Don't Fly Go! | Category Archives: Overland travellers

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May 23, 2017 by Chase Vandros

Planning a Backpacking Adventure? Here Are The Questions You Need To Ask

Backpacking really is one of the greatest ways to see the world. Behind all of the fancy restaurants, five-star hotels, resorts and tourist attractions are often a fascinating destination brimming with culture and history. Instead of being a tourist you become a traveller, and it allows you to see things in an entirely new way. Planning on going backpacking this year? Here are a few questions to ask yourself!

Backpacking With a Tour or Going Alone?

If you’re new to backpacking, booking a tour could be the way to go. Here you will join a group of other backpackers and will have transport and accommodation sorted along the way. You will be taken to all of the best sites, and your route will be planned so the hard and scary stuff is done for you. If you’re a little more experienced, you and your group could plan your own route. Just be careful, backpacking can be dangerous, and the world is an enormous place. It’s so easy to end up lost. Even more so in a country you’ve never been to, who speak a language you can’t understand.

Which Backpack is Best?

If you’re going to be spending weeks or months with a backpack on your back, it needs to be a good one. Spend some time in the store trying on different models, find a size that’s comfortable for you. Obviously, a bigger pack allows you to carry more, but then there’s the risk of overfilling it and it becoming too heavy. Look into different brands, materials and sizes to find your perfect match.

What Clothing Will You Need?

Suitable clothing is a must, and exactly what you need will depend on your destination and the time of year. If you’re in a part of the world where it’s very sunny, or there are a lot of mosquitos, long layers will protect your skin. If you’re travelling through a part of the world that’s very religious, you may need clothing that suitably covers you since certain pieces won’t be deemed acceptable. A good pair of walking boots is essential for any backpacker, make sure yours are broken in and feel comfortable before setting off on your travels.

Will You Be Staying in a Tent or Accommodation?

If you’re mainly going to be camping, you will need to look into what the best backpacking tent is for your needs. Something sturdy yet lightweight enough to carry around is a must. If you’re staying in hostels, it may be worth signing up to a hostel chain. That way you can plan out your journey based on the hostel’s locations, and you know where you’re going to be staying will be clean and secure,

What Food and Water Will You Consume?

When you’re going to be doing a lot of walking, high energy and nutritious foods are essential. Do regular stops at the grocery store to fill up on essentials while keeping costs down. You need a least a day and a half’s food and water with you, it can also help to include a water filtering kit in your pack. That way, at least if you do get lost or stranded, you have something to drink if you can find a water source. This could literally be life-saving.

Are You Prepared For Accidents?

Another important piece of kit not to be overlooked is a first aid kit. Some band-aids and over the counter pain medication will make life more comfortable if you need them. It should also include antiseptic wipes, bite and sting cream, gauze and bandages. In warm climates cuts and bites can get infected quickly, you need to be able to patch yourself up until you can get medical attention.

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March 18, 2017 by Chase Vandros

Sites, Sunsets and S’mores: Top Camping Tips for Beginners

If you’re brand new to camping and wondering how you’ll ever learn to do it right, don’t worry. Everyone who camps has to start somewhere, right? Follow a few simple tips and tricks, and you will be camping like a pro before you know it.

Get the right gear and know exactly how to use it

Before you head for the hills, beach, forest or other campsite, be sure you have the right sort of camping gear. Buy it or rent it, but always take the proper kind of camping equipment and understand how and where to use it right. For your first camping excursion, you may wish to consider renting high-end gear before going to the expense of a full purchase. Rent a day or two in advance, and learn to set up your tent and camp stove in the backyard. This is a better alternative to learning how to set up gear on-site. If you rely on the setup instructions included with your gear, you may find it takes longer to put together than you anticipated, say the makers of Gore-Tex.

