Ben Collier is General Manager at Incredible Adventures and is a wizard when it comes to organizing itineraries in the United States. He's an expert when it comes to US National Parks, camping, and hiking, and has worked in adventure travel for nearly a decade, including five years on the ground as a guide.

Complete shownotes and all the links can be found on millennialtravelpodcast.com

Ben and I get the chance to talk about USA road trips and where people should travel in fall and winter 2020 while keeping them safe from COVID19.

In this episode we discuss:

• How did Ben get started as a traveler and trip leader in the United States?
• • His experience in Alaska and Hawaii
  • A great itinerary for Portland, Oregon
  • • Crater Lake National Park
    • Cascade Mountains
• Where to travel this fall?
• • Fall foliage ideas
• Where to travel in the United States during the winter?
• • Matt's pick: South Florida, Miami or Fort Lauderdale to the Everglades National Park and Florida Keys
  • Skiing and how social distancing will work
  • Joshua Tree, Death Valley
  • Yellowstone, Yosemite
  • Zion/Bryce Canyon
  • Lake Tahoe
  • • Matt's article referenced: Millennials are Fleeing Cities, Escaping 9-5, & Avoiding Taxes
    • Reno
    • • Cool neighborhoods like Mid-town Reno
    • Truckee, California
    • Hikes near Las Vegas, Nevada
• Where to get a COVID19 test to show states like Rhode Island, Maine, and Hawaii?
• • At home test kits
• What are the best US National Parks?
• Where should people travel in the winter in the United States?
• What should first people know about their first time camping?
• Hiking safety tips.
• • Hike in groups
  • Bring sufficient water
  • Tell someone where you are going
  • Always bring salty foods and extra electrolytes
  • Dress in layers; avoid cotton
• Bear safety tips
• • Bear spray
  • Bear bell
• Leave no trace camping and hiking principles
• • Free Leave No Trace Certification
• What to bring on a road trip?
• • Safety, should you get a tune up? Should you have a first-aid kit and fire extinguisher? Should you replace your tires?
  • Pack extra food, water
  • Blanket
  • AAA Membership
• Is California safe to travel to right now? Are the California wildfires contained?
• Exploring your backyard

Rapid fire questions:

• Favorite US National Park?
• • Yosemite
• Favorite state to visit in the United States?
• • Alaska
• Favorite small town in America?
• Best hike in America?
• • Angles landing, Zion National Park
• One piece of camping gear he couldn't live without.
• • Good sleeping bag; Marmot
• One piece of hiking gear he couldn't live without.
• • Leki lightweight hiking poles

Resources:

• Incredible Adventures, San Francisco's greenest tour company, powered by petroleum free biofuel.
• @Incadventures on Instagram
• Get in touch with Ben: ben (at) incredibleadventures (dot) com

Complete shownotes and all the links can be found on millennialtravelpodcast.com

Michael Puldy is the author of The Millennial's Guide to Business Travel: Lessons from the Next Generation of Road Warriors. He has an incredibly impressive resume of travel including visiting all 50 states, 50 countries, has flown 3 million air miles, and is a member of the Circumnavigators Club. Michael knows his stuff when it comes to frequent flier miles and credit card rewards points. He has achieved status as a 1K Elite Member on United flying over 1.3 million miles, 700K on Delta, & 500K on American. He is a Diamond VIP at Hilton, achieved Platinum status at Hyatt, and Gold at Marriott and Sheraton. Michael isn't just a travel hacker, he is winning at the gamification of travel legitimately!

What you'll find interesting in today's Millennial Travel Podcast episode is that Michael is not actually a millennial traveler himself but wanted to write this book for the next generation.

In this episode of The Millennial Travel Podcast I ask Michael:

• Why he decided to write a book on travel for millennials.
• What traveling in the 60s and 70s was like.
• How people can optimize their travels
• What the best type of luggage is for business travelers
• Is TSA precheck and Global Entry worth it?
• What is the best way to avoid delays and build contingency plans when traveling?
• The important difference between Uber Black and Uber X and why it matters.
• Tips for working out on the road.
• Why Michael brings his own tea bags and other health tips while traveling.
• How to avoid crappy food in airports and hotels.
• How to add on leisure travel when you are traveling for business.
• Michael's experience living in Singapore as an expat.

