Category : Other
Posted in Other on January 23, 2012
One of the things I love about travel is that there are so many different styles to choose from. Some even over lap, and many are much more specific than just the loosely termed backpacker or luxury traveller. You have long term travellers, business travellers, digital nomads, flashpackers, budget backpackers, WWOOFers, volunteers, eco-travellers, country & continent specific travellers… The list goes on! There are also those who don’t like to be labelled (which I can understand), and those who like to travel in a different style depending on the occasion or how the mood strikes. Everybody is different, and usually a combination of many styles, not just one. Sometimes your style is simply defined by your budget.
For me, I’ve always very much been a long term budget backpacker. Even back when I was a student, when I may not have had the money to go away as often as I would have liked… Every trip I planned was long term, aimed at making my money last as long as possible. It didn’t matter necessarily how much money there was in the pot. It could be 100 dollars or a million dollars… I’d still be staying in backpacker hostels and looking for ways to make the money last as long a time as possible. If it lasted a week then that was because it was all I could afford. It it lasted a year then it was under the same principle.
The style that I describe above is not going to change much for me in the future. I will still be staying predominantly in budget backpacker hostels, and still making long term plans. This is how I like travelling. However, a lot of my trips of late, despite lasting several months in total, they often revolve around going to a lot of destinations within a reasonably short period of time. This means that although I’m a long term traveller in terms of the physical months of travel under my belt, I’ve actually not staying a very long time in each destination. This is something I want to change.
I visited 17 countries last year in 10 months. 16 of those countries were squashed into 6 months of travel, while the other 4 months I spent in Spain just hanging out, eating tapas, and trying to learn some Spanish. I went to some incredibly unique and inspiring destinations in that 6 months out of Spain such as Bucharest and Belgrade to name a few… but you know what? The best times I had were actually in Spain.
It was all to do with the people I met. I had an instant connection with these people, but more importantly, I actually stayed there long enough to strike up real friendships with them. That may sounds silly to some people, but I’ve been missing something in my life since I started travelling long-term and that is a base. A real base, with a home, and a network of friends who will miss me when I’m gone. People who really know me, and who when I come back months later it feels like only yesterday.
I began to think about all the places I’ve been to on my travels, and the ones which I always looked back on most fondly. They were all destinations I’d stayed in for at least one month, sometimes much longer than that. All the 2 day or 1 week destinations were almost forgotten. In fact, for a while I’d forgotten I’d been to Luxembourg. A beautiful city/country, and a place I enjoyed, but I was only there 2 days. How can you get to know a place and people in 2 days? The answer is quite simply – you can’t.
So I’m changing my travel style to revolve around a base. I may change bases every couple months, or have one place I base myself permanently while I hop around… I don’t know yet. That base may even be home in Scotland or in another city around the world. All I know is this constant chopping and changing every few days and weeks is not how I want to travel anymore. I don’t think it was ever how I wanted to travel, it’s just something I ended up doing.
Slow travel is the way for me…
After reflecting upon my 2011 in the last post, I thought I would take this opportunity, and first post of the new year, to focus on others. With that in mind I wanted to share a bit link love, and list some of the travel bloggers I think will do well in 2012. Some may already be established, and others not so much, but with the travel industry paying attention to bloggers more than ever in 2011, I feel in 2012 we all have room for growth. I see 2012 as a year that travel bloggers as a whole will continue to progress into new, uncharted territory for our industry.
(Please note: this list is in no particular order)
Raising Miro
I always love it when I find people who travel with their kids. It’s always been my opinion that travel is the best form of education for children, but seeing other people out there doing it really proves that it’s actually possible… which always results in an inspiring read.
I think what I loved most about Raising Miro though, is that the focus point is so very much on how Lainie raises her son Miro as they travel. So many blogs you read these days are purely personal, about one single person as they travel the world, but you can see here through every post how much Lainies world clearly revolves around her son, and the love they clearly have for one another. You can’t help but be drawn in by it.
This blog has only just recently came to my attention towards the end of 2011. I look forward to seeing how it progresses in 2012.
