New Orleans is one of the most unique and culturally distinct cities in the United States. It's packed with history, incredible food and music, and an energy like no other. Here's your quick and easy guide from a writer who knows all the local tips.

<h2 dir="ltr">Visas</h2>
Whether you need a visa to enter the United States depends on your country of citizenship. Visitors from Canada, most European countries, and some Asian countries can visit for up to 90 days without a visa. The state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans have no local requirements for entry.
Visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visa-waiver-program.html">US State Department website</a> for more information.

<h2 dir="ltr">Getting There</h2>
Reaching New Orleans is easy enough &mdash; The international airport is serviced by all major US airlines and features non-stop routes from all over the country, plus Toronto, Montreal, and London.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s particularly well-connected for budget flights around the US. Spirit Airlines ferries passengers between NOLA and many American cities for $50-$150 RT.
Here&rsquo;s what to expect when booking your flight:
From Europe:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Expected average price range: &euro;450-&euro;650 RT</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">How many cheap flight alerts we&rsquo;d expect in a year: 2-4</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Lowest price we&rsquo;ve ever seen: &euro;418 (LUX- recent) and &euro;238 (AMS- 4 years ago)</li>
</ul>
From the UK:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Expected average price range: &pound;500-&pound;700 RT</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">How many cheap flight alerts we&rsquo;d expect in a year: 5-6</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Lowest price we&rsquo;ve ever seen: &pound;395 (GLA/LHR)</li>
</ul>
From the USA:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Expected average price range: $50-$150 RT (for budget airlines) or $150-$250 RT (for full-service airlines)</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">How many cheap flight alerts we&rsquo;d expect in a year: 8+</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Lowest price we&rsquo;ve ever seen: $48 RT with a budget airline, $98 RT for full service.</li>
</ul>
From Canada:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Expected average price range: $500-$700 RT</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">How many cheap flight alerts we&rsquo;d expect in a year: 0-2</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Lowest price we&rsquo;ve ever seen: No deals so far, but we&rsquo;re waiting patiently! </li>
</ul>
Pro-Tip: Amtrak connects <a href="https://www.amtrak.com/city-of-new-orleans-train">New Orleans to Chicago by train</a>. While not any cheaper than a local flight (and much more time-consuming), it&rsquo;s a neat way to see more of the country and allows you to take advantage of Chicago&rsquo;s much wider selection of international flights.

<h2 dir="ltr">Cash and Currency</h2>
As you&rsquo;d expect, USD is the only accepted currency in New Orleans. Most places accept card, but we highly recommend keeping some cash on you. Some bars are cash only, there are street performers and local vendors everywhere, and public transit doesn&rsquo;t accept cards at all.
While it&rsquo;s not a particularly expensive city compared to other US cities, there&rsquo;s a huge disparity in pricing between the French Quarter and other neighborhoods. If you&rsquo;re visiting on a budget, plan to stay and eat elsewhere when possible.&nbsp;

<h2 dir="ltr">Getting Around Town</h2>
Getting around New Orleans has a bit of a learning curve, but fortunately the city is relatively small and well-connected.
Public Transportation
There are buses and streetcars. The streetcars are popular with tourists and can take you between a couple of major attractions.
If you rely on the bus, be prepared to go with the flow. Schedules are unreliable, routes change for parades, and waits of an hour or more are common.
Pro-Tip: The best way to get an accurate arrival time for your bus is to text 41411. Send a message saying &ldquo;Norta#[four-digit stop number]&rdquo; and it&rsquo;ll send back a pretty reliable ETA.
Neither buses nor streetcars accept payment by card. You can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay">pay using exact change, use the Le Pass app, or purchase a ticket/pass in advance</a>. As of January 2025, the fare for most riders is $1.25.
Rideshare/Taxi
Rideshare apps and taxis here are easy to use and tend to be similar in price, with the apps usually being a tad cheaper. However, United Cab (the primary taxi company in town) is typically cheapest for airport transfers. They charge a flat rate of $36 from the airport to downtown New Orleans, or vice versa.
Pro-Tip: Getting an Uber from the French Quarter is pricey, especially at night. Walk a few blocks away from the action, then order your ride home. I saved $5-15 per trip this way. Just keep to well-lit areas and don&rsquo;t go too far &mdash; especially if you&rsquo;re alone.

<h2>Neighborhoods in New Orleans</h2>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">The French Quarter - aka The Quarter. The most famous (and touristy) part of town. Bars, restaurants, and kitschy souvenir shops.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">The Garden District/Uptown - Beautiful historic mansions, Audubon Zoo and Park, upscale dining. Includes Magazine Street, the best place for non-kitschy souvenirs.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Marigny - A few artsy blocks near the Quarter. Includes Frenchman Street, the main hub for <a href="https://www.neworleans.com/plan/streets/frenchmen-street/">jazz music</a>.</li>
<li>Mid-City - Home to most of the city's famous above-ground <a href="https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/attractions/cemeteries/">cemeteries</a>.</li>
</ul>
This is just a taste &mdash; you can read about <a href="https://www.neworleans.com/plan/neighborhoods/">more neighborhoods here</a>.

<h2 dir="ltr">When to Visit</h2>
Aside from some hot and humid summers, NOLA is a pretty pleasant year-round destination. The tourism calendar is driven by festivals.
December-February
Winters in New Orleans are pretty mild, ranging from about 45-65 &ordm;F (7-18 &ordm;C) with minimal rain. The tail end of winter marks the start of high season, as the Christmas and New Year&rsquo;s festivities tend to blur into <a href="https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/">Mardi Gras</a>. Those parties and parades start around a month in advance of the actual Tuesday (early-February-early March), and begin to peak the weekend before.&nbsp;
March-May&nbsp;
This is technically high season, but if you visit in the weeks directly following Mardi Gras, you won&rsquo;t catch big crowds. It&rsquo;s also got pleasant weather, with warmer temps than winter but less rain than summer. Some of the most beloved festivals happen in mid-spring, like <a href="https://www.nojazzfest.com/">Jazz Fest</a> and the <a href="https://frenchquarterfest.org/">French Quarter Festival</a>. This is one of the best times to visit the city.
June-August
Muggy and hot with lots of mosquitos. While severe storms are highly unlikely, this is peak hurricane season. Unless you really want to visit a seasonal event like <a href="https://satchmosummerfest.org/">Satchmo Summerfest</a> or <a href="https://www.neworleans.com/event/essence-festival-of-culture%C2%AE-presented-by-coca-cola%C2%AE-new-orleans/3296/">ESSENCE</a>, we recommend choosing a different time.&nbsp;
September-November
This is another mild time to visit, with (slightly) cooler temps. It&rsquo;s the tail-end of hurricane season, but that doesn&rsquo;t stop most folks &mdash; New Orleans is a fantastic place to spend your <a href="https://www.neworleans.com/events/holidays-seasonal/halloween/">Halloween</a>. There&rsquo;s also Oktoberfest celebrations and the <a href="https://www.neworleans.com/event/bayou-bacchanal/11654/">Bayou Bacchanal</a>. November tends to be one of the most peaceful months, with nice weather, fewer events, and less hurricane risk.

<h2 dir="ltr">Travel Style</h2>
As you can probably tell, New Orleans is the perfect place to go with the flow. You can see the sights in a few days with little planning, as things move at a relaxed pace. Don&rsquo;t overbook &mdash; wandering, mingling, and soaking up the city's unique energy is the best way to experience it.

<h2>Useful Links</h2>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><a href="https://www.neworleans.com/">New Orleans official tourism site</a></li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNOLA/">r/askNOLA</a></li>
</ul>

JFC's guide to: New Orleans

travel guides

flight hacking

the detour

adventure

curious chronicles

airline insights

how to

sustainability

passenger rights

error fare

This article was originally published in The Detour in August 2024

A First-timer's Guide to Italy at Christmas

Q:&nbsp;&ldquo;So, I am planning a trip to Italy over Christmas holidays, specifically December 25 - January 1. I am not a world traveler. To be fair, I have only been to Mexico, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas out of state. I know&hellip;boring! But I so desperately want to see other places.&nbsp;
That being said, I need advice on where to go during the winter months. This is a Christmas gift to my 23 and 27-year-old kids and my husband and me. We do not want to ski and we are budget minded. My knowledge of traveling in other countries is limited so I have some anxiety about planning and maneuvering through different parts of Italy. I definitely want to experience the food and wine scene, but also want to visit Rome and the historical landmarks. There&rsquo;s so much information available that I am overwhelmed right now. Please help.&rdquo;

Hey, reader, I absolutely feel you &mdash; organising your first trip to Italy is definitely overwhelming&hellip; there&rsquo;s just so much to see!
For a 7-day trip, I&rsquo;d suggest two types of itinerary:

The Classic&nbsp;&mdash; Rome &amp; Tuscany
Why? Start with a bang with a deep-immersion into Rome&rsquo;s magic, and then get lost in Tuscany&rsquo;s hills for the rest of the trip.
How? Book a round trip ticket to Rome (unless you find some budget-friendly&nbsp;<a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/how-to-find-and-book-cheap-multi-city-flights?lid=rxr5x03eqyyj">multi-city trips</a>&nbsp;landing/taking off from Florence) and plan your first three days in the capital. This allows you plenty of time to walk through the main parts of the city, and to overindulge in&nbsp;<a href="https://italysegreta.com/20-foods-you-must-eat-in-rome/?lid=xnhi8gedygd3">carbonara and Roman artichokes.</a>

On your fourth day (or, the third evening) hop on a high-speed train up to Florence and spend a day ticking off the main sights in the birthplace of the Renaissance &mdash; Uffizi, David and Duomo Cathedral non-negotiable! Also, don&rsquo;t forget to stop for a&nbsp;<a href="https://italysegreta.com/11-best-panino-shops-in-florence/?lid=7cwhhbst6kht">lampredotto</a>&nbsp;for lunch.
Spend a night in Florence and kick off your last two days by renting a car and driving around the Tuscan countryside. The&nbsp;<a href="https://italysegreta.com/wild-boars-stolen-peaches-and-the-long-road-from-florence-to-siena/?lid=ko0mb0yppo55">picturesque hills and borghi</a>&nbsp;around Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, and Orvieto will make you forget about the crowded spots you&rsquo;ve just been through. Plus, it&rsquo;s the kingdom of&nbsp;<a href="https://italysegreta.com/tuscan-farmhouses/?lid=99v4f1rgsobm">agriturismi </a>and vineyards, so good&nbsp;<a href="https://italysegreta.com/natural-wine-in-tuscany/?lid=miv1jjny4wnv">(natural!)</a>&nbsp;wine and food is guaranteed!
Hot Tip:&nbsp;You don&rsquo;t need to return the car in Florence, drive all the way down to Rome and leave the car at the airport before your flight :-)

The Hardcore&nbsp;&mdash; Venice, Florence &amp; Rome
Why?&nbsp;Personally, I believe these are the essentials for a first (short) trip to Italy. They&rsquo;re rich in history and culture, and all very different from each other.
Plus, they&rsquo;re conveniently connected by non-stop, high-speed trains (Trenitalia&rsquo;s&nbsp;Frecce), which will make the transport process easy and comfortable. Just remember to book your train in advance &mdash; the earlier, the better!
How?&nbsp;It&rsquo;s a more upbeat itinerary, which would be ideally planned with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAhopEgoyMDI0LTEyLTI0ag0IAxIJL20vMDJfMjg2cgwIAxIIL20vMDdfcGYaKRIKMjAyNC0xMi0zMWoMCAMSCC9tLzA2YzYycg0IAxIJL20vMDJfMjg2QAFIAXABggELCP___________wGYAQM&amp;hl=en&amp;curr=USD&amp;lid=j2sj7u8nyu9h">multi-city trip like this one&nbsp;</a>(assuming you&rsquo;ll be flying from New York City).&nbsp;
You can start by landing in Venice (or Milan and then hop on a train to Venice, if that&rsquo;s more budget-friendly) and spend two days in Venice. This will give you enough time to check out the touristy attractions on the first day (like San Marco square, Rialto bridge, the Biennale, etc) and stroll around more local neighbourhoods (like&nbsp;<a href="https://lionsinthepiazza.com/cannaregio-venice-guide/?lid=2zvf153sjkfg">Cannaregio</a>&nbsp;&amp; Giudecca), or hop over to Murano, Burano, and Torcello during your second day.

Then, onto an evening (or early morning train ride) to Florence. The same 2-day plan applies here, to visit both the upper and lower Arno neighbourhoods, and fill your belly with Chianti classico and fiorentina. I shared some restaurant recommendations in&nbsp;<a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/detour-144-cruise-debate-continues?lid=p8kw18fvewte">this past Detour edition</a>.
Finally, onto the capital. Rome is immense, and two days are definitely not enough to discover all the city&rsquo;s wonders, but you&rsquo;ll be able to tick off the Coliseum, the Pantheon, and the prettiest piazzas in the city.
It is worth looking for a (free) walking tour in each of the three cities on the first day. That way, you&rsquo;ll be sure to visit all the essential sights ASAP!
Whichever itinerary you end up choosing, I strongly recommend booking your trains, accommodation, and museum tickets in advance &mdash; these cities tend to get a significant amount of (especially local) tourists over the Christmas holidays.

Christmas in Italy for First Timers

Ciao,&nbsp;JFC-ers!
I've not long returned from spending the best part of a week on the glorious banks of Lago Maggiore for team JFC's first-ever in-person meet-up. And it was nothing short of fantastic!
Waking up to views over the glistening water, perfectly framed by snow-peaked Alps, is something I didn't quite realise I needed until it hit me square in the eyeballs. In fact, you should all add it to your to-do list if you haven't already! And as inspirational settings go for a productive week of team building, I'd say we nailed it.
Of course, we also had to pop over to visit Maggiore's more famous neighbour, Lake Como (would have been rude not to)! We didn't have time to stop in at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.myprivatevillas.com/travel-magazine/george-clooneys-lake-como-holiday-retreat-beyond-a-luxe-escape-guide/">George and Amal's lakeside mansion</a>, but we certainly enjoyed the views as we whizzed on past towards the cobblestone streets of <a href="https://lifewithbugo.com/travel-guide-to-bellagio-lake-como/">Bellagio</a>.

As a company of avid travellers (after all, we're JFC members too!), it was hardly surprising that most of us took the opportunity to extend our trip a little when it all came to an end on Thursday. When (almost) in Rome, as they say&hellip;&nbsp;
For those of us living in and around Europe, it was a great chance to add on a little weekend break in the city or on the slopes. But for my colleagues from the US, Canada, South Africa, and the Caribbean, it was an epic adventure that definitely called for even more!&nbsp;
I hopped on a flight to Paris with Andrea from Antigua for a whirlwind tour around the sights she'd only ever seen on the big screen before. Meanwhile, Jo, Allan, and Jake headed south for history buffing in Rome and Naples, Marshall set sail for the Greek islands, and Kat headed north for an Amsterdam city break. Phew!
All that to say, readers, that we're just like you. We love to travel, experience new places and cultures, make the most of every trip, and hopefully give you inspiration to do the same. If we've put you in the mood for a bit of northern Italy now, keep scrolling to read some of Flight Finder Fran's top recommendations for things to do near Milan.
Happy travels and safe landings,

Katy - Editor of The Detour

A Journey Through St. Croix's Most Historic Distillery

San Diego native Olivia left home two years ago to live on the road, but she always ends up back on the West Coast. When she's not hiking through the desert or the woods, she can usually be found exploring her current city and scoping out the best bars and coffee shops.

Written by Olivia

The island of St. Croix is dotted with conical, flat-topped stone structures. If you don&rsquo;t catch them as they fly past your car window, you&rsquo;ll definitely notice them in the gift shops, where they grace everything from postcards to oven mitts.
One of the most notable of these structures is located at the Cruzan Rum Distillery. That&rsquo;s your biggest hint, if you haven&rsquo;t yet figured out what they are.

