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.
 · 3 min read

Packing Wisdom Earned Over Ten Years of Full-Time International Travel

After more than a decade of continuous travel across dozens of countries, experienced bloggers have refined their approach to packing through repeated trial and adjustment. The result is a focused set of choices that address real daily needs rather than filling a suitcase with every possible item. These selections reflect lessons learned from changing climates,

 · 3 min read

The Quiet Shift: Professionals Choosing Month-Long Time in Bali

Across cities in Europe and beyond, a subtle pattern has taken hold. Professionals in their thirties and forties are quietly arranging a full month away from their desks, often without any announcement on professional networks or social platforms. What once belonged mainly to academics on sabbatical has become a practical option for designers, product managers,

 · 3 min read

Decades in Storage, One Vertebra Rewrites What We Know of Antarctica’s Past

London’s Natural History Museum recently confirmed that a modest backbone fragment collected in 1985 belongs to the first dinosaur ever documented on the Antarctic continent. The specimen had rested in a geological collection drawer for nearly forty years before its true identity came to light. That quiet rediscovery now adds a vivid chapter to the

 · 2 min read

American Airlines to Launch Grab-and-Go Lounge at JFK

New York – Travelers connecting through John F. Kennedy International Airport will soon gain a streamlined option for refreshments before departure. American Airlines has announced plans for a Provisions by Admirals Club outpost inside Terminal 8, with an expected opening by the end of 2026. The new space builds on an earlier concept introduced at

 · 10 min read

Exploring the Beautifully Preserved Victorian Streets of Cape May

There’s a particular stillness you notice when you first turn onto Hughes Street in Cape May, New Jersey. No chain restaurants in sight, no high-rises, no blinking neon. Just painted wooden cottages dressed in gingerbread trim, their wide porches catching the Atlantic breeze. It feels less like a vacation town and more like a whole

 · 9 min read

Smart Tips for Staying Energized and Safe on High-Altitude Hikes

There is something genuinely humbling about reaching a ridge line where the air grows thin and the horizon stretches farther than you imagined possible. High-altitude hiking draws millions of people every year to mountain trails across every continent, and that pull is entirely understandable. What catches many hikers off guard, though, is how quickly the

 · 8 min read

The Tiny European-Style Village Hidden Deep In The Mountains Of Georgia

There’s a bend in a mountain road in northeast Georgia where everything changes. One moment you’re surrounded by dense hardwood forest and winding Appalachian ridgelines, and the next, you’ve rolled into what looks unmistakably like a small Bavarian town. Flower-lined balconies, half-timbered facades, cobblestone underfoot. It takes a moment to register that you haven’t somehow

 · 9 min read

Supporting Local: How to Ensure Your Travel Dollars Actually Stay Within the Community You Visit

Most travelers assume that booking a holiday abroad is, in itself, an act of generosity toward the destination. The truth is considerably more complicated. The money you spend can move through a community like water through a sieve, funneled upward and outward to international corporations, foreign-owned platforms, and imported goods long before it reaches anyone

 · 9 min read

This Montana Hot Springs Town Has No Entrance Fees and Half the Tourists

There’s a small town tucked into the western edge of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Sanders County, Montana, that’s been quietly drawing people in for well over a century. It doesn’t make the cover of glossy travel magazines, and you won’t find it competing for Instagram attention with Glacier National Park or the resort towns