It’s 7:30am and the town of Boquete, Panama is just starting to wake up. But there I am, first up in the hostel, sitting with my MacBook Pro on my lap in the open-air dining area. I’m enjoying the refreshing breeze coming through the walkway, but more importantly I’m writing a client back in the states who has no idea I’m in Central America on a what I call a semi-holiday.

I had been wanting to visit Panama for a while but this trip was designed to be equal parts enjoyment and work. A test, of sorts.

My freelance business is doing very well. Good enough to live off of, but I’m still working for a small company in California. I’ve been blessed to have a great job with some decent travel benefits for the better part of a decade, but I’m trying be proactive.

We are in a recession that isn’t just changing the way people live, it’s changing the way businesses operate. There are cutbacks everywhere and small businesses are realizing they can still manage to operate with fewer employees. Give more work to who is leftover after a round of layoffs and it will certainly get done.

This isn’t just a trend. It’s the new way to do business. Frugal and efficient.

That doesn’t mean I’m worried about being unemployed any time soon, but the writing is on the wall. I’ll be safe for a while, but I don’t have high hopes for my job to take me all the way to retirement.  Not to sound like a pessimist, but this probably holds true for most people.

And let’s admit it: who wants to wait until 65 to retire? I’d rather travel now.

Testing the waters

I had a plan for a while about the type of life I wanted to lead in the near future, but was it realistic?  Could I continue to work while traveling the world for months on end? Was I really cut out to be a digital nomad?

As I mentioned, this trip to Panama was a test.  I wanted to see if I could enjoy traveling while continuing to focus on my work.  With about two days notice I booked a rewards ticket to Panama City without a plan.  Upon arrival I hired a rental car and drove up the Pan American Highway towards Boquete.  A small town known for its coffee in the northern highlands near the Costa Rican border.

Each morning I hopped on the computer for an hour or two and took care of all immediate business requiring my attention.  After the important tasks were taken care of I made a to-do list for the evening and then headed out to enjoy my day.

Can you really find the time?

I found it easy to find the time to continue working while traveling.  While I sure didn’t want to spend the entire day indoors working, there was usually plenty of time to relax on the computer and get some work done.

For instance, one day after I took care of my morning tasks I went white-water rafting.  It was an exciting and tiring day so when I was done and returned to Boquete, I welcomed a comfy hammock and my laptop and had a few hours before dinner to get things done.

Will you have the discipline?

Assuming you have accommodations that offer internet service there is plenty of time available to focus on work.  That said, you will still have make the time.  That means partying all night and sleeping in is probably out of the cards unless you want to neglect your business.

In my case, I’ve found I can get more work done this way as I am forced to focus on the task at hand.  Also, while there are plenty of things you’ll want to get out and do, when you’re indoors and working there will likely be considerably less distractions than at home.  No TV, no DVDs, no video games, etc.

I’m also amazed at how much writing I can do while on an airplane and cut off from the internet.  It’s a blessing in disguise.

Discipline is definitely the most important factor for success as a digital nomad.

Headline photo courtesy of Rita Willaert

It’s rare that I meet somebody who doesn’t love to travel, or at least has a burning desire to do so. Occasionally though, people will find themselves with a lack of motivation to travel or maybe even feeling a bit burnt out.

As somebody who used to travel frequently for business, I’ve been there. In fact, when my work became steady and I stopped traveling for business, I didn’t go anywhere for three years. I didn’t even use my vacation time from work. Talk about a waste.

Here’s a few ways you can get back into the travel mood and catch the burning desire to venture out into the world:

Watch a good movie

Spend the night in and rent a good foreign film that will make you yearn to learn a language and experience life in another place.

Sidenote: I’ve watched Amelie about 50 times in order to practice my French.

Suggestions:

• Amelie
• Casablanca
• Art of Travel
• The Motorcycle Diaries
• Lost in Translation
• Easy Rider

Read a book

Much like a good film, a great book can transplant you to another place and immerse you in a culture you might otherwise have no familiarity with.  Most people can’t get through a book in an evening, but spending a few days or weeks (months in my case) is a great way to encourage you seek fun or adventure elsewhere in the world.

Suggestions:

• The Beach
• Into the Wild
• Anything by Paul Theroux

Eat at a foreign restaurant

Bonus points if you’ve never tried that type of food before.

