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Krabi Elephant Sanctuary

An Experience Dreams are Made of

Our family loves animal interactions and visiting an elephant sanctuary was at the top of our animal interaction list. It was important for us to visit an ethical sanctuary where the elephants are not being ridden, worked or treated poorly. Through researching different sanctuaries, we came across a place called Krabi Elephant Sanctuary (https://krabielephantsanctuary.com.) This place is a retirement home for elephants that have been rescued from animal tourism and the logging industry. The sanctuary not only provides a safe haven for the elephants, but it provides employment to the people that work there. They use tourism dollars to feed and care for the elephants while trying to raise additional funds to rescue more of these beautiful animals. We were told that it costs approximately $35,000 US to rescue a single elephant.

What to expect

It is a small group experience (maximum of 20 people) where you participate in feeding, bathing and interacting with the elephants. To kick off the experience, you get a quick education about Asian elephants and their natural behaviors. It is an experience you’ll never forget! At this sanctuary, they had three beautiful elephants at the time of our visit, each with their own unique personality. You can tell by looking at them that they are extremely smart and aware. It makes you want to do more to help rescue others. The sanctuary is about a 50-minute drive from Ao Nang. You get picked up and dropped off so there is no need to hire a driver or rent a car. The total experience is about 4-5 hours including pickup and drop-off. They have fresh fruit, bottled water and hot showers to clean up after the experience. The cost is approximately $105 Cdn (2500 baht) per adult and $84 (2000 baht) per child. Not cheap but worth every penny!

The experience – Amazing!

When you arrive, the caregivers introduce you to the elephants and give you several buckets of bananas to feed them. You also get to hand-make protein balls which get fed to the elephants. Our son loved this part and took it very seriously. The elephants are very gentle in accepting food and there are a couple of ways to feed them: 1) Holding it out for them to take the food with their trunks or 2) Putting the food directly in their mouth which is a bit intimidating but so cool! Once the elephants are fed, you walk with them to a natural mud pond where you get down and dirty with them in the mud. You can even rub mud on their bodies. Expect to be sprayed as I really think they enjoy spraying people! The mud bath though is totally optional and you can just observe if you like. After the mud bath, you walk to a pond where you and the elephants clean off the mud. You are given buckets to rinse off the mud and you get very wet. I have never seen our kids so happy…so different than the experiences they have back in Canada. We were smiling ear to ear after this day.

Our Review

This experience was very well organized and the caregivers were great! It was my daughter’s 8^th birthday and I told them this when I made my booking so they surprised her with several mini birthday cakes and sang happy birthday to her. This absolutely made her day and was totally unexpected! This was one of the best experiences of our lives and we can’t stop talking about it.

Check out our YouTube video of our experience here:

Elephant Sanctuary

What to bring

You are in the hot and muddy jungle of Thailand so don’t forget to bring the following:

Hat / Towel / Bathing Suit / Comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting completely muddy / Sunscreen/Change of Clothes / Bug Spray / and of course your Camera.

Krabi – The Most Beautiful Islands by Boat

When you visit Krabi you must put visiting the beautiful islands and beaches off the coast at the top of your must do list. They are some of the most stunning beaches in the world! You can do this in two ways: 1) Speed Boat tour or 2) Traditional Long-tail boat tour. A long-tail boat is native to Thailand and it is a long wood carved boat, slightly resembling a canoe with a large canopy. The boat is powered by a single engine on a long pole to turn the boat. We decided to try both types of tours, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. There are many islands to visit off the coast of Krabi so we were able to go to completely different spots with each type of boat.

Speed Boat Tour

With this boat tour, we visited Phi Phi islands and got to see the famous Maya Bay (where the movie “The Beach”) was filmed. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stop here as it is currently closed off due to over-tourism. We visited a stunning lagoon to snorkel in as well as Phi Phi island which is a very busy island packed with eating places, restaurants and even a few hotels. The cost of this tour was 1575 baht per person which is approximately $66 Canadian.

Advantages:

The speed boat tours are well-organized tours where you get to meet lots of cool and interesting people. Good for people that are highly social. Our son bonded with a twenty-something traveller that he thought was way cool!
The tour guide has lots of information about each place that you stop at which is a great learning experience.
The boat ride is much faster so you can visit more places and get there quickly.
A full buffet lunch is provided plus water and snacks on the boat ride.

