Its September and I’m travelling again! This time I’ll be travelling to Turkey and Croatia!
This trip was an idea all the way back when Gimpy, Muscles and I were travelling through Africa in 2016. On one of the long bus rides we had in Egypt. Gimpy had mentioned one of her travel bucket lists was to ride in a hot air balloon in Turkey. One of my own travel goals had been to do an Aeroplan business class awards redemption. Also transiting through Istanbul to experience the famous Turkish Air lounge.
Nothing much came from these conversations. Gimpy went and got married, and I travelled to other locations since. It wasn’t until news came out that Aeroplan and Air Canada were parting ways that I started looking into making a redemption. As I started planning, it turns out that not only did Gimpy have enough points to travel with me, she was available and willing to check it off her bucket list!
Flights
After a little bit of research and planning, we settled on an itinerary that would take us to Turkey and Croatia before returning home. I was able to book my entire flight in Business class for just a little over $200 Canadian when all was said and done. Through this process I learned a lot about what it actually takes to make the travel points game work for you. There are TONS of other resources out there that talk about this in far greater detail, but if you’re curious how I did it send me a note and I’d be happy to share.
Turkey
With the flights sorted, we started to get excited about the different things we’d be able to see and experience whilst on our trip. With little to no knowledge about getting around Turkey, we started looking at different tour companies with itineraries that would meet our needs. We’ve had some amazing experiences in the past with GAdventures so it was one of the first places we looked. After a bit of shopping we settled on their Absolute Turkey trip. It had an itinerary that checked off a lot of boxes for us, and our familiarity with their style of travel in Egypt and Africa made it an easy decision. The tour was light on the time spent in Istanbul, we decided to stay a few extra days to explore this amazingly interesting city.
Croatia
Our next stop would be Croatia where we would be joined by a friend, we’ll call her Vino! (I’m sure you can figure out why, jokingly of course) We would all meet in Dubrovnik, rent a car and drive up the coast over the course of 10 days. Stopping a few times along the way and ending in Zagreb. Doing some initial research, we were amazed at the natural beauty Croatia possesses. We’re eager to see what this country has to offer!
This trip started as a way to help us check a few items off our list. So of note, some of the big things we’re hoping to see, do and experience are:
- Hot air balloon rides in Cappadocia
- Business class redemption and Turkish Airlines Lounge experience
- See the natural beauty of Croatia
- Visit King’s Landing 🙂
- Explore Istanbul and try Turkish coffee
Its been quite a bit of time since I’ve taken a longer trip like this. I’m excited to get going. The past few months have been incredibly busy (look at the lack of blog posts) and this is a much needed break. Sitting in the lounge writing this post, I’m super thankful to have this opportunity to travel. And I’m especially excited to see what God has in store for me over the next few weeks! Hopefully you’ll be able to follow along as we adventure through Turkey and Croatia!