There’s a new kid shaking up the travel world and they’re not here to take you to the places straight off a “Top 10 Things to Do in…” list. Say hello to Oddtrips, a Melbourne-born travel brand built for the incurably curious, the wanderers who’d rather get lost in Kyrgyzstan’s mountain passes than queue for yet another temple selfie.
Founded by Sasha Fidler, who grew up in Kazakhstan surrounded by sweeping steppes and stories that never make it into guidebooks, Oddtrips is all about taking the road (or goat track) less travelled. Hint: you’re more likely to swap five-star resorts for five-billion-star skies and meet locals who actually live where you’re visiting.
These are self-guided, private, and small-group journeys with heart (and just enough oddness to keep things interesting). Think Japan’s sleepy countryside, Pakistan’s untouched valleys, Lapland’s wild white silence, and the Baltic coastline no one talks about (yet). Each trip is meticulously designed with local knowledge, a touch of style, and zero tourist fluff. Just the way we like it.
“Travel should be independent, local, and deeply human,” says Fidler, and that’s exactly what Oddtrips delivers. Backed by travel industry pros with 15+ years’ experience and accredited by ATIA, it’s the real deal for travellers who crave the unexpected.
So, if your idea of adventure doesn’t fit neatly in a brochure, it’s about time you joined the odd ones out.
Somewhere above the turquoise sweep of Tasman Bay, there’s a place where your phone finally stops buzzing, but mostly because you’ve turned it off. Welcome to Domu Retreat, a brand-new luxury “slow-stay” hideout perched on New Zealand’s South Island (read: a place where Michelin-starred dining meets magnesium-pool serenity).
Run by chef Toby Stuart (yes, the guy with actual Michelin credentials) and wellness guru Sabina Bronicka-Stuart, Domu is the antidote to busy holidays. Forget the jam-packed itinerary – here, the only schedule is breakfast, a four-course dinner, and whatever your body feels like in between. Yoga? Optional. Silence? Encouraged. Napping? Basically guaranteed.
With just six suites and room for twelve adults max, it’s private, personal, and peacefully screen-free, meaning you won’t find a TV anywhere. Instead, you’ll find views over Abel Tasman National Park, an open kitchen serving up wild game and local seafood, and enjoy table talk that lasts well past dessert.
“People come for the food, but stay for the quiet,” says Toby. “Silence is the new luxury.”
Sabina agrees: “We built Domu so guests can finally stop rushing. Here, wellness isn’t an itinerary – it’s an invitation.”
So, if your brain’s running low on calm and your calendar’s running high on chaos, you know where to go. Book your stay now.
Deep in the wilds of Cambodia, where the jungle hums louder than your phone signal, Cardamom Tented Camp has just been named among the best in the world for responsible tourism.
The eco-lodge was one of only 30 finalists celebrated at the ICRT 2025 Global Responsible Tourism Awards in London, a gathering that honours the planet’s most inspiring and sustainable travel projects.
Competing in the Nature Positive category, Cardamom Tented Camp rubbed eco-shoulders with the likes of Kenya’s Emboo Safari Camp and Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives. Not bad company for a 12-tent hideaway that’s only reachable by boat (or a good old-fashioned hike).
Since opening in 2017, the camp has stayed true to its mission: protect the forest, support local communities, and prove that travel can do more than feature on the ‘gram. Solar-powered everything, no road access, and a wastewater filtration system are just the start.
And every guest stay helps fund Wildlife Alliance patrols that keep poachers and loggers at bay, making that morning kayak through misty mangroves feel even better.
As lodge manager and conservationist Allan Michaud puts it, “We strive to deliver a genuine ecotourism experience in a setting we’re proud to protect.”
And clearly, the world agrees. Because while some places promise sustainability, Cardamom Tented Camp lives it – one wild, wonderful stay at a time.
Just when you thought your next island escape couldn’t get more brag-worthy, Majestic Whale Encounters has gone and launched a new tour to Niue (pronounced new-way), a speck in the South Pacific that packs more paradise per square metre than most countries can manage.