Disadvantages:

The engines are extremely loud, making it difficult to talk to one another.
There is a strict time schedule so you feel very rushed at each location making it not very relaxing.
There are lots of people on the boat so it feels like you are being herded like cattle everywhere.
There is limited space on the boat with many people packed in like Sardines.

Long-tail Boat Tour

For this tour, we chose to see Hong Islands, visiting 4 locations including 3 beaches. These were quieter islands than Phi Phi islands and we could have stayed in a couple of spots forever. We felt like Kings for the day visiting the islands on our own time setting the pace and just chilling out. This cost us 2000 Baht for the day which was only $84 Canadian.

Advantages:

We hired the boat privately so we had it all to ourselves, giving us a lot of space and freedom.
We chose our own schedule, choosing how many islands to visit and how long to stay at each one. This made for a far more relaxing day and we timed it to stay longer at a couple of the islands waiting for the crowds on the other boats to leave.
It was a cultural experience in a traditional Thai boat, each crafted out of wood and uniquely painted and decorated.
Far less expensive than the Speed Boat tour.

Disadvantages:

There wasn’t lunch provided so we had to pack our own food. We did have water and fresh pineapple which was amazing!
These boats can’t go as far as the speedboats as they are slower but they were definitely good enough to reach the amazing sites that we went to.
They wouldn’t be very good in bad weather and rough waves so thankfully the weather cooperated for us.
There wasn’t snorkel gear provided but we already had our own. I’m sure you would be able to rent some gear in advance.

Even though our favourite boat tour was the long-tail boat, we really enjoyed both and would recommend trying each type of tour if you have the time and budget. I think our kids liked the speed boat better as they liked the fast speed and meeting other people. Want to see the amazing scenery? Click here to watch our YouTube video of our experience on the speed boat and long-tail boat.

How to Save for Travel – 9 Tips

Traveling extensively was a life-long dream for us and with lots of planning and saving we were able to make it happen. We didn’t want to wait for the “someday” when we retire to travel the world. We have met so many people over the years that were never able to realize their travel dreams due to illness, death or financial circumstances, including my own parents. It was also so important for us to be able to share this experience with our kids and give them World Schooling and the experience of a lifetime!

Everyone’s circumstances are different but these 9 tips can help you plan for your dream vacation or extended trip. They are exactly what gave our family the opportunity to travel.

SO WHAT EXACTLY DID WE DO?

For us, the bottom line was to Save, cut Costs a lot and be patient as it takes time. Having to pay for our wedding many years ago taught us how to save and budget for our dream travel journey.

Here are 9 Tips that we did to make our travels a reality:

1. Dedicated Bank Account

Make a dedicated travel account and put money into it every month using the “pay yourself first” principle, even if it is only $10 here and there; it adds up over time.

2. Cut Costs

We cut down our costs and made a budget. “The latte factor” is a popular cliché but the little things do add up. We scrutinized everything we were spending to find extra money and it’s amazing what you find if you just observe your spending habits. Cost-reducing measures that worked for us included:

We switched from picking up our lattes every morning out to making them mostly at home. This saved us at least $12 a day+ between the two of us plus any treats we would buy for the kids when they were with us..
We cut down on eating out. This included both bringing lunches to work every day and not eating out at restaurants as often on the weekends. This is good for the waistline too!
- We eliminated a lot of monthly banking fees. We opened an online no-fee banking account that has free Interac transactions, free e-transfers, and free checks. We also had another main account that we kept over a minimum balance that eliminated the monthly fee of $29.95. Banking fees add up!
- We cut our cable and saved over $100 per month.
- We reduced haircuts, beauty treatments and shopping which can add up quickly.
- I cut my gym membership and went to an online workout program. The workouts require minimal space and equipment. This reduced my costs from about $1000 per year to around $200.
Rack up the Points

3. Rack up the Points

Use points where you can. We have a Travel Visa and purchased everything on this card making sure we paid the balance at the end of each month avoiding any interest charges. This is a good way to rack up points for free flights and accommodations.

4. Offload your Debt

We paid off our car so we eliminated the loan payments while we were away. Had we travelled for more than six months, we would have sold the cars.

