Updates on Giving Back (and an Ask for Help!!)

Today I want to talk about FLYTE, this website’s nonprofit arm.

Over the last few months, I haven’t kept everyone as up to date about the organization as I would like. I apologize for that and promise that, starting today, that will change.

Though quiet, we’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes, improving our website and strategy, and creating new partnerships so that FLYTE becomes a more integral part of this website and community.

First, as a refresher, what is FLYTE?

The Foundation for Learning and Youth Travel Education (FLYTE) provides logistical, planning, and financial support to high schools and teachers who want to take their students overseas to give them a real-world context for what they are learning in school — think visiting the D-Day beaches in France or learning about sustainable development in a rainforest in Costa Rica. I started it in 2015 because I believe not enough kids get the chance to travel, see the world, experience other cultures, and realize the practical side to their education!

While many wealthy school districts send students on overseas educational trips, schools and teachers in underserved areas have little or no opportunity to offer their students this experience. Their schools and communities lack the resources to make such a trip happen. I wanted to create an organization that helps people in forgotten parts of the country, because everyone deserves a chance to see and learn about the world!

Thanks to you, FLYTE has raised over $88,000 USD. Last year, we sent a group of students from Atlanta to Mexico and another group from Washington, DC, to Cuba (and we’re preparing for a third trip in June). These students had an amazing time and the trips had a profound impact on them. Here’s what a couple of the students said about their experience:

“This trip means so much to me because having the opportunity to travel outside of the country and my community (an opportunity a lot of peers don’t get to have) is amazing and it really helped open my eyes and see that there is so much more outside of Atlanta.” – Nokio, BEST Academy student

“I would’ve never thought I would have gotten out of my city, where people hurt and do bad things to one another. It makes me want to travel and learn the history of every country in the world!” –Tija, junior at Anacostia High School

So, today, I want to talk about a few other changes with FLYTE:

First, we’ve created a volunteer section on the FLYTE website. Now we’ve created a space where volunteers can help grow the organization with us. I love the passion this community has for FLYTE and I want to better channel that into action. You can visit this page to see our current volunteer needs.

Second, we’re looking for interns. We need help. We’ve tried to do it all alone, but we need some help growing FLYTE. If you live in the NYC area and are fluent in social media, we’d love to have you! We’re a licensed 501(c)(3) and you can get an internship that counts for college credit. You’ll work in my office in NYC with my executive director and the rest of the Nomadic Matt team. You can apply here!

Third, this website now has a dedicated FLYTE page where you can see all the updates and information about the program, school trips, and anything else FLYTE related. Moving forward, FLYTE is going to become a more integral part of this website. Let’s work together as community to show more kids the world (especially in today’s environment where people want to close borders rather than open them)! This page is a work in progress and we’ll be expanding it over the next few weeks!

Fourth, we’re starting weekly emails to donors that will update them on the school, kids, organization, and everything in between. This is something that should have happened a long time ago, and I just never got my act together. My executive director and I are now making it a priority to send out weekly emails to you, so that you will always know what is going on in the organization and the kids, and how your donation is being used.

Fifth, we’ve moved to a new donation platform that will allow us to host donations right on our website (no more going to another website), reduce fees, and accept recurring donations. This new system will ensure that it’s easier to donate and that there are fewer fees when you do! It will be live by tomorrow!

Finally, I need your help again. We’re sending a group of students from Excelsior Academy in Newburgh, NY, to Quito, Ecuador in June! The students will volunteer at Casa Victoria, a grassroots community betterment program located in a struggling section of Quito, and work with local students in an after-school program. Not only will they get to experience another culture, country, and continent but they will also give back while there.

Please help us finish raising money for the students at Excelsior. We’re a little over $20,000 from our goal. I’ll be matching donations up to $10,000, which means that if the community can donate at least that much, we’ll hit our goal and send the kids on their way (any extra money raised will go to future trips)! For most of these students, this will be their first time out of the country so this is a chance to really make an added difference!

Newburgh, once a thriving manufacturing center on the Hudson River, has faced deindustrialization and failed urban renewal attempts that have left the town struggling both financially and socially. Complicating the matter, the Newburgh school district is located in what the FBI has repeatedly named one of the ten most dangerous cities per capita in the United States.

As Excelsior teacher Christine McCartney says, “At Excelsior Academy, we strive to create global citizens who recognize their power to enact change at both the local and global level.”

Here are the students talking about why this is so important to them — and what this trip means to them:

Donations can be made via our Crowdrise page (minimum $10) or via the widget below. Those who donate more than $10 will get some awesome swag:

$50 – For donations of at least this amount, I’m offering my e-books How to Teach English Overseas and The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking, and my guides to NYC, Paris, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

$100 – For donations of at least this amount, you will get the e-books and city guides PLUS a signed copy of the print book How to Travel the World on $50 a Day and a FLYTE t-shirt (US shipping only).

$250 – For donations of at least this amount, you will get all of the above PLUS an hour of travel planning with me, a souvenir from Ecuador, and a thank you card from the students!

Excelsior Academy Goes Global on Crowdrise

If everyone donated just $10, we could fund the entire trip – and many more like it – right away. The more we raise, the more we can help these students and others like them.

Ten bucks isn’t a lot — it’s one less Chipotle meal, a couple of beers, one Old Fashioned, one Uber ride. It’s not much in the grand scheme of things.

If you can’t donate, you can also help by sharing this campaign on Facebook and Twitter, and by emailing your friends, family, cousins, pen pals, coworkers – anyone – and letting them know about this. Help us spread the word about this cause so we can change as many lives as possible. The more people know about this, the better!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your past, present, and future support of this program!

P.S. – Here’s a super awesome and shareable Adobe Spark page that has all the essential information you want to know about FLYTE! You can share this page with your friends, family, and on social media! Please help up spread the word!

P.P.S. – If you’re in the NYC area, I’ll be hosting a meet-up next Thursday at Solar at 7pm. Come down, have fun, meet other travelers, and let’s toast the world!

The post Updates on Giving Back (and an Ask for Help!!) appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

April 27, 2017 at 04:33PM

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by IHholiday Travel trip

How to Travel with a Theme

I think I’ve become a “typical tourist.” Ya know, the kind that hits the major tourist sites and a few off-the-path attractions, Yelps a few local restaurants, and moves on. I get my basic overview, learn how to save some money, and continue to the next destination.

And that’s left me feeling that my travels have become too vanilla lately. There’s a spark missing. I mean, I don’t think I go to boring places, but there’s just a part of me that feels there’s been less adventure and pizzazz in my travels, that I haven’t done anything really cool, interesting, or off-beat for a long time.

So, I had an idea:

What if I traveled with a theme?

Instead of just trying to see the usual well-known sites, what if I went with a specific focus in mind?

What if I went to see only the jazz clubs of a city or the modern art museums? Or only hiked trails that begin with the letter M? Or went to learn about a destination’s wine industry? Or decided I’d only eat at Japanese restaurants with a local food expert?

Really, it could be anything, as long as it hyper-focused my travels around one idea that forced me to look at a destination in a different light.

(I’m sure I’m not the first person to think about this, but it’s something I’ve never done before.)

