While they say the best way to learn a lesson is to learn from your own mistakes, we have a tendency to forget what we learn over a period of time.

Sometimes, that’s a good thing – for example when we forget just how much a broken heart hurts, and throw ourselves right back in the game and meet the love of our lives. If we never forgot the pain, we probably wouldn’t want to fall in love ever again.

But sometimes, our tendency to forget is just plain stupid. It happens to me all the time when I travel, and I’ve seen the same thing in other travellers.

I start out being really careful over my health and belongings, always washing my hands with hand sanitizer, and holding a firm grip of my bag and camera.

But after a few months without anything happening, I get sloppy. My hand sanitizer runs out and I don’t bother buying a new one, I start eating with my fingers, and I’m not at all afraid of getting mugged.

I start taking safety and health for granted. And that’s just when it happens - of course…

Insurance Is Not A Luxury

Travel insurance is not a luxury – accidents can happen on even the shortest of trips and the costs of medical treatment or other expenses could potentially be astronomical if you fall ill and are not covered.

It’s easy to get “annoyed” over money you spend that you might not get to take advantage of, but when something actually does happen it feels so good knowing that you took that small precaution and paid a considerably small price compared to what you got in return.

Travel insurance is a way of protecting yourself from unforeseen and unfortunate occurrences, ranging from medical costs incurred if you fall ill or are injured to the exact cost of the lost items if you are the victim of theft.

In the past 5 years of traveling, I’ve had all of them happen to me, last time being when we were mugged in Malaysia.

Are You Already Covered?

If you are travelling in Europe you should pick up a free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) – this entitles you to the level of state provided health care a resident of the place you are visiting would get.

I’ve used it myself and it worked just fine, but depending on where you are and what treatment you’re getting you may still have to pay some (or all) of the costs – the EHIC will not cover the costs of emergency repatriation if you have to be flown back to the UK, so getting a proper travel insurance is still better.

Also remember to check if your home insurance offers travel insurance, as they tend to give some good deals. Often they already cover you for  trips up to a certain number of days!

Choose Wisely

Some people think all travel insurance companies are the same and as good as each other, but that’s just not true.

It can be boring and time consuming to read through every single detail of the insurance policies before purchasing, but these policies are what will matter when things go down, and it can be a matter of thousands of pounds in difference between what companies cover.

Read this travel insurance checklist to see some of the most important things the insurance company should cover!

Types of travel insurance

The two main types of travel insurance are single- and multi-trip insurance. Single-trip travel insurance, as the name implies, covers you for the duration of one specified trip.

Multi-trip insurance covers you for multiple trips taken in a given time, typically a year – if you are going away more than once, multi-insurance might be a more economical solution, and then there is also the Backpacker insurance which covers you for extended trips.

Sport Insurance

One thing many people forget is that most travel insurances don’t cover your sport activities, perhaps because that’s when they’re most likely to happen…

On our last ski trip two people hurt themselves pretty badly, and weren’t sure if their insurance would cover the expenses.

If you’re planning to do any sports on your trip, it’s definitely worth getting insured for it – you don’t want to have to pay the exorbitant costs of a broken leg or several nights at a hospital from your own pockets!

Save Everything!

The best tip I can give is to make sure you’ve done everything “by the books”.

If you lose your belongings you will need the receipts for everything you lost, so save all your receipts on things like cameras, laptops etc.

If you get robbed, you will need a written paper from the Police first, so go there as soon as possible – if you get sick and pay for a doctor to come to your hotel and buy medication, save all receipts.

Rule of thumb: save everything, and make sure it’s not just in your bag (in case it gets lost), e-mail it to yourself so it will be safe online!

(photo credit: 1 - 2)

The post Travel Insurance Is Not A Luxury, It’s Essential! appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

Many people, especially those on a competitive career path, are very hesitant about taking some time off to travel the world.

