Summer Vacation Ideas :: Budget

[trip style = budget]

Some people are really good at planning in advance, and others, not so much. I fall somewhere in the middle, though my friends would probably say I'm a planner. This post is for the late-blooming, or aspiring travel planners who want to go away this summer, but haven't gotten around to planning anything!

One of this month's 3-part features is Summer Vacation Ideas. Today we're looking at Trip Style = Budget ideas, next week we'll explore Trip Style = Luxury Summer Escapes, and the following week Trip Style = Weekending to extend your business or personal/family-related trip. Enjoy!

Budget Summer Vacation Ideas trip style = camping By now, serious campers have already reserved the A+ spots at campgrounds for a weekend or two in the 8-10 weeks we have the pleasure of calling summer {in many parts of North America and Europe}. The good news is, the first-come-first-serve or B+ spots are still available for online reservation! If you absolutely cannot handle putting up a tent, why not try a yurt? Some beautiful places to camp near Vancouver are Tofino {Bella Pacifica} and Washington {Deception Pass}. Cost: from $250 for a weekend, including camping fee, food and gas.

trip style = wine touring How could you not want to immerse yourself in cascading rows of fresh grapes and sip wine in an air conditioned tasting room? Venturing to the vines in summer is toasty but tastes so good. There are a multitude of wineries one could do as a day trip around Vancouver or Seattle, or a weekend trip to BC's Okanagan Valley, Washington's Walla Walla Valley, Oregon's Willamette Valley or California's Napa. Cost: from $50 for a day trip to $1000 for a 3-night tour including hotel, food, gas and tastings.

trip style = road trip Ahhh the summer road trip. So many memories---some I'd like to remember and others I'd like to forget {like the year we traveled sans air conditioning.} Nowadays cars have built-in DVDs, satellite radio, dual-zone a/c, cup holders and other doodads to ensure a peaceful journey. So take advantage of summer 2011, and hit the road Jack to uncover off-beat destinations {like the Old Country Market with goats on the roof---no joke---on Vancouver Island} you might miss when flying in and out of major cities. Cost: from $350 for a weekend including hotel, food and gas.

trip style = {desert} sun The desert is overwhelmingly hot in the summer, but if you like heat, frequent dips in the pool and misters, the prices are low!  The winter escape artists have left, leaving hotel and vacation rental availability that would be harder to get or cost-prohibitive in the high season. Case in point, the Colony in Palm Springs is on Jetsetter {travel flash sale website} this week for $115/night. Cost: from $1100 for flight, 3-night hotel, food rental car and gas.

*Where applicable, all cost estimations based on two people and $100/night hotels, modest car rentals and mid-range restaurants.

PS - Aside from our regularly scheduled content, don't miss next month's feature: Off The Beaten Path Escapes!

[images by @heatherlovesit and @tripstyler]

Healthy on the Road :: Road Trip Style

[trip style = road trip]

Road trips are one of my favourite things about summer. The journey allows time to sit still and relax, listen to good music and spend some quality, uninterrupted time with friends or family. Yet, a funny thing happens when you sit for a long period of time expending very little energy, you start to feel lethargic and end up craving unhealthy food. Freeway fare, or items from the carb and sugar family {chips, candy, salty nuts, burger, fries} fill your body with bad fats, calories and little nutrition. And filling your body with crap, leaves you  feeling tired, grumpy and blah, which is no way to start your adventure on the open road!

This weekend I went on a short road trip with a best girlfriend down to Seattle for the day. Nutritionally, the trip started off badly. A rushed, early morning departure left me skipping my regular balanced breakfast and wolfing down a Starbucks scone and coffee instead. Less than one hour later, I felt ravenous again, and what was I craving: another scone, and it wasn't even 8am yet!

Rather than feeling too much guilt about my poor food choices, I decided to focus on what I would do next time, so here’s what I suggest for you (and myself!)...

