Homestays: why you should stay with a local rather than in a hotel

Looks like a bungee cord is the travel emergency tool we didn't know we needed.

It’s the classic pre-trip selfie. You snap a picture of yourself with your passport and boarding pass, then promptly share the photo on social media. Your family, friends and followers may like it.

If you’ve never heard of Iceland-based booking website Dohop, you should check them out. The company has been nominated for two World Travel Awards—World’s Leading Flight Comparison Website and World’s Leading Travel Technology Partner—and recently launched an amazing tool called FLYR Fare Protection, in partnership with FLYR.

Here at SmarterTravel we don’t just write about travel, we do it. And now you come with us!

Airlines are offering up in-flight Wi-Fi now more than ever before, making it tempting to check in on your social networks and stream your favorite movies and TV shows in the air. But there are a handful of little-known reasons to never give in to that temptation.

It’s the opposite of a motorway. As I drive into the Cumeengeera Valley, scraggly summer hedgerows slap my wing mirrors. Punky tufts of grass on the boreen work like brushes, scrubbing the car’s undercarriage. The mountains around me make me feel the size a grain of rice in a giant green bowl.

After a road trip through Uruguay , Greg Dickinson discovers the joys of self-drive.

In late 2018, we launched Rough Guides tailor-made trips, a unique travel marketplace where we connect you to local tour operators in over 70 countries worldwide. These local experts create a travel itinerary and book personalised trips for you, packed with personality and stimulating adventure.

One of the world’s top adventure spots, tourists to Jordan tend to zip right through Amman and head straight to the mountains, Petra, or the fabulous burnt-orange desert in the south. But Jordan’s capital is well-worth devoting a long weekend to. It’s a vibrant, buzzing place to spend a few days, browsing through the fashionable city-centre boutiques, filling up on falafel and listening to an Ammani rock band bring the house down in a dry music venue.

When you receive your Valentine’s bouquet this year, will you wonder where it came from? Probably not, but it’s possible your flowers are better travelled than you. Sitting just below the horn of Africa, Kenya is the largest exporter of flowers to the European Union, meaning your pretty petals may have crossed equators and oceans to arrive at your door. Kiki Deere visited an independent flower farm in Kenya to find out what it’s like to be an African rose.

The Seto Inland Sea lies between Japan's largest island Honshu and the smaller islands of Shikoku and Kyushu. Surrounding this serene body of water is the Setouchi Region, which features historic cities, castle towns and islands devoted to religion or art. These include the cities of Hiroshima, Okayama, and Himeji (all on Honshu); Matsuyama (on Shikoku); and the tiny islands of Miyajima and Naoshima. The Setouchi Region is a tranquil part of Japan, offering a more laidback and less crowded experience than Tokyo or Central Japan, but with just as many historic and cultural attractions. Here's why you should plot a course for the islands today.

Affectionately known by Brits as the Garden of England, Kent is famed for its leafy surroundings and home-grown produce. But thanks to its bounty of award-winning booze, cutting-edge art and spine-tingling scenery, this county is even more fruitful than its monicker implies. And now is the perfect time to visit – here are five reasons why.