About Janet

Meet Janet

(aka PLANET JANET)

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Greetings!

I’m delighted you have stopped by Planet Janet Travels. I’m a globe-trotting Baby Boomer with over 80 countries logged on my passport. I love to share personal stories and photos from my grand adventures to many of our planet’s best destinations.

If you’re like me, you have a long “Travel Dream List” and a deep yearning to explore this amazing world that we live in AND meet the fascinating people that inhabit it. The clock is ticking, especially for us Baby Boomers, so it’s definitely time to get out to see more of the world!

I love European travel. However, in 2001 (with my life-changing trip to China & Tibet), my travel focus shifted to the more “exotic” destinations like Asia, Latin America, Africa, Australia & New Zealand, and parts of the Middle East – with their fascinating cultures, colorful markets, friendly people and so much more!

I also love the outdoors and “soft” (i.e. saner) Adventure Travel where I can revel in the beauty of nature. I have hiked the Inca Trail in Peru, walked Spain's Camino de Santiago, gone trekking in the Himalayas in Nepal, tracked mountain gorillas in Uganda & Rwanda, sea kayaked in New Zealand, and spent time in an eco-lodge deep in the Amazon rain forest.

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About My Blog & Planet Janet Travels®

If you’re looking for a place to inspire & fuel your desire for travel as well as learn helpful travel tips, you’re in the right place. I am the only writer on this blog and share about the places I have personally visited, the wonderful people I’ve met, and the lessons (oh, so many!) learned along the way.

I am not a full-time traveler (“digital nomad”) who sold the house or put everything in storage. I love living in beautiful San Diego, California and taking 2-3 international trips each year (around 3 weeks each).

I have experience with the full range of travel options - formal group tours, cruises, photography tours, volunteer trips, outdoor/sports travel, small group travel (just me and 1-2 friends), and lots of trips where I was traveling on my own. I believe there’s not just one right way to travel – it all depends.

As a typical Baby Boomer, I am a “value” traveler which falls mid-way between backpacker travel (cheap) and luxury (overly expensive) travel. Yes, there are many times I splurge for something really special, but I work hard to balance quality & price to stretch my travel dollars!

I want to help YOU - Baby Boomers and others - travel the world more widely, safely, confidently and joyfully! I want you to take your travels “beyond the guidebook” so you can deepen your cultural encounters, meet more of the local people, and seek out those unique experiences that will greatly enrich your travels. Of course, “armchair travelers” are also welcome at Planet Janet Travels!

Let’s Explore the World Together
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Some Fun Facts About Me

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I’ve had an eclectic range of careers - travel agent, nursing (emergency room, women’s health) and nonprofit development work (marketing & fundraising) before starting Planet Janet Travels in 2015.

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My mother said when I was young, I never knew a stranger (which is why she walked me to kindergarten – she was afraid I’d go home with just anybody!) This is still true – but only the first part!

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I am a travel photography “enthusiast.” My favorite subjects are beautiful, local children who never fail to ham it up for the camera and steal my heart! The Canon 70D digital SLR and Apple iPhone 8 are my trusted travel companions.

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I have a selective but real “fear of heights” especially with drop-offs, like when crossing the never-ending suspension bridges over tall river gorges (with see-thru slats) on my Nepal trek in 2012. Shudder…

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However, I LOVE flying in small airplanes and was the first to volunteer for the 4-seater bush plane on my African safari! Go figure…

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I have read (OK, listened to, thanks to Audible) all 15 books in the charming #1 Ladies Detective Agency fiction series by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Botswana. Warning – it will make you want to visit Africa!