The Vacation Nerd with Patrick Wiscombe
Everybody likes to go on vacation. I’ve never found an exception to that statement. Going on vacation recharges the mind and soul and yet it’s the one activity humans put off year after year because life gets in the way. The entire purpose of this podcast is to help you get out and see the world. We do that by helping you plan and book your next vacation or give you ideas where you should consider going next. Plus, we give you the travel news that actually matters and general news that's simply entertaining.
Time is going to pass anyway, so you might as well do the things you love and inspire you. This show is all about living life deliberately and intentionally. You only get one shot at this life so make it count. Make memories with those that matter most to you.
I hope you enjoy listening. If you do, please subscribe to the show and leave a review. Thanks for listening.
TAKE ACTION: Quit talking about going on vacation, just do it. If you want more information about any of the destinations we discuss during the show, or have your own custom vacation in mind, I can help you. Please call, text, or email me.
Here's how to get a hold of me:
Patrick Wiscombe
Cell/Text: (801) 874-7717
Email: patrick.wiscombe@gmail.com
The Vacation Nerd (Audio Podcast): https://www.thevacationnerd.co
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVacationNerd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.wiscombe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrick.wiscombe/
Episodes
68 episodes
Episode 188: Cruise Like a Pirate, Sleep Like a Tourist
A hurricane hits Kauai and suddenly the most important travel skill is not picking the perfect resort, it’s knowing how to pivot without losing your money or your sanity. We talk through what Hawaii tourism officials are asking travelers to do ...
Episode 187: Fish with Human Teeth
A single power failure can turn a smooth itinerary into a mess of cancellations, hotel nights you did not plan for, and bags that do not show up when you do. We dig into the London Heathrow fire disruption and use it as a real-world guide to wh...
Episode 186: Back⁴, Baby!
Four back-to-back cruises sounds like a brag until you realize it’s also a master class in trip planning, pacing, and knowing what you want out of travel. We’re checking in from two places at once: Patrick is in Fort Lauderdale gearing up for a...
Episode 185: Halibut is the Gateway Fish
Alaska cruises look simple on paper, but the trip you remember is built in the ports. We walk through shore excursions that actually deliver value in the big Alaska stops, with specific picks for Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Sitka, and even that...
Episode 184: The Magical Luggage Fairies
Airplanes roaring a few feet overhead on Maho Beach is one kind of thrill, but we’re equally obsessed with a different kind of wow: watching the landscape unfold from a train window with nothing to do but relax. From the middle of the Atlantic ...
Episode 183: Rutherford, Fetch Me a Pizza
Mark is getting off MSC World America just as Patrick is getting ready to board, which creates the perfect opportunity to answer a much more useful question than whether MSC’s brand-new ship is beautiful: What should you actually pay for whe...
Episode 182: The Itinerary is a Suggestion
Most cruise-line CEOs join interviews from an office. Dan Blanchard joins this one while working aboard one of his own ships. The owner and CEO of UnCruise Adventures explains why running a small American-flagged fleet sometimes means trading t...
Episode 181: DoorDash at Your Airport Gate
You can tell a lot about a trip by what you remember afterward, and “Day of the Dead” travel in Mexico tends to stick with people for life. We break down what the tradition is really about, why it’s not Mexico’s Halloween, and how to plan a tri...
Episode 180: So You’re Saying There’s a Chance
A window seat without a window sounds like an airline punchline—until you pay to reserve one and spend the flight staring at a wall. We explain how different versions of the same airplane can have completely different seat layouts, how to ident...
Episode 179: Nothing Encourages Cardio Like a Nearby Buffalo
Driving a go-kart through Tokyo traffic sounds like something you would do in a video game—not on your actual vacation. We start with a listener planning his first trip to Japan and break down why spring and fall are the best times to visit, wh...
