Introducing the Savvy Traveller | a Travel Advice Column

Read more from The Savvy Traveller here, and don’t forget to leave your questions!

The Savvy Traveller | By Brandon Schultz

Travel is a personal experience. You may see the same sunrise, smell the same shawarma or hear the same roar as the person next to you, but how these encounters infiltrate and affect your life are purely yours.

You can find answers to questions like “Where should I go?” and “What should I eat?” in guidebooks and listicles, but what you feel is unique to your history.

Accepting all this, it may seem fruitless to offer a travel-advice column to the masses—but I don’t intend to address what you should see, smell, hear or feel. In The Savvy Traveller, I’ll offer guidance on how to approach these moments to get the most out of them, all from the perspective of a life shaped by travel.

I’ve travelled solo, with significant others, with family and with friends. I’ve travelled in luxury (at a level I could never afford) and on a shoestring budget while couchsurfing for months. These variations colour and enhance experiences in unique ways, but what has defined each trip has always been what happened inside me.

The Savvy Traveller can’t tell you where to get the best gelato or pizza in Rome—google it—but I’ll tell you where to take what you’ve chosen and how to eat it so you’ll experience the true pulse of the Eternal City.

I won’t tell you the 10 (or 10,000) most dazzling temples to visit in Thailand—Instagram it—but I’ll point you in the direction of the flower artisan handcrafting an offering outside so you’ll catch a glimpse of the boundless honour and precision embedded in Thai culture.

You can ask me what as often as you like, but I’ll probably answer how, and let that guide you in your travels. Don’t worry, though—I’ll throw in practical advice, too, because sometimes you really do just need to know what kind of outlet adapter is best.

The Savvy Traveller is here to address the small (“When is it better to check a bag and pay that fee?”), the large (“Where’s the line between animal conservation and exploitation?”) and anything in between.

So go ahead: Leave your questions below in the comments (you can leave them anonymously or with your real name), or shoot Outpost a message on social media. Tell me why you’re asking, what you’re considering, or what you’re hoping. I’ll tell you what I know from a life on the go.

The Savvy Traveller with Brandon Schultz is Outpost’s own advice column on all things travel big and small. Brandon is awaiting your question in the comments section!