California begins offering $1 trips on Greyhound from LA to SF

Profiled by a Los Angeles Times travel writer, it reminds me of the $1 DC to NYC bus ride. One traveler finds the ghost of Jack Kerouac and more on a bus trip up California’s spine. At $1 each way, it has to be the best bargain in all of travel. Mindful that great American …

The most visited countries in the world

France – 77 million United States – 61 million China – 56 million Spain – 53 million Italy – 43 million United Kingdom – 28 million Turkey – 27 million Germany – 27 million Malaysia – 25 million Mexico – 22 million   Interesting to note that both France and Spain receive more visitors than …

The top 10 islands of Europe

The perfect list of European Islands ranked according to 8 factors. Each island is worthy of investigation for many of them are unknown to Americans and yet so full of history. Photos of my favorite three:

What guide books tell foreign visitors to America

The United States is the second greatest tourist draw in the world, with 60-million-plus visitors in 2010 alone (France, number one, attracted almost 80 million). Flipping through a few of the many English-language tourist guides provides a fascinating, if non-scientific and narrow, window into how people from the outside world perceive America, Americans, and the …

Rick Steves’ Audio Europe – as an iPhone app

This app organizes the vast and varied library of Rick Steves’ audio content into geographic-specific playlists so that travelers can enjoy ready access to the information that relates specifically to their travel plans. Many tracks provide general cultural and sightseeing information gleaned from his public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. Other tracks are self-guided …

Rick Steves episode diary – filming in Venice – an enchanting behind-the-scenes

We’re nearly finished filming two new TV shows on Venice. Thinking back over a very productive day, I realize how much I love this work. Our scripts are about 3,400 words per half-hour show. They are split between “on-cameras,” with me talking directly to the camera, and “B-roll,” where we “cover the script” with footage …

Surfbreak Rentals – accommodations based on specific beaches and surf breaks

Whether the origin of the term “couch surfing” had anything to do with traveling surfers is a mystery, but surfers have been crashing at each other’s pads since they first started spanning the globe in search of new breaks and foreign adventures. So it’s only natural that Surfbreak Rentals, a new website dedicated to connecting …

Top 3 Reasons To Choose Airbnb Over Hotels

Airbnb is disrupting the hotel industry. As of February 2012, 5 million guest nights have been booked worldwide since the site’s launch in 2007, with a 500% growth in the past year and accommodations in over 19,000 cities.     I’ve now stayed at two properties (one in San Diego and one in Santa Barbara) and …

Scientists estimate billions of habitable planets in the Milky Way

Using results from the High Accuracy Radical Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at the European Southern Observatory, the scientists say there are likely tens of billions of planets in the Milky Way galaxy alone that may be able to sustain life. They estimate that one hundred of those planets are in the sun’s immediate neighborhood — …

Yosemite – Range of Light

Ever since I became fascinated with timelapse photography almost 2 years ago, after seeing the work of Tom Lowe, I’ve wanted to do a piece on Yosemite and the Sierra. Now after almost 2 years of shooting, I’m thrilled to share. I hope you enjoy my vision of my home, the majestic Yosemite & Sierra. …