Adventure touring…by rail
November 27, 2009
Perhaps what you’d like to do by way of a hiking or biking tour is no longer possible. The joints are creaky, the balance is bad and your partner isn’t looking for much in the way of exercise. Fortunately, exotic adventure tours by rail might be one way to keep everyone happy. There are amazing journeys that will be a photographers dream from the shorter 400 mile Copper Canyon trip to the 5771 mile Trans Siberian trip. See below for details.
- Copper Canyon Railway will take you from Los Mochis to Chihuahua, Mexico
- Trans-Siberian Railway takes you from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean across 10 time zones
- Lhasa Express takes you from Beijing, China to Lhasa, Tibet. This is a 4,064 km trip and if you’re a budget traveller you’ll me thrilled with the $US49 ‘hard seat price.’ Try that for 3 days!
- The Ghan Train is a journey from Adelaide to Darwin, Australia. You will travel 2979 kms over 2 nights and 3 days through the outback.
- The Glacier Express is only a 7.5 hour trip and takes you from St. Moritz to Zermatt, Switzerland.
- The Rocky Mountaineer offers a few options but the most popular one leaves from Vancouver, BC and heads to Jasper,Alberta over one night and two days.
- Oslo-Bergen Railway in Norway is considered to be one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. It sounds like a true adventure in the winter when major storm cells hit. You can get off along the way and explore on foot, bike or skiis.
- Peru Rail takes you from Cusco to Machu Picchu, Peru
- The Pride of Africa links Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania to Capetown, South Africa on one of the most luxurious trains in the world.
I have omitted many of the shorter, scenic trips and barely touched on Europe. The Man in Seat Sixty-One is an excellent resource to help you with further planning.
Leigh McAdam
Canada’s World Heritage Sites
November 26, 2009
World Heritage Sites are chosen for their exceptional universal value. They include cultural, natural and mixed properties in 148 countries. There are 890 properties worldwide as of July 2009. Some are under threat from environmental degredation, war and overuse. Nonetheless, the inclusion of a visit to a World Heritage site as part of an adventure travel trip, will never ceases to add a meaningful component to your trip.
Here are a list of sites in Canada, a few of which I am embarrassed to say, I have never heard of until today.
- Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories
- Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump in Alberta
- Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta and the Northwest Territoies
- Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta
- Historic District of Old Quebec City, Quebec
- Old Town Lunenburg in Nova Scotia
- Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland
- Waterton Glacier International Peace Park in Alberta
- Rideau Canal in Ontario
- Joggins Fossil Cliffs inNova Scotia
- SGang Gwaay in British Columbia
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks in Alberta and British Columbia
- Miguasha National Park in Quebec
- L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland
- Kluane/Wrangell-St Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek in British Columbia and the Yukon
Happy Exploring!
Leigh McAdam
The Eagles have landed.
November 24, 2009
It’s that time year again where it is possible to view a massive number of bald eagles congregating in a small area in both British Columbia and Alaska. The three specific eagle viewing sites are:
- In Brackendale, just outside of Squamish which is halfway between Vancouver and Whistler. Peak viewing is from mid December to mid January though large numbers may still be around near the beginning of the Olympics. Be adventuresome and try a rafting trip in the winter as an alternative way of seeing the eagles.
- Along the Harrison River, about an hour east of Vancouver. The two day bald eagle festival has just occurred though the eagles don’t know that, so they’ll be around for many more weeks. A recent Globe and Mail article with more detailed information is worth a read.
- In Haines, Alaska where they celebrate the eagles over a 5 day period with photography workshops, nightly entertainment and guided viewing. This is the spot to see the largest gathering in the world at one time. Then, as it gets colder, the eagles move south to British Columbia.
You’ve just missed two of the festivals but a trip to either the Harrison River or Brackendale on the dullest days of Decemeber to watch these amazing birds will light up your day.