And guess what: chances are the food where you are going is probably considerably better than the local restaurant, regardless of it’s authenticity.  For example, there is a great Moroccan restaurant in town but their best meal doesn’t compare to the worst meal I had in Morocco.

Break up with your significant other

OK, I’d never encourage anybody to DO this so you can go travel, but if this unfortunate event occurs, why not get over someone by taking an impromptu trip to Europe or somewhere where you can get your mind off of that heartbreak (or in some cases, relief)?

It’s surprising how many people I’ve talked to who’s travel bug caught them after they ran off for a month following a breakup.  Seems about as good of an excuse as any to me!

Work too much overtime

Here’s an easy one.  Work too much and I can almost guarantee you’ll quickly have a dying urge to hop aboard a plane and run away for a few weeks.

I’m going on 45-straight days of work (the joys of having a day-job AND running your own business) so you can bet I’m ready for my next trip.  July can’t come fast enough!

How do you get motivated to travel?  Does it come naturally or do you need some outside encouragement?

Headline image courtesy of freefotouk

Everyone seems to be jumping on the Couch Surfing Bandwagon at the moment. And why not, it’s a great concept. Travel around the world, staying for free and meeting some cool and interesting people at the same time. There’s plenty written about the etiquette of surfing someone’s couch, but not so much available on how to be a good host. Here’s some thoughts I’ve based around my experience of giving up my couch to globetrotters.

• Be a good host and print off a map of your city, and some sight seeing tips. They’ll be available from your city councils website. You probably don’t want to go and see all the tourist sights in your city, so by giving some details on what’s around and how to get there you excuse yourself from having to do all that mundane stuff like waiting in line at museums, freeing yourself to do what ever it is you actually want to do with your spare time.
• Tidy up a bit. Despite what you might have thought, most people are not indifferent about eating dinner at a table strewn with dirty gym socks, a full ashtray and the latest addition of ‘Jugs’.
• Respect your surfer’s life choices. Sure, they’re staying at your place, but it doesn’t mean they have to agree with everything you say. You might have different political beliefs, who cares? So what if you’re a vegetarian and they eat the equivalent of their own body weight in steak each day. If you are a staunch vegetarian and don’t like meat being cooked in your house let them know before you agree to them staying with you. Don’t force your beliefs down their throat (with a side of lentils). Having said that, this whole concept is about exchanging ideas and different ways of life, so healthy debate is good as long as they’re into it as much as you are.  This also applies to trying to convert them to your religion.
• Don’t be the weird guy that leers at the Scandinavian backpacker who are asleep on your couch. It can be awkward enough for a surfer staying in a strangers house, don’t make it worse than it has to be. This also means NO ‘accidentally’ opening the bathroom door with fake cries of “Oh, I didn’t know you were in here!” and don’t walk around in your boxers all day. Chances are you’re probably not as hot as you think you are.  This brings me to my next point;
• Don’t sleep with the couch surfer. Unless it’s the last night that they’re staying with you. Especially don’t do this if you have a partner or you’re not all that great in bed. One of the benefits of a one-night stand is that you can leave in the morning with minimal awkwardness. This isn’t so with a couch surfer staying with you for a few nights. If you do happen to succumb and end up getting together with your couch surfer and it isn’t all that great, try to make yourself scarce until they leave. Why prolong the weirdness? Sleeping with the couch surfers goes against the whole principal of meeting new travellers and exchanging ideas and experiences, so do try to keep it in your pants.
• On a personal note, double check your potential surfer’s profile before committing to letting them crash at your place. ALL of their profile. I recently had a couch surfer request to stay at my place, we agreed on a date and while waiting for him to come one evening I had another look at his profile only to find that the previous host had left some pretty scathing comments – it turns out my guest started his own religion and claimed to be the messiah. He spent all of his time at their house trying to convert them to his own religion, called them fascists for not following his beliefs, and then helped himself to the pantry, throwing out all the food that he deemed unhealthy. Suffice to say I made up an excuse and cancelled on him. A poor move by me but one that I felt was necessary and I now resolve myself to double checking every detail of a potential surfer’s profile before agreeing to have them stay.

Couch Surfing is a wonderful concept but unfortunately there are hosts and surfers out there taking advantage of this phenomenon. Use a bit of commonsense before allowing someone into your home, and by participating positively to this social experiment of sorts you’ll be contributing to a more open, safe and enjoyable global travel community.

