Hello everyone!
We’ve finally arrived at 2026.
What are your travel goals for the year ahead?
Whether you’re a pet owner planning time away, a sitter dreaming of new places, or a bit of both, we’d love to hear what you’re hoping for.
Share your plans (or ideas!) below and give us all some inspiration!
If you’re not sure yet, you can find a whole host of travel-related articles here on the official Trusted Housesitters blog!
Wishing you all happy travels for the year ahead!
Jenny 
I don’t plan far ahead, valuing flexibility, so so far have only a few months slated: San Francisco, Seattle, Italy, Egypt and Alaska.
San Francisco: a repeat sit with three fun, quirky indoor/outdoor cats in a beautiful home and very convenient neighborhood. This sit will be off the books from THS, because the hosts aren’t renewing. As they have before for repeat sitting, they offered me roundtrip airfare to sit.
Seattle: My last THS sit before letting my membership lapse. It won’t expire for a long time, but I’m opting out of THS. I was in the middle of discussing this sit with the hosts when booking fees were announced and I didn’t withdraw, because the hosts seem like lovely people. They have cats and live in a beautiful home and very convenient neighborhood. If all goes well, I expect this sit to become a repeat without THS, like various other sits I’ve previously done.
Italy, Egypt and Alaska will be nonsit travel.
For me, THS sits have been icing, done while I telecommute, because I don’t want pet or home care responsibilities while vacationing.
I have a sit planned with THS in February to an area I have never been to but a popular area to “getaway “ for people living in this State so looking forward to it. Then I will be looking for sits in a city and State I’ve been looking to visit but when the weather gets to swim Temperature. THS have some lovely sits in that area although not a lot. Would love to go to Iceland with THS but hardly ever see any and only interested in one particular area. I have enjoyed my sits with THS and the introduction of the booking fee is still a bargain to me. Thank you THS for this wonderful way to travel!
I’m in Vietnam after finishing a Xmas/New Year sit & plan to see it as a tourist as my Xmas gift to myself. Then I’m heading down to Bali, Lombok & the Gili Islands as well as a tourist, but if anything pops up, who knows! Then I’ll be heading back to Oz for two, six week sits, one through here & one private for a friend. After that, it’ll be winter in Oz & I’ll be keen to head off again….possibily to the Scandi countries as I’ve only been to Denmark. Basically anywhere I haven’t been & warm, so who knows!
Not all of these will include sits which will be obvious in a moment :
Visit more African countries (I’ve been to 18/53) - ideally travelling by scooter with a company I love. which has a possible recce in Cameroon, Gabon and Angola.
Fell in love with Portugal (en route to Cape Verde) last year and I will be returning for a bigger dose.
Visit Andy Goldsworthy’s SheepFold Project in Cumbria + see Elbow anywhere in UK = Will look for a sit to combine these
Visit my idol Sinead O’Connor’s grave outside of Dublin. Definitely sit-possible.
More open-water swimming ideally with non-lured and truly free dolphins - anywhere warm !
All of that said, I tend to be impulsive travel-wise so who knows what I might stumble upon !
I’m not sure I’d call them travel ‘goals’, but on our travel list for this year is a personal trip to Salzburg and Innsbruck, then a THS sit in Jersey again, followed we hope by a personal trip to Taiwan. In September we’ve booked a Danube River Cruise, then we’ll go downunder in November and might do a few sits there with Aussie Housesitters. .
As sitters: We have an upcoming sit in Portland later this month. We probably won’t sit again till June and probably will mostly be looking at sits in lovely country locations like New York’s Hudson Valley, and the Berkshires, and other drivable getaways near quaint towns and hiking. Several homes we’d love to return to! But who knows? I suspect I’ll be looking at a lot of sits aspirationally but the airfare and other travel expenses might not work for us.
As hosts and travelers: We’ll be going to Italy in April as a friend invited us to stay in her home in Venice, so we’re building a trip around that and offering a 10-12 day NYC sit to someone. Two quick weekends in May for family stuff in Florida and Philly.
