Destinations

Vancouver Public Art Work

Posted on October 17, 2010
Vancouver - Art - Inuk Shuk

There were very few specific locations that I still had as must do while in Vancouver. One thing that I wanted to share though is a look at many of the art installations around the city. I had already passed by some of these on my walks, but there is a number in other areas of the city. So I decided to rent a bike for the day and explore a little further.

Bike Rental

There are a number of places that you can rent a bike in Vancouver. I end up finding a little store along the harbourside, offering a 2-hour rental for $10. It has been quite some time since I have ridden a bike so thought this would be enough time. Of course, this turned out to be right and I was ready to get back to my feet in this time.

Vancouver Public Art

Vancouver has an extensive amount of public art. You come across different pieces in the most unlikely of spots at times. The majority of the art is the result of the Vancouver Biennale. A non-profit charitable organisation that exhibits great art in public space. You can read more on their website Vancouver Biennale. However, not all pieces are a part of these displays.

Vancouver - Art - Digital Orca You may have already seen this one earlier in the week. It is called Digital Orca and is located near the Convention Centre in Vancouver.

Vancouver - Art - Skin of Time Located not far from the foreshore this piece is called “Skin of Time” by Choi Tae Hoon of Korea. The whole outside of this sculpture is covered in small inscriptions.

Vancouver - Art - The Meeting A little further along the foreshore in Bayshore, there is a ring of crouching red statues, called “The Meeting”.

Vancouver - Art - Ceramic Form Not far from “The Meeting” is another Sculpture named Ceramic Form. By the looks of it, this is many brokenceramicc pieces put back together to form what you see here.

Vancouver - Art - Jasper Named Jasper, this is located on a corner of Robson Street. I am not entirely sure just what it’s supposed to represent.

Vancouver - Art - Artifcial “Artificial Rock”, definitely is as described, it has the appearance of a rock and is made of metal. So I suppose it technically is an artificial rock.

Vancouver - Art - A-maze-ing Laughter Called A-maze-ing Laughter, this is a group of, large, golden bronze colour statue’s in many poses all laughing. There are more all standing in a ring, but was difficult to capture all of them with people around.

Vancouver - Art - Inuk Shuk The Inuk Shuk was one of the symbols of the 2010 Winter Olympic’s held at Whistler. There are quite a few examples around and souvenirs in the image of the statue available everywhere.

Vancouver - Art - We This piece is called We and celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity. Through the use of many words from different languages to form the shape of head and torso.

Other Vancouver Sights

There were a few other sights that I managed to see while out on the bike today.

Vancouver - Burrard St Bridge The Burrard Street bridge

Vancouver - Grancill St Bridge The Granville Street Bridge

Vancouver - Granville Island Aquabus

The small Aquabus ferries while being cute also are a great way to get a different perspective on Vancouver. They serve two purposes, the first is to cross from Downtown Vancouver to Granville Island. With the second being getting around a number of stops along False Creek.

I made a late decision on just what to do tomorrow. The update will likely come fairly late compared to the last few days. However, it is something quite different and I am sure that you will enjoy it.

Destinations

Vancouver, Seabus & The Northshore

Posted on October 16, 2010
Vancouver - View of the Northshore

I set out this morning to find a cruise I could do around Vancouver Harbour. I would have thought this would be rather easy considering the number of signs offering cruises. However, it would seem to be the time of year few operators are still offering harbour cruises.

Vancouver Seabus

Eventually, I found the next best thing to a cruise around the harbour. A trip across the harbour on the Seabus to take a little walk around the Northshore area of Vancouver.

