of activities going, including ones for kids (and it's where you can get park stamps, Junior Ranger books, etc.). Really good spot to stop in, check out park exhibits, and get suggestions on where to go.
Thanks for the feedback! We’re still in the planning stages, but are definitely planning on a rafting trip. From what we’ve looked at so far, we certainly won’t be bored!
How's the planning coming along?
I'm headed to Costa Rica next week and then this summer a river cruise on the Danube. Several years ago I made a commitment to myself to travel once a year. For the past few years it's happily turned into twice a year. My intention is to eventually slow travel and have extended stays, but for now while I'm still working and have pets at home, I'm keeping it to under two weeks at a time.
That's such a great goal, and it sounds like you've figured out some good pacing that works for where you are. The Danube river cruise sounds amazing. My wife and I travel everywhere with our tween and teen, but she and I are definitely noting river cruises as a likely activity for us once it's just us.
We keep pondering Costa Rica, but the timing hasn't been right yet. And we keep wanting to spend more time in Japan. Would love to hear more of how CR goes!
We(family of 3) are planning:
- 3 weeks in Korea and Japan in May
- 7 weeks of traveling across the US + Canada. Yellowstone, Oregon Coast, Vancouver Island. July & August.
- 2 weeks in Europe with 4 days on a Christmas Market Cruise. December
- Lots of local camping
This sounds amazing! Korea we still need to get to. The Christmas Market Cruise sounds really cool. Oregon Coast and Japan are faves for us, message me if you want to swap tips.
We'll be in Japan in May as well, Osaka area April–June.
That is amazing. Well if you are around May 8-11 and want to go for a beer/park we would love to hear about your adventure.
Heck. Yes. Would love to.
My entire family is going to the Canary Islands for a week in February/March, and in the summer I plan to travel a week+ by myself to Germany to attend DrachenFest. I'm far from FI, but enjoying life along the way.
Brilliant! To my mind, it's so important to enjoy along the FI journey. Then we already know what we want to do when we reach FI.
Currently debating Austria or Switzerland for mid or late April!
Have you settled the Austria v Switzerland debate?
3 weeks traveling around France in mid-April/May! It's our longest trip and the furthest from home. Super excited...
We start in Paris, then Bordeaux, Nice via Montpelier, Lyon, Dijon and back to Paris. We plan on doing lots of wine tours, museums, and putzing around the cities. Any hot tips appreciated!
That sounds like a brilliant trip! Have not been to France yet. Lyon is on our minds the most for food. I don't have specific recommendations, but if you haven't already, I want to say Rick Steves has some really good podcast segments and episodes around most if not all of those areas.
We just completed some big firming-up on our plans. Will be in Osaka April, May, & June, then in Helsinki for July. August we're still deciding, likely some faster travel through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, maybe part of Poland. Aiming to be in the US for part of August and all of September. In October we're cruising from LA to Yokohama, planning for October, November, and December to be back in Osaka.
We are spending January and February in Chile, March in Brazil then cruising the Amazon back to our car in Miami. We tentatively plan to rent a house in Ajijic Mexico for the rest of the year with monthly trips within Mexico and to the US in June for a wedding.
Wow, we've been to Oaxaca, but I hadn't been familiar with Aijijic. How's the lake area around there?
Lake is OK. It has some pollution and lots of sunken barbed wire fences from when it was very low so no swimming. You do see fishing boats and some kayaking.
We like the expat community and the proximity to the Guadalajara airport/costco
Saw on the news about the wildfires in Chile, has that been affecting you?
Thanks for thinking of us. We are very far south of the fires and thankfully flying back to Santiago from Puerto Montt in late February.
It's spectacular here. Highly recommend.
Glad you're doing ok! And thanks for the recommendation, Chile is a place we are definitely interested in.