Here are some interesting bald eagle facts:
- the average lifespan in the wild is up to 28 years
- They have a 6-8 foot wingspan and can weigh up to 14 pounds
- The biggest eagle nest ever recorded weighed 2 tons, and measured 9.5 feet across by 20 feet high
- The bald eagle was delisted from the ‘Threatened and Endangered Wildlife’ list on June, 2007.
Leigh McAdam
Are you dreaming of the beach life in November?
November 23, 2009
Perhaps you are dreaming of sunshine and beaches - and if you are I suspect it’s with a Westernized bias. Personal space has different interpretations across cultures. Although Haeundae Beach, in Busan, South Korea is sunny, 14C (57F) and probably deserted today I would imagine that under hot, sunny skies it would be a tough sell for anyone wanting a modicum of space.
Leigh McAdam
Free room and board in Cazola, Spain
November 21, 2009
If you are contemplating a trip to Spain and you don’t speak alot of Spanish but enjoy meeting people, then maybe a program that matches native English speakers with executives for 8 days with all room and board covered might appeal to you. You will need to get yourself to Madrid but from there all your expenses are covered. And best of all, the course takes place in Cazola, found in the Andalucian area of Spain and a perfect jumping off point for further travel.
Read one man’s account of how much both English and Spanish participants enjoyed the program. What a great and interesting way to save money! And, the possibility of making this program part of a larger adventure tour I think will have even greater appeal.
Leigh McAdam
Airport lounges - not just for the business traveller!
November 20, 2009
If you’re a frequent business traveller, chances are you are a member of one of the frequent flier programs which provides access to the airport lounges free of charge. However, if you aren’t part of that group OR if you have to fly another airline than you might want to read further.
Some airlines are now allowing you to purchase lounge access when you book your ticket. Air Canada offers that privledge for $35 each way while many other airlines have $50 price tags for lounge access. Granted if you only have an hour to wait it isn’t worthwhile but do consider it under the following circumstances;
- you know you have more than a few hours to kill and you’re flying at a time of the year with frequent flight delays
- your wait is over a mealtime. The food offered varies by airline and lounge but some of it is surprisingly good and it’s all included in the cost of the lounge access. Most lounges have free drinks (Macallan 18 scotch at the British Airways lounge at Toronto’s Pearson terminal 1) and latte machines now.
- WIFI is usually free and work stations are the norm
- some lounges have a wide selection of international papers
- quiet access to phones
- and showers and napping rooms are available in some of the bigger lounges
Independent lounges are now coming onstream too. Plaza Premier has lounges in Vancouver, Toronto, India and Asia and for $336 a year you can buy unlimited access. You can also buy a 10 pass card for $US199. Their lounges offer all the goodies and it doesn’t matter what airline you’re flying on or what class of service you’ve booked.
Premium American Express lounges are opening too, though you’ll need to flash your platinum card to gain access. The premium lounges are available in Toronto, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.
In case your flight gets delayed or cancelled it is also prudent to have the airlines number with you. You’ll avoid enormous lineups at the customer service desk and chances are you’ll be able to reconfirm your next flight faster .
May you have a more enjoyable wait time before your next flight!
Leigh McAdam
Victoria to Cowichan Valley Bike and Wine Tour Eguide Published
November 19, 2009
The 18 page Victoria to Cowichan Valley bike tour guide has just been published and is available from the hikebiketravel website for $13.95.
There is much to recommend about this trip that is best done from late spring until early fall. Some of the highlights include the following:
- great food offerings especially in Victoria, Cowichan Bay and at some of the excellent local restaurants
- fun wine tasting at over a dozen wineries
- balsalmic vinegar tasting at Venturi Schulze Vineyards
- pretty back road cycling
- a long car free stretch on the Cowichan section of the Trans Canada Trail
- interesting accommodation choices from lavender farms to cooking schools to B&B’s to 5 star choices
- good mixture of city and country stays
- ability to easily add some of the Gulf Islands seamlessly to the itinerary, especially Salt Spring Island
- diverse activities for the non biking hours including cooking classes, a raptor handling program, whale watching and river or ocean kayaking
The area is easily accessed via ferry service from Vancouver or a flight into Victoria International airport. Allow a minimum of 3 days and a week or more if you would like to include the Gulf Islands.