The Seabus is as you might expect a very utilitarian mass transport option. It is designed to transport people from one side to the other as quickly as possible. So not the ideal way to sightsee on the harbour. But a good way to quickly get to the other shore and take a look around over there. I headed across around 2.30 and the ferry was nearly full. So cannot imagine trying to get on at peak hour.Vancouver - View of the Northshore

I had read a little about Lonsdale Quay and the public market and wanted to take a look. In the end, it did not live up to what I was expecting. I spent around an hour wandering about taking a look at the area before returning to Vancouver around 3.30pm. Before I left the Northshore I made sure to get a photo of the Vancouver Skyline. The sun was not in the ideal spot, but the silhouette works ok in this case. Vancouver City Skyline

From the photos, you might see that there is plenty of highrise buildings. While a portion of this is business and hotel buildings. There is also a substantial portion that is residential. To some extent, this is due to the landscape. With plenty of hills around and a lack of significant motorways, it is more effective to expand upwards.

Public Art

One of the common sights around Vancouver is the amount of public art. Some of it is documented with signs about what the piece is. With many other pieces just sort of placed. Although maybe some of them are not meant to be artwork and just a remanent or leftover from a previous era. I am not quite sure why this is here sitting above the footpath like it is.

Unusual Art on the Waterfront

If you would like to see a little more of the public art around Vancouver watch out for tomorrow’s post. I have put together some of the pieces that I have spotted around the city. Also in two days there will be another interesting post, but that will be a little surprise as well.

Destinations

Vancouver Shopping: Metropolis at Metrotown

Posted on October 16, 2010
Vancouver - Canada Place

Over the last few days, I have visited some of Vancouver’s iconic sights and the surrounding area. Today I thought I might change the pace a little and take a shopping excursion. With the destination for today being Metropolis at Metrotown.

Shopping – Metropolis at Metrotown

The Metropolis at Metrotown shopping centre is located in Burnaby. From Downtown Vancouver this is easily accessible with a 15-minute train ride. I looked at other options but it is difficult to beat the frequency and convenience of the train. The train is also quite cost effective at $3.75 one way or $9 for a day pass.

The train is also quite cost effective at $3.75 one way or $9 for a day pass. UPDATE DEC 2016 – This price may have changed since the post was originally written. For the most update prices and information visit the Translink.ca website.

Metropolis at Metrotown is a very large and is British Columbia’s largest shopping mall. According to their website they have nearly 400 stores and services. To put this into perspective to Brisbane it is a similar size to Westfield Garden City in Brisbane. (Updates Dec 2016)

A shopping mall this size could easily become a day out for the family, especially in winter. It does cover not just all the basics but some of the essential services that you need access to as well. I do not have any photos from here I think everyone knows what a shopping mall looks like. With the concept of many of the store being similar to other places, I have visited. It is just that they have different names.

Back To Vancouver

I end up spending around five hours at Metropolis and found a place to stop for lunch. On my return to Vancouver, I took a walk through Gastown. Before heading along the waterfront to the seawall and Coal Harbour. I got a few photos this afternoon from my walk which are below.

Vancouver - Canada Place

Canada Place, Vancouver’s cruise ship terminalVancouver - Gastown Clock

The steam powered clock in GastownVancouver - Lost Lagoon Stanley Park

A fountain in Lost Lagoon at Stanley ParkVancouver Sunset

This afternoon’s Sunset from the balcony at my hotel.

I have been quite enjoying my time in Vancouver. It is the first overseas destination that I have been able to get in and explore. There are still a few more days here for me and no doubt there will be some more great sights to share. Early next week I will be moving on, my next stop Seattle.

Destinations

Vancouver & Capilano Suspension Bridge

Posted on October 15, 2010
Vancouver - Capilano Suspension Bridge

The weather around Vancouver seems to be anything but consistent. Yesterday was the perfect day to be outdoors, while today is rainy and damp. I took the chance to visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge, hoping for a reasonable break in the rain.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

The Capilano Suspension Bridge crosses a span of 150m, at the height of 80m above the Capilano River. It may not sound very high at 80m, but when you are standing on the bridge, it seems high. Some of this could come from the swaying motion or the bridge. Either way, this is not a location to visit if you have a fear of heights.

Vancouver - Capilano Suspension Bridge

Although the bridge is kind of interesting itself, there is other stuff to do in the area. The only catch is that you must cross the bridge to do any more than just read the story.

