Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia — October 2017

60 OCTOBER 2017 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM

/ upgrade /

45 Trust the Locals
If you’re traveling
on a whim,
chances are you
haven’t had time to
properly research
the must-do
activities in your
destination, let
alone where to
shop, take the kids
to a playground, or
find a babysitter.
Don’t hesitate to
ask shop owners
and waiters for
recommendations.
And if you’re
staying in an
Airbnb property,
your host can be
an invaluable
resource.

46 Hire a Stylist for
House Calls
If you’ve flown on
short notice to,
say, a celebration
or work event and
you need your hair,
nails or makeup
done, Vanitee is a
Singapore beauty
app that connects
you to local hair
stylists, makeup
artists and nail
technicians that
you can book in an
instant, and can
even have come to
your hotel or
Airbnb.

Group-tour operators, such as Abercrombie &

Kent, Butterfield & Robinson and Wild Frontiers,

often have openings at the last minute.

Expeditions to bucket-list destinations often sell

out far in advance, but check for cancellations,

especially around the holidays.

L

o

ok

fo

r^ Cancellat

io

n

s

#50

deals. “If space

becomes available

in a popular

destination,

we’ll share the

opportunity with

our social

community first,”

says Abercrombie

& Kent founder

Geoffrey Kent.

Also search

Tw i t t e r for

“last minute

travel deal.”

47 Book a Private

Tour Tickets to popular attractions,

such as the Sagrada Família, in

Barcelona, or Leonardo da Vinci’s

The Last Supper, in Milan, can sell

out weeks in advance. You may still

be able to ga i n access b y book i n g a

private tour, says Michael Brozek, a

destination manager for American

Express Travel. Context Travel,

which operates in more than 40

cities globally, gives private tours

and can access many top

attractions.

ACTIVITIES

49 Rent Your

Own Yacht

Nowboat is an

online marketplace

for thousands of

sea adventures

around the world,

and a convenient

place to look for

yacht charters,

snorkeling trips

and boat tours.

Airbnb also offer

water-based

rentals, from

traditional

Indonesian phinisi

boats in Bali to

luxury catamarans

off Thailand’s most

picturesque

beaches.

48 Look on Social

Media for Discounts

Follow your

favorite tour

operators, hotels

and airlines on

social media,

where they’ll often

post flash sales

and last-minute

COMPILED BY TALIA AVAKIAN, ELOISE BASUKI, CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT, MELANIE LIEBERMAN, JESS

MCHUGH, JOHN SCARPINATO, EMMA STONEALL, CHRISTOPHER TKACZYK AND SHIVANI VORA.