Where do I begin with my year in travel 2015? It was an amazing year that took me all over the world to 5 continents, 31 countries, flying over 225,000 miles on over 30 airlines. My year in travel 2015 brought me back to places I hadn’t been in years and places that I’d previously had poor visits. My year in travel 2015 did not take me to Antarctica for the first time in 3 years and to be honest, I really missed it! So here’s a brief rundown of my year in travel 2015!

2015 started relatively slow for me travel wise as I focused more on the business end of my travels and on television; which I appeared on over 120 times in 2015. I did a ton of TV in January including 2 satellite media tours. I did a work trip to Los Angeles before heading to Miami before Phoenix for Superbowl XLIX.

After the Superbowl I headed up to Alberta, Canada for an action packed week included heli snowshoeing; doing a 10 mile hike to the Sundance Lodge in Banff National Park; playing pond hockey on Lake Louise; and dogsledding! It was another great trip to my favorite province in Canada!

I then flew to Hong Kong before Bali; one of my favorite places in the world, where I hopped on an Azamara cruise! The first stop was Komodo Island followed by a visit to the primates of Borneo in Sandakan, Malaysia.

Then it was up to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in the Philippines for one of the new seven wonders of nature! After an Azamazing Evening in Manila I got off the ship and headed to Boracay and then El Nido in Palawan for a week. This was one of the highlights of my year in travel 2015 for sure.

I then headed to Texas to speak at South By Southwest for the second consecutive year. I also got to go back to Houston for 4 days after 4 days in Key West Florida for my buddy’s bachelor party.

After another great trip to Fort Worth, Texas for the Duck Commander 500; a golf lesson; and an AT&T Stadium tour I head back down to Belize for 5 days. I also did a day trip to Tikal in Guatemala for my first visit to Tikal since 2003!

I then headed back to California for a road trip from San Francisco to Sonoma. Plus I filmed a commercial for TripIt: the best travel app!

Then I went back to Cuba for the third time for a weeklong road trip where I discovered 5 essential places to visit in Cuba and believe me there are plenty more. I really enjoyed that trip-it was one of the highlights of my year in travel 2015.

I also did quite a bit of travel around the United States as well in 2015. After a random work trip to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin I did a 1000 mile road trip around Washington State visiting 3 National Parks before heading up to an unbelievable week at the Nimmo Bay resort in British Columbia, Canada.

After doing a lot of work for some of my partners I headed to Europe starting in Portugal. While I was underwhelmed with Porto, I loved all 5 awesome things to do in Lisbon!

Then I headed up for 4 unique days in Edinburgh, Scotland; which included going to the Open Championship at the Old Course in St. Andrews before hopping on another Azamara Cruise around the fjords of Norway!

I started in the lovely city of Bergen. Then I discovered that Flam is more than a railway. I then decided that Geiranger is the best fjord in Norway before ending my trip in Svolvaer and the Troll Fjord. I loved this cruise in Norway!

After flying back from Norway to do my annual beach house in Dewey Beach, Delaware I headed back to Alberta, Canada! This time it was a memorable trip to the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Jasper National Park is one of my favorite places in the world! I also went back to Edmonton for the first time in 14 years discovering that Edmonton is a city on the rise.

Then it was off to Mauritius with the new SPG Amex card! This was so much better than my first trip to Mauritius when I thought Mauritius was just an island.

From Mauritius, I discovered how to spend 24 hours on Reunion Island without a car before heading back to Madagascar for the first time in 6 years.

I found way more than 5 awesome things to do in Nosy Be; which was one of the highlights of my year in travel 2015 without question. I also found out how to spend 24 hours in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

As if this wasn’t enough already, I then went to England for a Rugby World Cup road trip that I loved every second of doing! I even got to see the US play plus eventual champions New Zealand. Then I got really busy!

I went to a wedding in Fiji; my 5th destination wedding of 2015 not including the one on the Bahamas in December which I haven’t even written about!

From Fiji I did make up trips to Vanuatu where I found out that Vanuatu is one of the best places in the Pacific and the tiny island nation of Nauru. I did an essential travel guide to Nauru during my ‘as good as could be’ visit!

After going back to Beachcomber Island for the last time I headed for a perfect day in Brisbane, Australia.

After a week in Bangkok, Thailand, which I haven’t written about yet, I headed back to Myanmar for the 3rd time. Here are some great Bagan travel tips and some fun things to do in Mandalay.

I went back to Angkor Wat 11 years later before deciding it’s worth the effort to travel to Luang Prabang, Laos.

As if this wasn’t enough, then I did a Staycation at the Plaza Hotel in New York before a quick Bermuda weekend getaway and discovering 5 awesome things to do in Shanghai, China.

I was also fortunate to attend the Jumeirah Inside launch event in Dubai just before doing another satellite media tour for Allianz Travel Insurance.

My year in travel 2015 ended with the SPG Amex holiday challenge in Guam where I was also able to do an overnight trip to Rota.

Finally, I was able to get 2 amazing days in Kauai, 2 in Oahu and then an actual 5 day vacation at the Four Seasons Maui-my favorite resort in America.

Holy cow I am exhausted just writing this and thinking about my year in travel 2015. It really was a great year and my 2016 starts out with a bang in Los Angeles before speaking at the New York Times Travel Show on January 9th. I then head to Kenya, Dubai and New Zealand before heading to Phoenix for the Phoenix Open golf tournament I attend every year and then the Superbowl.

Ok I’m exhausted! Be sure to also check back on my year in travel 2014, my year in travel 2013 and my year in travel 2012 and of course all of my 30 best lists! It’s going to be a great 2016!

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