We have three weeks left in December. It is a great time to look back on what you did over the past year and what you are looking forward to in 2025. I had a lot of fun this year growing my business and planning trips for folks. This was a travel-filled year for me as well. I visited cities that have been on my bucket list, cities I never thought I would visit, and cities I had the chance to get to know better.
Another thing I have been working on is building a website for all of my world travel tips.
My website, Kristen Fung Travels, is live. (Yay!)
On the site, you will find tons of information about working with a travel advisor, travel tips, city guides, and self-guided itineraries. Some of this was featured in previous issues of my newsletter and is now included in the completed guides.
The next series of city guides and itineraries follows my epic year of travel in 2024. As always, you will get previews of all of these trips just by subscribing to the newsletter.
If you know someone who would love this newsletter, forward this issue to them or send them to my creator profile.
This is the planned path for the year of city-focused newsletters:
Food tour up the Pacific Coast Highway
Austin, TX
Montreal, QC, Canada
London, UK
and then on to Italy, Copenhagen, and a circle back to Canada.
I hope that this next year of newsletters inspires your 2025 travels. If you are looking at any of these destinations now and want to chat about them before the newsletter issues come out, let’s set up a time.
The website is a work in progress, and I want to make sure that the headers are mobile-compliant, but I might need to outsource this.
Travel Tips from a Traveler
New Passengers Bill of Rights for the United States
Photo by David Syphers for Upsplash
We finally have a passenger’s bill of rights in the United States!!! This is wonderful news as it gives all travelers on U.S. airlines some recourse when their flights are delayed or baggage is lost. It no longer penalizes families that want to sit together. There is a lot to read here, but ultimately, it will make flying less of a headache.
A new law goes into effect on January 8, 2025, requiring non-UK citizens to get a travel visa before entering England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The questionnaire is similar to what you’d have to answer in a TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry interview. The cost is approximately $7 USD.
Question: But Kristen, didn’t you tell me about a travel visa to the European Union? If I want to travel to London and Paris, would I need to fill out two visas?
Answer: Yes. You need two travel visas for this trip: the UK ETAand the EU’s ETIAS. You must complete the visa even if you have a layover in London, Belfast, or other cities in the UK. There is no hard date for ETIAS yet, it is listed as mid-2025.
REMINDER: Check your passport now. If it expires less than a year, it is time to make a plan to get it renewed.
Deals
Although the Black Friday and Travel Tuesday deals are over, there are still deals to be had. I have access to specific hotel deals, but there are too many to mention. For example, there are deals at the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas and the Ritz Carlton-Maui, but not all hotels in these hotel groups are on sale.
If you are thinking about Las Vegas, Tokyo, Amsterdam, or anywhere else in 2025, contact me.
Talking to me costs nothing, and for a simple trip, I charge a $0 planning fee.
When do I charge a planning fee? My services and rates explain all of that.
As a travel advisor, I get the chance to visit great properties around the city. I totally fell in love with thePalihouse Hotel in Santa Monica and thought it would be a perfect property for those who are alcohol-free. There is no bar on site, and instead of the usual guest social hour filled with alcohol, they craft mocktails for their guests using ingredients from the Santa Monica Farmer's Market.
Also, tons of original Hollywood Regency details. Pali Society Hotels are also pet friendly. If you want to stay in this hotel, you know who to contact.
Kristen Fung is a travel curator who merges her love of art, food, and hidden gems around the world. Subscribe to Out of Office Curated, a newsletter with travel inspiration, itineraries, tips, and deals.
