Needless to say, many of us are a bit on edge when it comes to the pandemic and travel. Travel can always prove to be a bit stressful, especially as security lines have grown longer and overtourism has taken hold of many of the world’s most popular destinations.
With the added restrictions and travel requirements enacted by nations around the world due to COVID, it’s now more important than ever to find ways to make travel as enjoyable as possible.
As the travel industry begins to hopefully get moving again this year, many of us are eager to start planning trips again. After many of us have been forced to remain locked down within our home states or countries the past year, a satisfying vacation is long overdue.
To ensure your first holiday post-COVID lockdown lives up to your expectations, I have outlined some of the top ways you make traveling more rewarding and successful. Whether it’s choosing the right destination, knowing when the best time to travel is, or who you should travel with, there are many things you can personally do to make your next vacation more fun.
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It remains to be seen if and how the pandemic will affect Ibiza’s upcoming summer clubbing season which runs from roughly the end of May through early October. Most people think of packed nightclubs and giant beach crowds when they think of Ibiza, which doesn’t exactly adhere to the whole social distancing concept.
Thankfully, Ibiza is much more than parties and music. There’s a natural and relaxing side to the island which may now be just what travelers need for planning a stay in Ibiza.
Ibiza is home to many protected natural areas including natural parks like Ses Salines and Amunts as well as the Ses Feixes Wetlands which attracts a great deal of birdlife. There are secret coves to explore, deserted beaches to seek out, and hiking trails to help you get off the beaten trail.
Sections of the island are also historically significant such as the Renaissance walls of Ibiza City’s Old Town and the remnants of early Phoenician settlements. Parts of Ibiza are actually recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of their significance.
Experience the Ibiza you may not have known as I introduce you to some of the island’s relaxing natural locations where you’ll be far removed from the pulsating beats puts out by DJs which will allow you to actually tune in to your own heartbeat.
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With fierce competition for the same jobs these days, it’s very easy to get swept up in the mindset of “I’ll travel later”, not wanting to leave a gap in your resume.
It’s long been thought that a large gap in your resume will mean being treated unfavorably by a prospective employer – especially if your explanation for the gap is “I was traveling the world”.
Though here’s some news – travel may actually boost your employability. As long as you can explain the benefits of your travel experience to a potential employer it could actually help your resume stand out, and improve your chances of being shortlisted for an interview.
But travel isn’t as novel as it used to be, so how can you properly market your time abroad to make your skills and experiences look good?
Screenshot of my actual personal resume, after traveling for 7 years, is at the end of the post.
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In recent years, rumors have begun to spread about the existence of a small Nordic island nation in the North Atlantic Ocean; an island defined by dramatic landscapes, with volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, lava fields, and elves. Yes, elves.
Rumors of this magical place are spreading like wildfire, and travelers have started arriving from all over the land. Though there is a delicate balance in maintaining the untouched and wild feeling of Iceland’s unique landscapes while making them accessible to tourists. Lava fields, volcanoes and thundering waterfalls might look super tough, but in fact they are very vulnerable.
Before tourists started arriving in mass, most Icelandic attractions had no need for infrastructure like car parks or ranger stations. So it’s extremely important that we are aware of our impact as travelers. As such, we have composed a letter to all those who are Iceland bound.
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As international travel restrictions begin to ease and we all look to go on a much needed holiday, it’s important to remember that many countries around the world require you to obtain a visa.
Each country has its own unique visa requirements, and whether or not you will need a visa will largely depend on where you are travelling and what nationality you are. A travel visa will allow you to pass through or remain in a country for a set amount of time and for a specific purpose.
The different visas available to travellers include those designed specifically for tourists, journalists, students, doctors, volunteers, and diplomats. Should you wish to work in a foreign country, you will need to make sure your visa allows you to do so.
Whether you need a transit visa or a longer tourist/migration visa, it’s vital to understand the visa process, as you’re not getting into a foreign country without one!
So, let’s take a look at where you can get your visa, when you should get your visa, and what you may need to successfully obtain your required visa.
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Pondicherry is a beautiful beach town on the southeastern coastline of India. A French colony until 1954, even today you can still see the impact and influence the French have left.
