Buy our latest book now! 150 Unusual Things to See in Alberta is available online and in stores now.

Travel Better

Travel better with us. We’re going to help you do some travel hacking. We’ve traveled far and wide. We’ve made a few mistakes and we’ve done things right along the way. We’re eager to share what we know and provide valuable information to help make your journey easier.

An image of a bride and groom on a beach in Hawaii
Hawaii is a popular destination wedding location.
Travel Better, Travel Tips

Planning Affordable Beach Weddings

Marcel and Joan had a lovely wedding on the beach in Jamaica. Even though I wasn’t technically invited, I couldn’t help snapping a few pictures from the comfort of my beach chair. If I had known them, I might have even shed a tear or two. Their ceremony was the best of the four weddings we observed during our one-week stay at an all-inclusive resort in Montego Bay. When it comes to beach destination weddings, Marcel and Joan have a lot of company – and I’m not just referring to uninvited wedding guests. Many couples are choosing destination weddings because they are fun and affordable beach weddings. There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a qualifying purchase …

Debbie Olsen
View Planning Affordable Beach Weddings
Travel Better, Travel Tips

Phone Photography – Tips to Take Better Smartphone Photos

When you Leave your Good Camera Behind Have you ever gone to the airport and left something important behind? As I stood at the counter checking in for a red-eye flight, I realized I was missing something. My son had dropped me off and I had left my camera equipment in the backseat of his car. Since his cell phone was dead, there was no way to contact him. I was visiting three tropical islands on one trip and the only camera I had was the one on my lousy smartphone.  Nobody ever bought that particular model of smartphone for its camera capabilities. To be honest, it was an antique in the smartphone world. Since I didn’t have any other …

Debbie Olsen
View Phone Photography – Tips to Take Better Smartphone Photos
An image of a bag labelled bomb to Brisbane
Don't Do This, Travel Better

Bomb to Brisbane

Venkata Lakshmi, a grandmother who speaks very little English, was excited and nervous at the same time. She was excited to travel to Brisbane to visit her daughter. They were planning a special celebration for her 65th birthday. But she was also nervous to take the long flight from Mumbai, India. With a connection in Singapore, she was particularly concerned that her bag might go missing. After giving it some thought, Lakshmi came up with a solution… She decided it would be a good idea to label the bag with both the departing and arriving airports. She began to spell out Bombay” (the old colonial name for Mumbai), but she ran out of room. The end result read: “Bomb to …

Debbie Olsen
View Bomb to Brisbane
An image of a wallet with an old driver's license and expired cards
Don't Do This, Travel Better

How Not to Get on an Airplane

There’s something that bothers me about my husband – his wallet. It’s literally bursting at the seams, because he carries around pretty much every card he has ever received. There’s a Club Sobeys card in there even though there is no longer a club. (Sobeys discontinued that program 4 years ago.) His expired Club Sobeys card has travelled the world. He took it to Iceland – even though there are no Sobeys stores there. It’s also been to Greenland, Mexico, Cuba and Belize. And that card didn’t get any special treatment. There are other useless cards in there too including a driver’s license from 1979 with a picture of him with long flowing hair. Perhaps it annoys me because he …

Debbie Olsen
View How Not to Get on an Airplane
Don't Do This, Travel Better

Late Night Run

Oh the glamorous life of a travel writer who isn’t me… Here’s a little rant from a trip I took to the Florida Keys. It involved an unplanned late night run. Getting to the Hotel -Arrived at Miami airport at 10:30 pm last night after two flight delays. Can’t find driver anywhere. Call PR guy (Jerry). After brief delay, am on my way to Florida Keys resort – driver says it will take a little over 2 hours. -Get text from husband. Informs me I am leading the family March Madness Pool. Know nothing about US college basketball – Yay me! -Fall asleep in back of vehicle – snoring may have occurred. Arriving at the Hotel -Arrive at destination. Driver …

Debbie Olsen
View Late Night Run
Back to Top