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.
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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 authorization (ETA), the passport expiration rules that can block your trip, and why those 3 to 6 extra months of validity actually matter when emergencies and delays hit.
From there, we get practical about peak-season Europe travel. Crowds are back, and crowded places are where pickpockets thrive, so we share simple habits for protecting your money, cards, and passport without overcomplicating your day. We also talk about the underrated skill that makes trips feel calmer: having a plan B. Flights change, trains run late, weather shifts, and flexibility keeps the fun intact. A listener question about a first-ever trip to Europe leads us to easy, confidence-building routes like London with Edinburgh, plus London paired with Paris or Amsterdam.
We also look at what’s happening with airfare demand and why it can translate into better flight deals for travelers who are ready to book smart. And if you’re headed to Mexico, we cover Cancun beach safety and what the warning flags mean, including the double red flag that can close the water entirely. Finally, we break down Globus and Cosmos guided travel, including hub and spoke tours and current savings on select London and Italy itineraries.
If this helped, subscribe, share the show with a friend planning a trip, and leave a quick review so more travelers can find us.
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Thank you for taking the time to listen to the show. There are literally thousands of podcasts from which you can choose, yet you listened to this show.
The entire purpose of this podcast is to help people plan and book their next vacation or give listeners ideas of where they might consider going on vacation next. Our goal is to help our listeners live their lives deliberately and intentionally. You only get one shot at life so you might as well make it count. Make memories with those that matter most to you.
TAKE ACTION: Quit talking about going on vacation, just do it. If you want more information about any of the destinations we discussed during the show, or have your own custom vacation in mind, I can help you. Please call, text, or email me.
Explore your world. It's the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at Inside Travel Talk.com. And now, here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe
Oh, good morning. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Hello there. I am Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo will be here in just a moment. Coming up on today's episode of the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show, we will be talking about cruise cabins that will accommodate a family of five. Now, if you're new to cruising, this is a big deal. You wouldn't think that going from four to five people in the same room would be an issue, but it is, and we've got a solution for it. Princess Cruises has now announced that they will be sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, which by the way, Nikki and I were there about two, what was it, three weeks ago? Really like San Juan. Beautiful place. And we have a simple way to visit Europe with Globus and Cosmos. If you are brand new to the show, the entire purpose of this radio show and podcast is to help you plan and book your next vacation. And if you don't know where to go, we're going to give you ideas of where to go. And this show is presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. And just a big thank you. Truly, thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. Because without you, we don't have a company. We don't have a radio show. We don't have a podcast. Coming up in this segment, we've got the destination of the week. And we want you to be part of the show. So if you have travel-related questions, text us now or call us. 801-649-3700. And we'll get to the text here just a little bit later, but let's get to the travel news headlines. I
saw that Delta and Latam, which is Latin American Airlines, expanded their joint venture agreement to Argentina.
Mark Faldmo
So this is exciting because this connects more of South America to Delta Airlines network. This new part of the joint venture is adding Argentina. This actually started in 2019. So it already includes destinations in Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. But now they are adding five airports, including Buenos Aires, to their network.
Patrick Wiscombe
Argentina is one of those surprisingly awesome destinations.
Mark Faldmo
It is. Great stakes there.
Patrick Wiscombe
I wasn't expecting you to go food there.
Mark Faldmo
I always come back to food. So um Argentina is a great destination. It's also the starting point for many of those South American cruises that go to Antarctica and around the Cape to Chile. So this new partnership will make it easier for at least Delta Flyers to get to those destinations.
I thought this was kind of funny. How to survive your 2025 European vacation. Was this the text from one of our listeners?
Mark Faldmo
No, that that's a little bit later. This was just a story that kind of goes along with that because now people are starting to begin their trips to Europe. The busy season kind of starts mid-May, goes through mid-September. So these are just a couple tips. Some of these things we've talked about before, other things are just kind of tips for people to remember. The first thing is remember there's a new entry requirement for the United Kingdom. You do have to purchase an electronic travel authorization to enter the United Kingdom. It's not hard. You fill out an online form, pay about $20 a person, and it's just attached to your passport number. But you do have to get that authorization before traveling to the United Kingdom. And you can help people with that, right? Yes, it's easy. I actually just helped uh one of my customers with that last week. Okay. So I mean it's something you have to do on your own, but I can help walk you through it. Okay. The next thing is check your passport expiration date. Many countries require that your passport be valid for three or six months after your last date of travel. This is probably the biggest issue I run into is people that having a passport that expires too close to the end of their trip. A lot of people don't think of that. They think if if my passport's valid, then I should be able to travel. But again, a lot of countries do require that longer expiration date from your passport.
Patrick Wiscombe
If it's valid, it's valid. But why does it have to be three to six months after? And sometimes even haven't you told me even a year?
