Every Vastrails guide starts with the same boring discipline: we don’t write about a destination until we’ve actually been, paid for the stays ourselves, and double-checked every price. Here’s the process we follow so the cost numbers and operator recommendations on this site are as honest as we can make them.
Our 5-step process
Step 1: Pick the destination and the trip shape
Before anything else, we decide what kind of trip we’re researching: length, season, budget tier, and whether it’s a “first time” or a “deep dive.” The same country can be a totally different trip in October vs July, or on a 4-day weekender vs a 2-week loop. Setting the shape first stops us from publishing advice that doesn’t match what the reader is actually planning.
Step 2: Cost gathering
We pull live prices for the core categories: flights from a few sensible departure airports, hotels at three tiers (budget, mid, comfortable), in-country transport, and the things you can’t avoid (entrance fees, visa, SIM). We cross-check at least two sources for every number and note the date we checked it, so anything that drifts can be re-verified later.
Step 3: Operator vetting
For every tour, transfer, or stay we recommend, we look for a real business address, recent reviews that read like real travelers wrote them, transparent cancellation terms, and a clear point of contact. Operators with only 5-star reviews and no negatives get a closer look — perfection is usually filtered.
Step 4: Build the route
We map a realistic day-by-day for the chosen trip shape: minimum night counts per location, sensible travel times between cities, and at least one buffer day. If a draft route packs too much in or ignores transit time, we cut something — fewer places done well beats more places done badly.
Step 5: Test and publish
This is the bit most blogs skip. We actually do the trip — at least once, sometimes twice if we want to compare seasons. We track what we paid, what worked, and what we’d skip next time. Only then does the guide get published, with the prices and operators we actually used.
Where our data comes from
| Data | Sources we use |
|---|---|
| Flight prices | Skyscanner, Google Flights, airline direct |
| Hotel prices | Booking.com, Hotels.com, our Stay22 partners |
| Tour operators | TripAdvisor, Facebook travel groups, local contacts |
| On-the-ground info | Our own trips, locally-run Telegram and WhatsApp groups |
| Final cost ground-truth | What we actually paid |
Red flags we watch for
What we don’t do
- We don’t accept paid placement for first impressions.
- We don’t recommend places we haven’t paid for and stayed at ourselves.
- We don’t pretend to be experts on destinations we’ve only researched briefly.
Ready to plan?
Browse the destinations we’ve already researched, or read more about who we are and why we do this.