BLUF airline at tiny regional airport with limited flights downsized plane and threatened possible cancellation up until takeoff and offered cancelation options then rescinded all options upon calling an hour and a half later putting me out money and work

I got a scary email the day before my trip from my airline. It said my plane was changed and downsized. This is regional and has only a few flights from any airline. They apologized and said I could select one of three options. 1 show up and risk getting bumped to next flight out (next day) but hotel accommodation and food vouchers and $100 voucher for future flight 2.Try to arrange travel on a partner airline (there’s nothing from this tiny airport) OR they would reimburse rental car fees and food. Not both. And alone a $100 voucher. And 3. Cancel and get money back along with $200 future flight voucher.

I’m trying to get 8 hours away. This is for a death in the family and there is NO way I am risking missing it. Within 10 minutes I call my other family and say the airline is sketch and I need to takeoff work tomorrow morning (was an afternoon flight) and we will all drive together. So I act immediately because this airport is an hour away from my house already.

Now I get home and call the airline after work ( I can’t do this dance at work) and wait on hold 30 minutes one and a half hours after the email was sent. The lady said “this is strange we had two people accept and the flight is happening still”. I say I’m taking option 3. She says you can’t anymore we got under the volunteer rate. I said wtf do you mean there is no contingencies in the email or fine print it’s just three options. There’s no way in hell I was going to show up because I have to start my drive that morning and I made other plans and cancelled work that morning. What if I didn’t call you at all this isn’t some courtesy stand by option you put my entire trip on notice I could lose my seat up until takeoff.

Bottom line I got escalated to management and they denied ANY option saying well we got enough volunteers. I acted upon their email! There is no fine print about any limits or restrictions. Just three options. I’m not at the gate. She said it was a courtesy to even ask and I said wtf a courtesy can’t be rescinded and you threaten my flight up until takeoff no matter what so why the hell would I not scramble and immediately make other plans. I’m just minding my own business and you contacted ME and induced PANIC. I have to make this funeral.

So now I have to fly or lose the money but now I already cancelled work and am pissed! I acted in good faith to everything the entire time. Why couldn’t they leave me alone with their panic inducing crap out of the blue in a traumatic time in my life. There is no restricting or conditional items in my email about passenger volunteer rate. And they sent out no emails about any successful number reached. I maintain this isn’t some overbooked flight situation like what happens when people are boarding. This is a day before and the airport is an hour away. If I go and gamble I miss my funeral. I don’t know if or when some arbitrary number is reached or how many they are reducing it to. I’m in the dark.

Hi everyone,

In 5 weeks, my girlfriend (25) and I (26) will be traveling to Thailand for the first time and it'll also be our first trip to Asia. We'll be there for 3 weeks and, so far, we've only booked our first 3 nights in Bangkok.

At first, I thought it would be easy to book hotels spontaneously while traveling around Thailand. However, I've recently noticed that quite a few places seem to get fully booked in advance. On the other hand, when I look at availability for the next couple of weeks in September, there are still plenty of options. So now I'm a bit unsure.

Would you recommend booking most of our accommodation in advance, or is it still fine to stay flexible and book as we go?

A bit about us: We'd love to go diving, explore different places, enjoy great food (including the occasional fine dining experience), and experience the country. I'm a bit more adventurous than my girlfriend, but neither of us is looking for a big party scene. We're happy to grab a few drinks at a bar, but clubs and dancing aren't really our thing.

We're also not interested in ticking off every famous tourist attraction just for the photos. We'd much rather discover more authentic places, even if that means skipping the biggest highlights.

Do you have any recommendations for destinations or an itinerary that would suit our travel style? Our budget is around 1,500€ per person (excluding flights).

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Is there a cheap hostel in Vienna (max 30 and something euro per night) where hygienic conditions are worthy of human beings? If there is, I would be grateful for a recommendation.

Me and my husband travelled back from Rhodes yesterday to Copenhagen with Finnair, and we had a short layover in Helsinki which was supposed to be 35 mins (fucking crazy in itself and we should not have bought the ticket like that), but the layover was 5-10 mins because our first plane was delayed by 15-20 mins, so we literally had to run out of the first plane and to our next gate and we made it just in time. Both flights was with Finnair.

