2024, Won't See You No More: Closing the Door on a Year Loaded With Travel Galore

Stop me right now if you’ve heard this before, but, hand to god(s), we had another major, major year here on the blog, shattering records all over the place. I mean, are you ready for these percentages? I don’t know if you are. I think you’re gonna have to convince me. “Uhh, how the heck am I gonna do that?” you ask, staring blankly at your phone/tablet/laptop screen as you read these words. Well, it’s simple, Fred: all you have to do is read the following quotation about the subject that’s brought us all here, that lovely, glorious, worldview-expanding, cranium-opening, beautiful, wondrous, amorphous, multi-adjective-inducing thing — travel!

General TravelLogan T. HansenJanuary 8, 2025travel, travel guide, travel guidance, travel advice, travel blog, travel blogging, travelogue, travel diary, travel writing, travel recommendations, travel reviews, travel tips, travel ideas, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel planning, travel photography, travel appreciation, travel junkie, travel logistics, travel bucket list, year in review, year-in-review, happy new year, All Things Wanderful, Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations, No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach, Travel Channel, Sally Field, northernmost point, Minnesota, Northwest Angle, Ireland, England, Cork, Galway, Dublin, London, Europe, European vacation, Eurotrip, Euro trip, United Kingdom, Africa, cheap flights, find cheap flights, airports, Arizona, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Dodge Challenger, Sleepy Hollow, New York, Hudson Valley, Hudson River, Headless Horseman, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Mitten State, The Mitten State of Mind, Michigan, Michigan travel, Oklahoma, Flint Hills, Kansas, Route 66, Historic Route 66, U.S. Route 66, Hoover Dam, Clark Griswold, Wally World, South Rim, Grand Canyon South Rim, Google Maps, Google, Lake Mead, Mount Rainier, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, Washington State, Crystal Mountain, Crystal Mountain Resort, Mount Olympus, North America, gondola, gondola rides, Iceland, Israel, Jordan, Longmoore Street, Westminster, Airbnb, Blarney Stone, Blarney Castle, Blarney Castle & Gardens, Wicklow Mountains, RMS Titanic, Titanic, Ed Sheeran, Merlin Castle, Chicago Bulls, Limerick, sheela na gig, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Nancy Hands, Nancy Hands Bar & Restaurant, Guinness, Guinness beer, Guinness Storehouse, Hex Girls, Sphynx Tattoo, beach volleyball, volleyball, Chicago, North Avenue Beach, Windy City, Oak Street Beach, Oak Street, beach, beach life, beach day, beaches, Lake Michigan, Barcelona, Barcelona El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport, Dublin AirportComment

The New York Times' 52 Places to Love in 2021: Unusual Times Call for Unusual Bucket Lists

The year from hell that was 2020 may be over, but 2021 doesn’t really feel all that different just yet. The world is still attempting to come back from the brink and fight off this accursed virus, businesses and families are still out here struggling financially due to restrictions designed to keep people safe, and many industries are still flailing about with all the uncertainty that remains.

General TravelLogan T. HansenJanuary 12, 2021travel, travel advice, travel guide, travelspiration, travel inspiration, The New York Times, 52 Places to Go in 2021, 52 Places, 52 Places to Love in 2021, travel recommendations, bucket list, travel bucket list, U.S. Travel Association, 52 Places to Love, Amy Virshup, Isfahan, Iran, Imam Square, Let's Go Iran, Grand Bazaar, Texas, Neeknaz Abari, Andros, Greece, New Jersey, Maria Dal Pan, Greeka, Athens, Santa Rosa, California, Lonely Planet, Luther Burbank Home & Gardens, Charles M Schulz Museum, Ria D'Aversa, Beirut, Lebanon, Middle East, Europe, Travel + Leisure, Soul el Tayeb, farmers market, St. George's Cathedral, Sahel Alma, Carolinne Griffin, Vermont, Aruba, Caribbean, Elise Thompson, San Nicolas, Arikok National Park, diving, scuba diving, shipwreck, shipwreck hunters, shipwreck hunting, Con Dao, Vietnam, Thang Dac Luong, Sydney, Australia, Ngo Dinh Diem, vietnam.travel, South Vietnam, Siwa Oasis, Egypt, Great Sand Sea, Fortress of Shali, Shali Fortress, Gebel Al Mawta, Mountain of the Dead, Wikipedia, Dakar, Senegal, Faridah Folawiyo, nightlife, Ladakh, India, Rough Guides, Jody Greene, Buddhism, Buddhist temple, Wadi Rum, wilderness, Mother Nature, Hashem Sabbagh, Jordan, Aqaba, Kyrgyzstan, Jyrgalan, Emil Ibakov, Bangalore, Yogesh Mokashi, Gates of the Arctic, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Anaktuvuk Pass, Bree Kessler, Alaska, travel appreciationComment

Star Wars Filming Locations That Should Be On Every Fan’s List

While George Lucas and J.J. Abrams would have you believe that “Stars Wars” takes place in a galaxy far, far away, the rest of us know that the movies were filmed, for the most part, in real locations all around the globe (and otherwise on green screens). From the Redwood forests of California to the arid deserts of Jordan, the creators of the film franchise have made use of many destinations to create the various planets and moons that fans have witnessed over the years.