Follow Shane on Twitter or read about his travels at sanchezjalapeno.com

You know that really warm feeling you get about yourself when you do something nice for someone else? What about that feeling of gluttony and selfishness you get when you’re in a foreign country sipping your 5th cocktail of the night, served by someone who earns less in a month than what you’re likely to spend before you go to bed?

Well, you can maximise the former and minimise (though not entirely eradicate) the latter. Try a spot of Voluntourim.

If you’re on an extended break you really have no excuse for not volunteering on your travels. It goes without saying that everyone that reads Have Pack, Will Travel is of course very socially conscious and wants to give to those less fortunate – so I won’t harp on about the reasons why we should volunteer. Lets concentrate on the how.

There are so many companies that can sort you out with volunteering – It’s impossible to know where to start. So break it down into location, and what sort of work your after.  Obviously it’s a tad easier to get into turtle conservation in Costa Rica or Mexico, than it is in Russia.

The volunteer jobs often are based around wildlife, teaching or infrastructure. It really depends if you want to be in the trenches – literally, or if you think you’re better off in the classroom. Once you’ve figured that out hit the net.

Most of the companies that enlist you as an entry level volunteer require you to make your own way their, and pay a nominal fee to cover your accommodation, food and admin costs – and that’s fair enough. However, you need to be wary of huge companies charging exorbitant fees that are keeping a huge chunk of that fee themselves. Still, to have the security of a big company looking after all the arrangements is comforting, and very handy to fall back on if something goes wrong (not that you should expect it to).

The thing is there are an ever-growing group of grass roots organisations that charge only a minimal fee, if at all! The difference is support. The big companies have 24hr support, welcome packs and often follow up emails. The smaller grass roots places will give you an address and a phone number to contact, that’s it. It’s about knowing what you want and where to look.

Googling Volunteer Jobs in South America will spit out pages and pages of results, but the first 5 or so pages are dedicated to larger organisations that have high placement fees. Dig further and you’ll be rewarded.

For instance, in Peru there is Pisco Sin Fronteras, a non-profit organisation that is helping rebuild the town (Pisco) after a massive earthquake destroyed many of the buildings and schools. You can volunteer with them for 15 soles per day (about $5USD) which goes towards covering their operations costs, your accommodation and your three meals a day. This goes to show that volunteering (as it should be) need not be an expensive endeavour. You can’t live on 5 dollars a day for food and accommodation when travelling. A similar program with one of the bigger volunteering companies has admin and accommodation costs of $50USD per day, and meals not included.

Of course if you have some sought after skills or can volunteer long term, you’ll have absolutely no problem finding volunteer opportunities, you might even get paid! If you fit into this category just do a quick Google or check out Serveyourworld.com

For the rest of us – here’s my list of the best short-term volunteer resources. I’ve concentrated on grass roots organisations because I feel that if you are volunteering your time and skills you should be rewarded with at-cost living arrangements and the knowledge that what ever placement fees you are paying are going directly to the people that need them most.

The BEST resource on free and low-cost volunteer opportunities in Latin America is without a doubt volunteersouthamerica.net Despite the name there are plenty of volunteer opportunities in Central America, and there is a good ‘before you go’ guide covering what you’d expect from research, language and getting your vaccines.

Another good website is volunteerlatinamerica.com . There are a lot of free-to-volunteer placements here but you have to find your own accommodation and meals. Still, it beats paying thousands of dollars for exactly the same service.

independentvolunteer.org has a good list of volunteer opportunities globally, but generally these aren’t free though costs are low and just to cover administration fees and food/accommodation.  Another great website with global placements is vaops.com

One definitely worthwhile option is checking out some of the homestay websites like the7interchange, helpx.net or workaway.info. While they mainly offer homestay exchanges, there are some NGO’s looking for volunteers, like this orphanage outside of Kathmandu

A good book to consider getting in the planning stages of your volunteer opportunity is the lonely planet’s Volunteer: A travellers guide. It’s a handy book which goes into great detail explaining the differences between NGO’s,  grass roots companies and the bigger for-profit companies, as well as what to expect when your in your placement. It’s a great recourse so check it out, as is the Lonely Planet thorntree forum.

