You've heard it, we've heard it. We've all seen it play out on 24-hour news cycle after news cycle. "The Ebola threat is real," right? As planners of international travel, we've definitely heard the hype. And since the first cases in West Africa were publicized, you can trust that we've kept ourselves educated on the issue as much as possible.

For the record, this blog post is not meant to play down the danger of the very real Ebola outbreak, nor the hardship that the people of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali and Liberia are enduring. Its goal is to educate international travelers on the actual dangers they face, and to quench fears of a largely avoidable threat.

Why You Won't Catch Ebola

The Ebola virus is spread through the direct contact

of an infected person's bodily fluids (blood, saliva, mucus, vomit, urine, or feces) with your eyes, nose, mouth, or open wound. According the the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, "there is no evidence indicating that Ebola virus is spread by coughing or sneezing." Unless you've directly rubbed an infected person's bodily fluids on your person, there is little chance that you have Ebola.

One of the best, most cost-effective and personal ways to experience Namibia is in a car. American travelers are usually taken aback when they learn this. The Road Trip is a very American convention. From Route 66 to Pacific Coast Highway, the best way to see the 50 states is from behind the wheel. We list Namibia among the few overseas destinations where we suggest the same.

Africa is big. Really big. So we understand the difficulty people run into when deciding where in Africa they should travel. Everyone says South Africa is great, but the Serengeti is in Tanzania, and mountain gorillas live in Uganda, but the best beaches are in Zanzibar.

So when we tell you that Botswana should be your next safari destination, you know there's got to be some good reasons behind that claim. Stay tuned, we plan on delivering those reasons.

1. Hiking the Inca Trail is the only way to get to Machu Picchu.

Thousands of travelers hike Machu Picchu's Inca Trail tours every day, and only a fraction of these visitors got there via hiking the Inca Trail. After hiking the trail for four days through sparsely populated mountains, many Inca Trail hikers are surprised to find a small but bustling modern town at the base of the mountain, complete with a crowded train station. The Peruvian train system is extensive, and has been shuttling travelers to the base of Machu Picchu mountain from the Sacred Valley for years.