I love this time of year, when travel bloggers are looking back at the past year and ahead to the next one. I myself liked looking back at my year of travel last year, so I’m going to do that again. I really like re-living past trips. I’m also quite proud when I look back, because even though I work full-time I still manage to travel so much!
First, the numbers:
Countries visited: 7. These are all the unique countries I have visited. I have been to Germany and Belgium twice this year, which I haven’t included in the count. I also don’t count the Netherlands because that’s where I live
New countries visited: 4 (Norway, Russia, Peru, Macedonia)
Plane rides taken: 11. I only count origin to destination as a flight regardless of layovers .
Days spent travelling (incl. flight days): 51, which is four days less than last year.
Different Beds Slept In: 17, not counting overnight flights.
New UNESCO Sites visited: 12
Dives: 0. I’m shocked and appalled! This number really has to change next year!
Next, the travels by month:
January – Egmond aan Zee (The Netherlands)
My first trip of the year was a bit of a fail. It’s a trip I’m still suffering the consequences from today. I went to Egmond aan Zee to participate in a two-day hiking marathon. I managed “only” 30 km, because I found out you have to be trained to hike. My hip still hurts from this endeavour. All-in-all my friend and I had fun, but I won’t join any more lengthy hikes without proper training.
Read more here:
March – Tromsø (Norway)
I travelled to Tromsø, Norway with my mum in March. I had Northern Norway on my wishlist for a long time (in part due to Amanda’s blog posts about the region). I always let my mum pick our destinations. Luckily she picks great destinations because she chose Iceland in 2016 and I was thrilled she picked Norway this year. We stayed for a long weekend and did a lot of fun outdoorsy things like dog sledding, feeding reindeer and hiking in the snow. We didn’t think the town of Tromsø was very exciting, so we were pleased with all the different activities we had planned.
Read more here:
March – St. Petersburg (Russia)
In March, I planned a second trip long weekend trip this time with a friend. I always like travelling around Easter, because you get free holidays & there are plenty of places that don’t celebrate Easter (at the same time). We were thinking about my old home away from home (Abu Dhabi), because we’re both foodies and I know a lot of nice places to eat there. However, flights were very expensive.
We randomly found cheap flights to St. Petersburg, Russia and decided to go there. I always wanted to visited St. Petersburg as a taster, to see if I wanted to explore more of Russia. Turns out I was pleasantly surprised by the city. I think I especially liked winter time because it wasn’t busy, which added to St. Petersburg’s charm!
During this trip we thoroughly explored the city (underground as well as above ground), including the insides of many beautifully Orthodox churches and the world-famous Hermitage. Even our foodie hearts were not let-down as we fell head over heels in love with Georgian food, which is sold in the city in abundance.
Read more here:
- Saint Petersburg – A Photo Diary of the Hermitage
- Saint Petersburg – A Walking Tour
- Saint Petersburg – A Four Day Itinerary
April – Antwerp (Belgium)
In April, a friend and I had planned a trip to Normany, France. Apart from the Champagne Region and Paris, I haven’t really explored France so I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the weather report informed us there would be torrential rains the whole weekend. I have never cancelled a trip because of the rain before – I even lived in Scotland for three years – but since Normandy is a region with beautiful nature we decided to cancel it. Instead, we drove to Antwerp for a day. I haven’t visited that city for ages, so it was nice to roam through the city for a bit. We also visited the UNESCO listed Platin-Moretus Museum, which took us by surprise because it was more fun than we had imagined.
Read more here:
May – Saarbruecken (Germany)
I visit Saarbruecken in Germany at least once a year, because that’s where part of my family lives. When I’m there I tend not to do any real travelling or exploring, because it’s all about family time. However, on the drive back I try to find nice places to stop at and to explore. I will dedicate future (compilation) posts on these subjects, when I have actually visited more sights. This particular year, my mum and I visited Larochette Castle and Schiessentümpel Waterfall in Luxembourg and the Bastogne war memorial in Belgium. All worth a visit, all part of a future post.
June – Peru
As always, I had many different ideas for trips in June. I was actually thinking to explore more of Europe & maybe Andalusia. Then I stumbled upon the trip with Sawadee to Peru (as you do when you’re constantly planning trips just for fun), and I decided on a whim to book it. Peru wasn’t particularly highest on my list of places to travel to, but I have never travelled to South America and I felt like doing that. I also felt like booking another group tour, as I really loved the trip to Cuba the year before.
It did not disappoint! I saw some many beautiful spots in 2.5 weeks. I didn’t know Peru’s landscape was so incredibly diverse and that it ranges from sandy deserts all the way to jungles. I saw everything I wanted to see in those 2.5 weeks apart from the Nazca Lines. The amount of condors soaring through the Colca Canyon and the fact that we witnessed the annual Inti Raymi festival in Cusco made up for that though – you can’t have it all.
I know I’ll be back to see more of Cusco, so who knows. I might make a little detour to Nazca to try again. All’s possible in the world of travel. For now, I’m really thrilled when I think about all that I’ve seen on this trip!
Read more here:
- Paracas – A One Day Itinerary
- Huacachina – Dune Buggy in a Desert Oasis
- Nazca – A Two Day Itinerary
- Arequipa – A Photo Diary of Santa Catalina Monastery
- Colca Canyon – Spotting Majestic Condors
- Colca Canyon – A Three Day Itinerary
- Sillustani – 5 Reasons to Visit this Pre-Incan Cemetery
- Lake Titicaca – A Visit to Uros and Taquile Island
- Cusco – A One Day Itinerary
- Cusco – A Short Guide to the Inti Raymi Festival
- Aguas Calientes – It’s Not All About Machu Picchu
- Machu Picchu – A Photo Diary
- 2.5 Weeks in Peru
August – Trier (Germany)
The same friend who I travelled to the Champagne region with last year asked if I wanted to go on another trip. How could I say no to that? Trier in Germany is only a four hour drive so we opted for this city. We also contemplated cramming in some sights in the Moselle region, but we decided on taking it slow in the city itself. We only had a weekend after all.
