nomadic matt best travel apps

30 essential travel apps every traveler needs before their next trip

When it comes to planning and taking a vacation, travelers rely on their phones now more than ever.

Travel apps are a source of inspiration and are extremely useful for booking and managing logistics — even making restaurant reservations or finding a great fitness class wherever in the world you're flying next.

From apps that help with everything from day-of hotel bookings and last-minute flight changes to those that serve as guidebooks and foreign-language dictionaries, travel is infinitely easier thanks to technology.

Apps can help you navigate a new city, make currency conversions, pack a perfect suitcase and even provide on-the-ground local expertise. Whatever you need when you hit the road, there's an app for that.

We've rounded up the most-loved apps here at TPG. Some may be obvious, and others more obscure, but either way, get ready to download.

Best apps for researching and booking trips

In addition to the apps for the airlines you fly most frequently and your favorite hotel brands, these apps can help you save money on flights and accommodations.

Hopper has changed in recent years from just offering a price prediction tool for flights to being a true online travel agency. The app helps travelers find the cheapest flights, hotels and rental cars.

Of course, Hopper also still offers its signature price prediction technology to help you plan out when to book, as well as travel protection options and a price freeze to help you lock in the lowest possible price on hotels and flights.

Kiwi is used mainly to book flights, but it also helps you book hotels (using its partnership with Booking.com) and car rentals (using its partnership with RentalCars.com).

Some of the app's most interesting features include the "Deals" section, which pulls in discounted flights, and the "Travel hacks" section, which includes options for hidden city ticketing, throwaway ticketing (making one-way flights more affordable) and free price alerts.

Hotel Tonight

A dream for last-minute travelers, Hotel Tonight ( now owned by Airbnb ) lets you book stays for the same evening up to a few months in advance in thousands of cities worldwide. Available hotel rooms are categorized into sections like basic, luxe, hip, charming and solid, so you can select what works for your vibe. Take advantage of the daily drop feature, where you swipe to find a personalized deal with a special price only valid for 15 minutes after unlocked.

At TPG, we love a good loyalty program, and HT Perks, the app's nine-level reward program, is extensive. Not unlike a video game, you "level up" by reaching specific spending thresholds on the app, and you'll gain access to perks like discounts, VIP customer support and credits. Also, your levels never expire, so you can only continue to move up.

To book home rentals instead of hotels, use the Airbnb app. After entering your destination and dates, you can filter results based on the home type, price, requisite amenities and more. If you find something you like, you can book directly through the app.

The app is ideal for managing your trips while on the road — you can access all your bookings under the "Trips" tab, where you can view your reservation (and the address or directions), contact the host or change your reservation. Once you have a booking, you can also explore and book local experiences in your destination, such as wine tastings, kayak tours, hikes, shows and concerts.

We can't talk about travel apps without mentioning the TPG App. Use it to track your credit card, airline and hotel points balances; earn points and miles efficiently through using the right credit card ; and research how many points or miles you'll need to book your dream getaway. You can even curate your own news feed so you see the news and advice that matters most to you first.

The TPG App is available for download on iOS . Android users can join the waitlist here .

Related: The TPG App has arrived — here's why you should download it now

Best apps for organizing a trip

From keeping all your documents in order to perfectly packing your suitcase without forgetting a thing, these are the best apps for organizing travel plans.

TripIt declutters your itineraries and documents by keeping them organized in one place. You can set your reservations to automatically send to TripIt, which lets you view travel confirmations, flight itineraries, tickets, hotel and Airbnb booking information, rental car reservations, ferry tickets and driving directions without ever leaving the app.

TripIt also makes it simple to share your trip plans with whoever picks you up from the airport or train station or anyone else who may need to coordinate with you. TripIt Pro subscriptions cost $49 per year and include extras like real-time flight alerts, security wait times, baggage claim information and updates on your loyalty reward programs.

Roadtrippers

Perfect for organizing that epic road trip you've always wanted to take, Roadtrippers plans out your driving route and lets you book hotels and activities along the way. The app is especially useful for finding interesting and off-the-beaten-path roadside attractions, cool restaurants and can't-miss landmarks you can bookmark.

A Roadtrippers Premium membership includes offline maps, live traffic information, overnight RV parking and more for $59.99 per year. For those looking to only venture on a few road trips per year, the app also offers a Pro ($49.99 per year) and Basic ($35.99 per year) membership.

PackPoint takes all the stress out of packing . The app shows you what to bring based on the length of your trip, the weather in your destination and any activities you're planning along the way. If you have access to laundry facilities at your destination, PackPoint even allows you to account for washing your clothes and wearing them multiple times.

Just download and install the app, type in the city you're visiting and plug in your travel details. So, stop waiting until the day before your trip — or the hours before you have to leave for the airport — and start packing now.

Best apps for navigating the airport and flights

Track flights, navigate airports and find airport lounges with these apps.

LoungeBuddy

LoungeBuddy offers access to premium airport lounges around the world, regardless of the airline or class you're flying. When you create a trip in the app and type in the credit cards you currently hold, it will tell you which lounges you have access to based on the airports you'll be transiting through and how to purchase access if you don't already have it.

You can purchase access on the day you're traveling or up to two months in advance if you're the plan-ahead type. If you prefer to search by lounge or lounge program, the app will tell you exactly what is needed to use them.

Priority Pass

Priority Pass offers access to more than 1,300 lounges worldwide and provides meal vouchers at select airport restaurants across the world for an annual fee starting at $99.

Several cards, including The Platinum Card® from American Express , the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve , offer Priority Pass memberships for all cardholders (enrollment required). Otherwise, you'll have to pay an annual fee to be a member and, depending on your membership tier, a fee to enter each lounge on top of the annual fee.

To use the Priority Pass app, enter the name or code of the airport you're in, and Priority Pass will pull up the lounges or restaurants that you have access to, including photos, hours, amenities and specific location information. For more information on the Priority Pass Program and how to gain lounge access, click here . Enrollment is required for select benefits.

Related: The best credit cards for Priority Pass lounge access

FlightAware

The FlightAware app allows you to track flights online, see a live map of a flight and check on delays, cancellations and gate changes. This app is especially helpful if you have a tight connection or want to track your flight.

It's also useful when picking up friends and family at the airport, as you can track their flight and see updated landing times or delays. AvGeeks will enjoy digging into flight statistics, flight maps and community aviation discussions on the app.

Best apps to use during your flight

Timeshifter.

What better way to cure jet lag than with an app? Timeshifter actually helps you avoid jet lag long before your flight takes off and also offers inflight and post-flight suggestions. The app relies on neuroscience research about sleep and circadian rhythms to provide personalized recommendations, taking into consideration your age, gender and normal sleep patterns — as well as specifics about your trip and travel plans. Timeshifter maps out when you should avoid or seek light, take a nap or try to stay awake. It even tells you if you should consider supplementing with melatonin or caffeine.

Your first jet lag plan is free, then $9.99 per plan, or you can enjoy unlimited plans for a year for $24.99.

Flying can cause anxiety — or provide a welcome relief from constant contact with our digital devices. Either way, use travel as an opportunity to relax, meditate or listen to soothing sounds that will lull you to sleep or a deep, relaxed state. Or, perhaps, you'll simply find it helps pass the time during a long flight.

Calm offers meditations on topics such as self-awareness, calming anxiety, breathing, lowering stress levels and happiness, among others. The app also has music options for focusing, relaxing and sleeping, as well as stories for adults and content for kids.

A limited selection of meditations and music is available for free (which you can download to use when you're offline or in flight). The premium version of the app costs $14.99 per month or $69.99 annually.

OK, so Netflix isn't really a travel app, but it can be a lifesaver during a long flight on an aircraft without seatback inflight entertainment or at the airport during an unexpected flight delay or boring layover. If you have a Netflix account, the app allows you to download your favorite shows onto your device to watch offline.

Just make sure to download your shows while connected to Wi-Fi before flying and check them again preflight to make sure they haven't expired (you can usually renew any expired downloads, but you must be connected to Wi-Fi or data to do so). Monthly prices vary depending on the plan.

Another app that's not really a travel app, Spotify can still be incredibly useful during tedious travel moments — just pop in those noise-canceling headphones and listen to your favorite music, meditations, podcasts and more.

The app's Premium plans (prices vary) allow you to download all your content offline on your phone, so you'll have it during long flights or when you don't have data or Wi-Fi access. Whether you want to take a morning jog in Bali to your favorite tunes or pass the time with a podcast on the metro in Barcelona, Spotify has it all.

Best apps to use in your destination

From exchanging money and sightseeing to communicating and knowing all the local tips and tricks, you don't want to land in a foreign city for the first time without these key apps.

XE Currency Converter

The XE Currency Converter app quickly provides live, up-to-the-minute currency rates, then allows you to store and view them even when you're offline. You'll never need to wonder if you're really getting a good deal in another country if you have this app.

Google Translate

Google Translate is a translation app that allows you to do it all — translate into more than 100 languages by typing, access 59 languages offline, translate via photo, translate bilingual conversations and even use the handwriting tool to translate.

The app is simple to use, too, with icons at the top you can click on to draw, take a photo, speak or type.

Not quite sure how much to tip when traveling internationally? GlobeTips will advise you on how to tip appropriately in more than 200 countries. It also offers a tip calculator for easy math. Globe also has apps for currency conversion, unit conversion and more that may be useful for travelers.

Related: The ultimate guide to tipping while traveling

For travelers globe-trotting with friends and family members or simply splitting the cost between groups, Tricount calculates shared costs and splits bills so you don't have to think twice about who owes what. Just enter your trip and currency and invite your travel mates to join your trip.

Each time someone pays for something, you enter the amount in Tricount, and the app splits everything up. You can also snap and store photos of receipts in the app. At the end of your trip, it will show the balances of who owes who what, making it easy to settle up.

Metric Conversions

Never be baffled by Celsius temperatures or suitcase weight in kilograms again with the Metric Conversions app . Whether you're measuring flour to cook at your Airbnb, figuring out distances for your Europe road trip or deciding whether to take a sweatshirt with you during your walking tour of the Great Wall of China, this app has you covered with easy conversions in volume, weight, temperature, area and more.

Google Maps

Google Maps is essential when visiting a new city (or even for getting around your hometown). You can map locations, get directions (walking, driving, public transportation, ride-hailing services and beyond) and see how crowded your subway will be in select cities .

You can make restaurant reservations, save your favorite spots and read and write reviews of attractions, eateries, shops and more. Make sure to download specific city or area maps ahead of time for offline access if you know you'll be without internet at your destination. For obvious reasons, the app works best when your GPS is turned on.

WhatsApp is a handy messaging service for travelers abroad as it uses an internet connection to avoid SMS fees.

It works like most other messaging apps: You start by creating an account, then add your friends and family members to contact and voila! You're able to call, video chat and send messages, images, voice memos, gifs and files just as you would in, say, iMessage (but with Android users too). You can also download WhatsApp on your Windows or Mac computer.

Best apps for planning activities

Traveling is about more than just getting from point A to point B. If you're looking for activities to add to your itinerary, check out these apps.

Meetup is an app designed for interacting with locals and other travelers who have mutual interests or shared hobbies. Whether you're traveling or at home, take what you love and do more of it with Meetup.

The app shows you groups that are formed around particular interests in your city, including yoga, photography, cooking, wine tasting, hiking, cinema and other activities. You can join groups to get updates on particular events you may want to participate in. The app can even help with networking, as there are many groups dedicated to business and technology. You might even be able to join a coworking group. Travelers with kids can participate in family-friendly meetups, and it's a great way for solo travelers to make friends and connect with others.

TheFork is one of the most useful resources for making restaurant reservations in Europe. Similar to OpenTable or Resy, the app lets you browse different restaurants by category and make reservations. TheFork features more than 60,000 restaurants in cities like London, Madrid and Geneva, as well as spots outside of Europe like Sydney, Australia.

The biggest perk is that many restaurant reservations come with discounts — in some cases, you can get up to 50% off your meal just by reserving a table through TheFork. Since we here at TPG are always down for earning rewards, make sure to monitor your YUMS — TheFork's reward system. You'll earn YUMS with each reservation, and when you hit 1,000, you receive a discount on your bill. Foodie travelers should also consider downloading these apps , too.

Happy Cow helps vegan and vegetarian eaters locate more than 180,000 restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, farmers markets and grocery stores in over 180 countries around the world. The app allows you to filter by not only vegan and vegetarian but also gluten-free and cuisine types. You can also read reviews and get recipes on the app as well.

The app does cost $3.99, but it's a one-time expense.

TripAdvisor

Besides reading reviews of restaurants, hotels and attractions, you can book almost anything on TripAdvisor, from vacation rentals and restaurant reservations to tours and tickets.

The app has grown to include almost all things travel, allowing you to search by destination or interest (like the outdoors, food and drink, family or by the water, for example), which can give you inspiration for a trip or help you get your activities, meals and accommodations organized before traveling or on the fly.

With over 400,000 curated trails, AllTrails can help you find the hike or walk perfect for you and your group. It's not just mountain trails — AllTrails offers city walks, too, like easy meanders through the Marais district in Paris or peaceful strolls through Bangkok's Lumpini Park in Thailand.

See photos, updated weather predictions and key information about each route and connect with other travelers through reviews and forums. Access to AllTrails+ is $35.99 per year, which offers perks like offline maps and wrong turn alerts.

Best apps for staying safe

Use these apps to stay safe when traveling.

Smart Traveler

Smart Traveler is a free service that offers tips and information specifically for U.S. travelers. You can see what visas and vaccines you'll need before traveling and where to find help if you need it during your trip.

Register your trip on the app, which gives your information to local embassies and consulates in your destination. If there's any kind of disaster or tragedy, the local embassy can contact you to see if you need help.

TripWhistle

Another app dedicated to keeping you safe, TripWhistle maps your location and allows you to easily text or send your GPS coordinates or location. It also provides emergency numbers for firefighters, medical personnel and police in nearly 200 countries. After all, 911 is only for U.S.-based emergencies: Each country has its own specific emergency number.

Yes, Uber (or any local ride-hailing service app) is convenient, but it may also keep you safe. Using this app when traveling means you'll never get stuck wandering around in an unfamiliar area late at night or have to deal with unscrupulous taxi drivers trying to scam you. Uber also has in-app safety features such as an emergency assistance button which will allow you to call local emergency services right in the app.

Nomadic Matt!

Hi! My name is Matthew Kepnes aka Nomadic Matt. I help people travel on a budget and have more unique cultural experiences. If that's the type of travel you love, subscribe to my newsletter and I'll help see you more for less.

My Favorite Travel Planning Resources

I know a lot of people are dreaming of winter trips (I'm planning a trip to Thailand).

