Travel Stories

Aug 3, 2016 • 5 min read

If you’ve ever opened your suitcase to find a shampoo bottle has burst, or cringed as airport security had to rifle through your dirty pants and socks,…

Aug 1, 2016 • 2 min read

Dawdlers down under often have to pay to plod around many of the region's popular parks and paths, but this selection of freestyle footpaths from The Best…

Aug 1, 2016 • 2 min read

Africa may be justifiably famous for its national parks, but some of the wildest experiences take place elsewhere – on a dizzyingly-high cliff face;…

Jul 28, 2016 • 5 min read

Packing is a necessary evil that all travellers must endure, and when it comes to doing it well, few of us are walking away with any prizes. So whether…

Jul 16, 2016 • 6 min read

Waves of fog battled patches of blue sky as the Via Dinarica hiking trail inclined sharply to the junction between Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. At the…

Jul 15, 2016 • 5 min read

Lively Tirana wears its history with pride. It would be easy to mistake Albania’s colourful capital for any modern city in Western Europe – with…

Jul 11, 2016 • 6 min read

If Helsinki has so far escaped the short-break spotlight, this is its moment to shine. Shaped by the Baltic, swinging between extremes of dark winters and…

Jun 29, 2016 • 4 min read

Way south of the mainland, Vietnam’s idyllic Con Dao Islands (population 6000-ish) are the perfect oceanic antidote to the feverish energy and punishing…

Jun 27, 2016 • 5 min read

Extending in a splendid arc down Thailand’s far southern Andaman coast, the glittering Trang Islands offer a wonderful step up in tranquility from their…

Jun 27, 2016 • 4 min read

For foreign travelers, Jeonju flies under the radar, but the city's historic architecture and buzzing food scene means that's likely to change.

Jun 23, 2016 • 5 min read

From the rickety charm of the Old Town to the space-age architecture of Pǔdōng, Shanghai is a city that's hard to pin down. For first-timers it can be as…

Jun 21, 2016 • 13 min read

This self-guided walking itinerary in northern Greece takes you from remote mountain villages to cliff-top monasteries, via the world's deepest gorge

Jun 14, 2016 • 6 min read

Although best known for its spectacularly-mountainous dunes, this national park offers so much more. It’s spread over almost 50,000 sq km, covering vast…

Jun 8, 2016 • 4 min read

One of Europe’s youngest capitals, Sofia also happens to be among its oldest settlements, stretching back several millennia from ancient Thracian and…

Jun 8, 2016 • 6 min read

This edition of our travel gear reviews includes a backpack elegant enough to grace the streets of Milan, a solar-powered gizmo for charging devices on…

Jun 8, 2016 • 5 min read

At the western edge of the ‘Pacific Rim of Fire’ Vanuatu is a land of rumbling active volcanoes, 80-plus lush islands, fringed with deserted beaches, and…

May 31, 2016 • 6 min read

The Hague is often thought of as a buttoned-down town of government institutions, embassies and international law courts, but it has its fancy-free side,…

May 26, 2016 • 7 min read

So, the Sunshine state has summoned you with its swaying coco palms, balmy wetlands and ritzy city life. A trip to Florida (and its 1,350 miles of…

May 26, 2016 • 6 min read

With so much keeping travellers occupied in nearby Kyoto and Osaka, it’s not surprising Matsusaka is often overlooked. But while Japan’s star cities may…

May 13, 2016 • 7 min read

The Caribbean’s self-proclaimed nature island, Dominica is a small seedling on the map in the same garden as honeymoon favorites St Lucia and Antigua, yet…

May 10, 2016 • 5 min read

The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafting past grandiose cathedrals, derelict houses, mysterious wooden doors and romantic courtyards – Lviv’s occidental…

May 10, 2016 • 5 min read

Often overlooked and underrated Extremadura is, in fact, one of Spain’s most fascinating regions, a mix of world-changing history and contemporary…