The Update

Natalie …is currently a graduate student pursuing an Elementary Education teaching certificate and masters degree.

Justin…is currently teaching high school English.  Although a full time teacher, Justin recently began taking classes towards earning a masters degree in English Education.

Justin and I will always be nomads in search of the next adventure.  Unfortunately, higher education and priorities in life sometimes gets in the way of being able to pick up and go.

Fortunately, living in Colorado lends to many adventures and outdoor fun!

All prices are based upon October mid-season, not the winter low season and not the high season of summer!

• 2 beds in a 6 person dorm at The Colors Hotel & Hostel – 54 euro = $74.52
• gorgonzola cheese, 2 types of bread, artichoke hearts and a bunch of bananas – 7.50 euro = $10.35
• Metro – from Termini to the Vatican City Area – 2 euro = $2.76
• 2 Americanos @ Piquadroemme wine bar (includes tip) - 1.40 euro = $1.93
• entrance to Sistene Chapel (both at student rate) – 16 euro = $22.08
• Medium gelato near Trevi Fountain – 2.50 euro = $3.45

(two adults) Total – 83.40 euro = $115.09

The total is for Justin and I, two grown adults.  If you are traveling alone you can cut the cost in half.

Solo Total – 41.70 euros = $57.55

Save more money on lodging in a larger dorm.  We stayed in a 6 person dorm, but it is easy to find 8-12 person dorm rooms for even cheaper nightly rates.  We chose to see the Sistene Chapel and presented student cards to save money.  In some European countries if you are less than 30 years old you may be approved for a Student ID card.  However, even if you don’t wish to pay for museums, Rome has hundreds of FREE things to see and do, including the Vatican.  Which means experiencing Rome for $50 a day is easy to do.

How to travel Rome for $25 a day?

1. Self catering – nothing beats the communal meal, prepared in hostel kitchens with other travelers you meet – split the cost of the meal.  Rome is full of delicious red wine too!  Split a few bottles with some of your new friends, and sample a variety of reds.
2. Sleeping in a multi person bunk room.  The more people in your room, the cheaper your bed will cost.  Remember, you didn’t travel to Rome to stay inside, you want to explore and see it all!  The bed is just the place to rest in between your adventure.  We even wrote an article on selecting the best hostel for you in Rome.
3. The coffee is amazing.  Look for the small independently operated cafes that are actually wine bars.  They will have the best atmosphere but watch out for the prices.
4. Don’t spend money in the expensive zones – I really wanted to eat gelato while looking at the Trevi fountain lit up at night.  But I could have found less expensive gelato in Rome.
5. Use the Metro to your advantage.  A single ride is one euro, or purchase a one day pass for 4 euros.  They are valid for a full 24 hour period.  Plan where you want to go in Rome carefully, you can enjoy the Trevi fountain in the evening, and wake up the next day and still have 16 hours remaining on your pass to get you to the Colosseum and back.  At the same time, walking can be amazing depending on the weather.
6. Depending on the season, it can be hard to find a cheap place to sleep in the heart of the city.  Don’t end up having to sleep on the outskirts of Rome.  Pay for your bed in the morning, not only do you guarantee that you will have a place to sleep, but you also have a place to leave your backpack while you explore the city.

It’s amazing to know that Rome can be experienced with very little money.  Super cheap if you dare!

Through personal travels to various cities around the world, we will share the actual price of a day in that city.

This series should assist travelers in planning their next trip to specific places around the world.  Each city will have a realistic example of the cost of one full day, including an evening of lodging.

“The Backpackers Price” is covering is Paris first!

A day in Paris – with lodging in the Latin Quarter

All prices are based upon October mid-season, not the winter low season and not the high season of summer!

• 1 Night private room with double bed at Young & Happy – 56 euro = $77.28
• almonds, raisins, apples & bananas – 6.14 euro = $8.47
• Justin’s 1st baguette in Paris – 1.80 euro = $2.48
• Metro – Arce du Triomphe to Latin Quarter – 2.20 euro = $3.04
• Natalie’s new Parisian orange scarf – 9 euro = $12.42
• 2 pears, brie, 1 red bell pepper – 4.64 euro = $6.40
• another baguette – 1.60 euro = $2.21
• Nutella crepe – 2 euro = $2.76

(two adults) Total – 86.8 euro = $115.06

The total is for Justin and I, two grown adults.  If you are traveling alone you can cut the cost in half.

Solo Total – 43.4 euros = $57.53

In addition, you can save money on lodging and get a bunk in an 8 person dorm for 13 euro a night.  Super cheap!  Don’t buy the Parisian scarf or other souvenirs and save even more money.  This means traveling Paris for $50 a day is easy to do.  In fact, I met an American traveling Paris for $25 USD a day.

