I’m all for staying healthy while traveling, but I still want to try new things and enjoy myself. One of the keys to enjoying my food is finding a local version of fried dough. I’ve long been a fan of beignets in New Orleans, where the unwritten rule is that you cannot breathe in or...

It’s sometimes hard to believe there are relatively quiet places in Mexico’s Riviera Maya —the long stretch south of Cancun toward Tulum. I was there only nine years ago, and on a recent trip, I noticed many more hotels dotting the road. But more development doesn’t mean you can’t find a sweet spot in the...

One of the most eye-opening moments when working abroad is finding about all the differences between your host culture and home culture. For example, a Japanese salaryman might accept unpaid overtime as business as usual. A French worker, on the other hand, might disagree with staying beyond normal business hours. Salon.com did a detailed comparison...

LIFE.com recently put up a set of never-before published photos of the Hell's Angels from 1965. Check out these quotes from the photo captions -- there's something shared between the mid-60's Hell's Angels and the RTW travelers of today. Of course, the list of things NOT in common is plenty long -- independent travelers aren't...

The beginning of autumn always reminds me that Day of the Dead is right around the corner. And if you’re contemplating a trip to Mexico, it’s one of the best times to go. Festivities start on October 31 and last through November 2. Some say the Day of the Dead has its origins in ancient...

I expected that it would be excessively hot on the late August day that I’d be working on a home in New Orleans. I’d already imagined it in my mind: alternating time between standing on a ladder and collapsing under a tent to balance my body temperature. Instead, it rained steadily on the day before...

My fellow contributors and I have made a few mentions of Burning Man when describing other extreme festivals such as Couchsurfing events or the Love Parade . However, those readers that have never been to "a Burn" may not realize that it's much more than just a week-long party, and in fact shares several fundamental...

Most travelers are familiar with Couchsurfing at this point. That great nonprofit initiative that connects travelers from all over the globe, providing them with a couch to crash on, some great company and events around the city, or simply a local’s advice. As someone with a decent number of couchsurfing experiences under her belt, I...

On August 29th 2005, almost 5 years ago, hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of North America. It’s hard to believe that so much time has gone by, as the people of the area are still recovering from the disaster. In 2007 I took a sprawling North American road trip that landed me in New...

Everybody who loves Louis Armstrong knows his birthday was on July 4, right? It turns out that it took until the mid-1980s to learn that Satchmo’s special day wasn’t July 4, 1900, but August 4, 1901. And why do you care? Because if you’re anywhere near New Orleans the first weekend of August, you can...

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...

This self-printed slim volume is a series of twenty-two short vignette-y articles written by Mr. Leonard, a British visitor to San Luis Obispo, California for several months at the end of 2009. The stories are interspersed with photos -- including one of the disgusting "Chewinggum Alley", which I know from experience actually makes you dry-heave...

This morning I read about a hotel that's under construction. There's an art museum going up around the corner, and the hotel is designed to complement it by displaying contemporary art in the rooms and common areas. Construction is partly financed by a local nonprofit focused on downtown revitalization. The husband-and-wife operators are excited --...

Many travelers experience a call to service while on the road. It’s common enough to find travelers stayed in an area to volunteer for weeks, and sometimes even years, when they only intended to be passing through. Travel can awaken a profound compassion within us. However, if you find yourself returned to the States permanently,...

The Finger Lakes Trail is deceptively simple. Looking at the map above, you might think, "What's there to see?" It doesn't trace a rugged coast, doesn't piggyback on the spine of a mountain range, and barely even interlaces with the Finger Lakes. Neither elevation nor landscape varies much -- it's mostly rolling hills. Consequently, the...

Travelers with a preference for environmentally sustainable practices don’t have a wealth of resources when on the road. As with travel in general, it’s often necessary to carve together information from a variety of sources—from books and magazines to online resources to word of mouth. Sometimes it’s like a treasure hunt to find the ideal...

You know a trek is badass when it was created along a rugged coast to rescue shipwreck survivors. When its Wikipedia article is loaded with phrases like "surge channels" and "impassable headlands". When a friend of a friend sees a documentary on the trek, doesn't catch the name, and emails, "Tell me where this trek...

With the current war on Mexico’s drug traffickers erupting into violence in certain border towns, some folks with travel plans to Mexico are confused about whether to keep them. Here are some tips on how to study up on the current situation and the likelihood of events affecting you on your travels. Check travel warnings...

In the days leading up to Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago, I fielded some strange questions from camera-clutching visitors to the city of New Orleans, where I've lived off and on the for past year-and-a-half. Though the post-Katrina streets of the French Quarter had grown encouragingly festive and rowdy in anticipation of Fat Tuesday,...