Each week Traveller publishes a selection of rants, raves and travel tips from our readers. See below on how you can contribute.
February 7, 2026 — 5:00am
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Spa from satisfied
The Champagne Pool at the Waiotapu Thermal Reserve, near Rotorua, New Zealand.Alamy
Well, the worst hotel we’ve ever booked has been beaten. Rotorua’s Gateway International Motel has a certain cachet that suggests many things but certainly not the decrepit, rundown motel that was our experience. Thermal spa, as listed on the site? No thermal spa and not for more than a year, yet it’s still advertised. Want bowed ceilings revealing their contents? Sticky door handles, fridge doors, table surfaces, bathroom taps? Stained bathroom spa? Smoke alarm going off randomly? We left after less than two hours with the hotel finally offering a 15 per cent refund, which we declined.
When we book, we usually book independently. We have a few booking engines open at once and compare prices. I am keen on using my Qantas Points, so I look at Qantas’ site too. This was the case with the Gateway International – a Qantas booking. We trusted that bookings found on the Qantas site would be of a certain minimum standard of cleanliness, comfort and amenity. We were also attracted by the availability of an on-site hot spring and the available photos on the Qantas site were seemingly from a different era. We thought we were savvy travellers – apparently not. We will just go by online reviews from now on.
Peter Wilson, Hope Island, Qld
Editor’s note: It is advisable to check accommodation reviews from various sources, including those by this title, online in advance, even when part of a package holiday.
Southern’s comfort
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A rare good news story on dealing with an airline. I had booked tickets to travel with my husband and son to Guangzhou from Sydney this month on China Southern Airlines – like most travellers I chose the cheapest fare which meant they could not be cancelled or re-arranged. Due to previous poor experiences with it, I had not taken out travel insurance. Unfortunately, due to the tragic and sudden death of my brother, we were unable to travel. After a few emails and provision of some documentation, I have received a full refund from China Southern for the flights. Thanks also to the Qantas flight attendants who gave me a hug and a cup of tea when I was upset on board a flight soon after I had been advised of my brother’s passing. Both of these acts have provided me with some consolation during a terrible time.
Cathy Walsh, Annandale, NSW
Class dismissed
Qantas has closed its Sydney International business lounge for renovations, reopening in 2027, with no alternate offering. Buying a business ticket with an economy offering is poor. Surely a lounge deal with another airline could have been arranged. And if you’re holding complimentary lounge invitations from your QF credit card, all that is offered is a three-month extension. Useless when the lounge is closed for a year. Qantas, you know how to alienate your previously loyal passengers.
Howard Pelquest-Hunt, Chatswood, NSW
EDITOR’S NOTE: The official word from Qantas is that during the renovation of the existing lounge – which will result in a 30 per cent increase in seating and include a new outdoor terrace with views of Sydney’s skyline – that a temporary lounge space is located near gate 24. In peak periods, guests may be “reaccommodated” in an alternative lounge.
Letter of the week: Winter of our content
Nuremberg Germany’s spectacular Christkindlesmarkt typifies the value of holiday in Europe in winter.iStock
Having recently returned from four weeks in Europe I couldn’t agree more with Brian Johnston’s article on visiting in winter (Traveller, January 21). There’s every reason to avoid summer and no reason to avoid winter travel. It’s cheaper, there are fewer crowds and glorious cultural events to immerse in – all benefits and add to that the warm, cosy festive atmosphere of beautiful Christmas markets to see gorgeous crafts, sip glühwein and eat traditional foods such as bratwurst, langos and chimney cakes. Beautiful decorations light up major streets and if you’re lucky, snow might create a winter wonderland to frolic in. A European winter really is special.
Marg Wilson, Brighton, Vic
Prints charming
I agree with Victoria Watts about printing boarding passes (Traveller Letters, January 24). I also get the airline printed versions at the airport and add them to my trip diary with other relevant trip documents. Big drama if you lose your phone with all your travel details and you don’t have any printed documents. It is easy to get a date wrong. That is why I use an experienced travel agent. Another pair of eyes always helps and avoids problems. I get rapid access to all flights, specials and I can find the various booking classes available. Airlines have booking classes in each cabin. They start with the cheapest fare and when sold out the next fare level up is available. So it pays to book early. I can also find the number of seats available on each flight. Your online agent does not give you many details.
