Week 7

Hello Readers,

 

Welcome to my final post on my genius hour project, and I have laid out my dream vacation to travel to on a student budget and all of the options I chose to take based on my personality, and interests, as well as my budget! It has been quite the journey researching and learning about a lot of information on travelling. I am so excited that I chose this topic to research as it is something I am hoping to accomplish as soon as I graduate in June. I am so excited to share my final findings with you as this project was such a great experience. I will definitely be using this in my future classroom of students one day! Thank you so much for reading and following along I hope you found my tips helpful and are able to take a trip one day soon, on your student budget! 

 

Original Goals

 

When first starting out this project I had 5 main goals that I wanted to accomplish. These goals included:

 

1. I want to attain a budget and learn the cheapest and safest way to travel to a unique location in the world.

 

2. I want to visit as least 3 different places that I have never been to before.

3. My timeframe will be 2-3 months

And I am very happy to announce that I have accomplished each and everyone of them!!

 

My Student Budget Trip Break Down

 

After all of my hard work during this course, it has finally paid off as I have completed my goals for this project, completed all of the requirements, and now have a dream destination I can begin to save up for. I have a goal in mind and I am going to reach it with all of the great tips I have learned and shared so can you!  

 

I will now share with you where it is I want to travel to, my budget, transportation I can take, length of time I will spend there, how long I will be staying for, currency rates, where I will be staying, as well as some other information on the culture and mannerisms of the country I chose. I selected a place I have never been to and I have never been more excited! Drum roll please.....

 

 

IRELAND!!

 

The location that I have selected to travel to is indeed IRELAND! My top three places to travel too would include: Alberta, Paris, and Ireland, and after completing my research I believe this is a trip that I can afford, on a student budget!

Erin Bender (2013). Travel with Bender.
Retrieved from: http://travelwithbender.com/

 

Transportation:

 

I will begin my trip by travelling from Toronto airport (YYZ) to Dublin airport. The flight there costs $310 dollars through West Jet and if I buy it through Ebates (sign up for free discounts) I can get $25 dollars off each flight I buy. Then if I buy my return flight home it will cost around $345. I will be travelling on flexible dates around Wednesday June 7th (day after graduation) and will return home around Wednesday August 2nd. May and June are also the sunniest months in Ireland, and July and August are the warmest, so I picked the absolute best time to travel there! By paying for individual flights I will save money rather then buying all at once, and I will receive a $50 dollar cheque from Ebates as well! Also look into checking flights at random and weird times such as 11:05pm for flight deals or even last minute for flights home! When arriving into Dublin my mom's friend offered to pick me up and drop me off as well as show me around! I also would like to rent a car for a few days. However this will be the most expensive payment that I will be spending on. Renting a car you must be 21 years or older. For a small car it will cost $18 per day but however there is CDW insurance that I am required to buy when travelling in Ireland. Small cars are also ideal because of the narrow roads, just be careful and make sure all of your luggage can fit into those small cars! The worst part about renting a car is insurance! Many are mandatory including the: Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and this can be around $10 a day which is $14 Canadian so it will add up. When they say small they mean it. If I decide to take any public transportation including the buses (most common, least expensive) I will pay $2 per trip. However I can buy a leap card as a student which gives me 20% off transportation so I will only pay $1.50 for bus fares. The leap card can be bought there or in advance for 5 euros which is just over $7 Canadian.   

 

Where I will be staying?

 

I will be residing at my mom's friends place who lives just outside of Dublin (capital) as she has a spare room I can stay in which will cost me no money. I however would like to show my hospitality with a small gift or some money or I would like to help with cooking, cleaning and groceries for letting me stay with them. If I do decide to go out on my own which I plan to I will then be staying at hostels which are very inexpensive of only $14-$21 per night/day. That is also for a 4star hostel price.

