Video: TravelSmith Travel Tip #20 - How and Why to Pack Light

Adventure travel legend Richard Bangs is back once again with yet more helpful tips for travelers. This time out, Richard gives us some advice on how to travel lighter, and why it is good for us to do so. He learned this lesson on an expedition to Ethiopia, where he lost his pack containing all of his gear, but still managed to have one of the best journeys ever. As someone who takes pride in traveling light, this particular video especially hit home.

Video: Machu Picchu in 4K!

4K continues to be all the buzz in video. For those who don't know, it is a much higher standard of resolution than what we currently get with HD video, and while it naturally creates massive file sizes, it also captures images in stunning clarity. The video below was shot using a 4K camera. It is 4+ minutes of splendor shot in Peru, particularly around the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. The results are quite spectacular. I personally can't wait until I can start viewing these videos in 4K myself. Really impressive stuff.

Video: World Traveler on Three Year Journey Creates Epic Selfie

Looking for a little inspiration to travel today? This video ought to do the trick. It was shot by Alex Chacon, who spent the last three years traveling the globe, crossing through 36 countries, and covering more than 200,000 km (125,000 miles) in the process. Along the way, he used his GoPro camera to capture some selfies, and the results are the 3 minute video below, which gives us a glimpse of his adventures. This makes me want to hit the road again soon!

Traveling!

I am doing a little traveling over the next couple of days to visit friends and families, so there won't be any updates to the Adventure Blog until Monday, May12. At that time, we should be getting ready for the first summit bids on Everest, and other summits throughout the Himalaya. Until then, have a wonderful weekend. Get outside and enjoy your own adventures!

Video: Adventures In Puerto Rico

When we normally think about visiting Puerto Rico, it usually conjures images of relaxing on the beach, with a cold beverage in your hand, and enjoying plenty of warm sunshine. Obviously, the island nation has all of that to offer, but for adventure travelers, it has plenty to share as well. The video below, brought to us by our friend Richard Bangs, shows off a few of those options, and may just have you rethinking the destination for your next trip.

Video: TravelSmith Travel Tips #19 - How to Take a Great Photo in the Field

In what has become a regular Wednesday feature here on the Adventure Blog, we have another excellent travel tip from Richard Bangs. This time out, Richard shares some tips that all of us can appreciate: how to take great photos in the field. As usual, our intrepid guide has a story to share with how he gained these bits of wisdom. In this case, it was knowledge he picked up while watching a photographer for National Geographic go about his business while on an expedition through Sumatra.

Video: Adventure In Norway

This video seems to be a fitting way to end the week. It is a collection of amazing shots from Norway, another country that provides ample opportunities for outdoor adventure. It also happens to be stunningly beautiful, with rugged mountains, and remote wildernesses to explore. This 6-minute clip will give you an idea of what it is like there, so you can start planning your own adventures in Norway. Amazing.

Lofoten - A Photographic Adventure In Norway from Michael Fletcher on Vimeo.

Video: TravelSmith Travel Tips #18 - How To Avoid Festival Mistakes

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for another great travel time courtesy of Richard Bangs and TravelSmith. This time out, Richard has some tips to help us avoid making mistakes while attending a festival or other cultural event. This may seem like a no brainer, but it is a lesson he learned the hard way while visiting Spain to cover the running of the bulls at Pamplona. I won't spoil the story, but lets just say the reporter got more than he had bargained for. Always wear fast shoes!

Travel Stories From FlightNetwork.com

It has been a few weeks since I shared some of the stories we've been posting at the "Let's Roll" blog over at FlightNetwork.com. Here's a sample of some of the things that we've been sharing with our readers.

• 20 Gorgeous Photos From A 30-Hour Iceland Road Trip
• 10 Summer Travel Accessories You Didn't Know You Needed
• 22 Stunning National Parks to Check Out
• Can You Name The World's Top Ten Airports?
• The World's 16 Most Incredible Caves
• Which Destination Topped TripAdvisor's 2014 Traveler's Choice List?
• The 5 Best River Cruises In The World

As you can see, there is a diverse number of topics for world travelers, with some excellent writers sharing great tips and suggestions. On top of that, FlightNetwork is a great place to shop for airfares, offering up some great discounts on flights. And I'm not just saying that because I write for them. It truly is a good option for comparison shopping for flight online. 