In The Millennial Travel Podcast rapid fire section I ask Michael:

• If he could base himself anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?
• • Singapore
• Favorite airport in the world.
• • Denver
• An app he can't travel without
• • Local eats, rental car apps, weather apps, and hotel apps
  • • Weather.com
• Media he'd recommend traveling with
• • His 150GB library on Apple Music
  • Emerson Lake & Palmer
• One piece of travel gear he couldn't travel without
• • Tumi briefcase

Resources:

• The Millennial's Guide to Business Travel: Lessons from the Next Generation of Road Warriors by Michael Puldy
• NextGenTraveler.com
• Puldy.com Michael's homepage with travel photos and stories
• Michael on Instagram

You can find all the links and past show notes on millennialtravelpodcast.com

Direct support for The Millennial Travel Podcast comes from The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life

... and from our new USA hiking and camping trips at Under30Experiences!

Matt Wilson is Co-founder and CEO of the travel company for people ages 21-35 Under30Experiences, and author of The Millennial Travel Guidebook. Under30Experiences has been named number 801 on the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America and number 198 on Financial Times 1000 list of America's Fastest-Growing Companies.

Matt was formerly the co-founder of the media site Under30CEO (Acquired 2016) and is the Host of the Live Different Podcast on business, travel, health, and performance. He has interviewed everyone from NBA Legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar to the President of Starbucks. Matt's writing is published in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and The Huffington Post, and he is part of the invite-only Young Entrepreneurs' Council (YEC) comprised of the world's most successful entrepreneurs 40 and younger.

Matt is a shareholder of the Green Bay Packers. He hosts yoga and fitness retreats in his free time and his personal mission is to help people live more adventurous lives.

In today's episode we turn the tables and James Boobar of Alitpassage interviews Matt to talk about The Millennial Travel Guidebook.

Discussed in this episode of The Millennial Travel Podcast:

• The future of travel and Under30Experiences during COVID-19
• How Elon Musk's gigafactory will affect Austin, Texas
• Transitioning from New York to Costa Rica and Turkey where both Matt and James lived as expats
• How Under30Experiences started in Iceland
• How travel gives people a better understanding of what they want in life
• How the Millennial Travel Guidebook is more about life, making sure peoples dreams do not get "deferred"
• How people can get over their fear of traveling and have difficult conversations with loved ones
• How globalization affects the travel experience, and why you may want to consider seeing experiences outside what you can find at home.
• Why to stop being busy and start living!

You can find all the links and show notes on millennialtravelpodcast.com

Direct support for The Millennial Travel Podcast comes from The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life

... and from our new USA hiking and camping trips at Under30Experiences!

Lydia Dean left her job as an Executive Search Consultant in the year 2000 to pursue a lifelong interest in travel and humanitarian programs. She and her family moved to Provence, France where they lived for 6 years while exploring many developing countries. In 2007, they returned to the US and launched GoPhilanthropic Travel. In 2010 GoPhilanthropic Foundation was formed in order to more actively partner with small grassroots non-profits offering greater access to resources and opportunities. Lydia divides her time between Los Angeles, Provence, and the regions within which GoPhil works. She is also the author of Jumping the Picket Fence: A Woman's Search for Meaning from the Suburbs to the Slums.

Today I'm so excited to welcome Lydia Dean, Founder and Director of GoPhilanthropic Travel, offering travelers the certainty that their support is making a positive impact in local communities. This interview was conducted pre-COVID19 in the research for The Millennial Travel Guidebook where I sprinkled in tons of information on sustainable travel and where Lydia was quoted.

As you hopefully know, sustainable travel and spending our money the right way is super important to us at Under30Experiences. In this interview we discuss topics such as:

• The dangers of voluntourism
• How to select non-profit organizations to work with
• How to vote with your dollars
• Where to travel if you really want to make an impact

I'm also thrilled to hear Lydia's inspiring story and have her share how philanthropy and travel changed the person who she is. It really sounds like she lives an incredibly full and fulfilling life.

You can learn more about Lydia and GoPhilanthropic at www.gophilanthropictravel.com and www.gophilanthropic.org.

