13 Safe Destinations Around the World for the Solo Female Traveler

Traveling is a great way to discover new things about other people, their culture and of oneself. It's a good way to invest in yourself if you want to enrich your personality and help others in the long run. This is especially true if you are traveling solo.

The idea of solo traveling however tends to make a lot of women reluctant because of the many possible dangers that can happen. The world isn't exactly a safe place for anyone, more so for women, which is why traveling can be a problem. To help the female population enjoy the benefits of solo traveling, we've collated some vacation destinations that are safe for the female traveler. Pack your bags and go!

1. Iceland

The land of ice and fire, Iceland is one of the top picks for safe destinations for the solo female traveler. The atmosphere is relaxed and the people are friendly. The environment is absolutely breathtaking that photos are a must! Reykjavik has a thriving nightlife and going home is not a problem. You can hike a glacier, go snorkeling or even bathe in a lagoon. The choice of activity to pursue is endless.

2. Canada

Canada is home to the friendliest people on earth. Canadians are very warm and amiable that it makes any solo traveler feel at ease. This is why Canada is a great country to try first if you're a female solo traveler. Just don't forget to pack for the cold weather!

3. New Zealand

The Cathedral Caves are on the south east coast of New Zealand's south island. The caves are only accessible for a few hours a day at low tide, so you have to schedule your visits carefully! This photo was taken about an hour before the low-tide, while there was still a little water in the cave. There are actually two entrances to the cave as it is in a V shape, meeting at a dark point 200m into the cliffs.

The amazing landscapes of New Zealand are famous among tourists and even the locals. If you love adventure, you can try paragliding, fly in a sightseeing plane, go hiking through the famous Routeburn track and a whole lot more.

4. The Scandinavian trio

4. The Scandinavian trio – Denmark

Norway

Sweden

Denmark, Sweden and Norway are all safe destinations for female tourists. The rich culture, not to mention the jaw-dropping art and architecture of these Scandinavian countries are something to look forward to. Denmark is still the happiest country in the world.

5. Thailand

Tourists, most especially solo female travelers who are visiting Thailand don't have any issues or problems when in the country because it is another safe vacation destination. There are several affordable resorts in the area where you can get yourself much needed pampering.

6. Costa Rica

The beaches of Costa Rica are famous among female travelers. The pristine and tranquil waters gets one relaxed and stress-free.

7. Ireland

The Irish are not the type of people to disturb you, especially if you are alone or would like a bit of privacy. Enjoy their famous black beer and visit the countryside for the experience.

8. The Netherlands

8. The Netherlands

Amsterdam is known for its relaxed and chill lifestyle. While the country has a bit of notoriety, solo travelers are still safe here. Don't forget to enjoy a bike ride along the streets and the flower fields and take a selfie.

9. Bali

9. Bali

Bali is another famous destination for tourists, especially among backpackers and solo travelers. Enjoy the temples, exotic food, exciting nightlife and amazing beach resorts. If you're traveling on a budget, Bali is the place to go!

10. Singapore

Singapore is the second safest country in Asia, with Japan in the top spot. It is famous for its modern and fast-paced lifestyle. You can navigate yourself through the streets easily, as you enjoy the sights, food and attractions of Singapore. A word of warning though, Singapore can be expensive.

11. South Korea

11. South Korea

A small yet beautiful country, South Korea is a very friendly nation. Its culture, wonderful wildlife even the high-tech basics make for a great trip to this destination. Take advantage of the very affordable prices when traveling to South Korea while they still are.

12. Austria

Enjoy the Alps or discover skiing while in Austria. The country is another safe European destination any female traveler will love. If you happen to fancy art, intricate architecture and coffee, a solo trip to Austria is a must.

13. Bhutan

Female travelers are treated with respect in Bhutan. The locals are very accommodating and willing to help. If you are on a budget and would like to experience solitude, traveling to Bhutan should be your first choice.

