Phew! That was a whirlwind 17 days in Europe and then a little over a week in Maine. Now that I am back in Philadelphia, I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. I am getting ready to start my Fetal Medicine Research Internship and hop back into the pool with my students. But before I do all of that I wanted to get the breakdown of my trip down on paper. This was my first international solo trip as well as my first trip primarily using points and miles. I have used other budget travel hacks in the past but nothing compares to free nights at incredible hotels!  

I booked my flight from Philadelphia to Dublin using American Airlines miles I had earned from the Citi AA business card plus $5.60. I know that I didn’t get the best redemption value, but the dates and times worked really well for this flight. There are lots of ways to qualify for business cards that don’t require having an EIN or employees. I am an independent contractor for my swim coaching business which is what I use when I apply for business cards! (Plus most of them don’t count towards 5/24!) 

My first stop was Galway where I stayed at the Glenlo Abbey Hotel and Estate. It is a small luxury hotel of the world that I booked through Hyatt using Hyatt points earned with the SUB from the Chase Sapphire Preferred. I paid 25k points a night for a total of 50k points. The advantage of booking a SLH through Hyatt is that you get globalist benefits! Which includes an upgrade and free breakfast! When I say free breakfast I don’t mean some wimpy continental breakfast that you would find at a Holiday Inn Express, where you might be lucky to find a waffle iron. This breakfast spread was incredible, the first day I had eggs benedict florentine (spinach instead of ham), a whole silver pot of decaf coffee, toast, grapefruit and Irish cheese. The second day when I had a bit more time I had the full vegetarian Irish breakfast with fruit, a pastry and more of the delicious coffee!  

Since I booked through Hyatt I knew that there was a good chance I would get an upgrade. I used Julia’s (@GeobreezeTravel) upgrade template and it worked like a charm! As a solo traveler I didn’t feel the need to ask for a suit, since I really don’t need the space. What I asked for was a bathtub! The staff were so sweet and accommodating, they set me up in a beautiful room with a bathtub and a garden view. There was also a handwritten note and some sweet goodies waiting for me when I arrived. This hotel was absolutely amazing! I would love to go back and spend more than two days there. I didn’t get to explore the grounds as much as I was hoping due to a wee bit of rain and a busy schedule. 

After an amazing two days in Galway I hopped on a bus and headed for Cork. My accomodations in Cork were not quite the luxury hotel experience I had in Galway. I stayed at the Bru Bar Hostel and paid cash. Bru Bar is located in a convenient location, easily within walking distance of the river and downtown area. The hostel was clean and felt safe, I was in a dorm with 3 other women. I did learn quickly that there is a difference between youth hostels and regular hostels when two of my roommates were in their 60s.  Cork was the perfect place to do some exploring, I saw Blarney Castle and Cobh!

My next stop was Kilkenny, where I stayed at the Kilkenny Tourist Hostel where I also paid cash. When I booked my stay they did not have any female only rooms so I paid a tad bit more to have a private room. The building is old but it felt safe and clean. It was nice to have a bit of privacy after a shared room. The hostel had a kitchen which I only used on my last morning to heat up leftover Indian food for breakfast from my dinner the night before. 

My final stop in Ireland was Dublin. I stayed at the Hyatt Centric Liberties, for 12k points per night for a total of 48k Hyatt points that I transferred from Chase.  I was about a mile from the Temple Bar neighborhood which was nice, it wasn’t a bad walk to get into the heart of Dublin but it was quiet at night and didn’t feel quite as touristy.  The hotel was clean and quiet, I had heard good things about their food but didn’t want to waste one of my few meals in Dublin eating hotel food. I had sent a note with the upgrade template to the hotel but it was only a day or two before and I never heard back. My room was quite spacious with a king sized bed, chaise lounge and large bathroom with a walk-in shower. 

After Dublin I flew to Edinburgh on Ryanair, it was cheap and nonstop. I really can’t complain, I am also not very tall so I had more than enough leg room. It was the first time that I had seen cigarettes being sold on a plane which I found to be very odd! In Edinburgh I stayed at the Kick-Ass Grassmarket Hostel, where I paid cash. It had a funky vibe and a cool bar. My room that I shared with seven other ladies had a view of Edinburgh castle and downtown Grassmarket. One of the older ladies in my room did not seem to understand (or maybe she just didn’t care) that she was in a shared room, as she took a very loud phone call at 1:30am to order IKEA furniture. She loudly talked for 25 minutes before some of the other girls in the room asked her multiple times to go to the common area (oh the fun of hostels)! In addition to the loud roommate, Edinburgh was also the only place I stayed where there were lots of road and people noises late into the night and early morning. 

The final stop on my trip was to Glasgow, I stayed with a friend so my accommodations were free. She and her partner both work from home so when I arrived I had some time to explore before they were done with work for the day. It was wonderful to have a home cooked meal after lots of restaurant food. It had been almost exactly a year since I had seen her, we had lots of fun catching up, laughing about old times and eating delicious food! Glasgow is a super cute city with lots of history, it doesn’t have the tourist appeal of Edinburgh or Dublin but I still enjoyed my time! 

I booked my flight from Glasgow to Boston by transferring Chase points to British Airways, plus $304. When I signed up for the CSP it had a 100k SUB, I got a lot of value out of those points, way more than the $1000 cash back option. I flew into Boston and a friend picked me up at the airport and brought me back to Maine. I usually take the train but I wasn’t about to pass up a ride without having to run between stations. 

While I was in Maine, some of my extended family came to visit from out of town. We headed up to the lake for a long weekend of water activities, good food and yard games. Before spending the rest of our time in southern Maine. The whole trip was a much needed break from city life and school work. I felt I was able to reconnect with nature and learn more about myself. I cannot recommend solo travel enough, I came back feeling confident and refreshed. Now back to the ‘real’ world and planning my next adventure! 

Xoxo 

– Hannah 

Totals: 

Lodging $261.00

Flights $377.47

Food $750.92

Fun $169.42

Ground Transportation $126.53

= $1,685.34