Our travel newsletter returns! :: Beer and Croissants ::
Apr 02, 2024 4:51 am
Hi
WE'RE BACK
Well, it's been quite some time, and this email might come as a surprise as we haven't sent one in a while. We haven't been completely absent; we've still been busily travelling and producing our guides and stories on our website.
We stopped our newsletters in 2020 when the world stopped travelling as much, and it's taken us some time to decide whether to keep going.
But with the travel world as busy as ever and many of our regular readers writing to us asking when we would start sending the newsletter again, we thought it might be time.
So, roughly once a month, you'll hear from us with the latest content from the website, along with travel deals, trends, tips and hacks, and anything else travel-related that we think you might like.
AN UPDATE ON OUR SITE (and why we appreciate you being here)
There's also another important reason that we are reinvigorating our newsletters. Since around September last year, Google, that online giant that controls everything online, has been playing hardball with a lot of websites like ours across the globe.
When you sift through all the online 'noise', what it means is that Google is supporting the big businesses that pay them even bigger money to advertise so that they can get (hopefully) your eyeballs on their information.
Google also promotes businesses it owns up the top of the search results. So what you might say, and that's a fair call. But for us, and you, it means that when you search for information you want to help you with your next trip or plan, the chances of you finding up-to-date, accurate information is being impacted.
A case in point....recently I wanted to fact-check the name of a motorhome carpark we used in Rocamadour in the south of France. I had all the details, I just needed to confirm a name and address. When I searched, I found a lot of general information on parking in the town, so I checked it all out.
Every piece of information I read, mainly on the forums that are being promoted at the top of the results, was dead wrong. It talked about gravel carparks (they are now all bitumen), it mentioned the car parks being free (they most certainly are not).
Fortunately for me, having just been there, I knew better. But for a first-time traveller to Rocamadour, that information just isn't going to cut it. And while that information won't really get a traveller into any trouble, inaccurate information always has the ability to do just that. There's plenty more of these examples right now.
The other side of this issue is that websites like ours rely on our readers and visitors to generate traffic to deliver commercial outcomes that allow us to keep the site running.
Reading our information doesn't cost you anything to read it, but it does help deliver an income stream to us when you do. This is why we are always so thankful to our regular visitors and our new ones too. We hope you will continue to stick with us. Thank you if you do.
THERE'S NO AI TO BE FOUND ON OUR SITE
AI (artificial intelligence) is the latest trend to be flooding the internet. In the right place, it can be really helpful. When it comes to sites like ours, AI is wreaking havoc in many ways, copying content from across the internet and aggregating it to provide answers to questions asked by users.
If you use AI online (e.g. ChatGPT), and ask it for the best things to do in xxx, you'll get a response very quickly as it will have scraped hundreds of websites to get the answer.
The downside is there is no fact-checking of its data or sources, and oftentimes, the information is just plain wrong.
So, you could get a list of the best things to do in xxx and some of them mightn't exist anymore. Or, if you asked about restaurants, they may not be open. We've heard plenty of stories of people who have used ChatGPT to create whole travel itineraries and come unstuck when most of it wasn't accurate.
If you want to understand a little more about what I mean, here's an interesting article written by someone who asked for such an itinerary,
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/nov/12/chatgpt-travel-planning-intinerary-walking-ai
*To be clear, all of the information found on our website has been 100% written and produced by us, without any use of AI.*
NEW CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE
As I said above, we've continued to write and produce content as much as possible. Over the last several years, we've focused a lot on motorhome travel, both in France and in Australia.
We also bought our own motorhome and have been having a great time on road trips all over Queensland, NSW, Victoria, and Tasmania.
Here's some of our most recent content below.
Motorhome road trip itinerary Occitanie region France | Narbonne to Martel. Click here to read more
Where to park a motorhome in Paris. Click here to read more
How long can I stay in my motorhome in France? Long-stay French Visas. Click here to read more
Canal du Midi 10-day motorhome itinerary. Click here to read more
LATEST VIDEOS
🎥 Boulia Camel Races Outback Queensland Australia
🎥 Barge Cruise Canal du Midi - Enchanté Luxury Barge
MOTORHOME TRAVEL DEALS
Our friends at Anywhere Campers are offering our readers the chance to save some money on a spring hire up until 30 April 2024.
