Explore Worldwide

Explore Worldwidehttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwideExplore Worldwidehttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/10-places-to-go-in-2025-without-crowdsBelieve it or not, there are still parts of the world that are relatively undiscovered. From underrated cities and overlooked countries to hidden pockets of popular destinations, these 10 less-touristy alternatives offer a more tranquil and genuine experience.2025-01-02T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/10-places-to-go-in-2025-without-crowdshttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#bratislava">Bratislava, Slovakia </a></li> <li><a href="#ang-thong">Ang Thong National Marine Park, Thailand </a></li> <li><a href="#zambia">Zambia</a></li> <li><a href="#bolivia">Bolivia</a></li> <li><a href="#vietnam">Ha Giang Province, Vietnam</a></li> <li><a href="#calabria">Calabria, Italy</a></li> <li><a href="#nicaragua">Nicaragua’s Pacific coast</a></li> <li><a href="#slovenia">Slovenia </a></li> <li><a href="#costalegre">Costalegre, Mexico </a></li> <li><a href="#froward">Cape Froward, Chilean Patagonia</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="bratislava">1. Bratislava, Slovakia</h2> Overshadowed by the larger nearby cities of Prague, Vienna, and Budapest, this European capital has been experiencing a quiet renaissance. With its compact, walkable old town, its imposing Baroque castle on a hill above the river, and its variety of museums and galleries, Bratislava is well worth a day trip but could easily fill several days. You’ll want time to sample Slovak food like bryndzové halu&scaron;ky (potato and cheese dumplings), seek out the quirky street sculptures dotted around the city, and <a href="https://www.u-f-o.sk/en/ufo-vstup-na-vyhliadku.html" target="_blank">enjoy the views from the “UFO Tower”</a> above Most SNP, the iconic bridge crossing the Danube. And if you want more castles, 1,000-year-old Devin Castle, just a few miles outside Bratislava, is an important archaeological site. Bratislava is easily accessible from Vienna, an hour by train or <a href="https://twincityliner.com/en" target="_blank">1.5 hours by ferry</a>. Public transit within the city is easy, too. And it’s one of the least expensive major European cities that use the Euro as currency. <h2 id="ang-thong">2. Ang Thong National Marine Park, Thailand</h2> While Koh Samui is one of the most-visited places in Thailand, there’s a quiet paradise just to the east – <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/southeast-asia/thailand/off-the-beaten-path-thailand#beaches">Ang Thong National Marine Park</a>. Lying between Ko Samui and the mainland, this archipelago of 42 uninhabited islands is so stunning, it was the inspiration for Alex Garland’s novel The Beach. The islands can only be reached by boat from Koh Samui or Koh Pha Ngan. To avoid the crowds on the larger boats, hire a speed boat (or even better, a private charter) which will allow you access to hidden coves and beaches. For even more seclusion, stay overnight in a tent or bungalow on Ko Wua Talap, the main island. Once the day-trippers leave, you’ll have the place almost to yourself. Download our free <a href="/explore/guides/thailand-itinerary">14-day Thailand itinerary</a> to discover the best of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, the Golden Triangle, and more. <h2 id="zambia">3. Zambia</h2> Zambia is known as the birthplace of the walking <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/safari">safari</a>. Conservationist <a href="https://legendsandlegaciesofafrica.org/normancarr.php" target="_blank">Norman Carr</a> began offering this experience to guests at Chibembe Safari Camp in the late 1960s. Tracking animals on foot and exploring the bush and its wildlife up close is very different than sitting in a vehicle. While Zambia is far from the only place to offer walking safaris these days, there are other advantages. Even though it’s teeming with wildlife, including the “Big Five”, Zambia is less well-known and less crowded than destinations such as Kenya, Tanzania, or Zimbabwe. For the ultimate walking safari, head to South Luangwa National Park, one of Southern Africa’s most renowned game reserves. Or go on a water-based safari in the Lower Zambezi and spot wildlife from a canoe or boat. And no trip to Zambia is complete without a stop at spectacular Victoria Falls. Safaris can be pricey. Learn how <a href="/travel-insurance/destinations/africa">travel insurance for Africa</a> could protect your trip. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/uncrowdedplaces2025/zambia-canoe-safari.jpg" alt="Travelers on a canoe safari in Zambia." /> <figcaption>A canoe safari in Zambia. Image credit: Getty Images / Michael Greenberg</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="bolivia">4. Bolivia</h2> Bolivia shares many famous attractions with its neighbors, such as Lake Titicaca (which it shares with Peru), the Pantanal (which it shares with Brazil), and the <a href="/explore/south-america/peru/guide-to-the-peruvian-amazon">Amazon rainforest</a> (which it shares with both). Its Uyuni salt flat is just as surreal as Chile’s Atacama. And yet, Bolivia is one of the least-visited countries in Latin America. It’s also one of the most affordable. While the tourism infrastructure is less robust than its neighbors, Bolivia’s bus network is well-developed (though with such varied terrain, flying is more efficient). And where else can you visit the world’s highest lake, the world’s highest capital city, the world’s biggest salt flat, and the world’s biggest tropical wetlands all in one country? Whether you're headed for the Andes or the Amazon, learn about <a href="/travel-insurance/destinations/south-america">travel insurance for South America</a>. <h2 id="vietnam">5. Ha Giang Province, Vietnam</h2> Vietnam’s hill tribes are well known for their traditional handicrafts and colorful costumes. Travelers flock to regions like Sapa to <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/hiking-travel-insurance">hike between villages</a> and learn about the local culture. But this popularity has meant a loss of authenticity, with some “villages” being created just to cater to tourists. For a more genuine experience, head to Ha Giang Province in Vietnam’s far north. There’s still an untouched quality to these villages, home to ethnic groups such as Hmong, Tay, and Dao. Says World Nomads’ own Meghan Nelson, “The Ha Giang Loop was the highlight of our trip to Northern Vietnam. I can’t overstate how unique and diverse this province is. We spent four days winding through lush mountains and rice fields, swimming in caves and under waterfalls, and getting a glimpse of how remote ethnic minorities live. No two days were the same, as the scenery and people seemed to change around every turn.” To get there, take a bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang City. From there, hire a licensed local driver to take you around by motorbike (be sure to wear a helmet). It’s also possible to do a jeep tour. If a trip to Vietnam is in your future, here's how travel insurance <a href="/travel-insurance/destinations/Cambodia-laos-vietnam-">could help if something goes wrong</a>. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/vietnam-karst-crop.jpg" alt="Dramatic karst hills and lush valleys in Vietnam's Ha Giang Province." /> <figcaption>Dramatic landscapes along the Ha Giang Loop. Image credit: Meghan Nelson</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="calabria">6. Calabria, Italy</h2> Occupying the toe of Italy’s boot, Calabria may be one of the only places along the country’s southern coastline where you can still find gorgeous beaches without crowds. The scenic “Coast of the Gods” along the Tyrrhenian Sea lives up to its lofty nickname, while the town of Tropea, perched on a cliff above the sea, was named Italy’s most beautiful village in 2021 – no small achievement. And that’s just one of its coastlines – there’s also the Ionian Sea on the other side. But there’s <a href="/explore/europe/italy/calabria-destinations-discover-the-wild-italy">more to Calabria than beaches</a>. The region is also home to three national parks, filled with rugged mountains, canyons, and lakes. Calabrian culture is a rich blend of Greek and Byzantine influences and strong folkloric traditions. Yet, despite these charms, Calabria remains relatively undiscovered – for now. Before you set out for Calabria (or any other part of the boot), consider <a href="/travel-insurance/destinations/italy">travel insurance for your Italian holiday</a>. <h2 id="nicaragua">7. Nicaragua’s Pacific coast</h2> With sandy beaches, world-class surf breaks, and rainforests filled with tropical birds, monkeys, and other wildlife, Nicaragua offers many of the same draws as Costa Rica, its more popular neighbor to the south. In 2025, these little-known Nicaraguan treasures will be easier to discover and enjoy. A new coastal highway, the Carratera Costanera, is currently being built along the Pacific shoreline – it will help improve access to excellent surfing in spots like San Juan del Sur, Playa Remanso, and Popoyo. Near Popopyo is Wildlife Reserve Río Escalante-Chacocente, one of the world’s most important beaches for sea turtle nesting (events known as arribadas, where huge numbers of Olive Ridley turtles arrive at once to lay their eggs, take place between July and December). Get ready to hang ten with World Nomads<a href="/travel-insurance/activities/surfing"> travel insurance for surfing</a>. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/uncrowdedplaces2025/nicaragua-surfing.jpg" alt="A surfer carries a surfboard along a secluded beach in Nicaragua." /> <figcaption>Surfing in Nicaragua. Image credit: Getty Images / adamdodd</figcaption><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <h2 id="slovenia">8. Slovenia</h2> Sandwiched between Italy, Croatia, and Austria, Slovenia has many of the same things to offer – majestic alpine scenery, charming, red-roofed coastal towns, excellent food and wine. But somehow, Slovenia has stayed off the radar. For adventure lovers, the Soča Valley offers <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/kayaking-or-rafting">rafting on ice-blue rivers</a>, canyoning, and hiking. I had my first-ever paragliding adventure here, soaring above Kobarid (the adventure capital) and the Julian Alps. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/uncrowdedplaces2025/slovenia-rafting.jpg" alt="White-water rafting on the ice-blue Soca River in Slovenia." /> <figcaption>White-water rafting on the Soča River. Image credit: Getty Images / vm</figcaption></figure> The picturesque, car-free coastal town of Piran has been likened to Venice without the crowds. (This region was ruled by Venice for centuries, and it shows.) Lake Bled, with its iconic island chapel, has been featured in many an Instagram post, but <a href="/explore/europe/slovenia/food-wine-outdoor-adventures-slovenia">Lake Bohinj, a few miles further on</a>, offers a more tranquil experience. And as long as you avoid the summer high season, Ljubljana, the capital, is refreshingly crowd-free despite its lovely Baroque buildings and lively culture. Find out <a href="/travel-insurance/whats-covered">how travel insurance could cover</a> lost or stolen baggage, medical emergencies, trip cancellation, or other mishaps. <h2 id="costalegre">9. Costalegre, Mexico</h2> Mexico’s “Happy Coast,” which stretches along the Pacific from <a href="/travel-safety/north-america/mexico/puerto-vallarta-safety-guide">Puerto Vallarta</a> to Manzanillo, is a place of abundant natural beauty, home to pristine beaches, dense jungle, and vast nature preserves. It has remained untouched due largely to its inaccessibility (the closest airports are a 4-hour drive away). That will change with the new Chalacatepec Airport in Jalisco. Inaugurated in late 2024, the airport will initially cater to chartered flights, though there are plans to open it to international commercial flights. Will this mean the Costalegre will be unspoiled no more? Fortunately, development here has happened with an eye to sustainability, with resorts and communities working together to protect the local biodiversity. If you go, you can do your part by <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/participation/how-to-choose-an-ethical-tour-operator">choosing eco-friendly, low-impact resorts and operators</a>. Even a trip to the "Happy Coast" can have its risks – here's how <a href="/travel-insurance/destinations/mexico">travel insurance for Mexico</a> could help. <h2 id="froward">10. Cape Froward, Chilean Patagonia</h2> Chilean Patagonia is best known for the cathedral-like peaks of Torres del Paine and for the iconic W Trek that circles its base. But this epic national park has gotten overrun in recent years. Fortunately, there are a multitude of other parks to choose from. <a href="/explore/south-america/chile/exploring-chiles-route-of-parks">Chile’s “Route of Parks”</a> features 17 parks along its 1,700 miles, all strung like pearls between the mountains and coast. Crowds are fewer here, but the landscapes are no less spectacular. The next park to join the route will be <a href="https://www.rewildingchile.org/en/projects/cape-froward-national-park-project/" target="_blank">Cape Froward</a>, the southernmost point of mainland South America. This is Chile’s newest national park, a sub-Antarctic region housing a number of endangered species, including huemel deer and sei whales. It’s also the ancestral territory of the indigenous Kawésqar people. Travelers who make the journey will be surrounded by raw, rugged nature and ancient culture. What they won’t be surrounded by is tourists. If you're headed for Patagonia, learn about our <a href="/travel-insurance/destinations/argentina-and-chile">travel insurance for Argentina and Chile</a>.Getty Images / benedek 11192927508 Getty Images Pastel buildings and iconic Michael's Tower in the Old Town center of Bratislava, Slovakia.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/3-epic-pilgrimage-routesJoin our nomads as they walk the Kumano Kodo in Japan, Via Francigena in western Europe, and Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, basking in tranquility and history, and meditating on the power of nature.2023-04-24T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/3-epic-pilgrimage-routeshttps://www.worldnomads.comYou don’t have to belong to a particular religion (or any religion at all) to benefit from a walk along a pilgrim route. Some do it for the physical challenge, some to reconnect with nature and themselves, some to learn about ancient history and cultures, and many for all the above. Here are three of the world’s most extraordinary pilgrim trails, scattered across the globe and associated with religions as diverse as Hinduism, Christianity, and Shintōism. <ul> <li><a href="#adams">Adam’s Peak, Sri Lanka</a></li> <li><a href="#francigena">Via Francigena Pilgrimage Trail</a></li> <li><a href="#kumano">Kumano Kodo, Japan</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="adams">Adam’s Peak, Sri Lanka</h2> I’ve always been interested in places that sit at a physical crossroads – major ports, often islands, which for hundreds of years have been settled by waves of people of diverse creeds and cultures. The histories of such places teach us a great deal about the things that unite human beings as well as separate them. My visit to <a href="/explore/southern-asia/sri-lanka/5-things-to-know-before-visiting">Sri Lanka</a> grew out of that fascination. Sinhalese Buddhists, Tamil Hindus and the indigenous Vedda, whose belief system is animistic, share the island with Chinese Buddhists, Muslim Moors, Sunni Muslim Malays and Burghers (Christian descendants of Portuguese, Dutch and English colonists). And each of these groups hold a particular part of Sri Lanka sacred. The pyramidal Adam’s Peak rises 7,358ft (2,243m) from the lush jungle of southwestern Sri Lanka. Reflecting its status, it goes by many names and the legends attached to it are legion. Deriving the name from Sanskrit, the Sinhalese call it Sri Pada, “sacred footprint”, after what’s said to be the impression of the Buddha’s left foot in a rock that crowns the summit. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/worldwide/pilgrimage/adams-peak.jpg" alt="Adam's Peak, a sacred mountain in Sri Lanka." /> <figcaption>Adam's Peak, seen through the forest. Image credit: Joe Furey</figcaption></figure> The mountain has the unique distinction of being holy to four faiths – Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity – and Shiva, Adam (after his exile from Eden) and St. Thomas are also believed to have left their mark there. It was March when I traveled by <a href="/explore/southern-asia/sri-lanka/exploring-haputale-and-sri-lankas-hill-country-by-train">lazy train</a> through tea plantations from Kandy to Hatton, and then took a bus to Dalhousie, where my pilgrimage began. The route I took is the quickest, but relatively taxing. Over three miles and some change, it climbs 3,280ft (1,000m) up 5,500 steps, and takes even the moderately fit about three hours. I started my journey at 2:30 am, to see dawn break from the top. More an aesthetic mission than a religious one, but no less devoted for that, and my climb, according to tradition, was conducted barefoot, by lantern light and conversation was sporadic and muted. About halfway up, feeling the chill and seeing a small group gathered around a primus stove, I bought a chai and made talk of whatever size I could. There were monks in maroon robes and beanies, and a Tamil family of two children, the youngest of whom, a seven-year-old, was making his first ascent. Translating for him, his father said he most wanted to see some butterflies (Adam’s Peak attracts huge numbers of migrating swallowtails during March and April – they are said, of course, to want to kiss the toes of Buddha). Despite the hour, the shrine at the summit was crowded, but I was less interested in paying my respects to a particular god than in watching a very human desire for meaning at play. And as first light began to lend form to our faces and to the forests, with their <a href="/explore/southern-asia/sri-lanka/5-national-parks-to-visit">elephants and leopards</a>, below, I realized that belief may be a beautiful thing, but Heaven’s got nothing on Planet Earth. – <a href="/about/contributors/joseph-furey">Joe Furey</a> <h2 id="francigena">Via Francigena Pilgrimage Trail</h2> All roads lead to Rome, but the Via Francigena has stood out since the Middle Ages not only for its length – about 2,000mi (3,200km) – but also for the lush nature, the rich diversity of landscapes, the UNESCO Heritage Sites, and the Borghi più Belli d’Italia (Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages) it passes through. The pilgrimage trail runs from Canterbury in England across France’s forests and vineyards, the <a href="/explore/europe/switzerland/3-epic-summer-adventures-in-switzerland">Swiss Alps</a>, the Aosta Valley in northwest Italy, and Tuscany to Rome, and onwards along the Adriatic coast to <a href="/explore/europe/italy/secrets-of-puglia">Puglia</a>’s southernmost village Santa Maria di Leuca. On a quest for connection with nature and spirituality that I was missing, I followed my Roman friends’ advice of discovering 'the wonders beyond the Eternal City' and traveled last fall to the Lazio region, an Eden hidden in plain sight amidst the dazzling splendor of Rome. My journey started in the province of Viterbo with a detour to neighboring Rieti to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi in the fertile Holy Valley. I communed with the living world at Santa Susana Spring, contemplating a colony of swans sheltering under a weeping willow and birdwatching in the unspoiled Lungo and Ripasottile Lakes Nature Reserve. Around the rock-hung Sanctuary of Greccio – where St. Francis is credited with creating the first Nativity Scene on Christmas Eve of 1223, setting up an empty manger flanked by a live ox and donkey – I wandered in the woods where the saint meditated. Surrounded by the chirping of birds and the pine scent blended with rosemary and sage carried by the breeze, it was an experience of inner peace that gave me the courage to packraft the Velino River back to Rieti, my base for exploring the city’s underground archaeological network and surroundings. I joined Via Francigena’s Southern way in the enchanting town of Castel Gandolfo, guided through a dense chestnut forest by a local family picking chestnuts for jam and porcini mushrooms for fettuccine and risotto, a pleasant route of 6mi (10km) to Nemi along the volcanic Albano and Nemi Lakes with the Tyrrhenian Sea on the horizon. I continued towards the art- and history-filled towns of Sermoneta and Priverno and ancient Fossanova Abbey, determined to reach the medieval fishing village of Gaeta, the final stage of my soul-restoring itinerary. – <a href="/about/contributors/emerson-mendoza-ayala">Emerson Mendoza Ayala</a> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/worldwide/pilgrimage/gaeta-south-vf.jpg" alt="The picturesque fishing village of Gaeta, Italy." /> <figcaption>The fishing village of Gaeta. Image credit: Emerson Mendoza Ayala</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="kumano">Kumano Kodo, Japan</h2> I was born a nomad. Restless from the cradle, I had a list of places to visit as long as my arm as soon as I could point at a map. Japan was my first crush. I was about six when I gave a talk on it as part of a school assembly. But I didn’t visit it for myself, other than for work, until I was 38. Before then, brash and self-indulgent, I worried I’d be an awkward fit for a culture I admired for qualities – composure, reflectiveness – that were so unlike mine. Wanting to make up for lost time, I decided to hit the ground… walking, into a part of the country where those qualities are made explicit: Kumano, its spiritual heartland. Following in the footsteps of emperors a thousand years before, I took to the Kumano Kodō, a tangle of pilgrimage routes that traverse the mountainous core and old-growth forests of the Kii peninsula, in the south of Honshu Island. In this place of legend and living gods, Shintō, Japan’s native religion, and Buddhism have co-existed harmoniously for centuries, with the former dealing with life and the latter handling what comes after. And it’s where the practice of Shugendō – a belief in enlightenment through mountain asceticism - took root and is still active today. In 2004, the Kodō (“the old ways”) and its sacred sites were given World Heritage status, one of only two pilgrimage routes recognized by UNESCO (the other being the <a href="/stories/transformation/baggage-on-el-camino-de-santiago">Camino de Santiago</a>). I chose to tackle the 50mi (80km) Nagahechi route, whose trailhead in Takijiri-oji is near Tanabe, two hours by train from Osaka’s Kansai International Airport. It was early April when I set out. Spring had brought more blooms – azaleas and rhododendrons – than pilgrims to the trail. As I was hiking for just four days, dividing the route equally between them – and staying in modest ryokans – I traveled light, my backpack holding only a change of clothes, notebook, camera, water and onigiri. Those rice balls stuffed with dried fish, kelp and pickled plum kept me going, just as they served the samurai as battlefield bracers, though no wife of mine had imbued them with hopes for my safe return. The Nagahechi took me to the three Grand Shrines of Kumano that are its reason for being: Hongū, Nachi, and Hayatama. Dedicated to an incarnation of Buddha as a Shintō kami (an earthly deity), the first is close to the 1,000-year-old <a href="/explore/eastern-asia/japan/onsen-etiquette">onsen</a> village of Yunomine, where I soaked my limbs and boiled eggs for dinner in the same steaming, sulfurous spring water. A day’s hike away, there are few sights that suggest a divine hand at work like the Nachi shrine, the Buddhist Seigantoji Temple, and the 436ft (133m) Nachi waterfall – the tallest in Japan. The trail ends with Hayatama, in Shingu, on the Pacific coast, at the mouth of the Kumano River. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/worldwide/pilgrimage/kumano-hayatama-taisha.jpg" alt="Kumano Hayatama Taisha shrine on the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail, Honshu, Japan." /> <figcaption>Kumano Hayatama Taisha shrine. Image credit: Joe Furey</figcaption></figure> I’ve covered Kodō’s putative highlights somewhat briskly here, but in truth the hike was one long highlight, a meditation on the almighty power of Mother Nature. Walking fuels my thinking. There’s no problem so knotty or inspiration so resistant that it can’t be walked out. Perambulation is as close to prayer as I can manage, and every step provides an answer. Hiking the Kodō intensified those feelings a hundredfold, till they felt like wisdom. To pass through a landscape where nature has always been revered, where stands of trees older than Japan preside benignly over our struggles to find a place in their world, was a revelation. I spoke to a yamabushi, a 10th-generation Shugendō monk, at the end of my journey. Master Hoshino told me that the monks train to become one with nature, which is holy, that “we just have to make space for the enlightenment that is already within us – we do not exist outside of nature, though often act as if we do”. The training – such as meditating for an hour under a waterfall in winter – can be extreme, but the yamabushi consider their rites simple acts of gratitude. While I don’t have a particularly sharp appetite for physical suffering, the Kodō left me wanting more. I intend to try the Kōhechi, a rough, isolated route that connects the Shingon Buddhist temple settlement of Mount Kōya to the trio of Grand Shrines; or the 105-mile Omine-Okugake Michi, established by En no Gyōja, the founder of Shugendō. – <a href="/about/contributors/joseph-furey">Joe Furey</a>Joe Furey 0 The Buddhist Seigantoji Temple alongside Japan's highest waterfall, Nachi Falls, Honshu, Japan.

Our Most Engaging Social Posts Over the Yearshttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/connection/top-social-posts-over-the-yearsOur Most Engaging Social Posts Over the YearsThu, 29 Dec 2022 21:43:34 GMThttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/connection/top-social-posts-over-the-yearshttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/traveling-muslim-countries-ramadanRamadan is the holiest period in Islam and it can be an excellent time to visit Muslim countries, but there are a few things to know before your trip.2022-12-11T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/traveling-muslim-countries-ramadanhttps://www.worldnomads.comRamadan is a month-long period of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community observed by Muslims worldwide. It takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic (lunar) calendar, not the Gregorian (solar) calendar which the US, Australia, and most countries follow. As such, Ramadan has no fixed date, so it changes each year and could occur during any month. In 2024, it will begin on March 10. While Ramadan is considered a period of self-restraint, during which Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, and smoking between pre-dawn and sunset, it is also very much a period of celebration. Visiting a country with a significant Muslim population during Ramadan can make for an incredibly unique visit. For a real treat, plan your visit for the end of the month so you can witness and participate in Eid Al-Fitr, the closing celebration that marks the end of Ramadan. <ul> <li><a href="#1">Choosing which country to visit during Ramadan</a></li> <li><a href="#2">Food and fasting</a></li> <li><a href="#3">Breaking fast</a></li> <li><a href="#4">Alcohol during Ramadan</a></li> <li><a href="#5">Traveling during Ramadan</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="1">Choosing which country to visit during Ramadan</h2> Middle-Eastern and North African countries have the largest Muslim populations, so you will see and feel the holiday more intensely. More people will be fasting, more restaurants will be closed, and alcohol will be harder to find. Several Jordanian friends were jealous to learn I'd be spending most of Ramadan in <a href="/explore/north-africa/egypt/things-to-do-and-see-in-egypt">Egypt</a>, where they said I would "really feel it". I did, and I loved it, but if you are concerned about food and drink restrictions, it may be best to visit a country with many non-Muslims. Countries such as India and Malaysia have large Muslim populations, but many people also practice Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, or no religion at all. As such, it will be much easier to find food and alcohol, and tourist attractions will be more likely to operate on their usual schedules. Turkey and Indonesia are also majority-Muslim countries, but neither is as strict as Arab countries during Ramadan. In large Turkish cities, you'll see business operating as usual, and, in the words of an Istanbul-born and based friend of mine, food and alcohol will be "as easy to find as bubble gum." In smaller eastern cities, however, alcohol will be much harder to find. In Indonesia, some restaurants will be closed during the day, but you'll always find large chain restaurants open. As Bali is a majority-Hindu island, it is mostly unaffected by Ramadan.   <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/Explore/middle-east/ramadan-in-article-3.jpg" alt="The souk of Nizwa, Oman" /><figcaption>The souk of Nizwa, Oman. Photo credit: Matteo Colombo</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="2">Food and fasting</h2> Regardless of the country you're visiting, it is a sign of respect to not eat or drink in public. If a restaurant is open for lunch, then, clearly, it's expected that you will eat (though the shades may be drawn so that local Muslims do not see food being consumed). However, it would be rude to eat a sandwich on the street or to drink water in front of your fasting guide during a tour. In many cases (Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, for instance), travelers are allowed to eat openly, but there may be fewer restaurant open. Hotels catering to tourists typically do not interrupt regular meal services even if the staff is fasting. In Morocco, many restaurants will close during the day and during prayers in both small and large cities; however, your hotel or host should be able to give recommendations as to where you can find food. If there will be no nearby restaurants open, speak with your hotel in advance, as they can typically arrange a to-go lunch early in the morning or the night before. <h2 id="3">Breaking fast</h2> To prepare for a long day of fasting, many Muslims wake up early for sahur, the pre-dawn meal, which could be as early as 3am, depending on the time of year. After that, they will not eat or drink anything – including water – until after sunset. At this time, you'll see volunteers handing out snacks and bottles of water all over town, even to non-Muslims. I'm a white American woman, and I was often offered water and dates (the typical food for breaking fast) all over Jordan and Egypt. During the evening meal, iftar, many families gather at home to eat together, while others dine in restaurants, some of which take orders in advance so the food is ready immediately when you come to break fast. In some places, <a href="/stories/connection/breaking-fast">large communal meals</a> are held on the street for anyone who wants to join. This past year, I spent several weeks in Egypt during Ramadan and was invited to join dozens of Muslims who had gathered to break fast on a busy street under a highway in Cairo. As Ramadan has a strong charity aspect, all the food provided was free. I initially felt guilty accepting the free food and tried to decline the invitation, but locals (whom I couldn't communicate with because I don't speak Arabic) insisted I join them. They pulled up a chair and ensured I had water, dates, and a meal in front of me when it was time to break fast.  <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/worldwide/communal-feast-ramadan-egypt.jpg" alt="Residents of Cairo break fast at a communal meal during Ramadan." /> <figcaption>A communal iftar meal in Cairo. Image credit: Cassandra Brooklyn</figcaption></figure> Visitors are not expected to fast, but I chose to fast for much of my time in Egypt because I felt it would help me appreciate Ramadan. Locals were impressed and touched that I was fasting though some were worried about a non-Muslim first-timer going without water (I got some headaches but was fine). While Muslims are enjoying their evening meal, many shops will be closed. I enjoyed walking the streets in Alexandria during iftar, taking in the rare experience of emptiness in otherwise very crowded areas. I also saw people stopping on the highway to break fast in Hurghada, Egypt. When leaving Jordan during Ramadan, I saw airport employees gathering tables together to break fast in a quiet corner of the terminal. <h2 id="4">Alcohol during Ramadan</h2> In very conservative Muslim countries, such as <a href="/explore/middle-east/qatar/6-things-to-know-before-visiting-qatar">Qatar</a>, which already has strict rules around the consumption of alcohol, finding liquor during Ramadan may prove impossible. While Egypt is less conservative than Qatar, it has a public ban on the sale of alcohol during Ramadan so shops and bars that typically sell alcohol are closed during the month. Large hotels, resorts, and restaurants that cater to tourists may have a stash they're willing to sell to visitors, but these places will be few and far between. While Jordan is much less conservative overall, and it's relatively easy to find food during the day there, alcohol is still quite challenging to find during Ramadan. Typically, it's only available in 5-star hotels.  <h2 id="5">Traveling during Ramadan</h2> In some countries, Ramadan will have little impact on your ability to visit popular tourist attractions, while in others, it may significantly impact your itinerary. In Jordan, for instance, you'll find that some attractions, like Petra, operate as usual, but areas that tend to be more conservative, such as Wadi Rum, small communities, and rural areas, may offer limited services. This is often the case because the staff and guides are more likely to be fasting, so it would be much more challenging for them to lead tours (particularly physically demanding offerings like hiking and biking tours). This is especially the case when Ramadan occurs during summer. In this case, some activities may be canceled, or they just may be shortened and only offered during the morning hours. In Egypt, on the other hand, you'll find that even the most popular tourist attractions in/around major cities will close early in the day, but they will sometimes open again later in the day to accommodate visitors. This past spring, I found that Alexandria's libraries and historic sites (and other important places like banks and info centers) opened early and closed for the day around 1pm or 2pm. In Sharm El Sheikh, however, the museums and sites would close early but reopen in the evening and stay open much later than usual (say, from 8-11pm).Twenty47studio 0 Twenty47studio

