2020 is the age of the socially conscious traveler – increased awareness around responsible travel has seen us become more conscious of our environmental and social footprint, and many travelers now acknowledge the importance of traveling with awareness and thought.
And that’s exactly what it means to be a socially conscious traveler – to make ethical decisions where you’re mindful of the impact you have on both the environment and the local community you are visiting abroad.
Ultimately, don’t destroy what you came to enjoy.
#Responsibletravel
The basics of responsible travel apply where-ever you travel – simple things like not littering, leaving places the way you found them, and respecting nature and wildlife. However each destination may have additional specifics to consider.
This post is for those traveling to Europe!
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It’s a common joke – ‘you’ll need a vacation after your vacation’!
And, granted, it’s a difficult trap not to fall into!
When we’re spending thousands of dollars flying to exotic parts of the world, it’s only natural that you’ll want to fit as much into your itinerary as possible, and make the most of every second.
But this does also mean that you return home with post-vacation exhaustion – not to be confused with the post-vacation blues.
That’s not to say that you have to sit on a beach and not take an active vacation – but you don’t want to wear yourself out so thoroughly that you find you can’t function properly once you’re home!
Utilize the following tips for returning home from vacation fully rested!
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From Vegas to Macau, and channeling James Bond in Monte Carlo, casino tourism has become one of the biggest travel trends around the world.
We’re living in the age of the casino tourist now, where, just as travelers head overseas to enjoy architecture, history, or nature, gambling is a very real, and very relevant interest that motivates people to jet off to another country.
While there are many bucket-list worthy casinos, and in fact whole casino cities, Australia is emerging as a surprising hot spot for casino tourists. In fact, Australia’s most popular casinos attract more visitors than the Sydney Opera House!
If you’re heading to Australia to take in the casino scene, the following are things you should know about Aussie gambling culture, regardless of whether you’ve got your poker face on in Hobart, Melbourne, or Sydney.
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The life of a digital nomad is an inspiring one; the ability to work from anywhere and be your own boss is somewhat of a dream vocation, being able to travel and make money from the road.
But while it’s still a very non traditional career, being that more and more people are looking to become digital nomads, it’s also become somewhat of a competitive vocation.
Being that the world of freelancing means there are remote work opportunities in every industry, and every field, the skill set of the digital nomad is broader than you can imagine; everything from teaching English online, to web coding.
You won’t need to be skilled in every single area or method for making money online, though with a constantly evolving industry, expanding your skill set puts you in the best possible position for being able to sustain the lifestyle.
Wanting to expand your digital nomad skills? We got you covered!
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The idea of becoming a nomad family is inherently romantic, and an idea that lots of households toy with, yet seldom take the plunge.
Of course, it requires a certain degree of courage to take the kids out of school, take a sabbatical from work and travel the globe with your little ones, earning and educating your kids as you go – but the decision can be an incredible one!
If you’ve made the decision to spend time as a nomad family, (perhaps you want to get away for a while you build a house, or just take a year off), we’re 100% behind you – you’re about to give your kids the best education in the world!
Of course though, that’s not to say that the life of the nomad family is all sunshine and smiles. Just as there will be incredible experiences and life-changing moments, you’re also likely to run into your fair share of learning curves.
As such, here are some essential survival tips for keeping the whole family happy, healthy and as far from one another’s throats as possible while on the road!
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There are many things to think about when you’re traveling as a student – which destinations throw the best parties, which might further enrich your studies, and, before you leave, making sure your essays are all submitted.
But one of the biggest considerations is your budget.
At home, you’re probably used to taking advantage of student discounts to get you through each week – clothes, movie tickets, transportation – often students get a 10 – 20% discount to reduce the burden on the cost of living.
But this is something you can also apply to traveling!
Many countries around the world (most actually!) offer student discounts, which can greatly reduce the cost of travel. And depending on the country you can get these discounts on everything from flights, to ground transport, and attractions.
So, read on for how to get them!
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Placing a bet in Vegas will always be a gamble, but it’s definitely not the most dangerous risk you can take on the Strip (a far bigger gamble could be a shotgun wedding, married by Elvis, with no telling how your life will pan out!!)
