Even in a country that prides itself for its abundance of wildlife, Corcovado National Park stands out in Costa Rica as the premier wilderness experience. The park’s sheer size, remoteness and restricted number of visitors means that your group will often feel like you have the park to yourself to go adventuring. And with the the diversity, concentration of wildlife and stunning views, you’re unlikely to be disappointed
A word of warning though – this is walking and camping in a remote rainforest. Getting there alone takes the best part of a day from the more connected parts of the country and, although the campsites are clean and the guides incredibly helpful, the facilities are basic. So, get yourself ready for . . . well . . . camping in the jungle ie hot, wet, muddy . . . but a fantastic experience and, in my opinion, the highlight of Costa Rica
The Lake District area of Argentina really is beautiful. Not quite as dramatic as down in Patagonia or as mind-blowing as that in Peru, but a more picture-perfect countryside that you could imagine a couple of hobbits living out their days in
I found in particular the Chico Circuit by Bariloche a fantastic experience (details – Cycling and drinking craft beers around the Chico Circuit in Bariloche), but for the route from Villa la Angostura to San Martin de los Andes I was unfortunately a bit underwhelmed. It’s probably because our expectations were so high after seeing the wonders in this part of the world, but either way we found ourselves less having an amazing experience and more just having a pleasant drive
For sure this would be a great place to completely relax for a few days, enjoy the scenery by one of the lakes and go for some easy walks through the forest, and I would stress that Bariolche and its immediate surroundings are a highlight of this part of the world, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to make the drive from Villa la Angostura to San Martin de los Andes
Kuta and Seminyak are the places that most first time travellers to Bali spend their time looking for that idyllic beach vibe. Problem is that they are becoming super commercialised and, to be honest, the beaches can be a little underwhelming compared to others in the region mainly because of the sheer number of fellow tourists and amount of plastic waste. My tip would be to spend your time either to the south in the Uluwatu area for some truly beautiful spots and to visit UluWatu itself and Padang Padang Beach, or just to the north in Cangu, which has a similar beach to Kuta and Seminyak but is worlds apart in vibe
All that being said, Seminyak in particular is worth some day trip visits as it has some truly world class restaurants and beach bars – Potato Head is in my view the best beach bar in the world, with Kudeta not far behind. Sardines, Sarong and Mehra Putih are restaurants I’d also really recommend. And . . . if you must . . . visit Kuta if you’re on a stag do or just generally want some dirty lash
The west coast of Scotland is stunning – right up there with the likes of the fjords of Patagonian, Alaska, New Zealand and Norway . . . and with the added advantage of castles and whiskey. As an Englishman, I’d travelled far and wide to see great sites around the world and didn’t realise that one of the most impressive was, comparatively, on my doorstep. Stunning and one of the highlights of the UK
There are various routes to take, but I suggest the driving route from Oban and up to the Isle of Skye. Plenty of highlights to keep you busy for 3-4 days
Top tip #1 – you must drive. Whilst you could I suppose make your way by public transport, you would miss out on the real highlight which is being able to stop for 5mins in the various stops along the coast to gorp at the magnificent views, and it would take you overall just a lot longer as public transport in these parts is quite limited. The driving is very much part of this experience
Top tip #2 – even if you don’t like whiskey, the learning about how it is made, the history and the different tastes to look out for in each dram is a very Scottish, and very much fun experience. The distilleries of Talisker and Oban are some of the most famous is Scotland and give you that great taste of the art that is whiskey making
Top tip #3 – you can do this trip all year round. I’ve visited 3 times in winter and found the atmosphere at this time or year, with the far fewer tourists, magical. Of course, summer is also great as the hikes are more enjoyable
Wulai is a mountainous jungle area to the south of Taipei that has activities like swimming and hiking, and some cable cars to allow you to ascend up the steep sides of the valleys for views of the mountains and impressive waterfalls. It comes highly recommended as a day trip from Taipei, but I think you need to include a hike or swim / visit to the spas to get the most out of the visit. My error was to turn up and just generally have a walk around and take the cable cars, which left me feeling a bit underwhelmed
Many of the Caribbean Islands are much of a tropical paradise muchness – white sand beaches ✅ , tropical temperatures ✅ , clear waters ✅ , laid back attitude ✅ . . . they all offer this just to different degrees. I’d put Saint Lucia a bit down the pile when it comes to the perfect desert island as its an extremely strong field in the Caribbean (The Grenadines for example win in this category), but Saint Lucia offers a key trump card that make it a bit special – the wonderfully photogenic, and UNESCO World Heritage listed, Pitons. Breaking almost vertically out of the water to 2600ft / 800m, these dramatic mini mountains provide what must be the most stunning stretch of beach in the whole Caribbean. Its extra trump card is the heap of heritage estates across the island that provide exploring opportunities to see the gorgeous fruits they now grow and, importantly, rum tasting!