5. No shopping Sprees

We put any extra money we receive such as bonuses and/or raises into interest-earning or dividend-paying investments.

6. Embrace Minimalism even a little

We went through all of our belongings selling things we no longer used or needed for extra cash. It’s amazing what can be stored in the garage like bikes, ski equipment or other things that can free up extra money. We donated the rest to eliminate clutter and help a good cause.

7. Rent your House

We rented out our house while we were away and were able to cover all of our at-home expenses by doing this. We used a management company to find the tenants and look after our home so we didn’t have to worry about it while we were away.

8. Reduce Flight Costs

Flights are a huge expense so we did a few things to minimize the costs:

We visited fewer countries by travelling more slowly and staying in countries for a longer period of time. We stayed in a few of the places for up to a month which reduced flight costs significantly vs. travelling every week.
- We tried to fly on cheaper days of the week. When you travel long term the days of the week you fly don’t really matter so you can save significantly on flights. When booking flights, we regularly compared prices and costs on different days of the week.
- We extended a layover to sneak into another destination. Airlines will often allow a few days’ layovers in another country with no added costs.

9. Cheaper Accommodations

We mostly stayed in Airbnbs which is usually much cheaper than hotels in terms of nightly costs. Airbnb’s also have full kitchens and supplies available so you can cook your own meals and save a lot of money by not eating out as much. We even lucked out securing an Airbnb in a resort giving us access to all the facilities like a huge hotel pool and kids club. Although we didn’t have housekeeping every day we saved over $100 per night compared to what hotel guests paid.

Click here https://youtu.be/2JlfR4v5SE0 to see tips on one of our favourite places, Thailand.

You’ve got to Visit Lucca!

Accommodations

We rented an Airbnb right in central Lucca and it was awesome! It was a 5 minute walk to almost everything yet where it was located was very quiet. It was also two floors, two bedrooms and a decent kitchen. Everything we needed. There were cool black and white photos on the wall of the mother that used to live there. I loved that!

Falling in Love with Lucca

When researching places to visit in Italy, Lucca was high on the list. It is known for its Renaissance city walls completed in the thirteenth century to keep out invaders. Today it is an incredible almost 5km pathway around the city used by runners, cyclists and everyone in between. It is lined with trees and even has a couple of kids playgrounds along the way. There are a few access points to the path. It has many churches, a clock tower, Guinigi Tower that you can climb to get an amazing view of the city. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to do this but it was on our list. In Lucca, the streets are narrow and windy and the buildings are colourful and beautiful. I felt like I was in a movie.

Here are some Must Do’s in Lucca:

1. Rent a Bike and Cycle the Wall. There are several bicycle rental shops in Lucca and they also have options for families. Our 11 year old had his own bike and our 7 year old went on a tandem bike with Marco. We ended up doing 2 laps around the wall as the day was so beautiful and it was awesome to get a full perspective of the city by cycling all the way around it.

2. Walk the streets and take in the vibe. We walked everywhere in Lucca. It is small and that is how you get around. It is so interesting with so much going on. Narrow streets, interesting buildings, sculptures, historical monuments, restaurants, and buskers. If you go to Italy, Lucca is an absolute must! Watch our Lucca Video to see all the amazing things! (COMING SOON)>

3. Have Gelato of Course! We found the best Gelato to be in Lucca! It was better than the places we tried in Florence. The place we loved was called Boteggo and was off the beaten path in Lucca. We learned from a local that the good Gelato is housed in canisters to keep it at the correct temperature, not overflowing in containers, and visible. This Gelata we were told is also pumped with air to make it look fluffy. Botegga is known for their salted Pistachio which was to die for.

4. Visit the Park of Pinocchio. This park originated from the story of Pinocchio, the puppet wanting to become a real boy and whose nose grew every time he lied. It is in the town of Collodi (from the author of the same name). We took a train to Pistoia (nearby) and then a taxi to the park which was about a 10 minute drive. At first we thought the park was lame and creepy with a bunch of worn out Pinocchio puppets, old carousels and a lame park. The kids wanted to leave but we thought we’d walk a bit further and came across hanging bridges and a zipline for kids. The kids had to put on gear and make their way through various obstacles ending with a small but cool zipline. They loved it! Also – I did not know that the story of Pinocchio was from Tuscany. The actual story is of a more sinister tale which was then glamorized by Disney. I encourage you to look up the actual story.

