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Mediterranean Hostel Front Desk. Photo: Oh-Barcelona.com / Flickr
Hostels vary wildly in quality. Some are total fleapits; others are so luxurious they rival hotels. How can you find the quality hostels instantly?
The website Hostelworld.com announced the 2012 winners of the “Hoscars,” their awards for the best hostels in the world. Users around the world voted for their favorite places to stay. The establishments are clustered into an amazing variety of categories. You can find hostels based on size, region, popularity, and many more characteristics.
Portugal had a strong showing, completely sweeping every award for “Ratings Criteria.” These were things like “Most Fun,” “Best Location,” and “Best Staff.” It’s eye-opening to see one country rack up so many awards. They must be doing something right.
Do you have a favorite hostel that’s not on the list? Tell us about it in the comments.
We are naturally drawn to people who share the same interests as us – whether it’s food, sports, books, television, politics, or travel – we tend to make strong connections and bonds with those who are most in line with how we live our daily lives. For those of us who put a priority on travel, we enjoy making connections with others who have that same passion.
As an employee of BootsnAll, I believe strongly in our company’s core values – Embrace change, Love learning, Make meaningful connections, and Work & play with passion. These four values drive what we do as a company, and everyone who works here lives our lives by these same values.
These values also speak to how we travel. We embrace the idea of visiting a country or city that is totally different from ours. We love learning about the culture in that new place. We strive to make connections while on the road, both with other travelers and the local people. And even if we do have to do some work while on the road, we do it passionately, and we certainly like spending our non-work hours doing what makes us happy.
While we talk about these passions daily and they come across in the content on our site and the services we offer, we wanted to take it a step further. Rolf Potts, author of Vagabonding and owner of this site, feels the same way about travel as we do. So he hooked up with our CEO and helped create the Indie Travel Manifesto.
This isn’t a guide on how we think other people should travel. The tourist vs. traveler debate is a rather tired one, and we embrace the idea that everyone travels differently. This is how we travel. What are our priorities are as travelers. What we hope to get out of traveling – both domestically and abroad. We hoped that by putting our thoughts, ideals, and priorities onto paper, we would be able to create a manifesto that would have other like-minded travelers nodding your heads in unison.
We want to hear from you. We want your input on this. Read it. Vote up or vote down on the statements that you agree or disagree with. Comment on them. Share them with your social networks. And finally, if you agree with our assessment of indie travel, then go ahead and sign it. In the spirit of making meaningful connections, we hope to foster a community of travelers who love all the same things about travel that we love.
When planning a Round the World trip, there are loads of things to think about. Where to go, though, is usually tops on the list. There are always some destinations that are more popular than others when it comes to traveling long-term. They change with the times, of course, but one place that has been on the vagabonding radar for 40+ years is Southeast Asia.
Sure, those headier-than-thou backpackers might proclaim Southeast Asia as an over-touristy locale, and yes, you will find plenty of tourists there. But there’s a reason travelers keep flocking back. A few recent articles on BootsnAll’s Round the World Wednesday series highlighted travel in the ever-popular region. Check out these 12 Reasons Why Southeast Asia is the Best Place in the World for Backpackers. If you’re looking for practical advice – like highlights of each country and how to get around, then explore How to Plan an Extended Trip in Southeast Asia. The region really does have it all – from beaches to mountains to history to food – and all at rock bottom prices.
If you do decide to throw caution to the wind and travel the world, the first thing you’ll want to look at is airfare. Your options are many, but be sure to keep your eye on different deals around the web. BootsnAll has monthly deals that can take you all over the world, including a few to places in Southeast Asia, so be sure to check out the following deals, which are good through February 29, 2012:
If you are looking for something a little different in your round the world trip, then start planning your trip of a lifetime with our RTW trip planner And don’t forget to sign up for BootsnAll’s RTW newsletter, delivering special deals, RTW trip planning advice, and resources via email every single month. We also have a Facebook fan page and Twitter page, so be sure to like and follow those to keep up to date on all your RTW travel needs.
