archives: Websites Worth Visiting
Aspiring Travel Writer Alert: Win a Trip to India!
Our friends over at World Nomads just announced the opening of their 2009 contest for aspiring travel writers. If you include yourself among the le [...]
Newspapers Around the World
There are lots of online tools I use to get ready for trips and to stay connected with new friends once I’m back home. I like the currency co [...]
The Writing on the Wall
Now that the euphoria of the US election is dissipating, Americans and friends from around the world start to ask the question, “What next? [...]
Still Need A Reason To Try Couchsurfing?
You’ve probably already heard of CouchSurfing.com - but if you’re not quite sold on it yet, this video should help you through those last [...]
Somewhere Between Couchsurfing & a B&B
You’re just not into couchsurfing, you’re over hosteling, you think hotels are too impersonal, but a bed and breakfast is beyond your bu [...]
Sustainability Is Sexy: Learn About Green Design With Insider London
An innovative tour company is bringing visitors closer to the cutting-edge of design in London - and best of all, most of those new design trends are [...]
Spread Global Understanding with CultureCrossing.net
Photo by Tina Keller I’ll be honest - I’ve always been a little skeptical about the cross-cultural etiquette advice that crops up in gu [...]
The Economist Lets The World Vote in the US Presidential Election!
As we’ve noted before here on Pulse, the world is watching the ongoing American election campaign very closely. And now, all of us interested o [...]
How Well Do You Know Africa?
The Guardian has a quick, ten-point quiz to test your knowledge. It’s heavier on (pop-)cultural trivia rather than geographical, so geo-buffs [...]
The Dude Abides: The Meaning of ‘The Big Lebowski’ Ten Years Later
Ten years ago, the latest Coen Brothers flick tanked at the box office. Then, in the years that followed, something funny happened: that same movie [...]
Rate Your Guide With OurExplorer.com
You’ve heard of Rate My Professors, right? Well now, a new travel site offers a similar service - for local tour guides. OurExplorer.com let& [...]
Tips for Foodie Travelers
No matter where you travel, you’re sure to come across McDonald’s and KFC. But you don’t REALLY want to eat there, do you? The [...]
Cairo to Cape Town: A Journey Completed!
In case you haven’t been following along, my cousin Sam and his friend Peter have completed their motorcycling trip from Cairo to Cape Town, ar [...]
See the Olympics for Free!
No, it’s not just a catchy tagline with impossible fine print to follow. It’s true: You can see an Olympic event for free. In person. Ea [...]
Picks of the Week: New Orleans
Photo by Eva Holland I’ve just arrived back in New Orleans for a second visit, after catching a serious case of the smittens for the city when [...]
Beyond Travelocity: The Brave New World of Online Travel Guides
Photo by vlauria (Creative Commons) If you’ve been around the Matador community for long, you already know that there are lots of ways to get [...]
Know Vienna? Know Budapest? PlanetEye Wants You!
Photo by Obbino (Creative Commons) If you know Vienna or Budapest like a local because you ARE a local, then PlanetEye wants to hear from you! Plane [...]
This is the Life!
I’m not one to get excited about advertisements, but I have been noting the increasing interest that the liquor industry is demonstrating in t [...]
Problem-Solving: Made in Africa
Photo by T U R K A I R O I don’t want to become that “look! a good news story about Africa!” girl, but hey, here I go anyway: Look [...]
Matador Community Spotlight: Members on the Web, Part 2
In the first part of our occasional series spotlighting the interests and projects of Matador members, we introduced you to 7 people living, travelin [...]
…and they’re off!
Awhile back I wrote about my cousin Sam and his buddy Peter, who’ve been blogging about their preparations for a major motorcycle trip. They [...]
Learning To Travel Light
Photo by ny156uk (Creative Commons) I have to admit, I’m not all that great at traveling light. I’m far from the worst out there - you [...]
OurPlanet: Taking Eco-Lodges To A New Level
Photo of Vanuatu by PhillipC Okay, okay - bad pun, I know. But I couldn’t resist. OurPlanet Retreats is pioneering a new form of eco-friendly [...]
Happy Fourth of July!
Photo by paul goyette The United States has taken a lot of heat in the last few years. Today, on the 4th of July, I thought I’d toss out a fe [...]
New York City’s New Go-To Guide
Citysearch. Zagat. Time Out. Village Voice. Wallpaper City Guides. There are hundreds of printed and online guides to New York City, but one of the [...]
So You Think You’re Well-Traveled?
Matador member Lola Akinmade–herself a carrier of a well-inked passport leafed with multiple visas–sent in a tip about the website Most [...]
Spotlight on Favelas
World Hum has just published a handful of items about Brazil’s favelas - the urban slums that are gaining increasing attention from tourists. Co [...]
Blog & Click: Free Travel Opps
With rising prices on–well, almost everything–your travel budget may be thinner than ever. If that’s the case, check out these on [...]
