Summer is my favorite season to plan trips for clients, and if I'm being honest, it might be my favorite season to travel myself. There's something about the long daylight hours and the sense that the whole country has opened its doors that makes summer the ideal time to explore different regions of the United States. I've planned summer itineraries that involve nothing but sand between someone's toes for a week, and I've planned summer itineraries built entirely around national park hikes and alpine lakes. Neither one is more “correct” than the other. The best destination for you really does depend on the kind of trip you're after.

Clients come to me all the time wanting to see “all of Australia” in ten days, and I end up having the same conversation with almost every one of them. Australia is roughly the size of the continental United States, and the distance between Sydney and Cairns alone is longer than the flight from New York to Denver. Unfortunately, you cannot walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on a Monday and be snorkeling the reef by Tuesday afternoon without losing half the trip to airports. That doesn’t mean ten days isn’t enough time for an incredible Australian vacation. It just means the itinerary has to be built with intention instead of ambition.

The travelers who come home saying Australia exceeded their expectations are almost always the ones who picked a couple of regions and went deep, rather than trying to check every state off a list. The ones who struggled were usually working off of an itinerary they found online that looked impressive on paper and fell apart the moment jet lag or a delayed flight entered the picture. Choosing the right destinations, the right route between them, and a pace that actually gives you time to enjoy each stop is what separates a trip that feels like a highlight reel from one that feels like a scramble.

Alaska has a way of making even well-traveled clients feel a little out of their depth when it's time to actually plan the trip. The state is enormous, bigger than Texas, California, and Montana put together, and a huge chunk of that land is remote, roadless, or only reachable by boat or small plane. When someone comes to me wanting to build a 7 Days In Alaska Itinerary, the first thing I explain is that the hard part isn't finding things to do. It's figuring out what to leave out.

Between the glaciers, the wildlife, the national parks, and the sheer distances between towns, a week can fill up fast if you're not intentional about how you structure it. Long drives eat into your days, weather can shift plans on short notice, and trying to cram in too many stops usually means you end up seeing everything from a car window instead of actually experiencing it. The trick to a good one-week Alaska trip is choosing a handful of destinations that give you a real cross-section of what the state offers, then building in enough breathing room that your vacation doesn't turn into a road trip with photo stops.

Prague, Vienna, and Budapest have been paired together on itineraries for so long that it is easy to forget how well matched they actually are. Three capital cities, three distinct countries, three completely different personalities, and yet the whole route flows together almost effortlessly once you are on the ground. Prague brings Gothic spires and cobblestone lanes that feel pulled from a fairy tale, Vienna brings imperial grandeur and coffeehouse culture, and Budapest brings thermal baths, river views, and a grittier, more bohemian energy. Put them together over ten days and you get one of the most rewarding trips in Europe.

The tricky part is figuring out how to actually divide your time. Ten days sounds generous until you start mapping out three cities worth of castles, museums, and neighborhoods, and clients ask me constantly how to strike that balance without feeling rushed in any one place. I have spent years building custom luxury itineraries for travelers heading through this exact route, and the trip works best when you resist the urge to cram in too much and instead let each city breathe.

This guide walks through a sample ten day itinerary for Prague, Vienna, and Budapest, along with how to get between each city and how to think about splitting your time. Keep in mind this is only a sample. Every trip we plan is custom and curated around the client, so think of this as a framework to build from rather than a fixed plan.

Lake Tahoe is one of the only destinations I recommend to families without hesitation, no matter what month someone calls me to plan it. Most mountain towns have a season. Tahoe has four, and each one hands your family a completely different trip. Summer means beach days on some of the clearest water in the country. Winter turns the same shoreline into a snow-covered playground, with ski resort terrain right at the water's edge and a sleigh ride waiting for anyone who wants a slower afternoon. Spring and fall bring their own quieter charm, and honestly, a fair number of my clients end up preferring those seasons once they've tried them.