For example, I’ve been to Paris countless times. I’ve hit all the big sites multiple times over. When I returned to Paris recently, I wanted something different and new. I wanted a purpose. So I decided to experience Jazz Age Paris. I wanted my own private Midnight in Paris. I wanted the spirit of the 1920s: jazz, cocktails, and literature.

As a result, I spent time in Montmartre, ate at Les Deux Magots, enjoyed jazz in the Latin Quarter, drank in speakeasies and wine caves, wandered the bookshelves of Shakespeare and Company, and got lost in the streets of the Left Bank. It might not have been the ’20s exactly, but I ate at restaurants I’d never been to, went to music venues I’d never heard of, and saw parts of Paris I didn’t know existed (including a wonderful cobblestone street filled with tiny cafés in a 1900s covered market).

It was the most fun I had had in the City of Lights in a long time…because it was different. Designing my travels around one theme forced me to plan differently.

And it’s something I plan to continue. After being consistently on the road for a decade, I need to spice things up a little bit.

You develop a routine after traveling for a long time. Like everything else, you fall into a certain complacency. Sure, you’re in cool destinations doing cool things — but it’s often the same type of things.

So from now on, instead of just going to places, I’m going with purpose.

(Besides traveling with a theme, I’ve also decided to use only the sharing economy for transportation (when I can), as well as to start looking for more tours on Vayable and meals on EatWith as a way to have more unique and interesting experiences and meet more locals.)

If you’re in a destination for the first time, of course by all means see all the main sites and attractions — but try to add a little theme to your trip that forces you off the beaten path toward some different or unusual attractions, sights, and events.

How to Travel with a Theme (in Five Easy Steps)

So how do you do this? It requires a bit more research than opening up a guidebook! Here’s how I planned my trip: 

Step 1 – Pick a Theme
This is an obvious first step. You can’t do any of the other steps without it. For me, I had 1920s Paris on my mind, so I decided I’d try to relive that era. But it could be anything: learning about cheese or wine production, the vegan food scene, jazz culture, the modern art scene — whatever suits your fancy! And, if you’re note sure what theme to pick, think of things that interest you the most and see that destination has stuff related to it or just Google “What is (x) famous for?” and see what comes out!

Step 2 – Research Online (use multiple keywords)
 After picking your theme, go more in depth on your search. Local blogs, general travel blogs, our forums, Lonely Planet, Time Out, Yelp — these are all websites I use in my research. Then I go to Google and type in a number of keywords to cover all my bases. For my ’20s trip, for example, I typed in “books on 1920s Paris,” “how to see 1920s Paris,” “1920s Paris sights,” “Paris speakeasies,” and “best jazz clubs in Paris” and found a number of references to consult and various places where I could experience that ’20s vibe. This allowed me to compile a list of potential places to visit.

Step 3 – Plan Your Itinerary
While I didn’t want to overplan any trip, I kind of wanted a plan of attack. There was a lot to see in Paris and I didn’t have much time, so I prioritized what appealed the most. First came the food, then the bars, then the sights. This allowed me to come up with a general framework for my trip. Tagging sites on a Google Map can help you see how far apart things are and then plan your optimal route!

Step 4 – Contact Locals and Experts
Couchsurfing groups and Meetup.com are incredible places to find locals who share your interest. They are going to know the ins and outs of the city and probably have lots of suggestions. Additionally, the group meetups are a fun way to meet locals who share a similar passion, making conversation easier and breaking down that awkward language barrier. Lastly, Vayable, a website that lets locals set up their own walking tours, is also a way to find local experts and unique walking tours.

Step 5 – Read a Book (or Three) 
To get context, read a book on the subject. While I already knew a lot about the ’20s Jazz Age, I ended up picking a few more books on the subject:

• When Paris Sizzled by Mary McAuliffe
• Everybody Was So Young by Amanda Vaill
• Shakespeare and Company by Sylvia Beach
• The Crazy Years: Paris in the Twenties by William Wiser

Books also might clue you in to some other attractions too!

****

When you do something for a long time, it can become sort of stale. It can lose its luster. When it comes to travel, sometimes that just means sitting down, relaxing, and watching Netflix until you gain your mojo back. Other times, it means brining back the spice and excitement of those first moments, trying to get that first high back.

I know travel so well that it’s become too easy. I’ll be traveling with a theme much more often, so more of my upcoming posts will be like this Paris post, trying to hunt down cool and unique things about destinations. I already have two new themes in mind for my return to NYC: the best swing dance clubs and the best Japanese izakaya bars. And, for my return to Portland this summer, I’m thinking food trucks only (there’s even a food truck tour!).

Because, as much as I love the popular things (they are popular for a reason), I want to add something a little different and unique into my trips that spices them up in a way I never would have thought about before.

Photo credit: 1

The post How to Travel with a Theme appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

April 20, 2017 at 04:37PM

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by IHholiday Travel trip

How to Eat Around the World on a Vegan Diet

As an omnivore, traveling is pretty easy on my stomach. There’s nothing I won’t eat (or at least try once. Like those fried maggots in Thailand) and I don’t have any food allergies to worry about. Outside of an inability to handle spicy food, I’m pretty lucky. I know scores of travelers who’s food allergies and dietary restrictions make traveling to many regions of the world very, very difficult. Luckily, thanks to the web and apps, it’s become a lot easier to convey your dietary needs to shop owners around the world! In today’s article, I sit down with our community manager and fellow blogger, Chris, who has been a vegan for 12 years. He shares with us how he does it, his favorite resources, and his advice for the non-omnivores out there!

Nomadic Matt: Tell us about yourself!

Chris: I live abroad in “sunny” Sweden. I’m vegan, straight-edge, Buddhist, and balding. I’m also a huge nerd (I have a Star Wars tattoo and am a big fan of Dungeons and Dragons).

I grew up in small-town Canada, and after university, I intended to go to law school and get a respectable job, make mad cash, and live the Canadian Dream. I worked two jobs to put myself through school and was able to graduate without any debt. However, somewhere along the way I realized I wasn’t really loving the path I was walking.

Growing up, it was always assumed that if you did well in school, you were sort of obligated to go to university, get a good job, marry, have 2.5 children, etc, etc.

It wasn’t until after my first year of university that I finally had the space and time to really think if I wanted that path. While everything was going well – I was getting good marks, eating well (ish), and going to the gym every day – I didn’t feel challenged by my current situation. There had to be more to life than just jumping through hoops and building a routine. It was then that I gave up my plans of following the career-house-family model and started to look for alternatives ways of living.

How did you get into traveling?

Honestly, I think it all started when I was 10. My dad and I went down to Florida to Disney for my birthday, and — not surprisingly — it was an amazing time. I have lots of fond memories from that trip, though what stands out the most isn’t what you’d think. What started me down my road of travel? A seatbelt.

Some of you will remember the car company Saturn. They used to have a car with an automatic seatbelt. It was a cumbersome contraption, but as a 10-year-old, having just arrived in America for the first time, I thought it was amazing. An automatic seatbelt?! It blew my mind. I was captivated by it. I think that’s where it all started. From then on, I realized that there were so many mysterious and exciting things out there. And I wanted to uncover them all.

