In 2025, I traveled to and enjoyed time on all seven continents. While it was, at times, grueling, and a couple of times I wondered if the magic was escaping, overall it was a truly eye-opening, inspiring, and transformative year…both individually and as a travel writer and advisor.

When laid out, it becomes clear that not only was the scope of my journeys by landmass, but also by type of experience, focus of those experiences, and suppliers.  And while that was incredibly rewarding and eye-opening for me, it provided me with an extraordinary wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to impart upon my clients!

My Itinerary

• Sea Cloud Spirit (Caribbean) – January 2025 – Continent I
• Antarctica21 (Antarctica) – February 2025 – Continent II
• Abercombie & Kent (Botswana & South Africa) – April 2025 – Continent III
• Silversea Expeditions (West Africa) – April/May 2025 – Continent III
• Aurora Expeditions (Svalbard) – July 2025 – Continent IV
• Paul Gauguin (French Polynesia) – August 2025 – Continent V
• Century River Cruises (China) – September 2025 – Continent VI
• Mashpi Lodge (Ecuador) – October 2025 – Continent VII
• HX (Galapagos) – October 2025 – Continent VII
• AmaWaterways (Switzerland, France, Germany, Netherlands & Belgium) – November 2025 – Continent IV
• Aurora Expeditions (Australia/Tasmania) – December 2025 – Continent V

I have always been more of a “nature guy,” even though many (my own fault!) perceive me as more or less the “luxury guy.” But then again, what is the first thing you see on my website: “What is Your Luxury?” 

The Cultural Experiences

My diverse year of travel, while usually focusing on the culinary experiences – since they are a bridge into local cultures, forced me to refocus on cities, human history, and the very conflicted social experiences we live within.  Some of my comments that follow are personal to me and, most definitely, not meant to pontificate or insist that my clients and readers agree with me. As I often say, “We must be able to agree without being disagreeable.” Unfortunately, this year underscored that some are more focused on “winning a point” rather than embracing both the opportunity to learn and respect others’ opinions.

My Silversea Expedition up the west coast of Africa was so culturally overwhelming that I am still processing it. And that has only been possible because Silversea delivered some extraordinary opportunities that, frankly, otherwise would have been impossible to experience one at a time, country by country, no less, day after day for forty (40) days.  How does one soak in the spirit of Jane Goodall when visiting the Tchimpouga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Sanctuary in the Republic of Congo and only days later spend a mind-boggling full day immersion into Voodoo in Togo and beginning to understand that Voodoo is not about sticking pins on dolls, but rather a deeply spiritual life that expresses itself in many different ways (and that surprisingly drew me in)? 

How does one then balance, no less comprehend, visiting a small seaside village where the young men play chess in a ramshackle hut and buy small piles of tiny fish for pennies as their daily protein, and visiting a school that has a sign that leprosy is curable and a computer class for children that hardly have electricity, no less computers. Meanwhile, literally across the dirt road, there is an air-conditioned resort with white-gloved attendants serving Moet & Chandon as you lounge on the beach. Goldring Travel’s 2025 Culinary & Cultural Journey – Botswana Safari & Expedition Sailing the West Coast of Africa (Abercrombie & Kent + Silversea Silver Wind)- Part VIII: Cote d’Ivoire & Sierra Leone 

Or the days were spent in Ghana, where the horrors not only of slavery, but how both governments and church could impose such terrors on humans by finding some sort of logic to their inhumanities remains a troubling quandary in my mind.  Goldring Travel’s 2025 Culinary & Cultural Journey – Botswana Safari & Expedition Sailing the West Coast of Africa (Abercrombie & Kent + Silversea Silver Wind)- Part VII: Ghana…and It’s Not “Ghana” End There! l And then again, days later in Sierra Leone, where amputees, victims of a civil war and Blood Diamonds, suffered and are rising above while their country struggles along with them.

Only weeks later, I was in China with Century River Cruises, where the experience was completely different. Modern cities have arisen from nothing in just a few years, but where you still cannot drink the water. And where you begin to understand that for the masses, the idea that the current government (for better or worse) is providing a sense of stability after hundreds of years of being conquered…as recently as the British Opium War and Japan in World War II. And where the lack of crime is more important than what Western societies generally see as an infringement on freedoms. Century Cruises – A Unique Opportunity to Experience This “Reimaged/New” Cruise Line: Century Voyage Three Gorges River Cruise & Thoughts On Traveling in China. (By the way, I am working on an October 2027 group for a nineteen (19) day Century River Cruise, including time in Beijing, Chongqing, and Shanghai. Stay tuned!)

But it was on the AmaWaterways river cruise that I had the most personal and troubling experience.  The obvious tension between the current US administration’s denial of climate change and the need for non-fossil-fuel power, while Europe is focused on both and questioning how some Americans are so politically blinded to actual science and physical realities, seemed omnipresent, but that wasn’t what struck me hardest. (My role as a travel advisor, rather than a writer, is not to pass judgment or find particular political views or beliefs are qualifying or disqualifying…with only very few limited exceptions!)

It was how obvious anti-Semitism exists and seems to be expanding, not because of the historical bases that fostered this prejudice, but how politics have. Oh, I am used to the standard tropes of wanting a “good Jewish lawyer” or “Jews always get a great bargain.” But now there is a sort of by wrapping oneself in the falseness of association, it permits the prejudice that if you don’t agree with someone’s political views or support a specific view of what is happening in Israel, you aren’t as Jewish as the gentiles spewing the prejudice.  Kind of like, if you aren’t MAGA or are too “progressive” or if you are a native-born American citizen (OK, what does that really mean?), you aren’t an American. 

