Travel guide

S o

You’re Looking To Start Travelling

I noced recently most of the messages I get are from people asking me about ‘ps for traveling’ It seems a lot of people are interested in traveling, and want to do it but don’t know where to start.

I love reading all the messages that people send and while I love hearing more people want to start traveling, it becomes impossible to write back to each person, and that makes me feel bad.

I’ve decided to write a ‘how to guide’ with ps based on my personal experience of traveling over the last 3 years.

SIDE NOTE

I don’t claim to be an expert or even a decent traveler but this is what works for me; this is not gospel! You might think some of my answers are wrong and that’s fine, what works for me necessarily might not work for everyone and what works for you might not work for me.

It's all trial and error, finding your own thing that fits. I’ve also just started to make a lile money from social media which allows me to have a lile more freedom and less stress but not enough that I don’t need to budget and volunteer

If you have any feedback at the end or if you sll have quesons please let me know. I’ll be looking to keep this guide up to date.

PUBLISHING

I received a message from a publisher looking to promote my travel guide as an ebook to be sold online, that’s not what I wrote the guide for.

I’m not interested in selling you a guide, but I am interested in sharing anything

I can that may be helpful to you on your journey.

Aer reading all the quesons I was able to take the most popular ones and put each queson as a heading.

Now with regards to traveling. In my head, I've done two types of traveling.

WORK VISAS

I've applied for and got work visas, lived in different parts of the world for long periods, worked and saved, and then moved to other places. Sll traveling just at a slower pace.

BACKPACK

I’ve backpacked around countries and stayed in hostels and my hammock. Moved around at a quick pace, got to see more countries, volunteered to get accommodaon and food, and picked up some work here and there.

*Never needed a visa for any country in South America. You get 90 days when entering before you have to leave. You can come back as many mes as you want. Just cross the border, spend a night in a neighboring country and you can re-enter the next day.

Most of what I’ve learned about traveling has been the result of trial and error. I've made numerous mistakes, and bad judgment calls but I have learned from each of them and hopefully I can pass a thing or two on in this guide.

I hope you find some answers that you are looking for in this guide, that it’s not all waffle, and that it doesn’t sound any bit philosophical.

THE QUESTIONS

Feel like this was a good queson to start with. I le Ireland at 22 years old. I was having a bad year and nothing was going to plan. I was debang going back to college and even applied for college the following year.

A friend of mine was in Canada on a work visa. He encouraged me to come out and visit to clear my head and stay for a few months unl college started.

I knew deep down college was not for me but I needed to do something so I wouldn't feel like I was doing nothing with my life, interesng that is exactly what I’m doing now, I’m doing loads of nothing and loving every second of it.

I had a chat with my family, took out my savings, booked a cket, and off I went. I was in Canada one day and I knew for sure I wouldn’t be going back to college but that’s all I knew.

What nally made you want to leave your life and travel? I'm having a hard time making my decision?

How can I travel the world like you?

I never set out to travel the world. I would never have imagined that 3 years aer leaving home I would sll be traveling. My advice is if you’re looking to travel the world, take it in lile steps, thinking about traveling the world is a lot of pressure and can get overwhelming.

Instead of leaving home thinking, you’re going to be away for a certain length of me, just book one thing and see what happens. Take one place at a me and then reevaluate when you’re ready to leave.

I will touch on ways to make money later and keep the travels going.

But for now, my best p is to leave with the intenon of coming back but the freedom to be able to stay if you want to, this will make leaving home a lot easier.

I le home for Toronto, but I never planned to go any further, then I got an idea about Banff and figured out how to make that work, when my visa ran out in Banff I got an idea about Hawaii and then figured out how to make that work, likewise when I le for the Galápagos Islands and so on.

One thing at a me.

Where do I go rst? Where do I even start? How do I even start?

Don’t overcomplicate anything.

Where you go has to be your decision and your decision alone. You can get advice, do some research, talk to people, maybe you have a country on your bucket list or if all fails throw a dart at the map. But you must have the final say.

Try and figure out if you want to move to another country and get a working visa or if you want to backpack. It’s fairly easy to get working visas for places like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. A quick Google search online and you’ll find out.

