Now that 2018 has drawn to a close,  we’ve been looking back at photos of all the incredible travels from the year. We’ve been fortune to take some amazing vacations without spending a fortune. Our savings reports show hundreds of thousands of dollars we’ve saved thanks to travel hacking. This year alone, we’ve saved over $98,000. So for the first time ever we thought it would be fun to do a recap of the year. Oh the places we’ve been! We traveled as a couple around the world and enjoyed summer family trips to Iceland and Costa Rica among several shorter trips within the U.S. We certainly feel blessed and grateful for all that we’ve experienced this year. So here it goes…our 2018 recap.

Our Adventures of 2018

January

Bertaut started off the year by treating his Mom to a weekend in Miami for her birthday. She had been asking about visting Miami for several years so he was really excited to finally take her there on a mother son trip. Thanks to the flexibility of the Southwest Companion Pass, he was able to change her to his companion and flew her there for just $5.60 in fees. Then they stayed on points at the Hyatt property The Confidante. She was happy to get her toes in the sand and he was grateful to be able to spoil his mom.

February

Flying Emirates First Class

We took a romantic getaway (without the kids) that literally took us around the world in a few weeks. We went from Washington D.C. to Dubai and Oman, then to the Maldives, Hong Kong and San Francisco, and finally back to Baltimore. What’s really incredible about that trip is that we travel hacked our way around the world, paying for our flights and hotels with points. We flew the exquisite Emirates First Class from Washington D.C. to the Maldives for just $38 plus points on a flight that would have cost $16,636 per person! We enjoyed a free stopover in Dubai, where we rented a car and road tripped to Oman, which turned out to be among our list of favorite destinations in the world. For this trip, we transferred points from our Starwood Preferred Guest credit cards to our Japan Airlines (JAL) accounts to secure our First Class tickets,

Oman

It’s a funny story how we decided to visit Oman. We had a Leading Hotels of the World reward night that we wanted to use in Dubai. Unfortunately there was no availabity in Dubai, but The Chedi Muscat, which was a 4-5 hour drive from Dubai, had availability. So like that we spontaneously decided to visit Oman and enjoyed a free night in the luxurious The Chedi Muscat. Read our Chedi review to see photos and get all the details of this tranquil resort that boasts the longest pool in the Middle East.

In Oman we experienced authentic Middle Eastern culture and fell in love with the breathtaking scenery and incredibly hospitable people. Oman is one of the most beautiful places places we’ve ever visited. Our visit was full of firsts, including rock climbing and abseiling on one of the tallest mountains in the Middle East. It was terrifying yet exhilarating! We also went glamping in the Arabian desert and flew in a Micro Light high above Wahiba Sands desert. We swam in an emerald green wadi into a hidden cave and enjoyed Arabic coffee and dates with locals. We stood in the same spot as Princess Diana did decades ago to admire the awe-inspiring view of Oman’s Green Mountain at the beautiful Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar. Read our Anantara Jabal Akhdar review to see why this resort blew us away with its jaw-dropping views. Oman was full of magical experiences and we’ve been planning to return ever since we left, next time with the kids. Hopefully 2019 will see us return.

Maldives

After our mind-blowing week in Oman, we drove back to Dubai and flew the second leg of our Emirates First Class flight to the Maldives. We returned to the Park Hyatt Maldives, which is the resort we’ve compared all other resorts to ever since visiting in 2016. We used Hyatt points earned from stays and spending charged to our World of Hyatt Credit Cards to stay for a week for free and got upgraded to an overwater villa for part of our stay, which was another first.

The Maldives is also at the top of our list of favorite places and is insanely romantic. We enjoyed a romantic private dinner, couples massage, sundowners on the beach, snorkeling, fishing, kayaking in a glass-bottom boat, and just being lazy in our villa. It was exactly what we needed as a couple with young kids to recharge and enjoy some time to focus solely on each other. If any of our fellow parents have not yet been on a kid-free vacation, we cannot express enough how important it is! Take some time to get away just the two of you! We go somewhere every year without the kids, and although we LOVE our family vacations, it’s a different dynamic and helps us keep our marriage sizzling.

