TRVL by Val

Taking a Break amid the COVID-19 Crisis.

Photos from our Room Live Aqua Boutique Resort Playa del Carmen // 🇲🇽 ✨

Next destinations on the horizon:

Where are you going in 2020?

No Passport? No problem. Here are all the tropical places you can go in the U.S. without one.

And some may surprise you // ✈️

7 Destinations That Offer Paradise Without a Passport Forgot to renew your old passport? Don't you worry.

41% of Millennials are making travel reservations through Travel Agents // ✈️ 🚢 🏨

On Tuesday we spent the day at Casa Malca. Formerly the mansion belonging to Pablo Escobar, the space is now an upscale hotel with amazing views, art and food.

Here are some photos from the day 💫🏝

*** INFO ON GLOBAL ENTRY *** INTERVIEW WHEN RE-Entering the USA.

As many of you may have heard, Global Entry applications are suspended for New York residents. They can only get TSA pre.

I’m a New Yorker who now resides in LA and got my Global Entry today in Florida when re-entering the country.

I thought I’d share my experience. It was pretty simple.

After going through customs, I requested to do my global entry interview. They brought me to a large room to wait for an officer. It took all of 15mins. They asked standard questions like if I had anything to declare. They also took my finger prints and photo. I’m sure I look terrible in it! Lol

I’ll get my card in 2 weeks vs having to wait until April to do the interview at LaX. In the mean time, New York residents can only get TSA pre according to the officer who helped me today and no word on getting your $ back for the global entry price.

If you want to do the interview upon entering the USA, make sure the airport you are flying into is a participating airport for the interview process.

I hope this is helpful! 🙂 any questions, let me know.

Freeze on Global Entry Enrollment for New Yorkers: What We Know How does the suspension affect those currently enrolled, those who have applied and those who want to apply in the future?

Ensueño Tulum // ✨🐠🏝💕

Ever lose your luggage and wonder where it went? If you didn’t get it back, it may have ended up Alabama // 🧳 ✈️

How All of America's Lost Luggage Ends Up at One Alabama Thrift Store (And Why You Really Need to Go There) Unclaimed Baggage might be the world's best thrift store. Here's the inside scoop on how to shop there and what you might find.

Yesterday was National Plan Your Vacation Day. In 2019, 768 Million Vacation Days went unused in the USA.

Let’s lower that number.

Where are you going in 2020?

A record 768 million US vacation days went to waste last year, a study says US workers left a record number of vacation days, 768 million, on the table last year. That equates to billions in lost benefits, according to research from the U.S. Travel Association, Oxford Economics and Ipsos.

Ok 👌 who’s coming with? // 🐘 ✨

You Can Sleep With Elephants Under the Stars in a 'Jungle Bubble' in Thailand Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort in Thailand is gaining major buzz, thanks to its Jungle Bubbles. That's because these luxury bubble suites happen to be located in an area heavily trafficked by local elephants.

Road Trip anyone? // 🚗 💨

Mapped: The optimal road trip to see all the US national parks Summer plans?

Traveling to Portugal 🇵🇹 can feel like traveling back in history but it’s their food that stays with you well beyond the trip. Pastel de Nata has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and now they are more popular than ever!

The Unlikely Rise of the Pastel de Nata, and Why It’s Suddenly Everywhere The centuries-old Portuguese treat has become a global brand, and a very modern marketing machine is pushing it.

One thing I love is a good deal. Especially when it involves travel. Check out the cheapest weekends to travel in 2020// ✈️🏜🏝

These Are The Cheapest Weekends to Travel in 2020 Weekend trips are fun, but they can also wind up being pretty expensive. Hotwire recently took a look at historical booking data for hotels to determine when the most affordable weekends are to travel in 2020, and released a list of the most affordable weekends, hotel-wise, for each month.

You may have already donated or are planning to but, traveling to Australia could also be a big help. // 🇦🇺 🐨 💕

The best way to help Australia during the bushfires? Visit if you can The size and scale of Australia’s bushfires are hard to comprehend. As of this week, more than 20.5 million acres have burned. That’s more than 10 times the number of acres burned in California’s 2018 and 2019 wildfire seasons combined, and larger than last year’s Amazon fires. As the bushfi...

If you LOVE cheese, you may want to check out this cheese-themed hotel in London // 🧀

A cheese-themed hotel is opening in London, and each stay comes with a cheese delivery service The cheesy hotel is located in Camden and you can enter to win a free one-night stay there by sending an email.

Looking to get TSA Pre or Global Entry this year? I recommend you apply ASAP if you're in a big city. I just went to schedule my appointment and the earliest appointment I can get is in April! Many offices are booked fully until Spring.

For more info on how to apply, and the differences between each type of verification you can visit the TSA website.

What is the difference between Global Entry, TSA Pre✓® and the other Trusted Traveler programs? TSA Pre✓® provides expedited security screening benefits for flights departing from U.S. Airports. Global Entry provides the TSA Pre✓® benefit plus expedited US customs screening for international air travelers when entering the United States. TSA Pre✓® costs $85 and Global Entr...

One of my all-time favorite things to do when I travel is going to the grocery store!

Depending on the country — or even in areas of the US. You’ll find localized versions of products you know and plenty you don’t.

It’s a great window into a culture to experience a local supermarket. And best of all, it can be totally free — if you don’t buy anything of course 🙂.

To truly understand a country, go to the grocery store Even if you don’t have a kitchen.

You’ve got 10 months to update your license to a Real ID. It will be required for domestic air travel. (Passports are still okay too). Put it on your to-do list! // ✈️📂

Put this on your to-do list: REAL ID licenses required for air travel by October If your license or ID doesn't have the gold star in the corner, it will no longer be valid for air travel later this year.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been traveling since I was very young. I took my first international trip to France when I was 11. We lived in Paris for 6 weeks and toured the south of France and Spain for another month.

I am fortunate enough to have been traveling since so was young and am grateful for these experiences. It’s helped shape me.

I hope to expose my child to them one day// ✈️👶🏻

Until then, I’d like share why it’s so important for kids to travel, experience other languages, cultures and elements out of their comfort zones with this article from Travel and Leisure.

Why It's so Important for Kids to Travel, According to Experts (Video) Experts say traveling with children can boost development, making them more empathetic and helping them adapt to changing situations.