The world’s best secret islands Looking for a romantic spot that's (almost) all yours? Here’s a list from our brand new Best in Travel 2011 guide to reignite your love affair with desert islands, with picks from across the globe. 1. Image by Killer White Fluff As far as you can go in Oz without falling off the map, the Torres Strait Islands are Australia as it might have been if Europeans had never arrived. Permits to visit outlying islands must be obtained at least one month in advance from the Torres Strait Regional Authority. 2. Image by ajari The idyllic Yaeyama Islands are tucked away at the very southern tip of the Japanese archipelago. Japan Transocean Air flies daily from Tokyo to Ishigaki, which is connected to the other islands by regular ferries. 3. Image by Antoine Hubert Most people have heard of Devil’s Island, but few would be able to stick a pin on a map. Access to the Îles du Salut is by catamaran from Kourou and the only place to stay is the clubhouse-style Auberge des Iles. 4. Image by hkinuthia 5. 6. 7.
So You've Graduated from College, Now What? An update to this post is here. With graduation season wrapping up, I’m remembering my post-college days in 2000, just after the “dot com” bubble burst and suddenly all those folks who flocked to Seattle and Silicon Valley were unemployed, fresh out of school and totally screwed. Ten years later, are things much different? This spring, I’ve gotten a number of emails essentially asking the same question: “I want to wait out the bad economy, do some traveling, but I’m a broke-ass college student… what should I do?” If you want to spend your year after college traveling – but you have no money saved — here’s what I would do” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Don’t think this works? How to Travel the World for Free, Save Money and Make Friends How to Travel the World for Free (Matador Network) How to Travel the World for Free (E-how) Road Junky: Traveling Free What is Couch Surfing? Where should I go? Okay, so a lot of people say it’s easiest to travel from East to West. What if I run out of money?
10 Unbelievably Beautiful Places You've Probably Never Heard Of 15 Web Tools to Enhance Language Learning With the world becoming more culturally diverse everyday, it is becoming increasing important for everyone to learn a new language. Whether you are learning for your career, education, or just want to increase you knowledge of other languages, the Internet provides a wide variety of tools that can enhance your learning experience. Here is a list of 15 free language learning tools to explore today: Popling – Popling is free online web software that is great for practicing language vocabulary without any real effort. Radio Lingua Network – The Radio Linga Network offers free online podcasts that you can use to enhance listening comprehension and language learning skills for 20 different languages. Livemocha – Livemocha is a free community language learning tool with online interactive lessons, user created courses, and language partners that are ready to practice with you. Babbel – The Babbel site is a free online learning portal for Spanish, English, German, French, and Italian.
45 Great Jobs You Can Do While Traveling The World And How To Get Them If you think that you can’t afford to travel the world, finding a job on the road may be just the ticket. Travel’s wonderful, sure, but little things like food and a place to sleep are good too. We’ve found some of the best ideas to get paid as you travel the world, with some help on how to land each job. Yacht Crew You should know the basics of sailing for this gig, although some jobs only require a keen willingness to learn and a great attitude. Charles as king of the yacht! Freelance Travel Writing Traditional freelance travel writing is a tough gig. Travel Blogging If you’re the enterprising sort, you can start your own travel blog. Volunteer While volunteer jobs by nature don’t pay, some will provide (often very basic) accommodation or meals, or both. WWoofing If you’ve ever been interested in volunteering on an organic farm, this might be the gig for you. Flight Attendant Pilot While this is out of the reach of most of us, those with flight experience can score great flights. Busking Tips!
How to take a broke-ass road trip There’s a saying that goes, ‘The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco’. It’s credited to Mark Twain, but that’s a lie; nobody really knows who said it. I wish I had. You know what else I wish I had? A friggin’ car! 1. (I know I just complained about not having a car, but I’m actually tied to my desk right now, so just look at my car reference before as a metaphor for ‘the freedom to not be at my damn desk’.) 2. If you don’t have wheels but aren’t too keen on riding with random strangers, you can always rent a car. 3. Still on the car-less theme, if you use Zipcar or one of the countless smaller local versions of car sharing, you can take a vehicle for multiple days at a time. 4. Don’t wanna spend too much loot on food while traveling? 5. You read Lonely Planet, so you know the drill, but just in case you don’t, I’ll break it down for you. 6. If you wanna save money on a road trip, don’t go to Disneyland, or any other theme park for that matter. 7. 8.
