Happy Friday everyone!

It’s time for another roundup of saucy news, stories, and articles in the travelverse from this week. This edition is all about taking the first steps for the travel newbies like me. If you’ve never traveled solo, or are thinking about taking your first real trip abroad and don’t know where to start, these articles are here to help. Enjoy budget-saving tips, how to score free guides, what you should do first, and purchasing the right travel insurance.

Read up and learn! Then tell us where you’re planning to travel to this fall.


Planning Your Travel Budget

Travel isn’t just for mom and dad or retired older folks as you may have thought. Nope – we twenty-somethings are making a comeback and hitting the road: traveling anywhere and everywhere. And really, why wait to see the world? Money – that’s why. With student loans stacking up against us, and the costs of potentially moving out on our own, money can really be a damper. But here’s some things to think about to set a budget to fit you and your travel plans, thanks to the people at Twenty-Something Travel: start-up costs and administrative fees. Learn to take care and pay off the necessities first before you end up broke in a foreign land.


Find a Free Local Travel Guide

Traveling solo can be nerve-wracking and confusing, especially if you’re in a country completely new to you. But don’t worry, people tend to be welcoming and friendly overseas. Plus, thanks to the Internet, there are numerous ways to find a local buddy to help show you around and give you the low-down on what to see and do. Solo Traveler recommends you check out sites such as Twitter and Meetup.com, while also exploring other interesting groups. You might make a new friend out of it too!


Don’t Leave Home Without…

The folks at No Debt World Travel.com want you to travel around the world as cheaply as possible, but also as safely as possible. So they’ve shared some important notes for buying travel insurance. Yes, that’s right, you need insurance on the road too. So if you’re one of the lucky ones with health benefits, make sure your employer can cover travel insurance, or you know where to get access to the right kind. Read the basics first and then leave your footprint on the world.

Oktoberfest 2009!

Alright, now that you’ve learned a few things about that dream trip you’re about to take, it’s time to have some serious FUN. And what better way to hang with the locals than to share a few steins with them at one of the largest and most infamous festivals in the wold – Oktoberfest! October is almost here and we’re all excited to part-take in these beer festivities whether at home or right in Germany. Luckily, Hostel Bookers knows travel is about having a great time too, so they’ve compiled a beer guide for us beginners. Just try not to spend all that money you just saved on alcohol-infused nights.

Win a Travel Photography Scholarship

OK so you blew all your money at Oktoberfest and need some funds to help you continue your trek around the globe. Thanks to World Nomads, GAP Adventures, and National Geographic Channel, you have a shot at winning a travel photography scholarship. To enter, submit a series of five photos that tell a story about a place you have visited. Be sure to read the guidelines first and enter by October 4th. The lucky winner will be flown in to Argentina and travel to Antarctica on assignment to document the “world’s most remote wilderness” via photographic work alongside award-winning photographer, Jason Edwards. Good luck and get that money!


We hope you were able to take good notes with this edition of This Week in Travel. Let us know how you’ll be using these tips on your next trip. Til then, keep it saucy!

Read more posts by Alisha

This entry was posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009 at 12:36 PM and is filed under Feature, This Week in Travel, Travel, Traveler. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.