Svaneti: towers, glaciers & grandma's cheese
Mestia to Ushguli trek without crowds. Where to sleep for $18 and why you need to try kubdari at 2,200m.
Open guide →
87 countries • 9 years on the road • 0 tourist traps
TRAVEL IN JOE PASSOV WAY
I'm Joe Passov — independent traveler, photographer and route nerd. No sponsored top-10s. Only slow itineraries, real budgets, hidden villages and trails I walked myself. Welcome to travelinjoepassov.com — my living field journal.
0Countries walked
0Guides published
0K trail kilometers
0% independent travel
SLOW TRAVEL ✦ HIDDEN VILLAGES ✦ NIGHT TRAINS ✦ LOCAL FOOD ✦ DESERTS & GLACIERS ✦ BUDGET ROUTES ✦ PHOTO ESSAYS ✦ SLOW TRAVEL ✦ HIDDEN VILLAGES ✦ NIGHT TRAINS ✦ LOCAL FOOD ✦ DESERTS & GLACIERS ✦ BUDGET ROUTES ✦ PHOTO ESSAYS ✦
01 — About
Hi, I'm Joe. I don't do tourism. I do belonging.
travelinjoepassov.com started in 2016 with a one-way ticket to Lisbon and a $2,300 backpack. Since then I've lived in 14 places, hitchhiked the Balkans, crossed the Sahara in a bush taxi, wintered in a lighthouse in Iceland and learned to make khinkali in Georgia.
This site is not an agency. No packages, no commissions. It's my personal atlas: every route tested on my own feet and wallet. I show prices, mistakes, scams to avoid and moments that made me cry.
🎒 PhilosophyOne bag, 4+ nights per place, public transport first.
💰 TransparencyEvery guide has real budget: hostels, food, transport.
📸 PhotographyAll photos are mine. No stock, no filters.
🤝 Local firstFamily stays, village guides, community projects.
2016-2018 — The escape: Portugal, Morocco, Balkans. First 30k readers.
2019-2022 — The deep dive: Caucasus, Central Asia, Patagonia. Winter in Iceland.
2023-2026 — The atlas: 87 countries. Dolomites base. Writing a book “Slow Is Fast”.
02 — Destinations
Where Joe would
send his best friend
send his best friend
Six obsessions from the last 3 years. Each has a full itinerary, GPX track, budget table and “what I’d do differently”. Click Stories to read the field notes.
Faroe on foot: fog as a travel companion
Kallur lighthouse, Múlafossur and the bus that costs less than coffee. How to beat the weather.
Open guide →High Atlas beyond Marrakech
Berber villages, saffron tea and the Thursday souk in Asni. No camel tourist traps, promise.
Open guide →Kyoto backstreets: slow Japan
5am at Fushimi, kissaten coffee, and a guesthouse run by a 78-year-old jazz fan.
Open guide →Patagonia W-trek on a backpacker budget
Refugios vs tent, wind survival, and the empanada stand that saved my day 4.
Open guide →Dolomites hut-to-hut without a car
Alta Via 2 sections, rifugio etiquette, and sunrise at Tre Cime without 500 people.
Open guide →03 — The Joe Method
How I plan any trip
in 4 evenings
in 4 evenings
Copy my system. It works for a weekend in the Ardennes and for 3 months in South America.
01
Map the cravings
Not sights — feelings. Fog? Bread? Silence? I pick 3 words and build around them.
02
Anchor & spokes
One base for 4-5 nights + day trips by bus/train. No daily packing hell.
03
Budget in public
Spreadsheet with 4 columns: sleep, move, eat, magic. +15% for “yes!” moments.
04
Leave gaps
30% of time unplanned. Best stories live there: weddings, breakdowns, invitations.
Free download: my Notion trip template + packing list for 7kg bag
Used by 23,000 readers. No spam, one letter per Sunday.
Get it via letter
Used by 23,000 readers. No spam, one letter per Sunday.
04 — Gallery
Postcards from
the notebook
the notebook
Shot on Fujifilm + iPhone. All places visited in 2024-2026. Hover — I’ll tell you where it is.
05 — Journal / News
Latest stories
& field guides
& field guides
Fresh from the road. Every card opens as a full article with maps, budgets and honest fails.
Night trains I actually love: Vienna → Paris → Barcelona
Couchettes, breakfast, border sunrise and how to book for €49 instead of €149…
Coming soon →Iceland for $70 a day: yes, it's possible
Hot dogs, pools, free camps and the gas station hack nobody tells you…
Coming soon →Solo in the Balkans: Sarajevo to Kotor by bus
Borders, burek rankings and why I cried in Mostar…
Coming soon →What you get in every story
GPS track • budget breakdown • where I slept & ate • 3 mistakes • what I'd skip • best season chart
Publishing rhythm
Long guide every Sunday, photo essay every Wednesday, “Fails Friday” voice note monthly. 412 posts and counting.
06 — Readers
They traveled
with my notes
with my notes
★★★★★
“Used Joe's Svaneti guide in September. Saved €300 and ended up at a supra feast with a local family. Best week of my life.”
— Marta, Poland
Trekked Ushguli, 2025
★★★★★
“Finally a blogger who shows prices! His Dolomites hut list is gold. No car, no stress, just mountains.”
— Daniel & Priya, UK
Alta Via, 2025
★★★★★
“I plan all solo trips with Joe's method. Anchor & spokes changed everything. Felt safe even in rural Morocco.”
— Aiko, Japan
Solo traveler, 2026
07 — FAQ
Questions I get
every week
every week
Short answers. For long ones — read the journal or write me.
Who are you, Joe Passov?
Mid-30s wanderer, ex-IT project manager. I travel slow, photograph, write. Based in the Dolomites in summer, somewhere warm in winter. No team, no sponsors — just me and my notebook.
How much does your style of travel cost?
Average $55-75/day in Europe, $35-50 in Caucasus/Balkans/Morocco, $80-110 in Japan/Faroes. I always publish exact spending per trip — accommodation, transport, food.
Do you organize tours?
Twice a year I invite 8 readers for a “slow week” — Svaneti in June, Atlas in October. No luxury, lots of walking and cooking together. Announcements in the Sunday letter.
What gear do you carry?
7kg backpack: 40L pack, mirrorless camera, tent + quilt, water filter, eSIM + offline maps. Full list with weights is in the free template.
Can I use your photos or texts?
For personal blogs with credit — yes. For commercial use — write me via contact. I also sell prints to fund train tickets.
How do I start slow travel if I have only 2 weeks?
Pick ONE region, not 5 cities. Stay 4+ nights per base, use buses/trains, schedule one “empty day” per 3 days. Start with my Balkans or Dolomites guides.
08 — Sunday letter
Get one honest route every Sunday
No spam, no ads. One itinerary, one fail, one photo. 23,400 slow travelers already read it.
Or write directly: hello [at] travelinjoepassov.com • Base: Val Gardena, Italy • Replies on Sundays