Even as vagabonders, we pick our travel destinations more often than not. We say that we want to go to Southeast Asia, or Peru, or Morocco, and to varying degrees we research those destinations and we go. Tonight, I found myself in a new part of San Francisco. As I got off at the Civic...

First, decide you're going to go. The untraveled route is the route you haven't taken yet. Or maybe it's your old route with new eyes . Go on foot. Bike. Horse. Rollerblade, skateboard, pogo stick. Start climbing from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or descending from Roncesvalles -- it really doesn't matter. Avoid the debate and start in Pamplona...

Sometimes, despite the most careful screening, you may find yourself stuck with a travel partner that you just don't mesh with. Maybe circumstance threw you together, or perhaps you just didn't realize how much you differed in your travel styles until you were on the road together. But now, you're locked into at least a...

Unless you were born into money, your travels are probably funded like mine -- by scraping together what you can and doing without many of the gadgets, luxuries and stuff that your friends are likely accumulating and, yes, enjoying. Some people take pride in this (possibly forced) asceticism, others find it difficult. Certainly stuff can...

Kayaking is a great way to explore a place. The skinny craft is multi-faceted: It goes through churning whitewater, along lake and estuary coastlines, and can even catch a wave. But when you’re traveling, how do know which operators are truly professional and which you should avoid? Prices for kayak rentals and short, guided trips...

As a child, you often rode a bus that crossed a bridge over a river. You would look out the window at the river meandering toward its source in the mountains, and you would wonder. You grew up, went to college, found work on another continent and forgot about the river -- for a while....

When one vagabonds alone, there is a sense of ease, of freedom. There is no one to answer to but yourself. Want to stop for half an hour to take pictures? Want to climb that mountain? Want to hit that bar? Want to jump off that waterfall? No problem! One just has to know what...

I'm done with the typical New Year's resolutions. Every year I say I'm going to eat better, exercise more, do laundry on a regular basis. And every year, by March I'm back to my old eating habits, lounging on the couch, with a pile of laundry as tall as my 6-year old niece staring at...

Travel can be like walking on a frozen lake. Although logic tells you it's safe, it's hard to ignore the stomach-churn of vulnerability. Your first few steps might be cautious, but soon you're jumping, stomping, and sliding. Here are some other similarities between travel and ice fishing, courtesy of a family trip to New Hampshire's...

At this time of year far flung travellers all around the globe are flooding airports, train stations, and roadways in the hopes of seeing their loved ones’ smiling faces for the holidays. However, for us seemingly professional travellers, making our way home for the holidays can seem like tedious work. Sure, we’re used to being...

Back when I wrote Vagabonding , I designed the end-of-chapter resources so that they could be continually updated online and stay as useful and relevant as possible. Recently, with the editorial help of Justin Glow and input from dozens of readers, I added to (and reorganized) my online resources at Vagabonding.net. I've copied the index...

My husband and I recently watched the movie "Four Christmases." Aside from being mostly un-funny and completely predictable, the movie started with a major plot flaw. The two main characters had spent the last three Christmases traveling to exotic destinations instead of visiting their families. But rather than tell their families they would be traveling...

Brett’s post from earlier this week, “ Everywhere is a destination ,” struck a familiar note with me. I live in a popular tourist town, and while I love where I live, I’m guilty of often avoiding “touristy” things. When we’re not as open to our surroundings at home as we are when we travel,...

With the recession ongoing, it's as a good time as ever to go vagabonding. On my trip around Southeast Asia, I met loads of accountants, financial analysts, etc. who had gotten laid off. Many got sizable severance packages too, providing an immediate travel fund. (If only we could all be so lucky!) Many were actually...

While maps are an indispensable tool for travel, they don't always provide enough detail to get around. A map of Marrakech doesn't show the maze of the medina. When one has to walk through a graveyard in Mexico to get to a remote beach, there isn't a signpost saying ' This Way '. If you...

As Marcus Sortijas pointed out a couple of weeks ago, interest in bicycling is on the rise. This makes sense in a number of ways. In terms of healthy living, incorporating physical exercise into activities that are themselves enjoyable is easier than avoiding going to the gym. As the cost of gas inflates and there...

A few weeks ago, I came across a blog post titled " Authentic Travelers Don't Eat McDonald's ." At first, I was ready to post a comment of my disagreement. But as I read further, I realized the author was rebutting the title statement. There's nothing wrong with indulging in the occasional Westernized meal, he...

“You should have gone to France.” These were the parting words offered to me as I attained the final in an obnoxiously long trail of signatures before finalizing my study abroad paperwork. “You should have gone to France.” Everyone, from the study abroad office recruiters to the French Department to my vapid friends, offered this...

As soon as I've returned from a trip, I'm usually imagining where to go next. One of the first tools that I use in researching a destination is Google Maps. Even the best guidebooks can't give you the level of detail and overall geography that is made possible through worldwide satellite data. This view of...

Brave New Traveler, one of the sites in the Matador Network, recently posted an essay on fear, specifically, on how fear can hold us back from our travels. In the piece, " Fear and Loathing: How Risk of Injury Can Inhibit Travel Plans ," the author writes that after she was badly injured in a...