I uploaded a bunch of recent travel photos to Flickr yesterday, but didn't have the time to type in titles. And until I do, the effect will remain horrible: "DSC_0528" adds nothing to what the photo is trying to convey. Giving titles or captions to your photos allows you to add another layer of interpretation...

The wonderful Everywhereist offers a list of 10 ways to deal with a bad travel partner over at Gadling.com, which advertises itself as "the world's best travel blog." Reading some of her tips remind you of the clean, virtuous glory of going it alone: When you're absolutely stuck, try activities that don't require a lot...

I happened to be killing time in the Cairns airport flipping through the bookstore when I came across the travel memoir of "catching love, fish and wisdom": Robyn Catchlove's "Somewhere Down a Crazy River." I then promptly forgot about it until I received a notice from the publisher, and I gave it a read. It's...

The North Coast of the Dominican Republic is known for adventure travel and wide expanses of undeveloped beaches. It’s also known as La Costa Ámbar, or the Amber Coast. That doesn’t mean the beach sand or the picturesque sunsets are more amber-colored than other Caribbean islands. This area is a large source of the world’s...

I have a lot of nice stuff. I have a painting of a peacock feather, all gold and blue and tiny jewels, that I plucked from a windswept art fair at Burning Man the first year I went by myself. I have a curvacious photo that I took, developed, and printed myself, of the naked...

Lonely Planet has been releasing a free roadtrip itinerary each week, from its new title USA’s Best Trips: 99 Themed Itineraries Across America , due out in September. The itineraries are available in .PDF form until the end of August (Labor Day to Americans). If you're in the States and want to test their road...

I tend to be pretty suspicious of places that offer you the opportunity to live in a "tribal community" and change your life, the lives of the "tribe members", and the world in one week or less, provided you pay them some money. I tend to think one week isn't long enough to make a...

Looking for a surf safari on your travels but need to learn the sport first? It can be fun to take a class while you’re on vacation—but how do you find professional operators? Prices for surf classes can be affordable for vagabonders, depending on the location. Popular tourist destinations may be more expensive, but once...

If you're a SCUBA diver who thinks you might want to actually support yourself through floating around underwater avoiding sharks with heavy weights attached to your back...or if you're a heavy drinker and smoker who just isn't sure what group you fit in with, there probably aren't many better places for you than a divemaster...

Our journals are as varied as we are. Some are highly decorated; others are plain. Some are spiral-bound; others lack lines. Regardless of how we choose our journals, or what we choose to fill them with, it’s always fun to get a look at someone else’s trusty travel buddy. Compared to some, my journal is...

Do you like tiny business cards that can be mailed anywhere on the planet, are adorable and totally personalizable, with up to 100 of your own images in a pack of 100 cards? Do you like memorability, tiny cards that fit easily in wallets or pockets, and high quality printing and lamination? Order MooCards ....

Most people have at least heard of the idea of pilgrimage: "religiously-motivated travel to a sacred destination, often (but not always) performed in the hope of material benefit." There were the medieval trips to Santiago de Compostela and the present-day Muslim journeys to Mecca. There is Chaucer's Wife of Bath, whose wanderings led her to...

Unless you're traveling somewhere pretty remote, you probably know that Apple announced a brand new iPhone yesterday. Like most people in western nations, I'm not immune to advertising and possess a certain amount of technolust. Yesterday I found myself thinking, "huh, an iPhone would be handy for traveling... it has a camera, it's an iPod,...

One of the most common pieces of advice for would-be independent travelers is to save all of your disposable income for the journey. Spend only on experiences! So what to do when, mid-trip, you fall in love with an object ? Just like spontaneous experiences, the act of travel is peppered with spontaneous items we...

Pretty much every winter, Australia's vast network of outback roads fill up (as much as they can, which means you occasionally see more than two) with camper vans and caravans, driven by happily silver-haired people cruising the country to see the Giant Prawn. Australians call them the Grey Nomads, and that sounds like a much...

A friend from Italy is in the process of planning a road trip around the United States and recently e-mailed me to ask where he could find cheap food on his trip. I'm also planning a trip around the States this summer and have been thinking about the same thing. Sadly, I've come to the...

At some point in our travel planning, many of us consult a guidebook. How much we each rely on it differs, of course—from those who give a cursory glance early in the process to those who carry it around like a totem from place to place. And some have thrown over guidebooks nearly entirely for...

One of the most heinous travel-related crimes is the running scam, usually perpetrated upon Russian or Asian young women, of offering them a visa and a waiting job in a tempting country for a small fee (say, $3000 USD in whatever the local currency is)...and then, when they arrive, impressing them into prostitution by holding...

In a world where pretty much everywhere lauded by Lonely Plante as being "off the beaten track" is actually full of people with guidebooks, it's rare to find some islands that nobody's selling wall-to-wall beach chair space on. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands , halfway between Perth, Australia and Sri Lanka...well, let's just say I never...

Looking for super-cheap flights in Australia and the Oceania region? Jetstar airlines , the local rock-bottom budget airline (ok, besides VirginBlue ) is having a 6th birthday sale, which means flights between Australia, Oceania, and Asia are all extremely cheap. Planning a leg of a round the world trip? Living in Cambodia and want to...