Travel
All my travel-related tips, guides, stories, resources, and gear recommendations from my time spent wandering the earth.
Helpful Travel Resources
Carry-On Travel Packing List
Minimalist Travel Packing List
Best Minimalist Travel Backpacks
Van Life Essentials
Complete Travel Resources Guide
11 Best Packable Travel Hats for Men 2023 [Crushable & Stylish]
Heading out? Traveling in style is easy with with our 2023 guide to the best packable travel hats for men. We men carefully choose our headwear to block the sun, cover up our unkempt hair, or to make a fashion statement on the road. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of versatile hats and […]
12 Personal Item Bags for Underseat Carry-On Travel in 2023
Sixty bucks to carry on my bag at the Milwaukee airport?! That’s my backstory for this list of 2023’s best personal item bags. I usually fly budget airlines like Spirit or Frontier. They’re mostly okay, but if you don’t watch the size of your luggage, they’ll hit you with nasty gate fees that’ll wipe […]
7 Best Titanium Water Bottles [Light & Durable Drinkware]
If you’re a minimalist traveler and ultralight backpacker like me, choosing the best titanium water bottle for your 2023 adventures is serious business. The vessel for your precious hydration must be lightweight, practical, and indestructible as it lugs your liquid from Point A to Point B and beyond. Though a touch pricier than a […]
39 Gifts for Minimalists 2023 [Ideas for Practical Men & Women]
It’s challenging to find perfect gifts for people who already have everything they want. I’m talking about those who choose to live with very few possessions. To keep your gift out of their white elephant dumpster, here are a few tips on 2023’s best gift ideas for men and women who identify as minimalists. […]
How to Start a Travel Blog in 2023: Travel, Create (& Get Paid)
Back in 2017, I saved up a chunk of money, quit my job, and started traveling. I had the world at my fingertips and big, shiny plans for the future. That’s right, I was going to start a travel blog and make money while exploring the earth at my leisure! How’d that turn out, […]
The Ideal Colorado Road Trip Itinerary (Ideas, Costs & Map)
If I had to sit down and draw up my dream U.S. road trip itinerary, I’d have a hell of a hard time ever leaving my home state of Colorado. I’m a hopeless skiing, hiking, camping, and outdoor addict, and I simply can’t imagine a better setting to fire up my camper van and […]
54 Road Trip Essentials [Complete Packing List + Must-Haves]
I’ve been learning the ins and outs of road trip essentials and perfecting my packing list since I was old enough to get behind the wheel. The open road had me hooked at a very young age and will continue to draw me in for the rest of my days. As an eager teenager, […]
16 Best Travel Shoes for Walking All Day [Men’s & Women’s]
Smart travelers know the value of great shoes. When you’re on your feet all day — whether it’s hiking a trail or exploring neighborhoods in a new city — the shoes you wear can make an enormous difference. So thanks for joining me here as I report on the best men’s and women’s travel […]
How to Become a House Sitter (& Find Long-Term Sitting Jobs)
Once you’ve learned how to become a house sitter and landed your first long-term job, it might all seem too good to be true. You may just feel like you’ve stumbled upon a secret travel cheat code or struck the cash-strapped traveler lottery. Feelings like these are bound to bubble up from time to […]
15 Best Minimalist Backpacks for Modern One Bag Travel 2023
As a nomad who lives with less, few things get me fired up like simple one bag travel while donning my minimalist backpack. The feeling that overcomes me knowing everything I need is gently resting on my shoulders as I get to know a new place is simply exhilarating. But fitting my travel essentials […]
Hostel vs Hotel: Differences, Safety & What’s Right for You
If you’re a worn-out traveler, you’ll need a place to rest your weary bones at the end of the day. This biological necessity comes with a price tag and a slew of options, chief amongst which lies the decision between picking a hostel vs hotel. It seems like an easy decision, right? Not so […]
Van Life: 13 Good, Bad & Strange Realities of Living in a Van
During my six years of on-again-off-again van life in my 2005 Chevy Astro, I’ve ventured down countless roads in search of riveting and unconventional experiences. I’ve bumped down rutted-out backcountry trails, cruised across barren deserts, navigated congested city streets, flown through miles of endless plains, and hopped aboard ferries to remote islands. I’ve slept […]
Polyester vs Cotton: Which Material is Best for Traveling?
Each day we’re faced with the choice of what to wear to best suit our needs, and this decision becomes even more magnified when we’re traveling. Catching trains, navigating airports, exploring crowded city streets – the movement of life on the go requires comfort, functionality, and confidence. If you’re reading this article, then you […]
Ultra-Minimalist Travel Packing List for a Week [Extreme Simplicity]
Ultra minimalist travel — these three words sound a tad extreme, don’t they? If they conjure up images of a sunburnt drifter hobbling down the sidewalk with ragged clothes and nothing to their name, I can’t blame you. But, it’s not like that, I swear. Ultra-minimalist travel is anything but an aimless struggle. It’s […]
Traveling Sucks Sometimes: My 12 Worst Travel Stories
Traveling sucks sometimes, it’s a fact. Life on the road has the tendency to unravel and spiral out of control when we least expect it. The best-laid plans can fall apart at a moment’s notice, and there’s nothing any of us travelers can do about it. I’ve watched helplessly as my backpacking trips have […]
Carry-On Packing List for 2023: Pack Light, Travel Right
I’ve been traveling light and using packing lists for years, and I’ll never take for granted how good it feels to travel carry-on only. Because I’ve seen how miserable traveling with excess can be. But here’s the good news: Baggage doesn’t have to slow us down. Traveling light is a choice. We don’t have […]
5 Days in Hong Kong: My Spontaneous & Itinerary-Free Trip
My spur of the moment trip to Hong Kong was born from a late-night conversation with a travel-hungry friend 10,000 miles away. It was a wild, impulsive, and indelible adventure; a chance journey that wasn’t really meant to take place, but played out perfectly nonetheless. Our five-day meet-up was a blur of world-class food, […]
Paragliding Chengdu: Soaring Through Sichuan Skies
“Run as fast as you can. Go straight. Run fast.” Those were the only directions I got as I prepared mentally for my first paragliding ride. Was that really all there was to it? My stomach knotted and my heart began to pound as my instructor readied our gigantic nylon parachute. I clenched my […]
My Chengdu Street Food Marathon: 32 Snacks in 10 Hours
Was I really going to eat 32 different types of Chengdu street food in just one day and live to blog about it? A gluttonous marathon to challenge both my stomach and self-control? Why would I risk such a culinary overload? There have got to be more relaxing ways to celebrate my birthday, right?! […]
Vietnam on a Motorbike: My 10-Day Road Trip (Route + Itinerary)
My plan for Vietnam never involved a motorbike. It also didn’t involve riding that motorbike 1600 kilometers for 10 straight days with someone I had just met. Crashes, break downs, and wrecked itineraries – those weren’t part of the plan either. I wasn’t supposed to get caked in mud, freeze my ass off, or […]
27 Tips for Motorbiking Vietnam: Getting Ready to Ride
Motorbiking the vast countrysides of Northern Vietnam was one of the most rewarding travel experiences I’ve ever had. Breathtaking vistas of layered rice terraces, wandering water buffalo, blissful and generous people, authentic local cuisine — it all felt too amazing to be real. I was living out an exhilarating and spontaneous dream, and each […]
Hanoi in One Day: A 24-Hour Guide (Tips, Costs & Itinerary)
Hanoi is a swirl of sweet chaos. Motorbikes dart through the streets like schools of buzzing fish. Steam, smoke, and alluring aromas pour out of restaurants and onto the sidewalks. Art, music, and memories of war reverberate everywhere, and I felt it all the moment my boots hit the pavement. Traveling and exploring Hanoi, […]
Best of the Best Travel Blogs for 2023: My Top 10 Favorites
Do you ever spend late nights staring into the bright glow of a computer screen, searching for inspiration through the adventures of other travelers? I do. Quite frequently actually. I’m obsessed with travel blogs that excite me and it’s keeping me up past my bedtime. No, I’m not talking about ogling over Instagram models […]
A Couple Traveling Solo: Why We Prefer to Divide and Conquer
Yes, it’s true. Keri and I are a loving couple who would rather travel the world separately. December 24th, 2017. This was the day we kissed each other goodbye and flew to opposite sides of the world. We’d been traveling together for three months at that point, and we were ready for the adventure to […]
Chengdu’s Wenshu Monastery Neighborhood: What to Do (and Eat)
I’ve just returned from the Wenshu Monastery neighborhood, and I’m itching to go back. When I arrived two days ago, I did so with no expectations and zero research. I simply dropped my bags at the hostel and started walking. Bustling markets, fragrant Sichuan cuisine, fascinating people, ancient history, and a vibrant culture — […]
Fostering Pets Abroad: Kittens Have Taken Over Our Apartment
I awoke before sunrise this morning to the frantic skittering of little paws sliding across the slick laminate floor of my apartment in Chengdu, China. I pried open my eyes to a brief flash of fur zooming across my bed and over my nightstand. In the distance, someone was stripping the dead leaves off […]
The Bodyweight Travel Workout: No Equipment, No Problem
When caught up in the exciting and unpredictable throes of travel, it’s quite easy to push personal fitness to the back-burner or neglect it completely. I get it. I’m living and breathing proof. I’ve pulled hazy all-nighters at Peruvian casinos. I’ve ingested frightening amounts of Chinese street food under the buzz of flickering streetlights. […]
Sleeping in Hostels: 8 Tips for Falling (and Staying) Asleep
Let’s face it: finding sleep in a hostel dorm with eleven strangers doesn’t exactly come easy. Chances are, one person will snore like a freight train, another will stumble into the room drunk at 3:00 a.m., and a third person’s alarm will go off well before the sun rises (and they will hit snooze […]
Braving Tepito: My Trip Inside Mexico City’s Infamous Barrio
“Don’t go there. You’ll get robbed.” This was the popular advice given to me by taxi drivers and hostel managers when I asked about Tepito, Mexico City’s most notorious neighborhood. I’m usually great at listening to advice from locals, but this particular day I decided to keep asking until I got the answer I […]
JBL Charge 3 Review: A Capable Travel Speaker?
Price: $150 MSRP – Check Price on Amazon Noel’s Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars Pros: Powerful! Great sound quality, impressive battery life, waterproof, able to charge devices Cons: Size/weight not ideal for lightweight travel, exposed subwoofers Weight: 28.2 oz (800 grams) Lighter/Smaller Option: UE Boom 3: 21 oz | 608 grams Budget Option: Anker Soundcore 3 Overview: JBL Charge […]
Denver in One Day (On a Budget): A Local’s 24-Hour Itinerary
Looking to make the most of one day in Denver, but need to stay on budget? Worry not, Denver can be done on the cheap. I’m a Colorado native who has spent years getting to know Denver on a traveler’s dime, and I want to tell you all about my favorite spots. Lucky you. […]
Travel Savings 101: How I Stashed Money to Travel Indefinitely
Life in my late-20s wasn’t going as planned. I was a travel-hungry restaurant worker with $31,000 in debt and nothing in my savings account. I spent my days working an increasingly frustrating job, and I was unsure if I’d ever lead a life that inspired me. Long-term travel had been a goal of mine […]