Source: 13 Safe Destinations Around the World for the Solo Female Traveler

Outlander helps Inverness tourist boom

Inverness is set to welcome a surge of visitors next year, new figures suggest.

Television show Outlander coupled with an increase in domestic flights to the Highland city could be behind the boost in tourism.

The Scottish city was named eighth on a list of the top destinations for European travellers in 2017, based on growth in forward bookings compared with last year.

Travel firm eDreams Odigeo, the parent company of eDreams and Opodo, has recorded an 80 per cent increase in demand for Inverness.

Its European Traveller Insights Report revealed that Inverness, often regarded as the capital of the Highlands, is set for a larger tourism boost than locations such as Fez, Morocco (75 per cent) and Hanoi, Vietnam (67 per cent).

The company believes this demand could be fuelled by the fall in the value of sterling following the EU referendum, and British Airways reinstating its daily Heathrow-Inverness flights in May for the first time in nearly 20 years.

The enduring success of Outlander could also be behind the increase.

Invermess provost Helen Carmichael said: "We are delighted with this. The Outlander effect is still happening."

Inverness, which has a population of around 47,000, boasts tourist attractions including its 19th century castle and nearby Cull­oden Battlefield and Visitor Centre.

The city – the largest of the Scottish Highlands – has also topped several polls in recent years naming it the happiest place to live in Scotland.

According to eDreams Odigeo, Turin in northern Italy came top of the European destinations list with a 316 per cent rise in bookings for next year, followed by Astana, Kazakhstan (176 per cent), Rotterdam, the Netherlands (174 per cent) and Havana, Cuba (134 per cent).

Jeddah and Medina, both in Saudi Arabia, came in fifth and sixth place.

Dana Dunne, chief executive of eDreams Odigeo, said it was "particularly interesting" that Inverness made the list.

She said: "Increased accessibility has offered a boost to many destinations.

"Turin has seen an increase in flight routes across Europe which may well have contributed to its significant rise in bookings, while the recent lift in US travel restrictions to Cuba seems to have had a knock-on effect, also attracting visitors from across the rest of the world.

"Furthermore, it's particularly interesting to see Inverness make the top ten for 2017, with European travellers perhaps drawn to explore new UK destinations following the fall of the pound," she added.

Source: Outlander helps Inverness tourist boom

Brexit uncertainties threaten brain drain for UK science

AP Photo/Frank Augstein

LONDON (AP) -- Like many foreign scientists in Britain, Joanna Bagniewska was devastated when Britons voted to leave the European Union. The biology lecturer, a Polish migrant who found Britain a welcoming place to build her academic career over a decade, is suddenly seeing her job security and research prospects up in the air.

"I'm worried that after my current contract finishes, one of the prerequisites could be a permanent residence card," she said. "I'd like to apply for EU grant money, but how much longer will it be available for?"

Britain's top universities have long been among the world's most sought-after destinations for study and research, drawing the brightest minds from all corners of the globe. But since Brito ns voted in June to leave the 28-nation EU, many in the science community say the U.K. risks losing the money, the international influence - and crucially, the talent - to sustain that enviable position.

More than one-tenth of research funding at British universities has come from the EU in recent years. Some fields - such as nanotechnology and cancer research - are more dependent on EU funding than others, according to a report by technology firm Digital Science. From 2007 to 2013, Britain received 8.8 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in direct EU investment in research.

Bagniewska is not just anxious about herself - she's upset for her students' future too, for the opportunities that both Britons and foreigners will likely miss out on when unfettered mobility between Britain and Europe can no longer be taken for granted.

"They were just getting excited about doing their masters and Ph.Ds in other countries. And then Brexit happened and they just got trampled," she said.

Scientists and researchers argue that being part of the EU has given British science a huge boost because it allows Britain to recruit the best talent across Europe and take part in important research collaborations and student exchanges without being constrained by national boundaries. The bloc's freedom of movement means its 500 million people can live and work visa-free in any member state.