Lindsay Somerville, Lindfield, NSW
Dual dues
I’m a dual citizen of the UK and travelling there for my honeymoon in May. Michael Gebicki suggested renouncing my citizenship if obtaining a UK passport is “more of an encumbrance than an asset” (Traveller, January 19). This I’d be happy to do if the cost wasn’t a whopping £482 ($940). The UK government clearly sees dual citizens as a revenue.
Julia Davenport, Fairlight, NSW
Cold calling
Snow-covered gondolas moored near St Mark’s Square in a wintry Venice, Italy.Alamy
We are at the end of our 10 days in Venice during the northern winter, and it has been marvellous. It’s amusing to see the queuing rope barriers and signs “do not stop here” in famous buildings where we walk in without pre-booking and wander around with a dozen or so others. There is no wait for the €2 ($3.40) ferry across the grand canal; exceptional, friendly restaurants are available for walk-ins and the few people who are here keep to the right in the tiny passageways and over the bridges. Our wonderful apartment has great views and I highly recommend Truly Venice rentals. A Verdi Opera at La Fenice on Saturday night rounds off our visit. Just remember to bring thermals and lined boots.
Heather Barker, Albert Park, Vic
Slowly did it
I noted some previous reader letters about delivery times of snail mail (Traveller Letters, January 24) They shouldn’t complain. It had always been a convention of mine that I would let my mother know when I was heading off somewhere in the world or the backblocks of Australia, and would always send her a postcard from wherever in the world I found myself. In December 1992, in a tiny village post office in Eastern Germany, I handed the postmistress the postcard, paid her the one and half Deutschemarks, and watched as she attached the stamp, placed the card under her counter, and bid me farewell. Sometime in 1996, my mother called, inquiring as to when I’d got back from Germany, and expressing her disappointment that I hadn’t let her know I was going overseas again. The prompt for her call? The postcard had arrived that morning.
Graeme Hind, Wodonga, Vic
They do try harder
Tania Clynch writes about the success she had with hiring Avis cars in New Zealand. Originally from NZ, I have lived here for 55 years and flown many, many times to Auckland and Wellington and each time I have hired Avis cars. I have never, ever had one problem with Avis. They have even upgraded my car request several times.
Wendy Bull, North Turramurra, NSW
Smart cookie
Jamie Brown’s illustration for the article on Tim Tam diplomacy was a real treat.Illustration: Jamie Brown
Clearly Justin Meneguzzi has excess baggage, however, as the heading suggests, it is your illustrator Jamie Brown’s clever adaption (above) of the iconic Aussie “treat” (Traveller, January 24) that indeed takes the biscuit, proving once again that there is no substitute for quality when it comes to his work.
Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook, NSW
To go or not to go
The two letters book ending January 17’s edition of Traveller Letters, with their contrasting emphases on travel destinations, combine to draw together the dilemma facing travel lovers in this era of escalating climate change and what we, consequently, feel that we should or should not do. The “Letter of the week” definitely reflects the “me” of the past, well and truly bitten by the travel bug, and ready to hop on a plane to anywhere and everywhere, while using the somewhat dubious conscience salve of carbon offsets. Reading that letter, however, had the more climate change activist “me” of today feeling a grave concern for the environment with the writer and his children continuing to travel “far and wide”, which, with the long haul from Australia, definitely means planes (with flying being described as currently “one of the most environmentally damaging activities we engage in”). Consequently, the heading for the last letter said it all, as far as I’m concerned: “Go local”, which we now do in our EV.
Anne Ring, Coogee, NSW
Tip of the week: Plain sailing
Nullarbor by EV? Yes, it’s doable.iStock
It’s true that there are fewer EV chargers than petrol pumps. Yet, you can drive across the Nullarbor in December’s summer heat like we did in our three-year-old EV and find no shortage of chargers. It’s 4000 kilometres between Melbourne and Perth via the Nullarbor directly, during which you charge about 24 times. But you’ll probably want to do 5000 kilometres so you can divert north to take in mining areas like Kambalda, then go south to drive the coastal route to Perth through Esperance and Albany. Governments have largely finished encouraging EV chargers to be installed every 150 kilometres on all major roads. That includes some complex installations like the Nullarbor Roadhouse and NT’s Erldunda, which are off-grid so need solar panels, batteries and back-up diesel generators. Returning home, you could also pop the car on a truck in Perth and catch the Indian Pacific back for a different view of the Nullarbor.
