First time visitors to Rio de Janeiro undoubtedly head to the famed Sugarloaf Mountain at the end of Copacabana. While the easy way to reach the summit is by cable car, there’s a more adventurous and exciting way to do it: by climbing the mountain with a specialized instructor. Generally you will be taken to […]

It is often said that Istanbul is a city where east meets west, or Asia meets Europe. It is also a place where eats meet feets, in some fabulous culinary walks around the city. A city of myriad faces, Istanbul has its Ottoman edges and its Asian coast, its modern European cosmopolitanism and its architectural […]

Somerset House is a capricious space within London. It changes its flavour as the seasons change, sheds its layers like a snake to reveal something equally enveloping in each incarnation. It being winter in our northern hemisphere, Somerset House has turned itself into a skating rink, as is its wont in these chilly months. What could be […]

Back then it was an important port city; now it is somewhat reminiscent of San Francisco, and long gone is its “Jewel of the Pacific” title. Valparaiso is a UNESCO World Heritage site for a reason, however, and there’s nowhere better to enjoy warm Chilean hospitality. Valparaiso is just 90 minutes from Chile’s elegant, currently […]

Many visit Sirince for just an afternoon when they go to the magnificent Roman ruins at Ephesus; a side trip to pick up a few souvenirs. But this village hugging the hills of the South Aegean is better experienced with a longer stay for its own sake. Sirince was settled in the 15th Century by […]

London can sometimes feel overwhelmingly urban and grey, especially towards the east where the City and its skyscrapers dominate. It is a rather pleasing antidote to wander Columbia Road Flower Market on a Sunday morning and take in the vibrant hues and heady scents. Columbia Road becomes a hive of activity and good-natured bustle as […]

School’s almost out for summer, and if you’re wondering how you’re going to keep everyone suitably entertained, we’ve got you covered. Few families have shared a vacation that didn’t include a couple of epic battles—with so many varying interests, it’s often tough to keep the peace. If what you’re searching for is a single destination […]

I am a city boy. I thrive in concrete jungles, like the Barbican in East London, Soho in NY, or walking through the skyscrapers of HK. The thought of spending seven nights in a sea-faring vessel traversing the equatorial seas was not an immediately appealing prospect. Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands are in the vast Pacific, a […]

Working for a travel company means you are occasionally in danger of becoming rather blasé about hotels. Sometimes they all seem to blur into each other; one empty mini-bar at the end of a stay looks much like another. However, on a recent trip to California I had the good fortune to stay in a […]

I have cycled through the “City of London” many a time. The “City” refers to the financial centre hugging the north bank of the Thames between Tower Hill and Fleet Street. It is a weird region, teeming self-importantly during the week and eerily still at the weekend. During my time traversing its thoroughfares and alleys […]

“Vamos a la playa!” is perhaps my favourite phrase in the Spanish language. It is a little like the Brits saying “let’s have a nice cup of tea shall we?”, meaning let’s forget what ails us and focus on something else. In Spain and the Spanish-speaking world of Latin America, this is totally justified—it conjures […]

I grew up in England’s glamourous northwest (home of Coronation Street and Take That), where excitement was not particularly varied. Playing in a motorway median was the highlight—like an extreme sport, the adrenaline came from car-dodging over four lanes. So whenever I find myself in a new city I look for an excursion that is […]

Everyone has heard facts and figures, stats and standards about the Amazon—how it is the largest flow of water in the world, the largest rainforest in the world, the list goes on. But which Amazon is the best to visit? It spans many countries: Brazil is the most famous with the lion’s share, but the […]