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.
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
0:00
|
25:24
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 an epic cruise run, while Mark holds down the studio and helps keep the details straight, including a couple of inaugural sailings that cruise fans will be watching closely.
From there, we jump into travel news you can actually use. Delta’s expanding Hawaii flights from Salt Lake City, adding a seasonal nonstop to Kona on the Big Island alongside existing Honolulu and seasonal Maui service. If you care about fewer connections, better schedules, and easier island vacations, this is the kind of update that changes what’s realistic for your next trip.
We also talk about two trends that make planning more fun: scenic rail and set jetting. Rocky Mountaineer’s U.S. route is becoming Canyon Spirit, and the line is expanding to connect Denver, Moab, and Salt Lake City. Then we head to the UK for filming location travel, from Harry Potter highlights like the Jacobite steam train over the Glenfinnan Viaduct to Downton Abbey-style day trips, Oxford literary stops, and even a Paddington-themed tour.
To bring it home, we answer a listener question about Puerto Vallarta in the fall and break down all-inclusive Mexico vacation packages designed for a family of five, with the right bedding so nobody ends up sleeping on the floor. If you like practical travel advice, real pricing context, and ideas you can act on fast, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review with the destination you want us to tackle next.
This episode of The Vacation Nerd Podcast and Radio Show is presented by Rampage Rental & Repair!
Headed to St. George, Utah? Get out and RIDE! Rent or buy your Ebike at Rampage Rental & Repair—or get your own bike tuned up and trail-ready.
Cruise Snow Canyon, ride the Virgin River Trail, or explore Kayenta.
Reserve your ebike ride today! Call 435-767-2003 or book at RampageRentalRepair.com.
Rampage Rental & Repair—gear up, get out, and RIDE!
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.
Helping you plan your next vacation. This is the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's best travel advisors. Call us now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-30700. And check out the podcast at InsightTraveltalk.com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick is in full mode. Welcome to the Insight Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show. Hello there. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Alongside my good friend Mark Faldmo, it is time to talk travel. And the entire purpose of this show is to help you. We want you to become part of the show so you can plan and book your next vacation, or we can give you ideas of where you want to vacation next. And this show is presented by BluePlanet Vacations.com. And if you have travel-related questions, we want you to be part of the show. Text your travel-related questions right now, 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And a sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. Whether it's on the radio or you are podcasting us just a little bit later. Mark Vacation Patrick is officially in the building, and I'm excited.
Mark Faldmo
You have a big adventure coming up.
Patrick Wiscombe
I don't know how many people go on four consecutive cruises, and I do mean back to back to back to back. And we only have two days off on cruise number four, between cruise three and cruise four. How common is that? I don't think four is that common.
Mark Faldmo
Several people do back to back, just two cruises. I've done that several times, but never back to back to back to back. Never four four cruises. I I've never seen that before.
Patrick Wiscombe
I am in Fort Lauderdale doing the show from the hotel. Mark is back in Salt Lake engineering the entire broadcast. Coming up this week, Nikki and I will be jumping on Celebrities Ascent, going to the Caribbean, and then I have to keep them in order. Holland America, also going to different ports in the Caribbean. And then the third one, which I will see you down here for MSC's World America, and then cruise number four is the brand new ship from Norwegian cruise line Aqua. Two of the four cruises literally are going on their inaugural sailing. I can't believe that this is a reality right now. It's quite amazing that you're going to do that and get that experience. You will be down here in what two weeks? In two weeks. And your plans for MSc World America, you're part of the media tour, and there will be a lot of press, not only print and regular press, but there will be a lot of YouTube press on MSc's World America.
Mark Faldmo
Yeah, there will be. It's going to be an amazing ship.
some awesome cruising deals for listeners coming up in the infamous Just Cruising segment. But let's start the show by getting to the travel news headlines. Anytime Delta makes news, it usually impacts Salt Lake in a good way. Delta has announced or they that they will be adding more Hawaii service from Salt Lake City. This is great news for us.
Mark Faldmo
Starting late fall next year, we'll add a seasonal route from Salt Lake City to Kona on the big island.
Patrick Wiscombe
Oh.
Mark Faldmo
They'll have their daily nonstop service from Honolulu. They'll have their seasonal service, Salt Lake to Maui.
Patrick Wiscombe
And they did you say that one is seasonal? That one is seasonal.
Mark Faldmo
It doesn't operate year-round. Okay. It operates during the winter months. And then they'll add this Salt Lake to Kona route, which I'm excited for.
