Malia Yoshioka is a freelance Food & Travel Writer and ESL Tutor from Hawaii. She's slowly eating her way around the world, 43 countries and counting so far! Get behind the scenes news, travel tips and the best food stories from around the web in her weekly Savor the Journey newsletter.
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🧳The best travel plan? Leave room to change it
Published 2 months ago • 5 min read
👋 Aloha from Chicago,
What if you didn’t have to decide everything before your next trip started?
What if you could change plans halfway through, skip a stop, or take a detour for something seasonal?
Well, in my world, sometimes that looks like a last-minute trip for tulip season! This week, I’ll be boarding a train to Michigan, my 40th state by rail in the past year. I’ve always loved the Istanbul Tulip Festival (which just ended), and it turns out Holland, Michigan is right in the middle of their annual festival, Tulip Time. So I had to check it out!
My last tulip festival in Istanbul before moving 🌷
I’m also considering stopping off in Savannah, GA on my way south to Florida, or maybe not. 🤷 That flexibility comes from traveling with (yet another!) USA Rail Pass.
Getting to Florida by train made more sense than flying once I factored in baggage, airport transfers, and security lines. With the pass, I can change or cancel segments up until departure. So once I'd decided on getting another pass, I built in this little detour for tulips!
After visiting my mom in Florida for Mother’s Day, I’ll have about 20 days and 5 segments left, so I’m mapping out possibilities now.
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✨ Travel tips from Shoyu Sugar
Plan flexible trips without overplanning
If you want to try this style of travel, I just refreshed my ✨Google Map Magic guide, walking you through exactly how I build and use these map lists so you can stay flexible without feeling unprepared.
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Were you caught off guard by Spirit Airline's sudden closure? The New York Times has suggestions for your best options to reroute.
North America’s 50 Best Bars list is out and Jonathan Sacks of Everybody Hates A Tourist shows us what it’s like to visit a few of them!
Will you be traveling soon? Feel free to join our free Facebook Group and add your requests or give recommendations to others on our monthly Travel Tip thread. (I'm looking for recommendations for Holland, MI and Savannah, GA at the moment!)
If you are recovering from the recent flooding, or would just like to learn strategies for dealing with storm recovery and mold clean up, join the free virtual training presented from Lahaina Strong on May 6th.
Do you have a lei photo to share from May Day? Hit reply, I always love seeing what my friends have made (or received) each year!
Condé Nast Traveler and Viking are giving away a 15-day British Isles Explorer cruise for two, including flights. Vote in the Readers' Choice Awards to enter through 6/30. Details here.
Barefoot Wine is giving away a $5,000 Visa gift card toward a dream vacation. Enter by 6/30. Details here.
Swissgear is giving away a trip for two to Switzerland including roundtrip airfare, a $1,500 travel stipend, and a premium luggage set valued at $5,000. Enter by 6/15. Details here.
✈ Free travel resources
Visit my new foodie travel resource library! It's a work in progress and I'll be adding resources & discounts from companies and creators I trust. The password is “eatlikealocal” since that’s the best way to get to know a place.
I've started bookmarking my favorite food tours while I've been taking some in the US. Do you have any standouts that you'd add? Want an international version? Reply and let me know what you think! 🙏
I'm a freelance food and travel writer and guidebook author from Hawaii, slowly eating my way around the world and sharing the flavors with you in these weekly updates and on ShoyuSugar.com
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Malia Yoshioka is a freelance Food & Travel Writer and ESL Tutor from Hawaii. She's slowly eating her way around the world, 43 countries and counting so far! Get behind the scenes news, travel tips and the best food stories from around the web in her weekly Savor the Journey newsletter.
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