Keeping Your New Year’s Resolution While Traveling

Happy New Year! Have you planned your New Year’s Resolution yet?

It is now 2020. A new year, a new decade, and a perfect time for a new start. It’s a great time to choose your New Year’s Resolution and plan for how you’re going to keep them as the year goes on.

There are many popular New Year’s Resolutions, but they are often seen as incredibly difficult to keep. Here we have five of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions, along with tips for how to keep them while you travel.

In This Post

Exercise More

This is a very popular New Year’s Resolution, and the good news is it’s a very easy one to maintain while you are traveling.

Workout with a View

The Fitness Center overlooking the beach at Secrets The Vine Cancun in Cancun, Mexico

Many hotels, resorts, and cruise ships have on-site fitness centers, and are often located in beautiful, picturesque locations. It’s very common for the fitness centers to have floor to ceiling windows, and they are typically designed with the view in mind.

Going to the gym can be a chore, but it’s a lot easier when you can watch the sun rise over the ocean while working out. You can also add on a massage or a soak in the hot tub after your workout.

Plan Walking Tours

Fitbit Stats after one day of walking around Kyoto, Japan

There are a lot of great activities and excursions you can plan while on vacation, but sometimes walking is the best thing you can do. Many international cities are very walkable, and often walking can give you the best views. You are free to stop whenever and wherever the whim strikes.

To keep track of your progress, invest in a Fitbit or other fitness tracker. You may be surprised by just how much you walk in a single day. Museums, castles, gardens, nature trails; walking doesn’t have to be boring.

Use Public Transportation

This may seem like an odd thing to specify, but public transportation can greatly improve your fitness. If you take a private car or a taxi, the vehicle comes to you. You can take a car from the front door of your hotel the the entrance of your destination, without having to walk at all.

Public transportation, on the other hand, has specific stations where you have to go. Even if your hotel and destination are close to a station, that little walking can add up. As an example, the hotel we stayed at in Tokyo, Japan was 500 meters away from the nearest train station. That’s about a third of a mile. Just the round trip walk between the hotel and station added 3 miles of walking to our time in the city.

As an added benefit, public transportation is cheaper than private transportation, which may just knock off another one of your resolutions.

Eat Healthier

This is another popular New Year’s Resolution that at first may seem much harder to keep while traveling. Cruise ships and all-inclusive resorts have restaurants and buffets galore, and it can be hard to stick to the healthy choices. The fact that you will have to eat at restaurants more frequently when traveling can also hinder your efforts. But there is good news, especially when traveling internationally.

International Portion Sizes and Nutrition

Compared to the US, many international destinations have much smaller portion sizes. For example, at many steakhouses in Asia the typical cuts of steak are 200 grams or around 7 ounces. Sugary sodas are much less prevalent in many countries, and when available are in much smaller bottles. In Thailand the Coke bottles were 330ml, or 11 ounces. The bottles in Japan were 250ml, or 8.5 ounces.

Preservatives, artificial flavors, and sugars are also much less common in international destinations. Aside from being smaller, sodas are often made with sugarcane rather than processed sugar. Fried foods are much less common, and vegetable based sides are a common sight. In Puerto Rico, most meals come with a large serving of plantains or yuca. In many Asian countries meals are served with lotus root, potatoes, white raddish, or cabbage.

Snack Often

Sign for a Yakitori vendor in Tokyo, Japan

One of the best things about traveling is the ability to try several new foods. Rather than waiting for a designated meal time and eating until you’re stuffed, snack throughout the day. If you’re visiting Spain, stop and taste the tapas. In Japan, grab some yakitori (grilled skewers) from a street vendor. Pick up some fresh picked fruit while in the Caribbean.

Enjoying several small snacks throughout the day will allow you to enjoy a wider variety of foods and keep your portion sizes down. When you add in all the walking you’ll be doing, your body can more easily expend the energy you are eating.

Go Grocery Shopping

This isn’t always feasible, but if you are able to stay somewhere with a kitchenette you can shop for and prepare your own meals. This can be a great way to manage your portion sizes and expenses when traveling.

