Yet another year of travel down, and it was a big one — primarily for trips of the bigger, longer and more expensive variety. Everyone was out in pursuit for new experiences, in new destinations, no holds barred. It was the year of expedition cruising, set-jetting, destination-duping and Taylor Swift tourism. The last gasp of the post-pandemic over-the-top travel surge, if you will.

I do think the travel landscape will look a bit different this year, and not just because the Eras Tour has come to a close. I look forward to keeping you informed on that front, and for everything we've already got in the pipeline for you for 2025. But before we start looking too far into the future, a look back.

If you've been following along, then you already know that we visited lot of places this year. Like, a lot. We sailed Raja Ampat, looked for polar bears in Svalbard, glamped in the deserts of Uzbekistan, cycled the Outer Hebrides off the north west coast of Scotland, heli fished in Bolivia, sampled coffee in Colombia, ate our way across Vietnam and Queenstown, and traipsed the entirety of the continental U.S. — even sand-surfed in Wyoming! — all so that your travel-inspo cup never ran dry. It is my sincerest hope that the resulting stories we told inspired you.

So, with that said, here are a few of those stories from the past year. And who knows? Maybe they'll come of use when it's time to book your first big trip of 2025, too.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Happy travels,

Lindsay Rogers
Travel Editor