Summer Isn’t Over Yet!

Look how much fun this guy is having in Banff! ©Randy Lincks

I know time is flying by, but you still have a few weeks to maximize your summer fun and adventure and minimize the suckage of summer jobs, living with your parents and going back to school.

What can you do on short notice and a small budget?

• Explore your national parks. There’s nature, there’s hiking, there’s rafting, and there are great places to take your summer fling for a picnic and some privacy.

• Take a city break. Get some friends, book a dorm room at a hostel and find out what your nearest metropolis has to offer. Food, sporting events, nightclubs, parks, museums, shopping – you can take it all in. Even if you only go an hour away from home, treating the trip like you would any other travel adventure will make you see your surroundings from a while new perspective.

• Bungee jump. Your friend who went to New Zealand? This is all he’s going to talk about when he gets back, so you may as well have your own bungee story to tell.

• Make a movie. A short one. In it, talk about how you didn’t get to do anything cool this summer because you were too broke. Submit your little movie to Travel CUTS’ travel video contest and maybe you’ll win some free future travel.

• Start planning for winter break. It’s not that far away, and it will give you something to look forward to next semester. I really want to make Scotland my next trip (after Orlando and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, obv.), mostly because I keep reading so many good things about Haggis Adventures. You go first and let me know how it is.

This is the only Summer of 2010 you’ll ever have! Get out and do something with it!

Spill Your Travel Guts, Win a Free Trip

What’s so great (or terrible) about your life? Why do you need free tickets to fly or rail around Canada?

Tell your story in a video and you might win one of Travel CUTS’ prizes in their Travel Video contest. Tell your story from your dorm, your car, your crappy job, wherever you can get a few minutes to yourself to express just how much you need to get away.

To be eligible for this contest you must:
• be a legal resident of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec);
• be of the age of majority in his/her province or territory of residence or older at the time of entry;
• be the sole owner of all right, title and interest (including copyright) in the video

The contest ends September 30, 2010 so get your best phone camera out and start shooting!

See full rules and submit your video.

Enter Travel CUTS’ Travel Tips Contest

You must have a few travel tips that you share with friends (or that friends have shared with you). Well now you can use them to win free travel from Travel CUTS.

Share your tips on packing, shopping, picture taking, transportation, travelling with friends (or parents), scrap booking, pub crawling, whatever it is that you know something about. If you can boil it down to 150 characters or less, submit it!

To be eligible for this Contest, you must:
• be a legal resident of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec);
• be of the age of majority in his/her province or territory of residence or older at the time of entry;
• be the sole owner of all right, title and interest (including copyright) in and to the Work (as defined below) submitted in connection with the Contest.

You have until September 30, 2010 to enter, so put aside your homework and start thinking about something really important: What makes for a great trip?

See full contest rules and submit your travel tip!

Enter to Win an Air Canada Flight

Feeling lucky? Then enter to win an Air Canada flight by taking a quick, 5-question survey. The deadline is May 31, 2010, so don’t wait!

Any customer who purchases an Air Canada return ticket from Canada to Europe from Travel CUTS during the contest period will receive one additional entry in the contest. So if you have a flight to book, make it count by doing it this weekend.

Winning a Trip to Britain Rocks!

Check out VisitBritainRocks.ca to enter to win a trip to London for you and three of your closest friends. The contest is sponsored by Contiki, Transat and Travel CUTS, so you know the prizes will include heaps of student travel perks.

The contest runs until April 30, 2010, so you have plenty of time to get all of your friends to enter.

The site also includes excellent information for planning a trip around one of the U.K.’s big music festivals, letting you know when and where to go and giving you some history on the English music scene. Sign up for the podcast and you can enjoy the musical flavors of the U.K. wherever you are.

Student Travel Must-Do: Volunteer Abroad

Volunteer Abroad

So far on my Student Travel Must-Do List:

1. La Tomatina in Buñol, Spain

Next: Volunteer Abroad

All of my past travels have been purely selfish. I went places that I thought would be exciting, adventurous or beautiful or places where I had friends and family to visit or places where I had a free couch to stay on.

Now I’d like a chance to travel for good, where my time will help someone other than myself.

There are many options available for volunteering abroad depending on if you want to volunteer for a week or two, a month or a year. Here are two names in volunteer travel that you know you can trust to provide you with a well-planned cultural experience:

• Volunteer Abroad is run by Travel CUTS and places students and adults with groups that build housing, run health clinics, support education and do other things to get involved in communities around the world. They have programs for Summer and Reading Week as well as other times during the year.You do have to pay for these programs, but the program fee covers accommodation, meals, language training, activities during your orientation week and cultural training. Your international flight, transfer to your placement and weekend trips are not included.

• Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village program connects you with a home-building project in one of the dozens of countries around the world where they operate, from New Zealand to Romania to Macedonia. Projects last from 9-14 days, so you could easily combine your volunteer time with a regular holiday.Habitat trips cost between $1,275 and $2,500 (travel to and from not included), depending on your destination, but they provide ways for you to fundraise through their site.