Mark Faldmo
I've seen a year in one case. I can't even remember what country it was. And that might have been some weird COVID drool or something when I saw that. Again, a lot or three to six months. And it's because say you have a medical emergency and you're there, they just want to make sure that you are covered to get home and don't have to go through that hassle of renewing your passport there. So a lot of countries actually also require proof of a return ticket. Oh, interesting. Okay. Some require proof of insurance. And so country by country, you kind of have to look at and see. But the main thing is this expiration date.
When Nikki and I were on MSC's World America, this would have been about two to three weeks ago. We took off from Puerto Rico, old San Juan. And in the middle of the night, several hours in, if you can check on whatever map application you're using, you can see where you are, assuming you have Wi-Fi. You can see where you are on your phone. And she goes, I was wondering why we had been sailing for about three, four hours, and all of a sudden we were very, very close to Puerto Rico. Well, it turns out that the ship turned around in the middle of the night. I was fast asleep. She was awake. And it turns out that they had a medical emergency where they actually turned the ship around because they're and and I met the the nurse who was attending this particular person on Ocean Key, MSc's private island. And I just happened to run into him. And he goes, Hey, I'm I'm the nurse. I said, Did something really happen in Puerto Rico? He goes, Yes. One of our guests, he's very polite, very professional, that experienced cardiac arrest. And so that's why they turned the ship around. He got off. So, in terms of my question of why do you need a passport past that expiration date? That's a good example of what could happen. I'm not saying everyone's going to experience cardiac arrest, but it does happen. It does. Yeah. What's the number three reason of how to survive the 2025 European vacation?
Mark Faldmo
Summer will be bring the crowds. So expect crowds, but also, you know, as what we talked about last week, protect your money, your passports, all of that. Pickpocketers love crowds. And so you want to make sure and protect your important information. Last week we talked about the RFID money belts and money necklaces that can protect your money credit cards and passports if you need to bring them with you on a short excursion. So go back and review those tips that we talked about last week.
Patrick Wiscombe
It was the May, what, May 3rd show? I think it was.
Mark Faldmo
May 3rd show.
Patrick Wiscombe
Yep. Yeah. It's a good segue. If you want to listen to other shows that we have done in the past, go to insight travel talk.com. Inside traveltalk.com. You can just stream the show on the website, but we'd also appreciate if you would subscribe to the show. Okay, sorry. Uh tip number four for Europe.
Mark Faldmo
Always have a plan B. More important than ever, things change, flight schedules, train schedules. Have a plan B if you need to go somewhere else or do something different. Don't have as regimented of a day planned out for tours and activities. Be flexible on what you're doing. Travel is amazing and fun, but as I found in all my traveling, it doesn't always go as you planned. So always have always have a plan B. Sometimes it's big, sometimes it's small, but always have a plan B.
Patrick Wiscombe
I'm gonna throw something else in here. Make sure you have just a little bit of extra money, whether that be on a you know credit card, cash, whatever. Because when unexpected expenses come up, if you're so tight on money, and there are people who are financially really tight, you better have a little bit of cash or a little bit of credit line still, because stuff does come up.
Mark Faldmo
Correct. Yeah. The last thing be a considerate traveler. Treat people with kindness. That includes the airline employees, your tour guides, all of that, even the local people. Just be a considerate traveler, respect their cultures and traditions, rules and laws, and you'll have a great trip.
we go to break, we received a text from one of our listeners. Last four numbers are 8963. I like this text, and it's a direct result of last week's show. He is a 70-year-old man, and he says in the text, I've never been to Europe. I would like to go to England. What other destinations in Europe would you recommend, Mark?
Mark Faldmo
The first thing is you could do the British Isles. You know, so go to England, do London, and then go up to Edinburgh, which is really easy to do. So you could do that kind of England and Scotland trains are easy access to get there. When I looked at this, I looked at the ease of transportation to get from place to place. Okay. So that's option one. You could do any of this on a globus tour or Cosmos tour where they take care of all of the transportation for you. But you know, if you wanted to do it on your own, you could do that England-Scotland tour. Option two would be either a London and Paris or London and Amsterdam. You can take the Eurostar channel to those two destinations and you can do a combination again, London, Paris, or London, Amsterdam. Personally, of those options, I would prefer Amsterdam. I love Amsterdam staying kind of in the central area, in the canal area, walking around. It's just such a lovely destination to visit.
Patrick Wiscombe
I hope that answers the question. Thank you for reaching out to us. If you have travel-related questions, contact the show during the break here, if you would. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. If you have your travel-related question, we don't care if you think it's a dumb question. Even if it's a complex question, we can break things down for you. 801-649-3700. Get a hold of us during the break. When we come back, we've got the hot travel deal of the week, always in segment number two, and we will be talking about Cancun. We got a little bit of a warning on that one. And we've got the hot travel deal of the week with uh Cosmos and Globus. The best ways to see London, Italy. We'll get to that next. When the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show continues, alongside my good friend Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be right back.
