Hacienda Baru: Adventure in the Costa Rican Rainforest
When we walked into Hacienda Baru, we didn’t know that we would soon be climbing to the treetops of the Costa Rican rainforest.
Author: Charlie Marchant
Authentic Jungle Tipis in Costa Rica
Standing on the roadside, we see a wooden sign.
It reads: Tipi Jungla.
A painted arrow directs us up a rubble track.
Best and Worst Couchsurfing Stories From Around the World [NSFW]
When you get that message through on Couchsurfing saying someone has agreed to host you, it’s always really exciting. You’re going to meet someone new, see the local side of a place, and have an awesome time – or are you?
I’ve heard a lot of tall tales about Couchsurfing from travellers on the road, and here are some of the best (and worst)…
Travel Blogging: Build Your Audience, Improve Rankings and Earn Money
When I started Charlie on Travel six months ago, I thought I’d read enough internet articles and spent enough time blogging on a free WordPress platform for my new travel blog to be smooth sailing.
Not so. Even after six months of dipping my toe in the proverbial travel blogging pool, I’ve still barely scraped the surface of what there is to know. I went back to the internet last week to read some more about how to build up a successful travel blog.
I realised then that there is almost too much to know without having a reliable guide. What better to get than a book from two experienced travel bloggers who have already made their blog a success?
Taiwan Travel Guide
After a year living and travelling in Taiwan, Luke and I know that little sweet potato shaped island pretty well. Taiwan is a bit of a hidden gem in Asia. While backpackers flock to Thailand and Vietnam, and adventurous travellers tackle China and South Korea, there are very few Western tourists in Taiwan. Instead, Taiwan sees a fair amount of domestic tourists and Chinese tourists in high season, and otherwise mostly attracts expats coming over to work as ESL teachers.
How to Find a Couchsurfing Host (and What Not To Do)
Couchsurfing is a super way for budget travellers to find a free place to stay – but, the first thing to bear in mind before your starting signing up and smashing out requests is that you will be a more successful Couchsurfer if you are an awesome guest.
The Ultimate Guide to Free Travel Accommodation
What’s your biggest expenditure during your travels? Accommodation, right? I realised pretty early on that even
Living Well for Less in Costa Rica
We came to Costa Rica by chance. Open to house sitting anywhere in the world, Luke and I were fortunate enough to find a temporary home in the mountains overlooking San José. We don’t have much – a close to empty bank account, a backpack each, and just a couple of ideas between us. After 10 days living in Costa Rica, we’ve realised that we don’t need much more than that. We’re living a good life for much less than you would think.
Is Indefinite Travel in Central America Going to Work For Us?
All we’ve got is a one-way ticket to Costa Rica, a house-sit lined up for the first few months, and a lot of ideas.
It’s our first time travelling indefinitely. By indefinite travel, I mean travel which is open-ended, which continues until something either goes wrong – whether that’s running out of money, being kicked out of a country because of an expired tourist VISA, or running out of ideas – or something comes up, like just deciding we want to go home to our families.
Why Life as an Expat can be Challenging
Expats are people who live outside their native country – whether they are teaching English in Thailand, working as translators in France, or retired in Costa Rica. Expats make up 3.1% of global population, which totals to 230 million people – the equivalent to Indonesia. If all the expats around the world were to form an imaginary country, it would be the 5th most populous in the world.
Why Living in Taiwan Drastically Improved my Lifestyle
When I graduated from university back in 2012, I remember thinking to myself: What am I going to do with this BA in English? Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to think about it for too long. Luke, my boyfriend of only a few months at the time, told me he was moving to Taiwan to teach English for a year.
Did I want to come? he asked. Well, a job in the UK certainly wasn’t coming my way any time soon, so yeah, I said. A few months later, and we moved to Taiwan.
Why You Should NOT Ride Elephants
A few years ago, a friend told she rode an elephant in Thailand. Until she said it, it hadn’t really occurred to me that riding an elephant was something anyone would want to do, but it turned out this was a popular ‘bucket list’ activity for many travellers. I asked her whether that was humane, she said she didn’t know. Then she said that it was a once in a lifetime experience, so she had to do it.
