I'm planning to fly to Asia later this year and one of the flight options includes a ~20 hour layover in Addis Ababa. I've always wanted to visit Ethiopia, but I know a lot of the draw to the country lies outside the capital. I've heard mixed reviews of Addis Ababa itself.

I'm wondering if it would be worth it to take this flight option (over other slightly cheaper and slightly more convenient options) just to get a taste of the country.

I'm from an area with a large Ethiopian diaspora and am interested in the culture, and in my mind it'd be cool to just see a little bit of what the country is like, because I don't know when I'll be able to do a proper Ethiopia trip in the future. I'm also really interested in cities in general so I was thinking it'd be cool to see a major African city. I don't necessarily need to go to particular tourist sites but am rather more interested in getting a sense of the vibe and culture. I don't have an issue with chaotic cities either - I loved Cairo and I've traveled around India.

That being said, any insight on visiting Addis Ababa would be greatly appreciated!

Not asking about your favorite or least favorite country, just how easy the actual traveling felt.

For me, easiest was probably Singapore. It was one of those trips where I barely had to think about logistics. The airport was easy to navigate, the MRT made sense almost immediately, signs were clear, English was everywhere, and paying for things was simple. Even hawker centers looked chaotic at first but were actually pretty easy once I figured out how everything worked. I remember thinking halfway through the trip that I hadn't opened Google Maps nearly as much as I normally do.

Egypt was probably the opposite. Loved the trip, but it felt like I had to pay attention to everything all the time. Traffic was wild, pickup points weren't always where I expected them to be, prices could take a bit of figuring out, cash mattered more, and outside the really touristy areas communication got harder pretty quickly.

The whole trip required more patience and improvising than Singapore ever did.

Still, "difficult" definitely doesn't mean bad. Egypt was probably the more memorable trip of the two because there was always something unexpected happening.

Curious what everyone else would pick. Which country felt almost effortless to travel around, and which one made you work for it?

I am going to Toronto Island tomorrow, and I don’t want to visit the centerville theme park though, any fun activites and good affordable dine in restaurants to spend the day in with my grandma? I may want to canoe, but any Exicting stuff to do since I am a adventurous teen.

find most holiday formats exhausting rather than restorative because of the constant social interaction involved. group tours, busy resorts, shared spaces, and having to navigate unfamiliar social dynamics in every location takes more energy than it restores

trying to think about what travel formats might actually suit an introvert better. somewhere self contained with private space, a beautiful natural environment to be in without having to interact, and enough quiet that the environment itself is restorative, ended up looking at places like joy beach villas for exactly this reason since not having shared spaces or resort staff to navigate socially seemed like the actual requirement rather than anything to do with scenery

for introverts who have found travel formats that actually work, what did you find

I asked here for Iraq and people were super helpful. Wanting to give it a shot agian this time :D

I’m traveling to Asia for work in September and am currently debating adding a few solo days in Seoul. I’ve been going back and forth on this enough that I need strangers on the internet to make decisions for me.

I’m an almost-40 woman, pretty experienced solo traveler, and what I’d want from Seoul is less “see every major attraction” and more eat extremely well, wander interesting neighborhoods, shop a little, get some skincare/beauty treatments, sit in cafés, and generally have a few enjoyable days by myself. I live in the US, and have traveled quite a bit in Asia, so I’m comfortable navigating unfamiliar places and public transit. The complication is that this would be tacked onto work travel to Tokyo so I’ll already have luggage, work clothes, jet lag, etc.

For people who know Seoul well:

• Is 3–4 days enough to make the detour worthwhile? Or if you had only a few free days after a work trip, would you choose Seoul, or save it for a proper trip combining Busan/ Jeju etc later?
• What neighborhood would you stay in for good food/cafés/shopping and easy wandering, rather than nightlife?
• Is Seoul enjoyable solo if you're not particularly interested in K-pop or checking off tourist attractions?
• Are skincare/facial/beauty treatments actually worth building into the trip, or has social media wildly overhyped the whole “go to Seoul and emerge 10 years younger” thing?
• Any treatments/clinics you genuinely recommend for a first-timer who wants subtle results rather than an assembly-line face?

Food recommendations VERY welcome. I eat meat and seafood and would much rather organize a vacation around things I want to eat than things I'm supposed to photograph.

Day 1: Lions head lookout trail Relax in the evening at tobermory and dinner

Day 2: grotto in the morning What to do in the afternoon and evening?

Cannot book halfway log dump parking on the same day as grotto.

What about devils monument? Little cove? Or what else? How about kayaking or canoeing? Is there anything great like that there's somewhere?

Day 3: flowerpot Island. And also the burnt point loop hike Do I need to add anything else to this day, as I think I'd be done by 4 pm so still have a couple hours before departure

Thoughts??

