Pack Happy Travel with Ashley

24/12/2024

06/12/2024

Feature Friday: Mexico! 🇲🇽

With it getting colder in the Midwest, many like to plan time away to warmer destinations in February -early March or even looking further into next fall, October-early December. And now is the time to be planning and booking those trips. Especially with Christmas right around the corner, gifting a vacation is one of the best options, as you carry those memories for a lifetime!

Mexico is a great option with its ease to travel to for a quick 4 night getaway or a longer 5- 7+ night stay, and with over 100+ all inclusive resorts (and even some that are not all inclusive) at all different price points makes it a great choice for all different dynamics of travel. From couples, to families and friend groups, to celebrations and multi- generation family trips. Mexico isn't just for fun in the sun and water either! There are so many great excursions and tours that you can do off property as well. From cooking classes to visiting Mayan ruins, to swimming with whale sharks, to horse ranch experiences, to enjoying your time in nature and exploring a cenote and so much more!

If you are considering Mexico for your next trip, let's chat! 🌊⛱️🌴☀️

[email protected]

04/12/2024

It's time to plan for 2025 travel and if you can travel in April, early May or September thru early November there are some great prices happening for many destinations.

Here are some destinations that have been very popular with my clients for 2025.

Shoot me an email and we can discuss your next vacation!
[email protected]

16/11/2024

Friday we drove from Limerick to Galway for a couple hours of meandering the city and then drive back to Dublin to finish out the tour. Last night we walked the city for a few hours and grabbed dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant called Pinnocchio's which is also a culinary school. They were doing pasta making class while we ate, which was a fun experience to watch while dining. Tomorrow morning, we go home.
☘️💚🇮🇪

15/11/2024

Thursday we left Killarney, took the scenic coastal route, jumped on a car ferry over the river Shannon and drove to the Cliffs of Moher. We spent a few hours taking in the views of the cliffs and then hopped back on our bus to drive to Limerick. We finished the evening at Bunratty Midieval Castle dining experience. The castle was built in the 1400s on top of a Viking campsite from around 970AD and built by one of the most prevalent families who sat in power for 2 centuries.
🇮🇪💚☘️🏰

15/11/2024

On Wednesday, we took the scenic route around the Ring of Kerry. We started at a cute family owned shop called Moriarty's for a bit of shopping and some coffee and hit the road. We made several scenic stops along the way to grab a couple photos as we made it to our major destination Portmagee & Valentia Island to see the monastic site at Skellig Michael, which is also where scenes from Star Wars were filmed. This island is 8 miles off the coast of Ireland in the Atlantic and in 600AD monks landed on Skellig Michael to live out a life of solitude. It's is a Unesco Heritage site and if you are lucky enough with the weather, during the Summer you can take a boat over to walk the grounds of the site. Most of the year it is shrouded in heavy fog.

After taking time to take in the sites we went into town in Portmagee for some lunch at a cute restaurant called the Moorings. We then moved on to a few more photo stops in Sneem, and Killarney Park. And finished our evening in the lovely town center of Killarney, to have dinner and shop.

🇮🇪💚☘️

13/11/2024

Yesterday, we had an early start. We left Dublin and made our way to sheep farm to see a sheep dog demonstration and learn about sheep farming in Ireland, from a local sheep farmer and his border collie, Max.

After that we drove on to see Rock Of Cashel. However, the fog was so thick, it was completely covered and we couldn't see a thing. (Which is very common this time of year). We decided to move on to our nect stop, Blarney Castle. I personally didn't want to kiss the stone, for the gift of gab, but I did climb the majority of the castle. Which was pretty cool to see! We had the grounds almost to ourselves as it was pretty cold yesterday. We walked the gardens for quite some time and barely made a dent in all the things to see and do. We finished up our time at a cute Cafe on the Blarney grounds that was once the carriage house and stables for the horses. The food was great! If you are in the area, I highly recommend this stop, even if you don't want to kiss the stone, the gardens and walking paths would be great for kids to get their energy out!

After Blarney we took the scenic route on to Killarney to finish out our day.

