Nairobi to Mombasa: Kenya's Safari Trail
Traveling down one of Kenya’s major thoroughfares toward several of Kenya’s game reserves was a great way to see how the rural side of Kenya lives; at least once you get beyond the truck cluttered Nairobi section. While you can take the clear shot to Mombasa, it is to two of Kenya’s premier game reserves that we are headed. it wasn’t long before the occasional Maasai herder could be seen waving to welcome us.

Melbourne, Australia: The City of Arts, Sport and Fun
Melbourne has the prosperous feel of a city on the up and up. I got this sense right after we got off the plane and stood in a line waiting for customs. As a cute blond Labrador was walked through the line, sniffing every passenger's feet and luggage, posters up on the wall described the multi-billion dollar upgrade going on at the airport, with new terminals, parking and jetways that will accommodate the biggest plane ever built, Airbus' A380.

Pack Your Lipstick: New Guidebooks Target Women Travelers
The travel industry is just waking up to the economic power of women, says Marybeth Bond, writer, editor, speaker and women’s travel guru extraordinaire. She knows of what she speaks. Her female-focused travel guide, 50 Best Girlfriend Getaways in North America, sold through its first print run in six weeks and sent her publisher scrambling. Bond organized her guide thematically to facilitate how many women think about travel.

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Digging Up The Past in Utah's Flaming Gorge
As you may remember from that scene where hundreds of people are digging in Raiders of the Lost Ark, archaeology is a labor intensive enterprise. Unlike in Indy’s world however, there are few real riches to be discovered that would provide motivation for large numbers of people to dig in the heat. The US Fores Service Passport in Time program allows anyone to apply to help on digs throughout the county, throughout the year.

Poland's Sopot Spa: The Pearl of the Baltic Sea
Although widely known as the summer capital of Poland, out of season the renowned Sopot Spa is a true mecca for peacefulness and natural beauty seekers. If you pop in there in July, you will find a lively vibrant town crowded with international tourists and joyful street musicians. Travel in winter or early spring and you will get lost among deserted beaches, melancholic alleys and little cozy cafes.

The Road to Lalibela: Cycling Ethiopia’s Ancient Heartland
Riding out of Addis Ababa, the world’s third highest capital, I’m totally stoked. Completing this route a year earlier, my Canadian cycling mate Scotty Robinson has promised me 450 miles of verdant views, epic climbs, screaming descents and cheap smooth beer in a region of Africa with virtually no tourist footprint. Our goal? Pedal these two mountain bikes north from here to the historic settlement of Lalibela in Ethiopia’s northern fringes....

Koh Samui, Thailand: Great Beaches, Spicy Food and Mummified Monks
I had been to Thailand many times before but had yet to visit Koh Samui. I put that right after friends said that they loved the place so much they had bought a house there and invited me to stay. They loved the people, beaches, the spicy food, phallic rock formations, culture and the strange mummified monks. It was a short direct 1.5 hour flight away by Bangkok Airway.

Living Large and Giving Large: Promoting 'High-End' Travel Philanthropy
While some people's idea of a great vacation is a beach chair and a cold drink, many travelers want to explore and understand the cultures of the places they visit, and to give something back to the communities that have welcomed them. More and more tour companies have established foundations in order to allocate a share of their resources to community development and conservation of wildlife and natural resources.

What-a Ball-a in Guatemala
Hands down and without equivocation, Guatemala is the gem of Central America, offering more to the traveler than any of its half dozen neighbors, even if the equatorial heat had melted them into a tropical glob. World class sites stretch from the most fabulous Mayan ruin at Tikal in the north to the Rio Dulce and Lago Izabal in the south, sandwiching polychromatic markets and variously active volcanoes from Antigua to Lago Atitlan.

Jallikattu: Taming the Bulls in India
A sea of humans swells and ebbs in Thammampatti, a small town near Salem in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. There are people everywhere, easily tens of thousands; they flood the roads filling the narrow alleys, their eager faces gaze down from rooftops, they are perched precariously on bamboo scaffoldings to get a better look. And then comes the juggernaut, the bull.

GoNOMAD's Step-By-Step Passport Primer
Changes in passport requirements for travel to and from the US have changed a lot in recent years, largely due to new regulations promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security. To make sense of the whole situation, especially for the first-time traveler, GoNOMAD turned to an expert, Robert Lee of Swift Passport Services, to explain when you need a passport and how to go about getting one....

TVTrip Helps Travelers Avoid "Nightmare Hotels"
TVtrip.com has taken the guesswork out of booking hotel rooms. No longer will the average traveler have to stress about the quality and condition of his/her lodging. and dining areas. This website provides viewers with videos of hotels at their destinations showing exteriors, dining areas, lobbies, rooms, and even the view from the window. Created in Paris in 2007, former Expedia managers pondered over what was missing from the tourism industry.