They&rsquo;re sugar mills! While these old stone giants are no longer used, they&rsquo;re a visible record of St. Croix&rsquo;s long history in rum production. There are a few operating distilleries left on the islands, including Captain Morgan&rsquo;s (whose reviews were not inspiring) and the historic Cruzan Distillery, (established 1760, 4.7 stars on Google). We knew we wanted to visit one of them, and it wasn&rsquo;t a hard decision.
So today, I&rsquo;m taking you along for a tour! We frequently recommend the Cruzan Rum tour in our deals to St. Croix due to good word-of-mouth, so I was excited to finally see it for myself and make sure it lived up to our hype.
Booking
The tour was $25 USD per person and booked on <a href="https://www.cruzanrum.com/tours-and-experiences#id=cruzan-general-admission-tour">the brand site</a>. I immediately clocked this price as crazy cheap &mdash; drinks on the islands were around $10-$15, and this came with two cocktails and four samples at the distillery bar. The tour didn&rsquo;t even need to be anything special for this to be a great deal.
And while the drinking age in the USVI is 18 (lower than Americans are used to), younger kids can still take the tour,&nbsp;sans all that free booze.
We booked for 1pm on a weekday, which turned out to be the perfect time. The three of us were the only people on our tour.&nbsp;
The Tour
Our guide was Janae, and she was fantastic. It was clear very quickly that our $25 ticket would have been a bargain even without the free booze. My brother is quite the nerd about alcohol, and she easily answered every one of his questions, most of which I didn&rsquo;t even understand.

Highlights included a stop at the aforementioned old stone mill (lined by the flags of every country that has ever governed St. Croix, pictured above), several gigantic vats of fermenting goop, and a pipe spewing molasses into a tank.
We were allowed to taste this molasses. Before I bothered to think, I blurted out, &ldquo;That tastes like molasses!&rdquo;&nbsp;

Janae informed me that on every single tour, someone says the same thing, and she will never understand why.&nbsp;
Towards the end of our journey, we encountered the barrel-maker. Yes, that is &ldquo;maker&rdquo; singular, and yes, it&rsquo;s a person and not a machine.
Turns out, every barrel from Cruzan is handmade by one artisan. Apparently, he&rsquo;s the only one that can do it just right. We found him sitting in a chair, surrounded by several pieces of wood, and lost in focus. Janae tells us they&rsquo;re hoping to find an apprentice for him, so&hellip; if you&rsquo;re good with your hands and want to live on a beautiful Caribbean island, continuing a centuries-old tradition surrounded by rum, maybe give them a call.&nbsp;
Cruzan rum is bottled on the mainland, so our last stop is the delivery trucks. They&rsquo;re labeled as &ldquo;ethanol&rdquo; with no branding whatsoever, which we&rsquo;re told is for anti-theft reasons. A giant tank labeled &ldquo;FRESH CARIBBEAN RUM&rdquo; would simply be too tempting.

The Taste Tests
Janae was also our bartender for the afternoon, so we headed to the bar. It was wide-open, almost outdoor, with a breeze blowing through. There were three of us, which meant we could try six cocktails and 12 samples in total, so we started planning.&nbsp;
Well, the guys started planning. I mostly sipped on rum punch and enjoyed the ambience.

While we drank, we chatted with Janae about life on the island. By this time, it was after 3pm, and the place was definitely starting to fill up. We left her a good tip, hit the gift shop, and then retreated to the lawn to vibe (and sober up from all those samples).
The gift shop had the usual t-shirt and shot glass wares, along with every single kind of rum we&rsquo;d tried. Some flavors are extremely rare or unavailable outside the area, but there&rsquo;s good news &mdash; flights from the islands back to the mainland have looser restrictions on alcohol, provided your booze came from the USVI. So there&rsquo;s really nothing stopping you from stocking up :-)
Between the informative tour, the historic setting, our lovely guide, and drinks enjoyed at a breezy, palm-lined patio bar, we couldn&rsquo;t have been more pleased. There&rsquo;s a reason every guide to St. Croix name-drops this spot, and I can happily add myself to its list of fans.

Travel Tales

Flight Finder Fran's Guide to Spots Near Milan

Inspired by our trip to northern Italy, now seems like the perfect time to roll out native Milanese Fran's tips on <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/why-you-should-take-that-cheap-flight-to-milan-even-if-youve-already-visited">what to do when you see those cheap flights to Milan</a>&hellip;

Flight Finder Fran is an Italian globetrotter with a passion for remote destinations and snacking. Currently based in Brussels, she'll gladly tell you where to find the yummiest fries around the city.

Written by Fran

<h3>Franciacorta</h3>
Some people like to call it the &lsquo;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmzAG2P1IcE&amp;ab_channel=PaoloAbeni">Tuscany of the North</a>&rsquo; because of the endless vineyards in the region.
Basically, if you&rsquo;re coming to Franciacorta, you&rsquo;re coming for wine. Just take a look at this&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://franciacorta.wine/en/wineries/">map</a>&nbsp;that demonstrates the sheer number of wineries in such a tiny area. The sparkling wines are the worldwide speciality, and they&rsquo;re specifically made with only with three types of grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Nero.
What&rsquo;s so special about Franciacorta is that its wines are still mostly made in family wineries run by craftsmen, meaning wine tastings are very intimate and unique. You can expect plenty of family owned&nbsp;agriturismi&nbsp;(farm stays) offering activities such as horseback riding and mountain biking. One of my favourite is&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.solive.it/en/">Cascina Solive</a>, which is immersed in vineyards and olive trees, without the inflated prices of other touristy areas :-)

Best time to be here:&nbsp;Every year, the&nbsp;Franciacorta in Cantina&nbsp;festival celebrates the best wineries and local delicacies. It's usually sometime in mid-September (16th-17th in 2023) but keep an eye&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.festivalfranciacorta.wine/">on their website</a>&nbsp;for up-to-date information.
How to get there:&nbsp;Just like in Tuscany, you&rsquo;ll get the most out of Franciacorta if you can drive around the fields and vineyards in a car. You can easily rent one at Orio al Serio Airport, and it will take you only 30 minutes to drive to Borgonato/Torbiato, where I recommend you base yourself.&nbsp;
<h3 class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-h3 css-d91h7b">Camonica Valley / Adamello</h3>
More into endless valleys and forests? You just gotta go a bit further north.
The little sisters of the Dolomites are just above Lake Iseo, and have tonnes of&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="http://www.reidsitaly.com/planning/lodging/mountain_huts.html">rifugi&nbsp;and&nbsp;bivacchi&nbsp;</a>ready to host you during your hiking adventure. If you&rsquo;re more of a day-tripper, base yourself in the villages of&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.boundlessroads.com/ponte-di-legno-vacation-alps/">Ponte di Legno</a>&nbsp;or Edolo, where plenty of hiking trails start.
During the winter, adrenaline junkies can hit the slopes at&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@harezaayy/video/7205264067752103174?lang=en">Passo del Tonale&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;ski area. But if you don&rsquo;t feel like getting those pesky skis on, you can always relax at the very fancy&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.latanadellorsopontedilegno.it/en/">La Tana dell'Orso</a>.

FYI, Valcamonica was the first Italian site on the UNESCO World Heritage List thanks to the&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.italia.it/en/lombardy/things-to-do/valcamonica-the-rock-art#:~:text=Generic%20error-,Why%20Valcamonica%20is%20a%20UNESCO%20site,as%20Seradina%2DBedolina%20and%20Sonico.">gigantic collection of petroglyphs</a>&nbsp;(the largest in the world!) held within its valleys. If you want to see a small chunk of them, make a stop at the&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Parco+nazionale+delle+incisioni+rupestri+di+Naquane/@46.0168421,10.3006253,12z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x4783ca3f9c7004a3:0x735580ac994d711e!8m2!3d46.0283408!4d10.3507878!16s%2Fg%2F122qy7nt?entry=ttu">National Park in Naquane</a>.
How to get there:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">By train: From Bergamo station, get the train to Brescia. From there, you can hop on the teeny tiny&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.trenord.it/en/">Trenord&nbsp;trains</a>&nbsp;all the way to Edolo. To reach Ponte di Legno, you can hop on one of the local buses from Edolo.</li>
<li aria-level="1">2hr by car from Bergamo Airport.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-h3 css-d91h7b">Trenino Rosso del Bernina</h3>
You may have already seen videos of this ridiculously scenic train route. A dream of many, the Red Bernina Train is considered the&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CIKylDWAoZs/?hl=en">prettiest ride</a>&nbsp;across the mountains, going from the Italian Alps all the way to Saint Moritz, in Switzerland.&nbsp;
Included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the train leaves from the town of Tirano, close to the border with Switzerland, and reaches the fancy town of Saint-Moritz in 2hr 5-min. Through the large train windows, you can admire valleys, lakes, and even &lsquo;touch the sky&rsquo; at 2,253 m (the highest point reached by a train line in Europe!).

Depending on the ticket you select, you can get back into Tirano the same day or stay in Saint Moritz overnight. You can also extend your stay and head to the town of Lugano with the&nbsp;<a class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways css-1broqmw" href="https://www.interrail.eu/en/magazine/did-you-know/bernina-express-everything-you-need-to-know#:~:text=The%20Bernina%20Express%20is%20one,a%20UNESCO%20World%20Heritage%20Site.">Bernina Express Bus</a>&nbsp;(the bus travels along the shores of Lake Como!), the possibilities are endless :-)
Note:&nbsp;For the best views on the train, sit on the left side of the train going south to north, and the right side in the opposite direction.
How to get there:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">By train: Getting to Tirano from both Bergamo and Milano Centrale is pretty easy. From Bergamo, catch the train to Lecco, and from there hop on the connection to Tirano. From Malpensa, get the train to Milano Centrale and change for the train to Tirano.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Tirano is a 2hr 5-min drive from Malpensa Airport.</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/why-you-should-take-that-cheap-flight-to-milan-even-if-youve-already-visited">Keep reading...</a> 
Do you have a topic or destination you'd like to see in The Detour? Ask us here 👇

Travel Tips

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across web this week.
<ul>
<li class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-xhcohm css-xhcohm">As St. Patrick's Day revellers painted the town green on Monday, here's how and why&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rd.com/article/chicago-river-green/">Chicago's river</a> follows suit. </li>
<li class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-xhcohm css-xhcohm">London's Heathrow Airport was fully closed on Friday, with most in- and outbound flights cancelled or diverted. While the airport has now reopened, we should <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/heathrow-airport-flights-departures-fire-london-today-latest-news-b2719767.html">expect disruption</a> to continue for days to come. </li>
<li class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-xhcohm css-xhcohm">Swap Spain's touristy hotspots for one of these <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2025/03/21/5-lesser-known-spain-destinations-tourists-hardly-ever-visit-22769610/">five delightfully under-visited cities</a>. </li>
<li class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-xhcohm css-xhcohm">And finally, we're taking a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/mar/07/stopped-in-their-tracks-secret-life-congo-rainforest-nouabale-ndoki-national-park-wcs-photographer-will-burrard-lucas">look inside the rainforests of Congo</a>! It's the second-largest tropical forest area in the world, and home to endangered African forest elephants, the elusive palm civet, fanged deer, giant pangolins, and more.</li>
</ul>

Travel News

St Croix - a Journey Through the Island's Most Historic Distillery

Hey there, JFC-ers,
This edition of The Detour comes to you from the comfort of an SBB train through the Swiss Alps! Team JFC is full of beans this weekend, as many of us wing our way to Italy for our first-ever in-person team meet-up. But of course, true to the name, I&rsquo;m taking a little detour en route to stop by Liechtenstein and spend the 10 Swiss Francs left on my Revolut card.
After 8 years of hard work finding thousands of awesome flights for you, dear readers, this trip is well deserved. But it won&rsquo;t be all fun and games &mdash; we&rsquo;re also looking forward to brainstorming exciting new ideas for JFC! Most importantly, though, we can finally put to bed the question of how tall all our colleagues are, having only ever seen most of them through a webcam lens!
Happy travels and safe landings,

JFC's Eleven Most Chaotic Cities in the World - As Chosen By You

It&rsquo;s official, dear readers &mdash; you have been to some very chaotic destinations indeed. After my escapades in Ho Chi Minh City brought back more than a few memories for Detour reader Avril, she suggested we all put our heads together and come up with a list of the most chaotic cities in the world.
As always, you obliged. So, without further ado, here are Jack&rsquo;s Flight Club&rsquo;s top 11 most chaotic cities around the globe&hellip; well, technically it&rsquo;s thirteen. Oops.
<h3 dir="ltr">11. Paris, France</h3>

She&rsquo;s busy and bustling, the City of Light, and it seems that a lot of that light comes from headlamps. Considered one of the world&rsquo;s most congested cities, getting in a car there can feel like a whole adventure &mdash; especially if you&rsquo;ll be <a href="https://youtu.be/-2RCPpdmSVg?si=rMjSG-6Kw1TSsKlV">passing by the Arc de Triomphe</a> or tackling <a href="https://fabricofparis.com/2022/11/18/the-last-wall-of-paris-the-story-of-the-boulevard-peripherique">Europe&rsquo;s busiest urban motorway</a>.
Personally, I&rsquo;d rather just hop on the Metro, but even there it&rsquo;s a wild ride. The stations are notoriously smelly, the trains jam-packed like a tin of sardines or cancelled at short notice.&nbsp;
And then there&rsquo;s going by foot. Size-wise, Paris is fairly walkable, but the rules of the road for pedestrians may well confuse any level-headed visitor. In theory, jaywalking is illegal in France &mdash; but only if there&rsquo;s an official pedestrian crossing within 50m &mdash; and the fine if you get caught breaking the rules is a whopping &euro;4. Unsurprisingly, most locals don&rsquo;t care and just cross where they like.
Reasons to visit anyway: It&rsquo;s Paris, of course! It&rsquo;s iconic, having long been a shining star of stage and screen. Aside from seeing the major sights, there&rsquo;s something about the art, culture and history oozing from the city&rsquo;s pores that make it undeniably appealing. You could say, it&rsquo;s got a certain je ne sais quoi. 
<h3>10. Rome, Italy</h3>

Much like Paris, Rome is a bustling European capital. This time, with added mopeds!&nbsp;
Crossing the road here is often a challenge, as the scooters weave in and out of the cars, hurtling across pedestrian crossings without much care for those on foot.&nbsp; But this site offers up some handy tricks you can employ to make sure that you reach the other side in one piece:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Make eye contact with drivers or politely hold your hand up to signal to them that you want to cross</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Once you step out into the street, commit! There&rsquo;s no turning back.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Find an older person to cross with (sure, drivers might respect them more, but they&rsquo;ve also been doing it for a good while</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Find a nun to cross with &mdash; they have God on their side, after all!</li>
</ul>
Reasons to visit anyway:&nbsp;Pizza, pasta, the Colosseum! Rome is brimming with alluring sights going far beyond the ones you&rsquo;ve heard of. Want to see where Caesar was murdered? Or maybe you just like cats? Either way &mdash; head to the <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/torre-argentina-roman-cat-sanctuary">Torre Argentina</a>. Or how about visiting an old-school <a href="https://anamericaninrome.com/2018/05/boccione-forno-in-romes-jewish-ghetto/">bakery in the Jewish Ghetto</a> that&rsquo;s been serving up ricotta and cherry cake for 210 years?&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr"> 9. Bangkok, Thailand</h3>

&ldquo;The article about crossing streets in HCMC brought back memories of trying to cross streets in Bangkok. We deployed a similar strategy: wait on the side of the road until a critical mass of people is achieved, and then all move across at the same time. It was scary/exhilarating! We arrived back at the hotel each night covered in grit from the diesel exhaust.&rdquo;
<hr>
&ldquo;No list would be complete without Bangkok!&nbsp; You've just got to run and hope for the best!&rdquo;

