Introducing Travel Blog Advice
Last week I mentioned that one of the things I’ve been up to recently is creating 3 new travel-related blogs. I’d like to introduce you to my next project, Travel Blog Advice. It’s a site that’s all about travel blogging, something I’ve been doing for over 3 years now.
Why?
The idea came about from the response I’ve gotten about several posts on foXnoMad about the subject. If you’ve read 15 things about foXnoMad you know that I have anywhere from 50 to 100 blog post ideas in a list at any given time. There are enough items on the list to dedicate to its own blog and that’s what Travel Blog Advice is for.
Here are some of the first posts already on the site:
- Why You Should Start A Travel Blog
- How To Use Social Networks to Expand Your Travel Blog
- How To Make Money With Your Travel Blog
I’m not the most successful travel blogger or know everything about it. I’d like to share my experiences and recommendations about travel blogging to help you develop yours and learn from my mistakes. I’ve also got a lot to learn from all of you travel bloggers which is why I hope you’ll share your personal advice and comments on Travel Blog Advice as well.
A Bit More About Travel Blog Advice
The site will be updated every Friday. You can subscribe to the Travel Blog Advice RSS feed to get the latest posts as they are published. I’ve also got a budding Links page on Travel Blog Advice. If you’d like to swap links with your travel blog please feel free to contact me.
How You Can Help
- Your feedback! Let me know what you think of the site, posts, or anything else. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
- Comments. I do hope that Travel Blog Advice becomes a place where we can all learn new things about travel blogging by sharing our combined knowledge. Even if you don’t have a travel blog you’re reading one so please do share what you like and don’t.
- Guest Posts. If you have an original post you’d like to submit send me an email and I’ll gladly return the favor.
No More Travel Blog Posts on foXnoMad?
No! I’ll still be posting about travel blogging and writing here on foXnoMad from time to time. Travel Blog Advice will just be the place that’s all about the subject and more focused on the nitty-gritty of travel blogging for travel bloggers.
What’s Next
My next travel blog (the last one for a while) is about a subject near and dear to my heart. I’ll let you know all about it next Tuesday but until then I’d appreciate you taking a moment to check out Travel Blog Advice.
Many thanks in advance, -Anil.
Interview With Stephane Pingaud About New Service Cost4Travel
Stephane Pingaud recently got in touch with me about a new project called cost4travel. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about this free service. Stephane shares some information about this new service which I think many travelers will find useful.
In a ‘tweet’ of characters or less, what is cost4travel?
cost4travel provides a way for travelers to record and reference their travel costs, so that other travelers can budget realistically for their future trips.
How did cost4travel come to be?
cost4travel is the result of a personal travel experience (a 2 month, country-wide, backpacking family trip in Thailand, back in summer 2007) during which we asked ourselves many times: are we being ripped off by this speed boat owner, scooter rental agency or dive shop, shall we search for cheaper accommodation? etc.
Upon my return to Europe, I felt the web would be an ideal platform to let travelers exchange and share between each other travel cost-specific information, to the benefit of the entire traveling community.
What differentiates cost4travel from other travel price comparison tools online (i.e. Kayak)?
Travel meta-search engines, while very useful in the travel booking process, do not offer a complete picture of the travel costs to be expected from upcoming trips. They rely on suppliers’ data gathered by spiders, and cover only the flight, accommodation and car rental components of travel, and do not offer qualitative reviews.
For these reasons, we saw an opportunity in developing what I’d call a ‘social’ travel search engine, where price information will come from the travelers themselves, not the suppliers. It would also cover an extensive range of travel-related products, from flights to accommodation, taxis, ferries as well as related services like restaurants, sports & activities, insurance, visa fees etc.
(The first version of www.cost4travel.com only covers flights, accommodation, car rental, ferry, train, bus & taxi and finally restaurants. We will add other services as we progress, starting with attractions.)