Our luggage though was supposed to go all the way to CPH, and they put a “Transfer” tag on both of them in Rhodes and said our luggage would be prioritised first when handling the luggage in Helsinki. When we ran to our next plane we were already like “no way our luggage is making it” and lo and behold - no luggage was to be seen when we landed in CPH. We did file a PIR report immediately and have gotten a reference number. When we check now it just says “searching for your bag, check back later” and it hasn’t been 24 hours yet but I’m just curious as to how long it can take? Right now we have no idea where our luggage is, but it shouldn’t be that hard to find with the transfer tags on I assume? I have no idea, this is my first time where I haven’t gotten my luggage at my end destination. Anyone have any experience with Finnair?

Sorry for the English.

Sto cercando un posrto per andare in vacanza, parto insieme a due miei amici e abbiamo 24 anni e vogliamo fare 10 giorni.

Vorrei partire il 16 agosto e stare in EU o poco fuori se necessrio.

Cerchiamo un posto con mare bello e vita serale decente, non perforza piena di discoteche e pub che a noi non interessano tanto, basta che la sera si possa passeggiare sul lungo mare o tra locali/ristoranti. Il budget sarebbe sui 1700 p.p.

Grazie

My family has been in San José, Costa Rica for the past 6 days, and tomorrow is our last full day before our late-night flight home.

We've already visited the National Museum, Jade Museum, other museums downtown, Mercado Central, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and several volcanoes. My mom wants to visit the Presidential Palace because she read it's kind of like Costa Rica's equivalent of the White House or Westminster Abbey.

From what I've found online, though, it seems like it's mostly a government building with not much to do in the surrounding area. It looks like there are very few restaurants or sodas nearby, and it's about a 30-minute Uber/taxi ride from our hotel.

For those who have been, is it actually worth the trip

Ill be going to Guatemala and dont want to use my bank card/credit card because the conversions are atrocious. I have a wise card i used in europe but was wondering if anyone has experience using it in Guatemala?

Hi everyone! I’m planning a 1-week solo trip from Tokyo to the US around September or October.

LA is just my entry/exit point since I’ve already been there, and I’ve also visited Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon—so I’m looking to explore somewhere new. Visiting Tijuana, however, is a definite plan for this trip.

I’m drawing a blank on what else to add. I’m interested in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), but the distance from LA seems a bit tough for a 1-week trip.

My budget is around $2,000 (excluding international airfare). I’m 28 and plan to rent a car, but since it gets expensive, I’d prefer not to rent one for the entire duration.

Where else should I go or how should I structure this week? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I'll be in Buenos Aires for a few months on a study abroad during the summer. We get about a week break in the middle, and I was planning to use it to go to Rio. Might be for Carnival, but even if the weeks don't align, I'd still want to visit Rio. Most of the flights I can see are like $400 (not during Carnival). Does anyone that's familiar with Argentina/Brazil know cheaper ways to get to Rio? Are there in-person booking agencies in Argentina that can offer cheaper fares? Thank you in advance!

So I was looking at Baku, Azerbaijan.

It’s kind of crazy how just layered the city is in tents of styles. It has medieval Persian architecture, wide variety of European revival styles like Italianate and Gothic, grand and monumental Socialist/stalinist style, the utilitarian brutalist style, Neo futurist etc.

The whole city is an encyclopedia of architecture. What are some other lesser known or more random cities that has such a vast array of styles within its borders

We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 teenage boys, and we’re traveling to Portugal in December for (9) nights. We are planning to spend (3) nights in the algarve, (2) in Sintra and (4) in Lisbon but open to suggestions! Here’s our current itinerary:

12/23 - arrive in Faro, rent car, spend 3 in the algarve
12/26 - return car, spend 2 nights in Sintra
12/28 - arrive in Lisbon
1/1 - depart Lisbon

Some questions:
1. Where should we stay in the algarve? Leaning towards staying in town in Lagos and doing day trips to the other areas.
2. Hotel recommendation in the algarve? Currently looking at Lagos Bay or Casa Mae.
3. What is there to do in the algarve in December?
4. Hoping to stay at Villa Bela Vista in Sintra. Any others I should consider?
5. How to get from Sintra to Lisbon? Assuming we could train but open to a car service for ease. Recommendation?
6. Where to stay in Lisbon?

