Type 2 Travel

Laura Ericson
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Join host Laura Ericson on "Type 2 Travel" - your weekly companion for authentic travel adventures. From hilarious language mix-ups to transformative cultural encounters, Laura and her diverse guests share real, unfiltered stories from the road. Whether you're a solo explorer seeking community, a conscious traveler navigating sustainable tourism, or simply dreaming of your next escape, this podcast delivers practical tips and heartfelt tales. Dive into local perspectives, troubleshoot travel SOS moments, and discover how travel shapes not just where we go, but who we become. Listen in as Laura guides you through the art of meaningful exploration, one story at a time.

  1. 4D AGO

    10 Travel Resolutions to Change Your Life in the New Year

    You know what's coming. The resolutions. The broken promises. The "new year, new me" energy that usually fizzles out by February. But what if this year was actually different? I'm sitting down with my friend Rachel Trapani, an elementary school teacher from Michigan who went from taking one trip in 2019 that she couldn't afford to five international trips per year by 2023. She's been on five of my group trips plus two scouting trips to Puerto Rico and Kenya. We're breaking down the exact 10 resolutions that transformed her travel life - from automating her savings to packing light, mastering long-haul flights, and saying yes to trips that scared her. This isn't about vague promises like "I'll travel more." This is your actual roadmap to making 2026 your best travel year yet. The Free Guide: We created a FREE downloadable PDF with all our tips, product links, travel credit card recommendations, packing essentials, and apps we swear by. How to get it: Follow @type2travelpodcast on InstagramDM us the word RESOLUTIONSGet your free guide immediately BONUS: One person who downloads the guide wins a FREE 1-year premium membership to Going (valued at $49) for flight deals in your inbox all year long. Upcoming Trips Mentioned: India: Feb 25 - March 7, 2026Kenya: March 25 - April 4, 2026Morocco: April 10 - April 19, 2026Greece: May 16 - 26, 2026Camp Lola Whiskey: Aug 27 - 30, 2026 Links & Resources (Rachel): Instagram: @smockpaperscissorsGuest blogs: How To Save Money To Travel More (Part 1) and How To Save Money To Travel More (Part 2) Links & Resources (Laura): Follow my personal IG: a href="https://www.instagram.com/lolawhiskey/" rel="noopener noreferrer"

    1h 41m

  2. 2025-12-24

    Dating Abroad & The Real Cost of Living Your Dream Life as a Digital Nomad

    Five years ago, Lindsey Tague bought a one-way ticket to Mexico and never looked back. Now she's built a content marketing business while living as a full-time digital nomad across seven countries - and she's here to tell us the truth about what that actually looks like. This conversation goes places I didn't expect. We're talking about living on a Colombian island with no electricity or running water, navigating the dating scene across multiple countries and cultures, and what it really takes to build a life abroad when you don't speak the language fluently. Lindsey gets refreshingly honest about the unglamorous parts - the Airbnb disasters, the language barriers that kill romance, and why traditional gender roles in Latin America are both attractive and complicated for an independent American woman. What I love about this episode is how Lindsey challenges the Instagram version of nomadic life while still making it feel accessible. She's not rich, she's not fearless, and she didn't have it all figured out when she started. She just took one step at a time and figured out the rest as she went. Upcoming Trips Mentioned: Cuba: Dec 27, 2025 - Jan 3, 2026Colombia: Join the waitlist! Links & Resources (Lindsey) IG: @lindsey_tagueLinkedin: @lindsey-tagueSubstack: @alifebydesign Links & Resources (Laura) Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskeyFollow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptripsFollow our podcast: @type2travelpodcastLearn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.comCheck out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcastJoin my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

    34 min

  3. 2025-12-24

    Finding Your Travel Community: A Mexico City Day of the Dead Adventure

    I'm sitting down with Stacey, Betsy, and Megan - three incredible humans who survived what turned out to be my final Day of the Dead trip to Mexico City (at least for now). We're getting into all of it: the hot air balloon ride where Megan had to stare at her feet for 45 minutes before finally looking up, the shaman cleansing that somehow knew about everyone's uterus situations, the cooking class with knives meant for preschoolers, and the traffic nightmares that made us miss our welcome dinner entirely. But here's what I really want you to hear: This trip was magic. Chaotic, unpredictable, sometimes frustrating magic. And it's a perfect example of what happens when you throw yourself into a completely different culture during one of its most sacred celebrations. These three didn't just observe Day of the Dead from the sidelines - they were in local neighborhoods where people were genuinely thrilled to see them, getting spontaneous tattoos inspired by a spiritual experience, and eating approximately 30 tacos each (Stacey kept count). Also, there's the small matter of why I'm sunsetting this particular trip. The overtourism during Day of the Dead has gotten out of control, and it no longer aligns with my mission to take people off the beaten path and support destinations that actually need tourism. But we'll get into all of that. Upcoming Trips Mentioned: India: Feb 25 - March 7, 2026Camp Lola Whiskey: August 27 - 30, 2026 Links & Resources (Laura): Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskeyFollow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptripsFollow our podcast: @type2travelpodcastLearn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.comCheck out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcastJoin my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