Once you decide where you're going, the next step is simple, book your cket. Even if you book months in advance, booking makes it real, you know you’re going, and now you can get cracking on saving as much money as you can.

The final step is just geng on that plane. Now you’re on the way, you’ve started your journey, take it one day at a me, and try to stay focused on having fun. There’s no right way to travel! You can stay at a place for as long as you like, you can also move when you want, whatever feels right.

I chose Toronto to start because I knew someone there, the visa was easy to get, and the visa allowed me to work which allowed me to earn and save money.

Very safe opon.

How do you backpack and travel solo?

This queson is kinda funny, solo travel is actually the least solo thing of all. I’ve found myself going weeks without having a second to myself, but you always have the opon to be on your own whenever you want/need it.

For solo backpacking you actually meet more people and meet them quicker, there is always someone at the hostel going in the same direcon as you, and plans between people will organically begin to get made, this cycle repeats itself.

On my first night in a hostel, I remember thinking ‘what if solo traveling just doesn’t click for me, what if being on my own doesn't work out’?

Aer a few hours in the common room, I never quesoned that again. Everyone in the hostel was looking for the same thing I was, hostels are a place people meet other people. Just arrive with a smile and you’ll meet people.

You’re never really traveling on your own. My advice is to travel with a good atude and you’ll aract it back. Traveling is just about seeing new places, having new experiences, doing new things, and meeng new people, keep that the focus.

What should I bring with me backpacking?

My immediate response is ‘Travel light’

I le home with a 23kg suitcase, full to the brim, and shortly aerward had to get rid of it. I then bought a smaller bag but found it was too big to bring on board as a carry-on and costly to check in. I gave it away.

The more I travel the lighter I get. I have one small carry on gym bag and one school bag. Having the carry on keeps the flight costs down as I’m bouncing around countries.

My Carry on bag: 5 shirts, 2 pants, 1 jeans, 2 shorts, 4 pairs of socks, 5 jocks, 1 jumper, 1 pair of shoes (never in my bag)

My School Backpack:- Toiletries, hammock, small few senmental items, books, journal, documents I need.

That’s it! That's everything I have and need right now. However, through trial and error, it's sll constantly changing”.

*You can NEVER have too much underwear!!!!

Do I recommend you start your travels with a carry-on?

Not really.

You learn what you need as you travel more. Everyone’s different!

Packing light and owning very lile is one of the best ps I have for traveling, however, it did take me a long me to figure it out, it happens while you're traveling not sing and thinking about it.

I learned bit by bit what I needed and what I could live without. Traveling light is difficult, it's a fine art. You will find your level of lightness, it changes all the me, for now, I only need one pair of shoes but I know it won't always be like that.

Maybe start with a fairly big travel bag but not like me, a suitcase. You can now get travel bags that vary in size from 30 liters - 90 made of light waterproof material specially designed for traveling and made to fit on your back with comfort.

Fill the bag with whatever you think you may need to begin your journey, believe me, it won't be long before you realize you’re wearing the same few bits of clothes all the me and the stuff at the boom of the bag is sll at the boom for a reason.

When you realize this and want to downgrade to a smaller bag you can sell, swap for a different bag, donate, and then get a smaller bag. This process never ends I’ve met a lot of people on my travels who wished they had a smaller bag but I’ve yet to meet anyone who wished they had a bigger bag. Sacrifice some comfort to save your back

How much money do you recommend leaving home with?

A tough queson and not one that can be answered easily. There is no magical amount you need to begin your travels.

Every country is different, and living costs in every country are different for example starng in Colombia would be very different from starng in Canada.

That’s why it’s hard to answer. You will need more money in expensive countries compared to cheaper ones.

Also as a first me traveler, you need an extra bit of cash so save up as much as possible because you’re going to make a load of mistakes and some will cost you money.

It happens to everyone starng, there’s no shame in it but it’s good to have a lile reserve.

Recently I agreed to a taxi that I thought was priced out at $7 but I had confused the currency and it ended up cosng me $35. Lile mistakes like this add up

When I le Ireland I had €3,000 in my bank account. I feel like this was a good start for me, a decent bit of fallback money.

When I le Toronto I had $11,000.

