Airfare is most likely going to be the biggest budget item for your long-term trip, and we at BootsnAll would like to simplify it for you . When someone decides to go vagabonding and travel the world, dreams of white sand beaches, mountain tops, temples, and the aromas of local cuisine fill the mind. Travelers...

I want to take this opportunity to declare that the Mile-High Club is, for all practical purposes, defunct. Much like the practice of phrenology or the fad for goldfish swallowing, the notion of having sex on commercial airplanes is no longer worthy of serious consideration. Before I get inundated with angry e-mails accusing me of...

These days there are more and more loyalty programs popping up in every part of our financial lives. Gas stations, grocery stores, heck even ice cream parlors have rewards systems now. But even in the travel arena alone it can be overwhelming how many options there seem to be. So for the sake of frequent...

Most people are somewhat familiar with the concept of collecting frequent flier miles. My husband and I have built our whole travel strategy around frequent flier miles in fact, but there's another travel reward currency with huge benefits once you understand how it works. Bank points. Specifically I'm referring to "American Express Membership Rewards" and...

From the very beginning of our travel together, my husband and I have done all of our international flying with frequent-flier-miles. With Asia and Easter Island both on our itinerary for our first gap-year of travel, crossing the distances we had in mind would have seemed financially impossible for us without frequent flier miles. Perhaps...

We’ve all heard horror stories from our friends—and have many of our own—about certain airline experiences. With the sheer volume of flights scheduled around the world on any given day, it is a statistical certainty that there will be the occasion snafu, and sometimes it’s your flight’s turn to have the bad day, and sometimes...

Air Asia has just announced that that they will be offering child-free quiet zones on some of their flights. As someone well out of the baby-toting years of parenthood, I can see how this will be appreciated by the many folks on flights who don't have toddlers and don't "hear the music" as my husband...

Vagabond - a person, usually without a permanent home, who wanders from place to place; nomad. While vagabonders may not have a permanent home, they do still need a way to get around. Most of us vagabonders who decide to take off, whether it's for a couple months, a year, or permanently, utilize some combination...

Sean Keener, CEO of Boots-N-All is a friend of mine and one of the most passionate people I know when it comes to developing resources to empower and encourage independent travel. A few months ago he let me in on the Beta testing of the ace up his sleeve, and today I'm as excited as...

Flying with your Service Dog takes a bit of pre-planning. Most airlines require 48 hours advance notice about your canine partner. Initially tickets can be booked online through a collective search website like CheapOair . Before purchasing tickets, check out the Airlines direct website for Service Animal rules. Under Federal Law airlines are required to...

You're excited. You've just boarded a plane to start your vagabonding journey. Then it happens: a baby starts crying. Sometimes it gets worse: other babies start crying too. What was going to be a relaxing flight has turned into a scream-fest. If you don't have noise-cancelling headphone on hand, what can you do? Air Asia...

When we think of a "travel hacker," the instant image that springs to mind is Ryan Bingham, the corporate road warrior memorably portrayed by George Clooney in the film "Up in the Air." Can young people get in on the frequent-flyer game? Yes, says Hao Tran, a college student featured in the Million Mile Secrets...

An eleven-year-old British boy and his father will soon embark on a 3,500 mile overland journey from the UAE to the UK along the safest route possible. The family is relocating back to London. Their son, Joe, experienced paralyzing anxiety about flying for the first time. Several failed attempts to re-board the plane have been...

Tony Wheeler, co-founder of the Lonely Planet guidebook empire, wrote a post titled Airports - love them/hate them . Very often, the airport is your first impression of a country. You start setting expectations. Is dealing with officials painless or painful? You'll get more of the same out of the airport. Does the place feel...

Cost/day: FREE (airfare not included - ha!) What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately? As I write this, it is now 3:40am and I'm bunking in the San Francisco Airport after 16 hours of flight changes, delays and one emergency turn-around. Some of the things I've seen tonight include: Watching the pilots pack their bags...

Business travelers, also known as "road warriors," are some of the most experienced trip hackers around. Although here at Vagabonding we espouse slower wandering, these hard-core types have streamlined the process to a science. Their advice appeared in this New York Times article: How the tough get going: Silicon Valley travel tips . Prominently featured...

When you drop off your baggage at the check-in counter, it sets off a modern Rube Goldberg-like system to keep your stuff on track. Bags are sent along conveyors, scanned, sorted and carried by humans to the right plane. Yet a recent article stated that 26 million checked bags go missing every year . The...

When it comes to planning a trip, whether it's a one-week vacation or a trip around the world , looking for the best resources can be a time consuming endeavor. With today's interwebs, there are countless websites to sift through, and many of the top sites that come through a google search are crap, SEO...

I wonder what -besides an obvious desire to make a world’s Guinness record- is worth in Gunnar Garfors’ travelling 5 continents in a day . Please read the full story in this interview on CNNGo . On Monday June 18 th , this Norwegian man has flown to 5 continents (well… a very time limited...

Whenever you buy something, you wonder what the seller knows that you don't know. For anyone who's bought a plane ticket, check out this IAMA thread: IAMA Delta/KLM/Air France reservation agent that knows all the tricks to booking low fares and award tickets AMA . If you're unfamiliar with Reddit, IAMA stands for, "I am...