If you have listened to this show even a little bit in the last year and a half, you know that uh we, Mark and I, are big train people. So I found this announcement kind of interesting that Rocky Mountaineer, the train company, is going to rebrand their Denver to Moab, that they're going to rebrand that particular line.
Mark Faldmo
They are. Yep. So so the new name, the actual train name will be the Canyon Spirit. And the itinerary will still be the Red Rocks to Rockies, but it will be Canyon Spirit, will be the brand that operates that. So they're going to keep the Rocky Mountaineer in the Canadian Rockies. So that will remain the same. And they're just renaming their US train to the Canyon Spirit train. And also another exciting thing for those of us here in uh Salt Lake City, they have extended the route. So it will go between Denver and Salt Lake City. It'll be that original route which goes to Moab, but then from Moab it'll go up to Salt Lake City.
Patrick Wiscombe
Oh, whoa, whoa. Hold on. So it's not just Denver to Moab, it's now Denver to Moab, Moab to Salt Lake City.
Mark Faldmo
To Salt Lake City. So those of us in Salt Lake, we'll be able to board that train in Salt Lake City and end up in Denver. I would be just fine with that. I would. Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe
You went on it August 2024 and you loved it.
Mark Faldmo
I loved it. Yep. And you know, actually next week, it's exciting. We have August Font, who's the sales manager for Rocky Mountaineer, and now the Canyon Spirit. Next week we have a whole interview that's going to be talking about the whole company, the routes and his favorite routes.
segment of the show, we've got the destination of the week. You didn't know that this was one of my favorite things, is filming locations. You can go visit all of these locations where films, popular films have been shot. You can jump on an airplane and go visit all these locations. And that's our destination of the week. What are the details?
Mark Faldmo
This is a trend. It's called set jetting, jetting around to different film sets. And I've actually had several people asked to do this. This particular segment is going to be about the UK, but there's also a similar trend in Hawaii and other places in Europe. Great Britain and Ireland have several different places where films are made. And they've actually kicked off a campaign. So Visit Britain has a campaign called Showcase Britain highlighting all of the different movie sets and places you can go around Britain. Probably the one that's most requested by me. I've arranged several people's Europe tours around this, are things around Harry Potter. Of course, yeah. On that. It is. Yeah, quite amazing. And probably, and this is one I have not done. I've sent several people on that I but I want to do that. It's the Scottish Highlands and Jacobite steam train.
Patrick Wiscombe
Yeah, okay.
Mark Faldmo
So that is the famous scenes from Harry Potter with the steam train going over the Glenfanan Viaduct, aka the Harry Potter Bridge.
Patrick Wiscombe
Oh, that gigantic thing?
Mark Faldmo
Yeah, yeah. And so that is a tour that I absolutely want to do. One thing it's a train. I love trains. And then, you know, being in the Scottish Highlands is pretty amazing. You know, I have several people that just go to Edinburgh, stay for a few days, do that train, which is a full day train. Other popular things in the UK and Great Britain. There's a lot of period dramas that take place there. Downton Abbey tours. Nikki would love that one. They had their full-day tours. They see the Cotswolds and different places from Downton Abbey, Bridgerton that you can do. In London, there's a Sherlock Holmes walking tour. Those two movies were sneaky good. Other things. There's Titanic Experience Museum in the area. And there's also Secrets of the Titanic Walking Tour that you can do. Wouldn't that be underwater? That would be underwater, yeah. What other tours? Assuming that there are more. There's several more. I'm only grazing the top of this. You know, probably the most popular ones are the ones I would be interested in. This next tour, and I've done this or a version of this, and it's in Oxford. It's the C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien tour in Oxford. So it goes around to all the places that they visited. They're in Oxford in Christchurch College. That's also a Harry Potter scene. That's the dining room scene in Christchurch College. But also that whole room is filled with the imagery from Alice in Wonderland. You go in there, there's a whole stained glass window in there that's just for Alice in Wonderland. And then all of the imagery that's around there from those authors. It's very interesting to see. So, you know, that's definitely a tour that you should do.
Patrick Wiscombe
Is there an opportunity to go to platform nine and three quarters? Yep.
Mark Faldmo
There's several tours in London that actually do that. There's a Harry Potter walking tour that includes that. There's also a Harry Potter tour by London taxi, so their black cabs go around and do that. One that I want to do, because I absolutely love this movie. There is a Paddington Bear tour. Walk around, see some of those places. A few weeks ago, went and saw the newest Paddington with Heather, and we absolutely loved it.