While many people migrate to Vegas for the incredible live entertainment, delicious buffets, and adult entertainment, others are dreaming of striking it rich. And the fancy hotels and lights of the Vegas Strip have a magical way of drawing us in!
If you’re hoping to leave Vegas with more money than you arrived with, you’ll need to know what games offer up the best odds. While you may be counting on your lucky charms to give you an edge at winning big, Vegas casinos don’t need to hope for luck – the odds have, and always will, be stacked in their favor!
Casinos aren’t a charity; they’re in business to make a profit. If you aren’t looking to add to their profits, you need to take a moment to learn about “house edge” and why it’s important when it comes to your odds of winning.
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Whether it’s macroons from Paris, or Harem Pants from Bali, there are just some products that are widely unavailable or wildly expensive in your home country. And as a frequent traveler, I’ve been well positioned to pick up goods in other countries.
Yes, it was out of love that I shopped for my sisters in London, would buy my brother the latest American drones, and pick up a Japanese sumo loincloth for my cousin (I don’t ask questions!!). But what if you could connect with people who were willing to pay you for the service?!
Grabr is exactly that; a peer-to-peer marketplace that has exploded since 2016, connecting travelers to shoppers as a way of monetizing the extra space in your luggage!
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Are you jealous that all your friends are travelling to exotic Insta-worthy places, while you just can’t seem to save up enough to join them?
For most people, the biggest obstacle to travel is figuring out the money. Most of us understand the concept of saving, but when push comes to shove, it’s not uncommon to find it really tough.
Yes, saving money can be a daunting task, but there are many ways to cut costs, and with a couple of tried and tested strategies you might be amazed at how quickly you can build a travel fund.
So, if you’re willing to look at your spending habits and assess what mistakes you’ve been making, you may just be surprised at how much, and how quickly you can save!
To get you started, here are 5 very realistic ways – these aren’t creative, and they aren’t ‘think outside the box’ approaches – they are the proven, straightforward, widely accepted strategies to saving money.
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House sitting has become a massive movement in the travel community, and we can totally understand why; from luxury villas in the countryside, to modern lofts amidst skyscrapers, and cottages right by the ocean, it’s an incredible way to travel, and sample local life.
An exchange where you take care of someones property and pets while they’re away, and in return are allowed to stay in their home, house-sitting is basically “borrowing the homeowners lifestyle for a period of time”.
Owners have peace of mind that their home and pets are lovingly cared for, and that pets get to stay in their own home, while pet loving sitters experience life in new places, without having to pay accommodation.
Now a massive movement, it’s super easy to find house sitting opportunities all over the world, of all kinds; it’s a very viable way to travel (some people even do it full time!), and while some house-sits might only last a few days, some can be for weeks, or even months at a time.
Taking care of someone else’s home and pets might seem like a dream come true, but you do need to be a reliable, responsible, and committed sitter. And there are some things that you just shouldn’t do.
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Seychelles is an archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, made up of 115 islands. It’s an extremely beautiful place, and one of the world’s top honeymoon picks, due to its serene natural environment and those stunningly picturesque beaches.
Picture this: gently swaying palms, pure white powdery sand, and unrealistic blue seas; Seychelles invented the romantic vacation!
After having recently taken my honeymoon on the islands, I’ve put together some important tips you should keep in mind for your trip. This will help you prevent avoidable mistakes so you can maximize your bonding!
Oh, and congratulations!
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Business travel is definitely not a holiday. Whether you’re running your own business or working for a company, it’s typically the same routine: check in at the airport, pick up a rental car, and prep on-route for your meetings.
From traveling at short notice, to relying on the hotel iron, and somehow finding the energy to walking into meetings after having spent a tedious day in transit, there’s no doubting that business travel comes with its own unique sets of stresses.
So we’ve put together a guide to reduce that for you!
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When I tell people I work as a freelance copywriter, 90% of the time, they think I have something to do with protecting people’s inventions from theft. But copyright and copywriters are completely different!
Copywriters produce advertisements, articles, promotional material and ads. We’re the ones responsible for the text on billboards, those catchy advertising slogans, and the ones who write those ads you typically ignore, as much as we’d love you to click on them!
