Welcome to my 2022 Travel Year In Review post! This is certainly my biggest year in travel yet, and might be for the rest of my life. I quit my job in May and convinced my husband to do the same. We sold, donated, or packed up everything in the apartment we’d lived in for four years. My mom generously took custody of our dog and car and we entered the world of full time travel on what I’ve dubbed our “Year Long Honeymoon!”
Since May 31st we’ve been on the road full time. June brought us to 10 US National Parks, before we flew to Europe for four months. Andrew and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on a cruise around Greece and we eventually made our way over to Asia for the last part of the year. Even before we left for our Year Long Honeymoon I did a decent amount of travel within the US, so read below for all my adventures in 2022 and a preview of what 2023 will bring.
The Stats
Countries Visited in 2022: 18
Total Countries Visited Ever: 27
States Visited in 2022: 13
Total States Visited: 33 plus D.C. and Puerto Rico
Flights: 30
Trains: 8
Busses: 15
Ferries: 3
Cruises: 1
January
To start off the year I went to my first Colts game with Andrew, my mom and my sister. Later in the month Andrew and I took a road trip down to Kentucky to visit my sister at her school. I somehow didn’t take any pictures that weekend but we had fun hiking and going to a college basketball game.
February
In February I took my second ever trip to New York City! Andrew’s sister was amazing and let us stay in her apartment and showed us around her neighborhood. Andrew and I visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum and saw the Book of Mormon with his sister and her boyfriend. We also got to visit with some of our other friends that live in NYC and of course had amazing pizza.
March
I went to New Orleans for a few days with my mom and sister during my sister’s spring break. We had so much fun exploring the city and you can read my blog post Exploring New Orleans Beyond the French Quarter for more info on what we did!
We had a great time spending time together, and we loved all the food and drinks we had! I’m so excited I get to go back to New Orleans in a few months for my best friends bachelorette party! Cajun and creole food is up there as one of my favorite cuisines in the world.
April
Andrew and I traveled to Washington DC together to spend time with my friend Kyle. I’ve been to DC many times now and it’s one of my favorite cities to visit for a long weekend. We were supposed to go to Boston after DC but unfortunately I got Covid and we had to cancel that portion of our trip. Hopefully we make it to Boston sometime in 2023 or 2024. It’s one of the few cities in the US that I haven’t been to that I’m really dying to visit.
We also started doing some “lasts” in Chicago before we moved in May. We went to our last Cubs game as Chicago residents with our good friends Betsy and Michael.
May
May was a big month for me as I quit my job on May 12th! The next day I flew to Hawaii for a week to spend some time with my dad, his girlfriend and her kids. We had so much fun hiking, surfing, and driving the Road to Hana. Read my post The 7 Best Things to do in Maui, Hawaii for more info on Maui, Hawii.
The last week of the month we spent packing up our apartment in Chicago and moving our stuff to my parents houses in Indiana. We spent some time with my family Memorial Day Weekend, and then we left for our month long road trip on May 31st!
June
Andrew and I road tripped for 3.5 weeks through Missouri, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming. During that time we visited ten National Parks! You can read more about our trip here: Year Long Honeymoon – June 2022: Our first month of full time travel! or here: How to Visit 10 National Parks in 1 Epic Road Trip.
When we got back from the road trip we had 48 hours to clean our car out, do laundry, pack our big backpacks for our trip and attend a friends wedding! On Sunday, June 26th Betsy and Michael drove us up to Chicago and Andrew and I flew to London. It was such a whirlwind weekend we barely got to soak in what was happening. Looking back now it already seems like a lifetime ago.
July
In July Andrew and I visited Czech Republic, Poland, The Netherlands, and Germany. We got to see my mom, sister, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins in Amsterdam and then traveled with them down to Munich. Right after that, our friends Betsy and Michael traveled with us in Munich and some smaller cities around Munich. For a full itinerary of our travels in July, read my monthly update post here: Year Long Honeymoon – July 2022: Our First Full Month Abroad.