1. Book 14 days to receive two days free.
2. Book 20 to receive four days free.
Please click on this link to receive a quote and/or book.
Be sure to also quote ANYSPRING to receive this terrific special.
Anywhere Campers is our preferred motorhome hire company in Europe because they allow flexible one-way hire. You can pick up and drop off in different cities or countries if this suits your needs. It is super easy!
Read more about Anywhere Campers here.
TRAVEL TIPS
For those of us who have travelled for a while, and probably think we've found every trick possible, there's always some new and exciting travel hack or app.
While the two resources have been around for quite some time, I'm still surprised to find people who don't know about them or use them.
Seatguru - this is a favourite of ours and our go-to every time we are booking long-haul flights. It's value lies in giving you seating maps by airline/type of aircraft and while an airline can always change the aircraft you fly on, it's a good indicator of the types of seats available on your flight.
The Man in Seat 61 - a guide to everything you need to know about train travel in the UK, Europe and worldwide.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
That old chestnut! The demand for travel insurance is increasing, spurred mostly by recent events. While some travellers might not have been so interested in having insurance previously, the upheaval and uncertainty in the travel market have meant that many travellers now realise that they can't take the risk, especially concerning sickness, cancellations, interruptions, and postponement of travel.
A growing trend of countries requiring inbound travellers to have mandatory travel insurance is also a contributing factor.
Travellers are also demanding more from their insurance companies, pushing them to include more coverage than ever before, especially in the over-65 market.
Travellers are also choosing to insure for short trips more than ever. Previously, only lengthy trips were considered.
Stories abound of people heading to a destination for a few days of sun and fun on cheap tickets and no insurance. Due to matters usually well outside the traveller's control, things can go incredibly wrong when a traveller has an unexpected accident, sometimes with serious, life-threatening (or worse) consequences.
According to ANZIIF (Australia New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance, these are the current top concerns of travellers (not in any specific order) that are mirrored around the world.
- Cancellations and delays
- Losing luggage
- Accidents
- COVID-related expenses
- Other overseas medical expenses
- Safety and security
- Travel agents going bankrupt and being unable to fulfil their obligations
The top 5 most common travel insurance claims, according to 1cover.com.au, are:
- Lost or damaged iPhones
- Medical costs
- Flight delays
- Cancellation
- Lost luggage and possessions
We've written a story about when various travellers needed to call on travel insurance when overseas. If you're lucky, the 'best' experiences only involve material possessions, inconvenience or time. None of us want to be involved in anything involving personal injury or impact. You can read that story here.
Choosing travel insurance is personal, and many people have their preferred providers.
We use Cover-More in Australia as they provide the coverage we need at a competitive price and frequently offer discounts on their premiums.
Campaign: Escape, Unwind & Win
Win a $1,000 travel voucher to put towards your next holiday
Dates: 27/03/2024 – 14/04/2024
Details: For a limited time only, your travel insurance policy could help you WIN 1 of 3 $1000* travel vouchers. Entries close 11.59pm AEDT 14 April 2024. *T&Cs apply.
To be in the running, click on the button(link) below and enter the promo code TRAVEL when you get an online quote.
Insurers who cover travellers regardless of where they live.
- Safety Wing - suits nomadic travellers and available to people all over the world. Click here to view their products.
- World Nomads - available to travellers all over the world and can be added to while travelling if you extend your stay. Heaps of adventure-related travel options. Click here to view their products. And, for a limited time, using WORLD10 in the promo code area of their online quotes gets you 10% of the premium.
If you're still here, thank you again. It's been a long newsletter as we felt it was important to provide an update to give past and future context.
We also know we've got a strong motorhome support group and another group that is more about general travel. As always, we'd love to hear from you.
You can engage with us, send us a message via any of our social media platforms below, or email us. We will always respond to your messages.
Planning for motorhome travel in France private Facebook group
Safe travels,
P.S. If you're not interested in receiving our newsletters anymore, please feel free to unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of the page. We understand if our content is no longer relevant to you.
The content on our website is created by us for our readers for free. This newsletter may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase through one of those links. Please see our disclosure for further information.
