World's Cheapest Destinations

“Iceland is done.” “Myanmar was last year’s story.” “Nicaragua’s not hot anymore.” “We can’t cover Albania yet—there’s nowhere to stay.” These are all actual reasons an editor stated when rejecting a pitch from travel writers I know in the past six months. Add to that “We’ve done enough about Canada.” For editors of the big …

Indonesia has long been near the top of the list of the cheapest places to live in the world, having a starring role in all four editions of The World’s Cheapest Destinations. The visa policy there has always been baffling to me though. You have to buy a visa on arrival, which increased to $35 …

One of my fondest memories in the three years I spent backpacking around the world was the three weeks I hiked along some of the world’s highest mountains on the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. It was the perfect long-term trek: gorgeous scenery, places to stay in every village, and no roads, just footpaths. Alas, that …

“If you make $1,000 a month, you can drive a small car, take your family out to decent restaurants sometimes, and visit a place like this on the weekends.” That was an offhand comment from my Nicaraguan guide Pablo when we were at the overlook area checking out Lake Apoyo between Managua and Granada. “On …

I published this interview with a tout in Morocco a long time ago in a print-only publication. Recently a Twitter follower saw an old interview I did and asked if this piece could be accessed somewhere. It can’t, so I’m reprinting an abbreviated version of it here.  We occasionally like dealing with touts, but most …