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How To Write A Travel Blog

One of the greatest thing about traveling is there are so many new experiences to write about! Learning how to write a travel blog is a fun process. Everyday is an adventure and you’ll find yourself noticing everything ; the mundane will all of a sudden seem fresh and new. You’ll experience the taste of foods more, notice little details in things you wouldn’t and find yourself totally present way more than you’re used to.

With all this inspiration, this is the time for your to write a travel blog so you can keep a record of all your experiences. All your friends and family at home will want to read it while you’re away, plus as your traffic grows you’ll get a worldwide audience of people interested in your travels and wanting to get the inside scoop of what you thought of different places! Knowing how to write a travel blog is something every traveler should know about!

What you’ll need for your travel blog
1. A digital camera (with a charger and a USB connector to upload to the Internet)
2. A Blog Website

That’s it.

Discovering how to write a travel blog, and continuing to improve it is something you gain while doing it but there’s a bit of prep work before you go. You’ll discover your own unique style along the way. Some people think they’ll need a laptop and have a lot of fancy gear, but the truth is unless you really want to bring your laptop or you’ll be traveling somewhere extremely remote, for most places you’ll be able to find an Internet cafe where you can log into your blog. In Europe and North America Internet Cafes are very common and most hostels will have a computer you can use for a fee. The most important thing is to write while you’re there and you can always make changes to the blog when you’re back.

The most important thing is that it has photos and great info about the places you’ve visited or are planning to visit.

How To Write A Travel Blog

Setting up the blog
There are a number of options. For all of these you will be able to log in and write wherever you are as long as you have access to a computer and the Internet.

If you want free and don’t mind less, control and a url that isn’t your own you could try wordpress.com (you’ll have to learn to use wordpress) or getjealous.com (less work for setting up and provides free travel blogs).

If you are a big more serious and are less interested in how to write a travel blog but rather setting up something you can expand on, want your own url, may want to have more than more website after a while and may want to earn money on your site in the future with ads or affiliate marketing, you can get your own hosting account which will give you your own  domain name, email address and many have a button you can push to setup wordpress, joomla or whatever content management system like those just listed you prefer. Knowing how to write a travel blog is a skill that can soon expand into blogging about other interests.

For hosting a good choice for wordpress blogs is a2 hosting. It offers the following

  •  an easy interface for setting up websites,
  • one button you push to install a wordpress site
  • you can get a hold of someone if you need help live 24/7 (with chat after hours)
  • you can have as many websites as you like for the same price (you just pay for any extra urls).

Once you’re website is setup, make sure you can log in and create articles.

The Writing. While You’re on the Road
The two main things you’re going to be adding to your blog while you’re on the road is writing about your experiences and uploading photos.

You can write about anything from the train ride, buying your tickets, your hostel bedmates, the amazing scenery and the totally weird food you just ate that you didn’t know what it was. There will be no shortage of things to write about. If you’re concerned because writing is difficult for you at home, have no fear, your  writing will flow naturally and you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to write with everything going on and what’s around you.

Along with this its easy to include reviews and general information about your travels, the hostels, transport, tours and attractions. This really helps out your fellow travelers and they’ll appreciate a heads up of how it was and learn a lot from reading about what you.

How often to write? You’re going to want to write as you’re traveling, so write a journal entry everyday, couple of days or whenever you feel like writing. Just remember the more you write about, the more vivid details about  your trip you ‘ll have when you get  back  home. I’ve heard people ask why didn’t anyone tell me and show me how to write a travel blog before I left?! Pat yourself on the back if you’re reading this, you’ll be prepared.
It’s best upload photos regularly, just in case something happens and the camera gets lost or damaged, then your precious photos will be safely stored online. Also, doing this regularly will ensure a shorter upload time since you’ll only have an extra 25 pictures to put online, rather than 500. Note: this is nice if you’re paying 8 Euros/hour at an Internet cafe In Venice.

Note: Be sure to setup and practice uploading pictures to BEFORE you go, whether it’s on your blog or straight to your host. You may want to set up a photo album in wordpress, joomla etc.  before you go.

Once you’ve got the site and you’ve uploaded photos and written a few posts you have what you need for how to write a travel blog and you’re ready to go travel! The writing on the road will be fun and you’ll be so glad you have your memories written down!

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Viewing Wildlife In Banff National Park

viewing-wildlife-in-banff-national-park-cropBanff National Park is a great place to do some wildlife watching. The best times to see wildlife are the early morning and evening when animals are out the most, however in Banff even during the day you’re sure to see plenty of wildlife to keep you entertained.

Some more commonly sighted wildlife in Banff include:

Elk and Deer

There is a large population of these large ungulates that can be seen everywhere in the Park.

