We're Going To Canada!

I am so unbelievably happy to be writing this, and still a little disbelieving about the whole thing but…

Sam and I are off to Canada next year!

I'm not sure exactly how we've pulled this off, but we are first time home owners renovating our cottage who in just over a year are taking a £5,000 trip to British Columbia and the surrounding areas for 15 days of camping, hiking and adventure.

I am so excited!!

We’re travelling with Trek America, a fantastic service who are part of the TUI travel group (which includes Thompson and First Choice for all those in the UK), and will be hitting the Canadian Rockies on a group trip. We've never done anything like this before, but are so pumped for the once in a lifetime experience.

Trek America basically plan a huge range of trips across Central America, Canada, Southern America, Hawaii, Costa Rica and many more places, and do all the hard work for you! The accommodation, travel, itinerary and food is all sorted for you. You choose the trip you want to go on, check the dates and boom – off you go. They even go so far as to help you with planning flights and booking accommodation pre and post trip. How neat is that?!

About The Trip

Sam and I have decided on the Mountie trip.

“Explore British Columbia and Alberta in the wonderful Canadian Rockies, for grand vistas and a wilderness that is still truly wild. Expect picture-perfect lakes, stunning mountain views, top-notch hiking, glacier walking and wildlife sightings. Want even more adventure? Add mountain biking, horseback riding and white water rafting to the list and you won't find a more exhilarating 12 days. The Mountie will take you into the heart of Canada for the perfect outdoor adventure!”

I have close family friends who live in Canada, and I've always been in awe of their natural scenery and wildlife. I mean, how many people can have a bear eating out of their back yard? Since they moved 10 years ago, I've had notions of exploring their country in a more paired back way, staying off the beaten track and experiencing the country in the best way. On foot, by vehicle and completely immersed. Luckily for me, I found a guy who wants to do the same!

We’ll be doing things like

•         Relaxing in a sulphur fed hot spring in the mountains of Banff
•         Driving the Icefield Parkway
•         Hiking through epic Alpine scenery
•         Taking in the sights of Jasper
•         Exploring Vancouver, and its many eateries and bars
•         Kayaking in Lake Louise
•         Jumping the natural Bridge in Yoho

How We’re Doing It

This is quite a common question, and the answer is, with hard work! Sam and I both work full time in our respective jobs, and luckily get paid for holidays so we won’t be missing out on anything. We've also taken out a second part time job each to enable us to afford this trip.

As you know, we are renovating our cottage and that takes a lot of our money but we knew when we bought a place that we didn't want it to stop us travelling. We've been seriously lucky to go to Turkey, Mexico, Lanzarote, and a number of British trips since buying our house and we aren't about to stop! We've managed to work our finances that we won’t need to touch our monthly salary for this trip and instead, we’ll pay for it in its entirety from our second income.

Life is not about waiting for the next trip, and so we plan multiple trips in between! We both love working, but equally love travelling. I think we've found a pretty rad balance.

Updates

Of course, September 2018 is quite far away, but I plan on being able to get a lot of content from this trip. How to pack hand luggage only for 15 days, where to eat and drink in Vancouver, what the actual trip was like etc. Would you be interested?

It’s safe to say we are too excited for this, we already have a savings plan in place and a countdown on the go. Only 450 days to go!

Photo owned by @dreaming_outloud on Instagram