The Philippines (Palawan)

Beaches ( ✔), Lush Tropical isalnds ( ✔), Cristal clear water ( ✔)... Affordability ( ✔ ✔).

Palawan province is made up of 1,780 islands and islets, rocky coves, and sugar-white sandy beaches. As of September 2016, Palawan Island was rated the "Most Beautiful Island in the World" as voted by respective readers of rival travel publications Conde Nast Traveller and Travel + Leisure. To top it off El Nido, located at the northern tip of the island, was also currently rated the "Most Beautiful Beach in the World" by Conde Nast Traveller readers. 

Bonus: The Philippines were a Spanish Colony so Spanish is their second language in many parts of the country. So brush up on your Spanish if learning Filipino seems daunting!

Best time to visit: March to early June (July and August is their rainy season).

Honduras (Roatán island)

Diving ( ✔), Beaches ( ✔),  Crystal Clear water ( ✔) Rum ( ✔ ✔)

Photo: http://www.tabyanabeach.com

Located 65km into the Caribbean sea off the coast of Honduras, Roatán island is a secluded gem. Situated at the southern tip of the second biggest barrier reef in the world (The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef), Roatán offers some of the best and most affordable diving in the world. If you have been thinking of doing your PADI Open Water then this is the place to do it. Check out http://barefootdiversroatan.com for pricing and more info on dive sites.

It's not all about the diving though! Roatán has some incredible picture perfect beaches for those of you who want to post up under a palm tree with a chilled coconut.

Best time to visit: January - early April

The Bahamas (Exuma)

Beaches ( ✔ ✔ ), Crystal clear water ( ✔).

We know what your thinking..."really...the Bahamas?" and we say YES! Consisting of over 700 islands with picture perfect beaches and the infamous swimming pigs what's not to love. The Bahamas have been on the radar for a long time and for some reason have a stigma of being expensive, but think again. With the introduction of airBNB and some new direct flights from throughout North America you can now fly to the Bahamas for less than $400-500 CND. Currently there are over 80 airBNB rentals for 2-4 people for under $100.00 CND a night throughout the main island and Nassau.

Bonus: Go in the shoulder seasons (November and April) when prices are low and weather is still good. (Last year we found flights from Toronto - Exuma for $198.00 roundtrip).

Best time to visit: December - early April  

Sri Lanka

Culture ( ✔), Surfing ( ✔), Affordability ( ✔)

Spend the morning walking through rolling tea fields and the afternoon surfing. Sri Lanka has plenty to offer from culinary wonders to spending the day riding an elephant. It is an eclectic mix of Indian and Asian cultures that will be a sensory over load for the most well travelled of travellers. 

Fun fact: Sri Lanka produces on average 330 million kg of tea/year or 23% of the worlds total tea supply! 

Bonus: Watch a rugby game with the locals

Best time to visit: The west and south coasts and hill country is from December to March, while the best weather on the east coast is from April/May to September. Sri Lanka's position close to the Equator means that temperatures remain fairly constant year-round.

Remember Soulstice babes...every trip requires a new bikini...or two! Make sure to visit www.soulsticeswim.com for all your bikini essentials.

Sweet baby Ganesh, we’ve all been there — your acquaintance down the street gets back from some package sight-seeing trip to Mexico and is like, “Come over and look at my photos!” and 3,000 unedited images of a donkey on the side of the road later, your brain is mush and you never want to speak to another human again.

DON’T BE THAT PERSON.

Or the person who floods Facebook with a trillion blurry shots of their food from Indonesia. Consider these humble tricks when planning your travel photography and your Facebook friends will thank you.

(Note: there are some tips and lingo in here that are aimed for beginning DSLR users, but most of them will apply to the iPhone photographer and DSLR user alike. Take what serves you and leave the rest behind!)

You can’t capture everything!

If your images are going to pack a punch, they need to be well-edited and sparse. When I first started travelling, I bent over backwards trying to document every little detail of every little experience. The way a salad was arranged, the way the light hit the Gothic bricks, the expression on my travel companion’s face when we sang happy birthday on a Spanish beach. But I quickly realized that by trying to document every moment, I wasn’t really being a part of them. I was reminded of this again in New York last year, when I got stuck walking behind a guy who was literally strolling through Soho, filming each step on his iPad. HIS IPAD. He was trying to seize a moment to enjoy again later, when really… He won’t. He was missing the experience in real time in a vain attempt to capture it forever.