The city&rsquo;s hectic roads are only part of the chaos, though &mdash; the glowing neon billboards and huge malls next to ancient temples are enough to give you whiplash. The stench of durian and street food stalls mix with exhaust fumes from the city&rsquo;s 7 million cars. It&rsquo;s a lot by any standards!
Reasons to visit anyway: 9th place may not seem like it gives Bangkok enough chaos credit where it&rsquo;s due, but the main thing that offsets it is the <a href="https://youtu.be/NFw-WizIt50?si=w1giE5keLa5t5DeQ&amp;t=704">cracking public transportation</a>. Getting around the city is easy once you know how, so you&rsquo;ll have no problem whizzing between the markets and temples &mdash; probably not <a href="https://farandwild.travel/wilder/article/temples-of-bangkok">all 400</a> though, that&rsquo;s a stretch even for us!
Plus, we JFC-ers loooove all the other <a href="https://www.google.com/travel/explore?tfs=CBwQAxoZKABqBwgBEgNCS0tyDAgEEggvbS8wNzNxMRoZKABqDAgEEggvbS8wNzNxMXIHCAESA0JLS0ABSAFgyAFwAoIBCwj___________8BmAEBsgEEGAEgAQ&amp;tfu=GioaKAoSCbQXY2AIFTNAEcTVEHxtilxAEhIJF17BaFHbEEARxNUQfMVkV0A">cheap Southeast Asia flights</a> you can pick up once you&rsquo;re there!
&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">8. Phnom Penh, Cambodia</h3>

&ldquo;Hello there. Regarding traffic chaos, I have to include Phnom Penh. It's crazy enough as it is, but come 4pm and the "rush" hour, it gets particularly bonkers with both moto riders and tuk tuk drivers mounting the pavement to make a right turn more quickly.&nbsp;
I'd advise either viewing this spectacle from above with a drink or actually in a tuk tuk. Both much safer than being on the back of a motorbike trying to weave a path through the chaos. Enjoy!&rdquo;

Much like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Phnom Penh seems to take a &ldquo;good luck out there&rdquo; approach as it waves you off to cross the street. Then there&rsquo;s the added fun of tuk tuks, and the extra challenge of a lack of marked crossings. But all in all, <a href="https://youtu.be/bHvlYCULD3s?si=B9BpQg3mLBGJzQ6l&amp;t=123">this guy</a> makes it look pretty simple.
Reasons to visit anyway: Cambodia&rsquo;s history is intense and at times grim, but visiting the Killing Fields and learning about the Khmer Rouge will give you a real insight into the country&rsquo;s people and culture. It&rsquo;s also home to&nbsp;<a href="https://helloangkor.com/the-ancient-temples-near-phnom-penh/">ancient, intricate temples</a> that are way less touristed than famous Angkor Wat, so take the time to explore them with a little more breathing room. 
<h3 dir="ltr">7. Kampala, Uganda</h3>

&ldquo;There are almost as many motorcycles as other vehicles, and they:
1. drive down the middle of traffic in both directions,&nbsp;
2. drive on the pavements
3. carry dangerous cargos - I have seen the passenger carrying huge mirrors
4. drive through traffic lights
The roundabouts are road carnage - no sense of giving way to the right, so a total snarl
Traffic lights often are not working, but the police man major junctions to direct traffic (ignored by motorcycles)&rdquo;

Reasons to visit anyway: If you&rsquo;ve been a JFC-er for a while, you&rsquo;ll no doubt know exactly why you should head to Uganda. The clich&eacute;d thing would be to<a href="https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/gorilla-trekking-in-uganda-a-complete-guide/"> go gorilla trekking</a> (we're not knocking it, it's genuinely fantastic), but you might also want to spend a minute exploring<a href="https://moafrikatours.com/lake-victoria/"> Lake Victoria</a> by boat. It's the largest lake in Africa and just teeming with wildlife. We'd suggest not swimming in it, however, unless you don't mind sharing the waters with a few hippos and crocodiles.
&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">6. Kathmandu, Nepal</h3>

&ldquo;I traveled there by myself 10 years ago, just before the big earthquake of 2015. Imagine a metro area of 1.5 million people, where many of the "main" roads look like the last time they were paved was maybe 30 years earlier: remains of asphalt surrounded by dirt, deeply rutted.&nbsp;
The main roads were a non-stop stream of cars, trucks, motorcycles, tuk tuks, and bicycles. It's hard to describe how many traffic lanes there were; every vehicle is weaving in and out, maybe 4 or 5 or 6 deep in each direction. With cows standing in the middle of the road chewing their cud. I have no idea how THEY got there.&nbsp;
I hired a driver one day to take me to a couple of shops that were right across the street from each other. When it was time to cross the road, he simply took my elbow and steered me through the moving traffic. I still don't know how he did it. It felt like the Red Sea parting for Moses and the Israelites. Except the traffic never stopped flowing.&rdquo;

Reasons to visit anyway: You don&rsquo;t have to be into Himalayan trekking to enjoy Kathmandu (although, that helps). From <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/detour-173-cheapest-safari-in-tanzania">temples to tigers and the &lsquo;Toothache Tree</a>&rsquo;, Kathmandu is more than just your starting point for the long road to Everest Base Camp &mdash; it&rsquo;s a whole experience in its own right. 
<h3 dir="ltr">5. Ho Chi Minh City &amp; Hanoi, Vietnam</h3>

Okay, I&rsquo;m biased here because I&rsquo;ve lived through it &mdash; Ho Chi Minh City was an assault on the nerves and senses. At times, we found ourselves weaving on and off pavement between mopeds, people enjoying a coffee, and actual free-roaming chickens. In the middle of the city!&nbsp; It sounds like Hanoi isn&rsquo;t much different:

&ldquo;I feel Katy&rsquo;s pain with HCMC but another assault course is Hanoi. The narrow roads are no better even though you think you&rsquo;ll be safer &mdash; they come from all angles rather than travelling in the same direction!&rdquo;

And JFC-er Avril isn&rsquo;t the only one who thinks so &mdash; every traveller I met in Ho Chi Minh who had been to Hanoi agreed that the Vietnamese capital was just as bad. Somehow, I&rsquo;d imagined the ancient city with its traditional Old Quarter to offer a little respite. Apparently I was way off, and getting around there also requires <a href="https://www.contiki.com/six-two/article/cross-road-hanoi/">Jedi mind tricks</a>.&nbsp;
While Hanoi&rsquo;s Metro is still a relative novelty with only a few lines, that is a couple more than Ho Chi Minh has to offer at this point. One tip I can offer is using those Metro underpasses to get across big junctions, if you can!
Reasons to visit anyway: Both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi offer a great introduction to Vietnam&rsquo;s history and cuisine. The War Remnants Museum in HCMC was a tough visit, but essential to understanding the lasting effects of the Vietnam war on the country. They&rsquo;ll also give you a crash course in Vietnamese coffee and tea culture, with every second shop front hosting at least a few people with a cuppa in hand.&nbsp;

<h3 dir="ltr">4. Colombo &amp; Kandy, Sri Lanka</h3>

We&rsquo;ve already heard from you about hectic Colombo, so let&rsquo;s turn to nearby Kandy:

&ldquo;I live in Sri Lanka, near Kandy, which is much worse than Colombo. Sri Lanka has way more tuk-tuks per head of population than does India, and I would suspect more than anywhere else on the planet. In Kandy, they infest the streets, along with nose-to-tail buses belching black fumes.&nbsp;
Pedestrian crossings exist in theory but in practice are just road decorations, completely ignored except the single one which is light-controlled. The one way system was designed by a madman, in order to maximise the length of time vehicles spend stationary or near-stationary.&nbsp;
The walk around the otherwise picturesque Kandy Lake is spoilt by the continuous traffic jam next to you. Add to that the fact that the city lies in a hollow surrounded by mountains, a magnet for air pollution, and you have plenty of ingredients for chaos.
Nonetheless, although we're always glad to retreat to our home in the delightful Hanthana mountains half an hour away, I'd still miss Kandy. It's a fine line between positive bustle and negative chaos, I guess, and Kandy bestrides it.&rdquo;

Reasons to visit anyway: The lush jungle, epic views, stunning temples, and mouthwatering curries are incredibly popular among the JFC team &mdash; so much so that our Business Analyst Tara has returned to spend several months there yet again! You can read all about <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/detour-140-sri-lanka">her 2024 visit here</a>, and take a look at some snaps from Flight Finder <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DHJkgxHInxV/?hl=en">Lauren&rsquo;s recent trip here</a>. 
<h3 dir="ltr">3. Delhi</h3>

There are nearly 35 million people living in Delhi, so it&rsquo;s hardly surprising that things get a little busy. Add in the tourists flocking to the same major sites, all attempting to tackle the same stretch of road but with little understanding of how local drivers operate, and it&rsquo;s sheer chaos.
You want an idea of what it&rsquo;s really like to cross the road in Delhi? I feel like <a href="https://youtu.be/H6bPVEUwnhc?si=34Lta5sWHZEDMEeo">this video</a> sums it up nicely. It&rsquo;s not a case of standing by the side, looking out across the pedestrian crossing, and waiting for a window. There will be no window. You can hardly see the other side for the moving walls of tuk tuks that stand between you and your goal.&nbsp;
Most of that chaotic energy can be found in Old Delhi, where livestock, vehicles, and street food vendors all weave frantically between one another. This truly is a city where the early bird catches the worm, and that worm is a gap in the traffic.
Reasons to visit anyway: Spectacular spots like the <a href="https://www.transindus.co.uk/highlights/red-fort-delhi/">Red Fort</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Jami-Masjid-mosque-Delhi-India">Jama Masjid</a> make the buzz worthwhile. And you can even escape for some peaceful moments in <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g304551-d324106-Reviews-Lodhi_Garden-New_Delhi_National_Capital_Territory_of_Delhi.html">Lodhi Gardens</a>. It&rsquo;s also an essential stop on the <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/newsletter-2024-15-03">Golden Triangle</a> route, a veritable trip of a lifetime.
<h3 dir="ltr">2. Mexico City, Mexico</h3>

&ldquo;Having got back from Mexico City last week, it is on another level compared to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi! Everyone literally barges their car past everyone else and we saw two actual fights almost break out. Half the cars had broken windshields too. Absolutely chaotic.&rdquo;

In the city where drivers &ldquo;<a href="https://mexiconewsdaily.com/mexico-living/pedestrians-in-mexico/">consider a red light to be a mere suggestion</a>,&rdquo; crossing the street on foot is inadvisable, but likely unavoidable. Lanes of traffic won&rsquo;t always be going in the direction you expect, so taking your time to assess the situation in full is essential.
The Metro is a cheap and fast option for getting across the city. But there are lots of lines and, as you&rsquo;d expect in a city of nearly 23 million, it&rsquo;s pretty darn busy at peak times. 
Reasons to visit anyway:&nbsp;&ldquo;Mexico City can be overwhelming &hellip; One of the cheapest sightseeing things to do is ride the <a href="https://youtu.be/Mwz7MikjAcA?si=A4MpccCbr3FrEiQB">cablebus public transport cable car</a> over the top of the city and see all the painted roofs and people going about their lives. Super fascinating, and there is <a href="https://www.blondevoyagenashville.com/home/mexico-city-from-taquerias-to-fine-dining-where-to-eat-in-mexico-city">tons of good food</a> to be had for cheap everywhere!&rdquo;
<h3 dir="ltr">1. Cairo, Egypt</h3>

&ldquo;There aren't [pedestrian crossings] in Egypt (at least not in Cairo) - nor are there really any traffic lights (I saw three when I was there last year - two were near the airport). People also run across motorways!&rdquo;
<hr>
&ldquo;I agree with Cairo as one of the most chaotic cities.&nbsp; We got an Uber to the new Egyptian museum from our city hotel. 270 (Egyptian) pounds. Coming back, the taxi drivers were waiting, and the negotiations started at 800 pounds. We agreed on 500 including tip, and the driver said "follow me". We were by the side of a motorway. The "taxi" was on the other side. The cars were coming thick and fast. We had to cross it.&nbsp; What to do???
Looked the other way and there were the police. They will stop us, I thought. But no. &ldquo;Come on,&rdquo; said the taxi driver, so we stepped out and followed him across the motorway without looking either way. Survived, despite horns blowing. "We shouldn't have done that," said my husband. I was just relieved to get across.&rdquo;
<hr>
&ldquo;I was in Cairo a few years ago and the taxi I was in missed a motorway turn, so he just reversed up the motorway (into a bus!) - we were all alright, so no worries really. I have been to Cairo a few times before and thought I had it down with the road crossing etc, but reversing up a motorway is a new one for me!&rdquo;

Reasons to visit anyway: Pyramids are where most of us start when we plan a trip to Egypt. And the pyramids themselves may be breathtaking, but the crowds, the pushy street sellers, and the intensity that come with them can be a bit much. Thankfully, Flight Finder Kristi shared fantastic tips on escaping Cairo&rsquo;s chaos in a previous edition of The Detour &mdash; you can read all about her <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/newsletter-2024-09-02">escape to Egypt&rsquo;s nature here</a>. 
That&rsquo;s your lot, readers! We had several more suggestions, too, including Lagos, Johannesburg, Dhaka, and Beijing. And if there's one thing I've learnt from this, it's that you can always find an instructional road-crossing video on YouTube to prepare yourself for the madness before touching down!

Reader's Corner

No, not Dakha in Bangladesh. This time we&rsquo;re talking about Dakhla in the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14115273">disputed Western Sahara region</a> to the south of Morocco. &ldquo;But why?&rdquo; you might ask. Well, it just got a whole lot cheaper to travel there, so you know that our Flight Finders have suddenly become obsessed.
Ryanair recently launched flights from Spain to Dakhla, so now you can combine a Madrid city break or a Lanzarote beach week with a few days rambling the Western Saharan sand dunes and catching the waves.
The city is squeezed between the waters of the Atlantic and the Sahara desert. With <a href="https://www.iksurfmag.com/travel-guides/africa/morocco/dakhla/#:~:text=Dakhla%20is%20known%20for%20its%20constant%20wind%2C%20an%20estimated%20340%20days%20per%20year">300+ windy days</a> a year, this is the place for anyone who appreciates a sprinkling of adrenaline atop their breach holiday. Kite surfing aficionados and newbies alike will want to make a beeline for the <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/style/article/2022/07/11/dakhla-a-windswept-lagoon-in-morocco_5989759_40.html">Dakhla lagoon</a>, if only to try and look as cool as <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@stighoefnagel/video/7225899792101133595">this guy</a>.&nbsp;

Next stop, the white dunes. Now, this one isn't strictly for you adrenaline junkies &mdash; I mean, who could say &ldquo;no&rdquo; to a stroll&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Chzvv1fP_x0/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==">along this beauty</a>? But don't leave without trying your hand at <a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/OAcVymvtJG8?feature=share">sand-boarding</a>, too! After a long, hard day of fun, head to the local oyster farm to sample the local speciality.
Beyond the adrenaline and aphrodisiacs, the region is also home to the Sahrawi nomadic people. The harsh desert heat sees them migrating towards the coast during summer months, while winters are spent further inland. For a traditional desert experience while there, a guided camel trek to a Bedouin camp is likely on the cards.
So if you&rsquo;re in the mood for somewhere more than a little different, but not too far from the usual European suntraps, perhaps Dakhla is your next stop. And if you&rsquo;ve already been, we&rsquo;d love to hear all about it! Hit &lsquo;Reply&rsquo; to share your experience with your fellow Detour readers :-)

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across web this week.
<ul></ul>
<ul></ul>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Note to self: <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2025/03/12/tsa-turtle-mans-pants-newark-liberty-international-airport/82304392007/">remove turtle from pants</a> before travel. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">After a number of incidents involving overheating power banks on planes, some airlines are cracking down and <a href="https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/singapore-airlines-power-bank-battery-ban">banning use</a> on board. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">From ghost towns to graveyards, check out these <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2015-11-18/the-most-stunning-abandoned-places-on-earth?_sp=4df24eff-b5dc-4c90-857a-c025195fd1ba.1742040541031">creepy and fascinating abandoned spots</a> around the world. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">And finally, today we bring the joyous (and, let&rsquo;s face it, unsurprising) news that the EU&rsquo;s ETIAS entry &ldquo;visa&rdquo; has been <a href="https://thepointsguy.com/news/europe-travel-visa-etias-what-to-know/">pushed down the line</a> yet again. Non-EU visitors should still expect their biometrics to begin being collected from October this year, but current forecasts suggest the electronic travel authorisation won&rsquo;t be mandatory until the end of 2026. Hooray?</li>
</ul>

11 Most Chaotic Cities Around the Globe

This story was originally published in The Detour newsletter on November 10th, 2022.