    1h 8m

  4. 2025-12-17

    How Wine and Group Travel Built Community in Georgia (Trip Recap)

    Remember that I Love Lucy episode where Lucy stomps grapes and it turns into absolute chaos? We basically lived that in Georgia - except our version included shotgunning wine from roof tiles, topless sulfur bath bonding on day one, and enough khachapuri to put us all in a cheese coma. In this episode, I'm sitting down with Mea, Melissa, and Erik to relive our recent Georgia trip - a country most Americans can't even point to on a map, but one that's home to 8,000 years of winemaking history and hospitality so intense it's basically aggressive kindness. We're diving into the stories behind the Instagram photos: the wine harvest day that got completely out of hand, the abandoned Soviet spa complexes we explored, the carpool karaoke our guide will never forget, and why this group had the strongest bond I've experienced in almost 30 group trips. If you've been curious about Georgia or wondering what group travel is really like beyond the highlight reel, this episode is for you. Upcoming Trips Mentioned: Georgia: October 2 - 11, 2026 Georgia Group Crowdsourced Spotify Playlist: Listen here! Links & Resources (Laura) Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskeyFollow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptripsFollow our podcast: @type2travelpodcastLearn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.comCheck out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcastJoin my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

    54 min

  5. 2025-12-10

    The Real ROI of Travel for Business Professionals and Entrepreneurs

    Dawn Mullarney—also known as the Unique Connector—is a fellow Wisconsinite from Madison who brought 14 women to Cuba with me this past January, and she's doing it all over again next month. Dawn spent over two decades in corporate leadership before nearly burning herself out. At 35, doctors thought she'd had a stroke. These days, she works as a business strategist and fractional advisor, helping leaders who've built successful businesses but feel like they're drowning under the weight of it all. The Cuba trip was Dawn's first foray into leading group travel, and she picked arguably the hardest destination on my list. Not because she had some lifelong dream of visiting Cuba, but because she was drawn to the transformative nature of the experience itself—the giving back, the community, the discomfort that forces you to confront things about yourself. We're getting into the messy, beautiful reality of being responsible for other people's travel experiences when you haven't even experienced it yourself yet. We talk about why the women she thought would struggle actually thrived, how watching other people be uncomfortable is one of the hardest parts of leadership, and why entrepreneurs who say they don't have time to travel are actually the ones who need it most. Dawn also shares some hard truths about letting go of perfectionism, trusting the process, and why sometimes the rain-soaked backup plan ends up being more memorable than the original itinerary ever could have been. Upcoming Trips Mentioned: Cuba: Jan 4 - 11, 2026 Links & Resources (Dawn) Learn more about Dawn: uniqueconnector.comLinkedIn: @dawnmullarneyInstagram: @uniqueconnector Links & Resources (Laura) Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskeyFollow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptripsFollow our podcast: @type2travelpodcastLearn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.comCheck out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcastJoin my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel Affiliate Links Smooth move Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

    54 min

  6. 2025-12-03

    Self-Discovery Through Travel After Divorce at 62

    Kerry Breckle is a remarkable woman who got divorced in her early 60s and decided to fall in love with life again. I never knew the version of Kerry who was afraid of flying, who didn't like being away from home for very long, who spent her days reading books to pass the time instead of living her own adventures. That Kerry was, in her words, "just existing"—which I think so many of us can relate to when we're unhappy. The Kerry I know now jumped headfirst into a hot air balloon over the ancient pyramids in Mexico and got her first tattoo at age 63–in a foreign country, nonetheless. Just existing is far from the way I would describe her. In this conversation, we're diving into the hard parts of starting over—the fear, the doubt, the process of working through divorce and simultaneously booking plane tickets to unfamiliar places with strangers. We're talking about taking ownership of your happiness and refusing to let age, circumstance, or fear dictate what's possible. Kerry's message is simple but radical: You have a choice. Are you going to be bitter or better? Upcoming Trips Mentioned: Cuba: Dec 27, 2025 - Jan 3, 2026Kenya: March 25 - April 4, 2026Greece: May 16-24, 2026 Links & Resources (Kerry) Facebook: @kerry.breckle Links & Resources (Laura) Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskeyFollow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptripsFollow our podcast: @type2travelpodcastLearn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.comCheck out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcastJoin my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

