Travel Designers

Endorsed in an article by Forbes, 57 Hours is a holiday designer who connects you to local guides. That have a wide range of activities and locations. (The name is taken from the 57 hours available for a weekend excursion.) Prices seem reasonable with, for example, one day rock climbing experience for $255, and an 8 day Tenerife tour for $1,230. (All prices in USD.)

The 8 day Loire Valley Bike Tour: Chateaux and Wine for $2,240 looks interesting. Eight days with 6 days of cycling, and staying in 3 and 4 star hotels. Available June through September.

They seem to concentrate on Europe (including Iceland), New Zealand, Canada, the U.S. and Costa Rica, but also have many in South America.

Some examples:

• Hike in the Mont Blanc area
• Bike and sail in Croatia
• Bike tour in Provence
• Venture off the beaten path in New Zealand
• Hiking tours in Iceland

Loire Valley Bike Tour: Chateaux and Wine

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My Escapades by Huntington is a Toronto based company that custom designs vacations. They did a fantastic job of organizing a 20-day African vacation for friends of mine.

My Escapes tour destinations

A local travel organizer is Lise Travel Boutique which describes itself as "your Kingston travel specialist" with 30 years experience. They have a large number of offerings around the world.

Emergency Money

Both Western Union and MoneyGram provide ways to receive money in case of an emergency. Money can be sent and received in various ways.

With Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) you can send money to a foreign bank account using a SWIFT/BIC account code.

Western Union (receive)

• Cash pickup at WU location
• Bank account
• Mobile Wallet

Western Union (send)

• Online (credit or debit card, or a bank account)
  
• WU App
• Bank that uses WU (e.g., Scotiabank)
  
• In person at WU location

MoneyGram (send)

• In person at MG location
• Bank that uses MG (e.g., CIBC/Simplii)

 MoneyGram (receive)

• Cash pickup at MG location
• Bank account
• Mobile Wallet