Sharing Travel Experiences

Chatting with Jeff from Have Pack, Will Travel

by Andy Hayes

It’s Christmas eve, and it’s our next-to-last interview of the year! Today we have another travel writer/blogger Jeff from the website Have Pack, Will Travel. Jeff’s site is a very popular one so we’re pleased he took the time out to speak with us here at STE.

Could we start with a bit of an introduction?

My name’s Jeff and I run Have Pack, Will Travel. The site started about a year ago as a place for me to write about my travels. I didn’t have many goals for it beyond that but it quickly transformed into a much larger website with information, tips, and advice on independent and budget travel.

Most people who come to the site think I am a real hardcore traveler who is always out seeing the world. The truth is I still work in corporate America and only get around 2-3 weeks of vacation time per year like most other people (Americans at least). I’m pretty open about my lack of vacation time because I still manage to take 2-3 large trips per year. I don’t let a limited time frame slow me down. If I have time to fly somewhere, I’m going to take it. You have to make the best out of whatever you have.

Andy’s Note:  Have you been speaking to our lifestyle guru Alex Fayle?  I couldn’t agree more with this statement, so I’m going to repeat it, in bold for emphasis:  You have to make the best out of whatever you have.  That’s travel more if I ever saw it!

Your site, Have Pack, Will Travel, says “Traveling with nothing but a backpack over your shoulder is one of the most amazing ways to see the world.”  Where did you come up with this concept?

I wish I could say there was a big story behind it but sadly there’s nothing too entertaining. I came up with the tagline when I was starting the site and it more or less wrote itself. I didn’t put too much thought into it because it’s something I truly believe.

I usually travel alone with just my backpack and that gives me the opportunity to make or change plans on a whim which I find very liberating. Since I have a rather busy life back home when I’m not traveling, it’s nice to enjoy not being tied down to anything while traveling.

You’re based in California. Any insider secrets on some amazing places to visit that skip the main tourist trail?

I think California is the epitome of cheesy tourist traps yet most Californians never experience them. I’ve hosted quite a few CouchSurfers and most of them want to visit Hollywood Blvd., the Venice Beach boardwalk, Disneyland, etc.

There’s so much more to California! We have a great parks, camping, and hiking. Any outdoors fan would be missing out if they skipped Yosemite National Park or Big Sur. I also think you HAVE to try surfing if you’re visiting California. Some of the larger beach cities can be pretty busy but there is just too much beautiful coastline here to ever be completely overrun.

In your opinion, where are the most backpack-friendly places for folk to visit and why?

I think Central America is a true gem and while places like Costa Rica have a reputation “touristy”, they really are nowhere near as busy and popular as you would expect. There are quite a few backpackers and travelers, but for the most part, there aren’t many giant chain hotels and package deals attracting rich tourists. Luckily it’s still extremely affordable.

Europe is great as well for many reasons. You can get away with English just about anywhere and it’s extremely easy to just about anywhere with great transport systems. Of course Europe is extremely expensive with how the American dollar has plummeted over the past couple of years though.

What’s been your most inspirational travel experience?

When I was in Morocco I did what I normally do, meet up with other travelers at hostels and end up traveling with them for a few days. They invited me along to a relatively small town in the Rif Mountains mountains called Chefchaouen. We took a series of buses to get there and started noticing a guy giving us weird looks while we had our cameras out. We were a little paranoid and thought we were being targeted for a robbery or some sort of scam.

To make a long story short, the guy ended up living in Chefchaouen and heard us talking about it. He helped us get our final bus arranged, find our hotel, took us to tea, and had us over for dinner two nights in a row. I’ve never experienced random acts of kindness like that in America!

Andy’s Note:  Wow that’s awesome!  Aren’t people amazing sometimes?

What’s at the top of your bucket list? Ticking any other items off of it next year?

Probably not this year, but in the very near future I would like to go on a round-the-world trip, hitting all seven continents along the way. Yes, that includes Antarctica! I’ve wanted to visit there for a long time and not just a quick stop on the peninsula like many people take cruises for. I’d love to arrange to spend some time volunteering there doing research of some sort.

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Thanks, Jeff, for all those insights and your very inspirational travel experience.  Everyone, if you’d like to learn more, visit Jeff’s site at www.havepack.com and follow him on Twitter.   If you’re an aspiring travel writer, Jeff is looking for guest contributions – and these are paid opportunities (not much, but every little bit helps, right?), so check it out!

Did any of Jeffrey's suggestions spark an travel idea for you next year?

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