Pretty backroad cycling near Cowichan Bay in April
For those of you who live close to Vancouver, why not venture a little off the beaten path and discover this gem in our own backyard. Everything you need to know to book your own trip is outlined in this eguide. Happy travelling!
Leigh McAdam
Weird and Wacky Hotels
November 17, 2009
There are plenty of truly unusual and wacky hotels around the world. You can sleep in enormous wine casks, watch the fish swim by from your undersea hotel, enjoy giraffes peaking their heads in your bedroom window , try out an ice hotel, sleep in a concrete tree house or even a crashed jet plane. The only one I have visited is ‘Crazy House’ , a concrete treehouse in Vietnam. It was even more unusual in that it seemed to be more of a tourist attraction than a hotel. Click on the links below for some wonderful pictures.
- Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida. Learn to dive and become certified while you stay at this undersea lodge. Rates are $475 per night with meals and diving.
- Giraffe Manor near Nairobi, Kenya. Enjoy breakfast with a giraffe at the table. Rates are $360 pp per night with all meals and a vehicle for watching wildlife.
- De Vrouwe van Stavoren in Stavoren, The Netherlands. Sleep in a wine cask with all the usual amenities. A wine cask room will set two people back 109 Euros per night.
- The Ice Hotel near Quebec City, Canada. Stay in a hotel that melts every spring. Choose from themed rooms made of carved ice, some with fireplaces. You will feel like you’re in a cocoon. Contact them for rates which vary with the package. Arctic sleeping bags provided.
- Poseidon Undersea Resort neat Fiji. Be one of the first to sleep on a luxury expedition submarine. It will cost you $30,000 for one week with you and your better half and you’ll be learning to pilot your own mini sub. Opening anyday now!
- Gamirasu Cave Hotel in the Cappadocia area of Turkey. Stay in a cave made up of tufa and used by monks until recently. Rates start at 75 Euros per room.
- Hotel Costa Verde near Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica. Spend the night on the beach in a Boeing 727 suite. Rates are $400-$500 per night. The location is beside one Costa Rica’s best parks.
- Hang Nga Guest House & Art Gallery in Dalat, Vietnam. The daughter of one of Ho Chi Minh’s ex presidents studied architecture in Russia and came up with a concrete treehouse with winding staircases, themed bedrooms and human sized spider webs. More tourist attraction than hotel room.
'Crazy House', Dalat, Vietnam
Some thoughts on Trip Advisor
November 12, 2009
This adventure of mine requires copious amounts of time researching biking and hiking tours, accommodation possibilities, airfares etc. So much of what comes up in google searches is the Trip Advisor website.
So just a few words of warning!
- Trip Advisor is owned by Expedia - just for your information
- Reviewers are a self selected group of individuals who seem to have way too much time on their hands or are being offered something to submit a positive rating. Granted, there are some totally honest, well meaning people who do submit a writeup to help fellow travellers but I’m not sure that they are in the majority. Last year while researching the Gulf Islands bike tour I was offered a gift upon confirmation of a positive review and I have been strongly encouraged to write positive reviews. Judging by articles on the web that is just the tip of the iceberg.
- We know nothing about the reviewers and where their bias lies.
- The ratings can be skewed because of the lack of reviewers. How meaningful is a rating system without more than a handful of writeups?
- There are new restaurants, B&B’s and hotels that may in fact be great places to try but are being penalized because of a lack of reviews. A case in point is a new Magog B&B (La Maison Drew) I used on my Eastern Townships tour. It was far better than the #1 rated B&B (which I also stayed in) but didn’t even register on the Trip Advisor scale because there weren’t any reviews.
Use a dose of common sense. The site is helpful in that it gives you the names of the hotels, B&B’s or restaurants that you are looking for in a specific town or city. You can then visit individual websites for more information. As the article points out it, is also a good idea to ignore the very best and the very worst comments. Keep an open mind and if you do use it, don’t treat the ratings as gospel.
