Hi ,

As the world starts to open up again it's become clear where Americans are headed. The top countries for bookings over the next 18 months are:

• Ireland (no big surprise, it's always a favorite for US citizens)
• Greece (despite high rates of covid and devastating fires we still want to see those white houses and blue skies)
• Germany
• Canada - despite not quite being open to US visitors yet the bookings for Canadian mountains and train trips over the next 2 years is already strong.
• British Virgin Islands (BVI) for beach time, sailing, rainforest hiking, and more. You can download my free 49 page British Virgin Island Guidebook.
• Puerto Rico - close by and offering fantastic beaches and mountain views, PR is usually one of the top spots for US travelers.
• United Arab Emirates is emerging as one of the newer trends, especially for those who like to shop.
• Croatia - unrivaled beauty, one of the best ways to see Croatia is by small private yacht for 4 or 5 days plus 2 or 3 days on land.
• Austria

The US is opening to vaccinated visitors as of November 8th, and travel between the US and our bordering neighbors (Canada and Mexico) is slated to open in November as well, to vaccinated visitors.

Trends:

• Airline pricing is very erratic as is service on several airlines. In general pricing is rising pretty quickly for travel in 2022. On the other hand the flight map is slowly improving, so you're kind of caught between booking now at a lower price or booking later for better flight times. The answer is to book FLEXIBLE fares that will allow changes at no cost or at a minimal change fee. Forget the cheapie economy fares, which are never a great idea anyway.
• 2022 will still be a year of domestic travel while some people opt for letting the flight map expand before choosing a far away destination. I am seeing top-end private or small group tours to the National Parks trending, and the trips look fun and fabulous! River cruising in the US is also trending upward but the pricing is trending upward as well, so take note if that's in your plans.

I have seen some decent pricing for mid-level tours of Ireland lately, in and out of Dublin. I always recommend early to mid-May for Ireland or on the other end mid-September to early October. If you are thinking of Ireland in 2022 at all now is the time to be talking with me.

Travel Changes Life:

I named my travel business this because it is so true that as you travel your world view and perspective changes. This has happened to me many times, most recently when we went to Antarctica, which profoundly changed my view of the earth and its pristine beauty.

So I was not at all shocked when 90 year old William Shatner, who recently shot himself up into space, came back down and said that he was "forever changed" and that he hopes that his experience will never leave him. It won't!

Here's to the world starting to open up again,

Sue Painter