Some universities also offer summer volunteer projects, so check with your study abroad office to see if they have anything that interests you.

If you have other volunteer programs to recommend, leave a comment below.

Let’s all help out!
Lisa

Attend a Travel Talk to Know Before You Go

Whether you’re planning a quick trip or a long journey, you’ll have a lot of questions about where to stay, how to get there, how to get around, who to tip, what to pack and what kind of visas or paperwork you need to do.

The best way to get your questions answered is to talk to a student travel expert. They can save you many hours of web surfing by boiling down what you need to know to the most essential details.

I also highly recommend attending a Travel Talk on a topic that interests you. Not only will you hear from the experts, but you might also meet other travelers with similar interests. See if there’s a Travel Talk coming up near you:

ALBERTA

University of Calgary
Center for International Students and Study Abroad
MacEwan Student Centre, MSC 275
403.282.7687

Topic: SWAP – Working Holiday Programs
March 17th at 12:00 p.m. ( noon)

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The Adventure Travel Company
815 10th Ave SW, Calgary, AB, T2R 0B4
403.262.6632
calgary@atcadventure.com

Topic: South Africa Travel Talk with special guest speaker from Intrepid Travel
March 23, 7:00 PM
Please call or email to reserve your seat.

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BRITISH COLUMBIA

Langley TravelCUTS office

#104-6153 200th Street, Langley, BC, V2Y 1A2
(Across from Rogers Video at Hwy 10 and 200th Street)
604-539-8845
langley@travelcuts.com

Topic: Europe on a Budget
March 3, 7:00 p.m.

Topic: SWAP – Working Holiday Programs
March 10, 7:00 p.m.

Please call or email to reserve a seat.

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MANITOBA

Room 225 University Ctr Building
Univ of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB
univ_manitoba@travelcuts.com
204.269.9530

Topic: SWAP – Working Holiday Programs
March 16, 12:00 p.m. (noon)

Please call or email to reserve a seat.

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ONTARIO

408 King Street West
Toronto, ON, M5V 1K2
416.345.9726

Toronto@atcadventure.com

Topic: Europe
March 11th, 6:30 p.m.

Topic: SWAP – Working Holiday Programs
March 25th, 6:30 p.m.

Topic: Around the World Trips
April 14th, 6:30 p.m.

Topic: The South Pacific
April 28th, 6:30 p.m.

Please call or email to reserve a seat.

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QUEBEC

Université McGILL
3480 McTavish
514.398.0647
18h à 19h

04 mars 2010
23 mars 2010
15 avril 2010

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Université CONCORDIA
Hall building
1455 de Maisonneuve O
H 771
514.288.1130
12h à 13h

10 mars 2010
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Saint-Denis / UQAM
1613 Saint-Denis
514.843.8511
18h à 19h

16 mars 2010
30 mars 2010
13 avril 2010

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Université Laval
Pavillon Maurice-Pollack, Local 1258
418.654.0224

18 mars
12h à 13h
Salle Hydro-Québec au pavillon Desjardins.

Book a WestJet Flight with Travel CUTS and Save

Thinking about jetting off to Vegas? Or, you know, Guelph?

What’s that look for? Guelph’s cool. Just ask Mitch Moffit.

If you’re a student and you’re flying anywhere that WestJet goes, you should make Travel CUTS your first stop. They have the lowest WestJet fares available and can also help you plan for hotels, car rentals, hostels or whatever else you need.

With 13 Caribbean destinations, you should definitely think about saving a few dollars with a sunny summer vacation.

P.S. – WestJet doesn’t actually fly right to Guelph, but they do go to Toronto and Hamilton, which are pretty damn close.

Lisa

Go to a Travel Talk, Leave With a Travel Plan

If you’re a student in Canada, check out this list of free Travel Talks for a city near you. The talks take place year round and are hosted by Travel CUTS. Topics include:

• East Africa Trekking and Wildlife
• India and South East Asia
• Gap Year Abroad
• Tucan Travel
• Adventure Travel
• SWAP – Student Work Abroad Programs

The talks are co-sponsored by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, so you’re sure to get the most relevant, up-to-date travel details possible. If you’re deciding where your next big trip will take you, these talks will help you explore your possibilities and see how far you can get, and for how long, on a budget that works for you.

And if you’ve decided where you want to go, but your parents still need convincing, showing them that you’ve done your travel homework can’t hurt.

Spend Reading Week 2010 in Europe

I hope you haven’t given up on your New Year’s resolution to travel this year. There are some great student deals coming out for spring and summer, and some you can take advantage of for Reading Week.

How about a European vacation? You might not get perfect weather, but you also won’t get the crowds and high prices you get during peak travel times in the summer.

Right now you can book select Contiki trips with Travel CUTS and get $200-300 back. That’s money you can spend on souvenirs, snacks, a new camera or whatever you need for your trip.

Check out the list of available destinations, including the Greek Isles, Spain, France, Croatia and Italy. You must book and pay by March 31, 2010 to take advantage of this offer.

Actual reading during these trips is optional.