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...

Anyone who spends their time traveling or dreaming of travel has no doubt heard from at least one friend or beloved (and well-meaning) family member suggesting that given the current economy it might be time to stay closer to home right now. And if you weren't brilliant enough to come up with the idea to...

For some people, the research they do before a trip is part of the fun of travel. Poring over piles of guidebooks, asking question after question on message boards, whiling away the hours reading travel blogs... There's no end to the places where you can find information, and no end to the time you can...

We all know that it's good to know what's going on in the world, but sometimes when you're paying attention it doesn't feel like a good thing. Right now, for instance, even a cursory glance at the news is enough to turn just about anyone's stomach. But if you can manage it, this is the...

While the decision to take a round-the-world trip might be the exciting culmination of a lot of hard work and deep thought on your part, it might catch some of your friends and family off-guard. And for some people, it might seem like a totally bad idea even after they've had a chance to get...

Happy New Year, travelers! I don't know about you, but I'm really excited about what's in store in 2009. If you're having a little trouble shaking off the holiday haze and getting inspired about a new year, though, then let's see if the January multi-stop airfare specials available on BootsnAll can help you with a...

That's the tagline of The World's Greatest Travelers Global Scavenger Hunt . It's a blind date because you will not know in advance the countries you will be visiting, you will be told as you board the plane! So, if you ever really wanted to go on a properly planned, round-the-world scavenger hunt, here's your...

When you are planning a long trip, cross continent, you can never have enough information. I remember a friend in Spain would make me see him for coffee for a year before he actually left for his RTW trip. He just wanted reassurance, support, chat, my guidebooks, website links, anything, because taking that final step...

Last month we talked about the issues that long-term travelers have when they're trying to transition back to "regular" life after a big trip. But there are things that can complicate the other end of the trip, too - things that can make leaving your "regular" life in the first place really challenging. Specifically for...

At this time of year, what you're focused on depends quite a bit on what kind of person you are. Did you map out a Black Friday shopping route or spend Thanksgiving day camped out in front of the local electronics store? No? You'll forgive me if I'm not shocked to hear that. The fact...

While some people certainly do spend years living the vagabond life, many of them traveling with no definite plans to "settle down," others set out on their adventures knowing that one day they'll probably be back in what other people might call a normal routine. If you're one of the people in that latter category,...

I tend to think of RTW travel as a year-round thing, not a seasonal thing, so I have to confess it kind of struck me as surprising when I realized that even RTW tickets have seasonal highs and lows. Sure, I'm used to the idea of a high season and a low season when I'm...

I don't know about you, but every time I talk to friends these days they're all doom and gloom about how the economy is going to make people stop traveling, and they wonder if I'm going to need to update my resume anytime soon. Personally, I'm optimistic about the long-term outlook for travelers - but...

As I drove to work this morning, I thought about all the kids heading back to school for yet another year - I thought about all the book learnin' they'd be getting, and then I hoped they'd all have a chance to put that to good use someday with their passports. Because let's face it,...