This is a guest post by travel tech guru Dave Dave of Too Many Adapters, a site devoted to technology for travelers. Wondering what to take on the road when it comes to electronics?  You’re not the only one.  Long gone are the days where a cassette player and film camera were the height of travel gadgetry.  Walking into a hostel common room now you’d be forgiven for thinking you had accidentally stumbled into the local electronics store. You’re likely [...]

Here’s a secret: I love being a cheesy tourist. As much as I love getting off the beaten path and learning about local cultures, sometimes I love the artificial world the mainstream travel industry has created. I think a lot of people think too deeply about travel, as if every moment on the road has to have profound impact and meaning. They are too quick to write off mass tourism. I’ve always found travelers who shun anything “cheesy” to be [...]

There are some places you never leave. You may not be there physically, but a piece of you stays behind forever to be with the place that stole so much of your heart. It lives there, reliving those initial memories and waiting for new ones to be made. Last year, I visited Lisbon for the first time and though the visit was short, thoughts of it never left me. I fell madly in love and the city claimed a hold [...]

A few months ago, you might have noticed a newly-released book on traveling the world on the cheap. Recently, Tim Leffel, one of the original budget travel gurus and a travel writer I admire greatly (who also read through drafts of my own book), updated his cheapest destination book, The World’s Cheapest Destinations. As someone greatly interested in value for money, I interviewed him about his new book, budget travel, travel gear, and saving money on family travel. Nomadic Matt: [...]

I’ve been toying with the idea of running tours for a couple of years now but have never been able to really sit down and organize one. There’s a lot that goes into a tour and I wanted to really make the first one great. Over the last few months as I’ve been settling down in NYC, I’ve had time to plan and I’m happy to announce my first tour (with many more to come) will take place this September [...]

It’s that time of the month again where I embarrass myself on camera and answer your monthly reader questions. Last month, I only talked about international phones and SIM cards, this month I get back to basics and answer a bunch of questions ranging from visa issues to working overseas to my favorite hostels. I think I’m getting better in front of a camera. Like they say, practice makes perfect right? Or in my case, practice makes me suck a [...]

A few months ago, I was speaking with the folks from Singapore Airlines and we ended up talking about the public perception of the cost of airfare. Everyone is always looking for the cheapest flight. And while there are ways to get cheaper airfare, the age of rock bottom prices are simply over. If you’ve been flying for at least the past few years, you might have noticed ticket prices, even the cheapest ones, seem to be going up and [...]

Last summer while I was living in Sweden, I met up with travel writer Doug Lansky, the man behind several worldwide destination guides for Rough Guides. We were talking about travel (of course) and began discussing the philosophical question about whether, as traveler writers, we end up destroying the places we love by sharing them with the world. By writing about those off the beaten track destinations, those little local restaurants and quiet parts of the city where you are [...]

According to research, the phrase “Keep Austin Weird” was inspired by comments made by Red Wassenich in 2000 while giving a pledge to an Austin radio station. He later began printing bumper stickers and published a book called Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town. Now the phrase reflects the friendly, artistic, creative and a little offbeat culture that is a haven for varying LGBT, intellectual, naturalist and environmentalist communities. Austin, the state capital of Texas, [...]

Readjusting to life back home can be a challenge. I remember my first time coming home – I had major culture shock. I remember the supermarkets just feeling so big. And the stores. And the meal portions. (We have such big meals here in the States!) Plus, most of my friends couldn’t relate to my feeling of unease. It was a challenge going from always being on the move to suddenly doing the opposite. (Clearly, I didn’t cope. My solution [...]