For McCool Travel’s 54th travel profile, I am pleased to present Monica Stott. She is the professional blogger behind The Travel Hack brand and I am so glad she took a few minutes from her busy schedule to share her travel thoughts and tips with me.
Monica Stott’s bio:
“Monica is a full time blogger and one of the UK’s top 10 travel bloggers. She runs The Travel Hack, a blog about stylish adventure travel and will soon be blogging about travelling with a baby as she’s expecting her first child. Monica began blogging in 2009 when she travelled around Asia and Australia for 2 years. She studied to become a journalist but got swept up in the big, bad world of blogging and never left. ”
Let’s learn more about Monica Stott, the Travel Hack!
Monica Stott
Hometown…
Chester, UK (It’s up north near Manchester)
Always in my luggage…
My iPhone, my camera, and a huge scarf – I’m always cold on planes!
3 favorite home-away-from-home places…
A favorite travel memory is…
Driving around Australia in a campervan. My boyfriend and I spent 18 months in an old VW van in Australia and we drove all the way around the coast. We stopped to work on a scuba diving island for a few months when we ran out of money but mostly coasted along slowly. We camped on the beach, swam in the sea nearly every day, went fishing, learnt to surf and had nothing more than the money in our pockets and the clothes on our backs. An amazing experience.
3 favorite travel brands…
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British Airways – No one does flights like BA
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GoPro – a great little camera for travelling
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Havaiana flip flops – You can’t travel without a pair
3 money-saving travel tactics I use are…
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Have a spending detox. Don’t spend anything other than rent, bills, food and transport for at least a month and you soon see how much money you waste.
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Don’t eat out. At all! This includes coffees, snacks and drinks too.
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Get your friends involved. It’s easier to save money when all your friends are saving too. We take turns to host dinner parties and swap nights out for movie nights or BBQs at each other’s houses.
3 ways that I have fun while traveling are…
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Getting lost – you always have the most fun in the least expected places.
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Eating out in local restaurants – get away from the tourist traps and eat where the locals eat for a more authentic, enjoyable and tasty experience.
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Early morning walks – I love getting up just before sunrise and going for a walk with my camera. There’s nothing better than seeing a city wake up.
8 word (or less) travel mantra…
If not now, when?
My favorite non-travel website…
A Beautiful Mess. I don’t have a crafty bone in my body but I like seeing the craft things they make with household objects.
most memorable souvenir…
A necklace a friend bought me in Bali. I barely take it off so I even have it as a tan line around my neck.
favorite cheap eat…
Thai red curry with sticky rice with a large, icy bottle of Chiang.
recent discovery…
I recently discovered the selfie stick. You look like an idiot using it but it’s nice to get photos with me in them for a change!
I am fortunate to have met…
My boyfriend. I know it’s soppy but he’s my best friend and the best travel buddy I could wish for. He’s like a walking guidebook and map so he’s a handy guy to have around.
Thank you very much, Monica. May all of your travels be enjoyable and memorable.
Follow Monica Stott and The Travel Hack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, BlogLovin, and TheTravelHack.com.
Check out McCool Travel’s previous profiles. McCool Travel presents tips from travel experts in our 5 Minutes interview series—featuring travel industry giants, super frequent travelers, and adventurous persons. Previous 5 Minutes post: Jessica von Dop DeJesus.
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