Resources

Resources

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Travel Networking

Couchsurfing
A social networking site for travellers wishing to make new friends or stay for free with locals who have a couch to spare.

InterNations
An international cybercommunity of expats across the globe providing a forum for friendship, professional networking, and housing and local advice.

Travelchums
A networking website matching travellers with travel companions and providing opportunities to meet locals and make new friends.

Tour Groups

G Adventures
A travel & tour company with a high standard of excellence and customer service, providing well-organized trips (with an ecotourism [environmentally and socially responsible] approach, where possible) to destinations around the world. A perfect match for those who prefer off-the-beaten-path tourism.

Free and Easy Traveler
A Canada-based travel company offering exciting, 40-day travel adventures to worldwide destinations. This company is for those seeking a detour from the traditional travel style of seeing and doing as much as possible and recording it all on photographs. With Free and Easy, it’s all about slowing down, meeting new people, and enjoying the moment. Their philosophy: live free, and take it easy. You can’t beat that.

Recommended Reading

…For Those Long Hours Spent Waiting in Airports, Trains, and Buses––Most explore cultural differences and/or provide cultural insights

Eat, Pray, Love – by Elizabeth Gilbert

Fiction Ruined My Family – by Jeanne Darst

All the Clean Ones Are Married – by Lori Cidylo

Russian Tattoo – by Elena Gorokhova

Saving Fish from Drowning; Joy Luck Club; Bonesetter’s Daughter; Hundred Secret Senses; Kitchen God’s Wife – by Amy Tan

Holy Fools; Five Quarters of the Orange; Coastliners; Blackberry Wine; or Chocolat – by Joanne Harris

Kite Runner – by Khaled Hosseini

Aleph – by Paulo Coelho

Americanah – by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Economic Sustainability

Kiva
Your gateway to enabling and empowering small-business entrepreneurs in developing countries with much-needed microcredit.

TOMS shoes
Your source for comfortable travel footwear that goes a long way towards helping kids in developing countries live healthy and walk strong.

Go-To’s for Trip Planning

Here are some of my go-to’s whenever I’m planning a trip; I like them because they all conveniently compile information from many sources into 1 place, and they all (with the exception of the airline companies) provide reviews from other travellers––and I always, diligently, read the reviews:

Booking the cheapest flight:

Kayak

Expedia

Travelocity

Skyscanner (app available here)

Skiplagged (app available on Google Play or Apple Store; love their slogan: “We’re better at finding cheap flights than anyone else— so good, United Airlines actually sued us for it”)

Vueling (a discount airline that flies within Western Europe; they partner with British Airways, and I can testify that if your luggage is ever lost, British Airways will deliver it back to you, wherever you are in the world)

Finding a pleasant place to stay, within budget:

Booking.com (love the flexibility they offer with scheduling – if your situation changes, you can cancel your booking a few days before your stay at no charge)

Airbnb (a note from personal experience: an important disadvantage is that your host can cancel your reservation at any time, even during your stay!)

Google Maps (surprisingly good at identifying and comparing prices between hotels at your destination)

Hostelling International or Hostelworld are a must for booking a hostel

Tripadvisor (I use this just to see more reviews and get other suggestions on a wide variety of accommodation, including hotels, hostels, B&B’s, inns, vacation rentals, and specialty lodging)

Deciding where to eat:

Tripadvisor

Deciding what to see:

Tripadvisor

My Top Two Favourite Travel Blogs

(You can find the full list of all my favourite blogs on Bloglovin’)

G is for Ghana, by Gayle Pescud
I am Aileen, by Aileen Adalid