Vaughn Richardson fell in love with traveling after a friend moved to Paris and invited him for a visit. Within the five years that followed, he had been to countries like Japan, Spain and Columbia. Now he wants to inspire kids of color to go outside of their comfort zone.
“I go around to local high schools in Philadelphia and give speeches about the benefits of studying abroad, global travel and also cultural immersion,†says Richardson, who specifically targets inner city students.
“With kids of color, it’s important for us to travel because it’s good to escape the confines of homogeneity,†he says.
Richardson leaves the country at least twice a year and says that he puts away anywhere from 15 to 20 percent of each paycheck for travel, and follows these feeds on Twitter to stay up on the latest deals:
1. Â Travelzoo
“They give you kind of the inside deals that travel agents get and that you wouldn’t ordinarily have access to,†Richardson explains. He says followers can luck-up on offers that include flights with an extra perk or two.
“Buy a ticket to New Zealand and get a free overnight stay in Fiji—things like that,†he says. He listed TripAdvisor and Trazzler for similar bargains.
2. Tourists Guild
Richardson says this is good for people looking for things to do upon arrival.
“It gives you an overall sense of what to do when you get to certain places and they also give you an idea of how much things cost,†says the blogger. “If you don’t have a lot of time to do research you can just go on there and see what they have going on.â€
3. Lonely Planet
Richarson swears by Lonely Planet and says he aspires to reach their level of expertise.
“Lonely Planet has been around for ages,†he says. “They are the quintessential, go-to people for travelers. They’re so thorough.
Richardson says one of Lonely Planet’s best features is a comprehensive list and accounting of travel in about every country in the world and ideas on what to do once you get there. However, the most valuable information, he says, is the information on cultural norms and conduct in different countries.