We answer all of your burning questions about travel - from your upcoming trips to top tips, and more.

This is a common complaint right now, reader! The Latch has covered a few of the reasons why flights to Australia have become just so pricey post-lockdown (to name a couple: the soaring price of fuel, the lack of competition in the Australian market…)

However, there's some good news. Our flight finders are reporting that they are just beginning to see flights appearing on the upper end of normal (£700-ish) so long as you avoid the peak holiday times which are currently doubling the price.

Lufthansa is the most reasonable option at the moment - so you’d be connecting via Germany and Singapore - but you should also keep your eye on no-frills budget airline Scoot.

They currently fly out of Stansted and Berlin, and their prices in Germany have been dropping as low as a very tasty 400€ - fingers crossed, we might just see a similar cost popping up over here in the near future.

As for hidden gems and fine sights in Victoria and Melbourne, here’s a few:

⛰️ See a national park: From the Grampians to Yarra Valley, Victoria has some of the world's most stunning natural spaces.

If you’re planning for a late-summer visit, we'd particularly recommend that you take a trip out to the stunning pink lakes of the Murray-Sunset National Park. At other times of the year, the high-saline lakes will be pale pink-ish, but if you plan your travels right, you’ll be looking at a natural wonder the same colour as…well, the entirety of the upcoming Barbie movie.

🎨 Check out some art: While it’s not exactly hidden, we’d love to check out Victoria’s segment of the Australian Silo Art trail - leading across the state, this initiative to create gorgeous public art on old industrial silos has effectively doubled in size since the COVID-19 pandemic began, making it a fresh sight for foreign eyes.

🔍 Solve a mystery: If you’re looking for something that’s really off the tourist trail, then you could always drive out to Mount Macedon, close to the famous Hanging Rock, where you’ll find the peculiar ‘Anti-Gravity Hill of Woodend.’ Cars that stop along the surface of this hill appear to roll upwards rather than downwards (it’s an optical illusion, not a dimensional rift).

🍨 Grab a bite: In Melbourne, you could stop off at Mabu Mabu’s Big Esso - this indigenous-owned restaurant serves up delicious variations on the traditional foods of the people of the Torres Strait, including kingfish, emu and fried crocodile.

For dessert, pick up a freakshake - these utterly ludicrous heaped sundaes originated in Canberra, but Melbourne has embraced them wholeheartedly. Here’s a selection of the city’s biggest and sugariest treats.

Have an amazing time and we'll keep our eyes peeled for some cheap tickets!

This is a great question! The short answer is that this is already happening organically to some extent. (After all, if you see a great last-minute discount pop into your inbox, it’s most likely because the airline is desperate to sell seats.)

However, there’s a huge lack of transparency around ghost flights, so it’s not simple to pin down when and why they’re happening. Lufthansa broke ranks in December 2021 by admitting that they’ve flown 18,000 ‘unnecessary’ flights to keep their landing spots during the pandemic, and they saw blowback from other airlines for doing so.

Several airlines, including British Airways, have simply insisted to the media that they do not run ghost flights. Other spokespeople have argued that the problem is overblown in the media, or they’ve pointed towards more ethical examples of the practice which are contributing to the numbers (like flying out passenger planes to rescue stranded Brits abroad).

It’s all a big mess, and without a bit of radical honesty from the aviation industry it’s hard for consumers to make a meaningful difference.

We'll start you off with a couple of pre-made two-week itineraries! Here's one from Vicky Flip Flop Travels focused on Manila as a base in the north, and here's another from Wanderers and Warriors that uses Cebu City as a base in the heart of the country.

We'd probably say that Cebu is our top choice for a base of operations that gives you plenty of convenient opportunities to get around the Visayas and a wide variety of things to do and see - but whatever you choose, the key thing is not to try and cram in too much. You're not going to see all 7,640 islands at once, so pick your provinces wisely.

For peace and quiet: Malapascua Island. This tiny isle is just a couple of kilometres across, but easy to access from Cebu and it boasts a number of gorgeous white-sand beaches, coral gardens and dive spots (most famously, for its thresher sharks).

The southern side of Malapascua - including Bounty Beach, its most famous beach - is fairly developed, but head north and you'll find white sands which are delightfully uncrowded.

For some chilled-out accommodation, we'd recommend Neverland - it's a charming, well-rated hostel in the north of the island, with traditional huts, homecooked began food, and morning yoga sessions to help you ease into that sense of tranquility and calm.

For hiking: Here's a bunch of recommendations from the good folks at Hand Luggage Only - but it's probably best to begin by considering how much of a challenge you're up for. The Philippines have over 3,000 mountains, and some of treks are very much for experienced climbers only - Mount Apo in the south is a two-day climb.

If you stop off in Manila, a convenient and relatively simple option might be the Mount Maynoba circuit to the east of the city, which takes in the eight Wonder Falls and offers a chance for some views above the cloudline!

For partying: Manila and Cebu both have plenty of upmarket cocktail bars and clubs to choose from, and Boracay in the Visayas is justly famous for its nightlife - you might want to stop off at the 'secret club' Area 51 for the Philippines' very own take on a full-moon party.

But for a party that you'll remember for the rest of your life, we'd take a look at the traditional festival calendar. The Philippines have a ton of street parties and mass celebrations, with world-class dance contests, colourful costumes, and feasts (our favourite might just be the month-long Mango Festival of Zambales, a province which claims to grow the sweetest mangoes in the entire world.)

Hope you enjoy your trip!

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Our Pick of the Clicks

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

Saudi Arabia has announced the planned creation of The Line, a 170-km-long, 200-metre wide 'vertical city' with mirrored walls.

It's fair to say that urban architects have been left more than a little sceptical by the plans, which will cost billions of dollars to bring into reality.

There are remote island jobs aplenty in the news this week: one Maldives eco-resort is looking for someone to run its bookshop, while the Isle of Mull in Scotland is seeking bakers.

CNN Travel have launched a handy guide on how to treat a rattlesnake bite if you're out hiking in the wilds, and...pretty much everything you've read about treating poison is a lie, apparently. (Don't try and suck the venom out, and don't use a tourniquet.).

And on a related note: during a SunExpress flight from Turkey to Germany, one airline steward was shocked to find a snake's head in her in-flight meal.

Check out these stunning, fascinating art installations in Yugoslavia.

Thanks for reading!