Here you’ll find colourful alleys, french cafes and heritage hotels. There are European mansions, bougainvillaea laden walls, and chic boutiques in what has become known as the French Capital of India.
From authentic French food to beautiful colonial villas around town, everything in Pondicherry screams France … and French is still largely spoken – the official language throughout town.
One beautiful thing about Pondicherry is that it slows time down for you – the place has such a calm vibe to it, and will leave you with a different experience to the normally chaotic and hectic cities India is more well known for.
From long walks on the beach, or exploring its cobblestone streets (the French call them boulevards and rues), here are 10 things you can do around town.
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When I first arrived in Kenya, I felt it. It was unlike anywhere I’d traveled before. Smoky skies, a wet heat that sinks into your skin, and the noxious aroma of trash burning all greet you upon arrival.
I’ve both traveled and lived in Sub Saharan Africa and every time I get off the plane it feels like I’m in a different world. And this is especially true if you’re visiting West Africa.
West Africa is incredible, however, it isn’t for everyone. This is the western most region of Africa, which includes 16 countries, from Mauritania, Mali, and Niger, down to Nigeria, and everything to the west.
It doesn’t have a built up tourist infrastructure, outside of cities there often aren’t hotels or hostels, and it’s not easy to get around. So I’ve put together this guide to help you figure out whether traveling to this part of the world is right for you.
My number one advice if you’re planning to visit or live here, is to understand you are embarking on an adventure unlike anything else.
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It’s very easy to travel to Singapore and fall in love with the country; a place where the contrasts come sharp and fast, this is an energetic, cosmopolitan city, where ancient temples blend seamlessly with modernity, and nature spills out from within the city.
Mosques and temples rise up next to skyscrapers in SG, and the concrete jungle is fused with the literal jungle to create a green sanctuary. The meeting point of Asia, a melting pot of cultures co-exist harmoniously, and a symphony of languages reverberates throughout the streets.
I’ve never known anybody who’s traveled to the island, and not decided they would love to live there permanently. The realization only took 48 hours for me.
Consistently ranked as the top country for expats, the city-state has it together when it comes to being a country; it’s safe, clean, and progressive, with incredible public transport, a high standard of living, and excellent health care and education.
Its melting pot of cultures makes it a rich and fascinating place to be, the weather is perfect year round, and English is widely spoken. There’s reliable internet, high tech infrastructure, and it’s a great base for discovering the rest of Asia. It’s also a crazy rich Asian country!
In my mind, that just leaves one question: How do you get permanent residency?!
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Flying into or out of Perth Airport?
Perth is one of Australia’s easiest airports to navigate; it’s small in size, close to the city, and doesn’t have the congestion of more popular airports like Melbourne or Sydney.
Though from the parking, to the airline lounges, connecting to Wi-Fi, and finding a place to sleep, we’ve put together the following tips so you can maximize your experience.
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Ask a thousand people which countries feature on their bucket list, and most will make mention to Japan. After-all, it’s a melting pot of cherry blossoms, ancient traditions, and beautiful people with deep cultural roots!
There’s also the Insta-worthy food!
Japan is a patchwork of intense urban life mixed with traditional sites; exciting modern architecture sits next to a diverse legacy of beautiful castles and temples from ancient times. Though there are also tropical islands and snowy mountains for skiing in addition to its face paced cosmopolitan cities.
Japan is a country that many say they would love to visit; ‘it’ll happen someday soon‘. But with 2020 fast approaching, and an epic year ahead for the country, it’s time to commit to making it happen!
Here’s why Japan is a must visit destination in 2020.
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It’s no secret that Amsterdam is a beautiful city filled with unparalleled arts, culture, and night life. That’s why millions of tourists flock there every year, and ‘over-tourism’ is becoming a hot button issue.
However despite the recent surge in tourism, it’s still possible to experience Amsterdam without the crowds.
The trick to enjoying Amsterdam while avoiding hoards of other tourists is to learn from the locals and seek out their secret spots. So we’ve gathered a list of interesting off-the-beaten-path locations that locals love.
