A Traveling Dog, The Travel Blog

Procrastination is widely viewed as a bad habit and sure sign of someone who just doesn’t have their stuff together. But sometimes, procrastination pays off.

A few days ago I stumbled upon this great site called Lastminutecruises.com. They offer incredible deals on Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises for the person who just can’t book things in advance. For example, a 3-night cruise from Miami to the Bahamas was $169… that’s nearly 61% off regular ticket price.

In addition to the traditional Carribean cruises that go to Mexico and the Bahamas, there are several different destinations that one could consider if they want something a little different. Other cruise destinations include Alaska, Bermuda, Canada-New England, Hawaii and North Europe–at amazing prices!

If you’re not familiar with Rick Steves, he basically has the best job in the history of jobs. He’s the host of PBS’ Rick Steves Europe where he travels all over Europe talking about landmarks, food, customs, and people of these various locations and gets it on film, producing a really informative show for the travel curious viewer.
Here are a few helpful tips from his website about how to make the most of the money you bring on your European escapade.
1. Travel Off-season
2. Family run businesses offer the best values
3. Use ATMs rather than Traveler’s Checks
4. Buses are slower, but cheaper than trains
5. When dining out, eat what’s in season
6. Buy your maps in Europe, as they’re half the price you pay in America with a much bigger selection
7. Have a picnic every once in a while, instead of dining in a restaurant
8. Know the rail lines, if you’re traveling a lot, Eurailpasses can offer big savings
9. Avoid touristy signs. Places with “We Speak English” in the window will most likely inflate the prices
10. Look up friends, relative and contacts if possible.

We all want to travel, but time and money are our biggest deterrents from taking that expedition across Europe we’ve been meaning to do. An often overlooked place to visit is Canada. This huge country to the north of us has tons of great offerings for travelers. Here are 5 Canadian Vacation Ideas:

1) Old Quebec:
Between the old cobblestone roads, well-preserved 17th century architecture and French cafes, visiting Quebec is like taking a step back in time, and a step across the ocean.

2) Cape Breton Island:
Cape Breton is an island at the tip of Nova Scotia, famous for its food, music and Celtic heritage. A must visit for any Canadian traveller.

3)Prince Edward Island:
This gorgeous locale is home to the Anne of Green Gables Homestead located in the Prince Edward National Park. The beautiful island features a gorgeous coastal landscape characteristic of the Maritime Plan region.

4)Montreal:
One of the most stylish and exciting cities in North America, Montreal is a must-visit for the art, music, and culture enthusiast. Montreal is known to host tons of festivals, and one of their biggest is the Montreal International Jazz Festival in June/July. It’s free of charge, offers about 500 concerts and features around 2000 musicians from 20 different countries.

5)Toronto:
If you’re looking for a city that is on-par with Chicago and New York in terms of restaurants and shopping, Toronto is your best bet. Toronto is a huge financial capital and boast tons of awe-inspiring sky-scrapers and modern architecture.

I have never snorkeled, but I plan to sometime in the future and I think it’s important to choose the best resorts for snorkeling. Of course you can go anywhere, but some of the top resorts offer guides, and even gear and boat rentals. A guide can be really nice if you want to find the perfect place to snorkel with someone along with you for safety reasons.

Some of the top places are obviously going to include Australia (where the Great Barrier Reef is located), Florida, the Caribbean, and Mexico. But to get a little bit more specific, let’s take a look at a few of the best snorkeling resorts.

Our first resort is Florida’s Little Palm Island. In general, Florida has many different islands, but none quite as unique as this! Little Palm is completely secluded and provides spa treatments which were once reserved for only Indonesian princesses. There are several spa rooms, personal waiters, restaurants, and yes, snorkeling! You will surely enjoy some of the best snorkeling and scuba dives in this location. You can also snag some rental equipment for kayaking, surfing, and sailing.

Second on the list is the Lady Elliot Resort, located near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. At this resort, you can either tour the reef in a glass bottom boat, walk along the reefs with a guide, or you can snorkel in the exceptionally clear blue water. Who knows, you might meet up with dolphins, manta rays, turtles and even the odd humpback whale! Since this is Australia, you can expect to pay a very low $40 a day for all of your gear, some of which is even free. Lady Elliot also features some restaurants, lounges, clubs, bars, boutiques, swimming pools and a ton of activities to keep you busy.

Third on the list is the ever popular Hawk’s Cay Resort located in the Florida Keys. The Hawk’s Cay Resort has scuba diving, snuba diving (a combination of snorkeling and scuba diving), spearfishing, and salt water fishing available. You can also take lessons for the scuba or snuba diving as well. If you are an experienced diver you can also sign up for one of the night dives — sounds exciting!

As with any other vacation, when planning a winter ski vacation it’s important to think like a boyscout—be prepared! This becomes even more crucial if you’re planning to participate in rigorous activities such as skiing and snowboarding.

To begin, you need to think about your wardrobe. The same way you’d pack shorts and sandals for a vacation at the beach, a winter vacation requires clothes suitable for the climate, including jackets, pants, socks, and maybe even thermal underwear. Don’t be afraid to pack an extra suitcase if that’s what it takes to fit all your warmest clothes!

Now it’s time to consider specific supplies. For skiing, remember to bring gloves, goggles, a winter hat, scarves, and glove inserts. Most ski and snowboarding resorts provide guests with rental equipment like ski poles, skies, snowboards, helmets, and boots, although this can get kind of pricey. If you have your own supplies—and don’t mind lugging them around the airport—I recommend you bring them!

Last, it’s important to book a resort that will accommodate the skill levels of you and your fellow travelers. Many people assume that all resorts include bunny slopes, for example, but this is not always the case. If you’ve got a novice in the group, make sure they’ll be able to start out on something easy.

I’m not really a winter person per se, I don’t like the cold, but I can appreciate the beauty of snow and the fun of skiing and snowboarding. A lot of people LIVE for the snow and they specifically want to go on winter vacation’s or get winter packages in order to enjoy their own winter wonderland. In the US, you have several very beautiful places to visit for you snow packages, some of which are Lake Tahoe, Sugar loaf/USA, New England, and Colorado. In fact, when looking online at most sites you are most likely going to find a lot of the most popular and highly rated ski and snow resorts right in Colorado!

The nice thing about winter packages in general is that you can find packages for yourself, as a couple, group, family, with children, etc. You can also find specific packages for your particular budget. If you want something super sleek and luxurious, you can find resorts such as Little Nell (Aspen), Stein Erickson (Deer Valley), Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa (Farmington PA), or Topnotch Resort and Spa (Stowe VT).

Whereas if you are looking for something with more of a budget, you might consider checking out places like; Best Western Lodge At Jackson Hole (WY), Berry Patch Bed and Breakfast (PA), Snow Summit (CA), or Old Faithful Snow Lodge (WY). You can also get packages centered around different activities. For example, if you don’t like skiing, but your significant other does, you might want to try something like the Snow Summit because not only do they offer a fantastic snow package, but they also have spa options, saunas, museums around the area, and more.