Vacation Mavens

St. Maarten is a popular destination in the Caribbean, but many people only visit as a brief cruise port destination. However, getting there is pretty easy with direct flights from the USA and there is plenty to do and see on this Dutch and French Island.

Tamara recently visited St. Maarten to stay at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort as part of a press trip. This is the largest all-inclusive resort on the island and it has plenty of offer for families.

Read the full review of the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort on We3Travel. It is located in Maho Beach Village, very close to the airport and the famous Maho Beach.

Sonesta Maho Beach Resort fast facts:

• 420 rooms and suites in one tower
• There is an adults-only sister resort next door at the Ocean Point Resort
• The rooms either have a water (pool or ocean) view or island view
• It isn't directly on Maho Beach
• Large pool with water slides and swim up bar
• Small pool with kiddie slides near the kid's club
• Teen Zone offers a variety of games and entertainment
• There are many food options including: Mexican, Asian, Italian, pizza, cafe, tavern, and buffet restaurants

Tamara also did a johnnycake cooking class and the world's steepest zipline at Rainforest Adventures.

Other Episodes You May Enjoy

• Caribbean Cruise on Holland America
• Where to go in the Caribbean
• Planning a Barbados vacation
• Everything you need to know about Beaches Turks & Caicos
• Planning a family vacation to Grand Cayman

Follow Kim at @stuffedsuitcase on Instagram

Follow Tamara at @yourtimetofly on Instagram

Kim took her oldest daughter on a Caribbean Cruise for her college spring break this past March. After sailing Holland America in Alaska in the past, she was excited to try the Holland America Caribbean cruise on the Nieuw Statendam.

This was a unique itinerary that left from Fort Lauderdale and visited Nassau, Bahamas, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk in Turks & Caicos, along with Half Moon Bay, which is Holland's private island in the Bahamas. This itinerary included two days at sea.

Kim has cruised Norwegian, Disney, and Celebrity in the Caribbean in the past, so in this episode, she points out the differences between the different cruise lines and the highs and lows of the Holland Nieuw Statendam.

Learn more at:

• Review: Caribbean Cruise on the Holland Nieuw Statendam
• Printable cruise packing list
• Review: Our Alaska Cruise on Holland America

Follow Kim at @stuffedsuitcase on Instagram

Follow Tamara at @yourtimetofly on Instagram

Other Episodes You May Enjoy

• Barge and river cruising through France
• NYC to Bahamas cruise on Norwegian
• Norwegian Bliss cruise to Alaska
• Disney Cruise for First-timers

Tamara has finally made it to her 50th state...Oklahoma!! She took an Oklahoma road trip to visit both Oklahoma City and Chickasaw Country in south-central Oklahoma, in partnership with Chickasaw Country and the Chickasaw Nation.

Oklahoma City has a lot to offer as a stand-alone destination including the First Americans Museum and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Tamara stayed at the aLoft hotel in Bricktown, which is the entertainment district with plenty of restaurants, bars, shops, and the minor league baseball stadium and water taxis.

If you are interested in learning more about First American culture and love visiting small towns, tune in to learn more about Chickasaw Country. Some highlights include:

• Chickasaw Cultural Center
• Chickasaw National Recreation Area (see bison!)
• Chisholm Trail Heritage Center (learn about life as a cowboy)
• "Leg Lamp" sculpture in Chickasha for those that love roadside attractions
• Small town shopping in Sulphur
• Art Walk in Pauls Valley

You can also read more about Tamara's Oklahoma road trip itinerary on We3Travel.

Follow Kim @stuffedsuitcase

Follow Tamara @yourtimetofly

Other Episodes You Will Enjoy:

• Glacier Country, Montana
• Off the beaten Path in Maine
• West coast road trip
• Southwest road trip
• Family road trip tips

Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! Find out all the details and sign up here.

Did you know that Kim has been on safaris in four African countries? Today she shares some great tips that will help you decide where you might want to go, understand the differences between various safari experiences, and provide some advice for planning an African safari trip.

You can read more about a few of Kim's safari experiences here:

• Garden Lodge, Chobe River, Botswana
• Chobe National Park, Botswana
• South Africa

Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! Find out all the details and sign up here.

In this episode, Tamara talks about her two-week German Christmas Markets road trip! If you have this magical holiday trip on your radar, make sure to give this episode a close listen and check out the following articles:

• German Christmas Market itinerary (10-day road trip)
• Beyond Bratwurst: 32 German Christmas Market foods and drinks to try
• 5 Reasons to visit the Stuttgart Christmas markets
• 7 Christmas Markets near Frankfurt work a day trip

Before we say goodbye to summer and pull on our flannels and break out the pumpkin spice, Tamara and Kim are back with a recap of Tamara's European summer travels including a month spent exploring France by river and barge cruise!