I’ve met people who say that they would love to travel the world for a year, and that they probably will – one day …

“One day, when I’ve finished studying”, “One day, when I’ve made it in my career”, “One day, when the kids grow up”,
“One day, when I retire”….

We both know that day will never come, because there will always be something in the way.

There is no right time to travel, which is why you should do it RIGHT NOW – we can’t live our whole lives dreaming about the future.

But what about that career? Won’t it look bad on my CV – having a whole year just blank?

Here are some tips on how to travel and still make it look good on your resume…

Volunteer Or Work

Taking a whole year off to volunteer will look very impressive on your CV, and you’ll have a great time doing it.

Besides, there are so many types of volunteer work that you might actually find something which will be directly related to the skills needed in your job.

This will show that you have an incredible passion and love for your work, care about others and aren’t afraid of hard work.

If you have training and work in health care, taking a year off for medical volunteering abroad will be both a rewarding as well as a beneficial experience for your career.

A more general but also very beneficial option is to teach English abroad. There are both jobs where you volunteer for free as well as jobs that actually pay you a salary.

That way you can work, but still have time left over to explore the country you’re in and enjoy the best it has to offer, be it on the weekends and afternoons.

Just Want To Travel?

If you’re not into volunteering or working abroad but just want to travel, then don’t lie about it on your CV and say you had a work experience when you didn’t.

Instead, be honest about it and put your gap year under “Other Experience”, including the dates.

This, however, doesn’t mean that your experience wasn’t important.

You learn a lot of skills from traveling, it’s just about putting it down the right way on paper.

If you learned how to bargain and haggle, you’ve learned some great “negotiation skills”.

The planning, financing and organization of your trip taught you “planning and budgeting”, and how to keep a record of your expenses.

Your unplanned situations, culture shocks, and how you dealt with them can be put down as “adaptability”, and you can write about how you cultivated great “language and communication skills” when communicating with people and overcoming language barriers.

Show Off The Blog

If you have a travel blog, it’s definitely something to include on your CV, and why not include the long list of skills you learned from maintaining your blog:

Website designing, php coding, networking, writing, SEO and social media skills are all very good and useful skills to include!

The Big No-No

Many companies like that their employees have taken a year off because it often means they’ve “done it” already and won’t be traveling again.

Don’t let on that you might be leaving for another big trip, even if you are…

For those of you who are doubting whether to take that year off to travel the world, I hope this article gave you a kick in the right direction, and for those who have just finished a big trip, I hope this helps with working out what to write on your CV.

The post How To Make Travel Look Good On Your CV appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

One thing we all have to buy before leaving on our long-term travels is travel insurance – traveling the world without an insurance is really not worth it in case something serious happens.

But the travel insurance industry is like a jungle, it’s really difficult to know which one to choose and what they normally should cover.

When comparing different travel insurance companies you will see that they often look very similar on the outside but actually differ quite a lot when it comes down to the details.

If you’re not sure exactly how long you will be away, make sure that the travel insurance company allows you to update and extend your travel insurance, it’s also a great bonus if they can pay you back the difference in case you go home early.

When comparing travel insurance companies, make sure that they cover:

Lost, Stolen and Damaged Items

Lost passport and travel documents, as well as your belongings like jewelry, clothes and electronics should be covered.

However, there are many circumstances when the travel insurance won’t cover you.

To sum it up, they will cover your belongings if it was stolen from you despite being locked up in safety box or concealed storage compartment, or if it’s stolen from you while you’re carrying it.

What it doesn’t cover…

It won’t cover you if you left your baggage unsupervised in public areas, for example not caring for the safety of your belongings.

Overseas Medical/Dental Expenses

If you get ill or injured during your trip that can cause serious harm if it’s not treated, the insurance should provide cover for urgent and necessary medical treatment and emergency dental treatment or hospitalization.

