Please find my experiential travel best-seller on Amazon - Going Local Experiences and Encounters on the Road

[Nicholas Kontis]

When I was 24 years old, I took a backpack and set off on what was to be a two-month trip to the Greek Islands. After meeting a couple from Sweden, I forfeited my return ticket home and joined my new Swedish friends on a journey to the Indian subcontinent. Continuing on to Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Caledonia, Tahiti, 13 months later I returned home with not a job prospect in sight.

Think that travel is not life-changing? With not a clue in the world what I would be for work, I came up with an idea, and started the first travel agency in the U.S. specializing in discount around the world airfares.

I was blessed to enter the field of travel, and I never left.

Now, I'm the author of the experiential travel book - Going Local Experiences and Encounters on the Road.

About - Going Local Experiences and Encounters on the Road

 

“Going Local – Experiences and Encounters on the Road” is the first travel book by industry veteran Nicholas Kontis. “Going Local“ details how to implement a focal point for travel we should all have– that of learning from the local cultures. With the assistance of technology, never before has it been so easy to stay in someone’s home, share a meal, hitch a ride, and be guided by and learn from local society. “Going Local” delves into the rise in peer-to-peer travel and shows how to meal share, use apps to mingle with local society, take a trip around the world, move out of your comfort zone overseas, or to volunteer. You’ll learn why responsible travel matters and enjoy case studies along with keynote talks with travel visionaries, icons and explorers in the field of travel such as Tony Wheeler, Rick Steves, Richard Bangs, Don George, Judith Fein, David Noyes, and James Dorsey. The great Lonely Planet founder, Tony Wheeler, gives the cover endorsement stating: “Many people – Mark Twain included - have noted how travel is a certain cure for bigotry and narrow-mindedness. I hope Nick’s book may help persuade people to take the treatment.” 

http://amzn.to/2iQaekR

“Take the plunge, Go and create your own travel tales”

 

Perhaps, travel icon, Tim Leffel says it best on his Perspective Travel

 

Going Local: Experiences and Encounters on the Road 

By Nicholas Kontis

We often hear of people wanting to “travel like a local” (which is already an oxymoron) or to “go where the locals hang out,” but that’s often a romantic notion easier in theory than in practice. While I expected this book to be all about the inspiration, it’s actually a useful guide to going deeper into a destination and making more local connections.

Kontis was born on a Greek island, raised in San Francisco, and once ran an agency booking round-the-world plane tickets. He now spends much of his time living in Mexico. This life of travel and the tri-cultural experience have given him plenty of insights on how to travel deeply and with meaning. He also approached this book like a real journalist instead of a self-obsessed first-time author, packing it with valuable resources.

He doesn’t just talk about “eating like a local,” but shows how to discover the great finds and how to get advice from the right people who live in a place. He doesn’t just discuss the benefits of staying in a real neighborhood and shopping there, but provides a long list of services that will get you there. Other sections cover volunteering, living abroad, and taking a sabbatical. The last section provides advice on slow travel and making local connections, but from a variety of travel industry icons. You’ll probably recognize some familiar names there, from Richard Bangs and Tony Wheeler to your humble editor at this online magazine.

If you want to do more than zip from one site to another to check things off your list, Going Local will show you how to travel in a way that builds deep memories through real encounters.