Ten years later, I was hacking my way through the jungles of Costa Rica. While there, I almost got killed by a jaguar while hiking in the rain forest. It had stalked my group to the top of a mountain, and when I was more or less alone it started to weave toward me. By the time it got close, my guide showed up and we scared it away (though it did stalk us for another few hundred meters). A week later I was chased by a crocodile while kayaking up a river (talk about bad luck, right!?). That trip rekindled my desire to travel and inspired me to change my priorities. I left university early and moved to Japan to live at a Zen monastery where I could have some time to figure out what I wanted to do in life.

I’ve more or less been traveling since.

You’re vegan. Is it easy to travel as a vegan?

For the most part but it all depends on your destination and your preparation. In North America and Western Europe, most people understand what you mean when you say you’re vegan or vegetarian. Moreover, if they don’t understand, they likely speak enough English that you can clarify. Many cities in Europe are actually amazing vegan hubs (Berlin and Glasgow to name two).

The trouble arises when you visit somewhere with a high language barrier that also has very different cultural food norms. There are many countries in the world where being vegan/vegetarian is something uncommon and perhaps not entirely understood. In countries like this, the difficulty isn’t finding food — basic staples like rice and vegetables and fruits can always be found at markets and stores — but interacting with locals and having to explain your diet, which can come off as some sort of implicit judgment of their own diet. If you don’t do your research, you can get into some awkward situations.

As a vegan, we sometimes miss out on cultural exchanges. Having a local invite you into their home is something many travelers dream of but, as a vegan, this can be tricky as you now have to politely explain that you cannot eat the food they’re offering. It’s a fine, challenging line to walk.

What are some good resources and tools for vegans planning to travel?

Happy Cow is the go-to resource for finding vegan restaurants abroad; it’s like vegan Yelp. You can read reviews and find information about menus, hours, and locations. This is my main resource when I’m searching for good vegan grub abroad.

Another tool I use is Couchsurfing. While there are vegan groups there that you can browse, I just like to message local vegans directly and say that I’m coming to their city and would love to hear their suggestions. People are always happy to share their thoughts, and I’ve come away with some great tips from this. Not only can you ask about restaurants but you can inquire about good grocery stores for vegan options, as eating out every meal will get pricey.

Don’t hesitate to ask the staff of your hostel/hotel or the host of your Airbnb. They are equally valuable resources, too!

Lastly, there are lots of great vegan travel blogs, too. Some of my favorites are Burger Abroad, Justin Plus Lauren, Vegan Food Quest, and of course, my own blog, Lessons Learned Abroad.

Have you had any dietary mishaps while traveling?

Many! Just like every other aspect of traveling, your planning will only take you so far. Sometimes things go off the rails and you need to adapt.

When I was in Mongolia, my partner and I were invited to lunch by a local. We were a bit hesitant, considering our diets (my partner is vegetarian), but didn’t want to be rude. So we accepted. It turns out the family had already eaten — they just wanted to make us a meal. They served up some meat dumplings (there are not many cows in Mongolia, so I think it might have been horse meat), kimchi, and fermented milk green tea. Not exactly my standard vegan meal.

But we adapted.

I pretended to drink the tea while my partner downed her glass. We then covertly swapped cups so they wouldn’t notice, thereby leading them to think we both drank the tea.

I ate all the kimchi and then tried to gesture that I was full — they didn’t speak English, after all, so gestures were all I had. They insisted I eat some dumplings, and not taking no for an answer, I had to bite the bullet. I picked up a few and popped them into my mouth. As soon as they looked away I spat them out and put them into my pocket. They were so hot and greasy, they kind of burned my leg as they dripped through my pocket but I played it cool.

After the meal we all went outside and their dogs started hounding me. I tossed them the scraps, and no one was the wiser.

How do you get over the language barrier and let someone know your dietary needs?

There are three basic ways to do this:

• 1. Write it down. I write down phrases in my notebook for each country I visit. I’ll write down things like “I do not eat meat” so that I can show it to servers at restaurants. I’ll write it in the local language, and then phonetically in English so I can read it aloud without too much embarrassment. This is my standard method — which probably hints at just how old I am — though I am slowly coming around to this next method.
• 2. Use Google Translate. If you have Internet access, then Google Translate is a great method. To be safe, I suggest downloading the necessary languages so you have access offline. You can also use the app to take photos of menus and translate them, which has been super helpful on many occasions!
• 3. The Vegan Passport. This little book has helpful vegan phrases you can use as you travel. There are versions in around 80 different languages, making it a pretty handy resource for an RTW trip. It costs around $10 but could likely save you some trouble on the road.

Where are the best places in the world to travel to as a vegan?

Nowadays you can find vegan restaurants pretty much everywhere. That being said, there are a few places in the world that showcase some impressive offerings. NYC, Berlin, Toronto, and Austin are all great vegan hubs. I’ve had some of the best food of my life in those cities. Additionally, countries with a higher percentage of vegetarians and vegans (like Germany or Sweden) also make it easy to find vegan food products in grocery stores, covering you for all those days you don’t want to eat out (or can’t afford to!).

Are there any places that are really difficult?

Not surprisingly, I found Russia, Norway, and Mongolia to be challenging as a vegan. Essentially, if a country doesn’t grow many fruits or vegetables then you are sort of out of luck for a lot of options. Don’t get me wrong, I loved all three place but my diet there was mostly bread and unflavored instant noodles. There just weren’t a lot of options.

How do you manage in countries with few vegan options?

Plan ahead! Always travel with some extra granola bars or trail mix from home. This will keep you covered during those few instances when it is hard to find a proper meal. I took 30 power bars with me to Russia and ate almost 100 granola bars during my 800km walk along the Camino.

Traveling as a vegan means your meals will not always be glamorous. Making your diet a priority, you sometimes will end up having some pretty bland and unexciting meals. It won’t always be awesome vegan food, so be prepared for those rough patches by bringing some backup snacks. You’ll thank me later.

You’re an avid Couchsurfer! Many people are put off by Couchsurfing, since you are essentially staying with a stranger. Why do you like it?

Honestly, CS is my favorite way of finding accommodation precisely because you are staying with a stranger. I like it better than hostels because you generally have more privacy and it is quieter than hostels (no snoring backpackers!). You also get to connect with a local who can answer all of your travel questions. This is a priceless resource, making CS worth its weight in gold! On top of that, there are lots of events and meetups available on Couchsurfing, which are great ways to meet other locals and travelers. The fact that it is free is just the icing on the cake.

What tips do you have for those considering Couchsurfing as a means of find accommodation?

If you are planning on using Couchsurfing as your primary accommodation resource, you’ll want to do at least these three things:

• 1. Get verified. This means you pay a small fee and have your address and phone number verified. You can also send in a copy of a passport, too. What this does is show everyone you’re a legit human being and not someone trying to scam the system.
• 2. Add tons of photos and information to your profile. Be detailed, so everyone can get a sense of your personality. Share your favorite movies and books, your past trips and adventures, and anything else you think is interesting! Hosts generally prefer to have guests that they share interests with, so this is the best way to find like-minded CSers.
• 3. Get references. References are the backbone of Couchsurfing. Without them, you’ll almost never find a host. Find friends or coworkers who can vouch for you so that you have some references before you travel. That will increase the odds of you finding a host tenfold.

