Destinations Archives - Chaos and Carry-Ons

A Week in Taiwan for Under $1,000: What We Actually Spent.

It’s always been our goal to travel more for less and to show others how they can do the same.

One of the biggest misconceptions about travel is that international trips have to be expensive. While they certainly can be, they do not have to be if you know how to use the right tools and strategies.

For our latest weeklong trip, we visited Taiwan and kept our out-of-pocket cost under $1,000. That’s $694.48 in cash and fees covering flights, accommodations, activities, and food, with our flights booked using miles.

Here’s exactly how we did it and what we spent.

How I Booked Taiwan for 37,400 Miles Round Trip Using a Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale

If you are trying to book a trip to Asia with points and miles, Delta is probably not the first place you look. In fact, if you’re in the miles and points game at all, you probably have Delta at the bottom of your list. But every once in a while, a SkyMiles flash sale shows up that is hard to ignore. This is exactly how I booked a Delta SkyMiles flash sale to Taiwan

Cathay Pacific Award Availability: How and When Business Class Seats Are Released

In order to plan a business class trip to Thailand, I had to narrow down airlines and award programs pretty quickly. After some early digging, I filtered my options down to Cathay Pacific using Asia Miles. I tracked Cathay Pacific award availability closely and eventually booked our seats. This is what I learned from tracking Cathay Pacific business class award space in real time.

Planning a Trip to Thailand with Miles and Points

After leaving the kids at home and visiting Cuba, and later French Polynesia, we convinced ourselves that what we really needed next was a quiet, snowy cabin in the middle of nowhere. No more sweaty nights. No more dirty streets. Just cold air, silence, silence, and maybe a fireplace.

Renting a Scooter in Fare, Huahine: The Best Way to Explore the Island

Huahine is an incredible island that is often overlooked in favor of its flashier neighbor, Bora Bora. We spent a few days here and quickly fell in love with how calm and local it felt.

Compared to islands like Bora Bora or Moorea, Huahine moves at a slower pace. You notice small things here, like shops closing on Sundays, kids playing near the water, and neighbors chatting in the shade.

French Polynesia: What We Used and What We Paid

This post isn’t about which beach was the best or what we did with our days (that’s coming next). It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how we made the trip happen: business-class flights to Tahiti, a quiet stay on the island of Huahine, and how we used a mix of points, miles, and cash to make it work. If you haven’t caught on yet, we use miles and points for just about everything. So while the social media clickbait might sound like we spent a fortune, the real story is how we didn’t. Here’s what we spent, what we saved, and how we made it all come together.

Trippin’ to Tahiti: Tahiti in Business Class with Miles and Points in 2025

The whole purpose of our blog is to showcase our travels and how we make them happen. This post is no exception. This was originally written when we booked this trip in 2024, but the same strategy still applies. With miles and points, the world is open to anyone. This is how we booked Tahiti in business class with miles and points.

Escape to Africa: Our Plan for an African Safari

From the beginning of our travels, an African Safari has been high on our bucket list. As we stated in “The Plan for Japan“, everything is possible with a little preparation and planning. So, this is what we’re working on and preparing for.