Q: "Hello. We are considering a trip to Vietnam next year with our 13yr old son. We would love to hear pros and cons travelling this beautiful country, and is it suitable for a 13yr old? Many thanks"

Great question, reader! We&rsquo;re happy to dive into this one for you. The long and short of it is that Vietnam absolutely is suitable for a 13-year-old, but we'll start off with the travel side of things to help you get an idea of what's ahead.
Train
Vietnam has <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://vietnamrailway.com.vn/vietnam-railway-map/">well-established train routes</a> that run the length of the country. Chances are that you&rsquo;ll be landing either in Hanoi, in the far north, or Ho Chi Minh City, all the way down south, so you&rsquo;ll likely need to cover a bit of ground to see everything on your list.
You&rsquo;ll be glad to hear that&rsquo;s not as hard as it might sound - trains running the 1000 miles between the two cities leave 5 times per day, so it&rsquo;s fairly easy to <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm">find a journey</a> that fits your schedule. Two of those departures are night trains, meaning you can also save a bit of cash on a hotel while making the trip.
The trains are family friendly, with locals often using them as a cheaper way to cart the whole gang around than flying. However, we must admit that we did find some <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293924-d8564194-Reviews-Vietnam_Railways-Hanoi.html">mixed reviews</a> about those night trains in particular. Here are some of the highs and lows you can look forward to if you choose life on the rails:
<ul>
<li>All the carriages are air-conditioned. Great in theory, but the air conditioning can't be adjusted, meaning you&rsquo;re stuck with what you get all night. On top of that, we read several reports of cigarette smoke filtering through the air system during stops.</li>
<li>The cabins are clean, or they start off that way, at least. With people understandably snacking to pass the time, and hot food served on the morning stretch, it doesn&rsquo;t take long before roaches appear. So maybe pack an extra can of Raid!</li>
<li>One major advantage to taking local trains has to be the chance to meet locals. You might even find yourself being taken in and fed by a friendly Vietnamese family. Or you might find yourself sharing a cabin with several unpleasant strangers. The best way to survive Vietnam&rsquo;s night trains is to book out all 4-6 berths for yourselves to ensure a little privacy and a safe family space.</li>
<li>Oh, and then there are <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://youtu.be/BaJLQcGiT2Y?t=17">the views</a>. Need we say more?</li>
</ul>

Hiring a car
Next up, the road trip. The obvious pros here are that you&rsquo;ll get much more privacy, and you can take a break whenever your teen gets restless. Vietnam is especially popular for <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://stingynomads.com/vietnam-motorcycle-trip/">motorbiking holidays</a>, although we suspect your 13-year-old may not have his driving licence just yet, reader. With that in mind, we&rsquo;ll focus on travelling by car.
Driving in the big cities is chaotic, to say the least. It&rsquo;s loud and heavily congested, and you constantly have to keep your eyes peeled for scooters weaving in and out. Once you reach the countryside, roads are often poorly maintained, so taking things slow is a must.
That said, if you&rsquo;re a confident and patient driver, it&rsquo;s totally doable. This <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://torsteinr.com/driving-in-vietnam/">handy article</a> goes into lots of detail about all the things you&rsquo;ll need to keep in mind when driving in Vietnam&rsquo;s cities in particular.
One common alternative is to hire a car with a <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://tourguidevietnam.com/hire-a-car-with-driver-in-hanoi">private driver</a>, which would let you fully tailor your visit and also avoid the anxiety of getting behind the wheel. The downside here is the price, which starts upwards of &pound;100 per day in comparison to the &pound;35 per day of car hire.
 Organised tours
Of course, dear reader, this is the easiest way to make sure your trip really hits the mark for all of you. We found several small-group tours online that cater to families with teenagers, usually taking in the major sites while including lots of outdoor activities.
This option certainly takes away the stress (or fun!) of planning, but it can turn your holiday in a usually <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://www.budgetyourtrip.com/vietnam">very affordable country</a> into a rather pricey affair. These tours also tend to focus on the north of the country, meaning you could miss out on seeing anywhere south of Hội An.

Now we've got the lay of the land, it's worth thinking about what you want to see while you're there. If you'd rather take the DIY approach to your Vietnam trip, reader, we have some suggestions that are sure to get your teen out of bed before midday:
Near Ho Chi Minh City - Sailing among the floating markets and traditional villages on the <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://www.earthtrekkers.com/day-mekong-delta-vietnam/">Mekong Delta</a> is high up most Vietnam lists, but the nearby <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://journeyofanomadicfamily.com/cu-chi-tunnels-vietnam/">Cu Chi Tunnels</a> are not to be missed either. If you&rsquo;re feeling brave - or your teen has been misbehaving - crawling through the pitch-black tunnels will provide a good idea of the harsh reality experienced by Vietnamese soldiers. Safely above ground, you can peruse the booby trap exhibition, which somehow scares us less.
Nha Trang - Around 7.5 hrs north of Ho Chi Minh City by train, the seaside retreat is popular for its <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://www.backpackerswanderlust.com/best-beaches-in-nha-trang/">idyllic beaches</a>, scuba diving and spas. It&rsquo;s also home to an island theme park, <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://local-insider.com/vinpearl-land-nha-trang-all-in-one-destination-that-you-dont-want-to-miss/">Vinpearl Land</a>, which is best reached via a scenic cable car ride across the bay. A visit to the impressive <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://vinwonders.com/en/news/po-nagar-cham-towers-an-archetype-of-the-unique-ancient-cham-architecture/">Po Nagar Cham Towers</a> will be in order afterwards to calm any residual endorphins.
Hoi An- This is the place for anyone who likes to shop, with <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://hiddenhoian.com/see-and-do/hoi-ans-markets/">markets galore selling food</a>, souvenirs, clothes and local crafts. It&rsquo;s also one of the few places you&rsquo;ll get a chance to take a ride in a traditional <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://www.wandervietnam.com/basket-boat-hoi-an/">bamboo basket boat</a> and bob along like the local fishermen.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang - About two thirds of the way from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, near the city of Dong Hoi, is Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Scrambling around the <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://oxalisadventure.com/cave/son-doong-cave/">world&rsquo;s largest cave</a> should be top of your list there, but a walk through the surrounding jungle will suit any animal-loving teen.
Lan Ha Bay - Swap the main part of buzzing Halong Bay for peaceful <a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #0ebfff;" href="https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/lan-ha-bay-vietnam/">Lan Ha Bay</a>, and you&rsquo;ll be rewarded with equally picturesque views - minus the crowds. Larger boats can&rsquo;t access the area, but a smaller Junk Ship cruise will get you to those secluded spots where your family can strap on your life jackets and go kayaking in safety.
Hopefully that's given you some ideas, reader - it looks like you and your teen are in for a whale of a time. Have fun, and don't forget to send us a postcard!

Visiting Vietnam with your Family

Hey there, JFC-ers,
We've got a lot to celebrate this week! The party kicked off with <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2025/03/photos-carnival-2025-around-world/681910/">Mardi Gras and Carnival</a> celebrations around the world, while those of us in the UK whipped out the pancakes on Tuesday. In fact, some parts of England have turned into <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g089vvn4ko">quite the sport</a>. Here at JFC, we celebrated our own way, with a brand-new <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/new-orleans-destination-guide">New Orleans guide</a>.
Next came time to digest all the excitement with a quiet moment on World Book Day. The bookworms among you may fancy taking a look back at our article on&nbsp;<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/unique-and-quirky-destinations-for-book-lovers">quirky destinations for book lovers</a> to help plan your next trip.
And then comes tomorrow's International Women's Day! From the <a href="https://www.exodus.co.uk/insights/historys-boldest-female-travellers">inspirational travellers</a> who came before us, to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unearthwomen.com/5-matriarchal-societies-where-women-are-in-charge/">women-led societies</a> that still exist around the world, I'll be celebrating by letting the women of this world fuel my insatiable wanderlust.
Happy travels and safe landings,

Arizona's Essential Out-of-This-World Road Trip Pit Stop

If you&rsquo;ve ever driven down the heavily trafficked Interstate 10 through Eastern Arizona, you have probably encountered a few billboards for a mysterious roadside attraction:&nbsp;
&ldquo;THE THING? YOU&rsquo;LL BE AMAZED!&rdquo;
&ldquo;THE THING? IT&rsquo;S A WONDER!&rdquo;
&ldquo;THE THING? YOU WON&rsquo;T FORGET IT!&rdquo;
In a distinctive shade of sunny yellow, these cryptic billboards arrive every fifty or so miles down the highway and have been turning heads <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/t9ju4y/the_thing_arizona_1967/">since the 1960s</a>. If you&rsquo;re a connoisseur of tacky roadside attractions like me, they&rsquo;re highly effective at making you memorize that exit number (exit 322) and flick that righthand turn signal when you see it.
When I finally arrive at the exit, a matching yellow building promises a museum and gift shop.

I enter to find a typical southwestern travel center. Think Native and Mexican goods, and snowglobes of landscapes that have never seen snow. I am directed to the far corner of the store, past the aisles of t-shirts and talavera pottery. In this corner, there is a door under a chain of neon lights.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Hi,&rdquo; I say to the woman sitting by the door. &ldquo;I want to see the Thing.&rdquo;
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re in the right place. Cash or card?&rdquo;
I am charged five dollars to see the Thing. I have not been given any further information about what I&rsquo;ve just paid for, but I still have a feeling this is a bargain.&nbsp;
Now, if there is any chance you&rsquo;ll ever find yourself on this lonely stretch of I-10, I suggest you stop reading here before I spoil the entire surprise. This is the sort of attraction that you have to enter blindly.&nbsp;
Ticket in hand, I go through the door with absolutely no idea what is on the other side. It opens into a long, colorfully lit hallway.

The first thing I notice is a giant statue of a dinosaur. The second thing I notice is a flying saucer surrounded by alien mannequins. These are tied together with a series of plaques and murals that begin with one bold declaration: Aliens visited Earth during the time of dinosaurs and conquered them using mind control helmets.
Okay. Definitely a bargain.
I read every word of every plaque, and the story unfolds. After eons of cerebral interference from the aliens, the dinosaurs gained sentience and started fighting back, and eventually their interplanetary enemies send the Chicxulub asteroid to wipe them out.&nbsp;
The aliens go home, they come back millennia later, they find humanity, and they proceed to guide us through our entire history, which is told through more displays (including a life-size model of Winston Churchill riding in a Rolls driven by an alien, because you can&rsquo;t prove that never happened).
All of this information is delivered with passionate seriousness and just enough &ldquo;What if&hellip;&rdquo;s to maintain plausible deniability.

I would have considered this money well-spent if the museum ended here. But this is all pretext, the preparation, the prologue &mdash; we haven&rsquo;t even seen the actual THING yet. A plaque before the final room informs me that the attraction&rsquo;s founder, Thomas Prince, acquired it in 1950 through methods that are &ldquo;shrouded in secrecy.&rdquo;
I enter the final room. Speakers are looping the X-Files theme. It&rsquo;s a darker room than the others, lit by the glow of something roped off in the corner.&nbsp;
As I approach the exhibit, I see a glass coffin containing a mummy. It&rsquo;s holding a second, child-sized mummy. They are ambiguously inhuman, in a way that suggests either unearthliness or advanced decay.
This is the titular THING: two mummies, supposedly unidentifiable as terrestrial beings. They&rsquo;re here to ground everything we&rsquo;ve just seen into some kind of tangible fact. The rest is just statues and storytelling, but here we have the evidence.

The exhibit ends here and I am guided by signs back into the glaring fluorescents of the gift shop.&nbsp;
&ldquo;What did you think?&rdquo; asks the lady who sold me my ticket.
I am still absorbing many things, including the fact that I just witnessed a truly Barnum-esque sideshow in 2025, that I am absolutely going to write about this for JFC, and that I&rsquo;ve drunk coffees that cost more than that experience.
&ldquo;I thought it was great.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Oh, good. I&rsquo;m so glad.&rdquo; She is visibly relieved.
I suddenly get the vibe that this woman has dealt with disappointed tourists many, many times.
Because THE THING? isn&rsquo;t designed to impress, not genuinely. Like most roadside stops along American interstates, the ridiculousness is the attraction. It&rsquo;s an entire niche culture built on irony. Not everyone understands it, but if you want to get the most out of an American road trip, you have to let yourself in on the joke.

You shouldn&rsquo;t show up to a spot like this and feel disappointed when it turns out to be silly &mdash; you should show up because it will probably be silly. Because there&rsquo;s just something special about driving through hours of Nebraska farm land and finding a <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/carhenge">replica of Stonehenge made out of vintage cars</a>, or going out of your way for the <a href="https://www.travelks.com/listing/worlds-largest-ball-of-twine/2344/">world&rsquo;s largest ball of twine</a>. To paraphrase Ken Smith of Roadside America, a good highway attraction isn&rsquo;t about what it actually is, but the fact that <a href="https://www.routemagazine.us/stories/mystery-in-the-desert#:~:text=I%20say%20this%20a%20lot%2C%20but%20a%20good%20roadside%20attraction%E2%80%94it%20isn%E2%80%99t%20about%20what%20it%20is.%20It%E2%80%99s%20about%20what%20you%20remember.%20It%E2%80%99s%20about%20building%20a%20memory.">you&rsquo;ll always remember seeing it</a>.
When it comes to memorable hooks, it doesn&rsquo;t get much better than dinosaur mind control and alien mummies. And that was an intentional marketing ploy.&nbsp;
Do some Googling, and you can find a true, honest-to-God backstory for this funky exhibition. The aforementioned Thomas Prince is the source of those cryptic and eye-catching billboards, having displayed the Thing along the highway until his death in 1969.
The mummies were then purchased by Bowlin Travel Centers (a familiar name in these parts &mdash; nearly every service station seems to be under their jurisdiction) and Bowlin decided to dress up the mummies with a tale about aliens and dinosaurs.&nbsp;
After all, you gotta earn those five dollars, and sci-fi sells big in this part of the country. Just ask Roswell, New Mexico. Or Amargosa Valley, Nevada, where the mystique of nearby Area 51 drives folks towards UFO knick-knacks and a (legal) alien-themed brothel. If you&rsquo;re operating a funky attraction in the deserts of the Southwest, the real money is in making Ed Wood look like Spielberg.
But all of this only explains the events after Prince put the mummies on show. So&hellip; what are those mummies, then? Where were they found? Are they&hellip; real?

That&rsquo;s the thing about the Thing &mdash; officially, no one knows. There are a few competing theories (most involving some <a href="https://www.routemagazine.us/stories/mystery-in-the-desert#:~:text=%E2%80%9C%5BThe%20Thing%5D%20was,kinds%20of%20things.%E2%80%9D">arts and crafts</a>), but there are no definitive answers. If anyone at Bowlin has real concrete provenance for these figures, they&rsquo;re not talking. The secret of the mummies just might have died with Thomas Prince.
I think that&rsquo;s for the best. That last kernel of mystery makes it easier to forget every official bit of history and enjoy the gaff. A weary driver encounters enigmatic billboards, surrounded in every direction by miles of empty desert, and is offered a rare and glorious chance to suspend their disbelief to Fox Mulder levels.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s roadside gold, an exhibit so sincere in its irony that it has drawn in visitors for six decades. Because it&rsquo;s not about whether those mummies were clearly papier-m&acirc;ch&eacute;, it&rsquo;s about the fact that you&rsquo;ll remember them forever.
So if you&rsquo;re ever driving down I-10 an hour east of Tucson, hit the brakes at exit 322. You won&rsquo;t forget it.