If you have any advice or volunteer stories, Please write them in the comments box below. I’m thinking about volunteering with the Pandas in China this year but it’s hard to find a cheap or low cost program, and I’d love to hear (see) your thoughts.

Follow Shane on Twitter or visit read about his travels at  SanchezJalapeno.com

A couple of weeks ago I found myself sitting on a beach in Vietnam, miffed that my year abroad was about to come to a crashing halt, and desperately trying to find one more place to visit in Asia before I would have to go back to work. I wanted somewhere a little off the touristy trail (so not Bali then) somewhere I hadn’t been before (there goes Laos), somewhere survivable on my pitiful backpackers budget (adios, Philippines) and of course somewhere I would find remotely interesting (sorry, Singapore).  So that left Myanmar (Or Burma, if you are imperially inclined).

Burma is somewhere that I have wanted to travel through for a long time. Just thinking about it conjures up images of pagoda’s, smiling Burmese and some really interesting colonial architecture. It also brings to mind images of a pretty nasty junta, a coup or two, persecution of the Burmese and of course Aung San Suu Kyi. Let’s see if I can sum up the current situation in one paragraph without leaving anything big out or causing offense:

Things haven’t been rosy in Burma for a while now. During WW2 the Burmese sided with Japan for a while and drove the British out – finally declaring themselves an Independent country, though that relationship was short lived and the Burmese switched sides again and fought with the Allies. After the war Bagyoke Aung San (Suu Kyi’s father) -overwhelmingly won the elections but he (and most of his parliament) were assassinated before they could even take office. A coup in 1962 forced out the left wing army who’s take over and nationalization of all services (even retail) had crippled the country’s economy. During the coup 3000 Burmese lost their lives. In 6 weeks. The government formed the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council….. 1984 anyone??), promised state elections – of which Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party NLD (National League for Democracy) were of course set to win. This made the government nervous so they put Suu Kyi under house arrest and postponed the elections. When the elections were finally held the NLD won by more than 85%, but the SLORC decided they would refuse the NLD to assume power, and they arrested most the party. Not very gracious losers.

So, there’s a pretty oppressive military regime running things in Burma at the moment. Some human rights groups have even urged people not to visit (a statement Aung San Suu Kyi has endorsed). But then there’s the other side of the argument.

If we don’t travel to Burma, the Burmese will never get the chance to tell their story nor will they hear what the conditions of your life are like. Lonely Planet says:

“Tourism remains one of the few industries to which ordinary locals have access in terms of income and communication; the vast majority of locals seem to want you here. And there are plenty of other reasons to consider visiting. Human-rights abuses are less likely to occur in areas where the international community is present; keeping the people isolated from international witnesses to internal oppression may only cement the government’s ability to rule.”

If you do decide to travel to Burma, there are precautions you can take that will go a long way in making sure your tourist dollars help those who deserve it.

• Keep it in the family – stay at guesthouses and family run hostels. Avoid the bigger (and more expensive) government run hotels – you’re money isn’t going anywhere except into the Junta’s pockets.
• Shop around – don’t buy everything at one shop or guesthouse. Buy purchasing the things you need at different shops you are supporting a wider portion of the community and there’s less chance that a significant amount of your money is going to an unknown government run establishment. Want some artwork? Try to buy from the artists themselves. This goes for crafts too.
• Take the bus – a lot of the ferries, airlines trains and travel agencies are government run, however most buses are privately owned and operated. Sure, it’s not the comfiest way to travel, but it’s cheap, you’ll meet some locals and get to see the scenery up close, while supporting genuine local business.

Lonely Planet’s Burma guidebook “does not review any restaurants, hotels or shops known to be government run.” They also “flay any government run services (such as trains).”

I decided not to go in the end. Just as I was debating whether to go or not, Aung San Suu Kyi’s incarceration had recently been extended because the Junta felt that she broke the conditions of her house arrest. A mentally ill westerner broke into her compound, swimming across a river to reach her house (obviously completely out of her control, which just serves as another example of the Junta exercising their stranglehold over the country). I felt that if Suu Kyi doesn’t want us there for now, then perhaps I had better listen. Having said that I’m still not sure if I made the right decision.

Have you been to Burma, or are you planning on going? What are your concerns regarding the Junta – do you feel that by spending money it’s only the supporting the government, or should we be going anyway to try and support the people that need it most?

