About Me

Hi, I’m Monali — and I plan trips like it’s a sport.

Scoring Stamps is a space for travelers who move with meaning, not speed.

Here you won’t find “top 50 things to do in 24 hours” or one-size-fits-all bucket lists. You’ll find carefully crafted itineraries, honest tips, and the small stuff nobody tells you — rooted in the places that made me slow down and look closer.

Why this blog exists

I’m the person with fourteen browser tabs open and a hotel spreadsheet sorted by season. I plan trips six to ten months out because I want every day — and every dollar — to count. Somewhere along the way I realized most travel blogs are built for two people: the broke backpacker or the luxury splurger. Almost nobody writes for the planner — the traveler who isn’t chasing the cheapest hostel or a five-star suite, but the best version of the trip they’re actually taking.

So that’s who I write for. My promise is simple: I did the obsessive planning so you don’t have to. Everything, organized clearly, with the details that usually cost you a wasted afternoon to learn the hard way.

What you’ll find here

  • Complete country guides — one destination covered properly, start to finish, so you’re not stitching together ten half-answers.
  • Itineraries filtered by how you travel — slow vs. sprint, one base vs. multi-city.
  • “Things nobody tells you” — the train that sells out three months ahead, the last bus that leaves at 6:45, the pass that’s only worth it for your kind of trip.
  • Real numbers and real opinions — what was worth it, what wasn’t, and why.

Where I’ve actually been

I write from the ground, not from a press trip. So far that’s meant:

  • Switzerland — ten days in the Jungfrau region, where I learned most of what I know about doing the Alps right (and a few things the hard way).
  • Europe at Christmas — London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, and Paris in one trip.
  • Hawaii — Maui and the Big Island.
  • Canada — the Rockies, Banff and Jasper.
  • Costa Rica — for when the plan is no plan.

I’m building this out one country at a time, going deep before I move on — Switzerland first.

Come plan with me

Whether you’re mapping a weekend in Paris or dreaming about Swiss mountains, this blog is here to help you discover gentle, curated itineraries, learn the tricks that make the journey smoother, and — when you’re ready — plan and book your escape.

I believe in travel that lingers. If you’re here, maybe you do too.

— Monali