Editors of Off Track Planet - Off Track Planets Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke

COFOUNDER Anna Starostinetskaya

Anna was born in Ukraine, raised in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. Her most memorable trip was to Spain, where she hopped a fence on the side of a highway to sample an authentic Spanish olive right from a tree. Dont eat olives from trees for two reasons: (1) they have not been cured and taste like utter shit, and (2) if the groves owner catches you trespassing, you may leave Spain with more battle wounds than you intended.

Brian Biros

Brian is a certifiable travel-fiend. His contributions to this book were formulated from a hammock in Ecuador. He has traveled the world twice, called over 200 hostels home, slept on several dozen couches, was busted for smuggling gypsies into Germany, chugged a beer at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, was bitch slapped by a manta ray, and lived to tell (you) about it.

Christopher Platis

Chris is originally from Greece, one of the sexiest places around. He recently spent some time bruising his tidbits in Switzerland and schmoozing his way into Berlins clubs and art scene. When hes not writing for OTP, Chris puts in solid research at some of New York and New Jerseys finest beaches.

Lisette Cheresson

Skipping the seas and spreading her word seed, Lisette is a Brooklyn-based writer, filmmaker, and adventuress. If you feel like feeding monkeys in South America or getting naked on the Great Wall of China, shes your go-to gal for advice.

Sara M. White

A little sweet, a little sour, and a whole lotta spicy, Sara is a quirky ball of travel-writing genius. She spent some time studying theater and dance in Bali, and has taught English in Thailand. While most people would love to brag about just riding an elephant, not only did this girl mount the beast for a gallop, but she also bathed it for extra credit. Shes an over-achiever; we like that.

Sarah Binion

Sarah is happiest when shes sitting on a train, reading Paul Theroux while simultaneously drinking wine and coffee. Her favorite journey by rail was aboard the Dacia Express between Bucharest and Vienna. When shes not dousing herself in beverages aboard the worlds finest trains, she divides her time between London, Austin, and New Orleans.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/COFOUNDER Freddie Pikovsky

The ringmaster of OTP, Freddie fell in love with backpacking on a trip in 2009 that started in Israel; went through Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and the Netherlands; HI ended in travel enlightenment. He often travels in a style known as broke fancy, which has landed him in some precarious situations. Once calling the floor of an Italian train station home for the night, Freddie came close to being swept away by a street-cleaning truck as he snoozed comfortably on pizza crumbs and petrified gum. Hes a firm believer that every young person should experience the life-changing capabilities of travel and drives OTP forward to make this vision a reality.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Adil Dara Kim
Bianca Rappaport
Connie Nguyen
Erin Ridley
Jaclyn Einis
Kyle McNichols
Lorenzo R. Ramos
Mark Ayling
Taveeshi Singh
Timothy Melough
Photo Editor: Tiffany Pilgrim
Adam Silver
Rishe Groner

THIS BOOK WOULD NOT have been possible without the people who have supported our mission throughout our journey. Thank you to all of you who have contributed your talents, advice, and good vibes along the way.

T HE LANDSCAPE OF THE WORLD, WITH ITS SOARING peaks, drop cliffs, tropical jungles, array of underwater animal life, and bumpy overland terrain is meant to be taken head-on and not just viewed from a fancy hotel balcony. Feed your adrenaline junkie some quality adventure by tossing yourself into the canyons of Interlaken, carving your way through Canadas powdery terrain, and allowing Australias Great Barrier Reef prove its greatness by slapping on a wetsuit and going to town. Leave no stone unturned, no mountain unscaled, and find that next level of thrill by expanding your adventures worldwide. Everyone knows that adrenaline pumps hardest in unfamiliar territory.

THE LARGEST STRUCTURE ON the planet made entirely by living organisms, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a live seafood soup filled with crazy-looking and endangered animals swimming at you from all angles. A UNESCO World Heritage site, this reef is home to 1,500 species of fish. Throw some scuba gear on and discover what makes this reef so great.

The GBR stretches 1,600 miles along the Queensland coast in the Coral Sea, and the best way to experience it is to submerge yourself deep into its crevices.

Eighty-pound grouper cruise by, schools of barracuda eye you cautiously, reef shark silhouettes loom in the distance, sea turtles float by drunk on life, and Nemo feverishly defends his nest all around a reef of hard and soft coral that no box of Crayola could ever color-code. There are countless ways to see these billions of coral polyps. Heres a short list to get you bright-eyed:

CAIRNS
This scuba capital of Australia has no shortage of tour agencies to get you to the reef. Shop around to avoid ripoffs or book at a recommended hostel. The GBR is a long boat ride from Cairns, so an overnight trip is the best way to see it. You can get two days with three dives each (including a night dive) with food and lodging on a live-aboard boat for about $350. Some of the bigger boats feel like a touristy assembly line, so check boat reviews online before paying.

SS YONGOLA WRECK DIVE
One hundred years ago, the SS Yongola passenger ship disappeared in a cyclone, along with all 122 people on board. This football field-size mass grave quickly became a cushy new underwater neighborhood, gentrified by the swankiest of fish. Local dive shops claim you see more species of fish on this one wreck dive than you do in ten dives anywhere else on the reef.