Your valued opinions are hereby sought.

I‘m not really the most festive person. I enjoy the holiday season because I get to spend time with my family but rarely put up a Christmas tree or any decorations.  When New Years rolls around I joke about resolutions but I don’t really feel any different or do anything to change the upcoming year.

That said, I find myself doing something during this first week of 2010 that feels like a big contradiction to the above statement: I’m planning my travel goals for the year.

Don’t get me wrong, I like plans, but I rarely make them further than several days ahead of time.  Bad habit? Maybe. Or maybe I just don’t like being tied down.

While I’m in the planning stages I’m finding things that could prevent me from succeeding in these trips.  Below is a list of some of the things I’ve had pop up in these early planning stages:

Money

Let’s face it. Money is probably the number one killer of travel plans, especially in the current economic climate we are experiencing.

I’m lucky to have a good job and a steady freelance business but I’m making less money than I was in previous years, just like many others in this country.  Money is tight but you can make it a goal to save for your next trip if you really want to.  Need some tips on saving money to travel?

Work

Your employer can certainly put a damper on your travel plans as well.  Most American employees get two weeks of vacation per year which isn’t much.  My company won’t let me take them together which really makes traveling far distances difficult when some flights can take up to 24 hours of travel time to reach your final destination.

My solution? Just deal with it. So you get seven or eight days of vacation. Just figure out a way to maximize your travel time. Take a red eye and sleep on the plane, find direct flights, and arrange or have a plan of attack for your ground transportation.

School

College is difficult and time consuming.  Any current or former student can tell you that.  But luckily there is plenty of vacation time that students can, and should, take advantage of.  Spring break may only be one week for most schools, but that’s hardly an excuse.  I managed to go to Morocco for nine days.  If your school has a two or three week break, even better.

Don’t forget about the three month summer break or the several weeks in the winter that most students receive off.

Better yet, study abroad!

Are these just excuses or true hindrances?

Sometimes these difficulties may result in impossible-to-overcome odds but for most of us, they’re simply excuses we make to avoid following our travel dreams.

What are you going to do this year? Make excuses or find solutions?

Post-image courtesy of Rajiv Ashrafi

A new year is upon us and 2010 also marks a new decade.  I hate to be too cliché but this is the time most people a moment to evaluate their life, goals, and dreams for the future.

Driving to the gym this morning I saw a minivan with a huge sticker on the rear window that simply read “Realize Your Dreams.” Fittingly it came on the eve of a new year and got me thinking about how this is the perfect time to not only realize my dreams, but to make them happen.

I’ve written, vented, and complained about how often people tell me they that they wish they could travel.  They pray for a raise so they could take a vacation.  Heck, sometimes they rack up their credit card charges and go into debt attempting to realize their dreams.  I’ve said before: quit wishing and just do it.  Bite the bullet and make your dreams a reality this year.

Here’s your task for the week oh faithful Have Pack reader:

1. Determine your dreams

Take a moment to determine what it is you dream to do this year.  Maybe it’s as simple as going on a vacation because it’s been several years since you have taken one.  Maybe you travel frequently but have been putting off a big trip to a new and scary place or a round-the-world adventure.

2. Change them to achievable goals

Studies show that we look at dreams as things that are not likely to come true.  I usually dream about crazy things like living on a spaceship and coexisting with alien frogs who love heavy metal.  That is definitely not going to happen.  Therefore, when you give something the label of a dream, you are creating a link to the unachievable and setting yourself up for failure.

Dreams are good to have, but goals are better.  You can achieve goals and you should have a definable measure for how to reach them.  Realizing the difference and changing your mind into believing your dreams are actually achievable goals will help make them possible.

Simple Jedi mind tricks can fool even yourself.  Make verbal declarations such as “my goal is to backpack through Europe this summer.”  Completely eliminate things like “I’ve always dreamed of scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef.”

3. Figure out a plan

It’s time to whip out the pen and paper (or your favorite text editor for you tree-huggers) and start jotting down notes on how you are going to achieve these goals.

Are you going to save money? If so, how are you going to do so?  What expenses will you cut out of your life or which creative (hopefully legal) methods are you going to use?

Would you like to research destinations to help choose the next vacation? Which books or websites can you use to do so?

4. Take action on your plan

It’s time to put them in action.  Baby steps are OK, but usually it’s best to dive in headfirst and stop putting things off.