When I le Banff, I had $1400.

And honestly, the next move from Banff even though I had the least amount of money, was the easiest move, because the more I traveled the more experience I had in how to stretch and save money.

Your travel plans may be very different, you might just want to travel unl your money runs out, or travel for a certain length of me, to a certain date, and maybe then go home, that’s easier, just budget!

Once you arrive at a new place start budgeng. I think budgeng before you get to the place doesn’t make much sense to me. Take some me, go shop around, look at prices, try local foods which are always cheaper and make sure to cook.

You will soon have an idea of what a realisc daily spend will be and sck to it.

*Put some money away for fun and acvies.

Can you give me some traveling tips for backpacking?

The thing about traveling is anyone can do it, there’s nothing special about me, there’s no secret to traveling, there’s no magic formula, the only thing I’ll say is the more you travel the beer you get at it just like everything else in life.

All you need is a genuine love for exploring, a good atude, an interest in people, in other countries, or maybe a desire/willingness/readiness/wish to get out of your comfort zone.

Below are some ps that have served me well, hopefully, they might be helpful to you too.

BOOKING THE FLIGHT

This may seem so obvious and it is, but I have to include it. The number of people who talk about booking their flight and never actually do it is crazy. If you have the money to book the flight, it doesn’t maer if it’s a week or a year away, just book it.

Once the flight is booked it goes from a thought, a concept, an idea, or a dream to reality. The booking has a domino effect. It will get the ball rolling, you have to start preparing and planning. That booking now forces you to save and get ready for your journey.

I’ve had a few people tell me ‘I’m coming out to visit you’ I haven't seen them yet! Unless the flight is booked it’s not real

It’s perfectly normal to feel scared or anxious, it's a huge step to book the flight and remember, home will be there when you get back. If you find you don't like it you can always get a flight back, so no pressure, you’ll never regret trying.

STAY IN HOSTELS

This one is massive!

I believe if you’re looking to travel and meet people you need to be staying in hostels especially if you’re a solo traveler or a young traveler. I know in some countries you can get private places for cheap, but you won’t meet anyone there.

Hostels are by far the cheapest to stay in, the best place to meet people and they’re fun.

How do I go about making friends on my own?

How to go about making friends is the most asked queson on my TikTok. I'm an introvert by nature and always had bad anxiety so I understand how this is so high on the list.

It would have been a real worry for me too but it's normal to have all sorts of thoughts like this especially when you're making such a big decision.

What I love about hostels is you make friends organically, everyone is in the same boat looking to explore, meet new people and make friends.

My big issue now is trying to get some alone me to write this guide. I can’t seem to get alone me because hostels are so social lol.

I’ve spent the last year of my life living in different hostels. Do most conversaons start this way?

‘Where are you from’

‘Where are you going’ ‘Where were you before this’

More oen than not, these 3 simple quesons lead to easy conversaons, sharing stories, asking for recommendaons, and people becoming travel partners.

RightnowI'mwringthisguideinahammockwhilepeopleIonlymet10minsago arewaingformetofinishupsowecanallplaycardstogether.Idon’tevenknow howweallgottalking,that'shostellife.

Irarelyeverleaveahostelwithoutmeengsomeonetotraveltomynext desnaonwith.IcanprobablycountononehandhowmanydaysI’vespentalone inthelast6months.

Tomakefriendswalkintothehostelwithasmile,beopenandyouwillgetthesame reacon,worksforme.

Ifyoudon’tfeellikeapproachingsomeoneorthatstarngaconversaonisabittoo muchforyoujustbringabookdowntothecommonroomandseehowmuchofit yougettoread.Ibetaer10minutesyou’llbeinmid conversaonwithsomeone.

But what if you're not backpacking and have just moved to a country looking to make friends?

FindingworkisagatewaytomakingfriendsandIfoundittheeasiestway,butlet’s sayyoudon’thaveajobyet. Joininganygroupacvityinyourarea.

InToronto,IjoinedalocalGAAteamforafewtrainingsessionsandthatwas enoughtomeetalotofpeople.Aslongasyou'regengupandgoingoutyouwill meetpeople.

