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Happy New Year from Akureyi. We brought the new year in with the locals (who love their fireworks!) in this wonderful place! Love, Kate (Jacob and George)

Postcard from Kate (Jacob and George)

Happy New Year from Akureyi, Northern Iceland. I didn’t even know EasyJet flew here, let alone for £40. A perfect NYE for the family

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Postcard from AnimatedPassenger92417

Your email came at the perfect time. Ive been wanting to go on a trip with my mum for a while. She has trouble flying so knew it would have to be business/first class for any flight. So to see this email! I hopped skipped and jumped to the flights and booked it! We&#39;re going istanbul whoop whoop! We both love Turkish culture (my mums been, I havent) ,I would have definitely missed these flights if i didnt sign up to your emails.

Thanks, 😊
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I booked 2 flights from Manchester to Reykjavik for 4 nights at the end of February 2026. I&#39;d been keeping an eye on the flight costs for a month and then got a sale notification so I went ahead and booked. 

We&#39;ll be flying with Icelandair and this includes 2 x 23kg suitcases which, with all the thermal wear &amp; woolly jumpers, we couldn&#39;t manage without. 

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Season's greetings, Travellers!
First off, to all those celebrating this week and next, I wish you a very happy festive period! Be it munching on <a href="https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/hanukkah/#:~:text=pressure%20to%20convert.-,Morocco,-Jews%20in%20Morocco">Hanukkah&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/hanukkah/#:~:text=pressure%20to%20convert.-,Morocco,-Jews%20in%20Morocco">sfenj</a> in Morocco, celebrating Christmas with a slice of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/bibingka-filipino-rice-cake-5196489">Filipino Bibingka</a>, or hibernating with Netflix and a pizza, may your bellies be full, and your hearts be warm.
If you're anything like me, this last week has involved a lot of wrapping up (pun intended) before the end of the year. Turns out, it's no different for airline staff, as the big names have been dropping their January sales this week, ready to turn their out-of-office on until next year.
So, if you're keen to lock in a 2026 trip before the year is out, <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/flights">jump into the Members Lounge</a> and check out all the Flights we've been finding. And if you've already sorted your travel plans for the new year, <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/articles/detour-217-window-seat-bernina-express-festive-factoids#comments">tell us where you're heading in the comments</a>!
Happy travels and safe landings,

Katy - Editor of The Detour

The Bernina Express: A Window Seat to Remember

Navigator Akasha finds phenomenal Flights faster than you can decide where you want to take a trip to next. A pro at finding the best of the best fares, she's also a master at sharing must-visit spots for when you land.

By Akasha

No white-glove service or curated grandeur here. For everything the Glacier Express is, the Bernina is not. And that&rsquo;s exactly why I loved it.&nbsp; 
After basking in&nbsp;<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/articles/winter-through-a-window-glacier-express">the glitzy carriages of the Glacier Express</a>, my travel mates and I jump off in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N90gGX4XmY">Pontresina</a>. An idyllic alpine village that seems to share Swarovski snow with its high-end neighbor, St. Moritz.
We're only here for a brief stay, long enough to flop ourselves on the feathery pillows at <a href="https://www.booking.com/hotel/ch/schloss-wellness-family.en.html?aid=311076;label=schloss-wellness-family-siL34lTXiXePMOAsMWnZvgS626015091330:pl:ta:p1:p21,093,000:ac:ap:neg:fi:tikwd-39525692859:lp1007850:li:dec:dm:ppccp=UmFuZG9tSVYkc2RlIyh9YX-SVbABBf1_TwNC0YE2R9c;ws=&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=16290144&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAD_Ls1IHc1tG-hFCUouPWpGQ-mSEB&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAo4TKBhDRARIsAGW29belcNbwzE1f0hVJhkhtDPjhaLonN4OLgz1qGhNRNTQVM3qimnrrAu4aAoP9EALw_wcB">Schloss Hotel &amp; Spa</a> before catching <a href="https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ie/experiences/bernina-express/">the Bernina Express</a> across the Alps.
But first: bundling up for a quick hike and horse-drawn carriage into the pine-clad peaks of<a href="https://www.pontresina.ch/en/guide/mountains-and-valleys/the-val-roseg"> Val Roseg</a> &mdash; the kind that makes you forget the world and your onward ticket.

Whoever dreamed up winter clich&eacute;s clearly had the Roseg Valley in mind. From underneath heavy fur and wool blankets, we wave our mittens at passing horses and hikers.
The only sounds are the soft snort of the horse and the snow crunching under its hooves.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a snow-globe kind of serenity as we make our way to the gingerbread-perfect <a href="https://www.roseg-gletscher.ch/en/">Roseg Gletscher</a>, lured in by its legendary dessert buffet and views over the Roseg Glacier.
But snow globes always settle eventually, even metaphorical ones. With dessert plates empty, fingers numb, and daylight thinning, it's time to trade the trail for the tracks and hop on the Bernina Express.&nbsp;

The Bernina is the Glacier Express's wilder, less polished counterpart, forgoing the bells and whistles in favour of raw switchbacks and dramatic elevation changes.
It feels more like a local train that just happens to be a&nbsp;<a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1276/">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a>, passing through some of the Alps' most stunning scenery.
The train does offer first and second class cabins, but our pockets were a feeling a little light after breathing the Swiss air for almost a week.
We opted for second class; it had everything we needed, including phone chargers and openable windows. Surprisingly, we had the cabin mostly to ourselves.

Unlike the Glacier Express, it's less about being served an experience and more about moving through one.&nbsp;You're far outside the sightseeing bubble, sharing space with locals on grocery runs.&nbsp;
Now and then, I spot lone stone huts in the distance, snow-dusted and silent. I wonder who owns these quiet outposts in such a vast landscape that barely notices our humming train. I imagine the winters and wars they have weathered.
How many hands has their hearth warmed, and how many lovers have stolen a brief embrace on their doorsteps?
The views don't let up as we climb, looping past glaciers, lakes, and peaks. The highest point, 2,253 meters, is one of Europe's loftiest railway crossings.
When the line was built in the early 1900s, just like the Glacier Express, local workers braved avalanches and thin Alpine air to carve tracks into impossible slopes.

