Responsible Tourism
In this section we will link to videos, reports and news items related to responsible tourism. Things you can do, avoid, or take part in that helps the places you, and we, visit stay vibrant and thriving for future visits, and for the people who live around the world. We are one big, interdependent, and interconnected world community. It is important when we travel that we behave as we would in our own home. Assuming one respects their home that is. As usual, we are happy to receive feedback and your take on what we post. We may not always agree as long as we are respectful in our disagreement. Thanks for taking the time to check out Peaceful Nomads News page.
Perspectives From Around the World
What others are thinking...
Holiday Rentals
Being Strategic With Your Lodgings
This can be a challenging decision given rising costs of hotels and many other types of places to stay during ones holiday, and since sites like Air BnB or VRBO offer a more affordable choices it can leave one with the dilemma of not travelling or ignoring the ethics of staying at an Air BnB and going anyway. We're not saying there is any one right answer here. We've been challenged with this situation as the cost of staying in hotels has risen a good 30% since COVID from what we've seen, and eating out adds another 30% on top. We don't have kids, so it does put us in a different place when deciding on where to stay. With young children an Air BnB or VRBO may make the most sense and it just is what it is. You have cooking facilities and enough space for two or more adults and a couple of little ones running around. However, if you are younger and without kids, or older and the kids have moved away, or like us and two of the growing majority who opted not to have kids then there are options that contribute to the places we visit. Our recommendation is always hostels. You have unique experiences in cool areas of the cities you visit, and access (usually) to cooking facilities. Often hostels come with a continental breakfast, which can help with the cost of the overall holiday. One of our favourite places to visit is Lisbon in Portugal, and because of holiday rentals and increasing demand for hotels the local residents are being priced out of the city, which will leave an empty core much like what is happening around North America. This video is a decent watch and something to think about with respect to Portugal's housing crisis.
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Planes and Cars
Coming Soon
Even though we love public transit, some times you just have to rent a car. Driving in Ireland is an experience if you haven't done it before. My 92 year old aunt told me that "automatic transmissions are for the disabled". Made me laugh - also forgot how much I love driving a manual transmission. Shifting with the left hand wasn't as tricky as I feared. When I got back to Canada I nearly killed us driving on the wrong side of the road - it was odd; I was able to adapt to right hand drive in Ireland, and then my brain took more time to readjust when I got back on the left. Most unexpected. We have had some adventures in cars as well, and as I mentioned - sometimes it just works better with a car. We'll also give some tips and our experiences with airports and airplanes. We have favourites - like the Boeing 777 - amazingly comfortable plane. My personal favourite. The button below will connect to videos in the future - again, might take a year or two. Still have to pay the mortgage.
Packing Your Gear and Travel Info
Coming Soon
It took us a few trips and listening to Rick Steves over the years, and now we finally have our baggage down to one 35 litre backpack each for a 3 week European vacation. Yes, it can be done, and you don't have to sacrifice anything - except maybe having new clothes for every meal. It also means being strategic on your electronics, shoes (especially shoes - two pair plus flip-flops for the shower). Stay tuned for our packing video coming soon. Hey, if an old guy like me can figure it out, anyone can.
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