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80 things we wish we knew before we started traveling

- Living Bueno - How to Live Anywhere in the World for&Free Skeptical Face Travel for free? This dudes crazy right? Today is part two of what I am calling the "Knowledgeable Nomads" series, in which I will be teaching my readers how they can travel the world while ballooning their savings accounts rather than draining them dry. Possibly the most common excuse I hear when urging others to travel and see the world, is the financial barrier that is separating them from partaking in such a journey. How To Live Anywhere in The World For Free By- Rick A. Letter from Franco, my host from my upcoming voyage to Sicily: "Rick, sounds good, I do have a couple of people here, what I could do is give you the country cottage and that way you can have the freedom to do your writing. would you be interested in that?" Franco For the next few months I will be living in a country cottage in Sicily a few hundred meters from the village of Sciacca. I was naturally skeptical and figured I'd come across a salesman promoting his own website in a clever way. 1.

Private Islands | Iglucruise.com Ever wondered how to own your own private island? With many of major cruise lines now owning their own white sandy beaches in the Caribbean here is a look into how we can own our own paradise too. Iglucruise is a award winning UK based cruise travel agency providing cruises from Southampton and great cruise deals to the Caribbean and Mediterranean Cruises. © Copyright Iglucruise 2010+ Small (600px width) <p><a href=" src=" border="0" alt="Private Islands /></a></p><p>Infographic by <a href=" Large (900px width) <p><a href=" src=" border="0" alt="Private Islands Infographic by /></a><a href="

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. Torres Strait Islands, Australia 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. 4. Image by hkinuthia It’s easy to see the appeal of tiny Ulleungdo. 5. Image by Fathzer 6. Image by hsuyo 7. 8. 9.

How to Get Cheap Flights& ( 8 pgs. 3 illus.) - Art of Travel - European... Chapter 4 Booking Strategies Large Internet Sites Student and Budget Specialists Domestic Bucket Shops Ethnic and Foreign Bucket Shops Courier Flying Round-the-World Tickets Charters Bumping To Gateways Glossary TWO HUNDRED YEARS ago the cost was seven years to a lifetime of servitude for average people making a one-way crossing of the Atlantic. Now it can be funded by a few days of waiting tables. When booking through an agent, always specify you want the "lowest possible fare," as there may be specials which do not fall under "economy" or "APEX." Often the best deals are offered directly by airline websites. Large Internet Travel Sites All listings are the result of experience, general budget travel knowledge, or research. Student and Budget Specialists While a few tickets require student or youth status, most do not. Domestic Bucket Shops Air Brokers International 323 Geary, Suite 411, San Francisco, CA 94102 tel. 800-883-3273 fax: 415-397-4767. Ethnic Bucket Shops Foreign Bucket Shops

Phrases in 5 common languages to know when traveling in Europe | Travel tip... Traveling abroad this summer? These helpful phrases will open doors and help you gain immediate acceptance. You don't need to be fluent in the language of the country that you are traveling to, but learning some key phrases makes a great impression. From saying hello to asking how much something cost; knowing some important phrases will set you up for an amazing trip. Your pronunciation doesn't have to be perfect, all that matters is that your trying and that means a lot the locals. Here are some helpful phrases in 5 common languages to know when traveling in Europe French, Italian, Spanish, German and Dutch The Basics: Hello: bonjour (bohn-zhoor) Please: S'il vous plaît (see voo play) Thank you: merci (mehr-see) Goodbye: au revoir (oh reh-vwar) Where is the bathroom? Do you have a menu in English? How much is it? I’m lost, can you help me find ____? I would like: Je voudrais (zhuh voo-dray) Some Phrases Just for Fun: I drank too much, can you call a taxi? Can I climb the Eiffel tower? German

Sample Western Europe Travel Itinerary Dublin->Glasgow->Edinburgh->Manchester->London->Amsterdam->Rotterdam->Brussels->Paris->Bordeaux->Zaragoza-> Madrid->Lisbon->Lagos->Sevilla->Malaga->Valencia->Barcelona->Toulouse->Marseille->Lyon->Geneva->Bern->Milan-> Genoa->Florence->Rome->Naples->Venice->Munich->Stuttgart->Frankfurt->Berlin->Hamburg->Copenhagen See it all with this itinerary. Start in Dublin and see the Emerald Isle before having Haggis in Scotland. Head down towards London and then over to Amsterdam. Head west over the north via Brussels. Minimum Completion Time: 3.5 months You can get 10% off your European Rail Pass when you purchase our editor’s book on how to save money traveling the world!

Slow Travel - Your First Trip to Europe, Advice from Experienced Travelers... > SlowTrav > Europe Trip Planning Kathy Wood In early 2006 I developed a class called "Planning Your European Vacation," which is now offered through the continuing education department of the University of Tennessee. In preparation for my first class, I posted on the Slow Travel message board asking fellow travelers to share their most important "lessons learned" which would be of value to inexperienced European travelers, lessons that would make a first trip to Europe more pleasurable, memorable, economical, and stress-free. I received input from 29 Slow Travelers. These notes are a result of that very interesting Slow Travel discussion. Planning Your Trip Keep reminding yourself that you can visit Europe many times. Don't view your trip as a once in a lifetime event! Be careful about asking: "What should I be sure not to miss?" Don't visit a tourist place that doesn't interest you intensely because it is a "must see". Go with an open mind. Before you go >> Read more - Trip Checklist