You’ve been traveling for a while. What’s your #1 tip for new travelers?

If I had to boil down everything I’ve learned into one tip it would be this: slow the heck down. I’ve seen too many people rush around, trying to check countries off their bucket list, only to spend most of their trip on buses and planes and trains. Rushing around really takes away from the experience; you are too hurried to really stop and smell the roses. Sure, you may get some great photos for your Instagram, but there is much more to traveling than that!

By slowing down, you really start to soak up each destination. You allow yourself more time to get off the beaten path and to embrace new opportunities as they arise. If you are rushing around, you won’t be able to change your schedule if you find a place you really like. Or what if you meet some cool people who invite you to tag along on their journey? This wouldn’t be possible if you were committed to a hasty itinerary. It’s also cheaper since you won’t be spending so much time and money on transportation!

So, when it comes to traveling, remember: less is more.

Chris is a stalwart budget traveler who is always on the lookout for a good adventure. A vegan of 12 years, he is adept at navigating the ups and downs of traveling with dietary restrictions. When not wandering the world he can usually be found in Gothenburg, Sweden, plotting his next adventure. For more vegan tips and travel tales, you can visit his bog, Lessons Learned Abroad. You can also find him running our forums and Superstar Blogging community.

The post How to Eat Around the World on a Vegan Diet appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

April 17, 2017 at 04:11PM

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by IHholiday Travel trip

Is Europe Safe to Visit Right Now?

Thanks to a few high-profile terrorist attacks and riots across Europe and ongoing media coverage of things that are only ever bad, I’ve gotten a number of emails asking me if Europe is safe to visit.

The questions are always the same:

“Is the likelihood of a terrorist attack high? What about the refugees? Are there riots everywhere? Is it dangerous?”

(At the end of May, I’m running a tour through Paris and Amsterdam. A lot of people have expressed interest but seem to have the same worry: “I’d love to go but I’m not sure it’s safe after seeing the news.”)

As I went around the country on a recent speaking tour, I found this concern was greater and more persistent than I realized. While I had been meaning to write about this subject soon(ish), the recent attack in Sweden has made me finally put pen to paper and declare:

Europe is safe to visit.

Let me explain why I say this.

“If it bleeds, it leads,” and the media have done a good job of painting Europe in a negative light. Something happens, they pick up the story and run with it, and it gets amplified and sensationalized. A politician uses it as “proof” of his larger point, it gets amplified again, and then suddenly, a whole continent looks like it’s dangerous and engulfed in flame. (I’m not saying what happened isn’t newsworthy, but we all know 24/7 coverage creates this echo chamber.)

People also end up extrapolating from sensational coverage and assume that what they read is the only thing going on. It’s how biases are formed. It’s why people who have never been to France think “they all hate Americans” or “the French are all rude.” Or why many Americans still think Colombia is this dangerous narco-state they heard about throughout the 1980s. Once engrained, these mistaken perceptions are hard to change. (And it’s not just Americans who do this. Every country around the world has conceptions about all the others!)

Combined with all the fake news on the web and how people only seem to absorb that which confirms their preconceptions, it’s easy to see why Europe looks bad.

This is what is happening now. Europe is no more dangerous (probably even less so) than any city in the US “(certainly in terms of gun violence”)…or anywhere else in the world. In terms of terrorism (Islamic or otherwise), Europe is far safer than it has historically been.

Consider this too: While 612 people were killed by terrorists in Europe from 2004 through 2016 and 95 Americans have died in domestic terrorist attacks since 9/11 (350 globally), every year 37,000 people in car accidents in the US. More people die from gun violence, heart disease, and plethora of other things than terrorists. Over 700 Americans die in their bathtub each year! (And the most terror prone country in Europe? Russia).

I go to Europe multiple times every year and can tell you that, as a tourist, you are not in any greater danger than you were years ago.

I was just in Paris, roaming the city and staying in the outskirts, and I didn’t even notice the refugee “crisis” that permeates the news.

“But I saw those awful riots in France!” you say.

Well, Paris—and France as a whole—has a long history of protests and riots. While I am not here to start a debate on French integration, the fact is that France has always had an issue integrating immigrants into French society. This has been a source of friction for decades and sometimes erupts into riots, especially in the housing developments on the outskirts of Paris. This is nothing new; the news media are only making it seem like something new because they are trying to tie it to the current refugee situation. There are no roving bands of youths in central Paris and no “no-go zones” in the city!

Before that, I was in Malta, Ireland, and London. I was in Sweden last fall. I can’t say I noticed anything out of the ordinary in any of these places.

Recent attacks in Paris, Germany, London, Stockholm, and elsewhere have made authorities more vigilant, and you will see more armed police officers and security at airports and in the streets. But it is no different than NYC after 9/11, London after the tube bombing, or really any city in the modern age. The truth is, statistically, you’re more likely to get hurt in your bathtub or hit by a bus than die in a terrorist attack. The odds of your being killed in an attack in France are less than “two ten-thousandths of one per cent.”

I am not denying that there is a heightened terrorist threat or that we shouldn’t be more vigilant. The use of trucks in attacks is scary, and you never know when the next one might happen.

Terrorism makes us afraid of the unknown. It causes an irrational fear that makes us see danger around every corner.

For me, it’s like flying. I’m terrified of flying even though I know it’s statistically unlikely I will be in a plane crash (a 1 in 11 million chance). That doesn’t stop me from thinking that every noise I hear means the engine is failing, every bump means death, and plane I get on is going to crash. I know I’ll be fine — but I’m still scared, especially after I see news of a plane crash. Why? Because if the plane goes down, I’m probably dead. So while the chance of a crash is small, the chance of me not making it is very high.

In my opinion, our view of terrorist attacks is the same. If we we’re involved in one, the chance of being hurt is high. We know rationally the chance of being in one is small, but after coverage of an attack, we can’t stop thinking “we’re next.”

But you also never know when you could be in a mass shooting, bus accident, car crash, or lightning strike here at home. We’re petrified of being in a terrorist attack, but we hardly ever give any thought to getting in a car or the bathtub.

Yes, we must remain vigilant. Yes, we must keep an eye out. But to change your plans because something may happen is crazy. You might as well not drive a car then…or eat a burger. (And of course, my irrational fear doesn’t stop me from flying frequently.)

As fellow writer Wendy Perrin said, “Is it virtually certain that there will be another terrorist attack in Europe in the next 12 months? Yes. Does that translate into a high degree of risk for the individual traveler to Europe? No.”

Terrorist attacks are rare (this is the first time Stockholm has seen an attack since 2010). The now-endless media coverage when something happens and the fact that is all we hear about make it seem like they are more common than they really are. Since pretty much only the negative things make the news, we assume that that’s the only thing happening.

Europe is not burning. It’s not the dangerous place the news has made it out to be. It’s highly unlikely you’re going to end up in a terrorist attack or the middle of a riot. You are far more likely to get hurt on the way to the airport than in your destination.

