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--- El web amb informació pràctica per al viatger independent i alternatiu ---

ABOUT VIATGEADDICTES.COM

What is Viatgeaddictes.com. And also, what isn't...


WHAT ON EARTH IS VIATGEADDICTES.COM?

Viatgeaddictes.com is a website with practical information, resources and tools to help travelers in general, but especially for one with a separate profile and self-organization seeking alternative travel destinations, preferably less travelled.

However we're not a travel agent or tour company, and therefore we don't sell any product or travel service, nor organize trips and excursions. The contents of this website is only free information from travel addicts, like ourselves, to other travel addicts with the aim of helping them. So with the help of our few but valuable advertisers and sponsors we can afford the cost of maintaining this site. So, for the time being, you won't find us in the Forbes list about world's richest people.

And if you want to socialize with Viatgeaddictes.com and its fans you can find us on social networks as Facebook and Twitter, so you can become a fan and/or a follower.

WHO ARE WE?

Behind Viatgeaddictes.com are Yolanda Vila and Toni Pozo, a couple of travelers now living in a village near Barcelona. Travelling around the world is our passion, but always we enjoy to travel by our own way. And such enthusiasm and passion we feel for travelling is that we can tackle the huge personal effort to keep this site, born in early 2001 as a hobby and with an active presence in Internet since then.

AND, WHAT'S ABOUT THE GOAL OF VIATGEADDICTES.COM?

Few years ago, when Internet was not so extended, it was quite difficult to get practical and updated information about uncommon destinations (visa, transport, health, itineraries, and so on), say exotic. So it was a really tough task for anyone who wanted to organize its own trip in an independent way. That's the main reason why we decided to start publishing on Internet our own travel guides and travel journals, based in our own experience acquired on a real travel, putting much emphasis on practical information needed by other independent travelers like ourselves.

This website was collaborative from the beginning (now called Web 2.0) and many other travel addicts have contributed by sending us their travel experiences around the world and now you can find them on Viatgeaddictes.com. But we have also added new sections to this website: useful links, travel news, tips, hiking routes for weekend in Catalonia, travel books, and so on. All with the main goal of being hat useful when organizing your next trip, give ideas, or just travelling virtually.

We believe, therefore, that this site may be helpful to everyone who likes to travel, but especially to those who want to be an independent traveler, an increasingly common option. Here you will find first-hand practical information written by travelers who have kicked the destination. Today, there is no shortage of travel websites on Internet, but it's hard to find those that are not just a collection of links or a set of data that can be found in any encyclopedia.

At this moment you can find a full version of the web contents written in Catalan and Spanish languages, but unfortunately we don't have enough time to maintain a full English version (remember that Viatgeaddictes.com is a personal website). Nevertheless you can find some contents in English, including some travel guides and travel journals.

Oue website is growing every day. so we encourage you to visit us often. We invite you to read our online travel guides from around the world. In some cases you'll find a map with the itinerary and much information about transportation, visas, accommodation, restaurants, travel budget, what to see, interesting links, photos, etc.

OK, BUT THE WORD "VIATGEADDICTE", WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The Catalan word viatgeaddicte means literally «a person addicted to travel» or travel addict. Fortunately there are so many ways to travel as travelers and, leaving aside the controversial classic dichotomy traveler versus tourist, what it's really important is the personal attitude of each one towards the local people and visited places.

Some important aspects that define this special attitude:

• Need to travel without prejudices towards the cultural differences and the ways of life found during the trip, because these are not better or worst, only different. In any case we are the ones that must adapt as much as possible to their patterns of life and not vice versa. It also means that we must be respectful of their habits, although in some cases we disagree.

• Also very important it's to have a great curiosity about the place we visit before (reading about its past and present) and during the trip, learning from human contact with local people and paying attention to the smallest details of your day to day. This allows us to better understand their habits, appreciate their differences and positive aspects. This curiosity includes local culture, gastronomy, etc.. and even learn a few words of the language spoken in the area.

• Our spent money should go mainly to local people of the country and not to the big chains. Whenever possible we try to accommodate in hotels or guesthouses that are not owned by international hotel chains, eat in local restaurants, take public transportation and shop in stores or street markets.

• An independent travel can be prepared in advance, but we must also leave the door open to improvisation (for example, if we really like a place we can decide to stay more days), to change the initial plan on the fly, or simply due to unforeseen events.

Well, these are our principles, but, as the great comedian Groucho Marx said, if you don't like them... well, we have others.

Yolanda Vila & Toni Pozo
Travelers and webmasters of
Viatgeaddictes.com