Travel tips that go beyond the usual

Each page answers one question from the official text, says what is not yet confirmed, and never recommends a company.

Before you go

• Pre-trip checklist for Europe and Japan (printable)A printable checklist of 25 things to check before a trip to Europe or Japan, each linked to a guide built from the official sources.

Where people travel by season

• Summer and winter getaways: where people travelWhere residents of the UK, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand travel in summer and winter, from official statistics.
• Where UK residents travel in summer and winter (2024)The countries UK residents visited most in summer and in winter in 2024, from official statistics, with how much of each destination's year fell in each season.
• Where Canadian residents travel in summer and winter (2025)The countries Canadian residents visited most in summer and winter, 2025, from official statistics.
• Where Irish residents travel in summer and winter (2025)The countries Irish residents visited most in summer and winter, 2025, from official statistics.
• Where Australian residents travel in summer and winterThe countries Australian residents visited most in summer and winter, 2025, from official statistics.
• Where New Zealand residents travel in summer and winterThe countries New Zealand residents visited most in summer and winter, 2025, from official statistics.
• Where Norwegian residents travel in summer and winter (2025)The countries Norwegian residents visited most in summer and winter, 2025, from official statistics.
• Where Finnish residents travel in summer and winter (2025)The countries Finnish residents visited most in summer and winter, 2025, from official statistics.
• Where Europeans fly in winter and summer (Eurostat, 2025)Passengers flying out of European countries in winter and summer 2025, by destination country, from Eurostat; long-haul destinations left out (licence unclear).

Travel hacks, checked against official sources

• Travel hacks, checked against official sourcesPopular travel hacks for flights, hotels, cruises, car hire, scams and card payments, each checked against official EU, UK, US and Japanese sources.
• Flight booking hacks, checked against official rulesPopular flight-booking tips checked against EU, UK and US official sources: cancellations, refunds, overbooking, split tickets and hidden fees.
• Package holidays: when booking together protects youWhen booking a flight and hotel together becomes a protected package holiday, what happens if the company goes bust, and when you can cancel free.
• Cruise booking hacks, checked against official rulesPopular cruise-booking beliefs checked against EU, UK and US official sources: delay rights, package protection, bonds and port fees.
• Hotel booking hacks, checked against official rulesPopular hotel-booking tips checked against official sources: free cancellation, resort fees, fake reviews, rate parity, and Japan check-in rules.
• Car hire hacks, checked against official advicePopular car-hire tips checked against EU and UK official sources: cancellation, fuel and damage rules, photos at pick-up, excess and border crossings.
• Travel booking scams and lookalike sites: official warningsWhat official sources say about rental scams, lookalike hotel and visa sites, and suspicious booking emails, with links to the official services.
• Paying by card abroad: card rules checkedCard surcharges, deposit holds, pre-ticked extras, euro ATM charges and cloned cards: what EU and UK official sources say.

What changed in 2026

• Travel rules that changed in 2026: Europe and JapanTravel rules that changed in 2026 for Europe and Japan, in date order: border checks, power banks, roaming, drones, tax-free shopping and what is still pending.
• Japan tax-free shopping from 1 November 2026: new rulesFrom 1 November 2026 Japan's tax-free shops refund consumption tax once customs confirms the goods are leaving Japan. The 90-day limit and the kiosk step.
• Power banks and liquids in cabin bags: 2026 rulesThe 2026 power-bank limits (two per person, no charging on board, Japan's extra rule from 24 April) and where the EU's 100 ml liquids rule stands.
• EES and ETIAS: what changes at Europe's bordersThe EU Entry/Exit System has been fully running since 10 April 2026; ETIAS has no start date yet. What each means for travellers, from official EU sources.

Your rights when things go wrong

• EU flight delay compensation in 2026, and the reformWhat EU Regulation 261/2004 gives you for delays, cancellations and denied boarding today, and what the 2026 reform changes once it is published.
• EU flight compensation checker: which rule applies?Answer three questions to see whether EU air passenger rules probably cover your flight and which situation applies, from the European Commission's summary.
• EU train, coach and ferry delays: your rightsWhat EU rules give you when a train, long-distance coach or ferry is late or cancelled: refunds, re-routing, part of the fare back, meals and hotel nights.
• EHIC or travel insurance? What the card does not coverWhat the European Health Insurance Card covers, what it leaves out (private care, rescue, the trip home), and Japan's official advice to visitors on insurance.

Money, customs and taxes

• Is it expensive? Price levels in Europe and Japan, 2025Official price levels for restaurants and accommodation, food, drink and transport in 34 European countries, and prices by prefecture in Japan.
• Which months is accommodation dearest? Europe by countryWhen accommodation prices peak in each European country, from Eurostat's monthly price index, 2023 to 2025, and where there is no clear pattern.
• Tourist tax in Florence, Barcelona and AmsterdamWhat visitors pay in tourist tax in Florence, Barcelona and Amsterdam, who pays it and for how many nights, from the cities' and regions' own rules.
• Duty-free allowances: EU and Japan side by sideEU duty-free allowance: €300 to €430 of other goods, 40 to 200 cigarettes, 1 litre of spirits to 16 litres of beer. Japan's limits and cash rules alongside.
• Duty-free allowance checker: EU and JapanSay where you are arriving and what you are carrying, and see the range of the EU or Japan duty-free allowance for each, with the official links.
• VAT refunds for visitors to the EU: the 3-month ruleWho can reclaim VAT when leaving the EU, the 3-month export deadline, how customs validates the claim, and what official pages say about minimum spends.
• Pay in local currency or home currency? The EU ruleWhat EU rules make card machines, cash machines and banks tell you before converting a payment into your home currency, and your right to pay locally.
• Japan's travel taxes in 2026: departure and hotel taxesJapan's International Tourist Tax rose from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 per departure on 1 July 2026. Plus Kyoto's and Tokyo's accommodation taxes, from their ordinances.

