Before Nicholas Kralev covered airline travel and frequent flyer programs at the Washington Times he was the paper’s diplomatic correspondent – which is a major portfolio for a DC paper.

He’s written a recent book on the US foreign service and he’s traveled with former Secretary of States Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton and has visited more 80 American embassies.

Now he’s combined his two loves offering diplomatic tours, taking small groups behind-the-scenes peak at how U.S. diplomacy works overseas.

Kralev’s DiploTours are a part of the Washington International Diplomatic Academy which trains diplomats from around the world. He explains,

In lectures, briefings, field trips and social functions with American and foreign experts, political and business leaders, diplomats and journalists, participants will gain a historical perspective of U.S. involvement in the respective region, as well as an understanding of the most pressing current issues occupying American diplomacy.

Two trips are coming up:

1. The inaugural DiploTours trip will take participants to Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic, beginning October 14, 2017.

   It will trace some of the most important U.S. decisions and actions in Europe since World War II and learn how they have affected their life at home and peek into what the future might hold for trans-Atlantic relations and find out how American diplomats go about their jobs.

2. A trip to Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong will follow in April 2018. Participants will learn how America’s security and economic primacy in the Asia-Pacific has affected the region in the last seven decades and visit spectacular sites and experience local customs and cultures.

He’s a friend. I don’t receive anything (and won’t even know) if you decide to take the trip, but he’s agreed to share a $200 discount on either trip with promo code VFTW valid through August 20.

Given how much in aviation and international travel involve diplomacy — Open Skies agreements, 5th-freedom routes, pre-clearance facilities, and travel bans for various countries as well as the Qatar diplomatic blockade — this seems right up the alley of many readers.