I spent a lot of my first trip around the world partying. I was twenty-five and ready to cut loose after a quarter century of living a fairly sheltered, middle-class life. In my mind, a lot of backpacking was about meeting fellow travelers, partying, and saying yes to anything that came your way. And that…

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I spent a lot of my first trip around the world partying. I was twenty-five and ready to cut loose after a quarter century of living a fairly sheltered, middle-class life. In my mind, a lot of backpacking was about meeting fellow travelers, partying, and saying yes to anything that came your way. And that often lead to some outrageous experiences.

Like getting into a boxing ring in Ko Phi Phi, Thailand.

Before I began that trip in 2006, I used the website MySpace to meet travelers in advance, since, as an introvert, I was very worried that I wouldn’t make any friends on the road. MySpace had a lot of travel groups, so I reached out to people in hopes of meeting up with them on the trip. (I was early to using the web as a social tool: I had a blog in 2001, and I met my first girlfriend on Friendster back when meeting people online was taboo.)

After landing in Bangkok at the end of that year, I happened to run into Lindsay in the airport, a Brit I was scheduled to meet later that week in Krabi. She was with her friends John and Stephanie. As luck would have it, we were on the same flight to Phuket, so we decided to start our trip together early.

In Phuket, we had booked lodging at the hostel made famous by the movie The Beach. It was as terrible as the film made it out to be, with thin walls, dirty bathrooms, and hard beds. We stayed one night.

From there, we went to Ko Phi Phi, where we planned to spend three nights. The island was still reeling from the tsunami that had devastated it two years before, a cacophony of noise as it tried to rebuild itself. There was debris and construction everywhere, and many businesses were still closed and homes abandoned.

We found a cheap room on the far end of the main town, bunking together to save money, a traveler’s most precious commodity.

That night, we did what backpackers do on the island: we partied. We ate cheap food in the bustling night market, with vendors selling overpriced pad thai to travelers who didn’t know better. From there, went from bar to bar, getting progressively drunker, before ending up at the Reggae Bar, which is famous for two reasons: buckets of cheap booze and a boxing ring in the center.

But the ring isn’t for watching professional Thai boxers. No, it’s there so backpackers can watch other backpackers beat the shit out of each other for free buckets of booze. (A “bucket” is Thai whiskey, Red Bull, and Coke in a child’s beach pail. It gets you very smashed.)

As we got drunker and drunker, James dared me to go box in the ring. “Come on! We need more booze,” he said egging me on.

As the night wore on and the alcohol did its thing, I decided to say fuck it. “Fine, I’ll do it,” I agreed, giving in to the desire to say yes to anything and impress my new friends.

I ended up in the ring with an oversized German guy who was about as drunk as I was.

“Go easy on me,” I said. “I’ve never been in a fight.”

“No problem. This is just for fun anyway,” he replied in a slurred, accented voice.

Being drunk, I got a bit overzealous and didn’t “go easy” on him. I got aggressive, landing blows where I could, and the first round was called in my favor.

In the second, he fought back, not wanting to lose to an American who was half his size. His blows hurt, even in my drunken state.

That round was called for him.

In the final round, we both got a little aggressive. He easily defeated me, as the ref, not wanting me to get too pummeled, quickly called the round — and match — for him.

But everyone loves an underdog, so boos erupted from the audience.

Aiming to please the crowd, the bar also ended up giving me a free bucket, and the German guy and I cheered each other. His friends joined mine, and we partied the night away.

The next morning, when I woke up, I was stiff as a board and had a terrible hangover. Though just lightly bruised, I could barely move. Every part of my body ached.

“Why is everything sore? What did we do last night?”

It took a few minutes, and then it hit me (so to speak).

“Ohhh, yeah, I boxed someone last night!”

While I was not thinking of the repercussions to my body the night before, I was well attuned to them now. It was like a truck had backed up and down my body multiple times as I laid flat in bed.

My friends and I laughed and joked about how stupid it was to box someone double my size for some alcohol. I lay there aching as my friends got ready, until I finally had to get dressed myself. We headed to the beach to soak up the sun on the sand and get some breakfast.

Boxing in that ring was one of the more spontaneous things I did on that trip and, while I won’t ever do it again, it’s one of those “fuck yes” moments that brought me closer to my friends and made for a good memory.

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After I graduated from college, my friends and I got really into poker. Every Sunday night, we would meet at our buddy Joe’s apartment and play for a couple hundred bucks total. It was our weekly ritual. With the HBO show Entourage in the background, we’d order food and, huddled around a small table, catch…

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After I graduated from college, my friends and I got really into poker. Every Sunday night, we would meet at our buddy Joe’s apartment and play for a couple hundred bucks total. It was our weekly ritual. With the HBO show Entourage in the background, we’d order food and, huddled around a small table, catch up before getting ready to go to our boring post-college office jobs the following day.

Joe was the most enthusiastic of us all (to this day, he still plays professionally), and his passion for the game spilled over to me (though not his skills). While I was never a top-tier player, I loved the challenge it provided, and trying to figure out the probability of the cards and how to read people’s tells. I read books on poker and did everything I could to get better. Poker was — and still is — an intellectual challenge to me.

On the US road trip that started my round-the-world adventure in 2006, I stopped frequently at casinos to play — and won enough to pay for a lot of my trip.

Eventually, when I arrived in Amsterdam later that year, I grew bored of the constant weed smoking that was so prominent among my fellow travelers. As much as I loved getting high, I wasn’t traveling to sit in coffee shops all day and get baked. There was a whole city out there to see and explore.

So (slightly stoned) I would often embark on long solitary walks around town. (To this day, I walked more during that visit than I did in all my subsequent ones.)

One day, I passed a casino. I didn’t even know there was a casino.

“I wonder if they play poker here,” I said to myself. Though I was on a traveler’s budget and hadn’t played in months, I thought it might be fun to indulge a little bit in a foreign country.

I sat down at a full table of locals playing 2-5 No Limit (that means the first bets are 2 and 5 EUR). The stakes were higher than I wanted, but that was all that was available, so I bought in for the minimum.

When I finally decided to join a hand, the dealer said something to me in Dutch. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that in English?” I asked.

I had outed myself as a foreigner — and this created a lot of curiosity among the other players. I was young and clearly a backpacker, and they wanted to know how I ended up at the poker table and not in the coffee shops, where the other tourists seemed to go.

So I told them: Smoking endless amounts of pot had lost its luster, and so I was wandering each day, exploring the districts and museums. And, as a poker lover, I also wanted to do something different.

Two of the players and I really hit it off. Greg was older gentleman with a great sense of fashion who was always cracking jokes. The other, Lennart, was closer to my age and tall, and had a shaved head. He drank like a fish and smoked like a chimney.

Along with the other players at our table, they made me feel like I was part of something more. So I kept coming back. Poker was our bond, and for those brief hours we were together each night, I felt like I too was a local, not just a backpacker getting high in hostel bars and walking around taking pictures of museums. I was a traveler, getting below the surface of the place and getting to know the people who lived there.

After all, I was traveling the world in order to learn about it. As much as I loved seeing museums, taking walking tours, and having short conversations with people I crossed paths with, none of that really gave me a deep understanding of any stop on my journey.

But these players were my guides. They told me about life in the city and restaurants and bars that tourists didn’t know about that I should go to. I felt like I had learned more about Amsterdam in those first nights than I had for all of the first week I’d been in town.

As a tourist, you don’t often interact in deep ways with locals. You see them briefly and then off you go to the next destination. Getting to know a place — and the people in it — requires spending a lot of time not traveling.