Todd Carlson
Taking you to destinations around the world. The Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show is presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. Thanks for listening. We'll be right back. Back
to the Insight Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisor. Call or text the show right now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsightTravel Talk.com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe
Coming to you live from the beautiful confines of Salt Lake City, Utah. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast radio show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo is. I wish I had some relaxing music right now. He is in Fiji. And where are you staying down there, Mark?
Mark Faldmo
I'm staying at the Sheraton in Fiji. Um, you know, I'll be here until actually next Saturday, and I'll do the show again from Fiji again, and we'll talk all about what I did in Fiji.
Patrick Wiscombe
That's some rough sled in there, buddy. Yes. What are you staring at right now? Just paint the visual for everyone. I know you're in the hotel room looking out.
Mark Faldmo
Yeah, the hotel room. I'm actually in a garden view room, so I'm just looking out to grass and trees. So no good beach view right here, but I love Fiji.
Patrick Wiscombe
All I heard was Fiji. Coming up in this segment of the show, we will be talking about a warning for tourists in Cancun. We'll get to that here in just a second. We also have the hot travel deal of the week, and we're going to tell listeners how you can save up to what is it, up to $500 per couple on some of these tours by Globus and Cosmos.
Mark Faldmo
There's some great offers on Europe tours right now.
Airlines are revising their forecasts with decreasing demand in air travel. That surprised me because every flight that I've been on in the last 30 days has been literally, they just say, hey, we're full front to back. I guess I'm just kind of surprised.
Mark Faldmo
There is decreasing demand. There's some jitters in the economy, and so people aren't flying. Delta this year expects when they release their you know first three months of the year, not forecast because it's done, but 500 million less in revenue than they initially forecast. A lot of that is due to snowstorms in the southeast and the northeast and the LA wildfires really impacted airlines revenue in the first quarter of this year. And then that has also just translated to people just aren't looking to fly anymore. But I put this in a different frame. What does that mean to the vacation traveler? It means lower prices. There's more seats available for less demand in travel. I'll give a quick example. This trip I'm on in Fiji now, they paid for my airfare and hotel from Los Angeles to Fiji, but I had to get my own way to Los Angeles. Sure. When I first looked at that about three, about four weeks ago, the price was about $460 to get Salt Lake to Los Angeles, which is very expensive. Oh, yeah, that's what I but then about two weeks, actually, it was about seven days before I left. So it was it was about ten days ago. I looked again at that. I I decided to gamble and wait. Yeah. And that airfare dropped down to $320 for the exact same flights. And so, you know, we talked about Costa Rica last week. I've never seen Costa Rica prices that low. And it's because the airfares have dropped two to three hundred dollars per person for some of these destinations. So there is lower demand. But if you want to travel, this is a great time to start looking for travel.
Patrick Wiscombe
We talked about that on the May 3rd show. Again, if you want to listen to that show or any of our previous shows, go to inside travel talk.com. You can just stream the show right there, or you can subscribe. We're on all of the major podcast platforms. Yeah, that was the first time that you mentioned that Costa Rica was about
at the thousand dollar mark, including you know five nights hotel flights to and from Salt Lake City, around a thousand bucks. Which what did you say it was about three, four hundred dollars less than what it normally goes for?
Mark Faldmo
Than what it normally goes. Yeah. Take advantage of that. That's what the declining demand means. Now later on, it might mean flight schedule updates, so cancellations, consolidation, but right now it is meaning really good prices to fly.
Patrick Wiscombe
Do it. I saw a story that tourists visiting Cancun are being warned to be cautious on all beaches after some incidents. What first
This is related to the waves and the the power of the ocean. And so they've had to come out and just make people extraware to pay attention. If it's a double red flag day, don't even touch the water. Along the hotel zone, they're in Cancun, there is no reef that really protects that. So those waves can get pretty big and pretty dangerous in the hotel zone. Sometimes it's glass and sometimes they're huge. So you just have to be careful of what the authorities have put out as far as flags. So, you know, again, a red flag is don't swim. Yellow flag is use caution, and a green flag is conditions are okay.
Patrick Wiscombe
I've never seen a double red flag before. I've seen a red flag before, but not double red.
Mark Faldmo
Double red flag means the ocean is close to the public due to extremely dangerous conditions. Just a single red flag, it's generally not recommended to swim when a red flag is posted. It means the conditions are dangerous due to strong currents, high surf, or other hazards. A yellow flag is caution. Conditions might include moderate surf. Swimming is allowed, but you should be careful and aware if you're not a strong swimmer. And then a green flag, conditions are generally calm and swimming is considered safe.