Patrick Wiscombe
There's just something magical about the movies, and then going and seeing the places and recalling where the actual movie took place. It's just kind of fun to see that. When you can put the movie in the location, just kind of fun. If you are interested in doing a UK jet setting or a set jetting, I got that backwards. Call Mark in his office. Just get the conversation started. Get the information you need. No obligation. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. When we come back, we've got the hot travel deal of the week, and we are going to, where are we? We're going to Mexico. We've got some great cruising deals. No, no, no. Actually, these are the hotel deals, aren't they? They are hotel deals. Okay. That is next. When the Inside Travel Talk podcast or radio show continues, alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be back in about two minutes.
Todd Carlson
If you have travel questions, they have the answers. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo. Presented by BluePlanetVacations.com. Call or text the show right now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. We'll be right back.com. America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsightTravelTalk.com. Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show. Hello there. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. Whether you're listening to us on Saturday morning at 11 o'clock Mountain or on Sunday at 11 o'clock mountain. Coming up in this segment of the show, we will be talking about the hot travel deal of the week. And this week we are going to Mexico. We've got a good deal to get down to Mexico, but let's first get to the travel news headlines of the week. And just as we transition over, let me just extend an invitation to all of our listeners. We want to answer your travel-related questions. So call or text the studio right now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. We want to answer your travel-related questions. Okay, let's get to the travel
news. This was a big announcement by Beaches Resort. This is in Jamaica, correct? I've got the right beaches. It's in the Caribbean.
Mark Faldmo
Yeah, okay. Sandals and Beaches Resorts are going to invest nearly $1 billion to expand the Beaches brand. Okay. So there's the Sandals brand, which is the adults only all-inclusive, and then there's Beach's Resorts, which is the all-inclusive family brand. And so they are going to uh really expand that family brand in the Caribbean. They've announced new resorts in Barbados, in Exuma, which is the Bahamas, Runaway Bay in Jamaica, and they are going to convert one of their current sandals resorts into a beachers resort in Jamaica. They're going to build new hotels, convert a few existing hotels, family travel, which we'll
actually see later on in this segment. We have a family travel vacation, but it's something that has been a little bit not thought through in the travel world. It's been harder when you have larger families to travel. And so these resorts are going to be designed for families. They're going to have accommodations that will hold more per room and really try and get family travel to the Caribbean islands.
Patrick Wiscombe
Have you ever stayed at a sandals resorts or beaches resorts before?
Mark Faldmo
I have never stayed at a beachers resort, but I've stayed
in a sandals resort twice. I've stayed at the sandals in Bahamas just this past January for a meeting that I was at.
Patrick Wiscombe
And then Heather and I was that a Sandals resort when you were there?
Mark Faldmo
That was at a Sandals resort.
Patrick Wiscombe
Oh, I didn't know that. Okay.
Mark Faldmo
And then Heather and I stayed at the Sandals Montego Bay in Jamaica a few years back.
Patrick Wiscombe
Generally speaking, very nice resorts though. Picturesque. Okay. Avalon Waterways has announced a fleetwide refresh of the ships. Now I know that your favorite rooms when you
cruise on the river is Avalon Waterways, because the bed actually faces the window. Were you surprised that they were announcing a fleetwide refresh?
Mark Faldmo
Every cruise line is always making sure they're up to date with the styles and everything like that. So they're going to upgrade the decor throughout all of the public spaces. Oh. You know, make it more modern. They are going to improve the internet connectivity. They're going to add a second Starlink antenna to each ship. So that'll help the internet connectivity. They're going to redesign the sky deck. That's something I'm interested in. Because on most river crew ships, it's just a blank deck up there, and they put deck chairs. You know, they have to be able to take all of that down to get underneath some of the bridges. So there's not a lot they can do, but I'll be interested to see what they do with that sky deck area. They're going to enhance the observation lounge, upgrade the fitness facilities, and then they're also upgrading, they're adding more to their fleet of bicycles. That's one thing that's nice about a river cruise, they have bicycle tours. And so you can get off and cycle through the little villages you stop in. So each ship is going to get 15 new bikes plus four new e-bikes per ship.
Patrick Wiscombe
Have you ever experienced an electric bike before? I have not. No. Dude, they are some of the most amazing experiences. Did you know that I have an e-bike? I do. Yeah. I did see that when I was at your house once. Yeah, 5,600 miles on that bike. The tires are literally worn out. I'm not trying to talk about my fitness. If they're adding e-bikes, that's kind of interesting.
