Stories from Digital Nomads

Finding the best travel deals is a matter of timing. A lot of people think travel is just expensive, but in reality, there are incredible deals happening all the time. They often don’t last too long, and you have to act quickly. That can sometimes be a problem when a deal requires jumping on a plane tomorrow (how many people can do that?). Fortunately, most deals are for months in the future, giving you ample time to plan your schedule. Often I will book a flight and then figure out my plans. Since you can usually cancel a flight within 24 hours without incurring a fee, I lock in the deal and then figure out if I can make it work. Sometimes I can (like the $1,200 USD…

Get out a sheet of paper and write down all your set expenses: rent/mortgage, car payments, cable/streaming bill, cell phone, insurance, school payments, etc. Tally them up. Then write down all your discretionary spending. This is what you spend on food, movie nights, drinks, shopping, that daily coffee from Starbucks, your daily midday snack, and other similar things. If you don’t know what you spend money on, go track your expenses for a two-week period, see what you spend, and come back. Add that all up. What did you get? Probably a large sum of money. And I bet there will be many expenses you didn’t realize were there. Financial experts call these “phantom expenses…

As much as I love hostels, there is something nice about the luxuriousness of a hotel: the clean room, comfy bed, desk, iron, strong shower, and bottled soap for the taking (errr…I mean borrowing). They are a quiet, relaxing respite from the world. But luxury comes at a price. Hotels aren’t cheap and I hate spending money on a room I am only going to be in for a few hours. Often, even at my age, I would much rather stay in a hostel (private room though!), which costs less, has more social interaction, and doesn’t make you feel as removed from the destination you’re staying at. I always feel hotels are isolating, like a concrete bubble keeping you out of the place you’r…

Life can be stressful. Work, bills, relationships, the economy, love, family… the list goes on! There are lots of things we can do to do to relax, like changing our diet, exercising more often, sleeping more, and improving our work-life balance. But sometimes we need to do more than just make changes at home. Sometimes we need a break. And one of the best ways to do that? You guessed it: travel! Travel can refresh us. It is like a time-out from life — like the ones you got in grade school, but this time more fun. It slows us down, makes us stop and smell the roses, and creates a little change in the normal patterns of our lives. It’s not so much “running away fro…

Today is the day! My new book, How to Travel the World on $75 a Day, is out NOW! (Woo! Hoo!) This newly updated edition of my New York Times best-selling book will help you travel on a budget. The last edition of the book came out in 2017 and, since then, a lot has changed. COVID changed the travel industry forever. A lot of companies/hotels/hostels closed during the pandemic, including ones that had been around for decades! Old methods of saving money (like RTW tickets) became obsolete and new methods (like certain apps and sharing economy websites) came into being. Destinations changed. Prices have definitely changed. Because the travel landscape is so different, I w…

When I first started traveling, my dad used to ask what I’m running away from with my travels. Another time, a commenter told me to stop running away from my problems and to start living life. “Grow up,” he said. And, years ago, there was even a blog called “Mom says I’m running away.” I’m not sure why, but there is this perception out there that anyone who travels long term and isn’t interested in settling down or getting a conventional job must be running away from something. We travelers are running away from responsibility, being a grown-up, heartache, problems, etc, etc. We are all just Peter Pans refusing to be “adults.” While American society thinks traveling…

What I carry in my bag has changed a lot over the years. Most of that change has to do with the fact that I now carry a lot of gear related to blogging, but it also reflects that I’ve learned a lot about packing since I first hit the road in 2006. I’ve learned different packing techniques through the years. I’ve traveled with big duffel bags, 60L packs, 30L packs, carry-ons, and everything in between. I’ve done it all and in all seasons. And, today, I want to share that knowledge with you so you can be a better packer because a lot of people always want to know what they should pack for their trip. The answer? As little as possible. Packing light is a cliché, yet …

Whenever I ask readers what the number one thing holding them back from traveling is, I almost always get the same answer: money. This problem — and how to overcome it — is my most asked question. “Matt, I don’t know how to afford travel. Help!” I have answered this question in a plethora of posts, emails, tweets, and Facebook posts. Long-term readers might even be getting sick of me discussing this subject because it is one I talk about so much. But I know no matter how often I address this question, it will come up again. Since this question comes up so often, I like to constantly remind people of this fact: You do not need to be rich to travel. There are plenty of…