Video: TravelSmith Travel Tip #17 - Adding More Pages To Your Passport

Here's a handy travel tip from our friend Richard Bangs that I'm sure more than a few of us have wondered about. If you're a frequent traveler, you know doubt like to collect stamps in your passport. But what happens when you start to run out of pages? Richard explains how to quickly, and easily, add pages to your passport prior to embarking on a journey.

National Geographic Presents 50 Tours Of A Lifetime For 2014

Earlier this week, National Geographic Traveler has released their annual selection of their Tours of a Lifetime, giving us 50 more amazing trips that we can take in our never-ending quest to explore the world. As in years past, the 2014 edition of this list offers some amazing tours, offered by some of the best adventure travel companies in the world, that anyone of us can book today. Provided we have enough money that is.

As usual, Nat Geo has broken down their selections by geographic categories. That means you'll find options for travel in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, North America, and the South Pacific and Oceania. This makes it incredibly easy to find new options for travel in a favorite region, or look for options for some place you've never been before. Each of the regions have a plethora of unique trips to choose from, offering up a wide range of choices that any world traveler will appreciate.

The editors of the magazine look for unique offerings that also align nicely with the organization's mission of immersing us in diverse cultures and delivering experiences that can't necessarily be found anywhere else. For instance, for those wanting to visit Africa, one of the suggestions is a trip to Namibia, offered by a company called Adventures in Africa, that sends you off to the Namib Desert to track endangered black rhinos and elephants that have adapted to living in that incredibly dry place. In Asia, there is an excursion from Wild Frontier Travel that takes you along the Trans-Himalaya Highway in India and another from Explore! that take travelers into Iraq (don't ask me why the Middle East falls under the Asia category). Have dreams of South America instead? How about going on a Jaguar safari in Brazil with Wild Planet Adventures?

There truly is something here for everyone, no matter what your style of travel or how you define "adventure." It is certainly fun to read this list and dream about all the possibilities. Of course, not all of them fall into the affordable category, at least not for most of us. Make no mistake, there are certainly some inexpensive trips to be had on this list, but others are quite expensive, putting them well out of there reach of the average traveler. Still, these suggestions are also a good launching point for hatching ideas for our own travels. While Nat Geo's specific suggestions may not always be friendly to our bank accounts, they do allow us to seek other options that are.

Video: TravelSmith Travel Tips #16 - Cultural Sensitivity

It's Wednesday, which means its time for more great travel tips from our friend Richard Bangs. This time, Richard has a story about a funny encounter he had in New Guinea while scouting locations for a BBC documentary, during which he came across one of the indigenous folks while in a remote region. That encounter taught him a thing or two about being sensitive to the culture of the place he is visiting, and he shares some of those lessons here.

FlightNetwork Travel Stories

As I've noted in the past, one of the websites that I contribute more mainstream travel stories to is the "Lets Roll" Blog over at FlightNetwork.com. On that site we offer travel tips, suggestions on where to go, and news of interest from the travel industry. Here is a sample of some of the things that have appeared there in recent days.

• 6 Amazing Places To Go Stargazing
• 10 Reasons Why Ecuador Is A Great Budget Travel Destination
• Do You Know Where The Busiest Airport In The World Is Located?
• And The World's Most Unreliable Flight Is...
• Will Wearable Technology Change The Way We Travel?
• 7 Movies That Will Inspire You To Travel
• 22 Breathtaking Beaches In Central America

There are some fun and interesting reads in that collection, and it is a sampling of what gets posted to the blog on a regular basis. I hope you find something worthy of your attention. 

Video: TravelSmith Travel Tips #15 - How To Find A Great Restaurant Anywhere In The World

In his latest travel tips video, Richard Bangs answers one of the most important question that travelers face when visiting a foreign land – where to find good food while on the road. As always, Richard shares a story from his his own travels that taught him a valuable lesson. In this case, it involves a trip to Chile, a fresh bowl of goat blood, and a quick trip to the restroom.

