Over the last few weeks, I’ve gained a lot of new readers through a plethora of conferences and lots of guest posts around the web. So, as I go on vacation this week, I wanted to take some time and say hello to all the new readers of this site and let them get to know a bit about me and the site. What’s Nomadic Matt all about? In 2005, on a trip to Thailand, my whole life changed. I [...]

A lot of people hate cruises. Oversized boats filled with oversized people. There’s a particular disdain for them among backpackers and other “real” travelers. “Cruises aren’t travel,” people say, “You don’t get to experience the local culture. You don’t get to explore the places you visit. You are shuttled from place to place in pre-fabricated tours in gigantic groups.” Cruises are considered fake travel for people who want to pretend they are traveling some place without having to do any [...]

In my life, time always seems to be in such short supply. I had hoped coming home from Asia and “slowing down” would allow me to have more time to relax but it hasn’t….yet. After heading home in April, I had a million things to do (read: taxes) before I was off to Japan for three weeks, and then to Las Vegas for a conference. But now, I am finally going to slow down like I had said I would months [...]

We travel around the world to seek foreign lands, but sometimes after returning home, we find out that home is the real foreign land. After three weeks of being back in America, I feel like I am a stranger in a strange land. America has changed. There’s something different about it this time around. I’ve been home before. I spent the summer of 2010 in New York City, and I circle home every so often to visit my parents. I [...]

First, I’d like to tell everyone: don’t worry. I am not giving up traveling, nor am I giving up blogging. After I wrote about ending my nomadic ways, my inbox and social media streams were flooded with questions and concerns. However, don’t worry. As I said at the end of that blog post, the only change in my life is that I am no longer going to be a nomad. I am going to have a home base and I’m [...]

They say everything comes in threes, and I guess that my journey has had three big moments. The first is when I fell in love with travel. It was 2004 and I was on my first international trip. I had originally intended to visit Australia but somehow I ended up in Costa Rica. I don’t even remember how anymore, it’s just been too long. But I do clearly remember that somewhere between eating the best bruschetta of my life, creeping [...]

Picture this. You’re preparing to go to London, someplace you’ve never been. You bought a guidebook — but those get dated fast, so beyond the typical tourist attractions listed, you aren’t sure what information is accurate and current. So you go online, log into a website, post your trip itinerary, and said website connects to your Facebook and Twitter accounts — and now your friends can leave suggestions about what to see, do, and where to eat. Armed with this [...]

I can’t believe it is already March. The months always seem to slip by too quickly, especially when you’re busy and 2012 has been shaping up to be a huge year for me. There’s some major changes going on that I want to tell you about. Brand New Site Design If you are reading this site, you’ll have noticed that the old design is now gone and it’s a brand new, flashy website. If you are reading this via e-mail [...]

I poke. I push. I prod. I try to get people out of their cubicles and traveling the world. That’s what I do. That’s my thing. I show others that traveling doesn’t have to be expensive, that anyone can do it, and that your fears are unfounded. I try to be a living example for that. Judging by the emails I get from people, I think I’m successful at getting people onto airplanes and out into the world. But last [...]

Anyone who says Christmas is the most stressful time of the year has never had a book deadline. My book on world travel is due in less than 2 weeks and, to be quite honest, I’m not close to being done. At least, I don’t feel like I am. Other writers are telling me this stress is normal and everyone feels this way at one point but I’m not sleeping well, my eyes hurt from staring at my computer, and [...]