Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.
Name: Travis Sherry
Occupation: Travel Blogger and Podcast Host
Hometown: Collegeville, PA (45 minutes outside of Philadelphia)
Residence: When not wandering, Collegeville
College: Eastern University and Ithaca College
College major: B.A. Secondary Education/History and M.S. in Sports Management
Website: extrapackofpeanuts.com
Twitter: @packofpeanuts
Facebook: facebook.com/extrapackofpeanuts
Instagram: instagram.com/packofpeanuts
Short bio: Travis Sherry is the founder of Extra Pack of Peanuts, a website devoted to helping you travel more while spending less. He’s also the host of the top-rated iTunes podcast, The EPoP Travel Show, which interviews unique travel personalities (like the one and only Johnny Jet)!
His current mission involves getting at least one Extra Pack of Peanuts reader to travel to every single country in the world (not the same person, obviously, although that’d be pretty cool too)!
He invites you to come join the fun at his site, and learn how you too can travel the world for much less than you ever imagined.
How often do you fly? It varies greatly, but on average, maybe once a month.
How many countries have you been to? 20
How many continents have you been to? 4
Earliest travel memory: Flying to see my grandparents in Florida…and throwing up each and every time!
Favorite American city: Savannah, GA.
Favorite international city: Porto, Portugal and Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Least favorite country: Vatican City.
Country with the meanest immigration officers: India. Add assault rifles to an already mean disposition and you’ve got a pretty intense situation.
Favorite World Heritage Site: Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Get there before they start acting like all the other World Heritage Sites and not allowing you to climb through the ruins.
Favorite airline: Singapore Airlines…nothing beats a free Singapore Sling!
Aisle or window: Aisle. I hate having to climb over people.
Favorite airport lounge: Any airport lounge is fine by me. I’m not spoiled enough yet to play favorites!
Favorite U.S. airport: Nashville for the live music.
Favorite international airport: Changi in Singapore.
Favorite hotel: I prefer local places to chain hotels. K’s House Ito on the Izu Pennisula in Japan and Lisbon Destination Hostel are two of my favorites.
Favorite travel credit card: Chase Sapphire Preferred, for sure.
Favorite island: Koh Lanta, Thailand.
Favorite beach: Maya Bay, Koh Phi Phi Thailand. Just make sure to rent a private longtail and get out there early in the morning, before the crush of tourists arrive.
Favorite hole-in-the-wall: Anywhere on Jalan Alor (“Food Street”) in Kuala Lumpur.
Favorite bar: McGillin’s Old Ale House, Philly.
Favorite fruit: Strawberries. Turned in to a fruit shake on the streets of Thailand? Even better!
Favorite food: Pizza, although the whole frog I ate in Cambodia was quite delicious.
Least favorite food: Natto (Japanese fermented soybeans).
Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Gin and tonic.
Favorite travel movie(s): The Beach, Catch Me If You Can.
Favorite travel book(s): “The Majic Bus” by Douglas Brinkley, “Blue Highways” by William Least Heat-Moon.
Favorite travel website(s)—besides JohnnyJet.com, of course! Hecktic Travels for the awesome storytelling and pictures, Foxnomad for great tech tips and the Best City Tournament and The Flight Deal for finding cheap paid flights.
5 things you bring on a plane: Earplugs, eye mask, decent headphones, extra water, and a sweater or jacket to keep me warm and double as a pillow.
What do you always seem to forget? Earplugs, eye mask, decent headphones…just kidding. Usually a toothbrush and playing cards.
What do you like least about travel? The feeling that I’m getting ripped off when I first arrive in a new place and don’t know how much stuff should.
What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport duty-free store? Gin, but let’s be honest. If someone is buying me something, I don’t care what it is!
Favorite travel app(s): It may sound silly because it’s so basic, but Google Maps. I honestly don’t use many other travel apps, but having that as a GPS in a foreign country is invaluable.
Most embarrassing travel moment: Being a travel blogger and getting stuck in the Singapore airport for 36 hours because my passport was full….whoops. I guess organization isn’t always my strong point!
Worst travel moment: Watching my wife slide off a motor bike and in to a barb wire fence in Koh Phagnan. Luckily, it missed her jugular by about ¼ of an inch and only required 10 stitches.
What’s your dream destination? Constantly changing, but at the moment, I’d love to take months and just backpack around Eastern Europe.
Favorite travel charity: Charity Water.
Best travel tip: Think outside the box. Travel doesn’t have to be a typical “1 week in 1 city in a hotel” type thing. There are TONS of ways to travel on your own terms, whether that means to going to more remote places, traveling cheaper or traveling longer.
Use all the tools at your disposal to travel more and spend less: frequent flyer miles, unique accommodation providers like hostels and apartment rentals, personal recommendations from people on forums and locals, etc.