Long-term travel, consumerism, and purging

stuffLong- term travelers of all kinds will tell you that one of the most important preliminary steps to taking off is The Purge. That period of time that you devote to deciding which material possessions will still be necessary and dear to your heart after traipsing all over the globe in pursuit of clarity, freedom, connection, adventure, and … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Long-term travel, consumerism, and purging  | October 23, 2015
Category: Ethical Travel, Ethics, General

How to give ethically after a disaster

The travel community is truly one of the most giving I know of. Most people who travel do so because they recognize how much our world has to offer. We want to connect. We want to help. We may not always have lots of money, but we do have very big hearts.

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When tragedy strikes, as … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on How to give ethically after a disaster  | May 7, 2015
Category: Ethical Travel, Ethics

Balancing desire and ethics when traveling

There is something magical about riding an elephant. Their huge, lumbering bodies swaying slowly along while you sit atop, taking in the view. It’s an experience that is never forgotten.

Or at least that’s what I’ve been told.

Despite my intense desire to know what it feels like to ride atop one of the world’s most majestic creatures, I’ve never taken the opportunity. My knowledge of how these creatures are broken so that they can … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Balancing desire and ethics when traveling  | April 23, 2015
Category: Ethical Travel, Ethics

The negative impact of mass tourism

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In my experience, some of the most difficult things about travel have been facing the realities of mass cultural exchange, swallowing my pride, and recognizing my part in it. Don’t get me wrong, there are incredible benefits to cultural exchange and connecting with people across cultural boundaries is the number one reason I travel. But when lots … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | April 9, 2015
Category: Ethics

Lessons learned on the road vs. lessons learned in school

What happens when the education you receive on the road starts to make you question the lessons you learned before you left?

History is one of those subjects that never fails to look a whole lot different once I’m in a different country. Despite the tragedies that occurred in the region during my lifetime, I don’t remember … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | March 26, 2015
Category: Ethical Travel, Ethics, Youth Travel

Should you volunteer abroad?

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Most travelers consider volunteering at some point. We see a need and we know that we have the time, energy, or money to be able to lend a hand and be a part of creating change. Helping people feels good. Working on environmental issues and seeing results is exciting. We don’t just want to talk about problems, … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Should you volunteer abroad?  | October 30, 2014
Category: Ethical Travel, Ethics, Volunteering Abroad

On returning: things change

It seems the nature of humanity to freeze a moment in time. 

We remember a person, a place, an experience, as it was when we were last present with it. It is frozen, forever, in our minds; like the fading koda-chrome slides my parents took across the north of Africa forty odd years ago. We return to these places often, in our memories; the tastes, the smells, the sensations in our bodies as real as … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | October 28, 2014
Category: Ethics, Family Travel, Vagabonding Advice

Connecting spectacular travel moments with our day to day lives

About a decade ago, on a whim, I took a trip to Costa Rica and opened the door to a world I didn’t know existed. I still remember crowding around the computer with my friends and studying ticket prices. I remember feeling a little silly that I had never been out of the country except for one brief trip to Canada when I was 10. I twas confused but determined as I applied for my … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Connecting spectacular travel moments with our day to day lives  | October 2, 2014
Category: Ethical Travel, Ethics

Living “greener” on the road

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One of the things we worry about a lot as we travel is our carbon footprint; our environmental impact.

Living in the west where most people are mindful of the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) and most communities have “green initiatives” it’s easy to be lulled into complacency and think that we’re “doing it.”

Then, you enter … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | September 30, 2014
Category: Ethics, Vagabonding Life

Why change is a beautiful thing and why you should travel right now

How many among us have made the trek back to a favorite destination of years past and realized that, well, it just isn’t the same anymore? The bus drops us off in the sleepy surf town we remember fondly from our first backpacking adventure and we wonder where that Roxy store came from. We hop off of planes and out of cabs and are amazed to see teenagers, clad in jeans and Abercrombie t-shirts, hanging … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (4)  | August 21, 2014
Category: Ethical Travel, Ethics