As the days passed, I kept delaying my departure in order to go back to the poker table. Greg and Lennart often offered to take me out, but I was naturally suspicious of two guys who wanted to hang out after the casino closed and were asking probing questions. I was young. I was in a place I didn’t know. And the area was always dark and empty when we left. I was worried they would try to rob me.

So I declined their offers to hang out the first few times. As a natural introvert, this was my first experience with nontravelers, and I was a little cautious.

But, eventually, I agreed, as they wore me down and turned out to be regular people who just wanted to show a visitor some hospitality.

They showed me Oosterpark, on the eastern side of town. It was a small, quiet, and lined with willow trees, featuring small ponds with ducks, which seniors sat around feeding. It was a place locals liked, because they could avoid all the tourists and stoners who litter Vondelpark.

They introduced me to bitterballen, the bite-sized, deep-fried Dutch meatball snack that looks like falafel on the outside but tastes like Sunday pot roast on the inside.

And, when I eventually did go to Spain for a week, I missed Amsterdam so much, I just flew back. They were shocked when I came back to the poker table.

“I thought you were gone,” they said.

“I was but I missed Amsterdam too much so I came back,” I replied.

Weeks passed. I fell into a routine. I learned basic Dutch phrases from the other players at the casino, slept late, and used my winnings to finance an endless supply of nice meals, museum trips, and cannabis. I walked for hours upon hours, reaching the city’s fringes, trying to get lost on the canals and narrow streets that make Amsterdam so famous — the kind of thing you might do when, in the back of your head, you keep saying, “I could live here,” and you suddenly find yourself comparing neighborhoods.

But all good things come to an end, including my European visa, and it was soon time to head to Southeast Asia. After close to two months in Amsterdam, I couldn’t stay in Europe any longer.

On my last night in town, my no-longer-new friends and I went out for dinner, played some poker, and then went for a final round of drinks. I told them where I was headed and how much longer I planned to be on the road. We reminisced — something you can’t really do when you don’t spend more than a couple days in one place, or with one group of people.

They recognized that fact too. They appreciated that Amsterdam is more than the Red Light District and tulips and windmills and coffee shops. That’s all tourists and backpackers think of when they come to Amsterdam, they said.

Though, by their own admission, they were only guessing. They’d never actually met a backpacker, let alone had conversations with one. And why would they have? Backpackers never strayed this far off the beaten path, and locals are busy leading their day-to-day life, which doesn’t create a lot of opportunities to meet tourists.

When we parted ways at the end of the night, they invited me down to Utrecht on my next trip through the continent. Amsterdam is great, they said, but it’s not the real Netherlands. There is so much more to the country than that.

One knows that intellectually. All it takes is one look at a map to know that Amsterdam is just a small part of the Netherlands. But as a traveler, you can often get tunnel vision about a destination, the walls of which are defined by the material in your guidebook and the tips from fellow travelers who came before you.

Only the locals know what the real story is — and until you get to know one, you will never learn it.

But, more than anything, Greg and Lennart taught me to trust in strangers.

Because I was so guarded, I almost missed that chance. My newish nature on the road almost cost me two friendships.

Since then, I’ve remembered to give people the benefit of the doubt and trust them more.

Especially, because, a few months later, while I was in Vietnam, Lennart called me to tell me Greg had been killed in a robbery. Greg used to have a lot of people over after the casino closed as a way to keep the night going and, when word of this got out, other people came over to rob everyone, knowing that they would have lots of money. In an ensuing scuffle, Greg was shot and died at the scene.

I think of Greg often, especially his warm smile, funny jokes, and gregarious nature. He was never afraid to make a friend. He taught me not to be either.

And it’s because of him that I’ve learned to be more outgoing and trusting on the road. Whenever I’m in doubt, I just think to myself, “What would Greg do here?”

The answer is always: “He’d say hello.”

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Medellín is the second-largest city in Colombia and a favorite among the digital nomad crowd. Nestled in the Aburrá Valley, the city has great weather year-round, earning it the nickname: “the City of Eternal Spring.” I spent a lot of time in Medellín. While the city has a troubled past, today, it’s a vibrant and…

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Medellín is the second-largest city in Colombia and a favorite among the digital nomad crowd. Nestled in the Aburrá Valley, the city has great weather year-round, earning it the nickname: “the City of Eternal Spring.”

I spent a lot of time in Medellín. While the city has a troubled past, today, it’s a vibrant and innovative metropolis. I’d go back in a heartbeat. (Make sure to take a salsa class at least once while you’re here!) The city keeps growing and improving itself year after year.

That said, there are still some safety issues here, so picking the right place hotel – and area – is important. To ensure you have a safe and comfortable visit, here’s my list of the best hotels in Medellin:

1. Nomada Hotel Origen

This four-star hotel is located in El Poblado, a centrally located neighborhood packed with restaurants, bars, clubs, cafés, and shops. Though there’s a lot to do in the area, leave some time to spend lounging in the hot tub on the leafy hotel rooftop, enjoying the epic views over the city with a cocktail in hand (it’s a great way to end a busy day of exploring). You can also start your day here too as the complimentary breakfast is served on the rooftop as well.

The rooms are comfortable and spacious, with a cool design featuring exposed brick walls and beams, hardwood floors, and soft lighting. All rooms have a desk, flatscreen TV, and a minibar. Deluxe rooms have kitchenettes with a fridge, microwave, cooktop, and coffee maker. The bathrooms feature tiled walls and floors, showers with great water pressure (something I always appreciate), and complimentary toiletries. This is my top recommended hotel in the city as it really does give the best value for your money. It’s in an excellent location too.

Book here!
 

2. The Click Clack

This five-star design hotel is one of the cooler places to stay in El Poblado. It’s got a chic industrial-meets-nature vibe going on, with sleek architecture and plants everywhere. I love that the included breakfast is served in the huge atrium with lots of light and greenery. There’s also a rooftop pool with its own bar that serves great cocktails, and spa/massage services available. For anything you need, you can just WhatsApp the front desk, which I find really convenient (especially if you’re jet lagged or tired from sightseeing).

All rooms include a desk, flatscreen TV, and safe, but I especially like that the complimentary minibar is stocked with healthy snacks from local Colombian producers. The stylish bathrooms have a dark and moody feel (maybe a bit too dark in my opinion), though the walk-in showers with rainfall showerheads are great. If you’re looking for the hippest hotel in one of Medellin’s best neighborhoods, this is it!

Book here!
 

3. Ibis Medellín

This three-star hotel in the artsy Ciudad del Rio neighborhood is just around the corner from the Medellín Modern Art Museum. It’s also less than a block from Mercado del Río, the biggest food market in town. The hotel is bright and airy, offering a breakfast buffet that features a ton of fresh local fruit and baked goods. I like that the standard check-out isn’t until 12pm so you don’t have to worry about rushing out in the morning (perfect if you’ve been out enjoying the city’s wild nightlife).

I will say that I find the rooms a bit too sparse, but they do include the usual mid-level perks, such as a desk, flatscreen TV, and a wardrobe with a safe. The bathrooms are decently sized though, with a large sink counter (convenient for spreading out your stuff), and complimentary toiletries. This is a good choice for anyone looking for a pleasant (but no-frills) stay in an interesting area of the city.

Book here!
 

4. Sites Hotel

This hotel is located in laid-back Patio Bonito, an area filled with hip restaurants and bars that’s popular with Medellín’s expat and digital-nomad communities. The hotel boasts a rooftop pool and jacuzzi, a reading room in the lobby, a small fitness center, and laundry facilities. The buffet breakfast is tasty, with a variety of sweet breads and pastries, fresh juices, yogurt, and made-to-order eggs.

