Travel News: WestJet to have flights from Hamilton to Vegas
Posted: July 26, 2011 Filed under: Travel News | Tags: Hamilton Ontario, Las Vegas Nevada, Travel News, WestJet Leave a comment
image source: Plastic_Bat via flickr
If you live in the Hamilton, Ontario area and love to go to Vegas you’re in luck! WestJet will have an 11 week trial of flights from Hamilton to Vegas starting September 9th, 2011 to November 28th, 2011.
Now I wonder if these flights will be cheaper from Hamilton Airport as opposed to Toronto Pearson Aiport? hmmmm….
Deal Alert: Travel to Iceland
Posted: July 25, 2011 Filed under: Travel Deals | Tags: iceland, Toronto, Travel Deals Leave a commentHello fellow travelhuggers!
Just got this in my email from Travelzoo. Check out this amazing deal from Toronto to Iceland from $599 pp:
- Roundtrip nonstop flights to Reykjavik from Toronto
- Two nights at the 4-star Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Natura
- Breakfast daily
- Golden Circle tour visiting Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir
geothermal area and Thingvellir National Park - Admission to Laugarvatn Fontana, a newly renovated
geothermal spa featuring hot spring baths and steam rooms - Additional nights including breakfast cost $59 per person
click here for more information!
Travel Tip Tuesday: 04.26.11
Posted: April 26, 2011 Filed under: Travel Tip Tuesday | Tags: Asia, Chicago, Chicken nugget, Hong Kong, McDonald's, McDonalds chicken nuggets, Paris, Toronto, travel tip tuesday Leave a comment
Image via Wikipedia
McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets taste the same in Toronto, Chicago, Paris and Hong Kong.
Travel Tip Tuesday: 04.19.11
Posted: April 19, 2011 Filed under: Travel Tip Tuesday | Tags: Thumbs Signal, travel, travel tip tuesday 2 Comments
Image via Wikipedia
“Thumbs Up” has different meaning all over the world. Click here to see the different meanings.
Review: Crimson Beach Resort and Spa – Cebu, Philippines
Posted: April 14, 2011 Filed under: Asia, Reviews | Tags: Asia, Cebu, crimson beach resort and spa, Mactan, Philippine, Resort, Travel and Tourism, Yema 2 CommentsRating: 5 hugs/5 hugs
When we decided to book our trip to Cebu, everyone was asking us if we booked at the world famous Plantation Bay Resort. We were originally going to book at Plantation Bay, but we decided to give Crimson Beach Resort and Spa Mactan a try.
You never know what to expect when you book a hotel/resort. All you have is the pictures from the resort website and a few from trip advisor. So I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I didn’t get the best…it was even BETTER than the best, better than what I had expected. Let’s break it down:
Food
There isn’t a lot of restaurants at Crimson, but Saffron Cafe is all you need for your stay at this resort. They offer buffet and a la carte options but I love me some buffet food. The food was excellent!! Not as big as the buffets as an all inclusive resort or Las Vegas, but it’s all about quality not quantity at this resort. The selection of food was changed every day and the dessert options were just AMAZING! Dessert is my favorite part of the meal, and their dessert options did not disappoint. One night they had this dessert called Yema with nuts (made with condensed milk and egg yolk) and I was in heaven! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I could go on and on about the food. But just trust me, you will not be disappointed with the food at this resort.
Staff/Service
Where do I even begin? Everyone working at Crimson is super friendly. You are always greeted with “Good morning ma’am/sir” with a smile. Everyone also always places their right hand over their heart as they greet you. I’ve never ever experience this kind of service anywhere. Even at the buffet, the servers are just amazing. Now you might say that they are being nice because they want a tip. There is just something different about how they greet you, serve you. They genuinely want you to have a great time. The customer service here is on a level I’ve never experience but want to experience again, and again and again.
The Rooms
Just like the pictures, the room was really nice. Any hotel/resort that has a rain forest shower head, you’ve got me! Beds were comfy, wi-fi was great! We stayed in the Deluxe Room.
The Beach
Well, the beach isn’t as big as what I had expected. It is really really small. But I wasn’t even fazed by it because the resort is so beautiful it didn’t really matter how big the beach was.
The Pool Area
Three different pools that are connected, one of which is an infinity pool.
Overall Experience
If you haven’t noticed, I’m in love with Crimson. I would stay here again and I recommend this resort to anyone staying in Cebu for a few days. It’s a great place to just relax, eat and enjoy the great scenery.
Travel Tip Tuesday: 04.12.11
Posted: April 12, 2011 Filed under: Travel Tip Tuesday | Tags: bathroom hole, Kleenex, traveling, vacation Leave a comment
Image via Flickr by PJFurlong06
Always have Kleenex – you will never know when you’ll need it.
What NOT to pack
Posted: April 11, 2011 Filed under: Tips and Advice | Tags: luggage, packing, Shampoo, Shopping, Tourism, vacation Leave a comment
Don't overpack! Image via Flickr: zingersb
I love packing. I don’t know what it is, but I just love it. Whenever my parents are going on vacation, I call my mom up and tell her I will help her pack. Here is my list of items you should NOT pack:
1. Hair Dryer – pretty much all hotels have this covered. There is no sense in bringing along your personal hair dryer. It takes up space and it’s just not needed.
