Middle East

Where else can you snap a pic that includes both a thousand-year-old ruined settlement and a half-mile-tall skyscraper?

Philadelphia

United States

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

Washington DC

Seattle

Las Vegas

San Diego

Tampa

Atlanta

Austin

San Antonio

Dallas

Houston

Phoenix

Denver

Salt Lake City

Dubai 🛍️ in $590s-$730s RT

Luxembourg

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi 🏛️ at €358 rtn

If there was ever a city to fly first class to, it's the shiny skyscrapers of Dubai. 

Birmingham

England

Dubai 🏙️ at £4055 rtn

Love letters are cute, boarding passes are cuter 💘

London Heathrow

Bangkok

Thailand

Jakarta

Indonesia

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Chennai

India

Kochi

Mahé

Let’s face it, your current desktop background is probably a picture of the Seychelles, so why not make the jump from screen-saver fantasy to actual reality?
Visiting this tropical haven means trading your office chair for a sun lounger beside postcard-perfect beaches, where giant granite boulders meet impossibly clear turquoise water. It’s the kind of escape that’s both ridiculously luxurious and genuinely wild, where you can spend the morning snorkeling vibrant coral reefs and the afternoon greeting ancient giant tortoises. 
Forget fighting for towel space; the only thing you’ll be wrestling is the urge to never, ever leave, proving that sometimes, the most cliché paradise is actually the best one.

Seychelles

Forget fighting for towel space; the only thing you’ll be wrestling in the Seychelles is the urge to never, ever leave, proving that sometimes, the most cliché paradise is actually the best one.

New Delhi

Mumbai

Phuket

London Gatwick

Johannesburg

South Africa isn't just a country; it's practically a whole continent squeezed into one incredible, diverse package. Where else can you start your day spotting the Big Five on safari and finish it sipping world-class wine near Cape Town, all while marveling at the sheer majesty of Table Mountain?
From the dramatic coastal drives of the Garden Route to the buzzing, complex history woven into every street corner, this place demands your full attention and rewards you with breathtaking scenery and adventures at every turn.
Prepare for epic views, mind-blowing food, and a destination that constantly reminds you that life is far too short not to own a pair of binoculars. Bonus points for spying the tiny penguins!

South Africa

Adventurous Travelers, assemble! South Africa delivers a jam-packed itinerary where you can start your day spotting the Big Five on safari and end it sipping local wine at the foot of Table Mountain. Think dramatic coastal drives and a rich, complex history alongside mind-blowing nature.

Colombo

Sri Lanka is often called the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean,’ but frankly, that sounds waaaay too delicate for a place that packs so much punch into one island. 
Forget choosing between beaches and mountains; here, you can sip world-class Ceylon tea in the misty highlands in the morning and be surfing on golden coasts that same afternoon. From spotting leopards and elephants on safari to exploring ancient rock fortresses and marveling at incredible temple ruins, Sri Lanka throws everything at you, and you’ll love every chaotic, flavorful, and unforgettable moment of it. 
It’s an island where adventure is mandatory, curry is king, and your itinerary quickly becomes a blur of astounding landscapes and genuinely welcoming smiles.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is often called the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean,’ but frankly, that sounds way too delicate for a place that packs so much punch into one island.

Bengaluru

Hyderabad

Ahmedabad

Amritsar

Manchester

Nairobi

Kenya

Kampala

Uganda

Thiruvananthapuram

Edinburgh

Scotland

Kolkata

Dublin

Ireland

Singapore

Asia 🌿 in £420s-£590s/€440s-€580s rtn

Finally… the Pegasus prophecy has been fulfilled 🔮

Yerevan

Armenia

Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan

Baku

Azerbaijan

Kuwait City

Kuwait

Bahrain

Giza

Egypt

Sharm El-Sheikh

Hurghada

Istanbul

Turkey

Alexandria

Tbilisi

Georgia

Almaty

Kazakhstan

Muscat

Oman

London Stansted

Shymkent

Sharjah

Antalya

Georgia, Egypt, Armenia and more ☀️ in £70s-£310s rtn

Berlin

Germany

Dusseldorf

Frankfurt

Munich

Hamburg

Brussels

Belgium

Genoa

Italy

Amsterdam

Netherlands

Copenhagen

Denmark

Stockholm

Sweden

Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and more ☀️ in €400s-€590s rtn

The *non-stop* Abu Dhabi at £299 return in January-March (Etihad) deal came through on 19th December and was still running till mid-January! Was hard to believe at first but bagging it at £249 via an OTA was even more incredible! Great timing for a much needed getaway! Keep these deals coming plsss!

Postcard from Qas

Postcard from Ismael

Postcard from Michael

Thank you. This was an amazing deal with Emirates. Never a family trip from the US I thought 23 could afford. Flights were the same price as going a few hours to Mexico!

Postcard from JF

2 return tickets to Dubai for an Amazing price. highly recommended.. thanks JFC!

Postcard from Jenny 

Thank you so much JFC. I booked a Dubai return ticket for 2 for only £460!! Wow this is great! 

Vietnam

Morocco

France

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,

Katy - Editor of The Detour

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>

Travel Tips

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>

United Arab Emirates

Dubai in $590s-$730s RT

Abu Dhabi at €358 rtn

Dubai at £4055 rtn

Asia in £420s-£590s/€440s-€580s rtn

Georgia, Egypt, Armenia and more in £70s-£310s rtn

Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and more in €400s-€590s rtn

Chaotic cities JFC-ers would rather avoid

Who does Christmas best, according to the JFC Team!

Skip this, see that – 28 places our members hated and loved.

Postcard from Qas

Postcard from Ismael

Postcard from Michael

Postcard from JF

Postcard from Jenny

Postcard from Jenny