Wanderlust

he biggest summer of travel!’, ‘Unprecedented explosion in tourism numbers’ and ‘Prepare for a summer of travel chaos’ are just some of the many excitable headlines that I’ve read over the last few weeks. The message is clear: everyone’s eager to tra

There is no one template for a Greek island. Some 6,000 scatter the seas off mainland Greece, and as Chrysanthos Panas’s new book, Greek Islands, shows, their variety is near infinite. From the medieval citadel of Rhodes to the bougainvillea-drenched

Highlight: Known as the ‘Nature Emirate’, the landscape of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is what surprises you the most. Its lush coastline of mangroves quickly turns into rolling desert sands with a backdrop of dramatic limestone mountains. Must see: The ro

Palau has just launched the world’s first sustainable travel rewards programme. Visitors to the conservation-focused Pacific archipelago can gain points in the new Ol’au Palau app by travelling in a more sustainable manner: for instance, by offsettin

When the first anniversary of American independence was celebrated, the US still did not recognise Black people’s liberty, so Juneteenth became our celebration of freedom, such that it is. It marks the end of slavery in the US, and I have celebrated

Pride is an ongoing global party these days. It’s an excuse for everyone to take to the streets in the most outrageous outfits to celebrate the freedom to just be themselves. But this festival has a long – over 50 years! – history in the struggle for

Travel Man is back at the check-in desk. The city-break travel show has slowly won over Wanderlust readers down the years, in no small part due to host Richard Ayoade’s air of weary detachment, brutal snark and awkward refusal to be won over by charm

Such is its importance, Azerbaijani carpet weaving is recognised by UNESCO for its intangible cultural heritage. South of Guba, villages even boast unique motifs, with blue-and-white floral patterns common in Pirebedil, while those in Gonagkend use a

You will find that Portuguese cooking is generally simple. The key lies in the different ingredients, how they behave together and how you treat them. Officially the oldest nation state in Europe, Portugal has, over centuries of exploration and expan

Wherever we travel, nature plays a leading role, whether we’re adventuring through wilderness in search of an elusive sighting or enjoying pockets of greenery and water in the most urban environments. Most responsible tourism providers recognise that

A timeless icon on the world’s most famous waterfront, the Copacabana Palace drips classic luxury, managing to preserve the glitz and glamour of its heyday without ever creeping over into pretentious territory. Chef Ken Hom’s Asian-fusion restaurant,

A rope bridge took me to the healer Yamuna’s stilt hut. As I stepped carefully across, he sounded the conch shell of welcome from a deck suspended in a canopy of vulnerable hardwoods common to north-western Costa Rica. It was clear that something spe

“In Sweden we like a lot of space. We need space,” said Linda as we sat around the fire she had just built and started brewing coffee. She’d been explaining the concept of friluftsliv, a word not easy to translate but essentially meaning a love of be

Once upon a time there was a handsome king. To his subjects he appeared tall and dignified, but at heart he was a shy person who preferred to hide away in the fantasy palaces of his creation. There he would read his favourite poetry and listen to his

Capital: Berlin Population: 84 million Languages: German; English is widely spoken Time: GMT+2 (Nov–Mar GMT+1) International dialling code: +49 Visas: Germany is part of the EU, so UK nationals can stay for a maximum of 90 days, visa-free. Mone

The Yucatán sky glowed fierce and red like the embers of a fire that refuses to die. As hundreds of chattering blackbirds flocked to their roosts among the rows of ornamental trees, a raucous procession of skeletons descended on the central plaza, da

Capitals: Mexico City (Mexico); Belmopan (Belize); Guatemala City (Guatemala); San Salvador (El Salvador); Tegucigalpa (Honduras) Population: At its peak (600–800 AD), the Mayan civilisation topped 10 million people. Languages: Spanish is spoken acro

“You missed another one – right here, look!” pointed Mohammed Slais, our Bahraini pearl diver, as he gesticulated to the tiny yet luminous natural pearl that he had just discovered in my oyster. I wasn’t very good at this, despite having spent over a

Botswana’s Chobe NP is not off the beaten track. But even big, headline-grabbing wildlife areas have corners that few explore. The Savuti – meaning ‘mystery’ – is such a place. Lying on Chobe’s western border, this game-packed wilderness is difficult

‘The sunlight dripped over the house like golden paint over an art jar.’ F Scott Fitzgerald wrote these honeyed words in 1920 – they open The Ice Palace, a tale of a restless Southern belle who strikes north with her new love. As I drove the curved p

State capitals: Montgomery (Alabama); Baton Rouge (Louisiana); Jackson (Mississippi) Population: 4.8 million (Alabama); 4.7 million (Louisiana); 2.9 million (Mississippi) Languages: English; French Creole Time: GMT-5 (GMT-6 Nov–Mar) International

When it comes to Kentucky, most of us are familiar with its bourbon and a certain secret blend of herbs and spices that shot Colonel Harland Sanders to fame, yet the Bluegrass State is otherwise a mystery to many; just another rich flavour of ‘the So

nce upon a time in Yorubaland – the Yoruba peoples’ ancestral territory in south-west Nigeria, Togo and Benin – every city had a sacred grove. That is, a patch of forest in which it was forbidden to hunt, build or cut trees, and where prayers and sac

When acknowledging the formidable appearance of Québec City’s British-built fortress, Charles Dickens famously described the city as “the Gibraltar of Amer-19th century, certainly dominate the high ground on Cape Diamond, the wedge of land tapering b

Say “Italian Riviera” and most people’s eyes light up. East of Genoa, the rainbow-coloured villages of Cinque Terre and bobbing superyachts of tiny Portofino are etched in travellers’ imaginations. But this is only half the story – the Riviera di Lev

Get a taste of the Via Alpi dei Monte Liguri, a 440km footpath that runs the length of Liguria. From the top of Monte Beigua, above the seaside resort of Varazze, there are beautiful views across the sea and the Alps to the north. The dense forests a

When the Venetians began building the Fortica on Hvar in the 13th century, the island was on its way to becoming the envy of the region. Under their rule, its wine, olives and lavender fields – whose blossoms still scent the air in June – made it ric

Capital: Manama Population: 1.75 million Time: GMT+3 International Dialling Code: +973 Visas: Bahrain offers visa-on-arrival services to foreign nationals from 68 countries, including the UK and the US. You can also apply for an e-visa pre-arriva