Know where to go: 17 foreigner-friendly neighborhoods in cities around the world

Sometimes you just have to know where to start. As a place to start exploring a city, the foreigner-friendly neighborhoods around the world are an easy place to get settled and accustomed to what’s happening. They let you get your feet wet when you first arrive...

Review: a carry-on that weighs less than a kilo? Introducing CabinZero, a carryon-slash-backpack

This soft-sided cabin bag packs it all in at under a kilogram. Disclaimer: I was sent a CabinZero bag of the ‘Classic 44L’ variety to test and keep. As always, my reviews and opinions are my own. Billed as ‘the suitcase on your back, this soft-sized carry-on /...

How to take an epic road trip across Canada

EPIC ROAD TRIP! YEAH!…or something like that. Here’s how to make it happen north of the border. Ahh, the great open road. For decades, people of many nationalities and age groups have talked about, joked about, and often taken the Great Road Trip Across the Country....

How we get to so many places when we travel

No matter how long you’re traveling, there comes a time when you want to take in a lot of places in a short amount of time. Here’s how to do it. Know yourself — and what interests you. It’s perhaps the first rule in many things, and yet it still holds true. Why are...

Navigate the World with Google Maps: 9 Quick Protips

Having spent years navigating the world with little more than an iPhone and the free Google Maps app, I’ve noticed there are more than a few quirks to it. Quick note: while I’m sure the Android version of the map has some of its own quirks, I’ll have to focus this...

Question from a reader: staying safe in South America

A friend and reader I’ll call T.D. writes in: I’ve read some almost unbelievable stories on those Quito and Cuenca FB groups regarding what seems to be rampant petty crime, and more. You’re an extensive traveler and I know you’re savvy (and you’ve just been in...

An introduction to What Three Words – the future of addresses is here, and it’s even better than GPS coordinates

What happens if your travels take you to the middle of nowhere? If you’ve done any traveling off the beaten path, you’re probably aware of the limitations of whatever address systems happen to be in place. I’ve had to use an address like ‘6 kilometers down an unnamed...

15 Things You Need to Know Before Going to Italy

We spent three weeks in Italy enjoying some of the country’s offbeat sights. Here’s some things we learned along the way to help you enjoy your trip. Italian buses are weird. By Steve Morgan — Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 Bologna has excellent bus directions on Google maps,...

How we’ve solved 34 common travel problems as we’ve traveled the world

Three thousand days. Over eight years. That’s how long I’ve been traveling. Here’s how we’ve solved some of our travel problems. Packing Is your suitcase messy? Packing cubes are great, but I’m a huge fan of small, cloth, colorful bags. I picked up several of these in...

11 things you need to know about Vienna, Austria before arriving

Vienna kept us traveling for a full week with some of the most bizarre sights across Europe. Here’s what I wish I knew before going. Vienna is a cross of German efficiency and Swiss creativity, but less angsty than Berlin. This first impression stuck with me the whole...