25 SECRETS FROM THE WORLD'S MOST FRUGAL FREQUENT TRAVELERS

Everybody has their own travel style, along with preferred systems and tricks to make it easier, quicker, safer, and more enjoyable. But don't just ask me: I've asked the hardcore travel community to share their own travel secrets. Here are the 25 best secrets of these frequent travelers around the world. 

Research and Booking

Here are some tips for booking cheaply and expediently, as well as taking the pain out of researching your travel arrangements.

1. Clear Your Cookies

Sofie Couwenbergh of Wonderful Wanderings is keen to the tricks of sneaky booking sites, who store cookies on your computer. "Booking websites 'remember' what you came looking for, so when you come back to look at that hotel room/rental car/flight a second time, they'll often show you higher prices to urge you to book quickly. That's why I always search booking sites in an incognito browser window."

2. Use Trip Advisor

Sofie also swears by Trip Advisor to get travel advice from locals. "They'll often be able to give you information you won't find in guide books."

3. Outsource the Legwork

Lea Woodward has lived and traveled around the world for years. If researching transport and accommodation is too time consuming, she says: outsource it! "The travel hackers over at Flightfox take the legwork out of finding the cheapest/best flight options and can save you masses of time, and I use Fancy Hands to do all my initial travel research." (If you're new to outsourcing, here is how Lea started: 20 Tasks Control Freaks Can Outsource)

4. Join the Cartel

The Travel Hacking Cartel, that is! Take the pain out of searching for frequent flyer mile deals by subscribing to a service that sends you timely alerts.

Read more here

SHANGRI-LA SETS OPENING DATE FOR COLOMBO HOTEL

Shangri-La is to open its second Sri Lankan property on December 1 in the island’s capital Colombo.

 

The new hotel, which will feature 500 rooms and suites, will be a sister property to Shangri-La’s Hambantota Golf Resort & Spa on Sri Lanka’s south coast, which opened last year.

The 32-floor Colombo hotel will be located on the Galle Face Green promenade overlooking the Indian Ocean and is part of a wider development, which will include a shopping mall, offices and residential blocks.

Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo will also feature 41 serviced apartments alongside five restaurants, bars and lounges, plus a CHI spa with nine treatment rooms, 24-hour fitness centre and an ocean-view pool with bar.

Read the rest here

10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE AROUND THE WORLD IN 2017

This Asian country is known, International Living says for its “878 idyllic islands, stunning beaches and untouched rainforests.” It’s a multicultural place that’s home to a mixture of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Europeans and Americans.

The cost of living is low, the health care quality is high and IL Malaysia correspondent Keith Hockton says “the food is not just first class, but world class — and the shopping in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, where I live, is to die for.”

by: FORBES

For just over a quarter of a century, International Living has ranked, rated, and named the best retirement destinations in the world. Each year we’ve refined and improved the process, bringing new categories and considerations into play, gathering new data, and asking more and better questions of a greater number of expats.

We’ve added countries to the shortlist as they moved into the limelight, Malaysia in 2000…Colombia in 2007…and let others drop away. But the winner this year has been constant. For the past 14 years, this country has consistently ranked in the top 10 retirement destinations on the planet. And—for the fifth time—it takes the top spot once again in our Annual Global Retirement Index.

This year sees our most comprehensive index yet, with a list of 24 top retirement destinations, all of which have been put under the microscope and examined as regards their cost of living, retiree benefits, climate, healthcare, and much more.

This thorough questioning and assessment ultimately leaves us with a definitive list of the best retirement havens from around the world. All of which share the values that you can expect from an International Living approved retirement destination, while also maintaining aspects that make them stand out as individuals, meaning our index has a place to suit every taste.

So, without further ado—after months of research, number-crunching, and fact-finding—allow the expats who live there to introduce you to the benefits of the world’s top 10 retirement destinations in 2017.

Read the rest in International Living.