Travel Tips Archives - Amore Travel Designs

A travel planning notebook with a view of the Eiffel Tower — first-time Europe travel questions answered by Fort Collins travel advisor Cathy at Amore Travel Designs

SKIP THE CROWDS ENTIRELY

Everyone wants to travel in July. School is out, the weather feels safe, and summer has always been the obvious choice.
It is also, quietly, the worst time to visit most of Europe’s best-known destinations.
Shoulder season sits in the gap between peak summer and the off season, roughly April through early June and September through October. It is the window my most seasoned travelers request again and again, and once you understand why, you will probably ask for it too.

August 28, 2026 No Comments

Behind every unforgettable trip is hours of thought, care, and planning — a look inside the real work that goes into every Amore Travel Designs itinerary

WHAT HAPPENS BEHIND SCENES

Clients see the finished product. The itinerary document, the confirmed reservations, the trip that unfolds exactly as planned.
What they do not see is everything that happens before that document ever reaches their inbox. So today, I am pulling back the curtain on my actual process, from the first email to the moment you land.

August 23, 2026 No Comments

QUESTIONS I HEAR MOST

Sarah reached out with a simple message. She and her husband wanted to celebrate their anniversary in Italy, but they had never traveled internationally together and had no idea where to start.
Over the next several months, Sarah asked me almost every question I hear on a regular basis. Her trip ended up being a two week journey through Rome, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast, and by the end, she told me she could not imagine having planned it alone.

August 14, 2026 No Comments

St. Andrews golf course and historic hotel in Scotland—luxury travel expertly curated by Fort Collins travel advisor Cathy Rowland of Amore Travel Designs.

THE REAL NINETEENTH HOLE

A great golf trip is not just about the course. It is about the tee time that does not feel rushed, the caddie who knows the greens better than the yardage book, and the dinner reservation waiting after the round. I have planned golf trips to Scotland, Ireland, and some of the finest resorts in the US, and the best ones always have one thing in common. Every detail outside the golf was handled just as carefully as the golf itself.

August 7, 2026 No Comments

A traveler holds up her passport at the new EES checkpoint, biometric scanner glowing beside her, ready to step officially into the European Union.

THE STAMP IS GONE

Picture the arrivals hall in Rome, early morning, light pouring through the glass. A traveler steps up to a kiosk instead of a booth. No stamp, no ink pad, no rush of relief when a page fills up. Just a camera, a quick scan, and a small blinking light.

July 31, 2026 No Comments

Luxury travel essentials including passport, business class boarding pass, and VIP access — expert trip planning by Fort Collins travel advisor Cathy at Amore Travel Designs

WHAT I NEVER SKIP

There are approximately ten thousand travel hack lists on the internet.
Most of them are about packing a Ziploc bag or downloading an app to find cheap flights. This is not that list.

July 27, 2026 No Comments

Famous places, unforgettable trips — the sweeping Montana landscapes of Yellowstone are real, visitable, and every bit as breathtaking as they look on screen

GO FIND THE DUTTONS

Yellowstone is different from every other set-jetting destination I have written about.
There is no European cobblestone. No Greek island ferry. No stately home with a gift shop.
There is just Montana. Big, wide, breathtaking Montana — where the sky actually looks like that, the mountains actually look like that, and the sense of space is something you cannot manufacture on a soundstage.

July 17, 2026 No Comments

From the Royal Crescent to Queen Charlotte's Palace — step into the real-life world of Bridgerton with a custom England itinerary from Amore Travel Designs

BATH IS BRIDGERTON

The honey-colored Georgian streets. The sweeping crescents. The colonnades and cobblestones and grand assembly rooms.
Bath was not chosen as a Bridgerton filming location by accident. It looks exactly like Regency England because it is Regency England. Almost nothing needed to change.
Since the show first dropped on Christmas Day 2020, it has reached over 82 million households. Season four landed in early 2026 and reignited the obsession entirely. Bridgerton is now Netflix’s most-streamed original series — ever.
And the places you fell in love with on screen? Nearly all of them are real. Nearly all of them are open. Here is where to find them.

July 10, 2026 No Comments

Step into the world of The Crown — the palaces, castles, and royal landmarks where history, royalty, and drama unfolded, and where your own journey can begin

BETTER THAN THE PALACE

Here is the twist that surprises almost everyone who watches The Crown: the production never filmed at Buckingham Palace. Never at Windsor Castle. Never at the real Balmoral.
The royal family was, understandably, not interested in lending their actual homes to a television show about themselves. So the production designers did something almost more interesting — they found a constellation of England and Scotland’s most extraordinary stately homes and quietly turned them into the most famous addresses in the world.

July 3, 2026 No Comments

A woman in a red beret clutches fresh baguettes and flowers on a Paris balcony — the effortlessly chic moment that makes everyone want to book a flight

OUI EMILY OUI

Oui, Emily, Oui. Emily was right — and I say that as someone who has been making the case for Paris long before Netflix got involved. Still, there is something about watching that show that makes the city feel urgent all over again. Suddenly you are Googling flights at midnight and wondering why you ever stopped planning a trip there. That is the magic of great set-jetting. The destination was already extraordinary. The show simply reminded you.

June 26, 2026 No Comments