    1h 1m

  7. 2025-11-26

    Fighting Period Poverty in Africa Through Group Travel and Ethical Tourism

    A year ago, I started planning our Kenya group trip and I knew I wanted it to be more than just an incredible adventure. I wanted us to leave something meaningful behind. That's when I stumbled into the world of period poverty, and honestly, I felt a little embarrassed that I'd never thought about it before. We're talking about 500 million women and girls around the world who don't have access to safe, reliable period products. Girls who miss school every single month. Girls whose futures shrink because of something as basic as a period. Abby Hay is the founder of Nora Period Care and the Soul Purpose Foundation, and she's made it her mission to change the reality of period poverty—one pad at a time. She just got back from Malawi, where she met the team who manufactures Nora's products, and saw firsthand how ethical production can transform communities while getting safe period care into the hands of the women who need it most. Abby doesn't just talk about the problem—she's out there doing the work, traveling to places most people will never see, asking hard questions, and building partnerships that actually make a long-term difference. She's also refreshingly honest about what it means to help responsibly and why understanding local culture matters before you ever try to save anyone. We're partnering with Nora to bring reusable period kits to Kenya on our upcoming group trip—each kit includes four washable pads that last up to 10 years, a cleaning bucket, underwear, soap, and a carrying pouch. Our goal is to sponsor 260 girls for just $10 each. That's a decade of period care for the price of lunch. How to Support Our Kenya Period Poverty ProjectSponsor a Girl for $10—each $10 donation provides: 4 reusable Nora pads (lasts up to 10 years)1 carrying pouch1 bar of soap1 pair of underwear1 washing bucketShipping from Malawi to Kenya Our Goal: Sponsor 260 girls at the school we're visiting in Kenya in March 2026 Learn more and donate here: lauraericson.com/periodpoverty All donations go directly through Abby's nonprofit Soul Purpose Foundation to purchase supplies. I'll be assembling the kits in Kenya and delivering them in March with both of my groups. By donating and giving us your email, we'll share updates, photos, videos, and stories of the direct impact your contribution makes. Upcoming Trips Mentioned:Cuba: Dec 27, 2025 - Jan 3, 2026India: Feb 25 - March 7, 2026 Kenya: March 25 - April 4, 2026Morocco: April 10 - April 19, 2026 Links & Resources (Abby)Shop Nora Period Care: noraperiodcare.comInstagram: @noraperiodcareSoul Purpose Foundation (nonprofit managing donations)Book Recommendation: The Power of Days (mentioned in episode) Links & Resources (Laura)Follow my personal IG: a href="https://www.instagram.com/lolawhiskey/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

    54 min

  8. 2025-11-19

    How to Overcome Travel Fears: Lessons from Hollywood Stunt Doubles

    What happens when you put two Hollywood stunt doubles on a group trip to Morocco? They push your 4x4 out of the mud during a historic Sahara Desert flood, coordinate everyone like it's a stunt scene, and completely change how you think about fear. Meredith and Dorenda are two of my favorite travel companions, and honestly, some of the most badass women I know. They literally get set on fire, thrown off buildings, and punched in the face for a living - yet when it comes to travel, they're some of the calmest, most grounded people you'll ever meet. Here's what fascinates me: people who do incredibly dangerous things professionally often have a completely different relationship with fear than the rest of us. They've spent their entire careers assessing real risk versus perceived risk, and that skill translates beautifully to travel. We're talking about how to distinguish between actual danger and unfamiliarity, why surrounding yourself with people doing the "scary" thing makes it less scary, and what happened when an earthquake hit Morocco while we were there (spoiler: the stunt doubles were the calmest ones in the room). Plus, you'll hear about ATVs in the Sahara, pregnant bellies on set, sandstorms, flash floods, and why Meredith would rather get set on fire than deal with airline customer service. Upcoming Trips Mentioned: Cuba: Dec 27, 2025 - Jan 3, 2026Kenya: March 25 - April 4, 2026Morocco: April 10 - April 19, 2026 Links & Resources (Meredith + Dorenda) Follow Meredith on Instagram: @bamastuntsFollow Dorenda on Instagram: @dorendamoore Links & Resources (Laura) Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskeyFollow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptripsFollow our podcast: @type2travelpodcastLearn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.comCheck out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcastJoin my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

    57 min
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About

Join host Laura Ericson on "Type 2 Travel" - your weekly companion for authentic travel adventures. From hilarious language mix-ups to transformative cultural encounters, Laura and her diverse guests share real, unfiltered stories from the road. Whether you're a solo explorer seeking community, a conscious traveler navigating sustainable tourism, or simply dreaming of your next escape, this podcast delivers practical tips and heartfelt tales. Dive into local perspectives, troubleshoot travel SOS moments, and discover how travel shapes not just where we go, but who we become. Listen in as Laura guides you through the art of meaningful exploration, one story at a time.

Information

  • Creator
    Laura Ericson
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Laura Ericson
  • Show Website
    Type 2 Travel