Former Amateur Traveler guest and well-known travel blogger Nomadic Matt is having a contest offering a chance to Win a Free 2 Week Trip to Costa Rica. To enter you need to create a video (like my entry above) or a blog post that explains why you should win. Although… it is certainly OK if [...]

Sofie met us in the lobby of our hotel somewhat out of breath from traffic in Prague snarled by a fresh snow storm. Sofie was there to give us  guided tour of Prague. Our tour was provided by OurExplorer.com as a way to try out their services. What OurExplorer does is connect travelers like us [...]

Originally uploaded by jb_brooke
I enjoyed the podcast about Uruguay. Having lived there for 14 months and vacationed their several times, she did a wonderful job on the review of the country.  If you will allow me, let me highlight a few things.
First:  She was exactly right when she said they are a very warm and [...]

Giulia, a listener from Italy, has been enjoying the Amateur Traveler Videos, but thought his countrymen in Italy might enjoy them more if he could watch them with Italian subtitles. He sent me a sample subtitle file:
044AmateurTravelerVideo.srt for the Embarcadero – San Francisco – Video Episode 44
Italian instructions on how to use VLC to play the [...]

If you think you have seen a picture of Antelope Canyon on my site before you are probably correct as it is one of my favorite spots to shoot pictures in the world. It is a slot canyon on the Navajo reservation just outside Page, Arizona. If you have seen pictures of slot canyons from [...]

Today I woke before the alarm went off with thoughts of work and what I had to accomplish today.
A couple of week’s ago I woke to what I thought was the sound of a cement mixer. It turns out it was simply the snoring of my trip mates. I might be forgiven the mistake about [...]

On a trip to Sydney, Australia we saw this sign with arrows pointing to famous world cities with the various distances. My kids loved it so they posed for this picture. I used this picture in both my daughter’s and son’s ad in their senior yearbook. It seemed like a pretty good way to [...]

The best meal that I had in Oaxaca, Mexico on my recent trip was not in a fancy tourist restaurant nor was it eaten for that matter with any other tourists in sight. Like many cities in Mexico some of the most interesting culinary experiences can be found in the markets where the locals eat. [...]

Traveling in Maldives
Originally uploaded by nattu

A recent study says that spending your money on possessions can make you happy, but that spending money on experiences such as travel will make you happier longer.
The study looked at 154 people enrolled at San Francisco State University, with an average age of about 25. Participants answered questions [...]

KLM’s 747 Combi PH-BFR
Originally uploaded by caribb

Ever know someone who took a little nap at work? Did it make the papers?
JetBlue worker nods off, flies to Boston in cargo hold
A 21-year-old JetBlue baggage handler flew between New York JFK and Boston after “mysteriously” getting trapped in the flight’s cargo hold, various media outlets reported Monday. [...]