No one knows yet what form Britain's exit from the EU - commonly known as Brexit - is going to take, but immigration was a key issue for "Leave" voters. Many believe some limit should be put on the number of EU citizens moving to Britain.

Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to reassert control over British borders. She has offered no firm guarantees for the rights of Europeans already living in Britain, an uncertainty that weighs heavily over the 32,000 Europeans who make up 16 percent of the academic workforce in British universities. Many universities say the rhetoric over immigration control is also jeopardizing recruitment of researchers and students from further afield.

Scientists for EU, an advocacy group, says it has received over 400 letters from researchers describing how Brexit has already impacted their life and work. Some are losing doctoral students who pulled out of studentships and job offers. Academics are putting plans to relocate to Britain on hold. One said their employer, a London university, immediately imposed a temporary hiring freeze, citing uncertainties about student recruitment and research income.

Adam Durrant, a British entrepreneur who founded an aerospace startup supplying climate data to airlines and aircraft manufacturers, says he's now considering moving some of his business to a EU country outside of Britain. Part of the reason, he says, is that Brexit will likely make hiring the right people much harder than before.

"In the future, it probably means that people would be less interested to come to the U.K. to work," said Durrant. "There's a huge question mark over my company and my own personal future. I will certainly retain a U.K. presence, but my company's focus of gravity may shift elsewhere."

Scientists say some U.K.-based researchers are already being excluded from joint bids for EU funding to minimize the risks for their colleagues.

Paul Crowther, head of physics and astronomy at the University of Sheffield, said a researcher from his department was dropped from an EU grant proposal as a precaution following the Brexit referendum. The vote "put the U.K.-based researchers in a very awkward position" and their participation in EU-funded programs could "compromise the project," he was told.

"The erosion of U.K. invol vement in EU networks has already begun, with both the U.K. and EU science worse off," Crowther said.

Apart from a loss of grant money, Brexit will likely cause British scientists and research centers to miss out on shared databases and infrastructure.

"Large-scale efforts like studies of rare genetic diseases, the building of large facilities, are areas that multinational collaborations do much better," said Venki Ramakrishnan, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist and president of Britain's prestigious Royal Society.

The EU is an important source of research funding for Britain, which lags behind many developed countries in state investment in science. In 2014, Britain's government spent under 0.5 percent of its GDP on research - below the European average, and half that of South Korea.

May's government is clearly aware of the jitters. She has promised to increase annual investment in research by 2 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) by 2020, in hopes her country can remain a world leader in science and innovation.

Durrant is doubtful that's enough to make a big difference.

"Two billion a year spread across everything isn't going to go very far," he said.

Similar anxieties are being felt at the undergraduate level. The 125,000 European students studying at British universities now pay the same fees as locals and have access to the same government loans. Officials have promised this will not change for those applying next year - but no one knows what will happen after that.

Fewer European students appeared to be applying for some of Britain's most competitive university courses, including medicine and places at Oxford and Cambridge. In September, the admission service UCAS reported a 9 percent drop in EU applications for British undergraduate courses starting in 201 7.

Some argue that Britain could become like Switzerland, an "associate" EU state that is opting out of free movement of people while still taking part in limited European science projects.

"It's not all doom and gloom - but it will be harder," Ramakrishnan said. "We could make a go of it outside the EU. But for that to happen, we have to attract talent and fund science. And those two things are critical."

Source: Brexit uncertainties threaten brain drain for UK science

The State of European Tech: The best time to be an entrepreneur

"Now is the best time in history to be an entrepreneur in Europe." That is one of the banner conclusions from a new report, The State of European Tech, published today by VC firm Atomico and Slush, the organisation behind of the Finnish tech conference of the same name.

The expansive report, which surveyed founders, investors and other members of the European startup community, details a changing Europe that still faces a wealth of challenges but whose ecosystem is maturing, putting the region in an ever-better position to take those challenges on.