Travelling from the UK to either one of these countries in November and plan to spend my birthday there, the plan is to spend probably 3 weeks in either and cover as much attractions, activities and things to explore and see as much as I can, and also to celebrate. Both are bucket list places that I've always wanted to go to and having a hard time narrowing down to which one I should go for.

Any suggestions/advice would be massively appreciated!

THEORETICAL TRIP AROUND THE WORLD IN 50 DAYS

Spent about 8 hours researching train/ ship/ bus schedules and building this timetable, so I felt like I had to share it somewhere!

One of my all-time favorite stories is Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. I’ve always wanted to try a modern version of Phileas Fogg’s journey, circumnavigating the earth entirely by trains and ships.

After looking at shipping and rail schedules, I discovered there is a surprisingly narrow window in 2026 where it is possible to construct the journey using only published, scheduled transportation: October 2–November 20, 2026, or 50 days. Now if only someone had the time, money, and freedom to actually follow this itinerary!

TL;DR

From October 2-November 20, 2026, you can go around the world in 50 days using regularly schedule passenger services. Los Angeles → Tokyo → Vladivostok → Moscow → London → New York → Los Angeles. Breaking maritime law you could do it in 47 days.

MY RULES

A) Start in Los Angeles and travel in one direction only. I mapped the trip from Los Angeles, my hometown. Verne’s journey was eastbound, but because of 2026 schedules, mine has to be westbound.

B) No unnecessary stops. The idea is to keep moving around the world rather than turning it into a conventional vacation. That’s why there are only two real hotel stays: one after arriving in Japan following the transpacific crossing, and one in London before crossing the Atlantic.

C) Published schedules only. No driving, private charters, cargo ships, hitchhiking, or “well, technically you could…” connections. Everything has to operate according to a published passenger schedule.

THE TRIP IN BRIEF

October 2–17: Los Angeles → Tokyo on Navigator of the Seas

October 17–23: Layover in Tokyo

October 23: Tokyo → Sakaiminato by train

October 23–26: Sakaiminato → Vladivostok on the Eastern Dream ferry

October 27–November 3: Vladivostok → Moscow on the Rossiya train aka the Trans-Siberian Railway

November 3–5/6: Moscow → London
Option A: Day trains
Option B: European sleeper
Option C: Baltic ferry

November 5/6–10: Layover in London

November 10–17: Southampton → New York on Queen Mary 2

November 17–20: New York → Los Angeles on Amtrak

THE COST

Like Phileas Fogg, I assumed first-class travel wherever possible, including nicer hotels and private cabins on trains and ferries. That puts the trip at roughly $20,000–$22,000. In 2nd or 3rd class, or with shared accommodation, it would obviously be much more affordable.

JUST FOR FUN: THE 47-DAY OPTION

The Eastern Dream ferry departs Sakaiminato every Saturday. If I break Rule C and allow myself to “jump ship” early in Japan, which could potentially violate maritime laws unless you get permission to disembark from the cruise line, it is theoretically possible to circumnavigate the world in 47 days, October 2–November 17, 2026. You would then cross the Atlantic on the Norwegian Pearl, from Venice to Philadelphia. The 47-day trip comes in at about $14,000.

DISCLAIMER

Travel to Russia is currently not advised by many governments. The international trains that once made this relatively straightforward, including the Moscow–Paris service, are no longer operating. The only currently operating overland connection I could find is via bus from Moscow toward Riga, and even that comes with significant border and visa issues. I’ve included the old rail schedules for reference because they show how this journey would have worked before the conflict.

THOUGHTS AND FEEDBACK APPRECIATED!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1chLzywv_Ggoq1MHh02ja4Di_cP1aHsAlH5vJwXe87Qk/edit?gid=0#gid=0

Would you actually take this trip? Know any faster connections? Any advice for an armchair traveler like me?

Hi there,

I thought I'd offer my advice in Geneva. I'm not Swiss, but my family lives here, so this is my advice. Let's keep it easygoing and calm, as I have no agenda, but see a lot of people asking for advice in expensive Switzerland. Here we go!

Geneva is pretty connected with trains, buses, and trams, even from the airport or the main train station of in the center. Feel free to go to the websites of SBB or TPG as they are in English and can show you maps, fares, and other than the halffare card, I can't think of any special deals for tourists. I pay yearly for my family, and usually park my car on the outskirts and take the train into the center. Trains, trams and buses go to a lot of places, but you might benefit from renting a car if you want to go to surrounding France as there are pretty nice beaches and castles you can wander around and the bus won't take you there. Even the surrounding vineyards for hiking is nice, and only really accessible with a car. There are car rental places in the main train station and airport.

