Latest news with #AlfieWatts
Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
'I won Race Across The World - one country surprised me because it was so cheap'
Alfie Watts, who won the BBC show, has shared his top travel tips for those looking to jet off to a new destination - and the country that he believes is the cheapest in the world As holidaymakers gear up for a sun-drenched getaway, the quest for budget-friendly escapes is heating up. With costs only increasing around the world, Brits have recently been making an effort to book holidays without breaking the bank. To lend a helping hand, globe-trotter Alfie Watts – famed as the youngest victor on Race Across the World in 2024 – has divulged his top tips for thrifty travel, along with revealing the country that blew his mind with its value for money. Chatting with eSIM travel specialists Airalo, Alfie pinpointed Uzbekistan as the most wallet-friendly destination he's discovered, admitting: "I was absolutely shocked by the affordability of Uzbekistan when I went there in March." His list of economical destinations didn't stop there, adding: "I also found Brazil and, of course, South East Asia extremely cheap from a cost of living perspective." For those wanting to explore without straying too far, Alfie suggested that Prague is currently Europe's best bet for a bargain, although he warned that prices are on the upswing. The seasoned traveller noted: "Prague is renowned for being cheap, but Europe is catching on to the tourism hype, as travellers are coming across Europe's hidden gems," reports the Express. "It can be difficult to find cheap places in Europe, as prices are rising due to tourism, so in some cases, it can be cheaper to travel to places further afield." Alfie suggests a daily budget of at least £40 to ensure you can "survive in any country" and still enjoy good food and vibes. If you're considering a package holiday, he recommends waiting until the last minute to book for the best deals, particularly if you're flexible about your destination. His final words of wisdom are to "never eat in city centres in big chain restaurants, never eat at the airport and never say yes to the first taxi that grabs you outside the terminal, as they're likely to take advantage of you and charge a higher fee."
The Irish Sun
07-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Two bucket list trips cheaper than a holiday to Majorca, reveals winner of Race Across The World
RACE Across the World contestant Alfie Watts has advice for any keen travellers heading across the globe. The 22-year-old has been on the move since winning last year - and reveals that you can get to Brazil for less than going to Advertisement 4 Alfie Watts (left) won Race Across the World last year Credit: BBC 4 Alfie says if you weigh them up, Brazil can be cheaper than Majorca Credit: Alamy Alfie Watts won the 2024 series of Since winning the series and the £20,000 prize pot that comes with it, Alfie has backpacked to 78 of the 195 countries. And along the way, he's picked up some handy travel tips. Talking to Advertisement Read More on TV Travel He said: "You'll find that sometimes going long haul is actually better. Sure, flights to Thailand are £600-700, while Spain can sometimes be around £300. "But if you look at the price of accommodation in Thailand, it can be £20 a night for luxury, and you can get meals for £2. Owen and I spent less on a week in Brazil, all-in, than a week in Majorca - even though our flights were 750 quid." The cheapest month to fly from the UK to Brazil is usually in March. But you can get other good deals in February, November and October. Those months are also the best times to visit Brazil as it's summer where temperatures sit between 27C and 33C. Advertisement Most read in News Travel Breaking Another tip that Alfie has is not relying on a debit or credit card. He said to always exchange money at home and carry cash. ATMs abroad sometimes come with a fee to use a foreign card. Race Across the World Experience Comes to London 4 Depending on costing, South America can be cheaper than Spain Credit: Alamy During his series of Race Across the World, Alfie ventured from Japan to Indonesia. Advertisement Now that he gets to travel wherever he likes, Alfie is hoping to visit as many countries as possible. Two of his favourites are Alfie said: "I took my Nan to Petra because she'd wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive. The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well." He added that Malaysia is a "cheap paradise" but that his favourite place in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela which are "completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to." Advertisement Fans of the show can now immerse themselves in a It has come to London this spring with tricky puzzles and no phones allowed. The game is a foot race across London where players will navigate around city landmarks to reach the checkpoints. Just like in the show, you'll have to find your bearings without modern technology - which means no mobile phones or maps. Advertisement There's no public transport allowed either and the adventure stretches across 3.1 miles. Here's And one 4 Alfie Watts says look at the overall holiday price because it can work out cheaper Credit: Studio Lambert Advertisement
