Publications

And the ideal travel writer is consumed not just with a will to know.  He is also consumed with a powerful will to teach.  Inside every good travel writer there is a pedagogue - often a highly moral pedagogue - struggling to get out.
Paul Fussell

I (Paul Heller, the founder of the Big Blue Marble) have created these useful inexpensive publications to serve as the ultimate resource for people who want to travel-like-a-local rather than a tourist. Nowhere else will you find so many hundreds of cost and time saving tips to make your travels cheaper, more relaxed, safer, and meaningful in one place. I have meticulously collected these tips during my trips around the world to help you fashion the trip of your dreams.

Handbooks  

A Whole New Way of Travel

Let me show you the ins and outs of locating, setting up, and enjoying several travel programs including home exchanges, volunteer programs, and classes abroad, that enable you to be a participant rather than a spectator in the daily life found in other corners of the planet.  I'll also reveal hundreds of tips to make your travel experiences safer, more economical, and more enjoyable, including how to:

• Study languages, surfing, cooking, dancing, ecology, herbal medicine, history, or archaeology outside of the USA for as little as $10/day.
• Stay in the comfort of someone else's home for as little as $5/day including meals.
• Volunteer to put your skills and passion to work. Some assignments include helping AIDS victims, teaching kids, aiding new business, providing urgent medical care, working on archaeological digs, and assisting scientists to save endangered species.
• Discover little known tours that allow you to actively participate and learn about politics, history, and cultures in other corners of the world.
• Create the perfect home exchange for you.
• Meet some of the world's most interesting people and stay in their home for free through hospitality exchange programs. 

Have you dreamed of quitting your job and seeing the planet (or living abroad)?  If so, this handbook is for you. I will share the secrets that I have learned from hundreds of conversations with people who have quit the rat race to enjoy the life of their dreams on foreign soil.  I'll help you decide if you're ready to hit the road, give you valuable tips to prepare for your adventure, and show you hundreds of exciting, low cost, long-term travel experiences. I will also help you find the perfect place for you to live. Some of the topics covered include:

• Ways to earn a living outside of the USA, including teaching English as Second Language, freelance journalism, real estate sales, and running a business abroad.
• Using your home and investments to fund your new adventure. 
• The ins and outs of living in popular retirement spots in Mexico (such as Puerto Vallarta and San Miguel de Allende) and Costa Rica.
• Discovering a new life in off-the-beaten-path havens in Ecuador, Argentina, Panama, and Nicaragua, Portugal and Thailand.
• Traveling around the world on a limited budget (including buying round-the-world air tickets). 
• Adjusting successfully to another way of life on foreign soil. 
• Buying property abroad. 
• Finding medical care outside your home country. 
• Setting up your new home abroad.

Most people think that travel either has to be expensive or uncomfortable.  However, neither of these assumptions is true. In my twenty-five years of traveling around the world, I have met hundreds of retirees, young backpackers, and even out-of-work professionals who have discovered that travel is much cheaper and more satisfying than staying at home.  These travelers have passed on to me hundreds of insider tips that I?ll reveal in this handbook that will help you:

• Buy safe, inexpensive, and nutritious food from street vendors and markets.
• Save as much as 80% off the usual price for most luxury travel.
• Fly anywhere, anytime, for less than $1000 roundtrip.
• Become a courier and fly the world for as little as $100. 
• Get great award travel without purchasing high cost products.

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An Insider's Guide to California?s Best Hidden Tours 

Join seasoned tour guide Paul Heller as he shows you how to set up and enjoy hundreds of unique hidden tours (mostly free) showcasing the best that California has to offer, including: 

• Behind-the-scenes glimpses of the Golden State's finest amusement parks, factories, neighborhoods, breweries, wineries, aquariums, sport stadiums, and caverns. 
• One-of-a-kind opportunities to see, touch, and learn about exotic animals. 
• An inside peek at some of the world's finest public and private universities and research facilities. 
• Visits to some of America?s finest 20th century architectural landmarks, including the homes of some of our country's finest authors. 

The Ultimate Guide to Traveling, Living, Retiring, and Working in Mexico

Want to discover why I believe that Mexico is the world?s ultimate place to live and travel? If so, learn my secrets for: 

• Discovering hidden colonial cities, beach towns, and natural landmarks. 
• Studying Spanish, arts and crafts, surfing, cooking, and other subjects. 
• Living successfully in Mexico. (Topics include: finding high quality healthcare, buying a home, making a living, and adjusting to life below the border.) 
• Volunteering to work on ecology, archaeology, and educational programs. 
• Traveling cheaply, safely, and comfortably around the country. 
• Making friends and doing business.   

Handbooks

• $12 for one topic; $22 for two topics; $30 for three topics; and $36 for four.  Entire set of 5 booklets is $40.  This includes postage and handling.  
• To order, send an e-mail to paul@thebigbluemarble.com.   (Online ordering will be available soon.)
• Each handbook is approximately 60-100 pages long.

Read my Upcoming Books

Look for these books in the near future:

•  A Whole New Way to Travel: Exchanging, Volunteering, Learning Vacations, and Dozens of other Inexpense, Comfortable and Meaningful Alternatives to Traditional Travel.
• Escape the Rat Race: Live, Work, and Retire Abroad.
• Seeing Gold: A Guide to Hundreds of Tours of California's Best Museums, Neighborhoods, Factories, Architecture, Historic Homes and Lighthouses.
• Travel the World in Comfort for Less than $50 a Day.