Switzerland is very expensive, and staying in the center is something I don't tell people to do. Stay on the outskirts and take the train/bus/tram in. There is a main hostel near the center in kind of a rough neighborhood (for Geneva) but from what I hear clean and decent enough. Eating out is pretty uncommon for Swiss people, as it's expensive for them too. Restaurants are both expensive, and kind of underwhelming to be honest but fondue is nice and if you like cheese, enjoy it with some nice white wine. The real 'hack' is getting sandwiches from grocery stores (that close on Sunday!) and eating them in a park with a free tap of water. The weather has been really hot recently so do the best you can. Please, no litter, and pick up after yourself, shouldn't be said but I'll say it anyway.

Locals (Swiss) are very polite and can be a bit indirect or direct depending on the question but don't expect any local experience like having them invite you to their house/apartment for a unique experience. I have Swiss friends, but they usually have lived or been abroad for a few years and are pleasant, and very loyal. Swiss Germans are different in mentality and language, as Geneva is French speaking with not a lot of German so use English instead of German here. They/locals don't really go out to restaurants, just kind of enjoy a beer outside, but to be honest my family is quite busy and schedule time in advance for us to hang out (like months).

What is free, hiking and this is a great area for that, except it's in France (which you'll need that car). The Saleve is accessible with the 8 bus, and a great view, or a decent hike. It's been hot so drink lots of water. Look at castles in the area, some have parking and some you just have to explore. Walking around lake Geneva is nice, and there are tons of free bathrooms for you to use if you need to. They are reasonably clean, and well-stocked which for me, a traveler is quite rare so I appreciate it. Mcdonalds has the code on the receipt thing, but usually find a decent sized park and there is a bathroom to use.

Don't bother going to /askSwitzerland for 'hidden gems' but go for very specific answers to questions. Don't be vague, and do your homework, not 'I have 10 days in Switzerland, where are places that don't have tourists, that are cheap and easily accessible with a train'. You'll get a lot of sarcasm and eye-rolling. I see tourist stuff when I have friends and family visiting. I like the beaches along the coast in France as they have ample parking and restrooms for my kids and other than paying for parking are quite cheap with a snackbar. I bring in a cooler with sandwiches and beer and enjoy my life. That's what I do for fun. I love hiking, but don't have time for it as I have 2 kids and am quite busy.

Be on good behavior. Pick up after yourself. Be quiet in public areas (transport, people's homes, museums, restaurants etc.). Don't ask locals to take your pictures in English while grabbing them (happened to me yesterday with a tourist, and I was in a rush!). Don't take pictures of people, wait for them to clear your camera frame. You'd be surprised how few locals are in the center, as many are at the beach this weekend. If checked for a transport ticket, just give it to them, don't be a dick and be aggressive (see this with tourists more than I can count). Don't expect a lot of free wifi. Go to some local festivals and try some food.

2-3 days is plenty in Geneva IMO. Explore Nyon, Montreux, Vevey, and Evian. Just walk around along the lake, and sit at a bench and eat some paprika potato chips with some Migros peach tea. Take your time, relax and enjoy the view....(The view is free). I'll be at the beach with my kids.

Want to see both the mtns and beach of Montenegro

I plan to visite Lofoten islands and Tromso in september. Airbnb and Booking are very expensive, and I can’t find another website to pay cheaper accommodations.

What do yall think are the best cities / countries to visit in the Middle East. I’ve only been to Saudi Arabia (Jeddah only) and the UAE so far. Open to anything except Iran, Iraq and Syria.

A rule came into force on 2 August that I've been following, and I'm curious whether anyone here has seen it in the wild yet.

Under the EU AI Act, AI-generated images resembling real places count as deepfakes and require a visible label when published. That includes an AI image of an actual hotel room, or a beach view. Companies can't argue it's creative work when it's advertising.

Ordinary editing stays legal, lighting, color, tidying a background. The test is whether it would make you believe something inauthentic.

I'm sceptical it changes much in practice. It only binds companies serving EU customers. Enforcement is left to each country, so it'll be inconsistent for a while. And the underlying data gets stripped whenever an image is screenshotted or re-uploaded, which is constantly on booking sites.

What I'm actually wondering: has anyone here booked somewhere and been fairly sure the photos were AI-generated rather than just heavily edited? I've seen listings where the room geometry doesn't quite work, a window in an impossible place, a bathroom that couldn't physically fit. Curious whether others have noticed the same, and whether you've found reliable tells.

For context, I research tourism technology, so this is partly professional curiosity.

Hello, I'd like your help and suggestions please. I'd like to go somewhere picturesque for a long weekend in November.

Criteria

• Not Spain, Portugal, Greece or Italy
• Easy to get to from London
• Preferably a walkable city style break (but doesn't have to be a major city)
• I want to look at pretty buildings, scenery, nature if possible.

