If you've ever looked at business class prices and immediately closed the browser tab, this episode is for you. I sat down with Ashley, founder of Ashley Gets Around — the only woman-owned, premium-only flight deal service out there. Ashley has visited over 90 countries on seven continents, and she built her entire business by obsessively solving her own problem: how do you fly business class without paying $5,000 to do it?

We got into everything — how Ashley stumbled into entrepreneurship after losing her job and landing in Thailand, why airline loyalty is often working against you, the truth about points and miles (spoiler: she's kind of over it too), and how to actually think about finding and booking premium flight deals. We also went deep on the wild world of flight deal theft, Instagram trolls, and why she once cried on a Delta inaugural flight over Wi-Fi. It's a good one.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Morocco: September 4 - 13, 2026

Links & Resources (Ashley)

1. Ashley Gets Around
2. @ashleygetsaround

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you're listening.

Emily Paulsen is one of those rare humans who makes you think differently about life choices - not in a preachy way, but in a "wait, I never thought about it like that" kind of way.

She's the host of Curious Life of a Childfree Woman, a podcast she started because she was tired of feeling invisible. Whether she was tuning into shows about marketing, fitness, or travel, parenthood somehow wove its way into every conversation. So she built the space she wanted to see - content where that just wasn't part of the equation.

This conversation hit me at a particularly interesting time. My life is shifting in ways I never expected, and I'm learning firsthand how quickly circumstances can change and how uncomfortable it feels when you don't fit neatly into any of the boxes you thought defined you. Emily fully understands this complexity - she talks about building intentional lives, filling our time with what actually matters, and giving ourselves permission to evolve without apologizing for it.

We're diving into why waiting for the perfect moment is a trap, how travel fits into designing the life you want, why representation matters (especially when you're coloring outside the lines), and what happens when life refuses to stay in its lane.

Links & Resources (Emily):

1. Podcast: Curious Life of a Child-Free Woman
2. Substack: Emily Paulsen

Links & Resources (Laura):

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

I've been hinting at big life changes for months across episodes, emails, and social media, and I kept telling myself I'd explain it all eventually, but time never slows down for me.

Well, eventually is now. This is my first solo episode — and probably my last for a while — but it felt like the only way to finally put it all in one place. I'm sharing what's been happening behind the scenes over the past year—and why things need to change.

After five years of running a travel business, I've hit a crossroads. The business I built to give me freedom and flexibility has become something that's depleting me instead of filling me up. And ironically, just as I finally found the relationship I'd been searching for, I have no time to actually live my life.

This episode is about the reality of solo entrepreneurship that no one talks about—the burnout, the guilt, the realization that success doesn't look the way you thought it would, and the courage it takes to admit that something needs to change.

If you're in your own version of "under construction" right now, I see you.

This episode is for you if:

1. You're an entrepreneur questioning whether your business is serving you anymore
2. You've been told to "hustle harder" but you're already exhausted
3. You've built something successful but don't feel successful
4. You're wondering if it's okay to change your mind about what you want

If you've made it this far in reading these show notes, thank you. And if you listen to the full episode, thank you even more. This was uncomfortable to record, but I hope it resonates with someone who needs to hear it.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. India
2. Kenya
3. Morocco

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group:

Andrés Asevis is someone I genuinely cannot stop rooting for — and if you've ever traveled to Cuba with me, you already know exactly why.

If you haven't listened to our first episode together, listen here—I can't recommend it enough. It remains one of our most listened-to episodes on this podcast, and it's the kind of conversation that stays with you.

Andrés spent his entire life in Cuba — all 38 years of it — and in that first episode, he gave us one of the most honest, raw portraits of what daily life on the island actually looks like. The blackouts, the internet restrictions, the economy, the feeling of living behind a window: able to see the outside world, but never quite able to reach it.

Since I was in Cuba this past January, things on the island have only gotten worse — a humanitarian crisis triggered by the Venezuela conflict, streets gone quiet from fuel shortages, flights canceled due to oil scarcity. I'll be honest: I genuinely worried he might get stuck before he ever got his chance to leave.

But he made it. Andrés is in Spain. And he's here to tell us all about it.

This episode is the raw, one-week-in version of what life looks like on the other side of that window. We talk about the state of Cuba as he left, catching what may have been one of the last regular international flights out, and then his first week in Madrid — the food, the technology, the culture shock, the smells, the joy, and the profound experience of walking into a store and simply having options.

You can support Andrés and his husband Yunior as they start their new life in Spain here: http://spot.fund/ANewLifeInSpainForAndres

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Cuba (TBD for future group trip when possible)
2. Spain: 2027

Links & Resources (Andrés)

1. @andresasevis (Instagram)
2. Purchase your copy of Andrés' book, Cosa Negra
3. Episode 13: From Havana to Spain: A Cuban Guide's Journey to Freedom w/ Andrés Asevis

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com

I'm always fascinated by people who've turned their own travel frustrations into solutions that help millions of others. That's exactly what Sara Margulis did with Honeyfund.

Sara is the co-founder and CEO of Honeyfund, and her story started with a simple problem: she and her then-husband wanted to honeymoon in Fiji but didn't need another toaster. So they created a way for friends and family to fund their honeymoon instead. That personal solution has now helped nearly 1.6 million couples receive over a billion dollars in wedding gifts - and completely changed how we think about gift giving.

