Los Llanos is a wet ecosystem, a massive area of seasonally flooded plains that spread across Colombia and Venezuela, and that characterized by for their extensive savannas, unique fauna, and a cowboy-like culture palpable in their local folklore and the raising of their cattle. I had the chance to visiting Los Llanos for 4 days during my last trip to Venezuela, and it was something very different from anything I had experienced before. In this guide, I wanted to show you how to visit Los Llanos independently. In this travel guide to Los Llanos you will find: Table of Contents Why travel ..read more

Canaima National Park (Parque Nacional de Canaima) is a national park that spreads out across the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State, in south-eastern Venezuela. The park has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, mainly due to the table mountains – locally known as tepui – that cover 65% of its surface area, constituting a unique bio-geological entity. Canaima National Park, however, is more popularly known for being home to the world’s tallest uninterrupted waterfall, a 979-meter drop flowing from the top of Auyantepui, one of the many tepuis this park national is famous for among geo ..read more

Dreamy landscapes and beaches, world-class architectural delights and the most authentic West African culture in the heart of the Caribbean. Few travellers know about any of the places to visit in Haiti, yet this is truly the most unique destination in the Americas, packed with exciting sites offering thrilling backpacking adventures. After spending 10 traveling around the country, here’s a comprehensive 7-day, safe itinerary containing the best things to see and do in Haiti. For all practical information including visas, safety, local culture, etc., check our travel guide to Haiti. In this H ..read more

Wanna travel to Afghanistan with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Afghanistan: Feb 29th to Mar 9th, 2024 LEARN MORE The first time I traveled in Afghanistan was in June 2021, just when the US Army began to withdraw from the country, and shortly before the Taliban took it over. In 2023, with the new change of Government, I decided to go back to see what was it like to travel in Afghanistan under new Taliban rule. From a traveling perspective, a lot has changed in this country. After more than 1 month of independent travel in Afghanistan ..read more

In 2023, I visited Afghanistan for the second time, traveling from the border with Pakistan at Khyber Pass to Kabul, all the way to Herat via the Minaret of Jam.  It was a 1100km journey, 700km of which were through a pretty rough Jeep track, and which I did with a combination of hitchhiking, minibuses, local shared taxis, taxi motorbikes and random taxis when needed as well. This is one of the best trips I have ever taken. This post contains all the practical information for you to do the same. Here, you will find: Introduction How many days? Permits needed Day by day itinerary Day 1 ..read more

Fellow adventurers, today I am excited to share with you the remarkable journey of Will Hatton, the man behind The Broke Backpacker travel blog. You may already be familiar with Will’s captivating tales of exploring the world on $10 a day, but what you may not know is how he was able to transform his passion into a sustainable force of long-term travel. Ever since he first hit the road over fifteen years ago, things have been quite the wild ride. From exploring the depths of Venezuela, hitchhiking all the way through Iran, and towering the highest of Pakistani peaks, he’s always longed for re ..read more

The process of getting a visa for Sudan doesn’t end when you get it, as, there are a couple of steps that need to be taken once you are in Sudan. If you follow all the necessary steps, getting a Sudanese visa isn’t complicated but, there is some bureaucracy that needs to be done. This post keeps regularly updated thanks to input from some amazing travelers. I also recommend checking the comments section of this blog. For more information read my travel guide to Sudan In this guide to getting a visa in Sudan, you find: Where to apply How to get a visa in Aswan (Egypt) How to get a visa in Cai ..read more

Remember that, in Iran, many popular websites and services are blocked, including Facebook and WhatsApp. Sometimes they block this travel blog too. If you want to browse and use them while you are backpacking in Iran, you must get a VPN and the one I personally use is ExpressVPN, the most reliable one for Iran. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ExpressVPN A city of more than 3,000 years old which has been the heartland of Persian culture for millennia, Shiraz is a city filled with historical mosques and beautiful gardens. Known as one of the most liberal cities in the whole of Iran, here you wi ..read more

This travel guide to Kosovo contains everything you must know to visit one of the youngest countries in the world, including safety, moving around, top experiences, best time to visit, historical context and more. Only independent since 2008, Kosovo is a partially recognized country that split from Serbia, putting an end to many years of an unfortunate conflict. This landlocked country was part of our 2-month road trip across the Balkans, and it was one of our favorite parts. Along with Transnistria, and perhaps Belarus, Kosovo might be the least visited country in Europe, home to a pretty a ..read more

This post contains 7 short, 1-day trips from Tbilisi that can be reached in up to 2 hours (by public transportation). Having lived in Tbilisi for nearly a year, I can definitely confirm that, along with Kyiv, this is my favorite capital in Europe. It has a friendly atmosphere, great food options, cozy bars, plus there are so many things to do, that you could easily spend your entire trip based there, doing occasional day trips from Tbilisi. Georgia is actually a tiny country, where you could easily visit half of it on a day excursion from Tbilisi, but this post contains the easiest, shortest ..read more