What it doesn’t cover…

I won’t have to say that it won’t cover plastic surgery and similar things, but also know that it doesn’t cover medical check-ups, vaccinations, STD’s, treatment where injury was caused by alcohol and drugs (remember that one!), chronic and reoccurring illness and pre-existing medical conditions that were there before you started traveling.

Compare this carefully between different travel insurances, especially if you have planned to do a bit of adventure sports.

Many insurance companies, such as the Carole Nash Insurance company have different types of insurance deals depending on what you need and how you will travel, whether you will be going on a two week ski holiday in Europe or backpack through South America.

Canceled Flights and Accommodation

If your trip is interrupted or if you get ill before your trip and have to cancel flights and pre-booked accommodation due to illness or a close relative’s illness or death, you should be covered.

The insurance should also cover the flight home if there is a case of emergency and you have to interrupt your trip.

If your transport has been canceled due to bad weather, illness or failure in service from the transportation provider, your travel insurance should cover the cost.

Good to know…

If your flight is canceled, overbooked or delayed for more than 6 hours many insurance companies will cover reasonable expenses for hotel, meals and local transportation.

Other Things Travel Insurance Should Cover: 24 hour emergency phone assistance, Personal liability coverage in the case of damaged 3rd party property or injury and all countries you will be visiting and the entire duration of your trip (including the day you return home).

Now that you have a check-list on what should be included in your travel insurance, compare different companies with each other and see if they all cover the things above and if some even have extra benefits.

The post Travel Insurance – What You Need To Know appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

Back in 2004 I wanted nothing else but to leave New Zealand …

I HATED my life there, and felt like I wanted to leave everything behind and go as far away as I could, but before I could do so, I needed to get enough money to buy a plane ticket out of there.

So I got a job at a vineyard working 12 hour night-shifts every day for 8 weeks, making 12 dollars an hour.

It’s not the best place to work if you want to save money for a round the world trip, since it’s a pretty crazy job BUT if you like wine – you will love working there…

Working in a vineyard you learn so much about wine, and realize that wine is not just a drink, but something more.

The progress from picking the grapes to the finished product is a long, dangerous journey - and you truly get a whole new perspective on how wine is made, finding out many things you really don’t want to know.

I never thought that wine could be such a scientific process, and yes, I screwed up more than just a couple of times…

One night at 3am I had to go on top of a 15 meter high wine vat and pour over 20 kg of sugar inside to help the fermentation process.

At the time, I was sh*t scared of heights, but I was the new guy so I had to get up there and do it. I poured the huge bucket of sugar in as fast as I could so I could get down faster.

Little did I know that if you pour it slightly too fast, the sugar will react with the wine and can explode – spraying wine everywhere!

I turned around, and suddenly heard a loud rumbling noise from inside the vat - the whole thing exploded over my head, drenched me in wine and covered the guys 15 meters below – I had wasted 50+ liters of wine all over the ground in under 2 minutes… :S

Working there I drank more wine than water, not while working, but whenever we had finished we could basically drink as much wine as we wanted from all over the world.

A few of my favorite international wines were Chateau La Lagune from France and the Innocent Bysander wines from Australia.

We joined the official wine tours and got to taste and compare different wines, all from the cheapest wine to one of the world’s most expensive (which for the record tasted like sh*t, all the money was spent on the gold label).

We learned that good wine doesn’t have to be expensive, and that expensive wine doesn’t have to be good.

When the season was over, we were all given 12 big bottles of wine, which we by that time had learned how to finish pretty fast.

I left with not only enough money to buy my ticket to Europe, but with a new interest for wine, something which I had never paid much attention to before.

Wine tasting and wine tours are often something of a luxury event, but in New Zealand and Australia it’s actually really affordable, and many vineyards (although not the dodgy one I worked at) let you see the whole process of how wine is made.

So if you want to do something slightly different on your next trip to Australia or New Zealand, visit a vineyard – it really is a great experience!

