Aside from respective stints in Europe during or after college, we visited more countries this year than any other year. There are many reasons that the stars aligned for us to travel so much in 2019, including the opportunity to work remotely—so sometimes our laptops and responsibilities came with us on the road!

Importantly, we found some amazing travel deals on airfare and Airbnb accommodations. We maximize the benefits from travel reward credit cards (Chase Sapphire Reserve is our favorite). AND we visited 5 counties in a 10 night European adventure. Note that sometimes this is a bad idea, but it worked out really well on this itinerary and was worth it for the cost savings on airfare!

Full disclosure: we spend waaay too much money this year, but we never know when circumstances will change. We may not always have this opportunity to travel-like-mad, so we decided to go a little crazy and enjoy the heck out of every moment we could in 2019. Also note that you can do one or two of these trips without breaking the bank! We are incredibly happy that we were able to have these adventures together. Here are the highlights in pictures.

1. Taking a cooking class in Quito, Ecuador

2. Exploring the Galápagos Islands.

3. Taking in the beauty of Playa El Tunco, El Salvador

4. Partying for St. Paddy’s Day in Toronto, Canada

5. Checking out Botero in Medellín, Colombia

6. Unwinding in our apartment in Cartagena, Colombia

7. Rediscovering Roatan, Honduras

8. Relaxing on St. Martin in the Caribbean

9. Enjoying a sunny day in Amsterdam, Netherlands

10. Savoring the sunset in Dubrovnik, Croatia

11. Exploring Kotor, Montenegro

12. Marveling at Mostar, Bosnia

13. Wondering through Sarajevo, Bosnia

14. Checking out the fort in Belgrade, Serbia

15. Eating our way through New Orleans, USA

16. Taking a break with mom in Portugal

17. Soaking up Soho in London, England, U.K.

18. Ringing in the new year in Dublin, Ireland

Wishing you an amazing new decade in 2020! What were your top travel destinations in 2019?