@Marion you win the prize with a friend in Venice 
my favourite place in the world.
After travelling for 15 months solid we are glad to be home and not planning too much for this year.
However my son is getting married in Scotland at the end of the year so if we fly that far again we will be adding in a bit more Europe. Can I get sits to compliment that? I don’t know but I will be looking.
@Jenny when are you getting on that plane?
Oooo…I was married in Scotland 33 years ago; it was wonderful. Which region?
I have a busy travel schedule this year already…feels like half (if not all) of the year is already booked solid!
Victoria BC next week, followed by Florida, to ride out most of the rest of the winter. Forcing myself to take a month-long break in late-Feb/March before I do a daughter-visit (with petsit) in the midwest US, then I’m off to repeat my fall travels by returning to Ireland, Scotland & London. (Got tickets to the Chelsea Flower show in May this year, and I’m so chuffed…it’s been on my bucket list for decades!)
After that, assuming things go as planned with our visa applications we’ll be packing things up in preparation for a long-term move to Ireland…and hopefully a new set of wonderful adventures over the coming years. 
I’m off on a cruise to French Polynesia the beginning of February which ends in Auckland - first time to Fr. Polynesia and N.Z. No sits planned as yet but I’m actively looking for a sit in Dublin, Ireland where I was born. I found out in the last three years on Ancestry that I have an entire family of second cousins in Brighton, England who I’ve never met so would love to combine sits in Dublin and Brighton this year as we’re all hoping to meet up. If there are any homeowners in Dublin and/or Brighton who are looking for a sitter with over 50 - 5 star reviews, please reach out to me 
I’m retired, so flexible!
@MerryPuppins Isle of Skye in late November! We expect it to be interesting for a bunch of Queenslanders and Fijians🤣
Definitely let me know when you’re in Brighton! Lots of sits here, if you message me I can let you know if an area is reasonably safe/ok or answer any questions you have.
Thanks so much BonnyinBrighton!
By the end of March, we would have been ‘static’ (non-nomading!) for 7 months, and are ready for 6 months of traveling again. This year sees a few new places for us - no housesitting planned, but if something comes up, who knows…
-Canaries (the 4 largest islands) for 4 weeks
-Black Forest for 3 weeks
-Then off to Asia: Penang, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Seoul
-Heading home to build a house 
Not a strong housesitting year, but I’ve learned to never say never.
We spent a brilliant month in Taiwan 
earlier this year if you want any recommendations. Feel free to DM me. #taiwantips
I’m loving everyone’s replies 
it’s making me start to dream about where I’d like to travel to!
As some of you know I plan to try flying this year, I think it’s likely to be Bristol or London! The Forum will be one of the first to know when I’ve taken my inaugural flight 
I’ve been chatting with my best friend, who lives in Brisbane, and we’ve decided that we’re both going to save up for a grand adventure. She will come back to Scotland, we’ll go to a music festival, then she’ll travel back to Australia with me, and we may pop over to New Zealand for a few days. It’s ambitious, but it would be an epic adventure!
I have my first 2 sits in Northern Ireland
pet sitting aside, trips to PARIS, (my trip won in a magazine competition)Germany and Canada.
as well as 2 trips the OUTER HEBRIDES, 100 miles West of Scotland.
Then when my membership expires in the summer, no Booking Fees for me, who knows where I will be headed to?
Malta, Algeria, Iraq, Poland and bits and pieces around Eastern and Central Europe we haven’t explored yet. Might get close or even achieve our 150 countries and overseas territories. If not this year, next.
@Jenny i didn’t realise you haven’t flown before! 
Do you have a fear of flying or just never gotten around to it? For me it’s magical and I would fly every week if I could, lost track of the number of flights I have done in my lifetime but it’s a LOT!
My hometown is Brisbane so if you do end up getting here, a meetup would definitely have to be on the cards. I know a few members here are from Brissie and surrounds. What a day that would be! Choose your season though, currently very hot and in the 40’s further south, come in Spring or Autumn. I’m sure your bestie will have you all sorted 
You’re always welcome in Christchurch 
