Planning My Next Big Trip

January 15, 2013 by Travel Bug | 8 Comments

All I want for Christmas is a ticket to the tropics. (Map created using gcmap.com)

My favorite time for a big trip is right after Christmas.

• I love New York, but hate the cold. Traveling in December and January deletes 2-3 weeks of cold weather.
• I can leverage multiple holidays over Christmas and New Year. This winter, I was out of the office for 16 days in a row, but only used 6 vacation days. The office was closed for four days.
• I feel more comfortable sneaking in a longer absence from the office. By the time my office is fully functioning again after the holidays, I’m half done with my big trip.
• I finance my trip by subletting my apartment. The Christmas and New Year period is high season in New York, so I find it easy to line up subletters.

I book most of my tickets 330 out. Tickets through January 2014 will be available on February 2013. I’m mentally setting the last week of February aside for figuring out my flights.

Where am I going?

I’m not fixated on a specific destination. If I find an award ticket that works, I’ll book it. Here are my criteria:

• Warm weather, beach, maybe hiking, maybe wildlife.
• Backpacker scene – I want to meet other people and find affordable places to stay.
• Redeem either Delta SkyMiles or US Airways Dividend Miles.
• Travel for 2 – 3 weeks:
  • Depart either on December 25, 2013 at night or December 26, 2013 in the morning.
  • Return either Sunday, January 12, 2012 or Monday, January 20, 2013 (Martin Luther King Day).
• Both EWR and JFK airports work, but EWR is better. My parents would happily drop me off at EWR after Christmas; but JFK requires taking three trains.  I prefer Mom’s door-to-door service and goodbye kiss .

I want to use my Delta SkyMiles. I don’t trust Delta. Delta makes it hard to redeem SkyMiles, and a rumor convinced me that Delta will eventually devalue SkyMiles even more. Even though I’m a Delta-skeptic, I couldn’t resist the short-lived Delta Gold SkyMiles American Express 70,000 mile bonus offer. Thanks to that offer, I’ll soon have 100K SkyMiles.

If I can’t create a trip I that meets my criteria with SkyMiles, I’ll use my US Airways Dividend Miles. US Air’s Dividend Miles will probably get rolled into American’s AAdvantage program when the two airlines merge. Now is a good time to take advantage of US Airways redemptions on Star Alliance Partners. I have over 180,000 Dividend Miles.

My destination shortlist:

Brazil

I had a to-do list when I visited Brazil in 2011 (Iguazu, Rio, Sao Paulo). All those places were great, but overall, I really enjoyed the vibe. I’d like to go back and just hang out on the beach, and soak up the atmosphere.

• Miles Required: 60,000 in coach
• Program: Delta SkyMiles
• Airlines: AeroMexico, Gol
• Award ticket availability: great on AeroMexico, questionable on Gol
• Bonus! I already have the expensive, ten year Brazilian visa.

Micronesia

I would get a kick out of visiting one of those little freckles in the middle of the ocean!

• Miles Required: 70,000 in coach. Delta groups Micronesia with North Asia for award redemptions, which makes the region a fantastic value points-wise. (For comparison, you need 100,000 SkyMiles for flights to the South Pacific).
• Program: Delta SkyMiles
• Airlines: Korean Airlines, Delta
• Award ticket availability: Micronesia includes only three airports (Koror in Palau, Guam, and Saipan). Delta availability stinks, and Korean flights are subject to blackout dates, December 7-31. I’d have to get lucky.

Madagascar

I haven’t been back to Madagascar since finishing my Peace Corps service. My closest Malagasy friend just emailed me her wedding pictures (we’ve been out of touch for years), and it would be awesome to reconnect. I’ve only seen award flights to Madagascar with SkyTeam. I don’t see myself accumulating SkyMiles in the future, so now is my only opportunity to go back.

• Miles Required: 80,000 in coach
• Program: Delta SkyMiles
• Airlines: Delta, KLM/AirFrance, Kenyan Airways.
• Award availability: Ok. The biggest hurdle will be finding transatlantic flights.
  

Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

I’m considering booking this ticket as a weight loss strategy. How ridiculous is that? I need to get into better shape, and training for a Kilimanjaro trip is great motivation. I’ve been trying to work up the gumption to climb it since I went to Tanzania. On that trip, I had pass up the climb because I had neither money nor equipment. Kilimanjaro clearly violates my warm weather requirement.

• Miles Required: 80,000 in coach
• Program: Delta SkyMiles
• Airlines: Delta, KLM/AirFrance, Kenyan Airways. KLM/AirFrance flies directly from Amsterdam, Kenyan Airways requires a layover in Nairobi.
• Award availability: Ok. The biggest hurdle will be finding transatlantic flights.
  

Victoria Falls, Zambia and Southern Africa

I just helped my sister create an awesome itinerary to Livingstone, Zambia (for Victoria Falls), Johannesburg (for a safari in Kruger National Park), and Capetown on Star Alliance. I’m thinking of copying her trip.

• Miles Required: 70,000 in coach  (best redemption bargain to Africa among US airlines)
• Program:  US Airways Dividend Miles
• Airlines: South African Airways, United, Lufthansa… lots of transatlantic options with Star Alliance
• Award availability: Ok. Not a lot of availability on the short-hop from Jo’burg to Livingstone.

Sri Lanka

Cambodia was wonderful, and I’d like to re-live that trip. I can find most of the elements of that trip in Sri Lanka (beaches, temples, emerging tourism destination).

• Miles Required: 80,000 in coach
• Program: Delta SkyMiles /Dividend Miles
• Airlines: Saudia, Malaysian, Korean / Turkish, United, Lufthansa… lots of transatlantic options with Star Alliance
• Award availability: Theoretically, I can fly to Colombo on Delta partner Saudia, which has  great award availability, but do I want to change flights in Saudi Arabia? / Turkish has a ton of availability.

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