May 17, 2013

Happy Friday! Each week a member of our team posts an item on their travel bucket list—we’ve had volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, crossing Patagonia on horseback, and lots more this year. Today I’m going to stay a little bit closer to home and highlight the Appalachian Trail. I wasn’t a very athletic kid. Like, at all. And throughout high school I lived in...

May 15, 2013

We asked our friends on Twitter about the funniest scenes they’ve encountered on travel–here are a few of the best responses! Hard to say. Nicaraguan people are super positive. Snapped a pic of 4 guys trying to squeeze onto a tiny dirt bike. lol — Wheres Pablo (@WheresP) May 9, 2013 We literally scared the you-know-what out of an Alpaca in Peru. —...

May 14, 2013

We’ve been stuck on travel safety lately–and as we’re on a roll, it’s high time to talk about a few common travel scams and how to avoid them. Here are the top five we’ve picked out–some we’ve seen on our own travels, and some that our friends and families have fallen victim to at some point. And as always, add your own advice and stories below!...

May 13, 2013

Download or sign up for a live presentation of Frayed Passport’s first travel writing course! This six-step class walks you through the following sections—each includes one video, a PDF presentation and video transcript, and at least one worksheet and/or info sheet: Getting Started Finding Your Voice Outlining, Freewriting, and Writer’s Block Including...

May 10, 2013

I have always, always, always wanted to visit Antarctica. One of these days I’ll have enough cash to take an ice breaker ship, but in the meantime, I’ve got photos, stories, and history to check out. Here are a few things I’ve found super intriguing about the south pole, and for better or for worse, that influenced my desire to visit one day....

May 9, 2013

Writing prompts are the best! We’re featuring them in our upcoming class—which we’re very excited to post next week—and two of our writing prompt posts have proven to be the most popular ones on Frayed Passport lately. Since y’all seem to like them so much, here are a few more for you to work with: 1: Travel Guru The very best...

May 8, 2013

Here at Frayed Passport, we are exuberant advocates of solo travel. Traveling on your own gives you an adventure unlike any other. Instead of shackling yourself to your best friend who hates nature for a whirlwind adventure through South America, you get to make your own schedule and don’t have to worry about anyone’s needs and desires but yours. You also can...

May 7, 2013

Download or sign up for a live presentation of Frayed Passport’s newest class, Social Networking with Your Travel Blog! This six-step class walks you through the following sections—each includes one video, a PDF presentation and video transcript, and at least one worksheet and/or info sheet: Part 1: Getting Started* Part 2: Facebook Part 3: Twitter Part...

May 6, 2013

If you have ever embarked on a group travel experience, you know there are a lot of working parts that must come together to make the trip a success. You also know that a completely successful trip is a mythological legend that’ll never truly happen. It is impossible to take a hundred people, bus them around a unknown place, and expect everything to work out...

Apr 29, 2013

In 2010 I visited the village of Bukit Lawang on Sumatra, Indonesia. Although it was not the only site I visited during my trip, this was certainly a very special place, and I still have fond memories from it. When we arrived in early February, we were dropped off at the edge of the village, about 200 yards from the river Bohorok that flows through the center...

Apr 16, 2013

For those of you who are totally new to it (or at least who set up accounts and forgot about ‘em), Pinterest is the third-largest social network today, with an emphasis on visual marketing and sharing. This is a photo- and video-based website where you can browse individual images or collections, also known as Pinboards, and you can like and comment on...

Apr 15, 2013

In this interview, Erick talks to Shannon about her time volunteering at a hospital in Nigeria. Watch below to find out how she learned a great deal about the experience of travel—and navigating the terror of being robbed at...

Apr 9, 2013

Time for some more writing exercises! In this round, we’ll talk about four ways to improve your travel storytelling. Find Something Your Readers can Connect with A great travel story—or any story, for that matter—must be something to which your readers can relate. Leave the “What I did on my summer vacation” reports back in...

Apr 8, 2013

As a dedicated solo traveler, I always have this moment of dread before any vacation with a travel buddy. Will we get along? If something goes wrong, will we both stay cool? Will we just want to ditch each other halfway through the week? My mom is a spontaneous traveler. Schedules and to-do lists seem too constraining, like she can’t just go with the flow or...

Apr 5, 2013

I think I was born with a permanent case of wanderlust. Growing up, I would look at maps, atlases, and encyclopedias and dream of faraway places. I had relatively humble upbringings, however, so when we went on family vacations, we’d typically never go anywhere more exotic than a Delaware beach. In high school, I had the opportunity to become a student...

Apr 3, 2013

If you want to spice up your life, look no further than Shannon Varis, who spent a week driving across Morocco! Shannon is an artist on multiple levels: she is clearly skilled at the art of travel, and is also a professional photographer who’s been all over the world on behalf of non-profit organizations. She has developed the ability to easily connect...

Apr 1, 2013

The Arctic Circle is home to Santa Claus, caribou, and the dwindling polar ice cap. A large part of it also consists of a region called Lapland—the northernmost part of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Bianca Schmidt got in touch with her Finnish relatives and used that as the launching point for a beautiful outdoor hiking adventure in Lapland. She was intrigued to...

Mar 26, 2013

We are so excited to announce our first online class—Creating a Killer Travel Blog! What’s Included This seven-step class walks you through the following sections—each includes one video, a PDF presentation and video transcript, and at least one worksheet and/or info sheet: Part 1: Getting Started Part 2: Developing Your Posting Format Part 3: Setting Up...

Mar 26, 2013

If you’re reading this blog, odds are that you’ve traveled abroad by airplane before, or have at least been on a domestic flight. Remember the time it takes between arriving at the airport to boarding your plane? The dull, dirty waiting areas, the long lines that aren’t unlike the DMV, and the exorbitant prices for food and drinks—you’d rather stay...

Mar 25, 2013

So you’re one of 20 million Americans who want to write a book. If you’ve already written a manuscript, chances are you’re looking for agent representation. As an editor and literary consultant for The Omnibus, I’ve had the opportunity to read more than 1,000 book proposals. Most, I’m sad to report, were inadequate because the author did not follow a few, very...