Cresting the Bernina Pass, the world outside our window shifts again. Snow melts into emerald green as glaciers give way to forests. Pines blur past, villages flash by &mdash; fast, alive, and totally unstoppable.
The pretty town of Poschiavo lives in between worlds. Sitting north of the Italian border, the language, food, and daily rhythm sway toward the&nbsp;&ldquo;dolce vita&rdquo; lifestyle.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, many locals left to work abroad, often as pastry chefs or traders in Spain and Portugal. Those who returned quietly transformed the village with their earnings, giving Poschiavo a&nbsp;<a href="https://spritzience.com/poschiavo-in-2-hours-the-ultimate-mini-guide/">surprisingly elegant feel</a>.
Nowadays, you'll find artisan boutiques and ancestral ateliers, like <a href="https://www.stone-artposchiavo.ch/en/">StoneArt Swiss</a>&nbsp;run by Angelo Boninchi. He works with local Val Poschiavo marble and regional stones like serpentinite and nephrite jade to create everything from countertops and sculptures to one-of-a-kind jewelry.
<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/articles/winter-through-a-window-the-bernina-express">Keep reading for essential Bernina tips...</a>

Travel Tales

Festive Facts from Around the World

The 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.

By Katy

As soon as December arrives, some of the Jack's Navigators kind of lose the plot. In particular, our Member Experience Lead, Jo, gets a little carried away with all the festivities, and this year, she decided to share Christmassy facts from around the world with the team.
In the spirit of the season of giving, I thought I'd gather all our fave nuggets of seasonal wisdom together in one place to share them with you. And where better to start than with the cute little&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inspirationswholesale.co.uk/blog/christmas/what-are-gonks-where-are-they-from/">gonks</a> that have been creeping into Christmas decor in recent years?
The eyeless infiltrators started life in Scandinavia as nisser, small spirits that live in a family&rsquo;s house or barn and secretly act as their guardian. All would go swimmingly if a nisse felt appreciated - they would protect the family and its animals from evil, and they might even do the farmyard chores.

You don&rsquo;t want to offend a nisse, though. One too many tea breaks or forgetting to leave out the obligatory <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-risengrod">bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve</a> is enough to get you in the bad books, and that&rsquo;s when the pranks start. Tying cows&rsquo; tails together and turning objects upside down sounds fairly silly and mostly harmless, but word has it they&rsquo;d also break things or even attack people.
These days, nisser are considered friendly Christmas spirits who might still pull a few pranks here and there (much more elf on the shelf). They became the bearers of gifts in Denmark in the 1840s, with Sweden and Norway following suit later in the 19th century. The <a href="https://backyardgoats.iamcountryside.com/ownership/julbock-swedens-legendary-yule-goat/">Yule Goat</a> had previously held the reins on Scandi Christmas, but now they occasionally show up to hand out gifts together.

The festive season in the Czech Republic is all about finding love for the new year and predicting marriage. If you're in the market and bored of Tinder, here are a few tips:
Shoe chucking:
Stand with your back to the door (any door will do) and chuck a shoe over your shoulder. If the toe lands pointed towards the door, then it is meant to signify that you will marry in the new year. If the toe points any other direction, better luck next time!
The elder tree shimmy:
Třesu třesu bez, pověz ty mi pes, kde můj mil&yacute; dnes! (Shake, shake, shake the elder tree, tell me, dog, where my love will be!) 
These are the words that single ladies may want to recite while standing under an Elder tree and giving it a good shake. Once you're done, stand quietly and listen out until you hear a dog barking. Whichever direction the sound comes from is the direction from which your future husband will appear.
Barborky&nbsp;a.k.a. cherry tree twigs:
On St. Barbara's Day, which lands on the 4th of December, cut a twig off a cherry tree and place it in a vessel of water. If the twig blooms before Christmas Eve, there's a good chance we'll be hearing wedding bells in the new year!

Ti&oacute; de Nadal (a.k.a. Caga Ti&oacute;, a.k.a. Poop Log) is a festive wooden log that appears in houses around Catalonia each Christmas. No Ti&oacute; is complete without little stick legs, a painted cheerful face, and a traditional Catalan&nbsp;barretina hat. Every family has their own unique log, some with a simple charcoal face while others are more intricately decorated.
Ti&oacute; de Nadal becomes part of the Christmas celebrations from the 8th of December (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) and stays till Christmas Eve, placed in his own special corner of the home. The kids in the house are responsible for keeping their festive friend covered with a blanket to stay warm, and for keeping him fed. Tangerines, cookies, nuts are ideal to 'prime' him for the big day.&nbsp;
<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/articles/festive-facts-from-around-the-world">Continue reading festive factoids...&nbsp;</a>

Festive Frolics

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across web this week.
<ul>
<li>Imagine spending all day in bed while sipping champagne, followed by a hot shower and a plushy robe. Now imagine doing it <a href="https://simpleflying.com/7-most-luxurious-long-haul-first-class-seats-book-today/">40,000 feet up in the air</a>. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">KLM is <a href="https://simpleflying.com/the-uks-regional-airline-klm-announces-flights-to-19th-airport/">expanding its "UK presence"</a>&hellip; but not where you might expect. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Soon you&rsquo;ll have to pay a <a href="https://secretroma.com/en/trevi-fountain-fee-en/">small admission fee</a> to see the iconic Trevi Fountain, which offers visitors a glimpse of Rome&rsquo;s incredible ancient history. But don't worry, it&rsquo;ll still be free to check out the Las Vegas replica, which offers a glimpse of the Guy Fieri restaurant across the street... similar enough, right? </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Scottish adventurer Alice Morrison has become the first recorded person to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/saudi-arabia-walking-british-yemen-tv-presenter-b2884877.html">walk the entire length of Saudi Arabia on foot</a>. The journey was so long, even her camel had to wear shoes.&nbsp; </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Romania has revealed plans for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/dracula-land-theme-park-bucharest-romania-b2881606.html">vampire-themed amusement park</a>, featuring a replicated Victorian London, Mardi Gras carnival, and &mdash; of course &mdash; Dracula&rsquo;s castle. </li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">And finally, a recent study chose this European city as the world&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.timeout.com/news/this-underrated-european-city-has-been-named-the-worlds-most-relaxing-place-to-live-in-2026-121725">most relaxing place to live</a>. Any guesses before you click?</li>
</ul>

Travel News

Take the Window Seat on the Bernina Express & Jack's Festive Facts

As soon as December arrives, some of the Jack's Navigators kind of lose the plot. In particular, our Member Experience Lead, Jo, gets a little carried away with all the festivities, and this year, she decided to share Christmassy facts from around the world with the team.
In the spirit of the season of giving, I thought I'd gather all our fave nuggets of seasonal wisdom together in one place to share them with you. And where better to start than with the cute little&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inspirationswholesale.co.uk/blog/christmas/what-are-gonks-where-are-they-from/">gonks</a> that have been creeping into Christmas decor in recent years?
The eyeless infiltrators started life in Scandinavia as nisser, small spirits that live in a family&rsquo;s house or barn and secretly act as their guardian. All would go swimmingly if a nisse felt appreciated - they would protect the family and its animals from evil, and they might even do the farmyard chores.
You don&rsquo;t want to offend a nisse, though. One too many tea breaks or forgetting to leave out the obligatory <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-risengrod">bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve</a> is enough to get you in the bad books, and that&rsquo;s when the pranks start. Tying cows&rsquo; tails together and turning objects upside down sounds fairly silly and mostly harmless, but word has it they&rsquo;d also break things or even attack people.
These days, nisser are considered friendly Christmas spirits who might still pull a few pranks here and there (much more elf on the shelf). They became the bearers of gifts in Denmark in the 1840s, with Sweden and Norway following suit later in the 19th century. The <a href="https://backyardgoats.iamcountryside.com/ownership/julbock-swedens-legendary-yule-goat/">Yule Goat</a> had previously held the reins on Scandi Christmas, but now they occasionally show up to hand out gifts together.

Iceland does things a little differently, of course, with not one but thirteen J&oacute;lasveinar, aka <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-thirteen-yule-lads-icelands-own-mischievous-santa-clauses-180948162/">Yule Lads</a>, and their rather unorthodox family. The Yule Lads come down from their mountain home one by one on the nights leading up to Christmas to give gifts.
Much like the nisser, their mean and violent tendencies have been softened over the centuries, so now they&rsquo;re just seen as mischief-makers. Their appearance has also changed with time - the story goes that their mother, Gr&yacute;la, is a troll, so they used to resemble weirdly proportioned elves, but have been increasingly depicted as human over time.
Icelandic children traditionally leave a shoe on their windowsill each night from 12th December until Christmas Eve in the hopes of getting a gift from the Yule Lads. Naughty kids needn&rsquo;t bother, however - unless they really want to get a potato (sometimes raw, sometimes rotten). And that&rsquo;ll certainly be your fate if you forget to leave out a <a href="https://whydyoueatthat.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/day-1-laufabraud/">laufabrau&eth;</a> &nbsp;for them, too.

<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en">CC image</a> courtesy of <a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pRuJpS">Joe Slabotnik on flickr</a>
So here are the 13 lads you&rsquo;ll want to be looking out for over the next week. Thanks to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nordicvisitor.com/blog/the-13-yule-lads-of-iceland/">nordicvisitor.com</a> for the clear explanation!
<ol type="1">
<li>Stekkjastaur (Sheep-Cote Clod) on 12th December &ndash; He sneaks into barns to steal milk from sheep.</li>
<li>Giljagaur (Gully Gawk) on 13th December &ndash; This Yule Lad has a taste for cow&rsquo;s milk and he&rsquo;ll take it straight from the barn.</li>
<li>St&uacute;fur (Stubby) on 14th December &ndash; The shortest of the lads, he swipes leftover food from frying pans.</li>
<li>&THORN;v&ouml;rusleikir (Spoon Licker) on 15th December &ndash; He licks spoons, of course.</li>
<li>Pottasleikir (Pot Licker) on 16th December &ndash; This guy will steal unwashed pots from the kitchen so he can lick them clean.</li>
<li>Askasleikir (Bowl Licker) on 17th December &ndash; He snatches bowls out from under beds and gobbles up any morsels of food.</li>
<li>Hur&eth;askellir (Door Slammer) on 18th December &ndash; He slams doors, and he&rsquo;ll do this all night if he finds any open.</li>
<li>Skyrg&aacute;mur (Skyr Gobbler) on 19th December &ndash; He&rsquo;s ravenous for skyr, Icelandic yoghurt, and will pinch any that's up for grabs.</li>
<li>Bj&uacute;gnakr&aelig;kir (Sausage Swiper) on 20th December &ndash; Hide your sausages or this guy will eat them.</li>
<li>Gluggag&aelig;gir (Window Peeper) on 21st December &ndash; He&rsquo;ll peep through windows in the hope he can steal something.</li>
<li>G&aacute;tta&thorn;efur (Door Sniffer) on 22nd December &ndash; You&rsquo;ll find this large-nosed lad sniffing doorways in pursuit of baked goods.</li>
<li>Ketr&oacute;kur (Meat Hook) on 23rd December &ndash; He&rsquo;s hungry for meat, so lock up your lamb chops!</li>
<li>Kertasn&iacute;kir (Candle Beggar) on 24th December &ndash; Finally, the last of the Yule Lads is known for making off with candles.</li>
</ol>
We&rsquo;re sure we&rsquo;ve already spotted a few of these guys out at work Christmas parties&hellip; looking at you, Spoon Licker!
But that&rsquo;s not all - their evil troll mother is like the Icelandic Child Catcher, said to venture around Iceland looking for naughty children to whisk away in her sack. The only thing all the legends agree on is that she and her husband Leppal&uacute;&eth;i were cannibals, otherwise it&rsquo;s up to us to decide <a href="https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/gryla-and-leppaludi-the-parents-of-the-icelandic-yule-lads">how many tails</a> and how many children they each had.
But one thing we know for sure is that together they own the giant <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/each-christmas-icelands-yule-cat-takes-fashion-policing-extreme-180961420/"> J&oacute;lak&ouml;tturinn</a>, or Christmas Cat. She stalks the darkness on Christmas Eve, preying on anyone who didn&rsquo;t get new clothes as a gift this year&hellip;

<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en">CC image</a> courtesy of <a href="https://flic.kr/p/2knktqz">Vicious Bits on flickr</a>
The only thing better than Halloween is Christmas! The only thing better than that is an amalgamation of the two (Nightmare Before Christmas). A perfect mixture of weird and dark with sparkly joy. If this sounds like your kinda holiday, well then I have some good news for you: there's a Christmas tradition in&nbsp;Wales that's made to order!
The tradition of Mari Lwyd dates back to the end of the 18th century, but it&rsquo;s believed to have much older Pagan origins.&nbsp;A horse skull is mounted on a stick, decorated with ornaments and ribbons, and adorned with a large cloth to hide the person beneath. You'll find the former horse galloping door to door around Christmas, carried by a group of merry carollers, who also challenge the people inside with rhymes and riddles.
This ritual is known as&nbsp;pwnco, where the Mari Lwyd troupe tries to win entry to a household by outwitting its occupants in a battle of rhymes. You could call it some kind of ancient rap battle. If they succeed, the carollers are welcomed inside and treated to food and refreshments before moving on to the next house.
Mari Lwyd is considered good luck for every household it enters, so it&rsquo;s rarely defeated in a rhyme contest. Win or lose, most are happy to welcome them in!

