What to do about fakes

In this episode of the Elliott Confidential podcast, we talk about how to survive an overnight flight from Africa. Plus, how to deal with an emergency on the road. And we have a report on the cats of Istanbul.

We stayed in Cape Town, South Africa, for two months. That’s way too long. In our latest podcast, we talk about what we did just before we left. Let’s just say things got … interesting. Also, we’ll tell you where we’re headed next (hint: it’s not Africa). And we’ll review some of the favorite places we’ve been stuck in, like Sedona.

OK, technically, he threatened to “knock our ugly heads off our shoulders” — and he dropped a couple of “F”-bombs, too. Our crime? I was filming my son, Iden, working on a cocktail recipe for his website. And this guy at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa, thought we had taken a picture of him, and forcefully demanded that we delete it. We didn’t. We were afraid he would come after us after we left the food market, but he didn’t. But that got us to thinking about security. How do you find a safe place to travel? How do you avoid dangerous places? That’s the topic of this week’s Elliott Confidential podcast. We also talk about our latest radio interview with our friends at the Travel Guys Radio Show in Sacramento, Calif.

In this week’s podcast, we talk about road trips — where to go, how to take them, what to avoid. We’ve spent the better part of the last decade on the road, so we have a lot to say.

Hey, we made it to episode 2 of our podcast! Here’s what happened when we visited South Africa’s townships last week. Plus, we’ll tell you about our Jeep adventure and what we found when we headed out into the Atlantic.

For the podcast reboot, I decided to get out of town — way out of town. We’re in Cape Town, South Africa, a 20-hour flight from our home airport. Here’s my unscripted discussion with the boys, Aren and Iden Elliott, about our experiences here. We talked about everything from South Africa’s tourism infrastructure to security. I hope you enjoy the podcast.

Good sources can help you make an accurate prediction about this summer travel season -- and beyond. I'll share my tips on how to find reliable sources. (*Or how to get reasonably close.)

It's one of the most common questions: Is it safe to travel yet? The answer is no -- and yes. As Europe sets to reopen, here are my thoughts.

A new ad claims AIs are ruining your vacation. But it's much worse than that. The travel industry's tech problems were on full display last week. Here's how to fix them.

The travel industry is filled with fakes. But no one knew the cost of the bogus reviews, blog posts filled with affiliate links, and influencer content. Until now. Here's what these fakes mean to your bottom line -- and my solution to the problem.