To help you plan those trips, I wanted to re-share some helpful trip-planning blogs and a list of my recommended companies. These resources will ensure you have fun, stay safe, and save money!

TRAVEL PLANNING BLOG POSTS

First, here are a few blog posts worth checking out. They have tons of practical tips as well as suggestions for where to go if you're on a budget:

• ​ 16 Easy Steps for Planning a Trip ​
• ​ 10 Destinations Under $50 a Day ​
• ​ What I Pack for My Travels ​
• ​ My Best 61 Travel Tips
• ​ The 20 Best Tropical Islands in the World ​
• ​ How to Travel with a Theme ​
• ​ 10 Places to Travel on a Budget ​

MY FAVORITE TRAVEL PLANNING COMPANIES

Here's a list of my personal favorite companies and websites that help with trip planning. The team and I use them every time we plan a trip!

​ Skyscanner - My go-to website for finding cheap flights. I start all my trip planning here.

​ Going - If you're flexible with where and when you can go, this cheap flight site sends incredible deals straight to your inbox. They've saved me a fortune over the years!

​ SafetyWing - I never leave home without travel insurance. You shouldn't either. SafetyWing is one of the cheapest options out there and is perfect for budget travelers.

​ Intrepid - My go-to company for multi-day tours. If you don't want to travel solo, go with Intrepid. Their tours are fun, educational, and have a strong emphasis on sustainability.

​ Booking.com - This is the best website to find cheap hotels. I like its easy-to-use interface and no-money-down policy. I book all my hotels here. (If you prefer hostels, use Hostelworld ).

​ HostelPass - This card gives you up to 25% off select hostels throughout Europe. It’s a great way to save money and they're constantly adding new hostels too. Use the code NOMADICMATT to get 25% off.

​ Rome2Rio - A free website for finding the optimal travel route between destinations. It compares driving, buses, trains, flying, ferries — you name it!

​ BlaBlaCar - BlaBlaCar lets you share rides with vetted local drivers. You simply request a seat, pay a small fee, and off you go. It’s a cheap and interesting way to get from point A to point B.

​ Get Your Guide - Looking for things to see and do during your trip? This search engine has pretty much everything. Walking tours, entry tickets, food tours, day trips — it's all here! I always scan their app to see what's available (and to see how much activities cost).

​ Walks - This is my favorite walking tour company. Their tours are always amazing because they use expert local guides and take you to places no other companies go to. I can't recommend them enough.

​ Worldpackers - This platform offers travelers a chance to find work and volunteer opportunities, including farm stays, home stays, hostel jobs, sailing jobs, and more. It's ideal for frugal long-term travelers.

​ Trusted Housesitters - A website that connects you with people in need of pet sitters. In exchange for looking after their animals, you get access to free accommodation. It’s an amazing resource for long-term travelers looking to travel slowly.

For more travel planning companies, you can check out my full list here .

I love travel planning — but it can be overwhelming when you're just getting started. By using the websites above, you'll not only save time and money but help you have an epic trip abroad. ​ ​ Sincerely, ​ Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt's Travel Tuesday

Reader, A few weeks ago, I came across a quote by Seneca that said "It's not that we have a short time to live but that we waste a lot of it." I can't stop thinking about it. As the month ends, I had hoped I would be further along in so many things — I'd be more in shape, eaten healthier, had sightseen more of the city, read more, or had done this or that. I'd thought I'd accomplish more. And, while I'd never call myself lazy, I'm pretty good at wasting time. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't...

Nomadic Matt’s Travel Tuesday

Reader, Greetings from NYC! How are we already over 1/3rd of the way through September? Wasn't it just August last week? Lately, I feel like time is just flying by. Or is it just me? In two weeks I'm heading to Europe for a bit. This will be my first pure personal trip all year. A lot of my travels in the last couple of years have been work-related: tours, conferences, destination partnerships. Japan was supposed to be a fun personal trip but then I got sick so I spent most of my trip in a...

How to Get Free Flights & Hotels

Reader, As the summer travel season comes to an end and we start dreaming of fall travel, I wanted to send some updated resources on travel hacking. Travel hacking is the art of collecting points and miles for free travel. (It works predominately in the US, Canada, and the UK so if you're not in one of those places, I'm sorry. Just skip this email!) Collecting points and miles is pretty easy these days and there are two new tools that make using your points an easy process too. These travel...

The Ultimate List of Travel Apps & Tools for Nomads

Updated: Jan 24, 2023 • by Thomas K. Running

As more and more people decide to become location-independent we are finally seeing a lot of tools, apps and gear making it easier to manage and excel at a life on the road.

Having moved around and traveled a lot over the past seven years, over time I have found, tested, and even helped make some of the best tools out there for digital nomads and long-term travelers.

A couple years ago I started collecting and curating my top picks in a range of categories. What they all have in common is that they will greatly simplify and improve your life, business, relationships or happiness.

This list is a living document, so if know another useful tool or resource that I should include, please let me know (if you’re logged in, you can use the live chat).

This article kept getting longer and longer, nearing the volume of a mid-length e-book. So I decided to split it up in multiple parts that will be published over the next few months. To be notified of the next parts, make sure you’re subscribed to Nomad Gate .

Part One: Travel

Nomads tend to travel a lot. Perhaps not as much as some hardcore business travelers, but more than almost anyone else. Personally I step on a plane somewhere between 50 and a 100 times every year.

And traveling can be painful. Especially if you do several medium-term moves throughout a year. It’s not just the physical travel that causes “pain,” but also planning the travel and getting to know your new “home town”.

In this chapter of the series, I’m bringing you the best tools and services to simplify pre-travel planning , the actual act of traveling , and the post-arrival research and discovery .

Pre-travel planning

Before you ever set foot in the airport, you have to sort out a few things:

• Choose your destination
• Book flights and accommodation
• Apply for visas, if required
• Make sure you have valid travel and health insurance coverage

Let’s go through the steps one by one.

Choosing your destination

Nomad list (free to search, community features $30/mo, $99/yr, $150 lifetime).

The de facto nomad home page. Pieter Levels has created an immensely useful directory of popular nomads destinations. You can filter for all sorts of things, such as cost of living, climate, internet speeds and LGBT safety.

It’s the perfect discovery site, especially for people that somehow work remotely.

Teleport Cities (Free)

Teleport Cities is also a powerful search tool to find “your best city to live and work”. That might on the surface sound a lot like Nomad List, but there are some core differences.

Although you can select “working remotely” in your preferences, Teleport Cities can take into account how your income might change by moving to a new city, if you decide to find a job locally. It can also take into account levels of personal and corporate taxation, how well established the startup and venture capital scenes are, quality of healthcare and education, and hundreds of other variables.

All in all, I think the two products are very complementary. Nomad List has a stronger focus on “ live ” and Teleport Cities also focus on “ work ”. Nomad List is perfect for short to medium term stays (less than three months), while Teleport Cities is good for medium to longer term stays (more than 3 months). I personally use both when deciding on my upcoming destinations.

A little bit less traditional way of scoping out your next destinations is to look at a foreign exchange rate map. Select the currency you are making most of your income in, and see which currencies have become cheaper or more expensive of late.

Why pay full price for a country when you can get it on sale? It’s like Groupon for countries.

Is Norway on your bucket list, but you think it’s too expensive to visit? Are you mostly earning US dollars? Right now Norway is on sale! It’s 30% cheaper than just a few years ago, thanks to a weakened currency. It’s still not cheap, but a much better deal than it normally is.

Booking flights and accommodation

Google flights.

Over the last couple years, Google has built what is perhaps the world’s best search engine for flights. It has a very clean and intuitive interface. It’s based on the tech behind ITA Matrix, a product Google acquired to build Google Flights .

Instead of overwhelming you with options, it will highlight the best few options according to your preferences, and even suggest slightly different travel dates or airports if it can save you a significant chunk of cash. It is also very snappy, and shows tickets other engines does not show. For example, if you can only get a fare by calling the airline directly, Google Flights will tell you how to do so. It also factors in the fees for ordering over the phone. If you’re not sure where to go, it will show you a map with the prices to different destinations.

It’s powerful, easy to use, and currently where I start any flight search.

Let’s not forget the most powerful publicly available flight search, Matrix by ITA Software . It’s what powers the above mentioned Google Flights. But unlike Google’s flight search, Matrix allows you to fine-tune everything. Want to geek out with advanced routing codes, force certain layovers, or look at a ton of different airports at one time? Matrix has got you covered.

The main drawback of Matrix is that you cannot actually book the flights through them. They won’t send you to a partner site to buy tickets either. After finding the perfect flights, you will have to manually find the flights again using Google Flights, Orbitz, or the airline’s website.

If price is your number one concern, then Kiwi.com (formerly Skypicker) is your friend. While most online travel agents will only show itineraries where all flights are on the same carrier, alliance or at least partner airlines, Kiwi doesn’t limit its search in that way. Instead they use smart algorithms to find the cheapest way from A to B, even if that means flying two competing airlines on separate tickets.

You can actually save a lot of money this way but it comes at the cost of flexibility. All flights booked through Kiwi are non-refundable. Changes might be possible for a fee. But if you just want the cheapest possible flights, Kiwi is the way to go.

The product also has a lot of features for flexible travelers. For example you can use radius search both for departure and arrival airport, as well as being as flexible as you’d like for departure dates and so forth.

The main issue I have with Kiwi is that their airline filter is not always available. Do you really want to subject yourself to the torture that is Ryanair or Spirit? I know I don’t. But currently you can’t filter out those itineraries for multi-city searches or searches using a more flexible destination or departure location (like radius search or entire countries).

If you are both quite flexible (as many of us nomads are) and value cheap flight, then PanFlights is for you. It’s especially helpful when planning a multi-destination trip. When planning such trips, the order of the destinations and exact dates are often not so important. Often you just have a vague idea of what places you’d like to include in your itinerary, and some approximate start and end dates.

PanFlights makes it easy to find potential journeys within the constraints you set. Just input the cities or areas (it supports radius search) you’d like to visit, and the minimum length at each destination (or specific dates if that’s needed). Try the “Optimized tour” search, and experiment with clicking the “stopover” and “customize” buttons on the result page for smart stopover suggestions. It has a slight learning curve, but makes up for it by a large margin in usefulness.

For complex itineraries it relies on Kiwi.com’s data and offers, which is a good thing as that is already Kiwi’s strengths. But PanFlights takes it even further.

Together with Momondo , Skyscanner is sometimes able to find some significantly cheaper fares than their competitors. It might not be the most user-friendly of the bunch, but I usually check the price on Skyscanner after finding flights I like on a different site.

Just note that many of the online travel agents featured on Skyscanner add lots and lots of fees for using most credit and even debit cards, making changes or selecting seats (on top of airline fees), and so on. Personally I prefer booking directly with airlines, unless I save at least $50-100 or more and know there’s just a very slim chance I need to make any changes.

Note : Jen from Skyscanner reached out to me to let me know that every travel agent featured in their results will need to at least provide one free payment option, which usually is the most popular card in the country.

Expert Flyer ($5 to $10 per month)

When ITA Matrix doesn’t do it for you anymore, you know you’ve become a travel geek. The logical next step is Expert Flyer. I’ve personally used it to choose transatlantic flights where I was likely to get upgraded to business class (and it worked!). And for many airlines it’s the best place to search for award availability. You can even set up alerts. Not only for award tickets but even when your favorite seat opens up. Or if there’s an aircraft change.

There’s a 5-day trial with no credit card required , so feel free to give it a try. If you decide to subscribe, it’s $5 or $10 per month. It can be well worth it if you fly a lot.

Skiplagged is one of the most innovative flight search engines. So innovative, in fact, that United Airlines sued them. What made them deserving of a lawsuit? Well, they help you find “hidden city” tickets. Say you are going from New York to Paris, and a one-way ticket is $800. Skiplagged might be able to find a ticket from New York to Dublin for $550, but with a layover in Paris. Buy the ticket to Dublin, but just get off in Paris. $250 saved just like that. Don’t try this if you have checked in luggage, but if you travel light it can save you some dough.

Hopper (Free to use, $5 per booking)

While the options above will help you find the cheapest flights available right now , Hopper will actually tell you when to book to get the best deal. Just enter your destination and preferred dates, then leave it to Hopper. The app will not only monitor the price of the itinerary, but also give you advice along the lines of “your flight price will probably increase with $70 or more on or around March 20” or “the current price is $450, but you can likely save about $125 if you wait”.

It’s really useful when you know roughly when and where you want to go. I wish there would be some more flexibility built in (e.g. allowing a date range rather than specific dates), but even without that it is likely to save you some money and provide some additional assurance that you’re booking at the right time.

A final limitation is that Hopper relies on sufficient historical price data being available for a particular route in order to provide accurate predictions, meaning that less frequented routes will have limited or no helpful information. It will definitely be helpful for San Francisco to New York or London, probably less so for Riga to Chiang Mai.

This website is great for finding cheap tickets on multiple low cost carriers. It offers lots of customization options and work with over 100 LCCs and over 1000 airports. There’s no need to enter exact travel dates, which makes it easy to find good deals if you’re a bit flexible.

The one big drawback I’ve found is that it only works with LCCs, no full-service carriers will show up in the results. Personally I prefer flying full-service, and only fly LCCs when that’s by far the most convenient option. Still, this is a great website to check in addition to e.g. Google Flights.

Thanks to Nomad Gate member Ivan-Lazar Bundalo for this tip!

This is a unique take on the good old travel hack of adding a stopover (stop of more than 24 hours) to both save a few bucks and at the same time get to experience a “bonus” city that you wouldn’t otherwise have visited.

Start by entering your travel dates and destination, then you have the option of adding a layover of X number of days in a specific city. An approximate savings amount (or additional cost) is also shown.

What the product is currently missing is added flexibility, both in terms of dates and destinations. But it definitely has potential, so give it a try!

Flightfox (From $49)

A few years ago, Flightfox turned flight booking on its head. You would describe your perfect trip and a bunch of “flight hackers” (both professionals and more amateurish) would compete to find the lowest price for that specific itinerary. The winner would receive a bounty set by the traveler.

That didn’t last forever, probably due to the extra friction of turning your simple flight booking into a call for tender with all the overhead that entails. After a while, they pivoted to only have really great flight hackers on the platform. And it’s no longer a competition between experts to find the best itinerary. You now pay a fixed price depending on the complexity of your trip, and work with an assigned expert to find the best itinerary for your needs. If you use their “beat my price” service, you will only pay the “search fee” if they can save you more money compared to what you found on your own.

Flystein (From $29)

Some people might enjoy planning their flights, and that’s fine. But it gets repetitive rather quickly when moving around all the time. Flystein is a younger startup, doing very similar things to Flightfox.

