How To
Step-by-step answers to the questions readers ask most.
How to Avoid Getting Sick Abroad
Most travel illness is one of four things, and three of them are largely preventable with habits that take no effort once you have them.
How to Book Flights Cheaply Without the Myths
Tuesday afternoon is not cheaper, incognito mode does nothing, and there is no magic booking window. Here is what actually moves the price.
How to Choose Travel Insurance That Actually Pays
Most policies are refused for reasons written into the policy. The exclusions matter far more than the price, and there are about eight that catch nearly everybody.
How to Cross a Land Border Without Losing a Day
Overland borders run on their own logic: fixers, unofficial fees, closed lunch hours and a bus that leaves without you. Most of the friction is predictable.
How to Deal with Scams Without Becoming Paranoid
Nearly every travel scam is one of six patterns. Learn the patterns rather than the local variants and you stop needing to be suspicious of everybody.
How to Handle Money Abroad Without Losing 8% to Fees
Between bad exchange rates, ATM charges, dynamic currency conversion and airport bureaux, the average traveller loses more to fees than to theft. All of it is avoidable.
How to Pack for a Trip of Any Length
The list is short and the principle is shorter: you can buy almost anything almost anywhere, so pack for the first fortnight and let the trip tell you the rest.
How to Plan a Safari Without Overpaying
A safari's price is set by park fees, the vehicle and the bed, in that order. Only one of those three is under your control, and it is not the one the brochures talk about.
How to Take Better Travel Photographs
The equipment matters least. Light, time of day, getting closer and asking permission account for almost all the difference between a holiday snap and a photograph.
How to Travel Alone
Solo travel is mostly a set of small practical habits plus a tolerance for eating dinner by yourself. Both are learnable, and the second one faster than you expect.
Understanding Visas Before They Ruin a Trip
The rules are boring and unforgiving. Passport validity, onward tickets, rolling windows and application-from-home requirements account for nearly every refusal.