After I had already arranged our recent stay in Seattle with two lovely area hotels, I found some information about hostels on Hostelbookers for hostels which are available in Seattle and was immediately intrigued. Although booking a hostel did not work out on this trip, I am seriously considering a hostel stay in the future. Does this sound crazy for two retired travelers who normally stay in luxury accommodations? Aren’t hostels just for kids and backpackers?

Not anymore.

Most of what you read and hear about hostels is certainly about young people who are traveling around the world with a backpack slung over their shoulders, always looking for the cheapest possible accommodations, and who don’t mind sharing a dorm room with several others.

Just for future reference?

We will never share a dorm room with several others.

And, surprisingly, with many hostels today, you don’t have to share a room or even a bathroom if that is your choice. Especially in big cities like Seattle, hostels come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges – but the one thing you can count on is that they are going to be much cheaper than even the cheapest hotel. You can find reviews for many hostels on Tripadvisor under “Specialty Lodging” and check them out before you book.

The Green Tortoise Hostel in Seattle is a good example of a hostel which offers both private and dorm rooms, and it’s located right across the street from the Pike Place Market. We had to walk several blocks from our hotels to get to the market. This hostel has a view of Puget Sound and is a newly remodeled location in the Elliot Hotel Building, a beautiful historic building with brand new bathrooms, kitchen and common areas. With Pike Place Market so close, you can choose from lots of shopping options as well as plenty of restaurants. If you want to save a little money, just pick up some fresh fish, produce and freshly baked bakery items to take back to the hostel. In addition, they have free wifi (can’t tell you how many times we have paid for this hotels), a free breakfast, and even a free dinner three times a week.

The Green Tortoise Hostel

Free wifi and free meals sounds pretty good, but what about a hot tub? Yep, you can even find one of those at the City Hostel Seattle. With an art-focused theme, this hostel has art on every wall and you can even purchase original art from the local artist responsible for the artwork.

Entrance to the City Hostel

Colorful artwork everywhere at the City Hostel Seattle.

  These are just two examples of some of the interesting, eclectic and quite comfortable hostels you will find in Seattle from Hostelbookers.

Seriously. Who knew?

The next time we are planning our accommodations in a city, I’m going to check which hostels are available. With amenities like free wifi, free meals and a hot tub along with a private room, it sounds just as good as hotel.

Only.

It’s half the price.

Lounging on the Safari Quest Yacht by janross53

I curled up on the comfy couch, tucking my feet under me and spreading the warm throw over my knees. I could have been at home, comfortably reading, except for the fact that I could glance up and through the large windows to see dark green water and the incredibly beautiful landscape of the coast of British Columbia slipping past.

My perch was located in the library of the Un-Cruise Adventures yacht, the Safari Quest, and Tom and I were on one of the most incredible cruises we have ever experienced.

My favorite place on the Safari Quest.

We had cruised on dozens of big cruise line behemoth ships and had even downsized to a river cruise ship in Europe, but this yacht was the smallest cruise ship so far – and also the most wonderful.

The Safari Quest.

 When we boarded, we found ourselves in a lovely, beautifully furnished and very comfortable lounge area with even more cushy seating for me to curl up on.

Another comfy area where I spent a lot of time.

The salon ended up being where the 15 guests onboard (the yacht holds 22 guests, in addition to the crew) congregated at all times of the day. There is a 2:1 ratio of crew to passengers on the ship and we were constantly amazed at how nice and friendly every member of the crew was and how they were always concerned with making sure we were all comfortable and having a good time. They seemed to all genuinely love their jobs and it was a refreshing change from some cruises we have taken.

The salon was very comfortable with huge windows and, more importantly, the bar is located in this area. Drinks are included in your fare on the Safari Quest and we were even encouraged to go behind the bar and help ourselves if no crew members were available. I soon became comfortable with getting ice and a soft drink for myself whenever I felt like it and, every time I did, I thought about how much I would be paying for that drink on the big cruise lines. So silly they way they nickel and dime their passengers on those cruises. We much preferred the system on the Safari Quest! The crew had obviously been trained on making drinks because I heard people order all kinds of drinks and they never hesitated when making them.

