Hey there, JFC-ers,

This is the first weekend in what’s about to be a pretty big month or so for the city of New Orleans. With the Super Bowl in town, there’s a lot going on. 

Some of the many celebratory events lean into more classic New Orleans activities, like a seafood boil showdown, parades, and a Mardi Gras themed party. And there’s the one I didn’t see coming — Bourbon Street becoming Captain Morgan’s ‘Rum Street’ for the weekend.

No sooner will the big game be over than the Mardi Gras parade schedule starts ramping up. I’m not just talking about the week before, either. The krewes begin hitting the streets as early as King’s Day in January, dancing all the way through to Mardi Gras, aka Fat Tuesday. And after a couple of weeks’ rest, they do it all again for St. Patrick’s Day!

Of course, there’s more to NOLA than just parades and Mardi Gras. If, like me, you want to see more than just the bars and po-boys of the French Quarter, I can recommend heading out to the Garden District. This self-guided walking tour led us past huge, ornate houses and cute coffee shops. 

But as a major public transportation nerd, there’s still one other NOLA adventure that I’m yet to tick off the list: a streetcar tour. On my last attempt to take one in New Orleans, we were cursed with the same fate I’ve met the world over — the replacement bus! Guess we’ll just have to try again!

Happy travels and safe landings,

We Booked the Cheapest Safari in Tanzania: Here's How it Went…

Our story begins back in 2023, on an unassuming Wednesday in the middle of July. Like with most mornings, we Flight Finders began our day with (you guessed it) a spot of flight finding. Everything was pretty normal…until… *ding*

We got an alert on our feed…

“Return flights to Tanzania in £160s with Saudia Airlines”

Within seconds, we jumped into action. It turned out to be a 2-in-1 trip — the flights departed from Milan and returned to the UK. As we set up the flight tip for JFC members, the cogs were already turning in our brains. Urged on by our inner bargain hunter and a healthy dose of FOMO, eight of us caved and booked the flights.

Then reality set in. While we may have been able to afford some £160 ($200 USD) flights, our bank accounts weren’t really prepared for much else. And a quick search of safari prices practically made our credit cards shrivel up and hide. But surely, we couldn’t go all the way to Tanzania and not see the animals? There just had to be another, cheaper, way to do it…

Choosing our safari

First things first, we did some thorough research. After sifting through pages and pages of all-inclusive luxury safaris well over the £1000 mark, we finally came across a website called Safari Bookings. 

The site was… different.

It showcased various tours from a selection of companies with much less frightening prices. We filtered our dates, adjusted the search results to display prices from low to high, and this is what showed up:

3-Day Selous Reserve, Nyerere Park Boat, Drive and Walking Safari

A boat trip, a game drive and a walking safari, with food and accommodation included, and the chance of spotting some of the ‘big five’ animals for £360 ($450 USD) — it all sounded pretty perfect to us, considering it would be a private tour. The activities offered were more or less the same as the ones included in the pricier safari tours — which we later discovered had slightly fancier accommodation (probably justifying the price).

This cheaper safari also included a visit to a Maasai Village, which we felt a tad apprehensive about. After doing some research, we couldn’t confidently determine whether this visit would help the villagers, and we weren’t keen to rock up and hope for the best.

Not to let the only reasonably priced safari slip away, we decided to reach out and ask if we could skip the village. Turned out, we could! But not only that, they even gave us a lil’ discount for booking three people. The final price they offered was £312 ($390 USD) per person.

Surprisingly, we didn’t need a down payment (more on that below) or any other confirmation to lock this deal in. It’s safe to say that the company operated very casually…

Our word was apparently all they needed, and we were promised that a guide named Willium would show up at Dar es Salaam airport to pick us up and whisk us away on our adventure. Instead of a deposit, we were told Willium would accept cash or card payments on the day.

Was this legit? We had no idea, but it was our best shot at a safari, so we decided to go for it! 

Day One — The rain

And then, it began.

A quick weekend in Milan, two smooth flights (you can read about our Saudia experience here!) and some minor sleep deprivation later, we finally landed in Dar es Salaam.

After getting changed into our 30°C+ appropriate safari attire, we stepped out of the airport arrivals, praying that someone would be waiting for us in the hall.

Willium was there, holding a thin sheet of paper with faded writing that looked like it said ‘Lauren & Fran’ on it, with an emotionless face, and a hint of annoyance.