I can’t guarantee nothing will happen, but I can say that the chance of something happening to you is so slim that if you’re afraid of that, then you better be afraid of everything else too!

I get that emotion makes human being irrational but don’t live your life in fear of what might happen. If you do, the terrorists win, you lose out on living your life, and we live in a state of perpetual fear and anxiety of those around us.

And that’s no way to live. Visit Europe. It’s safe. Be vigilant and careful but be even more so in the bathtub as you get ready or the car

P.S. – Speaking of Europe, I’ll be leading a 9-day tour through Paris and Amsterdam at the end of May! I’ll be taking you to my favorite restaurants, attractions, bars, and sights. We’ll hit the off the beaten stuff you won’t find in any guidebook. If you’re interested, click here to learn more about the itinerary and how to join. You have until April 16th to sign up! After that, the tour is closed!

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The post Is Europe Safe to Visit Right Now? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

April 13, 2017 at 04:04PM

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by IHholiday Travel trip

How to Backpack Europe: My Step-by-Step Guide

Europe in the summer can be a nightmare. It’s the most popular time to visit the continent. There are tourists EVERYWHERE! Yet, despite that, it’s still one of my favorite times of the year to visit (May and October are really the best, though). During the summer, the hostels brim with life, the heat makes those beaches pop, and the sparkle of the Mediterranean in the mid-day July sun is like a diamond. Throw in some festivals and you have the recipe for one of the busiest tourist seasons out there.

So, with this season soon upon us, I wanted to create an awesome resource page that will help you plan your trip. I visit Europe multiple times a year, have been all over the continent, and now even run tours through the area. I’ve written countless articles about the region and so have a lot of resources on the website about it, that I wanted to create a page where all my best stuff on planning a backpacking or budget trip to Europe could be found in one place.

Step 1: How to Plan Your Trip

• How Not to Feel Overwhelmed While Planning – Planning the perfect trip to Europe can be daunting and overwhelming. I’ve been there and I understand, but I can tell you from years of experience that the more you plan your trip, the more anxiety you will face.
• How to Save for Your Trip – Is money stopping you from taking the trip of your dreams? Here are 22 easy ways to cut down on your daily expenses so you can save money to travel to Europe.
• Ultimate Packing List for Female Travelers – In this post, Kristin Addis shares her packing insights for women, so that you can travel just about anywhere without spending a fortune on gear.
• How to Find a Cheap Flight – Getting to Europe can be half the challenge. Luckily, there are a ton of flight deals to the continent now if you know when and how to look for them. This article will show you how to always get a cheap flight to Europe and avoid being the person that paid the most for their ticket!
• How to Find Cheap Flights as a Non-American – North Americans gets a lot of cheap flight deals to Europe — but we aren’t the only ones. Here’s how to fly to Europe on a budget from anywhere in the world.
• How to Earn Points for Free Flights and Hotel Stays – Free travel is my favorite kind of travel! This post shows you eight strategies I use to get over a million frequent flier points. These will get you out of your house faster, cheaper, and in comfort!
• How to (Legally) Stay in Europe for More Than 90 Days – Every year, thousands of travelers wonder how they can stay in Europe for more than 90 days, which is the limit in the Schengen Zone. The good news is that there are a few different ways to stay (especially because not all of Europe is in the Schengen Zone). In this post, I share what you can do to stay legally beyond 90 days and on the continent in general.
• How to Avoid Paying ATM Fees (FOREVER) – You should never have to pay any bank fees while you are accessing your money in Europe! Here is my advice on how to avoid bank fees as you backpack across the continent.

Step 2: Get Your Gear

• How to Pick the Best Backpack – It’s important to pick a quality backpack for your trip since it’s going to get beaten up as you travel! This guide to choosing the right travel backpack will help you determine the best pack for your trip.
• What to Pack for Your Trip – What should you pack on your trip? Well, there is no one right answer, but this list will give you a good place to start. It’s what I take on my trips with me (though you’ll need to make some seasonal variations, I’m sure!).
• How to Buy Good Travel Insurance – Travel insurance is one of the most important things you’ll need for your trip. You wouldn’t have a car without car insurance ora home without home insurance, and you can’t have a trip without travel insurance!
• Smartphones, Tablets, or Laptops: What’s Best for Travelers? – Not sure what tech gear to bring on your next trip? Our resident tech expert Dave Dean will walk you through the pros and cons of each device and help you get the most out of your travel tech.
• Everything You Need to Know About Using Smartphones When You Travel – Learn how to use your smart phone with this in-depth guide to unlocked phones, SIM cards, roaming planes, and alternatives for when you travel overseas.
• Why T-Mobile is the Best Phone Carrier for US Travelers – Looking for a reliable carrier for your next trip? Consider making the switch to T-Mobile.

Step 3: How to Get Amazing Accommodation

• My Favorite Hostels, Part 1 – This is a list of European hostels that I would definitely use again if I have the chance. Hope this helps with your next European backpacking adventure!
• My Favorite Hostels, Part 2 – Another list of my favorite hostels in Europe!
• My Favorite Hostels, Part 3 – And one more!
• How to Find a Good Hostel – This article features my best tips on how to find a affordable, clean, and fun hostel where you can meet a lot of amazing people.
• Cheap Alternative Accommodation – If you are looking to stay somewhere besides a hotel or a hostel, this article lists all the types of places where you can rest your head in Europe — from couches to farms and even monasteries!
• How to Find a Couchsurfing Host – Couchsurfing is a great way to save money (it’s free!), and it offers a peek into local life and a way to meet locals. It’s one of my favorite resources when I travel. Plus, Europe has a ton of hosts! If you want to stand out from the crowd and stay with amazing hosts, follow these seven steps, my tried-and-true Couchsurfing advice.
• How to Become a House Sitter – This is a how-to guide to house-sitting, a wonderful opportunity that allows you to stay in a location rent free in exchange for watching someone’s house.

Step 4: Get Around Europe

• 7 Cheap Ways to Travel Across Europe – Even with the falling euro, traveling around Europe can still be fairly expensive. Here are seven ways to crisscross the continent without breaking the bank.
• Are Train Passes Worth It? – Everyone traveling to Europe wonders if they will save money by buying a rail pass or if it’s cheaper to buy tickets as they go. This detailed post will give you the pros and cons of buying a rail pass!
• Would You Contiki? – Is a Contiki tour cheaper than solo backpacking? Are the tours worth doing? Find out more about the costs of solo vs group travel and whether a Contiki tour is right for you.
• Sailing Around Croatia with Busabout – Busabout is a hugely popular tour company with backpackers. They are especially famous for their Croatia sailing trips. Here’s a review of my experience I took with them.

