My 2024 travel year turned out much different than I envisioned this time last year. I didn’t make it to Chicago, Jamacia, Ecuador, Belgium or Mexico. I didn’t do the nine-day hut-to-hut hike in the White Mountains and for the second year in a row I still didn’t do a Caribbean live-aboard. It took my mom and I months to figure out where we wanted to go on our annual trip and my girlfriend and I just as long to figure out our plans. But while it was different than I planned, and definitely a lighter year than 2023, I was able to:
Revisit New York City and the Dominican Republic
Return to Copenhagen after over thirty years and visit the Faroe Islands.
Have a road trip through New England and see five new U.S States
Bike the length of the C&O canal
Visit one new country – Grenada
And after years of putting it off, I was able to visit Puerto Rico, my third U.S Territory.
Here is a more detailed year in review, breaking down the numbers and my “Best Of” winners (and some losers).
By the numbers:
Countries: 4. I returned to the Dominican Republic and Denmark. And I visited Grenada and the Faroe Islands for the first time. For my personal counting, I am going to count the Faroe Islands as a separate and distinct country. This is much lower than 2023, coming in at 11 countries.
U.S States & Territories: 12. I went to New England and Puerto Rico for the first time. And I spent more time in West Virginia than I have in a long time. I was also in Ohio, New York, and Utah. And of course, based on where I live, it is a regular occurrence to travel between Maryland, DC and Virginia.
Nights Away from Home: 48. These 48 nights are over 13 trips. The two longest trips were 9 nights in Copenhagen/Faroe Islands and 9 nights in New England. Last year I spent 77 nights away from home.
Different Places I Slept: 29. I stayed in one place for most of my trips this year and only in New England and the C&O canal was I changing every night.
Planes: 16. Since I did so much domestic travel this is significantly less than the 37 flights in 2023.
Trains: 2
Ferries/Boats: 4
Rental Cars: 4
Miles Biked: 184.5
Miles Walked: Just over 1500 miles
Points and Miles: I am also pretty excited to report that I didn’t pay for a single overseas flight other than from Copenhagen to the Faroe Islands. I used existing American Airlines miles for the Dominican Republic, I got a Jet Blue card for the welcome bonus for my flight to Puerto Rico flight, I used existing Chase points for Grenada, and I used existing Delta miles for the flight to Copenhagen.
Favorite hotel: Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire. I would have never stayed there if I hadn’t gotten a fabulous rate. I love the old school charm and I could have spent days siting on the porch with a book and a drink looking at the scenery. Runners up would be the Highland Center which is also in New Hampshire, the Bavarian Inn in West Virginia and TownHill B&B in Maryland. The Highland Center is definitely not fancy, but it has a great vibe and beautiful scenery, the Bavarian Inn is a little dated but it has the best pool I’ve been to in years, and TownHill B&B is an old-fashioned B&B with an amazing breakfast and great view for the sunrise.
Most expensive hotel: Since I didn’t pay full price for Mount Washington then it would be the Hilton Garden Inn in Torshavn. Staying there was the right decision for us, but it was definitely overpriced without a lot of charm or amenities.
Least expensive hotel: Black Elephant Hostel in Portland Maine. So glad my cousin wanted to stay here. I think this is the first time I’ve stayed in a U.S hostel.
Best Repeat Destination: I debated between West Virginia and Copenhagen. I loved Copenhagen and will be back again. But I went to West Virginia three times this year and really enjoyed being outside immersed in nature so close to DC. I think it is definitely underrated and I’ll spend more time there in the future.
Favorite 24 hours: Obviously there were a lot of great days, but probably the middle of our New England road trip driving from New Port Road Island to Portland Maine … a day spent with several friends, my favorite meal of the year, a beautiful drive and some quirky stops. Runners up would include the C&O canal (it loses points since I had a damaged tail bone and spent every moment in immense pain) and a day on the water in the Dominican Republic.
Best walk / hike: Mizpah Spring Hut trail in New Hampshire was definitely my favorite. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful trail. I had my trail legs and it was just the right level of difficulty and beauty. But I also loved jungle / waterfall hiking 7 Sisters in Grenada.
Best sunrise: Ironically, right out my front door in Washington DC. We’ve had some amazing sunrises this fall.
Best sunset: Grenada had some beautiful island sunsets. Newport RI comes in second place. While the place we stayed was just ok, they had a lovely back deck overlooking the ocean. I wrapped up in a blanket with a book and a glass of wine and waited for the sunset which was fantastic.
Best Rainbows: I don’t expect this to be a regular category, but I have to mention the spectacular daily rainbows in Grenada. A local told us it was unusual but we saw them every day!
Best view: Probably anywhere you look in the Faroe Islands. Every minute and every view was as stunning as the last.
Best spontaneous activity: This is always hard because as friends will tell you, I am not spontaneous while traveling or in my daily life. For lack of a better example, it might be having brunch at Luna in Boston. About 15 minutes before we passed the city, one of the friends I was traveling with said, do you mind if we just swing through Boston???
