Love Travelling? Love Pinterest? Here's good news then!

Pinterest is the newest hype on the internet.

An online pinboard, which lets you keep track of Websites, photos, recipes and whatever else you fancy by "pinning" them on your virtual board.

It's a great place to keep photos of places on your bucket list or where you have been.

But can you use Pinterest for travel planning? According to Gadling, you can!

Shoestring editor Conny Kaufmann is keeping a board there is well for her travel inspirations. Check it out here!

Shoestring issue # 6 out now!

The new issue of Shoestring is out now!

Among the stories featured in this issue are: Mount Everest off the beaten track, Teaching English as a foreign language, Exploring Cuba, Aboriginal Australia and Travelling through the 'Stans!

Go on, have a look!

Summer issue of Shoestring

G'Day guys!!

Shoestring issue # 5 is finally here!

Go on, have a look!

Open publication - Free publishing - More 5 summer

Be a Shoestring contributor!

G'Day!!

Fancy yourself a travel writer or photographer? Have you had a Gap Year / Career break or backpacking experience that opened your eyes and you'd love to share it? Then you're in the right place!

I'm always looking for contributors and reviewers for Shoestring! Next to features about your experiences and sound advice, I am also looking for reviews of travel books and gear, as well as simple but tasty local recipes!

I'm currently looking for stories to go into issues #5 and #6. The July issue will deal with all things festival, hippie/alternative and generally outdoors, so if you have a summer story, I'd like to hear about it.

Please have a look at the contributor guidelines before you send story proposals! Please come up with a specific topic or angle, not just a country. Please also state whether you would have photos to go along with your story - you have been there and know what it looks like, while I might have to search for photos online without exactly knowing what they should look like.

Contribution is voluntary, as Shoestring is a free and ad-free magazine. But you will get to share your experience with like-minded travellers and maybe even inspire someone else's Gap Year!

Interested? Send an email with your story idea to editor@shoestring-magazine.com

I'm looking forward to hearing about your travel stories soon.

Happy Travels, everybody!

Shoestring Language Lesson in French

The latest language lesson from Shoestring issue #4!

Have fun in France, people!

Shoestring Issue #4

Today is a very special day.

Prince William has just married Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey. The Royal Wedding has been a massive cause for celebration in Britain and I am chipping in with the latest issue of Shoestring as a wedding gift.

But Shoestring itself has a reason to celebrate today as well! Today one year ago, the very first issue of Shoestring was published. One year of support from contributors and readers alike means that I am now able to give you the fourth issue of Shoestring, on its first anniversary!

Open publication - Free publishing - More backpacker

Language Lesson in... German

Here is the first of hopefully many Shoestring Language Lessons!
Issue #3 featured editor Conny Kaufmann's native language German. This podcast will help you pronounce these basic sentences correctly, so you will be able to check in, ask your way around and interact with the locals!



Check out the new PODCAST section for more recordings and clips!

Shoestring issue #3 OUT NOW!!

The third issue of Shoestring is online now, and packed full with travel experiences and advice from backpackers like you!

Check it out!

Open publication - Free publishing - More travel

Publicity for Shoestring in Germany!

This article is available on http://www.mein-karl.de/ and will be published in the Solinger Tageblatt, on Karl. youth page on Saturday 22.January 2011

Merry Christmas

Frohe Weihnachten!

Merry Christmas!

God Jul!

Joyeux Noel!

Feliz Navidad!

To all Shoestring readers and contributors! This project would not be possible without you! Thank you so much for your support. Shoestring issue #3 will be out in January, so watch this space for updates!

Happy Travels,

Conny Kaufmann

Africa Stuck On You

Africa overlanding experts Acacia Africa featured Shoestring magazine today on their Africa: Stuck on you blog!

Shoestring editor Conny Kaufmann has been approached as a travel expert and former Acacia traveller to contribute her advice on overlanding to the popular blog!

Shoestring Issue #2!!

Open publication - Free publishing - More travel

Read. Enjoy. Be inspired.

And please feel free to leave a feedback comment!

A special thank you goes to the contributors David Simister, Sophia Kwong, Karima Wenner, Doris Fin, Emily Johnson, Joseph Reaney and Sebastian Marshall

Shoestring is a voluntary project. If you would like to contribute as well, please get in touch!

If you can't open the magazine above, please try opening it on issuu.

Splinterheads explain Geocaching

Geocaching, the outdoor GPS treasure hunt, has become quite the phenomenon.

Anybody with a GPS devide can participate and feel like a child again, following clues and exploring the outdoors. There now even is a movie that features geocaching! This trailer for the movie Splinterheads explains how it works:



Learn more about geocaching in Shoestring issue #2, out in October!!

Shoestring Issue #1!

Shoestring's very first issue!

This was my Final Project while studying towards my B.A. (Hons) Travel Journalism.

Open publication - Free publishing - More australia

Contributor Guidelines

If you would like to contribute to Shoestring, please send your travel stories to editor@shoestring-magazine.com

Please remember that Shoestring is a free and ad-free project, and contribution is voluntary.

Shoestring's aim is to inspire travellers by sharing experiences and advice. Stories should be written in an informal, personal style. Imagine telling your friends about your travels. Whether your story is funny or more serious is up to you.

Features should be between 800 and 1300 words in length. Stories should be experience reports about projects (volunteering, work & travel, etc.), regions/countries, sports, methods of transport or cultural experiences. Advice pieces should be at least 400 words in length and can cover any aspect of travel. Please include any relevant URLs and pictures/illustrations (subject to copyright). Stories should be written in British English (e.g. "travelling" instead of traveling", "favourite" instead of "favorite" etc.).

When submitting a story, please include your name, a picture of you for your writer profile, as well as your age and a short description of yourself. Captions for all the pictures are also needed and should include the picture file name for easy identification, and a detailed description.

Pictures should be sent in jpg format and be at least 250kb in size. The file name must include the place name, what's in the picture and name of photographer (e.g. "kenya - elephant orphanage - cornelia kaufmann.jpg")

Use either Arial or Times New Roman fonts and 12pt size for your stories. Please send the stories in either doc, docx or rtf format, or alternatively in the body of an email.