The Unpackaged Traveler

Independent trip plans for US retirees

Tours notrequired.

I have spent 25 years learning how to travel well for less in 154 countries. This is that playbook, shaped for travelers who want real adventure without handing the itinerary to a tour company.

Read the first trip planOne full route plan a month · free

4 countries in 16 days · 1 sea ferry · half the tour price

A close profile view of the Great Sphinx of Giza with a camel rider crossing the desert in the background
The Sphinx, Giza · day 6, camel rider in the distance

The honest numbers

Half the price. Twice the trip.

This route, independent
$2,400–3,200 per person · 16 days · 4 countries
Guided small-group tours
$5,500+ per person · similar route, before flights
The catch
You organise it and each plan removes most of that work

Figures from the March 2018 run of this loop, with flight and fee ranges updated for current pricing. Real ferries, real border crossings, real hotels. Every plan publishes its costs the same way. See the full cost table.

Latest trip plan

Tunis to Beirut: Four Countries, One Ferry, and No Tour Bus in Sixteen Days

A complete independent trip plan through Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon: Carthage, the Pyramids, Mount Sinai, Petra, and Baalbek, connected by flights, a sea ferry, and public buses. Real logistics, real costs. I ran this exact route in March 2018.

Duration
16 days
Activity level
Moderate to active
Countries
4
Open the route plan

From the road

Real photos from the loop

39 photos · 4 countries
Traveler standing outside Tunis-Carthage International Airport
TunisLanding at Tunis-Carthage, the gateway into the loop
Weathered Roman ruin walls at the Antonine Baths of Carthage
CarthageThe Antonine Baths, a short train ride from Tunis
A visitor seated in a green-and-gold tiled traditional Tunisian room
TunisTraditional tilework inside one of the medina house-museums
A blue and white street in the hilltop town of Sidi Bou Said
Sidi Bou SaidThe blue-and-white streets that inspired a century of artists
Traveler posing beside a large red TUNIS sign
TunisThe obligatory city sign, medina behind it
View over the Mediterranean from the cliffs of Sidi Bou Said
Sidi Bou SaidThe cliff view that stops every visitor mid-step
Gilded artifact case inside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
CairoInside the Egyptian Museum, Tutankhamun’s hoard a few rooms away
Travelers with minarets rising behind them in Old Cairo
CairoThe Old Cairo walking day, mosque-hopping on foot

Weekly dispatch

One full trip plan a month, lighter notes between.