Travelling Lens Insider #011
Female solo travel is trending up, free Expat Travel Toolkit and is buying points ever worth it?
š Hey friends,
Welcome to Travelling Lens Insider, where every weekend I send you a carefully curated letter of all things travel, photography and points optimisation.
Now, onto this weekās letterā¦
āļø Travel, Points and Miles
š§³I recently finished reading Wander Woman by Beth Santos, a book about solo female travel. And I was surprised to learn just how large the female travel market is!
This explains why solo female travel is trending up this year (even for married women).
š³ Buying points is rarely a good idea unless you have a specific redemption in mind and there is a points-buying promotion at the same time.
Iām a big fan of IHGās hotel reward program because itās got a range of affordable hotels along with luxury stays like Intercontinental Hotel. Giving me a lot of award booking options, depending on the kind of trip Iām taking.
And IHG also runs points-buying promotions where you can buy points with up to a 100% bonus. Meaning you can buy a point for as low as 0.5 cents. With that you can make some high end hotel award redemptions that are actually cheaper than paying in cash! Not sure if buying IHG points is worth it? This breaks it down for you.
šļø Iāve been work on a Expat Travel Toolkit for the last few months.
Itās all the top travel and points & miles resources that I collated over the last 2 years thatās helped me be a more savvy traveller while living as an expat in the USA (and travelling somewhere new once a month). This is the toolkit I wish I had when I first moved from Australia to the USA as a new expat.
Even if youāre not an expat, I think youāll find some useful, and itās totally free. I see it as a work in progress and Iāll be keeping it up to date as I go along, so donāt forget to bookmark it.
āļø Having access to Denverās AMEX Centurion Lounge was a lifesaver during our 7 hour flight delay at Denver airport over Memorial Day weekend!
We got food, drinks and a hot shower, all free while waiting patiently for our flight to Houston. If youāre curious about Airport Lounges, whether itās worth it and how to get access, hereās what you need to know.
And if you want to hear about about some of the best and worst airport lounges, this podcast episode will be interesting.
(Like what youāre reading? Pass it along to someone who might love it too. And if thatās you, make sure to subscribe here! Thanks so much š)
š· Photography
šø You donāt have to travel far to feel like youāre exploring something new.
I find taking my camera along with me to explore a local area and do some street photography helps me to see a place with fresh eyes. Thatās exactly what Iāve done in the past by exploring the port city of Fremantle in my hometown.
ā°ļø Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a beautiful place to take photos.
But there can be a lot of logistics that goes into planning a trip to a National Park especially during peak season. This was my favourite go-to resource for planning a photo trip to this park.
šŖ Photography isnāt just an art form, but also a way to grow as a human.
Sean Tucker is one of those rare online photographers who blend philosophy, life and the meaning of photographer together so well. Well worth 12 minutes of your time if you like spending time honing your art, craft and skills.
Want to an easy way to plan your next trip? Get the free Travel Hub trip planning system in Notion.
šµļø Recommendation Zone
š½ļø Eat and Drink
I was in Boston last weekend and had a great time.
The weather was touch and go but I liked how itās a walkable city with great shops, lots of interesting history and excellent food. One of my favourite finds was a little ramen shop, Santouka in the Back Bay area of Boston.
The Black Garlic Ramen was to die for! Rich, smoky and savoury.
š Read
Another flight delay, another book finished š
Our delayed flight out of Boston gave me some extra reading time.
Finished Wandar Woman by Beth Santos, a book about solo travel, specifically aimed at encouraging female solo travel. If youāre wondering if solo travel or what it might be like to travel as a woman, youāll find this book insightful.
šø Photo of the week
If you love architecture, youāll love a trip to Washington DC.
Itās a city full of beautiful buildings and historical architecture. The interior of the Library of Congress was one my favourite places to visit during my spring trip to Washington DC to see cherry blossoms.
š¬ Final Words
Thatās all for today! See you next week!
Janice
(p.s. Donāt forget to check out the Expat Travel ToolkitāIf you have feedback, Iād love to hear your thoughts on whatās useful and whatās not!)
Iāve had a disposable film camera sitting in my bedside table which a friend gifted me when I moved from Sydney to London!
I keep forgetting to take it around with me, but lately Iāve been feeling the itch to capture with it. Your words were just the push I needed!
I'm on a trip back to my hometown and have "Wander Women" with me to read! Excited to dig into it. I'm glad you got to see some of the beautiful history in our nation's capital. There really are some stunning places there.