We talk a lot about thinking outside the box to earn money on the road, that reality is negotiable, and that it’s absolutely possible in today’s day and age to follow your dreams. And the dreams of a traveler can be anything from having more time to spend on the road, to volunteering with children in Africa, to opening your own hostel.
And that’s exactly what a team of British backpacking entrepreneurs have done. Opening a hostel that is.
With a dream that was born in the Australian outback and carried across the world in a backpack, Podstel isn’t really your average business start-up. Developing a business and designing a crowdfunding campaign while hitchhiking and backpacking 5,500 kilometres across an entire continent is certainly not without its difficulties, and whether it be intermittent WiFi or having no permanent base to work from, Team Podstel’s critics haven’t held back in telling them it can’t be done.
But Team Podstel don’t do conventional. Despite the challenges, and in knowing that they are most inspired when doing what they truly love, the road really was the best office this hardy team of travel experts could think of.
This week I chatted to Daniel Beaumont, Podstel’s founder. This is the story of the world’s first crowdsourced hostel.
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What comes to mind when you hear mention of Nicaragua? Civil war and dictators? Revolution and unrest? Well that all finished more than 30 years ago, and now Nicaragua is one of the world’s most stunning tropical destinations, and an absolutely fantastic place to visit or live. Trust me – as an international expat now living here I would know!
Now one of the safest countries in the Americas, whether you’re looking to channel your inner beach bum on one of Nicaragua’s two coastlines (the Pacific’s got the waves and the Caribbean’s got the reefs), hit up a peaced-out surf camp, hippie enclave or remote fishing village, or perhaps even take in the smoking Volcán Concepción and witness “her almost perfect cinder cone rise from silvery, pure Lago de Nicaragua to pierce the cloudy sky”, Nicaragua has something to wow and awe you.
Land of Lakes and Volcanoes’ indeed, you’ve also got the option of colonial churches and museums, cloud forests, tumbling waterfalls, and incredible coffee. Here are 5 reasons to jump on a flight to Nicaragua today.
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It’s most people’s dream – to set up a location independent lifestyle which will enable them to generate an income online while travelling the world. Though these days this is more than just a dream – more and more people are realizing the infinite potential of our online age, and creating opportunities for themselves to work online, affording them the flexibility to set up their office from their computer while continually jumping around the globe. Sara Schneider is one such pioneer.
She morphed her part-time employer into a client and immediately started taking advantage of her newfound freedom with trips to Costa Rica, India, and climbing crags across the USA. And why not? All of our ancestors were wanderers and explorers of this new world at one point, she tells us, so why not embrace our heritage!
This is Sara’s story.
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If I were to tell you that you could travel the world for free, would you drop everything right now and go? Most would likely not believe me.
Despite the ridiculous number of resources that the Internet age has borne to help us travel cheaper, the overwhelming perception is that travel has to be expensive. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Resources to find affordable (and even free) travel options exist these days in droves. There truly are no more excuses that money is an obstacle to experiencing the world.
Everything we need in order see the world can be ours for cheaper than it ever has been before. With his unconventional and ruthlessly effective approaches to money, lifestyle design, and entrepreneurship, Andrew Walton reveals how it’s possible to travel longer, farther, and better, on any budget, even if you don’t have room for one at all.
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They’re the inspiring couple from Latvia who quit their jobs, sold everything they owned and took off to India with little more than a bike. For 5 months they cycled the country from end to end, accumulating phenomenal experiences with each of the 5,300 kilometers they went. Though this was in October 2013, and they have continued to travel full time ever since.
Kaspars and Una have spent the last two years living and working between destinations across Europe and Asia, with the ultimate goal of exploring every corner of the planet before returning home. They travel slowly to truly immerse themselves into each new culture and place, and keep their costs low by volunteering in exchange for food and board.
Because why not quit your office job, give away everything you own and travel indefinitely if you don’t want to return home? Seriously, why not!! That’s exactly this one inspiring couple’s story.
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She is a girl who dreamed of traveling the world, though like so many of us, instead chose to conform to society’s conventions and concepts of reality and found security in the 9-to-5 grind. Though miserable with a career and life that wasn’t really the reality of her dreams, she was too scared to leave that security behind and make the jump to seek out change. That is until she started meeting with others who had made that leap and had broken out from society’s carefully crafted mold.