Flight Finding Team Lead Allan is your expert on the inner workings of the airline world. If you&rsquo;ve ever seen a debut deal on a brand spanking new route or a bonkers drop on an old classic, you've got him to thank!

Answered by Allan

"Hello, I am flying out of LAX to Greece but returning from Rome. What are the best options, book one-ways, or multiple roundtrip flights with one carrier? I saw you had a LAX to Rome round trip with great pricing. How logical would it be to land at Rome and take a less quick jump from Rome to Athens?"

Hey dear reader!
Flight Nerd Allan here with just enough info to make this reality come true. Because it&rsquo;s become a bit of an open secret among my friends how much I love just poking around on Google Flights, I&rsquo;ve become the guy everyone goes to when they&rsquo;re looking for how to get somewhere for cheap. And the one thing I always say when they wanna go from the US to Europe&hellip;&nbsp;
&ldquo;All you need to book initially are the big pond-hopping flights across the Atlantic. Book any other legs on their own&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s pretty simple: if you try to book a multi-city trip that includes small inter-Europe flights, you might get into really expensive territory, as most search engines will default to keeping your flight with the same airline/alliance. So, if you&rsquo;re flying over with Delta, they&rsquo;ll try to offer you the regional flight with KLM or Air France, for example. And those can be crazy pricey.&nbsp;

Instead, find the best deal on the big flights, book those, and then book the smaller legs with a budget carrier on a totally separate booking. That way, you&rsquo;ll get an even better price than if you booked altogether.
And on this specific route, there&rsquo;s been even better news lately. Norse Atlantic just added a non-stop route from LAX to Athens - the first time this route has been served non-stop in years. Pair that with their non-stop to Rome from LAX and you have the makings of a beautiful &ldquo;in here, out over there&rdquo; trip. It may not come out quite as cheap as into Rome both ways, but it&rsquo;s going to be the best bargain for those looooong West Coast flights, and non-stop to boot.
Safe travels :-)

"What&rsquo;s the best way to get to Iceland from Los Angeles? And do you have an Iceland itinerary?"

Hey there!
Unfortunately, LA to Iceland is not a super convenient route. The Icelandic carriers don&rsquo;t fly planes big enough to reach LA from Keflav&iacute;k Airport, and their domestic US partners tend to be budget airlines like Frontier and Spirit.&nbsp;
If you look on Google Flights, you&rsquo;ll see loads of 1 or 2 stop options, usually stopping over in places like Denver, Houston or Baltimore. But I wouldn&rsquo;t recommend booking one of those unless you&rsquo;re on a strict timetable and only certain dates work.
If you have any bit of flexibility, I&rsquo;d watch out for deals from Seattle. Icelandair DO fly there and we usually see the non-stop from SEA to KEF in the $540s RT or so. Pair that with a $150 RT domestic flight up to Seattle from Los Angeles and you&rsquo;re looking at in itinerary around $700&nbsp; when most other one 1-stops from LA get closer to that $1,000 RT mark.
<a href="https://simpleflying.com/icelandair-will-fly-to-19-us-canadian-airports-this-year-with-record-flights/">This handy article</a> will give you a rundown of all the non-stop routes currently operating between the US and Iceland.

And as for an Iceland itinerary, well that all depends on your travel style! The classic &ldquo;must-sees&rdquo; within easy reach of Reykjav&iacute;k can be found on the popular <a href="https://www.re.is/golden-circle-tours/">Golden Circle</a> route.
For a short trip, this is a good aim. You can find loads of tour companies online offering single day trips on the route, covering the rugged landscapes of Thingvellir National park, the geysers of, well, Geysir, and the huuuuge Gulfoss waterfall.
But if you have more time to play with &mdash; and a bit of an adventurous side &mdash; that&rsquo;s where trips to Iceland get really interesting.&nbsp;
The country&rsquo;s main highway,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nordicvisitor.com/blog/iceland-ring-road/">the Ring Road</a>, is the ultimate road trip if you&rsquo;re looking to spend 10&ndash;14 days checking out otherworldly landscapes, glaciers, waterfalls, black sand beaches and more. However, it&rsquo;s the <a href="https://anywhereweroam.com/f-roads-in-iceland/">F-roads</a> traversing the country&rsquo;s mountainous interior that&rsquo;ll really get your heart racing. Only accessible during the summer months, this is the way to get well-and-truly off the beaten path.&nbsp;
And although much of the country&rsquo;s allure lies away from its capital, do make time to spend a day or two in Reykjav&iacute;k itself! Between a class at <a href="https://theelfschool.com/">Elf School</a>, a visit to a somewhat <a href="https://www.phallus.is/">less conventional museum</a>, and checking out the street art as you pop between the local boutiques, there&rsquo;s more than enough to fill a short city break. Add in a summer <a href="https://adventures.is/blog/puffins-in-iceland/">puffin-spotting</a> or whale-watching tour, and your itinerary will be absolutely packed!&nbsp;
Hopefully you've got a few exciting ideas for your Iceland trip now! Have a fantastic time :-)
 Do you have a question you'd like answered in The Detour? Let us know below 👇

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across web this week.
<ul></ul>
<ul>
<li>Great news, it's <a href="https://youtu.be/B4-L2nfGcuE">nesting season</a> in Big Bear Valley! </li>
<li>Want to glide through passport control? Remember not to wear a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/ai-passport-control-david-bowie-bali-indonesia-b2709656.html">t-shirt with your favourite musician's face</a> on it! </li>
<li>On your next trip to Croatia, you may be able to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/01/communist-tito-yugoslav-adriatic-luxury-beach-resort">book yourself a room</a> in the former holiday resort built for Tito's Yugoslav military. </li>
<li>And finally, Air India passengers flying from Chicago to Delhi on Thursday found themselves thanking <a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/delhi-bound-air-india-flight-returns-to-chicago-after-being-airborne-for-10-hours-here-is-why/">clogged toilets</a> for their 10-hour flight to nowhere. Now that's what I call a crap flight!</li>
</ul>

Arizona's Essential Out-of-This-World Road Trip Pitstop

Hey there, JFC-ers,
February has finally come to an end, meaning I can start dreaming about warmer days and not having to wear gloves indoors.&nbsp;
This is typically the season when Europeans look towards Spain for a quick getaway to boost their vitamin D and sangria levels. But this year, the mass media seems set on telling us we&rsquo;re not wanted there.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve had lots of questions from members and friends about the so-called Spanish &ldquo;tourist ban&rdquo; recently, so for anyone who&rsquo;s fallen foul of those headlines, here&rsquo;s the low-down:&nbsp;
Spain is not banning tourists! So what are they doing? Well, local governments in many of the country&rsquo;s popular tourism areas have brought in <a href="https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-real-story-behind-spains-tourist-ban">rules to prevent new short-term rental properties</a> coming onto the market. As such, hotels will not be affected at all.
For the next few years, homeowners in Malaga won&rsquo;t be able to turn their vacant apartments into an Airbnb, and only those that are already registered will be available. Meanwhile, some of Barcelona&rsquo;s existing tourist rental licences are even being revoked. The idea here is to tackle the shortage of affordable housing for locals, and at the same time curb overtourism.
Another rumour we&rsquo;ve been asked about is the Spanish government needing access to your bank accounts. Thankfully, we can categorically tell you that this is another piece of misconstrued information &mdash; they will not ask for your bank details!&nbsp;
As is the case in many countries, Spanish authorities can ask you to prove that you have sufficient funds to cover your stay. In 2025, that amount is &euro;118/$125 per day. While it is unlikely that you&rsquo;ll ever need to provide this, be prepared to pull up your banking app on your phone just in case! You can find <a href="https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/washington/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/Condiciones-de-entrada-en-Espana.aspx">more detailed information here</a>.
Hopefully that bit of myth-busting puts your minds at ease, because I honestly can&rsquo;t think of a better way to spend a few days than by indulging in way too many patatas bravas in the spring sunshine.
Happy travels and safe landings,

The Chaotic Cities JFC-ers Would Rather Avoid

After my account of the <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/vietnam-where-learning-to-cross-the-road-isnt-childs-play">moped chaos in Ho Chi Minh City</a> last week, quite a few of you wrote in to share in my traffic-based trauma. As expected, there are a few other places around the world that would give HCMC a run for its money:

&ldquo;Loved the re-learning to cross the road in Vietnam!&nbsp; You're right - India will compare similarly. Its a scary/daunting skill, but once mastered, it's a sense of thrill and accomplishment.
Thanks for the article!&rdquo; - Nalini
<hr>
&ldquo;"But at least there are pedestrian crossings&hellip;"
There aren't in Egypt (at least not in Cairo) - nor are there really any traffic lights <img alt="😅" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfJaswtXxj_axJVBHXPHeRyjE-Ig_ZQs95-iZa2FkqUHlbqqcBMidsrle2ipGpdvrlBV9Z0LWEbd3cnDG0RmcRoeuQ0y5dzs66-0RvS902fdIkZpFZMpwMCZ9PmxoxJ0xgtFo_qCw?key=bRsuJAHmQuwvzPTAPh1Frkfj" width="17" height="17"> (I saw three when I was there last year - two were near the airport). People also run across motorways! Fortunately I was with a local, who had to hook my arm, so I'd walk across the road with her, and I had to position myself on the other side of her and not look in order to keep going <img alt="😁" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXc33n-VykPe2OhVO9l76sPy2_lvqAHq122wSyH1Ov6VSp_rGHu4e8POB56A7KLLgeuiHG9BibowoWJYnH5Q3l3_7TlvPKQYM34Ep8JjdSxb04oBBUwf5olGvaYDO39OP3SKR8fgcA?key=bRsuJAHmQuwvzPTAPh1Frkfj" width="17" height="17"> But in a sense it was a learning to respect all road users!&rdquo; - Sarah

&ldquo;I feel Katy&rsquo;s pain with HCMC but another assault course is Hanoi. The narrow roads are no better even though you think you&rsquo;ll be safer &mdash; they come from all angles rather than travelling in the same direction!
Others on my list are Columbo and Delhi.
From my experience of both, crossing slowly and purposefully is a skill set, and the arm aloft indicating stop to oncoming hurtling buses really shouldn&rsquo;t be attempted. (sitting on these death trap buses is no different!)
I reckon that Jack&rsquo;s could make a top 10 of dreadful cities to avoid! Those are 4 of a possible top 10. I expect readers can add to them.&rdquo; - Avril

While I personally still enjoyed much of Ho Chi Minh City, not least seeing people living their authentic big-city lives, I can absolutely understand why the intensity could be enough to put you off.&nbsp;
Adding in Cairo to Avril&rsquo;s four &mdash; Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Delhi and Columbo &mdash; that takes us to five. What other cities in the world would you include in the Top Ten Most Chaotic Cities? Is there somewhere you would recommend your friends and family to avoid, and why? Or maybe a place you&rsquo;d still suggest they visit, but only after serious preparation?
Please hit &lsquo;Reply&rsquo; and tell us about the most intense and chaotic cities you&rsquo;ve ever visited!
In the meantime, here are a few places other JFC-ers recommend avoiding in our article on the <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/skip-this-see-that28-places-that-our-members-hated-and-loved">spots around the globe that members hated and loved</a>. 
Oh, and a quick note to the Neapolitans among you (if there are any left): last time we shared this, you were quick to defend your hometown. As a result, we also wrote a&nbsp;<a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/newsletter-2023-27-04">grovelling love letter to Naples</a> the following week.&nbsp;
Dubai

While the scale of the glittering skyscrapers alone is something to behold, our members were less impressed by how fake it feels. Add to that questions about rights, in particular those of the workers who built this megacity, and few seem keen to return.
Paris

Out of all the places on our list, Paris has definitely been voted as the most disappointing city by our members, staff, and pretty much everyone on the internet. It even has its own <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome#:~:text=Paris%20syndrome%20(French%3A%20syndrome%20de,severe%20form%20of%20culture%20shock.">syndrome</a>! Between dirty streets and tacky tourist traps, lots of people feel like Hollywood glamour has oversold the romance of the City of Light.
Marrakech

Most of us visit for the hustle, bustle, and charm of the old town. But some people feel there&rsquo;s not much charm left in the souks, where tourists are cornered into paying above the odds for generic goods, and street performers get mean if you pass by without leaving a tip.&nbsp;
<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/skip-this-see-that28-places-that-our-members-hated-and-loved">Keep reading&hellip;</a>

Temples, Tailors, Banh Mi, Vy &mdash;&nbsp;Hội An at its finest

&ldquo;Thank you for your very informative piece on how to cross the road in Vietnam!! You've now scared the hell out of me!
My husband and I (both over 70) are setting out on a tour of Cambodia &amp; Vietnam on 17th March. Neither of us are in any way supple so this should be an interesting experience.
I think I might just look for coffee shops on the same side of the road.
We both intend to take a crutch with us - mainly for stability. I suppose I could always hold it up in the air (might even get a few tips if I get mistaken for a tour guide!)
I was surprised by your comment on the weather. I hadn't done any research and didn't think it would be so cold. Thank you for the heads-up&rdquo; - Joy&nbsp;
<hr>
&ldquo;Dear Katy,&nbsp;
I hope you are well. There&rsquo;s some amount of serendipity involved here, as I&rsquo;m taking my wife and six-year-old son to Vietnam for the first time next month. We won&rsquo;t be further south than Hội An, otherwise we are going northwards towards Ha long Bay, and we also want to experience something scenic and tranquil inland. We have nine nights total. What are some of your best memories and recommendations from the northern part of Vietnam?&rdquo; - &Oslash;yvind
<hr>
&ldquo;Hi Katy,
We&rsquo;re off to Hội An next Sunday, any tips would be appreciated.
Cheers, Dave (avid jfc&rsquo;er)<img alt="👍" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfS7qxSnDg7MnVPDwXw3cZKaL2jQO8IcyOgR9h0ekbon1__DRwpyPARkM-oM8JsKiRD002dTLpzOq6uIMm5xYymoltRxjRvrroAKgp5ADWvwsp0fbGHZr8a_fG1XxKqiHZGQJC3?key=bRsuJAHmQuwvzPTAPh1Frkfj" width="17" height="17">"

Well, I had been planning on drip-feeding you all my Vietnam stories over time so as not to overwhelm you, but it seems like &lsquo;tis the season for Vietnam trips, and all of a sudden it&rsquo;s pretty urgent!&nbsp;&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ll start with Hội An itself, since we spent around 5 days there. It&rsquo;s hard to deny the beauty of the (mostly) pedestrianised streets of the old town, with colourful paper lanterns dangling overhead everywhere you look. You can easily walk around day after day just getting lost in the maze of alleyways, craft shops and restaurants, occasionally emerging alongside the river to gaze at the boats floating by.

But you should also expect a completely tourist-driven town. This place is fully set up to cater to those of us visiting from abroad, and I did hear it compared to Disneyland on more than one occasion (some of those utterances may have been from myself). That said, I would quite happily go back.&nbsp;
There are countless lantern-making, coffee, cookery, and ceramics workshops you can take part in, but ultimately we didn&rsquo;t do any. What we did do, however, was visit <a href="https://www.instagram.com/unicorncafe.hoian/">Unicorn Bowl &amp; Coffee</a>, where the cost of the barista teaching you how to make a traditional Vietnamese coffee is included.&nbsp;
I opted for the coconut coffee, while Rachel went for the salted coffee. Both were excellent, and I&rsquo;ve already bought the necessary condensed milk and coconut milk to recreate the magic at home!