The Sun
07-05-2025
- The Sun
Two bucket list trips cheaper than a holiday to Majorca, reveals winner of Race Across The World
RACE Across the World contestant Alfie Watts has advice for any keen travellers heading across the globe. The 22-year-old has been on the move since winning last year - and reveals that you can get to Brazil for less than going to Majorca. 4 Alfie Watts won the 2024 series of Race Across the World with his friend Owen Wood. Since winning the series and the £20,000 prize pot that comes with it, Alfie has backpacked to 78 of the 195 countries. And along the way, he's picked up some handy travel tips. Talking to MailOnline, Alfie advised travellers to compare the total price of holidays against each other, rather than just the price of flights and accommodation. He said: "You'll find that sometimes going long haul is actually better. Sure, flights to Thailand are £600-700, while Spain can sometimes be around £300. "But if you look at the price of accommodation in Thailand, it can be £20 a night for luxury, and you can get meals for £2. Owen and I spent less on a week in Brazil, all-in, than a week in Majorca - even though our flights were 750 quid." The cheapest month to fly from the UK to Brazil is usually in March. But you can get other good deals in February, November and October. Those months are also the best times to visit Brazil as it's summer where temperatures sit between 27C and 33C. Another tip that Alfie has is not relying on a debit or credit card. He said to always exchange money at home and carry cash. ATMs abroad sometimes come with a fee to use a foreign card. Race Across the World Experience Comes to London 4 During his series of Race Across the World, Alfie ventured from Japan to Indonesia. Now that he gets to travel wherever he likes, Alfie is hoping to visit as many countries as possible. Two of his favourites are Jordan and Malaysia. Alfie said: "I took my Nan to Petra because she'd wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive. The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well." He added that Malaysia is a "cheap paradise" but that his favourite place in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela which are "completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to." Fans of the show can now immerse themselves in a Race Across the World experience. It has come to London this spring with tricky puzzles and no phones allowed. The game is a foot race across London where players will navigate around city landmarks to reach the checkpoints. Just like in the show, you'll have to find your bearings without modern technology - which means no mobile phones or maps. There's no public transport allowed either and the adventure stretches across 3.1 miles. Here's everything you need to know about the Race Across the World experience and how to play. And one Sun Travel writer went to Rio de Janeiro and found it to be one of the friendliest cities. 4
Scottish Sun
07-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Two bucket list trips cheaper than a holiday to Majorca, reveals winner of Race Across The World
RACE Across the World contestant Alfie Watts has advice for any keen travellers heading across the globe. The 22-year-old has been on the move since winning last year - and reveals that you can get to Brazil for less than going to Majorca. 4 Alfie Watts (left) won Race Across the World last year Credit: BBC 4 Alfie says if you weigh them up, Brazil can be cheaper than Majorca Credit: Alamy Alfie Watts won the 2024 series of Race Across the World with his friend Owen Wood. Since winning the series and the £20,000 prize pot that comes with it, Alfie has backpacked to 78 of the 195 countries. And along the way, he's picked up some handy travel tips. Talking to MailOnline, Alfie advised travellers to compare the total price of holidays against each other, rather than just the price of flights and accommodation. He said: "You'll find that sometimes going long haul is actually better. Sure, flights to Thailand are £600-700, while Spain can sometimes be around £300. "But if you look at the price of accommodation in Thailand, it can be £20 a night for luxury, and you can get meals for £2. Owen and I spent less on a week in Brazil, all-in, than a week in Majorca - even though our flights were 750 quid." The cheapest month to fly from the UK to Brazil is usually in March. But you can get other good deals in February, November and October. Those months are also the best times to visit Brazil as it's summer where temperatures sit between 27C and 33C. Another tip that Alfie has is not relying on a debit or credit card. He said to always