My first solo trip , right at the tail end of the pandemic, was an accident. I was a homes writer back then, enthusiastically cornering patient travel editors with my out-of-the-blue pitches as soon as humanly possible after restrictions began to ease. Finally, it happened: my first commission—and to stay at The Dylan , Amsterdam ’s most glamorous canal-side boutique, no less.

I grabbed a friend, booked the flights, and started dreaming of days piling pastries onto plates in cafés, ticking off museums, and spending nights skipping in and out of dimly lit canal-side bars. But then: a logistical disaster. With less than a week to go, my friend realized her passport was too close to expiry for travel to the Netherlands . Renewing it at short notice during the Covid backlog was out of the question, as was finding someone else to come with me with just days before the stay.

Charley at Borana Lodge in Kenya

Charley Ward

I was upset, to say the least.…