 Since I am staying with a family friend I am also able to take advantage that they have a kitchen and appliances where I can then buy my own groceries, and save money on eating out! If I do decide to eat out which I would like to experience a few Irish dishes a few of these would include:

1. full Irish breakfast

2. Dublin lawyer lobster

3. Dublin coodle
4. calcannon
5.  carrageen mass pudding
6. Irish coffee
7. Irish whisky

When I am eating dinner or any meal there are a few mannerisms I need to remember. There is a small plate for boiled peelings as I remove them off potatoes, etc, which is placed beside me like a bread plate. I also need to keep the knife in my right hand at all times and the fork in my left, these must never switch hands. When I finish any meal to show my appreciation and that I am done (so they don't put more on your plate) you will place your fork and knife across the center of your plate with the knife facing towards the middle of the table.

  

Where to explore? 

 

One of the main reasons I want to travel to Ireland is the country sides and beautiful breathtaking landscapes! I hope to do a lot of hiking, biking, and car trips around the countryside all over to a variety of different places. I can borrow a bike form my mom's friend, hiking is free to do, and the only cost will be for my gas and car rental daily fees. I also have been looking on pinterest, google, intagram, and other sites looking at Ireland bucketlist items and have selected a few I would like to complete. Most are $0 to do which is the best part!

 

Ireland Bucketlist:

1. Visit the graves of Ireland

2. Drink a Guiness beer where it was created

3. Have a drink at Sean's the oldest bar in the world  

4. Hike the cliffs at Moher (MUST DO)

5. Visit St. Georges famous market

6. visit castles (free for student tours)

7. Tour botanical gardens (free to visit all parks too)

8. Spend a night at Kilarney park

9. Hike to the most Northern part of Ireland: Malin 

10. Kiss the Balarney Stone

11. see the Sea Cliffs

12. see Dalemsn and ruins

13. see the Dark Hedges

14. Go to the kilmainham goal free exhibition and tour around

 

The best part is how FREE almost all of my excursions are that I want to do!! 

 

Vaccination/VISAS

 

When looking into what shots I needed before travelling there I was very pleased as I only needed one shot! They recommend taking a Tetanus/Diphtheria shot which is $20 or free for students as we are covered (from parents or schooling). Tetanus is a bacterial infection present in the soil, and can be seen worldwide. If you get a cut the virus can finds it's way into your body through your cut, and it has the potential to affect the nervous system. Most people in Ireland receive this as a child. They recommended you take this within 10 years to be safe. Diptheria is a disease part of the tetanus vaccine and is also a bacterial infection. It causes inflammation in the upper respiratory tract. This is an airborne caused infection travelled from person to person. 

Another great thing about travelling to Ireland there is no VISA needed to travel here!  

Ireland Tips

 

Number one tip to know is to ALWAYS PACK RAIN GEAR everywhere you go in Ireland! I would also look into buying a map of Ireland as well as making sure google maps works on your phone. I will be buying a data plan on my phone for calling and texting but will have no internet only emergency. This will only cost $10 a month extra through my phone provider. I would also suggest buying a safe adapter to plug your devices into before plugging them into the walls just in case it is different from what our outlets are like in Canada. The worst thing ever would be to fry your cell phone through the charger or your expensive straightener! I would also make sure you have good comfortable durable hiking shoes as you will probably wear these for most of the trip as you explore all over, being the curious tourist I know we all are! Another great thing is they speak English in Ireland as well as Irish so you will usually be able to talk to others and they can answer or at least understand what you are saying, and you don't have to worry about learning another language. After being there for a few days you will begin to pick up on any jargon and Irish slang they use just like people who travel to Canada do. Whenever you great anyone in Ireland just like Canada a firm handshake and locking eyes is the way to do it! 
 

When tipping over in Ireland you tip 10% to waitresses and tour guides, 0% to bartenders, or taxis, and $1-2 when you buy purses or accessories. The euro is the money over in Ireland they use and it is 0.71 to the Canadian dollar. Meaning they are a bit under but still close. This will fluctuate to closer to the dollar throughout the year. However things tend to be a bit cheaper over there which will balance out in the end to match the dollar. 

 

Do not forget to pack light and to stay safe!       


Thank you so much for reading my blog and I hope you have found it as helpful as I have! Good luck to all of you student travellers out there and feel free to message me if you have any questions about my tips and blog!

Until next time, and next trip!
 

 

Cheers Friends!