We were generally hesitant about eating street food (with the exception of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hermawan_kartajaya_/reel/DEXs4BVhlxu/">ice cream rolls</a>!), so instead we visited Vy&rsquo;s Deli at <a href="https://tastevietnam.asia/vys-market-restaurant-hoi-an">Vy&rsquo;s Market Restaurant</a>. Think up-market food hall featuring lots of local and national dishes in a comfortable atmosphere.&nbsp;
Spending a few days in Hội An, you soon notice <a href="https://tastevietnam.asia/about-ms-vy">Ms Vy</a>&rsquo;s name everywhere &mdash; Morning Glory Mother&rsquo;s Kitchen was the first of her restaurants that we visited, and the food was fantastic! Plus, you get 10% off any of her other restaurants when you bring along your receipt from the last. Bonus!
You&rsquo;ll also want to try a banh mi or two while you&rsquo;re in Vietnam. There are a couple of spots in the city that are commonly considered the best, Madam Khanh - The Banh Mi Queen, and B&aacute;nh Mì Phượng. We visited the latter, primarily because it was right next to where our hotel shuttle dropped us off, but also because it was <a href="https://youtu.be/0nI9LvK7r-4?si=fwvUhVvQ9alP_ejL">one of the spots Anthony Bourdain ate at</a> when he visited. It was a 10/10 from me &mdash; my only regret was not going back for another.
One more classic Hội An experience is getting tailor-made clothes. You can hardly move for tailors in that town, so much so that the choice becomes overwhelming. Our hotel gave us a few recommendations, but we ended up choosing one suggested by another guest from our hotel who had already replenished her entire wardrobe! 
It&rsquo;s almost a military operation in&nbsp;<a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/59VcQTxHtDwCwiQC6">Cloth Shop 52</a> in the Cloth Market, so come prepared and know what you&rsquo;re looking for. We decided to bring along items we already owned as an example, which made the whole experience much easier. As an idea, we paid around &pound;35/$44 for a pair of trousers and &pound;30/$38 for a dress.

A couple of things worth noting are that prices absolutely are negotiable in the cloth market, and although you can pay by card, it&rsquo;s worth carrying cash to avoid the 2% fee. Your clothes will be ready within 24 hours, and if you&rsquo;re as lucky as us, they&rsquo;ll fit perfectly!
I could go on at length about Hội An itself, but I&rsquo;ll round off with this: when you&rsquo;re in need of some downtime and a refreshing beverage, one of the endless 2-4-1 happy hours may seem like a good idea. And they&rsquo;re not bad, but they can be busy and soulless. Instead, I&rsquo;d recommend hitting <a href="https://www.facebook.com/7BridgesHoiAn/">7 Bridges Hoi An Taproom</a> for a local beer and tasty bar food in their chilled beer garden.
We actually stayed outside the old town in a hotel near An Bang Beach. The area was much less developed, and some of the beach was still undergoing work following storm damage. However, there were still some lovely, quiet spots, plus pleasant caf&eacute;s and restaurants to spend some time relaxing in. The thing that really sold us on this was that our hotel offered a free shuttle into the old town several times a day, which seems to be pretty commonplace.
We also did a couple of trips from here &mdash; one a quick basket boat tour at the Coconut Village, and the other sunrise trip to My Son Sanctuary, followed by a visit to the Marble Mountains.
The&nbsp;<a href="https://izitour.com/en/blog/basket-boat-ride-hoi-an">basket boat tour</a> was fun, and definitely worth doing, but again, it was like a ride at Disneyland. You&rsquo;re in one of hundreds of boats floating along that stretch of river at any given time, all while the boat drivers (captains?) sing Gangnam Style at you and each other across the water.

We didn&rsquo;t really understand why they were singing Gangnam Style at the time, but afterwards, the tour operator explained that it&rsquo;s one of the songs they find best for keeping the rhythm when they <a href="https://youtu.be/TgvKgIxf_sg?si=LbmxsAxZIoP_-18n">spin the basket boats</a>. Thankfully, the spinning is optional, and you are allowed to simply enjoy the spectacle from afar!&nbsp;
My favourite tour by far, however, was the trip to <a href="https://www.banyantree.com/vietnam/lang-co/guide-to-visiting-my-son-sanctuary">My Son Sanctuary,</a> which is up in the hills a couple of hours west of Hội An. We went for the sunrise tour because we&rsquo;d read it would be beautiful, but as it turned out, there was no sunrise that day, only major downpours. But when you&rsquo;re in the jungle, surrounded by ancient temples, you kinda don&rsquo;t care!
The main perk of visiting at the crack of dawn was that we got there way before everyone else. By the time we were done, around 9 am, bus-loads of tour groups were flooding through the gates on their way up to the site. We had practically had the place to ourselves, giving us the chance to explore the different buildings and paths without interruption.
We followed this up with a trip to the <a href="https://whereangiewanders.com/marble-mountains-vietnam/">Marble Mountains</a> in Da Nang, which honestly, I&rsquo;d love to have done at sunrise, too! It was absolutely mobbed with folk, which is especially trying when you&rsquo;re attempting to manoeuvre up and down narrow, uneven staircases. Nonetheless, the views and caves were spectacular, and we were fortunate enough to witness a Buddhist ceremony in action.

Unfortunately, we didn&rsquo;t have enough time to venture any further north than that on this trip, however I can share a couple more recommendations from friends we met along the way.
The city of Hue lies a couple of hours north of Da Nang. Formerly the country&rsquo;s capital city, it was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty, and has an appropriately fancy, <a href="https://thenwewalked.com/visiting-imperial-city-hue/">massive citadel</a> to match. Our friends spent a half day exploring the grounds, but they said that history buffs should definitely set aside a whole day!
For some true peace and quiet up north, &Oslash;yvind, you might be thinking of heading up into the mountains? We heard a lot of chatter about <a href="https://www.seeksophie.com/magazine/a/sapa-things-to-do">Sapa</a>, and its jaw-dropping rice terraces and less polluted air! However, it is preeeeeetty touristy there these days as well, so you may want to consider <a href="https://www.adventuresofjellie.com/vietnam/cao-bang-complete-guide">Cao Bang</a> for its waterfalls, mountain views, caves, tombs and more.
Hopefully all my stories and tips have got you excited about your upcoming trips! And if you happen to bump into each other at the 7 Bridges, send me a pic. Happy travels!

Reader’s Corner

All&nbsp;the&nbsp;important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across&nbsp;the&nbsp;web this week.
<ul>
<li>The world&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.timeout.com/news/the-european-city-named-the-worlds-best-destination-for-women-solo-travellers-022825">safest cities for women solo travellers</a> have been named! And while the number one spot may not surprise you, there are a few others in the top ten you might not expect. </li>
<li>Whether you have a tendency to miss flights or your plans change, sometimes we just don&rsquo;t make those flights we booked. But did you know that you can <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/missed-or-cancelled-a-flight-claim-air-passenger-duty-refund/">get a refund</a> on those taxes in the UK and Europe? </li>
<li>Why <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/mount-etna-eruption-danger-tourism/">cooking a sausage on a lava rock</a> probably isn&rsquo;t as cool as it sounds. </li>
<li>And finally, if you&rsquo;ve been wondering how to spend your spare $1mil, look no further &mdash; <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fyre-festival-2-tickets-how-to-buy-billy-mcfarland/">tickets for Fyre Festival 2</a> are now on sale! And as a bonus, you&rsquo;ll probably end up featuring in another smash-hit Netflix documentary when it all goes up in flames&hellip; again.</li>
</ul>

Chaotic cities JFC-ers would rather avoid

<a href="https://www.fluentin3months.com/hello-in-vietnamese/">Xin Ch&agrave;o</a>, JFC-ers!
A week ago, I stepped off a plane in London Heathrow to be greeted by temperatures little above freezing. A stark contrast to the 30 &deg;C+ I&rsquo;d been experiencing in Ho Chi Minh City just 16 hours earlier, to say the least!&nbsp;
Between enjoying copious quantities of phở and soaking in lantern-lit streets, I was delighted to meet fellow JFC-ers who had been summoned by the call of Vietnam. Both by the pool and on the streets, we found ourselves surrounded by like-minded travellers, many spending a month or more traversing Southeast Asia.
In fact, my friend Rachel and I had the good fortune of arriving in both HCMC and Hội An just a couple of days behind JFC-ers Kate &amp; Bex, whom I first met in Bari&rsquo;s rather depressing ferry terminal during last year&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://lupine.co.uk/race/about.html">Lupine Race to Tirana</a>. Lucky for us, they&rsquo;d already sussed out great spots for beers with a view by the time we touched down (the first place we met in Ho Chi Minh was very literally called &lsquo;The View&rsquo;).
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/e7600ef86bbe632b9804dd601cace1aed9c9768b" width="459" height="344" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
There&rsquo;s nothing quite like getting travel tips and advice from other JFC-ers. All the recommendations I got from you to head up the coast to Da Nang and Hội An instead of Phu Quoc are a major part of what made my trip so memorable. The weather may not have smiled down upon us so much, but we were delighted just to spend hours getting lost in the historical old town.
And that leads me to the next ask. We&rsquo;re on the lookout for a new <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/join-us">Senior Full Stack Developer</a> with a deep understanding of Python to join the Jack&rsquo;s Flight Club team! We usually find that the best candidates are already JFC-ers, so if you or anyone you know fits the bill, apply via the link above.
Happy travels and safe landings,

(Re-)Learning How to Cross the Road

Detour Editor Katy is a budget travel aficionado who has already travelled to more than 50 countries. Whether she's at home or on a foreign adventure, she has a particular talent for stumbling upon tasty Georgian restaurants.

Written by Katy

Lesson number one during any trip to Vietnam is crossing the road.
It sounds mundane, but honestly, it&rsquo;s far from it. Who needs to go skydiving, bungee jumping, or canyoning when you can simply cross from one side of Ben Thanh Market square to another.
Doing even a little research on Ho Chi Minh City will quickly tell you that motor scooters/mopeds are a way of life here, not just a means of getting from A to B. They&rsquo;re truly vehicles for the whole family (and their dog). In a densely-packed city of around 9 million, that makes for some seriously chaotic roads. But at least there are pedestrian crossings&hellip;

Before I travelled, I watched a video on &ldquo;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DEwaavWP9dZ/?hl=en">How to Cross the Street in Vietnam Like a Pro</a>&rdquo; &mdash; the fact this exists was enough for me to take it seriously.&nbsp;
In the video, a local tour guide explains things like moving slowly and predictably, don&rsquo;t back-track or stop abruptly, don&rsquo;t run, etc. All fairly straightforward tips. But then there&rsquo;s the advice to raise your hand as you cross the road to make yourself more visible. In fact, she says that this is now law and raising your hand is essential when you step out in front of traffic.&nbsp;&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s also the buddy approach, where you smile awkwardly at a local and hope they&rsquo;ll shepherd you across, or the defensive line, where you hide yourself at the far side of a large group, essentially using them as human shields. I&rsquo;d be lying if I said I didn&rsquo;t employ that last tactic on more than one occasion.&nbsp;
With all this in mind, and having witnessed the sea of scooters weaving around our car from the airport, I felt apprehensive about taking those first steps out of our hotel on day one. Apprehensive, but about as prepared as I could be, I suppose. I&rsquo;d just step out, raise my hand and go.&nbsp;
The reality check came immediately, when we attempted to reach the coffee shop directly across the street from our hotel. We made our way to the crossing (no traffic lights, just lines painted on the ground), took a few deep breaths and waited for a gap in the traffic.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Okay, 3, 2, 1&hellip; go!&rdquo;

Rachel and I launched out onto the crossing, hands raised, attempting to keep our eyes open while vehicles came hurtling towards us. We were met with horns blaring, as a large car and 5 scooters rushed down our &ldquo;quiet&rdquo; side street. More than few expletives escaped from my mouth at that moment, but we persisted.&nbsp;
Once safely* on the other side of the road (I&rsquo;ll come back to this later), we debriefed. None of those drivers had any intention of stopping for us, despite the marked crossing. The horns &mdash; why?! We did what we were told. Then I remembered that video; while scooters will weave around you, cars can&rsquo;t, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean they&rsquo;ll stop. Basically, avoid cars at all costs.
We caught our breath and bravely pulled ourselves together before heading into the coffee shop where we&rsquo;d meet our future holiday romance: <a href="https://www.lordlucy.com/post/vietnamese-iced-coffee">Vietnamese iced coffee</a>.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s really no right or wrong place to drink coffee in Vietnam, it&rsquo;s all great. But ultimately this was the beginning of our love affair with <a href="https://www.highlandscoffee.com.vn/en/origin.html">Highlands Coffee</a> &mdash; a local chain more prolific than Starbucks in the West. You could say that a chain is the wrong place to sample the local produce, but the condensed milk to coffee ratio there was the soothing hug we needed to tackle more simple pedestrian activities.
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/d6cfdcda22183e5805dc39635469a8f85af36ea5" width="250" height="404" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
As we continued along our route towards Ben Thanh Market (approximately 5 minutes&rsquo; walk from our hotel), we tested our nerves on a couple more small crossings. We waited for the cars to pass, looked both ways a thousand times, and only stepped out when the gap in the traffic seemed great enough for us to make our presence known. We survived.
Then we turned onto the big street. The huge street. We were on one side, the market was on the other. More expletives.
But here we had two things on our side: other pedestrians and traffic lights. This felt like it could be a game changer, so we gathered in among the crowd of other tourists who were vibrating anxiously at the side of the road. The moment the man turned green, we stepped out en masse.&nbsp;
It turns out that the human shield/defensive line approach was the right one for our first Big Road. Like much of the rest of the world, you&rsquo;ll find that in Vietnam, traffic can still turn the corner into the lane you&rsquo;re crossing. When that&rsquo;s 30+ scooters weaving around and among you, it is intimidating to say the least, so we learned to stay close to the pack.
Another thing that quickly became apparent was the lack of raised hands &mdash; in fact, the only other people raising their hands were clearly tourists. Not once during our two-week trip did I spot a local doing it. Part of me suspects that may be by design. After all, it&rsquo;s we tourists who are the unpredictable pedestrians, the ones locals really need to look out for.

After a few days in Ho Chi Minh City, we were less intimidated by the roads. We developed rules that worked for us, like never rushing to catch the end of a green man &mdash; always wait for the next one, wait until you&rsquo;re both fully prepared to step out, and if in doubt, throw your arm in the air and hope it helps. And wherever there was the option, always use a crossing with lights.
Now for that caveat about being &ldquo;safely on the other side of the road.&rdquo; With so many vehicles comes a huge demand for parking. And where better than on the pavement? We frequently found ourselves scrambling between parked mopeds, but it was not unusual to have to walk out along the edge of the road to get by. Somehow, this was less scary than crossing.
During our trip, we&rsquo;d meet other foreigners at crossings and in central reservations, all taking deep breaths and looking around frantically, like rabbits in headlights. Like us, most would steady themselves and step forth. But the one tactic I never saw twice came from a woman who raised her arms and released high-pitched noises similar to a siren as she darted across with purpose. She made it across just fine.
All this to say, if you thought you knew how to cross the road, you&rsquo;ll never truly learn until you visit Vietnam (or, perhaps, India). Even in smaller, partially-pedestrianised tourist hubs like Hội An, throngs of pedestrians are at the mercy of the next scooter-rider rushing home for dinner.&nbsp;
But it&rsquo;s not an impossible challenge to overcome, and the beeping of horns quickly becomes a soundtrack to your trip. And in those moments where you&rsquo;re beginning to wonder whether the treasures that lie across the other side of the road are even worth it, just remember there&rsquo;s probably a Highlands Coffee waiting to give you a soothing hug just a few yards further along.

&ldquo;My parents, husband and I are planning to drive to Edinburgh from Yorkshire in May for a long weekend. Probably a Thursday to Sunday. Thinking where is best to stay and what to do? Is it advised to drive round Scotland or take public transport like tram.
An itinerary for 3/4 days would be great!&rdquo;

Answered by Katy 

Hi there, reader! I may be biased, but I think a trip to Scotland sounds like a great plan, and May is about the time when a little sunshine should make an appearance.
I previously wrote up a suggestion for a <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/the-best-cross-country-scotland-road-trip-according-to-a-local">week-long road trip around Scotland</a>, so have a look at that for some all-around Scottish destination inspiration. But with only 3 or 4 days on the ground in Edinburgh, you&rsquo;ll find yourself with plenty to do without even leaving the capital.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;d suggest honing in on what you want to see there first &mdash; maybe the castle, the <a href="https://edinburgh.org/blog/the-secrets-underneath-edinburghs-streets/">underground streets</a>, the views from <a href="https://ewh.org.uk/calton-hill/">Calton Hill</a> or <a href="https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/holyrood-park-and-arthurs-seat-p914341">Arthur&rsquo;s Seat</a>? If you&rsquo;re fans of Dan Brown&rsquo;s Da Vinci Code, you&rsquo;ll probably need to schedule in a visit to <a href="https://www.rosslynchapel.com/">Rosslyn Chapel</a>, too.