Home to just 1,600 people and roughly the same number of sea views, Niue is a place where your biggest worry is whether the dolphins will crash your swim with the humpbacks (they often do). From July to September, the island turns into an aquatic playground where whales cruise through bathtub-clear water and curious humans are invited (respectfully) to join the party.
Majestic Whale Encounters, long-time champions of ethical and eco-friendly adventures, are calling it their 8-day Niue Experience, which sounds blissfully simple because it is – swim with whales, soak up sunsets, and remember what it’s like to breathe properly. Between five guided whale swims, you’ll stay at the clifftop Matavai Resort, sipping poolside cocktails, devouring local feasts, and watching migrating whales roll past like they own the place (which, to be fair, they kind of do).
It’s family friendly, crowd-free, and traffic light–free, so it’s basically the anti-city break. Flights from Auckland take just over three hours, but mentally, you’ll be light-years away.
Ever dreamed of sleeping on sacred Aussie soil? Well, this might just bowl you over. To celebrate the first Test of the Ashes, cricket legend Mike Hussey (better known as Mr Cricket) is opening the gates of Perth’s iconic WACA Ground for one extremely lucky (and probably cricket-mad) Airbnb stay.
That’s right, instead of watching from the stands, you’ll be camped out on the pitch. Forget the five-star hotel; this is more like five stumps under the stars. Up to four guests get the honour of dozing off, where legends have dived, sledged, and sworn at umpires, and yes, it’s all free. Whaaat?
The experience includes a guided tour of the WACA and its museum, a backyard-style game with Hussey himself (start stretching now), a proper Aussie dinner, and a movie night on the field. Sunrise brings brekkie and another hit-out with Mike, just in case you fancy testing your cover drive before coffee.
To top it off, you’ll also score tickets to Day 2 of the sold-out Perth Ashes Test and your very own personalised pickets around the ground.
The catch? There isn’t one…except that you’ll need lightning-fast fingers when bookings open at midday (AEDT) on Friday 7 November. Travel’s on you, but bragging rights? Priceless.
You think you’ve done Halloween? Think again. Step inside the hulking ruin of Eastern State Penitentiary, a ten-acre fortress of cellblocks, decades of whispered misery and (now) wicked fun. At Halloween Nights, this historic prison holds onto ghosts of the past and invites them to the party.
Here’s the deal – you’ll wander (or run) through multiple haunted houses with names like Nightmares, Dark Tides, Machine Shop, The Crypt. Rough-and-ready corridors, fog, lights, thumping beats and actors whose mission is to yank you out of your comfort zone. But if you want a breather, there’s the Fair Chance Beer Garden, themed cocktail lounges, and live performers doing things you can’t quite stop staring at.
This is a perfect spot to spend Halloween because the setting is built-in creepy (an abandoned prison with real history). The production value is high (cinematic sets, immersive flow, new scare zones). The optional “opt in” glow-necklace gimmick means you might get pulled into hidden passages or separated from your squad. Like c’mon?! Fun.
And the vibe is both electric and macabre. You’re surrounded by fellow thrill-seekers, the air’s charged, every corner might have a jump-scare or a haunted film-set moment. For anyone wanting more than candy and carved pumpkins, it’s the full-on Halloween immersion.
If your idea of a fun time involves a tarot reading, a touch of witchcraft, and a cocktail with some serious bite, Gin Lane’s gone and brewed your dream night out.
The Kensington Street bar has shapeshifted into Tales & Tonics, an immersive fantasy pop-up inspired by the viral pages of BookTok favourites like A Court of Thorns and Roses, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.
Forget dusty tomes, here, the storytelling happens in a glass. Each cocktail comes with a side of escapism: ‘The Cauldron’ bubbles with rose-petal tequila and activated charcoal, ‘Spring Court in Bloom’ shimmers like a fae fever dream, and ‘Gandalf’s Pipe’ tastes like a coffee-fuelled prophecy. There’s even Slughorn’s Hourglass, a violet-hued ode to Hogwarts that might just turn you into the life of the (wizarding) party.
But the real twist comes from the Seer’s Table. A resident tarot reader will size up your aura and tell you which mythical world (and drink) you truly belong to (read: she doesn’t need a sorting hat).