Go Mexico Guide
Go Mexico Guide formed in 2010, and has already shot into the top ranks of the travel blogging industry. With it’s founder shifting focus from seeking out freelance work to building up this website in the latter half of 2011, I see 2012 being a year that Go Mexico Guide continues progress, and add to the growing breadth of useful information and advice on travel in Mexico.
The Budget Traveller
Kash Bhattacharya is already a major player in the travel blogging industry, and has been for some time. You’ll see him regularly speaking at travel blogging conferences, and working with major companies such as Easy Jet, and Bmi Baby.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting cash in Edinburgh, and use his successful Europebudgetguide.com regularly for budget travel advice in Europe. That is why I know his latest blog, BudgetTraveller.org will be just as successful in 2012!
Never Ending Voyage
Simon and Erin’s blog Never Ending Voyage is already very established in the travel blogging industry. Why I listed them in this list is quite simply because of the rate in which they shot into some of the top travel blogging ranks in 2011. I feel shows great signs for 2012.
With their web design and development business along side their blog, the are earning a living as they go along on their Never Ending Voyage. This is a blog you may find interesting if you, like Simon and Erin, are trying to carve a career out of being a digital nomad.
Four Jandals
Four Jandals is a blog run by Cole and Adele, an adventure seeking couple from New Zealand. They did an epic 18,000 km trip across Canada, spent 10 months living in North America, and count Samoa and Scotland on the list of places they have visited. You’ll like this blog a lot if you want to hear about action packed adventure… a lot! Also, isn’t Jandals just the best name for flip flops ever?
Notes From Spain
I spent 3 months living in Spain in 2011 as part of my travels, and during that time I used Notes From Spain quite a lot. Run by Ben and Mariana, Notes From Spain has already scooped a Lonely Planet Award, and has been featured in publication such as the Guardian and the New York Times. I can only see good things for this site in 2012.
Nomadic Samuel
Nomadic Samuel has burst onto the travel blogging scene at a fast pace in 2011, already making it into many Top 100 lists. If he keeps going at this rate, I can 2012 being a fantastic year! A lot of this rise I feel has to do with the fantastic travel photography available on this blog.
Travelllll.com (technically this is a super blog!)
What happens when you get a group of successful, established, travel bloggers together, and put them all together to create one travel blogging news site and resource? You get Travelllll.com! I must admit, when I first came across this site in 2011, I couldn’t understand the name choice. Now I think it’s rather genius!
Travelllll.com is essentially a super blog, and combined project by some of the most influential people in our industry. It has shot into the top ranks of travel blogs in unprecedented time, and is by far the best place to get any travel blogging specific news in my opinion.
Backpack Forever
I love the whole idea of Backpack Forever! The blog describes itself as “a community of backpackers working together turning travel experiences into extra income.” The idea is that if you share your travel advice on the site, you’ll receive 100% of the profits from the advertising. Whether that turns into a fruitful income or not for people who share on the site, I don’t know, but it’s certainly an interesting idea, and one I’ll be watching closely in 2012.
Fearful Adventurer
Torre DeRoche has an incredible story. That’s probably why she’s ended up with a book deal, off the back of a deal she made to sell the movie rights of her Pacific Island story. With her book due to be published in the near future, it looks like it’s going to be a big year for Torre. I won’t ruin the story by going into on here. You should check out her blog, Fearful Adventurer, and buy her book when it comes out too! 
Posted in Other on December 28, 2011
I began earning a full-time living from blogging
In January 2011 I set off on my travels full-time. 2010 had been spent mainly building this blog up, so to finally be able to achieve a long term goal, travel full-time, and continue improving on this blog, it was the best thing about 2011 for me. None of this would have been possible without people like you who come on to my site, and share it’s content online. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a regular reader… without you all none of this would have been possible, so thank you very much! 