When you’re abroad, the temptation can be very real to document the trip in its entirety. But if you step back and only shoot the things that really speak to you, you can trust that the story of your travels will be told well. Put the camera down. Notice what’s happening with each of your senses. Be present, and the photos will follow.

Don’t replicate the same photo everyone else has — find your own angle

“Photographs shock insofar as they show something novel.” –Susan Sontag

Every famous landmark has that one iconic image, but you’ll make a mistake by trying to replicate it. When you show up to the Grand Canyon or the Eiffel Tower, pretend like you’ve never laid eyes on it. Try to find the details that other people missed. If something is always shot wide-angle, capture a tiny detail, and vice versa. I’ve still never been to the Grand Canyon, but I always get excited when I think about photographing a tiny ridge, a small stone, a minute detail that the big images can’t include. I know I’ll never be Ansel Adams and I don’t want to be—I want to be Laura. Be you, and create your own iconic images.

Not the same as all the others…  Shot in: Valladolid, Mexico

Follow the light

Google “sunrise/sunset times” in your city and set your schedule around them. The gentle light that crawls in right before the sunrise, the cool haze right around sunset… There’s a reason they call these times “golden hour.” You can banish the harsh midday shadows, stay out of the noon heat, and avoid crowds, all by following the first and last light of the day. This also allows for siesta time, and there’s no arguing with that.

If you have to be out shooting in the brightest times of day, never fear! There are a couple of tricks that will help you manage dat sun. First, seek open shade. You know that super-bright white light that happens in photos when the sun is hitting your subject directly? That’s called “blow out” and there’s no IG filter that will ever fix it. Avoid having mixed light on your subjects so you can properly expose for the entire image. Second, use the light to your advantage. Put the sun behind your subject (whether it’s a person or the Pyramids) and use it to create beams of light and lens flare. Basically, if you have to shoot in bright daylight, own it, but make the sun work for you rather than vice versa.

Shot in: Havana, Cuba

Keep your f-stop low

A general guideline: the higher your f-stop, the less interesting the photo (this is arguable when it comes to panoramic views and groups of people, but think of it as a basic rule of thumb). When subjects are sharp and the background is blurry, that background blur is called bokeh, and it’s controlled by your f-stop. Most cameras with built-in lenses will start somewhere around f2.8, and staying as low as possible will help you capture the tiny details leaving extraneous information out of the frame and draw the eye in.

Okay, um, they are darling…   Shot in: Havana, Cuba

Respect your subjects

When I started getting serious about photography, my biggest concern when abroad was being respectful of the people I was shooting. It can feel quite invasive to have a camera flung in your face, even when you know the photographer, and I never wanted to treat traveling as a way of simply checking off the boxes (one Thai hill tribe elder, CHECK! One Bolivian coca farmer, CHECK! One Cuban taxi driver, CHECK!). Not only does having a pre-determined idea of the “kind of person” you want to shoot put them in an inappropriate box, it will limit your ability to relate with people on a basic human level. Cultivating a deep curiosity and respect for the people you are living and traveling amongst will freshen your vision and allow for the creation of more organic, mutually respectful photos. This isn’t you thieving a shot; this is you sharing an exchange with a fellow human. And if you aren’t doing that, then why are you travelling?

Be open to your surroundings.

A friend of mine was visiting the ancient ruins of Tikal, a stunning Guatemalan site that draws visitors from around the world, and she came home with a dozen stories not about the incredible architecture or history, but about stopping on the path to crouch down and closely observe a unique bug that she’d never seen before. I can’t help but feel that the people who rush from one attraction to another are missing the real heart and soul of a place—the little discreet things that guidebooks never tell you. Keep your eyes open to the things you’ve never been told to shoot. Your photos will be exponentially better.

Like empty glass soda bottles   Shot in: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Take the leap into manual

If you’re not already shooting in Manual mode, it’s time to play. Give yourself more control over the final image you’re getting by leveling up to Manual mode, and you’ll never look back.

Compose well. Mix it up.

Solid composition can make a plain photo great. While rules are made to be broken, and you’ll never see me insisting that the Rule of Thirds is the only way to shoot, I keep one specific thing in mind while I’m shooting: that the human eye can only take in so much information at a time. The more you are able to “guide” the eye through your photo, the better. Some examples: Use stark backdrops to frame your subject. Pay attention to where the lines in a photo are facing (such as roads, mountaintops, limbs). Exclude information the eye doesn’t need. Look for symmetry and repetitive patterns. The list goes on, but remember that the “thing” you’re shooting is only the first consideration—everything surrounding it is just as crucial for a stellar shot.