The rooms consist of spacious deluxe rooms and apartments that all have kitchens with a stovetop, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker, and minibar. All rooms have a simple yet cozy feel, with nice wood floors, artwork from local Colombian artists on the walls, a desk, and a flatscreen TV. Apartments also have their own terraces. The bathrooms are decently sized and feature complimentary toiletries as well as rainfall showerheads with great water pressure. Given its location and kitchen facilities in every room, Sites is perfect for mid-range travelers staying longer in Medellin.

Book here!
 

5. Patio del Mundo

If you’re looking for something a smaller than one of the many high-rise hotels, Patio del Mundo is a boutique hotel with just 13 rooms. There’s always complimentary coffee and fresh juice in the lobby, and the owners and staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful. I love their tropical garden and patio filled with hammocks, loungers, and a hot tub set right into the deck. I also like that you can start your day here with a complimentary breakfast buffet of fresh fruit, juices, croissants, pancakes, and freshly made eggs. Keep an eye out for hummingbirds buzzing around as you eat!

Each room is inspired by a different region of the world (which is a really neat concept). Brazil, Provence, India, and Cuba are just a few examples of the different rooms. Each has its own unique features; some have private terraces, while others have deep soaking bathtubs. All rooms have flatscreen TVs and a minibar, and most rooms have a desk too. The bathrooms feature complimentary toiletries and huge tiled walk-in showers. The hotel has a focus on health and wellness, so you can also get massages or reiki sessions too. Overall, this hotel feels like a little green oasis in the heart of the city.

Book here!

***

Medellín has it all: great weather, plentiful museums, cool walking tours, lush parks, colorful street art, mouthwatering food tours and markets, and incredible nightlife. I loved my time here and would easily return for a few more weeks. I’m confident you’ll love it too. Just make sure to choose your accommodation from the list above. Do that and you’ll be all set to have a safe, comfortable stay!

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A few years ago, one night over dinner with some friends with whom I shared a love of gourmet food, sushi, great cocktails, politics, and movies, we realized that in all the years we’d known each other, we had never taken a trip together. As we all had lots of points and miles saved, we…

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A few years ago, one night over dinner with some friends with whom I shared a love of gourmet food, sushi, great cocktails, politics, and movies, we realized that in all the years we’d known each other, we had never taken a trip together.

As we all had lots of points and miles saved, we thought about how fun it would be to go somewhere spontaneously.

“Let’s do it,” we all declared. So we found award tickets to Hong Kong for the following week.

Halfway around the world, we arrived at our hotel late in the evening. After a late dinner, we went back to the hotel, where I decided to go to sleep. As fun as Hong Kong is at night (and it is very wild), I wanted to try to adjust to the local time zone, so I could make the most of the rest of our trip.

My friends had other ideas: they were going to party. So I said good night and off they went.

When I woke up, it was still dark out. I looked at the time. It was 5:30am. I found two of my friends asleep; the third was apparently still out partying.

Letting them rest, I got ready and headed out to enjoy the city before the commuters rose and it became a maelstrom of noise, chaos, and crowds. Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities, and I love its peaceful calm in the morning. It’s all grandmothers and grandfathers out for walks, doing tai chi in parks, and eating dim sum.

With so much to do (and eat), I didn’t want to waste any time. After an early breakfast of dim sum, I wandered around, grabbed some tea, read a book, and took photos of empty streets.

It was midday when I finally heard from my friends. We met for lunch at a noodle shop and plotted our day.

Before we booked our trip, I had asked them what they wanted to do. Knowing them, I knew it would involve fancy dinners (Hong Kong has some really fine dining), but I emphasized that as a backpacker at heart, what I really love are hole-in-the-wall restaurants, cheap activities, wandering around, and just enjoying the day-to-day life of a place.

“No problem,” they said. They were travelers too, and they also wanted to get below the surface. The idea of dim sum, markets, and fun local bars appealed to them as much as it did to me.

But that was not what happened.

My friends stayed out late partying every night, slept in late, only wanted to eat at expensive restaurants, and didn’t want to do any sightseeing.

As the days ticked by, we were like ships in the night. Outside a few dinners, I didn’t see too much of them. But, being used to traveling alone, that was fine with me. I can make my own fun. But it was disappointing not to have time with my friends. It defeated the purpose of the trip.

On the way back to the airport, they talked about doing it all again someday. But not me. I thought to myself, “We’re never doing this again.”

The trip taught me that, while people might like a certain travel style in theory, the reality is often very different. In fact, over the years, I’ve traveled with many friends who have completely different styles than I do.

As Mark Twain said, “I have found out there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” I couldn’t agree more. It’s important to be cautious when traveling with anyone, even your closest friends. It’s a very personal experience, and you’re going to want to make sure their style matches yours.

After many successful — and not so successful — trips with friends (some of whom I count as my closest), I’ve come up a list of questions that I think are important to ask people (of course, you know your friends, but I’ve found this still helpful):

• What activities do you want to do?
• I like [activity]. I’ll probably see/do lots of this/these on our trip. Would you come with me?
• How do you feel about [activity]?
• Are you okay doing things alone, or do you want to do everything together?
• I don’t eat a lot of expensive food on the road. How do you feel about that?
• Are you okay with eating street food?
• I like to be out the door by 9am each morning. Do you? (Or: I’m a night person. Are you okay with a late start?)
• Do you plan to stay out late?

It’s fine if you all aren’t on the same page, so long as you are comfortable with spending time apart. If you have different travel styles but aren’t okay being an independent traveler (or vice versa), that’s going to cause a problem. I’ve had plenty of trips with friends where we only overlap on some stuff, but that was not a problem. No one cared when any of us went off to do our own stuff, and it gave us things to talk about when we came back together later.

The more trips I’ve taken with friends, the more I’ve gotten smarter about which I take trips with. But sometimes you just never know ahead of time. What people say and what they do can be two different things. They may say they want to travel the same way or do the same things — and then you get on the road and it’s the opposite.

But, ever since that big spontaneous trip with friends, I’ve learned that asking the right questions in advance can really reduce the likelihood that you’ll run into these kinds of conflicts.

Use my list — or come up with your own — but don’t go on a trip with a friend who isn’t at least 60% aligned with your style and interests!

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Berlin is a cool city. Multicultural and artsy, Germany’s capital city is home to artists and creatives from all over the world. A hub for freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs, the city also boasts excellent museums, a boisterous nightlife, and every type of cuisine imaginable. You could spend weeks (months!) in this city and not…

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Berlin is a cool city. Multicultural and artsy, Germany’s capital city is home to artists and creatives from all over the world. A hub for freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs, the city also boasts excellent museums, a boisterous nightlife, and every type of cuisine imaginable. You could spend weeks (months!) in this city and not get bored.

While I didn’t love the city when I first visited, after returning a few times, Berlin began to grow on me. I love the city now.

As the biggest tourist draw in the country, Berlin has a lot of hotels to choose from. And they really run the gamut. I’ve stayed in some fantastic ones and some that I definitely wouldn’t recommend.
So, to help you in planning your trip, these are what I think are the best hotels in Berlin:

1. Hotel Oderberger

Formerly a 19th-century public swimming pool building, Hotel Oderberger is a lovely retro-chic hotel that could be described as “accidentally Wes Anderson” (its whimsical, symmetrical, and has a vintage design style). A four-star property, this place has a lot of amenities, including a cocktail bar and fantastic breakfast buffet. It’s served in a former thermal power station and boasts a waffle bar, homemade pastries, and healthy options like smoothies.