Video: Traveling During The Low Season

Anyone who has traveled with any regularity knows the joys of visiting a location during the "low season." This is typically when conditions aren't conducive to the average traveler, who doesn't want to deal with colder weather, heavy rains or snows, or some other challenges. But, those periods also mean smaller crowds, a slower pace, and possibly access to places you might not normally get to see. The video below is all about "the low season" as filmmaker Andrew David Watson visits the Indian Himalaya on a quiet journey to a remote place. The short film is both beautiful and contemplative. It really makes me want to travel again soon.

THE LOW SEASON from Andrew David Watson on Vimeo.

Video: TravelSmith Travel Tip #14 - How To Keep Cool In The Heat

Richard Bangs, the father of modern adventure travel, is back once again with more tips to help us stay safe and comfortable on our next trip. This time out, Richard has some suggestions on how to stay cool in extremely hot environments. Tips he picked up after a particularly grueling expedition to Libya. 

Video: TravelSmith Travel Tip #12 - Travel Immunizations

Richard Bangs is back this week with some more helpful advice on a topic that is often overlooked by many travelers – travel immunizations. As always, he shares some of the wisdom that he has gained after years of travel to remote corners of the globe. This time, he learned an important lesson after enduring a bout of malaria while in Brazil. Something he hopes he can help the rest of us avoid.

FlightNetwork Travel Stories

From time to time, I like to share some of the travel stories that have shown up on the FlightNetwork blog, one of the outlets I contribute to on a regular basis. It has a more general travel focus, and isn't quite as adventure oriented as I'd like, but there are still some good stories to share and interesting articles for frequent travelers. Here's a run down of some recent activity there.

• Can You Guess Which Countries Are The Happiest In The World?
• Why The Maldives Needs To Be On Your 5-Year Plan
• United Airlines To Offer Free Movies, TV Shows On Apple Devices
• Admission Bargains and Rip-Offs at Famous Tourism Sites
• You Won't Believe These Strange Hotel Guest Requests
• Does Tanzania's Lake Natron Really Turn Animals To Stone?

Those are just a sampling of some of the things that have been written by myself, or other bloggers, on the site recently. I hope you enjoy.

Video: Travel Is...

Here's a charming little video that reminds us that travel is more than just visiting a place and idly observing the sights there. It's about getting immersed in the culture and history of a place. It is about seeking an adventure while away from home. It is about life-changing, mind-altering experiences that just can't be duplicated anywhere else. I hope you enjoy.

Travel Is from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.

Outside Names 50 Trips Of A Lifetime For 2014

Looking to add a little adventure to your plans for 2014? Then you'll certainly want to check out Outside magazine's picks for he 50 trips of a lifetime. They've whittled down the absolute best travel opportunities from around the globe to a relatively manageable list, making it at least a little easier for us to choose the ones that are perfect for us.

The editors at Outside have organized their list into several categories, making it easy to peruse the options that most appeal to you. For instance, they have a category for Best Polar Trip (South Georgia Island and Shackleton crossing!), as well as the best trips for the Desert, Mountains and Beach. If that wasn't enough, they've also divided the best trips into categories based on activity. So if you wanted to trail running or biking, you'll be presented with some incredible options. Some of the other categories include Best SUP Getaway, Foodie Destination and Adventure Hub.

What I appreciate about Outside's list is that most of their trips feel like something that normal people can do. Sure, some of them are expensive, but they aren't out of the realm of possibility for the outdoor adventurer who also has a regular life to lead as well. I also like that while many of their destinations are exotic, the "runner up" trips are frequently located in very approachable locations, often inside the U.S.

Since this is a travel oriented list, there are also a few other awards given out. For example, Outside has named Alaska Airlines its Best Airline for 2014. They've also picked their favorite airports, new luggage, new trail and outfitter. They've even picked their list of the top guides as well.

Travel junkies will love everything that the magazine has put together for us. There is plenty to pour over and soak up. In the end, you'll probably end up adding more options to your bucket list. But you were probably in need of some new options anyway.