17 Most Read Travel Articles of 2017

As the year draws to an end, we like looking back at what were the articles that you found more inspiring and useful here on Backpack ME. We did the same last year, back in 2015 or even before that. This is a nice little way of also reliving travel memories and showcasing some of our best travel content in case you’ve missed it at the time of publishing.

Every year, we notice how you embrace all sorts of travel stories, as long as we tell them how it is. From practical information and how-to guides to wanderlust-inducing tales, rants and, sometimes, rather silly stories too.

We hope you enjoyed reading Backpack ME during 2017 and that you stick around for many more adventures in the year(s) to come! We’ll kick-start 2018 with several blog posts about our explorations of central and northern Portugal, as well as with some more articles about our trip to South Korea. If you’d like to be notified in your inbox whenever we publish something new, simply sign up for our free newsletter, which often includes goodies and stories that do not end up making it out here to the public sphere.
 
 

17. Love Letter to Traveler’s Diarrhea

Forgive us if we start the count-down of Backpack ME’s most read travel articles on a sh*tty note. Pun intended…

For the sake of full disclosure, this year Zara decided to share one of the worst travel moments we’ve experienced until today. It was just diarrhea, nothing too serious one would think, but feeling that you’re losing control over your body when you’re traveling and literally up in the air, is not funny at all. Yet the story of how it all happened is actually quite funny…

 

16. Exploring Budapest:

Bike Rides, Thermal Baths & The Real Goulash!

We ended up in Hungary as a result of one of the craziest, most improvised trips of our entire lives!

Once in Budapest, we decided to explore the city by bike, to be able to get anywhere we wanted to at any time of the day or night, without spending way too much money. It was pedaling up and down Buda and Pest (yes, they are two different places!), that we ended up soaking in how beautiful this city is and discovering that the so-called goulash we’ve previously eaten is not the real deal! We also rewarded ourselves with long dips in the famous thermal baths. All sorts of folks, from young professionals looking to relax to individuals with pre-existing problems who travel to Budapest with medical travel insurance, enjoy the mineral properties of the waters. Let us share the full story with you…

 

15. Lisbon in 100 Bites – The 2nd Edition is Out Now!

Earlier this year, we launched the second edition of Backpack ME’s very first ebook: Lisbon in 100 Bites.

After the success of the first edition, our travel and food guide to Lisbon now presents a brand new design, improved photography and extra content too. Curious? Here’s a free preview you can download straight to your laptop, tablet or phone.

 

14. Dubai Visa For Indians

Year after year, Backpack ME’s Visas For Indians section is one of the most popular! This is where Ashray shares all his tips on how to get visas to travel internationally and, in some cases, even avoid having to apply for a visa at all!

Dubai has recently eased up visa rules for Indian citizens and Ashray tells you all about it, in case you’d like to consider traveling to the UAE soon.

 

13. How to Get Inside Tram 28 in Lisbon

Lisbon is becoming such a popular destination, that tourist favorites such as Tram 28 are actually hard to enjoy for most common mortals these days! Even though this was just a regular transportation tram until not that long ago, Eléctrico 28 became an attraction as it goes up and down some of the most picturesque neighborhoods of the capital.

Lines to get inside tram 28 can keep you waiting for a good couple of hours. But we have a trick that will make you avoid all that craziness and go straight onwards to enjoying the ride!

 

12. 11 Books that you should Read Before Traveling

These are some fiction books that we recommend you read before you travel. Nothing can ever give you the feeling of being in a given location but, if you allow yourself to dive into the story, books can often get pretty close to that. If you have any other book recommendations, please leave us a comment below with the titles!

 

11. Quick and Easy ‘Return Tickets’ for International Travelers

What happens when you want to travel on a one-way ticket but either the airline or immigration insist you must show proof of return? We tell you how to book cancelable return tickets for international travel, without spending any money!

 

10. Underground Lisbon: A Visit to the Roman Galleries

There are many cool things you can do in and around Lisbon all year long. But going underground, as in literally underground, only happens twice a year! This year, we managed to get our hands on those much-coveted tickets to visit the underground galleries of Lisbon, that date back to the days of the Roman Empire. This is how you too can score tickets next time!

 

9. Our Airbnb Experience in Cluj-Napoca

Last year, our post about why Airbnb may not be worth it anymore made it to the most read articles list of 2016. Even though we’d had ups and downs with the platform and their customer service, we didn’t stop using Airbnb after that. This experience we had in Cluj, Romania, was actually a very pleasant one!

 

8. Best Places for Digital Nomads in Cluj

Still in Romania, we shared the best places to work from Cluj. Chances are Cluj doesn’t promptly come to mind when one thinks about good places for digital nomads in Europe. But this city in the heart of Transylvania has many of the characteristics location independent professionals tend to look for when checking out a new place to base themselves in for a while, so we have a feeling that, very soon, Cluj is going to be one of those “go-to” places for location independent professionals.

 

7. Beginners Guide to Cycling in Iran

(and Avoiding the Mistakes I Made)

Our friend Anita is the queen of adventure! A few years ago, she shared an article here on Backpack ME, telling us about her experiences traveling solo in India, and sharing practical info for women planning on doing the same. Hint: it’s all pretty safe and doable as long as you’re smart about how you go about it.

This time around, Anita shared with us details about her cycling trip cross Iran. Even though she wasn’t an experienced cyclist before this trip, that didn’t stop her! These are her Iran stories and tips.

 

6. Wicked Campers Chile Review

Even though we didn’t live this adventure during 2017, earlier this year we finally shared details about our 45 day long road-trip in Southern Chile and Argentina. A van by Santiago de Chile-based Wicked Campers was our vehicle of choice for this ambitious adventure and, if this was today knowing what we know, maybe things wouldn’t have happened the same way…

 

5. Fun Facts and Observations about Bucharest

“Fun Facts and Observations” is a series we like sharing lately. We have done similar articles about Stockholm and Helsinki and, soon enough, the one about Seoul is going to be live too!

This time, we share our thoughts about Romania’s capital. Architecture, coffee, gypsies, food, sex-appeal… and much more!

 

4. What it feels like to live in one place after traveling the world for 5 years

2017 was a year of change for us. After more than five years traveling full-time, without a home to call our own, we finally got an apartment, to use as a base in between trips.

Change can be hard, and this essay was Zara’s attempt to ease the pain.

 

3. Guide to Chile’s Carretera Austral

The Carretera Austral, also known as Chile’s Southern Highway, is a 1240km long route that winds along through virgin prehistoric forests, torrential rivers, glaciers, and snow-capped peaks! Argentina’s Ruta 40 or Route 40 is a long and almost straight road that runs the length of the country and ends in Patagonia where the inhabited world ends. Driving along these roads is the best way to explore both North and South Patagonia.

This is a report from our trip and a guide for all those who are looking to explore this isolated part of our world!

 

2. Things in Common Between India and Mexico

We’re so happy that a blog post that talks about two of our favorite places in the world was so well received by you!

If India and Mexico made love, they could give birth to something beautiful! These two countries have an incredible amount of things in common. If you’re thinking it’s all about the food, let us show you that it’s way, way more than that!

 

1. South Korea Visa for Indians

Even though this article is fairly recent, it’s already positioned as the most read post on Backpack Me this year! Sharing all his experiences traveling with an Indian passport, like Ashray always does, this time we highlight a little-known way of visiting the rest of South Korea (beyond Jeju Island) without a visa for up to 30 days!

 

Thanks so much for reading us!

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