Recently updated on July 20th, 2023 at 09:08 am
Meet Candy, a long-time Trafalgar guest and one of the winners of our Trafalgar Unlocked Awards. The passionate Philipino traveler might live in a tropical paradise, but she’s on a personal mission to see the contrasts of this beautiful world and has ticked off 51 countries so far.
The 45-year-old has joined us on 10 tours to date, and in her winning entry said the most memorable was her trip to Egypt when the whole boat celebrated her birthday on the Nile River. Let’s find out more about Candy’s favorite tours, where she’s dreaming of traveling to next and why she chooses to travel with Trafalgar.
Congratulations on being named one of our Trafalgar Unlocked Awards winners! You described our Best of Egypt tour as the “BEST TRIP I ever did with Trafalgar!” Can you share why?
“I celebrated my February birthday in 2019 on a Nile Cruise where the whole boat and all its guests celebrated with me! The entire crew did a special number, including the cooks with drums and everything, and they sang Happy Birthday in Arabic with a big cake coming towards me at my table.
“All other guests greeted me even though we are strangers to each other (some were different in groups as we were only eight people with Trafalgar). I am so happy that I saw many parts of Egypt. That was one of the BEST TRIPS I ever did with Trafalgar.”
GET INSPIRED BY: Best of Egypt
RELATED ARTICLE: Egypt is back with a bang: Read why and where to go
You’ve taken 10 trips with us – can you share memories from three favorite Trafalgar trips?
Yes, Egypt wasn’t my first trip with Trafalgar (and its sister company like Costsaver). I have had so many experiences, beautiful memories and have taken lovely photos on all my travels across 51 countries. More than 35 of those I traveled to with Trafalgar on a group tour.
Of course, within all those countries I always had my favorite destinations that I consider the “most” beautiful and aesthetic ones. If I choose three, I would say…
1. Wild West America!
That includes the United States of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Colorado. If you asked me what my memories are here, I could tell you so many! Seeing and admiring the spectacular Grand Canyon is amazing!
We loved our Travel Director Ben and the surprising Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona. The majestic Bryce Canyon made me realize the true beauty of nature is in Wild West America. Gliding in Snake River to see the spectacular view of Grand Teton is the best experience I had. We saw wild animals such as bears, moose, elks and many more.
Visiting Yellowstone National Park had me in awe because I could feel the constant trembling of the ground beneath me, and I can’t explain my feelings while wandering around the park. It made me realize how fragile our lives are and how we never know what will happen – especially while in the vicinity of boiling, smoky, spouting geysers.
Visiting Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse was an excellent experience too. The Little Bighorn in Montana reminded me of the history of the war between the American Army against the Navajos, Lakota and Cheyenne. I had the best time and made many beautiful memories all around Wild Wild West.
GET INSPIRED BY: Best of the Canyonlands
2. My second best… I choose ICELAND!
Reykjavik the capital was something! I was in awe with the beauty of Halgrimskirkja Church, and I enjoyed the icy Tjornin Lake. Wandering around Iceland’s Golden Circle was the best. Seeing Strokkur Geysir, Gullfoss, Skogafoss and Seljalandfoss falls are meant to be considered a trip-of-a-lifetime, plus soaking in the sulphuric Blue Lagoon was a bonus.
Maybe not just Iceland, the whole of Scandinavia is beautiful. I recommend visiting Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden too as my top choices.
GET INSPIRED BY: Iceland including the Blue Lagoon
3. Third, I choose Russia, Greece, Salzburg and Egypt!
Yes, all of them! As I have said in my previous interview on Trafalgar’s Real Word about solo travel, Russia will always be a top place of mine. The country is so aesthetic, so pretty, and yes – vodka makes me feel so talkative! Haha!
GET INSPIRED BY: Switzerland & Austria
What type of activities do you like to do while traveling?
When I’m traveling I always enjoy visiting museums and learning the history of that certain country or city that I’m wandering around. My orientation is very good, and I have a strong love of history because I finished AB Political Science in college. It’s important for me to allow ample time to learn the history and politics of a place.
I also love discovering and tasting local foods, which is why I always join the Optional local dinners and also enjoy the Be My Guest experiences. Going wine tasting wherever possible is great fun – like in Tuscany, Budapest, last year in Spain, in Napa Valley and many more. I also love appreciating the architecture of many structures, churches etc in many countries and cities and I love taking photos too.
GET INSPIRED BY: Northern California
You won two places on our Balkan Delight tour this June. Who will you be taking with you, and what are you looking forward to experiencing the most?
I entered at the last minute as I haven’t been to the Balkan area – but it is on my long list. I am taking my best friend so that she can experience a trip of a lifetime too from Trafalgar!
BOOK THE TRIP: Balkan Delight
What are you expecting each country to be like?
I am looking forward to seeing Bosnia and Herzegovina because I am excited to know more about the history, especially the Bosnian War that I remember seeing on TV when I was in high school. I am looking forward to see Plitvice Lake and falls in Croatia, and Dubrovnik because I am a fan of Game of Thrones 
.
Also the beautiful country of Montenegro. I am looking forward to enjoying my summer vacation here and expect that this will be one of the BEST trips that I’m gonna enjoy with Trafalgar.
Where else is on your bucket list?
To be honest, I have NO BUCKET LIST. Whatever or wherever place or country comes into my mind that is it. Well, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil are still on my mind for upcoming trips.
Anything else you’d like to add?
If you want to see more photos of my travels, you can follow me on Instagram.
Discover more stories from our Trafalgar Unlocked Awards winner here. Leave a comment below if you’ve been to Egypt or if you’re planning on going in 2023 or 2024….