To be honest, I’m not sure anyone really reads these year in review or preview articles. But they really help me to reflect on the year that passed and to begin to anticipate what is coming, so they are here to stay. Plus having things that are a bit lower-key during the holidays is nice. So apologies, but also, not.

2025 will be a bit different for me than the past couple years. I have some exciting family events (obligations is the wrong word since these are celebrations) that will likely keep me in California for most of the summer, meaning my normal months-long Europe trip is not happening this year.

I’m a bit nervous by this. In 2024, for instance, articles from my Europe trip made up about a third of my content, roughly 50 articles for a three times a week posting schedule. So while I have some amazing trips planned, and those will net a fair number of cool posts for you all to hopefully read, I will need to supplement that content with a) more guest posts, b) more articles from here in California, or c) hopefully both. I do not intend to reduce my publishing schedule, as my views are already well down thanks to Google’s changed algorithm. (A pitch here to please share the website with your friends and family if you are enjoying it, as word of mouth will never be subject to a tech company’s changing whims.)

So what does the year actually look like? Let’s explore, shall we?

My first big trip is a return to Guatemala. I will largely be based in Antigua Guatemala for my three weeks in-country, marking a reunion with a city and country I truly loved when I visited in 2019. (Click here to read my thoughts on Antigua from those earlier days of The Royal Tour.) This time, I intend to write as I do currently, breaking up an amazing place into some narrow slices, with focuses on coffee, on the volcanoes and earthquakes that have shaped the city and area, and on some of the colonial history. And I’ll delve more into Guatemalan food, of course.

I have two side trips during my time, one to Lake Atitlan and one to the Mayan cities of Tikal and Yaxha with an overnight in Isla de Flores. I’ve been to Atitlan and Tikal before, but didn’t write about the former and had an amazing day at the latter partially spoiled by a lousy tour experience. And with Yaxha being new, my mentality being different, and A coming along to enrich everything, I can’t wait both for the novel and the repeat.

And finally, this time, I will be spending two days in Guatemala City, a place most tourists absolutely avoid. There will be museums, a Michelin-quality dinner, probably more coffee, and a perspective on the only really major city in the country. It should be fun! (And yes, there are safe neighborhoods with US chain hotels, so please don’t worry about my safety. I’ll be just fine.)

Guatemala done, I’ll be home for a bit and then headed to Nassau, capital of the Bahamas. It will be cool to see it as a city, and not as a cruise ship stop. I’ll be there for two full weeks, and you can expect stories on Bahamian fish fry, pirates, and more!

March brings another trip to Central America, this one to Costa Rica on a guided tour with my aunt. This will be our third consecutive year doing a tour like this together, after Ireland and Sicily, and I’m excited for a trip that basically avoids civilization and focuses just on nature.

We will be visiting national parks, doing jungle walks, trying our best to see the flora and fauna that make Costa Rica one of the top destinations in the world. And as I’ve only been once, and only to the Pacific coast for a wedding (read about it here), it will basically all be new!

It is worth a note here that these first three trips are returns to countries (and even some specific places within them) that I’ve already seen. They don’t add to my country count, the total of which is one of the first things many people ask me when they find out what I do. Well, I love seeing new places, and I do get a thrill out of adding to my list. But I also get a ton of pleasure in returning to places as a different person than I was when I last went. I love the challenge of finding new focuses for my writing from those repeat trips, and the feeling of a place becoming familiar, and almost home-like. So while I have a dream of seeing most places, and I know that if my country count (currently between 61 and 71 depending on how you classify a country) hits 100 I’ll do something exciting to celebrate, I’m less focused on just adding to the list for the sake of the list. Ok, back to the plans.

In 2020, I was due to get to Morocco, specifically to Marrakech, as part of my Portugal and Spain trip. Covid messed that up, and it has taken until now to plot my return. However, rather than just a solo trip to a specific city, I’ve decided to join a youngish-focused (at 44 I’m apparently at the older end of their “core” group, but will be within range) tour through G Adventures that goes to most – not all – places I’d like to see in the country.

We start in Casablanca, and hit Tangier before spending some time in Fez. Next is the blue city of Chefchaouen, and then the group heads into the Atlas Mountains and Sahara before emerging on the coast at Essaouira. And then we end in Marrakech. (By the way, if you haven’t read TRT writer Sam’s amazing series on Morocco, click here to visit his index page and find those. You’ll be inspired, guaranteed.)

While already in the Maghreb, I’ll also be taking a few days to hop over to Tunisia, spending three days in Tunis. There the highlights will be the city itself, as well as the ruins of Carthage. And yes, both Morocco and Tunisia are new countries, so count to 63-73 is incoming. It will also be my first time on the African continent.

Summer, as mentioned, will mainly be in California. That said, with my father outside Cincinnati, I’ll be getting there at least once, and possibly driving from there to visit a cousin in Cleveland, a city I’ve only spent a day in once for work, back when I had a “real” job. And since Columbus is on the way, maybe I’ll stop there also. Who knows? But either way, Ohio beckons and stories will be told.

In fall, I’ll be headed with A and some of her close family friends to Mexico, with a week in each of Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and Mexico City. Mexico City is one of my absolute favorite places in the world, both due to its culture and its place as my first solo international trip. Cabo and PV are places I’ve only visited on cruise ships, and that doesn’t really count. My goal is to discover both of them from off the beach and outside the resorts. But of course there will be beach time as well. And margaritas. Lots of margaritas.

It is my hope that I’ll get another international trip in during summer, but I’m not sure it will happen with those family celebrations. If it does, I have a few ideas that I’ll keep to myself for now. And if not, I hope I’ll be able to supplement the above with a few long weekends to visit people in other places in the U.S. And no, I’m not complaining that as of now I only have 14 weeks of travel planned. I realize that despite this being much less than my norm, I am a lucky duck to have this life.

I do hope you’ll all tune in here at The Royal Tour for the stories that come from the coming year, and I hope that they inspire you, whether to travel or just to learn. The world is a huge and diverse place, and there is beauty and wonder everywhere. Cheers to another year experiencing it!