They are comparatively cheaper, however. Flystein’s pricing starts at $29 for a one-way domestic trip and $49 for a return or international trip. Flightfox starts at $49. Both services charge more for added complexity, but Flightfox is consistently a bit more expensive. E.g. the additional fee for finding a ticket using your frequent flier miles is $74 with Flightfox, versus $30 for Flystein.

Personally, I’ve used Flystein a handful times, usually by using their “beat my price” system, where you don’t pay anything unless they beat the price you found on your own by more than their service fee. About half the time they have been able to find better flights for me than what I found myself (sometimes using obscure techniques such as the mythical “fuel dump”), and half the time I’ve found equally good flights on my own. In the latter cases I of course didn’t pay them any fee.

A limitation of both Flightfox and Flystein is that, unlike Hopper, they won’t tell you when to book your flights, and the deals they find might not stick around for long—so you should only reach out to them once you’re ready to pull the trigger.

Flightconnections.com

H/T to Paul Stefan Bohm for sharing this useful tool with me. With Flightconnections.com you can find the best routes between any airports in the world. Wonder how you can get to Timor-Leste from Berlin? Well, with a couple clicks you will know.

You might even find a cheaper route by splitting the journey up between multiple airlines.

I am not sure how often they update their database of flight connections. There have been times where I’ve found a connection not listed there elsewhere, or failed to find a connection they claimed existed. But it is still a great starting point for further research, so give it a try!

Flight deal sites and newsletters

One of the best ways to come by good deals on flights is to subscribe to various flight deal sites and mailing lists.

Here are some of the best, covering large parts of the globe.

They generally come in two varieties, paid/freemium and affiliate-based. Since the affiliate based sites earn commissions when you book through them some of them seem to publish a lot of fares—even if the deals are only okay , not great . Personally I like the paid/freemium sites better. They tend to share better deals that last longer (due to fewer people trying to get the same tickets).

Jack’s Flight Club (Europe & US*—Freemium)

*Jack has local newsletters for the UK 🇬🇧, Ireland 🇮🇪, Germany 🇩🇪 Netherlands 🇳🇱 Belgium 🇧🇪 Denmark 🇩🇰 Norway 🇳🇴 & Sweden 🇸🇪. Now also from Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, & Washington D.C. in the US 🇺🇸

JFC has only been around for a couple of years, but Jack and his team regularly finds some great deals. I recently booked an around the world trip they found on the fantastic airlines Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand for just over $1000!

The premium subscription is £39/€39/$49 per year and will give you access to about four times as many deals as the free newsletter, plus it allows you to select exactly which airports you want deals from.

Give the free newsletter a try today , then upgrade to Premium once you realize how much you can save.

Scott’s Cheap Flights (US only*—Freemium)

The premium subscription is $49 per year and will give you access to three times as many deals as the free newsletters.

As a paid subscriber you can also pick exactly what airports you want to receive deals for, making sure you only get deals that are relevant for you.

HolidayPirates / Urlaubspiraten (Germany, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US—Free)

This is a very popular free site in Germany (I have friends there who use it a lot), and in the last few years they have also expanded to lots of other countries: Austria, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the United States.

In addition to flight deals, they also feature a lot of flight + hotel packages. These are generally for shorter stays (a few days to a week or two), so not ideal for most nomads.

I Want That Flight (Australia—Free)

A decent curated newsletter featuring great flight deals from Australia. They also offer flight and hotel search. Not as active as some of the other newsletters on this list.

I’m pretty sure (the paid) Australian newsletter from Scott will get you more deals, but since this one’s free it doesn’t really hurt to try.

The Flight Deal / Fare Deal Alert (US—Free)

The Flight Deal and Fare Deal Alert are sister flight deal curation sites, providing a near identical service, but for a different selection of cities. The sites are even more useful for non-nomadic people that are mostly based near one particular US airport, since the deals are organized based on departure airport. Also, the deals are almost exclusively return flights.

Can someone please build The Nomad Deal, featuring super cheap one-way flights around the world? TheNomadDeal.com is available. Just sayin’.

Still, even with their shortcomings from a nomad perspective, both sites can be useful if you’re traveling near or in the US. For example, if I’m staying in San Francisco for a couple months, I’ll set up an IFTTT recipe that will text me when they post new deals departing from SFO (they provide RSS feeds per city!) to destinations that I’m interested in. Return flight to Panama for $200? Sounds like a cool weekend trip to me.

Book directly with an airline

As a digital nomad, I would assume that you enjoy flexibility and value for money. If that’s the case, I would recommend looking closer at a handful of airlines the next time you’re planning a trip.

Check out the best airlines for nomads and long-term travelers .

Accommodation:

As a nomad, renting a furnished apartment is a must. And Airbnb is the most comprehensive listing and booking site for short to medium term apartment rentals in the world. Prices tend to be a little higher than what you could find in the local rental market due to their service fees and target market. But not having to learn the ins and outs of the rental market in a city where you’ll only stay for a month or three is totally worth it in most cases.

You can also get heavily discounted prices by booking monthly or sometimes even weekly. And it also doesn’t hurt to negotiate a bit on the price, especially if you are staying for a while.

(Written from a hammock on the rooftop terrace of my Airbnb rental in Medelliín.)

Booking.com

If you are booking more traditional accommodations, i.e. hotels, hostels or holiday apartments, Booking.com should be your first stop. They have by far the most inventory worldwide, and hotels listed on the site are not allowed to sell rooms at a lower price elsewhere. They are being sued in a few countries over this practice, but it does generally give you the best deal as a consumer.

It’s not only their low prices that make them a good place to book your hotel stays. Unlike many other OTAs they actually have useful and user-friendly apps. And the website is good too.

In addition to Booking.com I usually check Trivago for hotel prices. It’s quick and easy to do a sanity check, to make sure I’m not overpaying. They compare the prices of all major (and not so major) booking sites. In the past I’ve saved around 30% by doing a quick search on Trivago. It primarily features hotels, but there are also some hostels and similar on there.

Couchsurfing (Free)

The best things in life are free… Right? Well, Couchsurfing is pretty cool. And free. You probably know CS already, but let me briefly explain how it works for those who don’t. It’s a platform where people invite other people into their homes, for free. But forget about the “free” part. The reason why I really enjoy Couchsurfing is the people you meet. And their local knowledge. If your goal is to experience the local culture, Couchsurfing is a lot better than staying in hotels or hostels.

Then again, most CS hosts would be reluctant to host someone for more than a few days, so it’s better for short stays. And from a financial perspective I would rather pay $15–20 for a hostel, guest house or Airbnb than spending hours contacting CS hosts over and over again. But when I have a couple days to experience a city, it is well worth the effort.

You can also use the Couchsurfing platform to find locals to hang out with (without staying with them), and even join local meet-ups.

TrustedHousesitters.com ($119 per year)

Housesitting is another way to travel for “free”, while staying in comfortable apartments, villas, or all sorts of other homes. Usually a housesit involves taking care of the owner’s pet(s) while they are away. Dog and cats are the most common, but in some cases it seems to be a small farm that needs taking care of. Personally I do housesitting not primarily to save on rent, but rather because I love dogs. But having a dog as a nomad would be really challenging. So I housesit instead. So far I’ve taken care of a terrier in a beautiful West Berlin apartment, and some amazing chihuahuas in a lovely house with panorama view over the San Francisco Bay Area.

There is a handful of pretty decent housesitting platforms out there, and they are all paid. You pay for access to the platform, not for the actual house sit. And it makes sense to spend a few dollars on a membership. The paywall contributes to keeping bad apples away, increasing the overall trust on the platform.

TrustedHousesitters.com is probably the best housesitting platform, primarily because it has the largest and most active user base. It has some nice features, like email notifications when a housesit opens up in a country you’re interested in. Like other platforms, most listings are in North America and Europe.

If you sign up via my referral link you get 20% off your membership fee!

If you are traveling in South-East Asia, you should be using Agoda. They have established direct relationships for more hotels, hostels and guest houses than any other booking site in the area.

You can save some serious cash by booking hotels, rental cars and flight tickets via Hotwire. Their Hot Rate® Hotel, Car, and Flight bookings work a quite different from what you might be used to. E.g. for Hot Rate® Hotels you can see the star rating, the neighborhood, the list of amenities, the retail price, the Tripadvisor rating, and the percentage of Hotwire users that recommend the particular hotel. What you cannot see is the exact location or name of the hotel.

Personally I’ve used Hotwire for a minivan we rented for Burning Man, which turned out to be ridiculously cheap. You might also have success with Priceline, which has a similar concept.

Co-living spaces and retreats

There are now more and more co-living, co-working and retreats tailored to digital nomads and remote workers. I am currently writing an article comparing the best ones. It should be ready in the next few weeks. Make sure to join Nomad Gate to be notified when it is published.

Make sure you have the right visa

For a while I relied primarily on Wikivoyage for visa information when traveling. But after I nearly made a huge blunder when traveling to Myanmar a few years ago I always check 2–3 sources to be safe.

Wikipedia’s Visa Requirement pages

I have found Wikipedia’s Visa Requirement pages to be very accurate and easy to use. It’s super quick to get an overview over how many days you can stay in a country visa-free.

You should look for a Wikipedia article named “Visa requirements for [INSERT YOUR NATIONALITY] citizens”. You can find the link to the relevant page for your nationality here .

Timatic / TravelDoc

In addition to Wikipedia, I also check either TravelDoc or Timatic.

Timatic is normally an expensive yearly subscription aimed at airlines and travel agents, but it is also provided for free to the public by the IATA Travel Centre . This is the same database most airlines use when they decide to let you board or not, so it is very accurate.

Another player in this space is TravelDoc , which is also used by a lot of airlines. Their UI is a bit better than Timatic, and you can even add a multi-city trip with all your stops and layovers, and they will tell you what visas you need to get.

VisaHQ is another user-friendly option and has the information you need at a glance. For residents of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, UAE, India, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland and Singapore they can also help you with the visa process for a fee.

Note: I’ve heard some not so great feedback on their customer service level and pricing, so due your due diligence prior to using them for your visa application.

Verify your travel and health insurance coverage

Much can be said about insurance, particularly travel and health insurance . Most people should have some sort of health insurance with coverage in the countries where they live and travel. By setting a high deductible you get fairly affordable coverage for worst case scenarios, but for more inexpensive treatment you’ll normally be better off by paying out of pocket instead of relying on insurance.

I have a lot more to say about global primary health insurance , as well as travel and accident insurance . In fact I’m currently writing an in-depth article on the topic, so make sure to join Nomad Gate to be notified when it is ready.

Getting there…with your sanity intact

Planning and booking your travel is one thing, but many people find the actual act of traveling much more stressful.

I’m luckily not one of those people, in large part thanks to the apps and services I use to stay organized and up to date.

TripIt (Free / $49 per year for Pro)

The app used and loved by nearly all serious travelers. If you have yet to try it out, your life is about to change!

By forwarding your confirmation emails to TripIt ( [email protected] ), all your flights, hotels, train rides, restaurant bookings, tours and more will be automatically organized for your trips. Or you can give TripIt access to your inbox, and it will detect whenever you get booking confirmations, and organize it all in your trip itinerary.

Their pro version can also be well worth it. I’ve been using it now for the better part of a decade. And although the extra perks aren’t that significant, the Pro features have saved my ass more than once. The check-in notifications 24 hours before a flight, especially.

“Holy shit, I’m flying across the world tomorrow. How could I forget??” –Me, on multiple occasions

For example, I was on my way out for the second dive of the day outside Maafushi in the Maldives when I get a check-in notification. In my mind I thought my flight was 48 hours later, but I had mixed up the days. And as all divers know, you cannot fly until after at least 24 hours have passed since your last dive. And even longer if you have done multiple dives. You can literally die. Rescheduling one flight wouldn’t have been a big deal. But I actually had four flights the next day, on mostly separate tickets, and mostly different airlines. Thank you TripIt for saving my butt. Or at least a significant chunk of money.

Other pro features include real-time alerts, alternate flight search (in case of delays, missed connections), seat tracker, point tracker, flight refund alerts (e.g. if a price you booked dropped in price by more than the change fee), extra sharing features, as well as VIP benefits with a range of partners. Currently those benefits include $25 Lounge Buddy credit and 4 months free CLEAR membership. In the past it has included Hertz #1 Club Gold and Regus Gold memberships.

Priority Pass ($99-$399/year, or free with credit cards)

If you fly a lot—especially if you don’t have status with Star Alliance, One World, or Sky Team—you need Priority Pass.

Nothing has changed travel as much for me as discovering airport lounges. My old self would absolutely dread the idea of having a five hour layover at some random airport. Now I seek out mid to long layovers—as long as I have lounge access, that is.

Lounges of course vary a lot from airport to airport, and lounge to lounge. But some things are generally quite similar.

Most lounges include:

• Fast, free wifi
• Buffet with free food and beverages (usually including alcoholic beverages, although sometimes only beer & wine)
• Comfortable seating with lots of outlets to charge all your devices
• Printer/scanner/copier
• TVs, newspapers, magazines
• Comfortable desks for working—often also with some PCs/Macs in case you don’t have your laptop with you

Although not universal, many lounges also offer:

• On demand, made to order food and drinks
• Spa and massage facilities (sometimes paid)
• Meeting rooms (sometimes paid)
• Resting rooms (small private rooms to rest when on long layovers)
• Lockers with charging points inside
• Outdoor terrace, occasionally with smoking area

Pretty sweet, right?

Priority Pass is the world’s largest network of lounges, and a membership will give you access to more than 1000 lounges worldwide.

One option is to buy a membership outright, but many times it will be more affordable to get a membership included in a credit card.

If you buy your membership directly from Priority Pass, you’ll pay $99 per year and $27 per visit and guest. The top tier costs $399 per year and will give you unlimited visits for free, but you’ll still pay $27 per guest.

But personally I prefer the credit card route. I currently have unlimited visits for free, even including unlimited number of guests, courtesy of my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card . To me the Priority Pass perk alone is worth the price of card (effectively $150 per year after the $300 travel credit). That’s what I call a steal!

LoungeBuddy (Free)

If I have sold you on the benefit of airport lounges, you also need this app.

The first step is to enter any lounge memberships (like Priority Pass), credit cards, and frequent flier statuses you have.

Then LoungeBuddy can pull your flight plans from TripIt (or you can enter it manually), and you can easily see which lounges you have free or paid access to, where they are, what they offer, when they are open, and reviews from other users.

You can also purchase access to over 200 lounges through the app if you don’t already have complimentary access.

If I have multiple layover options when booking flights I’ll also use LoungeBuddy to help me decide where to have my connection, based on the lounges I would have access to there.