Dreamed up by mixology magician Grant Collins, the pop-up runs until late December, inviting mere mortals to ditch reality for a few rounds of fantasy-fuelled drinking. Whether you’re here for the magic, the mischief, or just the booze that sparkles, Gin Lane’s turned Sydney into something spellbinding.
Forget the usual haunted house clichés. Spookywoods in Archdale, North Carolina, has taken the concept of “Halloween fun” and turned it into a fully realized and immensely terrifying immersive experience. Like, don’t be fooled. The attraction isn’t a walk through a dark corridor with someone shouting “Boo!” at you. It’s more like being dropped into a series of mini horror movies, each with its own set, style, and extreme level of chaos.
Step into Endora’s House, and you’re greeted by a witch who clearly has better dance moves than you. Cross the Luminous Passage, and you’ll feel like a rave threw up in a haunted tunnel (think blinking lights, shadows, and plenty of weirdness). Ashes Army drags you into the aftermath of miners who dug too deep and woke up things better left alone, while Camp Crystal Lake takes you to a summer camp where the counsellors are definitely not making s’mores.
But Spookywoods doesn’t stop at storytelling. ICONS lets you rub shoulders with horror movie legends without worrying about them gutting you for funsies (we’re talking to you, Michael), and The Creeper – a seven-foot cryptid with glowing red eyes – makes sure you keep one eye on the path ahead.
Every themed set is a carefully constructed world designed to keep you laughing, but mostly screaming. And that’s exactly what everyone needs on the 31st of October.
If 2026 is the year you want to finally hit the slopes then the Ikon Pass has your back – or rather, your skis, snowboard, and questionable decision-making skills.
This winter, Ikon is going big in Asia, adding nine new destinations across Japan, China, and South Korea. That’s right. From the powdery peaks of Niseko and Shiga Kogen to the Olympic-ready slopes of Yunding Snow Park and Mona Yongpyong, you can rack up to 77 days of skiing and riding without ever leaving the continent.
Japan alone now reads like a greatest-hits tour: Myoko Suginohara for long, sweeping runs two hours from Tokyo, Furano for bonkers “Bonchi Powder,” Mt.T for a bucket-list faceplant into 15 metres of deep snow, and Zao Onsen for skiing among literal snow monsters before soaking in a steaming onsen. NEKOMA, APPI, Shiga Kogen, it’s like someone said, “Let’s make Asia the ultimate ski playground,” and then actually did it.
Meanwhile, China and South Korea are throwing their hats in the ring with Olympic-level infrastructure, sunlit slopes, and enough halfpipes to make Shaun White nod approvingly.
Access is straightforward: Ikon Pass holders get 7 days at Shiga Kogen plus 7 at each new Asian destination, no blackout dates, and Base Pass holders get 5 days each. Session Pass? Sorry, you can sit this one out.
Perfect for those whose 2026 resolution involves powder and a whole lotta adventure, the Ikon Pass is basically a free pass to Asia’s snowiest destinations.
Sure, Dread Hollow is a haunted house, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s a whole cursed town, tucked into Tennessee, where the shadows seem to watch you, and the past has a nasty habit of sticking around.
The story starts with Mercy Harker, a woman whose lies led to the deaths of thirteen innocent women. The town’s history turned dark that day, and so, the legend of Dread Hollow was born.
Now, the place is a playground for the curious, the fearless, and for the those who want to be scared shitless. Wander through the Belle Royale Hotel, where the creaky floorboards tell a story of vengeful spirits, or get lost in Dreadwood Forest, where the trees feel a little too eager to guide you off the path. The high school isn’t safe either: hallways and classrooms hide their own brand of horrors, each one rooted in the town’s grim history.
If you think you’re clever, Dread Hollow’s Deliverance Escape Rooms will test that. In “Detention,” you’re stuck with Mercy Harker herself. “Alan Wayne: The Imitation Killer” makes you chase clues before a killer leaves his mark. And “Eugene Todd” is a race against time…or against ending up as the final victim.
But what really sets Dread Hollow apart is how immersive it is. There are no cheap shocks here; the scares are in the stories, the spaces, the history. It lingers. If you’re after something that sticks with you after you leave – something a little dark and a little twisted – Dread Hollow is waiting.
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