chapter 1: it's me, hi... i'm the travel addict, it's me
allow me to reintroduce myself... and share what to expect from this newsletter
Quick housekeeping note: do me a favor and reply to this email with your favorite place you’ve traveled! Not only do I genuinely want to know, but this will also let your email provider know that you trust emails from me, which means this newsletter will land in your inbox instead of spam.
Thank you!
hello… it’s me, your Type A travel-planning bestie
Did you notice how many song lyric references I just squeezed into the subject line and intro here? Fitting for a music lover like me who has been to over 250 concerts around the world.
But the real reason you’re here, and the reason why I’m creating this newsletter, is because:
I’ve been to over 70 countries and all 7 continents (during college alone, which I wrote a book about!) as part of both personal travels and studying abroad 6 times across 5 continents
I currently work remotely and travel once a month, if not once a week (check out my 2022 recap for reference)
I would consider myself a travel expert, and it’s time for me to start sharing this knowledge more broadly with the world
Camping in Antarctica, motorbiking across Vietnam, scuba diving shipwrecks in Tahiti, backpacking through every country in Western Europe, overland safari-ing throughout Eastern Africa for 6 weeks, moving to a new country and building a brand new social circle, falling in love abroad, taking work calls from the dock of a whale watching boat, dancing in the streets of Oaxaca during Día de los Muertos with a group of people who simply said “yes” to coming on a trip with me – I’ve done it all and seen a lot of this world. 35% of it, to be exact, if you’re counting by countries.
The purpose of this newsletter is to share my stories, travel hacks, planning tips, and inspiring perspectives so that you can travel more economically, more sustainably, and more intentionally – because you are where you go :)
I’m 24 years old and strongly believe in the transformative power of traveling, especially while you’re young – not only because you have more freedom, less commitments holding you back, and more willingness to stretch a dollar for the sake of traveling, but also because the earlier in life you travel, the sooner you become shaped by your unique experiences. And you will carry those memories and lessons for the rest of your life.
Expect to hear from me a few times a month – I’ll generally follow the format of the newsletter below with travel tips, inspiring photos of bucket list destinations, group trip opportunities, and more as this evolves. Usually this top section here will also include longer-form writing similar to the chapters in my book where each story details a place I traveled and how it shaped me.
Welcome to my world, in which you are where you go – please fasten your seatbelt, return your seat back and tray table to their full upright position, and enjoy the ride ✈️
Caitlyn
📝 travel hack of the week
If you have a general idea of places you want to go, regardless of time of year, turn on tracking for that route on Google Flights and it will email you immediately whenever a deal pops up.
This alone was what notified me earlier this week that there were nonstop flights from NYC to LA for $67 one way… yeah, that means your Uber from Manhattan to the airport would probably be more expensive than the cross-country flight itself.
Insane deals like this pop up out of nowhere and flight tracking with flexible dates is how you can spot them!
Start making that list of places you want to visit this year and turn on flight tracking to monitor prices and be confident you’re getting the best deal when you finally book. Historically the best time for snagging the cheapest domestic flights is 1-3 months in advance, while 2-8 months before departure is best for international flights.
If planning 2-8 months in advance seems daunting to you… stick around because next week I’ll share in detail how I plan out my entire annual travel calendar each January to make sure I’m getting the best deals (and to have so much to look forward to throughout the year!). I’ll share a template to make this easier for you to do too!
🌎 where in the world is caitlyn?
I spent last weekend in Big Bear Lake, California, a popular ski resort just a few hours outside of LA, Orange County, and San Diego. Maybe a bit too popular, because the lift lines were almost 45 minutes long… 😵💫 but I digress.
Growing up in New Jersey, I never learned how to ski or snowboard. Around age 21, I had almost resigned myself to the fact that I might just never learn… but then I moved to California, where it seems like everyone loves to “go to the snow” (ahem, on the East Coast, the snow comes to you?!).