Step 5: Save Money on the Road

• How to Save Money on Food – While traveling, food often becomes a major expense. Here are some tips for saving money on food so you still can afford a nice meal out every now and then.
• How to Use the Sharing Economy to Save Money – The rise of the sharing economy has made traveling across Europe so much easier and cheaper. This post lists all my favorite ridesharing, housesharing, and local meeting websites so you can get off the tourist trail and experience day-to-day life with locals!
• 61 Tips to Make You the Savviest Traveler – These 61 travel tips will help you become an expert traveler who gets around Europe cheaper, better, longer, and smarter!
• My 18 Current Favorite Restaurants in Europe – After exploring Europe quite a bit last year and gorging on food, these are my new favorite 18 restaurants around the continent. They are definitely places you don’t want to miss the next time you travel Europe.
• How I spent $100 in 5 days in Stockholm – Here’s how I did Stockholm on an ultra-tight budget so you can use my tips and tricks throughout the continent.
• How I spent 10 days in London for $700 USD – Here’s a detailed post about how I managed to travel around London for less than $70 a day. The methods I used will help you throughout the continent.

Step 6: Things to Do and See

Here are all my comprehensive budget travel guides for Europe, with tips and advice on things to do and see, ways to save money, and typical costs for each of these destinations. You’ll find country specific tips as well as a host of cities listed as well. I have over 100 guides to Europe!

Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	England	Finland
France	Germany	Greece	Iceland	Italy
Malta	Netherlands	Norway	Poland	Portugal
Romania	Scotland	Spain	Sweden	Switzerland
Ukraine

*** This massive resource list will help you plan your trip to Europe in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step pattern so you won’t get lost, overspend, or stress out about your upcoming dream trip. Europe is one of my favorite regions of the world (which is why I spend so much time there). There’s so much variety in food, culture, language, as well as so much history. I love the continent and hope you use these tips to plan your ultimate travel adventure in Europe!

P.S. – Speaking of Europe, want to go to Paris and Amsterdam? Well, come with me!! I’ll be leading a 9-day tour through these cities at the end of May! I’ll be taking you to my favorite restaurants, attractions, bars, and sights. We’ll hit the off the beaten stuff you won’t find in any guidebook. If you’re interested, click here to learn more about the itinerary and how to join. Let me show you Europe through my eyes and with the knowledge your travel in a group of like-minded people with a local expert!

Photo credit: 1, 3

The post How to Backpack Europe: My Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

April 10, 2017 at 05:27PM

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Are Travel Agents Still Useful?

Back before the Internet, when people wanted to plan a vacation, most used a travel agent. These lovely folks would book your flights, cruises, resort stays, honeymoons, and everything in between.

According to Ryan Geist of Burner Air, “Travel agencies back in the day banked hard on packages and ‘deals.’ Travel agents were always middlemen, but they provided a powerful economic value (both perceived and true).” They got you the deals you couldn’t find on your own because you didn’t have access to the resources they did.

Over the years, as online booking websites and the sharing economy have become more popular, travel agents have diminished in importance (9/11 and the recession didn’t help either). All those sites have made it easy for us travelers to cut out the travel agent and plan our own trips by booking directly with airlines and hotels (or, nowadays, with locals — thanks, Airbnb, Vayable, and EatWith!). There are also so many deal websites out there helping us find cheap airfares and hotel rates — and travel blogs telling us what to see and do — that it makes little sense for your average consumer to go to a travel agent anymore.

Ryan concurs: “The direct-to-consumer websites cut down the time it took to plan a trip from hours or days to minutes. And there is complete transparency. You can bargain-shop with a click of your mouse. It’s been devastating to an industry entrenched in tradition and stale relationships.”

And yet, though “the death of travel agents” has been touted since Expedia debuted, they still exist and, though greatly diminished in number (according the Bureau of Labor Statistics the number of freelance travel agents went from 124,030 in 2000 to 64,250 in 2014), they are used by a lot of people. In fact, they have seen a surge in demand in recent years (millennials are the fastest growing segment using them). (I couldn’t find stats on worldwide use but based on my experience, agents are also widely used around the world, especially when it comes to booking RTW trips.)

That is because they still offer value for certain types of travel (they’re heavily used for luxury, corporate, and group travel), as well as for their expertise and special business relationships — not to mention their time-saving, stress-relieving, and problem-solving skills.

Travel agents are useful if you’re doing a very costly or complex trip, planning a honeymoon or something fancy, or traveling with a large group. They have access to a number of deals and bulk buying options we DIY solo consumers don’t, especially when it comes to tours, high-end flights, and cruises.

Patricia Serrano from Fresh Traveler reinforced that point: “It’s very easy to book a flight from New York to Miami today, and if that’s all you want, then you should do it online. But if you’re looking for flights for a group of more than 10 people or a flight itinerary like JFK-MIA-BOG-EZE-LAX-SEA-ORD-EWR, then a travel agent would be of great help.”

They are also perfect for people who just don’t want to handle a big, complicated trip themselves. Travel agents offer them peace of mind. As Ryan said, “Logistics can be simple or complicated, but they almost always induce a headache. People will pay good money to someone they trust to just ‘handle it’ for them.” (There’s a cafe / travel agency in Austin called the Departure Lounge that sees brisk business.)

Alicia Saba from The Splendid Traveler echoes this: “Travel agents are still used for expert guidance, personalized travels, and to save time. The Internet has made it easier to book your own travels, but with that comes informational overload. Travel planning is a time-consuming process, and you don’t really know if you’re taking full advantage of your vacation time or planning experiences that align with your interests and travel style.”

As Cheryl Oddo from Carefree Vacations says, “People want firsthand knowledge and experience, the inside track on getting the most out of their vacation, making it memorable and affordable. They want someone to say ‘that’s a mistake, I recommend this instead,’ and to explain travel insurance, passport requirements, visas, self-drives in foreign countries, customs and cultures, and all of the ‘how-tos.’”

I agree with all of them.

Travel agents are for people who don’t want to spend hours researching their trips, are not experienced travelers, or are traveling in such a large group that the economics and logistics of booking it yourself do your head in. I’m not surprised that travel agents have seen a rise in usage of the last few years, especially among millennials who try to outsource time intensive activities.

If you’re traveling with a group of 15 people for your grandmother’s birthday on a cruise, a travel agent can definitely get you a better deal than you can yourself. Agents come in handy when buying in bulk, because they often have access to deals (this applies to airline tickets too).

Planning a honeymoon or a luxury trip? Complicated round-the-world trip for a family of four?! The highly specialized nature of travel agents makes them great for these kinds of trips too.

Take cruises. Travel agents have relationships with cruise lines and access to deals we everyday consumers don’t. Doug Parker from Cruise Radio advises that you start with a travel agent, as they have relationships with the cruise companies and can often get better rates and last-minute deals. Travel agents often can find much lower prices and can also act as liaison to cruise companies when something goes wrong. Agents talk to cruise lines all the time so if you want that 15 person trip to go smoothly, an agent would be better.

And that’s another place where travel agents could come in handy: when trouble crops up. Patricia advises, “Travel agents can save you time and money when you are in an emergency. A lot of airlines and hotel chains have preferred numbers for travel agents so they can get in touch quickly with the people who can best resolve your situation. “

Ryan agreed: “A travel agency’s greatest assets are its unique and leveraged relationships, its ability to problem-solve for its clients in real time, 24/7, and its role as a cat herder for group travel. When you’re in trouble, there is no substitute for a knowledgeable, reliable, and leveraged travel agent.”

So am I suddenly enamored with travel agents? No. I still probably wouldn’t use one. I like booking trips, know where to find deals, and don’t try to plan family trips for twenty. Give me a flight on points, a hostel, and bus ticket, and I’m all set.

