A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
I consider Palawan one of the best island destinations for riders in the Philippines. It’s the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction and the main road network is just excellent. You get to scratch that urge to just ride on a long stretch of road and get the benefit of relaxing in beautiful beach-side towns at the end of each day.
Cebu is one of the most developed provinces of the Philippines and one of the country’s top tourist destinations. Over the years I’ve traveled back and forth here for various work trips, media tours and solo backpacking trips. While I’m familiar with the main tourist spots within Cebu City, it wasn’t until I had to complete tasks while exploring the island on my own on a motorbike as a finalist for Wrangler’s #TrueWanderer campaign in 2016 that I really fell in love with the place.
Corregidor, an island at the entrance of Manila Bay, mostly attracts history buffs. Known as “The Rock” because of its rocky landscape and the heavy fortifications, this historic island is a great destination for bikers as well. Traversing the island’s well-paved roads and jungle trails on a bicycle and getting to visit the different ruins and landmarks offers a totally different experience from the usual day trip tour onboard a tramvia.
The mountain town of Sagada nestled in a valley in the Mountain Province is one of the most ideal places in the Philippines to enjoy the outdoors. This scenic town in the Cordillera region offers the most spectacular view of mountains, cooler climate due to its high elevation and well-preserved culture.
Dubbed the “Adventure capital of the world,” Queenstown in New Zealand’s South Island blew us away with its breathtaking landscapes and extreme adventures. Everyone who heard I was going to New Zealand said I had to go to Queenstown. And while it was roughly more than 1,500 km away from our original entry point in Auckland in the North Island, the long journey going to the South Island was so worth it.
For someone who loves to travel, I hate booking flights and hotels. I’m not one of those organized people who likes planning trips way in advance. I know some people who have excel templates of their daily itineraries with expected time of departure and arrivals and neat lists of all the activities they want to do complete with budget breakdowns. I just tend to wing it whenever I travel solo, which usually means spur of the moment flight bookings when some free time comes up.
The main reason I don’t like booking flights on airline’s websites is that it’s so time consuming and flights always seem so expensive. You have to scan several websites, compare the fares and then log all your details. Sometimes when doing this, you get logged off due to inactivity and have to start all over again only to see that the flight you were eyeing is no longer available. Or the final price seems to jump astronomically from the initial price once you finalize the payment. Continue reading “How to Book Cheap Flights with the Traveloka App”
Technology has really changed the way people travel. Traveling these days no longer means going off the grid. In fact, for many tech-savvy travelers, staying connected while traveling abroad is essential. How else can we book those last-minute flights and hotels, navigate around unfamiliar streets, find out the best places to eat, and keep our Instagram and Facebook social media accounts updated, right?
If you’re a frequent traveler, here are 10 handy applications that you might want to install on your smartphone or tablet with before traveling locally and abroad.
We’ve all heard of the saying: “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” While that is true to some extent, it can also make you poorer by draining your savings if you’re not careful.
Frequent travelers use various techniques to save money when they travel. For flights, this can mean waiting patiently for seat sales and promo fares, saving up miles and points to be able to redeem free flights or maximizing sponsored trips and extending so that you don’t have to shell out cash for flights.
Continue reading “Get Cheaper Flights with Traveloka App’s Price Alerts”
Whenever people ask me what the best destination I’ve been to in the Philippines is, it’s easy for me to say Batanes. In terms of raw landscapes, the northernmost province of the Philippines is really a dream destination. Though I love a lot of places I’ve been to around the country, Batanes is really special. It offers a unique blend of breathtaking scenery, natural attractions and well-preserved culture. Plus the locals here are just the most hospitable and kind people I’ve ever met. Everyone and everything here just feels so pure and good.
One common misconception about travel is that it’s too expensive.
It can be if you’re the type of traveler who brings around a huge suitcase for an overnight stay, requires 5-star hotel accommodations wherever you go, and whose preferred mode of transport is an air-conditioned shuttle. Travel is something that is really worth investing in, but it need not break the bank. It’s not something that should leave you impoverished. As the popular saying goes, travel is only thing you buy that makes you richer.
It’s always a matter of priorities. You can choose to drink overpriced coffee or tea everyday or choose to save the money instead towards your travel fund. Here are a few tips and tricks used by backpackers and budget travelers to save costs while on the road.
Continue reading “How to Travel on a Budget Like a Pro”
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