Singapore Business Class to Hong Kong

After a blissful week in the Maldives, we visited Hong Kong for a few days to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We flew Singapore Airlines Business Class on points for $175 in taxes rather than the $2,209 it would have cost without travel hacking. Bertaut had already flown Singapore Airlines Business Class with our son home from Japan in 2017, but it was my first time flying with them so I was very excited to fly the “world’s best airline”. They certainly delivered on service, although I was so exhausted I slept most of the flight. We transferred miles earned from our American Express Platinum credit cards into our Singapore Airlines KrisFlyers accounts to secure our business class tickets to Hong Kong and San Francisco.

Hong Kong

Visiting Hong Kong for Chinese New Year was exciting and gave us a great taste of local culture and traditions. We stayed on points at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong overlooking Victoria Harbour. We visited many temples and the Big Buddha, where we observed thousands of locals practicing religious traditions for the holiday. It was insanely crowded and we learned the hard way that when visiting over Chinese New Year,  you’re not just competing with tourists but locals who have time off work to visit temples for the New Year. Nonetheless, it was a fascinating experience.  We really loved Hong Kong and hope to return someday when we can spend more time there.

Singapore Airlines Business Class to San Francisco

We flew Singapore Airlines Business Class from Hong Kong to San Fransisco, once again on points. We paid just $84 for our tickets that would have cost $3,355 each. We threw back a few Singapore Slings and then laid down to get some sleep during the long flight.

Southwest Airlines to Baltimore

Our last leg of the journey was on Southwest Airlines from San Fransisco to Baltimore. We paid just $5.60 plus Southwest Rapid Reward points, saving $364 on airfare thanks to travel hacking. Read about how we saved $15K travel hacking on Southwest Airlnes. That was a wrap on our Around the World Trip of 2018, but we still had plenty of traveling left for the year.

March

Easter at the Greenbrier

For Spring Break, we stayed fairly local since our daughter had just 2 days off of school. We celebrated Easter at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, which is a beautiful historic hotel that goes all out for the holiday. We enjoyed Easter Egg hunts (one for adults and one for kids), cookie decorating, a dance party with the Easter Bunny, a mouthwatering Easter buffet, carriage ride, bowling, swimming in the glamorous indoor pool, a movie in the hotel’s theater, nightly cabaret performances, a ride through the Allegheny Mountains in a Polaris Slingshot, Easter Service in the hotel’s chapel, and more family-friendly activities. We all had a blast and enjoyed so much quality time as a family.

April

Birthday in Las Vegas

At the end of April and into the beginning of May, Bertaut and I went to Las Vegas. I flew as his companion on Southwest Airlines for $5.60 in taxes, making me a really cheap date. 😉 Bertaut was there for business so I tagged along for a weekend to celebrate my birthday. A good friend at home watched the kids as my birthday present, and we enjoyed a fabulous time together. We saw two outstanding Vegas shows- Absinthe and Le Reve, both of which we highly recommend but for very different reasons. Absinthe was raunchy and hilarious, and Le Reve was visually stunning and in my opinion blows any Circue du Soleil show out of the water. We also enjoyed the best steak I’ve ever tasted in my life at Wolfgang Puck’s Cut. While Bertaut was working, I sat by the pool and relaxed before heading home to my munchkins. It was a memorable weekend and a birthday I’ll never forget!

May

Memorial Day in Philadelphia

We took a fun press trip over Memorial Day weekend to Philadelphia. It’s just a short 2 hour drive from our home in Baltimore, so was an easy road trip. We were there during the Sail Philly Festival so were able to tour over 10 ships from around the world. The kids were bouncing with excitement! We also visited several kid-friendly museums and taught the kids about the history of our nation. We didn’t travel hack on this trip since we were hosted by the Visit Philly tourism board. Check out our post about our weekend in Philadelphia, a great city for families and history buffs to visit.