If you’re planning a trip to Bermuda for you, your spouse, and family, it’s pretty straightforward: go online, find a cheap flight, book a hotel or Airbnb, and off you go! On your way, pick up a guidebook to figure out what to do, and enjoy your trip! (Or better yet, use my guide to Bermuda!)

Backpacking through Europe? A travel agent can’t tell you to go with the flow. They aren’t going to get you deals on hostels, backpacker tours, train tickets, or beat those budget airline carriers.

Every travel agent I spoke to agreed with me on this point. “If you’re staying in budget accommodations and not looking to preplan any activities or transportation, you’re better off booking on your own,” Alicia responded.

So are travel agents still useful? Yes, but only for some (and definitely not if you’re a budget backpacker!). If you are organizing a huge group, need dozens of plane tickets (like on our FLYTE groups, for which we use a travel agent), a honeymoon, a complex itinerary, or an expensive trip, a travel agent is not a terrible idea. They will make life easier, probably get you bulk discounts, and can be there in case anything goes wrong. If I were planning a trip that fell into one of those categories, I would look into a travel agent, even if it was just to test the waters.

P.S. – Want to go to Paris and Amsterdam? Well, come with me!! I’ll be leading a 9 day tour through these cities at the end of May! I’ll be taking you to my favorite restaurants, attractions, bars, and sights. We’ll hit the off the beaten stuff you won’t find in any guidebook. If you’re interested, click here to learn more about the itinerary and how to join.

The post Are Travel Agents Still Useful? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

April 06, 2017 at 03:25PM

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An In-Depth Guide to Planning a Lesbian Friendly Trip

I’ve added an LGBT column for the website to make the site more inclusive and talk about issues that affect some members of our travel community. In this column, we will hear from voices in the LGBT community about their experiences on the road, safety tips, events, and overall advice for other LGBT travelers to get the most out of their time on the road! This month, Dani from Globetrottergirls gives you the ultimate Lesbian friendly travel experience. 

When I started planning my first trip to Latin America in 2010, I wondered what it would be like to travel with my girlfriend in strictly Catholic countries, many of them known for their culture of machismo. Would we be safe? Would we get the chance to connect with local lesbians or meet other lesbian travelers?

I had traveled extensively around Europe and I’d been to LGBT hot spots in the US but had no idea what to expect in other parts of the world. Back then, there wasn’t much information online, and social media wasn’t as ubiquitous as it is now. Today, planning a lesbian trip has gotten much easier since then. Still, if you are not traveling to a lesbian or Pride festival, planning an LGBT-friendly trip can be daunting and overwhelming. Where to start? How to go about finding queer-friendly destinations and meeting other gay travelers?

Like me, a lot of lesbians, especially first-time travelers, feel more comfortable traveling in an environment where they feel safe. With that in mind, I’ve compiled this ultimate resource for lesbian travelers, including websites you’ll want to bookmark for trip planning, LGBT-friendly booking sites, travel opportunities for same-sex couples or lesbian solo travelers, and how to meet like-minded people during your trip!

Table of Contents

1. Trip-planning strategies
2. How to find lesbian-friendly travel companies
3. How to find lesbian-owned and lesbian-friendly accommodation
4. The best lesbian tours and cruises
5. How to meet other lesbians while traveling
6. Stay safe traveling as a lesbian

1. Trip-Planning Strategies

Maybe you’ve already got a destination in mind, or maybe you’re completely open. If this is your first international trip, you might want to play it safe and visit a country with liberal views on same-sex relationships — and not one of the 77 countries that have legal LGBT discrimination.

The US Department of State is a good place to start to gather LGBTQI Travel Information, including some pointers on staying safe as a queer traveler. Both the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), a nonprofit human rights group in Geneva, and the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) are excellent resources. The former has a detailed overview of sexual orientation laws around the world, and the latter has good trip-planning tools.

Damron publishes a complete travel guide by and for lesbians every year, including over 9,000 listings in North America, South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and major cities in Europe and Asia. It also includes festivals, lesbian tours, and conferences, as well as information for vegetarians and multiracial couples and on wheelchair access, among much more.

Passport Magazine is the only gay and lesbian travel magazine still in publication in the United States. It covers LGBT travel, culture, adventure and style — the perfect go-to if you’re looking for some lesbian travel inspiration.

If this is your first trip abroad, and you don’t want to travel too far from the US, I recommend Costa Rica, which is very LGBT friendly. Manuel Antonio has plenty of gay-owned hotels, and Playa Samara, my favorite beach in Costa Rica, even has a lesbian-owned B&B right on the beach.

Mexico is one of the countries that surprised me most in terms of gay-friendliness: Not even in San Francisco did I see as many gay couples openly holding hands and making out in parks as I did in Mexico City! Moreover, Puerto Vallarta is the “gay capital” of Mexico, and along with the nearby beaches of the Riviera Nayarit, it makes for an easy getaway from the US — where you can be out without worrying about how you may be perceived.

2. How to Find Lesbian-Friendly Travel Companies

The IGLTA has a comprehensive list of all of its official partners, which include companies like Delta, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, United, Orbitz, Hotels.com, and Expedia.

Expedia has a separate section for queer travelers, featuring LGBT-welcoming hotels and guides to top gay hotspots.

3. How to find lesbian-owned and lesbian-friendly accommodation

The best place to look for lesbian-owned and lesbian-friendly accommodation is Purple Roofs, the world’s largest travel directory of LGBT-friendly accommodation. Over 4,800 bed & breakfasts, hotels, vacation rentals, and other properties are listed. Simply type in your destination and all available properties there will be listed. You’ll see right away if it’s lesbian or gay owned, the price per night, and a description of the property:

Another option is to look for TAG Approved® hotels, which are those that are not only LGBT friendly but also support the LGBT community in their employment policies and services. (TAG stands for Travel Advocacy Group.) There are around 2,000 such hotels, including several big chains, such as Hilton Hotels, Marriott, Sheraton, and The W. Similar to Purple Roofs, you can type in your destination and be shown a listing of all TAG Approved® hotels there.

While Purple Roofs focuses on small, independent businesses, TAG features mostly bigger hotel corporations. The advantage of TAG is that it features many hotels that are members of travel reward programs, so if you are into travel hacking and looking to use points in a lesbian-friendly hotel, the TAG website will be more useful for you.

Another option is GayTravelNet, which is operated by the ILGTA and also features a number of gay- and lesbian-friendly accommodation options around the world.

Not every lesbian cares if she is staying in explicitly LGBT-friendly accommodations. So if you’re not sure of the kind of place you’re checking in to, you may well run into this issue: having to decide if you are comfortable requesting a double bed when you are given two single beds. I don’t know how many times my partner and I were shown a room with two beds after explicitly booking a double bed. Most receptionists simply assume that two girls traveling together are friends or sisters; rarely do they assume that they are a couple. I do remember situations in which I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to ask (in Malaysia, for example, where LGBT rights are largely unrecognized).