Know where to go and what to expect when you get there

Research destinations such as camping in Yreka, California before you go and learn everything you can prior to selecting a campsite. before you go and learn everything you can prior to selecting a campsite. Read traveler reviews and bone up on the regulations regarding the site. Do wild animals live where you intend to set up camp? This is always a good thing to know. Will there be poisonous plants or biting snakes nearby? Again, this is something you definitely want to understand before choosing a campsite. Obtain a map of hiking trails and don’t forget to find out about camper hookups, restrooms, and other campsite amenities. Program the campsite coordinates into your smartphone to ensure you don’t get lost on the way.

Food, frolicking and fun

Whether your dietary interests lean toward gourmet meals, or if you’re content to get along with simple camp style grub, you’ll want to take along nutritious foods that supply plentiful energy for hiking, fishing, and exploring. Do as much prep work as you can at home, and putting together camp dinners will be oh-so much easier. Wash and chop fresh veggies and store in zip bags. Bring along foil with which you can wrap fish and vegetables with a pat of butter and place on hot campfire coals for cooking. Scramble eggs with salt and pepper and bring in a tightly-covered reusable container. Don’t forget a cooler chest and lots of ice. If you’re camping in an area known for bears, raccoons and other curious fauna, lock the ice chest in your Jeep Renegade or other vehicle. No matter where you camp or when, never ever store your food in a tent. Doing so only increases the odds that you’ll be bothered by insects and animals in the night.

Temporarily setting up home in the great outdoors is a fine way to relieve stress and refresh your association with nature.

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March 18, 2017 by Chase Vandros

Road Trips with Your Little Ones: Survival Strategies for Savvy Parents

Taking a family road trip can sometimes be the most affordable way to travel with your children. But traveling with little ones can be a true test of one’s patience, so here are some little tips that will go a long way in helping you cope with the journey.

Make a Map

Before you set out on your trip, make a map of your journey. Mark places of interest and places you will stop, so your kids can follow their route and look out for different things along the way.

Get a Car Entertainment Bag

Fill it with small toys and activities like stickers, trinkets, craft supplies, action figures, cards games, and puzzle books. Wrap each item individually so kids have fun opening them at each stage of your journey.

Download Some Audio Books

Audio books are very useful for keeping kids quiet on a road trip, especially if you’re the only adult in the car. With a monthly subscription to Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, you can borrow up to ten books at a time for no extra charge and they have a great collection of print and audio books.

Let Them Color

If you are traveling with young children, this coloring book app can go a long way to helping them pass the time. This app has over 100 images of people, places, animals, flowers, birds, and geometrical patterns to color. There are more than 25 pallets with plenty of colors to choose from. Kids can color with the touch of a finger. When the picture is complete they can add effects and share the images with friends and family.

Make a Felt Activity Board

These are plain boards covered with flannel. Because flannel is rough, soft materials such as felt will stick to them. Once you have your board, you can cut out all different shapes in colored felt so that your child can make different scenarios with them. You can even have several flannel boards depicting different background scenes to inspire your child’s creativity.

Make an I-Spy Mission

Kids love looking for things out of the window while traveling so print them an I-spy sheet such as this Restaurant I-spy game and let them search for places. Alternatively, you can make your own I-spy list with stickers so that they can cross off each thing when they see it.

Play The License Plate Game

For slightly older children you can print a map of the US and kids can have fun coloring in each state as they see a license plate from that state. You can keep it in the car for each time you travel so kids can see how long it takes to fill in every state.

If the trip is very long and you are going to be traveling through the night, give your kids, glow sticks, glow bracelets or glow necklaces and let you kids wear their own personal night light. Keep everyone safe and happy so that you’ll arrive at your destination ready for a great vacation.

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April 22, 2016 by Chase Vandros

Things to do in Ealing for Kids

Whenever you are traveling with your family you want to make sure that wherever you happen to go that there are going to be plenty of things that you can do with your children.