A man sitting on a couch and working at a laptop. Photo: hobvias sudoneighm / Flickr
Planning a round-the-world trip can seem as complicated as a space shuttle launch. There a million things to think about: plane tickets, visas, money, etc. The hard part is that everything seems important. Where to begin?
Alex MacCaw wrote a helpful, in-depth post titled, “How to travel around the world for a year.” Although he’s mainly talking to a Silicon Valley audience, his insights and practical advice would appeal to anyone.
What struck me about his post was that MacCaw’s trip was actually a boost to his career. Anyone who’s considered a career break has probably encountered some nay-sayers around the office. They often say things like, “It’s a tough economy, better hold onto your job,” “You’re so close to getting a promotion!” “Don’t throw away your career!” (Spoiler alert) By the end of the trip, MacCaw got a sweet job at Twitter.
How did the trip impact his employment prospects? One of the decisive benefits was that travel afforded him a lot of free time, a scarce commodity in today’s fast-paced world. He wrote a programming book, did some coding for open-source projects, and joined e-mail lists of other developers that he met up with on the road. All of these things contributed to his resume.
On a personal note, reading that post reminded me of the many computer and tech professionals I’ve met around the world. There was one memorable occasion at a hostel in Hong Kong: every one of my roommates was either a university student majoring in computer science, or already working in information technology. That might have rubbed off of me, since I later became a Linux user and studied web design.
Do you work with computers? Do you work during your travels? Please share your stories in the comments.
“This is the place where the bodies are burnt. Women cannot access because a few times some of them have jumped over their husbands’ pyres and died. If you see a white cloth, is a man. If you see a red sari, is a woman. I work here as a volunteer…”
A dramatic sight such as the Hindu traditional cremation on Varanasi’s ghats becomes particularly otherworldly after dark, when the flames jut out of the pyres full of wicked energy, drizzling, as if dispersing pieces of soul little by little, bit by bit into thin air. This is a moment you want to enjoy slowly, privately, thinking of the secrets of life and death, reflecting on the differences between your own culture of the dead, and such a different one. You may want to cover your eyes as a log rolls slightly across the fire, revealing the nakedness of a burning limb… you may even have come a long way, just for this. Certainly not to be asked for cash.
The stuff of many travel legends is not something you are keen to share with everyone. Especially with that pestering local tout, aiming at you from a mile away, approaching fast. Ready to fire the same deadly tirade you do not want to hear. It happens everywhere, all over the world. In my case, the tout would not stop talking. Not even if you moved behind another foreigner, as if the vital was to talk for the sake of talking: “This is the place where the bodies are burnt. Women cannot access because a few times some of them have jumped over their husbands’ pyres and died. If you see a white cloth, is a man. If you see a red sari, is a woman. I work here as a volunteer…”
Richard, a young New Yorker, has arrived in India after a trip to Europe. He is not green, having travelled the Northern half of the subcontinent for almost two months. He has another extended foray into Southeast Asia and Australia ahead and his face looks tired. “This country got me sick”, he confesses.
We do not know each other, but we cannot help exchanging a sympathetic gaze, a tactical strategy to join forces and leave the bugger on the side. We have not even walked all the way up the ghat’s first four steps that our “local friend” is already attacking a couple of elder tourists without even bothering to change the lines. His song is always the same:
“This is the place where the bodies are burnt. Women cannot access because a few times blah blah blah”
These days, and especially in South and Southeast Asia, touting has become a problem to cope daily with. It is legitimate to wonder whether or not travelling has to be off the beaten track to become free from such an annoyance.
My personal answer is: not really. Be it an offer for a guesthouse, a souvenir, one of those wooden frogs with a musical spine, a massage or a rickshaw ride, it appears that vagabonding may incur into a one-way only experience: the traveller’s. Meeting someone who is genuinely interested in deepening the acquaintance is rarer and rarer, even further away from the main tourist sites. And most often, we misguide this pure contact for touting, and we are back to the start.
