When we’re not traveling, travel magazines can fill that void. Last year, we were on a Budget Travel kick but in the past few... »
Sermons
Promoting Indigenous Tourism
With all the different types of tourism, sometimes it’s hard to sift through and find the ones that are truly worth the effort. Poorism? Not so much a fan, thanks. Staycation? Uh, no. But here’s one that absosmurfly should be on your radar screen if you’re interested in socially conscious tourism, ecotourism, or sustainable tourism:... »
Inefficient or Laid Back? Your Ethnocentricity Cannot Be the Judge
On a recent flight back from a certain Latin American nation, we heard two American women sitting in front of us complaining about the inefficient nature of this particular country. Because this country has a special place in our small, prune-like heart, we took slight offense. It’s true that most Latin American countries have... »
When Straight People Go Gay: 4 Tips on Being Respectful in Gayborhoods Across the World
Our friend Daniel Baylis is back writing a guest post for the Mindful Tourist. Take a peek making sure to read to the very bottom to find out more about Daniel and his possible drink of choice… When traveling to urban centers, gay neighborhoods are often the trendiest places to visit. Whether you are in Le... »
Top 12 Travel Pet Peeves
Travel is never perfect but trips are always made worse for us by encountering any of the following pet peeves: 12. Those little cards in hotels that ask us to help them care for the environment by hanging up our towels and not using a new one each day. We get it and agree but... »
Bulldozing Over Cultures in China
We’ve already been informed that The Mindful Tourist is one of the many websites blocked by the Chinese government (and quite frankly, we feel honored. Thanks, China!), and we don’t think our discussing the latest cultural catastrophe the Chinese are committing will make them change their minds. While we sit fretting over the new six-lane... »
Why to Watch TV on Vacation
Why spend your valuable time on vacation watching the boob-tube? True, you don’t want television-watching to get in the way of going out, seeing the sights, meeting people, and working on that all-important tan (skin cancer prevention advocates: no emails please). But when you have some down time, instead of turning on your computer... »
Being a Good Host
Forget about being a good tourist – today let’s talk about being a good host. We happen to live in Washington, DC, a city that welcomes (that might be a strong word) 16 million tourists each year. But many Washingtonians seem to take the attitude that all these tourists are at best, an inconvenience and at... »
Being Ethical in Your Travels
You know all about the Mindful Tourist’s tips on how to be a socially conscious traveler. The Ethical Traveler is an alliance uniting adventurers, tourists, travel agencies, and outfitters — everyone who loves to travel, and sees travel as a positive force in the world. They believe that all travelers are, in effect, freelance... »
Chris Guillebeau: “It’s cool, life’s an adventure.”
We are big believers in TripAdvisor’s hotel rankings and reviews, typically always checking them before booking travel. That said, we know to take every review with a grain of salt since everyone has different expectations and tolerance for dirt, bad service, etc. We also know that no trip will go perfectly as planned so... »
Calling Poverty Tourism by its True Name
With the popularity of Slumdog Millionaire, we began to see more and more articles about poverty or slum tourism. Since it left a bad taste in our mouth, we did a little research (also known as sitting on our arse and websurfing) here and there but couldn’t bring ourselves to write a post about it… until... »