Phones, time and safety

• EU roaming: where 'roam like at home' stopsWhere an EU SIM works at home prices, the fair-use limits, and why Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Türkiye are outside it while Norway and Iceland are in.
• When do Europe's clocks change? EU summer-time rulesThe EU clock change happens on the last Sundays of March and October at 1.00 a.m. GMT. The three EU time zones, Norway's rule, and the stalled plan to end it.
• Emergency numbers: 112 in the EU, 110 and 119 in JapanThe EU's free 112 number, Japan's 110 for police and 119 for ambulance and fire, what the operator asks, and a disaster-alert app for visitors to Japan.

Borders, money and documents

• The EU 90/180-day rule for short stays, explainedHow to count 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, who the rule does not cover, the visa-sticker check and the passport rules.
• Schengen visa statistics 2025: applications and not issuedSchengen short-stay visa applications, visas issued and the not-issued rate in 2025, by Schengen country and by where people applied (European Commission).
• Long weekends 2026 and 2027: Europe and Japan by countryHow many public holidays fall on a Monday or Friday, or a Tuesday or Thursday, in 34 countries in 2026 and 2027, from each official list.
• Which countries are in the Schengen area?The 29 Schengen countries as the European Commission lists them, why Cyprus and Ireland are outside, and when Bulgaria and Romania joined.
• Which countries use the euro in 2026?The 21 EU countries that use the euro, the six that do not, Denmark's opt-out, Bulgaria's switch on 1 January 2026, and the non-EU places that use it too.
• Visit Japan Web: what it is for, per the Digital AgencyWhat Japan's Visit Japan Web service is for (immigration, customs and tax-free shopping), who can use it, who runs it and where the official site is.

Driving and getting around

• Driving in Europe: alcohol limits and rules by countryDrink-driving limits in 30 European countries as the European Commission lists them, the rules that apply across the EU, and where to find speed limits.
• Austria's motorway vignette and France's Crit'Air stickerWho needs Austria's motorway vignette, the 2026 prices and the move to digital only, and when France's Crit'Air sticker is required, from official pages.
• Transport strikes in Italy and Portugal: where to checkThe official places to check announced transport strikes in Italy and strike notices in Portugal before you travel, and what each one shows.
• Driving in Japan with a foreign licence: what countsWhich International Driving Permits Japan accepts, the six licences that need an approved Japanese translation instead, and the one-year limit.
• Prague Airport to the city: the official PID linesThe five public transport lines PID lists between Prague's Václav Havel Airport and the city, with PID's approximate travel times, terminals and ticket rules.

Travelling with pets

• Bringing a dog, cat or ferret into the EU from outsideEU conditions for a pet dog, cat or ferret arriving from a non-EU country: microchip, rabies vaccine, antibody test, tapeworm treatment and certificate.
• Bringing a dog or cat into Japan: the quarantine rulesJapan's Animal Quarantine Service rules for dogs and cats: ISO microchip, two rabies vaccinations, an antibody test, the 180-day wait and 40 days' notice.

Seasons and weather

• Bathing water quality in Europe by country, 2025How many bathing sites in each EU country, Albania and Switzerland were rated excellent, good, sufficient or poor for 2025 (European Environment Agency).
• How many hotels close in Spain out of season?How many hotels are open in each month in Spain, its regions and its tourist zones, from INE's 2025 estimates: where most close in winter.
• Total solar eclipse in Spain, 2 August 2027: whereWhere the 2 August 2027 solar eclipse is total in Spain, how long it lasts, every municipality in the band, and IGN's eye-safety advice.
• When does drift ice reach Hokkaido? JMA averagesWhen drift ice arrives, reaches the shore and leaves at Abashiri and other Hokkaido stations: the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 averages.
• Japan's rainy season (tsuyu): normal dates by regionWhen Japan's rainy season normally starts and ends in each of its 12 regions, from the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 averages.
• Snow in Japan by prefecture: yearly snowfall normalsHow much snow falls each year at the Japan Meteorological Agency's main station in each of Japan's 47 prefectures, from its 1991–2020 normals.
• When is typhoon season in Japan? By month and regionHow many typhoons come within 300 km of Japan each month, and which months and regions see most, from Japan Meteorological Agency 1991 to 2020 averages.
• Sea temperature by month: Europe and JapanAverage sea surface temperature for every month near European capitals and Japanese prefecture weather stations, from NOAA 1991 to 2020 averages.

Japan practicalities

• Bringing medicines into Japan: what the ministry saysPersonal-use amounts Japan's health ministry lists before an Import Confirmation is needed, and what its Narcotics Control Department says on controlled drugs.
• Climbing Mount Fuji: 2026 season, fee and trail rulesWhen the four Mount Fuji trails opened in 2026, the 4,000 yen fee, the night-time entry rules and the booking systems, from Japan's Ministry of the Environment.

Myths, checked

• Incognito, Tuesdays and VPNs: what the evidence saysDoes incognito mode, booking on a Tuesday or a VPN get you a lower travel price? What a study done for the European Commission and EU consumer rules say.

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