2018 was a see-saw of a year for us – both personally, professionally and that impacted the frequency of our travels. Till date, this is the lowest number of countries we visited on any given year! We seriously hope this pattern does not repeat itself. Having said that, there were plenty of adventures to be had — and we love reflecting on them at the end of the year. It reminds us of how lucky we are and how truly grateful we feel for all the opportunities and privileges that have come our way. Without further ado, here’s where we went in 2018:
STATS
Countries: 6
Cities: 26
National Parks: 7
JANUARY
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
We seem to begin each year with a trip out west. Las Vegas has so much to offer — we don’t gamble so trust us when we say, we’re not there for the gambling!
Death Valley National Park, California, USA
Death Valley National Park is officially the hottest place on Earth – holds a record of 134ºF! Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America.
APRIL
Cartagena, Colombia
What an incredible city! Cartagena is full of color, delicious food, great architecture and kind locals! It’s a HOT city (no matter when you go) but being a port city has its advantages because that cool breeze was much appreciated in the middle of the day!
Isla Rosario, Colombia
One of the best things to do from Cartagena is go on a day trip (or overnight if you have the time) to one of the nearby islands. Isla Rosario was the one we chose for a day trip and the quiet island break was perfect from the hustle and bustle of the city.
MAY/JUNE
Colmar, France
Before kicking off our Spirited Navigators’ Summer Tour, we decided to go to Colmar for two days. An easy trip from Basel (we went straight from Zurich so took us a bit longer with the switch in Basel), it is as picturesque and quaint in person as you have seen in photographs. An absolute magical fairytale come to live. It’s a place we recommend everyone go and one that we will surely be returning for soon.
Geneva, Switzerland
We had been to Geneva before and this time was just a quick visit to pick up our tour guests.
Montreux, Switzerland
A place we love dearly, Montreux is a resort town at the banks of Lake Geneva and footsteps of the Alps. Small, beautiful, serene and laid back; its a perfect place to start or end your trip to Switzerland.
Grindelwald, Switzerland
One of our favorite mountain villages in Switzerland is Grindelwald. Quiet and mystical, the Alpine mountains surrounding this village seems to speak to us from every direction. We love spending a few days here. Our new favorite activity at the top of First Mountain is mountain carting; so much fun!
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
If there was ever a place that you could call Heaven on Earth, Lauterbrunnen is surely at the top of that list. Lush, mysterious, enchanting and ever so inviting. There is so much to see and do in Lauterbrunnen – so many places to explore down in the valley and up on the Alps. We spent a day here but in the future we would definitely spend far more time up in the mountains. One of our favorite activities – paragliding! The view is ever lasting.
Kanderstag, Switzerland
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, we stopped at Kandersteg on our way to Zermatt. It was the perfect pitstop for some lunch and exploring.
Zermatt, Switzerland
Lucerne, Switzerland
Randa, Switzerland
We went on a full day hike in Randa to the longest suspension bridge in the world. This is an incredibly steep hike in a relatively short amount of time. Not for the faint of heart for sure, but every bit worth the trek!
JULY
Disneyland Shanghai, Shanghai, China
A trip to China gave us 2-days in Shanghai and of course, one of them was spent exploring Disneyland Shanghai. That brings our Disney park count to 5 out of 6.
Shilin Stone Forest, Yunnan, China
An UNESCO World Heritage Site — China is full of unexpected beauty and the province Yunnan alone harbors many of them! We were lucky enough to explore quite a few on this trip.
Lijiang, Yunnan, China
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lijiang just might be the most beautiful Chinese city we have ever laid eyes on. So vibrant, so much culture and just so beautiful. Wish we had more time to spend here.
Yulong National Park, Yunnan, China
We love exploring National Parks and when we realized we could go to Jade Snow Mountain (Yulong National Park) within an hour’s drive from Lijiang, we did not want to give up the opportunity, even though our entire trip to Lijiang was only 2 days.
AUGUST
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
An unexpected visit to a National Park we didn’t even know existed, Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Known for preserving and reclaiming the rural landscape that has existed along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland, Ohio for centuries.
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Summers are for road trips and we took one of the most beautiful ones in the US through Shenandoah National Park, onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and then onwards to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was absolutely stunning and so very serene. For most of the way, it felt as though we were the only ones traversing through these roads.
Blue Ridge Mountain, North Carolina
Great Smokey National Park, Tennessee
SEPTEMBER
New York, New York, USA
Because seeing the most amazing play was on one of our lists of things to do this year! We also took some time out to explore the holiday decor around the city. The New York Public Library is especially beautiful this time of the year.
Vermont, USA
One of our favorite states, Vermont is filled with beautiful covered bridges (over 100!) and delicious food spots!
Montreal, Canada
Whenever we need a quick International escape but flying isn’t an option, we head north to Canada. Montreal is just a 6 hour drive and an easy enough weekend getaway.
OCTOBER
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Atlanta may have a lot to offer but our number 1 reason for visiting is Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken. We have no words to describe how delicious everything on that menu is, namely the friend chicken!
Disneyland, California, USA
We hadn’t been to Disneyland in 25 years! This was a wonderful return, especially during the Halloween season!
Los Angeles, California, USA
Sunny Los Angeles always greets us with smile, love and a ton of traffic, of course.
Solvang, California, USA
The cutest Danish town, outside of Denmark! The best part of Solvang are the Danish pancakes at Paula’s. If you go, do NOT miss this!
Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Now easily one of our top 3 national parks in the US! What an ethereal beauty! The park is so vastly different from one section to the other — you could spend days if not weeks here!
DECEMBER
New York, New York, USA
When we don’t travel for the Holidays, we always wind up spending it in New York City. This year we spent both Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and several other days during the month of December exploring and re-discovering the city.
And that’s a wrap for us in 2018!
Where did you travel to this past year? What are your plans for 2019?
Share below, we’d love to hear from you!