The gorgeous historic swimming pool, with its vaulted stone ceilings, is still here, and you can even rent it out for a private after-hours dip. There’s also a sauna which is perfect for those cold or rainy Berlin days.

The spacious rooms are cozy and comfortable, with a lot of character thanks to the hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, subway tile detailing, and restored original windows that let in a lot of natural light. In-room amenities include a flatscreen TV, mini fridge, and an electric kettle for coffee and tea (some rooms even offer a full kitchenette). The bathrooms are sizable, and offer walk-in rainfall showers, heated towel racks, and complimentary toiletries. I like that the bathroom doors are reused from the building’s bathhouse days. It’s a unique, historic place in a picturesque neighborhood filled with some of Berlin’s best restaurants and bars.

Book here!
 

2. Hotel Johann

Situated by the lovely, leafy canal in Kreuzberg, this three-star boutique hotel offers daily yoga, a comfy lobby with a co-working area, and a sunny breakfast room where you can enjoy a daily buffet of fresh fruits and veggies, fairtrade coffee, cold cuts, muesli, and lots of fresh bread. You can even eat outside in the inner courtyard if the weather is nice.

I like that the rooms here are big, with high ceilings, large windows, and wooden floors. All rooms come with extra-large flatscreen TVs and comfy beds, and I especially love that the bathrooms have heated floors as well as large walk-in showers. Larger rooms come with a desk, but I appreciate that there are single rooms perfect for solo travelers on a budget.

I also like that the hotel also prioritizes sustainability. They generate almost all their own power, have extensive water and energy savings measures in place, and partner with a local initiative to save “imperfect” organic produce that can’t be sold in a grocery store but is still perfectly good to eat. It’s a homey, family-run hotel that offers a lot of value.

Book here!
 

3. Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin

Opened in 1907, this five-star hotel is one of the poshest in Berlin. Located right across the street from the Brandenburg Gate, it has all the style of an über-luxurious Old-World hotel and has hosted many famous guests over the years, including Franklin Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, and Michael Jackson (who infamously held his infant son, Blanket, out of a window here). There are several restaurants, including one with a Michelin star and another that offers an opulent breakfast buffet complete with caviar, champagne, fresh in-house pastries, and much more! There’s also a pool and spa, though at the time of writing both are closed for renovations.

The stately rooms and suites are spacious and comfortable, though I personally think the classic décor of fabric-lined walls and mahogany shelving feels a bit dated. The rooms have all the amenities you’d need though, with tea/coffee making facilities, a desk, safe, and flatscreen TVs with Chromecast. The marble bathrooms are huge too, with a separate bathtub and walk-in shower as well as complimentary toiletries. Overall, this is the perfect choice for travelers who want a luxurious stay that’s close to a lot of main sights.

Book here!
 

4. Capri by Fraser

Located right on Museum Island in the neighborhood of Mitte, this four-star apart-hotel offers bright and airy self-contained apartments that are perfect for longer stays. Every studio has a kitchenette, and there’s a 24/7 gym, laundromat, and restaurant that serves a breakfast buffet every morning too. Plus, the history nerd in me loves that the building is set atop an archaeological site, which you can see through the glass on the lobby floor!

All the studios have a stylish and fun design, with bright pops of color. The kitchenette includes a cooktop, microwave, sink, fridge, and electric kettle (tea and coffee is provided). As someone who’s always working on the road, I appreciate the large work desks, and the smart TVs are convenient for when you want to wind down. The bathrooms are quite spacious and have a sleek design, with walk-in showers that have nice water pressure (always important in my book). I think it’s the ideal choice for someone staying longer-term who wants to be near the museums.

Book here!
 

5. Vienna House Easy

This three-star hotel is located in the heart of trendy Prenzlauer Berg, just a few steps from the tram and metro that will take you anywhere else you need to go. If you’re working on the road, there’s a co-working space, as well as a 24/7 snack shop in the lobby for those late-night munchies. In the morning, there’s a continental breakfast with muesli, cold cuts, tons of baked goods, and fresh juice, coffee, and tea. Vienna House is pet-friendly too if you’re traveling with a furry friend.

The large rooms are bright and fun, with big windows that let in a lot of natural light. I like that the colorful walls feature murals and other artwork by local artists. All rooms have a desk, a large HDTV with Chromecast, and comfortable beds with an outlet and light set right in the headboard. The bathrooms are a bit on the small side but feature walk-in showers with good water pressure. Overall, this is a good choice for budget-minded travelers who want something more than a no-frills two-star hotel.

Book here!
 

6. 25Hours Bikini Berlin

25 Hours is hugged up against the city zoo and the entire place is jungle-themed (it really feels like a fun urban oasis here). You can try to spot animals from the rooftop sauna or the appropriately named rooftop Monkey Bar (which has regular DJ nights and serves an excellent breakfast in the mornings). There’s also a leafy hammock lounge to hang out in and bike rentals available. The staff is really friendly and helpful, plus you’re right next to the S and U Bahn Zoologischer Garten so it’s easy to get around the city from here.

There are two categories of rooms here: urban or jungle rooms. Urban rooms have views overlooking the city with an industrial chic design that features exposed concrete ceilings. I’m partial to the jungle rooms, as they have floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the zoo, hardwood floors, and wood-paneled walls (some jungle rooms even have hammocks). All rooms feature free minibars and Bluetooth speakers, and large rooms even come with free use of a bike. The moody forest-green tiled bathrooms are sleek and luxurious, featuring rainfall shower heads and complimentary toiletries. It’s one of the more unique hotels in the city.

Book here!
 

7. Orania

This stylish five-star property in edgy Kreuzberg is set inside a restored Art Nouveau building from 1913. I really like that the entire place leans into the style of that time. And, as a jazz fan, I love the regular (and free!) live jazz concerts by Berlin artists, set right in the intimate cocktail bar. The breakfast they serve is excellent (you can choose from a buffet or a la carte), and there’s a 24-hour gym too.

A boutique hotel, there are just 41 comfortable rooms and suites here, all of which are elegantly decorated with hardwood floors, warm cream-colored walls, and rich red fabric headboards emblazoned with the hotel’s signature elephant logo. The sustainably-made beds are really comfy, and all of the soundproofed rooms include a desk, flatscreen TV, a minibar, Nespresso machine, complimentary bottled water, plush bathrobes, and slippers. The bathrooms have a rain shower, heated towel racks, and organic locally sourced toiletries (suites have a bathtub too). I really like this place. It’s a great option for travelers looking for luxury in one of my favorite parts of town.

Book here!

***
Berlin is a sprawling metropolis with a ton of hotels to choose from. Whether you want a budget-friendly option or to splash out on a luxurious stay, choose one of the hotels above and you’ll have a great trip to Germany’s capital!

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Hello there! It’s been a while since I’ve written a real blog. Sure, there have been lots of how-to posts, itineraries, where-to-stay suggestions, and old-post updates to keep helping you travel on a budget. But it’s been over a year since I wrote anything personal — and it’s been even longer since I shared a…

The post Life Update: On the Road in 2024 appeared first on Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site.

Hello there! It’s been a while since I’ve written a real blog. Sure, there have been lots of how-to posts, itineraries, where-to-stay suggestions, and old-post updates to keep helping you travel on a budget. But it’s been over a year since I wrote anything personal — and it’s been even longer since I shared a story from the road.