Stay Present – and take better travel photos Shot in: Tulum, Mexico

“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” –Robert Capa

Ok, Robert Capa died in the Indochina War because he really believed in that, and maybe you don’t want to go that far. But his point stands: get closer. Don’t try to capture it all in a single photo. 

Originally posted by www.paperplanes.com

Curated by Jesse Delgrosse @gringosontherun. Follow Jesse's adventures @jdelgrosse and make sure to "LIKE" our Facebook and Instagram pages @gringosontherun & @soulsticeswim

Canada is a land of water, but we often get over looked as a beach destination. Thankfully this is fine with us because we get these amazing beaches all to ourselves. Here are some of our favourite "low key" beaches throughout the country. #soulsticeswimspots

Long Beach

www.vancouverisland.travel

Location:  About 20km south of Tofino, B.C (Vancouver Island)

The Vibe: While the pristine sands make you want to lounge on shore, you can’t visit Long Beach without enjoying the surf. Rent a wetsuit and surfboard and see if you can get upright before the day is through.

The Details: Nestled between the rainforest and Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim, Long Beach is Canada's most popular surf spot, and attracts all levels of surfers because of it's gentle tows and mellow winds.

Sandy Cove

Location: About a three-hour drive north of St. John’s, Nfld.

The Vibe: The calm waters and easy views offer a serene oasis for those looking for a to get away and veg out, and catching a some rays.

The Details: Minutes from the historical town of Sandy Cove, the beach is surrounded by picnic areas, hiking trails and the famous Sandy Cove Head Lookout.

Cabots Landing Beach

Beach destinations can be pricey...especially in Europe, so bare with us. These may not be the absolute cheapest in the world in comparison to SE Asia and the Caribbean, but this is Europe and each one of the following offers excellent value for the experience.

Poland

Malta

Greece

Portugal

Portugal shares Europe’s Iberian Peninsula with Spain, and competes with its neighbor, as well as Italy and France, when it comes to beach destinations. Like those other countries, it also offers excellent regional cuisine, several regions for wine tasting, and a diverse landscape that ranges from rocky cliffs to white sand beaches to verdant valleys to rolling plains.

Bulgaria

Lying is almost always wrong but when you're traveling there are certain situations where it's a good idea to do so. As travelers, we're often prone to scams harassment, and many other terrible experiences and a simple white lie is often all it takes to deflect this unwanted attention.

Frederick Cirou/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

"No, This Isn't My First Time Here"

This lie can be used in many situations and to avoid all kinds of unpleasant experiences.

When you take a cab from the airport, your driver will likely ask you if it's your first time in the city. While it can be tempting to say yes and see if you can gather some insider knowledge, it's best to say that you've been here before. If the driver knows this is your first time in a city, he can take you on a long and winding journey and make you pay double.

If the driver thinks you've visited before, he'll be much more likely to take you directly there. 

This can also be used when meeting locals. If someone finds out it's your first day in a city, they can use that to scam you. You're basically telling them that you don't know where anything is, you don't know how the city works, and you're an easy target.  

"Yes, I have a Boyfriend"

This is more for the solo female travelers out there, and can be used to deflect unwarranted attention. If a guy's annoying you at a bar and won't leave you alone, tell him you have a boyfriend. Take a photo of you and a male friend before you leave to travel and show them the photo of you together. Have a believable story and it'll be much easier to avoid the harassment.

"Sorry, I Can't Remember the Name of My Hostel" 

If you meet someone that seems to be taking a little too much interest in who you are, be sure to put your guard up and make sure you don't give too much away. If someone asks where you're staying, pretend that you can remember the name of your hostel and only describe it to them in vague terms.

The last thing you want is someone knowing exactly where you're staying. 

"No Speak English"

In some parts of the world, the touts can be unbearable. In these situations, simply telling them you don't speak English and shrugging can be enough to deter them. If they try and find out which language you do speak then continue to shrug until they give up and walk away. It'll give you more space and a less stressful travel experience. 

"I'm Traveling With a Friend"

As frustrating as it is, solo travelers are targeted more than any other type of traveler. If you're in an uncomfortable situation or don't want to give too much of yourself away, say that you're travelling with a friend but spending the day apart to explore different parts of the city. It'll make you seem like less of an easy target, especially if you're female. 

Happy and safe travels ladies!

Originally posted by Jesse Delgrosse @gringosontherun.com