And for more information which is in line with what I have found, read the article about Trip Advisor and its’ hotel manipulation scandal.
Leigh McAdam
Mexico - to visit or not to visit…
November 10, 2009
Is Mexico a failed narco state as some of the media would have us believe or is everything just blown out of proportion??
Most adventurous tourists are not easily dissuaded from travelling to even the most volatile of countries but Mexico is one of those countries that seems to be particularly down on its luck. Swine flu, kidnappings, random attacks, tropical storms and worse.
Look no further than the article ‘Finally some good news for travel in Mexico.’ Read some of the comments too if you have contemplated traveling to Mexico this year. I know from personal experience that nothing is ever as bad as it is portrayed in the media. Unfortunately one of the biggest downsides to dwindling tourism is the declining revenues and therefore opportunities for the Mexicans which can and does lead to desperate measures. I can only hope travelers work on getting the facts before dismissing Mexico outright.
I love the Baja area and have thoroughly enjoyed kayaking out of Loreto on three different occasions. I can also highly recommend a bike tour in the Puerto Vallarta to Colima area. Visit the two links below for reasonably priced adventure tours with reputable companies.
Join some local riders in Colima.
Gabriola Cycle and Kayak has a 9 night/10day trip for $1245 that will take you through beutiful country, past beaches to the volcanoes of Colima.
For a kayak adventure where you’re sure to see great wildlife, spectacular rocky landscapes and enjoy lots of sunshine visit Baja Kayak Adventure Tours.
And for heavens sakes use a very good dose of common sense.
- Do not drive at night
- Plan your route ahead of time. Educate yourself on where the drug areas are. Avoid them at all costs.
- There is always safety in numbers. Travel with another person.
- Learn some basic Spanish.
- Be respectful of Mexican customs.
Leigh McAdam
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Recent Posts
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- 501 Places - Read Andy’s musings on his adventures to 70+ countries.
- A Little Adrift - A well written blog with great photos by a 20 something woman who has done a RTW trip.
- A Pair of Panties and Boxers - She use to want the corner office. Now she wants the world. Monica blogs about her travels around the world & her travels through life. Either way she travel, it’s food for her soul.
- A Travel Around the World - Marta ‘n Chris travel the world and share their tips, stories and excitement of the venture.
- Abandon the Cube - Ever thought of Abandoning your cubical to travel around the world? We are two travelers who did just that. Join us as we travel, mostly by ground transport and sea, across the globe at Abandon the Cube.”
- About Airport Parking - Covers parking information at every major airport in the US.
- Art of Backpacking - Mike and Teresa have a well written, extremely useful website geared to the international backapacker.
- Beers and Beans - Follow a California couple as they wander the world. Excellent photography.
- Best Beaches in Asia - This website will lead you to some of the best beaches in Thailand, Taiwan, Cambodia and Hong Kong.
- Blog Catalog - A link to other travel blogs.
- Brooklyn Nomad - A Noo Yawka with a bad case of wanderlust - great quotes, great photography.
- Candice does the World - Get a Newfoundler’s point of view about Newfoundland, life and world travel.
- Columbus Travel - Columbus Travel Ltd. is an Ecuadorian company with Norwegian Management. Our company is rated among the top three companies on Galapagos by Top Adventure Tours. We are one of the major travel agencies in Ecuador with an average of 3000 passengers each yea
- Currency Converter - Get exchange rates for world currencies.
- Enlighten Travels - A multi year journey around the world is recorded with insight.
- Ever the Nomad - Anja is a Lonely Planet author who travels and a traveler who writes.
- Everything Everywhere - Gary is a VERY well traveled guy who writes and takes great HD photos.
- foXnoMad - Great blog with lots of tips on tech, money,lodging, culture…
- Gabriola Cycle and Kayak - Guided cycling trips to Mexico, Spain and France for adventuresome travelers at very reasonable prices.
- Gap Year Escape - Follow Amar’s backpacking travels in the southern hemisphere.
- Gourmantic - A well written food and travel blog.