InHawaii,BumbleBFFwasinsanelypopular.It’sadangappthatcanalsobe usedtofindfriendsanditseemstobemorepopularthanthedangappitself.Most ofmyfriendswereusingthistomeetfriendsandIcouldn’trecommenditenough.

Are Hostels safe?

Yes!

Hostels are very safe, some may aract some odd people. What I always do to ensure a safe hostel with nice people is read the reviews and they're usually spot on.

For me, Hostelworld.com has the best and most accurate reviews. They give a rang out of 10 so you generally know what you’re geng into beforehand. People always leave reviews so read up before you book.

Mosthostelshavetheoponofdormroomsorprivaterooms.Ifyou’reasolo femaletravelerandnervousaboutstayinginamixeddorm,mosthostelshavea female-onlydorm.It'sthesameprice,somakesuretocheckwhenyou'rebooking.

I’ve done my fair share of working in hostels and honestly 99% of the me there are never any issues in mixed dorms, however, if you’re ever in a situaon in a hostel where a guest you’re sharing a dorm with makes you feel uncomfortable to LET THE FRONT DESK KNOW IMMEDIATELY.

I’ve worked at the front desk and the staff is there to help you. If there’s someone creepy, the front desk will move you to another room or get rid of the guest.

Now back to the ps:

DON’T BOOK TOO MUCH

When you're beginning your journey there is a fine line between not booking at all and overbooking. At the start, I found that booking too many things oen interfered with things that can happen naturally. If you book too much you feel obligated to follow through or lose money.

Let’s say for example you book into a hostel, plan out all your acvies, and pay for them in advance. In the Common Room, you meet some people who are going off doing something fun, you get invited and want to go, but you have a different acvity booked. You either lose out on that new experience or lose money on your own.

I’ve missed out on flights because I met people and didn’t want to leave them. I had booked my flight well in advance and ended up losing money from the flight

SAY YES TO EVERYTHING

Absolutely say yes to everything but use your common sense and your gut. If someone seems a bit odd, they probably are, if someone is inving you to do something alone out in the forest don’t say yes! Go with your gut.

Saying yes is not always what you want to do. Say you arrive at your hostel, you're red, you had a long day on a packed bus, you meet people who seem cool and invite you to go on a waterfall hike – GO!

This is how you meet people, this is where the best stories start, you can sleep and rest tomorrow. Get out and make something happen

One day I finished my day's work in a hostel. A group staying there asked me if I’d like to join them on a hike to the other side of the island. I was red and said no, a few minutes later I changed my mind and went.

Aer the hike, we stayed out all night and watched the Milky Way in the sky ll we fell asleep on the beach. I ended up becoming really good friends with those people and I sll am today. Probably would have never happened if I didn’t go

Most importantly, try to say yes to anything outside your comfort zone. This is a big part of traveling. If someone asks you to try something you’ve never done, try and do it. You might just love it.

Meet as many people traveling as you possibly can, and shake as many hands as you can, meeng more people will open up more doors for you and will make traveling a lot easier and a lot more fun.

GET GOOD AT COOKING

You don’t need to be a Michelin Star chef but geng good at cooking is a must. Eang out is expensive and you can end up very unhealthy. Before you leave home learn how to cook a couple of dishes with cheap ingredients and pracce unl you get good, it will stand to you.

Most hostels have a shared kitchen so get used to using it whenever you can.

In Hawaii, I would brag in the hostel that I made the best Ramen around the island. It was cheap and healthy to make and I sll eat it to this day.

When people from Asia would visit the hostel I would watch how they cooked it and what ps I might pick up. I sll brag about my ramen to this day.

I traveled with a chef for a few days and paid aenon to a few of the cheap/ healthy meals he cooked. I’m very good now at making cheap/healthy meals anyme I get to a kitchen.

VOLUNTEER

This for me is one of my best ps. Let’s say you get to a place you like and want to stay for a while but food and accommodaon are expensive. You can volunteer to work and in return, they will give you accommodaon, food, and some other perks (suroards, rentals, yoga, etc)

How do I go about working/volunteering? What exactly is volunteering?

WORKING

Any job I’ve got since I le home has been through meeng people.

In Banff, I met someone in the pub and woke up the next day to a text from the guy asking if I wanted a job.