Vancouver - Capilano Suspension Bridge

The Other Side

On the other side of the Capilano Suspension Bridge, there are three different track options to follow. The first, main track makes a loop around a Trout Pond. There is also Three Sisters Ponds (a series of three ponds) and a lot of signs giving you more information about the trees and the area.

The second track is called Natures Edge, which takes you out closer to the edge of the cliff over Capilano Canyon. The track also passes directly underneath the suspension bridge and affords an excellent view of the river below.

For the final track option, you need to look up. It is the Treetops Adventure. It is a series of suspended walkways and platforms on and between the trees. Of course, if you made it over the Capilano Suspension Bridge this should be relatively easy.

Vancouver - Capilano Treetops Adventure

Vancouver - Capilano Treetops Adventure

I am happy to say that in the end, the rain did not hamper my visit to Capilano Suspension Bridge. It was a little more interactive and exciting than just wandering around the city and looking at the sights. I could potentially see myself returning here for another visit in the future. Especially considering the new addition of a glass walkway, currently under construction. It takes you out directly over the canyon to see directly down to the river below.

Back In Vancouver

Getting to and from the Capilano Suspension Bridge is quite easy with a free shuttle bus from Canada Place. Since I was in the area, I decided to explore Canada Place a little more.

I discovered that a lot of the development around Canada Place is only new since the Winter Olympics. But at the same time, there is a lot of new construction as well. With more being added to the area and also changes happening.

With the last few big days, I decided just to put the camera away this afternoon. It was also pretty wet and rainy so nothing too exciting to photograph. Taking it nice and slow and not overdoing things too much for a couple of bigger days to come.

 

Destinations

Day 4 – Whistler

Posted on October 14, 2010
The Colours of Whistler

There was no doubt about it today was going to be a big day. I have booked on a full day tour to visit Whistler and some places along the way. Whistler is around 75 Miles (120km) north of Vancouver. The tour travels along Highway 99, the Sea to Sky Highway. In some respects, I think I almost enjoyed the drive more than Whistler itself.

Whistler Day Tour

The timing of my visit to Vancouver is not ideal to visit Whistler as it is shoulder season. What this means is that the area around Whistler itself is transforming from summer to winter readiness. All of the lifts and gondola’s are currently undergoing maintenance. With a lot of work going on preparing for the winter snow.

Departing Vancouver at 8 am there was light traffic, but soon we were away from the city heading north. It would not be possible to ask for better weather today. Although the air was a little cold, the sun was shining, and the sky was clear.

Porteau Cove Provincial Park

The countryside along this first part of the drive is quite dramatic. There are many mountains and numerous islands visible along Howe Sound. The first stop for the morning Porteau Cove Provincial Park overlooks Howe Sound, the most southerly Fjord in North America.

Porteau Cove has numerous features for recreational use, including camping and diving. In the area, there are some features for divers to explore including a ship and man-made reefs. Additionally, the image below is a wharf that has a dual purpose for an emergency ferry dock, and pedestrian pier.

Porteau Cove Park

The Mountains

All along the drive so far the mountains have been a very prominent feature of the horizons. For me, this is quite a different view, especially with the white-capped peaks. At the time of this image, understand this is mostly permanent ice, as there has been little to no snow.

Snow Capped Mountains

Whistler

Arriving in Whistler, I must say it was not what I expected. But of course, that is why we travel, to discover. Whistler is quite prominent in people’s mind at the moment as the location of the Winter Games this year. However, it is also used extensively in the summer as a Mountain Bike Track. The area is currently underdoing preparations for the snow, and winter activities.

Whistler - Downhill Run

The Whistler village itself is also quite large, with some 4,000 hotel rooms. There are also plenty of shops, restaurants and facilities in the village. While my timing is not ideal for some of the activities in the area, the colours are a whole other story. There is a huge variety of colours in the trees between red, yellow, green and many shades in between.The Colours of Whistler

Shannon Falls

There were a couple of stops on the return to Vancouver. My favourite was at Canada’s 5th highest waterfall, Shannon Falls. The picture does not do the falls justice as the water cascades 1200 feet down the rock face. The water does drop further behind the rocks in the fore ground.

