Jack Kerouac travel tips

In Tangier, fresh off the ferry from Spain, I walk along the esplanade in cool morning air, then take the steps up into the casbah. My journey to Morocco started at St Pancras station in London three days earlier, and I spent a night each in Barcelona and Algeciras. I feel none of the dislocation or awkwardness that a flight would entail. I’ve seen the landscapes change: the lavender fields of Provence, the peach groves of Catalonia, then the wild upland magic of La Mancha. I spotted my first Arabic sign in Spain yesterday. Now the crafted casbah of Tangier seems like the natural next step. I take a turn up a narrow alleyway and pass an elderly couple, the woman in a straw hat decorated with fresh flowers, her husband hooded in a thick woollen burnous.

From Paris to Buenos Aires, you’ll want to settle in and raise a glass at these famous literary bars, notebook at the ready.

“Travel is just a little bit different for us,” said Kelly Lewis, the founder of Women’s Travel Fest, at the beginning of last year’s festival, a blend of travel inspiration, safety advice, and even airfare tips geared specifically to women.

Running along the shimmering Arctic tundra in Greenland, jogging across the African savannah and racing through the Amazon are some of the exhilarating marathon experiences now on offer around the globe. From coastal routes in Jamaica and California to challenging courses in the blazing Sahara and freezing Polar Circle, a growing number of endurance events provide a dramatic change of scene and pace. Read on for our pick of the world's best marathons.

Rough Guides writer Greg Dickinson has hitchhiked in seven countries, flagging down over fifty cars, vans and lorries over a distance of 3000 miles. Here are some of his top tips on how to make the most of a hitchhiking adventure.

Any well-bred young gent in the 1600s–1800s was likely to go on the Grand Tour after university. The Tour, a sort of cultural gap year, took in much of continental Europe. The usual route ran through France and Switzerland and into Italy, with a return trip taking in Germany, Holland and any other countries the young man fancied. The essential stop to complete any cultural education was Rome, still an incredible destination for anyone interested in art or history.