In the beginning of 2022, I wrote that I felt I didn’t really have much to say anymore. Sure, there are always new destinations to write about, but in terms of thoughts and advice, after over 14 years writing about travel, I was tapped out. There are only so many posts you can write about “how to find a cheap flight” or on how to make friends or how to overcome your fears.

Which is why, in the past 2.5 years, I’ve only posted three articles that weren’t “the best hostels in London” or something like that.

But I always left the door open to coming back if the desire hit me.

And the desire has finally hit me.

A lot has happened in the last year. Business-wise, I closed our community and tour company, scaled back my other projects, and spent a lot of time working on some new books. At the end of May, I finished the next update to my book, How to Travel the World on $50 per Day. The new, inflation-adjusted, post-COVID edition comes out in March 2025.

This last year has seen a lot of personal changes too. I moved back to New York City and absolutely love it here. I’m a city guy, and I really enjoy being in a place where I don’t need a car. Plus, there’s tons of things to see and do, more people around, and no kind of food I can’t get. I have a great group of friends here, I’ve found a bunch of hobbies I enjoy, and I have struck a good work/life balance. This is truly home.

But it hasn’t all been rainbows and unicorns.

Last summer, I got tuberculosis, which, while caught early and curable with antibiotics, still forced me to be quarantined and on meds for a long time. Then I’ve had some muscle issues related to just getting old and some gut issues I’m working on now.

But, with the book and most of my heath stuff behind me, I feel like I’m entering a new chapter in my life.

I’m in Europe now for the rest of the summer. Though I’ve been to the continent countless times, my goal here is to visit regions I’ve never been to before. I’m currently in Barcelona before heading to Provence and then Germany. After that, who knows! I don’t get my book edits back until the end of the month, so I’m just enjoying the road!

All of which is my long-winded way of saying I’ve decided to get back into blogging and will be posting again. I have some stories to share and new thoughts on the nature of travel, the creator economy, and AI.

I still feel like my schedule is all over the place, and I definitely want to work on that when I get back home to NYC. I always bite off more than I can chew — but those are fall problems! Right now, the road beckons, and I am answering its call.

Expect this blog to come back to life shortly!

The post Life Update: On the Road in 2024 appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Straddling both Europe and Asia, Istanbul is a bustling, sprawling metropolis of over 15 million people. Formerly known as Constantinople, the ancient center of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires was one of the most important in the world for centuries. As such, there’s an eye-watering amount of history here, with tons to see and do….

The post Where to Stay in Istanbul: The Best Neighborhoods for Your Visit appeared first on Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site.

Straddling both Europe and Asia, Istanbul is a bustling, sprawling metropolis of over 15 million people. Formerly known as Constantinople, the ancient center of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires was one of the most important in the world for centuries.

As such, there’s an eye-watering amount of history here, with tons to see and do. I love roaming the (somewhat chaotic) streets just taking it all in. It’s a beautiful city to explore on foot.

But, because the city is so huge, it’s important to pick the right area to stay in. The traffic here is infamous, and while the public transportation system is decent (and cheap), you don’t want to spend all your time getting from place to place either.

To help you make the most out of your visit, here are my top recommendations for where to stay in Istanbul:

Earning points and miles is the best way to fly more for less. It’s the way I’ve been able to stay on the road for so long — and I’ve seen what a difference it’s made for my readers too. I write a lot about the best credit cards to get depending on your travel…

The post Credit Card Portals vs Transferring Points: What You Need to Know appeared first on Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site.

Earning points and miles is the best way to fly more for less. It’s the way I’ve been able to stay on the road for so long — and I’ve seen what a difference it’s made for my readers too.

I write a lot about the best credit cards to get depending on your travel goals, but I’ve talked less about how to use those points.

Today, I want to change that because I keep getting emails from people talking about how it takes too many points to book a flight. When I follow up, it is because they are booking through the credit card’s travel portal and that’s something you should rarely, if ever, do!

Travel rewards cards offer two main ways to use the points that you earn to book trips:

• By transferring points to their travel partners
• By using a card issuer’s booking portal

For those who are new to earning and using points and miles, there’s a lot of confusion about which is the better option. Travel credit cards position their portals as the best option for using your points. But, in reality, they rarely ever are.

So let’s talk about why this is.

 

The Low-Down on Travel Portals

Travel portals are online travel agencies (OTAs) offered by banks as part of the benefits of holding one of their rewards cards. They work exactly like other OTAs, such as Expedia or Kayak, where you can book flights, hotels, and rental cars by searching for availability via their search engine.

The main difference is that these travel portals are connected to your credit card. This allows you to use your points and miles when booking. You can also choose to pay partially with points and partially with cash.

Using travel portals is basically like using your points as cash back. You get a fixed value per point and you will also earn points/miles on your booking.

Credit card companies position their portals as the best way to use points. They want you to use the portals and stay within their ecosystem so that they can make money off of you.

To keep you on their site, they offer incentives that you can only get when using their portal. These incentives include the following:

• Travel credits – If you use the portal, many cards offer statement credits to offset your purchase. For example, the card_name offers $50 USD hotel credit when booking through Chase Travel^SM, and the card_name offers a $300 USD annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel.
• Increased rewards earning power – You’ll earn extra points when using the portal. For example, the Capital One Venture X and the card_name cards both offer 10x on hotels and rental cars and 5x on flights when booked through their portals.
• Increased point value – You’ll get a small boost in the number of points/miles you can cash in just by using the portal. For holders of Chase Sapphire cards, for example, 1 point becomes 1.25 or 1.5 points (with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve, respectively) when booking through the portal. (While that seems like a great deal, you can usually get a much better value per point when transferring to travel partners, as I’ll get into below.)

Travel portals are easy and convenient. However, using them is usually not the best value for your points. What you get in simplicity and convenience you lose in the fixed redemption value that usually isn’t the best.
 

The Low-Down on Transfer Partners

On the flip side, you can transfer points from your account directly to the place where you want to book (such as an airline or hotel). While transferring your points to travel partners is a bit more work, you can get much more value out of your hard-earned points this way.

Only certain cards earn you transferable points though. For example, airline- and hotel-specific cards (such as the card_name or the card_name) only earn you points that can be used at that airline or hotel. They’re less valuable, because they’re less flexible. Transferable points are valuable (and what you should aim to get), because they’re so flexible.

Here are a few types of transferable currencies and some cards that earn them:

• American Express Membership Rewards: The Platinum Card by American Express, the American Express Gold Card, the American Express Green Card.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
• Bilt Rewards: Bilt Mastercard®.
• Capital One miles: All Capital One Venture cards.
• Citi ThankYou Rewards: Citi Premier® Card.

Each transferable currency has different travel partners (many overlap). Here are some of Chase’s travel partners, listed at the Chase Travel^SM site:

While the actual value you can get varies greatly based on the flight or hotel, a good benchmark is The Points Guy’s monthly valuation chart, which values most transferable currencies at over 2 cents per point when used as transferable points. That’s double what you’ll get on travel portals, and often you can get much more.

That’s because when transferring your points, you can also take advantage of transfer bonuses offered by credit cards and flash deals (such as Air France-KLM Flying Blue promo awards, which are monthly deals on award flights). These can be incredible deals, up to a 50% discount!

While finding award availability directly with airlines can seem overwhelming, the good news is that tools like Point.me (an award flight search tool) make it easier than ever.

Generally speaking, I always transfer my points. Doing so provides the best value and booking direct ensures that there is no third-party involved should there be an issue with my flight. Moreover, it takes a lot fewer points for a redemption this way. Let me tell you why in the next section.
 

