Make International Travel Great Again!

Matt and I rarely vacation domestically. Outside of Maine and Southern Florida in fact I cannot even remember the last time we vacationed in the USA outside of visiting friends/family. Ironically we now own homes in Maine and Florida so…..

Granted Matt and I usually travel business class (not always), get through airport security in seconds with Pre-Check/CLEAR and spend our time having free booze and food in the lounge….the airport doesn’t sound so bad now does it? Honestly if you travel 3xish a year you can literally get the pre-check and lounge for 400-500 dollars annually with one of many credit cards. Sounds like a lot until we play the game called ‘how much does a glass of wine and an entree at any mediocre airport restaurant cost? I am not here to advertise credit cards, but several of them offer lounge access plus so many additional benefits that more than pays the 400-500 fee.

I have been thinking more about our mission here at Out and Abroad and a conversation I had with my mother helped me identify what we are attempting to do. Mom is traveling to Italy with us this summer but since we will be departing from 2 different airports she is a little uneasy. And I have been struggling as to why, but then it hit me, airports, planes, long flights and international destinations are overwhelming for people. Ironically all of that sounds better to me than a very loud, crowded and overpriced Disney World, or a Times Square trip. Doesn’t Funchal (below) look far more appealing, prettier and dramatically easier and cheaper to vacation to (if from the East Coast USA) than Hawaii?

Our primary goal (yeah we will also go on tangents on other topics) is to get the reader excited about international travel, make the idea of traveling overseas more accessible and ultimately share our journeys to inspire others. We would also LOVE to create a network of friends who love to travel as well. Common posts you will see will hopefully address airport/airline anxiety, how you can travel in style without going broke and just plain old vacation porn (no not that kind of porn, sorry!) We also want to dispel popular boomer myths such as the need to use a travel agent (nothing wrong with agents and I can recommend good ones, but usually not necessary), cruises/all inclusives save you money (lol no and they are usually trash) and you must book round trip air fair (LOL why?)!

As we continue thinking about potential posts, let me ask y’all, what keeps you from planning international travel?

Bon Voyage,

Andrew