In this article, the author compiled a pop-song compilation of anti-sexual harassment feeling songs to keep in mind when a woman gets honed at during her travels. I think such an example may only foster the idea that something during the development of indie – and less indie – travel, has gone horribly wrong; because we, as travellers, are the first individuals to be responsible for the harassment.
Blame it on the hippy trailers or whoever you want, but as I’ve been taught “the lesser the demand, the lesser the offer”. Turning back the history’s time wheel is definitely not an option, but trying to become more responsible in our on the road choices definitely is. Otherwise, the risk we face is to transform the World into a depressing supermarket museum, and the travel experience into another kind of empty shopping cart we try to fill up to feel great and adventurous. These things, I am sorry, we cannot buy with a credit card.
PS: An acknowledgement to Richard’s comments for having ignited the spark to write this week’s contribution.
Revolution Apparel intro video
Sometimes it can feel like you’re torn in different directions. You’d like to start a business, make an positive impact on the world, and more. Is it possible to fold all your passions into one project? The fine women travelers of {r}evolution apparel are aiming to do just that.
An excerpt from their website:
We headed to Central America with no direction, no career path, and not much money. But we had an idea: a fashionable, minimalist clothing line for female travelers.
We were determined to do it right – we wanted to create a business that preserved the environment, cut down on pesticide and chemical use, and said “no” to the exploitative labor that keeps our clothing cheap in the Western world.
The star of their collection is The Versalette. Living up to the name, it’s a single article of clothing that can be worn in 15 different ways–including as a handbag! Check out the photos on the {r}evolution apparel website to see it in action. Quite a reversal from most fashion lines, which load up a collection with many kinds of clothing.
Have you worked on a social enterprise before? Have you used your clothes in more ways than the manufacturer intended? Please share your experiences in the comments.
If you have ever contemplated taking a round the world trip, there are tons of things you need to take into consideration – where to go, how much to budget, how to save the money to actually do it, travel insurance, what to do with all your stuff – all are just a small portion of what goes into planning a trip around the world.
Once you do decide to take that leap of faith and commit to going on a RTW trip, your biggest expense is going to be airfare. There’s no way around it – you’re going to have to pay to circumnavigate the globe. Once you start researching, your head will no doubt start spinning and you’ll be asking yourself all types of questions:
I know what you’re going through. When my wife and I were planning our RTW trip back in 2007-2008, we were just as confused. When researching RTW tickets from the alliances, we were bogged down by all the rules – no backtracking, you can only travel in one direction, there are mileage limits, there are continent limits – the rules go on and on and on and on. It’s dizzying. There are other companies who sell RTW tickets as well, but what is the difference? How do you choose?
With all this in mind, we at BootsnAll decided enough was enough. Long term travelers need a resource that summarizes all the options in one place. You need a way to determine which option is the best for you. So back in November, we got to work. We decided to do all the leg work for you. We researched all the options in depth. We made sense of all those terms and conditions. We interviewed travelers who bought RTW tickets. And best of all, we decided to price many of the options available for travelers looking for RTW plane tickets.
We posed as travelers and completed a secret shopping project for 8 different companies who sell RTW plane tickets. We came up with three different routes to search – from a simple, 4 leg, major hub city RTW trip to an ultra-complicated, 18 leg (13 flights, 5 overland) trip. We searched each route leaving from 3 different cities around the world – New York, London, and Sydney.
There is going to be a lot of content coming out in the coming weeks and months, and most will be hosted on BootsnAll’s sister site Round the World Ticket. We will also be offering a free ebook and authoritative report with our findings, and we will update prices and findings 4 times a year. So this will be an ongoing project that allows us to stay on top of changes in the industry. We started by publishing reviews of each company we shopped, and several of them are live right now:
The reviews will continue next week with the following companies:
The coolest thing about this project is that we want to get you involved. At the bottom of each article, we give customers the chance to weigh in and rate each company. So if you or anyone you know has used any of the above companies for a RTW plane ticket, we want to hear from you. Also, if you know of other companies selling RTW plane tickets and want them to be included in our research, just let us know. So spread the word, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date with all the new content we’ll be publishing having to do with this project.
