Vacations & Travel Magazine

A RECENT 'STATE OF TRAVEL' SURVEY BY TOURLANE CONFIRMED WHAT WE COVID lockdown survivors are all feeling at the moment when it comes to booking our next holiday: we want adventure, the wilder the better. Adventure travel came out on top of the report

For the first time ever, legend of the rails Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is offering winter journeys. This December, the distinct midnight-blue carriages will glide through some of Europe’s most postcard-worthy snowscapes between Florence, Paris, V

Steve McCurry is at the park with his five-year-old daughter when we speak on the phone. She’s singing in the background, and keeping McCurry on his toes chasing her as she charges after pigeons. Indeed, it’s almost a metaphor for the American’s four

Queen of caftans, Camilla’s new Seahorse Sonnet range unites prints of ocean and jungle. au.camilla.com Pack limited-edition Blue Heart Crème de la Mer for a luxe skincare ritual. RRP $495, 60ml cremedelamer.com.au Purely Byron’s Divine Rit

HERE’S A SAD STATISTIC: MORE than 7,000 species around the world are considered endangered. That number doesn’t even include the plants, animals, and other life-forms that are listed by some scientists as vulnerable, critically endangered or extinct

Lace up your hiking boots and bring your sense of awe – award-winning Tasmania Walking Company’s new Three Capes Adventure beckons. From its wild and windswept landscapes to its curious critters, Tasmania was made for multi-day treks. The newest full

Chiang Mai is home to Doi Inthanon (2,585 metres), Thailand’s highest peak and part of the Himalayan range. AT THE AONANG SANCTUARY IN Krabi, four elephants are booked into the spa for a skin conditioning mud scrub. Under the watchful eye of the pach

Follow Alexander the Great and Lord Byron to the Cave of Antiparos, famous for its ancient stalagmites and stalactites. They signed the cave walls. I FEEL LIKE I’M IN A SCENE FROM Mamma Mia, half expecting Meryl Streep to flounce out from a bougainvi

HIGH-THREADCOUNT BED SHEETS, rain showers and chocolates at turndown are hotel niceties we all look forward to. But at a time when space and nature are travel’s greatest luxuries, perhaps the ultimate place to check in is one that pays homage to your

IF YOU HAVE ONLY ONE DATE WITH Australia’s Red Heart, swipe right for the introduction that embraces the Alice Springs art buzz, spectacular hikes and sleepovers in painterly settings. The Red Centre Way is a scenic alternative route from Mparntwe (A

Walks along verdant clifftops with views across a shimmering ocean; a Farmers’ Market where you’ll find locally foraged truffles and freshly plucked fruit and vegetables; and funky bars where you can sip something refreshing while breathing in invigo

AVENOMOUS SEA-SNAKE SLITHERS alongside me in the ocean, and I pause to watch it go by, studying its striking black-and-white body as it wriggles up for air. It’s as though the water between us acts as a safety barrier, and rather than panic, I am sim

I AM LOUNGING IN A CABANA ON A private island in the Caribbean Sea, Corona in hand. The sky begins to bruise and I head to my bungalow to watch the sun set from my hot tub before rinsing off in the bamboo-encircled outdoor shower. Corona has always b

Because of its layout, DC is easy to get around – and you can enjoy the great outdoors while you do just that. Given that 70 per cent of DC land is managed by the National Park Service, there’s a lot to explore. Hire a kayak or stand-up paddleboard a

PICNIC REAL FOOD BAR IS THE kind of place you’d expect to see on a gourmet trail in greater New York – except it comes with much more country swagger. Co-owner Brenda Fawdon is not only the chef here, but also a culinary author. Because the produce i

Tokyo’s 23 wards, or ku, divide the world’s most populous city into digestible neighbourhoods, often nicknamed after whichever train station serves them. Step off and you might find yourself caught up in a whirlwind of neon and nightclubs in one ’hoo

MY FIRST LESSON IN DE-HUSKING a coconut is brutal. There’s a lot of sweat, mixed with swearing, that eventually crescendos into cool, sweet coconut water running down my chin. However, I didn’t anticipate the bone-crushing claws of the world’s larges

SAUNTER ALONG WHITE SAND where surfers head into aqua-coloured waters to tackle perfect breaks and further out dolphins dive. Then venture into charming towns framed by national parks that beg for exploration. Welcome to Shoalhaven, a region on the S