How to travel Paris for $25 a day?

1. Self catering – communal meals prepared in hostel kitchens with other travelers you meet – then split the cost of the meal (most are $3 or $4 per person)
2. Sleeping in a multi person bunk room.  You might have to buy ear plugs for when the guy above you starts to snore, but it’s worth the money you save.
3. Don’t spend money on stupid stuff – the key chain of the Eiffel tower, the 5 euro crepe, and avoid all other Parisian impulse buys.
4. Go on the FREE day.  Museums and art galleries tend to have a regular FREE day.  The first Sunday of each month is the FREE museum day in Paris.
5. Walk or bike – Paris even has bikes you can rent and then drop off in a designated bike drop once you arrive at your destination.  These bikes are literally all around the city!
6. Be a smart and travel on the limited budget.  Take out the amount of cash you plan on spending each day.  Pay for your bed in the morning.  Then you have a realistic view of how much money you will want for food, and what you have left over as entertainment and play money.

It’s amazing to know that Paris can be traveled with very little money.  Really cheap if you want!

Instead, my backpack just hangs on a hook next to my CamelBak, which has gotten more use than my lonely backpack.  For those of you who are not familiar, a CamelBak is a small backpack that is worn as a hydration device.  They are great for adventure travel, hiking or combat, as individuals currently fighting in the war wear a CamelBak daily, while out on the field.

Needless to say with all of the recreation, our CamelBak has gotten loads of use here in Colorado, as it has been useful while hiking and exploring.  Even on Christmas day Justin and I hiked Horsetooth Rock, with an elevation gain of 1,500 feet.  We had beautiful views of the mountains and frozen arctic tundra abound!  It’s not traveling to a warm, exotic location, but hiking up a mountain is an adventure.

Our desire to travel and see the world has been pacified through small day and weekend trips.  Although, we are busy teaching during the week, our weekends offer freedom to play and explore.  We live a few blocks from Old Town Fort Collins.  This is a walkable downtown offers the typical urban findings with the small town intimacy.  Dozens of live music options each weekend, yoga, art galleries, cute shops, bars, and really any type of food you could imagine.  From pizza to sushi, along with multiple places to get homemade ice cream, gelato and even a variety of places to get a crepe.  It’s not Paris, but you can taste a bit of Parisian life by eating a Nutella crepe while walking down the sidewalk, looking at the mountains, instead of the Eiffel Tower.

The breweries here in Fort Collins, CO could make one feel as though they are permanently on a ‘Beer-cation’.  With New Belgium Brewery, Odell Brewing Co, Cooper Smith’s Brewing, and The Fort Collins Brewery all within one mile of our current home.  We especially love going on the New Belgium Brewery tour where you can try out the employee spiral slide instead of taking the stairs.  Check out the speed Andrea got as she spiraled out of control down the New Belgium slide.

I am assuming that this year of our life (May 2009-May 2010) will be the only time in our life that we will live within biking distance of so much great beer.  For those of you who love micro brews, Fort Collins, Colorado is an excellent place to live.  If you are planning to visit send us an email so we can catch up with you and a beer.

We really have no complaints this Twenty Ten.  Just lots to be grateful for.  We hope that you do too!  Whether you are sticking to your new years resolution or you can’t even remember it.  This year is a another great year to travel.

A few things to look forward to from Nomad Backpackers:

• A new series revealing how much money you need to backpack in specific cities
• Travel advice from other backpackers and travelers
• Stories from life, travel and the adventures of 2010

Continue to email us with travel advice and inquiries.  We love hearing from you whether you are out exploring the world or stuck in a cubicle during your lunch break.

Happy day twenty of Twenty Ten!!!

What have you used creatively along your travels?

• Using your frisbee as your dinner plate?
• How to best shave outdoors?
• Using a compression sack to pack more?

Over the past few months we have had several people ask about travel advice.

The tricks of the trade that you can only learn on the road while backpacking for an extended amount of time.

Share your travel secrets and to inspire others.  Email us with your travel tip today!

Tell us who you are and share your travel advice.

We will publish a list of backpacking tips soon!

It is important to travel will well polished resumes saved.  Be ready to alter and edit your resume based upon the position desired.

I typically keep four basic resumes outlining my various skills.  While traveling anywhere in the world I could stumble across a job opportunity to teach English, work with kids, an office role, or a position at a coffee shop.

Basic resumes I travel with:

1. ESL teacher
2. Will play with kids
3. Desk jockey
4. Barista or hospitality expert

Keeping these four resumes ready to submit to a future employer works for me.  These are my skills and what I do best.  Take your best skills, education and attributes.  Format them into resumes you can travel with.

