Hi there, JFC-ers,

As usual, it's all go here at Jack's Flight Club HQ — or should I say, we're all go?!

At the beginning of the week, Flight Finder Fran returned home to Brussels after a couple of glorious weeks catching the waves in Brazil with old friends. But before she knew it, she was turned right around and heading back to the airport to wing her way to me in Scotland. 

Joined by Flight Finder Lauren, who jetted over from Barcelona, the pair hopped aboard Global Airlines' maiden voyage to New York yesterday to bring us all the inside scoop. In case you're wondering why this is so exciting, honestly, it's because so many people doubted that it would ever happen.

But after balloons and cupcakes at check-in, and a mouth-watering in-flight meal, our intrepid Flight Finders successfully made it across the pond to land in the Big Apple. Don't worry, their airline review is already in the works, and I'll be sure to share it ASAP.

After a few days scouring the city's must-see sights (all in the name of great content, of course!), they'll fly back to Glasgow… before coming to meet me in a top-secret European location!

Tomorrow marks the start of another exciting race run by our friends at Lupine Travel. This time, racers will be dashing from London to Marrakesh via a series of (as yet undisclosed) checkpoints — and lucky for them, Lauren, Fran and I will be ready to greet them in the midway city. We'll be running a casual social evening, complete with a rather on-brand travel nerd pub quiz, before making our own way to Marrakesh for the awards party.

On that note, any of advice on Marrakesh must-sees would be greatly appreciated! We'll only have a couple of days in the city, so let me know where to go and where to skip to make the most of our time. If you want to stay up-to-date with all our goings-on, keep your eyes on our Instagram.

I hope your upcoming travel plans are as exciting as my own, dear readers!

Happy travels and safe landings,

Katy - Editor of The Detour

By Katy

Detour Editor Katy is a budget travel aficionado who has already travelled to more than 50 countries. Whether she's at home or on a foreign adventure, she has a particular talent for stumbling upon tasty Georgian restaurants.

A friend recently asked me if the whole of Turkey was as expensive as Istanbul Airport. Having been to Turkey (and both of Istanbul’s airports) a few times, I never found myself baulking at the price of a meal out in the wild the way I did at the vendors in the airport. 

But why on earth are Istanbul’s airports so expensive? The Turkish Lira fluctuates pretty rapidly, and it’s certainly true that inflation in the country has pushed prices up a fair bit. From what I can tell, though, there’s no obvious reason behind the surged airport snack costs other than the fact that they can. Like all airports, vendors there have a captive (and often under-prepared) audience.

I, too, have been one of the under-prepared. After a couple of run-ins with a £10/$13 simit (for the uninitiated, that’s a simple sesame-covered cross between a bagel and a pretzel) and a £20+ off-brand fast food burger meal at Istanbul International, I had hopes that a layover at Istanbul’s second airport would be kinder on the pocket.

How wrong I was. 

Sabiha Gökçen International, located on the Asian side of the Turkish metropolis, is a hub for domestic routes and Turkey’s low-cost airline Pegasus. It’s older and gloomier than IST — think office-style strip lighting and polystyrene roof tiles. Looking for a charging station? That in itself is a like a scavenger hunt. To say it’s not exactly modern would be an understatement.

When I found myself there on the way to Cappadocia, I suspected that the prices might reflect that, and costs might not be so modern as those at the shiny, new Istanbul International. But, once again, I was faced with the choice of a £10 simit, £20 burger, £15 Subway salad, etc. And don’t even bother considering a beer!

Passing through once again on the way to Kyrgyzstan six months later, I wondered if maybe I’d missed the reasonably-priced corner. Or maybe there was a little supermarket with cheaper snacks? 

If a bottle of water that’ll set you back £5/$6 sounds good, then sure. But from my perspective, there was no cheap corner. So we opted for a proper meal at a proper restaurant, where at least I wouldn’t regret wasting £20+ on cold, soggy fries and a sad burger. There was simply no better option.

Lots of you JFC members passing through Istanbul will be transiting on a cheap flight to Asia or Africa, having already travelled 4+ hours and munched through the majority of your flight snacks. Others will just be heading in and out of Istanbul itself. Either way, you’ll likely have at least a couple of hours to kill in the airport. 

Surviving your layover in Istanbul

Here’s how you can make it through your layover at Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen without spending your entire travel budget:

1. Bring a water bottle - preferably a big one!

This one is standard for lots of us these days, but never does it pay off more than when you’re passing through Istanbul International Airport. There are more than 23 water fountains dotted around the airport, each one able to help you save $6 on bottled water from a shop. 

But it’s bad news for anyone passing through Sabiha Gökçen — all recent information suggests that the airport is yet to install drinking water dispensers, and the tap water in the bathrooms is not potable. If you’ve got a long onward journey, make sure you set some cash aside to stock up on bottled water at the airport.

Unfortunately, the best way around this is by bringing a particularly large water bottle that you were able to fill to the brim after security at your departure airport!

2. Pre-order meals and drinks for your flight

Lots of airlines still include snacks and drinks in their service, especially on long-haul routes. But if you’re travelling via Istanbul with Pegasus, you get the double whammy of Sabiha Gökçen and a paid in-flight menu. 

While prices onboard are far from cheap, they are generally more affordable than you’ll find in the airport (water for €3?!). The menu has two prices for everything — card or cash. Believe me when I say you want to pay by card, ‘cause you’ll save money almost every time. And if you order your meal in advance, you’ll save 20% off in-flight prices.

If you can make it through your connection with only the squished cereal bars and the dregs of bottled water from your last flight, this is your best bet.

3. Spring for the airport lounge

A personal favourite of myself and Flight Finder Fran is the iGA Lounge at Istanbul Airport. Never has an airport lounge felt so good. The food is great, there are showers, you can book a massage, and you can while away your time people watching your fellow travellers from above.

Honestly, though, never have I seen an airport lounge so pricey. Coming in at the eye-watering sum of £78/$104 at the time of writing, you’d have to really enjoy every minute of the full four-hour window to make it worth coughing up for. 

BUT if you travel a lot, appreciate an airport lounge, and haven’t already done so, you should invest in an annual lounge pass membership, like Priority Pass or Dragon Pass. For $99/£69, you get 12 months of reduced entry fees for thousands of lounges around the world (or you can pay more up-front for free entries). Even the basic passes take your £78 iGA Lounge entry down to £24 right away, which is about the cost of a burger and fries of questionable quality from the airport food court. 

If you’re an airline points collector with an airline-affiliated credit card, chances are you may have access to one of these passes anyway, so double check before you go! While I didn’t use my Avios credit card perks to gain entry to the lounge, I did use my Avios to book a cheap business class flight back to Glasgow, thus gaining me lounge access. Turns out that was a great decision!

Side note: You may be wondering why I’d go business class on a short-haul route in the first place? Flight prices from Istanbul back to Glasgow or Edinburgh were extortionate in peak summer, while the difference in Avios required to travel business class instead of economy was negligible. That got me lounge access in Istanbul and Heathrow, plus a free meal onboard both flights (between my lounge brekkies). Worth every point.

4. Pack a picnic

I kid you not, if ever there was an airport in which to unleash a platter of flattened sandwiches, squashed cereal bars and banged up apples from your backpack, it’s either of Istanbul’s airports. Especially if you’re vegan or have other dietary restrictions — the selection available really doesn’t cater to dairy-free choices

There are lots of spots where you can set up camp for a few hours, so don’t be shy. Fill every last nook and cranny of your cabin bag with hearty snacks that’ll keep you going.

5. Sleep it out

We can’t all catch 40 winks on a plane like it’s no big deal, so if you’ve got a longer layover of 3 hours or more, you might want to catch up on some sleep. Cheaper than an airport hotel and located within the terminal itself, both airports have sleep pods you can pay for by the hour. 

Istanbul Airport’s iGA Sleepods look like some kind of cryogenic chamber from a sci-fi film, while Sabiha Gökçen leans more into the human filing cabinet approach. On their way to Kyrgyzstan, Flight Finders Kash and Kristi were able to simply show up and file themselves away for a snooze without booking in advance. Kash says it was a super comfy sleep, too!

And when an hour’s kip costs less than a croissant, I’d say you’re probably onto something.

Another part of what makes Istanbul’s airports pricey can be getting between the airports and the city. Thankfully, Flight Finder Larissa has spent a lot of time in Istanbul and knows aaalllll the tricks.

Keep reading…

Hi lovely readers! It’s been such a joy writing to you lately. I adore being able to help you chase your travel dreams by scoring some cheap flights. While my tips always come with zero strings attached, I’d love if this time you could help me plan my trip!

After reading all your submissions last week about weird and wonderful places around the world, I’ve got plenty of inspiration for my own life list. (And yes, I much prefer "life list" over "bucket list" — doesn’t it sound so much more positive?)

Normally, lists and I don’t get along, but I’ll admit that they can be surprisingly useful for leveling-up travel goals. The trouble is, though, there are always a handful of entries that never quite get ticked off. This year, I’m determined to change that. 

First up: Canada.

Here’s the thing, I&r