How Much Does It Cost to Travel Bocas del Toro, Panama on a Budget? [Infographic]

The Panamanian island of Bocas del Toro isn’t the friendliest of places for a budget traveller, but keeping travel costs down is still do-able.

When we were travelling in Puerto Viejo we decided to hop across to Bocas del Toro for a week. As expected our travels in Bocas del Toro stretched our budget way more than Nicaragua and a little more than Costa Rica. These expenses are just for Bocas del Toro, not for Panama as a whole. We’re travelling in mainland Panama for a month over Christmas and New Year, so it will be interesting to see how the two compare.

3 mins read

Do I Need a TEFL to Teach English in Taiwan?

Plenty of companies out there are trying to sell people qualifications for teaching English abroad. But are the courses worth the asking price?

No, is the short answer. You don’t need any teaching qualifications whatsoever to teach English in Taiwan. With teaching gigs offering full time employment in an interesting profession and excellent pay compared to the price of living, it’s little wonder many English speakers are considering leaving their home country.

6 mins read

When I Met the Man Who Built His Own Paradise

In a dockside bar in Bocas del Toro, a silver-haired Belgian man, once a lawyer on Wall Street, told us how he escaped, disconnected and built his own island paradise in Panama.

4 mins read

How to Travel: Good, Cheap and Fast

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned from the road, it’s that when you travel you can have two of the above, but not all three…

Anyone here familiar with the ‘iron triangle?’ Originally a management term, it’s also a useful way to plan your travels, wherever you are going and whatever you plan to do. It suggests that when we undertake a travel project, whether that’s volunteering in Poland or backpacking through Vietnam, we can have whichever two sides of the triangle we want, but not all three.

In other words: if you want to travel in a way that is good and fast, then it won’t be cheap. If you want it cheap and fast, then it won’t be good. Or you can have it good and cheap, but you sacrifice speed.

5 mins read

Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica – Travel Guide

Colourful Creole houses, laid-back Caribbean vibes and coconut rice and beans make Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica right where I want to be.

One of the small handful of towns on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, Puerto Viejo is overflowing with vegan cafes, young rasta guys on bicycles trying to sell you weed and lazy stretches of yellow sand beaches. After almost three weeks of lazing around – I mean, travelling – eating and sleeping in the Puerto Viejo area, I’ve definitely got some favourites.

9 mins read

How Not to Get Robbed in Central America

Want to know our secret to not getting robbed while travelling in Central America and the rest of the world?

Everyone told us that as tourists, we would be obvious targets in Central America. People who had never even been to that part of the world all had horror stories and travel advice to share. From our safe, friendly and crime-free experiences in Asia, we knew to take their advice with a pinch of salt. But when we landed in San Jose, which is a jungle of razor wire and iron bars, it looked like they might be right…

8 mins read

Ometepe Island, Nicaragua – Travel Guide

Flee the really rather average Rivas by boat to the beautiful volcanic island of Ometepe. Though Ometepe is a small place, it’s very much geared up for travellers. In fact, there are probably more backpackers than locals, but once you escape into the island’s nature you won’t even remember.

6 mins read

An Abudance of Wildlife: The Importance of Eco-Design

Sloths climbing tree trunks, howler monkeys foraging in the branches, agoutis running under the cabins, toucans flying overhead, red-eyed tree frogs laying their eggs by the pond at night, and an olingo passing silently through the darkness.

We’ve been travelling in Costa Rica for six months now and we have never stayed in a place so alive with wildlife as La Kukula Lodge. As we witnessed yet another troop of howler monkeys scouring the trees above our balcony, we realised the important role eco-design played in allowing the lodge to exist in harmony with the jungle.

4 mins read