The festive season in the Czech Republic is all about finding love for the new year and predicting marriage. If you're in the market and bored of Tinder, here are a few tips:
Shoe chucking:
Stand with your back to the door (any door will do) and chuck a shoe over your shoulder. If the toe lands pointed towards the door, then it is meant to signify that you will marry in the new year. If the toe points any other direction, better luck next time!
The elder tree shimmy:
Třesu třesu bez, pověz ty mi pes, kde můj mil&yacute; dnes! (Shake, shake, shake the elder tree, tell me, dog, where my love will be!) 
These are the words that single ladies may want to recite while standing under an Elder tree and giving it a good shake. Once you're done, stand quietly and listen out until you hear a dog barking. Whichever direction the sound comes from is the direction from which your future husband will appear.
Barborky a.k.a. cherry tree twigs:
On St. Barbara's Day, which lands on the 4th of December, cut a twig off a cherry tree and place it in a vessel of water. If the twig blooms before Christmas Eve, there's a good chance we'll be hearing wedding bells in the new year!
Water faces:
Head down to your closest body of water, like a pond, river, lake, or even a big puddle. Bend over the water and think seriously about marriage. After some time, you'll see the face of your future husband in the reflection of the water. We're unclear exactly how long 'some time' is, but that's the thing about superstitions &mdash; they're rarely very precise.

Ti&oacute; de Nadal (a.k.a. Caga Ti&oacute;, a.k.a. Poop Log) is a festive wooden log that appears in houses around Catalonia each Christmas. No Ti&oacute; is complete without little stick legs, a painted cheerful face, and a traditional Catalan&nbsp;barretina hat. Every family has their own unique log, some with a simple charcoal face while others are more intricately decorated.
Ti&oacute; de Nadal becomes part of the Christmas celebrations from the 8th of December (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) and stays till Christmas Eve, placed in his own special corner of the home. The kids in the house are responsible for keeping their festive friend covered with a blanket to stay warm, and for keeping him fed. Tangerines, cookies, nuts are ideal to 'prime' him for the big day. 
Every evening, the children gather around&nbsp;Ti&oacute; and sing him traditional songs while hitting him with a stick. It's all part of the process, honest! The better&nbsp;Ti&oacute; is treated by the children during his stay, the better their rewards come Christmas.
On either the night of the 24th or the morning of the 25th, Caga Ti&oacute; is taken from his corner and completely covered with his blanket, before being placed in the middle of the room. The kids then gently beat him with a stick one final time and lift the blanket to see what Ti&oacute; has "pooped" out for everyone. The little treasures usually range from sweets and small trinkets to toys and large presents.
Equal parts whimsy and delight, the&nbsp;Caga Ti&oacute; isn&rsquo;t just about making a cheery log &ldquo;poop&rdquo; gifts. It is designed to help children learn values like patience and generosity, while also enjoying the magic of Christmas.&nbsp;

We&rsquo;ll round off by heading back to Czechia for more seasonal superstitions. Christmas dinner is eaten on 24th December, and comes with an incredible plethora of food related customs and superstitions that need to be followed. It's quite the list and, if it were me, I would absolutely need to take notes and create a checklist. So, let's get stuck in:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">By chucking a piece of V&aacute;nočka (Christmas bread) into a well, your water will be good quality in the new year </li>
<li dir="ltr">To make sure your bees produce enough honey, you should also sprinkle a few V&aacute;nočka crumbs in front of the bee hive </li>
<li dir="ltr">Want your cows to be the best milk producers on the meadow? Feed precious Daisy a piece of bread on Christmas Eve! </li>
<li dir="ltr">Tired of evil lurking around every corner? Place honey on your Christmas table to protect your guests against bad luck and evil in the new year! </li>
<li dir="ltr">And if you don't place garlic&nbsp;under the table, are you even celebrating Christmas? These little cloves are believed to bring strength, and provide protection to everyone around the table. <img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/b64164ab45bafe9f989ed728b20e289b2ab6abd6" width="245" height="367" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"> </li>
<li dir="ltr">Sweeter milk from your family goat? Give them a sweet treat on Christmas Eve! By sharing your apples with Sally, you'll be blessed with sweeter milk. </li>
<li dir="ltr">Traditionally, a meal called Kuba, made from onions, mushrooms, garlic, and barley, was served at Christmas dinner as part of the main course. Nowadays, it's often replaced by mushroom soup for supper. The mushroom portion of the meal is the important part, though, essential for providing strength and health in the new year! </li>
<li dir="ltr">On the 24th of Dec, dip a sheaf of grain into holy water (ideally not obtained by nefarious means) and sprinkle the water all over your house, both inside and out, to ensure that your home is safe from being burnt down over the next year! </li>
<li dir="ltr">Want enough eggs to feed an army? Heck yes, omelettes and the aforementioned sweetened goat milk cheese sounds delish. Well, in that case, you need to feed a variety of poppy seed, peas, wheat, and barley to your chooks on Christmas Eve to guarantee eggs for everyone!</li>
</ul>

What are your top festive facts from around the world? Drop 'em in the comments, or else Santa will bring you a lump of coal!