(photo credits: timparkinson - wickenden - PhillipC)

The post How Wine Paid For My First Trip To Europe appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

The word “cheap” can have many meanings – very often, the word is just a synonym for “crap quality”. Nobody, really, wants a cheap car.  Telling someone else that their car is “good value” is not a good compliment!

But when it comes to cheap holidays, there is no shame – everyone wants the cheapest deal.

In a time of soaring airline ticket prices and those annoying fees plus the ever-increasing price of fuel, finding low-priced travel options can often mean the difference between having a holiday – or not having one.

A recent Consumer Reports survey found that 40% of respondents are flying less as a result of increased fees.

Fortunately, there are ways to get around this, ways to avoid the peak prices and ways to actually make the travel work in your favor.

Most people have their holidays at the same time, and therefore travel at the same time.

This is the ultimate time for airlines to raise their prices, since they know they can fill the seats up easily. Who wants to break the Christmas tradition of always celebrating with the family? And who doesn’t want to get away for summer holidays?

If you’re just looking for a cheap holiday, be smart and don’t follow the stream.

Does this mean that you will be sunbathing in the cold winter rain in Spain? No, it’s not even that drastic.

We started The Europe Train Challenge in May, and that whole first month was fantastic.Sunny weather every day with degrees between 22 – 30 degrees, all over Europe.

And best of all, the streets in Paris, Venice and Barcelona weren’t overcrowded with tourists, and the locals had not yet fled the city to get away from the tourist season.

To travel in “off season” doesn’t mean to be in the Ski fields during summer and beach during winter – all it takes is a month or even a few weeks earlier and later than most people go.

For example, choose your weekend break with care. To travel from Saturday to Tuesday will be much cheaper than Thursday to Monday.

It is proven that Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday planned travel will get you the cheapest airfares.

Since the majority of other travelers will be forced to make their holiday return trips on Sundays or Mondays, open and cheaper seats can be found on less busy travel days.

Another way to get that cheap deal is to sign up for airline frequent flyer programs and get promo codes and updates delivered to your inbox.  You’ll gain access to last-minute flight deals with savings that can average 50%.

Thinking about a road trip this year and worried about the high price of gasoline?

Hoteliers are willing to help minimize travel costs by offering free gas cards.  Several hotels in the Marriott chain are now offering a $25 gift card for each night’s stay through Labor Day (September 5) 2011.

Although hotel room rates have not jumped as much as airfares have so far this year, consumers will still need to reach deeper to fund this years holidays.

Luckily, the concept “Hostel” is changing, and the hostel companies are raising the bar of standards. These days you will find hostels which differ little in quality from cheap hotels – plus give you the opportunity to cook your own food.

Do you travel during off season to get cheap deals? Share your tips!

(photo credits: ell brown - ELEOTH - meddygarnet)

The post Traveling – When Cheap Is A Good Word appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

Many of us have probably had the idea to teach English overseas for a year or so, some of us might even have tried to find some information about how it works.

But often, that’s also where it normally ends. Not because we lost interest in teaching English abroad, but because it all seemed so complicated!

Too much research – too much confusion, and then your inspiration fades.

That’s where this book I just read, “How To Teach English Overseas” by Matthew Kepnes (also known as Nomadic Matt), comes in handy.

How To Teach English Overseas – Book Review

Matt has been teaching English abroad himself and knows all about the frustrations and confusion people feel about these courses. From his own experiences, and a whole lot of research, he has compiled it all into this e-book – to save you the hassle!

With over 100 pages crammed with detailed information, he takes you through every step and everything you need to know about teaching English abroad.

The information is straight forward, and, in contrary to much of the information you find searching official websites: HONEST!

If you were to try and research all this information on your own, you would have a hard time reading between the lines as the programs and jobs you find all want YOU to choose them.

It’s much easier getting the truth from someone who doesn’t benefit from the company you choose, which makes this book very trustworthy, as Matt talks about both the ups and downs of each company, program and types of jobs, includes hidden costs like taxes and things that are not included in some jobs but are in others.