Learn a New Skill

Typically, a New Year’s Resolution is all about self-improvement, and learning a new skill is one of the best ways you can improve yourself. While you likely won’t become a master while on vacation, you can still learn quite a bit and set yourself up for success in the future.

Take a Local Class

Take a local cooking class to really immerse yourself in the culinary culture

How would you like to learn how to make pottery and ceramics in Italy? What about training in ninja or samurai techniques in Tokyo? Maybe you’d like to learn how to bake Parisian pastries and deserts? There are all sorts of classes you can take while traveling to help you learn a new skill. Every destination is famous for something, why not learn it right at the source?

Get SCUBA Certified

This is one new skill that is easy to achieve while traveling and that will open up a whole new world of travel opportunities. Nearly any destination near the water will offer SCUBA certification opportunities, but some of the most popular choices include the Florida Keys, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Australia.

Full SCUBA certification will usually take at least 3 days; it involves coursework, closed water (pool) training dives, and 4 open water certification dives. Due to safety considerations, you need to spread the certification dives over at least two days. To save some time, you can complete the coursework online before you travel and then just do the actual dives at your destination.

Yours truly after finishing my SCUBA certification in beautiful Key West, Florida

If you aren’t sure that SCUBA is for you, or you don’t want to spend the time for a full certification, you can also do a 1 day Discover SCUBA course. This course won’t give you a certificate, but it will get you familiar with the equipment and in the water diving all in one day. Children 10 and older can safely dive, so this is an activity the entire family can enjoy.

Spend More Time with Family and Friends

Traveling can be a great way to reconnect with family and friends. No matter what age ranges your group includes, there’s a vacation for everybody.

Disney and Universal

By far one of the most popular trips for the entire family is Disney or Universal. These theme parks have rides and experiences great for people of all ages. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal and the new Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney are great experiences, even for people who aren’t into theme park rides.

Cruises

Cruises can be a great choice for a family vacation

Many people think cruises can be expensive, but there are options for every budget. Cruises are also a great experience for the entire family. Many cruise lines have kids and teens clubs, as well as adult only spaces so every member of the family can have something geared towards them. Add in the wide variety of entertainment such as rock climbing, minigolf, Broadway shows, and parades and it’s easy to see how everybody can find something to do on a cruise.

Even better, traveling as a group can net you some excellent deals. We are able to work directly with all of the cruise lines to get you unique group rewards and discounts. Depending on the size of the group, these rewards can even reach a free cabin on the cruise for the group leader. Reach out to us today if you think you might be interested in planning a group trip on a cruise.

All Inclusive Resorts

All Inclusive Resorts can be a great budget option since you don’t have to worry about paying for drinks, meals, and many activities. You may be imagining a romantic, adults only resort, but that’s just one option. If you are traveling with kids, there are many family friendly resorts. Disney, for example, has Aulani in Hawaii. In Punta Cana, there’s a Nickelodeon resort and several resorts with on site water parks. Atlantis in the Bahamas has an aquarium and a water park on site.

Lazy River at the Royalton Bavaro All-Inclusive in Punta Cana

If you want to have a great time with your friends, maybe choose an adults only resort that’s more party and less romance. Or you can plan a great girl’s trip to a resort with an amazing spa. Into golfing? We have resorts with official PGA tour golf courses.

Travel More

I’ll admit, this one is definitely biased towards traveling, but it’s still a popular New Year’s Resolution. Traveling can be difficult at times, but we have experience in helping to plan a trip for any budget.

So what’s on your travel bucket list for 2020? An Alaska cruise? A trip to Hawaii? Seeing a new country? No matter your travel goal, we’re here to help.

Tips for Traveling Solo

Don’t let traveling solo slow you down

For those with an adventurous spirit, just the thought of traveling is exhilarating. Imagining what activities you will do, the foods you will eat, the sights you will see, and so on. However, when traveling with others, adjustments need to be made to those plans, and the result? Compromise. With this in mind, adjusting your perfectly imagined trip to suit the needs and desires of fellow travelers can literally take the wind out of your sails.

