A Christmas that changed me: my life was an adventure holiday – and I just wanted to settle down
It was fun to climb mountains, visit glaciers and slide down volcanoes, until the thought of a house and kids began to seem more exciting
June 2023
Readers' travel tips
Share tips on great places to visit as a student – you could win a holiday voucher
Tell us about your favourite student trip – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break
May 2023
‘It’s all about freedom and adventure’: five of the best bikepacking routes in Scotland
A cyclist who circumnavigated the globe says Scotland takes some beating because of its access-all-areas freedom
I had the time of my life backpacking in Sydney in the 90s. I never want my children to do anything like it
Decades ago, BM Carroll had the only dry eyes at her family farewell from Cork airport. Now her children are 18 and 20, and the shoe is on the other foot
As my teen daughter heads off backpacking, I now understand what I put my own mother through
Nova Weetman
I want to be supportive of her but not hovering. I want to be cool but not aloof. I want to be like the perfect travel guidebook
January 2023
My bad trip
My bad trip – I took a voyage of self-discovery, but the self I discovered was a total buzzkill
Getting dumped right before a solo overland journey from Barcelona to Beijing derailed my bid to rebrand myself as a woman of the world
December 2022
‘Everyone is so desperate’: backpackers grapple with Australia’s high costs
Travellers in search of a laid-back, barefoot lifestyle are instead facing housing stress and rethought plans
May 2022
Thailand cove made famous in The Beach reopens to visitors after four-year closure
Maya Bay was once a sorry victim of overtourism. Now the beach’s wild residents – and a restricted number of human visitors – are returning
April 2022
Backpacker hostels may be cheap – but there’s so much else to love about them
Lamorna Ash
In these temporary communities, each new encounter with someone great and surprising feels like an incredible fluke, says author Lamorna Ash
February 2022
I envisaged a two-week visit when I arrived at the youth hostel. I didn’t think I’d stay six months
Amy Fallon
At a time when so many people were alone, Amy Fallon accidentally moved into the largest share house she’d ever lived in
May 2021
Work is where your laptop is: meet the globetrotting digital nomads
Worldwide shift to flexible and home working in pandemic has led to rise of new kind of backpacker
November 2020
Race shapes travel: backpacking as a black woman
In an extract from her new book, the Kenyan writer reflects on how guidebooks to Africa, with their warnings of danger, instilled fear in her – until a solo trip to Burkina Faso
June 2020
Life after lockdown on Germany's Baltic coast
The mood in the seaside town of Warnemünde is upbeat as tourism begins to recover, but foreign visitors are still thin on the ground despite the opening of Germany’s borders this week
February 2020
New visa rules encourage backpackers to help in Australia's bushfire recovery
Volunteer work in the worst-affected regions can now count towards second- and third-year working holiday visas
August 2019
New life for Switzerland’s hippy valley
In the age of overtourism, a bohemian mountain community in Ticino has rejected national-park status (and fast-track development) in favour of grassroots projects
June 2019
10 of Europe's best hostels with pools
Whether on a city rooftoop or at a rural retreat, these hostels all make a splash by offering an indoor or outdoor pool to chill in
10 of Europe’s best hostels near city railway stations
Don’t go the extra mile for a bed in Europe’s great cities. From Rome to Vienna, Berlin to Barcelona, here are 10 great hostels just a short hop from the train
Five great Interrail itineraries across Europe
'It was more than a holiday': how Interrailing changed my life
Back on track: my return to Interrailing 30 years on
