Firstly let me start by welcoming the influx of recent followers and readers to the blog, January has seen a big increase in traffic and engagement on the blog which has made for an encouraging start to the year. Iām hoping thereās much more to come from āJason likes to travelā this year so stay tuned!
The other thing Iām hoping that there will be much more of this year is travel itself. I typically post about old trips on the blog, in the hope (lies!) that I eventually catch up to the present day. Iād originally planned to post about NYC next but I thought Iād switch it up and tell you about my more immediate travel plans. 2018 had some incredible travel moments but Iām hoping 2019 is going to be just as enjoyable.
With January payday finally arriving I was keen to get some adventure booked ASAP, so this is what I have coming up in the next few months.
March
Alright, so Iād booked this particular trip before Christmas. If youāve been following the blog for a while or you follow me on other social media platforms then youāll know my first trip of the year was dependent on Tottenhamās European fate (read me).
Wherever Tottenham would go, I would go and comically Spurs are going back to bloody Dortmund. Attending a Dortmund game is a rite of passage as a football fan, itās definitely one for the bucketlist but Iāve already done it twice. Moving away from the football, Dortmund has no appeal to me as a travel destination so the only way I was going to this would be if I stayed elsewhere.

Iāve opted for Kƶln, a fourth visit to the city but this particular trip overlapped with carnival season. Iāve heard itās a bit crazy but the Kƶlner Karneval is running from Feb 28th until March the 6th. The game in Dortmund is on March 5thĀ so Iām staying in Germany from March 4th-8th.
Currently Iāve booked a hotel for two nights in Kƶln. Iāll get to see what all the fuss is about on the Monday, on Tuesday Iāll go to Dortmund for the game and then Iāll be using the other two night to visit somewhere else. I was steering towards Amsterdam but the trains are pricier than I was anticipating so I might just stick to somewhere in Germany for a couple of days. Any suggestions are welcome! Although keep in mind itāll be my 9thĀ visit to Germany and 5thĀ visit to the region so Iāve seen a fair bit locally.

April
As some of you will know, Iām in a long distance relationship so the first priority on payday was to book flights to Washington State. Itāll be my fourth time visiting and itās always exciting to go back, can you ever really get sick of the mountain views?
Speaking of which, Iām hopeful Iāll actually see them a bit clearer this time. Last summerās forest fires hit the West coast hard and the air quality / visibility wasnāt the best which was a shame. Additionally Iām hopeful that going in April means that it wonāt be too cold but wonāt be unbearably hot either as it was this summer (40+C? No thank you!).
Working around both our work schedules is a little tricky so Iāve decided to go around Easter time. Haleigh teaches and ridiculously they get no time off over Easter (why?) but it means I get to go for around 10 days and only use 6 days of annual leave at work. Perfect! See you soon Washington!

May
I didnāt get the benefit of the public holidays last year either. Speaking of that summer trip, I had to save my pennies beforehand and consequently weekend trips were a no go. Well, thatās not the case this year so Iām reclaiming my bank holidays!
In England the first Monday of the month is a public holiday and that means a three day weekend! I was keen to take the opportunity to go away and after having a look at a few different options I can confirm that I am going to..
HELSINKI! Finally! Some of you will know that I grew up with a Finnish grandmother, we even shared a birthday, so Finland is somewhere that I have always had a fascination with and wanted to visit. I was hopeful a visit would happen in 2018 but things didnāt quite pan out, so it was towards the top of my list for this year. Iām going to have to brush up on my Finnish a bit but Iām so excited to finally be making my first visit to the country.
May however doesnāt just have one public holiday, it has two! We also get the last Monday of the month off and have another three day weekend so why settle for just one weekend getaway, right? I expect Finland to be expensive but luckily Iāll get paid again before the next three day weekend so I had to make the most of it and consequently I am off to spend the weekend in Dublin!

Like Finland, Ireland is a country Iāve wanted to visit for a while and I just havenāt got around to it before now. Iād love to be spending longer than a weekend in the country as thereās so much I want to see, both North and South of the border. Iām not sure Iāll get time to see anything more than Dublin this time around but Iām so excited to finally be making my first visit to the country.
Anyway that wraps up my plans between now and the end of May. If youāve got any recommendations for any of the above, particularly Dublin and Helsinki, it would be much appreciated!
Where are you traveling to this year? Let me know!
Up next on the blog: New York City (I know, I know, Iāve said this before!).
Stay tuned!
Jason