What I love about this conversation is how it challenges the traditional wedding playbook. We talk about why couples are finally prioritizing experiences over stuff, how the wedding-to-honeymoon spending ratio is shifting dramatically, and why Gen Z is rewriting all the rules. Sarah breaks down 2026 honeymoon trends (spoiler: Japan just knocked Mexico out of the top three), shares creative ways couples are using Honeyfund beyond just travel, and explains why unscheduled time might be the most important thing to include in any honeymoon.

We also get into the psychology of why travel strengthens relationships, the surprising data showing couples who honeymoon are more likely to be happily married a decade later, and why asking for what you actually want shouldn't feel taboo.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Georgia: October 2 - 11, 2026

Links & Resources (Sara)

1. Honeyfund
2. @honeyfund (Tiktok)
3. @honeyfund (Instagram)

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you're listening.

Hannan Zary is someone who's been quietly changing the way I think about food, travel, and what it means to truly connect with people. If you attended Camp Lola Whiskey last year, you already know exactly who I'm talking about - she's the chef behind Tamoont Dining and Gathering who created those incredible meals that had everyone losing their minds.

But here's what you don't know about Hannan: She's been traveling since she was two years old, took her first solo trip at seven, and has spent her entire life navigating between two cultures while teaching herself to cook by obsessively watching the Food Network as a teenager. She's someone who was working in professional kitchens at 15, grinding through culinary school and restaurant jobs, all while fighting this nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Hannan's traveled to over 20 countries across four continents, and everywhere she goes, she's paying attention to how people gather, how they slow down, and how they use food to build something that we're desperately missing in American culture - genuine connection. This conversation goes deep. We're talking about the lost art of slowing down, what it means to trust your instincts even when everyone thinks you're crazy, why Americans have completely forgotten how to relax, and her dream of getting entire communities to sit down and share food together.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Kenya: March 11 - 21, 2026 + March 25 - April 4, 2026
2. Morocco: April 10-19 + September 4 - 13, 2026
3. Camp Lola Whiskey: August 27-30, 2026

Links & Resources (Hannan)

1. Tamoont Dining
2. Instagram: tamoontgathering
3. Facebook

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast

Justin Emanuel is one of those people who makes you believe in the power of hustle and passion over traditional credentials.

I first met Justin when I was scouting Kenya for our group trips, and within a day I knew he was exactly the kind of person I wanted around my travelers. He's got this infectious enthusiasm for Kenya's wildlife combined with real practical knowledge about what makes a safari transformative versus just checking animals off a list. Plus, he's really fun to travel with - which is honestly a key quality I look for when building my team in a new destination.

What I love about Justin's story is that he didn't follow some traditional path into wildlife photography. He started in high school with prize money and a camera, taught himself everything, and eventually broke into the travel industry by offering his services for free. He's completely self-taught, which makes his perspective even more valuable - he knows what it's like to not have fancy equipment or formal training, just passion and a willingness to figure things out.

Justin is the founder of Kenya Adventurous Media Expert and has spent over a decade photographing everything from elusive leopards (he's only seen five!) to charging elephants in Kenya's most incredible national parks. But what makes him special is how he thinks about the safari experience itself. He's got strong opinions about overlanding versus luxury lodges, what travelers actually need to pack versus what they think they need, and what makes Kenya stand out from every other safari destination in Africa.

We're diving into all of that - his favorite animals to photograph, what our March overlanding trips will actually look like on the ground, the biggest mistakes travelers make on safari, and why sometimes the best camera for your safari is actually no camera at all.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Kenya: March 11 - 21, 2026 OR March 25 - April 4, 2026

Links & Resources (Justin)

1. Instagram: @kenyaadventurousmediaexpert + @just_in_wildlyf

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here!...

Iris Serbanescu is one of those rare people in travel who's not just talking about ethical tourism for the Instagram likes - she's actually built her entire business around it, and I'm 100% here for it.

I first met Iris at an Adventure Travel Trade Association conference in Denver back in May, and within about five minutes I knew she was someone I wanted in my corner. She's genuine, down-to-earth, and refreshingly easy to talk to in an industry that can feel a bit stuffy and--let's be honest--is often dominated by men.

We're diving deep into what ethical travel actually means beyond the buzzwords, why it's worth every penny, and how small locally-owned operators compete against the budget travel giants. Iris founded By Iris Representation to connect ethical tour operators and DMCs worldwide with North American travelers, and she started Women's Work - the first tourism-specific business accelerator for women and non-binary entrepreneurs in North America.

But this conversation goes beyond business. Iris is a 38-year-old queer woman who's chosen solo travel, staying single, being childfree, and building a life that doesn't fit the traditional mold the travel industry usually celebrates. We're talking about the single supplement penalty, why Barcelona is the best solo travel city, hop-on-hop-off buses (don't @ us), and how I fired a Moroccan tour guide who couldn't handle working with a woman in charge.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Georgia: October 2 - 11, 2026

Links & Resources (Iris)

1. LinkedIn: @irisserbanescu
2. wmnsWORK
3. By Iris

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.