Nowadays Aileen Adalid is a lifestyle traveler who has worked incredibly hard to establish an online business which enables her to travel the globe. She broke all of society’s conventions to go after the life she truly loved, and now seeks to inspire others to do the same.
She wants people to know that the dreams you have are really possible…and people are living theirs every day! Reality is, after-all, highly negotiable, and can be molded to suit your desired way of life.
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He broke his back on a pleasure cruise through the Amazon; she was fire twirling in Thailand when she set herself alight. One traveler lost his vision on a river cruise of the Rhine, and another found herself receiving stitches after an Asian air-conditioning unit decided to attack.
It’s important to remember that we’re not invincible while traveling abroad, and the stupidest thing you can ever do is to think it will never happen to you. Though the following war stories from the road are not to dissuade you from traveling abroad, as life can catch you anywhere, including from the comfort of home. On the contrary, the hope is that after reading you’ll understand the importance of never traveling without insurance, and if the need for such while traveling doesn’t hit home after this we don’t know what will!
The following are war stories from the road – the best, the worst and the most embarrassing injuries travelers have sustained abroad.
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Traveling along California’s famous Redwood Coast you’ll come across sandy beaches, a stunning rugged coast and the world’s tallest trees. Though tucked away in Crescent City well off the regular tourist trail lies Battery Point Lighthouse – a strikingly beautiful historic landmark built in the late 1800’s.
Standing a top a hill of vivid pink Gerbera, Battery Point Lighthouse is the most picturesque lighthouse in North America today.
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The power of the outdoors is indescribable. The life skills, larger perspective and appreciation of our natural surroundings cannot be replicated anywhere else.
The majority of these important experiences can happen in our youth through the guidance of our parents, and for many our dads. These experiences not only provide new perspectives and learnings but deep memories and irreplaceable bonds that have insurmountable lifelong affects.
This is our recent interview with Majesty Outdoors on the importance of outdoor adventure in the lives of at-risk youth, and the power of outdoor adventure to heal.
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Enhancing your understanding of yourself and the world around you, here are 5 reasons why women who travel become better leaders.
Because excelling as a leader “does not just entail past experience or hard skills; it also involves personality, life experiences, and everything that makes you who you are.”
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Many of us are doing everything we can to reduce our carbon footprint at home. We’re making an effort to recycle, catching public transport where possible, and reducing the amount of electricity we use. Now that global warming is at such a critical point, we’ve realized that we should be doing everything we possibly can to reverse it.
But what about when we travel? Do any of us think about what impact we might be having while we’re skipping and jumping between countries?
I know it’s not pleasant to think that we might be damaging the environment by exploring new places, but unfortunately travel leaves a carbon footprint too.
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Trisha Velarmino is one of those people who gave up their comfortable life to travel the world.
Holding a fabulous job in the Fashion Industry after studying Arts Management in Manila and Fashion Communications in Milan, Trisha lived a fairly extravagant life, though it was the realization that she wanted to travel while she was young, fit and able which was behind her decision to leave it all behind.
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Tips For Booking Hotels in London All in all, there are well over 1,000 hotels and hostels in London, and with so many options it’s often difficult to know where to start. Entering your travel dates into a hotel or hostel booking site brings up an endless list of options; an overwhelming chore to sort through each to find those which offer excellent...
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The Tower of London Remembers “After 100 years, stories of the First World War are fading from memory. How can we keep them alive?” The poppy display from the Tower of London has now been removed, however my parents were recently onsite, just in time to snap a photo of the striking display. As part of the ‘Tower of London Remembers’ project,...
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My mouth started watering to the point where I was literally drooling as he placed a plate of street tacos in the middle of our table. My mind started racing. “How long do I have to wait before I can grab one without looking rude?” “Can I stuff the whole thing in my mouth in one go?” “Do you think the group would notice if I stole more than one?”.
The tender, succulent meat had been smoked & slow braised for 12 hours, and was sitting in plated of me with pineapple and habanero glaze on a hand-made corn tortilla. Nothing this sensational had touched my lips in well, forever…don’t tell my husband!
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Whaling is an issue which is plaguing the international media, and the current saga surrounding the Faroe Islands Grindadrap is headline news. Few would have missed the recent media circus and international outrage surrounding the killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands, a practice known locally as the Grindadrap.
