Have you already got a holiday planned on the horizon, or are you more of a last-minute travel planner? Whether you want a food-focused escape or a “healthy holiday” away from life’s little stresses, then 2019’s travel trends are sure to have you tempted to book a holiday today.
Healthy Holidays Are Becoming The Norm
Wellness Tourism
Last October, it was widely reported that 18-30 Club Holidays were no more after 50 long years. The Mediterranean resorts which have spent decades cleaning up the carnage caused by numerous drinking challenges and cheap takeaways are sure to be happy that they have lost their appeal. We have now entered a time where healthy holidays are driven by young people who want to be awake and sober whilst they explore the local sights.
The huge rise in wellness tourism, which is now worth $639bn globally, is growing twice as fast as general tourism and this is just down to young people. Wellness retreats and resorts are now welcoming people of all ages with holiday packages for every life stage, from stag dos to mumcations. Yoga, meditation, and wellness are all huge focuses, with some resorts including healthy eating options and juice cleanses alongside them. It’s time to pack your yoga mat and high waisted gym leggings!
Solo Travel
Airport Timetable
Solo holidays are now a huge focus for travel companies. The idea of heading to a location on your own and travelling alongside a group of other like-minded travellers has a lot of appeal to those who just want to get out and see the world and, thanks to the “#MeToo” movement, more solo women are getting the confidence to book their own travel adventures.
Some of the most popular trips for solo travellers tend to be walking and adventure trips. Walking and hiking amongst unseen parts of your destination makes the experience all that more special and is perfect when taking part with a group, especially when you have met other people that you want to explore with.
Asia is one of the most popular destinations for solo travellers. It’s a great way to explore and try out new experiences and cultures without having to worry about much internal travel or constant border crossings and hostel hunting.
Weekend Trips
With more people working longer and being unable to take the time they want off work, weekend trips are set to be huge in 2019. Over 53% of travellers have said in a recent survey that they plan to make more regular weekend excursions this year, with many wanting to spend time exploring new places. European cities and hotspots are set to see an increase in tourist numbers, with many taking advantage of more readily available flight routes and cheaper accommodation.
Unique Experiences
Experience is now being chosen over material possessions and overdone tourist destinations according to new statistics. Over 60% of travellers are said to favour new and authentic experiences over the typical tourist attractions. This means that in 2019, travellers will be actively seeking out a vast variety of activities, from outdoor sleeping arrangements and authentic cooking classes, and looking for things which focus on happiness and comfort.
Lemur
Wildlife excursions are on the rise in Madagascar, thanks to the beautiful landscape and wildlife. There are currently 86 different species of lemur living in Madagascar and fauna and flora species which are over tens of millions of years old. Peru is also becoming a huge draw for tourists, who want to want the hike their way into Machu Picchu. Set up high in the Andes Mountains, the Incan citadel was built in the 15th century and today offers a fierce challenge for those willing, and able, to trek there.
Machu Picchu
If you want to take part in these experiences but are limited to a budget, don’t let that stop you from pursuing your travelling dreams. Whether you want to visit some more cities on your weekends or plan a month-long trip, Skysurf.Travel is here to help you find cheap flights to get you to where you want to go. Explore the best deals and start planning your trip today.
The article has been contributed by our guest writer, Natalie.
SkySurf.Travel is currently seeking someone to travel the world to eight different cities. The selected applicant will receive $2,000, which will go towards his or her trip, for an adventure of a lifetime. Here are some tips on how you can travel the world for only $2,000!
Try Couchsurfing. You can stay with locals for free and it’s a great way of meeting new people. If you can’t find a host or you aren’t comfortable using it, you can try hostels or private rooms on Airbnb for cheap accommodation. If it’s warm outside, you can even try camping. Ask your hosts or hostel staff for cheap and free local things to do.
Go grocery shopping and cook at your hosts living space. It’s a good idea to cook and then wash the dishes for your hosts as a token of appreciation. Taking the Host out, bringing a small gift or some other gesture are also good ideas. This can cost you about $70/week, and even a lot cheaper, depending on which country you are visiting. That’s about $500 for two months of grocery shopping. That leaves you with $900.
Use public transportation, trusted carpooling services such as BlaBlaCar, or hitchhike. Here’s the guide to hitchhiking the world, and here’s a price list of public transportation in 80 cities around the world. For example, a day pass in Prague costs 5 euros, while in Paris a 1-day pass costs around 11 euros. Let’s say I set aside a budget of $75/week for transportation. That’s a total of $600 for two months, which leaves me with $300! You can try a service like Rome2Rio for searching the cheapest public transportation to any destination. Stay away from taxis if you can. Public transportation is the best way, IMHO, to explore any city. Also, try renting out a bicycle if you can; it’s cheap or can be free, a great and fast way to see and explore any city, and it’s good exercise!
Use free Wi-Fi and apps like Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Viber, Skype, etc. to make calls anywhere abroad for free.
