I always recommend thinking about what you want from travelling. Do you want to work and travel? In which case, this narrows your options down already, with many people choosing Australia, Canada and New Zealand as they offer good Working Holiday Visas (you can find out more about Working Holidays on my Travel Tips page). If you love the sun, beaches and watersports, then Australia is a great choice. If you prefer mountains or more of a mix, then Canada and New Zealand are often good places to start. 

Follow your passions!
If you are looking to purely travel, however and not looking to work, then the world is your oyster, follow your passion! I have found great joy in doing things and seeing places which I have always dreamed of since I was a child, like parts of India, Mongolia and seeing famous landmarks like Angkor Wat in Cambodia and doing that has always brought me great joy. I also love history and hiking, so I often go to countries where I get at least one of those in abundance, which has always resulted in me having a great time! If you live for doing nothing on a beach, then the chances are that spending all of your trip in cold mountainous countries, where the only thing to do is hike, means that you may not have a great time. If you are new to travelling, I’d say go somewhere which you are excited about! Then, if you want to be more experimental, you can dabble in that later once you’ve got a few weeks of travelling experience under your belt. Also, just because another traveller loved somewhere and said it was the best thing since sliced bread, it doesn’t mean that you will too. So if you aren’t enjoying somewhere and it’s not your vibe, book a ticket out of there and get to somewhere you will enjoy. Trust your gut!

Destination Guides
My Destination Guides give a great overview of places you could visit, so I recommend using those for some inspiration. I provide an overview of each country, as well as each state or region for the larger ones, so that you can really nail down where you are best to prioritise your time and money, and then I give my recommendations for the best things to do there.

Are you travelling in a group/couple?
Don’t be afraid to do your own thing or be selfish. I meet plenty of people who travel with groups or partners and they compromise too much on what they want to do and miss out on what they came to experience. Make sure you see at least some of the places you. If travelling as a group, you can plan trips together and ensure you both tick off your must-see/do things. If you don’t want to do any of the same things, for example, if one of you wants to lie on a beach and do nothing while the other can’t sit still (which is very common), then you can always go off on your own adventures for a day, a week, or more and reunite afterwards. I know plenty of people who have done this and it’s worked well for them. Ultimately, you are spending your time and hard-earned money travelling, so if you aren’t enjoying it, then what’s the point? Of course, each relationship is unique, so be open with your travelling companions when working out your plans.  

Thailand
If you are still unsure after browsing my Destination Guides and having a good think, then I would suggest you consider Thailand! It’s cheap, safe, has great food and fascinating culture. There are also plenty of tourists there of all ages, so it’s easy to meet people, socialise and find people to do activities with. It’s also really easy and cheap to travel from Thailand to other countries in the region such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and more. It’s a great place and I am yet to find anyone who hasn’t enjoyed their time there. Be sure to check out my Thailand Destination Guide if you haven’t already. 

To help you prepare for travelling, check out the following pages on my website: 

• Travel Tips page (to get you ready for travelling, including saving, staying safe and more). 
• Packing list (what to take with you and how to pack efficiently).
• Brand Discounts (find my top recommendations and discount codes for my favourite outdoor and travel brands). 

For inspiration on where to go, check out my Destination Guides, Blogs and my podcast: Andy Argo Adventure.

Mongolia! For many people, it’s hard to choose just one country and I understand why. Some countries have the best beaches (Australia in case you’re wondering), or the best history (Cambodia and India for example, are up there for me), some are better for nightlife (too tough to call for this one) or for the natural animals or the landscapes. It’s a tough one but for me I love nature, history and epic off-grid adventures; Mongolia gave me all this and more, combined with total freedom!

For more reading on why I love Mongolia so much, then check out my blog posts on Mongolia, my Destination Guide or listen along to my podcast. 

Be sure to check out my full Mongolia travel guide for an overview of the country and to see my specific recommendations for places to visit there. 

