Helen Hatzis Profile Overview

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis, is the Chief Exploration Office and Co-Founder of Trip Jaunt. Helen is a recipient of the Governor-General Award, has been honoured as one of Canada's Nicest People! A true xenophile at heart, she finds joy in traveling and delights in sharing her experiences through Trip Jaunt (formerly Weekend Jaunt), an online travel community and hub she established in 2010. Her aspiration is to inspire others to explore the world as she does! Helen is an esteemed advisory member of the North American Travel Journalists Association.
Vintage-style roadside sign reading “Deep Ellum Texas” standing in front of an elevated highway.
 · 8 min read

Tasting the Blues: Exploring Deep Ellum, Texas, on a Comfort-Food Tour

In Dallas’s historic Deep Ellum neighbourhood, tacos, chilli and neon-lit bars sit beside blues history, brick warehouses, and bold street art. On a drizzly Texas afternoon, I joined a Secret Food Tour through Deep Ellum – a pocket of Dallas where comfort food and music history share the same sidewalk. Between bites of burgers and […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

Field-level club seating at AT&T Stadium, with a young fan in a Cowboys jersey sitting at a small table covered in snacks and drinks while security staff and NFL camera crews stand just beyond the railing, watching the game unfold on the brightly lit field.
 · 8 min read

Front Row: A First-Time Dallas Cowboys Game from Field Level

From Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts to seated close to the star at AT&T Stadium, here’s what it feels like to experience a Dallas Cowboys home game up close  I had field-level seats for my very first Dallas Cowboys game: a divisional showdown between the Cowboys and their long-time rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles. The stakes were high, the jerseys […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

A festive sign reading “Grapevine, Texas – The Christmas Capital of Texas” framed by a lit garland, surrounded by oversized candy cane decorations and twinkling lights in the trees.
 · 9 min read

Christmas in Grapevine: 14 Fun Things To Do in the Christmas Capital of Texas

From glittering Main Street lights to wine trains and festive markets, Grapevine, Texas wraps its historic core in holiday magic, with most experiences clustered within just a few miles. Grapevine doesn’t just decorate for the holidays; it transforms. Officially recognized as the Christmas Capital of Texas, the city rolls out more than 1,400 festive events […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

A vivid outdoor mural covers a concrete wall, featuring five elite athletes from different sports frozen mid-action. A football quarterback, a baseball pitcher, a basketball player in a red “HOUSTON” jersey, an American football running back, and a soccer player in a red and blue kit all burst forward against a background of sharp, colourful geometric shapes. Pebbled ground fills the foreground, emphasizing that this is a large-scale exterior artwork.
 · 4 min read

Three Things to Do in Waco, Texas in One Morning

How to turn a few free hours in Waco into a mini-adventure with the Waco Adventure Pass. You don’t always need a full day to get a feel for a place. In Waco, a free morning, a rental car, and the Waco Adventure Pass were all I needed to slip between wild habitats, sports history, […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

Detailed shot of an exposed fossil bed showing the partial skeleton of an adult female Columbian mammoth labelled “Mammoth W,” with a rib cage, skull, and tusk fragments visible. To the right, a sign reads “Giant Tortoise,” marking another set of bones embedded in the compacted earth. Bright orange buckets sit nearby for sediment collection.
 · 6 min read

Wait, What? A Mammoth in Waco!?

How a Quiet Texas Creek Revealed a Prehistoric Nursery Herd I went into my trip planning expecting silos and soft drinks, not a nursery full of mammoths; once I discovered it in my research, I knew I had to see it for myself. Yet there I was, just 11 minutes’ drive from my downtown hotel, […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

A mustard-yellow, Romanesque-style building with arched windows and stone trim stands on a corner across from a crosswalk. A sign above the door reads “Dr Pepper Museum.” To the right, an iron gate leads into a courtyard where people are lined up to enter. The sky is partly cloudy, and a few pedestrians cross the street in front.
 · 8 min read

How Dr Pepper and Magnolia Helped Rewrite Waco’s Story

A fizzy soft drink, a pair of grain silos, and a walkable downtown morning show how Waco, Texas turned history and home design into a destination worth lingering in. Hotel Herringbone I woke up in Waco with two letters on my mind: H H. They’re stitched into my hotel blinds, embossed on the coasters, and tucked […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

A woman stands outdoors in nature, holding her hands up in front of her face with her thumbs and index fingers forming a rectangle, like a film director framing a shot. She is looking through the space between her hands, focusing on the view.
 · 6 min read

Crossing the Line: Why I Still Travel to the US in a Time of Division

As many Canadians turn away from U.S. travel over politics and polarization, I’m choosing to cross the border with open eyes, an open heart, and a quiet hope for connection. I have lost count of how many times I’ve crossed into the United States. California was my first great love outside of Canada—my early twenties […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

Dramatic sunset over a densely built coastline and rolling waves, capturing the tension between natural beauty and human presence.
 · 6 min read

Places You Can’t Visit

A sober map of off-limits places scarred by war, extraction, neglect, and our appetite for more—reminding us that nature, not profit, will have the last word. We like to think the world is endlessly open to us. Bucket lists. “Must-see before it’s too late.” Limited-time offers on landscapes and cultures that were never ours to […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

Silent travel
 · 7 min read

Respect in Every Step: Shinto & Indigenous Wisdom for Travellers

A gentle guide to exploring with humility, care, and reciprocity—whether you’re crossing oceans or crossing your street. Move kindly through place—nearby or abroad We don’t need a passport stamp to practise responsible travel. The most meaningful journeys start with how we show up—curious, respectful, and light on the land. Around the world, wisdom traditions offer […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis

A Blue Morpho butterfly with vivid iridescent blue wings rests open on broad tropical leaves in Costa Rica’s rainforest.
 · 5 min read

Butterfly Conservatory in Costa Rica Protects a Big Piece of Our Planet

Costa Rica’s couple-led butterfly projects show how hands-on conservation, community livelihoods, and careful education can restore habitat—one host plant (and chrysalis) at a time. Butterfly Effect Costa Rica has long been a beacon for responsible ecotourism, and butterfly conservation is one of its most hopeful, people-powered stories. Across the country, small, often family- or couple-run […]

Helen Hatzis

Helen Hatzis