Richard Gould, West Melbourne, Vic
Trap artists
We travelled to Kuala Lumpur return economy with Oneworld partner Malaysian Airlines last November expecting we could accumulate Qantas Frequent Flyer points. After a while, having not seen any points added, I contacted Qantas to ask when they might appear. Qantas informed me that the airfare categories, “O” and “Q” booked by Flight Centre do not qualify for Qantas points. I was referred to the “FF Earn Category” tables for the various partner airlines. No mention of either “O” or “Q″ as categories that do not earn points. A trap for the unwary.
Tim Wall, Williamstown, Vic.
Late notice
Readers who have used Eurail passes need to know that their information, including passport details, may have been taken in a data breach. It took several weeks before I received a notification email dated January 10, so not all readers who have travelled with Eurail or are intending to do so, may have been notified.
John Huff, Penshurst, NSW
Hats off
When planning our recently completed South America trip we were surprised to find the flights from Cartagena, Colombia back to Santiago for our flight home were expensive. But then we discovered Copa Airlines and for half the fare we could fly via Panama City. Even better, Copa has a great stopover deal that has hotel and tour discounts, and so we had a fun three days that included an excellent Panama Canal tour with Panama Marine Adventures. The old town of Panama, Casco Viejo, was fascinating, especially the brilliant Panama Canal Museum. The airport is excellent and very accessible and the airline itself was reliable and comfortable. Copa flies to many destinations throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.
David Berg and Merrill Sells, Canterbury, NSW
Stay here
To the Tripologist’s recent advice on accommodation in London central and close to a tube station (Traveller, January 23), I’d like to add Marlin Waterloo. It’s a 10- minute walk to the London Eye, Westminster Bridge and to hop-on-hop-off bus stops; Lambeth North tube station is just across the road, and there are buses right outside as well. It has an inviting bar, cafes and a supermarket are a few doors down. There’s a great pub on the corner and a street reminiscent of inner-city Enmore Road in Sydney, with a huge array of restaurants, a short walk away. Use of the hotel laundry washer and dryer is free. We stayed there for a week in a deluxe studio which had cooking facilities. It didn’t cost the earth, and we were able to easily travel to wherever we wanted to go on what was our first trip to London.
Kerrie Wehbe, Blacktown, NSW
Bit on the side
Cape Leveque… four-wheeled adventure.Getty Images
Western Australia’s Dampier Peninsula through to Cape Leveque offers a great opportunity to take a short couple of day adventures from Broome. Though more of the roads are being sealed, the chance to do some simple four-wheel driving to a destination that offers unique shining white sandy beaches backed by red rock cliffs makes for an excellent side trip while in that part of the world.
Matthew McInerney, Blackburn North, Vic
Night moves
David Whitley’s piece about non-existent nightlife in Venice transported us back to our two magical winter holidays there. Each night after dinner, we would wind our way down narrow, dark, eerie alleys, leading us to the bright lights at Hotel Danieli. There we enjoyed sipping our gin and tonics in the Dandola Bar, soaking up the atmosphere, listening to the piano player and watching the people. So yes, we did discover nightlife in Venice.
Rhoda Silber, Manly, NSW
Happy place
Editor’s note: We recently launched a new series, My Happy Place, where Traveller’s writers reflect on the holiday destinations in Australia and around the world that they cherish the most. We also invited you to submit your happy places.
My happy place is a gift from the people of Koshigaya, a Japanese garden at the Campbelltown Arts Centre in NSW. Although small in size, its Tardis-like quality makes it feel like a paradise unto itself. I feel complete peace; the tranquility of the cascading waterfall, the ripples undulating meditatively among the water lillies, all encompassed by a spectacular symphony of birdsong. Tiny ceramic bells hang from the branches, inspiring creativity and imagination. In the ceremonial tea house, I retreat from the world, perfectly framing delicate Japanese maples and pink camellias, a sweet repose from life’s hustle and bustle.
Eleanor Farlow, Wattle Grove, NSW
The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com
The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com
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