Community Spotlight: Matador Members Online
Another one of the perks of the Pulse editing job is surfing through the Matador network and meeting really interesting travelers who aren’t s [...]
Palimpsest City
One of my perpetual interests and preoccupations is the loss and capture of great stories. Who used to live in my apartment? What was the corner sto [...]
GOOD’s Guide to Guidebooks
‘Are guidebooks becoming irrelevant?’ Adam Leith Gollner asks in the introduction to GOOD’s Guide to Guidebooks. ‘Not quite [...]
Teach English Abroad and Laugh Out Loud
Lots of Matador members teach English abroad. Abram is one of them. At Abram’s blog, Yo!Japan, choice excerpts from his students’ essays [...]
Mad For Maps
Along with the travel guidebook, printed atlases may soon be eclipsed in popularity by online mapping services. Many sites like Mapquest have been ar [...]
Vote Now! The Geotourism Challenge
Leave only footprints behind. Recently, National Geographic’s Center for Sustainable Destinations and Ashoka’s Changemakers collaborated [...]
Runnin’ on the Road
Eva’s recent Picks of the Week post highlighted some of Matador’s fitness conscious content for travelers who want to work out on the roa [...]
Sunshine Guaranteed…or Your Money Back
So, you’ve plugged away in your cubicle all year and can FINALLY see your vacation days on the horizon. Your bags are packed, you’re on y [...]
What a Tangled Web?: YOU Evaluate New Travel Websites
Here at Matador Pulse, Eva and I receive lots of e-mails notifying us of new books, products, events, and websites related to travel. Getting the ins [...]
Visual Guidebook: Triporia.com
I recently posted an entry about TripFilms, which I dubbed the traveler’s version of YouTube. Afterwards, I received an e-mail from Matador mem [...]
Pulse Picks of the Week: How To Stay Fit On The Road
Photo by kk+ (Creative Commons) When I first did a google search to kick off my hunt for this week’s picks, I came across a lot of perky, appa [...]
Blog To Watch: Cairo To Cape Town
Photo courtesy of Peter Loewen Anyone else have that cousin or distant family member who’s always doing incredible, intimidating, admirable st [...]
Eating Local
While sitting on the patio of an outdoor cafe in Havana last week, I noticed a woman reading Lonely Planet’s Cuba guide. Wondering how she woul [...]
World News at the Click of a Mouse
Photo by goldberg (Creative Commons) A team of journalists in Chicago is hard at work on an ever-expanding new project: LiveNewsCameras.com. Destin [...]
How To Make the Most of Your Volunteer Vacation
Over at the Christian Science Monitor, staffers re-hash Conde Nast Traveler’s 10 tips and questions to consider before heading off on your next [...]
You know blogging’s gone mainstream when…
Photo by Stewart (Creative Commons) That pillar of traditional print media, the Encyclopedia Britannica, has entered the 21st century. Yes, the mult [...]
Reno-Tahoe: Get Beyond the Casinos with Erin 411!
Photo by Eva Holland Matador’s own Erin Granat has just launched a new season of her successful vblog, Erin 411!, showcasing the best in Reno- [...]
Incwati ezela i’ Africa
Photo by DavidDennis (Creative Commons) That’s isiZulu for “Letter from a person travelling in Africa,” and it’s also the na [...]
A Bird’s Eye View for the Neighborhood Busybody
Photo by malias (Creative Commons) If you’re a fan of Google Earth– vanity googling your own address or using the site to check out plac [...]
Picks of the Week: Cheap Europe Round-Up!
Photo by Eva Holland Ahhh, Europe. Sometimes I think I could spend the rest of my life lounging on a bench in a Venetian campo, or wandering the co [...]
Bottled Water: Making a Big (Bad) Impact
Photo by jillclardy (Creative Commons) Everyone knows that the world’s landfills are piled high with empty bottles of Dasani, Evian, Aquafina, [...]
Travel Resources: Transitions Abroad
Here at Matador, we work hard to put together high-quality online resources for travelers. But we’re just getting started, and we’re luck [...]
Four Steps to Becoming a More Engaged Consumer
Photo by Wm Jas (Creative Commons) Not so long ago, travel writer Kelsey Timmerman asked himself, Where am I wearing? Or in other words: where, exa [...]
Picks of the Week: Favorite Place-Based Websites
How do you get information about what’s going on around the world? Here are three of the best websites offering dynamic content about countries tha [...]
Research, Ignorance, and the Mind-Opening Powers of Travel
Photo by Chach Coati (Creative Commons) Over at Vagablogging, Aaron Hotfelder has some inspiring words about the power of pre-trip research: “ [...]
IgoUgo: Now Even More User-Friendly
The good folks over at IgoUgo have just completed a revamp of their reviews section, allowing more customized search and display options and adding [...]