Transacting money directly from the debit card in the local currency is a better way than exchanging money to the local currency.
Try out some free city tours, for example with a service like Freetour.com
If you are a student, make sure to bring your student ID with you. Many museums and such have student rates and the savings can add up quite a bit.
Some cities may offer tourist cards. These can be big money savers. Pay a small price for free museums, discounted public transportation, attraction discounts, and more. Do some research to see if the city you will be traveling to has tourist cards.
Be vigilant at all times. A great way to save money is not to lose it! So be aware of pickpockets, especially in big cities.
You can pick up some freelance work while you travel to earn some extra money, such as with Upwork, a global freelancing platform where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely.
Explore nature. Hike a mountain or go swimming in the ocean. Take a ton of photos. Catch a tan on the beach and relax to the sound of the waves, while doing a yoga class. There are plenty of activities you can do in the great outdoors, and many are free.
Pub crawls can be free or cheap and a great way to meet people and to check out the local nightlife party scene. Sometimes a free beer or shots are included. It’s not required to drink when you pub crawl and you can always grab a soda or juice.
Research the internet for free local events, museums, parks, things to do, etc. Also download some free travel apps, such as:
Google Trips. This app automatically maps out a half day or a full day with suggestions for things to see and do.
Rome2Rio. Use this app to discover how to get anywhere by plane, train, bus, ferry & car
Meetup. Meetup provides a way to connect with individuals with similar hobbies and interests. Join in on a local soccer game, learn a new language, or even learn local cuisine by taking a cooking class.
Party With. Use this app to link up with locals and fellow travelers for local nightlife. Keep in mind that alcohol can be expensive at bars and restaurants, so try to set a small budget aside for it, or don’t drink it at all.
All Events. An easy way to find activities to explore. Search for local concerts, sporting events, and local food.
Geosure may be one of the best travel apps for safety information. It provides comprehensive street-level scores using crime and safety information from government organizations, local authorities, and crowd generated responses to assess a neighbor’s risk level.
CityMapper. Travelers in search of easy transportation will see that CityMapper makes finding the best route simple. Whether your car sharing or taking local subways the app saves time and money in route.
Like a Local. Like a Local is meant to help travelers find fun spots to hang out in a place, just as a local would do, from restaurants and bars to art galleries and holiday parks. The app works completely offline and features cities like Munich, Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Vienna.
Hostelworld. Use this app to find and book cheap hostels around the world.
Sygic. Sygic Maps is a free, great app for getting around a city by walking or driving when you have no internet access. Make sure to download the maps of the countries before visiting.
These are just a few free travel apps I recommend. There are many travel apps out there, so it’s a good idea to research a few, as well as any local travel apps, before your trip. With all these apps nowadays to meet new people and find things to do, you should have an eventful and fun experience. You can even try dating apps. Who knows? Maybe you’ll fall in love with a special man or woman in a foreign country (that’s if you’re single, of course 😊 ). The possibilities are endless of what one can do without having to spend a lot of money, or any at all. Traveling on a budget can be a more fulfilling experience. It’s really about the experience and the people you meet, and not just what you see and how much you spend.
Once a SkySurf.Travel travel job applicant is selected and starts his or her journey, we’ll provide handy travel tips and advice along the way so that the trip can be as smooth as possible. If you haven’t already and are interested in traveling the world and getting paid for it, please read more details here. If you’re not interested, but know someone who may be, please share this post. This can be a great opportunity; for example, for art or history students, photographers, travel writers, or anyone who just wants to explore the world. If you have any questions, please contact us from the footer of the SkySurf.Travel homepage; and if you have any comments or tips you’d like to add, please post below.
Want to travel around the world and blog about your adventure? Now’s your chance. SkySurf.Travel is looking for a travel blogger to travel the world. The selected applicant will receive $2,000 for the adventure of a lifetime.
All you have to do is:
Create a two-month multi-city flight itinerary at SkySurf.Travel
Write a short cover letter and record a short video
Send us some work samples (blog, photos, videos, etc.)
The two-month multi-itinerary flight itinerary total must be under $2,000 at SkySurf.Travel from your home airport.
To apply, write a short cover letter (3,000 characters or less) with a video (one minute or less) as to why you should get hired for this job, along with any blogs you have written in the past or are currently working on. You’ll also need to be taking photos and recording video, so if you have any photo and/or video work, make sure to include those as well. All applicants must apply to this Upwork application.
Deadline entry for this application is in two months: March 31, 2019. An applicant will be chosen based on the best cover letter, video, and prior blog writing work. The selected applicant and SkySurf.Travel will be bound to a contract at Upwork.com, so you must have an account at Upwork. You will be paid via Upwork before every flight, so if your multi-city itinerary contains 8 flights, there will be 8 milestones; each milestone will cover your flight and accommodation.
