Travel is the process of leaving one’s environment to go visit a new one. For some, travel is simply a trip to a neighboring city. For others, travel means going halfway around the world. Travel is a huge subject. There are so many different aspects and ways to travel.

The purpose of this page is to give a general introduction to the different types of travel out there and to give you a few InsidrInfo tips and some helpful links on travel. It’s clearly a work in progress, but be patient. We’re adding new pages every day.

Don’t use a travel agent, unless. . . With the advent of the internet, travelers are becoming increasingly web savvy, and travelers are booking more and more of their travel themselves. Discount travel web sites have sprung up with an almost infinite array of Travel deals. This is putting dramatic pressure on the travel agent industry, one of the main reasons travel agents are closing up shop right and left. To get the best deal, book travel yourself on one of the sites listed on our discount travel page. The exceptions when you may definitely want to use a travel agent would be if you are making a complicated international booking, especially if you’re checking luggage, as travel agents should be able to help you book an itinerary that will minimize the risk of lost luggage.

Be adventurous. Consumers are taking more and more adventurous travel vacations. The fastest-growing segment of the adventure travel industry is the family adventure travel segment.

Plan for the unexpected and get travel insurance. By all means do buy travel insurance to protect that investment you make. Be careful to read the fine print with your policy however. For example, if you’re planning travel that will take you to elevations over 10,000 feet, make sure that your travel insurance policy will cover it- many policies do not.

Travel light. The single most important rule of travel is to travel light. See our page on how to travel light for some important tips and ideas.

Backpack Travel

Backpack Travel is a form of international travel that is closely associated withindependent travel and budget travel, and related in many ways to adventure travel. Backpack travel is characterized by the desire to keep costs low, travel for months at a time, and gain a deeper understanding of different cultures. An entire worldwide industry of backpacker lodges, guesthouses, restaurants, transportation, and side tour operators serving backpack travelers has emerged in many third world cities.

Backpack travel and independent travel are in many ways synonymous, except that as the industry matures, more and more backpack travel is done in the form of small group travel tours. Backpack travel and adventure travel are closely related in that many backpack travelers are seeking adventure, but not all adventure travel is of the budget backpack travel variety.

ackpack Travel’s roots go back to the time of Marco Polo on the Silk Road to Asia, but it was the Hippie trail Movement of the 1960′s and 1970′s that ushered in the backpack travel era. The Hippie Trail, originated as an overland road and train crossing from Western Europe to the Southeast Asia. While it followed part of the Silk Road, political expedience meant that travelers headed south of the true Silk Road. Important backpack travel stops on the Hippie trail included Istanbul, Teheran, Kabul, Varanasi, Kathmandu, Bangkok, and Denpassar. Hippies on the Hippie Trail were indeed the earliest backpack travelers. Tony and Maureen Wheeler, the founders of Lonely Planet Guidebooks, were among the early backpack travelers on the Hippie Trail.

By 1980, with the Soviet invasion of and guerilla war in Afghanistan and the Iranian revolution, the Hippie trail was dead. In its place, what many refer to as the Banana Pancake trail, became the de facto rite of passage for backpack travelers. Fueled by higher disposable incomes and lower international airfares, backpack travel in Southeast Asia became a major phenomenon in the 1980′s. As more and more travelers came, more and more guesthouses and lodges and infrastructure emerged. Some good, some bad. Backpack travel ghettos with guesthouse, lodges, restaurants, and souvenir shops catering to those on a budget, sprang up in places like Thamel in Kathmandu, Jalan Jaksa in Jakarta, Kuta in Bali, and of course the infamous Khao San Road in Bangkok. Throughout the 1980′s and 1990′s, the Banana Pancake trail pressed out in multiple directions, down into Goa, India, up into Lhasa, Tibet, and over to Dali Lake and Chengdu in China.

