Good news for artists, writers, musicians, and other creative-types! If you need more incentive for extended travel, The Economist confirms what you (and Picasso, and Gauguin) might’ve suspected—living abroad boosts creativity.

I can definitely see the connection. Because the traveler likely finds new inspiration around every corner and often needs to wing it with a new language, he’s broadening and testing his creativity every day.

I think it’s worthwhile to note that the … Read more »

Everyone brings something truly useless on their first long trip. For me it was a water filter. Great idea in theory, avoid plastic bottles, save the planet etc, etc. Then reality set in and the water filter stayed at the bottom of my bag for months until I finally sent it home with a friend.

There are … Read more »

As constant travelers, you may find yourself stumped with how to answer not only the question “Where are you from?” (I was born on the East Coast of Canada, lived two hours from Niagara Falls until I was was 18, then lived in Pittsburgh, PA and now I live in Los Angeles…but I’m often COMING from somewhere else when I travel) but “What the heck is up with your home country anyway?”

As citizens of … Read more »

“Other people’s heads are too wretched a place for true happiness to have its seat.” –Arthur Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena (1851)

Although those of us at BootsnAll HQ continue to be flabbergasted at some of the jaw-droppingly low travel deals we see lately, and although we keep preaching to anyone who’ll listen that these deals are so good that everyone who possibly can should take advantage of them, we know that not everyone can hit the road right now. So in an effort to provide a little something to those of you who can’t travel … Read more »

Sometimes your accommodation can be a tourist attraction in itself. Japan’s “capsule hotels” have already become another fun thing for travelers to do.

But there are places that go much further, as you can read in this Matador Trips article about the World’s 10 Weirdest Hotels.  Several of these really integrate with their natural environments, like the ice hotel in Sweden and the cave hotel in Turkey. Others even turn the idea of … Read more »

Last chance to polish up that travel article that’s been rattling around on your computer or in your brain to enter the Bradt Travel Guides / The Independent on Sunday contest! This year’s theme is “Destination Unknown”. Entries must be under 800 words and submitted by noon on May 15.

The first place winner will receive a holiday for two in Colombia and have their winning story published in The Independent on … Read more »

I’m always curious about alternatives to mainstream travel, so when I heard about this option for accommodations I was intrigued.

AirBnB is a website where locals offer a place in their home (be it an airbed, bed, or entire home) where you can sleep for the night and get a more local experience than at a hotel. Yes, just as Couchsurfing was an alternative to hotels and hostels, now there’s an alternative to … Read more »

You’ve heard of the Rhodes Scholarship?  Well, how about Digital Vagabonding’s “Roads Scholarship“?

You can win a three-month road trip across North America by applying to this scholarship sponsored by the delectable and useful Digital Vagabonding site.  Pat, the Digital Vagabonder himself, gave up the home-bound life for the road in his early twenties and now wants to pay forward all of the awesome experiences he’s had by offering a monthly $1200 stipend … Read more »

I recently did a Q&A for Italy’s La Repubblica Sunday magazine, and the interviewer and I covered some interesting thematic ground about slowing down and getting off the beaten path. Since the interview is only available in Italian, I wanted to share my favorite outtake here:

Slowing down will also take your mind off of preordained “sights” and into the experience of the country. It allows you serendipity; it allows things to happen. It allows … Read more »