Show notes can be found at http://millennialtravelpodcast.com

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Direct support for The Millennial Travel Podcast is provided by my new book The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, and Make Travel a Priority in Your Life.

Check out our new USA trips with Under30Experiences including Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Zion, and Bryce Canyon National Parks… plus Lake Tahoe!

Gabby Beckford is the Gen Z travel blogger, content creator, and marketing strategist behind Packs Light. She helps send her young audience around the world completely free via the funded travel opps she shares in her Young Travelers Network. Her words can be found in pubs such as Lonely Planet, HuffPost, Essence, and Business Insider. Her mission is to empower young people to seek risk, seize opportunity, and see the world. Shownotes can be found on MattWilson.co and MillennialTravelPodcast.com. MTP 6: Socially Distanced USA Road Trips, Diversity, & Being a Gen Z Travel Blogger w/ Gaby Beckford @packslight Gabby Beckford is the Gen Z travel blogger, content creator, and marketing strategist behind Packs Light. She helps send her young audience around the world completely free via the funded travel opps she shares in her Young Travelers Network. Her words can be found in pubs such as Lonely Planet, HuffPost, Essence, and Business Insider. Her mission is to empower young people to seek risk, seize opportunity, and see the world. Today, I'm thrilled increase the representation of people of color here on The Millennial Travel Podcast. Not only is Gabby a bi-racial female, but she hails from Gen Z, and is an already successful 25-year-old! I got to speak with Gabby about her blog Packs Light, her success on TikTok, her recent USA Road Trip, and the challenges of her quitting her job to become a full time travel blogger just before the COVID-19 pandemic. My favorite part about the conversation was that Gabby is about more than just travel--she is an opportunities coach and has a members only community where she guides people to apply for opportunities like scholarships, fellowships, jobs, travel opportunities, awards, and more. As Gabby told me, "half of life is just showing up." She gives tips for traveling in the new normal, on her USA trip, how we can increase diversity and inclusion in the travel industry, and how she became mindful at such a young age. It was a real pleasure to get some tips from this Gen Z travel leader! In the rapid fire round I ask Gabby:

• Her favorite piece of travel gear--packing cubes!
• Her movie to watch on your next flight--The Hundred Foot Journey
• Place to revisit--Stockholm, Sweden
• Place she's never been but is on her bucket list--Santiago, Chile

Direct support for The Millennial Travel Podcast comes from The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority In Your Life

Shannon Stowell is CEO of the Adventure Travel Trade Association. We do a deep dive into what it means to travel off the beaten path, how to reduce your carbon footprint, and how to do your part to support companies that promote diversity in the travel industry. Millennial Travel Podcast 5: Off the Grid Adventure Travel with Shannon Stowell CEO of the Adventure Travel Trade Association Get the show notes at millennialtravelpodcast.com. Shannon comes to us from his off the grid cabin in Colorado with no electricity or running water. We talk about his incredible trip to Kurdistan in northern Iraq. He wins the award for most off the beaten path travel story, since I spoke to Jordan Harbinger about his trip to North Korea and another time when he was kidnapped. Shannon and I talk about how he has started Tomorrow's Air the world's first traveler collective to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it permanently. We also discuss his involvement in the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund that directly funds local projects engaged in the conservation of unique natural and cultural resources of adventure travel destinations. I also put Shannon in the hotseat to ask him:

• Favorite hike in the entire world?
• Favorite campsite in the entire world?
• Favorite piece of gear?
• Where is the adventure capital of the world?

Resources:

• Shannon's TED Talk: Change the World; Take a Vacation
• Tomorrow's Air Clean Up Pact

• How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

• Neutral Together Carbon Offsetting
• Travel Unity non profit promoting diversity in travel
• The Black Travel Alliance
• Under30Experiences's Committment to Diversity & Inclusion
• The Luci Solar Light that Shannon light's his cabin with
• The Grayl Water purification bottle Shannon drinks from pools and swamps with!

Connect with Shannon on Linkedin and check out The Adventure Travel Trade Association. ### Direct support for the Live Different Podcast comes from my new book--The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life. This book is about more than travel... I'd be extremely grateful if checked it out!

