Travel blog

The Rose Parade is the “granddaddy of them all,” a beloved institution known as America’s New Year Celebration. It is as closely tied to the New Year holiday as fireworks or optimistic resolutions. For many first-time visitors to this Pasadena, California event, there are a host of questions about the ins and outs of seeing it in person. If you’re considering a trip to Southern California for next year’s event, here are our tips for how to prepare for your first Rose Parade.

Millions of tourists visit California each year because the state has something for everyone.

• Beautiful National Parks
• Unique architecture
• Diverse cuisines
• The allure of Hollywood
• Top tier sports teams
• The iconic New Year’s Day Rose Parade

The diverse landscape brings with it varying climates, and travelers need to pack accordingly. Packing for a trip to California may not be as straightforward as you think. In some places, you can go from sunny beaches to snowy mountains in the course of a day! Temperatures across cities vary, and may even fluctuate in the same city from morning to night.

If you’re one of the lucky million revelers to descend on Pasadena for the 131st annual Tournament of Roses Parade—which features a spectacular procession of flower-covered floats, spirited marching bands, and high-stepping equestrian units—you will certainly want to come prepared. Whether you plan to enjoy America’s New Year Celebration in comfortable pre-purchased stadium seating, camp out for free curbside spots, view the floats up close at a pre- or post-parade event, or to simply watch all the fun from home, this helpful guide will help you plan and enjoy the parade fully.

We have a lot to thank our mothers for. They’re the ones who carried us, who nurtured us, who showed us right from wrong, how to get over heartbreak, and the key to choosing the best watermelon (does it sound hollow when you tap it?). Our mothers are some of the most precious women in our lives, and Mother’s Day is the perfect day to celebrate them.

This year, why not rethink your Mother’s Day gift? Cooking classes and flowers are nice, but if you want to really treat your mom, don’t overlook the power of a well-planned experience. We have a list of options your mom is sure to love. These are the best places to travel with your mom—whether she wants to take a Bucket List European vacation, or to finally stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon, we have something for every style of traveler.

Not sure where to start? We can help you narrow down the kinds of trips your mom would like by determining her travel style. Here are eight of the most common styles we’ve seen, and the best affordable tours for each type!

If you’re one of the lucky million revelers to descend on Pasadena for the 130^th annual Tournament of Roses Parade, which features flower-covered floats, spirited marching bands and high-stepping equestrian units, you will certainly want to come prepared. Whether you plan to experience America’s New Year Celebration in comfortable pre-purchased stadium seating, camp out for free curbside spots, or view the spectacular floats at a pre- or post-parade event, this helpful guide will help you plan and enjoy the parade fully.

Your travel bucket list is an opportunity for you to write down all the must-see places you want to visit in this lifetime. It inspires you to decide what you really want, to rank the places you’ve dreamt of seeing for years, since childhood, perhaps, and plan accordingly. Here are some of the magnificent destinations that show up most frequently on our guests’ bucket lists:

There are places around the world where you want to hit the ground running, soaking up the culture and visiting all the must-see sights as quickly as you can. Cartagena, Colombia is not like that. This is the type of place where the most memorable sights are not the ones you read about in a guide book, but the ones you stumble across unknowingly. Take in Old Town’s vibrant buildings on an afternoon stroll, fall asleep on the warm Caribbean sand, or see what’s on the menu at a tiny mom-and-pop restaurant. Here are five things we love about Cartagena and why you should visit now:

Time with your family is a great way to spend a vacation, and a romantic getaway is certainly a must…but sometimes what you need most is one-on-one time with your BFFs. A Girls Weekend isn’t just fun, it’s essential to maintaining your friendships. From Old World villages to beachside retreats, museum hopping to holiday celebrations, we’ve got some incredible ways for you to reconnect and enjoy time with your girlfriends:

Mothers come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. Some express their love quietly, while others shout it out for everyone to hear. All of them love us, and on Mother’s Day, we get to remind them we love them right back. 

This Mother’s Day, why confine yourself to gifts of flowers and brunch? Show the mom in our life you really care by giving her the trip of a lifetime. Perhaps she’d like a romantic cruise for two, or maybe a land adventure. It all depends on what type of mom you have.

While we can’t say for sure which trip your mom would like best, we do know a little about what certain types of moms like. So, here’s a list of the most common moms we see on our tours, and the type of tours we most often see them on.

After a year of planning and about 80,000 hours of manpower, the world’s most famous New Year’s Day parade took off with plenty of pomp and circumstance the first morning of 2018. Beneath sunny California skies, the 129th Rose Parade began with an announcement from Lieutenant Dan himself, grand marshal, actor Gary Sinise, and a military flyover by B-52 stealth bombers. Starting at the corner of Orange Grove and Green, the procession of military veterans, marching bands, equestrian units, and 44 floats decorated entirely with flowers, seeds and organic materials began.