Victor who I met in Spain keeps 6 resumes ready for jobs he finds along his travels.  Some of his resumes include, ‘handyman’, ‘tech-head’, and he even told me about his new one ‘landscaping’. He wrote this resume after recognizing some women just wanted him for yard work.  Why not pull weeds for the nice old lady you met in Madrid?  She paid him and gave him lunch everyday!

Wondering if you really need a resume to work in someone’s yard?  Victor described the credibility the resume gives him.  People instantly trust him to be professional and to work hard.  Plus, extra travel cash can result from what someone discovers you can do.

For example, after Victor helped a girl at the hostel desk connect a new printer for FREE, Victor gave his technology resume to the hostel manager.  They read about his talent in web design and ended up offering one month FREE lodging and $800 to redesign their hostel website.

I just got an email from Parris in Wellington, New Zealand.  He shared, “I’m registered with a job agency and working for the government at the moment.  So life is pretty sweet for this backpacker.”  Parris has been in Wellington for a few months now enjoying working while traveling.

How have Justin & Natalie (the nomad backpackers) worked while traveling:

• We used our writing abilities to receive FREE lodging while traveling and writing for an online travel magazine.
• We received FREE lodging and meals at an Irish Pub on the Great Barrier Island, New Zealand, in exchange for some landscaping and washing a few dishes at the pub on busy nights.
• We worked at a 5-star lodge in the Fiordland’s (South Island, NZ) for 6 weeks.  This paid for 4 months of travel in New Zealand.
• I have taught English to students in China and Mexico.
• I have been paid to babysit kids.  I met Sigorney from Australia living in Paris, France as a nanny for a family with 3 kids.
• Justin has built websites and received various forms of gifts/money through offering tech help.
• I have worked multiple coffee bars in multiple countries pulling endless shots of espresso.

Don’t be the traditional backpacker that runs out of cash and takes a flight home.  Instead, make yourself marketable and travel with a well written resume to land any job around the world.

Find a job while traveling!  Use nomad approved resources.

Ready to take your resume around the world?  How to write a resume. Start polishing your resume today!  It can take you around the world if you are willing to work a variety of jobs along the way.  Be creative and start brainstorming your skills.

Whether going away for a week or traveling the world for a few years, it saves precious packing space.

The Tech 2 in 1′s

The Amazon Kindle is by far both Justin and my favorite 2 in 1 item.  The Kindle offers a traveler up to 1,500 books on one easy to use electronic device.  The only negative is that the Kindle must be charged, although it has a great battery life even on a 14 hour flight.  Oh, and in our case, the problem we experience is that their are 2 of us and we own one Kindle.

The universal adaptor is great for a backpacker planning travel to multiple countries.  Different regions of the world have different electric outlets.  Why bring more than one adaptor when you can have them all in one?  It’s really that simple.  Every country in the world is represented by the Universal Adaptor.

The Sporty 2 in 1′s

Pack an Ultimate Frisbee Disc and a dinner plate all in one.  No joke!  We love to play ultimate, and toss around the frisbee whenever we get the chance.  I had no idea we could create so many quick picnic meals through our ultimate frisbee doubling as a plate.  I love the versatility our disc gives us while traveling.

Be logical while packing.

We wanted Insect Repellent for our outdoor adventures.  We also like to have duct tape, just in case.  Instead of bringing a bulky, heavy roll of duct tape, we took about 5 feet of tape and wrapped it around the insect repellant bottle.  Only one customs officer (out of dozens of airport security) along our journeys has second guessed our insect repellant and did a sniff check.  Be creative, their are countless ways to reduce the bulk of what you pack.

The Fashion 2 in 1′s

A new travel craze is the Zip-off Pants.  Why pack both pants and shorts?  Have both at the same time!  Initially, I was against the zip-off pants because the original versions would zip-off at my knee, leaving me with long, impractical shorts.  It wasn’t until I tried on a more recent edition of the zip-off pants by The North Face that I fell in love.  My pants are durable, with great pockets, even one my passport fits securely into.  When I zip off the bottoms, I am left with cute shorts that allow refreshing sunshine kiss my legs.

Who doesn’t love the Classic Bandana?  The bandana is your friend especially when it comes to travel.  It can be anything; your hat, a first aid sling, a dish rag, a flag, the possibilities are endless.  The bandana is a ‘must-pack’ travel item.

Notice my zip-off pants and bandana on St. Patrick’s Day in Sydney.