If you’re confident enough, you can ask for a room with one bed instead, which is what I started doing after I got tired of squeezing into a single bed with my girlfriend. But not everyone is comfortable doing this, so if you want to be 100% sure that you’re welcomed — especially when traveling as a couple — I recommend booking lesbian-friendly accommodation.

4. The best lesbian tours and cruises

There are several providers for lesbian tours, the biggest one being Olivia. Olivia offers all-lesbian vacations, ranging from resorts to cruises. Olivia always buys out a whole resort or charters the entire ship to make sure the trip is a safe space for women, so that they feel like they can be out without worrying about anything.

In addition to ships or resorts filled with lesbians, Olivia also offer the best lesbian entertainment on their vacations, including artists like Melissa Etheridge, the Indigo Girls, Wanda Sykes, and Lily Tomlin.

Olivia is a great option for couples, but also for solo travelers who can’t find anyone to travel with but aren’t ready to go on a trip by themselves. One of the things that make Olivia special is that women come together on their trips to meet new people and form friendships, and many women travel with Olivia over and over again.

Focus Diva is a UK-based lesbian tour operator that offers hosted lesbian group holidays around Europe, for example, the Women’s Festival in Lesvos, Greece; a golf-themed cruise; and river cruises around Europe. (These are not limited to lesbian travelers from the UK, by the way.)

R Family Vacations, founded by Rosie O’Donell, started out as “R Family Cruises” but has since grown into other kinds of LGBT family vacations. In addition to its popular family vacations for lesbian parents and their kids, the company has launched an “Adult Vacation” line, which offers kid-free vacations, not strictly for lesbian travelers but both gay men and women. In contrast to R’s family vacation line, the adult holidays aim to connect LGBT travelers without kids. The 2017 edition of the Adult Vacation is a transatlantic cruise from England to New York on the Queen Mary 2, including a West End theater performance prior to departure.

Another company that offers mixed cruises (for gay men as well as lesbians), is Aquafest Cruises, which specializes in discounted LGBT cruises to destinations such as Alaska, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, and Asia. Aquafest’s cruises are considerably cheaper than other gay and lesbian cruises (including the above mentioned R Adult Cruises), and it also offers themed cruises around celebrations like Mardi Gras and Halloween. Entertainment on board includes lesbian get-togethers, singles get-togethers, theme dance parties, gay Olympics, stand-up comedy, cabaret, and celebrity singers. (In 2017, Aquafest is expanding and offering its first non-cruise vacation: an African safari.)

OutOfOffice is a new travel start-up that arranges high-end holidays for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender couples as well as gay-friendly flights, hotels, transfers, and excursions. It also offers several itineraries aimed at lesbian travelers (guaranteeing that the tour operators and hotels used in the itineraries are lesbian friendly), and group trips for LGBT travelers to destinations such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, and China.

5. How to meet other lesbians while traveling

These days, the easiest way to meet other lesbians while traveling is through dating apps (even if you’re not looking for a hook-up). I’ve met other lesbian solo travelers this way while backpacking through South America, had a girl show me around Milan, and got a great introduction to Tel Aviv’s lesbian scene, all of which I wouldn’t have otherwise. I am still in touch with most of the girls and happy to return the favor when they’re visiting New York.

The dating best apps to connect with other lesbians are HER (the most popular lesbian one) and all-gender dating apps like Tinder, OkCupid or PlentyOfFish. HER also has a listing of lesbian parties, meetups, festivals, and more, so you can check what is going on in the place you’re visiting.

A great option to meet lesbians who travel is through Couchsurfing groups. You don’t need to stay on a stranger’s couch if you don’t want to — Couchsurfing also has thousands of groups for all sorts of interests, including lesbian and queer groups. Here are some lesbian groups I am a member of:

Simply post about an upcoming trip and see if any other lesbians happen to be traveling in the same area or live in the place you’re visiting.

There’s another use for Couchsurfing groups: you can see if there are any LGBT or lesbian groups in the city you’re planning to visit. For example, there’s a group for NYC lesbians, queer Berlin, and Buenos Aires Lesbians. Most big cities have queer groups and they have regular meetups.

Meetup.com is a similar option, but with groups broken up into more specific interests. New York City, for example, has groups for “Lesbians Who Brunch,” “Black Lesbians,” and gay twenty-somethings, to name just a few. Just scroll through the meetup groups in the place you’re traveling to and join a meetup that fits your interests.

Facebook is also becoming an increasingly popular way to connect with other lesbians, and you can search for lesbian groups, as well as events in the city you’re traveling to:

Join the groups you find interesting and RSVP to events you think you’ll enjoy. If you’re comfortable going out by yourself, check if there are any lesbian bars or parties while you’re visiting.

6. Stay safe traveling as a lesbian

As I mentioned above, you should be doing a fair amount of pre-trip research about your destination(s), especially if you are traveling abroad. What’s the country’s stand on same-sex relationships? Are there laws that allow discrimination against LGBT persons? Have there been any incidents involving queers?

It’s a controversial topic if gay and lesbian travelers should visit anti-LGBT countries, but I know a lot of lesbians who are willing to travel to such places. So if your dream is to climb Kilimanjaro, you’ll obviously tone down the PDAs there, considering that Tanzania is a country where same-sex sexual acts are crimes punishable by the state.

If you don’t want to risk being assaulted as an out-and-proud lesbian, then don’t travel to countries that are known to be severely homophobic, such as Jamaica; there are other Caribbean islands that are more welcoming to LGBT travelers. Choose your destination wisely and only travel to place you’re comfortable visiting, especially when on a solo trip. I, for example, can block out the catcalls and whistling that are common in Latin American countries, but I know other lesbians who can’t handle that kind of machismo.

If you are traveling as a couple, you will find yourself toning down PDAs a lot, as I have mentioned in my previous article: Lesbian Travel: 4 Things To Know.

When traveling alone, take the same precautions other solo female travelers take: be street-smart and vigilant, always listen to your gut feeling, be aware of your surroundings, and don’t flash your valuables.

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As a lesbian, you may be more worried about your first trip overseas than your straight friends who don’t have to think about potential discrimination and anti-LGBT-laws, but as long as you do your research and thoroughly plan your trip, you don’t have to be afraid. On the contrary: you’ll probably be surprised to see how welcoming most places are of lesbian travelers.

If you want to be on the safe side, go with a lesbian tour company for your first trip, but after having traveled all over the world independently for years, I can honestly say that I have never felt threatened anywhere, simply because I took all the precautions necessary to stay safe as a lesbian traveler. Traveling has given me so many unforgettable experiences, connected me with other lesbians all over the world, and shown me some of the most beautiful spots on the planet — and I have no doubt that it will do the same for you.

Dani Heinrich is the vagabonding writer and photographer behind GlobetrotterGirls.com. Originally from Germany, she has been nomadic since April 2010, when she quit her corporate job in London and embarked on a round-the-world-trip that continues to this day. Dani has travelled through over 60 countries on four continents and has no plans to stop any time soon. Dani is always on the hunt for amazing street art, mouthwatering vegetarian food, secluded beaches, scenic running routes, off the beaten path gems and a hammock to work from. You can also follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

The post An In-Depth Guide to Planning a Lesbian Friendly Trip appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

April 03, 2017 at 04:02PM

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