Becoming a freelance copywriter is a great career choice for a digital nomad, as it offers a location independent lifestyle, where you can work from home, or travel full time, while working from the road. And it typically doesn’t require and education.
Anyone with a computer and writing ability, who is able to run their work through a plagiarism tool like Scribbr.com, can copywrite and make money on the internet. It takes a flair for writing, a creative mind, though also some serious motivation to succeed.
Want to dive into the world of freelance copy-writing? Here’s what you need to know!
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As exciting as traveling is, airports can be some of the dullest places on Earth (with the exception maybe of Singapore – being in Changi is like discovering wonderland after having fallen down the rabbit hole!) Yes, travel is often about the journey, not the destination, but no one enjoys being trapped in the terminal.
No matter how prepared you are for the airport downtime, armed with a top ten’s worth of airport best sellers and a fully downloaded Netflix hit, it’s still hard to make a layover interesting. Often times it takes all our energy not to fall asleep at the gate!
If you’ve got a long journey coming up, here are a couple of ways you can keep yourself entertained during layovers.
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Have you ever wanted to just pack up your things, quit your job and take off on a never ending adventure?
Once upon a time mankind roamed freely, from country to country, moving from one place to another. The very first human societies were nomadic (worth noting that some still are!)
Nowadays though, people are more reluctant to seek a nomadic lifestyle. After all, there are bills to pay, mortgages, health cards – all the trappings of modern life. We’ve come to view our 9 to 5 routine as normal, and save up for the occasional trip for a week of relaxation and leisure.
But increasingly, as technology evolves and more employers embrace remote positions, there is an ever growing movement towards nomadicism once more. I mean, what if it were possible to satisfy your wanderlust and earn money at the same time?!
That’s exactly the definition of a digital nomad! Before you jump into the lifestyle though, it’s important to full understand the pros and cons.
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The cultural shift towards working remotely has been one of the biggest trends of the 21st century. In the 1900’s, people were proud of their traditional office environment, but once the 2000’s hit, we dared to reinvent this.
We dreamed of working from our laptops in Sicily one day, and Switzerland the next. Of filing reports from a villa in Bali, or answering emails from the plane, en route to our next exciting country.
Yes, the concept of remote work has been one of the biggest movements of the century; it’s now incredibly common for entrepreneurs and freelancers to sustain themselves through online income, and more and more companies are offering positions for remote employees.
And while this is exciting; total freedom of movement, and the ability to work from anywhere as long as there’s a laptop with a connection, there’s a lot of work and discipline required to stay on track while traveling.
There are many tools and products that make life easier as a digital nomad, from blue-tooth keyboards, to lap desks, and portable wifi, but today we’re going to look at the apps you need for success.
Covering everything from your accounting, to your diary, and easy-to-use video conferencing, the best thing about the apps in this list is that they’re ALL FREE … keep your business expenses down by using these!
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Look out your window, whether that be your office or your bedroom; what do you see? Is it the same old scene; dreary, boring, cold? Is the nine to five, Monday to Friday ritual just becoming too repetitive, too samey? Wish you could magic yourself away for a while?
If only there was a way to fund your travels whilst gaining valuable work and life experience that would not just bolster your CV, but also your character and social network …
Oh, wait, there is! You can teach English as a foreign language – TEFL for short.
For a while now, people young and old have travelled to other countries to teach English. There are a myriad of reasons why: for the love of teaching, experiencing other cultures, funding globetrotting, gap years, a break from the ordinary… the list goes on.
Fortunately, the demand for English grows as the language solidifies its reputation as the international lingua franca. Business, diplomacy, tourism, trade – all are areas where English is invaluable. All the better for you, an aspiring teacher!
Below is a brief guide on the TEFL industry. Read on if you’re keen to learn more about qualifications, destinations, and valuations!
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Let’s face it – everyday life can be stressful. So much so that one of the biggest trending issues of the 21st century has been to raise awareness and shine a spotlight on issues surrounding mental health.
One in four people suffer from mental health issues at some point in their lives, whether that’s feeling stuck in life, or battling more severe issues like anxiety and depression. And while traveling may sound at first like you’re running from your problems, the truth can be quite the opposite.
