¡Hola, fellow travellers!

Just yesterday, we had some super exciting Mexico trips spring right into our flight-hacking laps here at Jack's HQ.

First, we dug up some sweet Premium Economy fares all across the country — a real rarity from the UK, for sure! Then there were the perfect winter sun flights to Cancún from Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. So far, so good. 

Then out of nowhere, as we were busy imagining ourselves sipping margs by the Caribbean, appeared an error fare from London to Mexico City for under £300! That one didn't last long, but suffice it to say, it made for a very excitable day. 

The thing is, readers, all these surprise Mexican treats were from the European side of the pond. And frankly, awesome fares to anywhere other than Cancún come around so rarely for us that I just don't know where to pick, given the choice.

So, this time, I'm looking mostly to those of you in North America, who are used to a little more Mexico on your plate — where's the place to be? Is it the beaches of Cancún or Cabo? The street food of Oaxaca or CDMX?

Let us know your favourite spots in Mexico in the comments, or by replying to this email.

Happy travels and safe landings,

Now is the best time to start planning your winter getaways. As a Premium member, you’ll get access to all of our content: 8-10 flights per week, including error fares and business class.

Keep that summer feeling going long into the winter months with 3 months of Premium for $1 - this is our biggest offer of the year!

I’ve just come back from a week in Puglia, and I didn’t rent a car. That may surprise you, as the number one way to see southern Italy is from behind the wheel — and for good reason. Aside from the lax driving rules and how easy it is to pick up a vehicle at the airport, lots of the major visitor attractions are only accessible by car, like the best beaches in the area. 

Despite knowing all that, I still decided to rely on trains and buses throughout my trip in June 2025. In fact, this is my second time travelling around the boot of Italy this way. You may be thinking, “I don’t speak Italian, I’m not adventurous enough to hop on and off public transportation across the country. Surely it’s not worth the hassle!?”

Well, neither do I! And you don’t have to be as adventurous as you think; the south of Italy is surprisingly well-connected by trains and buses — we saw plenty of people using both as we navigated around, tourists and locals alike.

Why take public transport in Southern Italy? 

If you have the time and don’t want the hassle of renting a car, buying petrol and figuring out your insurance, I’d recommend ditching the car.  

To give you a little background – I learned to drive as a teenager (as most do in Australia) around the suburbs of Sydney, have always enjoyed it, and still have a driver's licence. So far, so normal. That was, until I moved to London when I was 24. It’s been 6 years since then, and that means 6 years since I’ve been behind the wheel of a car. 

When faced with the prospect of navigating tiny cobbled streets, Vespas and overeager European drivers, it struck me that I’d maybe been off the roads for too long. So with that in mind, I decided to throw myself at the whim of bus and train schedules, while baking under the summer Puglian sun. 

Before we go any further, a caveat: yes, trains and buses do get delayed, and the service can be infrequent (especially on weekends and the off season). This kind of travel will only work for you if you’re happy to spend hours waiting around, and you allow yourself plenty of time to get where you want to go. For some people, it’s always going to be easier to just hire a car and have the freedom to move around, which I totally respect! 

Catching public transport between Brindisi, Maglie, Ostuni, Lecce and Monopoli

We flew in and out of Brindisi airport, then (thanks to a very beautiful, but very remote wedding) had to make our way down to a little town called Maglie — it's located almost smack-bang in the middle of the boot, about 80 km from the airport. To get there, we took the airport bus into the centre of Brindisi, stayed overnight, and then spent the next day slowly winding our way down the country. 

First, we caught a train from Brindisi to Lecce, ‘the Florence of the South’, and then hopped on a bus to Maglie from there. All in all, it took a couple of hours and two hops, whereas if we were to drive, we would have been there in just under an hour. Not the fastest way to go, but it was cheap (less than €10 per person) and reliable (especially when compared to other European rail networks). The train and bus both came when they were scheduled. 

We had to do it all again in reverse a couple of days later, which also went off without a hitch. 

On separate day trips, we also travelled from Brindisi by train/bus to other spots on our list like Ostuni (the ‘White City’, full of boutique shops and has views of rolling hills for days), Lecce (the ‘Florence of the South’, with looming sandstone churches and baroque buildings) and Monopoli (easiest access to sandy beaches by foot, also a very pretty town in its own right). 

How to plan your own trip around Southern Italy on public transport

So, you’re intrigued — how do you follow in my footsteps? 

Keep reading...

Before we wrap up last week’s roundup of alternative UK cities for a summer break, another entry just hit our inbox from JFC member Claire. Here’s what she’s got to say:

And I have to agree! I spent a few days in Newcastle with my dad last year, and although it was just a quick stop en route to Edinburgh, the city really surprised me. More specifically, the people and their kindness surprised me (from the minute we arrived, the Geordie welcome hit full force), as well as the food!

Traveling with my father can be challenging; he’s loud, he’s curt, and he’ll have no problem telling a waiter what he really thinks of the soup. But he is also a big foodie, which results in a Google Map transformed into a gastronomic guidebook before you’ve even made it to the boarding gate.

No need for a tour guide, just follow Geoff. Give him 60 minutes, and he’ll be on a first-name basis with the chef at Rani Indian Restaurant, tucking into a Punjabi feast that’s normally reserved for Aunties and VIPs. By dessert, he’ll have two staff members and two diners signed up for Jack’s Flight Club — and an entire notes app full of places like Shimla, Sissu and Manali to visit if I ever make it to Himachal Pradesh. 

So with that in mind, I followed Geoff through a whirlwind of some of the best English breakfasts I’ve ever tasted, and Churrasco comas come sunset. Relinquishing any notion of gazing up at those museum ceilings.

Okay, that’s not exactly fair — I did manage to peel him away from the cheese stall at Grainger market to visit the city’s Norman castle, which I highly recommend. Besides the standard tours of the castle, they also occasionally run movie nights, historical reenactments and talks. £8 to hear someone yak about witches and cholera? Sign me up!

I’ve heard great things about Ouseburn. Back in the day, it used to be an industrial hub. Now? It’s more like what Shoreditch is to London. Quirky, gritty, cool.

By day, you can weave in and out of WWII tunnels, art galleries like the Biscuit Factory, farm trails (yes, there’s an urban farm!) or pass the time with a book and a gluten-free muffin in a garage-turned-café. Think exposed pipes, vintage lights, and coffee so strong it could rotate your tyres.

At night? You’ve got Newcastle’s best nightlife, live gigs and pubs at your fingertips.

This is why I’ve sworn to return to Newcastle solo next time (sorry, dad) — for the chance to see Hadrian’s Wall poking up among dramatic moorlands and Roman ruins, windswept castles, golden beaches, and quaint coastal towns on the Northumberland Coast. Or maybe go northwest to be illuminated under the vastness of Northumberland Dark Skies Park.  

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade the memories for anything. But next time, I’d love to see more of Northern England’s natural scenery by venturing out into the wild between the fantastic feasts.

Thanks so much for your tips, Claire! We love hearing everyone's destination recommendations, so if there's somewhere you absolutely need to tell The Detour readers about, head to the comments or hit 'Reply'!

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across web this week.

• If all that talk of Mexican street food earlier on got your taste buds tingling, let Gastro Obscura's 2025 Feast help guide your upcoming travel plans.
  
  
• Lusting after the most epic of all road trips? It's got to be Patagonia.
  
  
• First they stopped making us remove our shoes, and now they won't make us collect checked luggage on international connections. Seems the TSA are in a good mood?
  
  
• And finally, getting a slice of life abroad can sometimes be hard without taking a trip. But it turns out that all it takes for some authentic Colombian vibes is a blender. Time to get juicing!