Features

Video: 5 things everyone learns on a road trip

Road trips make for memorable journeys. Yes, it can be stressful at times, but few ways of travelling match the utter independence of the open road.  From embracing spontaneity and exploring lesser-known paths, to perfectly pairing your playlist with the scenery, a self-drive trip is an unmissable experience. Whether it’s a classic Route 66 drive…

5 reasons why Seville is the quintessential Spanish break

Seville is Spain undiluted. Every image that springs to mind when you think of Spain, Seville not only provides, but revels in with theatrical abundance. There are sun-drenched plazas, outbursts of flamenco, dusty barrelled sherry, all-night fiestas and orange tree-lined streets tangling beneath sharp, clear skies. Clichéd? Yes. Over-the-top? Of course. But if you’ve ever…

6 reasons to visit Bogotá: South America’s underrated capital

Polluted, rainy and business-orientated. Let’s face it, a trip to Bogotá hardly sounds appealing. And many travellers don’t bother to probe much further than this bleak reputation, seeing Bogotá either as somewhere to be skipped out altogether, or as merely a logistical blot on a more exciting itinerary. Other Latin American cities such as Buenos…

26 countries in 501 days: an epic culinary adventure

In 2011, Tom Perkins set off to cycle from London to Cape Town. Joined by friends and taken in by strangers, his 501-day journey took him over 20,000km of road, through 26 countries and across 3 continents. His goal, to learn about lesser-documented cultures through food, became an epic culinary adventure that culminated in his first…

Fez: Morocco’s new culinary capital

Morocco‘s third-largest city tends to go overlooked, and it certainly isn’t shouted about as a culinary hotspot. Even getting here – with limited flight connections and rail services – requires some effort. And once you’re inside the largest medina in Africa, a colossal walled labyrinth of around ten thousand lanes, things get even trickier. It’s a…

7 reasons to visit Battambang, Cambodia

Olivia Rawes tells us why the city of Battambang, Cambodia, should be an essential stop on any southeast Asian itinerary. Battambang is often overlooked. It lacks the obvious Cambodian trump cards: no golden beaches, no capital city buzz, no Angkor Wat. But then neither does it suffer from congested traffic, coach loads of tourists, or…

Centro: delve into the heart of Portugal

In search of a more authentic Portuguese experience, Olivia Rawes escaped the Algarve to discover Centro: a quiet, charming region at the heart of Portugal. Baking hot sun, packed beaches, busy restaurants and beautifully manicured golf courses – for myself, and for the millions of holidaymakers who flock to the Algarve each summer, this was…

Into the wild in Estonia

Most visitors don’t venture beyond Tallinn, but leave Estonia’s capital behind and you’ll find a country of vast, untouched wilderness. a haven for wildlife and a place to escape from it all. Olivia Rawes gets back to basics to discover some of the wilder things to do in Estonia. A congregation of jovial boozy stag…

Best places to visit in July

July doesn’t have to mean fighting for space on packed European beaches, dodging flocks of school children and gritting your teeth at peak prices. Winter in the southern hemisphere promises cheap flights and fantastic skiing, while elsewhere July is packed with unusual festivals, wild celebrations and some of nature’s most spectacular events, giving you a…