Your departure date must be before May 24, 2019, and your trip duration must be at least two months. If you happen to build a multi-city itinerary for cheaper than $2,000 at SkySurf.Travel; great! You will still receive the $2,000. For example, if you can build a multi-city itinerary for $600, you’ll have an extra $1,400 you can use for accommodation or anything you please. Once an applicant is selected, the Skysurf.Travel team can help him or her build an even cheaper multi-city itinerary upon request. Ideally, we would like to have someone fly to 8 different cities (one city per week).
The selected applicant will then blog (800+ words each blog post) in English about his or her adventure with photos, videos (vlogs), and Instagram stories, writing about their experiences and suggesting handy travel tips, three times a week. That’s a total of 24 blog entries. The blog entries must include local food, culture, nightlife, nature, transportation, and ways to stay on budget. Your adventure blog will be featured here at the SkySurf.Travel blog.
If you have any questions, please contact us via Upwork messenger or the contact form, which can be found in the footer of the SkySurf.Travel homepage. This job is open to anyone from around the world who is 18 years of age or older and can write in the English language. Make sure to sign up to the SkySurf.Travel newsletter at the homepage to receive job updates to your inbox.
The purpose of this Round-the-world trip is to show people that it doesn’t require a lot of money to travel the world. In this case, for less than $2,000 (the average cost of a single round-trip flight ticket with accommodation) for flights to several destinations in one trip, using the SkySurf.Travel tool.
SkySurf.Travel is a website for flexible travelers to find the cheapest flight deals to various destinations around the world. You can create the cheapest round-the-world (RTW) flight itinerary possible. No other website can beat it, and this job is to prove it. Just check out a few of the examples below on how to create one for really cheap:
As an example, I have created a flight itinerary to 8 European cities (a city each week) from New York City (NYC) and back, for under $600! All flights are non-stop. That means I’ll have an additional $1,400 for accommodation, transportation, and any extra travel expenses. Take a look at my BookIt List and flight map screenshots that were generated at SkySurf.Travel below. To learn more about how to build an economical flight itinerary, visit the SkySurf.Travel blogs posted above.
SkySurf.Travel BookIt List ItinerarySkySurf Travel Flight Map Europe – Example Travel Route Generated at SkySurf.Travel
My example flight itinerary destinations include: (April 3 – May 29, 2019)
New York (Stewart International Airport SWF) – Starting point (a bus ride from Port Authority to SWF airport only costs $20)
Dublin, Ireland (April 3, 2019) – $112
Oslo, Norway (April 10, 2019) – $34
Budapest, Hungary (April 17, 2019) – $34
Warsaw, Poland (April 24, 2019) – $23
Brussels, Belgium (May 1, 2019) – $44
Craiova, Romania (May 8, 2019) – $17
Paris, France (May 15, 2019) – $55
London, England (May 22, 2019) – $33
New York (May 29, 2019, JFK Airport) – $229
That’s a grand total of $581 for all flights. The possibilities for creating an economical multi-city flight itinerary are endless. Visit SkySurf.Travel to start building yours.
Rules:
Applying for this SkySurf.Travel Round-the-World trip is free. No purchase is necessary.
All applications must be in the form of a short video (one minute or less) with a brief written description (3,000 characters or less).
Applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 31, 2019. Late applications will not be eligible.
Your departure date must be before 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, May 24, 2019.
To apply, you must agree to these Terms & Conditions:
In order to participate, applicants must be 18 years of age at the travel start date and be able to write in the English language.
You will be paid via the Upwork platform before each flight in a series of milestones. The total cost of flights and accommodation cannot exceed $2,000. If your trip exceeds $2,000, you will be responsible for any additional expenses.
Blog entries must contain 800 words or more. The blog entries should include local food, culture, nightlife, nature, transportation, and ways to stay on budget. You must deliver your work before each flight. If for some reason you cannot deliver your work before each flight, please contact us via Upwork to arrange a delivery time.
Excludes medical and/or trip insurance. By participating in the SkySurf.Travel Round-the-World trip, applicants agree to release and hold harmless SkySurf.Travel, (Soma Sciences and Arts Studio LLC) against any and all claims, injury or damage arising out of or relating to participation in this trip.
The duration of the trip must be for 2 months (8 weeks).
You must have a valid passport (and visas, if required by the countries you are traveling to).
The trip must be booked 30 days prior to departure and may take place any time before May 24, 2019.
All submitted content may be used by SkySurf.Travel in any future initiatives and for any purpose, including print or online marketing. Portions of the trips may also be documented by SkySurf.Travel, and any resulting footage may be used by SkySurf.Travel in any manner or for any purpose.
Any information collected about applicants will be maintained in accordance with SkySurf.Travel’s privacy policy. It will not be shared with third parties without express authorization.
This job is void where prohibited by law.
The selected applicant may be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility and a publicity release unless prohibited by law.
