Kayak reveals travel hacks for 2018

Split  bay aerial view through stone window, Dalmatia, Croatia

Do you find yourself and your clients getting completely overwhelemded when choosing where to holiday?

Well, fret no more.

To help Australians travel with confidence in 2018 KAYAK.com.au has looked within its billions of annual search queries to create the first Australia Travel Hacker Guide to make travelling even easier for Aussies.

Launching today, the Travel Hacker Guide reveals the most popular, trending and bargain holiday spots and provides data-driven hacks on the best times to travel.

Adding to KAYAK’s suite of tools for smarter travel, the Travel Hacker Guide is full of insights and tips; providing rankings of the most popular and top trending destinations, the most affordable cities to fly to, as well as popular and trending hotels in each destination.

The ‘When to Book’ section displays the median airfare you can expect based on selected arrival and departure dates for any holiday, ensuring savvy travellers can plan and travel smarter in 2018.

Robin Chiang, Country Head of KAYAK, Australia says, ‘We’ve mined data from the billions of annual search enquiries on KAYAK.com.au to create the ultimate Travel Hacker Guide to help Aussies travel with confidence in 2018.

“Whether you’re looking to get ahead of the curve and visit one of the top up-and-coming destinations, or you’re looking to explore Australia through a staycation, our Travel Hacker Guide has you covered – helping you pick the best time to book and at the right price’.

Check out this quick glance at the first KAYAK.com.au Travel Hacker Guide reveals:

Trending Holiday Spots

Athens is soaring in popularity with Australians as their next preferred holiday destination, showing a year-on-year search increase of +109%.

Hidden gems in the Greek capital include Brettos, the oldest distillery in Athens and Anafiotika, home to tiny, quaint yet picturesque streets that are best explored on foot.

Through KAYAK’s Travel Hacker Guide, travellers can also discover the cheapest time to book their trip to Athens (six months in advance), when to travel (temperatures are highest and rainfall lowest from June to September), and trending hotels to book for their arrival (check out Royal Olympic Hotel and Athens Lotus Hotel).

Price Drop Destinations

Athens is closely followed by Chengdu, China as one of the top 10 trending holiday destinations that has seen the biggest increase in bookings (+94% year-on-year).

Chengdu also tops the list of the top 10 destinations with the biggest price drops, seeing a decrease in price of -28% year-on-year.

In fact, China holds the top three destinations with the biggest price drops, with Beijing (-25%) and Guangzhou (-20%) taking second and third place, respectively.

Popular Holiday Spots

Unsurprisingly, Bali still holds the top spot for the most popular holiday destination for Aussies, with multiple South Asian destinations featuring within the top 10, including New Delhi, Bangkok and Singapore.

Metropolitan cities such as London, Melbourne and Los Angeles have also proved popular with Australian travellers, with all three featuring in the top five most travelled-to destinations.

Domestic Holiday Spots

For those looking for a staycation, the Sydney vs Melbourne rivalry is still going strong, with Melbourne beating Sydney to the number one domestic holiday spot for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile, the Sunshine Coast, QLD and Canberra, ACT were new additions to feature in the top 10 domestic holiday spot roundup.

Top 10 Trending Holiday Spots

RankTrending holiday spotIncrease in number of searches year-on-year
1Athens, Greece+109%
2Chengdu, China +94%
3Da Nang, Vietnam+73%
4Malé, Maldives+70%
5Montreal, Canada +58%
6Zagreb, Croatia+57%
7Belgrade, Serbia+53%
8Birmingham, UK+50%
9Warsaw, Poland +36%
10Calgary, Canada+35%


Top 10 Destinations with the Biggest Price Drops

RankingTop 10 destinationsPrice drop year-on-year
1Chengdu, China-28%
2Beijing, China-25%
3Guangzhou, China-20%
4Hanoi, Vietnam-18%
5Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine)-17%
6Osaka, Japan-17%
7Da Nang, Vietnam-16%
8Shanghai, China -15%
9Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam-15%
10Bengaluru, India-14%

Top 10 Most Popular Holiday Spots

RankingTop 10 destinations
1Bali, Indonesia
2London, UK
3Melbourne, Australia
4Los Angeles, USA
5Sydney, Australia
6Auckland, New Zealand
7New Delhi, India
8Singapore
9Bangkok, Thailand
10Tokyo, Japan

Top 10 Most Popular Domestic Holiday Spots

RankingTop 10 domestic destinations
1Melbourne
2Sydney
3Brisbane
4Gold Coast
5Cairns
6Perth
7Hobart
8Adelaide
9Sunshine Coast
10Canberra

Latest News

  • Tourism

Tourism Western Australia MD Carolyn Turnbull departs

Tourism Western Australia MD Carolyn Turnbull is departing the agency with effect from Friday May 10. Over the past three years, Turnbull played an instrumental role in driving growth, with one of the agency’s most significant achievements being the increase in visitor spend. Under her leadership, Tourism WA achieved a record breaking $17.7 billion in […]

  • Travel Agents

DriveAway launches Brit-Euro Blitz campaign

DriveAway has launched its Brit-Euro Blitz: Explore the UK, Europe & Ireland campaign, designed to inspire travellers to uncover the beauty and diversity of those destinations during May and June. The campaign arrives amidst a surge in popularity for destinations across the UK, Europe and Ireland, with year-to-date increases averaging around 30%. Notably, cities such […]

  • Road & Rail

Fly and Stay Free with the Great Southern

Great Southern’s Fly and Stay Free special offer will have travellers taking in the views along the east coast between Adelaide and Brisbane next summer. This bright orange locomotive chases the summer sun, sharing the incredible coastline with those who want to experience it by train. The journey reflects the best of Australia, from charming […]

  • Tourism

Sober travel and TikTok guide Australian Gen Z trips

Gen Z travellers prefer to limit alcohol when overseas and have an increased reliance on TikTok when planning a trip, according to a report by StudentUniverse, the world’s largest online travel retailer for young people. The State of Student & Youth Travel Report for 2024 delved into the latest travel sentiments amongst those aged 18-25 […]

  • Tour Operators
  • Tourism

TTC: Deals are driving up demand for September trips

The latest market research from TTC Tour Brands shows interest in international leisure travel remains high for 2024, with 77 per cent of Australians over 18 still planning trips this year. Notably, 28 per cent of those travellers are eyeing September for their journeys. Europe continues to be the most popular destination, with 68 per […]

  • Aviation

Qantas ‘working urgently’ to fix app data leak

Qantas is looking into customer reports that passengers have this morning been able to access other passengers’ personal information on the airlines app. X user Lachlan posted that he was able log into different accounts every time he opened the app. My @Qantas app logs me in to a different person each time I open […]

  • Hotels

Revamped Wailoaloa Beach hotel opens as Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa

Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa is open and ready for bookings after the first phase of a multi-million-dollar transformation. Part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ premium collection, the transformation has seen the completion of 106 guestrooms showcasing contemporary interiors reflective of the premium Crowne Plaza brand and is a first for the […]

  • Luxury
  • News

Kamalaya Koh Samui clinches clutch of wellness awards

Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa has so far clinched five prestigious awards in 2024, including being inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ at the World Spa & Wellness Awards in London. Founders of the Koh Samui sanctuary and spa John and Karina Stewart expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the awards. “We are profoundly honoured […]