Healthy Road Trip Food Choices Prepare Ahead of Time Before you leave, pack some healthy snacks in a cooler with ice packs to keep food fresh. Load up on fresh-cut veggies, fruit, skim milk cheese strings, nuts (unsalted almonds, cashews, or walnuts), sandwiches (peanut butter or some lean meats) and plenty of water for sipping throughout the trip. If you don’t have these items at home or are travelling into the USA, bring the cooler and stop at a grocery store before hitting the road or once you've crossed the border.

Eat A Good, Balanced Breakfast Your grandma was absolutely right, it is the most important meal of the day. There is no better way to rev up your metabolism. The more balanced your breakfast, the less likely you are to have cravings throughout the day.

Have Some Snacks to Settle A Queasy Tummy I may just be speaking for myself, but I find my stomach gets a bit unsettled on long road trips, making me want dry food like breads, pastries and chips even more! Bringing along baked, whole grain crackers will help settle your tummy without the salt, sugar and extra calories.

If Service Stations Are Your Only Option Protein bars can make a good meal substitute, but read labels to select one lower in sugar and calories. A bag of pretzels isn’t a balanced snack, but it’s better than a bag of BBQ chips.

Coffee Shops Look for options other than pastries and muffins. For example, at Starbucks I would have been better off if I had chosen their “Protein Platter”---a lovely variety of grapes, hard-boiled egg, pita, peanut butter, and apple slices---for my most important meal of the day. If you want something sweet, opt for a bran muffin {which has more fibre so the sugar won’t enter you bloodstream so quickly} and you will feel fuller longer.

{When she’s not training clients or being trained by her dog Zuzu, Leah writes Healthy on the Road, published the first Thursday of every month.}

More Healthy On the Road... Make Any Trip Style Healthy The 20-min Exercise Itinerary Active, Relax, Repeat Healthy DIY Plane Snacks Hotel Room Exercises {You can do in your underwear}

[photo by patxi Izkue]

Tea, Tim Tams & Tides

[trip style = cruising + sun + active] {more pictures below}

For as long as I can remember, I've been a little obsessed with Australia's Whitsunday Islands. Tales of tropical bush, endless sandbars and sun-soaked waters filled with a gazillion fish was embroidered into the fabric of my wandering self. Like a child, I even added some of my own imaginary touches to the stories, like bands of wild white horses running along Whitehaven Beach. It was settled. If I ever made the transcontinental trek to Australia, sailing the Whitsundays must be on my itinerary. So, it came to be earlier this month.

Almost Cancelled I'm not going to sugar coat this: I was PETRIFIED to go sailing. Not because I'm scared of the water or boats---I LOVE the ocean---but after my wild trip returning from Wilson Island the day prior, in a moment of seasickness-induced insanity, I almost cancelled my upcoming Whitsunday sailing trip. The ocean was so rough on the way back from Wilson, my skin turned a shade of 90's-inspired pale green, and I started making luxuriant decisions to charter a helicopter to the mainland and cancel any further boat activities for the rest of my Aussi trip. Once I felt better, I realized I may have overreacted just a little.

Sail Away One day later, armed with a bevvie of meds---including a slow-release sea sickness patch that made me a little high and unable to read anything up close---we boarded a 46-foot, $1.6 million dollar sailing catamaran at Airlie Beach. It was almost sunset and were were on a tight schedule chasing the end-of-day light, so when we met our skipper, there were a few quick hellos, the swift removal of shoes {certain shoes can make you slip on a sailboat's surface} and we were off, literally sailing into the sunset.

The Boat The boat had a gleaming white exterior, sails that soared and an interior that mingled rich woods and plush cream seating. Nestled into the opposite end of each pontoon, there were four rooms with included baths, and just below deck an indoor eating area and galley with outdoor overflow seating. Aptly, there was a barbecue fitted to the stern of the boat which was used the first night to grill chicken.

Chill Thankfully, everyone on our sailing vessel was on island time, perfectly chilled-out like a good rose. We ate together, drank together, hiked together and snorkeled together, and if you think that's a little too close for comfort, oddly it wasn't. Our two-night itinerary provided the right mix of sightseeing and sailing, and the size of the boat lent itself to a tried and tested dose of togetherness and solo moments.