The report also analyses data from Dealroom.co, Invest Europe, LinkedIn, and several others, which further demonstrates that the environment for tech startups to thrive in Europe has been steadily improving since 2011. Despite ups and downs along the way, overall it's easier than ever for young tech companies to attract funding, find talent, and scale their businesses to the next level, the report shows.

Compared to 2015, 88% of respondents are either more or equally optimistic about the state of European tech. This growing confidence in the ecosystem is further evidenced by the 56% of respondents who are repeat entrepreneurs. Even the looming spectre of Brexit hasn't rocked confidence, at least not yet. However, one German founder in the survey, who has registered their company in the UK said the affair still "puts uncertainty on our shoulders" for the next three years.

The report details several areas where European entrepreneurs have improved and where opportunity awaits.

Long-term outlook bright for European venture funding, despite recent dip

There has been some cooling off on investments across Europe in 2016 compared to last year. The year was off to a hot start with investments in European tech companies totaling $4.4 billion in Q1 but dipping to $3.1 billion in Q2 and $3 billion in Q3. Nevertheless, projections for the final weeks of 2016 from Atomico and Slush show that 2016 will still finish as a record year when it comes to both deal volume and capital invested.

"We should not play the game of quarterly capitalism and obsess over short-term metrics. We should focus on the long-term trend and the fact that capital is being deployed in Europe at a level that is nearly five times bigger than 2011," said Andrus Ansip, Vice President for the European Commission's Digital Single Market (DSM), said in the report.

The European tech ecosystem is diversifying in terms of industries, per the report. B2C still draws in more investments than B2B but the figures also show that music accounts for the most investment dollars over the last five years while fintech has seen the highest number of deals.

Fintech's activity has been interesting but its potential still remains untapped when you consider the number of financial companies that are still awaiting disruption, according to Kathryn Mayne, Managing Director of American private equity firm Horsley Bridge.

The report shows there is a "healthy and growing pipeline" of early stage companies. It's easier than ever to start a company and as a result there are "record numbers" of companies raising seed and Series A rounds. On the flip side, between 2009 and 2013, the number of companies graduating beyond that has shrunk and there has been a reduction in the number of funding rounds above $25 million. However, that could be addressed by the emergence of more large funds in Europe.

Bridging the funding gap

Much is made of the funding gap between the US and Europe, with European companies having a harder time raising later stage rounds due to an apparent lack of sizable funds. The Atomico and Slush report says that this gap is now narrowing as much larger funds emerge in Europe. In 2015 the total funds closed by European VCs stood at €4.3 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 35%.

Since late 2015 there are have been several new funds have been closed by new firms. These include Cherry Ventures ($167 million), Daphni Ventures ($167 million), Blue Yard Capital ($120 million), and Keen Venture Partners (€100 million), as well as a number of smaller funds under $30 million. At the same time, there has been increased activity in US VCs investing in Europe with big names like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners.

"As a globally-focused investor based in the US, we look to European markets as the ultimate test-bed for products and platforms that inspire new modes of consumer behaviour and can proliferate on an international scale," Mood Rowghani, general partner at US firm Kleiner Perkins, commented in the report.

Despite these gains, there remains a perception among respondents, namely investors and founders, that Europe is still dependent on the US ecosystem in order to succeed.

Spotlight on deep tech

Europe is becoming more and more focused on deep tech – AI, machine learning, driverless cars, AR, VR, the internet of things, etc. – with the report observing an increase in the developer base in these sectors. At the same time, funding activity is vibrant.

Since the start of 2015, $2.3 billion has been invested in European deep tech, more than a 50% increase over the two years prior. Breaking it down by country, the UK has seen the most capital invested by far followed by France, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Nordic countries have also seen a lot of activity in this area.

Deep tech talent is spread out across the continent. Unsurprisingly there are clusters of AI, VR, and AR professionals in hubs like Berlin while international companies have set up deep tech engineering centres around Europe as well including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft, and IBM.

Corporations spot an opportunity

Europe's largest corporations have acquired more than 50 tech companies and made more than 250 investments since 2011.

