Tips for Saving Money on Vacation

As I write my blog and continue to dream about where I would like to one day go on vacation, I thought it may be helpful to actually consider some of the ways to make these destinations more realistic.  One of the biggest hurdles stopping people from travelling is of course the high cost. Between expensive international flights, accommodations, food and entertainment it can easily become overwhelming.

As a student it may not seem realistic for me to be planning my next vacation right now, but for what will hopefully be future trips, I have found some tips for travelling that can help keep costs down. After considering past trips I have been on as well as the help from a website called Money Ning, I have come up with some things people should consider to help save some money while travelling.

Getting There

Depending on your travel destination and your reasons for going, you may want to consider travelling during the off season. I realize this won’t work if you’re planning a ski trip or plan on heading somewhere warm for a tan, but for some destinations it may be worth it to pay less and not go during the traditional tourist season. For example, when I was younger my family and I went to Walt Disney World during February. Although we were wearing jackets instead of shorts and t-shirts we were able to enjoy the parks without it being as busy as it would have been in the summer or March Break. I also chose to go off season when visiting a friend in Australia. I went during their winter and was able to purchase my plane ticket for almost half of what my friend had paid to go during peak tourist season.

Another helpful tip is to consider connections while booking flights. By making one or two stops along your way, you can save hundreds of dollars on your flight fares. Just make sure the layovers aren’t too long of you’ll end up spending the saved money on accommodations.

Keep it Local

 One of the easiest ways to save money on food while travelling is to buy food and prepare it yourself. However, if you are staying in a hotel and this is not an option consider eating where the locals eat. In tourist areas restaurants increase their prices because they can. Develop a friendly relationship with the people at the front desk of your hotel or other people who live in the area and ask where they recommend going to eat and what food or drink is produced in the area you are visiting. Not only will you avoid paying too much but you will also get to really experience the area and the local treats it has to offer.

Stick to Your Budget

 With the excitement of being on vacation, it is always easy to spend more than you had originally hoped to. Before you leave try and determine what your daily expenses will be and stick to this number while you’re away. It’s easier to stick to a daily budget than one for an entire week. Always remember when coming up with a budget not to consider the maximum you are comfortable with. There may be expenses you hadn’t taken into consideration such as taxes or that last souvenir at the airport you just had to have.

Santorini, Greece

Known for some of the most amazing views and traditional architecture, Santorini is one of the most beautiful and popular destinations to visit in Greece.  Santorini is an island made up of different villages; Oia, Fira, Firostefani and Imerovigli. All of which appear to be almost hovering the sea. In fear of pirates, the first inhabitants built their homes this way in order to remain high above the water. 

       Fira, Capital of Santorini

Village of Oia

It is these beautiful homes, along with the amazing views that make this island one of my ideal travel destinations. The traditional homes in the villages are all white with painted blue windows and are located on narrow paved streets. These original buildings were built close together in order to prevent from the wind in the winter and the strong heat in the summer. It was also designed to build a strong sense of community among residents.

  

Red Beach

Perissa Beach

The other high appeal of this area is the many beaches. The most famous beaches are Perissa, Kamari and Monolithos. Located on the tourist side of the island these beaches are where many of the hotels, cafes and bars can be found. The beaches in this area are made up of black sand and have deep blue water. Another, the Red Beach, is made up of black and red volcanic rock and is located on a quieter area or the island. 

Whistler, BC- No passport required

While in Australia this summer visiting a friend, I began speaking with some of her Australian friends about what it’s like in Canada. They mentioned how they were planning to visit next year, and would most likely be spending their time in BC. After they asked me questions about what it was like out west I realized I had no idea and starting thinking about how many different areas Canada really does have to offer.

Although I have been lucky enough to travel to different countries, I have never actually really travelled my own. I have never really been anywhere other than Ontario or Quebec. For this blog I decided I would travel to Whistler, British Columbia, somewhere I have always wanted to visit, right here in our own country.

     

As one of the top rated resorts in North America, Whistler really gained recognition during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Open all year long, Whistler Village has everything from shopping to fine dining, spas and nightlife. In the winter, Whistler is most well known for its skiing and snowboarding on Blackcomb mountains. As someone who has now been to Mount Tremblant twice and is still intimidated by their runs, I am not sure I would be ready enough to ski here. However, I do enjoy the après ski atmosphere and think Whistler Village does looks beautiful.

                               

         

The nice thing about Whistler is it is a four season resort and in the summer, there is a range of activities from ziplining, golf, mountain biking, hiking and even helicopter rides.  I think until I become a more experienced skier, I would like to visit Whistler in the summer and experience the amazing views and other land activities that it offers. 

Body Language- Tips for Different Countries

While searching for information on my next travel destination, I came across an interesting article that mentions common gestures in North America that can mean something completely different abroad. After searching some more, I learned that there are many signs or gestures that we often give people here that can be interpreted as being rude if you were to do it in another country.

It’s important to do some research when visiting another country. I think for many people who don’t travel frequently they expect things to be the same as they are at home, but the idea of travelling is to experience something you wouldn’t get a chance to otherwise. Remember when travelling that you are visiting someone else’s homey. You are the visitor and it is up to you to embrace their culture, not the other way around.

Below are some locations where common North American gestures may be easily misunderstood.