Shannon Falls

Ferry Terminals

The second stop on the return to Vancouver was at the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal. We arrived just in time to see two ferries docking. Two Ferry Terminals are servicing Vancouver, this one to the north and another to the south. They are an essential part of the infrastructure when you have so many people living nearby on islands.

Back To The Hotel

The final drop off at the hotel was around 6 pm. Making for a rather long day, but worth it. I loved seeing the countryside and getting to see Whistler and the surrounds.

Destinations

Vancouver, Canada – City Tour

Posted on October 12, 2010
Stanley Park from Vancouver Lookout

I took advantage of some spare time yesterday to catch up after a full day of travel. Also using a little time to familiarise myself with the city of Vancouver. Today I had booked a City Highlights tour and tagged on a stop at the Aquarium in the afternoon.

Vancouver City Highlights Tour

The tour started from Canada Place, where the convention centre and cruise ship terminal are. I had visited near to this area yesterday, and happy to find it was not a big part of the tour. The tour passed by some the historical and interesting buildings in Vancouver before the first stop at Stanley Park.

The first stop was a group of nine totem poles at Brockton Point in Stanley Park. Each of the nine poles has a particular purpose and meaning behind the carvings. The totem poles are the most visited tourist spot in British Columbia.

Vancouver - Stanley Park Totem Poles

The tour continued around Stanley park to a place named Prospect Point Lookout. The lookout overlooks the Burrard Inlet, the entrance to Vancouver Harbour. The Lions Gate Bridge is also part of the view here and is a three-lane suspension bridge crossing the inlet. Additionally, on a clear day, you can also see one mountain peak located in the United States. Today though was not clear, and the best view was this ship heading out of the harbour.

Vancouver - Prospect Point Lookout

Continuing through Stanley Park, I can see there are many other places it would be great to stop. However, as with any tour, they have a set schedule, and our next stop was Granville Island. Unfortunately with a very brief stop here there was not the time for any decent photos. However, I hope to return to Granville Island later in the week.

The final stop of the tour was at Vancouver Lookout, which sits atop the Harbour Center. You are rewarded with a 360-degree view of Downtown Vancouver. There are also great views across the harbour to the Northshore and other surrounding areas. You get a little taste of the view on the way up in the glass elevator on the side of the building. Below is a small part of Stanley Park from the view at Vancouver Lookout.

Stanley Park from Vancouver Lookout

Vancouver Aquarium

The tour may have ended, however, part of the tour could include a visit to the Aquarium. Although I had not planned this I thought it would be a good way to fill in some time. Some of the displays are similar to other aquariums I have visited, but there are some differences. The main one that got my attention was the Beluga Whales, which were great to see.

One fearture, at the aquarium that caught my attention, was this sculpture below. It is Bill Reid’s killer whale sculpture, “Chief of the Undersea World”. The sculpture was presented as a gift to the aquarium in 1984.

Vancouver Aquarium

The tour was a great way to see some of the highlights of the city. I also got some ideas on places that I can visit over the next few days as well.

Destinations

Day 1 & 2 – Vancouver First Impressions

Posted on October 12, 2010
Vancouver - Olympic Cauldron

Today the post is a combined effort for the past today and yesterday. I arrived in Vancouver around 8 pm yesterday, after a full on travel day. With two flights, three airports and a train to finally reach the hotel.

I left Brisbane at around 10 am, with a 12.5-hour flight to Los Angeles. With an eight hour stopover in Los Angeles, I spent a little money and took advantage of one of the airport lounges. Finally another 2.5-hour flight to Vancouver. I had plans for a shuttle bus here, but that got messed up when customs wanted to check my luggage and travel plans. So end up taking the train from the airport to the city, and walking the rest of the way to the hotel.

Vancouver First Impressions

The first thing that I found to be good in Vancouver is Starbucks and Free Wifi. The hotel I am staying at charges for Wifi, so I am glad for the fact that there is a Starbucks at least on almost every second corner. Sure beats having to pay for a mobile broadband card. It just means that I don’t get to use the internet in my hotel room, but that is alright.

