travel community – PlanYourJourney

Noamdic Matt in Hawaii looking out over the water
Posted: 04/09/20 | April 9th, 2020

Last fall, we decided to host more events and create more opportunities for people to connect with each other (and us).

That’s why we started The Nomadic Network, a platform for travelers to meet one another — at home and abroad (we’re doing virtual events right now).

That’s why we started a conference.

That’s why we had planned to host a big gathering of somewhere in the world (it’s on hold for now).

Community is everything.

Now we are taking that community one step further with our new Patreon membership program!

You always get the content on this website for free but now, through our new Patreon, you can get more exclusive content, free books, planning calls, and cool gifts.

Want to get stories I’ve never told before? Photos from trips I’ve never posted? Free guides? Or more ways to connect with this community? Our Patreon has all that!!!!

By joining our Patreon, you’ll get access to these exclusive perks:

Wanderer – $3
As a Wanderer, you will gain access to more behind the scenes content and exclusive stories.

A graphic of a man hiking in the mountains

Access to our exclusive Patreon feed
Never before seen travel photos
Exclusive members only travel stories and tips not shared on our blog!

Adventurer – $5
As an Adventurer, you’ll gain access to more behind the scenes content and some of my best selling guides.

All previous benefits
Access to some behind the scenes content on my Instagram “close friends” stories once a week
Free copies of my guides, The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking and How to Teach English Overseas
Private Facebook group

Vagabond – $10
As a Vagabond, you’ll get help planning your future travels plus access to our future travel events around the world.

All previous benefits
Our entire guidebook collection, with budget guides to Paris, Amsterdam, Thailand, Bangkok, Iceland, NYC, and Backpacking Europe
Free entry to all future travel events through The Nomadic Network anywhere in the world
Exclusive twice monthly Q&A livestreams

Backpacker – $25
If you’re a Backpacker, you’ll gain access to even more amazing content like exclusive blog posts, monthly Q&A’s, and webinars. You’ll also be supporting our community charity, FLYTE!

All previous benefits
Free virtual ticket to TravelCon*
10% of all donations go to our non-profit, FLYTE, which helps make travel accessible to students from around the country
Handwritten postcards from my trips
Gifted Kindle version of one of my books. You pick How to Travel the World on $50 a Day or Ten Years a Nomad

* Must be a Patron for at least 2 months

Globetrotter – $50
Thank you for this huge commitment! As a Globetrotter, the team and I want will provide even more hands-on help.

A small graphic of a plane flying around the world

All previous benefits
Full access to our blogging course
Your pick: A signed copy of How to Travel the World on $50 a Day or Ten Years A Nomad (USA/Canada only)
One call per month with a Nomadic Matt team member: Raimee (social media consulting), Erica (community building and events), Chris (time management), Carmela (building a non-profit)
First look at all our projects and content — with the ability to give us feedback!
Archived videos on the Patreon feed

Nomad – $100
This is a huge level of support and we want to offer as much added value as we can. When you become a Nomad, you’ll get all of the previous rewards plus special shout outs, one-on-one calls, and more!

All previous benefits
Feature you (or your business) on our Instagram Stories once a month
Ticket to TravelCon*
A signed copy of both my books, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day or Ten Years A Nomad (USA/Canada only)
One-on-one call with me to talk about travel planning, travel hacking, business, or whatever you want really! (Call last one hour and occurs on your first paid month and then once a quarter after!)

* Must be a Patron for at least 3 months

Supporting our Patreon is a way to get more out of your “Nomadic Matt experience” and get amazing behind-the-scenes access and exclusive perks every month!

And signing up is risk-free:

You can cancel at any time.
Your payment is safe and secure. (Your payment is SSL-encrypted.)

Plus, you’ll also get awesome customer support. If you have any questions, the team and I will always be around to help.

The team and I work to create content for you so you can travel better, cheaper, and longer. While we make some money from ads, product sales, and affiliates, we’re not some huge corporation or media conglomerate. We’re these people:

the Nomadic Matt team at the TravelCon conference

…just sharing what we love and always reinvesting in this website and community. We’re always trying to figure out more ways we can serve you and create cool things to bring everyone together!

This Patreon gives us more freedom to continue doing that, host more events, and create more travel content you love.

So check out our Patreon!

Your support is everything and we’re looking forward to continuing to improve this website, especially during these crazy times!

Sincerely,

Nomadic Matt

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use — and they’ll save you time and money too!

The post How to Get Untold Stories, Exclusive Tips, and One-on-One Phone Calls appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Nomadic Matt in Hawaii
Posted: 03/18/20 | March 18th, 2020

Since mid-February, Coronavirus has spread uncontrollably around the world. Many countries are on complete lockdown. People are quarantined in their homes. We have an unprecedented shutdown of human movement around the world.

This is a “Black Swan” event, an unpredictable turn of events that will undoubtedly change the world. It’s going to leave a mark on society and reshape how we interact, work, and conduct ourselves (maybe people will finally start washing their hands more).

One of the (many) direct consequences of this rapid spread to Pandemic levels is that it has shut down the entire travel industry, an industry that relies specifically on the movement of people to exist.

Right now, no one should travel. We need to flatten the curve, reduce the transmission of this disease, and ensure we do not overwhelm our healthcare systems.

No country can afford to repeat Italy’s experience. We must all do our part, no matter how hard it is.

The world will be waiting for us when this is all over.

But, like everyone else in travel, we have been hit really bad. The team and I become increasingly worried as the days go by and our traffic and revenue fall to zero.

These are dark times.

And we have you.

And want to turn to you, our beloved community, especially as a number of you have asked how you can support the site during this time of uncertainty.
Today, we have a way:

We are launching a Patreon!

A Patreon is a members-only subscription service where you’ll get exclusive perks like:

Monthly Q&As
Signed books
Access to all our events
Planning calls with me
Postcards
Calls with the team
Private Instagram postings and blog posts.

This isn’t going to be asking for a handout. You’ll get behind the scenes access and content exclusive to you every month.

Just go to our new Patreon page, pick your subscription level, and you’re in!

We’ll start sending messages and arranging everything this week. (And, yes, we’ll keep this going even after the crisis has subsided.)

Situations like this make you look at things differently. We were already moving towards a more community-centric model with our events. The Coronavirus is just expediting that process and this new membership program is the next phase of that.

These are really hard times in the travel industry. This is a really hard time for us.

But we have you – and that’s what matters. The team and I really appreciate anything you can do to help us ride out the storm. We’re going keep trucking on and creating content that you can use for when we can travel again.

Thank you so much for everything and for helping us get through this weird period of time!

– Nomadic Matt

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use — and they’ll save you time and money too!

The post Our New Patreon!!! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.