Archive for May, 2011

May30

Contest: Win Two Three-Day Go City Cards

By: JoAnna

Contest: Win Two Three Day Go City CardsAny time I visit a city during my travels, one of the hardest things I have to decide is which sites I should see and which ones I should skip. Though this is often due to a lack of time in any one place, the other major hurdle I have with city exploration is how expensive it can be to squeeze in several museums, exhibits or galleries into a few days.

Enter the Go City Card, an awesome way to see a lot of things for a relatively low cost, given how many things these cards cover. They are available for purchase through Smart Destinations, which offers these cards and a variety of other passes to explore several notable sites for one low price in one– or multi-day increments.

For example, check out all of the Los Angeles attraction deals you’ll find with the L.A. card, and the Go Card Chicago covers museums, lake cruises, aquariums, planetariums and more. If you can fit it into the time allotment you’ve bought, you can visit the attraction at no additional cost beyond what you’ve paid for your Go City Card.

I’ve never used a Go City Card myself, so I can’t vouch for how well they work and if they’re cost effective (though they seem fairly straight forward if used wisely), but the folks at Smart Destinations have offered to give one of the readers of Kaleidoscopic Wandering two three-day Go City Cards to the destination of their choice (valued at about $100.00-$180.00 each, depending on the city chosen). The cities offered are:

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May27

Here’s a Question for You: Week 21

By: JoAnna

One of the things I most enjoy about traveling is talking about it. In this new weekly series, I’d like to pose some of the questions I’ve discussed with friends, family and fellow travelers over the years. I invite you to pull up your backpack, grab a handful of the local snack food and chime in with your comments and thoughts. Feel free to respond to others, but remember to play nice!

Here’s a Question for You:

What destination has surprised you, either in a positive or negative way?

I don’t think some of the states in the Midwest United States get the credit they deserve. North Dakota is stunning, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park definitely holds a candle to the Black Hills in South Dakota. Montana is a big state … and it’s so nice that there’s a lot of wide open space with a whole lot of nothing in this country. And Idaho is constantly overlooked by those heading west to Washington State or north to Canada, but the hiking and wilderness in the state is some of the most beautiful — and surprising— in the country. Every time I make my way through one of these underrated states, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to live in such a incredibly diverse country.

Posted in: Here's a Question for You10 comments

May25

Alajuela Backpackers Hostel | Alajuela, Costa Rica

By: JoAnna

Alajuela Backpackers Hostel | Alajuela, Costa RicaWhile traveling in Costa Rica, we stayed in hostels in Monteverde and La Fortuna, but neither is necessarily worth rehashing for your reading pleasure. However, on our last night in the country, we returned our tired rental car and caught a ride to Alajuela Backpackers, and that experience is definitely worth sharing.

We made reservations before leaving the United States at Alajuela Backpackers for a few reasons. It’s located in Alajuela, which is actually closer to the airport than San Jose is, so we didn’t have to worry about a long commute to catch our flights. Also, there is a shuttle bus that runs from the hostel to the airport several times a day at no charge, so we were able to drop off our car the night before and get to the airport without any hassle or stress. It wasn’t until I made our reservation that I realized one other important thing: The people working at Alajuela Backpackers are incredibly helpful. I corresponded with them several times before arriving in Costa Rica for clarification about transportation, location and facilities, and they answered quickly and with good English.

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May23

Tips for Traveling to the Cook Islands

By: JoAnna

Tips for Traveling to the Cook IslandsIt’s easy to tick some countries off of your travel list. After all, the European countries are basically all connected by train, Canada and Mexico are just a hop over the border from the United States and if you’re going to hit one country in Asia, you might as well hit them all. But there are some countries that take effort to reach, and you have to be motivated and interested in visiting them.

The Cook Islands is one such destination. Far from anywhere, the 15 islands that make up this South Pacific nation are very much worth a visit in my opinion. But because they aren’t as heavily visited by travelers as many countries in the world, it can sometimes be hard to find information about them. If you’re thinking of visiting the Cooks Islands, I’d like to offer the following tips, which I picked up during my week-long visit:

Pack flip flops. They may be the only shoes you’ll wear. On the beach, out to dinner or around your hotel … wherever you go, flip flops are totally and completely acceptable. I usually pack flip flops for beach wear and then a pair of sandals for general wear, but I spent my entire trip in the Cooks wearing my flip flops and the sandals never made an appearance. In fact, many locals wander around barefoot, so wearing flip flops is almost overdressing!

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May20

Here’s a Question for You: Week 20

By: JoAnna

One of the things I most enjoy about traveling is talking about it. In this new weekly series, I’d like to pose some of the questions I’ve discussed with friends, family and fellow travelers over the years. I invite you to pull up your backpack, grab a handful of the local snack food and chime in with your comments and thoughts. Feel free to respond to others, but remember to play nice!

Here’s a Question for You:

How can you tell you are tired of traveling?

I’ve been thinking about this question over the last couple of weeks because of this post I read on Sherry Ott’s blog about cultural immersion. I don’t think I’ve ever tired of traveling, and that’s probably because I only ever travel for two or three weeks at a time, and that’s only every other month or so. That said, there is one thing that starts to grind on me after several days on the road and that’s the need to find food. There are some evenings (usually when I travel alone) that I just want to stay in, but the need to eat forces me from my hotel room. When I don’t want to leave the comfort of my room just to find something to eat, I know I’m running out of steam and it’s time for me to head home. Luckily, because I only travel a few weeks at a time, this doesn’t happen very often and, when it does, I’ve usually reached the last day or two of my trip anyway.

Posted in: Here's a Question for You3 comments

May18

Tips for Renting a Car and Driving in Costa Rica

By: JoAnna

Tips for Renting a Car and Driving in Costa RicaWhen planning our trip to Costa Rica, my dad and I waffled briefly over whether to splurge on a rental car or get around by public bus. Ultimately, we decided to rent a car and drive ourselves around the country. This was the right decision for us, but we definitely learned a thing or two about renting a car and driving in Costa Rica. If you’re thinking of doing the same, we’d like to pass along the following tidbits of wisdom:

Rent a 4WD vehicle.

Unless you plan on sticking near San Juan or any specifically established city, you will need a four-wheel-drive vehicle. We were originally just going to rent a basic car, but when we mentioned that we wanted to head up to Monteverde and La Fortuna (heavily traveled areas), the guy at the car rental place strongly suggested we go with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. I’m really glad we listened to him.

If you suspect a road might be unpaved, it will not only be unpaved but is very likely practically impassable. Log truck roads in the United States are in better condition that a few of the roads we drove on. For miles on end, we drove over boulders and avoided potholes the size of small cows. I read a description for one of the roads we drove that strongly suggested those with neck and back problems avoid using it.

Simply put, without a 4WD, your options for getting around are limited.

It takes a long time to get anywhere.

These underdeveloped roads combined with windy, one-lane roads mean that it takes a long time to get anywhere. What you think might be a two-hour drive can easily take five or six hours. Always give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, and don’t try to cram too much into a single day unless you’ll be staying within a very limited area.

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