Photo: aya

Matador Trips was created to take travelers straight to the honey holes, off the tourist trail and beyond the pages of the guidebook.

This is what you’ll find in our destination spotlights — short, focused, and totally honest guides penned by your editors, Matador’s destination experts, and an army of talented contributors, all of whom share a passion for travel and exploration as strong as your own.

Whether you’re looking for 10 Things to Do in Amsterdam BESIDES Smoking Pot, are curious about the Best Nude Beaches in the World, or want the lowdown on 10 Places to Catch Insane City Views, Matador Trips should be your first stop.

On top of that, we aim to nurse your travel bug, to get your feet itching and your bag packed. That’s why we bring you unforgettable photo essays that capture the spirit of place and deliver it to your computer screen.

Ever wondered what The Most Alien Landscapes on Earth look like, or what you’ll see while Trekking Langtang in Nepal? Now you don’t have to.

If this sounds good, hold on — we’re just getting started. Grab a subscription via RSS or email and find out for yourself where we’re headed.

Your Editors

Hal Amen cut his travel teeth like so many others, on a summer Eurail trek through Western Europe with a few good friends.

Since then, he’s homebased in Seoul, toured through six Southeast Asian nations and a handful of Canadian provinces on his bicycle, volunteered in South America, and summited a 20,000ft Bolivian volcano.

He’s managed to avoid the 9-to-5 for the past three years and bum around Andean land for the past one. Though currently set on returning home to Texas to put down some roots, he’s got a dozen trip ideas kicking around for next year.

In addition to Matador Trips, Hal’s work has appeared at TheExpeditioner.com, and he maintains a personal travel blog called WayWorded.

Carlo Alcos is updating his 3rd-person bio from Halifax, Canada, where he will be spending the month of August in 2010. His travels have taken him around Europe in a campervan, across Russia and Mongolia on the Trans Siberian railway, and around China and Vietnam.

He then spent two years in one of the world’s most livable cities — Melbourne, Australia — which he left in January to cycle around Cuba, enjoy the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, and travel in Oaxaca, Mexico. He also spent a glorious three months living in New York which, he can report, really is the center of the universe.

Carlo was lucky enough to grow up in one of the most beautiful parts of the world — Vancouver, Canada — snowboarding and hiking in the surrounding mountains, camping in the wilderness, and road-tripping around. He is also pretty stoked to have had a photograph published as a book cover.

To avoid having to update this page constantly, you can keep up to speed with him at his travel blog, Vagabonderz.com.

Matador is a community of passionate travelers, and Trips is one site in a network of 12 that includes Matador Nights, Matador Life, Matador Abroad, The Traveler’s Notebook, Matador Goods, Matador Pulse, Matador Sports, and Brave New Traveler.

* If you’re interested in contributing an article, please check out our submission guidelines.
* For editorial inquiries, contact Julie, Matador’s managing editor, at julie[at]matadornetwork[dot]com.