The New Year’s gifts are unpacked, the greeting cards are read — all that remains is to sit on the couch with a bowl of olivier from the festive table and turn on your favorite movie. Or better yet, read a selection of the best texts About!A travel blog for 2024!
Meet the annual top 10 most popular articles and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, Telegram channel, Zen — we will be wherever it is convenient for you to read us.
10 unobvious places for a summer trip: the Putorana Plateau, Issyk-Kul and the ancient Inca city
This year, an article with ideas for a summer vacation has become the leader. We honestly tried to embrace the immensity and choose options for those who love something close and familiar, as well as for those who dream of conquering mysterious distances.
So, in this collection, the neighbors are a road trip along the Volga and a visit to Machu Picchu, Franz Josef Land and Seoul, and also … Okay, we won’t tell you everything at once, read and choose a route for the summer of 2025!
So, in this collection, a car trip along the Volga and a visit to Machu Picchu, Franz Josef Land and Seoul became neighbors. Photo: CJ Nattanai/Shutterstock.com
How to get from Russia to Europe in 2024
Recently, Notre Dame Cathedral was opened in Paris after restoration (in 2019, a major fire broke out in the cathedral, causing catastrophic damage to the building), and to be honest, my hands are itching to get a visa and go see the architectural masterpiece with my own eyes.
This is what we mean: even if Europe has already been traveled far and wide for you, there are always interesting sports, music and other cultural events that it would be great to visit to catch your eye there!Moment. The article talked about how things are with visas and how people are getting to European countries now.
Notre Dame Cathedral was recently opened in Paris after restoration, and to be honest, my hands are itching to get a visa and go see the architectural masterpiece with my own eyes. Photo: Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock.com
Oh, the rebranding!
In April of this year, the island was rebranded and transformed: you’ve probably noticed how a new color has appeared in our palette — Mojito green, which is associated with nature, freshness and high spirits.
The letter “O” has become central to the updated image and an important formative for O!The moment is a special feeling of happiness, fullness, and excitement that travel brings.
A ready-made route for traveling to Belarus: what to see during the week
We really like ready-made routes, because sometimes you want someone to plan everything for you, and you can come, see and enjoy it without unnecessary search queries. That’s how this article was born with a plan for a trip to Belarus for a week — simple, but with taste (potatoes, of course!).
An article with a weekly trip plan to Belarus is simple but tasteful. Photo: George Trumpeter/Shutterstock.com
8 mistakes when choosing a hotel and how to avoid them
Our 14-year experience in the travel industry suggests that even in such an understandable process as choosing and booking hotels, unpleasant incidents occur — due to haste, inattention, ignorance. Anything happens, we’re all human.
The article has collected eight typical mistakes and described how to avoid them thanks to the hints in the Island interface and some very useful settings. Make sure you know all the details!
The article contains eight typical mistakes when choosing a hotel. Photo: Karlos Garciapons/Shutterstock.com & Aunnop Suthumno/Unsplash
What to see in Kalmykia: tulips, pagodas and pink lakes
In May 2024, the airport began operating in Elista, and in September, the Russian Union of Tour Operators announced thatKalmykia turned out to be the most budget-friendly destination for domestic tourism.
Well, then everyone ran to read our guide to Kalmykia, which we very prudently released back in February, so the popularity of the article is very justified. Pagodas, fluffy double-humped camels, a tulip festival (this is in April), pink lakes, pelicans are waiting for you.… In general, a fairy tale!
In Kalmykia, pagodas, fluffy double-humped camels, a tulip festival (this is in April), pink lakes, pelicans are waiting for you.… Photo: Vladimir Mulder/Shutterstock.com
Holidays in Sri Lanka in 2024: practical tips
From Kalmykia, we will teleport directly to South Asia! Everything is very pleasant with Sri Lanka: it’s easy to get a visa, you can get from Moscow with one transfer, for example, in the Emirates, but on the spot, who is good at what.
Someone will run from the plane to sign up for surfing classes, someone will sip cocktails under a palm tree and read a book that they started a hundred times at night, someone will rush to explore tea plantations… We talked about everything in the article, but in the meantime, figure out what’s out there to escape from winter, do you have any ideas?
Everything is very pleasant with Sri Lanka: it’s easy to get a visa, you can get from Moscow with one transfer. Photo: Sergii Figurnyi/Shutterstock.com
Districts of St. Petersburg: where to stay
You can endlessly look at three things: fire, water, and how even a seasoned traveler tries to choose a hotel in that very area of the city. Seriously, who hasn’t faced this agonizing dilemma: either cool bars, or sleep without noise, or a park and scenic views, or the city center and all the benefits at hand.
We try to help in any way we can — and this year’s top is just an article where we have sorted out the districts of St. Petersburg. Study which vibe you like, and book a hotel or apartment as soon as possible — on the Island, of course!
By the way, we have already analyzed the districts of Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Istanbul, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, and Tbilisi.
We try to help in any way we can — and this year’s top is just an article where we have sorted out the districts of St. Petersburg. Photo: FOTOGRIN/Shutterstock.com
8 countries where you can fly without a visa and on a direct flight
We talked about Europe and visas, but there is a task with an asterisk: please, I need visa-free travel and a direct flight. Whatever you say, we’ve collected eight such destinations, and I bet you haven’t been everywhere yet! Shall we check it out?
Where to relax in Phuket: 10 best beaches and a list of hotels
Any selection of travel destinations today will be incomplete without Thailand, and this, by the way, is also an excellent answer to the question “Where to go without a visa and transfers.” In this article, we explored the best beaches and hotels in Phuket.
There are also famous Karon, Kata and Patong, and those that are a little less well-known, for example, Knighton, Surin, Rawai. It seems that this is a sign to choose a beach to visualize the next launch!
In this article, we explored the best beaches and hotels in Phuket. Photo: Joey Santini/Shutterstock.com
Free Istanbul: 8 ideas on how to save money in Turkey’s main metropolis
What do we love more than visa-free countries and direct flights? That’s right, free activities! Of course, it is possible and even necessary to see those very Cisterns of the Basilica in Istanbul and climb the Galata Tower at least once, but if you are suddenly one of those who hunts for less obvious locations and even with free access, then this article is for you.
They told us how to replace a walk along the Bosphorus, historical museums, cable cars and other very, very famous (and paid) places. And you can use the money you save to go shopping!
Told us how to replace a walk along the Bosphorus, historical museums, cable cars and other very, very famous places. Photo: Resul Muslu/Shutterstock.com
On this beautiful note, we are completing a selection of the top 10 best articles of the year, and this means only one thing: there is a new top ahead, amazing adventures, unexplored corners of the world, useful and harmful tips – and all for your coolest trips with the Island!
