Why Travelling Alone Is More Rewarding

When is the best time to travel alone? Any time & any age! From personal experience, I have only travelled alone in my early 20's and let me tell you, they were the most memorable trips I ever had.

My first solo trip was back in 2013 in England during the summertime. My sister was heading to Ireland but had a stopover in London for a couple of days. So I decided to take a break from my summer hotel job in the south of Spain and fly to London. As I was a student on a tight budget I stayed in a hostel. For those who don't know what a hostel is it is a very affordable accommodation where you share a room with 6-12 people. It's not the most intimate but it is the best place to also meet single travellers.

I met a very nice young gentlemen a few years older than me who was travelling with his brother, showing him London for the first time. They were from the Florence area in Italy. We got to know each other and then a few months later he came to visit me in the south of Spain while I was studying. He also welcomed me to his home anytime in Italy and his family owned WINERY! I can't wait to check out his winery one day!

While studying in Spain, I went on a few weekend trips by myself that were only a few hours away. Once I spent a weekend in Valencia also staying at a hostel and met 3 young ladies from the states who were also staying in my room. We were together the entire weekend exploring the city and having their famous Paella de Valencia!

The point is, you learn a lot more about yourself when you travel solo and you become the best extrovert you could possibly be. Some people say do it while you're young; I say do it when you can! I met a gentlemen while I was on my all-inclusive in Mexico with my partner while I was on an excursion. We became friends right away. He was a solo traveller from Manitoba and had been going through a few rough patches and said that travelling alone was very therapeutic for him. I agree. What better way to feel better than head into constant sun with beautiful scenery, and great places to visit!

One really great company I would recommend for solo travellers is G-Adventures. They have options for single occupancy to destinations all over the world! If you would like some more info on upcoming trips with G-adventures, you can find me on Facebook or email me at afiske@travelonly.ca

All-Inclusive is a great option for a Family Vacation

For a first time family vacation abroad with your kids, an all-inclusive is the best way to go for the price, amenities & activities, and overall experience.

Many resorts in the Caribbean have all-inclusive plans where kids stay & eat free such as WestJet Vacations offers at select resorts. This can be much more affordable as flights alone can be expensive.  

There are lots of activities for kids to do. The resort of your choice will have a great kids club. So if you need to get away with your hubby or beautiful wife for awhile to have some alone time or maybe take advantage of the resort spa, be assured that your kids will be well taken care of and doing lots of fun activities with the kids club department!

Why You Should Have Coverage For Your Vacation

You would be surprised by how many travellers decline to purchase coverage for their vacation. Some travellers think that it is an easy way for insurance companies to make money and for travel agents to make a lot of commission. It's true; we do make a nice commission cut from our clients purchasing the insurance but that isn't why I recommend insurance to my clients.
I want my client to purchase insurance is for at least medical coverage if they don't want the all-inclusive plan.

For medical coverage, you'll be glad to have purchased it if you need any medical assistance while on your vacation, especially in the United States. I had a friend who had a major ski accident in Maine and needed to be air lifted and into the intensive care unit of a hospital for at least a few days. This would have costed around $100,000 USD if he hadn't purchased medical coverage for his trip. That is a scary and large fee. I would rather my clients pay not even 0.001% of that $100,000 beforehand to insure that I wouldn't have to pay a fee so large.

Sometimes things happen such as the death of a family member or a major crisis occurs just before we depart on our trip. Most travel suppliers won't give you a refund. However if you purchase trip cancellation coverage, you won't lose the entire funds paid out to the supplier for your trip.

When I go on a trip, I usually get a plan that covers me on the all-inclusive level so that if any issues come up, I know that I have coverage to assist me.

If You Don't Believe In Yourself Then Who Will?

Your confidence is key to being a successful business owner. If someone asks what your business is and you say, "I am a travel expert I guess." Do you think this would really encourage your networking group to purchase services from you? If you said with confidence, "I am a travel expert specializing in cruising!" This will show people that you are not only confident in your business, but also show that you are proud of it and know what you're doing.

Some say it's cheesy, I say it's genius. The power of positive thinking really does take you a long way. I had some struggles growing up and while in university; but that made me stronger. The reason why I was so successful during my university career was because I was always thinking positively. Sure, some days were very rough as other alumnae will attest. But the hard work paid off and I still have some great connections with faculty with the Business & Tourism department at Mount Saint Vincent University.

When I network with others, showing my passion while having confidence of my abilities really allows me to make solid connections. Use that passion to guide your business on a successful path!

Officially Commodore Certified for Princess Cruises & CUNARD

Fall 2015 Newsletter Special Edition

Why Home-Based Entrepreneurs Should Work Outside Of Their Home

As an entrepreneur of a travel business, I need to be flexible for my clients regarding location but I also need to be flexible for myself. My sister is also an entrepreneur of an online bridal company and probably would say the same as her office is also located mostly from home, like mine. It gets lonely and you work a lot more without taking breaks if you are working from home 5-7 days a week. That's why we as home-based entrepreneurs need to start going local. 

My routine is very simple but effective. I do work at home sometimes but I split up my days working at local cafés and the Halifax Central Library. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I get up early to go to the gym downtown, have a healthy breakfast with lots of protein at a local café after my workout, and then get to work.

You may not talk to others directly while working on your laptop but getting out of the house and seeing people changes your work atmosphere in a positive way. I probably wouldn't use my gym membership if I were 100% home-based; either I would do a routine at home or not do anything at all (not doing anything at all is more tempting) which in the long run makes me feel worse. Exercise really helps me get things off my mind and the frustrations out. 

Sitting in a chair for 8 hours (sometimes even longer) isn't exactly the greatest either. So what I do is take advantage of my gym membership and do 1-2 hours of yoga per week. It gets your mind off things, strengthens your body, and helps with any pain you might be feeling from sitting for such long periods of time. After yoga, I have a more clear and refreshed mind and my work-drive is even better than just starting my day from home.

My favourite café by far in the Halifax Regional Municipality is close to my home, about a 10 minute walk called Izzy's Bagel Co. They have the best homemade bagels and cream cheese! (or should I say DREAM CHEESE!) I live up a very steep hill so if I decide not to go to the gym that day, walking back from Izzy's is a stair climber workout!