Go Green Travel Green

Walk into any REI and you’re bound to be overwhelmed by the number of backpack options. Should I choose medium or large? Unisex or women’s? Blue or black? With so many choices, it’s no wonder travelers struggle to find the perfect backpack, the most important piece of travel gear. But it’s not impossible. Here’s how to find the best backpack for you.

After flying from Buenos Aires to Minneapolis for four days, then to Texas for a week, we’ve stopped in Belize (a small Central American country) for Elizabeth’s brother’s wedding.
Our original plan was to stay here until early January, then spend a few weeks traveling around Guatemala. But, as travel plans do, ours have changed. The [...]

Every once in a while when traveling for an extended period of time, you hit a wall, even when you’re in an amazing place. Traveling isn’t as exciting; it wears you down. It’s not quite homesickness, it’s just getting tired of being on the go, seeing so many new sights, not being able to take [...]

Here are some things I do with my time and my reflections on them: Sleep I used to sleep 8 hours a night and feel pretty well-rested on most days….But right now I can’t help but wondering if all the time I spending sleeping and dreaming and thinking and eating is excessive.

After a 19 hour bus ride, we spent the night in Rosario, a medium sized town we’ll explore today. Tonight we’ll hop on another bus and head to Mendoza, the heart of Argentina’s wine region.

It took us a while to realize the simple problem: in our pre-departure packing fervor, we’d taken no time to mentally prepare for our travels… Learn from our mistake. Take these steps to get ready for your extended trip so you can start enjoying your destination as soon as you arrive.

We’re in the final 24 hour countdown to Argentina and our bags are officially packed. I’m proud to say, after much pruning of our packing list, we stuffed all of our travel gear into two carry-on size recycled packs — so it’s better for the environment and for our backs. We’ll be spending the next 4 months traveling through Central and South America, getting to know the region, and practicing our Spanish. Since Argentina is a huge, geographically diverse country, we’re bringing clothes for every climate. The only things I’d add to this packing list for a longer round-the-world trip would be a scarf and a pair of long underwear.

So, four weeks ago (when I thought you had to give 30days notice on everything), I called ATT to tell them I wanted to find out about canceling or suspending my service. The nice man at customer service told me that unlike other service providers (who charge about $5-10 month to suspend your service and keep your phone number) ATT doesn’t have program that allows you to suspend your service.

One of the things I posted about in my checklist of things to do before a trip was finding travel insurance (specifically, insurance that would cover health emergencies while I’m abroad, even though it’s not completely “travel health insurance”).
World Nomads Travel Insurance Reviews
After sorting through numerous websites and reviews, we’ve settled on World Nomads travel [...]

Making a to do list for an extended trip. Sell stuff on craigslist that we won’t be moving Pack Move stuff to place for storing Get banking in order Figure out best credit card/debit to use while abroad Let banks/credit cards know we will be out of the country Ensure that all credit card/bank statements are soley electronic Tell post office forwarding address (will be parents house for time being) Make copies of all essential documents and leave with someone we trust Decide on cell phone situation (keep one US phone active and “pause” the other?) Find volunteer options for while we’re there Book first few days in the hostel Figure out health insurance options Figure out travelers health insurance options If you have any suggestions about any of these (specifically travelers health insurance, banks with low fees, etc) please let us know!