Why Gothenburg should be your next European city break

Bidding for upgrades decreases the value of elite status for frequent flyers, but it also presents opportunities for non-elites to snag an upgrade on the cheap.

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.

Out of vacation days but hoping to fit in some more travel destinations this year? Airfarewatchdog’s newest search tool, aptly named The Weekender, is aimed at helping travelers uncover hidden deals on a weekend getaway.

Sometimes a red-eye flight can be the perfect solution to your long-haul trip. It can offer a place to sleep (so you don’t have to pay for an additional night of lodging); plus, a morning arrival means you can hit the ground running when you arrive. But depending on the airline, choosing evening—or even afternoon—travel can be a grave mistake that could throw your trip into a spiral.

When it comes to luxury travel, many don’t think beyond the airplane and hotel. But what if you could extend that first class experience to the car you drive? The Auberge Resorts Collection and Mercedes-Benz are adding three new properties to their existing partnership, which offers guests access to a fleet of high-end Mercedes-Benz vehicles for use during their stay.

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.

Canadians are a friendly bunch; in fact according to Twitter analysis (so it must be true) Canucks are the nicest people in the world. And Canada’s friendliest city? Halifax, says a recent poll, which placed the Nova Scotian capital among the fifteen friendliest on the planet. Another confirms it’s one of the world’s least snobby.

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.

Brazil’s booming southern states – Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul – are often strangely absent on tourist itineraries of the country. The cities of Curitiba and Porto Alegre will host 2014 FIFA World Cup matches, and the region is already a huge draw for Brazilian, Argentine and Uruguayan tourists. Yet it can be a hard sell for European and North American travellers – it lacks the glamour of Rio but often sports the same prices thanks to the booming economy. After an obligatory pilgrimage to the mighty Iguazu Falls most Western travellers simply move on. So what makes those sudamericanos stick around? Here’s ten reasons I can think of immediately…

Pick Pula Croatia for your next city break. It's a natural choice after Dubrovnik and Split. It's laidback and cosmopolitan. Home to some impressive Roman ruins. And it retains a refreshing sense of authenticity. The compact historic centre is as picturesque as any in Croatia. But its shipyard's giant cranes indicate a working city.

The ingredients for a great European weekend break are simple. You’ll need a walkable city centre, a handful of excellent restaurants, some cool bars, affordable places to stay, interesting attractions and good transport.

There’s so much more to China than the Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Terracotta Army. One of our favourite places to explore is Yunnan province in the south-west of the country, which varies in landscape from tropical lowlands to Himalayan snows. With towering canyons, ethereal rock formations and cities that seem lost in time, there's plenty to capture the imagination – that's why we included it in our Rough Guide to 2019. Here's our must-see Yunnan top ten: