Posted: 4/5/24 | April 5th, 2024 When I started backpacking around the world, there were no smartphones. If you needed to call home, you had to find a pay phone and if you needed to use a computer to look something up or send an email, you had to find an internet café. But times […]
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An Interview with Lonely Planet’s Founder
Updated: 08/04/19 | August 4th, 2019 In 2019, one of the keynote speakers at TravelCon was Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet. I’ve been fortunate enough to chat with Tony a few times over the years, and I was honored when he agreed to speak at our conference. With TravelCon19 in the books, I […]
How Oneika Gets Teaching Jobs Around the World
Updated: 12/03/19 | December 4th, 2019 I’ve featured a lot of readers on this website: solo travelers, couples, young and old travelers, Brits, Canadians, and Americans. But there are still a lot of viewpoints I haven’t covered. So today’s reader interview brings some more diversity and perspective to our series. Today we talk to Oneika, […]
Does Travel Really Change People?
Posted: 11/29/21 | November 29th, 2021 If you’re like me, you believe that travel can change people. Exposure to the world and those who live in it is often a positive force for change. But, lately, I’ve been thinking about how we oversell just how much travel can change people’s minds. (I was opining about […]
Buenos Aires Travel Guide
Known as the “Paris of South America,” Buenos Aires lives up to its nickname thanks to its popular café culture, grand boulevards, and an incredible food scene that rivals its European counterpart. Argentina’s capital and largest city is a hotspot for music, food, the arts, and dancing. The city is one of the most diverse […]
Gold Coast Travel Guide
The Gold Coast, Australia is east of Brisbane and is know for its sunny subtropical climate, surfing, beaches, a rainforest hinterland, and wild nightlife. For most travelers, visiting the Gold Coast means spending time in the most famous city in the area, Surfers Paradise (a name which dates all the way back to 1917). This […]
How to Get Around Central America on a Budget
Last Updated: 7/10/23 | July 10th, 2023 Surrounded by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Central America is a magical region that is perfect for backpacking. The area is full of rainforests, unexplored Mayan ruins, gorgeous beaches, incredible reefs, cheap prices, delicious food, and welcoming people. It can be difficult arranging transportation throughout the region. In […]
The 7 Best Hotels in New York City
Posted: 3/7/24 | March 7th, 2024 New York City is the most iconic and most visited city in the United States. With its distinctive skyline, diverse neighborhoods, world-class museums, incredible Broadway productions, and melting pot of cultures, NYC attracts millions of visitors each year. (It’s also the place I call home.) New York City is […]
Fraser Island Travel Guide
Fraser Island (also known as K’gari) in Queensland is the largest sand island in the world. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s a place of exceptional beauty, with long uninterrupted white beaches flanked by striking sand cliffs and over 100 freshwater lakes. It was originally named “Great Sandy Island” by the Europeans who “discovered” it […]
Meeting People: The Real World vs Travel World
Updated: 02/05/19 | February 5th, 2019 One of my favorite parts about traveling is the ability to meet a diverse range of people. In hostels, on tours, on buses, sitting at cafés, or at bars, when you travel it’s easy to make new friends. So easy that sometimes you feel like you have friend overload. […]
19 Travel Goals to Accomplish Before 35
Posted: 08/20/13 | August 20th, 2013 Back in June, as I was reflecting on another birthday, I looked at a very, very old version of my website and spotted a list of travel goals I’d written that I had forgotten. As I’ve made changes to this site over the year, I moved the list around, […]
The Whitsunday Islands Travel Guide
The Whitsunday Islands are a collection of 74 islands off the central coast of Queensland, Australia. These incredibly stunning islands are one of the most popular destinations in the country. From backpackers on sailing trips to locals on their own boats to those staying at the luxury resorts that dot the islands, anyone who goes […]