Browsing Tag

Tips

(Havana) How to get money to travel
Blog, Nomade

How to Save Money to Travel

A lot of you ask me how I afford to travel so much and where do I get all the money. I wish I could tell you that I’m rich or that there’s a magic pill giving you infinite money. But, just like weight loss, there’s no magic pills and, at some point, you just got to do it. A lot of bloggers wrote about their strategies to save money to travel. I’ll add mine to the list and I hope this can help you make the move and travel more! Let’s start with my “whoo-hoo” tricks and then go to some practical stuffs. My philosophy: Experience > Possession After a lot of deception and questioning about the meaning of my life, I realized that my happiness comes from the experience I live and not from the things I own. I used to spend a lot of money buying clothes I didn’t need, decorating my apartment, and then finding myself at home, well-dressed, in a very cute decor… doing nothing. I realized that everything I owned made my life boring, so I changed my way of spending money. I now make the choice to buy less and focus on learning new […]

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How to choose your travel partner
Blog, Thoughts, Travel Tips

Ode to My Travel Partner and Tips to Choose Yours

Since 2012, I pretty much always travel with my friend Claude. I lead her to the most dangerous town on Earth, I made her eat rotten shark, a stranger vomit on her in a ferry, and she burned badly, several times, on different beaches. Yet, she still wants to be my friend, and that not only show friendship, but a very strong mind and a huge hearth. The first time we travelled together was in Honduras. Not to the safest place in the World or an easy French country where people would speak our first language. Nope. I chose to bring her to a not very touristic place, where people don’t know a word of English during the overwhelming heat of summer. As soon as we got out of the airport in San Pedro Sula and all the crazy taxi drivers harassed us, she wanted to go back home. Despite her feelings, she stayed. She felt unsafe (although it wasn’t really unsafe), she found the food disgusting, and it was so hot that we were sweating just talking, but she stayed and found a way to enjoy the trip. I never saw someone who can push her limits like that. We all wish to […]

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Vayable: The AirBnB for Tours
Blog, Travel Tips

Vayable: An “AirBnB” for Tours

We all know AirbnB is great because it mix lodgings and meeting local people. Now, Vayable presents the same concept, but for tours: Take a tour, with a local! Tadaaa! Isn’t it great? What’s Vayable? It’s a website to book tours and experiences with local people. You choose where you want to go, and you’ll have access to offers made by insiders who want to make you discover their home town, in their own way. It’s perfect if you want to go off the beaten path and discover some hidden gems. Near San Francisco, there’s some unique tours such as doing light graffiti, taking a walk to explore street art, … or hunting mushrooms (because why not). Not finding what you are looking for? No problem! What’s great with Vayable is that you can request a customized experience based on specific thing you want to discover. There’s more than 5000 insiders ready to help you find exactly what you are looking for in their town. For this service, the price starts at 49$ per day of the itinerary. Pretty accessible if you’re thinking of a one-day tour you’ve dreamed of! Hey! I could show my town too! Yes you can! If you’re in love with […]

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Blog, Travel Tips

How to Survive All Inclusive Resorts – Tips For Adventurers

Okay, first world problem, maybe your idea of “surviving” isn’t related to the thought of an all inclusive resort by the beach. But, for us, adventurous backpackers, the idea to be stuck in a resort can be annoying. While we could venture in the countrt, we feel prisoners of the hotel resort. I hear you say “Why do you go there then”? Well… you know… sometimes, siblings get married and we have to make good impression. Or, there’s an amazing deal and it’s all we can afford. I’m certainly not a fan of resorts, but I know how to survive an all inclusive and make the most out of it. 1. Get informed on the location of the resort If you are lucky, you won’t be too far from the civilization. Before your arrival, get informed on the towns and villages nearby and how to get there. It’s not because you have everything you need (beach, food, alcohol) in the all inclusive that you cannot get out of it and explore. Get information about the local transportation. A good tip? Don’t ask at the information desk, they’ll try to sell you organized activities. Ask the barman, the maid, the lifeguard… they’ll tell you how they […]

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2015_Resolution_Travel
Blog, Nomade, Travel Tips

How to Achieve Your Travel Goal This Year

I hear a lot of people around me taking this resolution: ”This year, I will travel!” I know how hard it can be to stick to our new year’s resolution (Hello,”losing weight”, I’m looking at you)! I also know that everything is possible and that motivation tips can help. I may not be good at not taking a third cookie, but when it comes to planning and being disciplined for a travel goal achievement, I rock the place! Let me help you with this resolution. 1. Stop saying you don’t have money It’s one of the first reasons why people tell they don’t travel as much as they want. But here is the truth: you HAVE enough money, ALL of you. Yes, keeping a budget is a great tool, but you already know that and that’s not what I’m talking about here. One big change I made when I made the commitment to travel more was to change my perception of money. I stopped saying ”I don’t have money”, and started saying ”I don’t have money for THIS or for THAT”. This way of perceiving money gives you more power over it. You are the one in charge. YOU decide. Not […]

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En tant que backpackers, faut-il faire affaire avec un agent de voyage ou pas?
Blog, Nomade, Travel Tips

Backpackers: Avoir un agent de voyage ou pas?

Récemment, une histoire m’a donné envie d’écrire cet article. Une de mes amies s’est payé un voyage en Grèce, destination dont elle rêvait depuis un bon moment. Elle a acheté ses billets d’avion en ligne, fait des recherches sur les meilleurs endroits à visiter et les découvertes à y faire. Le jour de son départ, elle se rend à l’aéroport comme prévu, trois heures à l’avance. Puis, c’est la galère… impossible pour elle de prendre son vol, car son passeport n’est pas valide trois mois après la date de son retour. Comme c’est une exigence pour entrer en Grèce, aucun passe droit possible. Elle a perdu son vol, beaucoup d’argent, mais surtout du temps précieux de vacances. Fâchée contre la compagnie aérienne qui lui a vendu son billet, elle voulait porter plainte. Je la comprends, j’aurais été assez en colère moi-même! Malgré cela, rien à reprocher ici à la compagnie aérienne qui lui a vendu son billet. Il est de la responsabilité du passager de respecter les exigences d’entrée et de sortie du pays qu’il visite. Sitôt que j’ai entendu son histoire, je l’ai contactée et en essayant fort fort de ne pas empirer la situation, je n’ai pas pu m’empêcher […]

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Travelling with Agoraphobia
Honduras, Travel Tips

On Travel and Agoraphobia

I never realized how close the Montreal Olympic Stadium was from my place. I biked West, going to a friend’s home and I kind of “randomly” encounter this mythical place. It’s like knowing you live in the same town than a friend, but still being surprised to meet him on a street. And sitting where all these athletes fought their fears, I couldn’t help but think about all the battles I won. Truth is, I slowly recover. When I was 23,  I quit my job, quit university, and stayed put in my basement apartment for almost a year. At this moment, my social anxiety had reached a level so high that going out to the grocery store 300m away from home was a challenge. When you reach this point, you kind of loose the ability to evaluate distance. Sheep in wolves clothing If you don’t know what agoraphobia is, it’s a fear that makes you feel unable to leave the house. You feel like if you go out, something terrible will happen. Basically, it’s the fear of fear. Symptoms vary but mainly involve panic attacks. Panic attacks so intense that you’re sure you are dying. I had my first one driving my car home from school. I […]

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