It&rsquo;ll be tough to work out a way to squeeze it all into a couple of days, but obviously I&rsquo;d suggest visiting Glasgow as well (I&rsquo;ll even show you around!). The two cities are less than an hour apart by train, which makes the trip incredibly easy. Alternatively, you can head to Stirling to see its&nbsp;<a href="https://great-castles.com/stirling.html">historical castle</a> and the <a href="https://www.nationalwallacemonument.com/explore/our-story/">Wallace Monument</a> &mdash; and maybe pop in for a dram at the <a href="https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/curly-coo-bar-p1177261">Curly Coo whisky bar</a>.&nbsp;
With so much to see in Edinburgh alone, you&rsquo;ll probably want to stay pretty centrally. But hotels can get pricey, so you may want to look closer to Haymarket station than Waverley. That&rsquo;ll keep you within reasonable walking distance of the main sights, while also in a convenient spot for catching buses and trams.
On that note, I would suggest leaving your car at home if you can. With LNER trains connecting Edinburgh to London via York and Doncaster, you should hopefully be able to find a convenient route north.
Plus, for only a few days in the city, you really won&rsquo;t need to drive. Buses, trams, and trains will be able to take you anywhere you need to go, usually with a simple tap of your card or a conveniently placed ticket machine.&nbsp;

Hopefully this has answered a few of your questions, reader! I look forward to hearing how your trip goes, and don&rsquo;t hesitate to get in touch if you decide to visit Glasgow :-)
 Do you have a question or idea you'd like to see in the Detour? Let us know below!

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.
<ul>
<li>It&rsquo;s been another scary week for aviation, as a Delta Air Lines plane found itself landing upside down on the runway in Toronto. Thankfully, all those onboard have survived, and now Delta is offering up <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/delta-plane-crash-toronto-30k/">$30,000 compensation</a>. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Passengers flying from New York to Dublin last weekend were treated to an <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/united-airlines-plane-diverted-canada-dublin-newfoundland-b2701340.html">impromptu weekend on the Canadian island of Newfoundland</a>. Luckily for anyone attending Mass on Sunday at the nearby cathedral, passenger Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, found himself with plenty of time to kill. </li>
<li>If all this leaves you feeling more than a little anxious about flying, take a look at <a href="https://www.afar.com/magazine/expert-tips-and-advice-for-overcoming-a-fear-of-flying">these expert suggestions</a> on managing your fears. </li>
<li>And finally, first came the fake pandas, then came fake tigers, and now there&rsquo;s fake snow. Unseasonably warm temperatures at China&rsquo;s Chengdu Snow Village meant that this year&rsquo;s Lunar New Year celebrations were less blanketed in snow and more <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/snow-village-in-china-apologises-for-using-fake-snow-during-unusually-warm-weather-13311766">blanketed in cotton wool</a>. Despite all apologies and offering refunds, it could take them a while to live down that flake news.</li>
</ul>

Vietnam - where learning to cross the road isn't childs play

G&rsquo;day, JFC-ers!
Flight Finder Larissa here, filling in for Katy this week as she ticks off temples and is tossed around in basket boats across Vietnam. She&rsquo;s having a fabulous time, even running into some fellow JFC-ers as she traverses the country. Stay tuned to hear all about her adventures when she returns!&nbsp;
In the meantime, I wanted to give you the low-down on what&rsquo;s been going on in Flight Finder land.&nbsp;
This week, we&rsquo;ve seen quite a few countries come up on our cheap flight radar, which doesn't happen all too often. One of the best parts of our job is showing you how to travel further than the usual spots (not that there&rsquo;s anything wrong with the Tenerifes and Cancuns of the world!). There is a special twinkle in our eye when we send flight tips to places like Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Greenland or Reunion.&nbsp;
We know destinations like those don&rsquo;t appeal to everyone, but if you are in that group, it&rsquo;s been an excellent week to be a JFC member. You&rsquo;re not alone &mdash; the yearning for adventure also propels us all forward. Over the past year and a bit, you&rsquo;ve probably heard a bit about what our team has been up to: <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/we-booked-the-cheapest-safari-in-tanzania-and-this-is-how-it-went">a budget safari</a>, <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/trans-european-race-updates">a race across Europe</a>, <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/detour-169-australia-to-kyrgyzstan-recommendations">a horse trek in Kyrgyzstan</a>, the list goes on.&nbsp;
Read on for Flight Finder Fran&rsquo;s Lazy Planner&rsquo;s Guide to Brazil &mdash; her itinerary is full of really cool suggestions outside of Rio and S&atilde;o Paulo, including her personal experience embarking on a DIY Amazon expedition, and how you could do the same. And even if you don&rsquo;t want to jump on a plane and head straight into the rainforest (that&rsquo;s a bit too much for me too, I admit), I hope you&rsquo;re inspired by her travels.
And if you&rsquo;re just as happy with Tenerife and Cancun, we see you! Beautiful beaches are always beautiful, after all.&nbsp;
Happy travels and safe landings,

Flight Finding Team Lead&nbsp;Larissa&nbsp;is an Aussie expat from Sydney who only sometimes misses the beach. Based in London, when she's not busy checking for brunch spots in her next trip, she's writing about flight deals for Jack's Flight Club.

Larissa

The Lazy Planner's Guide to Brazil

"I've got a month in Brazil &mdash; suggestions and itinerary welcome!"

<div class="MuiContainer-root MuiContainer-maxWidthLg MuiContainer-disableGutters css-1yku75f">
<div class="MuiContainer-root MuiContainer-maxWidthMd css-1c0cfyw">
<div class="MuiGrid-root MuiGrid-container css-xzj5n6" data-testid="post-author">
<div class="MuiGrid-root MuiGrid-item MuiGrid-grid-xs-12 css-79rp4q">
<div class="MuiBox-root css-17fh82k">
<div class="MuiBox-root css-6lzzp6">
Flight Finder Fran is an Italian globetrotter with a passion for remote destinations and snacking. Currently based in Brussels, she can gladly tell you where to find the yummiest fries around the city.&nbsp;
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

A month? That&rsquo;s a whole lot of possibilities!
You didn't say which part of the country you're planning to land in, but I&rsquo;ll assume it&rsquo;s S&atilde;o Paulo since that's often the cheapest entry point. One thing I&rsquo;ll say right off the bat is this: Unless you&rsquo;re into big-city vibes and modernist architecture, don&rsquo;t spend any precious time there.
S&atilde;o Paulo is a fun city, especially for the nightlife and food scene, but it&rsquo;s not worth visiting on a first trip to Brazil. What&rsquo;s great about it, though, is Guarulhos Airport, the perfect gateway to anywhere in Brazil!
Now, Rio de Janeiro is clearly a must-visit (and year-round) destination. You can easily reach it from S&atilde;o Paulo by bus or with a quick flight. Personally, I&rsquo;d recommend staying for at least four days to see the best sights. 
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/8fc183d32bb4f7f47be8eb22c697d3c650eb918b" width="360" height="450" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">

I lived in Rio for a couple of months and here are my favourite activities in the city:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Hiking! Rio has plenty of cool hikes, and you can even reach some tourist attractions by walking.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weirdosabroad.com/hiking-christ-redeemer-corcovado.html">The Cristo</a> and <a href="https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/hikes/brazil-hikes/hiking-morro-da-urca/">Sugarloaf</a> are some especially popular ones! My absolute favourite hike, though, is to Dois Irm&atilde;os&mdash;the<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@world_walkerz/video/7217457244126858501?q=ipanema&amp;t=1695290167127"> two majestic peaks</a> peeking behind Ipanema beach. It's a tricky one, but <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lewiistravels/video/7409077908460932385?q=dois%20irmaos&amp;t=1738230932698">these views</a> make it so worthwhile. All you gotta do is get an Uber to the entrance of the Vidigal favela (it's a chill one, don't worry!), and hop on a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@anninhapessanha/video/7277333806665764102?q=vidigal%20mototaxi&amp;t=1695290293719">moto-taxi</a> for 5 reais (less than &pound;0.8-&euro;1) to reach the trailhead (the entry fee should be around 10 reais, &pound;1.5-&euro;2). It'll take you around 40 minutes to make it to the top, if you don't stop too often to take pics! P.S. As tempting as it may be, I don't recommend hiking the hill to watch the sunset &mdash; the trail is not well-lit in the evening, and coming back down may be intimidating in the dark. The guys at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rio.worldconnection/">Rio World Connection</a> organise a lovely sunrise hike, though, if you feel like waking up at 4am! </li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/93a869d4bbc092ca91295e5d20c8da48a70a00de" width="360" height="480" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Make your way to Lapa and hop on the tram to Santa Teresa. After a stroll around the <a href="https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/the-visitors-guide-to-santa-teresa-rio-de-janeiros-little-lisbon/">bohemian neighbourhood,</a> head to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr1p_ORIutX/">Territ&oacute;rio Apraz&iacute;vel.</a> I know, it's a bit out of the way from the main touristy spots, but that &euro;5 Uber back home will be so worth it. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Next up, the Tijuca Forest (the world's largest urban rainforest). Hike your way to the <a href="https://youtu.be/vIkKv5SrTAk?si=JjOS9zz2sMMxeYW9&amp;t=422">Horto waterfall,</a> then grab some tasty lunch at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/osesquilos/?hl=en">Os Esquilos</a> and watch the sunset at the <a href="https://whynotbrasil.com/en/chinese-view-rio-de-janeiro/">Chinese View</a> &mdash; bonus points if you can see the fireflies! </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">During the weekend, check the timetable of the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ajuntalocal/?hl=en">Junta Local</a> &mdash; a nomadic market with the best DJ set in town, perfect for blending in with the locals and snacking on some delicious food. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Visit the Botanical Garden, see the Parque Lage (you don&rsquo;t need to book an entry ticket if you&rsquo;re planning to have some drinks/food at the caf&eacute;) and bike all around the Lagoa. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/saoconrados/?hl=en">ASA delta in S&atilde;o Conrado beach</a> &mdash; for around &euro;150, you get to see the world&rsquo;s prettiest city from above.</li>
</ul>

Pro Tip: You could even head to Paraty and <a href="https://carolinerosetravel.com/solo-travel-guide-to-ilha-grande/">Ilha Grande</a> directly from S&atilde;o Paulo and spend 3&ndash;4 days around there before arriving in Rio if you have some spare time!
<h3 dir="ltr">Travelling between May and September</h3>
Northeast: Deserts, Turquoise Lagoons and Kite Surfing
Tempted by the northeast corner of Brazil? I suggest you hop on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAhogEgoyMDI1LTA4LTE2KABqBwgBEgNHUlVyBwgBEgNTTFpAAUgBcAGCAQsI____________AZgBAg&amp;hl=en">flight to S&atilde;o Lu&iacute;s</a> and <a href="https://planetaexo.com/blog/how-to-get-to-lencois-maranhenses/">make your way towards the Len&ccedil;&oacute;is Maranhenses National Park</a> &mdash; an immense desert dotted with thousands of turquoise freshwater pools.
You can access the desert from Barreirinhas, Atins, or Santo Amaro. Whichever entry point you pick, you'll be able to arrange a tour to the natural lagoons with one of the many agencies in town. In 2021, I went with<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Caet%C3%A9s+Expedi%C3%A7%C3%B5es+Turismo+e+Aventura/@-5.0390591,45.1308291,2.98z/data=!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x7f21fd4ec25e1b7:0xbf8d1445f836fd69!2sLa+Terrazza+Pizzeria+%26+Italian+Pub!8m2!3d-2.7500422!4d-42.8264318!16s%2Fg%2F11cs2h639f!3m5!1s0x7f21fd4e513fc1b:0x786edf97eee7b840!8m2!3d-2.7497303!4d-42.8263751!16s%2Fg%2F1pp2tkhzm?entry=ttu"> Caet&eacute;s Expedi&ccedil;&otilde;es</a> (from Barreirinhas) and managed to bag a private 3-day quad tour (for 6 people) for less than &euro;200 pp. Just be prepared to sleep on colourful hammocks!

When you have had enough of floating in the crystal clear water, I suggest either:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Continuing your trip east until you reach <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@golden.lolotte/video/7173454368279137541?q=jericoacoara&amp;t=1704717325084">Jericoacoara</a> &mdash; a buzzing seaside village surrounded by desert. You can spend 2&ndash;3 days there, then travel to the city of Fortaleza to fly out. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Or heading back to S&atilde;o Lu&iacute;s and flying from there.</li>
</ul>
If you pick the first option, I recommend spending one day at most in Fortaleza, or avoiding it altogether and instead stopping in&nbsp;<a href="https://brazil-kitesurf.com/en/kite-spots/ceara-state/kitesurfing-cumbuco/">Cumbuco</a> or <a href="https://janelasabertas.com/2023/12/26/things-to-do-in-canoa-quebrada/">Canoa Quebrada</a> before heading to the airport.
West: Wetlands, Horse Riding and Capybaras
For a more niche destination, check out the Pantanal &mdash; It's the largest wetlands area in the world (bigger than the whole UK!) and has the largest concentration of crocodiles in the world, as well as jaguars, giant otters, and the most iconic South American animal: capybaras! And let&rsquo;s not forget the 650+ bird species that call these wetlands home, from toucans and herons to macaws and jabiru storks &mdash; the region&rsquo;s most famous bird.
Unlike the lush Amazon rainforest, the open landscapes of the Pantanal make it much easier to spot animals &mdash; expect plenty of morning horseback riding, sunsets on canoes, and lots of mosquitoes.
You can reach the region via a flight to either <a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAholEgoyMDI1LTA2LTE0KABqDAgDEggvbS8wNmdtcnIHCAESA0NHQkABSAFwAYIBCwj___________8BmAEC&amp;tfu=EgIIACIA&amp;gl=GB%3Flid%3Dhw97kruww8ls&amp;curr=EUR">Cuiab&aacute;</a> or <a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAholEgoyMDI1LTA2LTE0KAFqDAgDEggvbS8wNmdtcnIHCAESA0NHUkABSAFwAYIBCwj___________8BmAEC&amp;tfu=EgIIACIA&amp;gl=GB%3Flid%3Dhw97kruww8ls&amp;curr=EUR">Campo Grande</a> for less than &euro;80 one&ndash;way. I would recommend spending at least three days in the Pantanal to see as many animals as possible &mdash; <a href="https://planetaexo.com/blog/where-is-the-best-place-to-see-jaguars-in-pantanal/">big spotted cats included</a> :-)
FYI, the Pantanal isn&rsquo;t a place you can just show up to after booking a place to stay. You&rsquo;ll want to go with a tour company who can ensure you have all the right permits, accommodations, guides, and transport.
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/8eb783967ce3618484ab137461dd85e8bcd0d8d3" width="360" height="480" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Travelling between July and December</h3>
The Amazon Rainforest: Does this really need an introduction?
Over these months, you can plan a little Amazon expedition! <a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAhomEgoyMDI1LTEwLTE4KABqBwgBEgNHUlVyDQgDEgkvbS8wMmJrazNAAUgBcAGCAQsI____________AZgBAg&amp;hl=en">Fly into Manaus</a>, and you&rsquo;ll be able to find some affordable tours leaving from the city. You can do day-trips, but I&rsquo;d recommend spending at least two nights in the forest to really connect with nature and experience the transition from day to night.
If you don&rsquo;t mind committing&nbsp;at least ten days to a real Amazonian adventure, have a look at <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/navigating-the-amazon-in-three-weeks">how I navigated over 1000 km on the Amazon River</a>, sleeping on hammock boats and befriending parrots :-)

Southeast: Waterfalls, Cowboys and Endless BBQs
Look up Brazil&rsquo;s natural wonders, and you can bet the Igua&ccedil;u Falls will be on the list &mdash; for good reason! Both sides &mdash; Brazilian and Argentinian &mdash; are equally beautiful in their own way, so I recommend spending at least three days in Foz de Igua&ccedil;u to be able to check both of them out :-)
Although, if visiting the waterfalls isn't on the top of your bucket list, I suggest keeping southern Brazil for a future visit.
<h3 dir="ltr">A year-round destination &mdash; Bahia</h3>
Aaaaaaaaaah, Bahia! A heaven for surfers, chocolate lovers (I'm talking abut&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@fruitsncahoots/video/7208743204743695662?q=chocolate%20fruit&amp;t=1738254684618">the real stuff</a>!) and <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/repeat-vacation-bahia-brazil">slooooooooow lifers</a>.
One minute, you&rsquo;re pulling up to a black-sand beach; the next, you&rsquo;re staring out from a cliffside lookout. Keep going, and you might find yourself <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DE9zIQTRjBP/">surfing your first wave</a>. Before you know it, you&rsquo;ll be on a <a href="https://www.magnificentworld.com/boipeba-travel-guide/">car-free island</a>, dancing a samba under a full moon.
Had enough beach time? You can always go inland and check out the spectacular <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tinneclaes/video/7414877769160576288?q=chapada%20diamantina&amp;t=1738254602611">Chapada Diamantina National Park</a> &mdash; expect endless waterfalls and quiet hiking paths waiting to be explored.