Jack's Festive Facts from Around the World

Ireland

Howdy Travellers,
With Katy&rsquo;s last known location being Kosovo, she&rsquo;s a little tied up, racing the clock to reach Moldova on yet another Lupine Race.&nbsp;
So I&rsquo;ve been handed the mic this week &mdash; and I&rsquo;ve gone down a bit of a late-night rabbit hole.&nbsp;
Ever heard of&nbsp;Third Culture Kids? I hadn&rsquo;t until recently, but clearly Instagram&rsquo;s algorithm knows me better than I know myself.&nbsp;
Basically, Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are people who spend their formative years in places that are different from their parents' homeland. Children of immigrants, diplomats, missionaries, and military, they absorb bits and pieces of multiple places. And the &ldquo;third&rdquo; culture is a mishmash of both cultures.&nbsp;
It doesn&rsquo;t just stop at geography, though. They can be cultural chameleons with a knack for fitting in anywhere. Many are multilingual and can easily connect with people from all walks of life. But that comes with a flip side: a feeling of being too foreign for home and too foreign for here, and a restlessness that never quite lets you settle completely.&nbsp;
Personally, I came from Canada and grew up in Ireland. On paper, it might seem like a small cultural jump, but for me, it always made answering the question &ldquo;Where are you from?&rdquo; complicated. I&rsquo;d start with Canada, then add Ireland, realizing neither explanation really encapsulated the way I experienced the world.
I&rsquo;ve always felt out of step with the social rhythm and mindset of both places. A bit like standing in a doorway between two rooms. I can see and interact with both, but I never fully inhabit either. So discovering the term TCK was validating, and suddenly it made sense why I moved so much in my adulthood, hopping between countries, jobs, and cities.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve just discovered the book called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Third-Culture-Kids-Experience-Growing/dp/1857885252">Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds</a> by David C. Pollock and this <a href="https://tally.so/r/3jE4Z4">global online community called &ldquo;Home,&rdquo;</a> and I&rsquo;m so excited to dive deeper into the research and community.&nbsp;
So I&rsquo;m curious, how many of you are Third Culture Kids? Did you grow up living between cultures? How has it shaped your life and identity, your travels? Or maybe you&rsquo;re raising a TCK yourself&mdash;I'd love to hear your perspective in the comments.&nbsp;
From one doorway to the next,

Akasha - Guest Editor

It&rsquo;s not you, it&rsquo;s me: Breaking up with my nomadic lifestyle after years on the road

A San Diego native, Olivia left home a few years ago to live on the road. Since then, she's had homebases everywhere from Quebec to England to New Orleans, but she always ends up back on the West Coast.&nbsp;

By Olivia

It wasn&rsquo;t a decision, so much as a realization: I don&rsquo;t want to do this anymore.&nbsp;
I don&rsquo;t want to be constantly making new friends that I will never see again. I don&rsquo;t want to be shoving everything I own into a suitcase every couple of months. And if I have to harass my cell phone carrier about my international data one more time, I just might scream.
&hellip;Okay, let me go back to the beginning.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s hard to overstate how badly I wanted to travel as a kid. We&rsquo;re talking &ldquo;10-year-old who wanted a globe for Christmas&rdquo; levels of desire here. But it simply wasn&rsquo;t something my family did &mdash; I was well into my twenties before I even left the United States, and I&rsquo;d only left California a handful of times prior to that. Even the East Coast seemed strange and exotic. Europe might as well have been another dimension.

I was a very bored, very rambunctious little girl. I didn&rsquo;t just want to see the world, I wanted freedom. In high school, I once told a counselor that my post-grad plan was to buy a school bus, paint it psychedelic colors, and drive around the country. I was dead serious about this, and I was incensed when they laughed me out the door.
So ten years later, when I found myself with a stable remote job and nothing keeping me pinned down? It seemed foolish to waste the opportunity. I wasn&rsquo;t going to just take a measly trip or two, I was going 24/7, non-stop, wherever I wanted to go.
I took the plunge. I got to see places that I didn&rsquo;t think I would ever get to see. I even made it to that strange, alternate dimension called &ldquo;Europe.&rdquo; I could fill entire books with all the things that have happened to me in my years of living nomadically, and maybe one day I will.&nbsp;

That&rsquo;s not what I want to talk about today. You&rsquo;ve heard plenty of exciting tales from around the world (including some of mine, if you&rsquo;re a regular Jack&rsquo;s reader!) but today&rsquo;s story starts with the uglier side of traveling, the one that you discover very quickly when you&rsquo;re moving non-stop: burnout.&nbsp;
That sickening feeling when you look at your itinerary, at all the plans you excitedly made months ago, and you think &ldquo;Do I even&nbsp;want to do this?&rdquo;
When people talk about &ldquo;burnout,&rdquo; they&rsquo;re mostly referring to work stress, but it can happen with anything. Even the dream lifestyle you&rsquo;ve wanted since you were a kid. It can also make you feel a little like a Debbie Downer &mdash; sometimes it seems like everyone in the entire world is desperate to travel, and you&rsquo;re the odd one out if you don&rsquo;t think it sounds exciting.&nbsp;

And I understand that perspective! I remember when I was first getting started, and I saw a piece of advice on the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/">r/digitalnomad</a> subreddit: &ldquo;You probably don&rsquo;t actually want to be a digital nomad.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Well that&rsquo;s stupid,&rdquo; I thought. &ldquo;Why wouldn&rsquo;t I? Why wouldn&rsquo;t everyone want to do this?&rdquo;
But&hellip; I get it now. Most people don&rsquo;t actually want to live like this. They want the freedom and the excitement that comes with living nomadically, but they don&rsquo;t realize how much of your life has to be dismembered in order to make it happen.
It&rsquo;s not just one big sacrifice that you make at the beginning, either. Sure, constant solo travel means you&rsquo;re giving up any chance at a stable in-person social life. You have to give up all the hobbies that can&rsquo;t fit into your luggage. You have to give up your home. That&rsquo;s the deal you make when you first take off.
However, I never thought about all the other sacrifices that just keep coming. Smaller, less significant sacrifices, but sacrifices nonetheless. You can&rsquo;t buy souvenirs from any of these cool destinations unless you want to lug them around for god-knows how long. You can&rsquo;t go to that concert tour because the dates don&rsquo;t line up with your itinerary. You find yourself buying&nbsp;another frying pan, because for some reason this kitchen doesn&rsquo;t have one and you had to jettison the last three frying pans you bought because you needed the luggage space and ugh.

When I first started living nomadically, none of these sacrifices &mdash; not even the major ones &mdash; seemed like a big deal. The allure of travel was so strong that it overshadowed any of the downsides, and it stayed that way for years. How could I be so stupid as to stop traveling, even to take a break? Didn&rsquo;t I remember how badly I always wanted this? How lucky I am to be in this position? How many people would kill for this lifestyle? How could I ever just&hellip; give it up?
To paraphrase the poet Frank Bidart, sometimes you can drink til you&rsquo;re sick but you can&rsquo;t drink til you&rsquo;re satisfied. Seasoned travelers know you cannot ever truly satiate the travel bug. You just have to make the conscious, difficult decision to actively ignore the sucker before it makes you sick. Because the travel bug might inspire you to get off the couch, but it doesn&rsquo;t always have your best interests in mind. If you let it call the shots for too long, if you start thinking life is something that exclusively happens anywhere but home, you start to miss out.
Recently, I was watching a YouTube video by the famous drag queen Trixie Mattel. She was talking about how she was grateful for her successful career and all the unique experiences it provided, but then she goes&hellip;
&ldquo;Sometimes I'm like, "Wow, I am living life in 4K fast forward, super speed&hellip; a whole life in a month, you know, and then sometimes I check in with friends from college and everybody has children&hellip; have I really lived life or has this prevented me from living my life? I don't know."