50 Strange Buildings of the World This is the original list of 50 strange buildings which has been and is being copied (stolen) by many bloggers. If you wish to post it on your blog or website, feel free to use up to 20 buildings from this list and give a proper link to our website ( as the source article. Ok, now enjoy this weird, odd, bizarre and incredible looking arcitechture! After reading it, don’t forget to check Part II and Part III. 1. The Crooked House (Sopot, Poland) Construction of the building started in in January 2003 and in December 2003 it was finished. Image via: brocha 2. The Hundertwasser house “Waldspirale” (”Forest Spiral”) was built in Darmstadt between 1998 and 2000. The structure with 105 apartments wraps around a landscaped courtyard with a running stream. Image via: Kikos Dad 3. Image via: manuelfloresv 4. Image via: Mélisande* 5. The Longaberger Basket Company building in Newark, Ohio might just be a strangest office building in the world. Image via: addicted Eyes

How to See the World: Art of Travel; European and World Backpacking; On$25 a... The 20 Best Travel Websites on the Internet - Golden Book Traveler Update: Visit the 2012 version of The 20 Best Travel Websites on the Internet I hope that everyone who attended my SXSW Core Conversation panel on How to Make Money Traveling Around the World enjoyed the presentation. As promised, I have a listing of my top 20 favorite travel websites (in no particular order). I’m still working on my eBook “70 Vacations in 7 Months“. The project has consumed most of my time of late. The Top 20! Couch Surfing Hands down my favorite travel website on the internet. Travellers Point Travellerspoint is a small travel community that features expert travel advice. Momondo How can a Danish aggregator feature cheaper flights within the U.S, than any American flight aggregator? Escape The City Escape the City is a new website that continues to grow like wildfire. Hostel World My go to site for anything related to hostels. Trip-it I build almost all of my travel itineraries through Trip-it. AirBnB Airbnb is great for people who enjoy a finer lodging experience. Flyer Talk

How I Can Afford My Life Of Constant Travel I’m confused. I’m simply confused as to how it’s possible that I have so far failed to properly explain how I’ve managed to travel/live/work abroad nonstop for 12 years straight (and counting). The questions are still pouring in every single day: How do you do it? How is it possible to travel for so long? Where does the money come from? And while I thoroughly enjoy communicating with readers (I’m being completely serious and encourage you all to continue sending your emails to me as often as you wish), the fact that these very questions are on the minds of so many of you out there has led me to believe that I need to do a better job at providing the answers. While it’s true that I’ve already written plenty of posts on the matter, clearly all of these posts, even as one collective entity, still fall well short of proving that a life of travel is not some crazy fantasy but a perfectly reasonable and easily attainable lifestyle option instead. So what am I to do? December 25, 1999: March 2000

Amazing Places To Experience Around The Globe (Part 1) Preachers Rock, Preikestolen, Norway Blue Caves - Zakynthos Island, Greece Skaftafeli - Iceland Plitvice Lakes – Croatia Crystalline Turquoise Lake, Jiuzhaigou National Park, China Four Seasons Hotel - Bora Bora Ice skating on Paterswoldse Meer, a lake just South of the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Marble Caves, Chile Chico, Chile The Gardens at Marqueyssac Ice Canyon - Greenland Capilano Suspension Bridge, Vancouver, British Columbia Valley of the Ten Peaks, Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada Multnomah Falls, Oregon Seljalandsfoss Waterfall on the South Coast of Iceland Petra - Jordan (at night) Verdon, Provence, France Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania, Australia Norway Alesund Birdseye of City Benteng Chittorgarh, India Riomaggiore, Italy Keukenhof Gardens - Netherlands. Sky Lantern Festival - Taiwan. Mount Roraima - Venezuela. Seychelles East Iceland. Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. New York City.

10 Irish Words You Should Know When Traveling Around the Emerald Isle | Ir... One of the great things about traveling to Ireland is that the Irish people speak English. Or at least most of them do! In fact, over a half million Irish claim to speak Irish, the native language, often referred to as “Gaelic” by visitors. Normally, you do not need to know any Irish language words in the course of staying at hotels or B&Bs, eating in restaurants, going shopping, or taking part in the conviviality of pubs. However, it is useful to know some Irish words when traveling around the countryside – because there are certain areas in Ireland where Irish is the everyday spoken language and signs on the roads are all in Irish. Here are the top 10 words you should be able to recognize, if not actually pronounce. Gaeltacht – Region or district in Ireland where Irish (Gaelic) is the predominant language. By Patricia Preston from www.IrelandExpert.com and author of several must-read books on Ireland and Irish Travel.

8 Destinations for the Solo Traveler (PHOTOS) As with everything else, traveling alone has its pros and cons. Pros: No scheduling conflicts, you can choose every meal, not to mention grab all the glory of travel triumphs (and pitfalls) all to yourself. Cons: Safety is paramount, and there is the ever lingering feeling of loneliness that can turn a fabulous, delicious dinner into a slow form of torture. But to let those totally surmountable problems stop you from lounging in Iceland's thermal baths, tucking into a heaping helping of poutine, or pensively staring out on stunning fjords seems ill-advised. The trick is to plan ahead. Ask the hotel's concierge for a restaurant recommendation, for example, and sit at the bar. Certain destinations are better for solo travelers than others, though, depending on language barriers, easy-to-understand currency, built-in activities, or food so good you'll forget you're sitting there on your own. Here are The Daily Meal's picks for the best trips to experience solo. Norway 1 of 8 Photos

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