Amtrak is the biggest name in US train travel, which also means there's a pretty high demand, especially around the holidays — over 1 million passengers boarded trains around Thanksgiving time last year.
18.10.2024 - 22:05 / lonelyplanet.com / Ace Hotel
Oct 18, 2024 • 6 min read
I'm an Adelaide-based travel writer and photographer, capturing adventures across Australia – although, shamefully, I hadn't visited Sydney since the pandemic lockdowns. So when an invitation arrived to go to the harbor city to launch the latest Lonely Planet Australia guidebook series (for which I'd helped pen the South Australia chapter), I took it as a sign to return.
My biggest splurge was on accommodation, which you can easily trim by booking a central hostel, or a room outside the city center. Weekend public transport was surprisingly cheap, with a daily fare cap limiting my spend to $9.35 per day (excluding airport fees). I recommend pairing a few indulgences with free activities; a must in a notoriously expensive city.
All prices are in Australian dollars.
Accommodation: $560 for two nights at the central, classy and convenient Ace Hotel. A 10-minute walk from Sydney's Central Station and close to the city’s downtown core, it eliminated the need – and temptation – to take pricey Ubers.
11am: I touch down at Sydney International Airport, collect my luggage and head toward the domestic terminal's underground train station.
To avoid the minimum spend required to buy an Opal card (Sydney's tap-on, tap-off metro pass), I use my contactless credit card across the weekend, delivering the same benefits as an Opal adult card, without carrying the extra plastic.
The feeling of frugality is short-lived as the airport's “Station Access Fee” surcharge ($17.34) whacks me on top of the fare to Museum Station ($2.94) in central Sydney.
12pm: After a brisk train ride and a downhill stroll, I drop my bags at Ace Hotel and I'm back outside, all within 30 minutes.
To shake off the post-flight stiffness, I walk the 1.5km to White Rabbit Gallery in Chippendale for my lunchtime catch-up with old workmates. I'm ravenous by the time I arrive and we waste no time loading our table with handmade dumplings and aromatic teas (my share $17.50).
I wave my comrades back to their office and battle a food coma while roaming the gallery's four levels of contemporary Chinese art (free).
3:30pm: Having not learned my lesson, I wander to the nearby Brickfields bakery and munch down a Sinner's Schmear, a sweet cinnamon brioche with vanilla glaze ($8).
Keeping my urban food crawl going, I head 20 minutes north, where the Chinatown Friday Night Market (free) has just kicked off. The air is already thick with spice, and I eye off a braised pork belly Chinese crepe ($17) for an early dinner. With juices dripping down my arm, I complete my short circuit back to the hotel.
Friday total: $62.78
8:15am: I'm up early to take advantage of Sydney's unseasonably warm winter day. I hop on the 373 bus ($3.05) toward the city's iconic
Amtrak is the biggest name in US train travel, which also means there's a pretty high demand, especially around the holidays — over 1 million passengers boarded trains around Thanksgiving time last year.
I fly often, which means I sometimes get upgraded to first class. Recently, I moved up on my nonstop Alaska Airlines flight from Chicago to Portland.
As one of the most populous cities in the US, Chicago has some pretty terrible traffic. However, I have to brave it several times a year when traveling between Wisconsin and Michigan for work and family events.
Accor raised its profit outlook after luxury hotels and the Paris Olympics helped drive growth, even as the French hospitality giant grappled with weakness in China’s domestic market.
In 2020, I was lying in bed in Torquay, England, trying to figure out what to do with my life.
Indians spent over $2 billion on international travel in August, data from the Indian central bank shows – the highest amount in the past 12 months. Travel held the lion’s share in total overseas spending during the month: close to 63% of $3.2 billion.
Oct 21, 2024 • 5 min read
Oct 18, 2024 • 6 min read
I happened to be on vacation in Bangkok when the results of the annual World's 50 Best Hotels were announced a few weeks ago.
When I set out to ride my bike from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
Oct 17, 2024 • 9 min read
The world has never seen anything quite like Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.