Get Busy Livin’

24/11/2021

American skies are about to become a lot friendlier to fully vaccinated travellers. On 8 November, the United States will implement a new air travel policy that removes the ban on international travel from 33 countries (including the EU, UK and India) and changes the country-by-country approach in favour of a requirement for all fliers to be fully vaccinated. This marks the first time in 18 months that vaccinated visitors from many countries have been able to travel to the US.

24/11/2021

For those of you who have never been, Miami is a unique experience. The different cultures that mix in the area accompanied by the free spirit of the city itself (which may or may not have something to do with drug money helping to fund the initial infrastructure. But Vegas did the same thing and everyone loves that place!) makes Miami feel unique to pretty much any other city you can visit.

24/11/2021

Boasting one of the world's highest vaccination rates, Malta is now welcoming back visitors safely with cash incentives and a recently launched Nomad Residence Permit.
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The Mediterranean island-nation of Malta may be small but its response to the pandemic has been mighty.

23/11/2021

Paris, Rome, Barcelona... Europe's cities are bucket list destinations, and rightly so. But the continent's small towns are a dream, too, with all the beautiful architecture and much of the culture you'll find in the big hitters, only with fewer crowds to share them with.
Here are some of the prettiest small towns across Europe, from humble fishing towns to hilltop medieval power bases.

23/11/2021

There's an ancient beauty to the stairway and it comes from the fact that Preikestolen – like nearly 300 other natural stone staircase projects in Norway purpose-built over the past two decades – has been crafted by teams of Sherpas from Nepalese communities living in the shadows of Mount Everest.

There was a time when Norway's mountain paths would only see a handful of local visitors. But social media has changed all that, and over the past decade, the country has seen such a dramatic spike in overseas travellers keen to Instagram its viewpoints that something has had to give.

23/11/2021

Despite ranking as the smallest continent in terms of size, Europe is arguably the most adventurous and historic continent on earth. Besides the history, the continent is also blessed with lots of beautiful places which feature scenic views, rich culture, and mesmerizing sky colors. These cities, in particular, are so beautiful, they make us want to pack our bags and get on the next flight.

23/11/2021

The rolling, vineyard-covered hills on the Italian border, the elegant and eco-friendly capital city of Ljubljana, the perfect tranquility of Lake Bled, the snowy valleys in Triglav National Park and the warm waters along the Adriatic coastline — the nation definitely punches way above its weight.

23/11/2021

Nearly 50 years later, their travel guide empire, Lonely Planet, is still chugging along.
As much of the world is slowly reopening following the coronavirus pandemic, travel is front of mind for so many of us. The hope is that 2022 will see families reunited, loved ones catching up after long stretches apart and hoarded vacation time used on once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

17/11/2021

We tend to enjoy saving money while we travel because it allows us to travel for longer. In fact, some of the best trips I’ve ever been on have been the ones where my buying power is higher, my dollar gets me farther and I have fewer cares in the world because a tight wallet is not one of them.

Travel doesn’t have to be expensive, and you probably know that by now. We talk about an entire range of destinations here on our website, everywhere from the Netherlands (hate to say it, but it falls into the ‘expensive’ bucket) to Myanmar (incredible value for a smaller budget).

In my own travels, I capitalized on lower-cost-of-travel destinations in my 20s. I learned to start my research process with checking out the average price of a hostel in a destination, and ran some quick math from there.

I backpacked in Southern China, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia, and when I got to the Americas, I traveled through Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.

I learned that a 12-hour bus ride is going to kill an entire day of travel, but it will definitely save money when compared to buying a 1-hour flight.

And I learned that a $2 bowl of noodles on the street in Vietnam is just as good and filling as a $25 lunch at a proper sit-down place with WiFi and A/C. I’d rather sweat on a tiny plastic stool among locals. Would you?

I learned a lot about how a budget is a big part of a trip.

It either makes you feel like you got defeated and broke the bank, or came out on top with cash to still blow on a unique souvenir at the airport on the way home.

As we’ve seen more and more of the world, we focus a lot on budget, and why not? The world is going to be incredible no matter where you go, so if you have a choice between $1000 letting you see Norway for 3 days (sorry, Norway) or El Salvador for 2 weeks, which would you pick?

The question remains, though: How can you avoid peak season costs, get a bang for your buck and also have a great time?

Read on, and you’ll see our top ideas for where’s best to take a trip while hacking your budget.

HELPFUL TIP
Looking for new proven ways to save money on flights and airfare? The easy solution is to sign up for Scott’s Cheap Flights, the leading way to find flight deals and mistake fares, directly to your inbox.

Typical historic Canarian village buildings in La Orotava Tenerife Tiny red, orange and yellow flowers with green leaves outside a house Colorful red, blue, white and orange buildings on a quiet one-lane street in La Laguna San Cristobal Canary Islands
Myanmar: A cheap budget takes you far
HELPFUL TIP
As of 2021, Myanmar is experiencing civil unrest and trips should be taken with caution.

We wished we could have traveled for longer all over Myanmar.

It’s a win in terms of safety, and also in terms of traveling on the cheap.