Patrick Wiscombe
While we're talking about visiting parts of the world, let's talk about Globus and Cosmos. First of all, who are they? Globus, I know they're they're basically a tour operator, but Cosmos,
Cosmos falls under the Globus family of brand. So there's Globus Tours. They generally use four or five-star hotels that are a little bit more centrally located. Cosmos is a little bit more of a budget company. They use three four-star hotels that are not as well located. They might be on the outskirts of town. They're mainly a price difference. They have very similar tours. Globus tours generally include a few more meals than Cosmos tours. And then Cosmos again is more of the, I don't want to say budget, but they're more of the better priced tours.
Patrick Wiscombe
A couple weeks ago, we had TJ McAvoy with Globus on the show. But one of the things we didn't talk about was what they call their hub and spoke tours. So let's talk about that.
Mark Faldmo
This is a great idea. They are tours that generally you'll just stay six or seven nights in one city, but then they include all of the pre-arranged tours and also some optional activities that you can do. These tours are great because they include some built-in flexibility. They give you free time to explore, also stress-free travel because they do include a lot of those main tours, main things that you'll want to do and see. And you have a tour director with you at the whole time. So you have someone there that can answer all of your questions about the destinations, where to eat, what to do.
Patrick Wiscombe
That could be a real benefit for some people.
Mark Faldmo
It is, yeah. And you know, also these provide more value. So not only do you have the knowledge of the local tour guide that's with you, you have a single price that covers accommodation, transportation, all of your guides. Everything's handled in advance. I've often told the story. I love it when I'm with these tours because I'm getting so much good information. And then I see other people with their heads in guidebooks. They're trying to figure out what to do, where to see. A lot of people, I think, waste so much time trying to figure things out when they do it on their own. It's just so much better to do it with a local guide that can help you figure all of that out.
Patrick Wiscombe
This could be a real option for our listener. The the text that we received, the 70-year-old gentleman who's never been to Europe that wants to go, this could be a legitimate option for him.
Mark Faldmo
It is, yeah. And these these Hub Unspoke tours, they actually can do them in combination. So you could do a London and Paris. Okay. You do a few nights in London, few nights in Paris, with everything taken into account in between all the transportation. So yes, that definitely is a good option for the texture.
Patrick Wiscombe
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week, which is going to be a globus and cosmos option.
for both of these brands, Cosmos, again, which is the little bit more budget brand, is $300 per couple off of select tours. Also, one thing to note, Cosmos also has a selection of tours. Some of them start at around $1,000 a person for these tours. And then Globus has uh save up to $500 on select tours. What locations are we talking about? What I've done, I I've chosen three of these kind of hub and spoke tours, and we'll go over what is included. So the first one is a Globus tour. So this does have that $500 off per couple. This tour is called London Country. It's a six-night, seven-day tour where you stay in London the whole time. It includes a few meals along the way, but what it does include are side trips to the Cotswolds, to Oxford and Stratford-upon Avon, side trips to Stonehenge and Salisbury, as well as some trips in London itself. Okay. So just a great way to get a kind of a comprehensive London tour.
Patrick Wiscombe
What about Cosmos? What place did you select there?
Mark Faldmo
I've got two tours with Cosmos. Both of them are in Italy. The first one is called Gourmet Tuscany. And so this is a eight-day, seven-night tour, and you actually stay in Tuscany in Monticini. Anything in southern Italy? This is kind of an off the beaten path. It's called Gourmet Puglia. Now, a lot of people probably don't know where Puglia is, but it is in the Hill of the Boot of Italy. So it's the little peninsula that's the Hill of the Boot, seven-night, eight-day tour with just that hub and spoke concept where you're going to Bari, and then most of it is in Martina Franca is the name of the city. And then you just go out and see different areas in the hill of the boot of Italy. And I have never been in that area. It looks fascinating, some of these tours that they offer. So, you know, these little hub and spoke tours are a great way to get a really in-depth vacation in certain regions of countries.
Patrick Wiscombe
This option is kind of interesting.
Mark Faldmo
It's a great way to say see places around Europe.
Patrick Wiscombe
That's the hot travel deal of the week. If you are interested in going on a globus or cosmos tour, the ones that we talked about, or if you want to go to a different location, they're
a great company and they do a great job with their tours. Call Mark, he can book it for you, or just get the conversation started. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And he will also post this on BluePlanetvacations.com. When we come back, it is time for the infamous just cruising segment. We've got the cruise news of the week and we've got the cruise deal of the week. We've got a princess cruise and other Southern Caribbean salines. That is next. When the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues, alongside Mark Faldmo, my good friend, who's in Fiji. You should have taken me, Mark. Yep. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be right back.
Todd Carlson
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Call or text the show now. 801 649 3700. That's 801 649 3700. And check out the podcast at Inside Travel Talk.com. We'll be right back.
