WORLDROMPER

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller

Category Archives: Trip Planning Help & How-To’s


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Travel Skills: How to Ooze Confidence (even when you’re lost as sh*t in a foreign country)

DSC04306[Pretend like you’re in a boy band with the Wild Man of the Dance Floor, Johann, Geoff and Big Man]

The best travel experiences push you outside of your comfort zone, to an unknown place where you are a weird-looking stranger with odd habits who seems a bit lost. And you might actually be lost. But whether you’re navigating your way through an unfamiliar airport or trying in vain to find a street with no name, you don’t need to walk around like you haven’t a clue what the hell is going on. Don’t make yourself a target. Learn how to project confidence even when you are riddled with anxiety inside. Continue reading →


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“Is It Just You? Just One?” Eat Alone and Love It

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Dining alone presents a challenge for many. Eating is usually a social event full of shared laughter – except when it’s not. Whether you travel alone often, or just find yourself at a table for one, the usual advice is to bring a book to read, chat up your server or eat at the bar for company. You could do that. OR you could… Continue reading →


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Top Twelve Daypack Essentials

DSC04148[Monkey = Optional]

Whether you’re a hard-core backpacker, a duffle queen or a bag-rolling traveler, you’ll need to slim down your stash of personal items when you head out for a day of sightseeing and adventures. Bring too much, and you’ll be worn out by lunchtime with all the excess poundage; bring too little and you risk getting cold, hungry or sunburned – while your jacket, snacks and sunblock sit unused back in the room. Continue reading →


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BYOB: Bring Your Own Bucket (List) – How to Create Your Personal List of Things to Do Before You Die

AF017501_4[Bucket List Favorite: Pyramids at Giza]

What do you want to do before you kick the bucket? Where do you want to go? What do you want to learn? Who do you want to be?

You’ve got one life to make it happen, and only you can decide what “it” is. Create your own bucket list, and design a map of life intentions that will leave you happy and satisfied when you finally reach the end of your journey.

Here’s how:

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ADD Travel Survival Guide

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Smells, sights, sounds, tastes OH MY! Stimulation overload is heaven for the ADD brain.

Healthy stimulation is the key to managing ADD, and travel is full of it. Bustling markets, wild boat rides, exciting new friends and unexpected experiences all stimulate the production of dopamine and reduce the symptoms of ADD. Yet traveling also includes numerous situations that will test the patience and organizational skills of those with ADD. Waiting in train stations, keeping up with documents and sitting still on airplanes are not ideal experiences for the ADD brain.

Knowing your weaknesses can be your greatest strength. Use these tips to create a better trip experience, and discover why travel is one of the best medications that exists for ADD. Continue reading →


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Milk Your Trip: Pre- & Post-Travel Tips

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(Shadow Box Collage of Burning Man Mementos)

Sometimes when you return home from a big trip, it seems almost like a dream. Did that really happen? Was I really standing there, on that mountain? Did I fly across the ocean? Travel, like most pleasurable activities, flies by in a blink-span, and before you know it you are back home again.

But you can learn to make the most of your trip by milking it: squeezing every single drop of joy out of the travel experience. From the initial yearning through the serious planning stages and into the post-trip haze, you can enjoy your trip in extended ways by creating your own travel rituals. Use these pre- and post-trip tips to make the most of your trip. Milk it! Continue reading →


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How to Create a Travel Journal (that you’ll actually want to read – and write!)

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Keeping a travel journal on the road can be a pain in the ass. Skip a few days and you’ll wind up pages and pages behind, furiously trying to catch up and remember what the hell you did three mornings ago.

But creating a log of your trip is a priceless gift to someone important – your future self. Recording the highlights of a journey  forces you to identify them, and to reflect upon your trip as it is happening. When you are old and forgetful, you’re not going to remember all the poignant details of your trip – the little girl who smiled at you from the school bus window, the impossibly fresh taste of a tuna pulled right from the sea, the color of the moonlight on the glacial lake.

But keeping a trip log doesn’t have to be a drag. Use these tips to create a better travel journal – your future self will thank you. Continue reading →


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Road Trip Party Fouls: Rules for Righteous Road Tripping

2005 Seattle 088Stop clowning around and get back in the car!

You’re hitting the road with your best buds and undertaking a journey that will test your friendship, challenge your social skills and perhaps offend your musical taste. Whenever you spend an extended amount of time in a small, car-size space with anyone, issues are bound to arise.

Like party fouls, road trip fouls can damage the experience of fun and freedom, and possibly ruin your mental health. Make sure that all the members of your fantastic voyage are made aware of the road trip rules, and discover how you can combat the fetid missteps should they arise. Continue reading →


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Are You Married? Do You Have Children?

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Can you spot the married woman? (Lombok, Indonesia)

If you are a single woman or any woman who travels alone, you will undoubtedly hear these two questions more often than you ask, “where is the toilet?” Sometimes you won’t mind answering them politely; other times you just want to scream, “IT’S NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS!”

Rude in one country and customary in the next, these personal questions don’t need to make you squirm. If they really bother you, wear a wedding ring, smile and just lie: my husband and six children are at home, KTHXBYE. But otherwise, try the following responses to get the nosy inquirer to leave you alone. Continue reading →