I love hostels. Even after over nineteen years traveling the world, I still stay in hostels because they’re the best way to meet people and the cheapest accommodation option in much of the world. But what makes a good hostel? And how do you avoid a bad hostel? After staying in over a thousand hostels since I first started traveling the world, I’ve become adept at figuring out very quickly if the hostel owners know what they are doing or if they just randomly woke up one day and said, “Let’s open a hostel. It sounds like fun.” While hostels are all about the people, management can do a few things to make their hostel the perfect framework for making your experience b…

We all want to travel more. Whether a vacation, career break, gap year trip, there’s some trip we are always thinking about. One of the things that keeps a lot of people from achieving that dream is money. Saving money to travel can be an uphill battle but travel is not as expensive as you think. There are plenty of ways to save money on the road and lower your costs. And you don’t have to be a backpacker to travel cheap. There are tons of ways to travel on a budget without sacrificing comfort. One of the easiest ways to travel on a budget is to just go somewhere inexpensive. There are plenty of amazing places to visit that are still quite affordable. In fact, many of …

I love to eat. In fact, eating is one of my favorite activities, and also one of my favorite aspects of traveling. Food is such an integral part of so many cultures that to skip out on meals when you travel is to miss out on a part of the travel experience. I’m always disappointed when I meet travelers who cook all their meals in a hostel kitchen or spend so much of their time just getting food at grocery stores. I mean, don’t get me wrong, grocery stores and markets teach you a lot about a place. And you don’t need to eat out for every meal. But why come to Italy to cook pasta in your hostel? Or skip a sushi dinner in Japan or paella in Spain? Of course, eatin…

Serendipitous adventure, carefree nights with newfound friends in foreign lands, delicious foods for bargain prices, and the luxury of time to enjoy it all. Welcome to the world of long-term travel. When it comes to this kind of travel, I get a lot of emails asking for my “secret.” How do you travel so often and for so long? How did you quit your job and escape the grind? You must have a trust fund to afford all that, right? Wrong. I’ve written about how I manage to travel in the past (over and over again), but people still wonder if I am holding something back. What am I leaving out? What, they ask, is my secret to escaping the cubicle and being a nomad? Did I …

One of the best souvenirs I have from my first trip around the world is the journal I kept over those 18 months. Having captured my thoughts and feelings as I traveled has allowed me to relive that trip over and over again in the years since. Memories fade, so being able to relive events as they happened is priceless. To be reminded of the people I met, places I saw, and things I felt? To see my journeys through the eyes of my younger self makes me glad I kept a journal. Younger me was wise! While we memorialize our travels on social media, journals let you get more personal and honest. After all, unlike social media, you’re (probably) the only one that is going to rea…

Surrounded by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Central America is a magical region that is perfect for backpacking. The area is full of rainforests, unexplored Mayan ruins, gorgeous beaches, incredible reefs, cheap prices, delicious food, and welcoming people. It can be difficult arranging transportation throughout the region. In this post, I’ll provide some helpful tips on getting around Central America so you can navigate the region safely — and without breaking the bank. Here’s how you can travel around Central America cheaply – no matter how long you’ll be there: Table of Contents Getting Around By Bus Getting Around By Flying Getting Around By Car Getting Aro…

I’m going on a book tour! My next book, How to Travel the World on $75 a Day, is coming out on March 25th and I’m going on a book tour to talk about it and the current state of travel! This is my first book tour in six years and I’m very excited to get out there and talk about how travel has changed as well as hang out with readers of this site! The last edition of my book came out in 2017 and, since then, a lot has changed. COVID forever changed the travel industry. A lot of companies/hotels/hostels closed during the pandemic while old methods of saving money became obsolete and new methods came into being. And, since 2017, prices have gone up. A lot. Not only becaus…

Finding the money for travel is one of the biggest challenges people face when it comes to taking a trip. It can take years to save up for that dream trip! And, when people finally save up enough and hit the road, what do most of them end up doing? They throw money away on avoidable bank fees!! Banking overseas is more than just putting your card in an ATM and taking out money. When you travel on a budget, it involves knowing how to avoid bank fees, exchange rate penalties, and making your money work for you. I know too many people who travel abroad and end up paying obscene bank fees when they travel. And, these days, there’s absolutely no need to do that. You didn’…

Backpacking Europe is one of my favorite things to do as a traveler. There isn’t a year I don’t criss-cross the continent (except 2020 when no one was crossing Europe). During the summer, hostels burst with life, the Mediterranean sparkles, streets fill with people drinking wine and enjoying the day, and the late night setting sun leads to long wondrous days. Winter brings Christmas markets, skiing, fewer crowds, and lower prices! And Spring and Fall bring the right mix of people, temperatures, and prices that make these two my favorite seasons to travel Europe. Since starting this website in 2008, I’ve written a lot of posts on Europe. I visit Europe multiple times a…

