In the Caucasus Mountains, Russia
Sunrise on Mount Bromo, Indonesia
Many travelers still don't know about VoWiFi technology, even though it's been available for a while. In the age of messengers, it might seem like voice calls aren't needed, but in practice, there are times when you need to call a regular phone number—like a bank, an insurance company, or relatives who don't use messengers. That's where VoWiFi comes in. Read more...
The good news: carrying any medication in the plane cabin is not prohibited in principle. You can freely bring your own first-aid kit. However, there are a few "buts" that are often forgotten. The details relate to liquids, needles, syringes, and most importantly, potent prescription substances. Read more...
When planning a trip, we think about sights, tickets, and weather, but rarely about tiny blood-sucking insects. And that's a mistake. The problem of bed bugs in hotels, hostels, and vacation rentals is common worldwide, from budget guesthouses to fancy resorts. It's not about cleanliness but about luck and the constant movement of people. Travelers themselves often unknowingly become carriers of bed bugs from one accommodation to another. Let's break down what to do about it. Read more...
The organizational meeting with the hotel rep happens at the very beginning of any package tour. Usually, it's scheduled for the next morning, and the rep will assure you that you absolutely must come, as it's a very important organizational meeting where they'll tell you all the essential stuff. So, the short answer to "Is it mandatory to attend this meeting with the hotel rep?" is: yes and no. There's no single answer; it all depends on the situation. Let us explain. Read more...
Sharjah Airport (IATA code: SHJ) is the third busiest airport in the UAE. It's a hub for the budget airline Air Arabia, so independent travelers often fly through it to Asian and Middle Eastern destinations. The airport is quite compact and straightforward, but you can't exactly call it tiny. It has just one passenger terminal. Read more...
Currently, among major Russian banks, there's only one working option for UnionPay cards – RSHB (Rosselkhozbank). All other UnionPay cards issued earlier, including those from Gazprombank, Russian Standard, and Tinkoff, no longer work. If you're choosing which currency to open a UnionPay card in, in this article we provide our recommendations with precise calculations and real figures from our own experience using this card in different countries. Read more...
When buying tickets for China Eastern Airlines through aggregators like Aviasales or Trip.com and intermediary sites where you can pay with Russian cards, there's usually no option to choose seats in the cabin, even for a fee. However, China Eastern allows you to easily select specific seats in the cabin, for free, and not necessarily during check-in – you can do it in advance, right after purchasing the tickets. Here's how it's done... Read more...
Shanghai Airport has a proper transit corridor for connections between arriving and departing international flights. This means that in most cases, you won't have to go through passport control upon arrival, collect your baggage, and check in again for your flight. The entire transit between flights happens within the international zone without any hassle or paperwork. Your baggage will be checked through to your final destination at your departure airport and moved to the next flight without your involvement... Read more...
On December 17, 2024, China introduced new relaxations for visa-free transit, which we think are almost revolutionary for travelers, especially those from Russia. The visa-free stay duration is now 240 hours (previously 72 and 144 hours), the number of zones for visa-free transit has significantly increased, and most importantly, "multistop" or "multitransit" is now included in these 240 hours... Read more...
The site trip.com has become a real lifesaver for travelers after international hotel search and booking sites like Booking, Agoda, and airline sites stopped working with Russian bank cards. However, you can often read in traveler reviews that "trip.com" doesn't work and Russian cards aren't accepted. Let's explain why this might happen and how to solve the problem... Read more...
Unfortunately, Shenzhen Airport (airport code SZX) does not have a proper transit corridor between arriving and departing international flights. This is despite the fact that arrivals and departures are in the same terminal building, just on different floors. For some odd reason or design flaw, it's impossible to arrive at Shenzhen on an international flight and immediately proceed to the departure gates for your next flight without leaving the international zone... Read more...
Guangzhou Airport (airport code CAN) has a proper transit corridor for connections between arriving and departing international flights. This means you won't have to go through passport control upon arrival, collect your baggage, and check in again for your flight. The entire transit between flights happens within the international zone without any hassle or paperwork. Your baggage will be checked through to your final destination at your departure airport and moved to the next flight without your involvement... Read more...
Here's our selection of free apps for travelers that we use during our own journeys. These apps can help you save money and make your trip more interesting and safer... Read more...
Experienced travelers already know that no Russian bank cards are accepted on the old reliable Booking and Agoda, nor on foreign aggregators like Hotelscombined, Trivago, and others. You can't book and pay for hotels on them not only with Mastercard or Visa from Russian banks, but also with UnionPay – neither physical nor virtual cards. However, options for booking hotels abroad for Russian travelers still remain, including even payment with a Mir card... Read more...
The Booking system actively joined the sanction policy against Russia in 2022 and blocked the ability to pay for bookings with all Russian bank cards. Mir cards and all Russian bank cards with international payment system logos (Mastercard and Visa) don't work. Fortunately, travelers from Russia haven't been completely left without the ability to book hotels abroad. There are several ways to do this; let's talk about them... Read more...
