The “Frugal Traveler” bids farewell

Matt Gross in Paris. Photo: New York Times

One of my favorite columns is “The Frugal Traveler,” written by Matt Gross for the the New York Times.  He gives his final swan song in this piece:

Three things I’ve learned about frugal travel

It’s a great retrospective of his career as a travel writer. While I haven’t always agreed with his definition of “frugal,” I always found Gross to have an engaging narrative voice and that curious nature that all vagabonders have.

I definitely agree with his lesson that “friends are worth more than dollars.”  There have been so many times when I’ve gone on a trip excited to see new places.  Yet afterwards, it’s the people that I remember. He sums this up well:

“Meeting these people, hearing their stories and participating, if only for a few hours, in their lives have been the high points of my travels, and the prospect of encountering more fascinating individuals is what has kept me continually excited about being on the road.”

Like a true traveler, what’s first and foremost on his mind is where he hasn’t been yet. He gives big clues on where his future destinations might be.  Budget Travel magazine says that he’s also heading to the small screen, in this report: Saying ciao to Matt Gross.

By the way, if you Google “Matt Gross,” the very first result is Vagablogging’s own interview with him. Check it out for more fun tidbits about how he got started as a travel writer.