exchange money at home and carry cash. ATMs abroad sometimes come with a fee to use a foreign card. Race Across the World Experience Comes to London 4 Depending on costing, South America can be cheaper than Spain Credit: Alamy During his series of Race Across the World, Alfie ventured from Japan to Indonesia. Now that he gets to travel wherever he likes, Alfie is hoping to visit as many countries as possible. Two of his favourites are Jordan and Malaysia. Alfie said: "I took my Nan to Petra because she'd wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive. The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well." He added that Malaysia is a "cheap paradise" but that his favourite place in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela which are "completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to." Fans of the show can now immerse themselves in a Race Across the World experience. It has come to London this spring with tricky puzzles and no phones allowed. The game is a foot race across London where players will navigate around city landmarks to reach the checkpoints. Just like in the show, you'll have to find your bearings without modern technology - which means no mobile phones or maps. There's no public transport allowed either and the adventure stretches across 3.1 miles. Here's everything you need to know about the Race Across the World experience and how to play. And one Sun Travel writer went to Rio de Janeiro and found it to be one of the friendliest cities.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I won Race Across The World and these are my best hacks for travelling on a budget - I even holidayed in Brazil for less than Majorca
If there's one person who knows a thing or two about travelling on a budget, it's Alfie Watts. On last year's series of Race Across the World, the 22-year-old from St Albans and his pal Owen Wood were given a budget of just £1,100 each to make their way from northernmost Japan to the idyllic Indonesian island of Lombok. Since winning the show and the £20,000 prize pot, Alfie has made it his mission to visit every country – and has backpacked to 78 of the 195, on a shoestring budget. And now, in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, he has revealed his best hacks for saving money while travelling – as well as the biggest mistakes he and Owen made on Race Across the World. Alfie's first tip is to make sure you don't rely on your debit or credit card when you're abroad – especially when outside of Europe. 'Exchange money while you're at home and always carry cash,' the travel content creator says. 'In the West, we're quite used to everything being card, but that's not the case in a lot of countries – basically as soon as you get out of Europe - and ATMs, abroad, will fleece you.' Alfie also recommends comparing the total price of holidays against each other, rather than just the price of flights and accommodation. He explains: 'You'll find that sometimes going long haul is actually better. Alfie (left) and Owen Wood (right) were only given £1,100 each and challenged to make their way from northernmost Japan to the idyllic Indonesian island of Lombok on last year's series of Race Across The World 'Sure, flights to Thailand are £600-700, while Spain can sometimes be around £300, but if you look at the price of accommodation in Thailand, it can be £20 a night for luxury, and you can get meals for £2. 'Owen and I spent less on a week in Brazil, all-in, than a week in Majorca - even though our flights were 750 quid. 'The money can quickly add up when you go to Spain in peak season.' Having now become an experienced traveller since he took part in Race Across The World, Alfie thinks he and Owen 'could have saved so much money in so many different places' if they did the trip again, He says: 'I hate haggling at street markets because, you're haggling over three or four dollars, which means nothing to us, but a lot to them. 'But, on Race Across The World, haggling is essential, and I just don't think we haggled well enough. I also don't think we looked to hitchhike enough. I don't think we braved crappy accommodations enough. I don't think we did enough hostels. 'We could have saved money by sacrificing a little bit of comfort. 'Travelling can be really easy and cheap, but us having that inexperience at the time, is what makes the show.' Alfie recently revealed his favourite countries of those he has visited - as well as his most overrated country. When it comes to his favourites, Alfie has two - Jordan and Malaysia. He said: 'I took my Nan to Petra because she'd wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive. 'The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well. 'And Malaysia is also a favourite, because it's just a cheap paradise. 'But my single favourite place in the world has to be Angel Falls in Venezuela. 'They're the tallest waterfall in the world, but they're completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to.'
