Spring Break is Back!

The New York Times is reporting that resorts are wooing students to drum up more business. In a good economy, the spring break crowd has been increasingly considered more trouble than they are worth. Panama Beach City, FL, is going to be hosting MTV once again in a week of drunken reality shows and inane hilarity.

Students can get some good deals by sharing rooms through STA Travel, a popular student travel network. For non-spring breakers, I recently saw a deal from Jetblue offering what I believe was $69 flights from Boston to Cancun (courtesy of Travel Zoo). That was very tempting in this sub-20 degree weather.

Book Review: Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story

Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story is the auto-biographical story of Tony and Maureen Wheeler's rise to the top of the travel industry from their first cross-continent trip from England to Australia. It is an amazing story of how they turned a simple guide about this trip into a publishing phenomenon that is known around the world as the guidebook of choice for any traveler. It was clearly a long road for these inveterate travelers, and you have to root for their success as they overcome the highs and lows of traveling, business, and relationships. The names and places can be overwhelming when describing countries that few readers have traveled to, but the book is really about their experiences.

After reading about the Wheeler's adventures, you feel ready to travel anywhere, the more obscure the better. It seems like there is no limit to your travels, and I find it encouraging to overcome fears of the unknown and just go.

Check out Rick Steves' podcast for an interview with Tony Wheeler about the book:
Apple: link
Windows: link
Other: http://podcasts.ricksteves.com/ricksteves.xml

Work at a Hostel

The Student Travel Blog mentioned a few days ago that opportunities to work at a hostel are available, you just have to ask. A site like hostelmanagement.com hosts some job listings, or you could contact hostels directly. In exchange for a room and some spending money, hostels may also hire you on the spot to clean, perform maintenance, or any number of needed chores. The Martha's Vineyard hostel on Cape Cod, among others, used to expect backpackers to help with chores at the hostel, but those days are long gone. Hostels generally are professionally run, which requires a staff of people to clean and maintain the hostel.

The Hobo Traveler seems to have made a living of exchanging room and board for a mention on this website, hobotraveler.com.