Best Onward Ticket (From $12 per trip)

Planning sucks. Spontaneity is king. Sadly, many countries require you to have an onward ticket booked before they will let you pass immigration. Actually, airlines will often deny you boarding without one.

So what’s the solution? Well, people are using different tactics:

• Hope for the best … but you might end up having to buy an expensive ticket at the airport or be denied boarding.
• Book a 100% refundable flight … which is often expensive, and will block funds in your account for a while.
• Book a cheap flight that you might or might not use … but often plans change and it’s not worth paying the change fees.
• Print a fake ticket … easy enough to do and it might work. But if they decide to check the validity of your ticket (which is really easy to do), you’re in trouble.
• Use Best Onward Ticket … they will issue a ticket that stays valid for at least 48 hours. Then they will cancel it. Peace of mind and more flexibility, starting at only $12.

FlightTrack (Free/$4.99)

This is by far my favorite flight tracking app. It’s so good in fact that Tripit cut off their API access, as they felt it competed with some of their Pro features. I don’t use this app as often now that they lost the possibility to automatically fetch my flights from Tripit. But I still use it whenever I am picking someone up from an airport, or if I have a longer trip with layovers, etc.

Update: The developer was acquired by Expedia a while back and they recently decided to shut down the app. I’m still looking for a good alternative, so let me know if you find anything that’s both good and affordable. I’ve seen some people recommend the My Flights app, but it’s a bit pricy for the paid versions, and it’s iOS/web only.

TripMode ($7.99)

Occasionally, especially on long-haul flights, you might have quite a limited data allowance when connecting to the onboard WiFi. Caps of 20 MB or so are not uncommon.

But what often happens when you connect your laptop to the WiFi, all sorts of applications start using data in the background. New emails might be downloaded. Dropbox or Google Drive might start syncing changes. And then POOF ! In less than a minute, the data allowance you spent $20 on is gone before you can even load Gmail or Facebook.

Well, that’s where TripMode comes in. It’s a nifty little app for Mac and Windows that lives in the menu bar and allows you to choose which applications can access the internet. Simply toggle the applications you need to use, and the rest will be blocked for as long TripMode is running.

This can come in handy when you’re sharing your phone’s internet connection with your Mac as well, so your data plan isn’t used up by all sorts of background tasks that can wait until you’re on a regular WiFi network.

You can also save different “profiles” based on the network you’re connecting to, so you won’t have to select which apps to use every time you connect to your phone’s hotspot. The profiles can also enforce selected data caps, with the possibility to set different caps for each profile.

In other words, TripMode will pay for itself in a short time.

OpenFlights.org (Free, or donate up to $50 per year)

One of the potential side-effects of Digital Nomad life is increased affection towards air travel. And in severe cases you might even feel an urge to log all your flights, and show them off on a map for the world to see. That’s what OpenFlights does. And it connects to Tripit so it’s pain and hassle free to keep your flight list up to date. I won’t blame you if you get a little turned on by playing with all those stats. I know I do .

If you want an even nicer map, you can import your OF flights to myFlightradar24 .

Pana Concierge ($99 per month)

Update: Pana is no longer offering their concierge service

Some people enjoy spending hours and hours researching flights, accommodation, or local bus schedules in the mountains of Montenegro. I prefer to hand those task over to Pana (previously called Native), my trusty travel concierge. That leaves me with more time to explore my current location.

You can also have your concierge check in for flights, deal with any delays, rebooking, and other issues that might pop up during a trip.

They offer a 7-day free trial, then it’s $25 $99 per month. It’s not the cheapest service, but it’s still a pretty good deal for frequent travelers with more money than time. I personally cancelled my account when they increased their pricing, but it might be worth it to you.

SkyGuru (~$4.99 per flight)

Many of us have some kind of fear of flying. Even though I take around 100 flights yearly, I still have moments during flight when (I completely irrationally) get a very uneasy feeling.

One app that I initially tested out just for fun, but has actually nearly rid me of any hint of fear when flying, is SkyGuru.

Throughout the flight the app will tell you if and when you can expect turbulence, and explain what the sounds the plane makes and other sensations you’re experiencing actually are and why it’s not anything to be worried about.

There are reviews on the App Store where users say the app has completely changed their life. So if you’re an anxious flyer or just want to learn more about how airplanes work, I recommend giving the app a try!

SkyGuru is currently only available on iOS now available on both iOS and Android. Although the “Pro” version costs $19.99 (iOS only) there’s a light version of the app that you can download for free and instead pay $3.99 per flight with full features.

Update: I was contacted by a representative from SkyGuru who told me the Pro version won’t be updated any longer (but will still work), so if you want access to the newest features it’s best to get the Lite version and purchase individual flights or flight packs.

Offline entertainment apps

For me, one of the best ways of spending my time in the air is to read or listen to audio content. Sometimes I listen to podcasts, sometimes to audiobooks ( Audible , Hoopla ). Other times I’m catching up on articles I’ve saved for later in Pocket (which are available offline, and you can even listen to them).

Whatever you prefer, just make sure to have your content downloaded offline before departure.

On Arrival: Getting to know a new city

When you move from city to city, country to country, many times every year, it really helps having a good routine for how to get to know your new location. If you follow the tips in this section you’ll be up and running and productive in no time!

Wikivoyage (Free)

Wikipedia meets Lonely Planet. It’s the best and most comprehensive collaborative online travel guide.

Whenever I visit a new city I always consult Wikivoyage to find the best ways of getting into the city from the airport and get a general overview over the city. You can download articles as PDFs or even build and download your own custom guide book. I usually do this and read through the PDF while I’m on the plane to get an idea of what there is to do and see in the city I’m about to visit.

Attaché (Free)

If you prefer travel guides in a video format, Attaché is a good option. As they say, it’s the travel show that will get you “in, out, and around some of the world’s greatest cities” in 10-20 minutes. In a typical episode you’ll learn how to get to and from the airport, get around the city, and get a few highlights of what to do, where to eat and drink.

Prepaid Data Sim Wikia (Free)

When staying in a country for a while it’s usually best to get a cheap local prepaid SIM card with plenty of data rather than roaming on your home SIM card.

This website will tell you everything your need to know to get the best prepaid SIM card to suit your needs: Plans & prices, where to buy, ID requirements (if any), etc. It’s all there.

Foursquare (Free)

While most tourists seem to rely on TripAdvisor for finding things to see, do, eat and drink, my preferred way is using Foursquare.

It’s niche enough to not be gamed by most establishments, large enough to have great recommendations in most cities worldwide.

I’ve never had a bad experience at a place rated at least 8.0 or higher on Foursquare.

Swarm (Free)

Another app from Foursquare, centered around checking in to places. What’s the point of that, you may ask?

I think it’s great for keeping track of your travels and finding the names of places you’ve visited and loved when your friends ask you for recommendations down the line. Or when you go back and try to retrace your steps.

As a bonus you can choose to be notified when your Swarm friends “ check in ” in the same city as you. I’ve met up with many friends that happened to be in the same city as me this way. If it wasn’t for Swarm I would have never known they were even on the same continent.

Untappd (Free)

While Foursquare and Swarm help you discover and keep track of amazing places, Untappd does the same for beer.

You check in and rate the beers you drink, and can even use the app to discover bars nearby that have beer you like or want to try.

Vivino (Free)

If wine is more your thing, then Vivino is a similar app centered around tracking, rating, and discovering great wine.

They even have a marketplace that will help you find fantastic wines at a reasonable price that can be delivered to your doorstep.

Meetup.com (Free)

When arriving in a new city, it’s always a challenge to meet likeminded people. One reliable place to start is Meetup.com. You’ll find groups of people centered around various interests, lifestyles, professions, and other general social or expat groups.

Facebook Groups (Free)

More often than not there are some quite active Facebook groups organizing meetups and facilitating connections with likeminded people in whatever city or country you find yourself in. You’ll have to start searching to find what you’re looking for. Try phrases like “ Expats in X ”, “ Nomads in X ”, “ X social ”, “ Meetup X ”, “ [your interest] X ”.

Teleport Ask A Local (Free)

It’s not everything that’s easy to find an answer to on Google, especially if you’re getting to know a new city and keep running into language and other cultural barriers.

What if you had a knowledgeable local you could ask for advice?

With Ask A Local you’ll have access to hundreds or even thousands in each of over 250 cities worldwide. Just select your city, ask your question, and wait for the answers to roll in.

And did I mention it’s all for free?

WHA by Work Hard Anywhere (Free)

When landing in a new city, a frequent challenge is to find a good place to work from. Of course, you could work from your apartment or hotel room, but where is the fun in that?

If you want to get out, get a great cup of Joe, and maybe even meet some people—then coffee shops and coworking spaces are your friends.

The best app for finding places to work from that I’ve found is WHA by Work Hard Anywhere. The only drawback is that it’s iOS only (at least for now). An Android version has been “in the works” for the last couple years—so I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for it.

There are a few alternatives that work on web as well as mobile, such as Workfrom and Café Wifi . They work best in larger cities, but can be worth checking out in addition to WHA.

Atlas Obscura (Free)

Tired of following the flow of tourists all flocking to the same handful sights? Atlas Obscura is here to save the day. It’s a collaborative project for discovering and sharing hidden spots and curious places around the world.

This is the first of many…

I will put together more articles like this one in the future, covering a range of topics like communication and productivity apps, communities, work tools, taxes, banking, privacy, and many more.

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The world’s best airlines for nomads and long-term travelers, the world’s best bank accounts for international travelers and nomads, the best business bank accounts to open from anywhere, my top resources for nomads, travelers, & expats, portugal golden visa guide: pros & cons in 2024, the world's best travel insurance for long-term travelers.

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An Interview with Nomadic Matt (Budget Travel)

The budget travel guy? That’s Matt Kepnes, from Nomadic Matt. I’m so happy he’s accepted this interview to talk about his journey and his future projects.

Throughout the years, he’s been a real inspiration for travelers and bloggers alike. And of course my family.

Matt has built a solid reputation based on his budget travel experience, and today, his expertise is uncontested.

Some of his resources include an excellent blog filled with budget travel tips and his best-selling book How to Travel the world on 50 $ a day .

I’ve been going on his site forever, not only for budget travel ideas but also for valuable information.

Read the interview and learn more about the guy behind Nomadic Matt, and get inspired to budget travel!

What are some of the most important decisions you’ve made to achieve your success? What qualities do you have that set you apart? Did you always want to budget travel?

For starters, I think the decision to take the plunge and learn how to start a travel blog was probably the biggest one.

After meeting some long-term budget travelers when I was backpacking Thailand , I decided that I wanted to take a long-term trip myself.

Not surprisingly, the more I traveled, the more I realized I wanted to keep traveling — and that meant I needed to make more money.

I decided to teach English overseas to spend more time backpacking Southeast Asia while still making an income. I also used that experience to start a travel blog.

I had hoped that I could get a job with Lonely Planet which would let me write and travel the world.

That was my dream job. Of course, that never worked out, but I could still grow my blog and eventually make a living from it.

And that would never have happened if I didn’t take the leap and start a blog! I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew I wanted to travel more, so I learned the skills to make that happen.

On top of that, I think a couple of things that have set me apart from other bloggers is that I treated my blog like a business. I knew that if I wanted to succeed, I needed to make smart decisions and plan accordingly.

I couldn’t just sit around relaxing. I had to work hard — like any other business owner. That mindset helped get me ahead.

Lastly, I read. A lot.

Reading is such a great way to learn new skills and I think that reading so much has been such a huge help when it comes to growing and maintaining my business.

There is always something new to learn, so if you’re not reading often you’re missing out on all that knowledge!

As a respected member of the travel industry, do you have anything specific you wish you could improve on?

I think there is always room for improvement — it’s only when we stop trying to improve ourselves that we lose our edge.

I’m constantly networking, reading, and learning new skills because I believe there are always things I can be doing better.

My job is to help people travel better, cheaper, and longer so I’m always looking for ways I can offer more value to my readers.

On a more practical level, earlier this year we held our first-ever travel conference, TravelCon . It was a huge success, but I definitely learned a lot (often by trial and error) so I’m looking forward to making tons of improvements for next year’s conference.

No matter your profession, I think it’s important to always be willing to learn and develop — but especially in the travel industry!

Travel itself is a great tool for personal development, so I think it’s important we embrace that mindset and also apply it to our jobs.

What major turning points in your travel blogging journey significantly changed things for you? And how did you apply what you learned?

One of my first big breaks was when I was able to get featured in The New York Times.

I saw a post on Twitter looking to interview bloggers and I replied immediately. I was backpacking New Zealand at the time, but I rushed to a payphone to do the interview. Before you knew it, my website was overwhelmed with traffic — literally!

My server actually crashed from all the traffic, which was a huge disappointment. But that interview put me on the map and was a huge stepping stone.

I learned a few things from that experience, but the two most important things were:

• Always have more server space than you need — you never know when that big break will come !
• Opportunities are everywhere. It’s just a matter of keeping your eyes peeled and getting lucky!

Besides budget travel and blogging, what is the one thing you’d be happy doing every day for years to come?

Reading! While travel has made me a bit more extroverted, I’m still an introvert at heart.

I enjoy my peace and quiet, and I love to sit down with a good book.

If I could just travel the world and read, I’d be more than content! Whether it’s travel books or non-travel books, it doesn’t matter to me — I just like to read!

What achievements are you most proud of and what do they relate to?

I think if I had to pick one thing, it would be FLYTE , the charity I started back in 2015. Travel is a huge privilege, so I started FLYTE as a way to give back.

Every year, we send a class of high school students from an underserved community on a trip abroad.

Travel is such a transformative tool, I wanted to make sure that everyone has a chance to experience it. So far we’ve sent students to Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, and Guatemala. I’m excited to see how we can grow the program and include more students from around the country.

Travel is such an eye-opening experience and by helping these students see the world we’re giving them a chance to build cultural bridges and learn about themselves and the world at large.

You’re a professional travel blogger and have a great deal of proven success. From your blog to guides to books to Travel Con and so much more. How has this changed you as a person?

It’s probably changed me in more ways than I know! But one thing that has changed is that I’m much more extroverted now.

Traveling the world and sharing my thoughts on my blog has forced me to be more open and communicative, which I think is a huge plus.

I’ve also learned a ton of amazing business and life skills that have changed my perspective.

Being an entrepreneur is a challenging path, so you have to learn all sorts of skills to keep you from burning out and working yourself to death.

I think I’ve become more flexible, more adaptable, and more patient over this journey. Because, to be honest, there are always problems to deal with and fires to put out.

But it’s a rewarding job because you have so much freedom, so I definitely wouldn’t trade it for the world!

Without a doubt, your travel journey has been an inspiration to so many people. Who has been an inspiration for you?