It was like a light bulb went off in my head. My twenties haven&rsquo;t exactly been average, to say the least, and I&rsquo;m grateful for that. I never wanted an average life. But the flipside is that you end up looking at your peers, the people you went to school with, and realizing there&rsquo;s miles and miles of distance between you, both literally and figuratively. You&rsquo;re burned out and lonely and no longer as easily impressed by your fast-paced lifestyle. And suddenly, that average life with the average apartment and the average social life and the average hobbies looks mighty aspirational.&nbsp;
Which brings us back to the beginning: I don&rsquo;t want to do this anymore.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve had that feeling plenty of times in the last few years, and I always told myself it just meant I needed to rest, maybe take a week off. The travel bug was persistent.&nbsp;
Besides the urge to take advantage while I still could, the thought of quitting entirely just plain made me nervous. I had set out to expand my comfort zone, and instead I created a new one, one where I felt safer while I was on the move. My single-minded pursuit of freedom had become its own kind of cage, and everything outside that cage seemed threatening. What if I have to commit to a long-term lease? What if I embarrass myself in front of a neighbor, and now I can&rsquo;t find solace in the fact that I&rsquo;ll never see them again?&nbsp;What if I get bored again like I did as a kid?
These fears have always kept me moving. But this time, the deep desire for some damn peace and quiet feels&hellip; different. Just like how the downsides to solo nomadding seemed minimal two years ago, now the downsides to being stationary seem like nothing. I handled living in a glorified shed for months in New Orleans, I handled losing my luggage in England with no cell service, and I handled five days in Alaska living off tortilla wraps. Sure, I can handle a long-term lease. Bring it on.
This summer, I drove from Utah to Canada by myself. These thoughts had already been floating around in my head, but while exploring Grand Teton National Park, I ended up talking to another woman on my hiking trail. We chatted for hours while we hiked up to a waterfall, and I told her all about my nomadic life on the road. Then I told her I was thinking of ending it. I hadn&rsquo;t said it out loud til that moment, but as soon as I started explaining the decision to her, it settled in my gut. Yep, I was done. As soon as I got to my next rental, I started shopping for long-term apartments.

It was a bit like breaking up with someone. You always know deep down that it&rsquo;s over well before you admit it to yourself.
So I guess this is my break-up letter to my nomadic lifestyle. We had some good times together. You taught me a lot about myself. I&rsquo;m smarter and stronger for having known you, and I don&rsquo;t regret a single second. I&rsquo;m lucky to have spent so much time with you and it hurts to say goodbye. Maybe one day, we can settle into casual friendship, and I will find excitement in the occasional airport chaos and overstuffed suitcase once again.
But right now, I have some gorgeous O&rsquo;Keeffe prints from Santa Fe that I&rsquo;ve been lugging around for god-knows how long, and all I want is a place where I can hang them up on the wall.

You Only Turn 40 Once

Based in California, Navigator Jake loves nothing more than traveling, saving money, and doing both things at once!

Answered by Jake

This week&rsquo;s Reader&rsquo;s Corner comes with an extra-special mission, travelers. A man&rsquo;s birthday is at stake here! Let&rsquo;s dive right into Ritchie&rsquo;s question:

&ldquo;Hey JFCers,
I can't believe it, but I'll be turning 40 next June. An avid traveller, there are still plenty of things I've not yet ticked off my list and my 40th is surely a good excuse to go big.
I've narrowed it down to two choices and I need to choose one:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">BC, Yukon, Alaska road trip.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Icelandic Highlands.</li>
</ul>
It doesn't have to be in June, and I appreciate that there are limitations at that time of year for Iceland - F roads aren't open, some campsites are closed. And with the Western Canada and Alaska option, if time allowed, I'd even consider a few days in Calgary for the Stampede if we were around in July.
I lived in Canada back in 2014 and travelled through every province, but I never made it into the territories. My wife and I love a road trip, and she's never been to Canada. The Yukon and Alaska have always fascinated me. I'd consider a mix of campervan/RV and motels along the way.
Iceland is our favourite destination to travel together to and we have been many times, in all seasons. However, the option to do the Highlands has never been possible due to budget or season.
We are typically budget travellers and aren't bothered about the finer things in life - we'd rather see cool stuff. I love photography and we appreciate a nice landscape. We'd have a fortnight available.
Help me choose!
Thanks,
Ritchie&rdquo;

Happy birthday, Ritchie&mdash;and congrats on the big 4-0! It just keeps getting better from here.
Iceland and Western Canada/Alaska are both pretty terrific places to visit, especially if you&rsquo;re looking for stunning scenery.&nbsp;
Knowing we have the most travel-savvy subscriber base out there, we asked the JFC Facebook community to chime in:

The people have spoken, and their choice is clear: the Yukon &amp; Alaska road trip takes it!
Personally, I think you guys nailed it. I <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/articles/the-solo-road-trip-survival-guide?utm_source=JFC-Posts&amp;utm_medium=share&amp;utm_campaign=%5BJFC%5D-post-sharing&amp;utm_content=post">love a road trip</a>, and while Iceland is beautiful at any time of year, the scenery in Western Canada and Alaska just blows me away like nowhere else.
I&rsquo;ll also give a big thumbs-up to the potential stop in Calgary! I&rsquo;ve never been to the Stampede (Navigator Kristi is our&nbsp;<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/articles/detour-197-foodie-fever-dreams-magical-mexico#travel-tales">expert on that one</a>), but Jack&rsquo;s North American team met up for a little get-together in Kananaskis and had a blast hiking up the mountains. Just look at those smiling (and exhausted) faces!

