Adventure Travel

A little less dangerous than Extreme Travel (see entry), there can still be interesting adventure travel. One such is a tour of the "stans" — those countries in central Asia with "stan" in their names: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. G Adventures have a 26 day tour beginning in Bishkek and ending in Ashgabat. Tourhub have a 21 day and a 23 day tour (not sure what the difference is). (I assume you would need to get visas for entry to each country ahead of time.)

Wheel & Anchor is a Canadian tour company that has a 20-day tour of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Tours run from April through October.

Adventure Bound are a European company who have a 16 day 5 Stans tour. Price is €3,060 with a €590 single supplement.

Also check out Minzifa Travel found on Facebook ad. They do a 5 Stans tour beginning in Almaty and ending in Tashkent.

G Adventures 26 day tour

Tourhub 21 day tour

Extreme Travel

I define Extreme Travel as venturing into areas or countries that most people would not consider as a travel destination — ever! The travel company Against the Compass Expeditions, based in Barcelona, specialize in guided tours of places like Iraq, Eritrea, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Mali, and Yemen. Extreme indeed!

Wild Frontiers have tours of Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, the Congo, and Afghanistan.

Korea Konsult provided 4 and 8 day tours of North Korea leaving from either Beijing, China or Vladivostok, Russia. You can travel by air, train or bus depending on your budget. As of 2026 these tours are on hold as North Korea currently only allows visitors from Russia to enter the country.

Against the Compass Expeditions group

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

Health

For pre-travel vaccination requirements see the Kingston Travel Vaccination Clinic, located at 902 Portsmouth Ave., Kingston. 613-507-8317.

An excellent medical clinic that I used in Madrid is Unidad Medica, Calle del Conde de Aranda 1, Madrid. Hours: 9:00-20:00, Monday to Friday, and 10:00-13:00, Saturday. English speaking reception and doctors. The cost was very reasonable. Appointments booked by phone only: 91-435-1823 (91 is the Madrid area code, not sure if it is needed if calling within Madrid).

Samaritan Health in Watertown, New York provide a wide variety of services. They provide dermatology care and plastic surgery. 

I have a list of medications I pack for travel to cover the possible ailments that can occur. It is part of my packing list found here.

Luggage

Get a better luggage carrier. Something like the Bellagio line by Bric's. Available in 45L carry-on size (21.5" x 15" x 9") that weighs only 5.5lbs (2.5kg), below left; or the larger sizes (up to 32" x 22" x 12") below, right. They range in price from $250-$500.

Capri carry-on

Bellagio V2.0 32" Spinner Trunk - Cream

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Recommended on the Youtube channel Finding Gina Marie is Briggs & Riley luggage. They recommend it for the reliability. Cost is about $650 (on sale for $500 in spring 2025).

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Rimowa are another manufacturer of quality luggage, but are very expensive. Made of aluminum, the large "trunk" case is 31.5" x 17" x 17" and sells for $3,200.

 

Salsa Deluxe 32"

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From Solgaard comes a new innovative luggage that they call a "carry-on closet". The soft shelf system is loaded with your travel items, then the shelf is collapsed and put in the hard-shell case. The shelf system can then be hung on the carry handle or in a closet rod on arrival.

It comes in two sizes and multiple colours. The larger size (22" x 14.7" x 9") works as a carry-on for most airlines, especially American domestic flights; the smaller "medium" one (20" x 13.5" x 8") works as a carry-on on European and most other airlines. A disadvantage is the weight. The medium weighs 8.25 lbs (3.75kg) with the closet insert, the large is 8.85 lbs (4.0kg).

They also have a backpack with the same "hanging closet" feature. The large version is 19" x 12" x 8" and sells for $245USD.

Solgaard Carry-on Closet

Solgaard Venture backpack

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Monos is the latest luggage manufacturer that is getting rave reviews and videos on its quality. Thoroughly tested, its polycarboate shell is rugged. And, it's made in Canada. The one shown below is the classic 40L Carry-on in desert taupe and measuring 22" × 14" × 9" which weighs 7.01lbs (3.17kg). They make a Carry-on Plus that measures 23" × 15" × 9.5" which weighs 7.38lbs (3.34kg).

Classic Carry-on

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American Tourister make a large soft-sided luggage that is reasonably priced. Widely sold and available in Europe at A.S. Adventure stores (with 2 stores in Brussels). Their Urban Track Duffle suitcase is 78.5cm x 44cm x 43cm (31" x 17.25" x 17") and costs €159. I like it particularly because it has the integrated two large wheels insteand on the swiveling four wheel that seem so fragile on most suitcases.

American Tourister Urban Track Duffle

Storage

Luggage storage can be an issue when travelling. There are two types: short term to hold luggage between flights, and long term storage when you want to hold items overseas for an extended period of time.

Bounce.com provide luggage storage throughout Europe.

Most airports have some type of luggage storage lockers and often hotels will hold your luggage for a few hours or a day.

For long term storage there are fewer options that are a reasonable price. In Europe, Shurgard is relatively cheap. In Amsterdam (Van Marwijk Kooystraat 11) you can get a 1m³ unit for €31 per month (€372 annually). They have storage facilities in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK.

In Lisbon, Portugal, OrangeSpace provides units as small as 1m³ for €37 per month. The Alfragide (Rua Cidade de Cordova 2) location is closest to the airport and the train station.

In Faro, Portugal Securum provides storage spaces from 0.6 to 20 square metres.

In Switzerland, PlanB and Zebrabox are two providers. Zebrabox is in 15 locations, and PlanB is in 50 locations. They are both mostly in the Geneva, Bern and Zurich areas — the larger cities along the northern border area. They are both in Bern which would be a good central location. PlanB charges CHF40.50 per month for a 1m³ storage unit in Bern; Zebrabaox CHF41.70.

PlanB locations

Zebrabox locations