Tamara first spent two weeks in the United Kingdom, on a road trip through both Scotland and Wales with two other travel writers. She then took the Eurostar down to France and spent one week cruising through the Canal Nivernais on the Hotel Barge Elisabeth. Next, she went to Bordeaux and her husband joined her for a weeklong river cruise with AmaWaterways. Tamara finished up her summer of cruising with another canal barge cruise with European Waterways on the Canal du Midi in Southern France.

The Mavens break down the differences between river and barge cruising and what to expect on each.

Mentioned on the Podcast:

• 2 Days in Edinburgh itinerary
• Wales road trip itinerary
• Prettiest villages in Wales
• Cruising through Burgundy, France on the Hotel Barge Elisabeth
• Barge Lady Cruises - travel agency specializing in barge cruising
• Things to do in Bordeaux, France
• AmaWaterways
• Guide to a Bordeaux river cruise with AmaWaterways
• European Waterways

Well it has been a minute since we had a chance to catch up and record a podcast but in this episode Tamara shares her insights and experience from her recent family trip to Japan.

Kim and Tamara also share their love for Scottsdale, Arizona and some of the things they did on a girls' trip together. Read more at:

• Scottsdale girls weekend
• Reasons to visit Scottsdale in summer
• Best Scottsdale Arizona resorts for girlfriends trips
• Scottsdale weekend itinerary

Tamara also talked about her time in Paso Robles, California. You can read her Paso Robles itinerary to get inspired to visit this wine region.

Kim attended conferences in Walt Disney World (read her tips for using DVC points to save money on a Disney World vacation), Disney Land, and San Antonio. She also took a family cruise to Alaska aboard the Norwegian Bliss, which was different from her Alaska cruise on Holland America last summer.

Kim also took a quick press trip to Iceland, where she was able to explore Reykjavik and visit the Sky Lagoon.

We really dug into Tamara's 2-week trip to Japan which included:

• 5 Days in Tokyo
• 5 Days in Kyoto
• 3 Days in Osaka

If you are planning a trip, be sure to read Tamara's Japan travel tips!

When talking about how great Google Maps can be to figure out transportation in Japan, Kim also mentioned her post about using Google Maps to plan a trip.

Tamara was also just back from a short press trip to Waterton and Glacier National Parks.

We will be traveling a lot over the summer so expect to hear another episode in the late summer. Then you will hear about Tamara's trip to Scotland & Wales, her river and barge cruises in France, and Kim's amazing trip to Kenya.

Full Episode Transcript

[00:00:00.000] - Kim

Today, we're journeying to the land of the rising sun.

[00:00:14.520] - Tamara

Welcome to Vacation Mavens a family travel podcast with ideas for your next vacation and tips to get you out the door. Here are your hosts, Kim from Stuffed Suicase and Tamara from We Three Travel.

[00:00:29.740] - Tamara

Kim, I can't believe the last time I really talked to you was when we were together in Scottsdale in April.

[00:00:34.670] - Kim

I know. It's been a crazy travel season for us. Good. I love that travel's back and everything, but it's also crazy because I thought we would be talking more and we've seen each other so much at the beginning of the year. And then all of a sudden it's like, Oh, summer is almost over.

[00:00:47.920] - Tamara

Not quite. That was our intent was to have this monthly. We're struggling, guys. So if anyone is still listening and subscribe to us, which I hope that they are, we're going to do a quick little rundown of some of our recent travels. Now you'll see why we haven't been able to connect and record an episode.

[00:01:07.600] - Kim

Yeah, exactly. It's been insane. The last time you guys heard from us, we were headed to Scottsdale, which was middle of April, and we both, I think, had an amazing trip there. We both published our articles, so you can always head to Wee 3 Travel and Stuff Suitcase and see the stuff that we covered. But I loved Scottsdale. It was great.

[00:01:25.720] - Tamara

Yeah. I think Scottsdale just continues to be a place I want to go back to because there's so many beautiful resorts and hotels, so there's always some place new to check out. There's amazing spas. Then this time, we did a lot of really cool activities.

[00:01:41.370] - Kim

I loved how it was really I think Scottsdale is a great destination a combination for being able to do outdoorsy things. We did hot air balloons, horseback riding, a few different things. But we also did wine tasting and shopping and went to some museums. Then, like you said, went to an amazing spot, the Phoenixion. Scottsdale, if you are a spa person, that's where you want to go.

[00:02:03.230] - Tamara

I've been watching our friend, Colleen, that lives out in Scottsdale. She seems to be hopping around another spa every day. I'm like, Wow, I want to come be your friend right now.

[00:02:12.830] - Kim

I think everyone's been saying that, I want your job.