It’s all about who you meet along your journey. When I arrive at a new place I kinda slightly menon in conversaon that I’m looking for work, especially to locals. More oen than not somebody knows somebody who so happens to be looking for someone.

VOLUNTEERING IS VERY DIFFERENT

Most organizaons, hostels, and charies have volunteering posions and when you get one it typically comes with a place to stay, food, and somemes other stuff like discounts. Geng food is huge so be sure to ask about it when applying.

When I started volunteering in Hawaii I did 15 hours a week for my accommodaon it wasn’t long before I got some extra work hours which I got paid for. Most of the me I was doing 30+ so I was geng paid for the extra 15+

I HAVE USED TWO SOURCES FOR VOLUNTEERING

Test the Hostel out as a guest:

I book into a hostel, first as a guest to check it out as I don’t want to volunteer in a place without first seeing what the hostel is like, how the place looks, where its located, how its run, what the vibe is like, what the staff is like.

In Ecuador, I had no intenon of volunteering, but the lad at recepon Sebasan made me laugh so much I wanted to work with him. I knew it would be so much fun. I persuaded him to give me a volunteering job.

Generally, hostels are ALWAYS looking for volunteers, so it's easy to get volunteering work in a hostel as long as you’re smiling and showing a posive atude they are generally happy to take you.

VOLUNTEERING APPS

If you want something more concrete than arriving at a hostel or you just want a different type of volunteer work, sign up for a website called Worldpackers for like $30.

Use my code ‘FLEETWOOD’ for a discount on the Worldpackers membership.

See what I did there. That’s the first me I’ve ever tried to give someone a code. I feel dirty! But back to the point

They have a huge variety of different types of volunteer programs from NGOsHostel work - Animal care.- Climate…..

You can read the reviews that past volunteers have le on the place, the locaon, their specific job descripon, the vibe, and the staff, then email the host with any quesons you have or talk to them before you sign up, as soon as you enroll you will get a date to start and off you go.

There are volunteer programs all over the world so you can search different countries and see what takes your fancy.

Maybe a good idea if you don't know where you want to start, have a look at potenal volunteering opons in different countries.

You might end up in a hostel in Costa Rica or an elephant sanctuary in Thailand

How do you make money whilst traveling so you can survive?

I hate to be that guy but recently I’ve been making some money from social media so I don’t have to grind as much as I used to but I’ve done it all.

My moo is work, save, travel… and repeat it all when funds get low.

How I make money has changed since I started traveling:

In Canada, the pay was very good so I was able to save a lot. I worked mostly in the service industry. The pping culture was great and you can make serious money while meeng people and having fun.

In Hawaii, I worked mostly in hostels. This is where I realized that hostel work is perfect for solo travelers. In my first hostel, I menoned I worked 15 hours for free accommodaon which le food as my only expense.

I was so happy when they gave me extra hours of work with pay. I also did some cleaning work for Airbnb that I found on the side.

I stayed in hostels all through South/Central America and again picked up some volunteering work. I don’t think I spent much money at all while in that hostel

REMOTE WORK

A lot of the people I meet work remotely from their laptops, phones, etc…

A few of my friends I met traveling have recently got jobs from this website ( ). I haven't used it myself but I’ve heard good things,www.upwork.com it has lots of different types of jobs and they are all remote. If you’re thinking you need something like this to earn a bit while moving around check out the site.

Try to find a job that has enough hours to cover your accommodaon and food and you’ll be able to travel for quite a long me.

USE YOUR SKILLS IN HOSTELS

Hostels are a never ending cycle of new people. Get your grind on! You can sell anyone anything in a hostel and I’ll give you a couple of examples.

Get good at cutting hair

There’s a never ending amount of Europeans (Irish and Brish in parcular) traveling through hostels, most of whom all rock the same fade.

I’ve seen people traveling with a razor and scissors charging $10 a haircut per person. They’re not barbers but they have mastered the fade.

Stick and poke tattoos

Do you know what every traveler likes?

Taoos!! You don’t even have to be good at it, I’ve got like 5 from different hostels, they’re not great but I love them.