Meanwhile, Silicon Valley giants have scooped up dozens of European companies over the same time period.

2016 is proving to be a noteworthy year for mergers and acquisitions. We've seen "landmark transactions" such as Japanese giant SoftBank's acquisition of UK chip maker ARM for $31 billion and NXP Semiconductors buy out by Qualcomm for $47 billion.

When it comes to IPOs, the report notes that there have been more European tech IPOs than US ones, coming from a wide range of sectors such as IT services, software, hardware, semiconductors, and internet services. However these European listings are much smaller than those in the US. In the first nine months of 2016, European public tech companies raised $17 billion in initial and follow-on offerings. Europe is lacking in publically-listed tech giants.

There have also been some notable IPO setbacks in Europe too like Misys pulling its listing in October.

Rising talent

When it comes to tech talent, the report shows that perceptions aren't in line with reality. Five of the world's top 10 computer science institutions are in Europe and one in five MBA grads from top business schools are entering tech.

However, 29% of founders stated that there's a lack of engineering talent while 25% said the talent pool is "adequate" and 31% said it's "good." Only 10% said it is "very good." Only 10% said it is "very good."

Most developers in Europe are centered in hubs such as London, Paris, and Berlin. At the same time, according to Stack Overflow and LinkedIn data, several countries have seen a very fast growing tech worker population between 2015 and 2016, with Ireland, Germany, and the UK topping the list. The UK remains the top destination for engineers.

One interesting survey question noted that most founders, whether experienced or newcomers, would in fact prefer to set up and build their companies in their home countries.

Tech communities are going from "strength to strength" with cities hosting more and more meetups and events for founders and startups. Cities like London, Berlin, Stockholm, and Helsinki have been the most active when it comes to fostering tech communities.

There still needs to be more promotion of tech communities in emerging tech hubs, like Zurich and Munich, that builds links with the bigger cities. "Silos and barriers have no place in the digital economy," said Ansip, of the DSM.

There are an increasing number of women involved in the organising of these meetups and communities. "I think this is the first step," said Marianne Vikkula, CEO of Slush, "this trend will eventually spill into women entrepreneurship too." Right now European tech is still predominantly male. More than 80% of companies that have raised money between January 2014 and September 2016 had all-male founding teams.

An optimistic outlook

"I'm not that old, but I can't see when it would have been a better time to be a technology entrepreneur than now," said David Helgasson, founder of Denmark's Unity Technologies. Europe has much to be optimistic about but the report's respondents still have huge reservations about a number of potential risks to their businesses and the wider ecosystem.

Up to 40% of respondents cited business issues like funding, talent and risk aversion as still being challenges, 30% said they had concerns about matters such as regulation, taxation, and the economy while 22% expressed worries over EU issues like Brexit and the free movement of workers. The remaining 8% said international issues were a concern. Nevertheless, optimism is still high.

"The European ecosystem has matured a lot. There's no reason why a European company couldn't be as successful, or even more successful than any US company," said Cherry Ventures cofounder Filip Dames. "The infrastructure is here, the success stories are here, the exit market is developing, the availability of capital has improved significantly."

The State of European Tech report was conducted by Atomico and Slush. It surveyed founders, investors, startup and scaleup employees, corporates, public workers, and students. Several data partners contributed to the report: Dealroom.co, Invest Europe, The Startup Heatmap Europe, LinkedIn, London Stock Exchange, Priori Data, Meetup, Signal, Quid, Stack Overflow, SimilarWeb, and Teleport.

Tech.eu reporter Shaheen Samavati contributed to this post.

Source: The State of European Tech: The best time to be an entrepreneur

Slovenia – world’s first certified green destination

Slovenia has become the world's first country to be declared a green destination, based on an assessment by the Netherlands-based organisation Green Destinations which established 96 %-compliance across 100 criteria.

The title was presented at a ceremony at Ljubljana Castle on Tuesday, 27 September 2016 as part of the tw o-day Global Green Destinations Day conference, along with the declaration of the world's Top 100 Sustainable Destinations, including Ljubljana.