2. Big Shampoo Bottles – if you’re a frequent traveler like myself, you can buy travel size containers to put your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, moisturizer, etc. I personally don’t like the hotel shampoos. I have naturally curly hair so I need my hair products. I transfer them into my travel sized containers. Less space and less weight.
3. Too many shoes – all you really need is one pair of good walking shoes and one shoe you can wear at night. That’s all you need ladies! No need for a carry on for just shoes.
4. Lots of clothes – If you think back to all the vacations you’ve taken, I’m sure there are a few items of clothing that you did not wear. You don’t need your full wardrobe. I went to Asia with just a backpack and small duffel bag as a carry on. This is what I took on my trip:
2 pairs of pants, 5 tops, two cardigans, and two shorts, a bathing suit and a cotton dress.
Some of the clothes I packed, I knew I wasn’t going to bring them back (I had planned to leave some clothes behind). This allowed me to shop for new items and not add more weight to my luggage.
5. Lots of books – If you can afford to get one, invest in an ebook or an ipad. It will take up less space and you have access to an insane amount of books.
6. Towel – I used to pack a full size towel whenever I went on vacation, but I no longer do that. If you want to use your own towel, I would suggest to purchase a travel size towel. I bought one for my Asia trip, just to try it out and it wasn’t too bad. It took up less space, and it worked. You can check your local outdoor store for travel towels. I purchased mine at Atmosphere. Or you can always air dry 🙂
If you have any suggestions of what not to pack, let me know. Would love to hear your suggestions!
Maybe one day, I’ll be like Rolf and not pack anything!
update: I did pack underwear and socks too…didn’t include that, but figured that’s a given!
Travel Tip Tuesday: 04.05.11
Posted: April 5, 2011 Filed under: Travel Tip Tuesday | Tags: Business class, travel tip, travel tip tuesday Leave a comment
Image via Wikipedia
Always ask to get upgraded to business class, you’ll never know if you don’t ask.
Day trip to Macau
Posted: March 31, 2011 Filed under: Asia | Tags: casino macau, day trip macau, Hong Kong, m, macau 2 CommentsIf you’re in HK, you must take a day trip to Macau. Getting there is pretty easy. You take a ferry from the Hong Kong Macau ferry terminal in Sheung Wan. It costs about $276 HK ($36 CDN) for a round trip ticket. Make sure to have your passport with you as well because you need it to enter Macau. Be prepared for the crowd and be prepared to stand while you wait for you ferry. It takes about 1 hr to get to Macau, so just sit back, relax, and take a quick nap on the ferry.
Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal
Arriving in Macau
Before you exit the port, there are a bunch of taxi drivers asking you if you would be interested in a private tour of Macau. The first gentleman approached me and I said, “No Thank You”. A second gentleman approached me and I said the same thing, “Not interested”. I was a bit hesitant because being the cautious person that I am, I wasn’t sure if I would really get a tour and wasn’t sure if I could trust these people. You always hear horror stories about people getting scammed and my mother always told me not to talk to strangers 😛 (side note: if you’ve seen the movie Taken, you know what I’m talking about).
At this point, R (my husband) decided to go to the bathroom so I was waiting around and the same gentleman kept asking me if I was interested. He kept reassuring me that he is a real taxi driver and started giving me brochures. So since I was waiting, I figured I would ask him how much. He said his price (I can’t remember how much it was) and I was thinking, that’s a bit much. He kept lowering the price, and I started to think, okay maybe this isn’t such a bad idea after all (I’m cheap, so he was starting to speak my language).
So after talking to him, I told him I wanted to discuss it with R. We figured we don’t really have a plan of what to do in Macau, it would be a 2 hour tour, and we’ll get a nice tour of the city. Plus, after talking to Hong (the driver) I was getting a good vibe from him. So we decided, why the heck not. If you’re wondering, we paid $930 HK for a private 2 hour tour, which is about $117 CDN – $58 CDN each, not bad if you ask me.
A-Ma Temple
Taking this tour was a great idea! Not only did we get an amazing tour of the city, our taxi driver was also our personal photographer. Macau is the only place on our Asia trip were we have many photos together. He knew where to place us in the photos, it was great! Hong was so friendly and very knowledgeable about Macau.
The View from Macau Museum
St. Paul's Ruins. The main facade and the foundation was left standing after a fire in 1835
Senado Square. Look at all the decorations. So pretty!
Macau is a beautiful place. We were lucky to see the decorations from Chinese New Year, it was beautiful! In Macau, you can see the Portuguese influence in the architecture of the buildings and then you have these massive Casino/Hotels that would probably swallow some of the hotels in Vegas.
MGM Casino
Portuguese Egg Tarts - these were AMAZING! We ate them so fast we didn't take a picture of it.
If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle in Hong Kong, take a day trip Macau. It was well worth it! Don’t forget to try the Portuguese egg tarts…mmmmm…sooo good!! (p.s. if you notice from my previous post, and this post I love egg tarts!)
fun fact: Macau is also spelled Macao.
Travel Tip Tuesday: 03.29.11
Posted: March 29, 2011 Filed under: Travel Tip Tuesday | Tags: travel tip, travel tip tuesday Leave a comment
Photo by INtraveler
A smile never gets lost in translation.
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