Photo credit: 1
Video: Vlogger Natalie Tran on how to cook in a hotel room
I’ve mentioned vlogger Natalie Tran in a previous post. In the video above, she shows you uses everyday hotel items as cooking utensils. Definitely not as the manufacturers intended.
From seeing that, it’s understandable why some backpackers rate hostels with kitchens more highly. If you’re in an expensive city or country, cooking on your own can save quite a bit of cash. Besides, no one can cook something exactly how you want it, unless you do it.
Watching that clip brought to mind those times when I’ve had to “MacGyver” a solution to a problem. Basic things like washing your clothes in a sink, inventing new culinary creations from leftovers in the refrigerator, and things like that. No matter how well you plan in advance, chances are you forgot to pack something. Or a hostel doesn’t have quite the facilities you expected. That’s when resourcefulness kicks in, and you build your own solution to a problem.
Have ever been in a “MacGyver” situation? What did you do? Please share your stories in the comments.
Just for fun, I’ve included a scene from MacGyver below.
Backpacker taking a photo in sunset. Photo: Jhong Dizon / Flickr
The New York Times had a commentary article that argued in favor of students taking a gap year before college. In response, their inbox got flooded with comments from readers.
Naturally, many of the letters were from parents worried about the cost of travel. One example:
Great advice in theory, but for some families, like ours, the financial aid consequences can be prohibitive. Our younger son probably would have benefited from a gap year, but when we ran the financial aid calculators, we discovered that it would end up reducing his older brother’s financial aid by about $20,000 and reduce his own financial aid in a few years by about $25,000.
The letter reveals the perverse incentives on debt in the United States. If it’s true, it’s like young people get punished for wanting to travel. Some scholarships and financial aid programs have conditions that dictate students should enroll in college right after high school. By deferring college, you may lose your chances of getting financial aid.
Gap years often involve working abroad to help defray the cost. However, due to America’s immigration policies, many countries have reciprocal policies that prevent U.S. students from easily getting working holiday visas. This sharply reduces the chances of students paying for their gap year by getting jobs overseas.
I realize this is particular to American students. I would love to hear from our readers outside the U.S. on how their countries treat the gap year. In some places, it’s much more encouraged and a normal rite of passage. Friends from England have told me that their student loan repayment schedules are based on income level, not on time. In other words, they don’t have to start paying off their loans until their salaries reach a certain level. This grants more flexibility than how some U.S. student loans are structured, where the repayment starts within months after graduation.
Have you done a gap year? How did you pay for it? Was it a worthwhile experience? Please share your stories in the comments.
The start of a new year usually means resolutions. New beginnings. New goals. This is the time when many people finally take control of their lives and accomplish the things that they really want to accomplish in life. If one of those goals is to travel the world, then stop making excuses and do it. If you are sick of one week vacations and really want to get out and see the world, then it’s time to realize that you can be one of the few who take the plunge.
There are plenty of myths about traveling the world. It’s too expensive. It’s too dangerous. Now isn’t the right time. All these excuses are just that – excuses. You can always come up with an excuse not to do something that is challenging and difficult. No one said that deciding to go on a RTW trip is easy. It’s not, which is why so few people do it. But those who do take the plunge and decide to travel around the world never regret it. I have yet to meet someone who has done it and wished they didn’t. But I have met tons of people who dream and wish that they could travel the world but are too afraid to take the risk.
If you do decide to throw caution to the wind and travel the world, the first thing you’ll want to look at is airfare. Your options are many, but be sure to keep your eye on different deals around the web. BootsnAll has monthly deals that can take you all over the world, so be sure to check out the following deals, which are good through January 31, 2012:
If you are looking for something a little different in your round the world trip, then start planning your trip of a lifetime with our RTW trip planner And don’t forget to sign up for BootsnAll’s RTW newsletter, delivering special deals, RTW trip planning advice, and resources via email every single month. We also have a Facebook fan page and Twitter page, so be sure to like and follow those to keep up to date on all your RTW travel needs.
