Lisa's Luggage Drop
Welcome to the very first drop of my TRAVEL-Inspired NEWSLETTER!
You know that glorious feeling when you finally walk into your hotel room, toss your bags onto the bed, and faceplant into the pillows? That is exactly what this newsletter is. Consider this your official, first Luggage Drop—the spot where you leave your daily grind at the door and see where the world is heading next.
I’ll be dropping the best travel invites right into your inbox, sharing jaw-dropping deals you actually want to book, and shamelessly bragging about the incredible trips my clients just locked in (call it inspiration, call it FOMO—we call it research).
Unpack your imagination, leave the heavy lifting to me, and let’s see where we’re heading.
Cheers to the next departure,
Lisa Hale
Drop #1: The FOMO Forecast
🚨 Stop stalking other people's vacation photos and start planning your own. Here are the upcoming group travel experiences you do not want to miss out on:
- Lisa Hale Travels with Diamond Tours / Cape Cod & Martha’s Vineyard by Motorcoach Tour — May 16 - 22, 2027 / 7-days, 6-nights $989.00 pp, dbl occ., Departing from Asheville, NC. Join us for a tour of the JFK Museum, guided tours of the outer cape including Provincetown, Chatham, historic seaside towns of Hyannis, Sandwich, and Plymouth. Includes four consecutive nights lodging in the beautiful Cape Cod area. Enjoy free time at artistic Martha’s Vineyard, with a stop at Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Ledyard, CT. Price includes lodging, transportation, and 10 meals (6B, 4D). This trip is perfect for adults who love to travel and lets someone else do the driving.
- Sicily Guided Tour with optional Malta extension — [October 8 - 21, 2027 / 8-Day Guided Tour of Sicily to/from Palermo $1,679 pp. Optional tour of Malta is extra. Tour includes guided sightseeing in Palermo, Trapani, Erice, Selinunte, Agrigento archeology site, visit the Roman villa in Piazza Armerina, excursion to Mt. Etna, visit Taormina and seaside Cefalu. Single supplement waived, price includes $150 discount. Includes 11 meals (7B, 4D).
Drop #2: Cheap Thrills
💲 Let’s be real—the only thing better than going on vacation is knowing you paid way less than the person sitting next to you. Welcome to Cheap Thrills, where I drop the best, most ridiculous travel deals on the market right now. No sketchy third-party sites, no five-layover nightmares. Just pure, unadulterated wanderlust on a budget.
Labor Day Sale: The Bahamas with Ocean Cay: Cruise with MSC on Seaside
- Interior Cabin: $179pp; Ocean view $249pp; Balcony $289pp; or Suite: $659pp (cruise only - alcohol and wifi package is extra)
- Round-trip from Miami with a stop in Nassau and two days at MSC's Ocean Cay.
- Open for 2026 dates and early 2027 dates. No Passport needed. Click HERE for details. Contact me for booking.
30% Off The Reef at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas
- Stay a minimum of 2 nights now through December 16, 2026 to receive a 30% discount. Qualifying stays also receive $100 resort credit, daily breakfast for two, room upgrade based on availability at time of check-in, late checkout based on availability.
- Airfare and transfers not included. Passport required. Contact me for booking.
Semi-Annual Sale on Virgin Cruises
- Rates from $99 per Sailor per night on dreamy destinations worldwide. Or, Sailors can choose up to $400 in onboard credit on select sailings (stackable with instant savings and 70% off their 2nd Sailor).
- The Semi-Annual Sale give you flexible ways to match the right perk to the right Sailor. With rates this low and limited USD $99 inventory, cabins will go fast - book them today! Contact me to book!
Drop #3: “Before You Kick It” Bucket
🪣 If Cheap Thrills is where we save your wallet, this section is where we blow the dust off your savings account and do something epic. Welcome to our “Do It Before You Kick It” Bucket List Spotlight. This is reserved exclusively for the heavy hitters—the roadless expanses, the hidden islands, and the multi-week grand slams that you talk about for the next forty years. Go big, or stay on the couch. Let’s see what’s worth doing while you still can.
2027 & 2028 Alaska Cruise Tour — up to $200 instant savings / up to $400 onboard credit (Balcony and up).
Enjoy up to $200 in instant savings, up to $400 in onboard credit to use on specialty dining, drinks, excursions and more onboard, plus unlock $99 deposits on select 2027 and 2028 Alaska Cruisetours with Princess Cruises. Combine a Voyage of the Glaciers cruise, Direct-to-the-Wilderness® rail service and exclusive Princess-owned wilderness lodges to venture beyond the coastline and into the heart of Alaska, where Denali, abundant wildlife and unforgettable landscapes await. Round-Trip Seattle departures do not require a Passport! Contact me for booking!