Create a to-do list, checklist, or a calendar to track your progress and keep your goals organized.

5. Reap the rewards

By this point you’ve successfully saved up money, planned a trip, quit your job, or any number of what you once defined as dreams.  Now it’s time to cash them all in and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Hop on that plane to Thailand and get a sunburn on the beach of your own private island.  Strap on the skis and ride the Alps. Whip out your machete and hack your way through the Darién Gap.

Whatever it is, I hope you’ve found what you’ve always dreamed about and learned how easy it is to make your dreams reality.

Image courtesy Eric Brian Ouano

Love traveling but find it difficult to save up enough money to go on a trip? Here are five tips for ways you can save up some cash and take a vacation.

1) Automatically deposit money to your savings account every week.

I have $25 transferred into my savings account twice a week.  I hardly  notice such a small amount and assuming I go on a trip every six months, I’ll have about $1,300 saved solely for my vacation.

2) Sell your junk.

It’s too easy to sell things now with eBay and Craigslist.  Just gather the extra junk you’ve accumulated over the years and post it.  Craigslist is free and if you live in a large metropolitan area, it’s very popular so you shouldn’t have any issues finding buyers for your old things.

3) Find a part-time job.

I know nobody wants to work anymore than we already do but if you have some free time why not get a part-time job during the holidays working at a retail store? If you already balance your main income budget well you can save 100% of your secondary income and use it for traveling.

4) Write for Have Pack, Will Travel!

That’s right, we are now paying for articles! It’s not a ton of money, but one article will pay for a hostel in most parts of the world.  Read more about travel writing submissions.

5) Write for your own blog.

When you run your own blog or website you can earn your own advertising income.  Sure, there is some initial investment and it can take time to become profitable, but the potential is there.

Shameless self promotion: I build, maintain, and design websites based on WordPress. If you are ever considering starting your own blog I encourage you to check out my business’ website, WP Design Club, and feel free to email me if you have any questions about starting your own site.

Are you currently saving for a trip? Where are you heading and what methods are you using to save up money?

Post-image courtesy of Martin Kingsley

Many times when people travel they miss out on the most valuable aspect of the place in which they find themselves: culture.

Here are six ways you can truly experience the culture in a simple and traditional way.

Eat the local food

One of my favorite ways to experience a place is by enjoying the local cuisine. That means avoiding the McDonald’s and restaurants marketing to tourists.  Find out where the locals eat and go there.  It may not be as fancy but the food will be authentic, probably be cheaper, and the experience will last a life time.

Strike up conversation

You may be tempted to keep to yourself or spend all of your time with people from your hostel, but talking to locals can be a fascinating experience.  Sometimes you don’t even need to seek out conversation, it comes to you.  Try talking to somebody riding the bus or train with you or maybe chatting up a store clerk.  Even if you don’t fully speak the local language, give it a shot. It can be fun and more people around the world than you realize speak some English and are happy to practice with you.

Visit someone in their home

OK, you can’t just go knocking on somebody’s door and ask to come in, but if you meet somebody while traveling and they invite you to their house, you should definitely consider taking them up on the offer.  Many cultures have an unbelievable hospitality ethic and truly enjoy treating you like royalty.  The Arab culture is famous for this but it doesn’t stop there.  People all across the world love making friends and are probably just as curious about you and your culture as you are about theirs.

Go to school

Considering living somewhere abroad for a little while? Why not see if you can receive college credit for taking a class or two?  This is a great way to learn a foreign language even if you have had no practice before.  You’ll learn at an accelerated rate due to having to practice it on a daily basis, and not simply in class a few hours a week like most students.

Surf somebody’s couch

Couchsurifng is an online social networking site that connects travelers with local hosts who enjoy allowing somebody to sleep on their couch.  As somebody who has couchsurfed abroad and hosted many surfers, I can say that it’s a unique way to travel.  Some hosts let you stay and make yourself at home.  Many hosts enjoy spending time with their guests and new friendships can bloom from these experiences.  The downside is that many people willing to host guests don’t live in the typical tourist places that you’ll want to visit and the ones who do are overwhelmed with requests.  If you have extra time to venture out and wish to experience living like a local, give Couchsurfing a look.