Hundreds of pilot whales are slaughtered every year on Faroese shores, and the international community sits horrified as gruesome images circulate depicting the bloody scene.
International organizations rush to the islands to intervene, though many volunteers arrive on the islands ill equip to operate a successful campaign, relying heavily on media hype for facts, and with little understanding of, or willingness to understand, the Faroese culture.
They fail to realize that it is only when you understand something that you can effectively seek to change it.
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Almost instantly after publishing our 2014 list of Sexiest Male Travelers Alive, we were bombarded with messages and emails from male travelers wanting to nominate their favorite females for the same title.
We all know you should date a girl who travels; “she spends her weekends jetting around Europe, her holidays trekking through Uganda in search of gorillas, volunteering in a school in Ghana or lying on a beach in Sri Lanka. She spends her evenings reading travel books, watching travel movies or following travel bloggers on Twitter. She might appear to be independent and solitarily happy but, in reality, she would really like that perfect companion to be able to enjoy all of these things with.”
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The poppy display from the Tower of London is now being removed, however my parents were onsite yesterday, just in time to snap a photo of the striking display.
As part of the ‘Tower of London Remembers’ project, 888,246 handmade ceramic poppies encircled the iconic landmark, one for every British soldier killed in WW1.
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It’s a traveler’s worst nightmare – being stuck abroad without access to your hard earned funds. And whether the airline lost your bags, the machine ate your card, or someone stole your cash, you really don’t want to have to throw yourself at the mercy of strangers to find a place to sleep, or break into an international bank!
It’s always good to have a Plan B and prepare for the worst case scenarios before you leave home, though if you can keep your money safe while abroad to start with, your trip will undoubtedly go much smoother for you.
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Having volunteered at an orphanage in Kenya, trekked around glaciers and lagoons in Torres del Paine, kayaked in the rough Adriatic Sea off Dubrovnik, witnessed the Saints win Superbowl in New Orleans, and flirted with penguins in Antarctica, Longy (Longzhen) Han has definitely experienced her fair share of epic travel experiences.
Having independently traveled across all 7 continents, this intrepid traveler is inspiring other young adults to get out there and experience the world, however adventurer by day and children’s book author by night, she is also aiming to bring the world to young children through a colorful and captivating picture book series “Gusto and Gecko”.
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Travelling in your early twenties is becoming quite fashionable these days, but there are still many who are sceptical about the hype.
Whether you’re a sceptical student or the parent of a wanderlust-riddled twenty something, don’t worry: we’re not here to annoyingly convert you, we just want you to see the other side of the coin with these common myths.
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During 2010, 1,500 young adults from all around the world gathered on Rowallan Camp in Kenya for the 13th World Scout Moot.
I traveled to Kenya with 32 other Rover Scouts from Australia, (a Rover Scout is aged 18-26), where we camped for a little over a week, participating in world leadership programs, cultural exchanges and one hell of an international party.
Though a large part of the moot (camp) was dedicated to volunteer efforts within the local community. The group I was associated with during this camp was assigned to volunteer in local primary schools, which was a life changing experience for all involved.
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Since summiting Mt Kilimanjaro back in 2010, I have been looking for inspiration for my next big trek.
Everest? It’s on the list – though everyone’s doing Everest these days. The Kokoda Trail? This trek won’t be for a while until we return to Australia. The Inca Trail perhaps? We experienced a heavy downpour of rain while in Peru so opted out and jumped on a train instead.
But then someone mentioned the Camino De Santiago. And I thought now that’s an inspiring trek! That someone was Megan Tasker from MeganTasker.com.
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My very first trip abroad was to Japan in 2003 with my year 9 language class; a high school cultural exchange which saw two chaperone teachers try and guide 20 teenage girls through Japan. Kudos to those teachers! While the highlight for many of us was our visit to Tokyo Disneyland, it was our homestay experience which ignited a spark which would later evolve into a...
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If anyone knows Italy it’s Gigi Griffis. A world traveling entrepreneur and writer with a special love for inspiring stories, Gigi has been traveling full time with her pint-sized pooch in tow since 2012. For over two years now she has been snuggling her puppy against a backdrop of sandy Mexican beaches, cobbled Italian squares, pretty French bistros, and...
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