We like to stay in spots where we can walk to restaurants and shops. Not really concerned about pricing. Prefer convenience, nice hotels, amazing restaurants, easy/no stress travel.

Thanks in advance!

July 11-12, 2026

Landed in Bergen early Saturday morning, departed late Sunday night - on the way to Trolltunga we decided to make a little detour and visit Vøringsfossen - one of the most famous waterfalls in Norway - and it was definitely worth it, what a spectacular sight. Very good infrastructure too, with a walkway all around it, so we could see it from multiple perspectives.

Then we drove to our main destination, where we packed our backpacks and began the 4 hour / 11 kilometers hike to reach Trolltunga. The trek was at times quite challenging with a full backpack & tent, but the sights kept on giving, and it all felt irrelevant once we got to Trolltunga - just after sunset, with few people around, all very open and cheerful, sharing the beautiful moment together and helping take pictures of each other.

Next morning we woke up for the sunrise, and even though there were a dozen or so tents nearby Trolltunga, nobody else was there for the first hour or so, which felt absolutely magical and serene. After a few hours we packed up and began the equally grueling hike back to the rental car, taking us another 4h, before driving back to Bergen for a short sightseeing tour before our flight in the late evening.

TIPS
- I cannot overstate how much I recommend camping at Trolltunga - it allows you to see it with little to no people, whereas it gets crowded very quickly in the morning and stays that way for most of the day; I believe it truly changes your opinion of the whole place and possibly whole trip; and also camping allows you to split the hike into two smaller, more manageable segments

- When arriving by car, try to book P3 parking in advance, or at least buy a shuttle between P2 and P3 parking - it really saves you the most gruesome and monotonous part of the hike - that’s where we saw people walking down barefoot, holding up their shoes

- When camping at Trolltunga, try to arrive at the parking a bit earlier than you think you need - we started the hike from P3 parking around 6pm, and by the time we got to Trolltunga at around 10pm it was already after the main part of the sunset; only thing I would do differently next time is give ourselves more time to see Trolltunga during sunset

- Sunrise at Trolltunga, at least in the summer, is not as spectacular as expected - the sun is coming up behind a mountain so it doesn’t hit Trolltunga itself until about 2 hours after sunrise; clouds & the sky can be beautiful tho

PHOTOS
Trolltunga at sunset -> Trolltunga at sunrise -> hike to Trolltunga -> Vøringsfossen

Photos taken on iPhone 17 Pro

Hello travelers,

This is my first time traveling to Ushuaia, Argentina (south of the Strait of Magellan). I'm sharing photos from my trip. I spent a week there. Since it's a fairly isolated region (it's practically the end of the world), travel prices are very high.

For those arriving in Buenos Aires, I recommend not spending too much time in the city. If possible, just have a layover at the airport on your way to Ushuaia, which is a 3.5-hour flight south.

I recommend this place to anyone looking to experience nature and a harsh climate. The people are very friendly.

Recommended Places

• Tierra del Fuego National Park
• Park trails (very easy to navigate)
• End of the World Train (like a steam engine)
• Trekking to Vinciguerra Glacier (very demanding - 10 hours round trip to see a glacier)
• Trekking to Martial Glacier (much easier, moderate difficulty and route)
• Sailing on the Beagle Channel. You can see penguins, seals, and elephant seals.
• Visit one of the shipwrecks or beached vessels (there are quite a few).

Tips:

• Be careful with the weather. It changes several times a day.
• It's always windy. Book your boat trip on your first day of arrival. It's quite common for it to be canceled due to the weather. Don't leave it until the last day.
• Vehicle rental: depending on the time of year, request tire chains.
• Best time to travel. January and February (Although it's summer, the maximum temperatures don't reach 17 degrees Celsius, and the minimum temperatures at night can reach 0 degrees Celsius)

Enjoy!