United Kingdom:  In the UK, giving the “peace sign” with the back of your hand facing the other person is interpreted as a rude gesture, similar to giving someone the middle finger in North America.

Greece: Showing your palms as if to say “stop” or “wait” as we do in North America has a completely different connotation in Greece at it is interpreted as a highly insulting gesture.

Thailand: While giving a thumbs-up here is a positive gesture, in Thailand the thumbs-up is a sign of disapproval or blame. Much like children stick out their tongues here, children in Thailand use this gesture when being silly.

Japan: In North America, people don’t normally pay much attention to how they hand something to someone. However, in Japan it is expect that a person makes an offering using both of their hands to show sincerity.

Fiji: In North America a typical handshake lasts only a few seconds and is normally a means of introduction. In Fiji, the handshake can last much longer and people can even stay with their hands together for the entire conversation. 

Tree House Lodge: Punta Uva, Costa Rica

Tree houses aren’t just for kids anymore, our next stop is the Tree House Lodge located in Punta Uva, Costa Rica. This unique house is one of four unique lodging experiences available in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. Guests have the option of staying in the Tree House, Beach House, Beach Suite or Garden House; all located only 300 meters from the Caribbean beach.

The Tree House is completely natural and eco-friendly made from recycled materials. No live trees are cut down for use in construction. The house has been built so as not to disturb any of the trees that were there before. The Tree House roof is made from all recycled materials and uses bamboo as part of the structure and as a decoration. The Tree House also uses solar power as electricity and to heat the four different houses in the refuge.

The Tree House is unique to other hotels or lodges as it kitchen and living room are all open and provide unblocked views of the jungle for guests to enjoy. Most of the upstairs rooms are screened in to prevent bugs from getting in, and all beds have mosquito nets. The rooms incorporate natural elements such as trees for both structural support and decoration. 

Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau, Germany

Unless it was just me, I think that when we were younger most girls dreamed about one day living in a castle. This dream is largely because of Disney movies that presented us with images of beautiful castles where girls were princesses and lived happily ever after. So what better place to stop next than Neuschwantein Castle, a real-life castle that served as one of Walt Disney’s most magical inspirations.

The construction of Neuschwanstein Castle began in 1869 for King Ludwig II who designed it in homage to his favourite composer, Richard Wagner. The name Neuschwanstein translates directly to “new swan stone”, a name inspired by the character Swan Knight in one of Richard Wagner’s operas. The castle first opened to the public in 1886 after the king’s death and now over 1.3 million people visit each year.

This beautiful castle looks like something straight out of a fairytale, and for us that’s because it was the inspiration for some of the most popular castles we know. It is said that Walt Disney used this beautiful castle as the inspiration for the castle in the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty. The iconic Cinderella castle in Magic Kingdom is also said to be modeled after the castle in Sleeping Beauty, and therefore Neuschwanstein Castle served as Disney’s indirect inspiration for this well known tourist attraction in Walt Disney World.  Below are all three castles, which really do all look very similar.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle 

Cinderella Castle- Magic Kingdom

Neuschwanstein Castle

The famous castle has been shown in other films, but in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, there is a scene shot from above the castle that really helps showcase how incredible it is. 

First stop, ICEHOTEL Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

Although there are ice hotels across the world in Quebec, Norway, Romania and Finland I think the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden is one of the most interesting as it was the first hotel to be created entirely out of snow and ice. At 5500 square meters, it is also the largest hotel made entirely of ice and snow in the world.

On the hotels website, you can read about the interesting way in which this hotel came to be. The hotel began as an art exhibit and in 1989 a Japanese ice artist was brought in to demonstrate the art of ice carving and create a 60 square meter igloo. Years later, visitors who had come to the exhibition found themselves with no nearby hotels to stay in and became the first “guests” of the ICEHOTEL when they stayed overnight in sleeping bags.

The ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden is open each winter between the months of December and April. Ice and snow blocks made from the nearby Torne River are all that is used to create this one of a kind hotel. Over 30,000 tons of snow and 10,000 tons of ice are collected each March from the river and are stored over the spring and summer until construction begins the net year.

The hotel has grown over the years and now offers both “cold” and “warm” rooms. The cold rooms are found in the original hotel, where guests stay in sleeping bags in rooms made entirely of ice. The warm rooms are for those who may not be brave enough to stay on ice and offers indoor traditional style rooms in a chalet.

Let’s just hope that they’re wrong about global warming so this hotel will be around long enough for me to visit. 

http://www.icehotel.com

Welcome to Jessica’s Travels!

I have been fortunate enough to have grown up in a family that did not have a cottage that we travelled to every summer. Instead, almost every year we took a family trip and I have been lucky enough to have visited different countries across the world.

I have never understood the attraction of paying to travel half way around the world just to eat something you could get at home, or shop at a store that we have in Canada. Instead, I have found that my best memories have come from going off the beaten track and exploring areas that are not necessarily listed in the travel guide you buy at your local book store.  Instead, I believe that the fun of travelling is being open to the new experiences and to new sites that you don’t get at home.

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some of the unusual places I find from different countries around the world. Whether they are unusual hotels or naturally amazing views, they will all be places out of the ordinary that I think should be seen in a person’s lifetime.  These are just a few places that I find interesting, please feel free to comment on where you think I should travel to next. Thanks for visiting.