Choose Adventure

Safely Navigating the Challenges of Third World Travel

Useful Travel Apps
Useful Travel Apps 1600 900 Greg Ellifritz

This is a list of some very useful travel apps. I would encourage all of you who don’t have Global Entry Status to download the “Mobile Passport” App.  In my international travels, I would estimate that only 10% of travelers coming back to the USA have Mobile Passport.

 

In many airports the Mobile Passport users get their own special immigration lane.  It’s not quite as fast as Global Entry, but it is much faster than using the paper forms like the rest of cattle class.

 

Highly recommended.

 

The 12 Apps Every Traveler Needs to Download

Advice from my Favorite Travel Writer
Advice from my Favorite Travel Writer 300 200 Greg Ellifritz
Robert Young Pelton is my travel idol.  He is one of a very small number of journalists who travel to war zones all around the world, fearlessly documenting things that the average US citizen can’t even begin to contemplate.

 

In this article, RYP provides some great third-word travel advice.  If you haven’t read his book The World’s Most Dangerous Places, your travel education is incomplete.

 

Robert Young Pelton’s Travel Gear And Equipment Tips

 

You’ll also want to take a look at the same author’s followup article.

Geoarbitrage?
Geoarbitrage? 750 500 Greg Ellifritz

Have you ever heard of the term “geoarbitrage?”  It’s a money saving lifestyle where one earns money in American dollars (or some other Western currency) while living in a country with a much cheaper standard of living.  It allows people to enjoy a much higher standard of living than they could enjoy if they stayed in their home country.

My friend Daisy has a great article on the concept.  I’m going to be employing this strategy more and more in my retirement.

 

Is Geoarbitrage a Lifestyle Option for You?

South American Gun Laws
South American Gun Laws 702 501 Greg Ellifritz

Many of my readers are interested in firearms and self defense.  I regularly encounter Americans who believe that citizens of other countries can’t legally own defensive firearms.  That opinion is incorrect.

While gun ownership in countries outside the USA is generally a for more involved process than what is required to buy a gun in the USA, citizens of many other countries can own (and sometimes carry) firearms if they jump through all the right hoops.

I found the article below to be an informative comparison of gun laws in six large Latin American countries.  If you are interested in the gun laws in South America, check it out.

 

Gun Laws in Latin America’s Six Largest Economies

 

You may also enjoy Revolver Guy’s article Guns in Brazil.

 

Cycle Touring
Cycle Touring 701 404 Greg Ellifritz

Although I don’t think I would enjoy a long term cycle tour, the idea of biking around the world seems pretty cool.

 

This article covers the basics you need to understand before embarking on this unique mode of travel.

 

How to Travel by Bike – A Beginners Guide to Bikepacking & Cycle Touring

 

 

Becoming a Digital Nomad
Becoming a Digital Nomad 1263 631 Greg Ellifritz

Working remotely from a tropical country has a unique appeal.  If your work is location independent, why tie yourself down to any city you don’t enjoy?

I recently spent over a month doing my writing/blogging work from Mexico.  It was one of the best moves I’ve ever made.  Why should I suffer through winter in Ohio when I don’t have to?  Writing in Mexico in the sun was a far better option than being stuck in the snow in Ohio.

Much of my income comes from teaching classes, so remote work won’t be my sole occupation for quite some time.  With that said, I plan on consolidating my training classes in the future to allow me the opportunity to do several months of remote work from beautiful tropical countries for a good portion of the year.

If being a digital nomad is appealing to you, you’ll learn a lot by reading the following article.

How to be freelance: this is the reality of living the ‘dream’ Instagram lifestyle

 

Online Training Courses
Online Training Courses 150 150 Greg Ellifritz

One of the good things that has come out of Covid-19 social distancing is that many companies are improving their online training technology.  Those changes can help international travelers.  There are now a plethora of online classes one can take.

 

I recently found these two article recommending online back country safety and outdoor skills classes.  If you are stuck at home and want to learn new things, these look like great options.  Some of them are even free.

Stay Safe in the Backcountry: Take a Free Online Course

Prepare for Your Next Backcountry Adventure With These Online Outdoor Skills Courses

 

 

European Car Rental?
European Car Rental? 150 150 Greg Ellifritz

When I travel, I rarely rent cars.  Driving is a hassle in many countries.  Driving is exceptionally dangerous in others.  For me, relying on public transportation has always been my go-to method for foreign travel.

With that said, I realize some of my readers would rather have the freedom associated with renting their own cars on vacation.  If you are moving around a lot on your holiday, it may be more convenient to drive yourself.

I found this article to be exceptionally valuable.  It covers all aspects of European car rental.  Most of the tips are also useful for other continents as well.  If you are considering renting a car in a foreign country, it will be a useful resources.

 

Everything You Need To Know Before Renting A Car In Europe

 

Covid-19 Testing
Covid-19 Testing 600 383 Greg Ellifritz

As the world starts to open up, more and more places are requiring negative Covid tests from all travelers.  The USA also requires all citizens returning from an international destination by air to have a negative Covid-19 test within three days of their flight.

I recently had to take three different Covid tests in a two week period (coming home from Mexico, entering the Dominican Republic (random passengers get tested on arrival.  I was lucky enough to be chosen) and returning from the D.R.

I absolutely despise anything in my nose.  I have some damaged cartilage from boxing and sparring and the Q-tip up the nose Covid test is agony for me.

You’ll definitely want to be an informed consumer in this arena.  I found the following article to be exceptionally useful at explaining all the testing issues.

https://internationalman.com/articles/covid-tests-gone-wild-an-epidemic-of-covid-positive-tests/

The bottom line according to the article is:

Summary:

  1. We have an epidemic of COVID-positive tests that is substantially larger than the epidemic of identified Relevant Infectious COVID Disease. In contrast, people with actual, mild cases of COVID-disease aren’t all getting tested. So the data, on which lockdowns are supposedly justified, are lousy.
  2. The data on COVID hospitalizations and deaths in the US are exaggerated by a government subsidization scheme that incentivizes the improper use of tests in people without particular risk of the disease.
  3. Avoid getting tested for COVID unless you are symptomatic yourself, have had exposure to someone who was both symptomatic and tested positive for COVID, or have some other personal reason that makes sense.
  4. Know that getting tested before traveling abroad puts you at a modest risk of getting a false-positive test result, which will assuredly screw up your trip. It’s a new political risk of travel.
  5. There is a lot more to this viral testing game, and there are a lot of weird incentives. There are gray areas and room for debate.
  6. Yes, the COVID disease can kill people. But a positive test won’t kill anybody. Sadly, every COVID-positive test empowers those politicians and bureaucrats who have a natural bent to control people—the sociopaths and their ilk.

 

 

 

Travel Quotes
Travel Quotes 1000 1500 Greg Ellifritz

I really enjoy reading motivational quotes.  If you were paying attention, you’ll notice that I introduced every chapter of my book with a relevant quote that helped support the material.

 

Here are some cool travel quotes that might brighten your day.  Enjoy.

 

100 Best Travel Quotes of All Time (with Photos & Captions) to Inspire You to Travel the World