Comparing Partners vs Portals: Which One Is Best for You?

Unless there is a super cheap flight or room (less than $150 USD), I always transfer points to travel partners, especially when booking business-class flights or nicer hotel rooms. You just get more bang for your buck.

For example, a business class flight from New York to Paris in peak season is 88,000 points on United each way (both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards transfer to United). Those flights usually cost about $2,400 (though they can get as high as $5,000). If you had the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Bilt Rewards Card and booked through their respective portals, you would need 192,000 points (each point is worth 1.25 cents in either of these portals). That’s over double what you’d need when transferring your points to United booking directly.

Since most flight redemptions for economy start at 20,000 points (when transferring directly to airlines), you need to find a flight that’s less than $250 for it to be worth it to use the portal. This is when using the Chase Sapphire cards or the Bilt card, which offer you more than 1 cent per point when booking via their portals. For Amex or Capital One cards, you only get 1 cent per point/mile. That means you’d need to find a flight for $200 or less for it to make sense to use their portals.

For hotels and rental cars, it’s a little less black and white because you don’t always have transfer partners.

For example, I am booking hotels via the Chase Travel portal on an upcoming trip to Barcelona because there are no rooms bookable with points available. (You can only transfer points from credit cards to chains like Hyatt or Marriott.) Since hotels are $300 and up per night, I’m just using my points to save me money by booking with a non-chain hotel. I wouldn’t be able to book with points otherwise. This is the exception to the rule.

Here are some other cases in which using the portal is your best option:

• There are no award seats available on your desired flight (such as if you’re flying in peak season or during the holidays) or hotel (such as if you want to book a boutique hotel that is not bookable with points).
• You’re booking a rental car and want to use points (you can’t book rental cars directly via points).
• You’re chasing airline status and want to earn points on your booking.
• You simply won’t use your points otherwise.

About that last item: always consider your travel goals and determine whether the ease and convenience of using the portal is worth it to you. Using your points, regardless of how, is better than letting them sit around! Never stockpile your points. They get devalued all the time. So use them rather than lose them!

***

Travel portals can be an enticing way to use your points. They’re convenient, and banks give you incentives to use them. If you’re new to points and miles and just want a simple way to cash in your earnings, they are definitely an option.

However, you can usually get much better value out of your points by transferring them directly to airlines or hotels. The fewer points you use per trip, the more points you have for more travel (or more points to fly/stay in luxury).

But the great thing is that you don’t have to choose either the portal or transferring to partners. You can mix and match depending on the best option at the time. So do a quick comparison and use points to book your next trip!
 

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Advertiser Disclosure: “Nomadic Matt has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Some or all of the card offers on this page are from advertisers and compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. Nomadic Matt and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.”

Editorial Disclosure: “Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. This page does not include all card companies or all available card offers.”

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express® Card, See Rates and Fees.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles(R) Gold American Express Card, See Rates and Fees.

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As the capital of several empires, Istanbul is one of the most ancient cities in the world. Stradling the boundary between Europe and Asia, this humming metropolis of over 15 million people boasts plenty to explore, from the bustling Grand Bazaar to the iconic Hagia Sophia to the serene shores of the Bosphorus River. Turkey…

The post The 5 Best Hotels in Istanbul appeared first on Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site.

As the capital of several empires, Istanbul is one of the most ancient cities in the world. Stradling the boundary between Europe and Asia, this humming metropolis of over 15 million people boasts plenty to explore, from the bustling Grand Bazaar to the iconic Hagia Sophia to the serene shores of the Bosphorus River.

Turkey is famed for its hospitality, meaning that there are a lot of great hotels with fantastic service here. It’s a great place to splash out. I especially love that many hotels are located in historic buildings, so you’re always soaking up the history of the city no matter where you go.

But (like anywhere), there are a lot of subpar options too. To help you save time and money, here’s my list of the best hotels in Istanbul:

1. Celine Hotel Ottoman Mansion

This four-star hotel is located in a former Ottoman mansion in Sultanahmet, just a short walk from Istanbul’s main sights. I love that the entire place retains its historic atmosphere and character. It’s decorated in a late Ottoman style, with grand wood ceilings, gilded paintings, hardwood floors, and period furnishings. There’s even a fireplace in the lounge.

The rooms feature wooden wardrobes and desks, comfy beds, a flatscreen TV with satellite channels, an electric kettle, a safe, and a minibar. You’ll also get two complimentary bottles of water in the room per day. The bathrooms have marble sinks, deep tubs, and rainfall showerheads (a big plus in my book). There are also free toiletries, bathrobes, slippers, and a hairdryer.

Every morning in the interior patio, you can get an excellent complimentary breakfast. I especially enjoy that it has both Turkish and Western options, with a ton of variety, including fresh pastries and breads, fruits, eggs, and sweet cakes.

Book here!
 

2. Sultan Hamit Hotel

This three-star hotel is a great option for an affordable stay in the center of historic Sultanahmet. The staff is very welcoming and accommodating, and every morning there’s a traditional breakfast buffet filled with fresh fruit, cold cuts, cheeses, breads, pickled veggies, and dips. The rooms are minimally decorated and a bit dated, but always kept very clean.

Even though the rooms are on the smaller side, they come furnished with a surprising number of amenities. In all rooms, you’ll find a minifridge, a desk, wardrobe, flatscreen TVs, AC, safe, and an electric kettle to make tea and coffee. The bathrooms are small (with shower pressure that’s a bit weak), but they’re clean and come with complimentary toiletries, slippers, and a hairdryer. Overall, this is a good no-frills choice for travelers on a budget who want to be within walking distance to the main attractions.

Book here!
 

3. AJWA Sultanahmet

I love the timeless decadence of this gorgeous five-star hotel. Walking into the grand lobby feels like stepping into a palace. The entire place is furnished with mother-of-pearl furniture, handmade silk carpets, original artwork, unique marble work, and hand-painted ceilings. There’s also a luxurious spa with a hammam, indoor pool, steam room, sauna and massage services. There’s two restaurants as well (an Azerbaijani gourmet restaurant and a French patisserie). One of the restaurants is on the roof, and I love that you can enjoy the huge breakfast spread while taking in stunning views over the Bosphorus River. (Just be aware that it’s a dry hotel, so no alcohol is served.)

The rooms are all furnished in the same Ottoman style, and even boast specially commissioned tilework and heated floors. All of the spacious rooms feature a complimentary minibar, wooden desk, flatscreen TV, Nespresso machine, and an electric kettle with a great selection of tea (this is Turkey after all). The beds are comfy, and you can choose your pillow from a pillow menu too. The bathrooms are large and have marble sinks and tubs, multiple showerheads, bidets, and complimentary toiletries. It almost feels like your own personal traditional hammam.

This is the ultimate for luxury in the heart of the old city. Plus, while you’re just a short walk away from all of the city’s historic attractions, there’s a free shuttle available that can take you to the main sights if you need it.

Book here!
 

4. The Halich Hotel Istanbul Karakoy

This four-star hotel offers sleek rooms with epic views over the city. The breakfast is actually served on the rooftop terrace every morning so you can take in the view while starting your day. The breakfast buffet has a ton of a variety too. In the evening, the rooftop turns into a bar, so definitely come up here at least once to enjoy the impressive panorama.