General TravelLogan T. HansenMay 4, 2019travel, travel guide, travel advice, travelspiration, travel inspiration, Star Wars, May the Fourth, Star Wars Day, Finse, Norway, George Lucas, JJ Abrams, J.J. Abrams, a galaxy far far away, California, Jordan, redwood forest, Skellig Michael, Ireland, Ahch-To, A New Hope, The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, The Force Awakens, Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, lightsaber, Gaelic Christian, monastery, Jedi, Tunisia, Ajim, Naftah, Mos Espa, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Djerba, Chott el Djerid, salt lake, Trip Savvy, Skelling Michael Cruises, Krafla, Iceland, Eadu, Rogue One, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: Rogue One, starwars.com, volcano, Outer Rim, Rebel Alliance, Death Star, Hardangerjokulen Glacier, Hoth, Tatooine, wampa, tauntauns, Echo Base, Bergen, Lonely Planet, Thailand, Phang Nga Bay, Phuket, Kashyyyk, Chewbacca, wookies, Peter Mayhew, Revenge of the Sith, The Empire Strikes Back, Lake Finsevatnet, phuket.com, droids, the droids you are looking for, may the force be with youComment

Ready to Give the Middle East a Chance? 5 Destinations Worth Scouting Out

There are 17 countries (including the partially-recognized state of Palestine) that are typically categorized as part of the Middle East, and while some areas are dangerous for travelers, there are also many, many places that would be worthy of any travel bucket list.

Middle EastLogan T. HansenApril 18, 2019travel, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel guide, travel advice, Middle East, wanderlust, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Unsplash, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Petra, Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock, Garden of Gethsemane, Western Wall, Wailing Wall, Holy Land, holy sites, Bahrain, bazaars, desert, deserts, Yemen, Gaza Strip, West Bank, civil unrest, Luxor, Egypt, Thebes, Africa, North Africa, Nile River, River Nile, Karnak, West Bank Necropolis, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, ancient ruins, A Couple Ventures, ancient city, wonders of the world, 7 Modern Wonders of the World, Al Khazneh, The Treasury, The Monastery, Nabataeans, nomadic people, Nomadic Matt, Wanderlust Chloe, Salalah, Oman, monsoon, monsoon season, Saudi Arabia, khareef season, Fodor's Travel, Arabian Sea, Dubai, Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world, skyscraper, shopping festival, shopping, marketplace, The Shuk, open-air market, bucket list, travel bucket list, itraveljerusalem.com, Old CityComment

Love Traveling and Writing? Here's How You Could Win a 14-Day Trip to Portugal

Continuing its yearly tradition of offering travel writing scholarships to fledgling writers, World Nomads, an international travel insurance and safety services provider, is looking to send three aspiring travel writers to Portugal this summer.

7 Places I've Been That I Couldn't Have Imagined Traveling to a Decade Ago

I have experienced a number of twists and turns during my 24 years on this earth so far, and many of those twists and turns have been pleasantly unanticipated. Many of them have also involved me traveling to destinations far and wide that I truly could not have imagined myself journeying to a decade ago — heck, even five years ago in some cases.

Aspiring Travel Writers: How Does a Free Two-Week Trip to Argentina Sound?

If you've ever dreamed of being paid to write about your travels — *ahem* like me — there is an opportunity out there right now that you might like to know about. World Nomads, an online travel community that got started in 2002, has been offering travel writing scholarships for a dozen years now, and this year they plan to send three aspiring travel writers on a 14-day trip to Argentina.

These Middle East Travel Experts Will Take You on a Discounted Tour of Israel

For 12 years, booking-tours.com has been helping travelers find their way when it comes to Israel, Jordan, and other Middle Eastern destinations — places I know a little something about, as longtime readers of this blog may recall

Wadi Rum: The Jordanian Desert That's Out of This World

Being serenaded in Arabic by a blind man playing the oud in a Jordanian desert was not a memory I ever suspected I’d make.

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