Hacking the Travel System, An Interview With Matt Bailey

Travel Hacking
Travel hacking doesn’t have to be stressful or confusing thanks to Matt Bailey of Canadian Free Flyers.

Many people tend to look at travel as a luxury, one that requires a lot of money. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve found myself thinking this exact same way from time to time. But what I’ve come to realize over the years is that it doesn’t have to be as expensive as one thinks and there are a number of ways to save money before and during your travels. Reducing your overall costs are one thing, but what if I said that you could be earning free flights and accommodations just by going about your everyday life? It’s true!

Recently, I came across this concept called ‘travel hacking’ and found there’s a whole subculture of travelers who have discovered ways to score free trips just by using their everyday spending habits to their advantage. I wanted to learn more about this practice, so I contacted one of my fellow Canadian Travel Bloggers, Matt Bailey, to explain what ‘travel hacking’ means and how his site Canadian Free Flyers has been providing its members incredible deals and travel opportunities since 2012. Read more “Hacking the Travel System, An Interview With Matt Bailey”

From Family to Wine Travel, An Interview with Elaine of Carpe Travel

Traveling with Kids
Elaine with her two Princesses. Photo credit: Elaine Schoch

I first met Elaine back in June when we both attended the Travel Blog Exchange conference (TBEX for short) in Toronto, a global gathering of travel bloggers and travel brands to talk shop, learn some new tools of the trade, and network and meet individuals we may have only had online connections with up till now. We were both at one of the kick off parties and instantly hit it off. As a wine blogger she had me at hello and over the course of the weekend we would bounce ideas off each other at the various workshops and let loose at the multitude of parties together.

I was inspired by her travel stories with her family (yay it’s possible once you have kids!), the decision and process to adopt her second princess (aka daughter) from Russia, some of her favourite wine-travel destinations and her overall down-to-earth, super chill demeanor. As someone who looks forward to the day when I have children of my own running around (but that’s still a while a way so don’t hold your breath), it was great to see someone who I could take some cues from and learn how to balance it all. No doubt the love for wine comes in handy every once in a while too.

I asked Elaine if she would be willing to be part of my Inspiring Travel Interview series and I was so excited when she happily agreed. Read more “From Family to Wine Travel, An Interview with Elaine of Carpe Travel”

The Art of Travel Videography, an Interview With Mike Corey

Travel Videography with Mike CoreyIt’s the second installment of my interview series and I’m so excited to be talking all things “video” with one of the most talented and inspiring travel videographers out there right now, Mike Corey from Kick The Grind. Mike is one of those guys who proves that passion and serious dedication mean a heck of a lot more than training in a classroom. Combining his education in biology, love for travel, and the motivation to teach himself how to shoot and produce videos, has resulted in some incredible travel videography. Seriously, this guy inspires me to step up my game after every video he produces.

I was very excited to be able to talk travel and, more importantly, pick his brain about travel videography.  Read more “The Art of Travel Videography, an Interview With Mike Corey”