June

Iceland

As soon as our daughter finished her last day of Kindergarten, we took off for Iceland, literally that same night. Bertaut and I had visited Iceland in winter of 2017 and had been dreaming of returning ever since. We were so excited to explore with our kids this time. We took a road trip around the entire island on the Ring Road. We had so many exciting adventures, including a whale watching boat tour, a Game of Thrones tour, sightseeing under the midnight sun, soaking in the Secret Lagoon, and more. Check out our suggestions for the 10 best things to do in Iceland in the summer.

Our Iceland trip was a combination of travel hacking, sponsorship, and savvy spending. Our flights were sponsored by WOW Airlines, and you can read our review here for what to expect flying WOW Airlines as a family. We also enjoyed a sponsored stay at Hotel Ranga, the only 4 star resort in South Iceland. Our travel hacking was limited to our hotel stays in Reykjavik, where we stayed at Radisson Blu on points. When traveling the Ring Road, we stayed in AirBnB’s since most hotels in Iceland don’t allow more than 3 people per room. AirBnB was surprisingly expensive compared to other countries, but allowed us more space and comfort than cramming into a hotel room and allowed us the flexibility to prepare food.

Since food is ridiculously overpriced in restaurants in Iceland, we saved money by eating breakfast at the AirBnB and packing snacks for the road. No matter the cost, visiting Iceland is worth every single dollar. It remains high on our list of favorite places, and every time we go, we fall more in love with the awe-inspiring beauty of the land. Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach were a highlight of our trip. The kids loved climbing on the beached chunks of glacier.

July

July was a month of staying home to enjoy our summer. We joined a pool and spent long days in the sun, splashing around with our kids and friends. My brother and his family visited from Singapore, so the kids had a great time playing with their cousins.  We enjoyed time with friends, chased lightning bugs in our backyard, and relished the simple pleasures of life in the country. We relaxed and rested and enjoyed our kids while they were out of school.

August

Costa Rica

In August, we returned to Costa Rica with the kids and celebrated our 12th anniversary at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo. We stayed there for free on Hyatt points and award nights and flew there on points with Southwest Airlines, making it an extremely affordable family luxury vacation. The hotel helped us set up a visit to a local school, where we donated school supplies and spent several hours talking and playing with the kids. We also took the kids to Diamante Eco Adventure Park to visit the animal sanctuary. Unfortunately the kids were too light to go ziplining, but did learn about Costa Rican traditions at the Casita. They made chocolate out of cacao beans and made their own sugar cane juice. It was a fun hands-on learning experience.

We ventured to parts of Costa Rica we hadn’t explored in our previous visit. We took advantage of the free kids club at the Andaz and took a day trip to Rio Celeste, where we hiked for hours on a muddy path under a torrential downpour. It was the quintessential Costa Rican rainforest experience. We were glad that the kids hadn’t come along because we would’ve been carrying them or hearing them whine the entire way. 😉

We enjoyed a sponsored stay at The Springs Resort and Spa in Arenal, which has blissful volcanic hot springs, an animal sanctuary, and more family activities than we had time to enjoy. The monkey slide was enough to keep us laughing for hours! Make sure to swipe on the Instagram post below to see the monkey slide in action.

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We also ventured to the Allejuela Province for a sponsored stay at Peace Lodge, which is on the grounds of La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Our kids were on cloud nine as we explored the animal sanctuary. They got to feed hummingbirds and toucans, hold butterflies, go fishing the the first time, milk a cow, and discover beautiful waterfalls hidden in the rainforest and cloud forest. Costa Rica was the perfect destination for our family, with so many kid-friendly and adventurous activities to keep us all entertained. Since it has many opportunities for travel hackers, I’m sure we’ll be back.

September

Family trip to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica

Since school doesn’t start until after Labor Day in Maryland, we squeezed in one last summer getaway before going back to school. Bertaut had to go back to Las Vegas for business, so this time the whole family joined him. We all flew on points with Southwest Airlines. We enjoyed the Shark Reef Aquarium, Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, the flower-filled atrium at the Bellagio and of course the pool! The kids and I took a road trip to Flagstaff to visit my cousin and went to see the Grand Canyon, which left me speechless even though it was my third time visiting.

