Perceptive Travel Blog

Keep up With Visa Requirements for Where You’re Headed

Tim — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 13:25:42 +0000

Some days you get bad e-mails, some days you get good ones, and today I got one that I would call a “relief e-mail.” As soon as it came in my stress level for the week went down. That was the notification that I could download my Vietnam visa and I was set to enter the country. Good thing since I’ll be there in two weeks! For the other countries I have been on during this swing through Asia for months, visa requirements have been less daunting. But twice I have still needed to fill out something in advance. Think

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Hop Tu Naa: Unique Celtic Autumn Tradition

Kerry Dexter — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 13:40:36 +0000

Hop Tu Naa: what do you know about it? First, it is said hop too NAY If you are thinking, what language is that? It’s Manx Gaelic — sort of. It is thought to come from older Manx Gaelic words meaning this is the night. What night is that? The end of one year, the beginning of another, the bringing in of harvest, the start of winter. Is it new year’s eve, then? Again, sort of. Hop Tu Naa is celebrated on the Isle of Man at that end of harvest beginning of winter time has been marked for centuries

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Second Cities in Europe: Smaller Crowds and Lower Prices

Tim — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 11:34:33 +0000

We’ve talked a fair bit on the Perceptive Travel Blog about getting away from the crowds and heading to where you’re wanted instead of shunned as a bother. The popular places are popular for a reason, of course, but the most famous European cities have been loved to death the past few years and the summer crowds can get downright insane. It’s worth stepping down in size to the second cities in Europe. You can have a great European travel experience, but without feeling like you’re part of a mass mob. Tourists act a lot like lemmings or sheep when

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3 Underrated Canadian Provincial Capitals

Laura Byrne Paquet — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:48:09 +0000

Ask any non-Canadian if they’ve ever visited a Canadian city and I guarantee that almost everyone will mention Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver. Political junkies might have made it to Ottawa, the nation’s capital. History buffs might have checked out Quebec City. Outdoorsy types might have visited Calgary en route to Banff National Park. However, there are dozens of other Canadian cities well worth a visit. Here are just three underrated Canadian provincial capitals to consider adding to your next trip to the world’s second-largest country. I’ve listed them from west to east. Victoria, British Columbia Victoria, British Columbia’s capital, is

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Halloween and Ireland: Bonfires, Barmbrack, Ancestors

Kerry Dexter — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:02:53 +0000

At Halloween in Ireland, you can certainly find many places to dress up in costume (which is known as guising in Ireland – think disguise and you’ll get where that comes from), to take the kids for a night of fun, to see a Halloween parade, to attend fairs and carnivals. You can do all the things you’d do in the rather commercial side of this holiday in other places. There’s an Irish twist to some of that, such as the spooky goings on at the Dublin Zoo, the revelers who fill the streets of Derry, the rather more (but

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