Award-winning travel blogger and photographer Gary Arndt shares his experience growing up in Wisconsin, becoming a competitive debater, building and selling a 7 figure business, and then deciding to travel the world. After visiting 130 countries during 14 years of world travel, he reflects on his experiences and gives his top travel recommendations. He shares his best international wine experiences and what he thinks is the best culinary city in the world. He gives his tips on traveling through the Pacific Islands, seeing places most travelers don’t go, and tells the story of swimming the Jellyfish Lake in Palau. Gary then shares his top scuba diving experiences around the world. Next, he shares his experience dogsledding in the Arctic and recommends the best place in the world to see polar bears in the wild. He then reflects on his visit to over 400 UNESCO world heritage sites across 130 countries and recommends the most spectacular, less visited sites. Gary shares his approach to learning through travel, the unique types of tours he is organizing, and gives tips on how to be a more respectful traveler when visiting other cultures. He then reflects on the impact 14 years of world travel has had on him and how he now sees the world differently. Finally, Gary shares his thoughts personal brand building, the advantages of podcasting over travel blogging today, and breaks down how he grew his podcast audience to over 100,000 monthly downloads in less than a year. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT: www.TheMaverickShow.com
Episode #140: Swimming with Jellyfish, Dog Sledding in the Arctic, and Visiting 400 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 130 Countries with Gary Arndt
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Gary Arndt
Gary Arndt is one of the top digital travel influencers of the last decade. He is one of the most awarded travel photographers in the world, and his travel blog Everything Everywhere was named one of the Top 25 Blogs in the world by Time Magazine. Originally from Wisconsin, Gary was one of the top competitive speakers and debaters in the US in both high school and college. He then built and sold a 7 figure business and eventually began traveling the world. Since 2007, Gary has been to over 130 countries on all 7 continents and has done 9 years of full time travel with no base. He has visited over 400 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and nearly every National Park in the U.S. and Canada. Since 2009 he has been the co-host of “This Week in Travel”, an award-winning weekly podcast that covers travel industry news. And Gary now also writes and produces a daily podcast called “Everything Everywhere Daily History” which features unique and interesting stories about people, places, and things from around the world, and which he grew to over 100,000 monthly downloads in the first year.
What You'll Learn
- The world’s most spectacular and less well known UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- The best place in world to see polar bears in the wild
- Some of the most epic scuba diving locations in the world
Links From the Episode
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SUBSCRIBE TO GARY’S PODCAST
LOCATION WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
WINE CONSUMED IN THIS EPISODE
GARY’S BEST INTERNATIONAL WINE EXPERIENCES
THE WINE GARY RECOMMENDS FROM THE BASQUE COUNTRY
SWIM IN THE JELLYFISH LAKE IN PALAU
GARY’S FAVORITE SCUBA DIVING DESTINATIONS
- Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt
- Yasawa Islands, Fiji
- Lanai, Hawaii
- Palau
- New Britain, Papua New Guinea
BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO SEE POLAR BEARS
DOG SLED RACES MENTIONED
PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES GARY HIGHLY RECOMMENDS
- East Rennel, Soloman Island
- Padua, Italy
- Nahanni National Park
- Wood Buffalo National Park
- Sukhothai, Thailand
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Australia
- Alberta
- American Samoa
- Bora Bora
- Cambodia
- Cook Islands
- Caribbean
- Dallas
- Alexandria, Egypt
- Guam
- Greenland
- Hong Kong
- Maui, Hawaii
- India
- Indonesia
- Las Vegas
- Lanai
- Paris, France
- Venice, Italy
- Los Angeles
- New Zealand
- New Britain
- Northern Canada
- Palau
- Pompeii
- Switzerland
- Basque, Spain
- Solomon Islands
- Samoa
- Tahiti
- Tonga
- Fiji
- Micronesia
- Dawson City, Canada
- Fairbanks, Alaska
- Whitehorse, Canada
- Rome, Italy
- Savai’I, Samoa
- Easter Island
- Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- United States
#1 BOOKS GARY RECOMMENDS
#1 PERSON WITH WHOM GARY MOST WANTS TO HAVE DINNER
TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
TOP 4 BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS
CONNECT WITH GARY
Time Stamped Show Notes
**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
[3:32] Gary’s Best International Wine Experiences
[5:25] The Culinary Scene in the Basque Country
[6:51] Growing up in Wisconsin and Becoming a Competitive Debater
[9:20] Building and Selling a 7 Figure Business
[12:13] Traveling Through the Pacific Islands
[14:35] Swimming with Jellyfish in Palau
[17:07] Gary’s Top Scuba Diving Experiences
[18:47] Visiting Polar Bears in the Wild
[20:28] Dog Sledding in the Arctic
[22:55] Gary’s Recommendations After Visiting Over 400 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
[30:58] How Gary Optimizes Learning Through Travel
[34:26] Gary’s Upcoming Tours and How They Are Unique
[36:37] How 14 Years of Travel Has Impacted Gary
[41:21] How to Be a More Respectful Traveler When Visiting Other Cultures
[43:22] How Gary Sees the World Differently After Traveling For 14 Years
[44:39] Why Gary Recommends Podcasting Instead of Blogging
[49:28] How Gary Grew His Podcast To 100,000 Listens Per Month in The First Year
[55:03] Gary’s Advice on Personal Brand Building
[56:44] The Lightning Round
- #1 Book Recommendation
- #1 Travel Hack
- #1 Person with Whom Gary Would Most Like To Have Dinner
- #1 Piece of Advice Gary Would Give to His 18 Year Old
- Top 3 Favorite Travel Destinations
- Top 3 Bucket List Destinations
[1:01:52] How to Contact Gary and Listen to His Podcast