Dear Jane Travel’s 2024

a quick recap of 2024.

Dear Jane,

Surprise! How do you like Dear Jane Travel’s glow up!? We’re sneaking it in here by the skin of our teeth.

New Year, New Jane

Dear Jane Travel’s new look was made possible by Angela, who worked with me through my hemming and hawing. She presented me with two perfect but completely opposite designs. I indecisioned her into a middle ground that went through many color revisions.

Each of these designs is incredible, and I loved them all. The logo of The Thrifty Traveler jumped out at me, and I can’t wait to have a pin or patch on my bag.

How did 2024 go?

The updated logo and branding came just in time, as Dear Jane Travel’s only achieved y goal from 2024. For reference, here are all of the 2024 goals, which is incidentally the list of all failed goals for the year:

• Glow Up!
• Become a Trip Advisor affiliate partner.
• Become a Get Your Guide affiliate partner.
• Make $.01 through affiliate marketing.
• Enjoy the art of blogging.

Affiliate Marketing

Trip Advisor rejected me, but I learned why, and there’s some other goals I have to meet before applying for other affiliate partnerships.

Enjoying the Art of Blogging

I learned that writing itineraries for other people is tedious for me. The itineraries I write for myself are well researched lists, and for the most part, after that research, I figure out getting from Point A to Point B and in the moment.

The four-post Japan Itinerary began as a single post in February. It took me until October 4 to publish the first of that series. A lot of that time in the middle was me not enjoying what I was doing. I have to give a shout out to Beth at Cozy Does It for being my continuity editor. She made publishing the posts possible.

Dear Jane Travel’s 2024 Stats

Here are some accomplishments in numbers:

• Total Countries Visited: 2
• Total New Countries Visited: 2
• Total U.S. States Visited: 3
• Total New U.S. States Visited: 0
• Miles Traveled: 14,475 (58% around the planet!) as of Dec. 31, 2024

I visited two new countries: Cuba and Scotland. The two trips to Cuba were worked related, so while I won’t be sharing itineraries or budgets for them, I got a lot to write about.

My maternal grandparents are Cuban, and when I found out about these trips, I started a family history journey. I look forward to sharing more with you!

By the way, if you’ve wanted to go to Cuba, there’s still time before the new administration (maybe) makes changes. If you want to know more, reach out.

What About 2025?

I’m not going to go crazy setting up goals. I just want to keep going and catch up on all the things I want to write to you about.

And travel more, of course. I’ve already been assigned my first work trip for 2025, and in mid-January, I’m headed on a two-week trip to Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia!

What are your travel plans for 2025, Jane? Happy New Year!

<3 Katherine