“How high is this hike again?” I asked as I panted up the mountain trail, the top seeming so far off in the distance. “12,0000 feet,” our guide Efrain said cheerily as he and the others from the Amazonas Explorers office glided up the trail. “But it flattens out soon!” he added as a bit of encouragement. I was skeptical. When I first reached out to Amazonas regarding my Machu Picchu hike, I asked them to pick a route that was a little off the beaten path and could be done in a day. There are lots and lots to choose from in the Sacred Valley after all; the Incas built over 40,000 kilometers of roads through their empire, and many of them have become hiking trails. Th…

When I started backpacking almost 20 years ago, there were no smartphones. That meant you had to rely on paper maps, physical guidebooks, and (often outdated) information from random web forums. While it made traveling adventurous, it also made planning a trip very difficult. Fortunately, times have changed. It’s never been easier to access information while you’re abroad. From booking hotels to looking up directions to finding places to eat, access to Wi-Fi and mobile data has changed the game. SIM cards were the first step in making this evolution possible. You’d buy an overpriced physical SIM card on arrival and hope that you didn’t blow through the data before your…

When I finally decided to visit Peru, I knew one thing: I wanted to hike with the company that Mark Adams, my friend and fellow travel writer, used for his book Turn Right at Machu Picchu. The stories he shared about his treks and what he learned on them convinced me that those were the people I wanted to show me around the Sacred Valley, so I might have my own pretend Indiana Jones moment: me, the wilderness, and my local guide. So I emailed Amazonas Explorer, which focuses on private tours as well as off-the beaten path hikes in the Sacred Valley, to see if it would be possible to book something. While a private tour was more expensive than a regular group trip, I like…

Big news! I am releasing a new book! It’s a massively updated version of my NYT bestselling travel guide, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day. Except this new edition is called How to Travel the World on $75 a Day. Why the new edition? Well, because of inflation…and the changed way we travel post-COVID. The last edition of my book came out in 2017 and, since then, a lot has changed. COVID forever changed the travel industry. A lot of companies/hotels/hostels closed during the pandemic while old methods of saving money became obsolete and new methods came into being. Destinations around the world have changed too. For example, when I wrote the book’s last edition,…

Hong Kong. Its name inspires visions of a chaotic, jam-packed city with soaring skyscrapers, thick smog, endless noodle stands, big finance, and wild nights out. It’s one of my favorite cities in the world. The fast pace creates a sense of permanent change, and the crowds, multiculturalism, and food keep me continuously coming back. Oh, the food! I could sit bent over a noodle bowl all day long. Hong Kong is a busy city of 7.5 million inhabitants with one of the biggest hub airports in the world. It can be overwhelming for many visitors, especially those not used to crowded places. And, with so much to do in Hong Kong, many travelers scratch their head about where to…

When people tell me they hate Bangkok and don’t find a lot of things to do there, I totally understand. It’s a love/hate city that most people aren’t a fan of on arrival. In fact, when I first visited Bangkok in 2006, I despised the city and couldn’t wait to leave. It wasn’t until I lived in Bangkok that I really fell in love with it. Almost twenty years later, Bangkok is still one of my favorite cities in the world. It just takes a little time to get to know and love. Bangkok is not a city that opens itself up easily, and most people spend just a day or two here before leaving to go to the islands or the jungle. That said, there are a lot of things to do and see …

Who am I besides just a guy who loves to travel? What do I do when I’m not on the road? What are my interests? Do I have hobbies? Since I’m more than just a writer and travel fanatic, I wanted to share a bit about who I am and what I do when I’m not on the road (indulge me for one article). While I do post a lot of my day-to-day life on Instagram, here is a little bit about me and my life! 1. I hate flying. I love airports, lounges, and elite status, but the act of flying makes me sick. I don’t like heights and any turbulence makes me think the plane is about to crash. I’m not a good flier and I take Xanax to calm me on most flights. (Ironic considering how often I f…

Machu Picchu is one of those bucket-list activities people dream about. While most people visit on a day trip, you can also visit via the Inca Trail, a challenging multi-day hike through the jungles of Peru. In this guest post, my friend Gillian divulges the details of her trek while sharing some tips and suggestions to help you plan your trip to Machu Picchu. Hiking to Machu Picchu along the Inca Trail in Peru remains the highlight of my year traveling. Looking out over the peaks of the Andes, and knowing that I hiked to get there filled me with joy and awe. I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I won’t lie, though — it took some work. A lot of work, in fact. But it was to…