What stage is cost4travel now?
cost4travel is not yet a company; we’re still at project phase, managed entirely and exclusively by the two co-founders. If the adoption rate and data contribution are satisfactory, we hope to be able to secure a partnership with investors and establish the company.
We have a first (beta) version online, open to anyone, that shall help us define with the validity of the concept with the traveling community; it allows travelers to centralize and organize the costs of their trips in one place, and therefore be always up-to-date to what they’ve spent on their travel. With this information, we’re building cost4travel’s cost database which will in the future help travelers search for the lowest, highest and average prices for selected travel products, destinations and dates, by fellow travelers, and read associated comments.
However, the version currently online does include a very basic search module, which offers travelers the means to view specific trip and travel reports as data is initially inputted. It goes without saying the number of trips from other travelers you can search is very limited due to the fact the number of travelers using the site to centralize and organize their own travel cost reports is still very low (we launched last week).
The site is only in ‘international’ English and targets any traveler worldwide who’s got a basic knowledge of that language; we’re planning to localize the site in many languages when we have secured financing and can therefore get more resources.
What do you hope or envision cost4travel to become in the coming months?
Our immediate goal is to get enough visibility with travelers in North America and western Europe in order to establish whether the concept of our web site can fly, i.e. leisure – and possibly un-managed business – travelers do want to better organize their travel costs and control their travel budget. If they do, we grow our cost database and therefore are in a position to provide relevant results to travelers that will use our future ‘social’ search engine.
If they do, it’ll also mean that:
- Potential investors will be interested in cost4travel, leading to company creation and first round funding.
- We will be able to speed up our development cycle, initiate the development of mobile applications, introduce a loyalty program for travelers, look at innovative product features etc.
I hope to be able to tell you in January that all these things are completed and/or their way.
Are there any cool features you’d like to share that you haven’t mentioned yet?
The truth is that the key features of our site is My Trips, which lets travelers create trips online, upload travel costs associated to these trips and then manage those as well as individual cost items as needed. For instance, you can check how much how much you paid in flights, hotels, car rental , restaurants etc for a specific year(s). This is the feature which will enable travelers to get a good grasp on their travel budget.
Now, regarding the feature that I have not mentioned yet, you’ve got My Alerts. All My Alerts does is to inform by email whenever someone has uploaded to cost4travel a travel cost for a service and a destination that you’re interested in, and obviously give you the details of that cost, and associated comments.
Thanks again Stephane, best of luck with cost4travel. I’d encourage any readers who check out the site to leave your feedback here in the comments to get your take on the site and thoughts on the idea itself.
How I Got Robbed In Guatemala and Other Hard-To-Believe Escapades: Part 11
October 16, 2009 by Anil P.
Filed under Guest Post
This is the final part of a true story written by Marina Villatoro who writes the travel blog Travel Experta about everything you need to know about Central America. Catch up with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, and Part 10 in case you missed them. I’d like to thank Marina very much for sharing her story here, it’s been something great to look forward to each Friday.
I’ve had a few run-ins with recluses before. Low-budget hotels are inviting for all sorts. The gait and mannerisms for this special group doesn’t vary much from one to the other: mysteriously, they always have funds, although I can’t imagine any of them keeping a job. They indulge in long showers once a month; treat themselves to mammoth-nutritious meals; and stock up on provisions before they recoil back into their shells. However, on a special night, they expand their world-of-one and let their fellow man inside. Never straying from their comfort zone, they indulge us with stories of wild adventures: train hopping, feral hitchhikes, animal attacks, people attacks, or other heroisms. But the minute a personal or sensitive question is hurled in their direction they become defensive, edgy, and so riled up that you wish they would return to their cave.
I knew we have outstayed our welcome.
