Big news: I booked an 8-day tour of Europe on Expat Explore’s European Vistas tour! It was all kind of last minute, at least for an international trip anyway ― I booked the tour and my flight about a month in advance of the trip. Even without a lot of time for advance planning, I was lucky enough to score a round-trip plane ticket to Amsterdam for under $1k. The tour itself was also $1k, and I paid an additional $400 fee to have a hotel room to myself. The fee to Expat Explore included all accommodations, a majority of meals and transportation, which was a fantastic deal.

I bought a shiny new carryon suitcase, my bags have been packed for a week and I’m super-excited for the trip, but also am extremely nervous about going on the tour alone. Even though I’ll be meeting up and traveling around Europe with a group, it seems like the other tour group members I’ve talked to on the Tour Radar app about the trip are all traveling with at least one family member or friend, so fingers crossed I don’t end up third-wheeling it the entire trip. We’ll see.