- 10-Day Denali Explorer Cruisetour $2,144 pp (Balcony): 7 day cruise & 3 day on land
- 11-Day Denali Explorer Cruisetour $2,394 pp (Balcony): 7 day cruise & 4 day on land
- 13-Day Denali Explorer Cruisetour $2,544 pp (Balcony): 7 day cruise & 6 day on land
- 7-Day Cruise only from $1,617 pp (Balcony): free 3rd & 4th passenger
2027 & 2028 African safari — The real life lion king! catch the great migration or see the big 5 on this amazing lifetime adventure
Let's be honest: watching nature documentaries on your couch while eating takeout just isn't cutting it anymore. It’s time to trade the screen for an open-top 4x4 and experience a true African safari. Imagine waking up at sunrise to the sound of roaring lions, sipping coffee while a herd of elephants strolls past your luxury canvas tent, and watching the sunset over the Serengeti with a gin and tonic in hand. This isn't a vacation; it's a sensory overload in the absolute best way possible. The wild is calling, and trust me—you don't want to let this one go to voicemail. I am fully trained in all aspects of booking Safaris! Contact me directly for booking.
- Safari prices often run the gambit from $500 per night up towards $5,000 per night; choose public parks or private reserves; rustic tents that relocate to follow the herd or established lodge-style accommodations with dedicated drive times; day time drives versus sunrise, sundown drives or night walks.
- Africa isn’t a destination you just "get around to" eventually; it’s an absolute soul-shaking, bucket-list rite of passage. No matter your budget or travel style, I know exactly how to pair you with the perfect lodge, the best local guides, and the most incredible wildlife viewings. Let’s stop pinning safari photos to your mood board and start printing out your actual boarding passes. I’m here to handle every single detail. Drop your bags, pick your safari style, and let’s get you to Africa!
Travel While You Can Still Enjoy It
Drop #4: Where in the World?
🌏 My clients have officially left the building! While we've been sitting here staring at screens, some incredibly savvy humans have been hitting 'book' and printing out boarding passes. Let's play a little game of Where in the World to see exactly where I’ve been sending people this quarter. (Warning: Side effects include immediate travel envy and a sudden urge to pack a bag).
The Destination: Bar Harbor/ Acadia National Park, Maine
The Vibe: Bucket List travels to Bar Harbor and a drive along the New England coast down to Boston: think lighthouses, rocky seascapes, and an extraordinary sunset cruise on a historic windjammer sailboat.
The Highlight: The best buttered lobstah rolls, experiencing a Red Sox winning streak at Fenway Park, and a VIP experience at the Hilton in Boston. Check out the Travel Itinerary HERE
The Destination: Alaska/National Park Tour - all 8 parks!
The Vibe: An 8-park grand-slam completely shatters your baseline for what "wild" means. It transitions from a structured vacation into a sprawling, multi-week expedition where you are entirely at the mercy of weather, bush pilots, moving ice, and your Travel Advisor (me!) The collective energy transforms as you leave the simple backcountry roads behind for the surreal, whisper-quiet isolation of a fly-in only wilderness escape.
The Highlight: Bears, bush-flights, and the Arctic Circle. Being dropped onto remote arctic tundra where it’s eerie, quiet, and beautiful. You realize you are standing in a place where caribou herds outnumber humans by the hundreds of thousands.
Get Busy and Press the ‘Book Now’ button – Let’s Go!
Drop #5: Scratch your Travel Itch with this Sample Itinerary
Alaska's national park grand-slam Itinerary
⚓ Hub 1: The Anchorage Base (Parks 1–5)
Anchorage is your ultimate launching pad for jaw-dropping coastal fjords, epic bear-country fly-ins, and the massive, untamed glacial interior. Here is how we break down the first half of this bucket-list expedition:
Park 1: Kenai Fjords National Park — Cruise past carving glaciers, spot breaching humpbacks, and take in the dramatic coastal landscapes right from the water.
Park 2: Lake Clark National Park — Jump on a quick floatplane fly-in for unbeatable, intimate brown bear viewing set against a backdrop of smoking volcanoes.
Park 3: Katmai National Park — Stand at Brooks Falls and watch grizzlies snatch salmon right out of mid-air—a total bucket-list moment you’ll never forget.
Park 4: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park — Explore America’s largest national park, packed with historic mining towns, endless ice fields, and massive peaks.
Park 5: Glacier Bay National Park — Listen to the thunderous echoes of tidewater glaciers crashing into deep blue ocean waters.
🌲 Hub 2: The Fairbanks Base (Parks 6–8)
Fairbanks serves as the gateway to the deep subarctic interior and the wild, roadless expanses above the Arctic Circle. Ready for true wilderness isolation? Here is the second half:
Park 6: Denali National Park — Marvel at North America’s highest peak while spotting moose, wolves, and caribou along the vast tundra highway.
Park 7: Gates of the Arctic National Park — Experience whisper-quiet, off-grid wilderness where there are no roads, no trails, and endless pristine Arctic tundra.
Park 8: Kobuk Valley National Park — Discover the surreal, unexpected sight of massive sand dunes tucked deep inside the remote Alaskan Arctic.
Ultimately, checking off all eight National Parks in Alaska leaves you with a profound sense of humility. It feels less like touring a country and more like discovering another planet entirely.
I Want What They’re Having – Lisa, will you Book My Trip?