Without further questions I quickly rummaged around in the trunk. To my shock, the extra clothes she referred to the other day were not at all what I expected. I was prepared to leave her home in wear-me-downs: outstretched, torn, or stained shirts and pants. Instead, my fingers flipped through brand-new designer garments: Donna Karan silk tops, T-shirts and underwear; Calvin Klein casual pants, skirts and matching blouses; Betsy Johnson summer dresses (my favorite). Like a deliriously hungry vulture, I attacked the trunk. This was one of those moments when you forgo the unexplained and accept things for what they were: A first-class (free) shopping spree in an Indian village of Guatemala.
Responding to my excitement, she seemed to relax once again.
“Thank you so much! Are you sure I can have these, they’re so new and expensive,” I bit my lip, hoping she wouldn’t change her mind.
She laughed, “They’re all yours. They’re too small for me. I want you to have them.”
“How can I repay you?” I pleaded. “It’s not only the clothes I’m referring to. I’ve been feeling disheartened, bitter, reevaluating my faith in humankind. But thanks to you I’ve restored some of my hatred. I want to show you my gratitude.”
She took my hand in hers, looked directly into my eyes and said, “There are two ways you can thank me. One: don’t tell any one who I am and where I live. Two: next time you meet someone who’s in trouble or down on their luck, don’t turn your back on them.” With that she hugged us and led us out.
Susanna’s kindness was contagious. Janka volunteered to pay for both of our fares back to Pana, where I received the money sent to me from my parents, hugged Janka goodbye, and took a bus to Guatemala City.
Susanna reminded me of the genuine goodness that we all have. Mine was lost long before I was robbed. As the days and months pass I allowed a little of my compassion to surface and reveal itself. I stopped filtering the world through tainted glasses and appreciated all the little miracles I would’ve normally taken for granted.
Last I heard Susanna had to move back to her native land to care for her sick father. I didn’t break my promise and tell you what her real name is or where she lived. But before she left, she wrote me that the ‘Chico-problem’ was resolved. No one has the full story, although, the most popular rumor circulating was: he was stabbed in the chest by a non-cooperating, fed-up victim. But we will never know the truth, and it’s not important. I’m glad to know that the village did not lay down to his antics and managed to fight back.
[photos by: federicogori, Galia & Yoav, damaradeaella]
Bio
Marina has been living in Central America for over 7 years and her site Travel Experta is all about traveling in Central America. Marina loves to help people plan the perfect vacation to this amazing part of the world! You can sign up for her RSS feed and join the fun on her Facebook fan page and follow her on Twitter at @MarinaVillatoro.
What I’ve Been Up To Recently
I’ve been working on a few new projects and wanted to let you know some of the things I’ve been working on and have planned for the upcoming weeks.
To start, I’ll be launching 3 new regular travel-related blogs, the first of which is call How To Travel With Pets. It’s a blog that I’ll be updating once a month and focuses all on preparing and taking trips with your dog, cat, and other animals. If you’d like to submit a guest (pet related) post please contact me.
(Travel bloggers interested in being added to the How To Travel With Pets links page, just send me an email.)
- You can read reviews of my eBook, Overcoming the 7 Major Obstacles to Traveling the World on two great travel blogs. Hear what Mark from Travel Wonders and Erica of Travel Blissful had to say.
- Also, if you purchase my eBook between now and the end of October all of the proceeds will go toward supporting micro-loans on Kiva.
- I’ll announce my next 2 travel blogs in the two coming Tuesdays.
- You can read my interview with Andy Hayes about travel and technology.
- I created two lists on Diddit, 6 Cheap and Unique Places to Travel If You’re Carrying Dollars and 6 Free iPhone Apps Every Traveler Should Load.
- I added a small page of publications which has a list of some guest posts I’ve done as well as interviews and mentions on other sites.
I’ve also got a lot of traveling coming up around the US before heading to Europe. The best way to keep in touch with me, get blog updates, and the inside scoop on my next contest is to subscribe to my bi-monthly newsletter:
I’m looking forward to sharing some new blogs with you starting next week. In the meantime feel free to drop some comments letting me know what you’re up to, where you’re traveling, and what you’re working on.
[photo by: elasticcamel]
