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A Quick Guide to Travel Vaccines

What Vaccinations Should You Get?

Depending on where you’re going, vaccinations can be a very important part of your travel plans. At the same time, I want to caution you from getting every single vaccination that everyone says you should get. I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell you what to get and what not to get. However, in all my years of travel, I’ve noticed that the most popular vaccinations that many travellers get are:

  • Hepatitis A and B
  • Tetanus
  • Typhoid
  • Yellow Fever

flying over albertaWhen it comes to malaria, there are no vaccinations but there are pills that help fight the disease should you contract it. I have travelled to many malaria-infested countries but have always opted to not take the pills. This is because I am usually traveling for many months and malaria pills are very hard on the liver if taken long-term. Taking them will depend on where you are going, how serious the situation is in the country you’re visiting and how long you’re going for. It is best to do your research, speak to a doctor and make an educated decision. The best prevention of malaria is not getting bitten by mosquitoes, which means covering up your skin and wearing bug spray that contains DEET.

Before deciding what vaccinations you may need, it helps to do some research on the country and area you are planning to visit. It also depends on what vaccinations you had growing up.

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How to Travel Around the World in Business Class for $750

2015 has been a great year for travel. I’ve already stepped foot on three continents, witnessed a permanent lava lake erupt right in front of me, visited Japan during cherry blossom season, and went completely around the world in business class.

It was my first time at the front of the plane and I picked a good time to do it. After all, my wife and I were flying from Calgary, Alberta to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, which took us through England and Turkey. From Tanzania, we flew to Ethiopia for a month and then to Japan for three weeks before coming back to Calgary over the Pacific Ocean. It was a lot of long flights and many time zones to circle the world but having full lie-down beds on the flights made it much more bearable.

I certainly can’t afford business class tickets around the world. It’s a tough itinerary to price out but just flying to Tanzania and back in business class came to $15,000 each when I looked it up on multiple search engines. It’s safe to say that it would have cost us at least $35,000 USD to make this trip happen, had we paid for the tickets.

Instead, the trip cost just $750 CAD each. That’s because we used frequent flyer miles to “pay” for the rest. Since becoming a travel hacker a few years ago, I’ve managed to earn over 1 million miles through credit cards, everyday spending, and various promotions. However, even though earning miles is crucial, redeeming them for high value rewards is much more important in the world of travel hacking.

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Taking a Shower at 40,000 Feet | How I Travelled First Class on Emirates for $89

Although travel has been a passion of mine for many years now, luxury was never really part of the equation. Sure, I like a little bit of bling bling now and then but I’m the kind of guy who’d rather be sleeping in a tent in the mountains than living it up in a 5-star hotel (most of the time, anyway). So it was somewhat odd to recently find myself sitting first class on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Houston. Not just any Emirates flight either – the A380. The Cream of the crop. The golden goose of travel hacking.

After having breakfast in the Emirates first class lounge (included with the flight), my wife and I both boarded the luxurious aircraft for a 17-hour trans-Atlantic flight. It’s a long haul flying over the Middle East, Europe, the Atlantic ocean, and most of the US in one jaunt but it was made all the better by sitting in pure luxury.

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