Sometimes all most people need is a simple reset.
Well, travel is a great way to reset the brain!
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Getting that gorgeous snap of the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum in Rome, or of that stunning waterfall by the hot springs, is the epitome of travel photography; epic photos is what we all aim for!
But capturing the beauty that is in front of you can be a bit difficult; the shot may look fantastic in the preview, but as soon as that shutter clicks, you end up with tons of shadows which completely corrupt your photo.
These shadows occur from objects in the background, from people within the shot (or standing just outside the frame), and even from your own photography skills if you haven’t quite mastered your lighting.
While you can always use Photoshop to remove unnecessary shadows (see how to remove shadows from photos in Photoshop), if your subscription has ended or you don’t want the learning curve, there’s a powerful new program called PhotoWorks.
While the program itself has a great guide for how to remove shadows from photos in PhotoWorks, we’ve summarized the process here in 4 easy steps, to show you how simple it is!
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You’ve done the easy part; you’ve browsed the best vacation deals online and made a spontaneous last minute booking. But now the clock is ticking, and you have a very short window of time to organize your packing! Don’t stress!
Packing last minute can be very easy if you use the following tips.
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Good entrepreneurs never let a business idea go past them. And increasingly, the modern digital nomad has worked out ways to supplement their travel budget by making money from the road.
As a traveller, you’ve probably got keen senses about you. You’ll know how to put together a travel budget, and how to find the best prices on flights; you’ll know tricks for beating the language barrier, and how to avoid tourist traps, and seek out authentic experiences and sights.
This type of thing might come naturally to you – expertise you’ve built up over time without realizing that you’re actually very skilled. And there’s a business opportunity there – teaching others everything you know.
It’s become a massive trend in recent years; the idea of traveling perpetually and making money from the road. But one untapped idea is actually teaching people how to travel. This could just be the perfect side hustle for making money from the road!
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It’s important to have reliable transport when traveling, and those who value their freedom tend to opt for the hire car option.
Renting a car offers one of the most reliable ways to explore a city and its surrounds without having to deal with the tediousness of public transport or the money-draining nature of taxis and day tours. However, many people shy away from overseas car rental, thinking it’s too complicated.
Spoiler alert: it’s not!
Renting a car can be an overwhelming process if you’ve never done it before, so to that end, we’ve put some tips and tricks for renting a car like a pro.
It’s easier than it looks, and the perks are amazing!
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Service dogs are a vital part of life for many people, as guide dogs and animals trained to alert others. However, in recent years there have been new of laws and restrictions regarding what animals can and can’t board a commercial flight.
This causes confusion for everyone, and owners of service dogs are no exception. Anxiety over this can easily lead to a feeling that vacationing near home and traveling by road might be easier and less stressful.
The good news is that this doesn’t have to be the case. You can absolutely take a service dog onto an aircraft, as long as you can offer credible assurance that the animal is not just a pet, and state which functions the animal provides.
If you’re still worried, though, here are some tips for making your journey as stress-free as possible.
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Known as the roulette capitol of the world, France is considered to be among the leading casino destinations on earth. There are a massive 186 legal gaming places in France, spread across 175 towns, and they truly are spread out; in fact, you’ll only find one casino in the capitol of Paris!
You obviously won’t have time to visit all 186 properties, so we’ve put together a list of the best in the country.
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Sunglasses are often a holiday must-have, but what you might not realize when picking up any old pair off the rack, is that the quality of your eye-wear is absolutely essential.
Of course a good pair of sunglasses will have sex appeal, but what’s even more attractive are the health benefits they bring. Sunburn of the eyes is a real thing, and it’s PAINFUL!
We rely on our vision more than any other sense so it’s essential that we protect ourselves. Travel has a way of putting us in environments that can be harsh on the eyes, so sunglasses are vital for making sure you can continue to see the world with clarity.
So yes, buy based of fashion trends (the top fashion trend at the moment are aviators – we recommend Eye Buy Direct, who have a great range of aviator sunglasses), but when you do, make sure the glasses also tick these boxes.
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