While most people often use both terms to explain that they are going to visit another country, there exists a very big difference between these two words. Those who travel often know exactly what I mean. If you are backpacking Europe, Latin America, Australia, etc., you are going on a trip because you know it will be exhausting. But if you are going to Cuba, the Dominican Republic or in any all-inclusive h ...

The other day I was chatting with a friend who works for a travel agency and she was mentioning that if I wanted to fly somewhere this summer I better book now. Because starting June 11-12 all airlines are increasing their prices. Once I heard this I knew I had to look more into this. So I found out that according to a study of one of North America’s airline, all prices are sky -rocketing for the summer mon ...

While I was backpacking in Europe for an entire year, keeping in touch was something that I didn’t do too often. I usually would write a quick email to my family to let them know my whereabouts and that I was safe, but as far as emailing friends I usually wrote a quick, short email. Though back then Facebook didn’t exist or cheap(er) data phones. So staying in touch took more time, compared to now by writin ...

Most of us refer to fajitas, tacos and guacamole as Mexican food. In every North American city, you’ll find tex-mex restaurants- restaurants claiming they offer Mexican food but let me tell you, it’s far from being authentic. Then you have those higher scale restaurants where you pay $20 for tamales. Yes, the tamales taste ok, but tamales for $20? They are nuts! When spending 5 months in Mexico, I must admi ...

Traveling may be fun for the most of us, but for others, it may be a little more difficult. Traveling means being away from your friends and family, finding yourself outside of your comfort zone, struggling with communicating with others or simply trying to find yourself. No one ever said it would be easy! But that's the beauty of it all. Ever get those butterflies in your stomach when finding yourself in a ...

Traveling when you're a student is relatively easy. With 3 to 4 months off in the summer, you can take your backpack and travel to a few countries. This however becomes more difficult to accomplish when you work full-time. Sadly, in North America, we are limited to 2 weeks vacation per year (compare to 4 weeks in Australia or the U.K). When you  start with only 2 weeks of vacation time, you'll have to work ...

In April, during my three-week work/vacation trip, I purchased a few items abroad. Now this is like for anyone who travels, we always purchase something. Though do we ever think about customs and once we return back to our own country. Ya, I have tones of times, but on average most travelers don’t think about it while they are shopping. So when I was in Cannes, France I didn’t really go shopping and the onl ...

Eating healthy while traveling can be a challenging task. But well worth the effort of trying to eat healthy- at the least! The one main advantage of sleeping in hostels is the convenience of having a common kitchen where you can cook your own meals. Not only is it healthy, but also cost-efficient. And as we all know... backpackers are poor! Or should I say, they try to maximize the number of places they ca ...

Beautiful art, great markets and historical monuments is what to expect when backpacking in the colonial city of Oaxaca. As one of the most traditional region to visit in Mexico, you will undoubtely enjoy your stay there. One thing caught me by surprise though. The quality of the chocolate in Oaxaca! As most people, I enjoy eating chocolate. Anything related to chocolate will satisfy a craving. Now, what I ...

Anyone who does some online research will quickly find the 5 stages of dating: attraction, uncertainty, exclusivity, intimacy and engagement. Now, this is true when you meet a new "potential" candidate. But for all you single people out there, did you ever think about the way you act depending on where you find yourself in the dating lifecycle? Exploration Phase The first phase stands for all newly admitted ...