Nick Ewen is Senior Editor at The Points Guy. He caught the travel bug at an early age and spent over a decade as a road warrior, earning and redeeming points & miles to visit over 40 countries across six continents. Credit Card Points, Rewards Miles, & Travel Hacking with Nick Ewen of The Points Guy MTP3: How to Optimize your Frequent Flier Miles and Rewards Points to Travel for Free! I got Nick's story on how he was able to travel while his wife was still in school and how they did it for free. Nick says, start small, and not worry about signing up for every single points and mileage program in the world, and really helps us focus on what we want out of the travel hacking game. He gives his recommendations for best travel credit cards, best frequent flier programs, and how optimize rewards points. Nick has 21 open credit cards and claims that there has been no effect on his credit score! We talk about what the top no annual fee cards are and how someone with a small budget can travel frugally without paying fees. We also talk about what the best frequent flier allegiances are and how to navigate this complex game! We also do a rapid fire round where Nick gives me his favorite travel related recommendations... Favorite book Gear Recommendations Favorite Airline Favorite Hotel in the world Favorite Airline Lounge You can find the links to everything here on millennialtravelpodcast.com and if you are looking to escape more, spend less, and make travel a priority in your life, I hope you check out my #1 best selling new release, The Millennial Travel Guidebook.

Dave Lee is the Founder of GoBackpacking.com, a 13-year-old staple website for a lot of backpackers… and his new food blog feastio.com. Dave is a member of the ATTA, the Adventure Travel Tourism Association and someone whose work I've followed for a long time… We had the good fortune of meeting at an Austin travel founders event called VoyagerHQ and then again at The Nomadic Network. Dave and I talk about what travel means to us now that we are no longer under thirty, how we miss expat life in Costa Rica and Colombia respectively, and his new big projects. Dave lived in Medellin for a long time and ran Medellinliving.com which he sold. I even get some tips on where to eat in Austin, Texas, a big time foodie town. Direct support for The Millennial Travel Podcast comes from The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, and Make Travel a Priority in Your Life, available now! Get the shownotes on millennialtravelpodcast.com.

You can listen to The Millennial Travel Guidebook for free with a 30-day trial of Audible.com. Hey Millennial Travel Podcast listeners, today's episode is a sample of my new audiobook The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life now available on Amazon! In this chapter I detail:

• Observing your Money Mindset
• How to Set Up Your Financial Life for Travel
• Twelve Cost-Cutting Strategies to Save Money for Travel
• Why you need a budget
• How I lived in Central America and paid off my student loans
• Twelve Ways to Make More Money Now
• Should you start a business abroad?
• Eight Things to Know to Make Money as a Freelancer

If you found this chapter helpful, I'd love for you to check out the rest of The Millennial Travel Guidebook. You can also get my chapter on How to Find the Best Deals on Flights absolutely free at MillennialTravelGuidebook.com.

Millennial Travel Podcast 1: How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter in the "New Normal".

Shownotes found on millennialtravelpodcast.com Get show updates on IG: @millennialtravelpodcast

Today we celebrate the launch of the Millennial Travel Podcast with Nomadic Matt Kepnes to discuss budget travel, how he contracted COVID-19, the future of the travel industry, and The Nomadic Network.

Nomadic Matt has been a nomad for over ten years and is the author of two bestselling books, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Third Edition: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter and Ten Years a Nomad: A Traveler's Journey Home, and is the owner of one of the most popular travel blogs on the internet NomadicMatt.com.

I was happy to get an update from Matt who had recently returned from a trip to Asia and fell ill with COVID-19. Now that he made a full recovery, we spoke at length about the future of the travel industry and what we can do as travelers to support the small communities who rely on tourism for their financial well-being.

We talk about how Matt quit his job and started to make a living as a travel blogger. Matt recently launched The Nomadic Network, a global community of travel-enthusiasts who support and inspire one another to travel better, cheaper, and longer.

I also had the opportunity to discuss Matt's charitable work at FLYTE, the Foundation for Learning & Youth Travel Education, a nonprofit organization that empowers youth living in underserved communities.

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Direct support for the Millennial Travel Podcast comes from my new book--The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life.

You can also download a free chapter "How to Find The Best Deals on Flights".

Episode sponsored by Under30Experiences group travel for young people ages 21-35.