Category: Travel

These Are The Cheapest Weekends to Travel in 2020

Loknath Das

Weekend trips are fun, but they can also wind up being pretty expensive. Hotwire recently took a look at historical booking data for hotels to determine when the most affordable weekends are to travel in 2020, and released a list of the most affordable weekends, hotel-wise, for each month. Actually surprising: some of those affordable hotel stays actually fall during holiday weekends. Here’s its list of predictions for the cheapest weekends to travel: •January 31 – February 2 (Groundhog Day) •February 28 – March 1 (Leap Day) •April 10-12 •May 8-10 (Mother’s Day) •June…

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How to travel by train – and ditch the plane

Loknath Das

A string of horrifying climate-related disasters has brought a distinctly environmental theme to many people’s New Year resolutions. Many have chosen to reduce their carbon footprint by flying less, or cutting out planes completely. Flygskam – the Swedish word for “flight-shame” – has become commonplace. In August, Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg set an example by crossing the Atlantic in a zero-emissions yacht. If she had made the return journey from the UK to New York by air, she would have emitted 11% of the average annual emissions for someone in the…

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The 21 Best Budget Travel Destinations For 2020

Loknath Das

From Milos, Greece to Dahab, Egypt this year’s list of the best budget travel destinations has something for every kind of traveler. Whether you want to explore vibrant Rajasthan in India or relax in style on Lovina, the lesser-known side of Bali, Indonesia, this list has you covered. This is the sixth iteration of my annual Forbes list and in the spirit of keeping things fresh I asked a group of travel experts and influencers to share two of their favorite destinations that offer a good deal – one with a nostalgic pull and one that…

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8 Travel Trends To Expect In 2020

Loknath Das

Just as the destinations that we love to visit as avid travelers change from year to year, decade to decade, so do the travel trends that we partake in. Travel trends over recent years have included immersive travel, sustainable travel, multigenerational travel and skip-gen travel. While all of these have their merits, the travel landscape continues to evolve. empty, straight road heading towards new year 2020 – happy new year concept, GETTY In the upcoming year, we can expect different travel trends to pop up. For travel brands, including hotels,…

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How Google Has Become The Biggest Travel Company

Loknath Das

For decades travel agents had a “lock” on vacations. Before the internet it was near impossible to find cheap fares yourself. And choosing the perfect hotel involved a lot of flicking through glossy brochures. The “do it yourself” approach was a huge hassle. It was a lot easier to hire a knowledgeable travel agent. Then disruptor stocks like Booking.com (BKNG) and Expedia (EXPE) blew up the old model forever. With a few clicks, you could compare any flight or hotel in the world. For the first time ever, you could find all the special deals and…

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Which? brands most travel comparison sites a ‘waste of time’

Loknath Das

Holidaymakers spend hours trawling comparison sites but only one or two are worth the trouble. Photograph: Getty Images Most travel comparison websites are a waste of time and fail to find the cheapest prices, according to new research from Which? After asking more than 2,200 holidaymakers about their experiences of using comparison sites, the consumer body found that only Skyscanner, Kayak and TripAdvisor scored highly in terms of finding the best deals and being easy to use. “Holidaymakers spend hours and sometimes days looking for the best hotel rates and…

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What Greta Thunberg Can Teach Us About Business Travel

Loknath Das

Was it really just a little over a year ago that one young girl made the decision to go on a school strike in the name of climate change? From protesting alone outside the Swedish Parliament to being named one of the world’s most influential teens by TIME magazine, Greta Thunberg has had quite a year. Although her speeches have gone viral, gaining worldwide attention, perhaps the most visible and impactful commitment that Thunberg has made is by living as low-carbon a life as possible. In addition to being vegan, she declines…

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Where In The World? Travel Trends For 2020 – Part 2

Loknath Das

From the rise in eco-friendly hotels to the search for authentic experiences, the world of travel has never been so ‘woke’. In a series of articles revealing what’s new and what’s coming up on the horizon, I continue my look at what’s happening in travel for 2020. 1. Slow Europe Of course, the appeal of not doing very much on holiday is not a new concept – in fact, it’s often the very tenet of what a holiday should be about. But in the days of trying to achieve an…

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Why It Might Pay to Delay Planning Holiday Travel

Loknath Das

Procrastinators who have yet to book holiday flights might still have a shot at getting reasonably priced tickets—especially if they’re willing to play chicken with the airlines. AAA analyzed three years of domestic flights to identify the best times to reserve seats for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel and found that dawdlers got the best prices. Those who waited until seven to 13 days before the week of Thanksgiving paid $482 on average. Those who waited until that close to the week of Christmas paid around $488. By those calculations, holiday…

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12 Packing Hacks For Winter Travel, So Your Suitcase Isn’t Super Heavy

Loknath Das

Traveling light seems to come easier for some people more than others. Even if you think it’s impossible to, there are ways to pack light — even in the winter. Maybe you learned the hard way: On one trip, your overstuffed bag literally ripped at the seams and you vowed to never overpack again. (Just me?) Plus, you tended to wear the same few outfits anyway — and in most photos, you’re bundled up in your coat, hat, and scarf, so it turned out that it really didn’t matter how many…

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