Budget Travel

Ireland is a land of great mystery and rich history. Many people journey there every year to enjoy the beautiful countryside and friendly locals. Paying for your vacation is the most difficult and tricky part, but it is the most crucial part of traveling. Hence, people nowadays often take advantage of budget travel options. Ireland has various budget travel options to make your holiday, vacation or weekend getaway affordable.

Budget travel packages give you an estimate of your costs before you start your journey. It includes everything from airfare to accommodations, and food to sightseeing tours. Ireland offers adventure tours, water sports and other services to meet your vacation requirements. You can also go for rental cars and go on a drive with your partner.

The travel budgets are flexible and can stretch to meet your needs. You are given a prearranged list among which you can make a pick on the type of travel budget you want to opt for, along with the different facilities and requirements you would like to have during the trip. The tension-free trip rejuvenates your senses and let you take full pleasure of your precious time out with your family. So if you are planning a trip to Ireland to admire its splendid beauty, all you need to do is take your pick of travel budgets and know that everything else is taken care of. Then you just have to sit back during the trip and enjoy the day and nights of your vacation.

Family Adventure

For more and more families, simply traveling somewhere and seeing the sights is not enough. More and more families are venturing out into the wilderness. Traveling internationally as a family has become more common. Now, sharing in-depth cultural experiences and age-appropriate adventure activities is bonding more families closer together.

While some may consider a trip to Chili’s with children a “family adventure” for many families, a family adventure trek to Machu Picchu is replacing Disney World. Instead of simply peering over the edge of the Grand Canyon and continuing on to the next sightseeing destination on those classic family road trips we all cringed at as kids, other families are now river rafting through the Grand Canyon. Families have become by far the fastest-growing demographic segment in the adventure travel industry.

Hiking and camping as a family is a great option for families new to adventure.

There are literally thousands of hiking trails near every metro area in the world that would be appropriate for children. Let kids do the hiking themselves wherever possible, and don’t push them too hard. When hiking with children for the first time, it’s quality over quantity. Amazing first hikes for families with young children abound at National Parks like Yellowstone National Park. Down under at Tasmania’s Freycinet National Park, families can hike to wilderness beaches on gentle trails and see exotic birds and fish.

Camping as a family can be a challenge, but the more interesting the camping spot, the better the experience you’re going to have. Stay away from any sort of developed campground, especially a KOA, and give most National Park and National Forest Campgrounds the miss. Instead, camp for free on BLM land anywhere. Camping out at the Horseshoe Canyon trailhead on BLM land at the entrance to Canyonlands national park, you’ll be on the canyon rim in a red rock wonderland, and the kids will have fun playing with lizards galore. Best of all, you can take a day hike the next morning down into the canyon to see the Horseshoe Canyon petroglyphs, one of the largest panels in the world.

Raft trips on gentle whitewater, a canoe trip on flatwater, adventure cruises, and safaris are all great options for young families looking for just a bit of adventure. A classic rafting family adventure is a 3-day raft trip on the Colorado River, down Ruby and Horsethief Canyons provides an amazing do it yourself family wilderness experience that’s age-appropriate for water-safe children. Because the rapids are never more than class 2, it’s not uncommon to see families with toddlers. Camping on sand bars ripe for sand castle building, and plenty or water fights, make this section of the Colorado River, America’s best rafting family adventure.

It’s hard to backpack as a family, but with canoes families can carry all their gear. The best family canoe trip in America is an 8 day Green River canoe trip through Canyonlands National Park. Camping on pristine sand bars every night and canoeing though flatwater desert canyons by day, families have a true wilderness experience without having to carry anything. Side hikes to ruins more intact than any at Mesa Verde and lots of petroglyphs are icing on the cake.

A small boat family adventure cruise to Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands affords families with children the opportunity to see an ecological wonder of biodiversity and the birthplace of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Swimming with turtles, and seeing giant lizard and shore birds up close are just a few of the great things about the Galapagos for family adventures.

If your children love animals, why not take a family adventure safari to Africa to see the animal life in its natural habitat? Safari operators were some of the first in the adventure travel industry to really gear up to be family friendly and thousands of families go on safari together every year.