December has a reputation as the most expensive month to travel. Flights around Christmas spike, hotels hike their rates and everyone seems to be heading home. But it doesn’t have to wreck your budget. Pick somewhere it’s off-season, dry season or Christmas market season, sleep in a hostel, and some of the best places to…
Author: Diana Morais
7 Places Travel Experts Say to Skip This Winter (and Where Backpackers Should Go Instead)
Every winter, a new list tells you where not to go. This year’s version comes from Travel Off Path , updated on 21 October 2026. It names seven places to avoid: Hallstatt, Nassau, Kyoto, Aspen, Amsterdam, Key West and Banff, citing crowds, cold fronts, sky-high prices and dark, soggy days. But are these really places not to visit…
The Best Beaches in Greece for Island-Hopping Backpackers
The ferry docks before lunch, your bag goes in a hostel locker, and an hour later you’re floating in water so clear you can count the pebbles. That’s an ordinary day on a Greek island-hop, and here’s the secret about the best beaches in Greece : most of them aren’t on the islands that fill your feed. They’re a…
Montego Bay on a Backpacker Budget: Jamaica’s Hip Strip Without the Resort Price Tag
If you’re flying to Jamaica, Montego Bay is probably where your trip begins: Sangster International Airport sits on the edge of town. Yet almost everything written about the city assumes you’ll head straight from the arrivals hall to an all-inclusive and stay behind the resort gates. You don’t have to. Beyond the resorts, Montego Bay…
Nha Trang on a Budget: Beaches, Islands and Nightlife
Nha Trang has a reputation problem. Say you’re stopping at Nha Trang beach in Vietnam and other backpackers picture high-rise hotels, package tours and a crowded city strip. Some of that’s true. But the city also has a long sandy beachfront, cheap island boat trips, warm, clear water and a hostel scene that makes the…
Europe in February: Where to Go When Everyone Else Stays Home
February is the month most of Europe forgets about, and that’s exactly why it’s worth your annual leave. If you’re weighing up the European countries to visit in February, here’s the trade: shorter days and a jumper, in return for quieter streets, shorter museum queues and dorm beds at some of their lowest prices of…
Europe in January: 9 Budget Trips to Cure the Post-Holiday Blues
Christmas is over, the decorations are back in the box and your bank balance looks like it went through a shredder. Outside it’s grey, it’s dark by teatime, and payday feels a very long way off. If you’re dreaming of a Europe vacation in January, you’re not alone, and the good news is that you…
Is Genoa Safe for Backpackers? Where to Wander, Where to Skip After Dark
Is Genoa safe? Yes. If you bring the same street smarts you’d use in any big port city, Genoa is a safe place to visit. Most of the trouble travellers worry about is petty crime, and a handful of streets you’d simply skip after dark. The heart of the city is its caruggi, a maze…
More Flights to Japan in 2027: What Lufthansa’s New Routes Mean for Backpackers
Getting to Japan from Europe is about to get easier. The Lufthansa Group, which takes in Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and ITA Airways, plans up to 50 flights a week to Japan in summer 2027, flying into Tokyo-Haneda, Tokyo-Narita, Osaka and Nagoya, according to Euronews . For backpackers, that means more choice of where you land and better…
Europe’s New ‘Business Class’ Sleeper Train: Hamburg to Munich From €65
Germany is getting a new kind of sleeper. From 23 March 2027, Berlin start-up Nox Mobility will run the Nox night train between Hamburg and Munich, swapping shared couchettes for private “Nox Suites” inspired by business-class airline cabins. Fares start from €65 one way, according to Time Out , and tickets are already on sale on Nox’s own website . For budget travellers,…
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