Get a sck and poke kit and a couple of needles and start praccing on an orange, soon you’ll be giving people taoos in the common room and making serious money.

Jewelry

One of my best friends Rin would make her own jewelry, she turns spoons into rings, and people at the hostel would ask her about her jewelry, one day I came down to the common area and she had a lile shop set up in the corner of the room.

Everyone in the hostel was buying a ring at $15 each. She was working there.

Food

One of my friends Belle would bake cookies every day and sell them in the hostel.

So simple. People in hostels are always hungry and either has to cook for themselves or eat out anyway. People always want cookies especially if they’re right in front of

them!!

Photography:

One of my friends Bryce would always have a professional camera on him, he'd take photos of people during hostel acvies and charge for the photos. As he got beer the price would increase.

My friend Philipe goes into the water to take photos of surfers. Never asks them to buy anything, thesurferssimplyseehimaerand wanttobuythem.

MASSAGES/YOGA/SURF LESSONS

If you’re good at anything you can use it to fund your travels, one of the girls volunteering at my hostel now, bought a massage table and set up her own business for guests.

The same with people who have a lot of pracce in yoga.

The same with surfers I’ve met.

There's an endless amount of ways.

CONCLUSION

People in hostels want to buy stuff that has a lile story, that they can forever have as a memory of that place or something that makes a memory.

Now you might be reading this thinking none of these ideas are for you and that’s fine! I’m just showing there are ways of graing. Just need to think outside the box.

Get creave. There are 1000s of ways to make traveling work!

Honestly, I do very lile research so I’m not the best person to answer this queson. I don’t like researching stuff before I set off somewhere, especially what to do there. It sounds a bit crazy but I prefer having no expectaons. It feels more excing that way, but maybe this is one of the things to not listen to me about lol.

Inthebeginning,IusedtogoalotwithwordofmouthhoweverwhenIwasin Colombiaeveryonewastellingmeaboutthecies,howcooltheywere,andthatthey hadtobeseen,aerspendingashortmeinvariousciesIrealizedIhatecies.

What kind of research or planning do you do (although it’s minimum) before you decide to go somewhere or stay somewhere?

It felt weird as I didn't have the same interest in cies as everyone else. When I tell people Colombia was one of my least favorite countries they look at me like I didn’t do it right!

That’s because I didn’t. I visited many places because I felt I had to go there when in fact I should have been in Colombia’s amazing natural world. Aer all, that’s what I like.

NowI’mverypickywithwhomItakerecommendaons.IonlyaskpeoplewhoIthink haveasimilarlifestyle/interestsasmyself.

My research now is basically Hostelworld, especially the reviews. Where the place is located, is it a decent price, has it a good kitchen, good wifi, a nice common area and maybe something specific to a hostel in that area.

I only book one night and that serves as a tester. I find this beer than realizing too late that it's not what you thought or wanted but there is nothing you can do as you’ve booked and paid for a week.

Cheap hostels are rarely full so you can book extra nights aer your first night and if by any chance they are full, which happened to me twice, it's easy to get another one.

I’verecentlystartedstayingincheaper/quieterhostels.Ithenvisitthemore expensivehostelsand chilloutintheircommon areas.That mightsound funnybutit works.

I can leave when I want and go to sleep in my chill hostel. You’ll find people who have been traveling for a while do this a lot.

How do you stay safe while traveling?

Even though I hate to say this, it is a fact that some of my ps for staying safe are more necessary for girls, whom I believe have to be a bit more careful while traveling.

Saying that I’ve met more solo female travelers than males, some have solo hitchhiked across South America and it’s possible.

I met a girl in Costa Rica called Dominique, she is blind, a solo traveler, totally on her own, staying in dorms, and by far the coolest person I’ve met on my travels.

Staying safe is mostly to do with

Using your common sense

Trusng your gut.

More specifics ps include:

Have a good reliable phone that is fully charged when you go out. Have your phone set up for emergency contacts. Always carry a SIM card with data.

If someone seems off, you’re probably right.

Uber is great in most places, even in South America so use it.

If you need to use a taxi, take a picture of the license plate and let the driver see you do it, then send it to a friend.

Locals are some of the best people you will ever meet on your travels. Ask them/staff in the hostel, if the area you're in is safe and what they recommend to stay safe.