Perpetual Weekend The Objective: As seen from afar: Numbers that defined our world: Wrangell St Elias NP and Preserve: 13,200,000 acres² (20,587 miles²) Distance traveled: 430 miles (~220 miles on land and ~210 floating) Time: 33 days (25 days on foot and 8 days paddling) Distance on trail: 0 Resupplies: 3 Bears: 14 Other park visitors: 0 Jars Nutella eaten: 5 Gallons olive oil used: 0.7 Hours of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed: 1.2 Width of tent space space, per individual: 15” Width of foam sleeping pads: 20” On the long, unpaved road to McCarthy, with the bumpin’ sound system. Almost midnight with a great bivy spot at the airstrip When Chuck Norris goes to bed at night he checks underneath for Garry Green. Cisco won the rock-paper-scissors for shotgun seating Garry dropped us off at Tebay Lakes As the sound of Garry’s plane faded, we found we were very, very far from anyone else. At the end of the first day we could look down the Bremner valley and see the Copper River on the horizon.
Europe's great cities on the cheap Last updated 11:38 20/09/2012 TAKE THE PLUNGE: Europe's most popular cities are also among its most expensive, but it is possible to do them on the cheap. Europe's cities have a wealth of historical and cultural and riches-but that doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune. London HOTELS: Tune hotels (www.tunehotels.com), the hotel arm of budget airline Air Asia X offers dirt-cheap London lodgings from £35 ($A54). FOOD: London can be an expensive place to eat. THINGS TO DO: London is blessed with a multitude of free museums, art galleries and attractions. GETTING AROUND: Invest in an Oyster card ( and a good map, and keep in mind that sometimes it may be quicker to walk between stations than pay for the Tube. Paris HOTELS: Finding a budget bed in Paris is hard work, and you don't always get what you pay for. FOOD: Paris is the land of pastries and picnics, which should sustain you through breakfast and dinner. Rome Venice Vienna - Sydney Morning Herald
Off Track Planet Before you render yourself useless by putting on the annual winter fat suit made entirely of holiday hams and snickerdoodles, and cloud your mind with eggnog, and little bottles of schnapps, plan a kick ass trip to start the year off right with our brand new list of destinations for 2013. Sintra, Portugal Homiest No matter how rugged you are, or how well you can hold your ground with the gravity bong, everyone loves little colorful houses and rolling hills. Boracay Best Water Sports So you like water sports and you like 'em cheap and all in one place? OTP Tip: Boracay has this bat cave. Ukraine Like Russia But Better If you've ever wanted to visit mother Russia but pussied out because of the cold or the price tag, Ukraine, the largest country in Europe, is a vodka-drunken happy medium. Cappadocia, Turkey Most Unique Landscape Most backpackers consume Istanbul as the main course and treat the rest of Turkey like leftovers. Bhutan Most Spiritual Malmo, Sweden Most Bare-Chested Taman Negara, Malaysia
Camping Products: 10 Innovative and Latest Camping Equipment Are you planning a family camping vacation? Are you planning to take the best camping products along with you when vacationing in the outdoors? Here are the 10 latest and most innovative camping products and equipment. 1. A revolutionary idea for mountain bikers who want to cut the stress of weekend missions in the wilds, Topeak’s Bikamper is a cyclist’s take on the caravan. With two ventilation windows that double as a skylight for staring at the stars at night and a waterproof fly, the design is both functional and aesthetic. The astronauts were onto something when they invented puffy suits to keep the extra-terrestrial elements at bay. Padded and shaped to the human form, this tent-cum-body bag can withstand negative temperatures and has layered inserts which act as a mattress on hard ground. 3. Hung from a tree or any other tall structure that crops up in the wild, the cocoon provides comfort and pleasure in the open air at the same time. [ via: Dre Wapenaar ] 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.