The book explains what it takes to become an English teacher and teach English overseas, the differences between the different courses and jobs, plus, what everyone really wants to know: the benefits and salaries offered.

Moreover, the book gets right into the details and includes detailed information about the most frequented chosen destinations for English teachers as well as some other good ones that are not so popular.

In these country information pages, you even find out the cost of living in these places (which are from my own experience accurate), so you can get a better idea of which countries suit you, and whether you can afford to teach English overseas with the salary you will get or not.

So if you want to know everything about teaching English abroad, save yourself hours of research and avoid tearing your hair off in the progress, this book is for you.

Click Here to grab your download-able copy now!

(Photo credit: peruisay - anoldent)

The post How To Teach English Overseas – The eBook Review appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

Being a traveler and an environment hero is not easy – it’s close to impossible actually (anyone who wants to take on the challenge?).

Since people became more aware of the destructive effect our lifestyles have, eco travel has become more and more popular.

However, with a few exceptions, it just seems like it’s really expensive to do. The Eco lodges and hotels are overpriced, and so is often the transport.

But there is a way of saving money and the planet – even on the road you can take eco-friendly steps:

1. Walk

We try to walk as often as we can when we’re traveling.

Sometimes we walk up to 8 km a day, and although every now and then we’re a little too optimistic about the distance, we’re also often surprised over how short it takes to get where we want.

Plus we see so many random things when we walk around; funny shops, houses, people, signs. All that stuff that passes by too quickly to get a good look at when you’re looking out from your tuk tuk or tour bus.

You really get a good look at what a city really offers by simply walking round.

2. Eat local fresh produce

If you buy food grown or produced in the country you are in, it’s often much cheaper than when you buy food that has been shipped from overseas.

This also saves on fuel and carbon, and if you buy fresh homemade things you’re free from those strange mechanical additions.

Even at a 7 eleven shop in Asia, you can choose between Oreos from America, or the same type of cookies made in a country much closer – the latter one being both cheaper and greener.

3. Buy large water cans, or preferably a water purifier

Buying 1 Liter water bottles several times a day is such a waste of plastic, and in the long run they are also more expensive than the larger bottles. If you don’t have a water purifyer then buy your water in 6 Liter bottles or larger, it saves money, plastic and lasts a few days.

4. Travel by train

Train is much friendlier for the environment than flying. If you’re traveling small distances, try to catch a train or bus over a flight. Often it doesn’t only save you money, but also time (remember check in and border time).

Sometimes it’s sadly cheaper to travel by plane than train, but buses are usually a real cheap way of getting around, and although it’s not completely green, it’s better to share a vehicle with 20 people than it is if we were all driving solo in a car each.

5. Skip the plastic bags

If you don’t really need a plastic bag, don’t take it “just because”. Reuse the ones you have, and when shopping food bring your daypack to pack your food in. In many countries the plastic bags cost extra as well, which adds up.

Plastic bag waste has become such a big problem that in some countries they’re not really allowed to give them when you buy things, India is an example of that.

6. Save the leftovers

I remember visiting a cafe in Vienna, where I bought a huge carrot cake that I couldn’t finish. I asked to get something to put it in so I could finish it later.

She was so happy that I asked, and told me that they throw away tons of food every day that people just left behind.

Asking to get a doggy bag really isn’t a problem, and if your meal is big you get two meals for one, rather than just leaving it on the plate.

7. Fly long distances with fewer stopovers

If you buy a flight ticket with a lot of stopovers, it sometimes looks cheaper than longhaul flights without any stops.

Remember though, that the hours waiting on the airport will make you bring out your wallet more than once for the overpriced food and the tempting Tax-Free products.

Often it is also cheaper from the start to fly a long distance, and not only is it more comfortable, saves you time and money, but it actually makes a HUGE difference to the earth as well.

