Jane Meighan set off on her first big adventure at the age of 17, heading to Australia to spend three months there. Her family hadn't travelled a lot, so it was an eye-opening experience for her, and laid the foundations of her love for travel. Since then, she's spent a fair bit of time in Western Europe, visiting friends and enjoying the art - especially the Gaudi museum in Barcelona. As an environmentally conscious person, a comment made by a friend about her carbon footprint made Jane realise how much flying she was doing, and what that was doing to the environment. So she's decided to travel around the world by land and sea. She'll start in Edinburgh, and travel down the UK to catch a boat to Amsterdam before travelling slowly through Eastern Europe. The Trans-Siberian train will take her across Russia, and she'll travel by cargo ship from Shanghai to the States and from the other side of the States back to the UK after cross-country trip. Although Jane has got the big picture sorted out, she plans to organise the details as she goes along. A bit of research has of course helped a lot - she knows, for example, that it's a lot cheaper to buy trans-Siberian tickets in Moscow than book them from the UK. She'll use point-to-point tickets in Eastern Europe, buying as she goes to keep her options open.

La Tomatina is a giant tomato fight that’s held every year in Buñol, Spain, on the last Wednesday of August. There’s celebrations all week, but most people go just to throw tomatoes at each other, and this year we joined in the fun. We had a great time, but as always we learned a fair bit about what we could have done better. What we did right Arrived early Although the fight starts at 11am, you can’t get there at 10am and hope to be part of the action. The smart people are in the main square at 8am – we didn’t make it that early but we were there by nine. Didn’t prepare too much but knew where we were going We travelled by train, and we knew that the train we wanted left from San Isidre station and not from Valencia Nord, the main station in the centre of town. The night before, we worked out how to get to that station (by metro) and we got there as soon as we could. We’d tried to find out about train times, but couldn’t – which didn’t matter anyway, since there was a crowd waiting at the station and everyone just had to wait until the next train, whenever it might be. In Buñol, we followed the crowd to the main square, but we knew we wanted to be in sight of the ham, so we squirmed through until we could see it. We had a great spot which ensured we were part of the action. Wore sensible (and disposable) clothing Despite the fact that one of the few rules of La Tomatina is “don’t rip t-shirts” a lot of people lost the shirts off their backs. We wore shirts that we wouldn’t mind losing – in fact Linda’s was one wear away from the bin in any case, so she threw it out afterwards. Linda wore shorts with a zip pocket for a credit card, train ticket and a bit of cash, and bought a pair of cheap sunglasses instead of wearing her hat. Craig wore swimming trunks with a deep pocket. We both wore sneakers instead of flip flops. This was definitley a good idea, we saw hundreds of flip flops floating on the tide of tomato, and many people were shoeless at the end of the event. Washing our shoes wasn’t fun, but it was better than losing them. Didn’t take too much We didn’t take a bag with us. There just isn’t room in a crowd like that, and it would likely have been stolen. We took a cheap camera which we tried to waterproof, and a video camera that now needs a bit of love. We also took a plastic bag with some croissants in it, but we bought water when we arrived. There was plenty of food available, but we enjoyed having our croissants on the train. Were in a good mood Being in a good frame of mind is essential to enjoy La Tomatina. Some people were angry about being pushed around or having wine poured on their heads, others panicked when the crowd were too dense. We tried to relax and enjoy ourselves (and practise deep breathing occasionally) and left with a positive view of things. For more information, and to find out what we did wrong, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com

Whether you call it a career break, gap year, or a sabatical, the movie Eat, Pray, Love has certainly created a lot of buzz around the idea of taking extended time off to travel the world. And, of course, that's something we approve of! One person fomenting the career break discussion is Sherry Ott from Briefcase to Backpack and one of the leading figures behind Meet, Plan, Go - a North American event with meetings around the US and Canada to help people find career break opportunities themselves. In this interview we talk with Sherry Ott about her own journey, about career break travel, and about Meet, Plan, Go. For more information and links, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com