Adventure Campitelli Tip

Eat outside of the Amphitheatre (a public square in the northeast part of Lucca, originally where gladiator games were held, now a tourist area full of restaurants and cafes) or buy your own groceries. In this area you are charged a “service or sitting fee” about 2 Euros per person. Take your latte to go or you will be charged this fee!

Hiking the Cinque Terre

Accommodations

We planned for 5 nights to hike the 5 Terre (a.k.a. Cinque Terre) and we stayed in a City called La Spezia. We booked an Airbnb close to the train station to make it easy to get around. The location was convenient but the area was a bit sketchy and our apartment was above a bar….#fail on this booking. The apartment was clean and modern but the loud music and people yelling all night was brutal. I will not be recommending this Airbnb. We were also told (after the fact), not to stay too close to the train stations as the area can be a little rougher.

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre means “5 lands” and it is made up of 5 towns on a stunning hillside on the Italian Riviera. It is a very popular travel destination which is known for it’s hiking trails linking the towns. You can access the towns by train, bus or even boat. For us, the plan was to take the train to the first town and hike the towns. By train, it was only a 15 minute train ride to the first town. We lined up at the train station to buy a combo Park Pass (as it’s a National Park) + train. The cost was 42 euros per day for a family and we purchased two days. At the tourist office where you buy the tickets they give you a map and tell you if any trails are closed. Unfortunately the hike between the first two towns were closed (Riomaggiore to Manarola) so we stopped at the third town Corniglia. The train station is at the bottom so we had to climb 400 stairs just to get to the start of the hike. You can take a bus to the top but we decided to give it a go. At the top you are greeted with nice cafes and places to get fresh juices. Although expensive for Orange Juice (4 Euro), we couldn’t resist. We also splurged on our morning latte and a couple of treats for the kids before we set out.

Starting the 400 stair climb to the start of the trail

OMG our 6 hour Hike!

Yes this title is correct. We hiked from the 3rd town to the 5th town Monterosso as we heard it had an amazing sandy beach. We were determined to do the entire hike instead of taking the trains between the towns. Had we known how difficult the hike was, we would have only hiked one town. The total distance was only 7.5km but it was rocky with very steep stone pathways, huge stair climbs and narrow dangerous paths. The total 6 hours does include our stop in the 3rd town Vernazza for a quick break but the hike was crazy! Way harder than I expected. I have to admit that we did love every bit though. The views were unbelievable and the scenery was spectacular so well worth it. We were so proud of the kids! Our youngest lead the pack the entire way and had energy after….we think our hiking in the Canadian Rockies had to have helped.

Our favourite town by far was Monterosso. We arrived there about 5:30pm and were too exhausted to explore the town so we took the train back there the next day and spent the entire day at the beach under a beach umbrella.

Adventure Campitelli Tips

It is extremely touristy here and expensive so you can save $ by staying outside of Cinque Terre such as La Spezia and take a short train ride in.
The food including the Gelato in the touristy part of the towns is not very good and it is very expensive. We ate breakfast at home, packed snacks and shared a small snack (Calamari) to get us through the day after we tried the food on Day 1.
Be prepared. Bring LOTS of water! There are fountains in each town to refill and in the heat you will drink a lot of water. Also pack good footwear…runners are fine. Bring snacks especially for kids. Don’t forget sunscreen and hats as the sun is very hot.
Follow the main trail which is called the “Blue Trail” or “SVA”. It is very well marked with red & white paint in spots all along the path.
If you love sandy beaches and want to spend time in the water make sure you save time for Monterosso, our personal favourite!

Our Guide to Florence

Accommodations

We rented an apartment on Airbnb in the centre of Florence and it was perfect! It was a close walk to almost everything that we wanted to see and just far enough outside of the main tourist areas to feel like we were living like locals. We paid approximately 100 euros per night ($150 CDN) which is decent for central Florence compared to hotels. We love renting apartments so we can make many of our meals (saving $) and of course, getting the extra bedroom for the kids.