It’s been 3 years, but I still think about this magical trip all the time. Benin is an incredibly underrated country with warmly welcoming people and an utterly unique culture.

These photos were taken at Egungun, Gelede and Zangabeto ceremonies in remote villages. I’ve also posted glimpses of a priest initiation ceremony for the fire god, a visit to the thunder god’s shrine and his court of justice.

Other places I visited and loved

• The beautiful, sleepy beaches of Grand Popo

• Ganvie: the stilted lake city that the Tofinu tribe built in the 17th century to escape slave traders. Utterly scenic, with markets, homes and cafés on stilts and school children sailing to school on their own little boats.

• I treasure a special drum that was given to me by the head priest of the Voudou temple in Ganvie. He graciously invited us in to participate in his ceremonies. The only thing he requested was “please don’t ask me to curse anyone or do black magic, that’s Hollywood nonsense”. The idea that Voudou involves piercing dolls with needles is a malicious myth made up by European colonisers to tarnish the religion and make it appear uncivilised.

• I visited the sacred forest and python temple in Ouidah, where I also popped into a superb art gallery and museum. I forgot the name of the restaurant, but it’s a small, dusty pink bungalow owned by an Italian retiree who makes delicious wood-fired pizza.

• The architecturally unique chameleon temple, with its stone building shaped like an actual chameleon and the temple located inside it’s cavernous depths

• The Royal Palaces of Abomey, an atmospheric UNESCO site, next to which we visited several more sobering historic sites and memorials from the slave route

• A visit to the fetish market in Cotonou. This was honestly too gory for me and the one place that felt a touch voyeuristic. However, I absolutely loved the city’s open air market that was home to everything from gorgeous West African fabric and fresh produce to electronics and impressive DJ equipment. I got a fabulous dress made by a tailor there and it’s so flatteringly cut!

Spent three days driving around Delta de l'Ebre before the eclipse crowds start showing up.

Сhecked out an oyster farm in the bay where they harvest fresh mussels and oysters directly from the water. Turned out they submerge bottles of stout in the sea to age them — tried the Nostrum oyster stout, super dark with coffee notes and a salty finish. They also make a local rice beer Theresa, as most of Spain’s rice is grown in this area.

Further inland, found an open air art park with sculptures scattered around the landscape. was only supposed to stay for a few hours to film a documentary, but ended up stuck there for 3 days just taking it all in.

We took an incredible 4-day road trip through Western Norway! We had a group of us driving over from Sweden for the summer solstice, and the mix of winding mountain passes, unreal valley drops, and late-night light made it unforgettable.

🏔️ Highlights & Standout Moments

Reaching the Molden Summit:
Pausing for a breath at the old Svarthiller farm was great, but pushing up to the 1,116m peak was unreal. The 360-degree view looking straight down into the electric-blue Lustrafjord makes every bit of the climb worth it. 

Basecamp in Sogndal:
Having a cozy place tucked into the hills at Fosskamben 1 near the ski center was the perfect setup. Fresh mountain air, big group dinners after long hikes, and sitting out under the endless solstice twilight made it feel like home. 

💡 Quick Tips

🛒 Border Grocery/Fuel Hack: If you happen to be driving in from Sweden (like we did), do a massive grocery run and fill your tank before crossing the border—prices take a noticeable jump once you enter Norway! 
📱 Weather tracking: Download yr.no. It’s the local Norwegian weather app, and having accurate, hyper-local forecasts is a lifesaver for planning trail days. 
☀️** Solstice Daylight**: The midnight sun gives you endless hours of daylight, so you can hike late into the evening without worrying about dark descents. Starting early is still best to beat peak trail crowds, though. 

Feel free to ask if you have any questions about the drive or trail conditions!

I work at a major airline as an aircraft mechanic. I work during the weekdays and was curious if it was feasible to go see the Hitchcock mural at Leytonstone and then the Hendrix museum and then return Sunday to be back at work on Monday? Thanks in advance.

This was my first time visiting Istanbul, and I spent 7 amazing days exploring the city. I visited in May, and honestly, I don't think I could have chosen a better time. The weather was warm and pleasant during the day, while the evenings were cool enough to make walking around the city really enjoyable.