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What if I were to tell you that you can quit your corporate job and travel around the world for the rest of your life?
As somebody who has worked and traveled around the world for over 10 years now, there was a point when I realized that countless people are sitting at home right now wondering just how to do this.
My name is Mike Swigunski. I am the author of the #1 Amazon bestselling travel book, Global Career: How to Work Anywhere and Travel Forever. I’m also the founder of GlobalCareer.io, which is a remote jobs website that empowers people to start working remotely.
Recently, my story was featured on Forbes.com and today, I am excited to share an introduction of the ideas presented my this book. By the end of this post you’ll be able to see what daily life looks like for somebody who works and travels full-time.
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Whale watching became a trend in the 1980’s, as a way to try and influence the debate over whaling. Back then the concept of whale watching was written off as a ‘stupid idea’, but nowadays it’s anything but.
In trying to change the social acceptance of whale hunts, a group of fairly savvy conservationists realized that there is nothing more remarkable than seeing a whale in the wild, and saw a world where whales would be more valuable to an economy alive, than hunted.
Ever since then, whale watching has grown into a 2.1 billion dollar industry, and almost every country with a coastline has jumped in on the action.
While it was conservationists who pioneered the whale watching tourism trend, researcher Roger Payne credits only one group for the development of whale watching: the whales themselves.
Described as nature’s best self‐publicists, whale watching is now taken seriously as an economic activity globally. So, do take a look at this list before booking your whale watching holidays.
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As travelers, we live in a world where nothing can be said to be certain except for death, taxes, and cancelled flights; this month there were an estimated 20,000 + cancellations in North America alone.
Cancelled flights are one of the most frustrating things to have to deal with as a traveler. Thankfully it doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, those three letter airport codes make us want to use some four letter words!
It’s important to remember that flights are only ever cancelled when it’s in the best interest of the passenger, and when this happens, most airlines will typically have some type of compensation organized.
It can be even more frustrating when there’s no obvious cause for the cancellation, but there is always a reason. It will most commonly be one of the reasons below.
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Living your life on the road is the stuff dreams are made of, but at some point reality has to catch up.
Where does the money come from to keep paying the bills, and how can you ensure a regular cash flow so you never find yourself in a sticky situation?
There are a number of cheap travel hacks to help you get the most out of your money while traveling. However, even living the frugal lifestyle won’t keep you sustained forever.
Finding a job that is as flexible and transportable as you are is important, meaning you have the luxury to take it up whenever funds start to run dry.
Here we take a look at a few of the options open to you, which can help you get the spare cash you need.
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If your first language is English, it can be easy to take advantage of the world dominance of the language. In many countries we can get by okay, and with some accompanying hand gestures generally make ourselves understood.
But if you are travelling for new experiences, sticking with your mother tongue will mean you are missing out on opportunities to learn about and truly appreciate other cultures.
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It’s one thing to see pictures of incredible wildlife online, but getting up close and personal with them is another matter entirely.
From meeting pandas in their natural environment, and snow monkeys in Japan to ethical experiences with elephants in Thailand, here are six amazing travel ideas for animal lovers.
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I’ve spent the last few months in two minds about whether to go through with this year’s edition of the sexiest female travelers of the year. Sure, every year attracts feedback to some extent that the very idea of this post objectifies women, but in the climate of current campaigns like #Metoo, there is a high likelihood that these voices would intensify.
But ultimately, sexualizing women has never been what this series is about. Despite an admittedly click bait title, this series is about promoting the idea that beauty is a diverse term that describes every size, shape and color; that it doesn’t matter whether you are Caucasian, African, Hispanic, or Asian when it comes to being beautiful.
This series is about highlighting inspiring, confident, and strong women, who re-define the traditional notion of “sexy” through their passion for exploring the world and their adventurous souls.
The incredible women we are highlighting this year are not models; they’re role models. They may not be the most dolled up, but are certainly the most authentic: self sufficient women who challenge, encourage and inspire us to see, do and be more.
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If you didn’t have to worry about working for a living, what would you want to do with your life? Many people say that they would spend their time helping others. Many more say that they would travel and see more of the world.
But what if you could combine these two things, and make them part of your working life? It sounds like a dream come true, doesn’t it?
The following careers allow you to combine international travel with helping local communities. You just have to be willing to put the work in to acquire the necessary skills.
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Nestled in the heart of Central America, between Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Honduras is a country that not a lot of people know about. And those who do? Well, they seem to only hear the bad things.
Honduras has a long history of military rule, corruption, poverty and crime which have rendered it one of the least developed and most unstable countries in Central America. And yes, it has somewhat of a negative global image.
But, little of the Honduran violence affects tourists, and most visitors to the country are free to enjoy the national parks, small towns and ancient ruins of the Latin American country without incident. This is in fact a vibrant and fascinating country, and one of the cheapest in the region; you’ll be able to do activities for a fraction of the price you’ll pay in its neighbors.
Honduras has a notorious reputation, but with these safety tips anybody can have a safe and happy time seeing the raw beauty and fascinating culture within this Central American country.
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Today marks my 30th birthday, and a common question I’ve been asked is how I’m spending it. Perhaps I’m skydiving. Perhaps I’ve flown to Bali. Perhaps I’m hanging out with animals in the wild.
But for all the adventure I’ve sought over the past 30 years, today I have a bottle of wine, and a hard-drive full of photos; today I plan to reflect (and write this).
Thinking back to my 10 year old self’s daydreams, I had wanted to be a world traveler even then. Albeit, my inspiration for wanting to visit Africa was The Lion King, the Middle East, Aladdin, China, Mulan … you get the picture!
If I’m being perfectly honest I wanted to grow up to be The Little Mermaid, but even Ariel had an insatiable desire to be part of foreign worlds.
Most people have a list of things they want to accomplish before they hit their 30s, and if you’re one of those people, I would like to share my list. I can personally vouch for each item being worthy, having now completed all 30.
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Despite what the media may tell you, the world isn’t actually dangerous or unsafe. Forget what you saw in the movies, and tell your mother to stop referencing Taken, the truth is that you’re generally safe when traveling overseas.
I’ve long been an advocate that common sense is the biggest secret to staying safe abroad. Traveling with street smarts, being aware of your surroundings, and trusting your gut instinct.
BUT there are many common sense safety tips which most travelers take for granted; basic measures for travel safety which are often overlooked.
And in fact, the most serious obstacle to personal safety abroad is an attitude of complacency or fatalism. “It can’t happen to me” and “if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen” – this is dangerous thinking.
So the following are some straightforward, basic tips for travel safety, which are frequently brushed off. Often, the most simple advice is the advice we need the most.
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Do you know the best thing about a quote? You can interpret them however you like.
If you’re a fan of travel quotes, you’ve probably heard the same quotes used over and over again. The internet has a small pool of favorites, and they’re all overused!
But if you’re looking for some new inspiration, it can be quite insightful to take quotes from other places, like a list of sports quotes, and see if there are any travel lessons you can find!
The following are seven quotes that I’ve interpreted into travel inspiration. You’ll find four sporting quotes from Lou Piniella, Gift Ngoepe, Shaq and Muhammad Ali, as well as quotes Albert Einstein, Mindy Kaling and the man we’re going to start with, Louis C.K.
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It may be hard to get to Nepal, but you’ll likely find that it’s even harder to leave.
We only stayed 10 days. But in this time we completely fell in love with this wonderful country.
With two days in Kathmandu before hitting the Himalayan trails, ten days is a very short amount of time. But it’s enough to get an idea of the country, discover Kathmandu, see the beauty of the mountains, meet the people, and discover the Nepalese culture.
If you’re working off a similar time-frame, we highly recommend making time for the following.
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Kathmandu is a myriad of experiences: it’s dusty and beautiful, chaotic and serene, all at once. But one thing is definite: you’ll never discover all of it if you head here as just a tourist.
Come as an international volunteer, however, and you’ll get to discover the city’s secrets, learn its culture, and experience something so much more than a holiday.
Hannah, from Perth, Australia, is two months into a three-month research volunteer opportunity with UK-based charity Street Child, and she can’t believe how quickly her time in Nepal’s capital city has flown by.
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