You’re ready to travel. You even bought a backpack. You told your friends that you’re taking off within the next few months. You have a general itinerary and you can’t wait to get on that airplane. But you also know that your travels probably won’t happen in the end. You’re fully aware that despite the excitement of travel, despite your desire to get out there and see the world, you just don’t have the necessary confidence to actually do it. I remember it well. I remember telling everyone

It all started last Wednesday when, during an afternoon break from doing some work, I decided to go online and look up random airfares from Bucharest. Always a sucker for the beach, the first destination I looked up was Goa, India. And the first airfare I found was $340 USD (one-way) with FlyDubai and Air India. I suddenly got excited. I then decided to continue searching other destinations. Within an hour, I had found airfares to places such as Tbilisi, Georgia ($178 USD) and Male, Maldi

It was simply stunning. The sun was rising over the holy Ganges River, with the gentle foothills of the Himalayas off in the distance, the town slowly awakening into a soft pink glow. The atmosphere so peaceful, so serene. I stood there enjoying this sunrise for quite some time, watching the monkeys hop around the rooftops in front of me, smiling at the first sounds of chanting and music flowing out of the ashrams nearby. I could not have been happier. About fifteen minutes prior to this,

One day we’ll meet up at a cafe somewhere in the world and you’ll tell me your story, your story of how you went from the mere idea of wanting to travel to actually making it a reality. And I look forward to hearing all about it. It will happen, whenever the time is right. That’s the key. When the time is right. This traveling stuff is tricky. It messes with your head. You want to travel badly and every single day you dream of all the places you’ll visit when you do get started, but that’

[This post is written in partnership with Trover after using the app and continuing to find it truly useful and worth spreading the word about. I don’t do these kind of posts often – only when I really believe in something and always with opinions and thoughts that are 100% my own.] You walk by a cafe in your hometown, or perhaps a local bookshop, or maybe there’s a small, but beautiful, beach that offers a perfect sunset view. You smile widely when you think of these

The year that is 2015 has brought me into contact with what seems like a higher-than-normal number of travel products, travel-related websites and travel services that I never knew about before. From all sorts of travel communities to compact hammocks to online postcards to oddly-shaped travel pillows that actually seem to make sleeping on airplanes even more uncomfortable, new things are popping up in my inbox every day. If I were to remember them all, the list would be quite extensive.

Many know him, some might not. Perhaps some of you follow his blog or have at least seen it. I remember when I heard about this Nomadic Matt guy back when I was starting out and I kept hearing about him for years without really ever interacting with him. Last summer I finally met him in person and since then, we’ve hung out a couple of times, most recently at the end of May while at the TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange) conference in Spain. Here’s the deal. Matt has been blogging

Before getting on an airplane, I always re-tie my shoelaces. During a layover, I must sit at an airport cafe for at least ten minutes, but only in a chair that faces away from the counter where I placed my order. And I always look at the details page of my passport a dozen times or more right before I begin to travel. I’d like to say there’s a good reason for me doing all of the above. But, in reality, those first two are just examples of my inexplicable travel habits. The last

When I traveled to Las Vegas ten days ago, I forgot to do one important thing when I booked my flight. And the result of this momentarily lapse was a long, forty minute wait to pass through security at Orlando International Airport. Normally, when I’m at a US airport I pass through the TSA Pre✓® lane – the speedy security lane for pre-screened passengers. But this time, I could only watch the speedy lane from the chaos of seven long regular security lanes merging into one, creeping

A trip to Zanzibar…that exotic, mysterious land. Never did I think I would make it to this island off the coast of mainland Tanzania but somehow, like most of my travels, it just happened. After bouncing around Kenya and Tanzania for a while, it was time to take it easy and catch up on work, and Zanzibar seemed like a logical, and nearby, option. All we hoped for was a relatively quiet beach in a tropical setting, close to a local village, and where accommodation wasn’t too exp

