Let’s face it - travel is a great way to expand your horizons, but there are some days when it can get pretty spicy.
If you find yourself in need of an extra boost while you’re out there exploring, keep these courage-inducing tips in mind and get ready to push through, do more and be a little more Zen about living beyond your comfort zone.
Read more: 6 Mantras Adventure Travelers Live By
What about you? What goes through your head when you find yourself outside your comfort zone? Use the comments link below to share.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
From luxury camps in Latin America and Africa island hopping to the dancing green glow of Norway’s Aurora Borealis and a Brazilian World Cup warm up, travel trends seem to get more intrepid and exotic by the year.
To help you blaze new trails in the new year, custom travel company, Kensington Tours, polled its team of global Destination Experts to see what trends they saw on the horizon for travel. Here’s their lineup of top 10 adventures for 2013.
1. Asian Safaris – Dragons, Tigers, Orangutans & More
One wild trend that is on the 2013 hotlist - More families are requesting animal safaris in Southeast Asia than ever before. Borneo’s orangutans, Cambodia’s elephants, Thailand’s tigers, Laos’ gibbons and Indonesia’s komodo dragons, these animals add another dimension to the temples and treasures of these culturally rich countries.
2. Glamping – The Glam In Latin American Camping
Take some of Latin America’s wildest destinations, a large dose of fresh air, mobile tents and evening campfires, add porters to carry your gear, breakfast mimosas, and a personal chef – this is what glamping is all about.Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Patagonia all have a growing collection of luxury mobile camps for those who love the great outdoors but don’t want to miss out on prerequisite holiday pampering.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Attention all globe-trotter wannabes: the Global Scavenger Hunt is now accepting applications for its 9th annual around-the-world travel adventure. Apply by December 21, 2012 to be one of 50 experienced, travel savvy globe-trotters to be chosen for a unique off-the- beaten path, action-packed road adventure to compete for bragging rights and prizes, along with The World’s Greatest Travelers crown.
For three thrill-packed weeks between April 12th – May 4th, 2013, 25 two-person teams will travel around-the-world and across 10 countries in GreatEscape2013® All would-be Magellans, promising Indiana Jones, adventurous Nellie Bly’s, Phileas Fogg contenders and Amazing Race wannabe’s, can apply online now at GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
DETAILS: The Global Scavenger Hunt 2013
What: The Global Scavenger Hunt is the annual around-the-world travel adventure competition that takes Teams of two on A Blind Date With The World™ while performing culturally-oriented sight-doing scavenges in off-the-beaten path destinations. It has been called, “The Amazing Race for real people.”
When: April 2013, over three-weeks between April 12th and May 4th, teams will circumnavigate the globe starting from the West Coast to the East Coast—the long way.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Q&A with travel tips author Jeanine Barone.
Pint-sized, fiercely independent and packing an intense curiosity about the world and its best kept secrets, I first met travel journalist, Jeanine Barone (kindred spirit but no relation), a few years ago in Baltimore where she expertly sniffed out the city’s insider favorites with a fervor and excitement that was contagious. Since then, we’ve explored together in Portugal and Mexico. Today, I’m pleased to share the following Q&A in which we discuss her newly released e-book, ‘The Travel Authority: Essential Tips for Hassle-Free Travel’. With a price tag of only $2.99, it may be one of the best travel deals out there.
1. Tell us a bit about your new e-book and your reasons for writing it?
I wrote the book as a practical guide for avoiding all manner of unpleasant experiences — illness, delayed flights, lost luggage, jet lag and hotel break-ins, to name a few — when traveling.
It’s organized into seven useful sections —with comical images to introduce each chapter — based on major travel topics: health and safety, savvy packing, airports and planes, other transportation (cars, trains and boats), accommodations, insurance and money issues, and recommended gear and products. These are insider tips cultivated from a lifetime of personal and professional travel that will help any and every traveler save money, time and their sanity.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
An Interview with Michael and Betsy West of The Wayfarers.
Taking inspiration from his passion for the English countryside - its history, environment and people - in 1984, Englishman Michael West co-founded The Wayfarers, a Britain based company providing custom crafted walking holidays and tours.
Today, the company hosts visitors in some of the world’s most scenic landscapes, where they offer an insider’s view of local life and lore, dine at fine inns and local restaurants, and make cultural interactions— with native artists, musicians, artisans, naturalists, vintners and farmers, for example—an important part of the experience.
Earlier this year Michael and Betsy West traveled to Argentina and Chile seeking the perfect itinerary for the Wayfarers’ first foray into South America. The result? A new 2013 Patagonia walk.
I caught up with the Wests recently to get the inside scoop on the upcoming adventure.
Michael and Betsy West in Patagonia.
Why Patagonia?
In the words of Bruce Chatwin: “Patagonia is the farthest place to which man walked from his place of origin” It is the ultimate wayfaring destination.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Since 1925, when their small-format 35 mm camera revolutionized the field of photography, Leica has had a profound influence on the way people view and document the world.
Today, the Leica Akademie invites you to the remote wilds of southern Chile to learn and record the story of Patagonia conservation in legendary Leica style.
@Ellen Barone. Melimoyu Glacier, Patagonia Sur
Led by conservation photojournalist Bridget Besaw, and hosted by Patagonia Sur, the workshop, held March 23-30, 2013, is designed for photographers of all levels. The highly immersive experience offers eco-conscious photographers the opportunity to learn tips and techniques first-hand while exploring one of the world’s most legendary landscapes with access to the latest additions to Leica’s storied M-System, the Leica M9 and M9-P.
Better still, the entire portfolio of M lenses is also available throughout the workshop, including the latest Super-Elmar-M 21 mm f/3.4 ASPH, an amazingly compact super wide angle lens.
As an avid adventurer and outdoor photographer, I joined the 2012 workshop for the sheer visual promise of the Patagonia landscape, people and culture, but returned with much more than memorable images. The experience not only expanded my knowledge and how I perceive the world, but also how I perceive myself and my abilities. I highly recommend it.
For information and registration visit Leica Akademie or Seedlight Workshops.
To read more about my Patagonia Sur experiences or view images created in the workshop, click here.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".