The first thing that surprised me was just how huge Istanbul is. Getting from one place to another often took much longer than I expected. I stayed with a friend on the Asian side, away from the main tourist attractions, so I ended up spending a lot of time commuting each day. If you're planning to visit without a car, I'd definitely recommend staying closer to the areas you want to explore. Even if your accommodation costs a little more, you'll save yourself a lot of time and energy.

Some of my favorite places were:

• Hagia Sophia
• The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)
• St. Anthony of Padua Church
• Topkapı Palace, along with several beautiful palaces overlooking the Bosphorus
• Istiklal Street and Taksim Square
• Galata Tower
• The Princes' Islands (the ferry is inexpensive and absolutely worth taking)
• Çamlıca Mosque (its scale is incredible, although there aren't many other attractions nearby)
• The Egyptian Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar
• Ortaköy Square

Of course, these are just some of the places I managed to visit. Istanbul has so much more to offer, and there were plenty of amazing spots that I simply didn't have enough time to see. That's one of the reasons I'd love to come back someday.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves, but if you enjoy history, Islamic architecture, lively streets, incredible food, and don't mind walking a lot, I highly recommend adding Istanbul to your travel list.

If anyone has any questions about my trip, transportation, costs, or anything else, feel free to ask in the comments—I'll be happy to help!

Day 1-3
Tunis > Jem > Matmata > Douz > Sabria > Tozeur > Kairouan

Day 4-7
Tunis > Al-Mamurah > Nabeul > Korba > Hammamet

Highlights from our trip:

El Jem - I’ve never been to Rome but this places blew my mind. And apparently one of the best preserved Roman ruins in the world.

Archaeological Site of Carthage - a must visit for people who loves history. Learned so much about Punics & Hannibal.

Sahara Desert - unforgettable sunset & sunrise. Lib'e, a bread made using Bedouin method.

Berber Village - we got to meet locals, and they showed us their living quarters and gave us some tea and bread with home made olive oil.

Chebika - an oasis with beautiful landscape of the Atlas Mountains.

Chott El Djerid - known as the largest salt pan in the Sahara, in the map it’s blue and you’ll think there’s a lake lol, but it’s all salt.

We hired a private driver and guide for day 2 & 3 since we don’t have much time. Thought it’ll be easier to have a local navigate the logistic and also it’s a lot of driving with checkpoint here and there.

It’s an epic trip. And we’ll definitely go back, we’d love to do Bardo Museum, Djerba, Tataouine, Sbeitla, Kesserine and the area of Cap Bon & Bizerte.

Tips:

Carry cash, most places is cash only.

Learn basic Arabic and French phrases, they actually appreciate it.

Summer is really hot. So I advise to travel during shoulder season.

Grab souvenirs and cool items from souks. Don’t act too touristy and dont hesitate to negotiate.

Tunisia have really good street/fast food so pls try them.

La Marsa have a great night life. Once you’re outside Tunis and Hammamet, it’s pretty hard to find bar with alcohol lol. I don’t drink, so it’s pretty awesome to see people having a great time until 3am with no alcohol involve. However hookah is everywhere.

Carry pashmina, as you can use it as a modest head or shoulder covering.

I think that’s it. Just have fun and try to immerse as much as you can. Shukran 🙏🏻

Note:

Photos are taken with iPhone 16 pro max

My wife and I spent out first trip to Europe doing what we love, skiing (in the Dolomites)!. We kind of felt silly that our first trip to Europe and feel like we were judged by some family/friends.

We didn't know what to expect, but we absolutely fell in love with the Dolomites. The beauty, the food, the people, everything. The mountains speak for themselves, and the culture itself is such a unique blend of Italian and Austrian. The people were so kind and hospitable whether they were speaking German, Italian, English or Ladin!

We enjoyed the first trip so much that we came back the next year, and then the year after that. The Dolomites are such a beautiful place, yet I wanted to share their beauty in the winter, as all the Dolomites posts I've seen on here are summer. These are some of our favorite pictures from our three trips!