Airplanes consume a lot more fuel during take off and landing than when it’s up in the air, so the fewer stops, the less pollution.

8. Pack light

A smaller bag means less space for clothes which means you can’t and won’t need to buy as much stuff, and can’t be tempted to buy all those unnecessary souvenirs. It also saves fuel for the planes, as it has to carry less weight. Imagine if we all traveled like Rolf Potts..!

9. Check in Online

It’s cheaper, it’s faster, it’s easier and it saves paper. What more do you need?

(photo credits: pedrosimoes7 – bridgepix – Kevin Coles – stu_spivack – albertopveiga)

The post How To Save Money, Save The Earth And Still Travel The World appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

I’ve traveled with quite a few different types of people, both friends, family and boyfriends. Some have been awesome, and some have been really terrible.

Although I had an overall good time with them, I’ve often returned home promising myself never to do it again.

It’s nobody’s fault, but for some reason we just didn’t get along well together, especially not when traveling.

It’s also something I realize now afterward that I should have known before we went traveling together.

There are some traits that make traveling together really difficult, so before you go, make sure your travel buddy isn’t any of these…

Insecure

This is the most important trait to watch out for. If your travel buddy seems a little insecure at home, that effect will more than double when you travel.

This is often the reason to most arguments, and can result in all sorts of ways.

If you’re both of the same sex, he/she can get jealous of how you’re treated by others, especially those of the opposite sex.

It can also result in the other person trying to get attention all the time by making a fool out of himself, or drinking way too much.

Often, controlling behavior and manipulation comes down to insecurity.

Opposite To Yourself

Two different personalities can complement each other, but they can’t be too different.

Make sure you know what the other person wants out of the trip.

If you want to drink and party all night long, and the other wants to get up early and lay by the beach the whole day, or going for some treks and exploring – you’re going to get sick of each other the first day!

Always make sure you’re on the same path, and are expecting the same things.

Another typical example is spender vs saver. If you want to stay with a strict budget and your friend wants to splurge out on money, you’ll spend most your time arguing.

Short Tempered & Arrogant

There is nothing more embarrassing than traveling with someone who shows no respect to people, both locals and other travelers.

Sometimes, it’s hard to notice this trait before you travel together.

Traveling with a person who is arrogant is also very unpredictable. If she/he gets angry or upset, they might all the sudden just walk off and be gone for a whole day.

Traveling with someone who is short tempered is exhausting. You don’t want to tip toe your way around the world worrying if the other person all the sudden will have an out burst.

Naive

We can all be a little naive at times at a new place, but too much of it will get you into constant trouble.

You don’t want to be a full time baby sitter, making sure your friend doesn’t get “free drinks” from a dodgy stranger or think that a kiss on the lips after a toast is an “Irish tradition”…

You want the person you travel with to be a little experienced, if he/she is not only inexperienced but also naive, you’ll end up with all responsibility and pull all the weight alone.

This can get very tiring and frustrating, and you’ll wish you just did it alone.

Have you ever traveled with people like this? How did it go? What are some types you wouldn’t want to travel with?

(photo credits: isforinsects – Shandi-lee – gogoloopie - squacco)

The post 4 Types Of People You Don’t Want To Travel Around The World With appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

For us, as for many other travelers, taking a travel guide book with us on trips is a thing of the past. We haven’t traveled with a proper guide book for years, the first reason is that they’re often really heavy, bulky and take up a lot of space in your bag.

Secondly, guide books give you so much information about each place, but for us MOST of that really isn’t needed.

I don’t want to know EVERYTHING about a place I’m visiting before I’ve even arrived – doesn’t that take away from the excitement?

Where is the fun in knowing everything before even arriving?!

Guidebooks are great tools to keep yourself updated about the places you’re visiting, and of course you want to know a little bit about the places and what attractions and sites you’ll find.

To get all that, you still don’t really need a proper paperback guide book. There are so many alternatives to these that will both save you money and back pain.