It might sound unbelievable but I’ve actually traveled the world for 18 years without doing anything special. When I started my travels in 1999, I was about as much of an ultra-budget backpacker as one could possibly be. All of my simple belongings easily fit into my original 44 liter durable Kelty Redwing backpack, to begin with. Combine that with a travel style that involved nothing more than constant on the go planning, hostel dorm rooms and trying to do everything without spendin

On October 26th, I’ll be leaving Gran Canaria and making my way to India. And with that trip, I shall say a big goodbye to all the countries in Europe as I won’t be back before the end of the year. I’ve actually spent a decent amount of time traveling around Europe in 2017 though, much more than usual. I think it’s been 12 countries. My European experiences began back in February when I flew from Miami to India, changing planes in Frankfurt. I had a long 6 hour layover there, most of which

—– About two years ago, I started doing something that pretty much guarantees I get an Airbnb discount every time I book accommodation with Airbnb (the website that allows you to book rooms, apartments and homes all around the world). It wasn’t some crazy secret that I had uncovered or some complicated trick that I figured out over time. It was simply an idea that came into my mind one day. Here’s how it works: I send a message to the host before I make a booking. Yes, I

As the end of the year approaches, I want to share my travel favorites from all the experiences that I had in 2017. It was a wild year, one that took me to 28 different countries, led me to 71 different accommodations and gave me some of the most memorable moments of my entire 18 years of travel. So, here are my favorites from this year of adventures… Travel Gift Tinggly This has to be the perfect gift for someone that loves to travel. You choose from one of the ‘experience collect

I’m sorry, Sri Lanka. For many years, I chose to ignore you, to shun you, to shrug my shoulders and say “Eh” whenever you were mentioned. After a quick 3-day visit to Colombo back in 2002, I never thought about paying a visit to your shores again. This was despite 30 trips to India, your neighbor to the north, and despite rumors from other travelers that you really were an excellent and affordable beach destination. Why did I treat you so? Honestly, you just didn’t sound that appealing to

When I travel, I use Uber and other similar ride-sharing apps from time to time. The reason is convenience, ease and in most places, the ability to save money with Uber over using taxis. Let’s go back to three weeks ago. I stood on a street corner in the Romanian city of Timisoara. My phone was in my hand and I opened the Uber app. I typed in my destination and an estimate of the fare was shown on the screen. However, I noticed that the fare was more than double the fare I had paid

Brief History Western Sahara is a disputed region in North Africa and is not a recognized country. About 80% of the territory is controlled by Morocco and 20% makes up the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. There is a sand wall that separates the two regions. From what I’ve gathered, after the Spanish gave up control of this entire territory in 1975, Morocco and Mauritania shared control, with the native Sahrawi people lacking the power needed to take over their claimed homeland. Eve

This is a simple one. In my never ending search for ways to get the best deals on all things travel related, I recently came across a website that makes it remarkably easy to get massive hotel discounts. The website, Club 1 Hotels, resells hotel rooms that were purchased in bulk by corporations. When bought in bulk, the rooms are purchased at much lower rates than what the public can get. Then, when some of those bulk rooms aren’t used, this website makes them available to everyone in orde

  You want local travel experiences. You start researching destinations. You discover that so many cities are considered overrun with tourists. You hear about countries that appear to be so touristy, others say they’re not worth visiting. It’s true. There’s a lot of destinations in the world that have a lot of tourists/travelers in them. So, if you prefer to stay away from mass tourism, it can seem like a real challenge to find an ideal destination to visit. ButR

You know how they say it’s the little things that matter? Well, today, I want to quickly mention one of the unsung heroes of my traveling life. So, let’s wander off the beaten track for a bit and talk about a little tool that helps me keep my mind at ease when on the road. I’m talking about a VPN app. VPN is short for Virtual Private Network. What’s a VPN have to do with traveling? Here we go… Find the best deals on airplane tickets and hotel rooms I’m going to dive straight into it.