Want picture-perfect desert islands – go for the Grenadines (and my tip is Bequia Island – see Ultimate relaxing in Spring Bay on Bequia Island). Want dramatic views and rum tasting – go for Saint Lucia
For those beautiful Pyrenees views, its hard to beat the area just to the south of the town of Lourdes and, in particular, the easily accessible Cirques de Gavarnie with its sensational mountain amphitheater and laid back surrounding villages that provide a host of accommodation options. The mountain behind, Mount Perdu, is actually now a UNESCO World-Heritage site both for its outstanding natural beauty and human settlement going all the way back to the Upper Paleolithic period (40,000 – 10,000 B.C.). It’s only 1.5 hours walk from Gavarnie village to the the best views of the amphitheater and to see some of the waterfalls that are super impressive just after it has rained
Just one tip – the ease of accessibility of Cirques de Gavarnie means it is also the busiest of the three natural amphitheaters nearby. Be sure to also consider Cirque de Troumouse and the most remote – Cirque d’Estaube, if you are keen to avoid the busy spots
Known in Swahili as “The Smoke that Thunders”, Victoria Falls is magnificent in just the sheer scale and noise that it generates. Whilst not the largest waterfall by volume (that title goes to Inga Falls in the Congo), it is the largest sheet of falling water in the world, hence the thunderous noise, its title as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, and will no doubt be on your itinerary if in this part of Africa
In 1875, Christian missionaries tried to create a utopian town in what at the time must have felt like the heart of the African continent. Naming it Livingstonia after David Livingston, the embodiment of the pioneer African coloniser, they originally settled at Cape Maclear on the south shores of Lake Malawi, but were forced to abandon the settlement because of malaria and instead looked for a spot further up in the mountains. The spot they found not only avoided malaria, but, because it was up in the mountains on a plain that had a different climate, provided farming opportunities. The missionaries had indeed found the right sight for their vision of Livingstonia utopia
Today, Livingstonia still has that vibe with its tree-lined streets, cooler climate, former colonial buildings such as the church and museum, and separation from the main road that hugs the west shore of Lake Malawi. More than anything, it just feels like a trip to what another future of Africa could have looked like, and a very pleasant detour from the usual spots in Malawi
To get there – you’ve basically got the option of walking from the lake (15km / 9.5miles, will take around 3.5hours and an elevation gain of 850m / 2800ft) or driving up the very windy and bumpy road (takes around an hour). My suggestion is to do a combo of both – get a ride up to the Mushroom Farm Ecolodge, which breaks up the ascent so you only have 7km / 4.5miles and 1.5hours with 220m / 720ft of incline to get to Livingstonia. From here, you can check out the views, the waterfall and the farmland around you without the uphill slog – bear in mind it gets very hot in Malawi!
Where to stay – the Mushroom Farm Ecolodge is the obvious option as it could break up your journey to Livingstonia, but I’d also highly recommend staying by the lake in one of the various campsites nearby. We camped for 2 nights there and you also have the option of rooms available at places like the Hakuna Matata Hostel. It felt quite magical being able to wake up and kayak around this quiet section of lake and a bit of a must if heading up to Livingstonia
My favourite road trip – the contrasts of natural landscape along the way with snowy mountains, red / yellow deserts, and temperate rainforests; the tasters of the different culture snapshots of the US with conservative cowboys through to uber-liberal SoCal and Pacific North West; the sheer world-fame of some spots like Las Vegas, LA, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon; but more than anything – its a trip that is simply perfect for driving. The distances involved, the way the US in particular is set up for the drivers and the scenery to take in in between the obvious highlights is just world-beating
It’s also a super high octane trip – 4200 miles / 6760km of driving – the sort of thing you rattle off in your 20s, when you have the energy, 2 weeks of vacation and are keen to see and do everything. There’s something just so incredibly fun and fantastic about seeing one world-famous site one after the other in rapid succession – one day being in the likes of Yellowstone National Park, the next in Arches National Park, the next the Grand Canyon, the next Las Vegas, the next LA etc etc. An exciting whirlwind that creates a feeling most will never forget . . . and in a way equally spoils / sets the bar incredibly high for any other trip
A bit rushed? – on the trip itself, we didn’t feel overly rushed. Again, we had 2 weeks vacation and wanted to see as much of this part of the world as possible. For example, I actually found a day / half day in each of the national parks perfect to do a basic walk, see the main attractions and get the feel for them. But of course, it would have been nice to spend longer in each – perhaps take a 3 day hiking trip across one of them. Or perhaps see some of the other pieces we of course missed along the way. Ultimately, I always suggest avoiding the mass tourism standard experience on offer, and I shudder just thinking of trying to do this again, but in a part of the world that has world class sites one after the other, the gorging on them was great fun