There are loads of ways to fund travel. You can live off savings, investments or work as you travel. You can also volunteer in many countries, which will stretch your budget further, although obviously it doesn’t replenish your coffers, so your time waay will still be limited. My Travel Tips page discusses all these options in more detail, so be sure to check that out. 

I worked full-time in the UK from the age of 17 until I went travelling at 28. I went first to Australia, where I did a Working Holiday Visa, which supplemented my travel funds, although in the end, I spent much more time travelling than working there. When I left Australia, I think I travelled non-stop for around 2.5 years without working and living off savings. Most of that time was spent in Asia, where I lived very cheaply. I love being outdoors hiking, snorkelling and such, so my lifestyle was very affordable. I also go to many less-touristy places as I want to see local culture and this makes travel much cheaper. I eat at local restaurants and often use public transport. 

When my money was getting dangerously low, I got a working Holiday Visa in Canada and spent time living and working there in the Canadian Rockies. This worked really well for me as I love nature and the scenery and wildlife are phenomenal. I took up seasonal work in Canada, where many jobs are for 6 months in the summer/winter. Although they don’t pay well, they often include accommodation and sometimes food at low cost, meaning you can still save and also, the accommodation is right where I want it to be, so that I can explore the mountains. This means that it feels like I am still travelling as I am still exploring new places all the time! I had similar work in Tasmania, Australia, which I loved for its remote location. Doing seasonal work can be a great way to top up your savings before heading off on another adventure! 

You will also be amazed at how cheaply you can travel with no overheads. My regular outgoings while travelling are typically: 2 x SIM cards (one to keep my UK number active and one local SIM card), Spotify and the occasional haircut. When you work, you typically have rent to pay, work clothes to buy, a car to get you to work and all the other expenses of living. In many countries like India and Mongolia, I have been living happily on around USD$30/day. In most Asian countries (other than when I’m camping), that has also involved me eating out for every meal too, as I typically only cook for myself in places like Australia, New Zealand and Canada, where the cost of eating out is higher. You can also save money on entertainment by listening to the  Andy Argo Adventure podcast! 

It’s true that for the past few years, my finances have been up and down more than a kangaroo on caffeine. So what’s the long-term plan? As much as I have enjoyed doing seasonal work, I am keen to spend more time on the road and to supplement my income by working remotely. This will give me more flexibility and mean I can see more of the world in less time. I found that given my travel experience, I was regularly asked for my top travel tips and for recommendations: where to go and what to do. For that reason, I have made this website to help more people travel and to demystify the whole process. Frankly, I would have loved it if someone had told me when I was younger about Working Holiday Visas, as I would have done one of those as early as I could, instead of naively thinking I needed loads of savings to travel. Instead, I could have been working and travelling at the same time!

You will see many other travel websites recommending locations and offering tips. Many of them feature stock photos and AI-generated spiel. Often, their information appears to be written by those who have likely never even been there or are too afraid to give an honest opinion on a place (see my comments on Bali, Indonesia, if you have any doubt about me speaking plainly!). Others will sell their travel tips and guides for $20+ with no preview or assurance that it’s any good! Call me a poor businessman, but that’s not my style. All of the photos on my website are either taken by me or of me. Everything you read is written by me! Except for my guest blogs, of course. I also hate pop-up ads, so you won’t see any of that here either. As you can, I hope tell, it’s taken me a good bit of time to pull this website together and I ask that if you do enjoy my content and if you have found it useful, then please consider donating via my Support Me page. Thank you and happy travels!

For tips on how to fund your travel adventure, be sure to check out my Travel Tips page!

No contest for this one – being stalked by a wolf while I was camping solo in a remote part of Mongolia easily takes the top spot for this. You can read the full story on my blog! 

I use Google Maps as a great tool to help me plan my trips. For more information on how I do it, check out my blog page. You can find an article I wrote that explains exactly how I do it. 

Yes! All of the photographs on my website are either taken of me or by me.

The only exception are my Guest Blogs where I include some of my guest authors’ photos.