I got sponsored to travel
Towards the end of 2011 I started receiving a lot of sponsorship to travel ontop of my regular advertising payments. Whether it was one of the many indie backpacker hostels that allowed me to stay for free, tour companies such as Haggis Adventures providing me with a free tour, or the folks at InterRailNet.com offering me a free Inter Rail pass for one month to travel around Europe. The last 3 months of 2011 were jam packed with a lot of sponsorship. In fact, so much so I had to turn a few opportunities down because I simply didn’t have time!
I released a book
I released a book this year. It’s about How to travel the world for free (using your blog). A lot of how I travel full-time is by reducing my expenses. I do this by using my blog to acquire ordinary travel expenses for free. The book tells you how I do it, and how you can do it too. Sales have been going really well since it was released in November. I get a lot of job satisfaction from being able to share advice with other like minded people who read this blog, so releasing this book was definitely a high point for me. Sales of the book are also a part of how I fund my future travels.
Guest Blogging
I did a few prominent guest posts this year. In particular, I wrote a blog post for ProBlogger.net titled How to keep track of your accounts as a remote blogger. I also wrote a post for Travelllll.com on How to pitch for free accommodation and transport as you travel.
Travel, travel, and more travel!
In total I visited 17 countries this year as part of my travels. 10 of those were countries I’d never visited before. This also included 3 months living in Spain where I learned a bit of Spanish. At the end of the day, I started this blog because I was passionate about travel. I love to travel, and if it wasn’t for that one over-riding factor there wouldn’t even be a Runaway Jane blog. I look forward to continuing my travels in the new year, and experiencing new and different landscapes, people, cultures, and all the other weird and wonderful things that come as part of travel too.
Whatever you did in 2011, I hope you can look back on the past year with happy memories. More importantly, I wish you a happy new year, and hope that 2012 brings good things to you and your loved ones too.
Posted in Other on December 24, 2011
I’ve spent Christmas away from home in the past as part of my travels, and although an interesting experience, I must admit I’m happy to be home this year for the festivities.
It’s at times like these that you have time to reflect on what’s important to you most. I’m not a religious person in any way, shape, or form, but Christmas is always one of my favourite times of year. As a teenager it was because I got lot’s of presents. As an adult, and as a traveller, it’s because I get to see all the people I love, and have missed over the course of the year because I’ve been travelling.
Without travel I may not have this perspective. I would probably still have been a spoilt brat moaning over which of my brothers got more presents than me. This is why I feel it’s important for everyone at some point in their lives to spend at least one Christmas away from home.
For me, my first Christmas away from was home was in Australia. I spent Xmas day in 2006 eating Cous Cous (my friends were vegetarian) in summer sunshine, in the middle of Sydney’s uber cool Newtown district. Any other day of the year and I would have loved it, but to me it just didn’t feel like Christmas. I had a really nice day, but it felt like a random day in summer. So much so that I asked my mum to have Christmas dinner ready for me upon my return… during the height of the British summer some 4 or 5 months later! Ever since I have made a point of being home in time for Christmas. Nowhere else in the world for me can replace that time of year, or the fun I have at home during Christmas… even if I’m not really doing much at all. It really is like no other time of year.
So… while I spend the festive period at home with my family & friends, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas wherever in the world you are.
- If you do want to go away for Christmas this year though, and can’t decide where, have a look at my Top 10 Places To Spend Xmas.
Posted in Other on December 20, 2011
With the new year coming up, I always notice people around this time of year either heading out on their Gap Year/career break, or making travel related resolutions to head out on that trip of a lifetime they’ve always been dreaming of. Sometimes in the excitement of planning or thinking about your upcoming trip it can be easy to forget one of the most important things – travel insurance.
Every traveller, backpacker, or holidaymaker should have travel insurance to cover them in the event of anything bad happening. Aside from that, it just gives you peace of mind to go ahead and make your plans without having to worry about “what ifs”.
One problem a lot of people find however, is that with such an abundance of travel insurance companies and packages out there, how do you know which travel insurance policy to take out? You’ll want to get the best deal available, be covered for the entirety of your trip, but also know that you’re covered for all the things that you want and need, such as medical cover should you have a serious accident abroad.