To reach Bahia, you can either fly to <a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAhosEgoyMDI1LTA1LTAzKABqDQgDEgkvbS8wMjJwZm1yDQgDEgkvbS8wNHNodF9AAUgBcAGCAQsI____________AZgBAg&amp;hl=en">Ilheus</a> or <a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAholEgoyMDI1LTA1LTAyKABqDAgDEggvbS8wNmdtcnIHCAESA0JQU0ABSAFwAYIBCwj___________8BmAEC&amp;hl=en">Porto Seguro</a> &mdash; great for reaching most central/southern locations in the state, such as the Cocoa Coast &mdash; or to the state capital of <a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAho0EgoyMDI1LTA1LTAzKABqDQgDEgkvbS8wMjJwZm1qDAgDEggvbS8wNmdtcnIHCAESA1NTQUABSAFwAYIBCwj___________8BmAEC&amp;hl=en">Salvador</a> &mdash; ideal for accessing more northern destinations (including the Island of <a href="https://www.sydneyandavis.com/destination/ultimate-guide-to-boipeba-island-brazil">Boipeba</a>).
So there you have it, JFC&ndash;ers! A Flight Finder&ndash;approved bunch of breathtaking destinations all over Brazil. Wherever you end up deciding to go, don't forget to try dadinhos de tapioca and a&ccedil;a&iacute;.
<a href="https://en.pons.com/translate/portuguese-english/boa+viagem">Boa viagem!</a>

Travel Inspiration

"SIM card for Dubai. I&rsquo;m staying 10 days. I bought an Airalo one for Belize and couldn&rsquo;t get it to work, so I am hoping someone can recommend one."

Detour Editor Katy&nbsp;is a seasoned budget traveller living in Scotland with her husband and two cats. She has already been to over 50 countries, and when she&rsquo;s not writing up travel inspo for The Detour, she&rsquo;s usually researching her next trip.

Answered by Katy

Hey there, reader! This is a great question. Travel SIMs are all the rage these days, and eSIMS like the ones Airalo offer are incredibly handy &mdash; if you can get them to work!
To start with, it&rsquo;s important to know that not all phones support eSIMs yet. I, personally, am in the unlucky eSIM-less camp, and it&rsquo;s a total pain having to acquire a physical SIM whenever I travel. If I know I&rsquo;ll need data as soon as I land and might not have time to pick up a SIM at the airport, I usually order one from <a href="https://simcorner.com/">SimCorner</a> before I travel.
However, Dubai is actually an interesting exception here, since you can pick up a <a href="https://www.timeoutdubai.com/news/dubai-tourist-sim-card">free SIM card</a> when you arrive at the airport. These SIMs come with 1 GB of data to get you started, then you can pick which package you&rsquo;ll need for the rest of the trip.
The downside to all this is that picking up a physical SIM does involve waiting in line, you often have to register a bunch of details, and then you need to spend time messing around with phone parts. If you don&rsquo;t have a dual SIM, you&rsquo;ll even need to remember which &ldquo;safe place&rdquo; you put your usual SIM in. It&rsquo;s&nbsp;a lot.

If your phone does support an eSIM, I say go for that over a physical SIM any day! A quick survey of our Flight Finders showed that most of the gang have used Airalo on their travels without any hassle. Not that that helps you, dear reader!&nbsp;
Our JFC Tech Guru Richard tends to use a handy <a href="https://esimscompare.com/countries/united-arab-emirates/?pages=1">eSIM comparison site like this</a> to find the best deal and go from there. You&rsquo;ll see a load of unfamiliar names on the list, many of which are local network providers &mdash; I&rsquo;d suggest a quick Google to see which one offers the best coverage.
Once you&rsquo;ve picked your eSIM package, it&rsquo;s usually as easy as downloading a QR code and registering the SIM on your device. It should all be doable in a matter of minutes!
Hopefully that&rsquo;s given you a couple of ideas, reader! Happy travels in Dubai, and don&rsquo;t forget to sent us a postcard :-)&nbsp;
Do you have a question for our Flight Finders? Let us know below!

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week. 
<ul>
<li class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-xhcohm css-xhcohm">Looks like Ireland's most famous attraction, <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0207/1495264-cliffs-of-moher-trail/">the Cliffs of Moher</a>, are taking a gap year! Most of the trail is shutting down until 2026 thanks to some seriously sketchy spots. For now, you'll have to enjoy the views from a safe distance &mdash; or <a href="https://theinquisitiverobot.com/cliffs-of-moher-alternative/">find another cliff just as mighty as Moher</a>.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<ul>
<li>Air New Zealand is finally making the dream of sleeping horizontally in economy a reality&mdash;only took six years! Their <a href="https://www.afar.com/magazine/air-new-zealand-is-bringing-lie-flat-beds-to-economy">new Skynest bunk beds</a> are landing in early 2026, get ready to fight for the top bunk at 30,000 feet.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
<li class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-xhcohm css-xhcohm">Eurostar's direct London-Amsterdam route is back &mdash; well, for the next seven weeks anyway. Thereafter, it'll be briefly suspended again from March 29,&nbsp;<a href="https://metro.co.uk/2025/02/10/eurostar-resumes-direct-train-amsterdam-london-a-catch-22530807/">before making a permanent comeback</a> on April 22. Just in time for summer flings and stroopwafels. That's not all though, from March 31 Paris' <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2025/02/06/breathtaking-train-route-25-ticket-relaunching-two-major-european-cities-22510730/">incredibly picturesque</a> direct train to Milan will relaunch after being closed for 2 years. The best part? With one-way fares as low as &pound;25.33, these panoramic views come at a bargain!</li>
</ul>

<ul>
<li class="MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-xhcohm css-xhcohm">And lastly, Ed Sheeran Unplugged ft Bengaluru Police just dropped <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg8lnnge8po">live on the streets of India</a>. The cop must've been a Swiftie.</li>
</ul>

Lazy Planner's Guide to Brazil Bumper Special

How to find cheap flights using Google Flights 

As you might have noticed, many of the lowest fares we find are offered through an Online Travel Agency (OTA) aggregator such as Momondo or Skyscanner. 
If you've previously booked all of your flights directly with the airline, you might be wondering if it's both advisable and reliable to book your flight with smaller, lesser-known OTAs found on Skyscanner and Momondo. 
To address this, we've put together this set of FAQs to give you our take.
<h2>1. What are flight fare aggregators, and how do they work?</h2>
Momondo, Kayak and better-known websites like Skyscanner all function as flight fare aggregator engines. 
These tools collect and display the best fares for any particular flight route by comparing prices offered both by the airline and by the various Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) selling tickets for the same flight.
This is not dissimilar to what Google Flights does. The difference is that while Google Flights compares only fares offered directly from the airlines and other major booking sites (such as Expedia and eDreams), these aggregators compare fares from smaller booking sites as well.
These smaller sites are the ones that are more likely to sell flights at a discount to the price offered by the airline itself. They also sometimes include routes that Google Flights doesn't.
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/ce08872475107063e61d69c2daa88994b9092537" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<h2>2. Is it safe to book with these smaller Online Travel Agencies?</h2>
This question comes up a lot, and we remember how confused we were when these websites first began to pop up. Here's how we see it:
The biggest fear for some travelers is that an Online Travel Agency will take your payment and keep it, without ever issuing a ticket for your purchased flight. Based on our experience, this is an incredibly rare occurrence that only occurs as the result of an error. 
The OTAs listed on Skyscanner or Momondo are vetted for legitimacy to some degree before being listed on these aggregators, and do not do this on purpose. That's not to say that they are all ethical, pro-consumer companies, but they do not try to scam people in this way.
Online Travel Agencies are lawfully required to issue a ticket for the price at which you made the purchase in order to process your payment. Many OTAs in the United Kingdom are also<a href="https://www.caa.co.uk/atol-protection/"> ATOL protected</a>, which means you have an extra layer of consumer protection against any wrongdoing. EU countries have similar protection schemes.
If you want to be extra certain, simply google: "Booking site name + ATOL" to make sure they are ATOL Protected. You should see a verification similar to this:
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/b8b77033f2f4d52ee8c92be6689b7bfc67670c36">
Or you'll be able to find this in the company's Ts &amp; Cs:
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/1d881fd56d6cea92d65aa5fc9b3840f5001feaea">
In the US, though, there is no agency that booking agencies can register under like the ABTA (for rail, cruise and coach holidays) or ATOL to protect consumers in case a company goes insolvent. But check out our guide on what happens<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/what-happens-when-flights-from-the-united-states-are-canceled"> when flights to or from the United States are cancelled</a> if you are in search of some guidance on what else you can do to protect your booking.
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/3e95fc6bb418eac711142fec72c534da3aa27a77" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<h2>3. Are there other OTA tricks I should be looking out for?</h2>
Indeed, some of these sites are known to try and squeeze a few extra fees out of you in other ways. Here are the most common tricks to look out for:
<h4>Avoid booking over the phone </h4>
Most of these booking sites offer a phone number if you'd like to avoid booking online. When possible, I advise using the online portal instead. Phone agents, who often earn a commission, will sometimes see that you're trying to book a cheap fare and will try to find another way to increase the price you pay. Calling over the phone also opens you up to the next two items as well.
<h4>&lsquo;Fare no longer available&rsquo; trick </h4>
Every now and then, an Online Travel Agency will call you within a few minutes of your booking to tell you that the price you booked at is &ldquo;no longer available&rdquo; and you must accept a refund or agree to pay a higher fare. If that does occur, don't panic! Simply decline their new fare, accept the refund, and go on to book with another agency offering the next best fare.
<h4>&lsquo;Extra bag fees&rsquo; trick </h4>
Keep an eye on the bag rules throughout the booking process. While rare, we have heard of agencies claiming that you have to pay extra to add a checked bag, even on routes where bags were definitely included in the fare. Again, this generally only happens over the phone.
<h4>Extra service fees </h4>
Make sure you double-check all the passenger details you enter when booking tickets via an Online Travel Agency. Many of them will find ways to charge extra, often high, service fees for tiny changes.
<h2>4. Are there ways to save on airline baggage fees when booking with an Online Travel Agency?</h2>
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/4c176c96077bfeb5fc5b2f2e40416251bf4f88d7" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
In 2022, airlines will now charge you anywhere between 0 and 140 pounds or euros return, or as much as $180 RT from the US, to add a checked bag to your itinerary. The actual amount varies wildly by route &amp; airline.
Online Travel Agencies will often get incentives to sell bag-inclusive tickets and are able to sell you a checked bag at a cheaper fare than the airline. Some OTAs choose to do this, while others choose to keep the price the same or even mark it up in order to earn a higher margin on your ticket.
For this reason, it's important that you always compare the bag fee charged by the OTA you are booking with against the fee charged by the airline itself (or even other OTAs).
If an Online Travel Agency is offering the cheapest fare but is pricing up checked bags, you can always just buy the ticket from the OTA and add a checked bag directly with the airline after the ticket has been issued.
Note: It's also not uncommon for some OTAs to sell economy-standard ticket class fares, which include early seat selection, meals, checked bags, and other perks, for only slightly more than the airline itself sells economy-basic tickets, and the savings can be quite significant. We often see this with Virgin Atlantic, for example.
<h2>5. How are smaller Online Travel Agencies able to offer cheaper fares than the airlines themselves?</h2>
Firstly, many airlines - primarily major international carriers - offer incentives and discounts to third-party agencies to market their tickets. This allows OTAs to pass some of those savings on to you in order to secure your business.
That said, not all airlines will do this, and there are other ways Online Travel Agencies can generate revenue, some of which are less consumer-friendly:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Fees - Expect hefty service fees for making any future changes to your booking. That includes name changes, date changes, cancellations, etc.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Reselling reserved tickets - OTAs are able to reserve a number of seats months in advance. Many will often hold a certain number of seats on popular routes at a low price, knowing that they'll be able to sell them at a higher rate later in the year.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Poor customer support - They tend to outsource customer support to third party companies in order to save on costs.</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/4268bb876f66e76a4f0ab97669ad7346adb91e97" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<h2>6. What about all the bad reviews Online Travel Agencies have?</h2>
It's true that most OTAs, even well-known ones like Expedia, have plenty of negative reviews online. As a rule, customers will generally go further out of the way to report a negative experience than leave a positive review when everything goes as expected, resulting in a high rate of negative reviews.
While it can be a sign of poor customer service, it doesn't mean you won't get the ticket you purchased. As you've read above, some OTAs can be clever about trying to make as much as possible from each customer, but they won't (usually) take your money and run. You can find our reviews of the most popular OTAs <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/reviewing-the-most-popular-online-travel-agencies">here</a>.
<h2>7. When should I book directly with the airline vs. booking with an agency on Momondo?</h2>
This just depends on your situation. We reckon it&rsquo;s worth booking with an agency and saving the extra cash if your travel dates are set in stone, but here are some general guidelines for like-minded travelers:
<h3>Book with an Online Travel Agency if:</h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Savings exceed at least &pound;/&euro;20-&pound;/&euro;30 or $50-$60 for a long-haul fare.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You are 100% certain you will be taking the trip on these dates.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Book directly with airline if:</h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You're the type of traveler who is more likely to extend your trip later on or change travel dates.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The flight is with a budget or charter airline, such as Spirit, easyJet, Wizzair or TUI, none of which offer discounted fares to OTAs.</li>
</ul>
For more information on Momondo, Skyscanner and Online Travel Agencies, take a look at our <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/reviewing-the-most-popular-online-travel-agencies">reviews of the most popular OTAs</a>, or visit our<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/find-cheap-flights-to-anywhere/"> ultimate guide</a> to finding cheap flights to anywhere.
. . .
Still have questions? Feel free to drop us a message on
support@jacksflightclub.com and we'll be happy to help.
Please note, while we do have links to other websites in our articles, none are affiliate links and we do not benefit from you clicking on them, we just think they are a good resource :-)

Welcome to our Travel Hub!

JFC's guide to: New Orleans

Read these first...

How to find cheap flights using Google Flights

Is it safe to book with online travel agencies (OTAs) on Momondo & Skyscanner?

Christmas in Italy for First Timers

St Croix - a Journey Through the Island's Most Historic Distillery

11 Most Chaotic Cities Around the Globe

Visiting Vietnam with your Family

Arizona's Essential Out-of-This-World Road Trip Pitstop

JFC's guide to: New Orleans

Chaotic cities JFC-ers would rather avoid

Vietnam - where learning to cross the road isn't childs play

Lazy Planner's Guide to Brazil Bumper Special