Then we headed to Los Angeles and Santa Monica for a few days at the beach before heading home and getting back to the grind. The kids absolutely love the beach so were in their happy place. We also took the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the first time and searched for our favorite movie stars’ handprints at the TCL Chinese Theater. It was a fantastic way to end summer and get in more quality family time.

Girls Trip to Shenandoah Valley

Later that month, I took a weekend getaway to Shenandoah Valley with my mom and a few friends for a relaxing girls trip. We visited wineries, watched movies in our log cabin in the woods, soaked in the hot tub, and celebrated our FriendsVersary of 10 years with cake and more wine! Despite the disgusting discovery of mouse droppings in our log cabin, we had a great time and a lot of laughs. On the plus side, I was able to get my mom’s points reimbursed for her timeshare that weekend.

October

Fall in New England

We spent most of October at home, but took advantage of a 3 day weekend and road tripped to the Berkshires, Massachusetts to see the fall foliage. Unfortunately Mother Nature was behind schedule so there wasn’t much color in the trees, but we still enjoyed our nature hike and discovering the small towns in New England. We had purchased 3 hotel nights as a timeshare promotion and then our package was reimbursed for attending the presentation, which made for a free weekend getaway. However, it almost turned out very badly.

We tried to get out of the timeshare presentation by a loophole for Maryland residents, which they said wasn’t valid for their offer. So they charged our credit card the full retail value of the stay, which was over $800 and absolutely not worth it. Fortunately we were eventually able to reschedule the presentation and they refunded our money, but it was honestly very stressful and put a major damper on the trip. I vowed never to do another timeshare promotion again, although thankfully the salesman who gave us our presentation wasn’t pushy and was actually quite fun.

November

Montreal Road Trip and Spontaneous Disney Trip

We had family and friends visiting for almost the entire month of November, but managed to squeeze in some short weekend trips. Bertaut took a road trip to Montreal with his parents to visit his sister. What should have been a 9 hour drive took 17 hours due to a major blizzard. Thank goodness I stayed home with the kids, or they would have lost their minds on that drive and driven everyone in the car crazy.

Then at the end of November we spontaneously decided to take a trip 2 days later to Orlando and take the kids to Disney World. Our decision was spurred because Bertaut needed to fly one more flight before the end of the year on Southwest Airlines to earn his Companion Pass for next year. So we decided to make it a family affair and flew the rest of us on Southwest points. We used our Hyatt points to stay at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, and were able to get complimentary media tickets to Disney for one day. Talk about Disney on a dime! We visited Epcot’s International Festival of Holidays and loved seeing how Christmas is celebrated around the world. We had so much fun that we plan to make it an annual tradition.

December

Cameroon

Bertaut traveled to Cameroon by himself for his brother’s wedding. I stayed home with the kids so they wouldn’t miss too much school, and we already attended his brother’s wedding here in Maryland earlier in the year. I was planning to take the kids to Philadelphia for a weekend to see the Christmas decorations, but unfortunately our son got very sick and we had to cancel our plans.

For his trip to Cameroon, Bertaut flew Lufthansa Business Class on points for $65 and indulged in a free stopover in Brussels. He had time to explore the Christmas markets and visit his uncle before continuing on to Cameroon.

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Once there, he enjoyed a few weeks of partying, overeating, dancing and celebrating with his family for his brother’s wedding. The wedding celebrations consisted of a visit to the village to get the blessing of ancestors, a traditional dowry ceremony, a church wedding, and an elaborate reception complete with dancing troupes, musical performers and 800 guests. Weddings in Cameroon are quite an affair to witness! He flew home on points with Brussels Air Business Class and Air Canada. He returned just in time to ring in the New Year at home with me and the kids.

What’s Ahead for 2019

As you can see, 2018 was full of discovery and exciting adventures for our family. We thank you for following along and encouraging us all year long. We have some very exciting new endeavors coming in 2019 that we cannot wait to share with you, but are not quite ready to reveal! Happy New Year and may 2019 bring you joy, health, prosperity, success and love!