By using frequent flyer miles strategically and knowing how to travel hack (ie: reading this post!), you can save even more money and even fly for free. This article is the ultimate beginner’s guide and will help you dip a toe in the ocean of frequent flyer mile opportunities.
travel planning
Travel planning is a necessary evil (or a treat if you like that sort of thing). Personally, I detest the process of travel planning - it's onerous, time consuming, and stressful. Did I get the best flight deal? Is this accommodation going to be in a good neighbourhood? Am I going to like this place?
But sometimes, with the right tools and tips, travel planning can be easy and stress-free. I've worked hard over the last decade+ in sussing out the best tools and tips to make planning your next trip a breeze....and I share those tools and tips and processes with you here.
I also share with you some of my own travel planning challenges and woes along the way, in the hopes that you can either:
a) avoid my mistakes, or
b) commiserate.
The Ultimate Packing List for Full-Time Travel and Long-Term Travel
Looking for the ultimate packing list for full-time travel? Here’s exactly what I pack to travel the world as a digital nomad – down to every last item. This interactive packing list widget is sure to give you lots of ideas for your next trip.
Cell Phone Travel Basics: International Phone Plans, SIM Cards, and More
Want to avoid international roaming but not sure what your cell phone travel options are? There’s something for everybody, and this article outlines ALL your options along with pros and cons and what kind traveler/trip each strategy is best for.
How to Get 50% off Airfare With Travel Mystery Shopping
With travel mystery shopping, you’ll subsidize travel with free hotels, discount flights, and more. Read my mystery shopping tips from personal experience.
24 Classic Travel Scams, and How to Avoid Them
As a foreigner, you’re an automatic target for theft, pickpocketing, and more. Scammers these days can be quite creative! Here are 24 classic travel scams (REAL scams, experienced by these pro travelers) – with tips on how to avoid them.
The Best Travel Websites: Super Useful Sites You’ll Use All The Time
The internet is packed with websites for travelers, but sites come and go everyday. This is the most up to date list of the best travel websites around!
How to Create a Long Term Travel Budget: Financially Sustainable Travel
I’ve been asked repeatedly to provide long-term travel budget templates. Here’s a framework, with info on what financially sustainable travel REALLY means.
The Best (Must Have) Travel Apps (25 of My Personal Favourites)
These 25 killer best travel apps will help you travel more efficiently, safely, cheaply, and fun(ly). Smartphone travel apps like these are changing travel entirely!
Things To Do Before Traveling Abroad: A Simple Guide to Visas, Documents, and Other Important Things
Some things just have to get done before you travel. Things like visas, important legal documents, even proof of onward travel! This guide outlines it all. It finishes off with instructions on how to sell everything to travel.
My Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Best Wrinkle Free Travel Clothes for Women
In this article I dissect what makes for the best wrinkle free travel clothes for women, as inspired by a capsule wardrobe challenge by Anatomie Travel Clothes. I took two tiny packing cubes of clothes and traveled ULTRAlight. Here’s what happened!
The Creative Guide to Free or Cheap Accommodation
This gigantic free guide to finding free and cheap accommodation around the world is guaranteed to save you hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars on your next trip. Click through and see for yourself!
How to Make Money While Traveling (7 Surefire Ways)
Knowing how to make money while traveling can be the difference between a lifetime of long-term travel and going home when your savings dries up. This guide goes WAY in-depth into 7 effective ways to make money while you travel.
Expat Health Insurance: Travel Insurance for Full-Time and Long-Term Travelers
How do long-term / full-time travelers insure themselves against medical emergencies? Expat insurance is a solution. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Complete & Easy Guide to Insurance for Travelers
What are the different kinds of travel insurance – and which kind do you need the most? Answer every possible question you have about travel insurance with this guide, which includes a glossary of terms and claims advice.
Staying Healthy While Traveling – Natural Preventions and Cures
I’ve suffered a ridiculous number of illnesses and diseases on the road; now I’m an expert on staying healthy while traveling! Learn what’s in my travel medical kit, what supplements I use, natural cures, and all my tips and techniques for staying healthy while traveling and avoiding illness in the first place.
Last-Minute Gifts/Courses for Aspiring Digital Nomads
These courses for aspiring digital nomads don’t take up much room under the tree, but will be the most valued gift you could give the traveler in your life. Reviewed here: Superstar Blogging School, DIY Website Workshop, Complete Guide to Error Fares, and Paid to Blog.
Best Travel Gifts for 2017: Packing Cubes, Dresses, Trackers, and More!
The best travel gifts for 2017 include the Ultimate Travel Dress, expandable packing cubes, Eagle Creek compression sacs, Chipolo tracking device, Fat Chick Goes Awol (book), and Flexiroam global data micro-SIM card. Learn more about them here!