The rooms here are bright and cheery, with large-scale drawings of important Istanbul landmarks on the walls. All rooms also have air conditioning, a desk, a minifridge, an electric kettle, a flatscreen TV, and a safety deposit box. The bathrooms are a bit dated but have nice wide vanities so you can spread out all your stuff. The staff is exceptionally helpful, and there’s even a hotel cat, which gives the place a homey feel (cats are loved and very well-cared for in Turkey). The location is excellent too as you have the best of both worlds here — it’s close to the ferry that will take you to all the historic sights, but within walking distance to the atmospheric streets of Galata.
Book here!
 

5. Pera Palace Hotel

Built in 1892 to host passengers of the Orient Express, this opulent five-star hotel exudes a timeless old-world charm. It was the first building in the Ottoman Empire to have electricity (apart from palaces) and tons of famous guests have stayed here (Agatha Christie supposedly wrote Murder on the Orient Express here). The hotel is designed in a mix of neoclassical, art nouveau and oriental styles, with a grand lobby boasting soaring ceilings, marble floors, and elaborate chandeliers. There’s an impressive array of amenities too, including an indoor pool, spa (with a traditional Turkish bath, sauna, steam room, and massage services), as well as a well-equipped fitness center. There are also several eateries including a French patisserie, a tea lounge, and a gourmet restaurant that serves a fantastic Turkish breakfast buffet.

The lavish rooms and suites feature period furnishings, with antique furniture, rich fabrics, hardwood floors, and floor-to-ceiling windows. All of the spacious rooms come equipped with a TV, mini-bar, safe, and Nespresso machine. The hammam-inspired marble bathrooms include complimentary toiletries as well as comfy bathrobes, and many bathrooms have antique clawfoot tubs. The majority of the rooms have balconies offering views over Pera and Golden Horn. Just a 10-minute walk from Galata Tower, this is the place for a unique, historic, and luxurious stay.

Book here!

***

Istanbul, the city where East meets West, is a fascinating blend of cultures and history. I love wandering the bustling streets as the emblematic call to prayer echoes from the minarets all around. It’s got this unique feel that’s not quite European, but not quite Asian either. Definitely plan to spend some time soaking up the city. But no matter how long you have, choose one of the hotels above and you’re sure to have a great stay!

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Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is a popular career choice for those looking to combine a passion for education with the thrill of travel. TEFL involves teaching students whose native language isn’t English, regardless of the teacher’s native language. I did it in Thailand and Taiwan and it was an amazing experience! The…

The post The Ultimate Guide to Teaching English Overseas appeared first on Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is a popular career choice for those looking to combine a passion for education with the thrill of travel. TEFL involves teaching students whose native language isn’t English, regardless of the teacher’s native language. I did it in Thailand and Taiwan and it was an amazing experience!

The demand for certified TEFL courses continues to grow as students around the world strive to learn English. It’s one of the best ways to work overseas. Historically used in private schools, TEFL’s communicative approach contrasts with the rigid methods of public schools. Often the focus is on communication, creativity, and cultural awareness rather than rote memorization and strict grammar.

There are many reasons people decide to teach overseas. I did it because I needed money and then I did it again because it was a great way to work and live in another country! It provides a sustainable way to experience cultural immersion, learn new languages, and build international networks. It often leads to significant growth on both personal and professional levels too. By stepping into a TEFL role, teachers not only contribute to the educational landscape of their host countries but also enhance their own skills and career prospects.

Since most teachers need a TEFL to get a job, here’s everything you need to know about TEFL programs so you can teach English overseas:

 

What Is TEFL Certification?

TEFL certification is the primary qualification used to obtain jobs teaching abroad. Established in the early 1970s, TEFL training was developed for regions where English was not the primary language. TEFL certificates are now recognized internationally and are often a prerequisite for securing positions overseas.

In the past, the only option for a would-be TEFL teacher was dedicating a month to a full-time in-person program. Access to training was limited due to high tuition fees, a lack of options outside major city centers, and the other supporting costs that came with it.

These days, technology (and decades of research and development) have made TEFL courses much more accessible and inclusive. The TEFL certification can be completed fully online, in hybrid blended formats, or fully in person.

Regardless of the format, TEFL courses provide comprehensive training in the following:

• Classroom management
• Teaching skills
• Lesson planning
• Incorporating media into the classroom
• Grammar
• Cultural sensitivity

Over the decades, the TEFL standard has been a 120-hour course. It is considered the perfect length for providing the theoretical framework for a new graduate to start teaching in the classroom. While the industry often pushes more hours on unsuspecting teachers, they are usually superfluous and add little value over a good-quality, standard 120-hour TEFL course.

That said, pursuing further education and/or more hours is recommended after a teacher has a couple years of teaching experience. For example, the Cambridge DELTA is an excellent choice for instructors who have already completed a TEFL, and have two years of full-time classroom experience under their belt.

Requirements and Where to Obtain Certification

Prospective TEFL teachers should have a fluent command of English. The more advanced the students are, the more advanced the teacher is expected to be. If a teacher is a non-native, they may consider completing a proficiency exam (like the IELTS or TOEFL) to demonstrate their language capabilities, although it isn’t strictly necessary.

A bachelor’s degree is sometimes required to teach English abroad, especially in countries with competitive teaching markets (such as Japan), which also may have legal stipulations regarding work permit issuance. In most countries, the degree can be in any field, so long as it is accompanied with a TEFL certificate.

Some countries and programs accept candidates without a degree (such as Costa Rica and Spain), particularly if they have substantial teaching experience or proficiency in teaching English.

Bear in mind, there is no centralized accrediting body for TEFL. There are some loose governmental frameworks TEFL providers may promote (for example, “Level 5,” which is roughly equivalent to a high school diploma in the UK), but usually these have minimal impact on employability.

It is important to ensure that a TEFL certificate can be authenticated and/or apostilled for use abroad. Check with your provider of choice that this option exists, and ask what it costs. Often would-be TEFLers complete a course that has a flashy website and a great price, only to find out the TEFL cannot be used for work visa applications!

General Qualifications and Skills Needed

In addition to training and certification, successful TEFL teachers often possess qualities such as adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and a proactive approach to problem-solving. A positive mindset is an immense advantage in overcoming issues and challenges inherent in moving overseas. Not only is doing so a challenge, new TEFL teachers will also be adapting to a new career, a new employer, and a new classroom!

A genuine interest in helping students achieve their language learning goals powers teachers toward success. By taking ownership of the role and learning outcomes, teachers can achieve a sense of satisfaction and achievement that result in positive growth and better adjustment.
 

The Benefits of Teaching English Abroad

Teaching English abroad offers numerous advantages. These benefits include professional, personal, and social growth, as well as a financially sustainable way to live and explore different parts of the world.

Professional Growth
One of the most significant benefits of teaching English overseas is professional development. Teachers gain invaluable skills such as cross-cultural communication, adaptation to international work standards, and in-demand teaching techniques.

Teaching abroad often leads to career advancements in the field of education, including roles in educational management, curriculum design, publishing, and teacher training.

Sometimes teachers working overseas are offered rewarding opportunities and positions beyond the educational field that align with the skills they honed as TEFL instructors.

Personal & Social Growth
The experience of living and working in a foreign country is transformative. Teachers often develop a deeper understanding of global issues, gain insights into different cultures, and learn new languages.

This cultural immersion fosters a broadened worldview and enhances personal resilience and independence. Many TEFL teachers report profound personal growth, noting increased confidence and improved problem-solving skills as they navigate life in a new country.

Teaching English abroad is inherently social. Most teachers leave behind their familiar social circles to move to places where they have no existing connections. This shared experience often leads to the rapid and natural formation of new relationships and friendships. TEFL teachers report forming tight knit bonds with other teachers that are meaningful, deep, and long-lasting.