You&rsquo;re not the only one dreaming of Alaska, either&mdash;I&rsquo;m taking a solo trip there myself in February. I&rsquo;ll be holed up in Fairbanks, hunting the northern lights and freezing my buns off, but you&rsquo;ll probably want to start down south by Anchorage instead. Coming from Western Canada, you can pass through <a href="https://www.roadtriplocals.com/blog/things-to-do-in-glacier-bay-national-park">Glacier Bay National Park</a> (and <a href="https://victoriastravelsandtribulations.com/2022/08/28/two-perfect-days-in-wrangell-st-elias-national-park-except-for-speedy-the-glacier-guide/">Wrangell-St. Elias</a> if you&rsquo;re feeling bold) on your way up the Panhandle. Take a quick detour south from Anchorage to <a href="https://danielleoutdoors.com/kenai-fjords-national-park/">Kenai Fjords</a>, and then you&rsquo;ll be ready to head north and hit the crown jewel: <a href="https://www.youralaskanadventures.com/blog/how-to-visit-denali-national-park-as-a-first-time-visitor-a-locals-guide">Denali</a>. You won&rsquo;t find better spots for photography anywhere!
What do you think, travelers? If you&rsquo;ve got more road trip tips for Ritchie&rsquo;s birthday bash, or you&rsquo;re an Iceland purist pushing back on the Facebook vote, just head to the comments or hit reply!

Reader's Corner

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across web this week.
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">It&rsquo;s autumn for us folks above the equator, but one of the driest places on Earth is experiencing a very unusual (and colorful) springtime. Last week, a rare torrential downpour turned the Atacama Desert <a href="https://apnews.com/article/desert-chile-atacama-bloom-gabriel-boric-84e53ea84702abfb2f6c93c4970ebad5">into a wildflower rainbow</a>.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Millions of travelers rely on navigation apps, but how do brands like Google Maps or Waze decide what to show them? Here&rsquo;s a <a href="https://www.afar.com/magazine/how-digital-maps-decide-what-names-appear">peek behind the cartographers&rsquo; curtain</a>.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">A little Belgian train news: SNCB introduced some serious discounts for riders this week, but the policies are&hellip; <a href="https://www.brusselstimes.com/1780013/sncb-to-make-train-travel-cheaper-for-up-to-80-of-passengers-tbtb">a bit confusing</a>.</li>
<li dir="ltr" role="presentation">&ldquo;Harvesting grapes on a vineyard in Southern France&rdquo; might sound like a cottagecore fantasy, but don&rsquo;t be fooled &mdash; it&rsquo;s back-breaking work. Nevertheless, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/oct/08/volunteer-grape-harvesting-vineyard-rhone-region-france-wine">volunteers return to this farm year after year</a> for the camaraderie (and probably the wine!)</li>
<li>Lastly, this Nordic archipelago may not recognize the concept of time, but that <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2025/10/08/arctic-maldives-a-european-island-spectacular-northern-lights-2026-24299571/">won&rsquo;t stop winter&rsquo;s light show</a> from arriving right on cue.</li>
</ul>

Breaking Up with the Nomadic Lifestyle 

Portugal

Japan

Peru

United Kingdom

Estonia

Latvia

Greece

Austria

Thailand

<h3>Slowing Down the Speed of Our Wanderlust. This is how tourist fines ask us to pause.</h3>

You&rsquo;ve heard the protests, seen the headlines, &ldquo;The new tourist fines sweeping Europe&rdquo;.&nbsp;
But depending on who you ask, the new rollout of tourism rules and regulations can feel like a total killjoy or long-overdue protection against an industry that&rsquo;s been eating itself alive.&nbsp;
Reading the list below, it&rsquo;s easy to roll our eyes when we&rsquo;re the ones passing through. But how would you feel if the beach you grew up hearing the waves at night now echoes with drunk tourists music and drones overhead? That street you grew up on where you learned to ride your bike? It&rsquo;s now blocked with selfie-stick traffic impeding your route to work.&nbsp;
And your favourite caf&eacute;, the one that knows your order by heart? They tell you that you&rsquo;ll have to wait longer because tables are being saved for tourists that tip better and stay all day.&nbsp;
Through this lens, it&rsquo;s easier to see that these new waves of tourist fines are less about punishing visitors, and more about meeting a destination and its locals on their own terms. So, presuming you want to be a conscientious traveller and not become enemy #1 in your chosen destination, here&rsquo;s everything you need to know.

<h2 dir="ltr">Flip-flops behind the wheel in Europe</h2>
Rule / Fine: Up to &euro;200 if police deem your footwear unsafe, despite no outright ban.
In countries like Spain, drivers are expected to maintain proper control of the vehicle at all times. Loose footwear like flip-flops can jeopardize pedal control, so officers can fine you if they judge your sandals to compromise safety.
Traveller Tip: Always pack a pair of light sneakers or secure sandals to slip on when you hit the open road.
<h2 dir="ltr">No Swimwear Off the Beach (Europe, including Barcelona, Sorrento, Albufeira, Cannes, Venice)</h2>
Rule / Fine: Up to &euro;1,500 for walking around in swimwear outside beach zones. It's just polite, really!
 Traveller Tip: Keep a lightweight cover-up handy &mdash; say, a breezy shirt or sarong &mdash; for when you step ashore and into town.
<h2 dir="ltr">Public Drinking (Spain, UK, Baltic states, Canada &amp; more)</h2>
Rule / Fine: Up to &euro;3,000 for alcohol consumption in non-designated public areas.
Party hotspots like Ibiza and Mallorca in particular are trying to curb rowdy public behaviour by outlawing open-air drinking away from bars and restaurants. But beyond that, many countries or local authorities have blanket bans on carrying open containers of alcohol in public.&nbsp;
Traveller Tip: Check the local laws at your destination before cracking open a nice cold beer. If in doubt, sip your sangria indoors, at a bar&rsquo;s outdoor terrace, or in your hotel.

<h2 dir="ltr">Sunbed Reservation Abuse (Spain)</h2>
Rule / Fine: Around &euro;250 for reserving a sunbed with a towel and abandoning it.
Resorts are cracking down on the old 6am towel trick to keep things fair and tidy for all beach-goers.
Traveller Tip: We&rsquo;re not sure what to say about this one&hellip; Don&rsquo;t get lost?&nbsp;
<h2 dir="ltr">Collecting Shells or Pebbles (Greece &amp; Sardinia)</h2>
Rule / Fine: Up to &euro;1,000&ndash;&euro;3,000 depending on location.
Coastal ecosystems are fragile. Pocketing natural souvenirs threatens biodiversity and local ecosystems.
Traveller Tip: A picture says a thousand words. Take one, take a thousand &mdash; just leave the shells be.&nbsp;
<h2 dir="ltr">Swimming in Venice&rsquo;s Canals (Italy)</h2>
Rule / Fine: Around &euro;350 fine &mdash; and up to &euro;1,000 if other violations apply.&nbsp;
Repeat after me, &ldquo;Canals aren&rsquo;t for swimming, they&rsquo;re for boats and sewage!&rdquo; Banning swims protects both visitors and historic waterways &mdash; and probably protects you from at least a dozen infectious diseases.&nbsp;
Traveller Tip: Stick to gondolas, or <a href="https://gillianlongworthmcguire.substack.com/p/gillian-knows-best-guide-to-beaches">head to the Lido</a> if you must get your feet wet.

