Trails 2 Travel

Philippines Day 6: Swimming with Whale Sharks Whale Sharks- Did you need another reason to visit the Philippines?  While there are numerous boating spots around the islands to spot or possibly swim with whale sharks, the most accessible and reliable is definitely Oslob on the island of Cebu. Here the whale shark tours operate 363 days of the year, are incredibly affordable, and you can "count" on seeing them. The reason why? Unlike other whale shark sighting spots, the tours in Oslob feed the whale sharks.

Philippines Day 5: Kawasan Falls Tour Day 5, another Island, another Epic Day. This was the only day tour we pre-booked before our trip: Canyoneering Kawasan Falls and hiking Osmena Peak. There was a fair amount of mis communication leading up to it as far as pick up time since initially they had said pick up at 6:30 but then the night before when I e-mailed to confirm, they said 8-8:30... well ok so the next morning around 8 we started watching for the van and it got there just before 8:30 but I noticed later he tried to change it back to 6:30... oops we were already passed out though. So 8:30 it was. We had a comfortable private van for the almost 90 minute journey to the Canyoneering outfitter. There we finished paying for our tour, selected our lunch options, and were fitted for helmets, life jackets, and water shoes (if you wanted... I just used mine that I know I like) 

Philippines Day 4: Exploring Cebu OK so day 4. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 7:30 so the shuttle picked us up at 5:30 from our hotel for the 30 minute ride back to the airport. Cost was the same at 150 pisos pp and we got there right after 6 after picking up a few other people on the way. The line was pretty long to get in (the airport was still opening and we had to go through FIRST security) Again we had to show proof that we already had tickets to get through this security point. Once in, we went to one of the 3 booths, they weigh your carry on (and this time we could only have 1!!) and then you go through 2nd security… which ironic enough there was a guard sitting there telling you the machine was broken and to just go on through haha but he was checking our boarding passes at least. Then once again like an hour before our flight they started boarding and we were off a few minutes early.

Philippines Day 3 - Island Escapade   Our 3rd day thankfully started a little later in the morning (I think we made it till about 5 this time haha) otherwise much the same. We killed time in the room until coffee shops opened at 7 and we headed out in search for sustenance. This time we tried a place called Tea & Shake which we liked much better as far as cost/ service/ and atmosphere. Tea and Shakes for breakfast  Then it was back to our room this time getting picked up shortly after 8 for the short trike ride back to the tour shack to pay and then onto our boat for the Island Escapade tour! This time we were on the boat for like 30 minutes with just one couple so at least we weren't crammed in waiting... but we still didn't leave until almost 10. (*eye roll) It takes forever.

Philippines Day 2: The Ultimate Coron Tour Waiting for the sun to come up so we could escape our room  This day was definitely EPIC but it was off to a slow start... Since we fell asleep so early we were wide awake around 1:30 AM with nothing to do until 8ish when the tour company would come get us. We killed time reading and chilling in our room until 6 when the sun started coming up so we threw on a cover ups and ran outside to greet the morning sun on the water. By 7, coffee shops and restaurants started opening for breakfast so we walked into town to grab some waffles! Then back for a bit more waiting for our tour.

So the Philippines ... a place most people asked me why I wanted to go there? Well uh let's see: stunning beaches, warm water, incredible landscapes, whale sharks, caves, and SO cheap. So with that... let's go over why YOU SHOULD be planning a trip to the Philippines.

How To Plan Your Dream Trip  Since I started traveling a lot more in the last few years, a lot of people have asked me A. "how do you afford to travel so much?" I answer with a quick trip to some of my posts to see my budget for each trip as well as happily explain I get a lot of time off from my company. (and leverage the time off the best way that I can) B. "how do you PLAN where to go and what to do?" The question I'll answer with this post. So with that...

Iceland 9 Day Itinerary  I'm writing this post for planners and non-planners alike! Since it took Katie and I months to fully develop our Iceland itenerary, I'll offer you the short cut of all the things you can do with a 9 day road trip of the ring road in Iceland including how much you can expect to spend, how long some activities will take you, and a map for each day. Let this blog post be your guide and enjoy one fabulous trip to one of the most beautiful and epic countries I've had the pleasure of visiting.

52 Hike Challenge What is it? 52 HIKE CHALLENGE IS A GLOBAL MOVEMENT EMPOWERING YOU TO TAKE A PERSONAL JOURNEY TO DISCOVER THE PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SPIRITUAL BENEFITS GAINED THROUGH HIKING ONCE A WEEK FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD ARE TAKING THE CHALLENGE TO HELP CHANGE THEIR LIVES IN A POSITIVE WAY, ONE STEP AT A TIME.

How to visit Paris in 3 days Tips: 1. Get a Museum Pass - This will save you money and most importantly TIME standing in lines at places such as the Louvre, Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, and Sainte chapelle. 2. Unless you hate walking, you don't need a metro pass. We were there for 3 days and besides taking the train to Versailles and from the airport, we took the metro/buses 7 times (approx $14 over 3 days) 3. Bakeries are literally the budget way to eat. You can get sandwiches, pizza slices, etc for lunch and dinner, plus need I say anything about breakfast? and literally eat for less that $10/pp/day. 4. Did I mention prepare to walk yet? Bring your serious best walking shoes since this city is SO BEAUTIFUL, you will do a lot of walking. 5. Explore all you options for night stays. I was mostly looking into Airbnb until I realized hotels were cheaper. (This has been the case in other cities like NYC and Venice for me as well) Unless you like hostels, don't forget t...

Day 9: Last day of our trip! so we had to make it EPIC. Thankfully the weather held out for us today as well so we got to do an actual legit hike to Iceland's tallest waterfall GLYMUR

Day 8: Our journey to the center of the Earth  Just kidding, but also not really because those of you who know your Jules Verne, know that one of the supposed lava tubes that gain access to the center of the Earth is actually located in a volcano on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.   So that is what today is about! Discovering waterfalls (surprised?) volcanoes!, oh and some incredible fjords along out drive! 

Day 7: Again breakfast was excellent and included and we had quite the day planned (one where maybe, just maybe- we would get a glimmer of sunshine on the activities of the day including Godafoss waterfall, Akureyri, Galumber farm, and ending at the beautiful Gauksymri lodge on the coast.  We just had a short 20 minute drive to our first stop: Goðafoss

Welcome to the North! Day 6 started out strong with our first included breakfast of the trip. (So long yogurts that have been riding around in the trunk for a day or 2...) HELLOOOO Smörgåsbord! There were some fruits, various breads, crackers, cold meats and cheeses, yogurts (skyr) with cereal toppings, juices, teas, coffees, and the truly interesting breakfast option of SMOKED TROUT. (good but for me... just not a breakfast food)

Day 5: Our longest and SCARIEST drive of the trip: Höfn to Mývatn. We knew the weather was going to be crummy... but we didn't realize just HOW crummy it would be. We headed N following the ring road around some of the Eastern fjords where the waterfalls continued to be a plenty but the road was beginning to wash out. A couple times the drain from the falls on the inland side of the road was overflowing the road and on the right was a drop off into the ocean.