Green Destinations founder Albert Salman explained that the organisation's representatives had interviews with the Slovenian Tourist Board (STB), people from different ministries, experts and professors, who gave them satisfactory answers to their questions regarding 100 criteria. "The compliance is 96 %."

Describing Slovenia as a "wonderful place", Salman called on Slovenians to be "proud of your country and make sure together that your local place in Slovenia is also going to be proud five years from now of what it has achieved in keeping its character and its green, clean, authentic offer for travellers".

Welcoming the title, Eva Štravs Podlogar, a state secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, said that the development of sustainable tourism was a key commitment in the development strategy for 2012-2016 and that she was glad the direction proved the right one.

"Slovenia is becoming known in the international tourism community as a small country which is taking big steps in sustainable tourism," said STB director Maja Pak, pointing to the STB's Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism, which promotes the preservation of the environment and local authenticity and higher quality of life.

Ljubljana has been chosen as the host of this year's Global Green Destinations Day due to its stint as the European Green Capital this year. Ljubljana was also declared one of the Top 100 Sustainable Destinations, having received the title already in 2014.

The selected destinations received Quality Coast, Quality Destinations and Slovenia Green certificates. They are located in 46 countries. Apart from Slovenia, the biggest number of destinations on the list come from the Netherlands, Croatia, Portugal, Canada, Chile, China, Spain and the UK.

Apart from Ljubljana, the list also includes Slovenia Green Destinations Nova Gorica, Brda, Kranjska Gora, Maribor, Ptuj, Slovenj Gradec, Bela Krajina and Velenje.

With three new accommodation providers wining Slovenia Green Accommodation certificate: Hostel Celica, Hotel Jožef and Rooms with a story Pr'Gavedarjo, the Green Scheme of Slovenian tourism now includes 17 destinations and ten providers.

The Global Green Destinations Day conference, which opened on 27 September 2016 to coincide with World Tourism Day, brought together 350 experts and players in the field of sustainable tourism from all continents.

On the opening day, the participants agreed that if green tourism may have been considered as above-standard in the past, today it was something expected by tourists. These want to visit places which are green, quiet, clean, authentic, said Salman.

Source: STA

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Source: Slovenia – world's first certified green destination

The Pyrenees Are Massively Underrated as an MTB Destination… And IMO, Better than the Alps

Riding the Maxi Avalanche trail in the Ainsa region.

Confession time: when I was en-route to Europe for a three-week tour of as many of the best mountain bike trails as I could fit in, I considered my first week-long stop in the Pyrenees mountain range, which forms the border between France and Spain (with Andorra sandwiched in between) a preview, an appetizer to the main course: riding in the world-famous Alps.

But on my long, long flight back to the States, exhausted, physically destroyed, and thoroughly enamored with the mountain biking in Europe, as I reflected on the parts of my trip that I enjoyed the most, I realized that objectively, the very best mountain biking that I experienced during my time in Europe wasn't found in the Alps like I thought it would be—it was in the Pyrenees.

Now don't get me wrong, I had an absolutely superb time riding in the Alps, and one of the trails I rode in Switzerland was probably the single best ride of the entire trip. But for most people, when I tell them that the riding in the Pyrenees was, overall, way better than the mountain biking I experienced in the Alps, I can tell they don't really believe me.

Heck, even compared to the Rockies, the Pyrenees absolutely rock! Seriously, I was blown away by this mountain range—a true sleeper, under-the-radar mountain bike destination.

Here are 7 reasons why the Pyrenees deserve to rank among the raddest mountain bike destinations in the world:

The old town center of Ainsa, a UNESCO heritage site.

