Deluxe on a Budget Near Victoria’s Inner Harbor
Victoria’s Inner Harbor is a fun, bustling place to be. Small houseboats and big, fancy hotels line the harbor, backdropped by the striking Baroque revival Parliamentary buildings. Street strollers gather to watch mime artists or listen to bagpipers. The harbor itself, small as it is, hosts fishing boats, foot taxis and big ferry boats as they go to […]
Ashland Hostel
Walking distance to Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Cheap Sleeps: Step Up Your Game
As a budget traveler, I sometimes lament the loss of quality, affordable places to stay. Travel, even local travel, has gotten far more expensive than it used to be while at the same time, our wages have more or less stayed the same (if we managed to hold onto our jobs these past few years.) Maybe because […]
A Kid-friendly Resort on BC’s Sunshine Coast
When we had our precious baby boy a few years back, I knew we were making a trade. Gone were the last-minute weekend getaways. Goodbye to lushy winery tours and long backpacking hikes. Our concept of “free time” changed dramatically in a few short months, and our priorities shifted more than a bit. The rewards, […]
Sunset Magazine: Fifty Under $150
Where do you turn for travel inspiration? I’m an unabashed fan of Sunset magazine, and find many trip ideas while browsing through my archive of dog-eared Sunsets. However, it’s not typically the best source for lodgings. While flipping through the new May issue over coffee with my sister the other day, we came across a […]
Will Tourism Be Privatized?
I have to hand it to them for stepping up right away and offering real solutions. After all, the stakes are high. A collection of tourism industry folks, from Red Lion Hotels to the Port of Seattle, convened a summit in SeaTac last week attended by about 450 people tied to travel and tourism. The […]
A Night on the Lower Sunshine Coast
I know you all are planning your summer vacations already. I keep an eye on my stats, you know! And lately, visitors to Northwest TripFinder are looking for beachside cabins, yurts and coastal getaways galore! I also know where you think you’re going. The Oregon Coast comes up a lot. So does Long Beach, and […]
How to Get Your Passport
“I’ve been to Seattle once. Let’s see, that must’ve been 1967.” I was freezing cold, waiting for a drip coffee at one of the smallest ferry terminals I’d ever seen. The kind man speaking to me looked like a fisherman, and he was not cold. Unlike me in my leggings and thin jacket, he was […]
Seven Tips for Staying in Pacific Northwest Hostels
In many cities and towns throughout the Northwest, from Astoria to Victoria, a hostel is your most affordable overnight option. The thing is, the mere mention of the word hostel sends some people ducking for cover under a plush down duvet at the (expensive) B&B up the street. Is the bad rap legit? Sure, sometimes. […]
Vancouver Getaway: The Manor Guest House
Not two minutes after settling into our room at the Manor Guest House in Vancouver just south of downtown, we had a pleasant surprise. Near the back of our room was a second door, and right on the other side of that door was a fully-stocked kitchen, shared with a nearby room. “It’s a kitchen!” […]