In the middle of the 2022 tourist season, the developers of one of the most popular offline map apps for travelers, Maps.me, "delighted" users by releasing several new versions, which made using it extremely inconvenient. Here's our selection of free offline map apps that we actually use on our travels and recommend to you:.. Read more...
The international payment systems Mastercard and Visa have joined the anti-Russian sanctions, and this has immediately and primarily affected tourists and travelers. Domestic tourism hasn't been affected, as we have our own national payment system, Mir, which works well in Russia. But what should you do if you're among the lucky ones who can travel abroad? We've prepared some tips on how to handle this situation... Read more...
March 2022 was marred by heavy sanctions events for Russia, which, as usual, first impacted tourism and travel. In a "sanctions frenzy" against Russians, the most popular international hotel and accommodation search and booking sites Booking.com, Agoda, AirBnB, Trivago, along with other foreign sites, have completely blocked the ability to book hotels and accommodation in Russia and Belarus. We've compiled a selection of proven and reliable accommodation and hotel search and booking systems in Russia as alternatives to Booking.com and others... Read more...
After Crimea joined Russia in 2014, Western countries imposed sanctions on citizens and businesses on the peninsula, including in the tourism sector. Crimea was excluded from the search results by the world's most popular hotel booking system Booking.com, the short-term rental service AirBnB, the hotel search engine Agoda, and others. Therefore, we've put together a selection of domestic search services that, despite Western bans, continue to work successfully and allow travel to the peninsula... Read more...
Nowadays, few would argue that a bank card, whether it's a plastic card or a virtual card in a smartphone with NFC, is one of the most convenient, profitable, and secure payment methods while traveling around the world. However, not all bank cards are equally beneficial. We've prepared an instruction based on our experience to help you choose the best card for travel... Read more...
We're almost certain you won't forget to pack important things like a first-aid kit, camera, smartphone, chargers, swimsuit, etc. However, with travel experience, you pick up little packing tricks that can make your vacation more comfortable and safer... Read more...
Today, almost all tourists and travelers use online guides and travel blogs to gather information for planning their upcoming trips and vacations, looking for reviews and useful info about sights, transportation, and so on. But, unfortunately, the quality of content in today's online sources is often "below the baseboard." We've compiled a selection of "travel fakes" from top guide sites. Enjoy, and try not to fall off your chair at the idiocy you can find on the internet... Read more...
Based on the story of one traveler who fell victim to scammers, which she posted in a Telegram chat about travel scams, another very sophisticated, one might even say elegant, scheme for fleecing tourists has appeared... Read more...
To minimize the risk of being scammed when buying plane/train tickets, tours, excursions, and other travel services, remember a very simple rule: don't buy from untrusted sites, social networks, or messengers. No matter what benefits they promise, the chance of being scammed on untrusted sites is huge. So where should you buy, and which sites can you trust? Here's a white list of trusted travel sites where you can safely search for and buy tickets, tours, excursions, and more... Read more...
On the internet, in travel forums and blogs, much ink has been spilled over whether Russian or international driver's licenses are valid in Sri Lanka, whether you absolutely need to get a local permit, and what happens if you drive without a license. We've sorted out all the intricacies of renting transport and figured out which license is needed in Sri Lanka. Here's what we found... Read more...
The Philippines is an island nation with a vast number of islands and resorts that differ significantly not only in terms of tourism infrastructure development and conditions for tourist recreation (beaches, diving, snorkeling, surfing, hiking, etc.), but also in culture, traditions, cuisine, nature, and sights. So, it's no surprise that many tourists and travelers choose not one specific spot for their vacation in the Philippines, but complex itineraries visiting several places and islands. Here are several ready-made itineraries for the Philippines for different trip durations... Read more...
Sometimes you might hear the opinion that the Philippines is a very cheap country compared to Russia and other CIS countries, and even cheaper than other Southeast Asian countries, like Thailand. However, it's not that straightforward. First of all, you need to know that prices in the Philippines are very relative and vary greatly by location. For example, in a 7/11 supermarket, 1 liter of milk costs over 110 pesos, while in a large supermarket for locals nearby, you can buy it for 76. The same goes for prices in cafes... Read more...
Ferries in the Philippines are one of the main modes of transport for both locals and tourists. This is hardly surprising, as the country consists of over 7,000 islands, which can only be crossed by ferry or plane. There are about 200 regular ferry and speedboat routes, more than 30 major carrier companies, and an untold number of small private operators... Read more...
Trains in Sri Lanka, after buses, are the most common form of public transport on the island, and they can be very convenient and useful for travelers and tourists. Moreover, they're not just a means of transport, but also a sight in themselves. This refers to the Scenic route railway line that runs through the mountainous part of the country from Kandy to Badulla, considered one of the most scenic routes in the world... Read more...
Kalamay is the most famous dessert from the Philippines, and it can make a great gift from this country. But even if you don't want to bring the dessert home, it's worth trying it while you're there on vacation or traveling. Kalamay is made from coconut milk, brown sugar, and glutinous rice. Sometimes fillers and flavorings are added to give it a more "modern" taste; besides, it's prepared slightly differently in different provinces and on different islands. But in our opinion (the site's authors), it's best in its natural, traditional form... Read more...
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