Nathan's Insights

Now replaced see Eastern Europe and Balkans post.

Nothing gets you more focused on your next trip after returning from an overseas trip then experiencing a freezing cold winter.

While I have a trip planned to Ecuador with my neice Erin in December 2024 after she finishes High School that seemed too long and I still have some leave saved up from the multiple pandemic lockdowns in Melbourne.

The last time I visited a new country in Europe was Iceland back in October 2012 (technically Türkiye is both Asia and Europe) made this the obvious area to return and explore.

A timely YouTube video about Croatia got me looking into options and in the end I found a tour that would have me exploring the Balkans area and 9 new countries; Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary and Romania.

This Ultimate Balkans tour would be with a new tour company TripADeal. I did a bit of research and on balance they seem to be a reasonable company with good tours but thre pricing is based on no refunds.

So I spoke to my boss about taking this trip in March 2024 and still doing the Ecuador trip in December 2024 and the outcome was a positive “you have the leave you should use it”.

So now to save like crazy to afford both these trips and figure out cat caring options. 2024 should be a great year.