About Me

Greetings and thanks for visiting my travel website! I hope it provides you with all the inspiration and advice you need to follow your dreams of travelling the world.

My name is Dave Tomlinson. Originally from New Zealand, I now live in Brisbane, Australia. I’ve worked in a variety of occupations but my real passion is budget travel. For ten years now I’ve been living this dream with journeys through Asia, Europe, South and North America, Pacific Islands and of course Australia. A total of 55 countries across five different continents many more waiting on my bucket list.

Aside from being a lot of fun, travel has helped define and shape who I am today. Experiencing new things in a different culture has often stretched my comfort zone but they left me with some amazing memories. Travel has also developed a set of unique skills and sense of resourcefulness. It has made me a more interesting person and inspires me to keep doing more.

Hiking the Annapurna Trekking Circuit, Nepal

Travel makes your picture book come alive and dreams come true. Through the years, I’ve climbed snowy mountains and trekked through sandy deserts on a camel. I’ve scuba dived on the greatest coral reef in the world and admired spectacular waterfalls. I’ve seen incredible history in temples and old cities. I’ve taken joy in seeing beautiful animals like orang-utans and elephants in their natural habitat. I’ve met wonderful people, seen their smiles and experienced their friendliness.

That is just a tiny glimpse into my world and why I do what I do.

It doesn’t always go entirely to plan though. At different times, I’ve missed transport connections, got caught in bad weather, became ill, had money stolen, lost a camera and had various misunderstandings with people. But does it deter me? Of course not! It’s all part of the adventure and usually gives me good travel stories to tell later. Often it’s these more unexpected events that continue to stimulate my wanderlust.

Meeting the locals in Sapa, Vietnam

When I was younger, I perceived that travelling alone was logistically difficult, too expensive, too dangerous or all of the above. It took some courage to prove myself wrong but getting that first taste for adventure left me craving more. Like so many others before me, I’d caught the travel bug!

So far it’s been a wonderful journey that has taken me to some amazing places. I’ve seen great sights, experienced cultures vastly different to my own and eaten food I can’t even describe. But it hasn’t always been easy. I’ve made mistakes that have cost me money, time and confidence. Just like life itself, I often gained experience immediately after I really needed it.

But now I have that experience I want to share it with you.

YOU are the reason for this website. I’ve established it to pass on my best travel tips and advice that will help you:

It doesn’t matter if your trip is two weeks, two months or two years. The resources you’ll find on this site are invaluable to every aspect of your budget travel. It is information that has been thoroughly researched but also drawn from my own personal experiences.

I’ve been there, done that and made mistakes that you can now learn from.

I love backpacking and I hope that you will soon share my passion for travel, culture and adventure holidays. Be inspired and make use of the resources you find on the site. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. Most of all though, don’t just think about it. If you have the opportunity, actually DO it. I promise you’ll never regret it!

PS - This is only an introduction about me. For more information about my travels please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions page.