Author: Jennifer Miller

Indie Travel Challenge Round Up: Tips, Manifestos, Planning & Packing

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Today marks the end of the second week of the Indie Travel Challenge and we’re off to a great start! With tons people participating, so far, we’re getting lots of great responses shared on Twitter. Search #Doyouindie and have a look at all of them for yourself! There’s some great material here that we know you’ll want to connect with and share.

Each Friday of the ITC we’re going to share the questions for the week and some of the responses we loved. If you want to be considered for next week’s round up, be sure you’re using the hashtag: #doyouindie when you share your post on Twitter. That’s the only way we’ll know you’re in!

This week we asked:


What are your top 5 travel tips?


roundup tips


Anna Taylor, 5 Tips for First Time Travelers


“3. You are your most reliable resource. Trust yourself. Never tell yourself you’re overreacting. If you feel safe—then do it. If someone is freaking you out, leave.”

Gretchen, Roaming Jones


“Tip #4: Think hard about what “living in the moment” means to you and do whatever it takes to make that possible. “

Angela, Anges Voyage


“3. Prepare for Culture Shock”

Create your own indie travel manifesto


roundup manifesto

A photo posted by Suzanne (@suzanneausha) on

Thea Wingert, Zen Travellers


“1) Practice travel gratitude:
Travel is never something to be taken for granted and those who get to travel need to recognize that they are tremendously privileged.
4) Spread your wealth around:
It can feel easy and safe to stick to the heavily-trafficked tourist areas, but branching out and spending money in the local economy is an excellent way to give back to the communities that host us when we travel.
8) Make what inspires you a priority:
It can be very easy to get sucked into the rat race and keep up with Jones mentality, but staying true to what’s most important to you will bring you the most happiness.”

Marie-France Roy, Big Travel Nut


“10. Let yourself be enthralled

I live for those “wow” moments. You know when you round a corner, cross a road, go through a gate, and there it is: the Blue Mosque, the most turquoise water and whitest sand you’ve ever seen, Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal. Or just those “I can’t believe they’re doing this” moments when you see a motorcycle piled high with furniture or carrying a family of five, or people eating large fried insects!”

@bootsnall have have got me thinking about about my intentions, beliefs and motives for travel by challenging me to write a travel manifesto for their #doyouindie series of questions. Dance on tables, under the stars, with bare feet; lie in hammocks and on rooftops. Say yes more often, stop counting the days and countries but write down the memories in diaries and document through photos. Share stories, explore, smile at strangers, spend as much time as possible in water. Eat – on buses, from carts, with your neighbour, from sticks, with your hands, alone, in temples, around fires, surrounded by people. Say thank you, be grateful, be fearless and fun. Take lessons from the road. Show respect, keep your eyes open and your heart even more so. Travel light in luggage and light in your heart. Look in the mirror less, stop brushing your hair. Take it slow; remember to breath. #travelmanifesto #traveldeeper #oman #salalah #travelstoke #lifetothefullest

A photo posted by Rachel Walmsley (@worldbeneathyourfeet) on

Where did you go on your RTW? Or… plan your dream trip!


roundup map

Cristina, LooknWalk


She created a great map of her dream trip, including Budapest, London, NYC, San Francisco, Auckland & Sydney. Check it out!

World4Family


This Australian family not only has a route, they have some rules, including (but not limited to):

  • “Spend two or three weeks travelling with short stays, then stop for three or four weeks in one place to catch up with schoolwork, banking, home life and family. Don’t rush
  • Once on a continent, travel by land as much as possible.
  • Eat local. If we have visited a place before we will have knowledge of local cuisine and order accordingly, but if it’s our first time we will ask locals what the National dish is and try it.”

How can you practice travel caution without becoming paranoid?


roundup caution

Travel-Safer


“How to Practice Caution

  • Research first. You need to know the environment you’re visiting.
  • If pickpocketing is a problem wear a money belt.
  • If it isn’t safe to walk the streets at night, don’t walk the streets at night.
  • If you’re going to the bar, bring a buddy. Don’t drink alone with strangers.
  • Lock the door to your hotel/hostel.
  • Figure out the general prices of things so you’ll know if you’re being ripped off.
  • Don’t keep your wallet in your back pocket.
  • Always know where your passport is.

Generally employ the same safety strategies you use at home, being abroad is not that different.”

Danielle Bricker, WorldSmith


“After all, being prepared for a wrong turn isn’t the same as expecting it.”

How will you manage your money when traveling?


roundup money

Dani Blanchette, Going Nomadic


“Pay Yo’ Damn Bills”

She lists 3 Ways to be a Badass Travel Budgeter. I loved this!

Anna Taylor


She offers 11 great tips, including (but not limited to):

  • 3. Remember to inform your bank you’re going abroad
  • 5. Have a backup fund for when something goes wrong
  • 6. Get a budgeting app to keep track of where you spend your money
  • 10. Always carry cash


Hallie O’Reilly


“insert the laughing/cry face emoji here. honestly, any question about money and traveling just make me laugh. mostly because i managed to {mostly} not manage my money well while traveling, but that’s the brilliance of AU and a working holiday visa…you can make that cash while you’re there to fund further exploration.

because i was on the “no plan, plan” and i booked a one-way ticket, i had literally committed to going when i was going. i gave myself about 7 months before d-day. i managed to save a modest amount to take with me, knowing i’d have to stretch it pretty far and then get a job in AU to move myself along. disclaimer: Australia is bloody expensive! i was fortunate enough to get some help from dear old dad when i needed it and pay him back when i could.”

What’s your #1 thing you CANNOT travel without


roundup essential

Steph, Quarter Life Epiphany


“A Brazilian canga is a multipurpose, multitasking miracle. Once you buy one, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it. Even if you’re a minimalist like me (confession: I’ve got three… and a week doesn’t go by that I don’t use all of them)”

Zascha, According to Zascha


“I wish I could give a really cool answer to this question. Like I can’t travel without this old, ancient map of the world that I found up in the attic at my grandmother’s house as a kid, and that said map had been in my family for generations…

Or maybe an old, dusty book with travel stories from all over the world that my great grandfather was given as a gift by a tribe in Peru…

Those two things I mentioned above sounds so much cooler than the answer I’m gonna end up giving. My answer would be something as boring as my smartphone! “

Indie travel challenge 11 My PocketMonkey is my essential travel tool. #fixeverything #DoYouIndie

A photo posted by Karen Marshall (@dancer98221) on

Pack for a 6 month trip


roundup packing

Global Squatters


“We decided to not over-think the initial packing situation and looked at what we had, where we are going first and reminded each other that there are jackets, pants, shorts, etc… available to buy in other parts of the world.”

Danielle Bricker, WorldSmith


“All in all, I’m actually really glad I bought a backpack that was too small for everything I initially wanted to bring. The second I saw it wasn’t all going to fit, paring things down was easy,”

Join us as the Indie Travel Challenge continues: [/section]


Photo credits: Sidarta , Tolikoff Photography , javarman , Konstantin Yolshin , spectrumblue , Kudla , Peshkova

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