STUMBLING OVER SLIPPERY ROCKS on the creek crossing, my already muddy boots fill with water. It is refreshing and soothing on my aching feet, but I know this relief will be short-lived as the squelching in my shoes adds friction as I walk. It’s day f

Top of most Fiji travel lists: spend time amid nature. From the land to the water, The Pearl doesn’t disappoint on this front. The resort not only comes with an 18-hole golf course and a swimming pool (swim-up bar compulsory). But it also offers a ra

A world-first, three-level go-kart racetrack, sculpture garden, food hall and charcoal sauna are some of the experiences you can have on the new Norwegian Prima – the first of six new Norwegian Cruise Line ships. Blessed and named in Iceland by the s

Touch down, and check in to Capella Lodge. Lowslung villas and pool offer postcard-worthy views out to Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower, the striking peaks that cleave off the island’s southernmost point. Settle in for lunch – the menu in Capella’s lig

Etihad Airways has been named ‘Environmental Airline of the Year 2022’ in the annual AirlineRatings awards. The accolade is for its research into eco-flights, sustainable aviation fuel and reforestation projects, including The Etihad Mangrove Forest

I’M AROUND 2.5 KILOMETRES offshore from The Spit on Queensland’s Gold Coast, just nudging eight metres below the ocean’s surface, when the structure emerges before me. Its unique shape reminds me of the spiral ridges of a shark’s egg – but one that’s

Planning a European winter getaway? Add 10 euros per person to the trip if visiting Venice for the day. With tourists piling back into the UNESCO World Heritage-listed lagoon city in record numbers, a booking system is being introduced in January 202

IT’S A WARM SYDNEY SATURDAY, and Centennial Parklands is busy with picnickers and sporty types. But instead of joining them, I’m rubbing my hands over the trunk of a tree. There are others around me doing the same thing. But they’re not my concern –

Bhutan takes happiness so seriously, it’s set in law; before any new policies are passed, they must enhance Gross National Happiness. You can help widen the nation’s smile. Aman’s five lodges across the eastern Himalayan country have launched the ‘Qu

THEY SAY WE EAT WITH OUR EYES first, and if that’s the case, brave was the person who first scoffed an oyster. Once you surrender to these gelatinous splodges, though, and tilt that perfect little bowl of a shell into your waiting mouth, it’s a flood

Since redevelopment of Sydney’s 25 Martin Place (aka MLC Centre) began, more than $170 million has been injected into preserving late architect Harry Seidler’s vision on Castlereagh and King Streets, while at the same time giving it a deft modern tou

THERE’S A MOMENT, AS THE RAIN thrums rhythmically on the Jurassic-like palms outside my window, when I imagine I’ve been transported to the jungles of Southeast Asia. The downpour after the day’s heat releases a bottleable smell of the rainforest – h

Grab your favourite person for this adults-only woodland hideaway in the US state of Montana where mountains rule. The Green O is a wilderness escape within the nearly 15,000-hectare grounds of the Resort at Paws Up in remote Greenough. Twelve ultra-

WHILE THE NAME HIPCAMP might conjure up images of pitching your tent on a remote location or on someone’s back garden, the company is just as much about unique brick-and-mortar stays as it is about far-flung campgrounds across Australia. Case in poin

Melbourne Marriott Hotel is Docklands’ first five-star hotel and the first new-build for Marriott in Australia in more than 20 years. Looking south to Melbourne city, the Yarra River and beyond to Port Phillip Bay, the hotel is moody and urbane. The

It’s a toss-up where to look first, as I gaze from my luxury haven in the shiny new Conrad LA that’s slap-bang in the cultural epicentre of this dynamic city. Legendary architect Frank Gehry – known for his distinctive designs including the nearby Wa

I am in a different Bali. A tranquil Bali. A Bali of old. I’m staying on the island of Nusa Penida, next to the better-known Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan, a 30-minute ferry ride from Sanur but a world away from Bali’s tourist areas. I’m welcomed

There is something in the water, or is that ice, in Swedish Lapland, with creative juices in overdrive. When the Arctic Bath Hotel was built on the cool Lule River, designers looked to nature to create the hotel’s wellness centre. Resembing a a beave