Things to do with Kids

The Duomo

This is a must see for everyone! Located in the center of Florence, the Duomo is the 4^th largest Cathedral in the world. It actually took two centuries to complete which is amazing! Don’t be scared off by the long line ups to get in as the line moves quickly. Also, there is a dress code to go inside which is basically no bare shoulders and hemlines need to be at knee level. I brought a scarf with me. If you forget a scarf, there are people selling them on the street but best to bring your own. You will be awestruck by the size and beauty of this landmark. The outside is covered in a mix of green, pink and white marble and is made up of such intricate details. I loved seeing it at night and you get great instagram pics.

Gelato Yes Please!

Everyone talks about the Gelato being the best in the world in Italy and this is entirely true. Shops line the streets so you can get it anywhere. We preferred to go out of the tourist areas as the lineups were shorter and the prices lower. My favourite was Pistaccio and Dark Chocolate. You can usually pick 2-3 flavours. With a little bit of research and recommendation by a local, we are told the best Gelato is kept in canisters (lids on top of the Gelato so it is not visible) not piled into open containers to lure in tourists. The canisters keep the Gelato at a constant temperature where the other versions are pumped full of air….apparently the canister version is also of higher quality ingredients.

See our video on our 9 Italy Surprises which gives you some useful information to help you plan your trip. Link here.

Cafe lattes and treats

If you watch our videos you know that Marco and I love our lattes. We were so excited to try them in Italy and it did not disappoint. We are extremely fussy about our coffee and have a select few places we go to in our own city but in Italy we found the coffee to be good no matter where we went. We are also prefer soy milk to cows milk in our latte and most places had soy milk. We found the coffee to be so good it was almost indescribable….smooth, with no bitter aftertaste….molto bene! The coffee (aka latte) was also cheaper than the prices we typically pay in North American ranging from 1.30-1.70 Euros depending on where you go. For the kids, the treats are sure to please…different kinds of cookies and pastries always delighted their taste buds.

Food Glorious Food!

Another well known fact about Italy is their food and we fell in love with Italy’s food. Just like Gelato places and Coffee shops, the streets are lined with Bistros/Cafes that serve delicious sandwiches, pastas and different kinds of salads and pastries. Again, we found the best and least expensive places to be outside the main tourist areas. The food was definitely better as well. If the menus are in Italian and everyone is speaking Italian you’re gold. We made the mistake of going to one restaurant that had English on the menu and the prices were outrageous. We were even charged at the end for water and $11 euros “service charge”….a BS charge in our opinion. This doesn’t happen in the restaurants where locals eat we were told by Marco’s family who live in Florence. Lesson learned.

We were close to a Mercato where we bought groceries each day like fresh fruit, fresh veggies, pasta, bread and salad mix and snacks for the kids. The prices were very reasonable and our dollar seemed to stretch far. The produce is amazing here and tastes like it was just picked from the garden. I don’t know why, but everything seems to taste better in Italy….is it the air here? Who knows?

The Best View in Florence – Piazzale Michelangelo

Do not leave Florence without seeing the view of the entire city located in Piazzale Michelangelo. It was just a short 2km from our apartment so quite easy to get to on foot (although mostly uphill in hot temperatures). Just above the Plaza is a church called Santa Maria Novella Church that you can duck into which is a nice break from the hot sun. From here you can see a breathtaking view of the city of Florence with the Duomo in the centre and the mountains on the right.

The Beautiful Bobili Gardens (Giardino di boboli)

The Bobili Gardens is a historical park and is considered a museum as it houses many old sculptures, the Pitti Palace and other old fountains and buildings. It is one of Italy’s most famous gardens and is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. It was within walking distance from our place so we took the kids for an afternoon. It has beautiful flowers and lots of shade so we could take a break from the hot sun. There are cool paths between tall perfectly manicured trees almost like you are in a maze which was fun for the kids to run through. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed sitting and taking in the scenery. It cost us about 7 euros each and less for the kids.

Find a Swimming Pool

There is only so many monuments kids can see so we found it important to find something strictly for them. The Hidron is a recreation facility on the outskirts of Florence that has a beautiful outdoor water park and indoor pool with two water slides as well as a hot tub. It is quite busy but not too bad considering how busy Europe is. The cost was 36 euros for a family pass for a few hours. It also has a cafe that has surprisingly good food and also good coffee for a reasonable price.

There is also Costoli Pool in central Florence which is also supposed to be very good but we didn’t get a chance to visit this pool.

See our Video on Italy to get a good sense of Florence!