Mark Faldmo
So they are going through the full fleet-wide upgrade. This is going to be over the next year or two as they do that. They'll do a couple ships here the end of 2025, a couple in 2026, you know, to get them all upgraded uh to these standards that they want to be at.
Patrick Wiscombe
You know what's interesting to me? You mentioned how low the bridges are, and the bridge of the ship literally sinks into the middle of the ship so they can clear and get under those bridges. It's wild to see.
Mark Faldmo
It is.
Patrick Wiscombe
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week, which is a text that we received during the last break. This is from who is this from?
Sharon, who she says that she wants to take her family to Mexico, Port of Ayarta, and she is asking, is the fall an okay time to go? And is there a room that would hold a family of five? The answer is I believe so. Yes. Yes and yes.
Mark Faldmo
Yes. Fall is fall is a good time to go. I would go later in the year. Uh, she particularly asked for late October, which I think is a great time to go. It's not as humid there. You're just you know starting to get a little bit cooler temperatures. It's always warm in Porto Vallta, but you know, a little bit lower temperatures, a little bit lower humidity. One thing she says a room that will hold a family of five. So as we talked about with the previous story about beaches kind of expanding that family travel, it's always been hard to find rooms that will hold five. There are several hotels will allow five in a room, but they might just have one king bed or two twin beds, which doesn't really help for a family of five. And so, you know, I've gone through and I found three places that do have good bedding for a family of five, so you don't have to get a roll away in the Wiscombe family. It was uh called Patrick on the floor. Yeah. So we want to get you in a place where Patrick is not on the floor. Hey, listen, I'm a dad now, so I get the bed on the floor, kids. Whenever I was always traveling with large groups, since I made all the travel arrangements, I always claimed a bed for myself. Everyone else fought over what was left in there or slept on the floor. So that was one of the conditions of me booking the trips with my friends. So so I guess first of all, we'll go over the promotion, which is save up to $200 to Porto Vallarta. Now, this is booked by April 15th to get that save up to $200, and that is per package. And you love Porto Vallarta. I do. I I love Porto Vallarta. When we're looking for a larger family, it's really important to make sure you have a room that has the right bedding. So these three resorts are ones that I like that I've stayed at before. These packages are a five nights hotel, round trip airfare uh from Salt Lake City. For our listeners that are outside of outside of Salt Lake City, we can get a price for you. And this is departing October 22nd. The Malia Porta Vallarta, which is a four and a half star hotel, the price starts at $1,099 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe
Oh wow.
Mark Faldmo
And that room does have two queen beds and a bunk bed. The Ryu Vallarta, which is a four and a half star, starts at $12.19 per person. And that is two queen beds and one double bed. And then the Marivelle Emotions. This is probably my favorite hotel for families down there. They do a great job with activities for kids. They're really a good family hotel. Their four and a half stars starts at $13.49 per person. And theirs is two-bedroom with two king beds in each bedroom, plus a sofa sleeper.
Patrick Wiscombe
So that is a genuinely good option if you're going to Mexico.
Mark Faldmo
Now, there are several hotels that said they would allow five. They were three and four star, they were less expensive. But you know, these are the ones I would go with. You want your family to have a good experience. Also, again, have the proper bedding.
Patrick Wiscombe
Well, the thing that I like about this is that it includes airfare, five nights hotel, transfers to and from the airport to the hotel, and of course back. That's a big deal, and of course, finding the right bed, like you said.
Mark Faldmo
Yeah. And then they are all all inclusive. So all of your meals and drinks. So really a family of five could go spend that price and not spend another dime if they didn't want to.
Patrick Wiscombe
When you don't look forward to going back to the hotel because it's a not good, makes all the difference. And when everyone's happy, it just makes for a better vacation. Even though it may cost a little more. Everyone comes back happy. It's the quality of the vacation. Go. Go to Mexico. Go to Port of Aarta. Sharon, you probably are going to have additional questions. And of course, anyone else who's listening to the show right now, get out. See the world while you can. Especially while you've got your family home. That time goes by so quickly. Call Mark in his office. Just get the conversation started. No obligation, of course. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And you can also see this on BluePlanetVacations.com. When we come back, it is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment. We will be talking about the Port of New Orleans having a
record-breaking year. And of course, we've got two cruises with awesome pricing. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We'll be back in just a couple of minutes.
Todd Carlson
They've literally traveled millions of miles to answer your travel-related questions. Yeah, they really have. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show, presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's best travel advisors. Patrick and Mark will be back after these messages.