Dance

One last one for fun: go dancing! I’m not talking about the trendy night club all the tourists are going to.  If you hear Lady GaGa from outside, run away quickly.  Instead, try dancing to the local beat.  Are you in Spain? Go Salsa Dancing! Buenos Aires? Learn to Tango!

Creative Commons headline image courtesy of zabara tango.

With all the excitement and preparations of traveling it’s easy to (initially) forget the family and friends you’re leaving behind. But we’re interested, honest; and most of us (for the time being anyway) are living vicariously through you, so don’t forget about us. We want to know about the interesting guy you sat beside on the plane who invited you to dinner afterward. Or the hidden cave you explored while swimming in the Mediterranean. So please, fill us in.

With the internet and advances in modern technology it’s easier now more than ever before to keep in touch, especially when you know your options. Of course, it needs to be cost effective as you’re on a budget – every penny counts. I’m familiar with this as I’m currently living in the UK, my parents are in Canada, sister in Australia and friends scattered across the globe! Yet I still manage to fill them in on a regular basis without breaking the bank and I know that when we all meet up again it’ll feel like no time has passed. Here are some suggestions that I’ve come across that helped me over the years.

Stories

Instead of sending personal emails, usually outlining the same information to individuals, try posting your stories/news to one location thus allowing your followers to access the information at their leisure. For longer trips I’d recommend starting a blog. Have Pack, Will Travel has already discussed your options for this, check them out here . For shorter trips you can use Facebook and either set up a group, invite selected family and friends, or simply post a note to the news feed through your account.

Photos

There’s no better way to share an experience then through a collection of photos. There are several great options here and it’s just a matter of picking one that suits you best. If you’re going down the Facebook route for your stories then uploading pictures to the same account would be easiest. But if not, check out these popular options that can all easily be linked up to your blog or shared with friends and family in other ways.

Flickr

An online community built around photo sharing that’s accessed through the web. You can upload photos, edit them, organize and share them. You have full control over your privacy settings and your friends don’t need to be members to view your albums. Basic accounts are free.

Picasa/ Picasa Web Account

Owned by Google and can be accessed via a G-mail account. It has all the same benefits as Flickr but without the community. The web version allows for 1 gigabyte of free storage equating to roughly 4,000 wallpaper-size photos.

My Photo Album

Similar to the above where you can upload, edit and organize the photos but you can also upload videos and the original file stays intact (no downsizing), great for when you want to offload your memory stick. Users receive their own web address where the space can be personalized. No storage limit and you can order prints (and printed accessories) through the site.

Chatting

For a more personal touch or when you just need a friend/mom/dad/sister/brother; like when you’re in France with a cold and pink eye (sadly my true story) and only the sound of your mom’s voice will do the trick. These options will get you through just about any ‘down’ you might be going through and bring you closer for any joys that need sharing.

Skype is a great way to make free (video) calls from user to user through the internet. Before you leave make sure everyone you want to stay in touch with has an account. It currently runs off of software that needs to be downloaded (again free) which is a bit tricky when you’re travelling without a computer/advanced phone (both of which support the software). There is, however, a (legal) solution: transferring the software to a USB stick, which can then be used in any internet cafe. Directions, more elegantly described than I ever could, can be found here – now all you need is a headset with a microphone which can be found cheaply.

A mobile/cell phone is obviously the more expensive route but it’s always good (not necessary) to have one, just in case. Quad-band phones can be used in most parts of the world. ‘Quad’ refers to the number of frequency bands (4 in this case) the phone supports, which is useful for roaming between countries. One way to cut down costs is to use SIM cards and purchasing (nominal fee), switching and topping (credit-wise) them up as you travel from country to country (more cost effective if you’re in one area for a while). This way you’re paying local charges for any calls or text messages.

An Apple iPhone or iPod Touch is also a great way to have a small, portable phone or mobile internet device handy at all times.  With the increase in free public WiFi and hostels that realize their customers needs, a quick email with a few photos or a Skype session is never far away.

Now that you know your options there’s no excuse for not staying in touch. Have a great trip and stay connected!

About the author:

Jessica La Grassa has taken St. Augustine’s famous quote “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” to heart, making her way through the (very large) ‘book’, one page at a time. Domesticated traveler most of the time, rugged and adventurous at others, she is always up for a challenge and loves exploring and learning new things.

Check out her blog, Provoke, or follower her on Twitter.