🇮🇪☘️💚

12/11/2024

Yesterday, we started the tour with a overview of Dublin City, a stop to see St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College and Dublin Castle in the afternoon. Then we left the city to enjoy some live Irish Music, dancing and food at the Merry Ploughboy. It's the only music pub owned by musicians! From the food to the entertainment, it didn't disappoint! Not only was the music great they were so interactive with the crowd. They pulled me onstage, introduced themselves, gave me a hard time about not knowing the folk song they were singing and gave me a shirt for my troubles. But the most fun part was them telling me that my name that I always was told was English actually has Irish roots.

For the many who share my name, In Gaelic it's spelled Aisling, pronounced Ashlyeen (n is silent) and it means dream or vision.

The Irish are so proud of their heritage and their culture and are so excited to share it with others. They are thr nicest people. Just one of the many reasons why Ireland is so great!

🇮🇪💚☘️

10/11/2024

Today's adventure took us back to the East coast (Dublin side) as we are concluding our self drive and hopping on a guided tour the rest of our trip.

We checked into our lovely castle stay at Clontarf Castle, which also happens to be in the neighborhood that the author Bram Stoker of Dracula, grew up in. (1 year ago I was in Transylvania at Bran Castle where Vlad the Impaler became known as Dracula. Stoker was inspired by many medieval castles in Ireland as the backdrop of this story....A little full circle history moment, for those interested. 😉)

Then on to the lovely town of Howth to see the lighthouse and Howth castle ruins. We also stumbled across the Howth Cliff Walk that gave the most stunning views of the Dublin Mountains and the Irish Sea. After that we drove the coast line to Portmarnock to see the beach and finished the afternoon at the beautiful Malahide Castle (a great family stop!)

We finished the evening at Fahrenheit Restaurant at Clontarf Castle. It was amazing.

Tomorrow we will meet our group and tour Dublin city center.

09/11/2024

Today, we embarked on a scenic drive to Connemara, visiting Kylemore Abbey, where we initially planned to spend a couple of hours but ultimately stayed for several hours, captivated by its beauty. The drive itself was stunning. Afterwards, we drove to Cong to explore the Abbey ruins and parts of Ashford Castle's grounds. Cong is such a charming town, with the journey from Connemara equally impressive. We ended our day with dinner at The Marina restaurant in The Galmont hotel, Galway, following 6 miles of walking and 3.5 hours of driving, worth every moment!.

08/11/2024

Arrived in Dublin at 7:15am, grabbed our rental car and off we went! We decided to stop in Athlone for a mid morning coffee, snack and walk around the quaint river town. Found a local coffee shop right across from Athlone castle called "Spill the beans" (if you're a coffee lover like me, and in the area go! They are so nice and the coffee was awesome!) Its's around the corner from the oldest Irish Pub in Ireland (Sean's Bar), built in 900AD!

Got back on the road after a few more pictures were taken and off to Galway we went to check into our hotel, grab some food at Queen Street Gastropub (food was great!) and get some rest to start our day to tomorrow!
💚🍀🇮🇪

04/11/2024

This Thursday, I will be leaving to visit the stunning Emerald Isle. I will return to my office on 11/18/24.

I would love for you to follow along as I make my way through the Republic of Ireland. If Ireland is on your bucket list, let's talk for 2025! 🍀🇮🇪💚

29/08/2024

Has Egypt been on your bucket list?

If so, I have a great deal starting tomorrow 8/30/2024! Shoot me an email and we can see if this is the right option for you! 🇪🇬

[email protected]

What you will get:

-20% discount on 9-day / 8-night Explore Egypt & Cruise the Nile Escape. This is a saving of $1,400 per couple and it includes:

- Scheduled domestic flights

- 8 nights 5-star accommodation throughout

- Transportstion throughout your trip

- Egyptologist guides throughout your experience

- All meals on cruise

Now to add to the offer, ask me about the Doha stopover for free!

22/08/2024

Time to start thinking about your Spring Break flights!

20/05/2024

Is Peru on your bucket list? I can help you with that! 😁🇵🇪

02/05/2024

I'm so thankful today, and everyday for my awesome clients, Pack Happy Travel Family and my industry colleagues. I’m proud to be a part of the Travel Advisor community! Happy Global Travel Advisor Day to my fellow advisors! 💚✈️🌍💙