(Matt says: I found teaching a great way to break out of my introvert shell. It was challenging but rewarding.)

Financial Benefits
Teaching English abroad often comes with salaries significantly higher than local averages, supporting a comfortable lifestyle. Additionally, many host countries feature a lower cost of living compared to the teachers’ home countries.

For example, a modern one-bedroom apartment in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, may cost around $500 USD per month, compared to the average US rent of over $1,500 USD. Dining out in countries like Thailand and Indonesia can cost as little as $3 USD per meal, while a similar meal might exceed $15–20 USD back home. Lower income and sales taxes in these countries further increase the disposable income and savings potential for TEFL teachers.

In addition to a stable income, some TEFL positions offer further benefits, such as housing allowances, health insurance, airfare, bonuses, and paid vacations. These perks, coupled with the opportunity to travel, make teaching abroad a great option for anyone looking to sustainably explore the world.
 

Country Focus – Key Destinations for TEFL Jobs

Here’s a quick look at some of the best countries to teach English in:

Japan
Japan offers a rich tapestry of cultural heritage and modern conveniences, making it one of the most popular destinations for TEFL teachers. The country has a lot of opportunities for teaching English, with positions available in private language schools and public schools, and through government-sponsored teaching programs.

Salaries are competitive, typically ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 USD per month, with some positions offering additional benefits, such as housing subsidies and flight reimbursement.

Culturally, Japan presents an exquisite blend of tradition and innovation. From the tranquility of cherry blossoms in spring to the nonstop hustle of Tokyo, there’s a lot for teachers in Japan to explore and enjoy. The country’s efficient public transportation makes it easy to get around, and being a highly developed country, you won’t want for anything here.

Just be prepared for a higher cost of living compared to other TEFL destinations, particularly in major cities.

Taiwan
Taiwan is a friendly, welcoming destination for TEFL teachers. The demand for English instruction there only keeps increasing as the country continues to grow in international commerce, technology, and tourism. Salaries are attractive, often between $1,700 to $2,500 USD per month, with much lower living costs compared to Japan. Most schools in Taiwan also offer benefits such as contract completion bonuses, health insurance, and assistance with finding housing.

Known as “the Heart of Asia,” Taiwan is a unique nation in that it was a Japanese colony for 50 years and is mainly inhabited by Han Chinese. Yet it was never directly under communist rule and has been open to the world. The people are thoughtful, warm, friendly, and humble. The country is very safe too.

Taiwan offers something for everyone. A mouthwatering street food culture, plenty of white-sand beaches, interesting historical sites, living temples, towering mountain ranges, eclectic nightlife, and lush tea plantations are just some of the highlights.

(Matt says: I spent time teaching English here and loved it. Taiwan is an underrated destination!)

Czech Republic
The Czech Republic serves as a gateway to Europe for many TEFL teachers, offering a lower cost of living and the opportunity to travel across Europe easily. English teaching jobs are plentiful in cities like Prague and Brno, with salaries around $1,200 to $2,500 USD per month, which is sufficient to live comfortably due to the lower cost of living. The process for obtaining a work visa in the Czech Republic is more straightforward than in many other European countries, making it an accessible option for many aspiring TEFL teachers.

Life in the Czech Republic can be enchanting, with its stunning architecture, rich history, and vibrant cultural scene. Teachers can enjoy visiting historic castles, sampling local beers, and indulging at quaint cafés. It also makes for a great base if you want to explore neighboring countries in Europe.

Costa Rica
Costa Rica is known for its laid-back lifestyle and breathtaking natural beauty, attracting TEFL teachers who are nature lovers and adventure seekers. The demand for English teachers is steadily increasing, with many positions available in private language institutes and public schools. The typical salary ranges from $750 to $1,100 USD per month, which more than covers living expenses, considering Costa Rica’s relatively low cost of living compared to the US or Canada.

(Matt says: Costa Rica was my first international trip and the place I fell in love with travel. Everyone I know who goes there loves it. It’s an expensive country for Central America, but that’s due to the high cost of adventure activities and other tourism costs. If you live like the locals do, it can be an affordable place to live!)

Teaching in Costa Rica offers a unique opportunity to live in a country renowned for its commitment to conservation and sustainability. The nation boasts an impressive array of wildlife and ecosystems, providing plenty of weekend destinations for hiking, surfing, and wildlife photography. The friendly nature of the Ticos (Costa Ricans) and their warm hospitality make integrating into the community a rewarding experience.

Overcoming Challenges

While teaching English abroad is an exciting and enriching experience, it’s not without its challenges. From language barriers to cultural differences, TEFL teachers often face a range of obstacles that require adaptability and resilience.

Language Barriers
One immediate hurdle when moving to a new country is the language barrier, which can complicate everyday tasks and interactions. Fortunately, employers and fellow teachers help with initial setups, such as opening bank accounts, sorting out a local SIM card, and obtaining necessary services. In many countries (especially in Asia, due to cultural values), locals are accommodating, patient, and eager to assist, with many going above and beyond to ensure positive interactions.

English’s role as a global language aids communication, as many locals will have some understanding of it, and some may even be fluent. Additionally, the use of translation apps has greatly eased communication challenges for new TEFL teachers, helping them navigate language obstacles more effectively. Of course, it’s advisable for TEFL teachers to undertake basic language courses to enhance daily communication, foster deeper personal connections, and demonstrate respect for the local culture.

Cultural Differences
Aside from the communication challenges, cultural misunderstandings can be frustrating.

A successful TEFL teacher embraces the culture of the host country with openness and a genuine eagerness to learn. Recognizing that the norms from one’s own country may not apply abroad helps when navigating cultural mismatches. It’s especially helpful to maintain a sense of humor and keep things in perspective when faced with unexpected challenges.

Participating in local festivals, eating local cuisine, and spending time with local colleagues helps bridge cultural gaps, and will make cultural adaptation a fun, rewarding, and meaningful experience.

Homesickness
The initial period when moving to teach English abroad can be difficult. It involves leaving behind your friends, family, and community to set off into the unknown for an extended period of time. It’s a unique feeling that isn’t often experienced in routine life.

The good news is that this typically diminishes as TEFL teachers form new vibrant friendships, integrate with the expat community, and build a daily routine. Staying connected to friends and family back home through digital communication tools helps ease the times a teacher feels the distance. It may take a few weeks, or it may take a few months. TEFL teachers who embrace the transition to their new environment will have a more positive overseas experience.

Navigating Bureaucracy
Dealing with visa applications, work permits, and local registration can be daunting. One of the benefits of using a credible TEFL job placement service is that the partner employers are vetted and legitimately licensed and regulated, and often have multiple years (if not decades) of experience. They fully support work visa applications, will guide teachers step by step, and provide the necessary paperwork from their end.

Additionally, these employers provide incredible in-country support, such as airport pickup, accommodations and/or fully supported accommodation assistance, help with setting up a bank account, or obtaining a local SIM card, utilities, etc. They typically have an HR department dedicated to foreign TEFL teachers, which takes 90% of the bureaucracy burden off a new teacher’s shoulders.

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Embarking on a TEFL career abroad offers more than just a job — it provides a passport to personal and professional growth. By teaching English abroad, educators not only enrich their lives but also make significant contributions to their students’ futures.

While there are challenges, such as cultural differences and language barriers, the rewards of deep cultural immersion, adventure, and career development are immense. If you’re seeking a transformative life experience, teaching English overseas might just be your next great adventure.

Click here to learn more and start your TEFL journey today!

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