The Bathroom 2 in 1′s

Speaking of bandana, I have actually used a bandana as a shower towel.  When I first read about doing this it sounded absurd.  I tried it out and realized it works if you are willing to wring out the bandana multiple times while drying off.  Departing from a location in the morning after showering?  Instead of a wet towel, the bandana I dried off with is still wet.  I just tie the bandana to the outside of my backpack and it dries within 15 minutes to an hour depending upon the humidity level.  Once it’s dry, I zip it in my backpack!

Did you know that shampoo makes great laundry soap?  Oh, it’s true.  When washing clothing in the sink, don’t bring extra detergent.  Shampoo is a natural, gentle way to hand wash laundry items before hanging them to dry.  My favorite was a lavender rosemary shampoo that I found in New Zealand.  My clothing had a beautiful fresh scent.

I found this rainbow of clothing hanging in Riomaggiore, Italy.

Washing laundry and hanging it to dry feels natural after a few months.  The simple ways of life on the road are refreshing.  This always surprises me.

Two in one items are a wonderful packing secret, but the best packing advice will always be, don’t bring it.  Go without it and pack less.  Be a much happier traveler with a lighter load.

Use a weekend as an escape from the ordinary and plan a mini-break this fall.  A weekend getaway is the perfect remedy to fight routine and be refreshed through adventure.  Just set one weekend aside in your busy life.  It will be inexpensive, spontaneous and fun!

The ideal fall adventure creates a balance of fun, while you are also able to experience rest for your mind and body.

How to plan your weekend:

1. City or Scenic: If you are craving the urban adventure a big city offers, be sure to select a crowd-free city.  Going to Munich for Oktoberfest is not going to offer the serenity a cabin in the Rocky Mountains will offer.  You know yourself best!  Would your ideal weekend include a night on the town with sushi & sake or a peaceful evening with one of your favorite books near a cozy fireplace.
2. Drive or Fly: Ensure that your destination is within reasonable driving distance or an inexpensive, quick flight. Avoid fly to a city where you will have to rent a car and spend a large amount of time being busy driving somewhere. You already spend too much of your typical week being busy, trying to get somewhere. I would suggest making the weekend as simple as possible. Think less. Allow the spontaneous adventure to unravel, instead of planning out your itinerary to the minute.
3. Avoid Fall Stereotypes: Avoid the corn maze craze and imagine a bountiful autumn harvest, like pumpkins and vineyards.  It’s important to find that atmosphere that offers the crisp color of fall, and a hint of fun.  Avoid the guy with a chain-saw at the local haunted house, unless this is your favorite aspect of fall.  In that case embrace the stereotypes, go pumpkin picking, have a haunted house/horror movie marathon and then carve those pumpkins while drinking apple cider and eating candy.  If you do intend to avoid the stereotypes, than think wine tasting or hiking through the gorgeous fall color.
4. Plan and Save: Plan ahead and save money on your adventure.  If you are driving Friday evening after work, pack up some leftovers from the fridge.  Bring healthy snacks and fresh fruit.  Then instead of searching for your next meal, you can relax and savor a sunrise or take a leisurely stroll.
5. Specials and Deals: Hunt for the fall specials and the autumn getaway deals.  [NOTE:  These are not always the cheapest option.]  You might not be interested in going to Vegas this fall.  Make sure that your destination is really where you want to be, and you aren’t just going because you got a cheap flight and hotel deal.
6. The Whole Weekend!?! If getting away for an entire weekend is going to be almost impossible due to tight schedules, children, pets, and a list of other hindering factors, try to get away for a short duration.  Just one night away, or even a full Saturday to escape the obligations of life can be just as needed and refreshing.  Make sure you plan some type of adventure just for you this fall.  Going to the grocery store, or watching the game on the couch doesn’t cut it.  Make it unique and special.  You deserve it!

Even now, I am sure that you have thought of a handful of great locations and adventures you could have over a weekend.  Put it on the calendar and make it happen.  Say no the specialty coffee drinks, the pizza and whatever unneeded expenses you indulge in.  Save the money you will need to make your Weekend Adventure a reality.

Fall into a weekend adventure!  Experience more in life, through doing less.

The most recent question was simply, “Where should we go next?”

The options were:

• Seattle, Washington
• Billings, Montana
• Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Salt Lake City, Utah

41% of people voted for Seattle!

I am really happy to be heading to Seattle.  Neither Justin or I have ever been to Seattle, or anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.  The best part of Seattle will be spending time with a good friend of ours.  We will be sure to share any local advice or insight Bryan has to offer.

We fly to Seattle in 3 weeks, and promise to write an article of our ‘Seattle, Washington Experience’.

Thanks again for voting and happy travels!

Please vote in our new You Choose poll.