Go Away Alex Travel Design

It’s been a while since I wrote a more personal blog, and since my Grandma now follows me…I felt like maybe it was time.

Drew and I planned a filler trip from Christmas in Denver to my friend’s birthday weekend in Cancun. We did my puzzle magic and found our way from Denver to the Bahamas for New Years Eve (didn’t quite pan out that way). And from there to Panama for Copa airline’s free stopover program where we landed for 6 nights. Then we were off to Cancun for my first all inclusive stay weekend. This was not only a fun trip to plan (because we did all of it on a pretty extreme budget), but also quite a ride of a journey. Different climates, different cultures, and lots of great food!

Colorado & Our Flight to Nassau

Our wintery Colorado trip was a lovely holiday retreat in my parent’s small, one bedroom cabin. We saw family, ate wonderful food, went to a basketball game and enjoyed some snow. We headed to the airport for a dauntingly frustrating journey to Bahamas. We were supposed to fly out at 11pm, stopping in Boston for a quick 1.5 hour layover and then straight to Nassau by 11AM December 31st. Then we were supposed to enjoy NYE in Nassau where they celebrate Junkanoo from the night through the morning with a parade and lots of fun. The whole city shuts down for it, and then next day for everyone to rest.

Nassau, Bahamas – 2 Days

We made it to Nassau and I realized very late (even though I swear I looked it up) that rideshare does not exist in the Bahamas. So thankfully I remembered that our airbnb host offered airport transfers for $25. I messaged him before we hopped on the plane and he politely obliged. He came to get us and not only did he let us drop our bags inside, but he drove us down to some open restaurants nearby and gave us the lay of the land. This host gave me a great impression of the Bahamas, as he also returned us to the airport and when I tried to pay him, he said it was on the house for missing a night. (Not his fault! And he definitely didn’t have to do that). The kindness of strangers can really make or break a place for me.

We got a ton of walking in here since the taxis were extremely over priced and again, we’re on a budget! And the taxi we did end up taking who vultured us while we were waiting for a bus ended up being extremely chauvinistic and I will not go into details. Drew really wanted to make it over to Paradise island to visit the nicer beaches and it was definitely worth it. There were some vultures trying to sell you some overpriced chairs and beverages, but we just laid some towels down and enjoyed the free sun and sea!

(When I say vultures, I understand these folks are just trying to make a living. But in some places, they feel more aggressive than others. And I’m allowed to feel discomforted by them. Don’t come at me.)

We did try to visit a few restaurants and places of note on our list, but since we were mainly there on the 1st, everything was closed. We had to resort to resorts for an ice cream sandwich. I won’t say that I happened into Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville more than once in 2024. Oops. Oh well.

We had a full day on the 2nd, where we picked some places that were on the top of our list. The AC was cold but the vibes and service was excellent in the London. They kept not having things we ordered, so they brought us free drinks instead. Works for me! If you don’t travel much, you should understand that islands have a hard time importing fresh food that isn’t grown there, so sometimes they’re out of things! Always have a backup menu item ready 🙂

Thankfully we did get to see some leftover parade floats and lots and lots of glitter. I’m not in a hurry to hit the Bahamas again, but I’m definitely glad we had an experience there. Also, I ate a guava cinnamon roll that I miss already and I’ll never forget.

Panama City, Panama – Are we moving here?

Panama was our second stop and by far my favorite (of the year so far). It’s 2025 now remember. I’ve had Panama on my radar as an “I’ll get to it” place with no real oomf necessarily. And I LOVE when this happens to me. I got off the plane and I was like, Yep! This is it! I loved it. I had no real reason. Just vibes. The city itself reminds me of the good parts of LA. The weather was moderate. There are pockets of neighborhoods all with different vibes. What I loved was that it didn’t feel too crowded. It didn’t feel too touristy (even in Casco Viejo). The ride shares were extremely affordable and readily available. The neighborhood we stayed in “San Francisco” was very walkable. We were able to choose from several restaurants each day that were located within a 20 minute walk from our hotel. We took 2 day trips. One to see the Pacific side, island Taboga. We took a catamaran tour where they offered many free drinks, dancing, and loads of swimming. Drew was in heaven.

We got to get out and walk around Taboga island but it was very hot so we didn’t stay long. We did enjoy the beach and ocean water while it rained…that is, until we got stung by jellyfish!

I was skeptical when I felt a sting on my arm. Drew thought it would be worse and wasn’t quite sure. I gaslight myself all the time so I thought maybe it was a bug or something. We got back on to the catamaran and he jumped in the water to swim about and came back in with a larger sting on his arm. This was one we couldn’t ignore. I had some anti itch cream we administered. When we asked one of our boat crew if there were jellyfish out here, he nodded as he continued his regular activities. So his nonchalance led us to believe we’d be fine without …idk peeing on it or whatever?

Our second day trip was to the Caribbean side, a long boat day seeing the San Blas islands. I had high hopes for this trip that weren’t met. I’m not sure exactly why. I thought we’d get to witness a bit more of the culture there. The San Blas islands are treated like a separate nation, they require a passport to be let in. They make a pretty big deal about being their own unique group, and maybe the tour we chose just wasn’t it. But as they shuffled us around from island to island and gave us an hour to enjoy the beaches and swim, I didn’t really get to witness anything unusual. Anyway, they were beautiful and the water was lovely!

Otherwise in Panama City, we had great food, hit some museums, went to a live dancing and music club. We walked all over the place, saw all kinds of birds and really soaked up the city. And even though we picked a muddy day to hike, and we both ruined a pair of nice new Christmas shoes, would I move there? Yep.

It’s accessible. So close to day trips. It has ocean and jungle. It’s affordable. People are kind. Transportation is easy. The weather is great! Not a lot of downsides.

Also, for the record, in case you didn’t hear me brag about it before, I found a 6 night stay in Panama City for 34,000 miles. I believe they were Marriott points that I transferred from Bilt. That’s around $340 total, for a week! So…pats on the back for me!

Next we headed to a 3 day birthday vacay in Cancun. I organized everything for this trip so it would be easy for all 6 travelers to show up, get transport to and from Riu Cancun and have everything paid for. We relaxed and took our own pace through the private beach, fabulous pools with poolside bars, 5 restaurants on site, and a stunning rooms with balconies overlooking the ocean. There was nothing to complain about, except maybe that the mocktails were a little too sweet for me. It was extremely lovely to finish our 3 week trip with an easy, nothing-to-think-about (except the LA fires) weekend. I was skeptical about all inclusives. I probably won’t splurge on them too often, but it was great to try out, and I can definitely understand why you would want to partake!

Hope you’re all wonderful! What did you do for the holidays? What holidays are you taking this year? Lots of people are going to Japan and Thailand. Would love to hear your adventures! And as always, let me know if you need a travel planner!

xoxo

Alex