We provide recommendations based on our own experiences for mid-range travelers. Unlike traditional guidebooks, OTR only recommends places and experiences that we have personally visited. We do not accept perks or money from any of the service providers we recommend. Each of our categories has a certain standard that we stick to, so that you know what you are getting and you can rely on our suggestions. Our content is not wholly member generated because we don’t want service providers to mislead our members by recommending their own places, and we want to maintain consistency in our advice. That being said, we value your opinion and we encourage you to write reviews of OTR properties so that we, and like-minded OTR members, can hear your thoughts too. We also encourage you to provide your favorite travel spots to OTR’s editors so that we can check them out for future reviews.

Logging in allows you to make use of the member services found under “My Pages”. We have purposely kept the OTR community invite-only because we want to make sure that we, and our members, are creating content for like-minded, independent travelers. If Joe-Blow who only likes to stay at five-star resorts writes a review on one of our unique, family-run Posadas, he is not likely to appreciate it the way you do. That being said, we want everyone to be able to benefit from our research, so the content is available to the public.

Unfortunately the upkeep of the site requires money, and since we vow not to charge you for any of our content or services, it needs to come from somewhere – hence the ads. These ads are generated based on the content on each page and do not reflect OTR’s opinions or standards. We do encourage you to look at the ads because they will often prove helpful given that they are tailored to what you are reading.

At OTR we are very serious about keeping our community amongst like-minded independent travelers who value their experiences and want to learn about the cultures of the countries that they are visiting, not just the major tourist attractions. The best way to do this is through you - our members! We encourage you to invite your friends if you think that they are the type of people who will appreciate this community and help it to grow in the right direction by contributing meaningful content.

OTR has been completely designed with you, the traveler, in mind. We want to make independent travel easier for you, so that you can spend your time enjoying your adventure, rather than sitting in an Internet café trying to plan it. Each of the features will make your travel planning and recording much, much easier.

When you registered as a new member, you filled out a travel profile. This profile allows us to show you only the recommendations that are relevant to your tastes. You’ll notice that when you flip through the travel guide, all of our recommendations will be tailored to your profile. Don’t worry, if you’ve woken up on the other side of the bed one day and your tastes have changed, you can just click on ‘View All Preferences’ to see other options. If you knocked your head on the way out and your tastes have changed permanently, you can click on ‘Change Preferences’ to update your profile.

If you find a hotel, restaurant or tour that interests you, but you are not ready to book it yet, you can click on ‘Add To My Trips’, where you will be able to save the item in your ‘Future Trips’. Alternatively, you can click on ‘Add to My Notes’ to jot down a note about the item so you won’t forget it when it comes time to plan your trip. Please contact the administrator at support@ontheroadtravel.com if you have questions about the features.

Your Travel CV is your own personal resume of your travel experiences. You can boast about your past endeavors and keep track of your favorites experiences from those trips, or you can log a future trip so that you can get started with your planning and keep track of all the details. The Travel CV helps describe your traveler profile to other members. So, for instance, when you are reading a glowing Member Review of one of our hotels, you can scan that member’s Travel CV to gain a better sense as to the type of traveler that wrote the review.

OTR has been developed so that you can choose the search option that works best for you. If you know where you want to go, you can search by destination, either by clicking on the map or selecting an option from the ‘Browse Destination’ box.

If you know exactly what you are looking for you can use our detailed search by either entering a keyword or using the dropdown boxes.

We have started our journey in South and Central America and hope to expand our coverage as soon as possible. The countries we have chosen so far are the ones that you have indicated you’d like to explore. We will continue to explore new territory that is relevant to your future travel plans so that we can broaden our perspectives together.

You can get more information on our recommendations by simply clicking on an item in a list of search results. To view Member Reviews just click on the button at the bottom of the review. You can make a reservation enquiry directly with the property from any of its pages by clicking on the Booking Enquiry at the bottom of the page.

Once you have found your ideal accommodations or tour, you can make an email enquiry directly with the accommodation/tour partner by clicking on ‘Booking Enquiry’ and then filling in a simple reservation request form. You do not need to be a member in order to use the reservation system.

When completing the reservation request form you will need to indicate your dates of arrival and departure, and the number of people. You may also ask any questions relating to the accommodation.

Your request is instantly emailed directly to the accommodation/tour partner. You will then receive a reply via email from the accommodation/trip supplier letting you know if there is availability and giving a quote for your intended stay. If you are an OTR member, this information will be stored in your ‘My Reservations’ folder so that you can easily keep track of the status of any reservations you have made and follow up as necessary.

If you choose to accept the quote, you will be asked to provide your credit card details to secure the reservation. Note that if you have any further questions, or would like to make a change to the reservation, the provider’s email will be listed at the bottom of the confirmation. Please site the reservation number in your correspondence.

Once your non-refundable deposit has been made, your reservation will be confirmed and the balance is due at the end of your stay. If you have to change or cancel your reservation we ask that you please alert the provider by clicking ‘cancel’ under My Reservations up to 24 hours before the reservation date.

This booking fee is a deposit that comes out of the price of your booking. It is not an additional fee. We give you direct access to the service providers so that you can do your own price negotiating and ensure that you are getting the best deal. Service providers do not charge more to bookings that come through OTR and, in many cases, actually provide special prices to OTR members. If at any point you find that this is not the case, please notify us at info@ontheroadtravel.com.

No. We refer you directly our partners, who will quote you the same price as if you contacted them directly. If at any point you find that this is not true, please let us know by sending an email to support@ontheroadtravel.com. In some cases we have negotiated a special rate or offer for OTR members, and you will receive a better rate than you would through other channels.

Our goal is to make travel planning as easy as possible for our members. We have designed our reservation system with you, the independent traveler, in mind. As experienced independent travelers, we are well aware that you can save a lot of money by putting together your own itinerary rather than going through a tour operator. Our system also gives you the flexibility to negotiate with partners, which can be particularly beneficial during the low season. However, we are not a discount website – our partners rarely have a problem filling their rooms and tours!

OTR members can make use of our handy ‘My Reservations’ resource to track and manage all of the reservations that they have made through our reservation system, so that they will spend less time in front of the computer planning, and more time enjoying the experience.

Absolutely. You will find a ‘questions/comments’ box at the bottom of the enquiry form. The partner establishment will respond to those comments when they send you a quote. If at that point you have further questions, you will find the providers email address at the top of the reservation form and you can contact them directly before confirming your reservation.

This will vary depending on the accommodation/tour partner. Since most of our recommendations are small, family-run establishments, there may not be an instant response to your request. Keep in mind that some of our recommended partners are not able to access email frequently, due to remote location personal preference.

Yes, you are welcome to email us at any time if there is a technical or procedural problem with your booking. Our contact details are given when you make an enquiry. However, please bear in mind that queries about the location or partner are best addressed directly to the place in question, and not to us.

OTR members can simply click on "My Reservations" in their control panel to see a full list of open reservations, reservations that are pending confirmation by you, and reservations that have been completed. Clicking on the item itself will provide details of your reservation and any messages sent to/from the partner through the query box.