Greetings, Travel Tip-Seekers!

Here are this week’s tips curated for you from our reliable sources in the travel industry and from general interest newsletters, websites, and publications.

I don’t like fumbling with my phone when I get to the gate, so I usually print my boarding pass. Old school, I know. But then I either leave it in the seat pocket in front of me or toss it in the trash after I land.

Travel + Leisure says I should stop doing that. “If you ever need to prove that you were on a flight, your boarding pass serves as solid evidence,” the article states. There are more reasons you might need to offer proof of flight than you’d think. Read More.

The New York Times recently published a helpful article about how to file a travel insurance claim. The top 2 tips:

Here is a link to the article in case you have a subscription. It’s behind a paywall.

Let’s say you’re planning to travel without NextTribe (we know, it happens). And let’s say it’s a trip with a spouse or partner. Or a sister. Or a best friend. A break up or a falling out could happen any time—even before you get on the plane, but after you’ve put the Air BnB on your credit card. Well guess what? A clever entrepreneur (a woman, natch) has started a company that sells breakup insurance! You can read about it here.

Patience. Bruce Lee calls it “concentrated strength.” No matter where you’re going or how you’re getting there, if you can’t roll with circumstances that are out of your control, you’re going to be worse off than if you practice “active patience.” For example, the new European digital Entry/Exit system has caused some long lines at certain airports at the busiest times.

If you’re visiting a Schengen country this summer just be sure to give yourself plenty of time for passport, fingerprint and facial scanning. Expect long wait times and maybe you’ll be surprised. My trick for waiting in line: see how long it takes the first person in your line to get through, then multiply that by the number of people ahead of you. It will help you manage your own expectations.

And talk to the people around you. You never know what you’ll learn from them. Or put on your headphones and power through it. “Rivers know this. There is no hurry,” said Pooh Bear. “We shall get there someday.”

I had never heard of Porter Airlines until yesterday, but it’s been around for 20 years! It’s a boutique, regional Premium Economy Airline based in Canada. Their claim to fame is “no middle seats.” They’re expanding like crazy, and just added Austin and Nashville to its US destinations. Porter flies to 40 cities across North America, including in Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean.

I just counted and I subscribe to 72 podcasts, but only a few are in my regular rotation. Last night I heard an episode that was so entertaining, educational, funny and satisfying I just had to share it with you.

It’s about a US inventor from the 19th century who traveled in a unique way, and…that’s all I’m going to tell you. Listen to the end. Trust me. It’s fascinating. Love’s Gas Bag. The best 39 minutes you’ll spend on your walk, sitting on an airplane, or if you’re like me, staying awake when you should be asleep!

I hope you’ll reply to this email and let me know what you thought of it.

Thanks for reading. Happy trails!

Jeannie Edmunds

Chief Operating Officer

P. S. If you’re considering our “gorilla trip” next year, a couple of the travelers who were booked on this year’s trip (which we had to postpone) can’t go next year and would like to sell their spots at a discount.

Please respond to this email and we’ll be happy to put you in touch with these travelers.

Check out these surprisingly cheap prices on Icelandair! We’re still finding flights from NY to Reykjavik for $450 round trip for these dates! With all its raw, elemental beauty, Iceland also offers refined Nordic sophistication—world-class restaurants, striking architecture, cutting-edge art, and excellent shopping. It's a place of wonderful contradictions: wild yet welcoming, remote yet remarkably progressive (hello, most gender-equal country in the world).

All the details here.

Click on a square to see our trip listing.

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