Episode 178: 30 Days Down, 130 To Go
A Jamaica vacation with airfare, five hotel nights and airport transfers starting at $1,299 is the kind of price that deserves a closer look—but choosing the right part of the island may matter just as much as finding the deal. We finish answer...
Episode 177: A Bed Facing Castles with Jerk Chicken
What if the best place to experience Europe isn’t on the ship’s top deck, but in bed? Avalon Waterways’ TJ McAvoy joins us to explain why the company points its beds toward a seven-foot wall of glass, turning the entire cabin into a balcony whi...
Episode 176: Go Ahead, Pet the Pretty Cruise Ship
Disney is doubling down on Alaska, and MSC is trying to completely change the way Americans think about cruising. We start with Disney Cruise Line adding a second ship to Alaska, then bring in MSC Cruises’ Laura Okonowski to talk about the laun...
Episode 175: Hello, Hello Kitty.
Spirit Airlines is back in Chapter 11 bankruptcy less than a year after its last restructuring, so what does that actually mean if you already have a ticket? We explain why Spirit says flights will continue operating normally, what has gone wro...
Episode 174: Of All the Cruise Ports in All the World…
A $771 round-trip fare to Peru sounds like a typo until you see the details, and that’s where we start. Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo break down Delta’s seasonal nonstop flight to Lima and why a direct route is more than a convenience. It ca...
Episode 173: The Pizza Won. My Dignity Lost.
That ship horn story at the top is funny now, but it sets the tone for what we love about travel: the moments you can’t plan, and the lessons you can. We kick off with cruise news that can genuinely change how you book, including Holland Americ...
Episode 172: The Ocean is Closed
One travel document mistake can derail a whole vacation, even when you swear you “did everything right.” We dig into the real-world travel details that catch people off guard, starting with Europe planning for 2025: the new UK electronic travel...
Episode 171: A Vacation For Your Teeth
A cruise stop can feel effortless or chaotic depending on one detail most people ignore: how you get from ship to shore. From Fiji, Mark joins Patrick to talk through Norwegian Cruise Line’s big plans for Great Stirrup Key and why the new pier ...
Episode 170: Don't Splash the Floating Pizza Bar
Mark’s calling in from Fiji, and that changes the whole conversation because we’re not talking theory, we’re talking what he’s seeing, booking, and learning in real time. After meeting with dozens of Fiji resorts, tour operators, and suppliers ...
Episode 169: Just Pull The Curtain To Do Your Business
A ship can be “old” on paper and still feel fresh if the right spaces get rebuilt and we’re seeing that trend accelerate. We dig into Norwegian Cruise Line’s planned upgrades to Norwegian Epic and Pride of America, including what’s changing onb...
Episode 168: How We Got Home Before We Left
You know that moment when travel stops being a checklist and turns into a story you can’t wait to tell? That’s what happens when you cross the International Date Line to Fiji and suddenly Saturday vanishes. We break down exactly how Mark’s flig...
Episode 167: One Pre-Flight Diet Coke Confiscated
A $404 round-trip ticket to Honolulu sounds almost too good to be true—and it’s the kind of fare that can disappear while you’re still deciding whether to request the days off. We break down where Southwest is showing those prices, why being fl...
Episode 166: An Hour-Long Lazy River! Challenge Accepted.
A “beach day” is no longer just a beach day. We break down Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Mexico in Costa Maya and why it’s poised to become a cruise must-do, with a giant water park, a towering slide that’s set to grab records, and a lazy river...
Episode 165: Delta Renames Everything and Calls It New
D-Day isn’t a documentary clip, it’s a coastline you can stand on, a cemetery you can walk through, and a story that lands differently when you see the distance between the beaches and the towns behind them. We talk about Normandy travel in a p...
Episode 164: The Bartender Needs a Software Update
Stand up too early on a plane and you might pay a fine. Book the right cruise at the right time and you might save thousands. We connect the dots between travel headlines and practical decisions so you can plan smarter, spend better, and avoid ...