The second thing that I notice in Vancouver is that coffee is considerably cheaper. Well, I drink hot chocolate over coffee. However, it is still less expensive. What I paid for a large hot choc at the airport before leaving Brisbane (AU$4.90) I get one here that seems almost half as big again for CA$3.26. Cheaper.

I have found one thing that is quite annoying, though. It is almost impossible to buy a mobile phone here without signing up to a contract. I say almost based on the fact that I have not looked particularly carefully. It may be impossible because when I asked at one shop, the response “I would have a lot of trouble finding one.” So just going to survive without a phone while here. I still have my mobile phone for an emergency, but that will be expensive if I use it.

Vancouver Sightseeing

Finally not to disappoint I have some photos from my walking around today (which was quite extensive). Although much in shops and what I found to be mostly buildings as well. I will show you the view from the hotel before I leave. I am hoping for a clear afternoon to get a good photo of the view. It was overcast today and a bit rainy, and I arrived a little late yesterday.

So I came across two interesting sites today, one was the Olympic Cauldron and the Other Digital Orca. Both are near the Vancouver Convention Center and quite a mark on the landscape.

Vancouver - Olympic CauldronVancouver - Digital Orca

I will leave it there for this evening as it is getting late here in Vancouver. So time to get to bed and ensure I am well rested for a big day tomorrow.

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Planning

Road Trip? Things To Think About

Posted on July 4, 2010
Planning A Road Trip

Often when I think about travelling I am disappointed at how much you miss by flying between cities. Especially in Australia the capital cities are spread so far apart, driving is often not considered as an option. Instead just automatically looking to book a plane ticket and fly. What if you just got on the road, and headed off on a road trip?

There are some people who just head off on a holiday thinking of nothing more than the next step. However, I am the sort of traveller that like to know what is coming. I like to plan ahead and book hotels, book the transport, to know how and where I will be staying. Of course, this does not always work out well for a road trip.

I often think about some of the challenges that I may face if I was to plan a road trip. The aspects of working out what to do along the way. Working out where to stay and whether it was possible to book ahead. Knowing how much time to allow getting between places. Also knowing how far you can expect to be driving without missing anything.

What To See Along The Way

I know on my very first trip away I went to Melbourne for a week. For this week I was pretty lucky to find Melbourne had something called the See Melbourne Card. You paid one price for the card and could access a whole lot of different tourist attractions. It saved me a whole lot of hassle trying to figure out what was good to see and where it was.

When it comes to a road trip figuring out what to see is a whole different story. You are rarely in a single place for too long and constantly moving along. Depending on your goal and your approach if you pass something you miss it. Obviously, there is always options to revisit places, but that is a whole other discussion. From my point of view, it just means that is a lot of research and planning before getting started.

Where To Stay

The last big overseas trip that I took was around 80 days, all but three nights were booked before I left. As mentioned above I am the sort of person that likes to know where I will be sleeping at night.

With a road trip, this can be a challenge to organise. Depending on where you are heading and how long you are planning to travel, who knows where you might end up. It can be very difficult to identify just how long it will take to travel between two places. Especially if you do not know what you might want to stop and see.

In reality, I presume this is more of an issue in my mind than a real problem. There are plenty of people every day that are travelling and finding a hotel where they are. A part of it probably comes down to picking your times to travel.

How Much Time To Allow

The point of time goes in hand in hand with where to stay. One day you may find you travel 300km and make few stops. While another day you might get just 50km because there is so much to see.

I considered the idea of a Road Trip to Melbourne from Brisbane. Technically if you were to drive straight through you could be there in less than 24 hours. But this would allow no more time than the essential stops for food and comfort.

At the same time, you could allow yourself 12 months and probably easily find more than enough to fill it. The real question I suppose is how much time you want to allow yourself. Which then could be converted back to what you see, and potentially where you stay. It just depends on what you prioritise.

Could A Road Trip Be In My Future?

