Here are my top 10 splurges in 14 years of world travel to 66 countries. Yes, I left the USA in 2007. And if you stay for all 10 splurges, I have a bonus for you. I will explain my secret of how I saved enough money traveling all the world, to pay for my top 10 splurges.
Okay, here we go! I will give the top 10 splurges in reverse order featuring my favorites last on the list.
Top 10 Splurges in 14 Years of Slow Worlding Travel
Ten. Touring Greece: Athens and Santorini. When I left the USA in 2007, I worked in India for 3 years. In those three years, I spent over 22 weeks on holiday. One of my favorite splurges was the time I spent in Athens and Santorini. The white buildings and brilliant blue waters were unforgettable.
Nine. Flying First Class to Nepal. I had a blast flying first class to Nepal with my sisters and a friend. Nepal is framed by Mount Everest in the Himalayas. The ancient architecture, the history, the warm and kind people, and the Buddhist temples of Nepal were a joyous celebration of life in one of the oldest cultures on planet earth.
Eight. Snowboarding Kashmir. I am a skier not a snowboarder. But when friends asked me to join them snowboarding in Kashmir, I couldn’t refuse. Life is way too short to say no to such unique and exciting opportunities. So I had to say yes to snowboarding in Kashmir.
Seven. Flying to see my girlfriend Qiang cat-walking in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and strutting her stuff in Shanghai, China in the evening while exploring these two amazing cities in the day. Two of the most colorful and interesting cities in the world with rich and colorful cultures both ancient and new.
Six. Flying 18 hours to Brazil to enjoy the white sand beaches of Rio de Janeiro, a soccer game in one of the largest soccer stadiums in the world, paragliding over the beautiful coast, and exploring the nightlife of Rio until early morning. You have to see Brazil in all her glory before you can say you know the girl from Ipanema.
Before telling you the top 5 splurges, let me say a thing or two about splurges. Why is it important to have splurges in your life? If you think about it, a splurge is a celebration. Take a break from normal life and celebrate something. Don’t wait until you start traveling. Do it now.
Not all splurges are expensive. Have a picnic in the park with sandwiches and a glass of wine. Bring a friend or a frisbee, in case you meet someone. Break the routine and celebrate life. Not all splurges need to be expensive.
Okay, back to the countdown, My Top 10 Splurges in 14 Years of World Travel
Top 5 Splurges Slow Traveling World 14 Years
Five. Jump in a 6 seater airplane and fly over the Nazca lines in Peru. See if you can tell whether ancient tribes in Peru were able to draw perfectly straight lines up to 1000 meters long, in 500 BC, without help from someone guiding them from outer space?
Four. French Riviera. Spend a few weeks on the French Riviera. Base yourself in the city of Nice. Be sure to head up the coast to spend time in Monaco and head down the coast to Cannes while you are in the neighborhood.
Three. Immerse yourself in my three favorite Italian cities. Go olive oil and Chianti tasting in Florence, explore the Medici art collection of Venice, and wander the plazas of Rome until the morning light. Travel between the three by train so you can see the countryside.
Two. Japan. Japan is one of the most fascinating cultures in the world. Many people believe Japan is one of the most civilized countries in the world. I find the Japanese to be very friendly and helpful. I was walking around Kyoto one day and I was lost. I pulled my map of Kyoto out and a Japanese student asked me what I was looking for in English. Said follow me, and she walked for about 10 minutes to take me to where I was going. After looking up to verify that she had guided me correctly, I turned to thank her for being so kind. She was gone before I could thank her. I had never experienced that level of selflessness anywhere in the world before.
One. Galapagos, 2: I had wanted to go to the Galapagos islands all of my life. I wanted to see all the animals living in peace protected in their natural habitat. But when I was traveling through Ecuador, we looked at prices and it was just too expensive. But Qiang spent about 3 weeks researching how to do the Galapagos for much cheaper than the tours we were reading about. She arranged for us to slow travel around 4 islands in the Galapagos for about half of what I thought we would need to spend. Despite being slightly more than we normally spend, seeing all the animals in their natural habitat was the most glorious splurge I have ever experienced.
Okay, I made a promise to share how to save money traveling the world if you stayed until the end of this video. Well, here we go!
How to Save Enough to Pay for Your Splurges
I left the USA in 2007 and have been slow traveling the World on the Cheap, 66 countries so far. On Friday, I fly to my 67th country.
Here is how I save enough money to pay for my splurges. I don’t go home between trips. I just buy one-way tickets and move forward around the world. I work on my laptop instead of an office in my home country so I can work from anywhere in the world.
As I travel, I stay on one continent until I have seen every country I want to see on that continent. That way, I avoid expensive long-haul flights between continents until I have seen everything I want to see on that continent.
I save thousands, traveling within a continent on buses, trains, ferries, and short-hop flights.
I explore the entire continent before I move to another continent. Then, I often just move a short distance to the next adjacent continent to reduce the costs of moving around the world.
I call this method, “Slow Traveling” the world. You won’t believe how much money I save in rent by staying in each place for a month instead of paying by the week or night. I often get a 30% to 50% discount by booking a furnished apartment for a week instead of a day or a week.
By saving money each month, I am able to splurge for a few weeks or months each year. Thank you for reviewing my post, My Top 10 Splurges in 14 Years of World Travel.
If you would like to learn more, grab a free copy of my eBook: How I fired my Boss and Traveled the World for 14 Years. If you don’t have enough cash to do this yet, check out how I make money with my hobby while traveling the world.
This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the YouTube Channel for VagabondBuddha.com. The world is your home, what time will you be home for dinner?