The alternative? Traveling alone. Envision, for a moment, what it would be like to have complete control over your trip. To be able to set your own schedule; sleep in if you choose to, eat when you want, control your own budget, and be as flexible with your time as you wish. This may seem to be selfish at first, and also a bit frightening if you’ve never considered solo travel, but spending time alone can actually be very healthy. It allows you time for self-reflection, discovering who you are and what goals want to fulfill. Also, by relying on yourself, you can discover your strengths and weaknesses, face your fears, and test your limits. You can choose to spend time alone, engage with others, or even make lifelong friends.

All decisions are yours to make when traveling alone. But that doesn’t mean you have to do all the planning on your own.

Our job as your personal travel agency is to alleviate concerns, answer questions, and help you plan the perfect getaway. While there are many ways to travel, three of our most popular travel options are cruises, all-inclusive resorts, and group vacations. Each of these trips can be customized for those who want to travel by themselves. We will work with you to ensure your preferences are accommodated.

Cruises

Cruise ships are filled with great activities – whether you want to relax alone or socialize

Cruises offer nearly endless options for single travelers, from simply enjoying a good book by the pool to joining in activities with fellow travelers. Most cruise lines assign dining room seating but, depending on your personal preference, we can request a specific table size. You can choose to sit at a larger table with many fellow travelers, or a smaller table with just a few people. If you prefer, you can even forego the main dining room; opting instead for specialty restaurants, room service, or the buffet.

On most sites the cost of cabins is advertised as “per person”, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean the price for a person traveling alone. Cruise companies charge a “single supplement”, which means that a person traveling alone pays the same room price as those traveling with two people. For example, a cruise that is advertised as $999 per person plus $125 per person in taxes would be $2,248 for 2 people. $1,124 per person, multiplied by two people. With the single supplement, that same cruise would still be be $2,123. $1,124 for the first person, plus a $999 single supplement fee.

However, there is one way to avoid this fee. Newer ships have studio cabins available for single travelers, which are smaller than a traditional room and can only sleep one person. These rooms do not charge the single supplement rate, but there are a limited number of them available. It may, in fact, actually be cheaper to book a two-person cabin. Regardless of room size, single travelers will never pay double for taxes, fees, or gratuities. We will research the difference in price and ensure you stay in the perfect cabin.

All-Inclusive Resorts

Make new friends on the Royalton Bavaro Lazy River

There are countless all-inclusive resorts you can select from worldwide. Just like with a cruise, you can choose between spending quality time alone, getting to know new people at the resort, or even a little of both. With your personal trip goals in mind, we will assist you in choosing the perfect resort at the location you want to visit. Our prices include airfare, which is charged per person, and never has a single supplement fee attached. The resorts themselves do charge a single supplement rate, just like the cruise lines. Unlike the cruise rates, however, it is more often less than double.

Group Travel

Join up with a group and take a guided tour of picturesque Iceland

One of the most popular options for single travelers are group led tours. While these tours are available worldwide, some of the most popular are; Australia/New Zealand, China/Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and recently, Iceland. The amount of people on these tours can range from quite small (less than ten people) to very large. When planning a tour for you we will always share the typical group size to ensure that you are happy with your choice.

Some of these tours do charge a single supplement, while others do not. The tours include lodging, and most of the tour companies will assign single travelers a roommate. However, we can help you book a single, private room for an additional fee if you would prefer. With all the above variables in play, we can research all of the options available to assist you in booking the perfect tour.

Cruises, all-inclusive resorts, and group tours all have much to offer those who wish to travel alone. Along with the perks of the trip itself, you may very well gain increased confidence in yourself and learn how to become more independent, all without the fear of being judged by a traveling companion. Also, opening yourself up to new experiences and people, expanding your thinking and views about other cultures and places, all at your own pace, are additional benefits that come from traveling alone. Just because you don’t have a travel partner doesn’t mean you can’t explore the world. Reach out today, and let us help you plan the perfect solo vacation today.