Buenos Aires is located on the Rio de la Plata (the silver river). Most of the transport hubs are located on or near the river, and the city is laid out on a rough grid stretching away from the river. The city centre is centred around where Avenida 9 de Julio (which runs up from the river) crosses Avenida Corrientes, and that's where the Obelisk is located. The other principal street, Avenida 25 de Mayo, runs parallel with Av. Corrientes. Buenos Aires is divided into 48 barrios (neighbourhoods) but docsmost are residential - posh Recoleta is in the north near the bus station, and edgy La Boca is in the south near the river. In the city grid, the blocks are numbered by the hundreds, so each street you cross will take the numbers up 100, even though there aren't that many buildings in each block. This makes finding an address really easy! You aren't going to go hungry in Buenos Aires. There's everything from budget options like hot dogs on the street, to the lushest meal in a five-star restaurant. Don't miss out on an asado (barbecue) - if you can get yourself invited to a local's home you'll have the most authentic experience, but if not restaurants are tripping over themseves to feed you tasty Argentinian meat. Empanadas are a must - they're pastry circles folded over and stuffed with meat, egg and olives, There are different fillings but the beef ones are the most popular. You can find them in bakeries and some corner stores - make sure you ask for them heated or you might get cold ones. Alfajores are a typical Argentininan snack - two soft biscuits stuck together with dulce de leche and maybe coated in chocolate. If you take a long bus trip, they might just give you one, but the fresh ones from a bakery are much better. Medialunas (half-moons) are a great option for breakfast or a mid-morning snack. Mate is also worth a try, but it's difficult to buy just one cup. Mate is the bitter tea you'll see Argentinians drinking all day out of small cups, with a straw. You might have some problems if you're a vegetarian though, although most restaurants have some sort of vegetarian option, it isn't universal. There are quite a few vegetarian and vegan restaurants around though, if you do your research! Attractions Buenos Aires is an attractive city to walk around, with a lot of parks and squares to explore. Many are central, but Palermo is a great place to start, as that is where the Botanical Gardens are located. There's also a rose garden in Parque Tres de Febrero, and BA has the largest Japanese Garden outside of Japan. Plaza de Mayo is a square in the central city, and is lined with impressive buildings that house the government offices, and might be familiar as the location of one of Eva Peron's speeches. You can also visit Evita's grave in the stunning Recoleta Cemetery - many other historical figures are buried there, but it's worth a visit even if you hate history, the tombs are amazing. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com

Berlin is a vibrant city full of art, history, and fantastic people doing interesting things. We speak with Paul Sullivan from Slow Travel Berlin and try to get to grips with the best clubs, best restaurants and most interesting things to do in the city. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/berlin-travel/

Trains are the best way to get around Europe and a Eurail Pass, also known as a Eurorail Pass, might be a good solution for you. Although budget flights have made air travel more affordable, if you want to explore, trains are your best option. And for short journeys or trips with good connections, taking a train can be faster than going by plane - not to mention that you don't have to go through airport security! If you're just taking one or two long train trips during your European vacation, you're probably best to just buy point-to-point tickets. But if you want to see more of the continent, a Eurail pass is a good option. A Eurail pass (also known as a Eurorail pass) is a ticket which allows you unlimited train travel in Europe. It comes in many different forms - you need to decide which region you'll be travelling in, how long you want the pass to last, how many days you'll actually be travelling within that time frame, and if you want a first or second-class ticket. For more information on Eurail/Eurorail tickets and train travel in Europe, visit: http://indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/eurorail-eurail-pass-tips-tricks

Victoria Brewood was the winner of WorldNomads Vantastic South Australia, which means she got to spend six weeks travelling the state in a campervan called Geoff. We talk with Victoria about her South Australia road trip and look at things to do in South Australia. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/road-trip-south-australia/

Ever wanted to travel to China? This week we speak with Coley Dale who has been living and travelling in China for seven years. Coley describes a China of amazing diversity, both physically and culturally. We talk about China's most well-known cities, then head west to get away from the big smoke and into the countryside. We discuss Beijing, Shanghai, Yunnan and Xianjing as well as budgets for travel in China and visas for China travel. Coley Dale is the Senior Manager of cTrip's English website and has offered his advice with your China travel planning. All photos are from Coley's Flickr account. For more visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/travel-china-interview-independent-travel-china

Travel to Bath, England and you will be rewarded for your effort with Roman Baths, Georgian architecture and gorgeous parks ... all in a World Heritage site. For more visit: http://indietravelpodcast.com

New York is an incredible city - we’ve just discovered that six days is in no way enough. We caught a lot of the highlights though, such as the Empire State Building, MOMA, the Met, and the Circle Line. For more information on travel in New York City, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/things-to-do-in-new-york-city/

Wine and football aren't the most obvious of combinations, but today we talk with Tara O'Leary, the Wine Passionista, about South Africa and wine travel. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com

