On our trip to Ireland last year, a few of us tried to do some Irish dancing. Not sure how successful we were. But if you have a bit of Irish in you, please come with us to Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way in May. Or at least drop by our Trip Preview on Zoom tomorrow.

Greetings, Travel Tip-Seekers!

We’re getting some nice submissions in our travel photo contest that really do capture a sense of wonder. But we have no idea what our professional judges will think. With a deadline of May 15, there’s still time for you and your friends to submit your best travel photos (even if they’re not from a NextTribe trip). You may win $1,000 in cash or $2,000 credit toward a future NextTribe trip!

Check out all the details here.

Remember, you are allowed to clean up your photos but no AI images will be accepted. Our judges have ways of checking for that.

Don’t forget. Deadline to submit is May 15.

Now, in other news…

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.

Am I the last one to the back rest party? I’ve traveled with one of these in my carryon for the last few years but never used it until last week. What a difference this makes in the cheap seats, where there is zero lumbar support. I have a different brand that I have to blow up, which is pretty easy (a lot easier than my inflatable neck pillow) but this one self-inflates. Worth every penny, in my opinion. Invest in one of these and you can probably fly in a less expensive seat from now on.

Have you ever worked as a housekeeper in a hotel? I haven’t. But I know it’s a physically demanding job. Having to change fitted sheets in multiple rooms is bad enough. Add to that the horrors many guests leave behind.

Even if you think you’re a nice, thoughtful guest, you can take a few extra seconds to put all your dirty towels in one pile on the counter by the sink. You’ll save her (and it’s almost always “her”) a few seconds and additional strain on her back. Gather your trash and put it one trash can. Empty your bottles. Leave a nice note with the tip. These small gestures won’t take you a lot of time, and they can make a big difference in her day.

Coming back from Ecuador last Friday I was glad to see Global Entry was working—especially mine—since I had been pulled aside for a secondary screening when I came back from Morocco in February.

“Sometimes it just happens” the agent told me after I’d stood in front of the camera 3 different times and then got re-directed to a human. “What, are you checking my social media?” I asked the agent. She didn’t respond, just repeated what the other agent had said.

Meanwhile Denver airport officials are asking passengers to offer gift cards to TSA workers who still aren’t getting paid due to the US government shutdown. What a mess.

Wait times at TSA in Houston exceeded 3 hours last week. Want to know about your airport in advance? You can download the app here.

For the foreseeable future, the prices you see today for just about everything are the cheapest they will be for the foreseeable future. If you’ve been sitting on the fence watching a trip, or if you’ve booked a trip and haven't bought your plane tickets yet, do it today.

I just looked at tickets for a personal trip to Europe in the Fall and the airfare is up 20% in a week. Economists say it will take many months for jet fuel prices to come down, even if the fighting were to stop today. The travel pros in our network tell us they’re spending this week pre-paying for everything they have booked through the end of 2026, including airfares. You know what they say about oil/gas prices: they go up like a rocket, and come down like a feather.

Thanks and hope to see you down the road—

Jeannie Edmunds

Chief Operating Officer

Click on a square to see our trip listing.

REMEMBER: We offer interest-free monthly payments

All Trip Previews at 6:30 pm ET.

Someone present at each Zoom event will win a $400 discount in a random drawing ($200 for domestic trips), unless the trip is Sold Out.