[00:02:15.790] - Tamara

I'm sure. I would definitely say romantic getaway, girlfriend get away. Scottsdale is amazing for that. There's plenty to do with the family as well because of all those outdoor activities. But definitely check out. I know I have an itinerary. You have some great suggestions on things to do in the summer and how to manage the heat out there. D efinitely check those out on our websites to see more.

[00:02:39.620] - Kim

So where did you head after Scottsdale?

[00:02:41.800] - Tamara

I went right from Scottsdale to T uson to see Hannah for a little bit. And then the following week, I went to Paso Robles, which I'd learned.

[00:02:51.090] - Kim

I always said it was Paso Robles. Oh, it's Robles.

[00:02:52.980] - Tamara

Yeah. And it's actually Robles. And I'm like, I feel silly saying Robles.

[00:02:57.270] - Kim

Yeah, it sounds like Marbles.

[00:02:58.630] - Tamara

But that is a wine region in central California near San Louis Biscoe. I just love it. I was there, I think it was nine or eight years ago with the family, and we were checking out some family friendly wineries there. But it has just exploded in terms of the number of wineries, but also really good food now. The downtown has expanded. I stayed in a new boutique hotel that was just I loved it, which was so cool. It has a rooftop bar. It had a wine, actually a champagne vending machine in the lobby. Oh, I saw that. I saw your story on that. Yeah. So I had a great time out there. And I definitely think anyone that's into wine, put that on your radar as a region to visit. You can easily spill a long weekend. I had a couple of really wonderful spots that I went for wine tasting, just those perfect, incredible views, great food, wonderful wine. I think where many, many years ago it was newer to the scene or it was well known for J. L oor, some of the bigger names. There's just so much going on out there.

[00:04:02.940] - Tamara

Where did you go next? Because I know you were really busy right after our.

[00:04:06.130] - Kim

Scottsdale trip, too. I had three trips back to back. I did go to Disney World for a conference and I got to ride the new Tron ride. I also checked out a new hotel, which was the Contemporary Hotel, which I had never been to. I loved that. I really do love the splurging on those Disney World hotels that have the monorail access and the ones we've been at Revere too with the Skyliner because, man, it's amazing how much easier it is just to get into and not have to deal with the bus system because then whenever I have to wait for a bus to one of the parks and it's like, inevitably I get there and I'm the last one, I've got to wait for 20.

[00:04:39.400] - Tamara

Minutes or something. I will say that's what I liked the most about Disneyland because I've never stayed

Kim took a last minute spring break trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland with her younger daughter and this week on the podcast, she tells us all about it!

She flew into Dublin and then stay at a country estate hotel in Northern Ireland before visiting Belfast, the Causeway Coast, Derry/Londonderry, and Galway before looping back to Dublin.

See Kim's articles on:

• Ireland travel tips
• Ireland packing list
• 2 Days in Dublin

Ireland Trip Highlights:

• Killeavy Estate in Northern Ireland
• Belfast - Titanic Belfast and city architecture
• Causeway Coast - Carrick-a-Rede bridge, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle
• Bishop's Gate Hotel in Derry - walk the walls around the city
• Galway - Kim didn't love Galway and her stay at the G Hotel because it felt more like a conference center hotel then something great for families. It was also a long walk into the center city. (see where Tamara stayed at a bed and breakfast near Galway)
• Kylemore Abbey in Connemara & Cliffs of Moher
• Clontarf Castle Hotel in Dublin suburbs
• Malahide
• Dublin - Trinity City Hotel and Trinity College / Book of Kells, shopping for Aran Sweaters

Spring break is almost here and on this episode Kim and Tamara share their experience on a girls' trip in Oceanside, California and then their mother-daughter trip to Disneyland with their girls. 

If you want some inspiration for a SoCal getaway, be sure to listen in!

Happy New Year! We are back and apologize for taking so long to release a new episode. Moving forward, we will strive to have one episode a month to share our travels and tips, as we continue to each put more time into our respective websites.

But first, Tamara has a big announcement and that is that she is hosting a women-only small group trip to Iceland in September 2023! You can get all the information on YourTimetoFly.com and she really hopes that some listeners will be able to join! Note that there is a discount of 15,000 ISK if you register by January 15, 2023.

Next Tamara tells us all about her two-week trip to Northern Italy! Some highlights include:

• 5 Days in Piedmont full of wine tasting, truffle hunting, and great food
• Her stay at La Villa Hotel in Piedmont
• A wine tour with Piedmont Food and Wine Tours
• Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Lake Como
• 2 days in Milan (highlights walking tour with LivTours)
• Hired DayTrips to visit Bergamo, Brescia, Sirmione on Lake Garda, and Borgo sul Mincio
• 2 days in Verona (mentioned Love in the Villa and Letters to Juliet movies), ½ day walking tour with LivTours
• 2 days in Bologna
• Cooking class in Bologna with Cesarine
• 2 days in Parma
• Day trip with Food Valley Travel
• Return to Milan