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A classic Thai street food market on Yaowarat Road in Bangkok’s Chinatown neighbourhood.

Secrets of a stingy traveller: 10 things I’ve learnt about travel on a budget

The first secret about being a stingy traveller? You’ll have more fun. Here are my tips on how to get around, where to stay and what to eat that will save you a fortune.

  • Paul Marshall

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Sri Lanka has great beaches.

Where’s a good place for family from around the world to meet up?

I am planning a family catch-up for a group of about 20, ages six to 74, joining us from the UK, US, France, Melbourne and Darwin.

  • Michael Gebicki
Until August last year, 75,000 frequent flyer points was enough for a one-way business class flight to South-East Asia with Qantas.

If you’ve been saving up your frequent flyer points, I have some bad news

Is it better to spend your frequent flyer points quickly or save them up over the years, hoping to cash them in for a luxurious bucket-list trip?

  • Chris Chamberlin
Las Ramblas, Barcelona.

I was told to avoid a ‘dodgy’ city. Thankfully, I didn’t listen

I’m sure it was meant well, but that tip from a backpacker in the early 2000s remains one of the worst bits of travel advice I have ever been given.

  • Ben Groundwater
Da Nang’s Marble Mountains and coast.

Worried about travel overseas? Here are five great, safe places to visit

As the Middle East crisis deepens, Australians who had Europe in mind for a holiday might want to consider alternatives in Asia-Pacific.

  • Michael Gebicki
A guidebook and a time when travel included spontaneous discoveries.

I thought guidebooks were dead. Then I picked up an old, second-hand one

I found a dog-eared Lonely Planet in a sleepy street library. It was from 2008, a year I spent the most formative months of my life in South-East Asia.

  • Paul Marshall
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Moorea, French Polynesia. Paradise for some, as long as your accommodation is OK.

A tropical version of Fawlty Towers: Exactly what makes a bad hotel experience

There are a few contenders for the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in. For a start, it certainly helps my appreciation of a hotel if it’s actually finished.

  • Lee Tulloch
I’m toying with taking my family to Mexico later this year.

The world seems scary right now. Here’s why I won’t be staying home

My desire to share the world with my children, to show them that not everywhere looks and feels like Australia, is strong. Perhaps too strong to resist.

  • Ben Groundwater
A cruise on Carnival still costs about the same as cruises used to cost in the ’80s – with a lot more to offer than in those days.

Seeking an affordable holiday? Cruising is much cheaper than it used to be

We’ve all wondered many things about Titanic, but until now, it never crossed my mind to wonder what fares it charged its ill-fated passengers.

  • Brian Johnston
Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.

What should I do during a stopover in Seoul?

I have a five-night stopover in Seoul. Can you suggest what to do? I am keen to leave Seoul for a few days, but don’t want to fly.

  • Michael Gebicki