First of all, if this is your first visit to A Dangerous Business, WELCOME!
At ADB, you can find both practical travel advice (tips, tricks, guides, reviews) and personal travel stories, interspersed with travel photos, videos, interviews, and much more.
Yes, this site is all travel, all the time.
If you're not sure where to start, though, you've landed on the right page. Below are some quick links to some of my most useful and popular posts, as well as links to sections of the site you may find most interesting.
First, you should watch this video:
If you have further questions about me, check out my About Me page, or, better yet, get in touch!
Travel Philosophy
Here are the 5 posts that best represent my travel philosophy and the way in which I travel:
- You Don't Have to Ditch the 9-5 in Order to Travel
- The World is Not Safe – But You Should Explore it Anyway
- Why Traveling as a Female Rocks (and Why it Sucks)
- Why I'm NOT Afraid to Travel Alone
- Why I Won't Get Mad If You Call Me Lucky
Travel + My Life
Here are my favorite posts about the ways travel has influenced and affected my life:
- How I Make Money As a Blogger
- Why I DIDN'T Quit My Job to Travel
- 26 Things Travel Has Taught Me
- 5 Ways Travel Has Made Me More Adventurous
- Top 9 Questions About Solo Travel Answered
- 8 Truths About Traveling as an Introvert
- Where It All Began: It's Carmen Sandiego's Fault
- 5 Things My 86-Year-Old Grandmother Taught Me About Travel
- My Travel Tattoos and Their Stories
- Behind the Scenes: What is Working Remotely Really Like?
Also check out my Packing Lists page to learn about my travel must-haves, as well as my Travel Resources page to learn about the sites I turn to when searching for flights or booking hotels.
Destinations
If you're curious about where I've been, head over to the Destinations page.
Alternatively, check out some of my favorite posts, linked below:
Best Writing
Me trying to be funny:
Best Photo Essays
- 25 Photos That Prove That Iceland is Magical
- 30 Photos That Prove Norway is Straight Out of a Fairy Tale
- 25 MORE Photos That Prove Norway is a Real-Life Fairy Tale
- Photos to Make You Want to Pack Your Bags and Move to Scotland
- 25 Awesome Photos of the United States
- 5 Spots in Alberta That Will Blow Your Mind
- Photos to Make You Want to Go to Puerto Rico
- 21 Photos That Will Make You Want to Plan a Trip to Oregon
- 24 Awesome Photos of Thailand
- The Mighty 5: A Guide to Utah's Stunning National Parks
- A Big 5 Safari in Kruger National Park
- Losing Myself in Venice
- My Big Fat Greek Islands Photo Essay
- European Christmas Markets in Photos
- 27 Photos from Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer
- Temples Galore at Angkor
- In Photos: Bonaventure Cemetery
- Experiencing Pure Michigan in Photos
- The Cotswolds Are Just Stupid Pretty
- Visiting the Cliffs of Moher
- Tahiti: It's a Magical Place
- Village Scenes: Life in Rural Romania
- New York City: All in the Details
- Peggys Cove in Photos
- Visiting Hobbiton (Yes, This Place is REAL!)
- Photo Essay: Yosemite National Park
- Rila Monastery, In Photos
- Istanbul in Photos
- Snapshots from Washington, D.C.
- Beautiful Bruges
Coolest Experiences
- The Scariest Thing I Have Ever Done
- A Big 5 Safari in Kruger National Park
- Hiking to Angels Landing in Zion National Park
- Ice, Ice Baby — Glacier Hiking in Alaska
- An Overnight Cruise on Ha Long Bay
- Hiking to See Puffins on Mykines in the Faroe Islands
- Walking the Walls of Dubrovnik
- Swimming with Manatees in Florida
- London 2012: My Olympics Experience
Best Tips Posts
Closer to Home
- Put-in-Bay: Wait, This Place is in Ohio?
- How to Spend 48 Hours in Cincinnati
- A Butler County Bucket List
- A Day in Yellow Springs — Ohio's Hippie Enclave
- Did You Know? 10 Fun Facts About Pittsburgh
- Experiencing Pure Michigan in Photos
- Things to do in Traverse City in the Fall
Enjoy the site, and don't forget to use the social media buttons over in the sidebar to follow me on places like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Hi Amanda! I just stumbled on your blog and fell in love. What a beautiful site, both in design and content! Well done!
I’m already about an hour into reading some of your posts and just wanted to tell you how much I’m enjoying them. Looking forward to following you along your travel adventures. -Christina
Aww thanks so much for the kind words, Christina! I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
I no longer ask people to travel with me. Its such a pain…First of all most/all don’t have a passport. Strike 1! No descent luggage . Strike 2! (I’ve got 2 sets and working on a 3rd) Oh My God-they don’t have a passport! Strike 3. I book my trips 1 year in advance so that I am not running up credit card bills. Its always, “when is it?” “Im going”-“Im going”…”How much is it?”…”Im going”-“Im going.” They never do. I only ask because, when you hear someone say, “I want to go to Paris”, well let’s go to Paris!. Then it’s the above scenario. I’m the type of person when I say I am going somewhere—wherever that somewhere is that place will see my face.
I want to travel and Im solo. I came upon your blog today. Will this blog be useful for me if I am a senior. Im healthy and my last adventure was a month ago. I traveled by car alone from CA to NYC. Took me 9 days. stopped along the way but my adventure did not include side trips.
I myself am in my 20s, but you certainly should be able to use some of my tips! Have a look around the blog. 🙂
I am just starting with my idea, so have one question that how you make money while travelling.
I’ve written about it here: https://www.dangerous-business.com/2014/08/make-money-fund-travels/
Hi Amanda,
I wrote you a while back. I am a vet who is trying to go to ENP to volunteer t I am doing this on a budget and could use some advise, because of that I think I will Be flying in and just going to the ENP. Someone said this was just a a tourist attraction and the e elephants are on show so to speak.of. and that worries me… I so want to go to help, did you anything of that nature ??
I saw that you were in Nambia I was going to be a project assistant but it was a behavioral observational study of elephants. did you go there for fun? I am interested in what you think of Nambia
thank you for all your help
I liked Namibia very much! But I didn’t do any volunteering there, and only saw elephants in the wild.
As for ENP, it is indeed popular with tourists, but the elephants are extremely well-cared-for. Lek, who started ENP, is one of the most passionate, selfless people I’ve ever met. The well-being of the elephants is pretty much her sole concern in life.
Hello Amanda- I’m maybe dreaming, but I recently traveled to India (March 2014) and now my whole life’s changed and I want to do what you are doing. Though I have researched and read a lot, it seems that a successful Blog takes quite a lot of savvy. Good for you! Nice Blog you have here, I’m very inspired…! So I’d love to glean some advice here as I read through your pages ….thank you. May I send you an Email sometime to ask you some pointers? I’m thinking of targeting folks 40 and up because if they are anything like me they are actually 25 and ready for adventure…Anyway Thanks so much and I hope to connect with you sometime, you have inspired me to no end here…Onward….Until then.
Rowan
Hi Rowan! Sounds like you’ve definitely been bitten by the travel bug! 😉
Yes, feel free to shoot me an email if you want.
I just discovered your blog and am so much enjoying it. I am a very new blogger and am looking
for a new camera. Your pictures are stunning. What kind of camera are you using?
I love your style of writing. it is refreshing to see you have a passion for travel and actually
write about it. Will look forward to reading your blog,, now that I have found it.
Keep up the good work and fantastic pictures.
Hey Nancy! I use an Olympus E-P2 right now (though it’s a slightly older model). I LOVE it – it’s a mirrorless camera that lets you buy interchangeable lenses for it. I would check out the E-PL5 – it’s slightly cheaper, but a great camera! (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0096WDMGC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0096WDMGC&linkCode=as2&tag=adangbusi04-20&linkId=ZSDCXA42CE3TBL63)
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You have a great site, it looks like you have been having an awesome time travelling the world. Nice stuff…
Thank you! And yes, definitely having a great time!
Hi 🙂
What a blog. Actually, I wanted to write my essay but now…totally lost in thought and wanderlust has caught up with me – again. It is great that you are sharing all your adventures. If not travel, what else would make life bright?
Hi Amanda! Really enjoying your blog, love the bit about being fearful because I myself love to travel but am a worrier at the same time! I’ve taken the plunge and am going traveling at the end of May for 3 months to North and Central America with a friend. We’ve got the North part figured out but not sure about which countries we should do in Central… Costa Rica and Panama is a definite but ideally we wanted to travel down the coast, starting in Guatemala. However, I’ve heard a few horror stories about Honduras and other less safe countries. Do you have any feedback you could give on this and how you got on in Central? Thanks! 🙂
Hey Hannah! Good for you for taking the plunge! Sounds like a pretty epic trip.
As far as Central America goes, I’ve only been to Belize, Costa Rica, and (briefly) Guatemala so far. I had no issues in any of those countries. I’ve heard fantastic things about Nicaragua, too, actually.
As for the rest of the region, I’ve been told that you really need a good grasp of Spanish to avoid getting scammed – especially at the borders. But, the “threat” level in Central America really isn’t as bad as the media would lead you to believe… big cities in the US are bound to be just as dangerous, if not more so! Just be smart, stick with your friend, and have a great time.
Hey there!
If you’ve noticed that your blog has been getting a lot more attention lately from Canada, it’s probably because of me! I am obsessed! Thank you so much for your amazing posts and for sharing your travel adventures with the world. My hubby and I are starting to plan our ol’American road trip for this summer…and are pretty much copy catting your trip!! I would love any info you might have on places that you stayed (low budget if possible). We are thinking about trying to go from Toronto to the Grand Canyon and back in 2.5 weeks…possible? (we are cutting out the vegas section of your trip so we can go back and do that another time!)
looking forward to continuing to follow your journey!
Christina
Hey Christina! So glad to you found my blog!
I’ll shoot you an e-mail to answer some of your questions and give you some suggestions on where you can think about staying!
That would be amazing! I started a blog of my own to see if I can gather some feedback about our road trip plan…inspired by yours of course!
Thanks again for your great site!
Christina
I really like your site. While most of my travels are business oriented it’s still nice to relate to someone who travels as much, and I like the way all your blogs are organized. I will definitely be back to read more.
Thanks so much, Jerry! Hope to see you around the site!
Amanda, you have literally blown me away with your courage. You define true determination in a world full of people who will tell you that so many things are not possible. Your positive attitude has assured me that there is still good out there if you only look to discover it for yourself. I have laughed on many occasions while reading your blog.
I truly think that what blew me away was your sense of self. If everybody could only accept themselves and each other in such a powerful way, then maybe there would be less resentment and misunderstanding. Thank you for being such an open and honest person while sharing such a large part of your life in the public eye. It’s not easy but you seem to do it without much effort.
Well, Danielle, YOU have blown me away with your fantastic comment. Thank you SO much. Comments like this mean so much to me, and help to affirm that what I’m doing here matters. 🙂
I don’t necessarily think that I am a particularly brave person. But I AM definitely determined, positive, and secure in the person that I am. I’m so glad that that shines through in my writing, and that you have connected with it in some way. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you’ll continue to follow along on my adventures! I promise to keep being open and honest in everything that I do here.
I stumbled upon your blog and I just kinda got blown away. Would love to travel with you. I’m deaf but love the world so much. I myself moved here to the US from India 20 years ago and got stuck in a rut but have traveled quite a bit. Reading your blog, and I was like…what the heck?? If she can do it, I can too.
Thanks so much for the comment, Ian! And yes, you are absolutely right – if I can do it, so can you!!!
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