Despite feeling nervous about both the physical safety and the significant monetary investment needed to get started, I embraced my lifelong learner mentality and decided to commit to learning how to snowboard this winter season. It felt exhilarating to learn something new and feel myself improve with each run down the mountain. And it was breathtakingly beautiful! I fully understand the hype around skiing and snowboarding now.
During my last big group trip to Oaxaca, Mexico in November, a bunch of us were riding the mental high of exploring a new place and experiencing new things and didn’t want it to stop after Oaxaca. Before we had even finished that trip, we booked our next trip: Big Bear.
My Oaxaca trip had included friends and friends of friends who had all separately crossed paths with me in Singapore, Tel Aviv, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. This Big Bear trip ended up being half full of repeat travelers from my Oaxaca trip along with friends of friends from my author community, and even an old friend, Jason, whom I had merely crossed paths with once in Bali 5 years ago. And ironically, I had recently crossed paths on my September trip to Norway with a guy who turned out to be Jason’s roommate 🤯… the world is truly so small.
From conversing poolside at a villa in Bali to shredding down the slopes under the bright SoCal sun, you never know when someone you meet once while traveling might cross paths with you again and end up making more incredible memories together.
👯♀️ group trip opportunities
If your friends are boring and never want to book trips with you, let me be your friend and change that :)
Since last October, I’ve been planning group trips that are open for anyone to join.
Some are for people like me who are local to Los Angeles/Southern California, such as going camping on a goat farm outside of San Diego for a weekend getaway full of thought-provoking convos with new friends exploring outside of their comfort zones.
Others are international or across the country, where anyone from anywhere can book their own airfare and simply join in. I arrange the accommodations and book necessary tours and dining reservations for the group, all you need to do is say yes and pay my venmo request :)
Currently accepting people for the following trips:
Feb 8-14: Mardi Gras in New Orleans ⚜️ (6 people so far)
A bucket list place to celebrate Mardi Gras, and an incredible place in general to experience a confluence of Creole and Cajun culture and food.
~$300-400 for accommodations and ~$100 in other activity expenses like a voodoo history tour and a krewe ball concert – the Mardi Gras parades this weekend are all free though!
Feb 25-28: millions of monarchs in Mexico 🦋 (5 people so far)
Every year, monarch butterflies migrate to hibernate in the mountains outside of Mexico City from November through March. This is one of the largest and most incredible natural phenomenons and migrations to witness!
~$100 for accommodations and ~$300 in activity expenses (3 full day tours with English-speaking local guides to the monarch butterfly sanctuary, Xochimilco’s colorful mariachi-laden gondolas and the Frida Kahlo museum, and the hot springs and waterfalls of Grutas de Tolantongo).
Reply to this email or message me at @cailynlubas on IG for the full itinerary if you’re interested in joining either of the above trips!
🪣 bucket list inspo
A week ago was National Penguin Day, a day meant to celebrate and encourage conservation of these incredible (and adorable) flightless birds. While scrolling through my archives of penguin photos from Antarctica, I came across this photo I snapped of a massive snow-capped mountain reflected over the stillness of the Southern Ocean, contrasting against the bright blue sky.
It’s probably one of my favorite sights I’ve seen and has among the best composition out of any photo I’ve taken… if views like this don’t make you want to experience the remote untouched beauty of Antarctica, perhaps you should get your eyes or sanity checked.
💭 self reflection prompt of the week
What would you title this chapter in your life?
(If you feel inclined, reply with your answer! I’d love to read it 😊)
📱let’s connect
If you’ve got feedback on the format of this newsletter, or suggestions for travel topics you want to hear more about, don’t be shy! Reply to this email or DM me:
Instagram: @caitlynlubas / @you.are.where.you.go
Twitter: @caitlynlubas
TikTok: @you.are.where.you.go
LinkedIn: Caitlyn Lubas (feel free to reach out if you want to talk about working remotely, transitioning careers, etc!)