Keeping the kids entertained and happy can sometimes be a challenge for you, especially when you go to a big city like London where they may not have a big interest in historical sites or art galleries. You want to make it your job to find fun places to go with the children. If you are staying in the Ealing area of London, here are a few things to do in Ealing for kids that the whole family might enjoy:

Play Outdoors – There are a number of London‘s best parks right in the Ealing area that your family can enjoy. If you are visiting the area in warmer weather in the spring or summer, you can go to parks such as Acton Park, Bedford Lakes Country Park, Boston Manor Park, Brent Lodge & Bunny Park and many others. All kinds of parks provide you with great places for the kids to run around and enjoy the outdoors in the open space. Many of the parks include all kinds of activities for the kids to get involved and have areas where you can pack a lunch and picnic to enjoy the whole day.

Theme Parks – Kids of all ages (and many adults as well) enjoy being able to go to a theme park to spend the day. There are several theme parks that are within easy distance of Ealing so you can plan to spend the day at one of them. Among the most popular in the area include Legoland, which is about fifteen miles away from Ealing, Chessington World of Adventures, which is about eleven miles away and Thorpe Park, which is about twelve miles away. All offer all kinds of rides, games and adventures for children big and small and promise to give the whole family a day of fun and smiles

Museums – While going to the museum may not be fun for some children, there are a number of museums in and nearby to Ealing that can appeal to the entire family. For kids that love vehicles and racing, a visit to the London Motorcycle Museum in Greenford could be just the thing. You can also spend some time at the London Transport Museum to see the history of transportation in London. Other museums in the area include Gunnersbury Park Museum and the London Museum of Water and Steam, both of which can be fun and entertaining for kids and adults.

Once you know you are going to be traveling to Ealing and have found some things you can do with your children you are going to want to look for a good place to stay for the family. Of the hotels in Ealing in Acton you will want to consider staying at the Holiday Inn London West. The Holiday Inn London West can provide you with just the size room that you need, all of the amenities that you and your family require, excellent service and much more to make for a fun family trip.

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January 28, 2016 by Chase Vandros

The most photogenic overland travel routes in Europe

Plan on seeing Europe by car or bike this summer? If so, you’ll want to know about the most photogenic overland travel routes in Europe before you head overseas.

Fortunately, we have done most of the mental work of finding some of the most outstanding routes on the continent; all you have to do is pick which one is best for you and your travel companions.

1) Atlantic Road, Norway

Though it only clocks in at a paltry 12 miles long, the Atlantic Road in Norway has gained a great deal of buzz in the travel media for the scenery that it packs along that small length of road.

From bridges with ridiculously high arches, to rocky isles that the routes wends through on its way to Utheim on the island of Averoy.

Exposed to the unsheltered Norwegian Sea in places, this road needs to be experienced during stormy weather to be properly appreciated, though clear days will yield equally impressive views of snowy peaks on the mainland as well.

2) Transfagarasan, Romania

Built as a statement of power by the Communist government of the day, the Transfagarasan in Romania has been traversed by some of the best travel instagrammers due to the extremely steep, bendy, and scenic nature of this highway.

This road is not for those that get queasy at the first sight of marginal driving conditions, as many of the steep slopes along this mountain pass lack guardrails of any kind.

Dozens of hairpins, long S-curves, and steep descents will test your patience, but don’t be in a rush, as the alpine views here are priceless. Just be sure to pull well off the road to be courteous to fellow motorists.

3) Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland

Stretching more than 2,500 kilometres along the Atlantic coast of Ireland, the Wild Atlantic Way is exposed to the full fury of one of the world’s bigger oceans.

This makes for dramatic sea cliffs, lonely but incredible beaches, and locals that are as authentically Irish as any you’ll meet in this friendly country.

4) Grossglockner Hohenalpenstrasse, Austria

Looking for a road trip through some of the most dramatic mountains in the Alps? The Grossglockner Hohenalpenstrasse in Austria will take you to the heart of the most spectacular natural attractions in this part of Europe.

From age old glaciers to co0lourful alpine meadows, you’ll be slowing your motorcycle to the side of the road more than a few times throughout your trip along this unforgettable route.