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/amazing-travel-destinations-for-black-travelersLawrence Phillips. founder of Green Book Global, shares destinations around the globe that are warm and welcoming to travelers of color, and offer a wealth of cultural experiences, activities, traditional food, and history.2022-10-05T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/amazing-travel-destinations-for-black-travelershttps://www.worldnomads.comThere's a whole world out there to explore, and Black travelers are seizing the opportunity to see as much of it as possible. But what makes a destination special – and more importantly, is there a warm and welcoming community that is awaiting Black travelers? I founded <a href="https://greenbookglobal.com/" target="_blank">Green Book Global</a> to answer all those questions and more. As the first review site dedicated to helping Black travelers explore the world safely, Green Book Global is the go-to source for Black-friendly countries to travel to. We already have more than 5,000 unbiased, crowd-sourced destination reviews from Black travelers from all over the world. Each destination has an overall score, with various sub-scores that include categories such as "Things to Do," "Adventure," "Affordability," “Relaxation,” and most essentially, what it’s like "Traveling While Black". Using our <a href="https://greenbookglobal.com/search/?adventureScore=2,5&affordabilityScore=4,5&continents=northAmerica&historyScore=2,5&localFoodScore=4,5&nightlifeScore=2,5&order=reviews,desc&overallScore=2,5&relaxationScore=3,5&romanceScore=2,5&subOpened=true&thingsToDoScore=2,4.5&travelingWhileBlackScore=4.5,5" target="_blank">Destination Discovery Tool</a>, you can filter locations based on your travel needs and start researching what our community has to say. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/green-book-global/travel-filter.jpg" alt="Green Book Global's website showing their travel filter." /> <figcaption>Green Book Global's Destination Discovery Tool. Image credit: Lawrence Phillips</figcaption></figure> Here are six of the best countries for Black travelers, based on our community reviews. <ul> <li><a href="#barbados">North America & Caribbean: Barbados</a></li> <li><a href="#medellin">South America: Medellin, Colombia</a></li> <li><a href="#florence">Europe: Florence, Italy</a></li> <li><a href="#philippines">Asia: Philippines</a></li> <li><a href="#sydney">Oceania: Sydney, Australia</a></li> <li><a href="#zanzibar">Africa: Zanzibar, Tanzania</a></li> <li><a href="#mission">Green Book Global's mission</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="barbados">North America & Caribbean: Barbados</h2> Although my family is from Barbados, and you may think I’m biased, the numbers don’t lie. Boasting an overall 4.6/5 rating and a 5/5 "Traveling While Black" score, it’s our highest-rated TWB destination for North America & the Caribbean (Jamaica was a very close 2nd). Black travelers can feel safe and comfortable while enjoying all that this island has to offer. Barbados is a great place to relax on the beach, explore the local culture, and try delicious local food. Some of my favorite food spots include <a href="/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbean">Cuz’s Fish Stand</a> for their fish cutters and going to Pat’s on a Friday night during Oistin’s Fish Fry. For the best nightlife, take a look at the South Coast, close to St. Lawrence Gap. This area is home to a number of bars and clubs that stay open until the wee hours and offer various types of food. They’re all close to one other, making bar hopping a breeze. And though Rihanna may have shined a light on Barbados in recent years, it’s always been home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, with some of my favorites being Pebbles Beach and Brownes Beach. The locals are friendly and welcoming, and there are <a href="/explore/caribbean/barbados/things-to-do-in-barbados-beyond-the-resorts">many activities to choose from</a> such as a tasting of the world’s oldest rum or a catamaran cruise on the southwest coast of the island. There is plenty to keep you busy. <h2 id="medellin">South America: Medellin, Colombia</h2> This city has a lot to offer Black travelers, including a rich culture of music, art, and history that’s been strongly influenced by its Afro-Colombian heritage. Couple that with beautiful scenery, extensive biodiversity, and vibrant nightlife, and it’s a destination to remember. <a href="/explore/south-america/colombia/top-things-to-see-and-do-in-medellin">Medellin</a> is the second-largest city in Colombia and along with the nightlife and amazing food, it’s also home to a number of museums and historical sites. The city has gone through a re-birth in the last decade. It used to be plagued by the Medellin Cartel and the names Pablo Escobar and Griselda Blanco (the Black Widow) would strike fear into anyone that heard them. But those days are long gone, though you can still explore that part of Medellin’s history with various tours around the city. Throughout the day, the city is buzzing with visitors and locals. The locals are very gracious and always willing to point you in the right direction. The city is located in a valley, which provides stunning views of the surrounding mountains. The weather is also very pleasant, with an average temperature of 70°F, making Medellin a great place to visit all year round. Best of all, you won't have to worry about feeling safe as a Black traveler since Medellin is full of Afro Colombians. With a 4.9/5 "Traveling While Black" score, you can rest easy. (Cartagena was a close #2.) <h2 id="florence">Europe: Florence, Italy</h2> Get ready to be in full travel mode when you land in Italy. A beautiful and historical city, Florence is known for its art and architecture. It’s home to many famous museums, including the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery, which house some of the world's most famous paintings and sculpture (including Michaelangelo’s David). Florence is also known for its outstanding regional food, from fresh pasta and pizza to mouth-watering gelato. Set in the heart of the Chianti wine region, it’s the perfect place to go for a wine tasting once or twice, or three times (who’s counting!). When it comes to safety, Florence is generally a safe place for Black travelers. With a 4.56/5 "Traveling While Black” (the highest for Europe) and 4.8/5 “History” score, it's ideal for those who want to learn more about Italy's past. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/green-book-global/black-travel-florence.jpg" alt="A woman pedals a bike past the Duomo in Florence." /> <figcaption>Biking through the Piazza del Duomo in Florence. Image credit: Getty Images / Westend61</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="philippines">Asia: Philippines</h2> With stunning beaches, amiable locals, and famously excellent food, it's no wonder the Philippines is popular with Black travelers. One of the best things about this archipelago is that it's an affordable destination with plenty of budget-friendly accommodation and <a href="/explore/southeast-asia/philippines/street-food">food options</a>. Additionally, it’s a fantastic country for experiencing new things. Snorkel with the turtles in Moalboal, enjoy the thrilling nightlife in El Nido, swim and kayak on one of the 7,600 islands, or relax in the sleepy town of Coron. It's easy to see how the Philippines got a high 4.76 score in "Adventure” but also a 4.82 score for “Traveling While Black” due to its welcoming community. For those who <a href="/explore/southeast-asia/indonesia/why-i-love-and-hate-bali">love Bali</a>, don’t worry – it wasn’t far behind the Philippines as a great place for Black travelers to visit in Asia. <h2 id="sydney">Oceania: Sydney, Australia</h2> Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and the most famous city in Australia. I stayed in Sydney for about a week as part of my gap year back in 2015 and it was during this time that I came up with the idea of Green Book Global. During my stay I visited famous landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. There are also plenty of museums and art galleries to explore, making it the perfect destination for those who love to learn. I recommend the Camden Museum which provides an in-depth history of the First Nations people of Australia that migrated out of Africa 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. The city is also home to some of the best beaches in Australia. I went to <a href="/explore/oceania/australia/see-a-new-side-of-sydney-bondi-to-manly-walk">Bondi Beach</a> and really enjoyed the Bondi to Coogee Costal Walk and its proximity to so many restaurants. When it comes to Traveling While Black, Sydney has the top score in Oceania with a 4.3/5. I can attest to that as I didn’t have any problems and felt very welcome. <h2 id="zanzibar">Africa: Zanzibar, Tanzania</h2> <a href="/explore/africa/tanzania/guide-to-zanzibar">Zanzibar</a> tops our list for Africa as the best destination for Black travelers with 5/5 for a "Traveling While Black" score. In Zanzibar, the locals are friendly and welcoming, and on top of that it’s an incredibly beautiful place. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/green-book-global/black-travel-zanzibar.jpg" alt="An overhead view of Stone Town, the old part of Zanizibar City in Zanzibar." /> <figcaption>Historic Stone Town in Zanzibar. Image credit: Getty Images / Moiz Husein/EyeEm</figcaption></figure> This archipelago off the coast of Tanzania is famous for its beaches, blessed with crystal clear water and soft sand. There are also tons of activities to enjoy, including snorkeling, diving, windsurfing, and kitesurfing. And Tanzania is one of the few African countries where you can witness the great wildebeest migration, typically from December to March. Additionally, Zanzibar is home to several historical sites. Visit the Old Fort, stroll through the Stone Town market, or take a tour of the architecturally unique House of Wonders. For its darker history, learn about how the slave trade became the pillar of the Zanzibar economy by visiting the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, formerly one of the biggest slave markets in East Africa, and Prison Island where rebel slaves were imprisoned. Whether you're looking to relax on the beach, enjoy unique local dishes that blend East African, Arab, and East Indian influences, or explore the island's history, Zanzibar is well worth visiting. (It barely inched past Accra for the #1 spot in Africa, if you were wondering.) <h2 id="mission">Green Book Global’s mission</h2> There's no doubt that Black travelers have a unique perspective on what we can potentially experience, due to colonialism and racism. But we also have a unique perspective to share after visiting a destination. That's why Green Book Global exists – to inspire Black travelers to see the world but to also share insights through a lens that is not typically captured. So, if you're looking for an unforgettable travel experience, as a Black traveler or an ally to the Black travel community, be sure to check out one of these destinations. You won't be disappointed.Getty Images / Jack Hollingsworth 193258796 Getty Images Getty Images / Jack Hollingsworth

Our Favorite Travel Photos of 2022 (Part 1)https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/discovery/our-favorite-photos-of-2022-part-oneOur Favorite Travel Photos of 2022 (Part 1)Wed, 29 Jun 2022 23:26:37 GMThttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/discovery/our-favorite-photos-of-2022-part-oneOur Favorite Travel Photos of 2021 (Part 2)https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/discovery/our-favorite-photos-of-2021-part-twoOur Favorite Travel Photos of 2021 (Part 2)Wed, 05 Jan 2022 20:10:20 GMThttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/discovery/our-favorite-photos-of-2021-part-twohttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/traveling-as-an-autistic-womanAs much as we love travel, it has its challenges. For autistic travelers, it can be especially stressful – even more so when traveling alone. Journalist Lydia Wilkins shares her firsthand advice on how to cope.2021-11-16T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/traveling-as-an-autistic-womanhttps://www.worldnomads.comMany of us have been feeling a lot of wanderlust lately – it's a relief that we’re able to travel again. However, for some of us, there’s a stipulation attached. Traveling when you’re autistic can be incredibly stressful even without a pandemic to contend with. <ul> <li><a href="#spectrum">What is autism spectrum disorder? </a></li> <li><a href="#barriers">Barriers to be aware of as an autistic traveler </a></li> <li><a href="#prepare">Traveling while autistic: how to prepare </a></li> <li><a href="#coping">Coping with travel barriers</a></li> <li><a href="#friendly">Some of my favorite autism-friendly places for travelers</a></li> <li><a href="#helping">Traveling with an autistic person</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="spectrum">What is autism spectrum disorder?</h2> Autism Spectrum Disorder (sometimes referred to as Autism Spectrum Condition), is a neurological condition that can impact communication and socializing skills. Autistic people are highly sensory people, in that they may be hypersensitive or hyposensitive to different sensory input. I was diagnosed with autism in 2015. In my case, I am hypersensitive to noise – this just doesn’t mean hating loud noises, it means I can’t filter sound. When the buildup becomes too much, I’m unable to function – it impacts my speech, behavior, energy levels, and more. Though I’m verbal (unlike some autistic individuals) I find it difficult to communicate with people in many circumstances and cannot read faces at all. My spatial awareness is also pretty shocking, and my motor skills leave a lot to be desired. I can sometimes be overly literal, too. <h2 id="barriers">Barriers to be aware of as an autistic traveler</h2> Travel presents a multitude of barriers connected to an individual’s own profile – not everyone’s needs are the same. All human beings are unique, after all. <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/people/how-to-plan-an-accessible-family-trip">Accessibility</a> – meaning an environment that is designed to be used by people with disabilities – also means different things to different travelers. For me, accessibility means having information clearly communicated and broken up into smaller pieces, rather than bunched together. It can mean providing quiet rooms to allow escape from noisy environments. It can also mean that airport, railway, or hotel staff are trained in ways to assist autistic people and avoid triggers, such as forcing eye contact. Accessibility has only recently begun to improve for autistic travelers, and still has a long way to go. Because of my hypersensitivity to noise, busy environments are a challenge, such as a shop where there are a lot of people, loud music, announcements, and so on. An airport is my least favorite place for this reason. Going through security is not fun – especially when the social expectations are not clearly spelled out. I have been shouted at in the past for not intuitively understanding the processes. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/accessibility/autistic-travel-airport.jpg" alt="Travelers walk through a busy airport." /> <figcaption> Busy environments such as airports can be a challenge for autistic travelers. Image credit: Getty Images / Markus Speiring/EyeEm</figcaption></figure> I find it very stressful when information changes at the last minute, with services sometimes offering up contradictory corrections. In the UK, the railway networks – which I rely on – are notorious for cancelling frequently or changing platforms suddenly with no warning. Having to figure that out in real time adds a degree of anxiety; if it’s a flight, that anxiety escalates. I honestly miss traveling a lot; I am dreaming of going back to Manhattan. But the pandemic added an extra layer of complexity. COVID-19 rules and regulations seemed to change constantly, and they weren’t always well communicated. So, how can autistic travelers move around safely and accessibly? Here is some advice based on my own prior experiences. <h2 id="prepare">Traveling while autistic: how to prepare</h2> Knowing yourself can be helpful in negating potential sensory triggers or working your way around inaccessible environments; it’s a calculation we must make quite often as autistic people. Can I manage changes in my timetable if I have all the information written down? Who will help me if I have questions? These are a couple of very key concerns. Planning to travel takes a lot of effort. Prior to the pandemic I had flown alone just once, on a flight to the United States. My arrival in the US coincided with that of COVID-19. Yep. I had been planning for almost a year, figuring out all the details to help me across the Atlantic from the UK. Visual prompts help me a lot because I experience issues with executive functioning – essentially, the little Personal Assistant that we all have inside our brains does not want to play ball. I keep everything in a specially designated planner, with maps, lists, timetables, itineraries, color coding, and a pocket at the back for travel documents. I also research access schemes or systems ahead of time. For example, the UK, some parts of the US, and a few other countries use the <a href="https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com/">Sunflower Lanyard</a> program, which when worn discreetly signals you have an invisible disability and shares lists of places nearby that offer support and help such as shops, sports facilities, transport hubs etc. You don’t have to justify yourself – all you have to do is wear it, and help will be given. Some venues, such as banks, have staff specially trained to recognize the lanyard and automatically make accommodations; in a place such as an airport, you may have to approach an assistance desk. Airport websites have more information about assistance they provide to disabled travelers – sometimes you must book in advance. <h2 id="coping">Coping with travel barriers</h2> I always look for ways to negate issues before they arise. Here are some suggestions: <ul> <li>Travel with a sensory kit. Think ear plugs, fidget toys etc. Fidget toys such as tangles can provide extra emotional regulation in an overwhelming environment; they allow us to cope more easily for just that little bit longer. I always keep sensory aids handy in my handbag or attached to my sunflower lanyard.</li> <li>Use a timetable as a form of itinerary. It’s helpful for me see the transition between tasks or activities – making sure I have enough time to get somewhere, change train platforms, and so forth – and tick everything off. This helps reduce my stress if my planned routine suddenly changes.</li> <li>Never be without your mobile phone. If I need help, I call one of the people I know and interact with most. If I’m close to home, they can often meet me and even walk me to the correct drop off point.</li> </ul> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/accessibility/fidget-spinner.jpg" alt="A man plays with a fidget spinner at a shopping mall." /> <figcaption>Fidget spinners or other fidget toys provide emotional regulation to help autistic individuals cope. Image credit: Getty Images/Elva Etienne</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="friendly">Some of my favorite autism-friendly places for travelers</h2> Britain’s Heathrow and Stanstead airports offer accessible services for autistic people, including supporting the Sunflower Lanyard scheme, providing extra assistance (which <a href="https://www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/accessibility-and-mobility-help/hidden-disabilities">can be arranged in advance</a>), and more. An increasing number of airports offer soothing sensory rooms. New York’s Central Park Zoo is fabulously accessible, with very clear signage and reliable schedules; if you make it to Rotterdam or London, consider attending a Street Art Tour – they have a set structure that’s well suited for autistic travelers. <h2 id="helping">Traveling with an autistic person</h2> Here's how to help an autistic person you're traveling with. First of all, do not shout or tell us to calm down. It’s so frustrating to be told that. Autism does not come with an “off” switch! If we can’t speak coherently (or at all), still listen – even if we are in the throes of a meltdown, or we don’t seem to be acting normally. We can’t always tell you what the problem is, which is why avoiding potential triggers always helps. Don’t force eye contact, which can be very uncomfortable for us. Helping us manage through confusing environments can go a long way, as well as ensuring our sensory needs – i.e., not too much noise – are being met. You can do that by learning the layout of airport or train terminals or finding out about what accessibility adjustments the venues offer. If you need to change a plan, be clear and upfront about it.Getty Images / Yiu Yu Hoi 1607327025 Getty Images A woman stands in front of a flight information display at an airport.

Our Favorite Travel Photos of 2021 (so far)https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/discovery/our-favorite-photos-of-2021-so-farOur Favorite Travel Photos of 2021 (so far)Thu, 26 Aug 2021 21:35:48 GMThttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/discovery/our-favorite-photos-of-2021-so-farhttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/post-pandemic-travel-family-reunionsThe hardest part of the COVID-19 pandemic for many of us has been being apart from our loved ones. When it’s safe to travel and gather, our Nomads community shares how they'll reconnect with friends and family.2021-05-07T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/post-pandemic-travel-family-reunionshttps://www.worldnomads.com“I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends in England again. I will first visit my Dad, who is no longer very mobile after a lifetime of activity, and who I haven’t seen now for more than 18 months – our longest time apart. I cannot wait to hug him and to laugh at the old stories. Then I will head to rural Suffolk to see a gathering of my dearest friends. We will all meet in the ancient 50-acre wood owned by one of my friends, to camp, cook over the fire, eat, drink, talk and laugh. Like we always have. Nothing changes even though everything changes, and for me, travel is always about the people.” – Kate Duthie, Managing Editor, World Nomads "It's been a crazy 12 months, but now that some sense of normality is starting to return, we're excited to finally catch up with friends and family who are interstate [in Australia] and go on a series of big camping trips! Whether it's <a href="https://vanlifetheory.com/blog/van-tour/">in our campervan</a> or roughing it in a tent doesn't matter. As long as we're with the ones we love it's going to be incredible." Alesha Bradford and Jarryd Salem, Directors, <a href="https://www.nomadasaurus.com">NOMADasaurus</a> “My plans, now that I’m fully vaccinated, are twofold: go see my folks and take my family…somewhere. I’ll see my folks first. They live on the delmarvelous Delmarva peninsula, a dollop of marsh muck and seafood shacks sandwiched between the Atlantic and the Chesapeake Bay. I’ll take the canoe out with my brother, I hope, and cast for striped bass, and maybe look for shorebirds at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. I’ll go toss horseshoes on a sandbar off the coast of Cape Charles and ride a cruiser bike to The Shanty for fish and chips. I’ve been a mountain guy now most of my life, but I’ve always had saltwater in my veins. The pandemic has left me deficient in that way, and so I’ll go back and reconnect with the beauty of an endless marsh and savor the mucky funk of the marsh. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.” – <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/about/contributors/tim-neville">Tim Neville</a>, travel writer and <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/create/learn/writing/5-tips-to-writing-a-winning-travel-story">World Nomads scholarship mentor</a> “My partner and I have recently invested in quality camping gear, so we’re keen to get some good use out of it. We’re planning road trips to visit our family and friends interstate [in Australia], setting up camp along the way and discovering so many new hikes, landmarks, and places to eat that we would have missed if we had flown there. Now as semi-seasoned campers, we’re looking forward to organizing trips with our friends. Nothing like reconnecting around a campfire, under the stars, with some hot chocolate!” – Parinaz Bilimoria, Brand Programs and Community Manager, World Nomads “I’m looking forward to seeing my best friend this summer. We often joke that we live our lives in parallel, the most recent example of this being when our wives gave birth within two weeks of each other during lockdown. We’ve been on several outdoor adventures together in the past but, this time, the pace and activities will be different from when we were without little ones. With international travel out of the question, we’ve settled on hiring a cottage somewhere near the New Forest National Park and the Isle of Wight here in the UK. A beautiful part of the country that we haven’t fully explored in the past. Not only will it be great fun for both our older kids (who are also the same age and have had limited opportunity to socialize outside our bubble) but it will be a chance for us to take turns to go on date nights with our better halves and have hassle-free childcare!” – Dave O’Malley, Global Partnerships and Business Development, World Nomads <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/post-covid-reunion-isle-of-wight-getty-462366999.jpg" alt="Bathers at Steephill Cove Beach on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom." /> <figcaption>Bathers at Steephill Cove Beach on the Isle of Wight. Image credit: Getty Images / Chad Powell</figcaption></figure> “With international travel still on hold in so many places, I’ll be visiting with friends across the country here in the United States. I’m looking forward to actually staying with friends in their homes, long hugs and catching up over this year. Hopefully there will be BBQs involved. This year has made me nostalgic, and I just got together with a friend I haven’t seen since childhood. I have a photo tour to the ’Stans – <a href="/explore/central-asia/kazakhstan/trying-to-get-around-kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a>, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan – in Central Asia in September and a trip to Vietnam in October, so I’m hoping international travel picks up by then.” – <a href="http://www.alisonwright.com">Alison Wright</a>, photographer “For the last four years (minus last year, obviously), my friends and I would do a Christmas in July (it being winter in Australia and all) at someone’s house or a holiday house. Looking forward to doing that again this year.” – Stefan Chan, Digital Specialist – SEO, World Nomads “I've been traveling during the pandemic and have visited my mom several times (always getting tested first and wearing a mask around her all the time, even outdoors), but now that she, my sister, and her husband have been vaccinated, my family is planning a vacation. We're going to rent a cabin in northern <a href="/explore/north-america/united-states/great-lakes-road-trip">Wisconsin</a> at the campsite where my family went for 50 years up until about 15 years ago. I've been on a waiting list to get a cabin there for 15 years and we think we have a chance this summer – if not, we'll go off-peak in September. As Covid is still an issue, we won't do the group activities there, but since my mom has Parkinson's and her condition has deteriorated significantly in the past year, the accommodations we'll make will more so be related to her limited mobility.” – <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/about/contributors/cassandra-brooklyn">Cassandra Brooklyn</a>, travel writer “I think the most fabulous plan would be to meet in Iceland. We’d rent a couple of camper vans and caravan around the island, stopping to camp and hike the fjords. We would take in the Arctic light and the smell of the sea, and cherish the freedom of the outdoors as well as rejoice in the reunion of camaraderie.” – <a href="https://kiliii.com/">Kiliii Yüyan</a>, photographer “Given the frictions and frustrations of international travel (plus the social responsibility of reducing risk), my travel will mostly be UK-based. I live in the city and have missed the great outdoors, so I’m looking forward to multi-day treks on the coast and highlands. Other than that, it’s all about breaks with the family – heading to retreats in the English countryside, renting a house together and visiting pubs!" – <a href="/about/contributors/ash-bhardwaj">Ash Bhardwaj</a>, filmmakerGetty Images / Morsa Images 11097418680 Getty Images At an outdoor gathering, a group of young adults greets each other with hugs.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/how-travel-can-fuel-your-childs-passionsWhether your kid is a budding astronaut, archaeologist, photographer, or all of the above, travel can both inspire their dreams and bring them to life.2021-02-17T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/how-travel-can-fuel-your-childs-passionshttps://www.worldnomads.comNot too long ago, I saw my daughter’s eyes shine, wide as saucers, watching the rockets fire underneath the latest space launch on a live internet stream. My six-year-old wants to be an astronaut – so much so that she has already earmarked engineering as her career, since the majority of astronauts, she’s researched, started out as engineers. I explained to her the dream behind the mission, as we followed the launch’s trajectory on screen, burning an arc through the stratosphere: to get that little bit closer to bringing everyday people up into space, and perhaps even one day to the Moon or Mars as visitors. Suddenly, the idea didn’t seem all that pie-in-the-sky; seeing the real thing happening before us made it all feel immediate and possible. That is rather the same as traveling with a child. You may have seen it all before (although really, who has seen it all?) but every small, strange detail of a new land or a new experience is a sensory hit for your child, and it does make the world feel so immediate – and their dreams so possible. When you have a child, biology seems to rewire you. Your child’s dreams become your dreams, and making them come true becomes a burning desire. The wonder of it is, an adventurer tends to beget an adventurer: it only takes a few fond travel tales of your own travels to light the fire in your offspring. Then, your burning desire meets their burgeoning spirit of exploration, and next thing you know, you’re booking air tickets with a glint in your eye. <ul> <li><a href="#astronaut"> So your child wants to be an astronaut?</a></li> <li><a href="#photojournalist"> So your child wants to be a photojournalist?</a></li> <li><a href="#conservationist"> So your child wants to be a conservationist?</a></li> <li><a href="#archaeologist"> So your child wants to be an archaeologist?</a></li> <li><a href="#dreams"> How travel can inspire your kids to dream big</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="astronaut">So your child wants to be an astronaut?</h2> Where to go? Well, there is a destination for every dream. Our family dreams of one day getting to Alabama in the United States to book my daughter in for six days of Space Camp, to get all Moonraker on the Multi-Axis Trainer and complete simulated missions to the International Space Station. From there, it would be a skip and a jump over to Houston to take the NASA Tram Tour through the Johnson Space Center, to check out the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility where astronauts have trained for decades, or the colossus that is Saturn V, residing at Rocket Park. Of course, there’s always the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, too, to perhaps witness a live launch, or enjoy the Astronaut Training Experience there. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/inspiring-travel-aeronautics.jpg" alt="A mother and daughter look at exhibits at an aeronautics museum." /> <figcaption>Inspire your budding astronaut with a visit to an aeoronautics museum. Image credit: Getty Images / Paha_L</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="photojournalist">So your child wants to be a photojournalist?</h2> Before I was a travel writer, I was, of course, a child. Particularly, I was a child whose favorite spot was in a tiny, cavelike space under the stairs, poring over stacks of National Geographic, drinking in those incredible photographs of elephants swaying through jungles, <a href="/explore/southern-africa/south-africa/kwandwe-south-africas-unsung-wilderness">cheetahs</a> peering through the savannah grasses, and gigantic <a href="/explore/north-america/canada/polar-bear-encounters-churchill-manitoba">polar bears</a> lazily stretching across the ice. The photojournalists behind those shots seemed like the ultimate adventurers to me, crisscrossing the globe to hide amongst the veldts and rainforests and wildernesses of the world to capture its wildest residents. Now, it is my daughter’s turn to wondrously turn the pages of not only our dusty National Geographics but the photos from my own adventurous forays through the years – and she wants in. <h2 id="conservationist">So your child wants to be a conservationist?</h2> We have already earmarked one of my very favorite places in the world as our next (post-COVID) Ultimate Adventure: the Elephant Conservation Center nestled in the farflung Xayaboury province of Laos. So many “elephant camps” in South East Asia are more interested in the almighty dollar than in the animals themselves, so it’s essential to choose a <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/participation/wildlife-sanctuary">genuinely ethical experience</a> – both for the animals, and for your child’s education. This place, run and motivated by vets, welcomes female tame and working elephants particularly. You see, elephants have a long gestation period – up to 22 months – which means working elephants (still used widely in agriculture and forestry here, rightly or wrongly) are seldom allowed to take maternity leave. The Elephant Conservation Center provides a kind of “paid holiday” for the elephants’ bonded mahouts, to hang out at the camp while their elephant is given jungles to stomp through, nutritious food to feed their baby, and vet care through the process. Result: a raised birth rate in elephants in the region, working within the existing local community rather than against it. As for the visitors who come to stay amongst it all and whose dollars pay for it all, there is the unmatchable experience of helping care for the tame elephants and baby elephants, plus socializing and learning from the mahouts in camp about everyday life in Laos as you share a meal or a game of pétanque. Whether or not your child chooses a career in conservation, experiences like these can certainly help <a href="/explore/worldwide/reconnecting-with-nature-on-a-family-getaway">inspire a life-long passion for wildlife and nature</a>. Needless to say, we are counting the days. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/inspiring-travel-photography.jpg" alt="A young boy photographs wildlife from an open jeep on safari in Africa." /> <figcaption> Wildlife encounters can fuel dreams of becoming a photographer, or a conservationist (or both). Image credit: Getty Images / Mint Images</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="archaeologist">So your child wants to be an archaeologist?</h2> I’m astounded by the amount a six-year-old knows about <a href="/explore/north-africa/egypt/wonders-of-upper-egypt">ancient Egypt</a>. Playgrounds are teeming with mini Indiana Joneses, obsessed with archaeology that is a part of the school syllabus nice and early. Our dreams and plans are filled with the pyramids of Giza – of course – and also the temples of Angkor Wat and surrounds in <a href="/explore/southeast-asia/cambodia/top-things-to-do-in-siem-reap">Cambodia</a>. A recent viewing of the Dora the Explorer movie has added an Incan flavor to my daughter’s role plays, so let’s accordingly add <a href="/explore/south-america/peru/getting-most-out-of-machu-picchu">Machu Picchu</a> and <a href="/explore/south-america/peru/locals-guide-to-cusco">Sacsayhuaman</a> in Peru (with the latter, just outside Cusco, being quite amazing and much easier to access). If you have a little transport nut in the family – and really, who doesn’t? – then the Inca Rail luxury train up to Machu Picchu is the stuff dreams on top of dreams are made of. <h2 id="dreams">How travel can inspire your kids to dream big</h2> Honestly, a simple conversation with a child unlocks a world of adventures, both invented and real – but likewise, if there is anything I have happily learned through my travels, and that now my daughter is learning for herself, it is that the world can at least match anything she can dream up. Think real dragons (central Australia), floating cloud islands (China’s Zhangjiajie National Forest Park), rainbow hills (the Seven Colored Earths in Mauritius). The only limit to their aspirations is your imagination – and travel is just the thing to bring those dreams to life.Getty Images / IPGGutenbergUKLtd 1465155084 Getty Images A mother stands with her daughter, pointing out details of a ruined temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/benefits-of-slow-travel-with-childrenFind out why leisurely trips with fewer stops are less stressful, more enriching, and more enjoyable for parents and children alike.2021-02-16T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/benefits-of-slow-travel-with-childrenhttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#slow-travel"> What does “slow travel” mean? </a></li> <li><a href="#advantages"> The advantages of slow travel for families </a></li> </ul> Your first reaction to this topic might be a snort of derision. Slow travel with children? Um… is there any other way? To travel with kids is to go slowly, regardless of what sort of holiday you had in mind. Everything takes longer with children. Getting out the door is slow, getting on a train is slow, getting through an attraction or just sitting down for a meal is slow. Legs get tired. People get hungry. They get bored. They lose their shoes. They need to go to the toilet. And the kids are a pain as well. When my partner Jess and I are traveling with our young child and we’re planning the day ahead, we tend to set out what we would normally do if it was just the two of us, and then we halve it, and then we halve it again, and then we’re maybe getting close to what we can achieve as a lumbering group of three. <h2 id="slow-travel">What does “slow travel” mean?</h2> Traveling with children means taking it slow. But, is that the definition of “slow travel”? Not really. Yes, going on a holiday with your children forces you to dawdle. But real <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/participation/the-beauty-of-slow-travel">slow travel</a> means putting the handbrake on everything. It means taking your multi-destination trip and making it one stop instead: one country, one city, one place. It means taking your week-long journey and making it a fortnight. It means dedicating your adventure to digging deeper into genuine local culture, getting to know the people around you, <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/participation/eat-like-a-local-when-you-travel">sharing their food</a>, listening to their music, appreciating their history, <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/participation/respectful-travel">learning their beliefs</a>. And that is something you can most definitely do with kids. In fact, it’s something you should do with kids. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/slow-travel-angus-vatican-city.jpg" alt="In the middle of a cobbled street in Vatican City, Italy, a baby in stroller smiles at the camera." /> <figcaption>The author's son Angus in Vatican City, Italy. Image credit: Ben Groundwater</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="advantages">The advantages of slow travel for families</h2> Let’s cut to the selfish basics, the stuff that will appeal to parents immediately: slow travel means less travel. It means fewer flights to entertain young children on, and fewer battles to get on board buses or trains. It means unpacking once and spreading your stuff around the room, and not having to worry about gathering it all together again until it’s time to go home. It means days of unplanned ease, where there are no attractions to tick off, no goals to achieve, just beautiful, idyllic free time. Slow travel takes pressure off your children, too. They no longer feel harried. There are no tight schedules to push back on, and no set plans to rebel against. Instead, they get to take their time as well, to embrace the travel experience at their own speed. They can soak up a foreign culture and a foreign way of being. They can experiment with food, meet local people, and join in local activities. I’ve just finished the slowest of slow travel experiences with my family: one entire year in the same place, a 12-month sabbatical spent in San Sebastian, Spain with my partner Jess and our toddler Angus. Twelve months to soak up the culture, devour the food, and learn a new way of life. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/slow-travel-san-sebastian.jpg" alt="A father, mother, and toddler-aged son stand in a narrow lane in San Sebastian, Spain." /> <figcaption> The author with his family in San Sebastian, Spain. Image credit: Ben Groundwater</figcaption></figure> For Jess and me, it was a year of gentle exploration, an organic education in Basque culture and tradition. For Angus, it was a formative 12 months during which he became a proper person, someone who went from crawling to walking to running, whose first word was Spanish – agua – who played at the parks with local kids, who hung out with us in bars and restaurants, who watched and listened and soaked absolutely everything in. We watched the seasons change that year in San Sebastian as we watched Angus develop: the clear skies and brisk air of spring as he got to know all of the local shopkeepers; the brilliance of a European summer as Angus found his feet and began to charge around the neighborhood; the falling leaves and rolling storms of autumn as he started to talk and play; the darkness of winter as Angus became part of the furniture of the town, a character known and loved and instantly recognised. You don’t need to entertain a toddler, we found, with fantastic, planned travel experiences. Everything is already interesting to them, and children deserve time to enjoy it: flowers and rocks by the side of a path that are so textural and colorful; sand at the beach that runs between your fingers; puddles of water that splash when you stomp a little foot. This is how we plan to travel for the rest of our lives as a family. No manic itineraries, and no carefully curated journeys. We plan to travel slowly, and with limited goals. We plan to only take two flights per holiday: one to get there, and one to get back. We plan to revel in slow travel’s simplicity, in everything from the joy of a nice cup of coffee with a beautiful view, to the peace of mind that comes with knowing our children aren’t stressed or tired. They won’t get bored. Kids can always find something to do, or discover something exciting in the mundane. And Jess and I won’t get bored either – we’ll welcome the chance to stop in a place and just be. We’ll enjoy the deep dive into a new culture without the need to check our watches to see when it’s time to move on. Slow and steady. There’s no other way.Ben Groundwater 0 Ben Groundwater A father stands in a pottery market in Fes, Morocco, holding his young son in a baby carrier.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/reconnecting-with-nature-on-a-family-getawayReconnecting with the natural world does wonders for our health and wellbeing – whether your family realizes it or not.2021-01-27T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/reconnecting-with-nature-on-a-family-getawayhttps://www.worldnomads.comI had the right idea: rent a cabin by the beach for a winter getaway nurtured by nature. With one parent a travel writer, and the other a corporate urbanite who’d rather relax by the resort pool than rough it, the kids – aged 5 and 11 – had traveled widely, but comfortably. Heading to a humble cabin on the edge of the forest meant stepping outside their comfort zone, especially when the older of the two realized, with a slump of the shoulders, that there was no Wi-Fi. The sight of wallabies grazing on the lawn just metres away gave us the distraction we needed – let’s face it, my daughter wasn’t the only one feeling a bit forlorn at the loss of screentime and online connection. A stroll along a narrow path through the forest took us to a beach dotted with more wallabies. Incredibly, a pod of dolphins frolicked just offshore. <ul> <li><a href="#connect">Disconnecting from screens and reconnecting with nature</a></li> <li><a href="#benefit">How children benefit from time outdoors</a></li> <li><a href="#encourage">The right way to encourage nature time</a></li> <li><a href="#manage">Manage your expectations of gratitude</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="connect">Disconnecting from screens and reconnecting with nature</h2> I remember that trip with fondness. We watched in awe from the safety of a boat as whales leapt from the water. We took another boat to an island rimmed by seals basking on rocks to learn about a fairy penguin breeding program, and spent hours walking and digging and building castles on the beach. Board games and books replaced screentime with ease. We signed up for a ranger-led night tour through the same forest we’d walked through earlier. By day, we’d been surrounded by birdsong and the sight of towering trees reaching up towards the sunlight. In the dark, our red flashlights revealed eyes shining down from the branches, and we jumped at the screeching and scurrying of night creatures disturbed by our dramatic whispers and crunching footsteps. I asked Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and Our Wild Calling, for his honest opinion on how challenging it is for modern-day kids to withdraw from their devices and reconnect with nature. “It can be hard to move children away from the television and computer. It’s hard for adults as well; it’s hard for me,” Louv says. “When most children get a chance for independent play in a natural setting, they may resist it for a while – and electronic withdrawal is real – but it doesn’t usually take long for children to become children again … natural play seems to return to them.” <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/nature-child-wallaby.jpg" alt="A child looks over a railing at a wallaby grazing on a lawn." /> <figcaption>The author's son looks down at a grazing wallaby. Photo credit: Joanna Tovia</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="benefit">How children benefit from time outdoors</h2> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935118303323">Numerous studies</a> from around the world show just how much children benefit from spending time in nature, with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation going so far as to claim that time in nature is not leisure time, but an essential investment in our children’s health. Immersing kids in the natural world can: <ul> <li>Lower blood pressure and heart rate</li> <li>Reduce stress, depression and anxiety</li> <li>Improve sleep and reduce fatigue</li> <li>Improve fitness and sense of wellbeing</li> <li>Promote confidence, creativity and imagination</li> </ul> With COVID-19 keeping most of us <a href="/explore/worldwide/travel-with-kids-in-own-backyard">close to home</a> for now, finding ways for the family to reconnect with nature can also be a cure for itchy feet and cabin fever. A weekend camping trip, picnicking in the park, kayaking on a river or lake, learning to surf … you needn’t travel far from home for an outdoorsy outing or getaway to be worthwhile. “Many parents tell me that the same kids who complained on the way to the camping trip often, later – when they’re young adults – recall that <a href="/explore/worldwide/tips-and-hacks-for-camping-skiing-road-trips">camping trip</a> as one of their fondest memories,” says Louv, noting with a laugh that this revelation can cause mixed reactions in parents. “People seldom look back on their childhoods and recall the best day they ever spent watching TV,” he says. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/reconnect-nature-boy-beach.jpg" alt="A young boy dumps sand from a bucket on a beach in Australia." /> <figcaption>Making sand castles on the beach. Photo credit: Joanna Tovia</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="encourage">The right way to encourage nature time</h2> As wonderful as getting back to nature is for families, Louv cautions against parents pushing too hard. “Nature time should never be seen by kids as a punishment for, say, spending too much time in the electronic world.” The best way to get kids <a href="/explore/worldwide/tips-for-responsible-family-travel">appreciating the natural world</a> without it feeling forced upon them is for parents to find – and express – our own sense of wonder and lead by example. Beauty is everywhere if you look for it and, from my own experience, simple observations such as “oh wow, look at the colors in that tree bark” can encourage family members to also begin to tune in. “When parents rediscover their sense of wonder, so do most kids,” Louv agrees. Build in some <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/participation/the-beauty-of-slow-travel">unstructured time</a> to relax, explore, and play (any complaints of boredom will soon pass) to really give nature a chance to work its magic. “Given what we know now about the advantages of meaningful time in nature, and the joy that can be found in that connection, we owe it to young people to encourage them to experience this for themselves,” Louv says. “Whether we live in Australia or the United States, the more high-tech our lives become, the more all of us need nature.” <h2 id="manage">Manage your expectations of gratitude</h2> As much as you may realize the benefits of immersing your family in nature, it can pay to lower your expectations when it comes to receiving gratitude for your efforts. “Remember that time we stayed in that cabin with the wallabies on the beach?” I asked my children recently. Uneasy silence. “Remember, we went whale watching, and did that night walk, and took a boat over to that island, and there were all those fairy penguins and seals?” Crickets. “OMG, was that the place with no Wi-Fi?” my daughter asked.Joanna Tovia 0 Joanna Tovia A tween-age girl and her younger brother look out over a blue ocean from a sandy bluff in Australia.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/how-to-travel-well-with-kidsGet tips for planning a family trip everyone will enjoy, whether your kids are babies, teens, or in between.2021-01-11T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/how-to-travel-well-with-kidshttps://www.worldnomads.comMy first trip with my family occurred at the tender age of one. My parents and I were flying to Europe to visit my maternal grandparents. In an effort to ensure a smooth flight, my mother had given me an anti-nausea medication that, in addition to limiting air sickness, was meant to knock me out for the six-hour journey. It had the opposite effect. I was awake and alert, running down the aisles of the plane with my mother chasing me. My father sought refuge in the back, pretending not to know us. He managed to sleep and arrived rested, while my mother greeted her family in a state of exhaustion. At its core, traveling with family is a case of planning for the best, and preparing for the worst. No matter how far away the destination or how long the journey, the keys to family travel success lie in planning and preparation – along with large doses of patience, resilience, and a sense of humor. <ul> <li><a href="#planning">Planning a family trip: where to begin?</a></li> <li><a href="#first">First family trip? Start small </a></li> <li><a href="#babies">Traveling with babies </a></li> <li><a href="#toddlers">Traveling with toddlers</a></li> <li><a href="#tweens">Traveling with tweens</a></li> <li><a href="#teens">Traveling with teens</a></li> <li><a href="#families">Traveling with other families</a></li> <li><a href="#expectations">Manage expectations</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="planning">Planning a family trip: where to begin?</h2> The starting point rests in some self-examination: what kind of holiday would you and your family enjoy? For aquatic fanatics, a holiday on a beach, river, or lake is perfect. Like art and history? The museums of New York, Paris, Florence, and Madrid are calling your name. Independent and adventurous? The jungles of <a href="/explore/central-america/costa-rica/traveling-in-costa-rica-during-covid">Costa Rica</a>, wide open spaces of <a href="/explore/oceania/australia">Australia</a>, and scenic European Alps await. Of course, picking the destination is only half the battle. Issues of affordability, age, and ability come into play. Be realistic about your family’s capabilities, and plan for the type of trip that will work best for everyone. <h2 id="first">First family trip? Start small</h2> According to the US-based Family Travel Association (FTA), 33-40% of all leisure travel includes some form of family travel, so you’re in good company in planning trips with kids in tow. If you’re nervous embarking on a family travel journey, start small and <a href="/explore/worldwide/travel-with-kids-in-own-backyard">stay local</a>. Go camping or to grandma’s house for the weekend, or book a local hotel. If things go well, great! If they go off the rails, you can easily head home and try again another day. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/travel-well-baby-moab.jpg" alt="A woman with a baby in a sling across her chest stands at the edge of a canyon in Utah." /> <figcaption>Traveling with a baby can be surprsingly easy, since they are often strapped to you. Photo credit: Getty Images / Jordan Siemens</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="babies">Traveling with babies</h2> It may surprise you to know that traveling with a baby is one of the easiest ways to journey as a family. Wee ones are often physically attached to their parents, can be carried in a harness or backpack or pushed in a stroller, and aren’t prone to objecting to your destination choice. For long plane journeys, pack favorite toys, blankets, and extra supplies of clothes, snacks and toys in a diaper bag to have close at hand. Nurse or feed on takeoff and landing to assist with ear pain. Upon arrival, get acclimated to your time zone and routine right away, even if it takes a few days due to jet lag. <h2 id="toddlers">Traveling with toddlers</h2> The toddler years can be challenging and require parents to dig deep into their magic bag of travel tricks, especially on long flights and car rides. Ensure that bag is full of snacks, entertainment (books, tablets, toys), and a few favorite comfort items. Our magic travel bag included some surprises, including lollipops (not a usual food group) and new, small toys to motivate activity and good behavior. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/travel-well-toddler-airport.jpg" alt="An Asian woman walks past an airport window with her toddler." /> <figcaption>The key to traveling well with a toddler is a bag filled with snacks and entertainment. Photo credit: Getty Images / d3sign</figcaption></figure> Booking accommodation with a kitchen is wise and cost-effective for any family trip, but it’s particularly valuable when traveling with younger children whose dining schedule and palate may not match that of Bali or Barcelona. Have a snack plan to avoid the full-on toddler meltdowns so often caused by the double whammy of hunger and fatigue. <h2 id="tweens">Traveling with tweens</h2> The tween age group is often the keenest to travel as a family and interested in a wide variety of activities. They may have opinions on destinations and trip styles, and should be included in travel planning if appropriate. If active on social media, tweens will want access to WiFi, though they may be more amenable to parental controls then teenaged kids. <h2 id="teens">Traveling with teens</h2> Older kids crave independence and want an aspect of control over their lives, so involve them in trip planning to harness their creativity and ensure buy-in. We planned a highly successful three-week road trip visiting <a href="/explore/north-america/canada/the-ultimate-guide-to-exploring-the-canadian-rockies">Banff, Canada</a>, the destination of choice for our teenagers. A trip should include activities that teens will enjoy, whether it’s time by the pool or beach, or in the mountains, malls, or museums. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/travel-well-family-banff-new.jpg" alt="A family with teenage children overlook the Canadian Rockies in Banff." /> <figcaption>The author with her family in Banff. Photo credit: Claudia Laroye</figcaption></figure> Ensure easy access to snacks and food to avoid the hangries, and recognize that apart from food, the most important thing for teens will be access to good WiFi. They’ll want to stay in touch with friends and post those vacation photos. But you should negotiate the amount of time they spend in the virtual world. Your family trip is about being present, together. <h2 id="families">Traveling with other families</h2> <a href="/explore/worldwide/multigenerational-travel">Multigenerational trips</a> and vacationing with other families have many benefits, including sharing costs and child-minding. Be sure to choose your vacation partners from friends who share your parenting style and kids’ age ranges – mutual respect and trust will make holidaying easier. And, agree on everyone’s individual financial responsibilities before the trip. Nothing sours relationships and vacations like disputes over money. <h2 id="expectations">Manage expectations</h2> If you’ve planned for the best but are prepared for the worst, you’re managing expectations. As much as one plans for 100% smooth sailing, the act of traveling with kids can involve stormy seas, including accidents and medical emergencies. Trip necessities should include family travel insurance, and a <a href="/travel-safety/worldwide/first-aid-kit">first aid kit</a> and bag of age-appropriate medicines, including prescriptions. It’s also important to manage your own expectations about how your children may see and appreciate their family travel experience. Tamp down disappointment if your teen doesn’t share your enthusiasm for early morning beach walks, or if a dinner out is cut short by baby’s fussing or a toddler’s meltdown. Be open to the magic of your child playing with seed pods over a grate for two hours, or forging new friendships from smiles, rather than words. Let it go, be patient, and focus on the positive wins of a family trip. One day you will laugh about the things that went wrong – really! In the meantime, embrace the beauty of being together and the places that will fill your forever memories.Claudia Laroye 11200748125 Getty Images A father and son cycle on a gravel road in the Swiss Alps.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/travel-with-kids-in-own-backyardIt's possible to enjoy a very memorable family trip while staying local. Here are our tips on planning the perfect domestic family vacation.2021-01-06T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/travel-with-kids-in-own-backyardhttps://www.worldnomads.comYou might say I'm a tad addicted to traveling – I chose travel writing as a profession, after all. When my husband and I started having children, we were determined not to let it stop us from seeing the world. Before my first son turned one, he had taken a dip in a cenote in the Yucatan, toured Scotland aboard the Hogwarts Express, and bopped along in a stroller on the streets of Havana, Cuba. I had my second child, another boy, in 2019. We booked a trip to England and France in February, 2020 to take advantage of the travel sweet spot. (I’ve deemed this to be between three months old and a year.) Of course, COVID-19 soon ground our lives and dreams of more international travel to a halt. As restrictions started to ease, my husband and I knew we needed to find ways to indulge our wanderlust and get out with the boys. We began exploring historic sites, planning road trips and getting outdoors as much as possible. Turns out, there’s no place like home. Here are my tips for travel with kids in your backyard. <ul> <li><a href="#domestic">Domestic travel: see home in a new light</a></li> <li><a href="#everyday">Turn everyday outings into memorable experiences </a></li> <li><a href="#themed">Plan a themed trip</a></li> <li><a href="#recreate">Recreate favorite travel experiences</a></li> <li><a href="#staycation">Do a kid-friendly staycation</a></li> <li><a href="#activities">Choose activities your kids love</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="domestic">Domestic travel: see home in a new light</h2> What makes travel so addictive? For me, it's getting away from the mundane, indulging my curiosity and discovering new things. Every place on earth probably seems boring to those who live there, but exotic to others. Treat your state, country, city or town like an adventure. Is there a park you've always talked about visiting? Go! A zoo in a different part of town? Check it out! My husband and I made a list of things we had long talked about doing with the kids in New York that would make for safe, socially distanced activities: the Prospect Park Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, the Met Cloisters, and the Staten Island Ferry. We checked these places off of our list week by week. <h2 id="everyday">Turn everyday outings into memorable experiences</h2> We were fortunate to spend time on the West Coast of the US during the pandemic. After quarantining for two weeks at a vacation home in Bend, Oregon, we began exploring. I took the boys for runs in Shevlin Park, a 600-acre nature preserve with old-growth forest and miles of trails. We noted how different landscapes reminded us of other parts of the world (my son thought a rocky cliff on one side looked like Pride Rock from The Lion King). I often packed a picnic, and we would eat sandwiched between a river and a meadow. It felt special. One day, we got caught in a storm. The eerie green glow of the storm's eye chased us the entire way back to the car. Golf ball-sized hail pelted us as I frantically buckled the boys into their car seats. My son still talks about it. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/backyard-shevlin-getty-cavan.jpg" alt="A hiker stands in a meadow in Oregon's Shevlin Park, with forests and mountains in the background." /> <figcaption>A hiker enjoys the view in Shevlin Park, Oregon. Photo credit: Getty Images / Cavan</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="themed">Plan a themed trip</h2> My family and I watched every family-friendly Halloween movie imaginable in October 2020, and we decided to visit places featured in some of the films driving distance from New York. We visited Sleepy Hollow, the village immortalized in Washington Irving's classic tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. (My son watched the Disney version.) While we spared him any grim details, we visited Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where Irving is buried, and walked across Sleepy Hollow Bridge. We also went for a hike in the nearby Rockefeller State Park Preserve and visited several Hudson Valley farms offering pumpkin patches and <a href="/stories/connection/as-american-as-apple-cider">apple picking</a>. On another fall trip, we visited Salem, MA and traced the filming locations of the cult classic Hocus Pocus. Our itinerary included a mix of activities to please adults and kids, like a Harry Potter wand shop and tacos and margaritas on a rooftop terrace. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/family-travel/backyard-apple-picking-getty-cavan.jpg" alt="A father pulls his daughter in a wagon through an apple orchard in New York." /> <figcaption>Apple picking in New York. Photo credit: Getty Images / Cavan</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="recreate">Recreate favorite travel experiences</h2> That sliver of time between when the day’s work is complete and dinnertime is my favorite time of day. Whether we're in Paris or Marrakech, we’ve always packed our itineraries with “happy hour” stops for a glass of wine and a small bite. Throughout 2020, we've put together happy hours at home for the whole family to enjoy, including cheeses from around the world, charcuterie, and briny olives. We also took up new hobbies to get us out of our comfort zone. While in Bend, my son, husband and I all took western horseback riding lessons at an outdoor arena. <h2 id="staycation">Do a kid-friendly staycation</h2> By Mother's Day of 2020, I was longing for a hotel stay. A rustic lodge with a modern makeover located outside Bend was receiving guests, so we booked a room. After hiking up Black Butte, a steep trail that rewards hikers with a panorama of the Cascade Mountain Range, we checked into the lodge for the night. Indoor public spaces were off-limits, but the vast lawn overlooking the lake was fair game. We ordered fried fish sandwiches and onion rings at the outdoor kiosk and watched as the boys played in the grass. We felt a world away, even though we were just 45 minutes from town. <h2 id="activities">Choose activities your kids love</h2> We embraced the family road trip in 2020 and set ourselves up for success by indulging my son's interests. He adores animals. On a tour of the western US, our hotel in Walla Walla, Washington was near a free aviary that provides natural enclosures for exotic birds. We saw dozens of bison and elk in Yellowstone National Park, and at a Montana dude ranch, we learned about wild mustang. In the fall, we visited a dairy with heritage cows, horses, and goats in Vermont. I snapped pictures of my boys sitting on a pile of honey-colored leaves with the storybook countryside in the background. It may not have been a walled village in France, but it was a vacation I'll never forget.Getty Images / Orbon Alija 01175862994 Getty Images A young boy aboard the Staten Island Ferry looks across the harbor at the Statue of Liberty.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-plastic-pandemicIn this episode, how the pandemic has affected the fight against single-use plastic and when old school becomes cool.2020-12-23T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-plastic-pandemichttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 01:12 Opportunities for a global reset 03:42 The waste space 07:06 The fight against single-use plastics continues 08:50 What’s happening around the world with waste 09:16 Changes to the podcast <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “…we've got more and more retailers and businesses trying to use compostable products. However, we don't actually have the composting infrastructure and resources to support that, which means that people may be buying products that are being used, that is still ending up in landfill even though they're trying to do the right thing.” – Dr. Denise Hardesty <a href="https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6092050/world-nomads-travel-podcast-survey?medium=podcast">Podcast Survey.</a> Have your say on what you’d like to hear in the World Nomads Travel Podcast in 2021. <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Dr. Denise Hardesty is a principal research scientist and team leader with CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere. Her current research projects focus on plastic pollution and illegal fishing. For the past several years she has been leading a portfolio of marine debris projects which has resulted in global recognition of Australia’s role in cutting-edge plastics pollution work of high value and impact. She provides an expert opinion on marine debris related matters to the federal government, to non-government organizations, to industry stakeholders and NGOs within Australia and internationally, and to other audiences focused on marine debris impacts at a multitude of spatiotemporal scales. She has also been a key player engaging in national and international workshops with government, industry, fisheries and other stakeholders aiming to reduce the trans-boundary ghostnet issue. <h2>Resources and links</h2> <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/plastic-waste-management-covid19-ppe/">The plastic pandemic is only getting worse during COVID-19</a>. <a href="https://jambeck.engr.uga.edu/landplasticinput">Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean</a>. Jambeck Research Group Get yourself a 10% discount on outdoor accessories with <a href="https://lightmyfire.com/en/blog/light-my-fire-joins-the-adventure-travel-trade-association">Light My Fire</a>, use the code word NOMADS10. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">The latest travel alerts and warnings</a> from World Nomads. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group.</a> If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: There is no denying that single-use plastic has been a lifesaver in the fight against COVID-19, especially for frontline health workers. And it’s helped with social distancing, by enabling home delivery particularly food. And it may have helped to curb transmission, by replacing reusable coffee cups and shopping bags in many places over fears that the virus could stick to them. But the World Economic Forum says, “If we are not careful, short-term thinking during the pandemic could lead to an even larger environmental and public-health calamity in the future.” Of course, the proliferation of plastic waste already was a major concern before the pandemic. So, has COVID-19 pushed back any progress. I checked in with research scientist Dr. Denise Hardesty. Dr.Hardesty: I don't think it's pushed things back. I actually think that there's an opportunity for some really thoughtful, local opportunities and solutions to grow new businesses and industries as we come out of COVID, as we look at post-COVID recovery. Excuse me. And I suppose that's what I'm hopeful about at the moment. At the same time, we have seen and heard reports from around the world that there are more wild animals being observed and coming out. We're seeing cleaner air, cleaner seas, and things like that. As a result, people are associating that with COVID, with a lack of air travel, with people staying closer to home, with people not commuting in cars and not taking as much public transportation. So I would actually view this as a real opportunity for a local, regional, and global reset. And I realize I'm quite an optimist. That would be something I would be pleased to see whether or not it eventuates, time will tell. At the same time, we just had a paper come out last week where we estimated how much microplastic is on the bottom of the seabed floor. And we estimate that there are somewhere between 8 and 14 million tons. And that's just the little tiny stuff, of microplastic, from some work that we did off the Great Australian Bight and 3000 meters in depth and hundreds of kilometers offshore. And people are like, "Wow, that's so much." I'm like, "Yes, it is a lot." That's also equivalent to how much plastic is dumped into the ocean each and every year based upon Jenna Jambeck and colleagues' work with estimates from a decade ago. So you could say it's an awful lot, or you could end up saying, "Wow, it's a drop in the ocean," so to speak. Kim: Pardon the pun. Yeah. The planet certainly has enjoyed us being on pause, but according to earth.org, academia should be aiming to educate manufacturers, rather, and policymakers on how to make more environmentally friendly decisions. Do you know of anything specific that has happened as a result of the pandemic? Dr. Hardesty: Well, I can't say that there's something specific that I know about that's happened as a result of the pandemic, per se. At the same time, there's a lot of innovation, I think, that's happening, and opportunities in the waste space. And I think we also want to be both thoughtful of those opportunities and mindful of unintended consequences. Like right now, we've got more and more retailers and businesses trying to use compostable products. However, we don't actually have the composting infrastructure and resources to support that, which means that people may be buying products that are being used, that is still ending up in landfill even though they're trying to do the right thing. I would also say that the other area of increase in terms of plastic waste during COVID is around single-use takeaway containers as restaurants have been closed, but have still been open for takeaway meals. And so I think there's some great innovation that I had already seen happening pre-COVID that would be great to see happening during and post-COVID if and as it's safe to have those sorts of things. So there are some communities where restaurants participate and consumers who want to participate with these particular restaurants, you pay basically a deposit for your tea for a takeaway container that's reusable. So it may be metal, or it may be a heavy-duty microwave-safe PBA-free plastic container that your food can come in. And when you finish it, you actually return it or it can come with the next Uber driver or similar who's providing that delivery service. So those are some things that I have seen happen. They are not happening, or I am aware of those happening pre-COVID. Although, I know that there are some health and safety concerns for people, and rightly so, around particular types of items that could be used when people are trying to be very mindful of, and to be very cautious about what materials they're using and ensuring that we don't end up with disease transmission. As I'm sure you and your listeners are aware, it has also been noted that plastic is one of the surfaces that COVID is likely to last longer or remain viable for longer on rather than other types of materials. And so while we have seen an increased focus from some industries on we need to be using more single-use plastic, the flip side of that is will plastic may actually not be the best material for COVID safety, given the longevity of the virus on the surface of plastics. Kim: And what do you know of worldwide? Do you have any figures from the US or China, from the World Health Organization on the escalation of disposable PPE production or waste? Dr.Hardesty: I don't have those facts and figures at hand. I haven't gone on WHO to look those up. We are seeing a reported increase, but again, I don't actually have those numbers at hand. Sorry. Kim: That's okay. That's certainly something that we can source, but still, a long way to go in the fight against single-use plastics. Dr.Hardesty: Yeah, I think we've also seen some really good changes happen. It's funny. Cotton swabs are one example where we've seen a change. It's really what... I've been calling it when old school becomes cool. When we've gone back to paper straws in the instances where straws are required. We've gone back to paper, cotton buds, and things like that. And I think we're seeing that return to more reusable, more sustainable types of items, many of which are what we have historically used that were much more in accordance with environmentally friendly practices. It's now commonplace again for people to bring their own bags to the supermarket, to bring their own cups to get a drink. Dr.Hardesty: I think that a lot of those changes are coming about as a result of the increased public awareness and the public request, and then the public demand to see some changes in practices. And I think that's a really positive example of how people can support, require, enable the changes that people in society really want to see. We're seeing the multinationals stop putting plastic microbeads in face products, in toothpaste, and things like that in advance of legislative requirements to do so. And so I think it's worth acknowledging and celebrating the power of the consumer in today's market. And I think that each step that we can make towards increased sustainability is going to be to our betterment as a society and better for the planet as a whole. Kim: In the US, curbside recycling pickup has been suspended in many places. In the United Kingdom, illegal waste disposal has risen by 300%.  And according to the Thailand Environment Institute, plastic waste has increased from 1,500 tons to 6,300 tons per day. There will be links to further reading in show notes. The podcast is taking a break for January as we work on delivering inspiring content for you reflecting the changes in our world. As we move into 2021 it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for our own safety and that of the places we visit. In fact, you can help guide the type of content you’d like to hear by taking part in our podcast survey in show notes. You could win a World Nomads prize pack. Your feedback is important to us. See you soon.       </div> </div> </div>Getty Images/miodrag ignjatovic 11265004202 Volunteers picking up garbage while cleaning public park during covid-19 pandemic

Our Favorite Travel Photos of 2020https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/transformation/favorite-travel-photos-of-2020Our Favorite Travel Photos of 2020Tue, 22 Dec 2020 01:41:56 GMThttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/transformation/favorite-travel-photos-of-2020https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-rediscovering-the-worldIn this episode, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2021 recognizing places and people demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, community, and diversity. 2020-12-16T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-rediscovering-the-worldhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 01:02 It’s been a year unlike any other 02:18 Travel can be a force for good 03:52 Thinking about our footprint 04:54 Girl in Florence 05:40 Chubby Diaries 06:11 Traveling with a disability 07:03 Trends in travel for 2021 08:18 Next week <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “…rather than recommending a list of destinations to travel to, we want to focus on what matters most. And we think that these three themes of sustainability community and diversity are reflective of the shared values in travel. And we're really delighted to talk about and recognize the people and places and businesses that are making a positive impact around the world.” - Alex <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Alexander Howard is the managing editor of Lonely Planet's US magazine. Prior to joining the magazine team, he was destination editor for Western US and Canada, where he commissioned, edited, and managed 34 guidebooks. <h2>Resources and links</h2> <a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel">Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2021</a> Get yourself a 10% discount on outdoor accessories with <a href="https://lightmyfire.com/en/blog/light-my-fire-joins-the-adventure-travel-trade-association">Light My Fire</a>, use the code word NOMADS10. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/lightmyfire_logo.jpg" alt="logo" /></figure> <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">The latest travel alerts and warnings</a> from World Nomads. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Hi it’s Kim with you and thank you for tuning in, it’s certainly been a tough year for the travel industry and Lonely Planet is just one company that in their words needed to reinvent themselves and part of that was making their Best in Travel different, by as mentioned recognizing places and people demonstrating a genuine commitment to sustainability, community, and diversity. So, to explain Best in Travel 2021 I am chatting to lead editor Alex Howard and Alex it’s certainly been a strange year. Alex: Well, it has certainly been a year unlike any other. I kind of went back through my calendar and all the things that happened through this year and just had a moment of reflection to think about all the things that we've been through and how far away, January, February seems right now. But I'd say, in terms of the travel industry, it's been heavily affected by the pandemic. But I think things are well-positioned for a rebound and frankly, it's going to be an exciting time to travel well when we're able to get out again. Kim: So what's going to be exciting about it? Alex: Well, it'll be like we're rediscovering the world all over again. After however many months it's been, kind of locked in, I've been working from home for the good portion of this year, it's going to be like we're learning how to take our first steps. So we're going to be able to go back to the places that we love the most. And we've had plenty of time to think about the places we're excited to go to next. And that's what I'm really looking forward to is really acting on all the chances I've had to kind of dream about traveling. Kim: I would love to hear about the campaign that Lonely Planet launched just a couple of weeks ago. Can you tell me more? Alex: So our annual best in travel list is a list of the best places to travel for the year ahead. And like I said, this year is so different, we wanted to take stock of our guiding philosophy that travel can be a force for good. So rather than recommending a list of destinations to travel to, we want to focus on what matters most. And we think that these three themes of sustainability community and diversity are really reflective of the shared values in travel. And we're really delighted to talk about and recognize the people and places and businesses that are making a positive impact around the world. Starting with community, community tourism, we're well aware of the impact that both positive and in some cases, the negative impact that travel can have on a community. But we think that there are certain things that travelers can think about when they're visiting places that can really help make a community better. Alex: And it's ways to empower local businesses and communities, generate income for locals, and promote a kind of a cross-cultural understanding that I think we can all agree is a great aspect of travel. As far as diversity, we think that diversity and travel matters because diverse perspectives and experiences just make better stories and they make a better understanding and break down barriers. So we thought that now, more than ever before, developing more diverse and inclusive travel can really be transformational for both the traveler and the places that they visit. And so finally, sustainability with travel and air travel and transportation, having such a large impact on the environment, we wanted travelers to think about their footprint, both their carbon footprint, but also the footprint in the communities that they visit and think about ways that they could help lighten that footprint, and so that's why we focused on sustainability as our last theme. Kim: And you've also looked at yourselves as a business and you want to highlight more local and you've used the word diversity, diverse voices. So you've actually said that you needed to reinvent yourself. Alex: Well, and to a certain extent, this has been a reinvention of a lot of what Lonely Planet is focusing on. In the past, the best in travel list was purely a list of destinations, countries, regions, and cities. And that was always great and it was a great way to explore the world, but this really gave us the opportunity to think about ways that travel can be a force for good and ways that a traveler can visit a destination and not only come back with fascinating stories and incredible experiences but make a positive impact on the destinations that they've traveled to. Kim: So is it reasonable for me to ask you for examples under each of those three? If you look on your website at the /best in travel, as an example under community, there's an ex-pat storyteller. And I think the title of that article is, Girl in Florence. So if we click on community, what kind of things do you think are going to be shared with us? Alex: Yeah. Girl in Florence is the blog of Georgette Jupe, and she is a really great blogger because she has the ability to get under the surface of one of Italy's most popular cities. And she's really immersed herself in the community and brought life to a side of Florence that you rarely see when you're just doing the kind of big bucket list experiences. And she does that by interviewing independent artists and artisans and encouraging people to stay longer and dig deeper. So yeah, Girl in Florence is an excellent example. For our diversity list, I really like talking to Jeff Jenkins. Jeff is the writer and runner of a blog called Chubby Diaries, which provides inspiration and information and product recommendations for plus-size people, and really empowering his community to see more of the world through groups, meetups, and kind of a rich mix of photography and video. And it's really been impactful because a lot of tour operators that Jeff has dealt with have now become more accommodating to plus-sized travelers. So he's already really making a big impact. Kim: Also traveling with a disability. Alex: That's right. And we highlighted Wheel the World for our Inclusive Tour Award. Wheel the World is an outfit that really kind of removes those barriers for people with disabilities. Whether it's bucket-list climbs up Machu Picchu or diving off Easter Island, the company kind of merges technology with accessible accommodation and transportation methods to really make those exciting experiences available for everybody. Kim: Look, it was hard for Lonely Planet when this pandemic was first declared. How are you guys looking at 2021, obviously with this campaign, positively? Alex: Yeah, it's been a tough year, but we are excited about all of the opportunities ahead of us. The campaign will kind of continue into next year. We're going to focus on some trends like we're seeing obviously, a lot more people are interested in the digital nomad experience, a lot more people are working remotely. So we're going to cover that a lot more and explore, talk to people that are doing digital nomads. Because we've been finding that a lot of destinations that were previously kind of high tourist destinations, like Thailand, and some islands in the Caribbean are kind of catering to people that are working remotely with new visas and incentives for them to come work in those countries. So it's been a really interesting development in that regard. Alex: It wasn't necessarily called the digital nomad lifestyle back then, but myself, I went to teach English in China for a couple of years in 2006, and it was a fantastic experience. I lived there and got to travel around for two and a half years. So it really is an incredible way to experience a country and really immerse yourself in the culture. Kim: Yeah, absolutely. Well, you are about to go and pick up your child, how's that going to look for you in 2021? Because one of the great things about 2020 and working from home was that connection with family. Will you be able to maintain that next year? Alex: I certainly hope so. Yeah, one of the blessings of being, those early lockdown days was... He's one now, and he was at that time, just learning how to, well, he was kind of moving from crawling to wandering around. So it was a really special time to be home with him. And I think that we're already planning our next family trip and excited to share with the newly open world will look like with him. Kim: Nice. Thank you so much Alex we will have links in show notes to the campaign where you can read more of those stories PLUS details on how to get a discount with Light My Fire, a Swedish company specializing in outdoor accessories. Next week our final episode for 2020 before we take a break and focus on building great listening for you in 2021.   </div> </div> </div>Supplied: Falmouth Bay Antigua 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-traveling-with-childrenIn this episode, the couple exploring the world one country at a time, encouraging their kids to embrace life and create memories.2020-12-09T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-traveling-with-childrenhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 00:29 Carving out a way of life 03:20 Finding a project 05:38 Jessica’s fears 09:04 Sunsets and sunrises 12:30 Why its great to travel as a family 16:00 The pros and cons 19:05 Time to confess 23:13 Learning something new 26:44 Travel insurance message <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “The only reason why we're here right now is because of the kids. Now granted we wanted this anyway, but there was no greater spark that ignited this flame other than the kids.” – Will “And part of the reason kind of going out into the world besides like Will said, we did this because of them. We wanted them to learn about the world in the world. We wanted to live more minimalist. We wanted to create memories over buying stuff. We wanted to show them life outside of even our home in Massachusetts.” - Jessica <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Will and Jessica, together with their 2 children, have been traveling the world full-time for 6 years. What originally begun as a way to create a deeper bond as a family, grew into a philosophy and a way of life, all of which they share on their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTEc4Dj4bxn736Vjl4lc1pw">YouTube channel</a>. <a href="https://worldtowning.com/">WorldTowning</a> as a philosophy is the act of taking up temporary residence in foreign places, to experience day-to-day life as a local.  In 2019, WorldTowning also became a family-run travel company, committed to helping people broaden their global experiences through concentrated and immersive exposures to the world’s cultures. The family offers small groups of travelers, the opportunity to embark on shared experiences and adventures, in order to live the world as locals.  However, in March 2020, Covid-19 brought their business to a halt. So, what did this family decide to do? They bought a yacht… Follow their adventure on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/worldtowning/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/worldtowning/">Instagram</a>. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/worldtowning.jpg" alt="family hugging" /> <figcaption> Will and Jessica have been traveling with their children for six years</figcaption></figure> <h2>Links and resources</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">The latest travel alerts and warnings</a>. </li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/stories/discovery/initiation-by-indian-railways">Read about Kate’s trip to India with her husband and two teenage daughters</a></li> </ul> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode, please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Hi and thanks for tuning in from wherever you get your favorite pods as we dip our toes into the world of travel with children, some say its impossible others will say it’s hard work but this couple will hopefully change your mind. Will and Jessica, together with their 2 children, have been traveling the world full-time for 6 years. Originally it began as a way to create a deeper bond as a family, but it quickly grew into a way of life and, also a business. Jessica: So Kim, thank you so much for having us today. We are a family of four, two adults and two teenagers. We have a 13-year-old son and a 16 year old daughter. We are Americans. We had lived all over the United States until 2014, and at 2014, we made a decision... well, we made a decision before that. But in 2014, we launched from Boston, Massachusetts to go and live one year in Costa Rica. Jessica: We were telling everyone it was going to be one year, but the plan was for as long as the family and our finances could sustain it. And now we are in 2020 and we are still out here traveling. So that one year plan did manifest into being more and a lifestyle choice. And in the meantime, we have spent a year in Costa Rica, a year in Ecuador, a year in the South of France living as locals, among locals in an apartment. After we were done living in France, we bought an RV and we traveled around Europe for two and a half years in 21 and a half feet, or just under... was it just under six meters, Will? Just under- Will: Around there. Jessica: Just under six meters, with a goal to see Europe on kind of on a more grassroots level, and also to visit every country in Europe. So we accomplished that goal, as well as spent some time in Morocco and some time in the non-European side of Turkey. And after that, we decided we were going to head to Asia for one year and we were going to spend a month in 12 different countries, and each family got to pick the three countries that they wanted to go visit. And that plan was going smashingly well. We went there, we started off in Japan. And then the numbers in COVID kind of started to rise and things got more serious and places started to lock down and we ended up being in Japan for five months. Jessica: And after that, we kind of looked at our life and said, okay, this Asian tour isn't really going to be how we wanted it to be. And we don't really fancy spending five or six months in one country, five or six months in another country, and that being kind of the cumulation of our Asian experience. We wanted something a little deeper and a little more diverse. So as a family, we made a decision that we believed COVID wasn't going to go away overnight and we had to figure out what the next step would be in the process. And we felt that for our family, that it was best that we didn't try to continue and find countries that were open, that we felt that this was serious and we needed to take it serious and we wanted to be safe for ourselves and for others. Jessica: So we decided, our 16 year old daughter said, "Well, we're not going to do so well if we just go sit in an apartment someplace after traveling like this for six years, we need a project." And so Will and I said, "Okay, well let's do this." Will and I in our previous life did a lot of buying and remodeling in real estate, but the kids hadn't had the experience of learning how to do this. So we said let's buy a little house in France, a fixer. We have French long stay visas so we can legally come back and live here. And this will kind of hold us through COVID. And once COVID has done, we'll get back on the road and travel. And that was the plan. When we left Japan, we had appointments to look at three or four houses when we got here in the first week, excuse me. And on my Facebook feed here comes a cute little boat comes across... no, not little, but a cute boat comes across my feed. And I say to Will, "Wow Will, look at this." Jessica: And just a little backstory there, our end game, or our plan after Asia was to get on a boat. That was always one of our dreams and goals. But we hadn't really planned on doing it before Asia because we realized once we got on a boat and started traveling, it's kind of expensive, pull it out of the water and start traveling by land again. So we kind of wanted to finish a lot of the land adventures we had planned. And long story short, that boat, we took a look at it and that boat was a really, really good deal. And it was in France already, and it needed very little work and it came with a six month slip so we could stay at the slip and learn to sail and kind of work our way through COVID. So long story short, here we are, in the South of France, on a boat. We don't know how to sail. And now we've got the boat, but lockdown here in France happened before we could get the lessons so we're not moving any place right now, but we're learning the mechanics of it. Kim: See, what I like about you, Jessica, and obviously you too, Will, because you need to be like-minded people to do this, we, my husband and I love travel, and we also love real estate. And like you have bought and renovated places. And as we traverse Australia, we keep finding these cute little Outback towns and really cheap little sandstone cottages that we can do up and stay- Jessica: Right? Kim: So you say you've got an end game, but before the end game, things just change. And I think that's really cool. Jessica: Yeah. It's interesting because I'm going to be honest, I was the most resistant to getting on a sailboat. It scares the heck out of me. And 2020 has been a lot of me fighting fears. I don't have a lot of fears, but the bigger ones seem to all culminate in 2020 and I had to face them. And I wasn't really into getting on the sailboat yet. I felt like we have a huge learning curve. I felt like we had to read books for years and years and years before we even stepped foot on a sailboat. So it just ended up being that it was the best decision. And I jumped in and I said, "Okay, I'm going to do this." But I'm still a little scared. I'm not going to deny that I'm not scared, but sometimes we just have to take that plunge, right, and jump in before we're fully ready. We're clearly going to get educated and read the books and take the sailing lessons before we take off and obviously do a crossing or something like that. Right Will? Will: Listen, we'd love, like you said, Kim, we love the idea of real estate and we've been sort of trying to sort of amass a portfolio of different properties and then sort of slowly divest it as you sort of more working capital to sort of keep your life the way that you really want it to be. And that's okay because you work for a reason, to actually enjoy the fruits of your labor. Will: But when we decided to make this decision, the other issue was that our children are only going to be around us for so long. And if we just got a house, that'd be great, but we wouldn't have this massive adventure of sort of learning how to sail as a family. And we wouldn't be able to... I guess, because now Jessica and I are not in our thirties anymore. So I feel like we also need them as crew to help us make this [inaudible 00:06:37] work out well. So I don't think that we'll ever sort of stop loving sort of the buying of houses and rehabbing and so forth and so on, but right now, this is the perfect time for us. Jessica: Yeah. I think this is where we need to be right now. And it's funny because I'm the one who shared the boat image with Will and said, "Should we look at this?" So I, as I was saying, was the least on board, but I am the one who kind of put it out there. And I knew once I put it out there, Will would be like, "Hell yeah, let's do it." Now that I look back on it, it was kind of tough. Like, do we buy the house or do we buy the boat? We were toying with both. And now I'm not even thinking about the house. Jessica: I think about what you said, like, "Oh, look at that little cottage and I could do this and that and that sounds really fun and wow, that's a great deal." Because there's tons of great deals in France in these more rural areas. But then I also think about what we would have gained from each one of them. And I think the family unity and learning together, and the intense experiences are far greater on the boat than they would be in the house. I can't say for sure because I've never done a boat before, but we've done a house remodel before and you kind of, you remodel it and then it's done. Right? And the boat, it's just kind of endless. Kim: Yeah. What I like about you guys being on a boat too, as opposed to a house, and this is something that I wrote about today, is that I've seen sunsets, I've seen sunrises obviously. But only if I take myself off my couch to see the sunset or get myself out of bed to see the sunrise. But in the short time that we've been on the road, every sunrise we've captured, it's been different. Every sunset we've captured has been different. And last night there was a sensational light show across South Australia or Adelaide in Pacific... pacifically? Specifically where I am, 100,000 lightning strikes. Now we would never have seen that if we were sitting inside our lounge room. You just wouldn't do it. So you guys on a boat, think of the moons that you're going to see. Some of the fish that will be swimming around, the color of the water, the bio-luminescence, there are going to be so many experiences that you probably couldn't have even listed that you'll feel or see. Did that sound like I was preaching? Will: Yeah, we're so excited about that. Jessica: No, no. Will: No, you're absolutely right. And we also did a van life experience for two and a half years. There were some moments where, you know how it is, you're driving around looking for a place to sort of stop for the night and it's dark. And next thing you know, you don't know what you're going to wake up to. And then when that sunrises you're just like, oh my gosh, look what I just did. And look where I just landed. There were moments when we were in Norway- Jessica: I knew you were going to say Norway. I was like, all that was going through my head is Norway Norway Norway. Will: Which we hear is the most magnificent place to van life in the world [inaudible 00:09:30] New Zealand. We've never done New Zealand, but we've heard great things about New Zealand. But the things that we witnessed and the things that we sort of stopped at and woke up to were just, they blew us away. And there's no way this would be possible unless you just threw caution to the wind and said, "I'm going to do this." And come what may, it doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day, you don't really care about what you have in the grave with you. You care about what's in your heart, in your spirit that you've accumulated along the way. And we're trying to sort of make that happen. And we know that no matter what happens, you come with a good intention, good things will happen. We're just sort of seizing every moment that we can. Jessica: I think it was funny that you're mentioning sunrises and sunsets and moons. We haven't even left the dock and Will will wake me up in the morning and say, "Come look at the fog, look at how the fog is rising." Or we have magnificent sunsets here. And like I said, we haven't left the dock. If this is just scratching the surface of what we're going to see, and we have boats all around us and there's some condos here, what is it going to be like when we're out there and there's crystal clear water and sunsets and sunrises and no one else around? And we're just like... jaw dropping stuff. Like in Norway, just looking up and going, "Wow, look at all the stars." Kim: Yeah. My mind has been blown at the things that I've obviously seen over the years, but to pack them into such a short period of time has been incredible. And by the way, you will love New Zealand and RV-ing there. Jessica and Will, I want to chat about your kids because we aren't traveling with children. Had you not done this experience with them, this is a long-winded way of asking you this, but I think you would be feeling happy that you're influencing the type of adults that they will become based on the experiences that they're having. As opposed to being in a town with a house and a traditional routine as such. Will: Right. That is sort of the impetus of why we did this. The only reason why we're here right now is because of the kids. Now granted we wanted this anyway, but there was no greater spark that ignited this flame other than the kids. And when the kids were... our eldest daughter was in the fourth grade and our son was in first grade. And we started to see certain things occur. We started to see our daughter... Because girls when they reach nine, 10 years old, social norms start becoming a big thing. Before that, kids are just kids and they say what's on their mind and life is grand. But when you start seeing this age occurred, you start seeing cliques occur, you start seeing groupthink occur, you start seeing things that would inhibit someone's natural progress occurring. We said at that moment that if we don't move now, that her personality would not be shaped by who she is, but by who she's around. And the idea of her not being able to naturally explore who she wants to be because she's worried about what someone else might think really, really, really just concerned us. Jessica: That was really scary, very, very scary. And I think to kind of take it in a different direction... Because that, that was something Will really felt passionate about. And I agreed with him, but he was more in shock of it. He grew up, there were three boys and he hadn't seen kind of this behavior before. Boys have a whole other set of kind of conforming to the norms. I was less shocked than that, but that didn't mean I accepted it. And part of the reason kind of going out into the world besides like Will said, we did this because of them. We wanted them to learn about the world in the world. We wanted to live more minimalist. We wanted to create memories over buying stuff. We wanted to show them life outside of even our home in Massachusetts. Life outside of Will was an accountant, I was a graphic designer. We had this house, these are the things we liked. Jessica: Because the idea is not to raise mini mes. The idea is like Will said, to let them find their authentic self and become their authentic self. And if they are only exposed in their entire childhood to Will and I and our families and our circle of friends, they can see how other people live on TV or maybe when they go to a friend's house, but their circle of what is out there and what's available and what they are able to become is very limited. Now, when you open those doors and you start traveling the world, now all of a sudden they're exposed to when we were in Japan, hey, we took scuba lessons. Maybe when I grew up, I want to be a scuba instructor. Or maybe I want to be a tour guide in Berlin. Or wow, we met a physicist on a train once and he told us all about his lifestyle. Jessica: So we've opened up a whole other world for them to kind of identify with and realize that there's many different ways to live a life. And maybe when they grow up, they'll go and live a stationary life someplace. Maybe they'll live in a rural mountain and live off the land, but we wanted to make sure they had these exposures to different types of life and not kind of be indoctrined in is the way you do life. You do this, you go to school for this many years, you buy this house, you buy this dog, you buy this car, and this is what everyone does. Anyone who's been traveling will tell you it's the best thing that ever happened to them. And I really think that it's been great for Will and I as a couple and individually, but it's been mind blowing for the children. And I cannot stress enough how mind blowing it is. Jessica: There are days that are really hard on all levels for Will and I as adults from financial to emotions, to the logistics, but we look at the kids and we look at how much they've grown, how intense and powerful their relationship is with each other, they are best friends, how they see the world, how they approach the world from a humanitarians perspective, and how they truly love traveling. And everything else that goes wrong from day to day is just, you just forget about it. It really has been the best thing we have ever done for their life. And there's some other things that we think, well, nursing was a really great thing. We don't let them watch TV. They watch movies and stuff, but not TV. Wow, that was really great. But traveling, that was whole other level great. And I wouldn't change it for the world. Will: And the fascinating part is that this is now their normal. So they don't look at this like it's a [page 00:16:12]. They look at this as if just another day in their routine, which is life. And when things go wrong, because things go wrong, they don't start to say, "Well, I'm ready to go back home." It's like, okay, how are we going to deal with this? Because they know no other at this point. Kim: I know my question wasn't very articulate, but you both answered exactly what I was hoping that you would say. And I think it's fabulous and a really strong message to people listening who say, "Oh, we can't do it because the kids are settled" or "We'll do it when the kids are older." There's no good time. Just if you want to do it, do it. Are we on the same page? Jessica: And it's really fun. We're not in our thirties anymore, we're 39 and a half. No, I'm just kidding. And we don't have the same energy level. And as we age, we look at things differently. And there are times where I think I have this cool open mind. And then the kid says something and something happens and I go, wow, I'm slugging along here. Let's pick this up. Let's have some fun, let's look at things differently. So it's a whole different way of traveling when you're traveling with these young, energetic teenagers who see the world so differently than people when we're starting the aging process. I mean, we're not like 110 here, but we do, our views and mindset and everything changes. And it keeps us fresh and young and open-minded and experimental, which is really great. Like we're always trying new things because they're the catalyst and saying, "Well, we can do this. Let's do this." And Will and are like, okay, let's do it. Kim: And I like the fact you're referring to your age without saying we're in our forties, because come on, that's exactly... you're in your forties. Let's face it. What I want to hope to achieve by the end of 2020 is to get out of this idea, people, that there are young backpackers and then there are moms and dads and then there are gray nomads. There's no demographic to travel. For me, it's a mindset. So just because I might be a few years older than you, not a lot, by the way, and I'm in a van, doesn't make me a gray nomad. To me, that's telling me that I'm old and on the way out or something. No, I'm adventurous. Will: I'm a recent graduate to the 50 year old club. Kim: Yes! Will: I just heard. Jessica: That's true confessions by Will. Kim: I love it. I've got to... Yeah, same. That's- Will: Besides my parents, you're the first person I've ever told. Kim: I feel so honored, I really do feel so honored. So I love what you guys are doing. I love the fact that you're traveling as a family. You call yourself World Towning and you say that's a philosophy. Jessica: Yep. Kim: So tell me a little bit about that philosophy and then how it became your business? Jessica: So World Towning, we started our World Towning business several years ago. And the main goal with the business was to provide resources, consultation, coaching, whatever you want to call it, to people who thought travel was only for the rich and impossible for them to do. So what we've done is we've walked people through all the logistics to get to full-time travel. The insurance, the wifi, the medical, the visa. If they're traveling with children, how do they navigate that? Local schools, do they want to unschool, local school, language schools? We started the business because that year that we planned for our full-time adventure was horrifying because we were trying to live in one world and plan for another. So we were working like crazy all day and kids activities and social commitments and work stuff. And then at nine o'clock at night, we'd sit down and try and figure out all these logistics. Jessica: And there were so many times where we wanted to say, okay, let's just forget about this. This is ridiculous. What do we think we're doing? Who do we think we are? Because at nine o'clock at night, you're tired. So our plan has always been to help people work their way through the logistics of doing this, presenting them with the good, the bad and the ugly so they can understand what they're getting into. We don't candy coat it at all. And help them through the logistics so they're able to realize this is possible and get out here traveling. And we've done this for three and a half years now with people anywhere from age... our youngest has been 32 and our oldest client has been 70. And we offer private consultations as well as a university 10 week session. Jessica: And it has been incredibly incredibly... Obviously it's a business, we get an income from it. But from a personal level, it has been so incredibly inspiring to see people of all age, all income, all different cultures really take this and say, "I'm going to do this" and then watch them launch. We have clients out all over the world. Right now, even during COVID, we have people that have hunkered down in various countries across the globe and are still doing this, are determined to do this. And World Towning, if we're going to put a tagline on it, is just adventuring and traveling through the world one hometown at a time. So finding your little places along the world and making that your new normal and your new home. Jessica: It's been incredibly rewarding. Obviously during COVID times, it's been also incredibly challenging because no one is traveling now and no one is thinking about learning the logistics of traveling right now because they're just trying to survive. And so another kind of part of our business is a year and a half ago, we launched group trips and we had our fabulous first group trip where we took 16 people with us to Morocco for 12 days. And we traveled all around Morocco, more off the beaten path and more with local experiences than your typical tour. And we had several trips for 2020 which we had to cancel because of COVID, which has been really hard and heartbreaking. Jessica: But like we were talking about before, Kim, before we started taping, that you had mentioned a quote about someone who was saying, "We got to find the good things we can take out of 2020." And for us, it's kind of revamping the trips and launching with more once 2020 is open because we do believe people kind of from 2020, it's been a real eye-opener about life and seizing the moment and going after those big dreams. And at any point, we're realizing how fragile this is and it can be taken away. So let's kind of make those dreams happen, learn something new during COVID and come out and travel, or if you want to start a daycare, if you want to go backpacking or whatever your dream is, a farm, kind of make all that happen in 2020. Kim: But really we're born, we die, and it's what we do in between that matters. Doesn't it? So what would you find final message be? Jessica: It's so true. Kim: Yeah. Will, then Jessica, as we wrap up, your final message to people listening? Jessica: Well I'm going to go back to what you said earlier, Kim, about the age of traveling. I think that's really, really important. If someone's listening to this and they're like 32 and they're like, "Well, I'm going to do this when I retire, but I really want to do it now" or someone's 65 and saying, "Well, I don't know, am I too old?" My message is it's never too late. It's never too early. If it's right for you right now, make it happen. And age should never ever be a deterrent from you doing something you're really passionate about. Jessica: And I think one of our biggest fears, Will and I, we don't have too many, but one of them is regret. And you don't want to get at that point in your life where you're 85 and you're laying in the bed and saying, "Gosh, I should've went at 65, but everyone was telling me I was too old." And it doesn't have to be travel. It can be whatever your dream is. So I guess my one big takeaway is it's never too late and it's never too early. If it works for you and it's something you're passionate about, don't wait. Will: I'd rather be working at a very sort of entry level job when I'm 80 and knowing that I've lived my life when sort of I had the means and the capability to experience the things that I want to. Because I know my energy level is not going to be the same sort of forever. So we're taking advantage now while we can, while things are sort of spectacular in our eyes. Jessica: And I think I just want to add one little thing because we are in COVID times right now. Learn something new right now. Right? Go after that thing that you've been... Whether it's, Will referenced the ukulele, you want to learn how to play the ukulele. We have a friend that's learning artificial intelligence right now. We have another friend that's learning about horticulture. Learn something new, and then when those doors... because I know it's a really tough time for everyone right now and people are getting depressed and sad and feel like this is never going to end. When those doors open, be ready to come out blazing, right? Live that authentic life and go after whatever it is that you want. Kim: Well said. Love you guys, love what you're doing as I said. And the site, people will just be able to get their teeth into and look at the profiles of your children as well as yourselves and be really excited. So thank you so much for sharing your story with me. Jessica: Thank you so much for having us Kim. And I love that you're van lifeing around Australia. That is so, so, so, so very cool. Kim: yeah thanks Jessica I think it’s pretty cool, next move for us is Victoria’s high country and then across to Tasmania which is my home state – so I am very excited for that. Just remember as you start traveling again before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. Next week, Lonely Planet’s latest travel campaign bye.     </div> </div> </div>Supplied 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-trading-ties-for-hiking-bootsIn this episode, we chat to someone who ditched their corporate job to follow their passion for adventure travel, and who is Monsieur Les Gâteaux?2020-11-02T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-trading-ties-for-hiking-bootshttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2>  00:42 Who is Richard Campbell 02:07 Turning your passion into a profession 04:11 Building a business during Coronavirus 06:37 What is important to you? 08:48 Travel moving forward 11:51 Traveling with children 14:38 Creating memories 17:00 Next episode <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “Whether I'm lucky or unlucky, probably unlucky, this is the 5th major downturn I've lived or worked through... And so really from the start, our focus was, okay, what can we control? Let's figure out what we want to accomplish during this pandemic.” - Richard <h2>Who's on the show</h2> <a href="https://richard-campbell.com/">Richard Campbell</a> is the founder of <a href="https://www.10adventures.com/">10Adventures</a> an adventure travel platform. It began by building an audience of adventure travelers, by offering free and extensive trail information, GPS coordinates and quality guides on adventure travel in some of the most amazing destinations on earth. “We’ve replaced the traditional guidebook, providing clear, concise route descriptions, digital maps, a standardized difficulty rating system, and all sorts of our favourite hints and tips for everything from trip planning to adventure living on our blog.” <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/richard-family-traveling-podcast-1dec2020.jpg " /> <figcaption> Richard and his family in the Rocky Mountains</figcaption></figure> <h2>Resources & links</h2> Check out the latest <a href="https://www.10adventures.com/tours/">10Adventures tours</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">Latest travel alerts and warnings</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Which countries have open borders</a>? <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode, please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Thanks for tuning in to this episode from wherever you get your favorite pods and if you missed the last episode I am riding solo through to the end of the year after Phil left World Nomads for a job where he gets free lunches every Friday – everyone has a price! As for me, I am still on the road working from our van and still based in Broken Hill for one more week as we explore more of the desert in far east New South Wales. Our guest in this episode is Richard Campbell the founder of 10Adventures an adventure travel platform. But prior to forming the company, he was the COO of an oil and gas company so what was the catalyst for the change? Richard: Yeah, so it seems natural, but I know when I did this, everyone was asking me, are you crazy? Why are you giving this up? So, we'd grown an oil and gas company from 18 people to 425 people. It was successful. I'd become the COO. And from the outside, it looked great. And on my 40th birthday, around that time, I went and did a course on leadership, and a big aspect of the course was around are you going to be happy with what you're doing and how you're spending your time when you're 65? And so it just really hit me in that I was working in an industry I wasn't really passionate about. When you've grown a company to that size, I think a lot of the fun is, you've lost a lot of the fun because you don't get to do a lot. You're mostly just overseeing. And so I stepped back and said, boy, I think I'd be unhappy if I spend another 25 years doing this. It would be financially the right decision, but it wouldn't be something where I'd be, oh, I'm really glad about how I spent that time. And I wasn't really sure what to do. But about a year earlier, I'd started working on just this passion project where I was sharing my favorite hikes in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and down in Montana. And that started doing really well where I get a lot of emails, people saying, hey, we love this site. Thank you for doing this. And so I started to realize, I may have just, in my free time by pursuing a passion project, stumbled upon a really interesting business. And so as I started to allocate more time to that, it became clear what we're doing and what we want to do really is solving a need that isn't there for adventure travelers. And so I gave up this great career in the oil and gas industry to do something that I'm really passionate about. And I haven't looked back once and said, oh, I've made the wrong decision. This is so motivating and interesting. It's just been a great result for me and for my family, just to move into something that is full of people who are so interesting and dynamic and pursuing their dreams as well. It's really a great decision. Kim: So this passion project was basically you sharing your hikes on a website that you launched. Am I correct? So blogs. Richard: Yeah, yeah. I was out in the mountains and I looked around, this is back in 2015, I noticed everyone still had a printed guidebook. And I thought, why is everyone still buying guidebooks at the bookstore? And when I went home and I started looking at it online, I realized what was online was really low-quality information. And so you still needed to buy a guidebook. So my idea was let's just create a guidebook of hiking in the Rocky Mountains that are going to be as good as what you can buy in the store. And so really focused on having high-quality route descriptions and give all the information you might need. And so just used the hikes that I knew well that I'd already done and slowly built that up. And then over time, people at other places said, oh, I found 10Adventures. Can I contribute to my region? And before we knew it, we had 50 different great adventure destinations in North America and Europe and a loyal following. And it really became clear that there was a market or a need for what we were doing. Kim: Okay. Well, you've told us why you decided to build an adventure travel company. But you did this during the pandemic. You've done this in 2020, right? Richard: Yeah. I started this full-time in 2018 and then we launched our new website with where we rebranded as 10Adventures in 2019. So we're fairly young in terms of all the information we have. But yeah, operating in a pandemic has been interesting for us, especially in the travel where most travel companies have seen close to 100% decline in bookings and whatnot. Kim: That's very true, but in a way also the slowing down of the world allowed you the space to get this up and running. Richard: Yeah. Whether I'm lucky or unlucky, probably unlucky, this is the 5th major downturn I've lived or worked through. And so I'm used to, okay, when there's a mass change in your business or what's going on, how do you handle it? And so really from the start, our focus was, okay, what can we control? Let's figure out what we want to accomplish during this pandemic. And as you said, our focus is how can we build our business? And by having a plan, I think it helps everyone in the team that you can add certainty where you can have certainty. So we know what we're trying to accomplish each month or each quarter. We don't know when the pandemic is going to end, but we know what we want to accomplish. And so this has been really valuable because we've been able to scale and grow our business really well in this downturn. And I think part of it's just knowing that eventually, COVID is going to end. And if we use the time wisely, it'll give us a lot of benefits because we're going to have the biggest travel boom of our lifetimes after COVID. Everyone's going to want to travel. And so we want to be prepared for that. Kim: Yeah. Well, we'll get to what that travel may look like. But you mentioned reflecting on your 40th birthday, whether you wanted to be the COO of a company. And I guess also for 2020, often we use those milestone birthdays or milestones in our lives to reflect on what we want moving forward. But 2020's been like that for everyone, whether you're turning 40 or you're turning 23 or you're turning 61, everyone's stopped and been forced to look at the way they want to live moving forward. And that's certainly what we're hearing in the interviews that we're doing and the people that we chat to. Are you picking up on that as well? Richard: Yeah. I think there are lots of people who are learning what's important to them. And so for people who already loved the outdoors, they've rediscovered an increasing passion for the outdoors. We've seen a lot of people who haven't done an outdoor trip or a hike or a bike ride in their lives or in the last 10, 20, 30 years that are getting back into the outdoors. And so there's been a huge boom in people who can't do their regular trip, a cruise or a trip down to Mexico or a wine tasting tour in France. And so they've started to do hikes and bikes locally. And they've just discovered a love for it. I have a friend who, I don't think he's ever done anything active and all of a sudden he's going on his e-bike every weekend. And I think lots of people are discovering, hey, the outdoors are actually really incredible. And there are all the health benefits associated with doing stuff outdoors, but there are also lots of mental health benefits with all the stress of what's going on in the US with elections and pandemic around the world, being able just to go and go for a bike ride or go for a hike, and with your family typically is just a really nice way to de-stress and take the edge off in these trying times. Kim: I love the fact that your mate's got out and he's exercising but on an e-bike. Richard: If you knew him when he told me I couldn't believe it. Now, he still has to pedal somewhat, but just like that, I just couldn't believe it. But I also, I've met people who own Pelotons, those indoor cycling, and they don't even own an outdoor bike, but they love the technology. And so I think there's something about the technology on a bike that makes these people more interested. But actually this friend, he's been talking to me about going on an e-bike tour in Italy. Kim: Oh, wow. Richard: And so here's a guy who's only ever done cruises who's now like, "I'd like to go and do an e-bike around Italy, where there are not too many hills." And so there are people, this is changing what they thought they knew, and they're learning more about themselves and learning just that, hey, it's great to be outside and to be able to spend time with ones you love without all this mental and physical traffic around you. Kim: Yeah. So how then will travel look in the future? What have been the takeaways from 2020 for you? And you talk about post-COVID, a lot of people talk about there not being a post-COVID, that there'll be this new normal. How do you think travel will change? Richard: Yeah, so I think the first thing is adventure travel was one of the fastest-growing segments pre-COVID. So it was growing at 17% per year. There was a massive change as people were moving away from bus tours into private, smaller groups of their friends and families spending a lot of time outdoors and soft adventures or hard adventures. That's going to accelerate. Every study is showing that as COVID dissipates, people are going to want to go on trips where they stay in smaller centers, they stay with their own cohort of friends or family, and they want to spend a lot of time outdoors. So we're going to see a rapid increase in adventure travel coming out of COVID. What we're seeing that's interesting is multi-generational families looking for trips that grandkids, parents, and grandparents can do. And so again, like my friend, looking to replace may be going on a cruise as a family, or going down on an all-inclusive holiday in a hot destination and trying to find something that's going to be easy enough for the grandkids and the grandparents to do, but provide some interesting aspects whether or not it's learning how to make pizza or learn how to make paella or wine tastings. But allow multi-generational families to now do soft adventure holidays. So I think that's one big change is more and more people are going to do adventure style or outdoor holidays. I think you're also going to see a lot of tour operators change their business model somewhat. There's a lot of companies that we've talked to where they were really focused on one type of tour or one destination or one type of guests where they've realized if they were only focusing on bringing guests from Asia to Europe that basically stopped throughout the pandemic. And they realized that they have to look at having different business models. So it might be adding new revenue streams, adding new tour types, focusing on different geographies. A lot of our partners are looking at having a way to focus more on local audiences. There's a whole group of people that live in and around where our partners are located that they've never really marketed to before. Whereas now that's a way for them to continue their business and help people explore more locally. And so I think those are the two big aspects are companies trying to do more different things and then people continuing to give adventure and outdoor travel more of a chance. Kim: Yeah. Well, we've got an episode coming up next week on traveling as a family. You've touched on it, getting your kids into family adventures. What do you guys do? Because you've got three children? Richard: Yeah. So we have three kids. We had them all within 39 months. Kim: What? Richard: Yeah. So initially this adventure travel, being outside is a really big part of my life. I think it's really valuable. We live next to the Rocky Mountains. So we have this great opportunity. When we first had kids, I'd look at photos on Facebook and then Instagram, and you'd see these great photos and then go, "That's what I want." But the truth is it's really, really hard to start. And so we had five years of trialing and failing. We couldn't get it right. And it was really tough because you think I want to go on a backpacking trip or let's go hiking, but it just never ended up being that rewarding. And then finally in 2019, it started to work. And it was just fantastic. And what we realized is, kids, get ready for outdoor family adventures at a different age. You can't push them before they're ready. And so for our kids, they weren't ready and we tried to do it too early. The second thing is how to motivate them. And so there are lots of different things. Some parents I talked to, use candy or they use screen time. For our kids, they just like to talk about their toys. Or if things get really bad, I have a series of characters I've developed that I just make up stories with those characters. And they'll walk forever as long as I'm telling a story. And then the third thing is we also had to train them up a bit. If you initially go straight to the mountains and say, "Let's go for a hike," it's tough. You're going from up to higher elevation. You have a lot more elevation gain and loss. And so we started using a lot of our time in town to really get the family used to do like what's it like to go on a three-hour hike in parks in Calgary? And when the kids can do that, then going to do that in the mountains is not nearly as hard. And that leads to this idea of having realistic expectations. When I first started, I thought, oh well, of course, the kids can do this hike. But you realize kids are different. And so we found our kids can go long at relatively flat distances, but if you start to go uphill, they get tired and worn out really quickly. So that changes and influences what type of hikes we do. So we do a lot of hikes along rivers and valley bottoms. And if we want to do a hike that's up in the Alpine, for example, we'll try and find hikes where the road is already at elevation, so we don't have huge elevation gains. But it's really easy to get de-motivated. And I've talked to a lot of parents where they've tried it a few times and it hasn't worked. And really the focus is just to keep trying. Eventually, it will work. And at least for our family, and for myself as well as a kid, all my great memories are doing these great family adventures. And so we're really focused as a family to have our memories being these fun family adventures. This past year, they've all been close to home in the Rocky Mountains. But in other years they've been abroad. And part of what we're doing at 10Adventures is we're actually adding a section to really focus on family adventures, because it's a great way to engage kids to learn about different cultures, languages, customs, history, food, and really allow them to rapidly grow their knowledge. And I've seen with my children, they get really engaged learning about these totally different way things are done in different parts of the world. Kim: Well, you've answered my final question. Were you adding that to 10Adventures? But you mentioned your characters. Tell us one that you'll use to get the kids through a tough hike. Richard: Oh. So we go through waves. So the current favorite is one called Booger McFarland, who is a guy who can't keep a job because he does really silly things. And he likes to eat a lot of hot dogs and candy. So that's a favorite one. We have a detective inspector, oh, I forget his name. I just told, he was yesterday. We have a Monsieur Le Gateau who's a famous explorer. We have the detective brothers, which are the three of them, which go and solve capers. So, yeah. So it's just if it's really getting tough for the kids, I'll just talk. And we've come back from one backpacking trip, and I'd actually lost my voice because it was pouring rain and we were all wet, and we had about a three-hour hike out. And so I just had to talk nonstop to keep the kids going because they were ready to shut down. Kim: That's great. Richard: But yeah, it's fun just to see these kids that can, they're almost on the ground and then you start a story and they're up and they're running ahead and that just energizes them so much. Kim: That's so cool. That really is cool. Well, thank you so much for your sharing 10Adventures with us and how you arrived at it. It sounds so much more interesting than gas and oil if I can say that. So congratulations. Richard: Thank you very much, Kim. And thanks for having me on the podcast. I really like being on here and talking a little bit about something I'm so passionate about. My pleasure Richard, we are big fans here at world nomads of turning your passion into a profession, so again well done. We will have links to 10Adventures in show notes. Don’t forget to rate, share and subscribe to the World Nomads Travel Podcast and let me know what you are up to by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a> Next week families on the move across the world. Bye </div> </div> </div>Supplied: Richard Campbell 0