Avoid walking alone at night if you don’t know the area.

Is traveling worth leaving everything behind?

For sure it is. If it doesn’t work out? Oh well!! At least you know you tried.

Remember at any stage you can always go home and you won’t be wondering forever or have any regrets.

How do you keep your belongings like passports and all that safe while staying in a hostel?

Buy a good lock. Hostels don't rent locks but they all have lockers and you can lock your valuables into them.

When you're out, only take with you what you need, keep your phone and money either in your bum bag or pocket, and don’t let people see you using them on the street. Don’t wear valuable jewelry, and try not to look like a tourist that’s waing to be robbed.

If you’re at the beach keep an eye on your stuff, don’t bring it if you don’t need it.

I've never really been homesick except on special occasions like Christmas, Birthdays but it’s nothing like a faceme home can’t fix. It helps me to know that if I want to go home it's as easy as booking a flight back.

I’m always very busy doing stuff so that helps too. I feel it’s easier to be homesick if you're waing around and doing nothing. As long as you're pung yourself out there and meeng new people, the thought of home doesn’t pop up as much.

I’ve never really had any conflict along my travels, I’ve met some quesonable people that have said a couple of quesonable things.

For me, it’s always in one ear and out the other.

When you rst started traveling did you become homesick? If so, how did you move past it?

What are some tips and tricks to staying safe and avoiding conict?

ank you

I'm being honest here.

I don't have any travel insurance.

Honestly, this is something I need to sort out myself because travel insurance is a must. I’m playing a very risky game at the moment because anything can happen any day.

Injuries are regular on this side of the world and you need to be ready in case anything happens as these types of bills are EXPENSIVE.

I can’t recommend any insurance but I will tell you about a friend who had to fly home aer an injury because it was too expensive to go to the hospital here without travel insurance.

If you’re reading this and you have some informaon about travel insurance, dm me on Instagram I’d love to hear more about it.

I wanna travel next year for a longer time. So do you have private travel insurance, healthcare, or something like that?

Recommendations for the “not so young”

Some of the coolest people I’ve met have been people way older than me, people, that have forgoen more about traveling than I might ever know.

John, who I met from Texas, was a 65-year-old rered lumberjack who got caught with weed entering Japan and spent 10 years there in prison for it. He was cool as f..k.

I met a guy last week in a hostel that brought his two kids with him as he wanted them to experience a different type of holiday meeng different people.

Travelling is for people of all ages, people really don’t care, and the whole fing-in thing is probably all in your head.

Hostels are for people who generally don’t fit in anyway, just make sure when you choose one that it’s more of a chill hostel than a party hostel or you’ll be up all night.

traveler - I feel young - but much older than you & most travel tiktokers. May not t in most situations

How do you manage with different languages? Do you try to learn new languages?

Yes, I always try to learn new languages.

I’m not going to lie, it's tough. In most places, you visit you will find someone who can speak English if you need it. I use the Memrise app. It's a flashcard app that I pay for. It has the 1000 most used words in any language and it allows me to use it all offline.

My Spanish isn’t conversaonal yet.. but I get by on it. I’m always trying to use my Spanish as much as I can to improve it, and the locals love it when you try even if it's really bad. They will appreciate you for making the effort.

You’ll even get a few smiles.

How dangerous is South America as a solo traveler?

SA is definitely dangerous in some areas.. but as long as you listen to people and don’t go where people say not to go you’ll be safe.

I got stuck on the Panamá American highway for 24 hours in a hitchhiker's car and met the most helpful people I’ve ever met. The locals went out of their way to make me feel safe.

Worldwide cies are the most dangerous places as the crime level is always higher.

Not to scare you but in Quito the capital of Ecuador I was warned not to do this hike as I’d get robbed. I said I’d risk it anyway and did the hike. And what happened?

A guy tried to rob me with a knife!! Unl another local guy came over to help and got the guy away.

I made a bit mistake that day but I learned two important things:

Listen to the advice locals give you.

