Author Archives: Shelli

About Shelli

Shelli Stein is a health and fitness entrepreneur who travels the world in search of culture, food, and fun! Besides contributing to Travel with Grant, you can find her at Joy in Movement.

a heart made of coffee beans

Wake Up, My Favorite Celebration is Today!

Posted on by . Leave a reply

Wake up, it’s International Coffee Day! For me every day is a coffee celebration day, however International Coffee Day is an occasion that is used to promote and celebrate coffee as a beverage with events now occurring in places across the world. The first official date was October 1, 2015, as agreed upon by the International Coffee Organization. The day was launched in, yup you guessed it, Italy. It’s celebrated on a different day depending on where you live, so if you’re in the states, today is your day! I’m overseas where it’s celebrated on October 1, so I have to wait until Monday :((

So go out for coffee today and see if your local shops are doing anything special to celebrate. If they’ve forgotten, remind them it’s International Coffee Day, and you’re there to celebrate. There just might be a few extra espresso shots waiting for you……who knows? I’m curious if anyone finds their favorite coffee shops in celebration mode. Let me know!

a close-up of some currency

Are Travel Mistakes Avoidable? Maybe! (Part 3)

Posted on by . 4 Replies

We’ve all made them, though I don’t think we’ll ever avoid all of them. But more often than not, there are ways around the travel mistakes we make.  Sure, it might be way more fun to talk about all the room upgrades we score, the elite status benefits we enjoy, or the deal for flights that DIDN’T get away, but let’s face it, we’ve all made a bunch of mistakes. So let’s air them and have some fun laughing at ourselves and commiserating with each other. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.

The Most Common Mistakes

No matter how much we plan or how well we assume we’ll carry out those plans, there’s always a lot that’s not under our control. I started asking around and found that some travel mistakes are more common than others. And some people agree on how best to avoid those mistakes, but not always. Based on my own experience as well as that of many other frequent travelers, here are the mistakes and how to avoid them. There are so many of them I’ve actually made this a 3 part series!

Passport issues

This one surfaced for a friend of mine just last month. Passports have an expiration date, that’s obvious. And in general, they are valid up until the day they expire. But not always and not everywhere. Some destinations require at least 3-6 months remaining on your passport in order to travel. If you need a visa for your trip, these remaining months are essential. It’s good to have a beginning of the year checklist for travel. Or maybe start your checklist on your birthday so it coincides with your passport. In either case, do put checking your passport dates on that travel to-do list.

a close-up of a passport

Image source: https://www.rushmypassport.com/passport-renewal-faq.html

Continue reading →

a close-up of some currency

Are Travel Mistakes Avoidable? Maybe! (Part 2)

Posted on by . 2 Replies

We’ve all made them, though I don’t think we’ll ever avoid all of them. But more often than not, there are ways around the travel mistakes we make.  Sure, it might be way more fun to talk about all the room upgrades we score, the elite status benefits we enjoy, or the deal for flights that DIDN’T get away, but let’s face it, we’ve all made a bunch of mistakes. So let’s air them and have some fun laughing at ourselves and commiserating with each other. Here’s Part 1 of the series.

Most Common Mistakes

No matter how much we plan or how well we assume we’ll carry out those plans, there’s always a lot that’s not under our control. I started asking around and found that some travel mistakes are more common than others. And some people agree on how best to avoid those mistakes, but not always. Based on my own experience as well as that of many other frequent travelers, here are the mistakes and how to avoid them. There are so many of them I’ve actually made this a 3 part series!

Not printing the details

I’m pretty conservative when it comes to printing paper, but there are still times when I do. It’s not that I don’t trust technology. Particularly when traveling alone, I just feel better knowing that I have paper copies of some items.

Spending all your time in transit

I learned this lesson when I took an overnight sleeper train in Europe. It was so great to be able to sleep on the train and then wake up the next day in my next location. It makes good sense not to spend the main parts of the day transiting from one location to the other when you’d rather be out seeing the sites. If it’s possible, traveling early in the day or later in the evening makes more sense. Of course, if the transit trip is part of the experience, then daytime hours can lead to some amazing scenery. It just helps maximize your days when they aren’t filled with being at airports, train stations, or on buses.

a man pushing a girl on a luggage bag

Image source: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/chronicles-amateur-traveler

Continue reading →

a blue text on a white background

Alaska Airlines Buy Miles Mystery Offer: Up to 50% Bonus Miles

Posted on by . Leave a reply

We all have our favorite airlines and miles programs. Maybe I’m biased because I usually start my travels from the West Coast, but I’m a big fan of Alaska Airlines and can never have too many Alaska miles. If your Alaska miles account is short on miles, Alaska has a mystery offer on purchased miles expiring on October 4.

I recently wrote about the best uses for Alaska miles. Alaska miles have great value for me. Why? I like that Alaska isn’t a part of an airline alliance, but rather that they have a long list of airline partners that offer incredible business and first class products. My two favorite Alaska Airlines partners are Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. I recently flew Cathay Pacific Business Class to Asia. My first time flying Cathay Pacific was back in 2012, and even after all these years and having flown many different airlines, I’m still a huge Cathay Pacific fan. I have a Japan Airlines flight booked using Alaska miles, so I’m really looking forward to experiencing their current product.

Alaska Airlines Mystery Bonus Sept 2018

Alaska miles shine in yet another way, too. Alaska allows you to book a stopover on award tickets. That’s true even on a one-way award ticket! For example, say you were going from the US to Bangkok. You could use your Alaska miles on their partner Cathay Pacific and stopover in Hong Kong for a couple of days and then head on to Bangkok. This is just one example. Why not enjoy more destinations for the same award price, right?

Unlike other airlines, Alaska does not limit the total amount of miles you can purchase, only the total you can buy at one time. The mystery bonus offer ends on October 4, 2018. Check your mystery offer and see if this deal makes sense for you!

a close-up of some currency

Are Travel Mistakes Avoidable? Maybe!

Posted on by . 3 Replies

We’ve all made them, though I don’t think we’ll ever avoid all of them. But more often than not, there are ways around the travel mistakes we make.  Sure, it might be way more fun to talk about all the room upgrades we score, the elite status benefits we enjoy, or the deal for flights that DIDN’T get away, but let’s face it, we’ve all made a bunch of mistakes. So let’s air them and have some fun laughing at ourselves and commiserating with each other.

No matter how much we plan or how well we assume we’ll carry out those plans, there’s always a lot that’s not under our control. I started asking around and found that some travel mistakes are more common than others. And some people agree on how best to avoid those mistakes, but not always. Based on my own experience as well as that of many other frequent travelers, here are the mistakes and how to avoid them. There are so many of them I’ve actually made this a 3 part series!

Not buying souvenirs right when you see them

I buy souvenirs, and by that I mean chocolate, for people from every place I travel. You’d be surprised how many times I don’t get back to that certain best chocolate bar store or to a certain area of town even though I say I will. So this mistake is easy to make and easy to fix! If you see it now, buy it now.

a group of keychains in different colors

Image source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/souvenir-buying-guide/index.html

Continue reading →