Travel guides
How to pay less for the same seat
When to book, how to pack carry-on only, what hidden-city ticketing actually costs you, and the rest of what we have learned watching fares all year.
WINTER SUN
Christmas and New Year Winter Sun 2026: Where Is Warm, What Flies Direct, and When to Go
Where is warm over Christmas and New Year 2026, which UK airports fly there direct, which places we drop in December, and the dates either side that cost less.
All guides
The rest of the shelf
Each piece is written for one place or one problem — none of it is a template with the nouns swapped.
TRAVEL ESSENTIALS · 6 min read
The GHIC Explained: Where Your Free Health Card Works — and Where It Is Worthless
The UK GHIC is free, lasts five years and covers state healthcare in the EU, but not Turkey, Egypt, Morocco or Dubai. And it is not travel insurance anywhere.
FAMILY TRAVEL · 7 min read
October Half-Term 2026: How to Beat the School-Holiday Fare Spike
Half-term in most of England runs 26–30 October 2026, and every family is chasing the same seats. How to find the days, airports and places that cost less.
ADVANCED FLIGHT HACKS · 8 min read
Hidden City Ticketing: The Controversial Strategy That Can Cut Your Flight Cost in Half
Hidden city ticketing: book a connecting flight, get off at the layover. Legal, often much cheaper, with real consequences. How it works and when to avoid it.
TRAVEL UPGRADE · 6 min read
How to Get Airport Lounge Access for Free (or Almost Free) in 2026
Airport lounges are no longer just for business travellers. How economy passengers get in free with the right credit card, app or membership in 2026.
TRAVEL HACKS · 7 min read
How to Travel Internationally with Carry-On Only (And Skip the Bag Fee Entirely)
Hold luggage is charged per bag, per leg, often a third of the seat price. The complete system for travelling internationally with carry-on only.
FLIGHT HACKS · 7 min read
Flight Price Alerts: How to Set Them Up and When They Actually Work
Price alerts are free, take a minute to set and answer only half the question. How to set them in Google Flights and what the predictions really tell you.
From the archive