What Kind of Luggage is Best for You? [QUIZ]
What kind of luggage is best for you? Take this fun and interactive quiz to find out, and take the mystery (and misery) out of figuring it out on your own.
Design or Destiny: How to Choose Travel Destinations
How do you choose your travel destinations? Here’s how I’ve done it for the last 10 years, with some ideas for how you can choose your next destination.
6 Countries and 35,000 Miles: This was 2015!
Though I didn’t travel as much or as long as in previous years, I covered good ground in 2015, seeing 6 countries spanning 35,000 miles! Here’s the summary.
Pros and Cons of Traveling Solo, as a Couple, or a Family
Here are some pros and cons to solo/couple/family travel, along with resources full of testimonials from professional solo, couple, and family travelers.
Financially Sustainable Travel: My Cost of Full-Time Travel in 2014
What does it cost to travel full-time? That answer varies, as it has for me over the years. Here’s my cost of full-time travel in 2014.
Colombia, Colorado, Costa Rica: The “C” Trip
I’m currently in the throes of what I’ve dubbed The “C” Trip, to Colombia, Colorado, and Costa Rica. Here’s how this trip came to pass:
7 Countries and 34,000 Miles: This Was 2014!
In 2014 I traveled through/lived in 7 countries, and traversed over 34,000 miles. Here’s a summary of what I did, and where.
The Day I Had My Purse Stolen, and Lessons Learned
In Cusco, my purse was stolen, with everything in it. Here’s what happened, what I gained from being prepared, and what mistakes I made along the way.
How Travel Rewards You For Being Impulsive
Here are eight ways you can be impulsive on the road (as well as at home for that matter) to expand your horizons and get the most out of travel (and life):
How I Gave US Airways $1700 for Nothing, Not Even Flights
Traveling with frequent flyer miles isn’t always easy. Here’s a sordid story of dealing with US Airways, with some rules for navigating frequent flyer miles.
Financially Sustainable Travel: My Cost of Full-Time Travel in 2013
Here’s my full uncensored cost of full-time travel in 2013 – an expensive and rough year for me; testament to life happening we’re while busy making plans.
How Tourists Cripple Local Economies
It’s done with the best intentions, but can have the most catastrophic outcomes. Here’s how tourists cripple local economies, and how to avoid it happening.
The Saga of My $10,000 Passport
In just one week, $10,000 passed through my hands. And it all boils down to a stolen passport, four days before I was to travel…a saga indeed.
The Professional Hobo’s Bucket List – Past, Present, and Ongoing
The time has come: I’ve drawn up a bucket list – but with a twist; I celebrate past victories, new dreams, and ongoing ambitions.
Financially Sustainable Travel: My Cost of Full-Time Travel in 2012
Behold a detailed breakdown of my cost of full-time travel in 2012. It’s considerably higher than previous years. Here’s why:
Financially Sustainable Travel: My 2012 Income
Despite my best efforts(!), my 2012 income was almost double my 2011 income. Here’s what I earned, how I did it, and why it’s all a bit fickle.
2012: 8 Countries and 20,000 Miles
In 2012, my full-time travels took me to 8 countries spanning 20,000 miles. Here’s a quick recap of the highlights!
Time for a Change: The Professional Hobo Switches Gears
After redesigning my life 6 years ago to adopt a full-time travel lifestyle, it’s time to redesign my life again. Just a wee bit anyway. Here’s the scoop!
How NOT Going to University or Buying a House Saved my Life
I am lucky enough to not have a university degree or a house. Here’s why I think it’s the best thing that could ever have happened to me.
How We View World Geography Based on Our Origin
Distance and geography take on a different meaning, depending on where you’re from. As a Canadian in Europe this has been quite a learning experience.
How Responsible is a Leap of Faith?
A leap of faith is a scary thing. But is there a right way and wrong way to do it? Here we look at some key ingredients to making a leap of faith – responsibly.
Financially Sustainable Travel Part 2: Income and Expense Choices
After outlining my exact 2011 income, I explain why I choose not to make more money, and how I still manage to live the “high life” on a part-time income!
Financially Sustainable Travel Part 1: My 2011 Income
I travel full-time in a financially sustainable way. I’ve showed you how to live on $17k/year or less on the road; now here’s a look at how I earn that money.
The Best and Cheapest Doctor I Ever Visited Was in the USA
Much to my surprise, the best and cheapest doctor I ever visited was in the USA. Read this article to see my costs to visit doctors around the world.
How to Travel for Free (Or Pretty Damn Near It) [Review]
As a full-time traveler, I was egotistically skeptical about the value I’d receive from this e-book. I was wrong. Read on to see what it’s about.
