Customer Reviews

Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Anyone who has ever thought about travelling, this book will make you go! Anyone who has ever been travelling, this book will make you want to go again and anyone who is travelling whilst reading this, this book will make you that bit more adventurous when ordering food in a cafe where a squat toilet is another eating area! It's definitely a case of, if he can do it then so can I!

Of course if your not a travelling type then the book will mean as much to you as a tin of baked beans to a kipper, but for those who yearn for life as one of the wandering nomads of this world, this book will seem like the travel bible in as much as it suggests a life less ordinary!

This book is about working to live and not living to work!

Rolf Potts' tome of vagabonding is an inspirational work rather than a practical guide. While the same practical information is contained in other books, this book shines in the area of travel philosophy. Travel is like a religion, where some people are incredibly fervent about it, while others just don't understand. This book makes you realize that long-term travel is not only possible, but desirable and worthwhile.

I particularly liked the section on working for travel. As a 9-to-5 worker planning a long-term trip, I needed the inspiration to keep going. I liked being told that working will actually make me appreciate travel more. After all, to afford travel, I have to be here anyway.

Throughout the book, there are great little excerpts from famous travellers, philosophers, and explorers, as well as anecdotes from ordinary travellers. Rolf has a particular liking for Walt Whitman, and I may just have to go pick up some Walt poetry now. The literary references in this book let you know that world travel and a simple life aren't new concepts.

The only problem I see with this book is that it may soon become dated with its references to specific websites.

The book is of a small and convenient size to take on the road.

This book is essentially about the thought process behind taking time off from your regular life to discover and experience the world on your own terms. If you've been around the world a few times, you'll find it puts many of your fuzzy warm thoughts and ideals into words. If you haven't, it'll probably make you wonder why you haven't taken off already.

People who like to plan and be prepared should treat this as a companion to more nuts-and-bolts guides. Others may find this plenty since travel is all an adventure anyway. It depends on your personality and comfort with the unknown. The rarely expressed aspect of Potts' book, however, is the acknowledgement that both work and travel are admirable and that one complements the other. To travel, you must also be productive sometimes. But to be productive, you also have to continually learn and see other points of view. Traveling abroad on more than a one-week vacation makes this possible. An entertaining and inspiring read.

Tim Leffel, author of THE WORLD'S CHEAPEST DESTINATIONS

I've travelled a little over the years so I was interested in this book for bigger & better adventures. What a joke! This book is written for people who've never used public transit! Incredibly simplistic. Should you want to go on an adventure & have any questions; google it! Save your money & put it towards your adventure.

Sincerely,
Daniel Gautreau

One thing this book taught me was to not trust reviews. I don't understand how this book got thirteen 5-star reviews, friends of author perhaps?
Don't get me wrong, there is some useful advice in it. But I just think the author was too eager to write a book. I found it too short, shallow throughout, and packed full of distracting, page filling quotes to help him in meeting an accepted length for a book.

Rolf definitely knows his stuff.

Unlike other travel guides that have hundreds and hundreds of unnecessary pages that you'll never read, Rolf sticks right to the point and tells you what you want to know right away.

I thought I knew every backpacker travel website out there until I bought this book. In it I found a few great sites.

It's short enough to read in a few sittings yet you'll definitely dog-ear and highlight the hell out of it, especially as you get closer to your trip.

Well worth the read.

Do not be fooled by a title, cover page, and sale ranking. This book quotes other and better books. There are more inspiring books out there. If you have already taken time out in your life to accomplish some of your dreams you might agree with some of what is written in this book, however you are wasting your time looking into this one. This book doesn't make you dream. This book was not a pleasure to read. It is simply a self help book with common knowledge advice and references to get better advice. I have traveled extensively, speak many languages, lived & worked abroad, spent time in rural areas, have had to improvised. I just thought that this would be entertaining and maybe I would relate somehow but I think that a summarized travel journal with examples would have been more interesting.

There is no doubt that Potts has had some great experiences; it would have been nice if he would have shared them. This book is neither informative as a travel guide nor interesting as a travel memoir. I can see a bunch of young wannabes bonding with it as a philosophy of the month, but for those of us who have been there, we can eat for a week on the $12.00 this book costs.

Vagabonding provided me with the inspiration to get back out on the road, with a world of opportunity to see new places and take part in different cultures. It got me moving - literally. Can't really pay a better compliment than that.

Fantastic book. I wish I read it before I went backpacking for a year. I definitely would have gotten more out my trip. Don't read this for a guide to the best museums in Paris. Read this to learn how to slow down and get the most out of where you are; to take away from a place more than just pictures, but understanding and appreciation.