Flights & Fables

08/27/2026

Another amazing review from an amazing family and their New Zealand trip! So grateful for all the love!

08/23/2026

A lot of people think Travel Advisors are extinct, but actually, we’re thriving and showing our value to people who really want help with their travel.

AI can try, but humans still have the edge when it comes to booking holidays

08/21/2026

Just a little update for anyone interested in knowing more about Japan 2027 planning. Some of you have reached out this week after I talked about the cherry blossom hotel booking window, and I've already started drafting a couple itineraries for this.

If you're stuck on "maybe next year," that maybe could be the expensive part. The longer you wait, the harder to get you the trip you actually wanted is.

Are you ready to stop saying maybe?

08/19/2026

Hotels for the 2027 Japan Cherry Blossom season are already starting to sell out, and we're still in August. I know that sounds crazy, especially this far away. But it's the truth. Yes, there will be hotels available a few months from now, but they'll have no good views, or missing the amenities you were hoping for, or even just a really far walk to the closest train station. There's only so many rooms available in the prime viewing cities, and the people who know, are already reaching out to me to book them now.

Every year, around back to school, I get the same question, "Is it too early to start planning my trip next year?" And I always have the same answer, "Earlier is better." Now is the window to book that trip for next year that you've been thinking about. Especially if you want to make sure you get everything you want.

If Japan, and more specifically, cherry blossom season, is on your list for 2027, you need to reach out now. We're talking temples, Anime, Ryokan's with your own private onsen, the time is now to have that conversation with me, if we want to pull it off.

So, I'll ask you again, what's the one Iconic Japan experience you'd like me to build your whole trip around?

08/17/2026

I have a Japan travel planning question for those of you who follow me, if I was building your Japan trip for 2027, and it could only be around one thing, what would that be?

I'm only asking because I'm already booking a lot of Japan trips for cherry blossom season next spring, and honestly, it's a booking window that most of my clients don't find out about until it's too late.

So tell me, would you book around it around Anime? Food? Shopping? Temples? Cherry Blossoms? or Something else altogether?

08/14/2026

WETA Workshop in Wellington is not a museum, it is a working special effects studio, and that changes what you should expect from the tour. For most of the 90 minutes you are watching artists actually build props and costumes for real productions. You get close to real pieces from the films, including Sauron's armor, and you can absolutely take photos, you just can't touch anything, this is a working studio, not a touch exhibit. One detail people never expect: WETA Workshop keeps an Academy Award they won for their special effects work on display inside. If a Wellington stop like this is missing from your Middle-earth itinerary, that is exactly what I plan. Secure My Place in the Fellowship. Which would you want a photo with, Sauron's armor or the Oscar itself?

08/11/2026

Most people booking a Hobbiton tour don't realize there's a version built entirely around one of the best jokes in the books, second breakfast. The standard Signature Tour gives you 20 minutes at the Green Dragon Inn with a complimentary drink from the Hobbit Southfarthing range, two ales, a c***r, or a non-alcoholic ginger b**r, ID required if you want the alcohol.

The Second Breakfast Tour goes further, same walk through the movie set, then a full breakfast spread served inside a building behind the Green Dragon Inn itself. This is exactly the kind of detail I build into a Middle-earth itinerary, the difference between a photo stop and an actual meal inside the Shire.

What I really want you to know is that these specialty meals, like Second Breakfast, or the Evening Banquet are not available every day of the week, and sell out quickly. This is where working with me can be helpful.

Quick drink at the Green Dragon or the full second breakfast, which one are you picking?

08/07/2026

Game of Thrones news worth knowing, the new spin-off is reportedly filming scenes in Spain right now, which has the trade press expecting fresh interest in the Seville Alcazar, the real-world Water Gardens of Dorne, and the Dubrovnik King's Landing circuit. If you have been putting off a Game of Thrones filming locations trip, this is the moment those spots get busy again. One practical note if you are flying through Barcelona or Palma this month, ground crew strikes are active and disrupting flights, so check your status before you head to the airport. Which filming location is on your must-see list?

08/06/2026

New Zealand gave me one of my favorite behind-the-scenes stories as a travel advisor. A client once asked me to help him plan a proposal somewhere epic, so we built it around Tongariro, the same volcanic landscape that stood in for Mordor and Mount Doom on screen. I coordinated everything with him in secret so his partner never saw it coming, and she said yes with some of the most dramatic scenery in the world behind her. Moments like that are exactly why I do this job. If your next trip deserves a moment just as big, let's start planning it. What's the most epic setting you can picture for a milestone moment in your own life?

08/05/2026

Last week I spent a few days in Atlanta at WorldVia Travel Network's Brand Ambassador Summit, one of seven advisors elected to this role by our peers, out of a network of more than 6,000 travel advisors nationwide.

It doesn't change anything about how I plan your trip, but it does mean something bigger to me: the people who do this for a living, day in and day out, trust me enough to put me in that room and help shape what's next for our industry.

I sat with WorldVia's leadership team, traded ideas with six other advisors from across the country, and talked through what clients are actually asking for so we can build a stronger network around you.

Grateful for the trust, and already bringing what I learned straight back to your next quest.