Trier is a beautiful old city with traces of Roman buildings. We also did a little Moselle river tour, which was a lovely way to spend the morning. The town wasn’t as busy as I had expected in August, so that was an added benefit. On our way back to the Netherlands we stopped at the Blegny Mine in Belgium to explore an authentic coal mine.
This was a fun weekend trip and I can’t wait to write more about it in future posts.
Read more here:
August – Beekbergen (The Netherlands)
The weekend right after Trier I went on another trip with another friend. We opted for Beekbergen in the Netherlands. I found out through Atlas Obscura (I love that website to find unusual spots in countries) that Zutphen has a library with chained books. My friend and I both studied English Literature, so we felt we couldn’t miss out on this site. It was really special to see all the old tomes standing chained in their original position. We also did a walking tour of Zutphen, which turns out to be a nice town with a lot of coffee shops (not the Dutch kind).
We decided to base ourselves in Beekbergen so that we were close to nature. We visited the Loenense Waterfall (which was a bit of a disappointment) and we saw sheep being herded by dogs in a farm. One evening we also visited Veluwezoom National Park to go searching for tracks. We found a lot of tracks, but we also spotted a lot of animals such as wild horses, all sorts of deer and boars.
The posts about this trip are still pending.
Read more here:
- Loenen – A Day At The Tallest Waterfall in the Netherlands
- Zutphen – A One Day Itinerary
- Veluwezoom National Park – Tracking Wild Animals
August – Rhodes (Greece)
In August I travelled to Rhodes, Greece for a weekend. Yes, you heard that right. I flew all the way to Rhodes for a weekend trip to visit a friend who was working there. Luckily, this trip we had better weather than we would’ve had in Normandy! She had already rented a car, so we drove all around the island to see the different sites that were recommended to us. No chilling on the beach for us! That’s how we managed to visit the Monastery of Filerimos, the Akropolis of Lindos, the Akropolis of Kamiros and the Castle of Monolithos amongst others all in one weekend.
We based ourselves in Rhodes Town, which was a great idea. Parking was incredibly difficult outside the city walls, but there are delicious places to eat & drink in Rhodes Town. It was a great place to relax after a long day of driving. I have to say that if you don’t plan to chill on the island, a weekend is enough to see most of its sites. Surprisingly.
The posts about this trip are still pending, but I’m already looking forward to browse through all the beautiful photos with clear skies.
Read more here:
September – Ohrid (Macedonia)
In August and September I managed to burn myself out a little bit in terms of travelling. I loved all thet trips with my friends, but the one I did by myself to Ohrid, Macedonia was a bit too much. Remember, all these trips were weekend trips and all the other days of the week I was at the office.
Ok, back to Ohrid. I didn’t fall head-over-heels in love with the town as I thought I would. It was busy, there were a lot of wasps (I hate wasps), and I simply didn’t like the vibe. I half-heartedly visited Saint Naum Monastery on the other side of Lake Ohrid and even that did not get me out of my travel slump.
However, I also booked a trip with a private guide who let me decide my own itinerary. So, on the last day we drove all along Lake Prespa and Lake Ohrid and he showed me a bit of the real Macedonia and I fell in love!
I know I have to return to the country one day, because Ohrid might not have been for me that doesn’t mean the rest of the country isn’t either! I’m mostly looking forward to visiting Skopje and its surroundings.
The posts about this trip are still pending.
Read more here:
How did I do in terms of my goals?
I didn’t manage to accomplish most of my goals in 2017. Therefore, I stated I would do a bit more soul-searching for my goals for 2018. How did that work out? Let me tell you….
Norway
Spoiler: this is the only goal that was accomplished this year!
Barcelona & Andorra
“I have been wanting to visit Barcelona and Andorra for a long weekend trip for ages. I’m sure that this year I will finally tackle this dream.”
Did I go this year? Nope.. I’m starting to wonder if I really want to visit Barcelona.
Prague
“How have I not visited Prague before? I really want to visit the city this year, and when I do I definitely want to visit the Bone Church in Kutná Hora. I have been to ossuaries in Cambodia, Egypt & Greece and I can’t get enough of them.”
I feel the same about Prague as I do about Barcelona. I thought I really wanted to visit this city, but it has been on my list for two years and I haven’t visited it yet.
Mauritius
“One of my best friends and I are planning a trip to Mauritius at the end of the year. We visited Bonaire and Curaçao together in 2016, and we feel that 2018 is a perfect year for more island fun.”
Life got in the way a bit. At first we wanted to go to Mauritius, then we decided on Jordan and in the end we decided to postpone this trip. Luckily we did visit Antwerp & Rhodes together this year and we have a fun plan for 2019. I’m not going to mention it here because we haven’t booked it yet, but I’m already looking forward to it!
Mystery Trip
“I will be taking one more two-week trip in 2018, but I don’t know where I’ll be going. I’m thinking of a European destination, but I simply can’t make up my mind yet. I’ve thought about the Baltics, the Balkans, maybe even Canada or the US…”
Even the mystery trip didn’t go as planned. Ha, I thought about visiting the Azores or Andalusia. Instead I went to Peru. This isn’t a bad change of plans, but it goes to show that I can’t plan!
Conclusion
I hope you like this post. I always enjoy wrap ups and I hope you guys like mine. If you have any suggestions on how I could improve this post in the future, please let me know in the comments!
I hope you all had an amazing year of travel in 2018. What was you favourite destination?