Top Spots To See Elk

1. The golf course.

2. They commonly frequent the town site although park officials have made efforts to relocate them.

3. The Bow Valley Parkway at dawn or dusk.

Bighorn Sheep

It is often unknown that the Bighorn Sheep is Alberta’s Provincial Mammal.

Top Spots To see Bighorn Sheep

1.Take the Lake Minnewanka Trail and you’re likely to see bighorn sheep along the road.

Bears

Grizzly and Black Bears are elusive and seeing them is left a lot to chance but there are many in the Mountain Parks. There are more Grizzly Bears in Banff than Black Bears.

Continue reading →

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Funny Parking, Car Backs Into Someone’s SUV, Hilarious!

I witnessed the funniest parking scene as I was sitting at Starbucks, in Washington, DC.

An older man was in his car, parked in front of a tough looking African American man in a beautiful, Brand New looking, red SUV. The older man started his car and began backing up to make space to pull out into traffic. He backed up into the red SUV and I could see the guy in the SUV wave his hand and say something along the lines of “What the heck, Man!”, although I’d imagine it was a smidgen worse than that as his red SUV got bumped by the car, and rocked back and forth.

The older gentleman in the car did not notice. I was expecting the black guy to get out and start yelling at the man who just dinged him… but apparently he either was REALLY LAID BACK or didn’t have time. The older gentleman pulled forward looking to see if there was a clearing in the traffic, completely oblivious to hitting the other guy’s vehicle.

He started backing up again as he didn’t have enough space to pull out. The black fellow turned his attention to the reversing navy car that had just bumped him, the car kept going and I thought “it’s going to run into him again!”

The guy in the SUV, learning rather quickly, started his engine, put the SUV in reverse and very quickly moved backward as the navy car was within an inch of bumping him again. The navy car then overshot where the front bumper of the RED SUV was before coming to an abrupt stop as if he needed to stop or he would run into the vehicle behind him. Then completely oblivious to ALL OF THIS he pulled into traffic and left. The black man shock his head and got back to whatever he was doing.

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Plan an Affordable Trip to Europe

Smart Backpacking on a Budget

 

Here’s some smart ways to plan your trip. You can save money by getting clean but affordable accommodation, choosing the most economical railpass for your trip and packing just the right stuff so you don’t have to waste money on more expensive gear on the road.

If you want to be really cheap, and do things like sleeping in a park and stealing bread from the pigeon Continue reading →

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Canadian Backpackers Vacationing In Cabos San Lucas, Mexico

I’m on the third floor of my… very very colorful hotel. Holy crap, it’s like every wall is an intense bright color. It’s like the decorator forgot the neutrals and put every element as the accent color… everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alright, there are a few neutrals but the neutrals and accents were packed in there and juxtaposed. It’s just so funny, because I remember when I flew in from San Francisco back into Edmonton this weekend I couldn’t help being affected by the thought and feeling, “It’s so dull”. Considering San Fran was so green with the palm trees and flowers: Edmonton was feeling grey and snowy. So what did I think? Wow I could really use some color. I really need more color in Edmonton. Then… bammo, here I am in the most colorful hotel in Mexico. If they tried to fit more color in this place it would explode all over the streets and Comfort Inn next door.

Which by the way, we I noticed the rate for a room at the Comfort Inn is about the same price. I’m tempted to check it out… I actually had dreams about the Comfort Inn. Is that odd or what? I don’t mind our room here, the beds are pretty comfy but it is a smidgen small for my liking.

I continue to love the fact that I can sleep anywhere, under any conditions on the road. Considering how loud it was in our room last night. There would be like eight cars with broken mufflers drive by and the neighbor would accidentally step on their cat. All of this while I’m laying down to sleep. Yet now, at 10am it’s super quiet and peaceful on my third floor lounge at the top: which I must say is absolutely blissful. There are plants throughout this hotel and I couldn’t love it more. There are cacti, flowers, vines & a grass hut cover over the area I’m lounging in which has a plush couch complete with soft pillows. There are white sheets overhanging the bed where the masseuse does her treatments and a cold pool beside the mural of sea lions at the ocean. It really is divine here.

It was so funny, as we were pondering what supplies we needed to get back at the airport in Edmonton, my friend asked me if I had brought tweasers, as she had not, and I had not. We paused for a second, “you can get some there” I said…. a few moments later with the boldest statement she states “The world has tweezers.”. It certainly does… the world has soap too, which is good cause I only brought a bit of that.

Our ride in from the airport was super fun. We were sitting right over-top of the suspension of the “private shuttle van” and A) the dude drove really fast B) the road had some bumps C) every time were hit any sort of bump with some speed the back of the van would bounce around like a trampoline, or an accordion spring.

I can’t say for sure how many times I said, “Look, a cactus!” along that ride from the airport, but they are just so cool here, and freaking huge. And the ocean is looking stellar… can’t wait to go to the beach today. Might go on the submarine too.

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