I recently watched the PBS Documentary on Mark Twain, and it brought home his (Samuel Clemens’) words:

Travel is fatal to prejuidce, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” 

But these days it is, though it doesn’t need to be, different. With so many ways to customize one’s travel experiences, ranging from making sure there is a McDonald’s or Starbucks nearby to focusing on Michelin stars and luxurious pampering, there is something that Mark Twain and most “travelers” of his time had to face that is no longer the case:

Being comfortable being uncomfortable

A hundred years ago, even just fifty years ago, the cocoon that exists today – if you wanted it – wasn’t available to most. But I find it all too available today to the point that with all the packaging that is available, down to “drive-by bus tours” where looking at buildings and shopping are the focus, it has become, “Travel MAY be fatal to prejudice.  

This hit home when I was traveling in China with a number travel agents who had a significant focus on shopping more than experiencing China, avoiding certain foods rather than trying them, and concerns over the location of a particular complimentary hotel. Yes, all those can be points to consider as part of a tour being potentially sold – and there is nothing wrong with it – but that is not “travel” in the sense of immersion in a new destination and a cure for prejudice.

Years ago, I arranged an annual Food & Wine cruise. But then, thinking about how one can have food and wine anywhere and at any time, I changed it – and my approach – to Culinary & Cultural Journeys.  That opened up the possibilities to focus more on experiencing local cultures, trying some food that is far different than what one might otherwise be comfortable eating. Whether it is as simple as trying octopus for the first time in Venice, Italy in a local’s restaurant or drinking wines from an Angola winery that only exists due to cross-cultural and cross-border experiences in South Africa and Portugal (as opposed to an isolationist view), it is more about what travel can be while being a bit uncomfortable while being comfortable. (Goldring Travel has an upcoming 2026 Culinary & Cultural Expedition through Indonesia, Borneo, and Singapore in October 2026, a 2027 Culinary & Cultural Journey through Central America in April 2027, and a river cruise/land tour in China in October 2027.)

Traveling with Silversea Expeditions up the western coast of Africa was much about the landscapes, from the sand dunes of Namibia to the geological formations in Angola, to the incredibly impactful history of slavery from African perspectives, the butchery of Sierra Leone’s civil war and blood diamonds, and so much more. These experiences with my existence in the places where they happened made it personal and far more impactful than reading a book or watching a movie. 

However, despite the deep, disturbing, and sometimes conflicting thoughts, I met many wonderful, interesting, and, frankly, unique individuals who shared their experiences and positive views of their lives and the world. They reinforced in me that it is the “little things” that can have the biggest impact on one’s personal life.  Yes, I do wish everyone not only owned a passport and used it (even if only for the aforementioned bus tour, for you have to start somewhere), I do more so wish that more people opened their minds and hearts just a bit more. I am thankful I met so many this past year who have.

The Nature Experiences

I am often asked what my favorite place that I have traveled to is. My answer is always Antarctica. As much as I appreciate and celebrate all the places and experiences I have had over the years, there is a vastness, beauty, power, inexplicable intermingling of visual, sonic, and olfactory sensations…and penguins…that humbles me and my view of the world. My short, but oh-so-appreciated, visit with Antarctica21 did not disappoint (other than it was way too short). 

I did, however, experience many of the same emotional cues during my Aurora Expeditions’ Svalbard expedition. And the additional time allowed for it all to settle in.

Juxtaposed was the first part of the 2025 Culinary & Cultural Journey in Botswana. I had always wanted to experience wildlife there, and it did not disappoint. It was more personal and far less crowded than Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. 

Mashpi Lodge, in the cloud forests of Ecuador, actually outshone my Galapagos experience. While a Galapagos expedition gives you an up close and personal experience viewing all of the unique and wonderful wildlife, wandering in the cool mist, focusing on the sounds and smells, along with its peacefulness, only interrupted by incredibly beautiful birds and secretive wildlife, grabbed me.

And while time in French Polynesia on the Paul Gauguin was beautiful and the beaches amazing, Tasmania’s unique wildlife and breathtaking scenery really grabbed me…and made me ask myself, “Why did I wait so long to come here?“

And then there is the very special place of the Galapagos Islands. It is different in many ways, including that the animals have virtually no fear of humans, so you can get up close. You may also find yourself swimming with sea lions… because they want to.

Some Final Thoughts

 My first thought is: Thank Heaven for great internet almost anywhere in the world. Without it, I never would have been able to have such incredible experiences and still properly be able to take care of my clients and their upcoming journeys. But even more important, I have learned so much through these experiences about so many different cruise lines, tour operators, outfitters, guides, hotels, restaurants, airports, etc. that I now utilize to provide my clients with even more expertise and options.  In short, the extraordinary amount of travel was a great investment professionally.  

Oh, but the personal investment, if I may be selfish for a minute, had an even greater payoff. 2025 was a humbling year. It brought to the fore that as much as I know (or may think I know) there is a vastness of knowledge that I don’t have and will never full achieve. But I will continue to strive to learn more, be more aware, and become an even better Citizen of the World.

How do you want to spend your 2026? I have some great ideas, even if you don’t.  Let’s make it happen!