This is me, Deb walking in Venice — with my Eagle Creek backpack that held ALL of my stuff and my ChicoBag daypack that held a coat and food.
Welcome to Don’t Fear Travel, aka Tales of Travel and Tech. My first articles encouraging people to travel independently were published in the 1980s. In 1996 my personal website continued the encouragement and I loved that women emailed to thank me for helping them or their children get out into the world.
In the ’90s I settled into a career writing about Mac and Web. As I hit the road again in 2011, I created this travel website because so many — mostly women 40+ I met in passing or online! — asked me to share my travels and my “how.” (How could I give up having a home, give away belongings, pack a backpack, and fly away to other countries with no plans!? Being over 50, didn’t I worry I was too old?)
So many women confided they newly had, or would soon have, the freedom and time to travel…. They were intrigued by my travels and wanted to hear where I went, what I did, and how I pulled it off. So this site is for them — and for you, if you’re in those shoes. But it’s not a travel blog. This site is here to share travel ideas and tips.
Whether you’re 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 or 80, if you want to travel the world but feel you don’t even come close to having enough money… maybe you’ll learn you actually can.
What if… you changed your perception of travel from vacation to experience — and found you really could pull it off?
My method was to stop renting to use that rent for travel. It cost less to rent a dorm bed or sometimes a hotel room than it did to rent my LA apartment for 1 night! Own a home? You can rent it and use that income for travel. Or house-swap. And maybe you can continue your job as you travel.
You don’t have to be wealthy or well-off! You can do it! I don’t want you to be afraid or hesitant to travel. Don’t Fear Travel!
In January & March 2024 I met with a lot of travel-item vendors. I’ve shared a few good finds with you but have more to document. I also loved my stay at the Sahara, a fully modernized historic hotel with a great location. in 2023 enjoyed a long-term stay at a Sonesta in San Diego. However, for a couple of years now I’ve been dealing with cancer so I’ve fallen behind. I’m just getting to catch up now as energy and mushy-brain have cleared up. I haven’t given up on travel though! My AA miles have accrued and I really want to visit Vanuatu with all of its experiences. Due to current limitations Vanuatu has to remain on my gotta-get-to list. Meanwhile, over the summer I’ll be taking a few months to drive around my own USA.
By the way… If you seek gifts for people who travel, visit my Get Real Gift Guide, Gifts for Travelers Under $15 and Get Real Gift Guide, Gifts For Travelers $15-$30. I recommend gifts that are actually helpful and won’t waste valuable luggage space and weight. I update, adding more as I find and test.
If my travels…
If my travels inspire you to come out into new places and experiences — fabulous!
If my travels are good reading and bring you into my life to share it and learn from it — great.
If you cannot travel physically, traveling vicariously is the next best thing, so I hope I do a good job of making people’s lives real for you.
You can explore this site and learn by top using the menus — or you can click here and see every article. Click the title to read that article. Many contain excerpts from my upcoming book on independent travel.
Oh, and if you’re into shopping at Amazon and would like to help this site grow, please start your Amazon shopping here even for non-travel items.