After we boarded and explored the ship, Tom spent the first few hours prowling all over the ship taking photos.

I unpacked.

When I arrive somewhere, I like to immediately settle in and nest. Nest was a good name for our cozy little stateroom on the lower deck. At first, I wasn’t sure all our belongings would fit but I unpacked two large suitcases and every single item was put away, to my surprise. The staterooms are designed for maximum organization and are amazingly comfortable. The floors in the bathroom are even heated!

Down those stairs to our cozy stateroom!

Here’s a diagram of the ship to give you an idea where everything was located. We were in stateroom C2, tucked away in the bow of the ship. It was very quiet and very comfortable.

The lovely Safari Quest. Photo courtesy of Un-Cruise Adventures.

There are also suites available on the ship, on the top deck, and from what I could see as I passed by open doors, they were quite a bit more roomy and had doors which opened to a small balcony. The sun lounge on the top deck of the ship became the most popular place on the ship as the weather cleared on our second day and we were blessed with warm, sunny and gorgeous weather the entire week. There were kayaks neatly stored up there, along with the skiff, which was used for excursions to view the local scenery and wildlife.

Kayaks and Skiff.

We spent a lot of time in that skiff with Bethany, one of our favorite people and the resident naturalist/biologist on the ship. She got really excited about sharing the area wildlife with us and was not averse to leaning so far out of the skiff to grab something for us to see that we were often afraid she would tumble into the water.

Bethany showing us something while I (as usual) lounge in a chair.

Bethany gets up close and personal with a sea slug.

There was a large hot tub up on the sun lounge as well, which some passengers enjoyed and we intended to but our days were so full, we just never got around to it. The sun lounge was where we watched the killer whales one day and we also watched as day after day incredible scenery passed by the ship.

One view from the Safari Quest.

Princess Louisa Inlet

I loved my comfy perches but Tom’s favorite place on the ship was the bridge. The Safari Quest has an open bridge policy and by open bridge, they really mean it. They have a bench in there for passengers to sit and the captain is always very welcoming. Sean, our captain on this voyage, spent a lot of time explaining how everything worked, where we were and what we were cruising past, and where we were headed next. He never showed any sign of impatience at all the questions and, like the rest of the crew, seemed to love his job. Anytime I was looking for Tom, he was either down this hallway in the bridge or on the sun lounge taking photos.

The hallway to the bridge.

Sean on the bridge.

Every evening, after a long day of kayaking, taking out the skiff, hiking and exploring, we gathered in the dining room for one incomparable dinner after another. The chef and pastry chef did a great job with all the meals and we enjoyed every bite.

The beautiful dining room.

We were never allowed to go hungry on the ship; in addition to three full meals, we had delicious appetizers every night before dinner and every time we arrived back from one of our adventures, we had some interesting food and drink waiting for us.

Snacks waiting after one of our adventures.

Appetizers on the sun lounge one evening.

The crew, the accommodations, the food, the ship itself, the incredible adventures - everything combined to create the perfect cruise experience for our week in British Columbia.

I’d like to be back in my little perch at this very moment!

Full disclosure: Un-Cruise Adventures provided us with the cruise,  but as always, I will share my honest opinion about any travel experiences I have.

Best Cruise Destination: Bermuda

Cruise ships visit this lovely, temperate island in the Atlantic and stay for several days, giving you a chance to really experience the pink sand beaches and fabulous shopping. Visit the Crystal Caves, check out the glass-blowing artists at The Bermuda Glassworks, shop for the beautiful purple-blue stone Tanzanite in some fabulous local jewelry, and be sure to try the famous local rum concoction—a Dark and Stormy. Locally caught seafood is the item to order at any of the area restaurants—the taste of that fresh fish is truly fabulous. Many cruises to this port leave from New York, so you can easily add on an overnight stay in the Big Apple that includes dinner and a show.