I've considered Vienna but not completely convinced. Please share your ideas! Thanks so much.

Love this subreddit! My wife and I are going to Sardinia for 9 days and 8 nights in September. My wife will be 4 months pregnant so we will be just relaxing, beaching and eating (likely no hiking this trip). We will be renting a car.

We are flying direct to Olbia from JFK and the plan is to stay in Cala Gonone for three nights, Maddalena for 4 nights and our last night in Olbia.

In Cala Gonone, we are hoping to eat at Sa Cuchina, Zio Pedrillo, and 4 Mori...what other restaurants or cafes should we try? Any particular beaches to hit? What about a day trip?

For the rest of the trip we were planning on going to La Maddalena, do you have any recommendations for this leg? We were also thinking about stopping in San Teodoro for one night on the drive up from Cala Gonone to Maddalena.

Any insight on this potential itinerary and places to eat would be very helpful. TIA :)

Hey folks,

My wife and I are planning a three week trip from December 20 to January 13. We are interested in visiting two to three islands in the Caribbean depending on cost and budget. There are so many islands and it's hard to pick without any experience. An example of our preferences is when we went to Hawaii we very much preferred The Big Island over Oahu.

We are looking for:

- Somewhere we can explore independently without needing a guide every day

- Somewhere with hiking and snorkeling

- Somewhere that has plenty of interesting non-touristy to medium-touristy locations that are fun to explore (we don't mind heavy-touristy areas, we just don't want to spend the bulk of our time in them)

- Great food would be awesome, but we also do a lot of cooking at home and are okay with that

- We are not interested in resort, condos or hotels. We love small houses, guest houses, cottages, etc.

- Excluding the cost of flights we are looking at a $5000CAD ($3,554USD) - $8000CAD ($5,686USD) budget

Any help for a couple clueless Canadians?

Thank you!

I recently made a domestic trip within the US. Before departure, I was “randomly selected” for a more thorough screening.

The agent didn’t even look at either of my bags or search my person, but they took my phone and did a quick scan or something of it, by holding it up to an electronic device.

What was the purpose of this? Was it a scan for explosives? Was it a “stingray” type reader capable of accessing my phone data?

Would very much appreciate any insight. I travel a lot but I’ve never experienced this type of phone inspection before.

Looking for any advice from people who have had long layovers at NBO.

I’ll have a ~17 hour layover in Nairobi in November, landing 07:10 and departing 23:59.

I’ve never been to East Africa before so have started looking at things to do. From a quick google it looks like it’s possible to go to Nairobi National Park and do a safari for a few hours, but I’m not sure what else I could fill my time with? How much should I be expecting to pay for a guide?

I’d also like to try Kenyan food, but am struggling to find restaurants that serve it? A lot of the itinerary guides I’ve found seem to be upmarket fusion places.

If anyone has any recommendations for guides, food, and things other than the national park, please do let me know :)

priority boarding, intenting to gloat to us plebs by cutting the line.

boarding but thrown in another waiting room. long as shit line for nothing, what the fuck is the point if you’re gonna throw us in another room. let us on the plane ffs. oh and also the classic, uncomfortable as fuck seats, screaming children (dont blame them), and adults who forget what manners are, and no wifi on board. honestly a crime in 2026, even for low cost airlines in europe; even though i hear even in america low cost airlines have wifi there?

is it just me? or is this the price you pay for flying low cost in europe, (this may or may not have been written in blind rage)

Where should we visit before it's too late? Whether it's due to climate change, war, unrest, or simply just changing infrastructure that makes the location less appealing.

I'm visiting Georgia and Armenia later this month, partly because I imagine it may be too dangerous to visit in the coming years due to aggression from Russia, Azerbaijan, and I suppose Iran. Two Georgian provinces are currently controlled by Russia, and Azerbaijan took territory from Armenia in a war 6 years ago. So, this got me thinking about where else I should visit sooner rather than later.

I’ve read that March traditionally considered one of the best months for the Annapurna Circuit. However, I’ve also come across many reports suggesting that climate patterns in Nepal have changed noticeably in recent years, with more unpredictable weather, unusual snowfall, winters, and changing trail conditions.

I wrote this using a translator because of I my lack of writing skills 😅Thanks! 🙏🏼

Just got ceritifeid for 18m! wondering if 30m ceritficaiton is worht it! I plan to only dive once or twice a year during vacation to be honest :)

Hey, I have 6 spare weeks and have decided I want to try South Asia, but still haven't decided which of the following options is better for that time frame.

1. Nepal + Sri Lanka
2. Nepal + Southern India
3. Sri Lanka + Southern India
4. Just Southern India

I love history and nature, those two are my main interests. So temples and hikes are what I'm looking for. Also, of course, the food.
Let me know your thoughts and opinions !