Why you Should Stay at an All-Inclusive Resort

Private Pool area at the Chic Mansion in Punta Cana

The world is a stressful place; the last thing you need is a stress filled vacation. Stress can’t necessarily be completely avoided, but one vacation that promises to minimize your stress is staying at an All-Inclusive resort. All-Inclusive resorts are certainly not for everybody. They are typically one of the least adventurous types of vacations you can take. In fact, when staying at an All-Inclusive resort you never even have to leave the property if you don’t want. Still, the number of US travelers who stay at an All-Inclusive resort is on the rise. According to PhoCusWright, in 2010 8% of all US travelers stayed at an All-Inclusive resort. In 2012 that number rose to 14%.

So why are All-Inclusive resorts gaining in popularity? I believe it is because people are finally starting to see past the old misconceptions. The fact is, there is an All-Inclusive resort option for every kind of traveler. And as an added bonus, with an All-Inclusive resort there is no second guessing your budget. Unless you choose to go off-site or get a spa treatment, you will know upfront exactly how much your vacation will cost. And here at Adventures With Anthony, we can easily package your resort and airfare into a single purchase, saving you even more.

Newly constructed Royalton Bavaro has a lazy river and a FlowRider surf simulator

All-Inclusive resort packages are cheaper than you might think

When you figure in all the various costs of any vacation, an All-Inclusive resort can become an excellent deal. When you book an All-Inclusive resort through us, the price includes round-trip airfare, transportation to and from the airport, and the resort itself. At the resort all of your meals and drinks are included, as well as a number of on-site activities. Price can vary based on location, time of year, and specific resort, but it is not unheard of for a 4 night package to be as low as $500 per person from select US cities.

Even if you aren’t lucky enough to snag one of these special deals, the regular price of our packages are extremely reasonable. For example, a 6 night package in a 4 and a half star resort from Salt Lake City to Punta Cana in August is only $1,239 per person. That’s $2,478 for two people to fly internationally, spend 6 nights in a suite, and have all meals and drinks included. If you were to book this trip separately, the airfare alone would cost $1,594. That is for the same exact JetBlue flight included in the package. The resort itself, the Grand Palladium Bavaro, starts at $239.70 per night. That’s a total of $1,438.20 for the entire 6 night stay. The transfer from Punta Cana airport to the resort would normally cost an additional $20 per person. That puts the grand total of the vacation when purchased piecemeal at $3,072, almost $600 more than booking one of our packages.

Even when compared to a more traditional hotel, the value of an All-Inclusive stands out. A typical 4-star hotel will run around $100-150 per night. Lunch at a fast food restaurant for 2 can be around $20-30, and dinner for 2 can range from $60 to well over $100. Alcohol is harder to budget, depending on your personal habits, but two cocktails or glasses of wine with dinner could easily add another $25. That would mean on the low end you could spend $180 per day on food and lodging, up to $300 or more. For this same 6 night vacation, avoiding an all-inclusive would cost between $2,674 and $3,394.

You aren’t trapped at the resort

Chichen Itza, one of the world wonders, is only 4 hours away from Cozumel

While many resorts have plenty of activities to keep you occupied, you are free to explore if you want. It will cost extra, but you can book transportation to local sights or even book an off-site excursion. Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic offers trips to Saona Island, snorkel and scuba trips, a canopy zipline, and the famous Coco Bongo nightlife experience. Cozumel is close to 6 different Mayan ruins, including Chichen Itza which was recently named as a world wonder. You can book these excursions in advance, although I would personally recommend waiting until you arrive at the resort. That way you will have a better idea of how much time, if any, you want to spend away from the resort.

There is a resort for everyone

When many people hear All-Inclusive, their mind tends to jump to a couples retreat. A romantic getaway to a Sandals or a Beaches resort. Something expensive and reserved for a very special occasion. Your honeymoon or a milestone anniversary, perhaps. That, however, is just one type of All-Inclusive resort. There are also resorts that cater more towards the hard partying Spring Break crowd. There are elegant, 5-star resorts with fine dining and private golf courses. If you are traveling with kids, there are family friendly resorts complete with an entire on-site water park. There is even a Nickelodeon Resort in Punta Cana, and a second one under construction in Riviera Maya.

AquaNick at the Nickelodeon Resort is a great escape for families

It doesn’t matter if you want an adults only or a family friendly resort. One that has less than 100 rooms or more than 1,000. Budget or extravagant. Reach out and we will be happy to help find the perfect resort for you.