Almost every year since starting my travel blog, I’ve published a list of my travel goals for the upcoming year. I love doing this for a few reasons: it helps my readers know what I’m planning for the upcoming year, it gets me excited for the travel year ahead, and it’s fun to look back to see what I’ve accomplished (and the places that I dreamed of going in years past).
I’ve had two changes over the last year which has made travel planning a bit more difficult — I got a puppy in June and my law firm has been busier than ever. That said, I’m trying to balance these changes with my love of travel and I’m hoping I’ll be able to make it to most, if not all, of the spots mentioned here.
With that, below are my travel goals for 2025.
Bora Bora
I love Bora Bora so much that this will be my 4th trip. I’m set to go in mid-February, and this trip I’ll be splitting my time between two hotels: The Westin Bora Bora Resort & Spa and The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort.
As The Westin Bora Bora Spa & Resort opened in September 2024, I’m excited to check out and review this new property.
Antigua
The stay that I’m most excited about this upcoming year is spending Thanksgiving at the Hermitage Bay, an SLH Hotel. I booked this stay using Hilton points (luckily at the 130,000 points per night rate, right before the hotel upped the cost to 150,000 points per night). While 130,000 points per night isn’t cheap, I got the 5th night free with Hilton and the cash price for my stay would have been around $15,000 for five nights, so I still consider this to be a great deal.
British Virgin Islands
I’ve been invited to check out the freshly-renovated and reopened Peter Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands and am so excited to visit.
I’ve never been to the British Virgin Islands before (though have been to the U.S. Virgin Islands a few times) so, on top of getting to experience this luxurious property, I’m excited to experience a new destination.
Six Senses Fiji
This property has been on my bucket-list for many years and it’s starting to look like this will be the year that I can make it happen.
I’ve been to Fiji once between in 2010, but I only stayed in Nadi for that trip (and mostly just stayed put at my resort). I’m looking forward to exploring a different part of Fiji.
Waldorf Astoria New York
I’m heading to New York in October for my sister’s wedding and booked five nights at the Waldorf Astoria New York. Though I grew up in New Jersey and have a lot of friends in NYC, I haven’t visited in years and am excited to go back.
I am also excited to check out the freshly-renovated and reopened Waldorf Astoria New York! My only worry is that the hotel cost 600,000 Hilton points for five nights, and I could get the Conrad New York Downtown for only 360,000 Hilton points. I am excited to see just how luxurious the Waldorf Astoria New York is, but the Conrad is significantly less expensive and is more convenient to my friends and the wedding festivities, so there is a slight chance I’ll change my booking.
Paris
I haven’t been to Paris since 2008 and booked Air France business class direct from LAX to Paris for 50,000 Air France points each way in May. While I am very excited to spend a week in Paris, there are a few reasons this trip may not happen: I landed a new client for my law firm with work starting in March, so taking off in May could be difficult (and I’d prefer not to work remotely) and since I’ve been to Paris twice before, I’m not sure if it’s worth leaving my dog for a week to visit.
That said, I think the odds are better than not that I’ll go.
As you can see, right now it’s looking like 2025 will be a year full of tropical islands and large cities (which I’m not mad about).
What are your 2025 travel goals?
2 comments
I (and presumably some other readers) would love to hear why you love Bora Bora. I similarly travel to Bali pretty much annually and could list a number of reasons why but am curious what makes Bora Bora so enticing.
I’ll definitely write a separate post explaining why I love Bora Bora so much! But the short version is: it’s a tropical paradise with gorgeous views all around, there are a number of ways to visit using points (if you plan ahead), the flight isn’t bad from the West Coast (especially if you can sleep on planes overnight, you basically just fall asleep and wake up in Tahiti if you’re taking a red-eye), and the staff at the properties that I’ve stayed at has been exceptional. Every time I visit, I already want to plan a trip back.