As soon as he recognised us, he crumpled up the paper and told us to follow him. He was “fine, but tired”, and had apparently been waiting for a while. Odd, considering our flight wasn’t delayed, and we told him in advance when we would land. At that point, we understood that Willium was a man of few words.

Stepping out through the airport doors felt like entering a steam room — the 37 °C (98 °F) heat, matched with 100% humidity levels, was jarring. But what we really weren’t prepared for was an endless amount of dark grey clouds quickly gathering above us.

Tiny rain drops started falling on us before we took cover in the massive Jeep, which would turn out to be our main transport for the following three days. Inside the car, a very smiley man was waiting for us — or more realistically, he was waiting for our money. 

Fran and Andreia had brought the exact per-person amount in euros in cash, since they had been told the currency would be accepted as payment. The man quickly put the cash in his pocket, and turned to Lauren, who wanted to pay by card. Contrary to what we had been told by email, paying by card wasn’t an easy option. The money-man started complaining to Willium, but eventually resigned, trusting Lauren to make her card transaction at the lodge where we would be staying for the next two nights.

While in this sticky money situation, the rain intensified. But it was only when marble-sized drops began hitting the car roof that we realised a tropical storm was above us. Willium seemed stressed, and as soon as the money topic was settled, he told us that we had to start driving before the unusual off-season rain began damaging the roads towards Nyerere National Park.

Little did we know it was already too late…

We buckled our seatbelts (or so we thought…) and away we went to brave the roads of Dar es Salaam.

As the roads became more remote, the rain was only getting worse — and as the rain got worse, so too did the amount of water coming from the roof of the car. Nevertheless, running on a couple of hours of sleep, we all slowly started dozing off on the spacious, leather Jeep seats while our clothes only got wetter, and the roads muddier…

…and suddenly BAM!

As soon as Lauren opened her eyes from the jump scare, Fran was already flying towards the car’s roof and then back down on her seat. The car had run over a deep puddle a bit too fast — Willium didn’t flinch.

We gave each other a terrified stare, before realising the rain had stopped. We breathed a sigh of relief, assuming it couldn’t go any further downhill from there… and yet, we couldn’t be more wrong. Actually, downhill we kinda went, when the car got stuck on the muddy main road towards our camp.

While the three of us are seasoned travellers, none of us had been in this kind of daunting situation before, and when the car’s wheels just wouldn’t get out of the mud, we just looked at each other in disbelief. The confusion intensified as soon as some people from the local village approached the car, and started staring at us from outside the window.

Willium, who had been silent during the whole four hour drive, knew exactly what to do. After telling us to stay inside the car, he stepped outside and started talking to the locals.

After being stuck in the car for nearly 30 minutes — and having started working our way through the few snack leftovers from our flight (cheers, Saudia) — a dozen men holding some huge wooden logs showed up in front of the car: they had a plan.

Willium and his troupe of log-carriers carefully started to place the logs below the car wheels.  After endless pushing, revving, and finger-crossing, the car jolted forward out of the mud. 

When the excitement washed off, and we got back on the ‘road’, we started to feel the main effect of the heat: thirst. To our disbelief, we were informed by Willium that — no, there are no bottles of water. And, to give a bit of extra context, at that point, we were on a deserted road, in the middle of Southern Tanzania, heading towards Nyerere Reserve. So, stopping by a mini-market was, unsurprisingly, not an option.

The last two hours of the drive to the camp were spent sitting quietly, wondering why were we never offered any water, and why there wouldn’t be any in the car — especially since our safari experience was supposed to be all-inclusive.

The boat safari

Thirsty, weary, and feeling a little like three socks that had just tumbled through a 6-hour washing cycle, we staggered into our new home for the following two nights.

First impressions: it was nice! Rustic, but nice. There was a simple outdoor dining area, an algae-coated pool and a handful of wooden lodges. Oh, and a territorial troop of resident baboons roaming around the garden. Normal stuff.

We hopped our way across the garden, dodged the primates, and unlocked our front door. After such a long journey, we were relieved to see two freshly-made beds with mosquito nets — perfect to protect us from the unexpected millipede army that we noticed making its way into our room! At least there were no gigantic spiders in sight…yet.

Our relief disappeared when we realised there was no door to our (private?) bathroom. But hey, we were all friends (thank goodness) and there was no going back now, anyway.

Before we had any time to worry, there was a knock on our door. It was Willium.

“Lunch? And boat safari?”

