You just wrote a novel called Girls Who Travel. Can you give us a little summary?
Girls Who Travel is all about a free-spirited serial backpacker named Kika, who is a bit lost—but she’s lost in the right direction.
I am not a cyclist, but thanks to my friends at StudentUniverse, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau and Giant Bicycles, for nine days in November 2015… I was.
When you want to explore the world, one question that pops up in your head is whether you want to solo backpack, travel with a few of your best friends, or travel with a group. My first grand trip was to Europe with a group called People to People, and there were definitely some pros and cons of traveling with thirty people. To help you make your decision on who will or will not accompany you, here are pros and cons of traveling with a group.
Tokyo is more than just a city; it’s the most populous urban center in the world. The city has more than 13 million residents (that’s more than NYC), and the greater metropolitan area is closing in on 38 million. In order to manage this sprawling metropolis, Tokyo is divvied up into 23 “special wards.” Each of these wards is a city in its own right, but the whole is governed by the metropolitan government.
Thailand, Hawaii, Spain: what do these countries have in common? Beaches. Yes, beaches. These areas appeal to those young, bikini ridden travelers who want nothing more than to have a drink while hanging on the beach as well as experience countries and cultures through local nightlife. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying the sand sifting through your toes and having a little fun, traveling can be a much more rewarding experience if you diminish your tunnel vision mindset and explore those areas of the world that are less visited: one of these places being Kraków, Poland.
I’ll save you the obvious list of backpacking on the cheap tips that includes staying in hostels, picking countries that are cheap to backpack in and getting groceries instead of eating out for every meal. There are ways to enjoy a deeper immersion in the culture, have a stress-free night’s sleep on a bed (or couch) that isn’t yours, and even try enough local cuisine to feel more like a tourist than a ready-to-get-down-and-dirty-and-starve-for-2-months-as-a-sacrifice-to-see-the-world backpacker. Care to find out? Here’s how.
Every year we take some time to sit down with our user who visits the most countries that year, our “Globetrotter of the Year,” to hear more about their adventures. Last year it was Oscar Garcia, who visited 18 countries (via 13 flights and 4 trains) as part of a 91 day trip. This year it was Jillian Krisinger, who visited 15 countries with StudentUniverse as part of three trips in 2015.
It’s easy to get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of our busy schedules. I often find myself thinking that everything would be better if I could just freeze time for a moment; to fit everything I needed to into a day then take a deep breath and relax. I found that moment of pause and stress- free feeling during my travels to Chile and Argentina.
We’ve got some exciting news to share with you jetsetters. StudentUniverse is joining the Flight Centre Travel Group family of brands. Flight Centre is one of the world’s largest travel agency groups. It’s network of brands extends throughout Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, UK, South Africa, Hong Kong, India, China, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.