August
After a hectic month of traveling with friends and family for weeks, August was a bit calmer. We visited Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia for a week each. Andrew and I did some amazing hiking in Innsbruck, Austria before heading to Vienna for a few days. Read my Innsbruck, Austria Two Day Itinerary for more details on our short time there.
From Vienna we traveled to Bratislava Slovakia. It’s a beautiful and affordable city but much smaller than surrounding Vienna and Budapest. Read my 3 Day Bratislava Itinerary & Budget blog post to start planning your visit to this charming Slovak city.
Andrew celebrated his birthday in Budapest and we had a nice dinner followed by a champagne cruise on the Danube River. From Budapest we took a bus to Ljubljana, Slovenia then Bled, Slovenia. For a more in depth look at our August travels read the following post: Year Long Honeymoon – August 2022 Update.
September
For most of September we were in Croatia. We visited seven different cities in our three weeks in Croatia which was a little exhausting but it was also so fun to see so many different parts of the country. Andrew and I arrived in Zagreb then traveled down to Plitvice Lakes, Zadar, Split, Bol, Hvar and Dubrovnik. We met up with our friends Andrew and Christine in Hvar and traveled with them for two weeks.
From Dubrovnik we flew to Berlin where we met up with more friends and the two Andrews ran the Berlin Marathon! After the marathon we all took a train down to Munich to celebrate at Oktoberfest. We had a little too much fun and spent so much money on beer but it really was such a fun time! I would love to go back one day. Read more about our adventures in Croatia and Germany here: Year Long Honeymoon – September 2022: The Month of Beaches and Beer.
October
In October Andrew and I traveled around Northern Italy for ten days before embarking on a weeklong cruise around Greece for our first anniversary. After the cruise we flew to Bulgaria and explore the capital Sofia, and the second largest town, Plovdiv. We then traveled to Istanbul and spent a week there eating amazing food! Read my October summary post for more details: Year Long Honeymoon – October 2022: From Pasta to Kebabs
November
We started November traveling through Georgia for two weeks then spent the second part of the month in Nepal. In Georgia we visited Tbilisi, Sighnaghi, and Kazbegi. From Georgia we flew to Kathmandu, Nepal then over to Pokhara, Nepal. We attempted to trek the Annapurna Circuit for two weeks, but that did not work out for us at all! To read more about our adventures and misadventures in November, click here: Year Long Honeymoon – November 2022: A Month in the Mountains.
December
We started December off in Pokhara, Nepal. I spent a lot of time catching up on my blog and trying all the amazing restaurants. I compiled a list of all my favorite ones here: The Best Restaurants in Pokhara, Nepal. After our time in Pokhara Andrew and I flew back to Kathmandu for a few days before flying to our last new country of the year, Singapore!
We spent five amazing days in Singapore admiring all the architecture and trying the delicious food. We had chicken rice, chili crab, Michelin Star $6 noodles, and so many other yummy treats. We explored Gardens by the Bay, the Botanic Gardens, Chinatown, Little India, and Kampong Glam (the Arab neighborhood.) Singapore is a fascinating city state and I can’t wait to go back to explore more of the city and it’s amazing food in the future. Read more about our December adventures here: Year Long Honeymoon – December 2022 Update.
2023 Preview
Our Year Long Honeymoon is more than half over but we still have a lot of exciting destinations to come! We’ll be exploring Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia for about a month each. Andrew is planning to redeem the Annapurna Circuit trek and head back by himself in April. After our long stint in Southeast Asia we’ll be back in Europe for about a month in Portugal, Spain, and France.
Once back in the US we have a few bachelorette parties, bachelor parties and weddings over the summer. We will also have to look for new jobs in June or July and pick a new place to live. After that we will continue traveling if we can afford it!
See ya in 2023,
Kailyn (& Andrew)
No Comments