It's our last week in South America, travelling with our friends Angela and Janine. It's been an amazing trip and we're sad that it's coming to an end. In this episode, we talk about some of our experiences in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. For show notes, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com

We're coming to the end of our four-month trip in South America, and we've had an awesome time. In this episode we talk about our time in Peru and Bolivia, travelling with our friends Angela and Janine. Peru After being delayed by the Chilean earthquake, we arrived a little late in Lima, but managed to meet Ange and Mark on the day they arrived in the country. We headed north and spent too little time in the northern cities of Trujillo, Chiclayo and Chachapoyas, which were amazing. We all really enjoyed our time in Arequipa and Cusco - especially the language lessons. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com

We're just days away from launching our new ebook, The Art of Solo Travel: A Girls' Guide by Stephanie Lee. Today we wanted to introduce Stephanie and her take on travel. For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/girlsguide or http://indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/153-interview-art-solo-travel-author-stephanie-lee

A visit to the Iguaçu Falls is a must on many travellers' itinerary of South America. And for good reason - they are incredible. You can view the falls from both Brazil and Argentina, and each side provides quite a different experience. We were staying in Puerto Iguazu, which is in Argentina, and we visited both sides from this point. It's equally easy to base yourself in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, which is a much bigger city. Brazil: getting there The border crossing between Argentina and Brazil was very straightforward. We decided to use the hostel-organised transfer instead of going independently, which would have meant three buses and a lot of time-wasting. So we crossed by car and didn't even have to get out - we passed our passports to our driver Susanna, who gave them to the border guards. They were stamped and we were in - possibly the easiest border crossing ever, although the Brazilian stamps are incredibly boring. Brazil: Pros and cons When we arrived, we realised that we didn't have any real, and apparently none of our credit cards were suitable for use. We withdrew cash at the ATM with no problems though. It cost R$37, which seemed a fair price to us. For more information visit:

Tim Ackroyd spent six weeks touring Victoria, one of our favourite Australian states, as part of the WorldNomads Vantastic Adventure. We caught up with Tim to talk about his experiences and help you plan your own Australian road trip. Tim says... I have been making the video podcast 'Snowfix' for the last 5 years. It basically came about when a friend and I did our first ski season, we decided we wanted to keep skiing but didn't want to do the horrible resort jobs, so we started making videos. Within one year we had created the world's most popular skiing/snowboarding podcast and also turned it into a TV show on the Extreme Sports Channel on sky all across Europe. When I am not making the show, in the summer I move back to London and due to the short amount of time I am around for, generally live with Aussies that are over here travelling. Subsequently I have been saying for years that I was going to do a big trip and visit all those guys I lived with, and the Vantastic tour seems the perfect chance. This is going to be a total whirlwind 2 months for me because running up to the trip I am working presenting the London Freeze, the uk's biggest skiing/snowboard event (www.londonfreeze.com). The next day I fly to Oz for the trip and as soon as I return I travel back out to France to start this season of Snowfix. Expect strangers, sillyness, singing and special FX! For more, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/151-vantastic-road-trip-victoria-australia