Tea, Tim Tams & Tides After hiking up to a Whitehaven vantage point, we sailed near the famed beach to stand-up paddleboard and stroll along the never-ending shore. Whitehaven holds up to, if not exceeds the way it appears in pictures. Its sand could easily be mistaken for the sugar---think Splenda consistency---you put in your morning coffee. And though I didn't see any of my imaginary white horses running down the beach, I may have seen a unicorn... :)

The remainder of the voyage at sea was met with an island-esque sandbar that appeared and disappeared with tidal flow, dolphin pods swimming by night, snorkeling in hidden coves---one of which I swear I saw in the movie Knight and Day---and an impromptu {and apropos} tea and Tim Tam ceremony {Tim Tams are a world-famous, chocolate-covered Australian cookie often eaten with a cup of tea}. I'm not sure what we were celebrating during this ceremony of sorts, though with all our adventures above and below water, this simple moment was probably the finest.

What to know

• Most Whitsunday sailing trips provide food, but you must bring your own alcohol.
• Even if you don't get seasick, bring medication like Gravol. If you get really motion sick, talk to a Pharmacist ('Chemist' in Aussie speak) about the Transderm-V patch or something similar.
• Depending on the season, you'll have to wear a stinger suit or wetsuit in the water to guard against jelly fish stings.
• Regardless of the season, you may feel tiny stings from other creatures while swimming in the ocean.
• Choose a sailing trip that matches your trip style. Whitsunday Sailing Adventures or Sailing Whitsundays are good places to start.
• If you prefer to explore in style, charter a mid-size motor yacht.

Pictures {The boat.}

{The indoor seating area and galley.}

{Our cabin, with a small standing/changing area in front of the bed.}

{The attached bathroom/heads. The faucet turned into a shower.}

{Whitehaven Beach, view from above.}

{Whitehaven Beach.}

{The "disappearing" sand island, aka, One Foot Island.}

{View from the boat of One Foot Island.}

{Sunset.}

{Drinking tea and eating Tim Tams.}

{Last day, the view.}

Australia Month Planning a Trip Up Australia’s East Coast JetSet Jingles :: Australia Spotlight :: Syndey Ultimate Urban Adventures & the Sydney BridgeClimb Heavenly Huts :: Wilson Island Tea, Tim Tams & Tides :: Whitsunday Islands {today} thirty-two and a small q :: Hamilton Island {friday}

Travel Trends :: Ultimate Urban Adventures & Sydney BridgeClimb

[trip style = urban + adventure]

While in Sydney earlier this month one of the literal highlights of my time in Australia's biggest city was climbing the famed Harbour Bridge {more on this below}. Talking at length with my guide about its inception, the mandatory safety suit and if climbers ever get petrified part way up, I learned that Sydney's BridgeClimb, the first adventure of its kind, has influenced cities like Brisbane and San Francisco {pending} to follow suit.

If your next trip style = urban and you want to spice up the usual <eat, shop, walk, eat, visit cultural attraction, eat> itinerary, why not try:

• Sydney's BridgeClimb - Wind your way through the Harbour Bridge's massive steel archways, scale your way to the top, take in the best views of Sydney's iconic harbour, salute the Aussie Flag and descend.
• Auckland's SkyJump - Jump 192 meters at 82km/h off of Auckland's Sky Tower. Watching this video literally made me almost cry with an equal dose of excitement and fear, and I haven't even done the jump yet!
• Toronto's CN Tower EdgeWalk - Walk 'the plank' of this landmark's narrow ledge, 365 meters above the ground. Opening soon.

The BridgeClimb Go Go Gadget.... When I got to the BridgeClimb's industrial-mod HQ, I knew I was going to be required to wear a grey adult 'onesie' that would make fashion lovers run for the hills. I soon learned function over fashion was for good reason: the suit was custom developed to both match the colour of the working mega-structure, as well as handle significant safety precautions with its doodads and attachments. Case in point, the hat I was provided had a plastic hook which latched onto the back of the suit, and my sunglasses were given a special string to secure them around my neck, and again, to my suit. Essentially, anything you bring onto the bridge has to be attached to the suit, as if you were Inspector Gadget. Everything had to reel back into your person.