How I Became the Professional Hobo (Part II: The Logistics)
After deciding to leave everything to chase my lifelong dream of travel, I had to walk the talk. Here are the nuts&bolts of how I Became The Professional Hobo.
How I Became The Professional Hobo (Part I: The Dream, The Decision)
Here I bare all: what prompted me to make the life-changing decision to sell everything to travel full-time. Enjoy Part I: about how it all started.
My Cost of Full-Time Travel in 2011
Want to know how much it costs to travel full-time? Read this post to find out exactly how much money I spent in 2011, traversing 13 countries and 73,000kms.
Happy Holidays! This Was 2011
2011 was a busy year for The Professional Hobo, spanning 13 countries and over 73,000kms. Here’s a summary, including my annual holiday video card.
Ultimate Train Challenge: Planning for the Trans-Siberian Railway
Amidst the huge effort of planning for the Ultimate Train Challenge lies a section of our trip that includes the world’s longest railway: the Trans-Siberian. Here’s how we’re planning it!
Preparing for the No Baggage Challenge
I’m leaving behind what little travel gear I own to take on the No Baggage Challenge! Find out what I’m doing and why, and check out this video of me “packing”.
The Paralysis of Choice
The recent exercise of booking my flights back to Canada from New Zealand was a harrowing one. It took forever to actually decide on a plan of action and execute it. And for a full-time traveler of four years, it shouldn’t have been that difficult. Then again, maybe my very freedom inspired this paralysis; the […]
Singing, Performing, Traveling, and Chasing Passion
This is the story of how a little girl who sang into her pillow growing up is learning to sing to the world. (Or maybe just a bigger pillow). Both of my parents are musicians. Growing up, we lived in a two-bedroom apartment with two pianos; often one parent would teach a student in the […]
The Last Four Years of Full-Time Travel
Four years of full-time travel: can you believe it?! Just as time passes more and more quickly as we age, so too I’m finding that time passes increasingly quickly as my travel days accumulate. It feels like eons ago that I sold my financial planning practice and everything I owned to travel the world. Back […]
Motion Sickness on the Road
I am currently recovering from Motion Sickness on the road. This is a very real, very difficult condition to deal with, and something to be aware of, especially if you’re traveling solo. In this fantastic world of full-time travel (four years and counting for me), a tapestry of experiences is woven together, incorporating the colours […]
Travel Fatigue, and Slowing Down the Pace of Travel
Travel Fatigue…..it’s a bitch. About a month ago, I realized something wasn’t right. I couldn’t quite define what was going on, but I had an unsettled feeling in my gut. I was fundamentally tired; feeling like I hadn’t gotten a truly good night of sleep in months. On reflection, I realized this was true; too […]
My Cost of Full-Time Travel in 2010 (less than you may think)
Here’s my cost of full-time travel in 2010 visiting 9 countries…you might be surprised by it… In 2010, I set foot in nine different countries and had dozens of varied experiences. (Click here for a video and summary of my 2010 travel adventures). Since I claim to travel in a financially sustainable manner, it’s only […]
What Makes You a Traveler?
What makes you a traveler? Not always such an easy question to answer. The longer I travel, the more confused I have become about what “travel” is, and what constitutes a “traveler”. And depending on who you talk to, it can be quite a touchy subject, full of egotism and insecurity. Here are a few […]
Breaking Up While Traveling
Breaking up while traveling – this is not an easy task….trust me. There are heaps of articles about survival tips for couples on the road. The stress of travel can take a toll on a relationship, accelerate the natural evolution of a relationship, or even force two people to stay together longer than they should. […]
My Favourite Place in the World
What is your favourite place in the world? Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I was asked what my favourite place in the world is…. Despite being asked this question so often, I rarely have a concise reply. Instead the answer is usually a shoddily constructed response, dependent on my mood, recent […]
Meeting People Online…and Then in Person
In the last few months, I’ve had occasion to connect with a handful of people who I’ve initially met on-line, developed relationships with over varying periods of time, and then met in person. I’ve stayed with some of them, met others for coffee, and even house-and-dog-sat for yet others. All of these experiences have been […]
How I Planned a Year of Travel in Less Than 2 Weeks
This post hails to you on my first full day in Auckland, New Zealand. You may recall that I was here just a few weeks ago, which – in part – explains why I’m back. Let me tell you how I got here. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. First, I’ll tell you why […]
America: The No Vacation Nation
America – the No Vacation Nation: (This post was originally published in 2007, and has since been updated for formatting and accuracy of links and content). I recently read this enlightening bit of information over at Wanderlust and Lipstick: A 2009 survey from Expedia found that 1/3 of employees don’t take all of their vacation […]