The whole topic of a road trip, I suppose is based in the reality I would like to go on one. Although I am a planner at heart, I am looking at what I need to change to take a road trip.

While I am looking at some options for where and when I might go. I am going to have to spend a bit of time thinking through the options and see what appeals to me. Either way you can be sure if I head off on a road trip I will be sharing it here.

Needs Photos

About The See Melbourne And Beyond Card

Posted on April 14, 2010

**UPDATE January 2017: Please check actual card details as inclusions may have changed since this post.**

If you have been following along on the blog you will have more then likely been reading about my trip to Melbourne, and the many different things that I got up to while there. This trip and working out the itinerary has most definitely been made easier by a great product that I found. It is called the See Melbourne & Beyond Card, and gives you access to a large number of great attractions in Melbourne.

I came across this card when I was searching for information on just what you can do when you are in Melbourne. At this point I had a few attractions that i wanted to visit, however nothing really that would fill the whole week that I was in Melbourne for. This card quickly helped me to get a little clearer on just what I was going to do for the week. With over 40 different attractions included it gave me just what i needed to be able to plan what i was going to do and not have to think about what it was going to cost. You have 3 options when purchasing the card, a 2, 3 or 7 day pass, and it provides free entry or tours to many different attractions in an around Melbourne.

I made the decision to purchase the 7 day pass, as even though it is the most expensive it gave me the most flexibility to not be trying to get through everything I wanted to do in 2 or 3 days. The first benefit which I took advantage of is a Public Transport Metcard, for the equivalent number of days to the See Melbourne and Beyond Card. This itself is worth $38.90. Once this was sorted I made my first visit to the Aquarium (normally $31.50). After my visit to the Aquarium, I found my way to the Eureka Skydeck (normally $16.50), which rounded out my first day of use with the Card. On the first day I would have already been close to spending half the cost of the card, so not a bad start.

Come Monday morning, I had to get moving to a tour that I had booked which was also included with the See Melbourne Car. The tour was run by Grayline Tours, and was a tour of all the city sights, which included a stop at Fitzroy Gardens, and The Shrine of Remembrance (normally $68.00 for this tour). With nothing much else planned for Monday Afternoon, i found my way to the pier where the Melbourne River Cruise (normally $23.00 one way up or down river) departed from. Luckily, I found it with about 10 minutes to spare before the last cruise of the day left. I finished the day with another visit to Eureka Skydeck (normally $16.50).

You may notice that I have by Monday already made two visits to the Eureka Skydeck. This is possible with the See Melbourne card as you get one visit to each attraction each day for the length of the card. Ordinarily if you were looking to visit for example the Eureka Skydeck both during the day and night, you can get a $20 Day/night ticket, however with the See Melbourne card it just means you need to visit two different days to do both times of day. All up I made 6 visits to the Eureka Skydeck on different days.

Tuesday morning, I headed out to the MCG to take part in a tour of the Grounds and a look through the Australia Sports Museum (normally $10.00). The tour was great, you get to see many area’s you would not normally see, however not being hugely interested in sport, I got through the sports museum fairly quick, there was a lot of school groups there this day, so maybe a good thing. After this a short walk found me back at Fitzroy Gardens, and I had a quick look through Cooks Cottage (normally $4.00). Finally for the day I stopped at the Immigration Museum (normally $6.00) which was just near the hotel.

Wednesday morning, I did make a little bit of a change to my plans, and headed for the Old Melbourne Gaol (normally $20.00) which is really an eye opening experience, just to see how criminals lived today, and consider it in comparison to how they live now. For the Afternoon on Wednesday I had already booked a second bus tour with Grayline Tours (normally $68.00) which went out to the Mount Dandenong, while not as interesting as the other bus tour the destination was much more interesting.

Thursday saw an early start, to find my way on a Tram, to the Melbourne Zoo (normally $22.00). This was one of the things I was definitely going to visit, and having it included with the see Melbourne card was good. On the way back to the City, I had a stop planned for the Melbourne Museum (normally $8.00) while I was hoping for a good experience here, I did find the Museum to be lacking in some respects. While they have a huge building, a great indoor rain forest display, animals, and bugs and insects, i found the other gallery’s to be a little disappointing.