Here are a few ways to be able to travel without the guide book but still keep yourself updated with the right info:

Downloadable eBook Guides

These days traveling with a laptop is pretty much common place, and although it might seem like it adds on a lot more weight than a guide book does, you know you can store 500 of them and still keep the same weight (among all those other things you would use a laptop for).

When traveling, you won’t always have access to the internet to browse online, so guides you can download to your desktop and read whenever you want, are great.

You can get a whole guide for only a few bucks, and even the bigger guide book companies are starting to sell their guides in PDF format.

The Hostel and Local Tourist Center

Normally the owners at a hostel know everything there is to know about the city for a tourist, and can tell you what there is to see around the place, all from good eats to temples to clubs.

You can also take a visit to the information office, where they’ll be able to help you with all planning and information you need to know about the city – usually you’ll also get a free map which is very useful

Smartphone Apps

I don’t actually have a smartphone myself, but I have an iPod Touch and that works great.

What’s great about these apps is that you can bring them with you onto the street, and many of them don’t even need an internet connection to work.

Just search for guides or the places you’ll be going and see what you can find. Many country tourism authorities have created great free apps for cities and places, this is becoming more and more common place.

The Internet

Just a click away, the internet is probably the easiest way to find out what you need about the city you’re visiting.

Websites like Travelfish are great for finding things to do, restaurants and places to stay – and finding out the truth about them by people who have actually been there.

There are also tons of travel blogs that have heaps of great guides and information about places.

Random Walks – Find Out Yourself.

Some days, it’s better to just take a look yourself on what there is to do and see around you. Take a walk down the street and you’ll most likely end up somewhere you haven’t been before, and see something new that you haven’t seen before, whether it’s a market, some shops, a river or a temple.

Sometimes the best attractions aren’t those mentioned in the guide books, but those experienced by a random moment on a random street in a random city – somewhere around the world.

How do you get around new cities? If you have any tips on places to get some good guides and information, we’d love to hear about it!

(photo credits: dannyman - grandvelasrivieramaya – aswetravel)

The post Alternative Digital Substitutes To Heavy Travel Guide Books appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.

I was talking to a friend the other day about traveling, I was sharing my big travel plans and she was sharing her dream travels.

We were talking about the same thing, only I called it a plan while she called it a dream.

It’s only a word, but there is a lot lying behind it - I believe that by thinking of your travels as dreams, it will take you so much longer until they become a reality.

A dream doesn’t provoke you to take action, it just lies there on a pink cloud in your head. A dream is just a place you sometimes escape to when life gets too dull and you need that escape.

We all have dreams, but few of us ever get to see them come true.

I think a lot has to do with the way we look at things – our perspective. If we accept to leave plans as dreams we won’t even try to make an effort to achieve it and turn it into a reality.

A dream is almost something that isn’t supposed to come true, because, well – it’s a dream!

Someone once told me that dreams that always came true were no longer dreams.

She said she wanted to keep her dreams as dreams because if they came true she wouldn’t have anything to dream about anymore.

I think that the reason why some of us don’t follow our dreams is because we don’t believe in ourselves enough that we can actually do it, and we are afraid of failure.

You have a choice, and which one you choose depends on what you value the most.

If you take a risk you might fail, but you might also succeed. If you never take a risk, you will never fail, but definitely never succeed either.

I believe that if you just change a few words in your head, and think of your dreams as plans, it’s more likely to happen.

When you have a plan, you have already taken the first step to action.

So what are your PLANS for 2011? Tomorrow is the start of another year, have you taken the time to write down what you would like to achieve?

We would love to hear about your plans for 2011 - whether they are travel-related or not. Share them in the comments below – also, are your plans different from your dreams?

(photo credits: gi – pasotraspaso)

The post Travel Dreams Vs Travel Plans – Which Are More Important? appeared first on Travel Videos & Travel Blog - As We Travel Blog.