We've spent the last ten days in Bolivia, which isn't really enough to do it justice. But we've had a great time and have learned a lot about travel in this beautiful South American country. Border crossing The border between Peru and Bolivia is easy to cross. We went by bus, and the bus stopped outside the police station to allow us to hand in our tourist cards - it's really important that you don't lose this little piece of paper! You'll get it when you enter Peru. After the police station, we went to immigration for our exit stamp, then walked about 200m up the road to the Bolivian offices, where we filled in forms and got our entry stamps. Despite the fact that as Kiwis we can stay for up to 90 days, they only gave us 30-day visas ... apparently we can extend them in La Paz, but we didn't get the full quota automatically. And the border crossing wasn't easy for all of us. Ange's passport had been stolen in Cusco, and though she'd got a replacement travel document and had a full police report of what had happened, apparently this wasn't good enough for the Peruvian border guards. She needed an entry stamp, which she apparently had to get back in Cusco, but of course her travel document was only valid for that one day. Luckily a one-off fee solved the problem, and we were allowed to leave the country. Copacabana and the Isla del Sol Copacabana is a tiny little tourist town perched on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Its lack of ATMs made it difficult to get cash - always make sure you have a stash of emergency money for this kind of situation. US dollars are definitely the currency of choice to carry around in South America, and we found the exchange rates at the border and in Copacabana to be very reasonable. Copacabana is a good jumping-off point for tours to the Isla del Sol. You can camp or stay in a hostal on the island, but we chose to do a one-day trip. It was very well-priced: it would have cost us about the same to do the same thing independently. We were dropped off at one end of the island, and the boat met us on the other side. We've noticed that the Bolivians are much more concerned about time than the Peruvians - both boat trips left very nearly on time, and anyone who wasn't there to get on the boat was left behind. Bus journeys Bus travel in Bolivia has been an experience. It's a step down from Peru, which in turn was a step down from the excellent service in Chile. The trip from Copacabana to La Paz included a surprise boat trip, which we hadn't been told about and had to pay for. We had planned to get more cash from an ATM in La Paz and so didn't have much money, but luckily we'd changed a little more just before we left. We went across on a motorboat while the bus crossed by a wooden barge. It was interesting, to say the least! The bus from La Paz to Uyuni had a different seat configuration from the one we'd been shown when we booked our tickets, so we weren't in the seats we wanted, and our group wasn't sitting together. There also seemed to be a lot of extra stops along the way, despite the fact that we'd been told that it was a direct service. La Paz La Paz is a sprawling city with a lot of markets and hills. It's the highest city in the world, so altitude might be a problem for some - luckily coca tea is easy to come by, which should help you out. There's also a lot of excellent street food to try, like papa rellena (deep-fried stuffed mashed potatoes), freshly-squeezed juices, doughnuts and other gems. There are a lot of taxis to choose from in La Paz, but use ones with a radio for security. They should call their base to let the base know where they're headed and with how many people. As always in South America, agree on a fare before you get into the car, and if you don't feel safe, choose another taxi. For more visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/podcast/travel-bolivia-safety/

We've spent the last three weeks in Cusco, studying Spanish, enjoying the history, and being frustrated with problems here on the site. we haven't done all the touristy things, but we've been enjoying relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere. Cusco Cusco is incredible. It's supposed to be laid out like a puma, but we haven't really seen it. It's in a valley, with the centre of action as the Plaza de Armas. Up one side of the valley is the hippy district of San Blas, with the head of the puma at the top. That's where the iconic White Christ is situated, with the Sacsaywaman fortress nearby. Food One thing that we love about travel is the food. And Cusco has a lot of it. We enjoyed juice and beer milkshake in the market, lots and lots of menus del dia, and the street food was varied and interesting. It was just sad that we only found that empanada vendor near our school in our last week. Things to do There's heaps to do around Cusco. It's the jumping-off point for Machu Picchu, and if you don't want to pay through the nose, there are lots of other ruins nearby too. We loved Tipon and our visit to the Sacred Valley with our friend Renzo. ATMs We've done a bit of experimenting here in Peru to find the best ATMs. Globalnet is really prevalent, and is often found in shops and hotels, but they have a limit of 400 soles and they charge you on this end to withdraw cash. We like BCP, which has a 700 sol limit and there's one in the Plaza de Armas and one around the corner on Avenida del Sol. School We've been studying at Wiracocha Spanish Language school on Cuesta San Blas, which is situated in the hilly hippie district of San Blas. There's a lot of nice places to stay around here, though the backpacker district is on the other side of the Plaza de Armas. We really enjoyed Cusco, and it's definitely worth a visit. Make sure you see what it has to offer, don't just get caught up in the tourist trail.

I find it strange that concerns about safety are some of the main reasons people don't like to travel. Demolishing those fears is one of the things we like to do around here. Today we speak with travel security expert Craig Bidois, who covers travel safety strategies before leaving home, during transit times and while you are in foreign lands. For more, see http://indietravelpodcast.com

South America us huge, and full of interesting places to explore. Distances between destinations aren't short, there are no trains to speak of, and flights aren't exactly budget, so you'll probably spend a fair bit of time on buses. We've travelled a fair bit by bus in Chle and Peru, and we've picked up a few ideas that could help to smooth your journey. For journeys of less than six hours, your best bet is to travel by day and enjoy the scenery (at least in the south of Chile, in the north it's quite repetitive). But for longer journeys, save your days for sight-seeing and travel by night. The buses are generally safe and comfortable, and you can increase your comfort by paying more for a better seat. The names vary from company to company, but generally there are four classes of seats on night buses. For more visit: http://indietravelpodcast.com