I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of meeting so many amazing, inspirational people over the years. But if I had to narrow it down, it would be the group of backpackers I met on my first trip backpacking Thailand.

I had never really thought about long-term travel before and didn’t really know that a “gap year” was an option. Meeting those backpackers in Chiang Mai was an eye-opener . They showed me that budget travel could be more than just a vacation – it could be a lifestyle.

Those backpackers inspired me to change my life, and without them, I likely would never have become “Nomadic Matt.”

Today traveling has become so much easier, but many interesting places suffer from tourism overload. How do you feel about this and how can we contribute to changing this trend?

With so many cheap flights available these days, we are seeing more and more people being able to afford to travel the world — which is great!

However, it is leading to more environmental damage and overtourism , which is a growing concern. It’s something a lot of people are talking about, though, which I think is an important first step.

If you want to avoid contributing to overtourism, there are plenty of things you can do to help.

First off, instead of visiting the same old destinations, try going somewhere new and less busy. Instead of Prague, go to Brno. Instead of Barcelona, try Northern Spain.

Every country has its tourist hotspots, but they also have plenty of other destinations you can visit that are just as good – if not better!

Another thing you can do is avoid the high season. Visiting during the shoulder season is a great way to not only avoid the crowds but you can also find cheaper prices.

Lastly, avoid renting Airbnb homes. A room in a place on Airbnb is totally fine, as you get to meet and interact with locals. But lots of places are renting out entire homes, which forces out the locals and drives up the cost of living.

Skip places like that and only stay with locals who actually live there.

There is a lot that we, as travelers, can do to help this growing issue. Hopefully, if we all put in some effort we can help diminish the consequences of over-tourism.

If you found a genie lamp and could be granted 3 wishes… What would they be?

• World peace, equality, and an end to poverty (I can fit all that into 1 wish, right?) Absolutely 🙂
• To learn all languages
• To be able to teleport – because then I wouldn’t have to worry about flights!

As an avid traveler and single mom, I’ve always taken my kids everywhere in spite of other people’s reactions and judgments.  Have you ever had a negative experience during a trip related to the way people interacted with you? And how did you handle it?

I think negative experiences are inevitable — just like they are at home. No matter where you go, there will always be someone who wants to ruin your day.

I try not to let it get to me and make the most out of my travels. You just have to live your life and not let the bad attitudes of other people impact you (which is easier said than done, of course!).

One place where I had some challenging experiences was when I was backpacking in Vietnam . I found that I was constantly getting scammed and ripped off — right to my face.

People would even laugh at me because of it, which was frustrating. But you just have to brush it off and keep doing your best to enjoy your travels and your life.

What would you consider to be the most important quality for a new travel blogger writing about budget travel? What would be the most important action needed to create success?

Patience. This isn’t a ‘get rich quick industry — it takes time to build and grow a travel website.

If you want to start a blog, just know that there are a ton of skills you need to learn, and it will be a slow (and often tedious) process. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

If you just want to make money, this isn’t the industry for you. But if you want to help people travel better while running your own business, then travel blogging can be a rewarding career. But you have to have the patience and discipline to see it through!

Thanks so much, Matt for the interview! I really appreciate you sharing with our readers your story and budget travel as well. Thanks for being so generous with your content.

For more excellent budget travel advice and gorgeous photos check Matt’s Facebook and Instagram.

Thanks again, Matt !

Safe Budget Travels.

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Ten Years a Nomad: A Q&A with travel blogger Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt needs no introduction. The blogger , adventurer and New York Times bestselling author is not just a legend, but also a dear friend of Intrepid’s. (Seriously, he’s been to Madagascar , Patagonia , Morocco , Jordan and more with us!)

Oh, and he’s just published a new book entitled Ten Years a Nomad .

In honor of this exciting milestone we sat down with (well, emailed) the man himself. We talked about his time on the road, approach to sustainable travel, fave Intrepid trip, and so much more. Buckle up… and be sure to pick yourself up a copy !

Congrats on visiting 100 countries! Tell us some of your top picks!

This is a hard one to answer since there are so many great countries out there, all offering something unique. Picking your favorite is like picking your favorite kid! You love them all equally but for different reasons. But if I had to narrow the list down and pick a few, here’s what I’d choose:

For the landscapes…

I think  Iceland  and  New Zealand  are two of the most breathtaking destinations in the world. The landscapes are truly out of this world. From the rocky terrain of the Icelandic interior to the rugged volcanic mountains of New Zealand, both destinations are home to unique and diverse scenery. They both offer challenging hikes, adrenaline activities, and tons outdoor activities such as whale watching and glacier trekking in Iceland and skydiving, white water rafting, and bungee jumping in New Zealand. If you’re the outdoorsy type, these are two countries you need to visit!

VISIT ICELAND WITH INTREPID TRAVEL VISIT NEW ZEALAND WITH INTREPID TRAVEL

Icelandic landscapes (and selfies!)

For the cities…

Some of my favorites are New York , Paris , Bangkok , and Hong Kong . I love giant metropolises. There are always so many people around, a wide variety of food, activities, and events. You can’t be bored in these places and as someone who likes to be busy, I like these places.

For the food…

I’d probably say Thailand has my favorite food. I love the street food there. There’s something wonderful about sitting in a plastic stool eating a delicious bowl of noodles. Thai food is spicy, fragrant, and full of texture and flavor. It’s so complex and delicious. I can’t get enough.

LOVE THAI FOOD? INTREPID’S 8-DAY FOOD TRIP IS PERFECT FOR YOU

For the people…

I really love the people of Cambodia . The people here really blew me away on my first visit with their kindness and generosity. Even with its heartbreaking recent history, the people here were always friendly and inviting.

A Cambodian local at an Intrepid trip homestay

How has the way we travel changed in the past 10 years?

When I first started traveling back in 2004, there were no apps, smartphones, wifi, or social media to guide you along. It was like the Stone Age of the Internet (and it wasn’t even that long ago).

And I think that is really the biggest change. The why of travel never changes. What drives people 100 years ago continues to drive people today.

But the how of travel is constantly changing. And right now the biggest change is how technology has changed things.

The good old days of maps and guide books

Tell us a memorable story from the road!

One of my favorite travel memories occurred way back in 2006, when I was a few months into my first long-term trip around the world. I got an email from another traveler I was supposed to meet that she was stuck on an island called Ko Lipe . She loved it too much to move so she wasn’t going to be able to meet me as planned but that I should come meet her.

And I ended up staying for a month. It was paradise. There were few people on the island, electricity for only a few hours day, deserted beaches, and great snorkeling right off the island. Plus, it was super cheap so you could afford to live there well on little.

For the next month, I relaxed and lounged and swam and drank with a small group of friends. To this day, my time on Ko Lipe is my version of “the beach”, that place of travel perfection where time melts away and you don’t have a care in the world.

INTREPID IS MATT’S GO-TO TOUR COMPANY; SEE WHAT OTHER RESOURCES HE RECOMMENDS 

For those looking for budget destinations, where would you recommend visiting?

Southeast Asia is probably the best place to start. It’s cheap and has tons of amazing things to see and do. Beaches, temples, food, nightlife, diving — the list goes on. Plus, it’s incredibly affordable so you can get around on a budget for well under $50 a day!

You can’t go wrong with Southeast Asia!

WHERE TO TRAVEL IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, ACCORDING TO INTREPID LOCAL LEADERS

Eastern Europe is another great choice and the most underrated part of the continent. Romania , Ukraine , and Bulgaria all have tons of history, medieval towns, fewer crowds, huge national parks, and delicious food all for a fraction of what you would pay in Western Europe.

EXPLORE EUROPE WITH INTREPID TRAVEL

Tell us an interesting or unexpected obstacle you faced being on the road so much.

I think one of the challenges of being on the road so much is just maintaining the desire to do so. There’s always logistical challenges: language, figuring out transit systems, and finding places to eat. Every day you have a thousand decisions to make in a place you know nothing about. That can be pretty taxing.

The desire to travel is a battery not an unlimited wellspring and it needs to be recharged every so often. Learning that lesson is something you never really think about. I mean who says, “Travel is going to be boring!”

Like-minded friends make travel even more exciting

How do you keep sustainability and the environment front of mind when traveling?

I travel with a reusable water bottle to keep the plastic use to a minimum (I use lifestraw ) and I never say no to taking the train for shorter distances. As a foodie, I’m always looking for delicious local food and drinks, which are much more sustainable than imported or processed foods.

BRUSH UP ON INTREPID’S RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL POLICIES

I think it’s always important to just try to do the little things as often as possible: take public transportation, don’t eat a lot of imported food, use travel companies that take care of the environment, avoid plastics, and turn the lights out when you leave a place. Every little bit helps!

Matt on an environmentally-conscious Patagonia trip with Intrepid

You’ve taken a few Intrepid trips in the last 10 years – what was your favourite and why? 

Madagascar was a special trip, in part because it’s such a rarely-visited destination. With under 400,000 tourists every year, Madagascar is relatively untouched from a tourism perspective. It’s also an isolated, diverse island nation and I wanted to see what the country was like with my own eyes.

It can be hard to travel as a solo backpacker, so a tour seemed perfect. While the poverty was jarring at times, the people we so warm and always happy to say hello. The landscapes were stunning as well, and some of my favorite photos are from that very trip!

Magical Madagascar landscapes

READ MORE ABOUT MATT’S MADAGASCAR ADVENTURE WITH INTREPID

What destination could you return to again and again – and why?

Thailand is a country I could return to again and again and never get bored. Bangkok, in particular, is a city that I could always go back to. I lived there years ago so it holds a special place in my heart. I love the chaos of that city.

Paris would be high on the list as well. I recently spent a few months living in Paris, but I would go back in a heartbeat. The food, the history, the architecture, the café culture – I love it all.

Where haven’t you been yet and still want to visit?

Bhutan. It looks absolutely gorgeous. The remoteness of the country is very appealing, as it has been relatively unspoiled by overtourism . I’ve seen the picture-perfect mountains and monasteries all over social media for a couple years now so I think it’s finally time I go and see the country for myself. (Maybe that will be my next Intrepid tour !)

BEAT MATT TO IT AND BOOK A SMALL GROUP TOUR IN BHUTAN!

For those who want to take the leap to travel but are scared – what would your advice be?

I remember how anxious and nervous I was when I first started traveling, so don’t worry — those feelings are natural. It’s never been easier to start traveling as there are countless blogs and guides and websites to arm you with the tools that you need. Plus, there are Facebook groups you can join for tips and support, as well as apps you can use to connect with locals. The tools are out there — you just need to be willing to use them.

The first steps will be daunting. You may feel uncomfortable or awkward or even scared. But action begets actions. All you need to do is take that first step out the door. Everything gets easier after that first step.

LOOKING FOR INSPO? CHECK OUT INTREPID TRAVEL’S TOP TRIPS AND DESTINATIONS

What’s next for Nomadic Matt?

A book tour! For the next two months, I’ll be traveling all around the US and Canada hosting book readings about my recently released  new book, Ten Years a Nomad . It’s a travel memoir about my ten years traveling around the world, highlighting the lessons I learned as well as my advice on being a better traveler. The book features stories I’ve never told on the blog and goes deeper into my philosophy on travel.

This book explores the emotional journey of a trip around the world: getting the bug, the planning, setting off, the highs, the lows, the friends, what happens when you come back — and the lessons and advice that come with all that.

Where can we buy your new book?

My new book is available at your local independent bookstore as well as on Amazon and Barnes and Noble . Really, anywhere books are sold!

Learn more about Nomadic Matt’s NEW book here .

Feeling inspired?

Intrepid Travel

Intrepid has been leading small group adventures for over 30 years. We’re a certified B Corp, which means we want to be the best travel company not just in the world, but for the world. To create positive change through the joy of travel. You can read our latest adventures right here.

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TravelKiwis

How to travel smarter, an interview with nomadic matt.

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Nomadic Matt (Matthew Kepnes) is a New York Times bestselling author who has been roaming the world for over a decade.

Every month over 1,000,000 people visit his site and use his advice to travel better, cheaper, and smarter.

But Nomadic Matt also provides a fantastic resource for bloggers with his course Superstar Bloggers.

We have been part of Matt’s Superstar Bloggers program, where Matt and his team provide training and advice to travel bloggers.

So, we wanted to find out a little more about his incredible travel adventures; we reached out to the Superstar Blogger program for an interview with Matt.

And we’re so excited we had the opportunity to chat with him about his amazing travel lifestyle.

An Interview with Nomadic Matt

When we first started travelling, Nomadic Matt was one of our inspirations. We followed your advice on setting up our travel blog website TravelKiwis .

1. Matt, who has been inspirational to you, not just at the start of your travel life, but along the journey?

There are definitely too many people to list! But a couple of people I’ve found inspiring over the years are Rolf Potts (the author of the backpacker bible Vagabonding), Bill Bryson (the famous travel writer), Anthony Bourdain, and even the movie character Indiana Jones have all inspired me.

But beyond the “famous” inspirational people, I’ve also met countless regular travellers whose stories, experiences, and perspectives kept me inspired and passionate about life and travel.

2. What was it that inspired you to begin your travel life? And did you intend to become full-time at that stage?

It wasn’t until I actually met some full-time backpackers that I really thought about long-term travel .

For me, and most Americans, travel is usually done in short bursts; longer trips aren’t the norm. So it didn’t really cross my mind until I met some backpackers in Thailand doing it. That really opened up a new realm of possibilities. After that, long-term travel was my goal.

I went back to work and started saving everything I could so that, one day, I could be just like those backpackers in Thailand: travelling the globe without a care in the world!

3. What are the biggest barriers to living a full-time travel lifestyle? And how can people overcome those barriers?

The two most common barriers are money and fear.

People are afraid of shaking things up, of ditching their old life in exchange for something new — even if that new life is something they’ve always dreamed of!

Usually, people in that situation don’t have support, either. And without support from family and friends, it’s hard to take that risk. When everyone in your life is telling you it’s not worth the risk and that you should stay home, you’ll likely end up believing them and giving in to that fear.

On top of that, people think that long-term travel is expensive. But it’s not! Most of the time, it’s actually cheaper than staying home!

Without bills to worry about, you can focus on simple things. It’s easy to save money when you travel because there are so many various ways to save money on the road via hostels, the sharing economy, Couchsurfing, job opportunities, etc.

4. We have been house-sitting for two years.  Have you tried house-sitting ?

I’ve never actually tried house-sitting. It wasn’t that common when I was first travelling, and now that it is popular, I’m usually too busy reviewing hostels or bouncing around the map that staying in one place isn’t feasible.

But it’s definitely on my radar whenever I need a place to stay for a longer period of time!

5. Travel helped Terry overcome his fear of heights.

What fears have you confronted while travelling.

I hate heights, and I hate flying, so I can definitely relate!

I’m a very nervous flyer, so I’ve gone out of my way to read books about planes and talk to pilots to get a better understanding of how aeroplanes actually work (I even went to the Boeing factory to see them get built and I got to fly a flight simulator too).

Knowledge is a great tool to use against fear because you can rely on that knowledge to convince yourself, to walk yourself through the precise details in a manner that will help those fears subside.

It doesn’t always work, but it helps!

How Travel Helped Me Overcome My Fear of Heights

When we first travelled to Europe, we spent 60 days trying to see as much as possible. We saw a lot but didn’t remember much. We now find we enjoy slow travel by spending longer in each place.

6. Do you have similar learning from your own experience?

During my earlier travels, I did the same thing. I hurried around from place to place, trying to see this and that, focusing on quantity over quality. It wasn’t until I started to get exhausted that I realized I needed to change things up.

One of the best travel advice I’ve ever received was just to slow down . Focus on quality over quantity.

I still share that advice with travellers to this day because I see a lot of new travellers making that same mistake. So if you’re planning a trip, don’t rush it. Slow down. Stop and smell the roses.

It’s not a race, after all!

7. We have always travelled as a couple, sometimes with groups, but we have never travelled solo.

What do you do to manage loneliness while travelling solo.

I’m an introvert, so I’m perfectly comfortable being alone. I never get tired of reading or writing. And even if I do, I’ve always got work to do! But for anyone who is worried about being lonely on the road, it’s never actually been easier to meet people.

Hang out in your hostel dorm or sign up for events at your hostel.

Beyond that, use apps like Couchsurfing Hangouts or Meetup.com to find locals with shared interests. You can also use social media. If you have a passion for, say, swing dancing, you can see if there are any local swing groups on Facebook. The same goes for any sort of passion.

Chances are there will be some people in the area who share your interest, so look for groups or events centred around that interest, and you’ll be bound to meet some people!

8. What are three things you always take with you on your travels?

1) A towel for beaches or picnics or to use as a pillow if I need one. 2) A notebook for jotting down any ideas or notes. 3) My phone, for maps and translation and anything else I want!

9. What has been the most useless item you have taken on a trip?

A money belt. They stand out so easily and mark you as a tourist. I never bother with them anymore.

10. Have you had an experience you would call life-changing?

When it comes to travel, quitting my job and selling my stuff to travel the world was a life-changing experience. It seems like a lifetime ago, but I remember all the anxiety and excitement like yesterday.

There were so many variables, so many questions I had…but I also knew I had to do it. I was compelled to.

You see, people do it all the time now on social media, but when it’s you, it’s a whole other feeling. Kicking off a journey like that, with the world at your feet…there’s nothing like it. That changed my life, and I think it changes the lives of anyone willing to take the plunge and do it themselves.

11. How do you choose the next place you want to explore?

I usually just go wherever the cheap flights take me or wherever I can meet up with some friends. I don’t really have a bucket list or specific places I want to go— I just follow the budget flights. They haven’t let me down yet!

12. How much of your upcoming trips are planned vs going with the moment?

Most of my trips are a fair balance between the two.

I love planning, so I always make an outline and figure things out in advance. But, once I get on the ground, I often throw my plan out the window and go with the flow.

I don’t plan nearly as much as I used to because you never know what opportunities will come your way if you keep yourself open.

Obviously, shorter trips will need more planning so you can get the most out of your time. But for a longer trip? Throw those plans out the window!

13. What places do you repeatedly return to? What is their attraction?

Bangkok , Amsterdam , Paris , London , and Stockholm are some of my most-visited places.

They are just cities that I really enjoy, the cities that I vibe with. I’ve spent enough time in each to get under the skin, so these days I just feel at home when I arrive. They are great cities for newbie travellers but also for the experienced.

They have great activities, awesome food, fun nightlife, and enough history to keep anyone busy. In short, they all offer something for everyone. You couldn’t get bored in these cities even if you tried!

14. Which country would you suggest to someone who has never travelled to give them a wonderful first travel experience?

While there are many great possibilities here, Thailand is usually my go-to answer.

The country has a well-worn tourist trail, so it’s easy to get around without mastering the language. There are beaches and jungles, incredible dive sites, lots of temples and history, amazing food and a non-stop nightlife.

It’s got everything you need to have an amazing trip. Plus, it’s safe and cheap, making it a perfect destination for the newbie traveller.

15. If someone is reading this and considering beginning a travel adventure, what advice would you offer?

I would tell them that they need to make a plan. Figure out how much money you have, and figure out where you want to go and for how long.

Be specific and set a realistic goal.

Don’t make a broad goal like “I want to travel.” Be specific. “I want to spend one month in Paris in 2019”, or “I want to start a 1-year backpacking trip starting January 2019.”

Get precise. Make your plan.

And then do something every day that will get you there. Slowly but surely, you’ll get there, and before you know it, you’ll be sitting on the plane.

Lessons from Nomadic Matt

We would like to thank Matt for taking the time to chat with us.

We have been truly inspired by his travel adventures for many years, and we hope you will get the same inspiration to venture out into the world.

If you are thinking of starting up a Travel Blog, we can highly recommend joining Nomadic Matt’s course, The Business of Travel Blogging.

The course provides a step-by-step process, and the 10-week program will help you:

• Start your blog
• Master the technical skills you need
• Create a lasting brand
• Write content people want to read and share
• Optimize your website and rank high in search engines
• Crush it on social media
• Get press coverage
• And make money to support yourself

Listening and taking action from a fellow traveller is one of the best ways to enjoy your travel blog.

Interview With Budget Travel Expert Nomadic Matt

Many know him, some might not. Perhaps some of you follow his blog or have at least seen it.

I remember when I heard about this Nomadic Matt guy back when I was starting out and I kept hearing about him for years without really ever interacting with him. Last summer I finally met him in person and since then, we’ve hung out a couple of times, most recently at the end of May while at the TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange) conference in Spain.

Here’s the deal. Matt has been blogging and has been involved with travel for a long time. He’s worked on numerous projects, written books and is even working on creating a charity organization called FLYTE that will help underprivileged youth experience the benefits of travel. Travel is his life.

His book “ How to Travel the World on $50 a Day ” had its second edition released this year, and for $8 bucks on Amazon, it’s a solid investment for anyone looking to really cut costs while traveling.

So, back in May at that conference, while eating some sandwiches at a food truck in Lloret de Mar, Spain (yes, they were so good that we each had to eat more than one), Matt and I got to talking and because we both focus on budget travel for the most part, we agreed to put up a little interview with him on my site.

It’s just a quick, light and hopefully useful chat…

Interview with Nomadic Matt

Who are you, sir.

My name is Matt Kepnes and I’m known as Nomadic Matt. I’ve been traveling the world since 2006. I grew up in Boston and worked in health care after college. Fun fact: I’m also a certified high school history teacher! After a trip to Costa Rica in 2004, I fell in love with travel. I never traveled a lot growing up so I didn’t know how great it was until this trip. I loved the freedom travel enabled me to have. Every day was Saturday. The following year I took a trip to Thailand and after meeting five backpackers one day during that trip, I became very jealous of their lifestyle. But meeting them showed me that I didn’t have to be tied down to my job and that I didn’t need to be rich to travel.

After that trip, I went home again, finished my MBA, quit my cubicle job, and, in July 2006, set out on an adventure around the world.

My round-the-world trip was supposed to last a year but I didn’t come home until eighteen months later. Realizing I absolutely loved travel, I decided to head overseas again and that’s when I started my website, Nomadic Matt. I’ve been traveling and writing ever since.

So budget travel expert…what regions of the world offer the best value?

I think the best overall budget region in the world is Southeast Asia. You get amazing value for your money there. Everything is relatively inexpensive. Some other good places for budget travel: India, South Korea, Eastern Europe, and Central America. If you are budget traveler and low on funds, those would be the best places to go.

Earl: Southeast Asia is great and of course, I’m a huge Eastern Europe fan too!

Name a mistake that you think new travelers tend to make…

Most new travelers over plan and mis-budget their money. When you are new to the road, you tend to plan out your route in great detail and pre-book hostels, hotels, and flights. And that makes sense. When you’re home thinking about your trip, planning it out makes it seem more real but in travel, less is more and it is far better to just go with the flow. Pick a general route but leave the details to work themselves out along the way. You’re going to change your plans when you hit the ground, I can guarantee it, and learn what you like and don’t like as you go.

In addition, I’m always amazed at how often travelers run out of money. There’s so much price information online now that you can find out how much everything costs. Do a little research beforehand and get an idea of the costs you’ll face and then create your budget. Don’t go in blind.

Earl: It’s definitely difficult to avoid planning when you first start out. But if you talk to as many long-term travelers as you can, I think you’ll find that almost all of them will advise against planning too much. It’s something you learn very quickly once you begin.

What’s your biggest budgeting mistake that others can learn from?

I make mistakes all the time but I would say my biggest mistake, one I never made twice, was not factoring in currency changes into my budget. Currencies move up and down all the time and I should have been smarter about this when I first started out with my around the world trip in 2006. I made Australia my last country on that trip and when I was doing my pre-trip budgeting, one US dollar got you 1.30 Australian dollars and I calculated my budget based on that. By the time I actually got to Australia, their dollar was on par with the US dollar. I had 30% less money because of this and, with no wiggle room in my budget, had to cut a lot of activities out of my trip.

Earl: Good lesson. I now set up alerts on my phone for any countries I plan to visit in the near future in order to keep track of the exchange rates to avoid such a situation.

Any memorable experience that puts a smile on your face every time you think about it?

After ten years of travel, I’ve had a lot of great adventures. My days are often filled with so many activities and experiences that are definitely memorable. I would say my favorite was when I spent a month on an island in Thailand back in 2006. A small group of travelers and I spent a month on Ko Lipe, which back then was very off the beaten path. I lost my flip flops the first day I was there so just went barefoot for an entire month. I loved every day I was there and it is by far my favorite travel experience. I know it’s not a crazy story. I’ve kept my travels pretty tame but this was such a memorable time.

Earl: It’s always amazing to me how being isolated on a tropical island, with very little in terms of possessions or signs of the modern world or even money, is such an enjoyable experience. Some of my own favorite experiences also involve being on remote islands. It’s proof that a simple life can certainly bring about real happiness.

What’s the most frightening incident you’ve experienced while traveling?

I almost drowned in Fiji. I was learning to scuba dive and on my second dive, my dive partner kicked the regulator out of my mouth. We were far under and I panicked a bit but I was able to put the regulator back in and breathe. I sat there for a while breathing in and out and calming down before I surfaced. To the credit of my instructor, he was on top of the situation very quickly and made sure I was safe.

Earl: While that doesn’t sound enjoyable at all, I do like to point out that rarely does someone’s ‘worst experience’ involve something that couldn’t happen anywhere. I always stand by my belief that the world is actually much safer than we tend to believe!

Any countries you don’t have a desire to visit again?

Vietnam. I just didn’t like it there. I know lots of people who love it but I had a horrible time. I thought the people were abrasive, rude, and always tried to scam me and my friends. I have no desire or plan to ever go back.

But that’s just my experience. I know people who hate Paris (I think they are crazy. Paris is amazing.) so I would never say don’t go somewhere. Always check it out for yourself first because we all have different experiences of course.

Earl: Good thing you added that last paragraph. I wouldn’t have put this interview up if you didn’t mention that!

In your book, you talk about traveling for $50 per day. That number – $50 – seems high. Why do you focus on that amount?

A lot of people get stuck on that number. Depending on your point of view, it’s either too much or too little. But the first thing to remember is that it is a daily average over a year long trip and it includes pre-trip expenses such as gear and insurance as well as flights. I think when you look at it that way, the number is not so high at all. You aren’t going to spend $50 a day every day – some days will be more, most will be less and it will depend on where you are going. If you are going to Norway, $50 is a good number. If you are going to India, that’s way more than you’ll need!

But more than being just a number, it’s a philosophy. The book is designed to be a guide to budget travel but it is full of real tips and tricks that are actually useful for travel on any budget.

Earl: Like you said, advice on how to budget your travels can always apply to anyone. We are always looking to save money, no matter how much we can afford or want to spend. If I can travel to a country and spend $800 for a month, I’d of course also be interested in learning how to have the same experience for $600 if possible.

What is the simplest method you know for travelers to save money?

I think the best thing people can do to save money when they travel is to be flexible. The difference of a day can mean the difference of hundreds of dollars. When you are flexible with time and place, you can capture the best deals that come up. For most people, they can’t be flexible on both so be flexible on at least one because if you have to go to Paris on a certain day, you are paying whatever the listed price is. There’s no magic bullet in travel and there are only so many ways to lower expenses. Sometimes the price is the price.

So I recommend people be flexible when they can. If you’re dead set on Paris, go when it is cheapest. If you can only travel during two weeks in June, go to where it is cheapest. This approach can really save a ton of money in the end.

Earl: This is exactly what I would have said too and I think many long-term travelers agree with this. The more you plan, the more you’re stuck in those plans, and when a different experience or better deal pops up, you’re not able to take advantage of it. It’s okay to plan a little but as you travel, I think most people realize just how important being flexible truly can be.

When it comes to saving money on travel, what’s the biggest difference between when you started and today?

It’s a lot easier to find good deals today. When I started, information was scarce. Now, there are so many blogs, deal-finding websites and travel apps, that travel has never been easier or more accessible. When I started researching my first trip back in 2006, I remember finding one website on backpacking Europe that helped me plan my trip. Now, there are hundreds of websites about every country in Europe that can help plan your trip. Before, if you wanted to find a good flight deal, you would have to spend hours searching routes and carriers. Now, there are websites like holidaypirates.com , theflightdeal.com and airfarewatchdog.com that alert you about deals. They have teams of people doing all the work so you don’t have to do anything but see what deals exist every day. It’s really never been a better time to travel because of all these deals and all of the information that you can find so easily, all of which will help you save money in ways that travelers couldn’t before.

Earl: Ever since I signed up for theflightdeal.com, I’ve wanted to book flights almost every week. For those living in the US, there are some unbelievable deals out there that you probably won’t hear about without an alert from this website. A good example from the alert email I received today: $555 USD roundtrip from Chicago to St. Petersburg, Russia. Who’s coming with me?

For those who aren’t familiar with Matt’s stuff, you can find him here: NomadicMatt.com How to Travel the World on $50 a Day FLYTE (Matt’s new charity)

Any other money-saving tips you’ve picked up on your own travels? Any questions for Matt or about saving money while wandering the world?

New blog posts, honest updates from my 21 years of constant travel, personal recommendations and the best of travel from around the world.

40 Comments

I think one of the biggest financial mistakes you can make, while travelling, is not getting the right cards and bank account before you go. When I left for my three year (!) trip, I left in a bit of a hurry and a flap as my relationship had just ended. I didn’t have time to sort all this kinda thing out. I ended up paying a lot of money that first year on bank fees. I’d totally recommend getting all this sort of thing sorted before you go, so you’re not bartering here, but then spending loads of money over there.

Great interview, I guess Matt has been a great inspiration for many of us 🙂

I actually stumbled upon your blog because I came your blog on Nomadic Matt.

I was shocked about Vietnam because everybody seems to be loving it but as Matt said it all depends on individual experience.

Im not a great planner/organiser when it comes to travel and I tend to go with the flow because every time I organise it just doesn’t work out for me.

[…] to pack when traveling. Not only does it help you organize, it also keeps your possessions safe. If a knockout post should be exposed to the elements on the tarmac, the contents of your bag will stay […]

Love the “not over planning” advice. My best trip to date was a two week jaunt around Belize with my best friend using this method. Using this technique allowed us to get a personalized tour of Chan Chich Lodge, bar hopping in San Ignacio with Belize’s Chief of Police, catching the first game of the Belize Premier League Championships, and staying overnight in a Mayan Village about 45 minutes Northeast of Punta Gorda.

None of this would happened had we stuck to a strict itinerary! Definitely “go with the flow” if you can, especially in less visited countries. You never know the opportunities that may arise coming from this!

Hi Earl! Have you ever been in Peru?

Hey Fernanda – I haven’t been to Peru yet.

Hey Earl- great interview. I definitely agree with you and Matt. I was flexible with my travel plan in the balkan region/Europe. I used different flight path destinations in Europe and ended up saving loads of money in airline fee. Good advice!

Figure out what means the most to you and spend liberally in that area … in the areas that don’t matter as much, find every way possible to save money.

Matt is a great guy. I often read his articles and he presents some great information. His blog helped me a lot during my travels!

Hey Earl, a buddy and I are currently traveling the US. We packed up a few items and just headed out with rough plans. I started in Colorado and he started doing the John Muir trail. Now we have made our way to the Northeast, went through as much as we could and are working at a winery in Maine. We plan on continuing our trip overseas next year, maybe sooner. Any advice about some unknowns we may run into? We plan on doing France first, not sure where. Thanks!

Hey Jon – There will be plenty of unknowns out there but it’s different for everyone…you just need to start the adventure and see where it leads! At the end of the day, if you managed this US trip of yours, you’ll have no problem overseas as well.

Hey Earl, very cool you got to hang out with another fellow travel enthusiast and blogger. One question, did you ever worry about just picking up and leaving? I would love to travel more, but I’m also afraid of leaving behind a steady job and not saving money for things like retirement. Did it ever feel like you weren’t being responsible? And not having benefits? Were these things ever a concern for you? I want to see the world so badly, but this concern is always in the back of my mind.

Hey Megan – Well, for me, I never really had that steady job before I left. I went overseas on a post-graduation trip and the plan was to go home after 3 months and begin my career. But I never went home in the end. So it really comes down to making a personal decision as to what you are looking for in life and what path will be the most fulfilling for you. And just because you travel, doesn’t mean you aren’t saving money for retirement.

I am definitely saving money for retirement. I save money every single month and I pay for health insurance as well. So it’s not much different than if I was working at home somewhere.

Agree on Central America being cheap, although I got a bit stung in Costa Rica last year! I’m dying to see Asia so will definitely start south east and work my way around. It’s nice to see you both still have your love of travel. I only really discovered mine in the last few years, but it has taken over my life! I’ve loved blogging my way around some weird and wonderful parts of the world!

What a nice surprise for a interview since I know many of us read both your blogs all the time. Awesome!!

First of all I been following earl since long time and all blog r very inspiring. Thank u for all this.

I have one question, what u guys do for accomadation?? How u find it in other countries???

Hey Veel – Thanks for commenting and for following the site! For accommodation, I generally use a combination of hostelworld.com, airbnb.com and then getting recommendations from other travelers/bloggers that I find online. But for budget travel, hostelworld.com is the way to go. They list hostels and other budget accommodation in just about every town and city on the planet it seems!

Airbnb is great, but Hostelworld isn’t as great as you make it sound. A lot of hostels no longer use it because they keep on raising their booking fees since they got bought by a big investment company, and you often pay more if you book through them. Hostelz.com is a bigger and better free hostel listing service that really does list all hostels in every town.

He said that because he had bad experiences and he’s not the first one I hear saying that about Vietnam… in some places it seems like your a walking ATM. That and also the fact he is american maybe doesn’t help (not sure about how french people are perceived in Vietnam).

Interesting interview! I’ve been following you both for a long time now so good to see what similarities you both have about your travel. I was at TBEX in Spain as well and remember those food trucks! We also spent a LOT of time chatting around those. Great memories!

Not factoring currency exchanges was indeed my biggest travel mistake so far. It’s impressive how much it can fly away from your hands in commissions, fees, etc! Quite surprised to see Vietnam as a disappointing experience for Matt, I can’t wait to go there!

You are the two bloggers that have been inspiring to me the most, both as traveller and a travel blogger. Keep up the great work!

Lol, I feel a bit sad when I saw “….best overall budget region in the world is Southeast Asia”.

I have visited most countries in Asia and would like to visit the other way round, i.e. England, Ireland, Europe etc. I want to start from London to Ireland then probably Europe (Switzerland a must for me). I am still waiting for a cheaper flight for me to travel from Brunei or any neighbour countries to probably London anytime from now to December. As I come from tropical country I don’t know how I can overcome the coldness if the cheap ticket is available during the cold winter 🙂

There are a lot of cheap tickets from UK to Asia but not the other way round now.

If I follow a 10 nights tour package, it would cost me at least USD3,500.00 for a short trip and I dislike timed-tour.

I can only wait.

I have had bad experiences in many developing countries. Ukraine I had people begging me on the train from Simferopol to Odessa, all they could say in English was “give me money” constantly…weren’t aggressive just annoying. I got overcharged big time in Bangkok going from one bus terminal to another, I asked how much? Driver said 100, I clarified in writing on my mobile and when got to other teimal he said 1000baht and tried to get another two cabbies on me to give him the amount he wanted…cons everywhere. I got a guy in the street of Suva Fiji trying to trick me into buying an ornament by asking me my name then he started to engrave it but straight away I knew what was happening and walked away. I also had a bad experience in omotepe Nicaragua where the owner of a hotel served me and fellow travellers dinner, I paid mine and he mysteriously forgot to give me the $30 equivalent change and was difficult about giving it back saying i hadn’t paid him as much as I had…raaaaa!!! And the worst of all is when I came from panama to Costa Rica and crossed the border by foot but the costa ricabcustoms official said i needed an onwards ticket as proof i was leaving the country, but I had an airline ticket from mexico to uk only a month later which wasnt outside the valid time I could stay there as uk nationals can stay for up to 90 days. I protested and he got some handcuffs and started making calls and threatened to get police to interrogate me…so I ended up getting the tika bus that he said i had to get for 25$ and everything was fine after that…definitely some dodgy business going on with the tika bus company and the border officials. When I entered from Nicaragua there was no problem what so ever…no onwards proof required!

Ron, We travel in Central America a lot and have learned about the problem with making change. We go to our bank in December and stock up on new American bills especially small denominations. I bring 200 $1 bills, great for tips and for making the right change. I also bring $5 and $10 bills. You are far better off to give the correct amount of money rather than wait for change. A lot of people will try to cheat you on change. Sometimes it is not getting cheated but convenience, give a big bill and the waitress has to go across the street to the bank to get change! While you wait. Bring lots of small bills and all this becomes a very minor inconvenience, just part of the “never a dull moment” vibe of these places.

Hi Earl I am following your blog for long time. I am yet to work up the courage to travel alone. I am from India and I have just started to visit different places in my country. Most of the times I am cancelling my plans because being a women I am worried about travelling alone and all the risks that accompanies with it.

I want to travel lot and can you give few tips to us girls on how to be a safe while travelling. Also can you recommend few places that I can visit with minimal budget from India.

I noticed your reply. While I cannot help with the cheap destinations from India (I’ll let Earl or Matt tackle that for you), I am a solo female traveller. Over the years I’ve done various trips on my own and now I’m traveling for 5 months from Milan to Bangkok – my wok in the US also requires that I travel the country quite extensively, often on my own.

I have never had an issue on any of my trips. What I would say is this: – Take the normal precautions you would at home – for me, that means I don’t walk down dark alleys by myself, for example. This also means I would never smoke a pipe with a group of men by myself (sorry Earl, that story was fascinating, but as a female, not a situation I would ever get myself into). – I make sure that my lodging is close to other places or if it’s not, there are other travelers staying there. Fellow travelers are your friends, even if you don’t end up being that social, if you pick a place with lots of them, you’ll be fine. – Trust your instinct – my gut never fails me. I get a sense of a situation or a person pretty quickly. If I feel something is up, I move on…simple as that.

But, I can’t emphasize this enough, the world is not as scary for women as others make it out to be. I hope you do make some plans for a solo trip – even just a weekend out of town, it can be quite liberating.

Hey Hyma – Thanks for writing. First, you’ll have to check online to see which countries you can visit without a visa and then you can see which ones are the least expensive to visit and travel around. As for females traveling, the world is much safer than we imagine and if you ask solo female travelers who have been traveling for a long time, they will always say that common sense is what keeps them safe. If they use the same common sense they would use at home, the chance of anything happening while traveling is about the same…very low.

Earl/Matt Great interview. I’ve traveled with Earl, know Anil from Foxnomad and have bought Matt’s book which I found vert helpful. All three of you are great inspirations to all would be and current travelers. Many thanks for all the useful information. I really have noticed the common thread of “not over planning”. Sounds good to me! Cheers, Dan

Hey Dan – Thanks for commenting here. As you can tell even with my tour, over planning is not something I like to do at all! Keep it simple, see how things turn out and go from there…much better idea to me. Hope you’re well as always!

Great advice in here, especially about the changing currencies, the flexibility options (where you go or when you go), and all of the sites for finding cheap flights. Earl, you said you get alerts when currencies change; what app or site do you use for this?

Hey Gillian – I just have the standard currency app built in to my android phone. I have a screen that has a few currencies listed and is constantly being updated. But I know many people use the xe.com app.

Wandering Earl, Nomadic Matt, Fox Nomad are among the first blogs I have ever followed. They have always provided great inspiration and tips to travel. I must say I have made the mistake of over planning long term trips but thankfully I realised soon enough that there was no need to do so and then I did go with the flow! Thank you for this nice exchange 🙂

Always go with the flow. Truly makes you stress free in all the planning and making things perfect. I always put in mind too that to expect the unexpected 🙂 I always take it as a challenge.

Someday, you’ll both Want to interview me.

That’s what I’m thinking…… 😉

It is truly an inspiring interview, both you and Matt are just two awesome individual that I followed to get me more motivated for my travel dream.

Keep it up!

To each their own. I’ve been to Paris twice and both times the people were very helpful and very nice. London on the other hand … I think the nicest people I’ve encountered traveling (and I haven’t been to a lot of places) were in Turkey. That’s my favorite place so far. I also want to say that I agree about being flexible. I am going in my third trip and I’m just figuring this out so its funny to read it. Good interview.

Great article, very informative.

Count me in on those who do not like Paris, well…Parisians…I find them abrasive, rude, etc. The city is beautiful. Also was surprised about Vietnam, as I have heard different stories.

Thank you Earl and Matt for your advice and insights!

I’m one of the crazy people that don’t like Paris, but being French, I think I can 😀 Had the same issue about currencies, between the Euro and the UAE Dirham (where I live now), making me almost ending up in court (No one jokes about bouncing cheques here!).

Still very curious about Vietnam, surprised about what you said as everyone seem to love it.

Question: you’ve been on the road for 10 years almost, any plans of settling down? Also, I really have issues budgeting and sticking to it, any recommendations in terms of methods/apps?

Thanks and happy travels to both of you!

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Behind The Nomadic Matt's Travel Site: Meet Matt Kepnes!

If you've looked up anything related to travel on Google, chances are you've seen Nomadic Matt's Travel Site pop up frequently. Who is Nomadic Matt, and just what makes him so passionate about travel? Learn all about Matthew Kepnes here!

If you like to stay in the loop when it comes to travel bloggers, we reckon you’ve probably heard of Nomadic Matt. He was one of the first travel bloggers to become really successful online, starting his blog back in the 2000s.

Since then, he’s gone on to turn his blog and travel website into a hugely lucrative career, all while exploring the world.

Want to find out how he does it, or just learn more about him? Say no more. Here at Pilot, we connect you to fellow travelers. Today, we'll meet Matt Kepnes, the man and travel blogger behind Nomadic Matt's travel site!

In this article, we’ll give you the full low-down on Nomadic Matt: Who he is, what he does, how he does it… and how he can help you plan your next trip.

Ready? Let’s take a look.

Who's the person behind Nomadic Matt?

Nomadic Matt (otherwise known by his real name, Matthew Kepnes) is an American travel blogger and one of the most experienced backpackers in the world. He’s visited over 100 countries and spent nights in over 1,000 hostels.

His blog, the Nomadic Matt's travel site, attracts upwards of 1 million visitors every month, and he’s also written a number of books, including  New York Times  bestseller  How to Travel the World on $50 a Day .

What is Nomadic Matt?

As well as being the pen-name of the man himself, Nomadic Matt is the name of the blog and website that he runs.

It’s an incredibly popular blog — it regularly pops up in “Best Travel Blog” articles and has been featured by hugely influential news outlets and channels, including the  Wall Street Journal ,  BBC ,  National Geographic ,  Forbes ,  CNN , and  Lonely Planet .

Pretty impressive stuff.

The blog covers a range of topics, but he mostly focuses on a few areas:

• Money-saving tips
• Travel hacking
• Packing guides
• Destination guides
• General trip planning

Matt wants to show people how to travel longer, travel smarter, and travel for less money.

Nomadic Matt's travel site has blogs on travel credit card  and  travel insurance  suggestions, packing lists, recommendations for things to do, where to go, what to eat, when to buy tickets… It’s pretty much a complete guide to everything you need to know about travel on a budget. No wonder it’s so popular!

Why's Nomadic Matt's Travel Site Special?

There are thousands of travel blogs out there, so what exactly is it that makes Nomadic Matt such a popular site?

Matt himself says it’s because he gives out the best budgeting advice. He has so many articles about budgeting, so whether you want to find out  how to save money before a trip , how to spend less while you’re traveling,  how to find cheap airfare , and how to get great gear for a low price, Nomadic Matt has  probably  covered it.

In addition to budgeting and money-saving tips, the site also features an enormous range of general travel tips — places to go, where to stay, what to pack, etc. — but also slightly more specialized tips.

On the website, you’ll find information about couples’ travel, solo travel, solo  female  travel (he gets someone else to write these!), and travel for seniors or families. It really is an incredibly comprehensive resource for travelers looking for tips.

Where Has Nomadic Matt Traveled?

The simpler question would really be: where  hasn’t  Nomadic Matt traveled? Even a quick glance on the Nomadic Matt website and blog shows that he’s an outrageously well-seasoned traveler.

Destination guides on the site include places as far-reaching as Costa Rica, Vancouver, Portugal, Mexico, Greece, Japan, Colombia, Croatia, Iceland, Paris, Belize, Bangkok… the list feels almost endless.

For each of the destinations on the website, Matt has put together a thorough guide, including tips for things to do and places to stay, a suggested budget, safety considerations, packing lists, and heaps more information too.

Nomadic Matt's FAQ

Does nomadic matt travel full time.

Matt used to travel full time, but according to an interview he gave with CNN in 2019, he now travels about six months of the year and spends the rest of his time working.

Where does Nomadic Matt live?

When he’s not traveling, Matt splits his time between New York City and Austin, Texas.

Where is Nomadic Matt from?

Matthew is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. He was studying for his MBA and working a desk job when he took his first trip abroad in 2004, sparking his love of all things travel.

How old is Nomadic Matt?

As of November 2021, Nomadic Matt is 40 years old. He was born on June 12, 1981.

How much money does Nomadic Matt make?

One of the best things about Nomadic Matt’s website is that none of the content is sponsored or paid for. This means visitors know that every hotel,  hostel , restaurant, or attraction review comes directly from travelers who have actually been to those places, and they’re writing honestly — to inform, rather than to convince.

That’s great, but how does the website actually make Matt any money? And how much does he make?

It’s been reported that Matt earns $750,000 a year. He does this through his blog (through affiliate marketing and a premium section), through book sales, and through selling online courses about how to become a travel writer.

The Verdict on Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt’s website is a super-helpful resource for anyone looking for travel tips and tricks.

Matt’s best articles are probably those with budgeting tips, and we think he’s pretty successful in his goal to help people travel smarter, cheaper, and longer. He also provides insightful tips for travelers looking to experience a place the way the locals do, whether that means eating local food or just getting to know the real ins and outs of a destination.

Start planning your trip with Pilot!

Just like Matt's mission on making travel more accessible for us through his budgeting tips, Pilot is also committed to help you plan and go on more trips!

Disclosure : Pilot is supported by our community. We may earn a small commission fee with affiliate links on our website. All reviews and recommendations are independent and do not reflect the official view of Pilot.

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At GAFFL , we love to publish inspiring travel stories from adventurers around the world. You can connect with adventurers from 170+ countries on GAFFL, meet up, and explore destinations together. In this article, we are featuring Nomadic Matt, an inspiring solo traveler from the United States.

Matt Kepnes, aka Nomadic Matt. is a budget travel blogger who helps people travel cheaper, better, and longer on his website nomadicmatt.com . Be sure to also check him out on Instagram  @Nomadicmatt to follow along with all his travels! 

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How I Was Inspired To Start Traveling Long Term

After a couple of short trips  to Costa Rica   and  T hailand   in my early twenties, I caught the travel bug. Up until then, "travel" to me just meant taking a short holiday. It was a break before going back to the grind. I didn't know travel could actually be a   lifestyle .

When I got home from Thailand, I decided I wanted to travel long-term. I had met some backpackers in Chiang Mai who were doing that and they opened my eyes to the possibility. So, I saved up as much as I could over the next year and planned an epic round-the-world trip that would last one year.

I ended up going solo on that trip because nobody else was willing (or able) to come on such a long trip. While things have improved in the US and more and more people travel long-term, back then, it was very rare to take a gap year so people just weren't open to it like they are in other countries.

In the end, I'm glad I went alone.   Travel is the best personal development tool   and I learned a lot about myself and met all kinds of amazing people along the way.

While I'm happy to travel with friends these days, I love traveling solo because you have absolute freedom. You decide where to go, how long to stay, what to see and do. It's the ultimate freedom.

I’m Always On The Move

After over a decade of almost non-stop travel, I've started to slow down my travels. Or, at least, I keep telling myself that. I never seem to stay put for more than a month or two without jetting off somewhere.

For me, I visit destinations to see friends, to see museums, and to eat. I'm a history buff and a foodie at heart, so any destination with great food, plentiful wine, and world-class museums is high on my list!

How I Decide Where To Travel Next

Unless I'm traveling for a specific reason (to see a friend, to attend a conference, etc.), I mostly pick my destinations based on flight deals.

I'm always looking for  cheap flights   so if I find a great deal I'll just book it. I'm not picky about where I go!

If it's a new destination, I usually buy a guidebook as well as some books about the destination's history and culture. I'll plan out my itinerary in detail, but once I get on the ground I usually throw most of it out the window and just go with the flow. Flexibility is the most important element of my itineraries.

How I Pack For My Trips

I usually fly carry-on only so I try to pack light . The only must-haves for me (beyond my laptop and phone) are books — physical books, not e-books — and a journal. I love to read and having a journal around helps me take notes for work and gives me a place to collect my thoughts so that I have something to look back on.

Even if you're not a blogger, I encourage every traveler to journal during their trip. You always think you'll remember more than you do and all kinds of little details get forgotten. Journaling lets you capture all the details so that, years later, you can immerse yourself back in the destination and remember all the little things. It's the best souvenir.

I Love Meeting New People On My Travels

Since I usually stay in hostels, it's never hard to meet other travelers. I've also hitchhiked a handful of times over the years, each of which are great ways to connect with locals.

I think my favorite memory is when I met some people traveling in Southeast Asia and ended up   hanging out with them for a month on Ko Lipe . It was a serendipitous adventure that acts as a constant reminder to take risks and always say yes when opportunities pop up when traveling — especially opportunities to meet new people .

Even if you're a bit introverted like me, never pass up the opportunity to meet new people. You never know when you'll hit it off with someone or stumble into a life-changing adventure you would have otherwise missed.

Countries I’ve Traveled To So Far

I don't know exactly how many countries I've been to but it's probably around 100 by now. I think the quality is much more important than quantity, so I don't bother counting. At the end of the day, how many countries you visit is irrelevant. What matters is the lessons you learn and the connections you make.

While I've been to a lot of places, there are still a bunch of destinations high on my list that I haven't yet traveled to, including Bhutan, India , and some of the 'stans in Central Asia. Hopefully, once COVID has settled down, I'll be able to get out and explore them!

How I Manage Work And Travel

Not well! On the road, it's hard to create a work-life balance. In the past, I would usually end up either working too much or not enough. Fortunately, I've found a system that works for me so I can better enjoy my travels while still getting my work done.

These days, when I'm on the road, I'll set aside a couple of full workdays each week. On those days, I'll hunker down in a cafe and work all day. That gives me time to write, catch up on projects, and clear out my inbox before taking a few days off to travel and explore. 

This keeps my work days and my travel days separate so I'm not trying to juggle both at the same time, which can be a nightmare.

Why I Started My Blog

Back when I first started blogging, there were no brand deals or sponsored content. There were no social media either. Blogs were brand new and were simply a way to share your stories and travels. They were super basic.

I didn't start my blog with the intention of being a "blogger" — that wasn't really a thing back then. My goal was to use my blog to showcase my travel experience and writing so I could get a job writing guidebooks for Lonely Planet. I wanted to be a travel writer, and blogging was just a step on the path toward that goal.

However, once my blog started to grow and get traffic, I realized that I could just use my blog as a way to write and share advice with people directly. So that's what I did!

When it came to monetization, my main focus wasn't working with brands but rather building my own products. I created ebooks, ran tours, created courses, and wrote books. While there is definitely money in working with brands, I've found creating products provides more freedom and independence while still allowing me to get the bills paid.

The Inspiration Behind My Book 'Ten Years A Nomad'

Ten Years a Nomad   is my opus on travel. It's the story I wanted to tell after spending over a decade traveling. While I can share a lot on my website, it focuses more on the 'how-to' of travel.   Ten Years A Nomad  is more about the lessons, stories, and reflections I've had about travel. 

My goal with the book was to show the   way   of travel. Why do we feel the need to go places? What happens when we actually take the plunge and travel long term? What happens when things don't go according to plan? 

My hope is that the book can show new travelers what to expect from a life of travel while giving veteran travelers something they can relate to. The life of a long-term traveler isn't something a lot of people understand. I wanted this book to illuminate my thoughts and philosophies on travel so people could see what long-term travel is   actually   like. 

My Advice To GAFFL’s Community Of Travelers

I have far too many   travel tips   to share here so I'll just say this: don't be afraid to take the leap and break out of your comfort zone. The more you can push yourself, the more impactful your travel experiences will be.

That doesn't mean you have to go skydiving or go backpacking in some remote country off the grid. It just means that you'll grow the most and learn the most in new, unfamiliar situations. So always be willing to push yourself.

Also, never leave home without  travel insurance . As I've learned the hard way, it's always better to be safe than sorry!

My Advice To Anyone Who Wants To Be A Digital Nomad

Contrary to popular belief, digital nomads don't just start a blog or business and then lounge on the beach as the money piles up. Working remotely is a job that requires a lot of work and effort.

That said, it's never been easier to get started as a remote worker or digital nomad. You just need to figure out what skills you have that you can monetize.

Are you a competent writer? Do you know how to do graphic design or manage social media? Do you have teaching experience or do you know a language you can teach to others? 

There are tons of opportunities out there, but the first thing you need to do is develop the skills you need to succeed. Once you have the skills, start your business while you're still at home. Don't quit your main job until your business is making money and you have some savings to fall back on. I started my blog while I was still teaching English full time and didn't quit my job until my blog was doing well. That way, I had a small financial cushion to fall back on if it didn't work out.

What I Wish I Would Have Known When I First Started Traveling

I wish I had known to start sooner! I've had so many amazing experiences, met tons of incredible people, and built a business for myself that has lasted over a decade. My only regret is not starting sooner.

If you're thinking about traveling — either solo or with people — don't wait. It's never been easier to travel on a budget, thanks to the deluge of cheap flights,  travel hacking , and the sharing economy. Don't keep your travel dreams on the backburner. Get out there and see the world!

New to our blog? Here are some of our inspiring solo traveler's stories worth checking! 

• 137 Countries And Counting: This Is How Danay Travels 11 Months Out Of The Year Without A Full-Time Job
• Here’s How Arimo Spent 777 Days Around The World
• Lisa Is An Experienced Digital Nomad On A Mission To Inspire Others To Feel The Empowerment Of Solo Travel!
• Queenie Started Solo Traveling By Accident Even Though She Has Always Been A Wanderer At Heart

Other cool travel stories you might enjoy!

• From Alaska To Argentina With $0: This Is The Story Of Leon And His Kindness Diaries
• She Quit School And Has Hitchhiked In 72+ Countries: Iris Shares Her Top Stories & Advice From 7 Years Of Non-Stop Travel!
• Here's How Estela Travelled To 40 Countries And Found The Kindest People In The Most Dangerous Places
• At 54 Barbara Left Her Big Home, New Car, And Successful Career To Start One Of The World’s First Travel Blogs

SOLO TRAVEL TIPS

Your latest travel inspiration, solo trips in popular countries.

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Travel Guide for Popular Countries

• Australia Travel Guide
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Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

The 6 Best Hotels in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a gorgeous historic city. Perched on the rugged coast of Croatia, it explodes to life every summer as cruisers, backpackers, and beachgoers flock to the city. With medieval charm, a UNESCO Old Town, and the glimmering azure backdrop of the Adriatic Sea, it’s no surprise that this is the most popular city in Croatia .

While the city struggles with overtourism, it’s easy to escape the crowds and soak up the local pace of life if you know where to go (and where to stay).

I’ve visited Dubrovnik a bunch over the years. These days, there are a lot more hotels than when I first arrived. Some are great, some are not so great. To help you plan your visit, here’s my list of the best hotels in Dubrovnik:

1. Art Hotel

The staff is amazing and the complimentary continental breakfast each morning is delicious, with a varied spread of local homemade food (like burek , a type of pastry) that changes daily. The main draw here is the location though. You can’t beat it if you want something near the beach!

2. Hotel Adria

There’s also a varied (and included) buffet breakfast each morning with lots of options (including fresh fruit, pastries, juice, cereals). If you have a car, use of the hotel’s parking garage is complimentary.

3. Royal Palm Hotel

The complimentary breakfast buffet offers lots of variety, including an egg station, mimosas, and fresh pastries. There’s a relaxing spa here as well, in addition to a pool and gym. The beach is nearby too, but I especially like that the on-site terrace restaurant offers sweeping panoramic views of the Adriatic.

4. Hotel Lero

The bathrooms are simple but the water pressure in the showers is great, plush bathrobes are included, and some rooms have both a bathtub and a shower. There are several fantastic restaurants here too, including a poolside bar, an award-winning Bosnian restaurant, and a Mediterranean restaurant offering a complimentary daily breakfast buffet with plenty of options for all diets.

5. Hotel More

The rooms here are massive, with super comfy beds, lots of natural light, and calming tones. They are furnished simply but elegantly, with wooden desks and a separate seating area with a sofa or easy chairs. In-room amenities include a desk, flatscreen TV, coffee/tea maker, minibar, and safe. The bathrooms are also spacious and include slippers, cozy bathrobes, luxe toiletries, and great water pressure. A complimentary breakfast buffet is available each morning, with fresh fruit, cereal, eggs, and pastries.

If you want to splash out on luxury, this is the hotel for you.

6. St. Joseph’s Hotel

The bathrooms feature beautiful tile or marble, rain showers (some also have massive bathtubs), slippers, and plush bathrobes. I especially like that the complimentary a la carte breakfast is cooked by a chef and served in your room each morning. It’s a nice personal touch that really elevates the whole experience here.

A booming tourist destination, Dubrovnik is absolutely stunning. Sure, you’ll likely want to skip a visit in the middle of summer, but as long as you pick one of the hotels from the list above you’ll have an amazing stay in the Peal of the Adriatic.

Get Your In-Depth Budget Guide to Europe!

My detailed 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel while in Europe. It has suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, bars, safety tips, and much more! Click here to learn more and get your copy today.

Book Your Trip to Croatia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned!

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• SafetyWing (best for everyone)
• Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too.

Want More Information on Croatia? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Croatia  for even more planning tips!

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Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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