Underwear and Fanny Packs My husband Nathan even got to wear a fanny pack, which I learned was a taboo phrase Down Under because it refers to something, well, down under... The Bridge allowed him to bring a camera {only because we did a private "media" climb for Trip Styler}, but there were two conditions: it HAD to be attached to his suit with a retractable string and housed in, as the Australians would say, a bum bag. And speaking of that area, even on the sunny, late-fall day when we did the climb, temperatures were getting into the mid 20's, so I followed the advice of my savvy suit concierge and climbed with shoes, the lightweight grey suit provided and only my undergarments below. Needless to say it was a perfectly breezy climb.

Top Design After an exhilarating ascent, winding our way along lengthy catwalks, narrow passageways, keycard-access security doors and stairs with perforated steel steps---the kind where you can see boats speeding past you below---we reached the top. The space was roomier than I expected. There was even a path cutting through the Bridge's centre, opening up into a diamond-like shape at the arch's mid-point. This gathering place, approximately 134 meters above the sea level, made me want to sit back, relax and toast the world with a bottle of bubbly. But alas, there were no loungers and champagne is not kosher when thousands of cars are crossing below, unless of course the BridgeClimb could figure out a way to attach a plastic bottle and flute to the suit, but I think that could be asking a tad too much.

Urban Adventure After the climb, I changed back into my 'civilian' clothes, threw my suit, belt and accoutrements into futuristic-like funnels for washing, and took in the moment, realizing I had the great privilege of joining the likes of Matt Damon, Cameron Diaz, Will Ferrell, Prince Harry and 2.6 million others who've beat the bridge to complete one of the world's ultimate urban adventures!

Photos {Starting the climb.}

{The stairs and yellow safety tubing directly above.}

{The inside structure.}

{A group climbing the bridge, up, up and away...}

{The safety line is attached to you and the bridge at all times. Aside from when you start and finish, you never have to hook and/or unhook the line---it's continuous.}

{View of Opera House and Bridge's upper walkway.}

{BridgeClimb onesies and the summit.}

{Australian flag at the top.}

{Looking straight down from the top.}

{What we saw as we were descending the stairs.}

{A group on their way down.}

{BridgeClimb's HQ.}

{Some perspective at the end.}

What to know

• Prices start at $188 for adult climbers in off-peak season...
• Kids 10+ can can climb.
• There are 3 types of climbs:
  • The Express Climb - 2 hours 15 mins. The quickie.
  • The Discovery Climb - 3 hours 30 mins. The inner workings.
  • The Bridge Climb - 3 hours 30 mins. The outer arch.
• Each person must perform a breathalyzer test prior to climbing, so don't get too crazy the night before...

PS - the closest comparison to BridgeClimb Sydney in Vancouver is Capilano Suspension Bridge's Cliffwalk, opening soon.

[images taken by @nate_fri + 1 by our trusty BridgeClimb guide]

Travel Trends :: Choose Your Own Adventure

[trip style = active + adventure]

{Editor's Note: In observance of Good Friday and Easter Monday, no posts will be published, but we'll be back in biz Tuesday to Friday next week!}

Over the past few years, aside from user-generated content, one of the buzz words marketers use is customization---customizing  your frozen yogurt, customizing your car, customizing your home, customizing your crocs, and why stop at bedazzled crocs? Now you can customize your next trip style = adventure by choosing your own travel adventure.

The just-launched Kumutu was started as a centralized place to find, compare and book travel adventures worldwide based on user-generated reviews. Really, it's a place where you can choose your own adventure, like the books you used to read in elementary school, but now you're trying to choose between kayaking with orcas just outside Vancouver, BC or going on a Tanzanian Safari.

Searching by activity or country based on your dates, it's easy to narrow down what might inspire you. Given the site is still in the toddler stage, I look forward to a few months from now when more adventures come into the system and there's greater choice!  For now, check it out, then keep it in your back pocket for the next time the great outdoors beckons you to explore.