Travelgrove was established for travelers who are keen on finding the cheapest price, and the best information for their journey to any of the major city centres throughout the world. Their booking engine searches through the most popular booking websites such as Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia, then allows you to compare the price of cheap flights from one website to another. On top of the money you can save on your flights, the guys at Travelgrove offer travel forums, hotels, car rentals, cruises, vacation packages, along with detailed travel guides.

On top of all these great services they offer, Travelgrove aims to provide a community feel to their website. Registered users are able to socialize with other users and provide travel tips, photos, and general advice through their community section. Be sure to search for me there, my username is Nibroc. Once you’ve got me added, feel free to browse through some of my photos and share any destinations you’d like me to check out.

Photo by purplepick

The booking process with Travelgrove is simple. Type in the first few letters of the city or airport you’re departing from, along with where you’re heading to, select the dates, and tick off other websites you would like Travelgrove to search through. Within seconds you’ve got a detailed list of flights and costs to go through. This can be a lifesaver for anyone in a hurry to catch a flight but wanting to find some great deals. If you don’t have any destination in mind, take a quick browse through their Deals section to see if anything sparks your interest.

For those considering backpacking Canada, I would highly recommend you check out their cheap flights to Toronto. I recently came across a round trip flight from New York to Toronto for $308. You’re saving over 50%, as those flights are typically way over $600. Toronto’s a great city to start off in Canada. It’s by far the most culturally diverse city we have. Find out for yourself, read through their Toronto travel guide to find out everything from its history, nightlife, popular sights, and browse through some sweet photos. You’ll be on your way in no time!

Photo courtesy of Wili

For traveling couples, the thought of spending a night together in a hostel may not be the height of their romantic lifestyle. However, hotels have a tendency to be expensive. But if you do enough digging, you can find last minute hotel rooms for the cost of a double room in a hostel. Using RatesToGo, RedTag, or CAA,  you should have no problem finding a last minute hotel for under 70 dollars in any major city in Canada, however a little luck can make all the difference.

As a backpacker, it sometimes feels like cheating when you’re comfortable and have the ability to spread out in your own space. It’s way too easy to grow accustom to being in a cramped dorm. However, if you’ve been on the road for months, sometimes decompressing in a private room is all you need. I’ve personally used RedTag along with CAA several times without any problems. These hotel deals are fairly easy to find, you just need to set aside a few minutes to search through some websites to find the best deal, along with the best location.

Remember that if none of those engines turn up with any good deals, hostels and backpackers tend to have some good doubles and ensuites. However during the peak season you may notice they are booked up. So plan a couple days in advance just to be safe.

It may sound like a fairytale, or perhaps like a very cool hideout for Ewoks, but these spheres you can actually spend several nights in, suspended in the treeline, overlooking Vancouver Islands prestine forests. The Spheres, created by Tom Chudleigh, are an eco-friendly way of providing people with a place to live without damaging the forests. The owners provide all the information and materials to even build your own and start your own “Free Spirit Sphere Communities”. It might sound very “Tree-hugger-ish” but it’s actually a very cool idea. And one I would love to hang out in.

The spheres are equipped with all modern features a regular hotel has, including bathroom, kitchen, bed, power, etc. It’s like an architect took the idea of the best treehouse your Dad could have built, and injected it with pure uncut awesomeness. These spheres have gained a lot of momentum in the media lately. Tom has recently been in discussion regarding manufacturing the sphere’s under licence with several countries, including Sweden, UK, France, Argentina, and Costa Rica.

Costs start at $125.00 per night.
For more information on spending a night in the Free Spirit Tree Spheres click here

A big “Thank You” goes out to Carrie from My Several Worlds – She did a fantastic post on the Tree Spheres which inspired me to include this unusual hotel on i Backpack Canada.