Travel Tips

Beechworth is beautiful. You’ll find it by peeling off the highway between Sydney and Melbourne, in the Victorian high country. Not far from Albury-Wodonga. It’s a town born from the 1852 gold rush and made famous by the Ned Kelly Gang trials. That era has been preserved with such respect that the Australian National Heritage…

It has been five years since COVID-19 stalled Victoria’s tourism sector. With borders shut and lockdowns dragging on, once-bustling regions like the Great Ocean Road saw visitor numbers plummet. But the rebound has been remarkable: 2.6 million visitors made the trip in 2023, climbing to 3.3 million in 2024, the highest on record. To see…

It’s easy to forget what travel was like before smartphones and laptops. On long-haul flights, these devices help with everything from boarding passes and in-flight entertainment to booking transport when you land. Many travellers also bring work with them or need to stay connected throughout the entire trip. That’s why bringing a travel-friendly Power Bank…

Getting to your final destination without any breaks is always going to have more appeal for the modern traveller. Yet I feel like the art of a well-chosen layover isn’t talked about enough as it should be. To me, it all comes down to your buffer. When you’ve worked in a layover on your way…

With direct flights into Hawaii – at least from Australia – only taking you to Honolulu on the island of Oahu, many guests to the closest American State to our country don’t take the opportunity to explore the surrounding islands. Or at least don’t go further than Maui. In fact, it took me more than…

Travelling is an experience. Travelling well is an art. The popularity and time-honoured importance of “travel hacks” are well-documented in the age of social media. Just about everyone is scrambling for ways to make their holiday feel more like a holiday and less like a task. Just open TikTok or Instagram and you’ll meet a…

Even when we don’t consider the frustrating AUD to USD exchange rate, New York City ain’t cheap. But when Qantas’ direct flight from Sydney to New York set to launch next year, the city will have never been more accessible for Australian tourists. So you’re going to have even more reason to make the trip…

We’ve talked at length about how Downtown L.A. has become one of the most exciting precincts in the Californian city – a long overdue rebirth of this historic hub. But when you’ve got just 24 hours to spend here, where should you go? Where should you stay? What should you see? And perhaps most importantly:…

If you’re travelling through San Francisco Airport in California anytime soon and have at least a few hours in a stopover, chances are you’ll have enough time to head to the nearby In-N-Out Burger. Which, in my humble opinion, remains the best burger under $5 in the world. So how can you fit it in?…

As a frequent traveller, and co-host of the podcast Jetlag (you can listen to both seasons HERE), I’m often asked how to best avoid the dreaded repercussions of international travel. As part of an ongoing series on the AU review, I’m going to be sharing my tips and tricks to do just that. If you’re…

Los Angeles is a difficult city to navigate without a car, but it’s something those on a budget need to manage one way or another. Arriving at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) is the first step in that navigation. How do you get out of there as quickly as humanly possible? Before LAX-it and Uber/Lyft…

If you’ve travelled in the past two years, you’d know that lost luggage is an all too real possibility. For many, the trauma of a lost bag has offered food for thought, so much so that we are witnessing a redirection towards a more ‘minimalist mindset’ – and a resurgence of the ‘carry-on only’ travel…

Whether you’re embarking from Sydney or Brisbane, we think all Aussies can agree that very few holidays capture that quintessential tropical lifestyle like Carnival Cruise Line South Pacific expeditions. That long-awaited dream of island hopping across vast archipelagos and relaxing on an epic cruise in one itinerary is why many Aussies of all ages choose…

Where do I sit? It’s often a question that plagues the average traveller, especially when flying in economy. Should I get the window? Aisle? Should I go on the side or in the middle? Should I spend the extra money on choosing a seat (as is often the way, especially with a budget airlines)? The…

Before you head on your next holiday to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, take heed of these 7 hot tips that will help make you a pro, as you embark on your voyage to the theme park destination of the world. 1. If you’re staying at an on site hotel, you may get early…

When travelling to a new city, you’ll often find bundle ticket offers that help tourists visit many of the main attractions in that region for a discounted rate. These sightseeing passes can be great ways to save money, and even visit some attractions you may not have considered otherwise. In recent trips to the Big…

Occupying more than 25,000 acres in Orlando, the footprint of Walt Disney World – Disney’s first park outside of California, opening in 1971 – is the largest dedicated to any theme park in the world. And 50 years later (the celebrations of which conclude on 31st March), still only half of that land is being…

With all the news about airport delays over the last year, you’ve probably been wondering how early you need get to the airport before your flight. For those travelling within Canada, here’s how to pre-determine at least some of the delays you might face. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CASTA) website reports on the…

Sydney electronic duo Dust of Us recently released their latest EP, Never Had The Time. This is a collection of seven songs, imbued in moody vocals and succinct layered electronica. We were crushing on the track “Punching Bag” when it was dropped late last year, and have been keenly anticipating the release of this EP. It…

Shooting a travel video is always a lot of fun, because you also enjoy a new country at the same time, besides the fact that you are working. You can see the most beautiful corners of the world, get a lot of cool emotions, and at the same time share your own experience with your…

Sydney outfit Inklines are enjoying a strong start to 2021, with the release of singles “Blossom” and more recently “All Gone”. Both are from a forthcoming EP due later this year.  With new music comes shows, and with the re-opening of Sydney post-COVID still ongoing, the band have put together a choice list of their…

Australia is a true nation of immigrants. According to data collected by the Australian Parliament, an estimated 28.2 percent of the country’s population was overseas-born in 2015. That is very nearly one in three Australians. With approximately 27.4 percent of its population born overseas in 2018, according to Stats NZ, New Zealand is nearly as…

Keeping travel dreams alive and setting goals has never felt more important. We can all agree that 2020 has been an unfortunate year so far, and almost every facet of daily life has been wrought by this ongoing global pandemic, the start of which now feels like forever ago. The arts has been one of…

Whether you are a seasoned pow chaser or beginner shredder, everyone knows Canadian snow is the absolute stuff of legend. For 5-6 months a year, soft, fluffy snow falls all across the province, and visitors from every corner of the globe flock for a piece of the action.  For folks on the other side of…

With all this talk about the new NYC to Sydney direct route that Qantas are proposing to launch in the coming years – and the Air New Zealand direct NYC to Auckland route that’s going to get us one step closer in October 2020 – I can’t help but wonder if there is a better…

If you’ve ever tried to fly one way to North America from Australia, chances are you’ve noticed that a flight one way is often more expensive than a return flight. There are a number of reasons for this we won’t get into here – but what if you do need a one way flight? Here’s…

Adelaide group The Coconut Kids recently completed a successful debut run at SXSW in Austin, Texas – taking part in what is easily, one of the world’s biggest showcases of new music. For the French-inspired indie folk group, the trip took them all the way from South Oz to some of the richest areas of music in…

Travelling alone can seem like a daunting idea. As soon as you hit accept on that plane ticket purchase you find yourself immediately overcome by worries: What if I get lost by myself? Who will I eat dinner with so that I don’t look like a total loner? Will I have to ask strangers to…