Samantha Jenkins knew that the travel bug that bit her was pretty serious when all the signs showed it – she felt like a stranger in her own bed, she couldn't shake off the feeling of checking flight deals throughout the day, and she scrimps on shopping money to save up for her next holiday destinations.
A serial traveler who works as a travel specialist at one of London's luxury travel companies, Samantha knows the best destinations, must-try cuisines, undiscovered B&B havens, and tourist traps to steer clear of. But like everyone else, before she was able to mine gold information, the 24-year-old was just as clueless. Her adventure began in 2012 when she backpacked around the world, armed only with paperback guides.
"I found that many of the guides I used were too lengthy yet lacked the information I needed. I longed for a simple guide with great images I could carry around easily," she shared. Her stay in the Philippines for four months was a testament to this. "Although the guides I had were detailed, I found a lot of the time I would arrive places and not really have had an accurate picture of what it would be like," she said.
When she returned to the UK, she decided to put up a site that would help others see the undiscovered beauty of many countries. She bought a domain name, www.nextstopnomad.com, and tried to create the website herself. "It was difficult. I tried for months but it became clear that I needed help with it. Posting the project on Freelancer.com, which I found through Google, was a huge relief."
She picked Mexico-based freelancer moxdesigns because of his responsiveness and communication. He frequently updated Samantha on the project, answered any questions she had, and made sure she understood how everything worked on the site. He also made amazing suggestions for the layout, which gave the site a professional finish, according to Samantha.
The website, launched in April, aims to give a snapshot of various regions and some familiar names or places to head to upon arriving in a new place. It will also contain blogs detailing her experiences so that others may learn from it and also reviews of travel products and services.
Next Stop Nomad currently features the Philippines but will soon include her Argentina road trip. In the future, she also plans to develop an app and write an eBook that will guide travelers offline. "I'll definitely return to Freelancer.com for these. Being able to put my project up easily and having numerous options for quality workers is invaluable."
You too can create a website like this. Start by posting a project here!