With all the self-reflection that seems to go on at this time of year, it seems only fitting that we at BootsnAll take a step back and reflect on what it is that makes us unique. You have lots of choices when it comes to booking trips, including RTW trips, so what makes the RTW...

It seems like the idea of traveling without somehow documenting your adventures online is a pretty uncommon one these days - so the question of how to document a trip has morphed somewhat from "should I keep a blog?" to "what kind of blog should I keep?" The question on the BootsnAll boards that we're...

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....

An article that was published recently on BootsnAll got people talking. In his article, " Is flashpacking killing the art of backpacking? " Paul Dow draws a pretty sharp distinction between what I'll call "old school" backpacking and the kind of backpacking that more travelers are doing these days - the kind that involves things...

We've just turned the clocks back in the U.S., which is either the best thing in the world or the worst day on earth - it all depends on who you talk to. For me, it meant an extra hour of sleep at a time when I needed it. (I'd love to figure out a...

All long-term travelers have to start somewhere, and dreaming of a life of travel is certainly a reasonable beginning. But what if your dreams don't match what you'll find when you actually get out on the road? That's where experienced travelers come in. BootsnAll member Kadiri is 18 years old and lives in Australia. He...

Ask any long-time resident of Portland, where BootsnAll is based, and they'll probably tell you September is one of their favorite times to be in the city. But this year, when the last week or so has been downright cold, it felt like October - and autumn - came earlier than normal. At least around...

Taking a long-term trip takes commitment - the same kind of commitment, one could argue, that a long-term relationship with another human being takes. So, if you've got one, can you have the other at the same time? Or does one of them have to suffer? BootsnAll member benleb is in a tough situation ....

I've been in Milan for the last week, and although I'd heard the horror stories before about the torture that is Milan in August I hadn't yet experienced it firsthand before my arrival last Tuesday. Y'know that old saying about air being so thick you could cut it with a knife? While I've always heard...

Ask just about any long-term traveler why they've turned to the camaraderie of like-minded internet friends, and they'll probably tell you it's because their "real-life" friends just don't understand why they're so intent on hitting the road for so long. To a certain extent, that kind of confusion is understandable. Long-term travel isn't for everyone....

August. For years, the word "August" conjured up images of the last gasps of summer - those proverbial "dog days" spent savoring the good weather and those final days before school started up again. Then in my post-school years, August was just another month like all the rest, only a little bit warmer. This year,...

When you're just dreaming about a RTW trip, it can feel like anything is possible. When you move into the planning stage, that's when the rubber meets the road. Pricing out round the world tickets can be alternately exhilarating and frustrating, especially if you find that not everything is as it looks. BootsnAll member wanderingnotlost...

For months we've been simultaneously grimacing at the bad economic news and rejoicing at the fantastic travel deals that resulted from said bad news. We know we've been repeating ourselves on this subject, telling everyone who'll listen, but some of the prices on airfare, cruises, hotel rooms, and vacation packages were just too good not...

There are typically two schools of thought when it comes to taking long trips - either people save up enough money to just go and do the kind of trip they want and home when the money runs out, or people plan to work along the way to support an even longer trip than they...

I know we keep going on about how the economic downturn - while bad for lots of people - is great for travelers. And that's still true. If you can afford to travel right now, you'll find airfare and hotel deals pretty much everywhere, at prices you wouldn't have imagined possible (especially when we're heading...

Although those of us at BootsnAll HQ continue to be flabbergasted at some of the jaw-droppingly low travel deals we see lately, and although we keep preaching to anyone who'll listen that these deals are so good that everyone who possibly can should take advantage of them, we know that not everyone can hit the...

Even though all the travel industry gurus keep telling us that prices on international airfare are going to keep going down and we'll be seeing more great deals right through summer, I continue to be amazed at some of the incredibly low fares being offered. And that's true for simple round-trip tickets and more complicated...

One of the most common questions asked by people who are planning a RTW trip is, "Is this budget adequate?" Long-time visitors to RTW forums have no doubt seen this question in various forms countless times - but for the person who's asking, it's absolutely critical to their planning process, which is why I'm always...

As I'm writing this, it just so happens to be April Fool's Day. The interwebs are crawling with hoaxes, and finding anything resembling a real news story is challenging - especially when the real news seems fake half the time, anyway. Having said that, there are some really funny fake travel stories out there today,...

Planning and then taking a RTW trip is often talked about in sweeping generalizations. It's all about the big picture, about embarking on an adventure of either very long or even perhaps unknown duration. But it has to start somewhere, right? BootsnAll member Skylab is hitting the road for his first RTW trip in a...