The good thing is that with the internet these days you can get lots of travel insurance quotes online, and take the time to compare each one individually before choosing. To make it a bit easier for people to know which type of plans to look for though, I thought I’d do a brief summary of all the main one’s, and which type of policy tends to suit which type of traveller.
Single Trip Travel Insurance – for the typical holidaymaker, or those looking to cover one short trip abroad.
Single trip travel insurance typically covers you for any trip lasting from 1 to 90 days (although as with anything it can differ slightly depending on who you are purchasing with.) Usually single trip cover is the cheapest option available no matter what insurance company you go with, however as it suggests in the name, it only covers you for one trip.
Using the UK Post Office website I was quoted single trip cover in Europe, for a trip lasting 1 week in February (and as a person aged 18-.64 years of age with no known medical problems) for just 16.60. GBP. That would cover me for basics such as £5,000,000 medical expenses, £500 cancellation etc.
If you know you are only making one trip abroad over the course of a year, and especially if it’s just a short trip like a long weekend, then this type of plan is definitely the cheapest option. If you think you will make at least one more short trip however, you may want to consider something like the next plan…
Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance – for those people making multiple, but short trips over the course of one year
Particularly those people who have work commitments most of the year, but like to make the most of their weekends or annual leave, an annual multi-trip plan is more for you.
Typically, you’ll be able to make as many trips as you want within a year, however there is usually a cap on how many days each trip can last. It can be 30 days, 21 days, or something else. It will just depend on what plan you take out and with whom.
Sometimes there may also be a cap on how many days total you can take out in one year. For instance, a previous plan I took out a couple years ago before I was travelling continuously, allowed for up to 3 months worth of travel, with each individual trip lasting no more than 28 days. It cost around 35 GBP.
It’s important to be aware of the caps on how many days of travel you can have, as well as how long each individual trip can last too so you don’t go over them, as otherwise your insurance will be invalid.
Although usually priced at a bit more than a single trip policy, if you’re making at least 2 short trips in one year then these plans are usually value for money. However, please don’t confuse them with the type of annual insurance a typical Gap Year backpacker would want, as they do not offer cover for continuous travel over a year.
Gap Year / Long Trip Travel Insurance – for the backpacker, Gap Year student, long term traveller, or person on a career break
The insurance needed for a typical backpacker usually costs a lot more than your typical holidaymaker style plan for the simple reason that you are travelling for much longer, i.e. the more days of travel you have, the more likely an accident or reason for you to claim may occur. Hence the raise in price.
Sometimes Gap Year style plans can seem like a large expense, often being the equivalent of hundreds of pounds or dollars, but it’s an expense you really need to incur in my opinion, as you need to make sure you’re adequately covered. You can always make savings in other places, such as with your travel money, in order to put more money aside to get a good Gap Year plan.
Important things to look out for when booking these types of long trip plans is that all of the countries you are travelling to are covered, and that any adventure sports or activities you plan to take part in are also covered too. For instance, if you plan to do any winter sports like skiing, you’ll probably find that you need to add this as an extra, or will be charged a little bit more.
- A good idea before purchasing any travel insurance plan is to write down all of the things you need first. This could be necessities such as medical cover, repatriation, legal fees etc. You may also feel you need things like cancellation, and baggage cover too though. The more you are covered for, the more these things tend to cost, so write down the things you feel you must be covered for, and things which are optional if it’s fits within your budget. Then when you are browsing through plans, you’ll have in mind straight away whether this plan is good for you.
Posted in Other on December 18, 2011
If you’re reading this and looking to make some money to add to your travel funds and you have a travel blog, then I’d like to invite you to become an affiliate for my new book – How to travel the world for free (using your blog).
Affiliates receive 50% commission of every sale they make. You can either post a link, a banner (email me for banners), write a review, 
mention it in a video blog (just be sure to put your affiliate link somewhere people can click), or whatever else you can think of. You’ll receive 50% of every sale that you make, paid via paypal at the end of the following month.
Selling books is part of how I make enough money to travel full-time. With your help hopefully we can both make enough to continue our travels indefinitely.
To sign up (don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you any money, and only takes up 2 minutes of your time) click here.
