The UK's most popular outdoor travel blog
Where you stay can make or break your holiday. Here are the red flags and pitfalls to look for when booking a hotel
A few years ago, a friend of mine asked for advice on where to go on her honeymoon. I duly gave her a list of my favourite hotels from across the world: Baros in the Maldives, Likuliku Lagoon in Fiji, Vahine Island in French Polynesia, Montpelier in St Kitts & Nevis among a few others.
In 2024, Singapore tops the list of the world’s most powerful passports. We take a look at the other winners, losers and non-movers
I was feeling cocky as I queued up for my Chinese visa. I had checked and rechecked the requirements and had all my documents to hand: my passport, a photocopy of my passport, a spare photo just in case, the form that had taken me an hour to fill in online, my flight details, and my tour and hotel confirmation. I had also signed and dated the form – in both places – unlike all the (clearly inferior!) applicants in front of me.
Our complete Aconcagua gear list includes everything you’ll need to summit the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres
Aconcagua in Argentina, at 6,961m (22,837ft), is South America’s highest mountain and one of the seven summits (the seven peaks that make up the highest point on every continent).
I recently returned from climbing Aconcagua with Acomara Aconcagua Expeditions. A good trekking company will issue you with a detailed kit list, but I always like to see what other people have used.
From lush megadiversity to the unexpected entry at number 10, we review the countries that can save Earth’s most-threatened species
As a child, I lived with cockroaches in my family home. Our entire street had an infestation and it was months before the council got rid of them. I have seven siblings and not all of us fit on the sofa, so some of us would watch TV from the floor and I remember things scuttling by right next to my hand, making me leap up and scream. Sometimes, one would scurry across my pillow right before bedtime. This, quite understandably, gave me a mortal fear of bugs.
The most dangerous countries in the world to visit in 2024 have been updated in the latest Travel Risk Map
The most dangerous countries to visit in 2024 are Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen according to the latest Travel Risk Map, an interactive tool produced by security specialists at International SOS.
From dubious first ascents to tense clashes at high altitudes, we explore 13 dramatic climbing controversies – some resolved and others less so
There was a time when climbing controversies were sportingly confined to the slopes. The petty trivialities, the robust exchanges and the heated clashes were just part of the cut and thrust of the mountaineering world.
The safest countries in the world have been updated for summer 2024. Read our insights from the study and browse the rankings below
Iceland is the safest country in the world followed by Ireland, Austria, New Zealand and Singapore.
However, the world is not as safe as a year ago as the average level of global peacefulness has deteriorated for the 12th time in 16 years. Ninety-seven countries recorded a decline in peacefulness while 65 registered an improvement according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI).
Our curated list of the most interesting facts about Colombia we learnt during our visit
We didn’t plan on staying a month in Colombia. After spending longer than we had planned in the South Pacific, we were wary that we had only six months for an area far larger than what we had seen thus far.
Of course, our journey through Cartagena, Santa Marta, Taganga, Medellin, Guatapé, Popayán and San Agustín warranted more than the two weeks we had planned.
Finland is the happiest country in the world for the seventh consecutive year. We take a look at the latest World Happiness Report
Happiness is a nebulous thing; hard to grasp and harder to hold onto. Scientists, economists and philosophers have defined it through the ages as a combination of different things, among them health, wealth, companionship and security.
From the famous northern lights to the lesser-known sea of stars, we share the world’s most stunning natural phenomena
It’s firefall time. Every year, beginning around late February, the setting sun hits Yosemite’s Horsetail Fall at just the right angle to light the cascade in blazing orange and red hues, giving the appearance of flowing fire or lava. To celebrate the spectacle, we’re exploring the world’s most stunning natural phenomena.
African nations continue to dominate the ranking of the poorest countries in the world based on the latest data from the World Bank
We all have preconceptions about places. Take Ethiopia, for example. As children of the eighties, Kia and I were only too aware of the struggles Ethiopia has faced historically: political unrest, civil war and, of course, famine.
It was easy then to imagine a vast desolate dust bowl ahead of our visit in 2017.
After visiting 100 countries and seven continents, we share the best beaches we’ve seen on our travels
When I first went on holiday, I was 18 years old and on the lookout for the perfect beach. You know the sort: powdery white sand and clear turquoise water set against a blazing blue sky. In those early years of travel, I saw beautiful beaches in Barbados, Tunisia, Thailand, Mexico and Dubai, but none were quite the same as the brochures and the billboards.
The most beautiful mountains in the world have captivated climbers for centuries. Here, we examine their lethal appeal
“You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you,” said John Muir, the renowned naturalist, author and environmental philosopher.
If our resident seven-summit hopeful is anything to go by, Muir makes a valid point. Those who spend time in the mountains seem to be driven by a deeper force.
From megadiverse flora and fauna to the closest country to space, these are the most interesting facts about Ecuador
Despite its relatively small size compared with local giants Brazil and Argentina, Ecuador is home to an astounding array of wonders, including picturesque colonial towns, the Amazon rainforest, the spectacular peaks of the Andes and the fragile but alluring Galápagos Islands.
From El Capitan in Yosemite to remote challenges in Greenland and Antarctica, we profile the world’s most stunning big wall climbs
It was five years ago that I first came across a big wall climber. A tiny speck on the side of a gigantic granite wall, the climber was bivvying in Yosemite National Park, the Holy Land of big wall climbing.
I couldn’t comprehend how someone could sleep tacked onto the side of a wall, suspended thousands of feet above the ground, sometimes in treacherous weather conditions.
Some unusual passport stamps to collect on your travels, from breakaway republics to the northernmost and southernmost post offices
It may be unfashionable but I’m a bit of a box-ticker when it comes to travel. I’m working my way through the seven summits, the highest mountain on every continent (four down, three to go); I have a list of the countries I’ve visited (94 and counting!); and I keep track of memorable places such as the highest, lowest and driest spots I’ve visited.
Denmark tops the ranking of the most sustainable countries in the world according to the latest data from the Environmental Performance Index
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) evaluates and ranks 180 countries on 40 performance indicators across 11 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
From America’s classic Route 66 to Namibia’s mysterious Skeleton Coast, we explore the best road trips in the world
When it comes to road trips, we’ve had our fair share of mishaps. We’ve battled a whiteout in Iceland, got stuck in a ditch in Turkey, broken down in Chile and changed a tyre in lion territory in Namibia.
The most interesting facts about Paraguay, from a double-sided national flag to the ‘Heart of South America’
American essayist P.J. O’Rourke once quipped that Paraguay was “nowhere and famous for nothing.” He then took a business trip there, fell in love with the country and promptly moved there.
While we can’t say we felt the same striking attraction, we certainly appreciated Paraguay’s history and authenticity. The small and struggling country is a steamy subtropical land of remarkable contrasts with a tragic and torrid history filled with violence and loss.
We examine the island’s history and explain some of the most interesting facts about Easter Island
This remote Pacific island is not only beautiful but full of mystery. The open-air museum in the middle of the Pacific Island has some of the world’s most recognisable images.
