A Country A Month
The Ultimate Travel Guides.
For national parks, world cities, cruise ships, or a more permanent place abroad. Independent books and free guides that tell you what matters, what to reserve, where to stay, and how to use the time you actually have. Written by Leo Sotropa.
Choose your journey
Four kinds of trip, planned properly
Independent books and free guides, written to be specific enough to act on.
33 ship guides
Ultimate Ship Guides
One megaship, one book. Cabins to book and cabins to avoid, what to reserve on day one, where to eat, and a ready-made plan for every port.
Enter the ship library10 countries, more coming
Retired Abroad
What it actually costs, what the residency route really requires, how healthcare works and where you would want to wake up. Researched the way you would research your own move.
Browse Retired Abroad10 parks published
National Parks
One park, one book. When to go, how the permits really work, which trail is worth the early start, where to stay, and a plan for every day you have.
Explore the parks5 city collections live
Ultimate City Guides
One city, one book—and seven free in-depth guides. Where to stay, what to book, how to get around, what to eat, and realistic itineraries for the time you actually have.
Explore the citiesThe Ultimate City Guides
Five cities. Thirty-five practical guides.
Walk in like you have been there before. Each city collection combines a complete destination guide with focused advice on itineraries, neighborhoods, food, essential experiences, first-time planning, and traveling on a realistic budget.
Popular guides
A good place to start
Six of the 33 ship guides. The full, filterable library is one click away.
From the blog
A few guides worth reading
Free, practical, and specific. A taste of what is on the blog.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Retiring Abroad
No hype. No fear. Sourced numbers.
Every guide answers the same questions in the same order, so you can compare countries instead of comparing brochures: the residency route, the real monthly budget, healthcare, housing, and what daily life is like once the novelty wears off.
Next in the series: Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador.
The Ultimate Park Guides
Ten national parks, planned properly.
One park, one book. When to go, how the permits and reservations really work, the best trails at every level, where to stay, and ready-made itineraries for a day, a weekend, or a week.
© 2026 Leo Sotropa. Independent, unofficial guides. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any cruise line. Ship names and venues are trademarks of their respective owners, used for identification only.