The Caretaker Gazette: Your Ticket to Free Accommodation and Rent-Free Living

They say that nothing in life is free. It’s true. So although I’m going to tell you how to get your accommodation for free so you can travel your heart out and extend your dollar, don’t expect it to come for nothing.

Instead, you may have to paint murals on the property, or milk goats, or harvest organic ginger, or manage…

Find Good Digs, and Win a Prize While You’re at It

We all know that word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to find decent accommodation. Without it, we can search the internet to our heart’s content, looking for deals. But if all we have to go on is a webpage or advert without any reviews, we could be very (unpleasantly) surprised when the time comes to check in.

Darn Good Digs is…

See China for Cheap

I toured China with a ballet in 1993. And back then, China was a steal, but I still spent thousands of dollars on the experience.

Now, you can see a good chunk of China for under $1,000, courtesy of Friendly Planet Travel.

I’m really impressed with this package. It includes return airfare from Los Angeles, all domestic flights, transfers, taxes, accommodation for…

How to Get the Best Seat on the Plane (Seat Guru)

So you just booked your next flight. If you had the good fortune to select your seat, it was a stab in the dark. You wanted extra leg room, so you chose a seat by the emergency exit, only to realize too late that this particular seat – on this particular aircraft – is one of the worst in the…

Where and How to (or not to) Eat in Thailand

After spending six weeks in Thailand, I had a new appreciation for how Asians like to dine. My boyfriend and I didn’t get sick (at least not from the food), and we enjoyed all manner of Thai eateries. Here are some highlights (and otherwise) of our culinary adventures

A Resource Every Traveler can use to Stay Healthy on the Road

Up to 70% of travelers report an illness or impairment while traveling abroad. What’s worse is that a staggering proportion of these illnesses are preventable, with the right amount of knowledge and risk management.

The good news is that there’s now a resource for us travelers to figure out what we need to know to stay healthy and happy on the…

Disaster Point: An Ominous Caving Experience

I remember it like it was yesterday. We were in the Rocky Mountains near Jasper Canada – myself, and two climbing mates: Kelly and Luc. We hiked. We climbed. And we caved.

The year prior, I had my first caving experience in the same place. We aimed high with Disaster Point: a very technical cave involving multiple rappels (abseils) into a…

Candlelight Lodge, in Australia’s Snowy Mountains

If you are heading to the alpine resort town of Thredbo, nestled in the Snowy Mountains of Australia, check out Candlelight Lodge.

Thredbo, known as the heart of the “Australian Alps” or the “rooftop of Australia”, is located at the base of Mount Kosciuszko – Australia’s highest mountain. It is a mecca for skiing in the winter, and hiking and mountain…

Mountaineering 101: Don’t Look Down

When you are traversing a spiny ridge over 10,000 feet in the air, with an incredibly steep rocky scree slope on one side and cliffs overlooking thin air on the other side, and the wind is blowing fiercely, there is but one golden rule to live by: Don’t Look Down! At least, that became the mantra on our recent ascent…