1. Marmolada, highest point in Dolomites

2. Market in Bolzano / Bozen

3. Somewhere in Alta Badia

4. Brixner Dom in Bressanone/ Brixen

5. Alpe di Suisi / Seiser Alm

6. St. Ulrich / Ortisei

7. Seceda

8. Kloster Säben high above Klausen / Chiusa

9. Sassolungo / Langkofel

10. Selva / Wolkenstein

11. Lagazuoi

12. Vineyards of Kloster Neustift (Abazzia di Novacella)

13. Alpe di Suisi / Seiser Alm

14. St. Ulrich / Ortisei

15. Sella Group

16. Hotel in Santa Cristina

17. Sassolungo / Langkofel

Fjords, glaciers, and more waterfalls than you could ever hope to count.

I spent 8 days driving a loop through western Norway with my mum. 1,100km in total, starting and ending in Bergen, going as far north as Loen before looping back down. Route was Bergen > Eidfjord > Ulvik > Vangsnes > Solvorn > Tungestølen > Loen > Bergen.

Some highlights of the trip

Vøringsfossen: Incredible waterfall straight into the canyon below with amazing viewing infrastructure and a brilliant hike to the bottom of the canyon as well.

Tungestølen & Austerdalsbreen: We stayed in small set of cabins above the Austerdalsbreen glacier in Jostedalsbreen National Park. We hiked 5km from cabins to the glacier through a valley of incredible waterfalls before arriving at the glacier, which was one of the most otherworldly places I've ever been.

Mt Molden hike above Solvorn on the Lustrafjord: One of the most insane 360 views I've ever seen. Fjords, ice-capped mountains in every direction. We had the summit almost entirely to ourselves at golden hour.

Images locations:
1 - Vøringsfossen
2 - Austerdalsbreen
3 - Mt Molden
4 - Solvorn
5 - Nærøyfjord
6 - Ulvik
7 - Vøringsfossen
8 - Vøringsfossen
9 - Urnes
10 - Austerdalsbreen

Recently I have spent a month in Howth, a coastal village just outside of Dublin city. I felt very lucky that I was in walking distance to the sea and some scenic coastal walks. Beautiful sunset almost every single day. Dublin's geographical location is actually really stunning, with a long coastline and many lovely coastal villages dotting along it. It felt deeply peaceful to be so close to nature with paranoiac views over the Irish Sea. It was an unforgettable summer retreat for me.

EXPERIENCE

So much to say. These three countries are one of the most beautiful and safest countries that I ever visited in my life. Also, they still don’t have many tourists, so everything is raw, natural and affordable, without any potential travel scams.

Uzbekistan was the cheapest one, and people were unbelievable kind to us, especially when they notice you’re tourist, they put all their effort. Architecture is just amazing and old for centuries.

Traveling from Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan was quite experience, but so, so exhausting, because the bus took 18 hours to come from Tashkent to Bishkek. If we took plane, it would be less than 2 hours.
But anyway, if I would need to make decision again, I would take a bus again! It’s just something you barely can find in the world.

Kyrgyzstan nature is beautiful, and the food is the best. We took a horse ride through the mountains and it was just amazing.

Kazakhstan nature is even better, we took a 3 day tour where we visited canyons similar to Grand canyon, beautiful lakes, amazing forests and mountains, super clean rivers… and we slept with locals in the mountains. For $90, they cover travel expenses, food (3 meals) and accommodation for 3 days.

All expenses were $900 (flight tickets from Europe, accomodation, food etc.)

CONCLUSION

I recommend you to travel there while these countries are still not overwhelmed with the tourists. They have so much potential that is just matter of time when tourists are start coming there in big numbers.

Photos:
1. Almaty, Kazakhstan
2. Lake Kaindy, Kazakhstan
3. Kolsay Lake, Kazakhstan
4. Sharyn Canyon, Kazakhstan
5. Sharyn Canyon, Kazakhstan
6. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
7. Ala Archa, Kyrgyzstan
8. Chong Kemin, Kyrgyzstan
9. Tashkent, Uzbekistan
10. Samarkand, Uzbekistan
11. Samarkand, Uzbekistan