A grass-roots alliance uniting everyone who loves to explore the world, Ethical Traveler believes that through conscientious travel, we can use our cultural interactions and economic power to strengthen human rights and protect the environment. Last week they revealed their list of top 10 ethical destinations for 2010. They are;

The World’s Top 10Ethical Destinations Argentina Belize Chile Ghana Lithuania Namibia Poland Seychelles South Africa Suriname

Founder Jeff Greenwald opens the list … Read more »

Yesterday I found a travel piece about my hometown (ok, about the fancy town next to my hometown) in the Guardian. I’ve been out of the area for five years, but it was still a challenge to accept the premise of the article: That, after crossing an entire ocean, a commuter town in suburban New York is a place worth visiting.

While home, I’ve been … Read more »

There’s a little meme making its way around the blogosphere right now, called “My 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets.” I came across it on Jen Laceda’s gorgeous blog and was anxious to read the secrets that had already been spilled by other travelers. Then I thought about the concept – does telling the world (or at least your … Read more »

“You’re running away” is a common charge level at vagabonders of all stripes. Sometimes the criticism comes out of jealousy, sometimes out of genuine concern, sometimes a combination of those and other motivations.

We’ve written before about how to handle such a response from friends and family, but what do you say when it’s true, you are running away?

More importantly, is running away … Read more »

I was up in the South Bay Area over Thanksgiving, staying at a friends’ house in Woodside and wondering why people thought it was a good idea to give us three pies AND some flan, when I happened to flip through the newspaper and saw this article.  About the mentioned couple’s idea of selling up and shipping out, Cassidy says:

It sounds nuts. And wonderful.

See, Demant and Duckworth weren’t setting out on a … Read more »

One of the constant laments that I hear from my friends back in the States is that they would love to travel – they’d love to dive in Australia, see the pyramids of Egypt, or finally make it to India – but who wants to spend that much time in transit? And indeed, this … Read more »

It’s once again winter holiday season, which means it’s time to tout my books as stocking stuffers for the travel lovers on your Christmas list. The new twist this year is that you can order signed copies of either book from me directly — just send an email to books [at] rolfpotts [dot] com for details.

Vagabonding makes a great holiday gift for:

College … Read more »

As I write this, I’m sitting in a lodge in central Washington at a company meeting. It’s gorgeously sunny outside, and the snow-covered mountain just outside the window is a glowing light blue. But I know that when I scamper out the door to get a closer look I’ll be greeted with a biting chill. So it’s probably not surprising that the itineraries for the round-the-world ticket deals for this month are so appealing to … Read more »

OK, I’ll say it. I actually like packing for a trip. From figuring out which bag to use, to cracking open my closet, to deciding if the laptop comes along or gets to rest—it helps me kind of warm up for travel.

I don’t always need warming up. Sometimes, the suitcase never gets fully unpacked, and my job is half done. But when there’s at … Read more »

Backpackers love and loathe traveler’s ghettos in equal measure. We hate them for the crass commercialism and how they’re not local enough. Yet sometimes we do need to take a break from the madness and pamper ourselves with comfort foods and familiar music. Some backpacker ghettos have even become legendary in travelers’ circles, like Khao San Road in Bangkok and the Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong.

Eric Weiner caputures this ambivalence well in his WorldHum … Read more »