By Friday I had visited almost all the attractions that I was hoping to in the City of Melbourne, while I could have possibly found my way out to a couple of others, the primary ones I wanted to make use of were really to far out for just day trips. So i finished up Friday with a second Melbourne  River Cruise (normally $23.00) which went up river this time. Quite a different View of the river going this way as opposed to down river.

So what does all of this really mean anyway? It means that there can be some quite good savings from a card like the See Melbourne Card. If I had been paying the normal price at each attraction along the way I would have spent $421.30. At the time of my trip to Melbourne the See Melbourne card was priced at $205.00 for 7 days(now it is $225). So really at the previous price or the current price it is still great value if you can make use of the range of visits like I have.

If you are more then happy to push the limits a little there is plenty of potential to visit even more attractions and save even more money. There are at least another 4 or 5 within easy reach of the CBD, and a couple more not that far out. So with a car available you could easily save a lot more by visiting more attractions. This really is a great value product if the attractions included are going to interest you. Even just the public transport and doing the 2 bus tours and 2 river cruises would have covered the cost of the card. So it is an option well worth considering.

You can find more about the See Melbourne and Beyond Card here – http://www.iventurecard.com/au/melbourne/

Travel Tips

Destination Research Before Booking

Posted on March 31, 2010

One of the biggest lessons that I gained from my trip to Melbourne is that a little destination research goes a long way. I booked my trip and headed off with no idea what other factors could impact the price of flights or hotels in the destination.

There are three things that I could have done a little better with if I had put in a bit more time and effort. These included how I choose the time off and how I went about booking my flights and Accommodation. Before this though there is one thing you need to do, and that is Destination Research.

Start With Destination Research

Every major city in the world at some point in the year has events that will impact people traveling there. Whether it is a public holiday, a one-day convention, or a week long event.

The easiest way to find out about what might be going on in a city is an internet search. There are two easy options to try “Upcoming holidays in *city name*” or “What’s on in *city name*.” It is worth reading a couple of the results just to make sure that you don’t miss something. As some sites will only promote their events. However, I would expect that in the first couple of results you will get a good idea of what might be happening.

There are two reasons for doing this destination research. The first is that when you arrive or while staying in a city some services may be impacted. Public holidays can see limited tours and public transport, or altered times for tourist attractions. The second is that major events can have big impacts on the cost of travel to the city and accommodation rates on some days.

Destination Research - What's on

Booking Time Off Work

In some ways, this is where I made my first mistake. But let’s not call it a mistake, let’s just call it a lesson in what not to do next time. I just booked a week off work without doing any destination research.

Although to be honest, this is not a mistake it was the next step that was the biggest lesson. I could have chosen to go just about anywhere that I wanted with this week off.

Booking The Flights

Once my week at work was confirm, I decided to get in and secure some flights. Often flights do tend to jump in price as the time gets closer, so I wanted to get this done. Since the dates were already somewhat close.

I had decided to visit Melbourne for the week from the 20th-27th March. The flights were a little more expensive than I was hoping but were not to badly priced. It was on the next step that the realization something might be happening.

Booking Accommodation

I left it at having the flights booked for about a week, before starting to look at accommodation. I was expecting that I would pay a little more for a room on Friday and Saturday night. However, what I found, did shock me a little, without having any prior knowledge as to why.

Not only did I find Friday and Saturday to be double the regular weeknights, but Thursday was also quite expensive. It was at this point that I decided a little destination research might be in order. The result is that the week I had booked to fly to Melbourne, is the week of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Which of course explained the reason for the fairly expensive accommodation.

An Expensive Lesson

In the end, I found a hotel that was still expensive, but not as bad as most. I could have gone for the option of paying to change the flights and visit another city. However, when you consider the fees to change the flights, I decided just to accept the lesson from this experience and still enjoy the holiday.

When have you paid for learning a lesson with traveling or booking a holiday? Why not let me know in the comments below.

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