Safety & Health
Travel and mental health
Travel is presented as restorative and is also disruptive, and the effects on wellbeing are more complicated than the marketing.
Sofia Marchetti
26 articles by Marchetti
Where to Stay
Booking platforms and what they do
The intermediaries between travellers and providers shape prices and choices in ways worth understanding.
Planning
The trip you actually want
Most itineraries are assembled from other people’s recommendations, which is why so many trips are competent and unmemorable.
Safety & Health
Women travelling alone
The considerations are specific and real, the practical measures are straightforward, and none of it is a reason not to go.
Food & Culture
Eating with dietary requirements
Managing allergies, intolerances and dietary choices abroad requires preparation, and the risks differ substantially between them.
Flights & Transport
Cruises, and what they actually involve
A distinct form of travel with specific advantages and a set of criticisms that are largely accurate.
Planning
Travelling with a partner without falling out
Trips test relationships in specific and predictable ways, and most of the friction is arrangeable in advance.
Food & Culture
Cooking classes, food tours and learning to eat
Organised food experiences vary from genuinely educational to expensive theatre, and the distinction is assessable in advance.
Money
What things actually cost around the world
Cost of living comparisons are widely quoted and frequently misleading, and the useful comparison is narrower.
Flights & Transport
Overnight travel and how to do it
Night trains, buses and ferries convert a travel day into a night, with a trade-off worth calculating.
Safety & Health
Wildlife, animals and ethical questions
Animal attractions vary from genuine conservation to serious welfare problems, and the distinction is assessable.
Where to Stay
Staying somewhere remote
Rural and isolated accommodation requires different preparation, and the failures are logistical rather than dramatic.
Money
Where the money actually goes
How tourist spending is distributed determines whether it benefits a destination, and the differences between arrangements are large.
Planning
What to book and what to leave open
Over-planning and under-planning both produce specific failures, and the line between them is reasonably clear.
Food & Culture
Photographs, and taking better ones
The improvements that matter most require no equipment, and the etiquette matters more than the technique.
Where to Stay
Booking accommodation in advance or on arrival
The case for arranging everything and the case for arranging nothing, and where each actually applies.
Money
Bargaining, tipping and paying the right amount
Conventions differ enormously, and applying home habits abroad produces either offence or unnecessary expense.
Flights & Transport
Airports, security and getting through faster
Airport processes are more predictable than they feel, and a small number of decisions remove most of the friction.
Safety & Health
Water, food and staying well on the road
Travellers’ diarrhoea is the most common travel illness, and the prevention and management are straightforward.
Where to Stay
Travelling with children without misery
Family travel fails on pace and logistics rather than on destination, and both are addressable.
Money
Phones, data and staying connected
Roaming charges have fallen in some places and remain punitive in others, and the alternatives are straightforward.
Planning
Packing, and why everyone takes too much
The rules that experienced travellers converge on are consistent, and the reason people ignore them is identifiable.
Food & Culture
Understanding a place beyond the sights
The difference between visiting somewhere and understanding it is a small number of habits.
Flights & Transport
Trains, buses and the ground alternatives
Surface transport is frequently faster than flying once the whole journey is counted, and it changes the trip.
Where to Stay
Hostels, hotels and everything in between
Accommodation categories have blurred, and choosing well means matching the type to what the trip requires rather than to a budget band.
Planning
Planning a trip backwards
Most people plan from the destination outward, which produces itineraries that do not survive the first day.