This is a country where a budget of USD 35 per day (*on average) got us private spacious rooms with big beds in hostels like Baobabed Inle Lake, cocktails on rooftop bars in Yangon and private tuk-tuk tours in the temples of Bagan.

Scenery in Myanmar is truly stunning, and we didn’t see the half of it because the country is so big.

We stuck to the triangle of major traveler destinations and found lots of safety, comfort and friendliness from locals.

Our ideas of what was cheap and what was expensive got totally warped in Myanmar, with what food cost and what the entry fees into the most popular landmarks cost us.

When I think of cheap travel that gives you a bang for your buck AND packs in an amazing travel experience, I think of Myanmar.

This beautiful country is one of the places where you can spend the longest amount of time and be traveling in one of the cheapest places on Earth.

HELPFUL TIP
Learn about our logic for exchanging or withdrawing at local ATMs with our travel money tips and tricks guide.

Tall golden and white stone pagodas at the buddhist temple of Indein Myanmar at inle lake
Medellin and Guatape, Colombia: Best for backpacking
There are so many things to do in Medellin and its neighboring town Guatape that make them excellent destinations for any time of year.

Medellin is known as having ‘eternal spring,’ meaning it’s slightly cooler in Northern Hemisphere winter time, and a bit warmer in summer.

As for rainfall, it’s slightly “lower” in fall (September - December), but, as it rains mostly every day anyway, every month of the year is a fair time to visit Medellin and the surrounding region.

Despite what you may have heard, Medellin is an awesome place to be as a traveler, from heaps of types of accommodation for every budget, to delicious food options ranging from Colombian to other types of South American for every taste bud.

You can eat great early, late and for inexpensive prices. One of our favorite things to do is to try Colombian coffee at some of our favorite cafes near El Poblado and take the free city walking tour.

As for the rest of the region and to get out of the city, two of our favorite weekend or two-day breaks are Guatape and Santa Fe de Antioquia.

Guatape is easy to get to from Medellin and even if you don’t speak Spanish, people will help you navigate the bus station.

Santa Fe de Antioquia is also a simple bus ride away, and we recommend staying in a hostel with a pool so that you can cool off from the year-round heat and sun!

View of Guatape islands and lakes from the Piedra del Penol in Guatape Colombia
India: Good for everyone!
Yeah… India is really cheap for backpacking and international travel, and the rumors are true.

The cost of accommodation is cheap in India. The cost of food is cheap. The cost of traveling from place to place is cheap.

The only thing you have to watch out for in India is being gawked at as a foreigner or from looking different from the locals (and it’s likely you will), but the food is incredible, the markets are a shopper’s dream and basically everything is incredibly cheap.

On my first day in India, I picked up a pair of backpacker balloon pants for $4, and it felt expensive.

The currency in India is the Indian Rupee, and you can exchange it widely to and from the USD or other major currencies like EUR and GBP.

Bonus: if you’re gluten-free like I am, you’ll find Indian food rather gluten-free-friendly, so put it on the list.

Argentina: Search for your Latin soul
It happens to be an interesting time to visit Argentina, as the currency recently became favorable to holders of the US Dollar. In fact, (as of 2021), very favorable.

Argentina’s peso has fallen very sadly and incredibly against the USD, giving Americans lots of unexpected buying power in this otherwise slightly-pricey country for travelers.

Among some chilled-out things we have done in Argentina are exploring the cafe scene in Buenos Aires and walking for miles soaking in lots of the free sights of the downtown areas and cool neighborhoods.

17/11/2021

The only thing you have to watch out for in India is being gawked at as a foreigner or from looking different from the locals (and it’s likely you will), but the food is incredible, the markets are a shopper’s dream and basically everything is incredibly cheap.

On my first day in India, I picked up a pair of backpacker balloon pants for $4, and it felt expensive.

The currency in India is the Indian Rupee, and you can exchange it widely to and from the USD or other major currencies like EUR and GBP.

Bonus: if you’re gluten-free like I am, you’ll find Indian food rather gluten-free-friendly, so put it on the list.

17/11/2021

As for the rest of the region and to get out of the city, two of our favorite weekend or two-day breaks are Guatape and Santa Fe de Antioquia.

Guatape is easy to get to from Medellin and even if you don’t speak Spanish, people will help you navigate the bus station.

Santa Fe de Antioquia is also a simple bus ride away, and we recommend staying in a hostel with a pool so that you can cool off from the year-round heat and sun!

16/11/2021

Puglia, the heel of Italy’s stylish boot, has a wonderfully distinct allure stemming from its rural landscape and patchwork past of Norman, Spanish, Greek, and Byzantine influences. The region is quickly rivaling Tuscany’s gourmet title, offering a glimpse into true Italian traditions and values.

With miles of bountiful coastline, replete with verdant landscapes of olive groves and vineyards, this pristine region produces some of the country’s best, oft undiscovered wines and olive oils. Treat yourself to sensory overload and savor Puglia’s famed cucina povera, a stripped-back, authentic style of Italian cooking focusing on simple, fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods–it's the slow-food movement at its best.

16/11/2021

The true wonder of travel inherently lies in coming face to face with the unknown and getting lost in the beauty of a place on the very brink of discovery. There is no more rewarding feeling than being among the first few to reach and explore a destination that others haven’t yet had the pleasure of witnessing. From remote islands to unexplored deserts and jungles teeming with wildlife, this glorious planet is constantly at the ready with new untapped destinations to make even the most intrepid traveler swoon in awe-struck delight. For the true adventurers out there, get out and discover this latest trove of unspoiled global treasures and find an inspiration all your own.

16/11/2021

Tom Marchant is the co-founder of luxury travel company and trip planner, Black Tomato, which delivers luxe experiences around the world via inspiring itineraries and access to the globe's up-and-coming, remote destinations. Marchant's finger on the pulse of travel trends and the world's best in hotels, restaurants, destinations and honeymoons is unique and incomparable–and he's sharing his expertise and curated lists of where to visit, stay, eat and more

11/11/2021

Currently, Hong Kong has seven MPAs, six of which are moderately protected marine parks, the other being a fully protected marine reserve. In total, these comprise approximately 40.5km2, or less than 3%, of Hong Kong’s waters. And, while plans are in place to increase that figure to 5% by 2023, it still leaves the territory lagging way behind international standards, where 30% is the benchmark.

Moreover, though fishing is illegal in Hong Kong’s sole marine reserve, and recent legislation will prohibit commercial fishing in all but two of the marine parks by April 2022, there are question marks over whether these measures go far enough to safeguard Hong Kong’s biodiversity, as well as how strictly they are being enforced.

11/11/2021

Here’s why you see swallows everywhere in Portugal
Ceramic birds symbolizing home are the country’s sweetest souvenir.

When André Apolinario was a child, his parents had an argument over a bird’s nest. The swallows' nest was a fixture on the facade of their house in Gaia, Portugal, had to be removed by workers who were making repairs. Once removed, the birds who had visited annually never returned.

Apolinario, who runs Taste Porto food tours, recalls the spring he realized they weren’t coming back.

“I remember crying and saying to my mom, ‘why are there no swallows this year?’ And my mom yelling at my dad, ‘Why did you take that down?’” he says. “I was so sad because I always knew spring was coming with the arrival of the swallows and their babies.”

The swallow (andorinha, in Portuguese) is a symbol of Portugal so subtly synonymous with the culture that travelers may not even notice it. Swallows hang out in Portugal for some of the same reasons humans do: warm weather and great food. When the chill sets in and insects begin to run thin, they head farther south.

11/11/2021

The Yarra River, known in the local language as Birrarung, runs through what is now the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. It remains an important cultural site for the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung people.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS VICTORIA
On the other side of the Yarra is the Koorie Heritage Trust, located within Federation Square, where Rob Hyatt is the manager of education and visitor experience. Through his work, he’s become aware most people aren’t aware of the Aboriginal cultural offerings in the city.

“There’s an appreciation of suddenly understanding Melbourne has an Aboriginal history,” he said of those who take the center’s tours. “But also that the culture is still alive in the Melbourne area, whether it’s through Aboriginal people telling their stories on our tours or at other sites, like the Botanic Gardens, Bunjilaka [Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum] and those sort of places.”

11/11/2021

From wartime to the Great Depression, here’s how farmers turned hard times into a billion-dollar agritourism industry.
It’s become something of a tradition. As autumn peaks across the United States, urban Americans head to the countryside to pick through craggy branches for crimson apples or zigzag through corn mazes on frosty mornings.

These short road trips to farms for Instagrammable fun have become more popular in the past 20 years, feeding an agritourism industry that’s grown from pennies to billions of dollars.

Yet snapshots of overflowing apple crates or toddlers clambering on toy tractors don’t capture the complex history of pick-your-own farms. That history stretches from the depths of the Great Depression and illustrates how farmers harvested fortune from hardship.

Friends at the farm
People have long exchanged labor for a cheaper grocery bill, but the proposition of pick-your-own produce appeared around the turn of the 20th century. Soon after, entertainment met economics.

11/11/2021

Exploring like a local

Lindblad Expeditions has introduced generations of adventurous travelers to the Galápagos, a scattered group of volcanic islands some 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. In 1967, explorer and naturalist Lars-Eric Lindblad led the first-ever international tourist expedition to the remote archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin. Following the voyage, Lindblad funded a study assessing the potential impacts of tourism on the Galápagos islands. Based on the findings, Lindblad began advocating for stronger environmental protections and financed the Galápagos’ first two national park rangers.

As a leader in sustainable tourism, conservation, and exploration in the Galápagos for more than a half century, Lindblad Expeditions is uniquely positioned to give you a local’s-eye view of this wondrous UNESCO World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve. Each Lindblad-National Geographic Galápagos voyage is accompanied by knowledgeable expedition team members, such as naturalists, undersea specialists, and certified photo instructors (CPIs). Most are Galapagueños from the archipelago’s four inhabited islands: Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabela, and Floreana. This local connection opens a window into the lesser-known human story of this famously isolated wild place.

11/11/2021