The world outside my house is currently blanketed in snow, a monochrome world of white interrupted only by the dark, wet trunks of trees, the red brick of chimneys, the occasional green of shrubs poking through. The world outside my windows is the same as it was yesterday, and yet, it's totally different to my...

It's a traveler's biggest letdown -- scaffolding covering the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, giant construction cranes obscuring the skyline of the Pyramids or children in remote villages wearing Brittany Spears t-shirts. We've all had moments like that, moments where we felt somehow cheated, like our experience was not "authentic" enough. But in fact, those...

Is the day and age when anyone with the means can set out into the world and explore to their heart's content coming to end? Perhaps the more better question is: does cheap long term travel have a future? Wade Shepard, the author of Vagabond Journey , who has been perpetually traveling for over 11...

As you may have noticed, Rolf is currently in the midst of traveling around the world with only what he can carry in his pockets. He's got a toothbrush, a change of underpants, and an iPod Touch to do his blog posting from, as well as some presumably bulging cargo pants pockets. I did see...

A lot of travelers are romanced by the kind of retreat from civilization found in the pages of Henry David Thoreau and Carl G. Jung. Taking a break from our regular lives and living simply in nature is not only personally rewarding, it may be a little more essential to our well being than many...

I happened to be killing time in the Cairns airport flipping through the bookstore when I came across the travel memoir of "catching love, fish and wisdom": Robyn Catchlove's "Somewhere Down a Crazy River." I then promptly forgot about it until I received a notice from the publisher, and I gave it a read. It's...

Want to run away and live in a sustainable treehouse community? Go to Finca Bellavista in Costa Rica. You can build your own stilthouse or other "arboreal dwelling", as long as it abides by the community guidelines , which include such things as small square-footage structures, getting rid of waste through a compact biodigestor, and...

I have a lot of nice stuff. I have a painting of a peacock feather, all gold and blue and tiny jewels, that I plucked from a windswept art fair at Burning Man the first year I went by myself. I have a curvacious photo that I took, developed, and printed myself, of the naked...

While markets often get the prize for variety and amazing local color, grocery stores also allow great insight into a culture. Not the supermarkets we see back home, but small, neighborhood grocery shops. The necessities on store shelves can serve as a cultural study, souvenir source, or simply a place where you can restock your...

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...

Part of the fun of being on the road is the experiences to be found with the great new people you meet while traveling. The road can bring us some hilarious, wise, and challenging characters. However, like many vagabonders, I relish my solitary travels. There’s nothing quite like striking out on your own, literally all...

I’ve had my eye on the Faroe Island chain for what seems like years now. You know, those weather beaten isles in the Norwegian Sea? This small chain of 18 islands with its rolling hills, fluffy placid sheep, and thatched roofs seems like the perfect place to linger for a few contemplative months. To perhaps...

Spring festivals are getting underway , bringing the promise of prime walking weather. Although it'll be a little while before Norway warms up, St. Olav's Way is a trek (and bonafide pilgrimage) to check out. The route stretches about 400 miles (643 km) northwest from Oslo to St. Olav's grave in Trondheim. It traces lakes,...

I can’t count the amount of times I heard, “Oh yuck—too crowded with drunk college kids” when I told people I was going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. The problem is, the folks who commented had never been there, and their perceptions of the annual event stemmed from TV news footage of just one...

Hanoi, Vietnam If you have ever seen an artistic rendering of a prehistoric caveman sitting around the campfire with his buddies, you may have thought, boy, we've come a long way! Or then again, if you're like me, maybe you didn't think this at all. It's easy to forget the incredible changes the world has...

The idea of packing light is nothing new. Henry David Thoreau famously explored simple living . Rick Steves advocates one 20-pound bag . Many airlines now penalize travelers with even one checked bag by imposing a baggage fee . And in this BootsnAll interview , Rolf suggests that a small pack keeps the traveler from...

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...

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...

One of the key tenants of vagabonding is consuming less stuff, both on the road and at home. On the road less stuff means a lighter load, and at home buying less stuff gives you more spare cash to put toward the next trip. We've also pointed out in the past that less stuff generally...

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...