- Happy Time Blog - Follow Aaron & Georgie as they have alot of fun traveling/backpacking the world.
- Health Conscious Travel - A blog on health, travel and green living.
- Heather on her Travels - Heather is an English travel blogger with lots of travel advice and great ideas for blogging, podcasts and more.
- Hole in the Donut Travels - Read about Barbara’s travels from the perspective of a 50 something female with a serious case of wanderlust.
- Hop and Jaunt - Check out the website of this pair of traveling designers.
- How to Travel with Pets - This is your go to website if you’re a pet owner and you love to travel with pets including birds, fish and reptiles.
- i Backpack Canada - Corbin provides you with lots of advice and tips for hitting the road with a backpack in Canada.
- Ian and Wendy - Follow this well traveled Canadian couple on their worldwide travel adventures.
- Inside the Travel Lab - A well written blog on the art and science of unusual travels.
- Jet Set Citizen - John and his wife are jet set citizens - a group of people living the lifestyle they choose involving travel, technology and social media.
- Lonely Planet Author: Joshua Samuel Brown - Read the musings of Josh, an expat living in Asia.
- Monna McD - Follow the writings of this Canadian woman living in Bangkok.
- Ms Traveling Pants - Personal travel stories & insights from a sassy world traveler.
- My Several Worlds - Carrie writes about photography, lifestyle, travel and teaching ESL in Asia.
- No Debt World Travel - Learn Brian’s tricks of traveling around the world cheaply.
- Otts World - Follow Sherry on her travels and enjoy inspiring photos and video.
- Paddy in Buenos Asia - A very funny blog on everyday life of an Irish expat now living in Hong Kong. Warning - may contain nudity, bad language and Irish humour.
- Riverville House B&B, Kenmare, Ireland - If you are walking or touring the Kerry Way in Ireland then add this B&B to your must stay list. You will find lovely rooms and welcoming hosts at reasonable prices.
- Shannon Lane - Look for food, wine, lodging and travel reviews.
- Snarky Tofu - Check out the videos.
- Start Backpacking - Get info on the steps to start backpacking, backpacking medicine, cheap flights and more.
- Tech Guide for Travel - Reviews of tech products used by travelers and all sorts of useful techie info in easy to understand terms.
- The 9 to 5 Alternative - Peruse well written articles about travel, lifestyle and entrepreneurship.
- The Caffeinated Traveller - Insights into world travel with colourful images - perfect with a cup of coffee.
- The Planet D - Read about and watch videos on the ongoing adventure travels of Canada’s Dave Bouskill and Deb Corbeil.
- The Professional Hobo - Adventures of a girl with no fixed address.
- The Travel Expert(a) - Marina blogs about traveling in Central America AND plans and organizes trips in Costa Rica.
- The World Effect - Excellent photography and writing are the hallmarks of Beau and Meggan’s round the world blog.
- Travel Blissful - Follow Erica’s stories, tips, musings, video and photography as they relate to travel.
- Travel Blog Advice - Advice on how to make money, expand social networks and keep your travel blog going.
- Travel Wonders of the World - Mark blogs about his travels to over 80 countries.
- Traveling the World by the Seat of our Pants - Follow the good, the bad and the nasty as this couple travels the world.
- Travels with Two - Great website with lots of useful information for trip planning - especially for couples.
- TravMonkey - Paul gives you detailed info for backpacking around the world.
- Uncornered Market - Look for human stories, photography, street food reporting and personal growth stories.
- Vagabonding Life - Greg writes thought provoking articles about travel since escaping from the cubicles of corporate America.
- Velvet Escape - Read about Keith’s escapes and adventure travels to some of the world’s most interesting places.
- Wild Junket - Follow Nellie’s wild ride around the world. She’ll teach you how to swear in Spanish and get you up to speed on odd Asian habits!
- World Clock - Find out what time it is anywhere in the world + get international dailing information.
- World Electric Guide - Provides information on plug types and voltages in every country around the world.
- Worldwide Airlines - You’ll find both the major and some of the obscure airlines in countries around the world.
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