Travel Tips tips

The beautiful waterways of Venice, Dubrovnik's old town and Ko Phi Phi's beaches. These international travel attractions undoubtedly make for unforgettable experiences. But the sheer numbers of visitors arriving have made a significant impact on environments, structures and local communities. While governments and tourist boards are introducing various policies to tackle overtourism, we should consider ways in which we can help as responsible travellers, too.

Some of life’s usual rules go out of the window when you’re travelling. You don’t have to set your alarm clock and you don’t have to worry about ironing, washing the dishes or any of that other boring grown-up stuff.

Tourism is on the increase the world over, with rising visitor numbers having a significant impact on resources, pollution and local communities.

The opportunity for kids to meet their idols when they’re young are abundant. There are princesses at EuroDisney and Emmet at Legoland, and every summer fete or Christmas fair seems to have a Spiderman or a Peppa Pig. A toddler’s face as she meets Elsa and Ana is one to behold. When young kids meet the person or thing of their current obsession, open-jawed, interested, it’s parenting sorted. Tick.

So what is it that draws us to Vienna? The waltzes? The white horses? The cakes? Let’s be honest, it’s the sex.

Though arguably best known — and most visited — for its stunning islands, Greece is astoundingly diverse. Beyond its beautiful beaches, Greece boasts mighty mountains and caves, salt marshes and cloud-forests. Its weather ranges from blazing summers to snowy winters. In short, few countries have such varied landscapes and seasonal extremes. Then there’s its ancient history, glorious food, and warm Hellenic welcome.

With striking landscapes, large stretches of lovely coastline, intriguing cities and excellent food, it’s no wonder the number of tourists in Vietnam has more than doubled in the last decade or so.

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.

As the only democracy in the Chinese speaking world and the most progressive city for LGBTQ+ rights in Asia, a legacy of artists and activists have worked to make Taiwan’s capital a place where culture, progression and creativity thrive.

We recently caught up with budget travel expert Matt Kepnes, best known through his blog, Nomadic Matt. Since 2008 Matt has been chronicling his travels and sharing carefully researched information on how to travel better, cheaper, and longer — aka on a budget. His new book, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, compiles years of budget travel wisdom into one place.

A bewitching Nordic nation of volcanoes, glaciers, cosmic winter light shows and endless summer twilight, Iceland is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. The island’s mercurial weather means you’ll need to prepare for quick changes in advance. And the spectacularly dramatic landscape can bring its own challenges too. As they say, it’s good to know before you go, so read on for our top Iceland travel tips. From saving money to keeping safe and everything in between, find out all you need for an unforgettable trip.

Being an eco-friendly visitor is about more than avoiding plastic bottles (although that helps). It’s also about adding enjoyment to your holiday by learning more about your destination and giving something back, something that’s especially easy in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Here are our favourite sustainable tourism and conservation projects in this exciting region.

From the new Pocket Rough Guide , we’ve selected some of our favourite tips for seeing Paris on a budget.

Travelling alone can seem daunting from the comfort of home. What happens if things don’t go to plan? What if you get stranded? Is it safe to go out at night solo? All these questions and more (what will I do if my luggage goes AWOL? What if my car gets stuck in a ditch? Will I get attacked by bandits?) often plague travellers before their first solo travel trip. To put those fears at bay, read on for our writers’ and editors’ top 15 tips for surviving solo travel. It’ll hopefully furnish you with what to know before traveling to anywhere on your own, and lead you to learn lots of new things about the world – and yourself.

You’ve got a backpack and your passport is ready to receive some serious stamping. All that’s left for you to decide is where you’re headed, and what you’re going to do when you get there. Studying a few maps will help with the first problem, but won’t do much for the second – so allow us to provide a dash of inspiration.

Eastern Europe has become a popular, mysterious even, destination for the intrepid backpacker. While it’s undoubtedly impressive in its diversity, there are a number of universal lessons that every traveller will learn at some point during their time here.

Volunteering abroad is one of the best and most rewarding things you can do on your travels – but getting involved often isn’t the straightforward and speedy process you might expect. Many people are amazed when it becomes apparent just how much preparation is necessary.

Taken from the Rough Guide to South America on a Budget , these are our top nine tips for backpacking South America.

For a few chunks of rock in the southern Mediterranean, Malta is a hugely versatile destination. Like its unique language, the country is an intriguing blend of Italian, Arabic and British influences, a legacy of centuries of invasion and assimilation.

Anyone who has been travelling knows how difficult coming home can be. You’ve just spent months abroad, being stimulated every day by new sights, people and experiences; then suddenly you’re back to the old life – and it’s boring!

Let’s be realistic: booking a holiday can be stressful. There’s a torrent of information on the internet on destinations, flights, accommodation and everything in between. Before you start to plan, there are a thousand questions to ask.