<h2 dir="ltr">Entry Fee for Day-Trippers (Venice, Italy)</h2>
Rule / Fine: &euro;5&ndash;&euro;10 entry fee; failure to pay can lead to &euro;300 fine.
Overwhelmed by mass day-trip tourism, Venice is trying to manage crowd flow and encourage longer stays by offering fee exemptions to hotel guests.
Traveller Tip: Book your visit in advance, or stay overnight, and keep your receipt handy.
<h2 dir="ltr">Selfie Zones &amp; No-Linger Spots (Portofino, Italy &amp; Hallstatt, Austria)</h2>
Rule / Fine: Up to &euro;275 for blocking walkways with a selfie; Hallstatt uses &ldquo;selfie fences&rdquo; to curb crowding.&nbsp;
Europe&rsquo;s quaint and cute villages are overloaded with visitors lining up for the same shot. This measure aims to restore flow and reduce stress for locals trying to get to work on time.
Traveller Tip: Capture your pic, then move on. Who knows, you might just find a hidden corner!
<h2 dir="ltr">Beach Behaviour Campaigns (Spain &amp; Portugal)</h2>
Rule / Fine: Ranging from &euro;750 for public urination to &euro;2,000 for beach smoking. Malaga&rsquo;s Improve Your Stay campaign enforces up to &euro;873 fines for bad conduct in the port city.&nbsp;
Fines can be as high as &euro;30,000 for anti-social behaviour like vandalism or street drinking; attending (or throwing!) unlicensed events can set you back a similar amount, while hitching a lift in an unlicensed taxi can result in penalties of &euro;600. And before you decide to go for a nighttime dip Benidorm, just consider whether you have &euro;1,000 to spare.&nbsp;
Traveller Tip: Follow the local code snippets posted in your hotel lobby or on billboards, or simply ask a local. But let&rsquo;s be honest &mdash; it&rsquo;s always better to just find a toilet, smoke away from others, keep the noise down at night, and generally not be a nuisance.

<h3 dir="ltr">Proof of Travel Insurance (Spain)</h3>
Rule / Fine: Fines for British travellers of up to &euro;6,900 for not having proper travel health insurance documentation when entering Spain.&nbsp;
To protect its healthcare system and keep tourists from becoming walking liabilities, Spain can now request proof of travel insurance at the border.
Traveller Tip: Buy travel insurance! And just in case your phone battery dies, pack a printed copy of your insurance documents so you can pull them out at passport control.
<h3 dir="ltr">Visitor Caps in Europe&rsquo;s Ancient Icons (Greece, Italy)</h3>
Rule / Fine: Acropolis (Athens) is capped at 20,000 visitors/day; pre-booking required, high heels banned with fines up to &euro;900. Pompeii (Italy): also limited to 20,000 visitors/day and the Colosseum (Rome): capped at 3,000 visitors at a time.&nbsp;
These heritage sites want to stay standing, not crumbling under the footfall. Regulating access protects their history (and makes your visit more enjoyable).
Traveller Tip: Book your tickets for the first thing in the morning to avoid the rush, and leave the stilettos at home.
<h3 dir="ltr">Tourism Balance (Japan)</h3>
Rule / Fine: Mount Fuji: &yen;2,000 entry fee (&pound;10/$13.50/&euro;11.60) with a cap of 4,000 climbers/day. Kyoto: &yen;10,000 fine for taking photos of geisha without permission; some alleys are even off-limits. Tokyo: A year-round ban on public drinking from 6pm-5am.&nbsp;
Traveller Tip: Book early. Ask before snapping. Stick to bars and caf&eacute;s, not the streets.
<h3 dir="ltr">Hiking Restrictions (Machu Picchu)</h3>
Rule / Fine: Timed-slot tickets are now mandatory &mdash; no more spontaneous hikes to Machu Picchu!
Peru is slowing tourism to protect both the trail and the ancient ruins from overuse and degradation.
Traveller Tip: Book your slot online well in advance. Check out Flight Finder Lauren's <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/detour-145-machu-picchu">top tips for visiting the site here</a>.

<h3 dir="ltr">Digital Arrival Card (Thailand)</h3>
Rule / Fine: As of May 2025, all foreign visitors must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card at least within 72 hours before arrival. Earlier isn't possible.
This replaces the old paper form, and can be submitted online before you travel. You won't need to do this if you're just transiting in Thailand.
Traveller Tip: Set a reminder on your phone to do this 3 days before you arrive, save the confirmation, and breeze through immigration!
<h3 dir="ltr">Eco-Tax (Iceland)</h3>
Rule / Fine: A nightly, per-room eco-tax is in place nationwide to support environmental conservation to protect its glaciers and geysers.
Traveller Tip: Factor this small extra (approx. $5-$8) into your hotel budget; you&rsquo;re investing in the island&rsquo;s future. 
<hr>
 Follow these guidelines, and hopefully you won't find yourself stepping on any toes on your next trip.
Wear the right shoes in Cinque Terre, not because Italy wants to control your packing list, but because those paths are centuries old and prone to erosion. Skip the selfie in a geisha district, not because Kyoto wants to spoil your carefully curated feed, but because a working woman shouldn&rsquo;t be turned into a prop or have her picture taken without consent.&nbsp;
The result? A subtle but meaningful shift: travel is becoming less about extraction &mdash; how much you can see, collect, or post in a few days &mdash; and more about exchange: &ldquo;You bring the curiosity and respect, we&rsquo;ll reveal our truer selves beyond the tourist brochures.&rdquo;
And if that feels restrictive, maybe the question isn&rsquo;t whether the rules have gone too far, but whether the speed of our wanderlust has burned through the soul of the streets before we even noticed.&nbsp;

Navigating New Tourism Rules: The 2025 Traveller's Cheat Sheet

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

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

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>

Iceland

Iceland, USA & Canada in €190s-€460s return

Iceland at $589 RT

Scandinavia, Spain, Iceland, and more in €50s-€180s rtn

Reykjavík, Iceland in $670s-$680s RT

£60 rtn

Reykjavík, Iceland in $290s-$440s RT