Hey there, Travellers,

This week I took to both our Facebook community and Reddit to answer questions on all things Flight-finding and travel. From family trip ideas to how on earth you're meant to find an affordable non-stop route to Japan, I had a blast sharing ideas with everyone. If you have a burning travel question of your own, feel free to join the threads, or ask us here.

But that leads me back to you, dear readers. I know that lots of you have your own tips and cheap flight hacks up your sleeves, but what are they?! Our Navigators are never too proud to learn a new trick or two, so share yours in the comments.

Happy travels and safe landings,

Katy - Editor of The Detour

By Olivia

San Diego native Olivia left home three years ago to live on the road. Since then, she's had homebases everywhere from Quebec to England to New Orleans, but always ends up back on the West Coast. When she's not hiking through the desert or the woods, she can usually be found exploring her current city and scoping out the best bars and coffee shops.

I’ve never been a foodie, so whenever I want to feel immersed in the flavors of wherever I’m visiting, I ask for a drink menu. Nothing settles you into the New Orleans French Quarter like a Sazerac, or screams “I’m in Spain right now!” like sipping sangria at a café.

But if you REALLY want a taste of local flavor, sometimes you’ve got to stray a little further from the hotel happy hour menu. 

Okay… maybe a lot further.

Turns out there are a seemingly infinite number of ways to get wasted, and humanity is still discovering new ones every day. From niche traditions to modern inventions, here are some of the most unique, most hyperlocal, and (in some cases) most horrifying ways to unwind with a drink! 

Karsk (Norway)

We’re starting off simple with a rural favorite from the Trøndelag region of Norway. Dating back to the early 1800s, this two-ingredient beverage is defined more by the process than the finished product.

To make karsk, you’ll need coffee (this is Scandinavia we’re talking about, remember?), some moonshine (or vodka, but a little law-breaking is more traditional), and a single coin. Drop the coin in the cup, then pour coffee over it until you can no longer see the coin through the liquid. Then dilute the coffee with enough moonshine to make the coin visible again. Ta-da, you’ve just made karsk!

If you’ve stopped to consider the relative opacities of coffee versus grain alcohol, you’ve probably realized how lethal this drink can be. One blog refers to karsk as “a self-deceiving way of accidentally getting hammered,” because even after you’ve realized just how strong you’ve made the drink, you still can’t waste it, can you?

Most modern variations play fast and loose with the coin rule, making the coffee-liquor ratio a little less diabolical. Some even go so far as to add sugar. Much more palatable, but if you’re worried about flavor, you might not survive the end of this list.

Seaweed Smoothie (Belize)

Of all the drinks on this list, this one might go down the easiest. Who doesn’t love a thick, creamy smoothie?

Because it’s so high in the thickening agent carrageenan, seaweed is kind of the perfect ingredient for an extra-creamy smoothie. And despite what you might expect from an ocean vegetable, it doesn’t turn them salty! Descriptions often compare the sweet, nutty flavor to eggnog, and some shops even serve flavored varieties like Oreo and orange creamsicle. The boozy varieties are usually made with rum, sort of like a blended seaweed daiquiri. 

This smoothie owes its invention to the burgeoning seaweed industry in Placencia, a laid-back Belizean beach town. Local farmers raise several different varieties eighteen miles off the coast and sell to eateries all over the area, so check those café menus if you find yourself in coastal Belize and want to give it a try. 

Seaweed consumption is also said to have quite a few benefits, so while you’re pounding back rum-soaked smoothies on a Caribbean beach, you can tell yourself it’s all in the name of good health.

Hormigas Culonas (Colombia)

This one’s more of an unusual ingredient than a specific drink, but it’s been popping up around the Colombian cocktail scene. While America’s hipster bartenders reach for breakfast cereal or exotic syrups, some in Colombia are reaching for hormigas culonas.

Translating to “fat-bottomed ants,” these insects are a regional delicacy from the Santander area. They’ve been enjoyed as a snack food for centuries by the indigenous Guane people, and are found today at street markets in cities like Bucaramanga. They’re frequently compared to peanuts or popcorn, with foreigners often expressing surprise at how good they taste.

To try them in a cocktail, head to Bar Carmen in Medellín. There you can order the B.C.E., a mezcal-based drink that comes garnished with ants. TODAY also has a recipe for an insect mojito if you’d rather enjoy the crunchy critters at home. To go beyond the shaker, pick up a bottle of Colombian ant wine.

And before you dare to get grossed out by any of this, remember that every hot toddy has “bee vomit” on its ingredient list.

Keep reading for a jellyfish martini and the infamous sourtoe shot. Content Warning: contains mummified toe.

By Will

Will is on a mission to eat the best burger ever. Using his base in London, he's exploring every historical nook and far-flung cranny to find it. When he isn't, you'll usually spot him exploring a new world in a book or video game. Sometimes he also falls ungracefully from climbing walls. Very occasionally he writes (when he isn't daydreaming about burgers...).

Conquered the Camino de Santiago and looking for something more challenging? Or maybe off-peak flights to southern Turkey have caught your eye? Not surprising when the idyllic shores of the Turquoise Coast look so alluring. So pack your boots, don your hardiest hat, and take to one of the world’s finest hikes: the Lycian Way!

Named after the ancient Lycian civilisation, this trail winds over 500 km through the southwest of Turkey, past stunning valleys and immovable ruins.

You might need to save up a whole year's worth of time off work if you intend to undertake the entire 30-day adventure, but you can also split it into sections as you see fit.

After landing in Dalaman, grab a bus to Fethiye and kick things off with a “light” warm-up walk to admire ancient tombs hewn into the cliff edge. Then grab some grub, and it’s off to bed. You’re going to need all the sleep you can get for the early-morning start.

Snooze the alarm once or twice, and then bolt up, remembering you have to catch a local dolmuş (minibus) to Ovacık in Ölüdeniz. Fill your thermos with some proper Turkish coffee, and then find your way to the trailhead, where your adventure truly begins. Spend approximately 10 seconds stretching before assuredly nodding to yourself that that’s a sufficient amount of stretching.

Then you begin. It's up-up-up you go (bet you're glad you warmed up), winding the ridges of Mount Babadağ and gazing over the jaw-dropping crescent of Ölüdeniz Bay.

The ground flattens out as you wander through the village of Faralya, and as soon as you catch your breath, be prepared for it to be taken away by the stunning Butterfly Valley, a canyon teeming with views and wildlife (no surprise, but it's mainly butterflies).

Hugging the Mediterranean Sea, descend through thickets of pine and meadows of beehive (you might even stumble on a local honey shop!) before ending at Kabak Valley, where a rewarding dip is on offer. Rejoin the trail and track the jagged terrain that decorates the Babadağ massif, making your way to Alınca while stopping along the way for a view that will stay with you for the rest of time.

Yediburunlar (or Gey) is your next step (that is, if you managed to resist the enchanting glamping domes in Alınca), and the hamlet provides sweeping landscapes of the Mediterranean Sea, framed by the imposing ridges of the Taurus Mountains. Alternatively, you can choose a different path leading you to Dodurga and the ruins of Sidyma, a member of the Lycian League whose remains of sarcophagi and agoras pepper the surrounding olive groves.

Follow farm and field to the village of Bel for some quiet respite before the rocky descent into Gavurağılı, where you’ll stumble upon the enduring 2nd-century ruins of a Hellenistic fortress at Pydnai.

Haven’t got enough of a history fix? Just you wait… 

It’s onwards to Letoon, where temples and sacred springs serve as a peaceful spot to put