International Travel Blog
On the Niger River in Niafounké, Mali. Photo by LuisDafos.
I was conducting a voluntourism workshop not so long ago. Some participants were new to voluntourism and wanted to learn more, some were already semi-veterans of several volunteer tours of duty and wanted to learn how to “do-it-yourself” on a budget. But a couple of participants were rather disgruntled and unhappy former volunteers. They... 
Picking the right backpack is as important part of any trip. Too big and you’ll have too much extra weight. Too small and you’ll never fit anything in. Pick the wrong material and when it rains, your stuff will be soaked. I spent a good hour picking out my first pack and that was also after hours of online research. So you don’t have to do the same, here are a few tips to make your search go... 
While independent backpackers tend to shun organized tour companies, they are hard to avoid. The truth is we all take one at some point. Whether it’s just for a day or a week, or our whole holiday, organized trips are in our travel plans at some point. I’ve taken them in the past and will probably take plenty more in the future. They are often hard to avoid and many destinations (Halong Bay, the... 