Best Beaches: Riviera Maya, Mexico

Just a short drive from the crowded and touristy Cancun, quiet and beautiful Riviera Maya has white sand beaches and gorgeous turquoise water that’s always warm and pleasant for a swim. Stay at the incomparable Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita where the Endless Privileges price includes virtually everything for your stay—a private, chauffeured airport transfer, gourmet meals and snacks, 24-hour laundry service, a Catamaran sail, unlimited worldwide calls and a stay in an absolutely fabulous suite, many of which come with a private plunge pool. Enjoy sparkling wine and fresh fruit daily in your plunge pool with a view of the ocean—a truly relaxing and decadent experience!

Read the rest of this article on Travel + Escape HERE.

We saw the sea lions first.

Lazily lounging on a rock outcropping in the Strait of Georgia which is a part of the Salish Sea running through British Columbia, they were enjoying the warm, spring sun and seemed to have not a care in the world. Many were sound asleep. Those that were awake had their heads thrown back, making the distinctive sea-lion yodel which reverberated across the water to our yacht. We were cruising the Salish Sea on the supremely comfortable Safari Quest yacht, part of the Un-Cruise Adventures fleet.

We had seen sea lions, harbor seals, river otters and plenty of birds on our cruise which had wound its way through the Gulf and Harmony Islands as well as the incomparably beautiful Princess Louisa Inlet,  but this was the closest we had been to wildlife so far.

We left the sea lions behind as we cruised along the open water, dark green in the sunlight with snow-topped mountains soaring in the distance.

It was an idyllic scene.

And then we saw it.

A magnificent killer whale.

Killer Whale

Our resident naturalist/biologist, Bethany, had told us earlier that she had been informed there were killer whales in the vicinity so we had all hoped we might see one. The huge, black and white creature was truly magnificent. Then we realized there was more than one. There were actually three. A mother, a baby and a big brother according to Bethany. We were all awed and amazed.

Three Killer Whales

Then we noticed something else in the water with the killer whales. It was a lone sea-lion. Apparently, he had ventured a little too far from the colony we had seen a few miles back and been trapped by these predators. In this photo, you can see his brown fin sticking out of the water.

Killer Whales and the sea-lion

The killer whales began to play a deadly game with the sea-lion. Every time he tried to escape, they would circle around and pen him in. They could have killed him in an instant but they played a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse, more than likely teaching the young whale about hunting.

Circling around

Keeping the sea-lion trapped

For the next half hour or so, the three killer whales circled the sea-lion, driving him back to the middle when he tried to escape and even brushing up against him as they cavorted around him.

After circling him for quite a while, the killer whales seemed to tire of that game and began to smash down on the sea-lion, crushing him down under the water again and again with their tails and their huge bodies. This is how killer whales feed, by pummeling and crushing their prey until they are unconscious, then tearing them to pieces underwater.

Each time the sea-lion appeared, he seemed to be more and more exhausted. He just floated on the water, his flippers trailing as the killers toyed with him. We were all equally horrified and mesmerized by the spectacle. By this time, everyone on board including most of the crew was on the deck with binoculars and cameras.

Finally, there was huge splash as the largest predator came down on top of the sea-lion and bore him down underwater.

For a few minutes, there was complete silence. From the calm appearance of the water and the sun shining out of a cloudless blue sky, you would never have known that deep under the water, the sea-lion was dying.

Finally, the killer whales appeared once more.

This time with the dead sea-lion in pieces in their jaws.

Finally, they swam away from the ship and disappeared underwater.

It was the most amazing, terrifying, incredible spectacle I have ever seen. The beauty, and the awesome power of the those huge creatures was almost poetic.

I will never forget it.

I don’t think anyone who witnessed it will ever forget it either.

Full disclosure: Un-Cruise Adventures provided us with the cruise,  but as always, I will share my honest opinion about any travel experiences I have.

Read the rest of this article on Girlsgetaway.com HERE.