A Simple Life Travel LLC

10/19/2026

💰 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧...

I've talked before about why the cheapest vacation isn't always the best vacation.

But there's another side to that idea that I think is just as important:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Sometimes spending a little more for a hotel in a better location can save you hours of transportation and frustration.

Sometimes a private transfer is worth every penny because you don't have to figure out how to get from the airport to your hotel after an 8-hour flight.

Sometimes that slightly more expensive cruise cabin gives you a location you'll enjoy much more.

And sometimes the cheapest flight has the worst schedule.

I'm all for saving money. Who isn't?

But there's a difference between 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 and 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞.

When I'm helping someone plan a trip, I look at the entire experience—not just the lowest price.

Because the goal isn't to take the cheapest vacation possible.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

What's something you've paid a little more for on a trip that was absolutely worth it?

10/16/2026

🚢 "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?"

I get asked versions of this question all the time:

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?"

My answer is usually:

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨?"

😂

Because the "best" excursion doesn't exist.

The history buff may want the guided city tour.

The foodie may want a cooking class.

The w**e lover may want a w**ery.

Someone else may want to get off the ship, find a quiet beach and do absolutely nothing.

And that's perfectly fine.

I think excursions should be chosen based on 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲, not what everyone else says you should do.

One of the things I do when helping clients plan a trip is match the experience to the traveler.

Because you don't need to come home saying:

"Wow, we saw everything."

You want to come home saying:

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨."

10/13/2026

🗓️ 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐞 𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Here's a travel planning mistake that's incredibly easy to make:

𝑻𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑.

I get it.

You're spending money to travel somewhere, so you want to see everything.

But if you're spending two weeks traveling around Europe, don't schedule a major tour, a train, a flight and a fancy dinner every single day.

Things happen.

A museum takes longer than expected.

You discover a neighborhood you want to explore.

Your train is delayed.

You find a restaurant you absolutely have to try.

Or maybe you're just tired and want to sit down with a glass of w**e.

Your vacation shouldn't feel like a military operation.

I've always believed in having a good plan—but leaving enough room to actually enjoy it.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲.

Many of my favorite travel memories weren't on the original itinerary.

10/10/2026

📱 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝟓 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬... 𝐃𝐨 𝐈𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐩

Here's a simple travel tip that can save you a lot of headaches:

Before you leave home, take photos of your:

📄 Passport
📄 Driver's license
📄 Travel insurance information
📄 Important travel documents
📄 Credit/debit cards and the phone numbers to report them

Keep the information somewhere 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 on your phone, and if possible, have a backup.

Consider using a neck or waist pouch to keep a backup credit card, some cash, and an ID separate from your wallet or purse. If your wallet is ever lost or stolen, you’ll still have the essentials with you.

Hopefully you'll never need to enjoy the benefits of this tip.

But if your wallet disappears in the middle of a trip, or you lose your passport, you'll be very happy you spent five minutes preparing for the possibility.

Travel is supposed to be about making memories.

𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭. 😂

Save this one before your next trip.

10/09/2026

The Best Cruise Isn’t Always the Cheapest: 5 Things to Consider Before You Book

Looking for your next cruise? Before you book the lowest-priced sailing you find, take a few minutes to look at the whole vacation. A great cruise isn't just about the price of the cabin. It's about the ship, the destinations, the experiences, and how well the trip fits what you want from your time away. After more than 30 cruises, I've learned that two cruises with similar prices can deliver very different experiences....

Looking for your next cruise? Before you book the lowest-priced sailing you find, take a few minutes to look at the whole vacation. A great cruise isn’t just about the price of the cabin. It&…

10/08/2026

🌴 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄?

I've spent a lot of time in both.

And if you've never done a European cruise, here's the biggest difference I've noticed:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞.

A Caribbean port might look like:

🏖️ Beach
🍹 Lunch
🌴 Shopping
😎 Back to the ship

A European port might look like:

🏛️ Ancient ruins
🚆 Train ride
⛪ Cathedral
🍷 W**e tasting
🥘 Lunch
👟 15,000 steps
😂 "Wait...we have to walk HOW far back to the ship?"

I've visited 29 European cruise ports, including Rome, Naples, Livorno, Cannes, Palma de Mallorca, Lisbon, Dublin, Galway, Belfast, Cádiz and more.

And I love European cruising.

But it's important to know what you're signing up for.

European cruising can be an incredible way to see a lot of history and culture—but it usually requires more planning and more energy.

Caribbean cruising?

A little easier to slow down.

Neither is better.

They're just different.

So let me settle this very important question:

👇 If you could take ONE cruise tomorrow, would you choose Caribbean 🌴 or Europe 🇪🇺?

10/06/2026

🤔 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥, 𝐀𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧...

Here's a question I wish more people asked before booking a vacation:

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞?"

Not:

"What's the cheapest hotel?"

Not:

"What's the cheapest flight?"

Not:

"What's the cheapest cruise?"

Start with the experience.

Do you want to relax?

Explore?

Eat?

Drink w**e?

See historic sites?

Spend time with family?

Be pampered?

Go somewhere you've never been?

Once you know what you want the vacation to feel like, 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍 you can start figuring out the logistics.

That's one of the things I enjoy most about planning travel.

The fun part isn't just finding a hotel or cruise.

It's putting all the pieces together so the trip actually feels like 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

So I'm curious...

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞?

10/04/2026

👟 𝟒𝟕 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫... 𝐈 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥

Apparently, I still have a little walking left in me. 😂

On my recent London and Paris trip, we walked about 𝟒𝟕 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬.

And yes, there were times my feet reminded me that I am not 25 (or even 45) anymore.

But that trip also reminded me why I love travel so much.

You can read about a place.

You can look at pictures.

You can watch videos.

But there is nothing quite like standing there yourself.

Walking across a bridge you've seen a hundred times in pictures.

Sitting in a little café.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time.

Getting slightly lost and discovering something you weren't looking for.

Those are the things you remember.

That's also why I believe firsthand travel experience matters when you're planning a trip.

I don't just want to sell you a destination.

𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒕.

10/01/2026

🚢 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧.

And I'm not saying everyone needs a balcony or a suite.

The cabin price is important, but I always tell people to look at the 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞.

An inexpensive cabin at the very front or very back of a ship may be perfectly fine for one person and completely wrong for another.

A balcony may be worth the extra money for someone who loves sitting outside with a coffee while sailing into port.

For someone else, that money might be better spent on excursions or specialty dining.

There isn't one "best" cabin.

There's the cabin that makes sense 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

That's one reason I don't like simply throwing the lowest cruise fare at someone and calling it a deal.

Because sometimes the cheapest option isn't actually the one you'll enjoy the most.

09/29/2026

✈️ 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐩...

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

Just because a tour has an opening doesn't mean it's the right tour.

Just because a hotel has a room doesn't mean it's the right hotel.

Just because a flight is $75 cheaper doesn't mean it's the better flight.

And just because everyone online says you have to see something doesn't mean it's something you'll enjoy.

I think good travel planning starts with asking:

"𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽?"

Maybe that means skipping an attraction that doesn't interest you.

Maybe it means paying a little more for a better hotel location.

Maybe it means taking a slower day instead of trying to cram three cities into one.

Or maybe it means spending an afternoon sitting at a sidewalk café doing absolutely nothing.

Travel isn't a contest.

You don't get a trophy for checking the most things off a list. 😂

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥.