Traveling on a budget and getting the most bang for your travel expenditures are extremely common themes here at BootsnAll. It’s not that we’re cheapskates, we just know that the kinds of indie travel experiences we love most often come when you’re traveling “close to the ground” – which means not insulating yourself from local culture in a 5-star hotel. Being conscious of your travel budget can mean making sure your money is going into the local economy whenever possible, rather than to big chains. Spending less usually means being able to travel longer, too, which is definitely something we support.

Okay, and sometimes we’re just cheapskates.

This week on Bootsnall, we’re talking about different aspects of budget travel – including different ways you can use Couchsurfing as more than just a free place to stay, and how you can travel around the world for as little as $14 per day! We’ll even explore the idea that budget travel isn’t always the best kind of travel.

Week 8 of the Indie Travel Challenge 2012 is all about budget travel.

This should be a topic that everyone can talk about from some angle – because no matter what kind of trip you take or where you go, there’s a budget involved. Either you struggle with saving money for travel, or you’ve mastered the art of budgeting and have tips to share. Either you let your bank account determine where you go and therefore have great suggestions for budget-friendly destinations, or you decide where you really want to go and then figure out the best ways to save money while there (even if it’s normally a costly spot to visit).

Rather than just making this a simple topic for a blog post, then, this week we’re issuing a challenge:

Find one major expense to cut from your daily life. How much can you save for travel by cutting it? How many other expenses (large or small) could you reduce in order to put that money toward travel?

Share what changes you’re going to make, and we may use your ideas (with a link back to your blog) in an upcoming feature article on BootsnAll!

The Indie Travel Challenge is a year-long blogging project. Every Monday, we’ll post a new prompt, question, or challenge that bloggers can respond to via text, photos, or video. Respond on your own blog, and link back to BootsnAll so we can find and highlight the best submissions. 

Check out the Indie Travel Challenge landing page for all information related to the event. You can see the week’s daily prompt, follow the hashtag on twitter, share your posts, and check out submissions from around the world.

Read more about budget travel:

• How to Travel Around the World for $40 Per Day
• 12 Reasons Why Southeast Asia is the Best Place in the World for Backpackers
• 8 Ways to Beat Long-Term Travel Burnout on a Budget
• Five of the World’s Most Expensive Countries and How to Visit Them on the Cheap
• 8 Ways to Travel for Free on Your RTW

photo by Images_of_Money

When we think of islands, very often we think of the quintessential picture-perfect tropical island: white sand beach, swaying palm trees, and crystal-clear water gently lapping at the shore. But there are a staggering number of islands on this planet. They come in sizes large and small, busy and modern or nearly undiscovered, in varying climates and topographies.

This week on BootsnAll, we’re exploring some of the diversity of islands around the world, including the islands of Finland and the coastal towns and islands of Croatia.

Week 7 of the Indie Travel Challenge 2012 is all about island traveling, too.

In the past, we’ve featured plenty of island-related articles here on BootsnAll – there’s no shortage of island lovers out there, or (it seems) island topics to discuss. We’ve learned about islands that are slowly on their way to disappearing, American islands you’ve probably never heard of, hopping around the world island-style, how to pick which Italian island or Virgin island is right for your vacation, and we’ve even asked why the word “paradise” seems synonymous with beaches for so many people.

What do you think makes islands so appealing from an indie traveler’s standpoint? Do you have a favorite island to which you escape – physically or mentally – when you need a break from the real world? When you think of “island,” do you automatically think of “beaches,” or is there another kind of island that appeals to you?

And – you know we have to ask – what would be three things you would absolutely have to have with you if you were stuck on a deserted island?

We want to hear what you love about islands, what your favorite indie travel island destination is, which island you’re most longing to see, or why you think islands evoke such strong emotions in travelers.

The Indie Travel Challenge is a year-long blogging project. Every Monday, we’ll post a new prompt, question, or challenge that bloggers can respond to via text, photos, or video. Respond on your own blog, and link back to BootsnAll so we can find and highlight the best submissions. 

Remember, we now have a new landing page for all information related to the event. You can see the week’s daily prompt, follow the hashtag on twitter, share your posts, and check out submissions from around the world.

Read more about island travel:

• 10 Unspoiled Beaches For Your RTW Trip
• Five Enchanting Islands of the North Atlantic
• Mediterranean Islands: 6 Destinations Not to Miss
• Hawaii for Lovers: Six Ways to Share the Islands with Someone Special
• Six of the Most Remote Islands in the World

photo by Tom BKK

We’ve been talking a lot about indie travel the last few weeks. Earlier this month we asked “are you an indie traveler?” and we’ve been sharing what we think are some great ideas for indie travel.

Today, we published a Manifesto on indie travel. Created with vagabonding expert Rolf Potts, the Manifesto is a statement about the type of  travel we love – and that we hope you love too. You can check out the principles of the Indie Travel Manifesto, vote them up or down and comment on them, add you own, or download and share the full Manifesto. You can even sign your name as a supporter of the Manifesto and download a special badge for your blog.

It’s the worlds most populous continent and covers 30% of the world’s land area. Yet fewer than 20% of American leisure travelers visit Asia each year. Surely the high cost and longer travel time keeps some people away, but a trip over the Pacific is well worth the time, and depending on where you go, you may find it significantly cheaper to visit Asia than Europe. And with the incredible diversity found on the continent, you can take your pick from modern cities, beaches, mountains, deserts, small villages, and lush jungles, or go in search of history, art, fashion, or food.

This week, we’re learning more about destinations in Asia. We’ll start with a look at why Burma may be the next big backpacker spot in Southeast Asia, and then find out the many reasons to visit Mongolia. And we’ll make the case for Asia as the best destination for backpackers, beating out Europe and South America.

In much of the northern US, winter has arrived, bringing with it rain, snow, sleet, and the ensuing thoughts of ditching the cold for warmer weather. Of course not everyone yearns for balmy temperatures and bright blue seas; some travelers prefer to embrace the season on their travels, opting to hit the ski slopes or take advantage of off-season sales to  colder destinations.

This week on BootsnAll, we’re looking at both sides of the travel temperature spectrum. First up, we’ll show you a Mexican beach town that defies expectations, then we’ll explore another side of the Caribbean in Latin America. We’ll check out some very off-the-beaten-path beaches and see why you just might want to visit Japan this winter.

 The Indie Travel Challenge is a year-long blogging project. Every Monday, we’ll post a new prompt, question, or challenge that bloggers can respond to via text, photos, or video. Respond on your own blog, and link back to BootsnAll so we can find and highlight the best submissions.  We also have a new landing page for all information related to the event. You can see the week’s daily prompt, follow the hashtag on twitter, share your post, and check out submissions from around the world. 

Read more about winter travel:

• 10 Places in South America to Escape the Northern Winter
• Chasing Beach Season Around the World
• 7 Romantic Places to Embrace the Cold
• Winter Travel Deals

At BootsnAll, one of our core values is “love learning.”  We want to embrace knowledge, to seek out new experiences, and to never stop learning about ourselves and the world around us.  We learn from experts and from books, we learn from our community and our friends, and we learn through direct experience of new or challenging tasks and environments. We learn at work and at home, in places familiar and foreign. While we aim to love learning no matter where we are, we know that travel can often teach us the most important lessons.

So this week, we’re exploring the idea of learning through travel – both in organized ways like studying abroad and informally on our own. First we look at ten important lessons that you learn when you make a temporary home in a new place, but that you might miss out on when simply passing through on a shorter trip. We’ll learn about some interesting travel “disorders” and psychological phenomena travelers may experience in a foreign place, and we’ll learn how travel can help you conquer a phobia that may have been holding you back.

At BootsnAll, we aim to be your “one-stop indie travel guide.” We see indie travel as not just “independent travel” in the sense of going without a tour guide; to us, it’s so much more.  To us, being an indie traveler isn’t determined by how much you spend, how long you travel, or where you go. We think it’s a way of travel, a way of looking at the world, and a way of interacting with your surroundings no matter where you are.

So this week, we’re talking more about indie travel – what it means to us, and what indie travel values you can apply to your own experiences. We’ll start with  a look at BootsnAll’s core values, values we think indie travelers will also love. We’ll offer some tips for those new to hitchhiking, and end the week with a fun look at some indie travel “math” - challenging some of the standard travel equations.

Happy New Year! We hope your 2011 was full of meaningful connections, working and playing with passion, embracing change and learning about yourself and the world. And we hope the coming year bring you even more amazing indie travel experiences.

This week, we’re kicking off the new year with a week dedicated to planning. We’ll suggest some great travel resolutions to inspire you to get out and go, and help you cope when you’re in between planning trips.

We’re also kicking off a new weekly event, called the Indie Travel Challenge, that will last for all of 2012! If you enjoyed participating in or reading the responses to our 30 Days of Indie Travel project, you’ll love what we have in store for you this year.

Rather than doing a prompt every day, we’ll post a prompt, question, or challenge (are you up for it?) every week for all of 2012! Similarly to the 30 Days of Indie Travel, we’ll ask you to respond to the prompt on your own blog, and link back to BootsnAll so we can find and highlight the best submissions.

For the very first week, we’re talking resolutions!

Many of us use the New Year as a time to make resolutions that we think will improve our lives. We plan to eat better, spend less, call our parents regularly, travel more.  But rarely do we achieve these goals, because they’re too vague. We don’t have a plan on how to achieve them and so we forget about them by February.

This year, let’s not just resolve to “travel more” let’s resolve to have amazing indie travel experiences. Resolve to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Resolve to walk on a glacier in Patagonia. Resolve to eat your weight in cheese in Provence. Resolve to dance the tango in Buenos Aires. Resolve to seek out experiences that immerse you into a new culture, challenge your beliefs, push your comfort zone, delight your senses, and make memories that will last a lifetime.

So we’re issuing a challenge: share with us your indie travel list – part resolutions, part bucket list, the list should help you focus your travel plans so you can take concrete steps to achieve your travel goals this year (and beyond). Put together your list of experiences you want to have this year and link it back to our list of travel resolutions to keep (you can also add a link here, or share it on twitter with the hashtag #indie2012 so we can share it with the community).  At the end of the month, we’ll use your ideas in a mega-list of amazing experiences to inspire travelers from around the world!

The holiday season is filled with parties and festivities shared with family and friends, with good food, good drinks, and good cheer. So what better time than now to take a look at how the world celebrates with a cold beer, a stiff drink, or glass of wine?

This week on BootsnAll, we’ll take a look at some drinks you shouldn’t miss on your travels and learn about drinking traditions around the world.

Cheers!

Read more about drinks and travel:

• Traveling Around the World Through Beers
• Napa Valley on a Budget 
• Where to Go Wine Tasting in South America
• What to Drink in Portugal

2011 is almost over, and as the year draws to a close, we like to not only look back at some of the highlights of the previous year, but also to look ahead to what we think will be the best of the year to come.

So this week, we’re wrapping up 2011 with some round ups of the best of our content. We’ll share what we think are the best destinations for indie travelers in 2012, and highlight the best posts from our WhyGo sites, the best articles in our Round the World Wednesday column, and the top ten overall feature articles of the year.

But before we move on to this year’s best, check out some of our best content from 2010! 

• Top 10 Destinations for Indie Travelers in 2011
• Best of the WhyGo Travel Guides
• Best How-To Articles of 2010
• Best of the 30 Days of Indie Travel 
• Top 10 Articles of 2010