We grabbed our things and followed him to the outdoor seating area. We were hastily served a simple rice, vegetable, and chicken combo (minus the chicken for vegetarians) and then ushered towards the jeep once again.

After a short drive, we reached the grassy banks of the Rufiji River. Fuelled up on food and with a renewed sense of excitement, we were introduced to our friendly boat guide. He led us onto a tiny motorboat, and we trundled out onto the murky waters.

After teaching us a bit of background info on the river itself, he exclaimed, “Look, hippo!”

We couldn’t believe it — he was right! And not just one, but multiple big, chunky hippos gracefully floating by. It was incredible. To witness animals this big, and this powerful, just chilling in their own natural environment felt so amazing. We spent the next hour ooh-ing and aah-ing at hippo after hippo, and a few less-chunky birds, while our guide taught us about the animals’ lives.

As the sun began to set, we wrapped up our boat tour and made our way back to camp. After an exhausting day, and with an early alarm set for tomorrow, we doused ourselves in bug repellent, hit our pillows and passed out.

Read more...

Nepal on the beaten track

Firstly, thank you to those of you who wrote in to correct the Cook Strait Ferry fares mentioned last week. Fares for foot passengers start at NZ$78, while bringing a car will add around NZ$300. Seemingly, the much lower prices that caught my eye on the Interislander website were the change fees!

Secondly, let's all celebrate this reader, who is truly taking spontaneous travel purchases to new levels:

Ooh, now this is a dream trip! Not only is the Mt Everest Base Camp trek on my actual bucket list, Nepal was my 2025 JFC wish list destination. So I teamed up with Flight Finder Hannah, and together we made the ultimate Nepal to-do list.

Of course, top of my list is the Mt Everest Base Camp trek (EBC). It has everything required for trip perfection: adventure, jaw-dropping views, a threat of death upon landing at their high-altitude airport, a solid chance of my legs giving out at the end of each day, friendly locals, and heart-pumping adventure at every turn.

Here is an average EBC trek itinerary: 

Day 1: Fly into Kathmandu, and give yourself a day to acclimatize and check your gear. 

Days 2-3: Fly into Lukla, one of the craziest airports in the world. Give yourself a buffer day in case of weather delays.

Days 4-15: Embark on the 10/11-day hike, moving each day from one teahouse to the next, with a few rest days to hopefully prevent altitude sickness. Top tip from people who’ve done it: pack snacks and protein bars because the food can be questionable.

Day 16: Fly back to Kathmandu (lucky you! You get to take off from Lukla again!)

Highlights include shockingly gorgeous views of Everest, the vibrant Sherpa town of Namche Bazaar, the sacred Tengboche Monastery, and the turquoise glacial waters of Khumbu Icefall. The trek takes you through rhododendron forests, suspension bridges, and high-altitude landscapes dotted with yaks, and traditional teahouses.

If this is all sounding a liiiiiiittle too intense for you, but you’re still interested in exploring the rugged beauty of the Himalayas, here are a few alternatives:

• Annapurna Base Camp trek (12-18 days, moderate-challenging difficulty, main draw: close-up views of Annapurna and the breathtaking Himalayas)
  
  
• Langtang Valley (7-10 days, moderate difficulty, main draw: a less-crowded option with easier access from Kathmandu)
  
  
• Mardi Himal (5-7 days, moderate difficulty, main draw: shorter/easier hike with gorgeous ridge views).

But you might not want to pack any hiking gear at all, and that’s totally fine too!

Pick of the Clicks

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

• Last Sunday saw the annual return of everyone’s favourite weather-forecasting groundhog. Despite the overcast conditions, Punxsutawney Phil did indeed see his shadow, therefore condemning the folks in Punxsutawney to six more weeks of wintry weather. Nice one, Phil.
  
  
• The small-scale Italian ski resort of Roccaraso has become inundated with waves of TikTok tourists after one influencer's post went viral. Disgruntled locals claimed the visitors clogged the slopes, created makeshift sledges out of saucepans, and fired up barbecues.
  
  
• Over the past few days, emergency services from the Greek island of Santorini have taken precautionary actions after a number of tremors were recorded throughout the region. Along with schools being closed, additional flights have been announced to help evacuate locals and tourists. 
  
  
• And finally, there’s some exciting news coming out of little Newquay airport in Cornwall. Is it a new airline or a new flight route? Not exactly…it's the world’s deepest pool. Yay?