Best meal(s): French toast and brunch at Luna in Boston (I don’t even like French toast) was my favorite. We had a lot of great meals in New England but the runner up would be Trattoria Villagio in Clifton VA.
Best Cocktail: Urban Roast in DC or the Blueberry Mimosa at Becky’s in Portland
Best Mocktail: People’s Drug in Old Town Alexandria VA
Best Breakfast: TownHill B&B in Little Orleans MD
Best dessert: Blueberry Brulee at Mount Washington hotel in Brenton Woods NH
Best Avocado Toast: Majestic in Old Town Alexandria VA
Best Biscuit: Rolls at Molly’s in Hanover New Hampshire.
Best Hot Chocolate: Urban Roast Bailey’s flight or Skalavik Hotel in Sandoy Faroe Islands
Special Occasion Brunch: Limani at the Warf in Washington DC has wonderful food, ambiance and view
Best Pizza: Modern Apizza in New Haven CT. Can’t remember any I’ve had that was better – loved pizza in Argentina and Mooses Tooth in Alaska …
Best Italian (outside of Italy): Trattoria Villagio is cute and historic town of Clifton VA that was the largest town in Fairfax County 1874. Food was outstanding, the wait staff was fantastic and their outdoor patio was charming.
Best Airport Bathrooms: The new Salt Lake City airport has great bathrooms that look like they were designed by someone who has actually traveled before. They are deep enough for a carry-on suitcase and have several hooks for bags and coats. This might be an odd category but I hate the bathrooms at Regan in DC. And since it is my home airport, I spend a lot of time thinking about this!
Longest flight: I didn’t do any long flights this year. The longest was Dulles to Copenhagen which is pretty tame.
Biggest Travel Mishap: As alluded to earlier, I seriously damaged my tail bone when hiking Lake of the Clouds in NH. The hike was steep, I got lost, it was cold, it was raining, and I was racing the sunset. My tailbone has mostly healed, but it is still a little tender six months later. It was VERY tender less than a month later when biking the C&O canal. Besides that fall, luckily there weren’t a lot of mishaps this year. I didn’t buy any travel insurance for any of my domestic trips, and on both the New England road trip and biking the C&O canal I changed hotels at the very last minute and had to pay for the unused rooms. But with insurance I would have probably broken even.
Travel Serendipity: I got to see old friends while in Maine.
Best museum: I’d have to go with the National Museum in Copenhagen. Even though I was there for a short time, I learned a lot about the history and culture of the country.
Best Tour: Ben and Jerry factory.
Most outside my comfort zone: Definitely biking the C&O canal!!
Best surprise: Rainbows of Grenada!
Biggest Travel Related Disappointment: I was really looking forward to the 9 day hut to hut, that didn’t work out and then I pivoted to just a couple of hikes on the trail. I was most excited about the Lake of the Clouds hike in New Hampshire. As noted above, it didn’t go well and I am lucky that I didn’t seriously injure myself.
Favorite Experiences: Either all of my hikes or just exploring the world with friends and family!
New Travel Podcats / App: Amateur Traveler is my new favorite podcast. I like it much better than his blog. I’ve gotten some great ideas for trips that I don’t think I would have found otherwise.
Favorite book(s): This year I read some fantastic books and some horrible books. All things considered, both books by Abraham Verghese, Cutting for Stone and Covenant of Water were probably my favorites. Although Horse by Geraldine Brooks would definitely be on the short list. I’d round out my list with The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katerine Arden and Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali.
DC Favorites: As usual, while at home, I ate out a lot this year – 54 times to be exact. Here are this year’s highlights. A couple of the locations were already mentioned above, but I’ll include them again here….
Most visited remains Northside 10 in Del Ray, Mia’s in Old Town Alexandria, and The Majestic in Old Town Alexandria. But take this with a grain of salt as they are all within walking distance of my house. I am not sure I would get in a car and drive to Northside 10 but I love that it is a short walk, has a great patio, lovely staff and allows my dogs to hang with me.
Relaxed Friday night: The Garden in Del Ray
Best Cocktail: Urban Roast
Best Mocktail: People’s Drug in Old Town Alexandria VA
Best Avocado Toast: Majestic in Old Town Alexandria VA
Best Hot Chocolate: Urban Roast Bailey’s flight
Special Occasion Brunch: Limani at the Warf in Washington DC has wonderful food, ambiance and view
Most Beautiful Interior: La Grand Brioche in Washington DC
Best Italian (outside of Italy): Trattoria Villagio is cute and historic town of Clifton VA that was the largest town in Fairfax County 1874. Food was outstanding, the wait staff was fantastic and their outdoor patio was charming.
Looking forward to in 2025 –I hope to visit my 50th state, take a 3-4 week trip to Europe which will include my first time in the Baltics, and a trip to West Africa later in the year. But inshallah …
Life Kinetic Travel Research 