Vacations & Travel Magazine

THE UNIVERSE HAS CHANGED IMMEASURABLY SINCE I LAST SAT AT THE editor’s desk for Vacations & Travel in 2010. How I miss the spontaneous flights to far-flung destinations I enjoyed back then; the reunions with friends in unlikely corners of the planet,

An Indiegogo-funded project on the Grand Canyon’s south rim is set to take glamping to new heights. Nomad’s Pad will soon launch 10 striking, temperature-controlled glass pyramids with spectacular views of the desert and the night sky. Yet when priva

He’s the man the world’s top hotels and resorts turn to when they want to create a showstopper. Something that will have everyone talking, Instagramming, pinning and adding to their wish lists. After bringing more than 200 hotels to life over the pas

Vacations & Travel, in conjunction with Hurtigruten Expeditions, is giving readers the chance to win a 10-day ‘Circumnavigating Spitsbergen, in the Realm of the Polar Bear’ cruise around Norway for two, valued at more than $22,528. Hurtigruten Expedi

MADAGASCAR IS A REMARKABLE place. For the naturalists among us, there are more than 100 endemic bird species, 980 unique orchids and an astounding 150 different types of chameleons. And then there are the lemurs, those perpetually surprised looking p

OUR GUIDE HAS JUST PURCHASED passes to Chobe National Park, the first of its kind in Botswana. But rather than moving forward, he promptly makes a U-turn and drives right out the front gates. Off the main road, we veer left down a discrete side-track

FOR MANY TRAVELLERS TODAY, sustainability is the word. Treading lightly and giving back to the environments and communities we visit seem more important than ever, especially with the events of the last 18 months. We’ve become more aware of the impac

THERE ARE MORE THAN 450 SKI resorts spread out across the US – it can be daunting (even for residents) to choose which one to visit. Before you go, ask yourself a few questions: Are you into gnarly chutes or easy cruisers? Would you rather stay in th

IF YOU EVER WANT A REMINDER OF your unimportance in the world – in the best possible way – Svalbard is the place to visit. This Norwegian archipelago sits at an eye-watering 78°N, some 800 kilometres off the mainland coast and just 1,300 kilometres f

While True North is known for its luxe cruises around Western Australia – in particular, its pioneering adventures in the Kimberley – the company is venturing east this December to host 36 guests under the New Year’s Eve fireworks at Sydney Harbour.

Aussies are usually the world’s best tourists, staying longer and spending big wherever our planes, trains and automobiles carry us. Rocked by natural disasters and COVID-19, many damaged, neglected and stranded travel hubs need our love more than ev

IT WAS A RAINY DAY IN LATE October 2020 when Matt Hayes sailed through Sydney Heads to the welcoming ‘yahoos!’ of a ragtag flotilla of friends and family – most of whom hadn’t seen him since the good ship Influencer, a 17-metre yacht, departed Sydney

NORFOLK ISLAND TAKES YOUR breath away, even before you’ve landed. It’s tiny. A green speck, sitting proud of the South Pacific Ocean, just five kilometres by eight, smothered in Norfolk pines (of course) and barricaded from the sea by formidable clif

An otherworldly landscape of brooding mountains, powdery beaches and wild forest, Tasmania’s Freycinet Peninsula is an ecologist’s paradise. The best way to experience it? On a luxe guided hike. THERE’S A MOMENT, SUBMERGED IN THE GIN-CLEAR WATERS SUR

IN THE EARLY MORNING LIGHT, our helicopter swings over petite Camp Island and the six small structures that make up its resort. When we land, there’s no check-in desk, no formal dining room, no compulsory fun. The ‘bar’ is around the firepit where G&

AS THE FLAT, SUN-BAKED AND seemingly endless plains in the heart of Western Australia’s Pilbara region drop dramatically and unexpectedly into a hidden oasis below, I can hardly believe my eyes. As we descend, coming step by step closer to Karijini N

Wake up at The Islander Noosa Resort, steps from the Noosa River’s foreshore and replete with three pools laced with palms and frangipani. It’s only a 10-minute drive from here to the heart of Hastings Street. Enjoy a little retail therapy along Hast

SOMEWHERE, A KILOMETRE BENEATH MY plane, Burke and Wills perished while traversing the dry red earth. They’d planned to cross Australia from south to north in 1860, a depot party waiting as they set their sights on the Gulf of Carpentaria. After four

THE RISE OF THE HUMBLE ROAD TRIP can be traced back to the early 20th century, when the post-WWII automobile boom and the publication of the first AAA TripTik guides started reshaping what it meant to travel. In the following decades, it was sentimen

ON SWEDEN’S WEST COAST, Gothenburg is Sweden’s second-largest city, yet it’s just a few minutes from a wonderland of 20 car-free islands, its offshore archipelago a place where nature and history collide. People are encouraged to arrive here using pu

PLUNGING INTO AN ICE BATH IN the Arctic, listening to the sweet sound of rhythmic chimes and tinkling bells in India, and gulping the purest air in a serene forest in Japan are just some of the solo spa wellness experiences awakening the senses. It’s

For fine dining: LIMONE DINING Luke Piccolo not only cooks up a storm on his family’s farm (read on for more), but also sources produce from it to prepare pretty plates in his Griffith restaurant, Limone – everything else comes from other small regio

If you haven’t heard of Bream Creek, you’re not alone. This dot on the map along the southeast coast of Tasmania, 45 minutes outside Hobart, has a vineyard, rolling farmland – and not much else. Until earlier this year, that is, when Van Bone opened

IT WOULD BE RUDE NOT TO TAKE A nibble of what is widely touted as Australia’s best vanilla slice. I discovered this custardy, crispy, melty morsel in the tiny town of Bridgewater, not far from Bendigo. It used to be a place you passed through on the

This new 123-room hotel in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra exudes retro glamour and disco charm. I stayed in the aptly named ‘Boogie Room’ on the top floor of the hotel. There’s a bold graphic feature wall, offset by an arched bedhead with an eve

When I hear that Hobart’s freshly minted Mövenpick offers on-the-house eclairs, brownies and truffles from 4pm to 5pm daily (aka ‘Chocolate Hour’), my stay is sold. Even better that the treats are dished up when you order a chocolate-inspired cocktai

A by Adina Canberra could well add the alphabet letter ‘S’ to its name threefold: for stylish, sleek and slick. The shiny new lodging designed by Bates-Smart seamlessly combines a cosy residential and hotel feel, creating a bolthole of creative comfo

You won’t find many straight lines in the striking new Crystalbrook Kingsley hotel design. Newcastle’s former Council Administration Centre – built in 1977 and nicknamed ‘The Roundhouse’ – has always been known for its brutalist-style of architecture

Dreamy views are guaranteed from your alfresco tub at Bubbletent Australia, a trio of transparent, inflatable domes on a working farm 200 kilometres northwest of Sydney. Each is named after a different constellation – Leo, Cancer and Virgo – and come