Compared to other parts of Europe that I've visited, the cultural immersion in the Spanish Pyrenees is second-to-none. Part of this incredible cultural experience is thanks to the fact that Spain isn't truly a first world country, like its nearby neighbor France. Instead, especially in the rural areas like the Pyrenees, development seems to be a massive step behind the rest of the developed world. This feeling of stepping back 20 (or more) years in time is largely due to the influence of Francisco Franco's long 36-year dictatorship, which ended in 1975. During this time, the rest of the first world raced ahead in technological and social developments and Spain was left behind in a big way.

One crucial example of this is the rail system. Franco decreed that Spain would use a different rail gauge from the rest of Europe, in an attempt to prevent invasion during World War II. While the Second World War never made it to Spain, that unique rail gauge has persisted to this day, so if you want to take a train from Spain to the rest of Europe, you're forced to switch trains at the border. Not only are the trains different, but many of the trains are old and run-down, with at least one breakdown expected on every train trip from the Pyrenees to the bustling city of Barcelona.

Walking through Ainsa

The lack of spoken English also contributes to the feeling of immense cultural immersion. Unlike much of northern Europe, when you travel into the rural areas of Spain, don't expect to be able to navigate on spoken and written English alone. It's rare to find signs and menus in English, and when it comes to waiters or other staff, their English may be broken at best.

So, to make my way around when I wasn't with my guide, Jordi Bonet of MTB Dreams, I tried to rely on my own broken Spanish, thanks to years of Spanish classes in high school and college. However, I found that as I listened to conversations I was often unable to understand anything, and the words on many signs were unfamiliar. This is because the majority of our trip was spent in a region of Spain called Catalunya. Think of Catalunya like a state in the United States, but one that has its own distinct culture, and its own spoken and written language—Catalan. This is why I could rarely understand what anyone was saying, because they weren't speaking Spanish at all—they were speaking Catalan.

Catalan isn't even a variant or dialect of Spanish—it is absolutely its own unique language. However, thankfully, everyone in Catalunya still speaks Spanish, meaning you can navigate on spoken Spanish. But if you're coming from the States, expect even the Spanish to be difficult due to the dialectical and vocabulary differences from that of Latin America and South America, which we are most accustomed to.

Rolling through a village in the French Pyrenees

While we spent the majority of our time on the Spanish side of the border, for one day of our trip we drove over to the French side of the border for a double-header two-ride day in France. While it's still very much the Pyrenees, both the language and the culture change at the border; "hola" on the trail is exchanged for "bon jour." So if cultural experience is your main goal, you can easily experience three distinct countries in the Pyrenees, if you include Andorra.

Source: The Pyrenees Are Massively Underrated as an MTB Destination… And IMO, Better than the Alps

Brexit is bringing European "shopcationers" to London to do their holiday shopping

Spanish and Italian shoppers are set to hit the streets of London in droves this weekend to bag bargains ahead of Christmas.

Since the EU referendum, the weak pound has made London a prime destination for "shopcationers", or people travelling from abroad with the intention to shop, new data suggests.

Read more: Christmas shopping will be cheaper this year than it was three years ago

As many as one in ten Spaniards and Italians who have booked to travel through Lastminute.com will be London-bound this weekend, taking advantage of Europe's Immaculate Conception public holiday, the online travel group said.

Compared to the weekend before, bookings for the holiday weekend are up 152 per cent for Spain and 83 per cent for Italy.

Read more: Retailers' share prices stung by the rise in the national living wage

Most shoppers are set to arrive Thursday and stay for about four days, Lastminute.com found.

The bargain-seeking visitors could provide an extra revenue stream that UK retailers should capitalise on, Alessandra Di Lorenzo, chief commercial officer of advertising and partnerships at Lastminute.com, said.

Read more: Here's what retailers could do to take in-store shopping to the next level

Di Lorenzo said retailers should take advantage of this "lucrative" group before they even board the plane.

Targeting this segment with relevant, tailored ads as they plan their shopping trips can pay dividends. As well as inspiring this cohort of shoppers, brands should prioritise driving footfall in store through vouchers and discounts too.

Source: Brexit is bringing European "shopcationers" to London to do their holiday shopping