99% of people are good, it's just the 1% we need to avoid. That was the only me I felt unsafe in South America

I was warned before entering Nicaragua that it was dangerous. In my village where I am right now if you walk down the road someone picks you up for free on the back of their motorbike and brings you down the road to the village, it's just what they do, very friendly, helpful, and community-focused.

If you’re taking short trips and you’re around most airports Uber will work fine in most places. This is the best bet as it’s the cheapest and safest.

If you have a place booked to stay in advance they will normally recommend the best way to get from the airport.

If they don’t recommend anything and they don’t have Uber, a taxi I’m afraid is your next bet. They are going to see the ‘Green Dollar Signs’ as you walk towards them.

Always haggle. I feel like whatever they say to you first, half the price is sll usually a bit high so that’s a good mark, to begin with.

The bus is cheap. I've got buses the whole way from Peru up to Nicaragua and it was fine. But be cauous. Always have your stuff nearby. Within arm's length is as far as it should be away from you

How do you get to where you want to go from the airport etc if you're not comfortable with hitchhiking too

Other traveling advice?

I’ve menoned all I can think of. I would like to end it with the best ps I got from friends I have met and traveled with along the way. I will leave their specific p and their name next to it:

‘Book the flight, embrace and enjoy the buerflies and don’t wait for the right me because there is never a right me’ - Laura

‘JUST SAY YES. Even if it scares you & you don’t have everything figured out. Take any new opportunity that comes to your way cuz you never know who or what it’ll lead you to! Also.. money comes back around but you’ll only be this young once so say yes to skydiving with strangers in Hawaii! Say yes to the road trip & buy the plane cket. Figure out the details later’ - Erin

‘Always pack a raincoat & Don’t book too much in advance cos plans always change’ - Sarah

‘Try to be a strict packer haha because you only end up wearing the same things anyway and you’ll hate yourself when it comes to packing up and carrying your backpack around! Added bonus if you can fit your stuff into a bag that doesn’t have to be checked onto a plane so you don’t have to pay extra each me you need to fly. And go back to wired earphones so you don’t have to worry about things being charged on long travel days’ - Emma

‘If you are in it for the long run, learn to differenate between things YOU want to do and things you think you should be doing (just because everyone is doing them or it’s typical for that country). Don’t get me wrong, saying yes can get you into amazing situaons but if you always do stuff without really wanng to you’ll be exhausted from traveling in no me. At least from my experience’ - Miya

‘Get out of the hostel environment from me to me and treat yourself’ - JJ

‘Make friends with locals and not just other backpackers’ - Emily

‘Google maps are your friend, you can look around and see all the hostels, some aren’t on hostelworld or booking and you can see how close they are to town’ - Anne Sofie

‘Ialwaysoverpack,njackIknowyou’reanunderpacker.ButIthinkthere’s ahealthymedium.Whenyouarepackingforlongtripsdon’tforgetyoucanbuy thingsyouneedalongtheway.Alsofortheclothes,youdobring,Irecommend sorngthemintolargeziplockfreezerbags.Makesforeasyaccessandorganizaon. Alsowearshoesintheshowers.Bringcondoms.PersonalMedicineshouldbein yourcarry-on.Tryandpackeverythingintoonebagtosaveonmoneywhenflying tonothaveacheckedbag’-Bryan

‘Don’t take the taxi driver that’s up in your face, take the quiet one in the back he’s more honest. Also, it’s easy to get caught up in being someone else in a hostel but stay true to yourself’ - Fleur

‘You’ll learn so much more traveling with new people you don’t know, than if it’s with someone you’re already friends with’ - Salah

‘If you’re looking for a good hostel to spend a lot of me at, pick one where the owners are raising their kids around the hostel. The best hostels I’ve noced are the family-run ones’ - Daan

Well, that’s my guide, for now, it’s something I want to connuously add to as I get more quesons about traveling that I haven’t covered in this already. Feel free to message me with any quesons that I haven’t covered.

I wrote this guide for free as a way to help other people looking to travel. Instead of trying to make some money, I told my friend I would aach a donaon link below in case anyone found it useful, and would like to buy me a coffee, dinner, or cket to Antarcca feel free to click on any of these;

Venmo; @fleetwoodjack1

Revolut; @fleetwoodjack1 PayPal; Geraldinering1@gmail.com