Travel Scotland. Places to see on a first trip to the Scottish Highlands

This travel guide is full of information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to the Scottish Highlands. For all lovers of the great outdoors, culture and history, a trip to the Highlands creates memories that last a lifetime.

The Scottish Highlands are known for heritage, clan history, fairytale castles, seawater lochs, quirky tea shops and cafés, lush vast space, towering mountainscapes, deep ridges, gurgling streams and rivers, ancient woodland, shipwrecks, colourful villages, a lively pub scene, passionate artisans, and exciting film locations. Throw in friendly locals, and adorable highland coos to complete the picture.

Travel South Africa. Stay at Eco-friendly Gonana Guesthouse in Paternoster

150 kilometres north of Cape Town, on South Africa’s West Coast, you find Paternoster.

Paternoster, an idyllic town with whitewashed houses, gorgeous beaches, fabulous restaurants, pretty galleries and shops, is home to a population of less than 2,000 residents. Locals who have been fishing on the coast for generations make their living from fishing still.

Some believe Paternoster means 'our father'. Surviving shipwrecked sailors sent grateful prayers and hence the believe the town is named after these prayers. Others say it is named after beads, or even after a location in England. Only one thing is for sure, the name debate is ongoing. Paternoster remains a traditional South African fishing village, and its irresistible barefooted charm is strong. The quiet Cape West Coast town turns bustling holiday destination in the summer months, all the way into autumn, and on long weekends.

Travel Canada - Places to visit on Vancouver Island

This travel guide is full of information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to Vancouver Island in the state of British Columbia in Canada. A Vancouver Island trip creates memories that last a lifetime.

The Canadian Pacific coast stretches along the western edge of British Columbia. Vancouver Island means stunning natural beauty, diverse ecosystems, and a rich cultural heritage. Rugged coastlines and temperate rainforests to islands and fjords.

The island is known for its creatures big and small, such as orcas, humpback whales, sea otters, and seals, and its bald eagle, cougar, wolves, and black bear population. Exciting wildlife viewing beckons. You can also go on a long boat trip to the Great Bear Rainforest and look for Grizzly Bears. The coast with its lighthouses and sandy beaches often scattered in driftwood, and the ancient forest with up to 800 years old trees and rivers and waterfalls, invite you to go hiking, beach combing, kayaking, and boating.

Throw in extremely friendly locals, lively neighbourhoods, First Nations art, farmer's markets, writer's homes, museums, and a spirited music, artisan, café, and restaurant scene to complete the picture. Vancouver Island is on the Traditional Territory of the Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Kwakwakaw’akw People, and there is plenty of opportunity to learn about First Nations history.

What else can you find here: How to get to Vancouver Island, the best time to visit, what to wear, how to pay, and where to eat. If you want to dig in even deeper before your trip, or if you can't visit Vancouver Island in person just yet, I recommend seven books to read for a Verbatim Journey to the island.

Travel Canada. Places to see on a trip to Vancouver

This travel guide is full of information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to Vancouver in British Columbia in Canada. You are going to see and hear about Gassy Jack and his entrepreneurial spirit, devastating fires, floatplanes, a rainforest, harbour seals, girls in wetsuits, lighthouses, totem poles, skyscrapers, art deco design, boats, ships, ferries, contemporary public art, churches, Indigenous art, museums, immigrants, a bookbinding business, roofs that come in shapes of woven basket hats, industrial places turned inner city oasis, a famous train station, and angels and soldiers.

Films set in the European Union

In this article, you find film recommendations that allow you to travel to all 27 European Union states from the comfort of your armchair. From silly to classic drama to modern-day hits, all films offer a unique perspective. All stories provide insights into the complexities and experiences of life in each EU country. These films explain socio-political dynamics, society, history, and cultural dynamics while being set on location.

Travel Spain –Menorca Guide for First Time Visitors

Welcome to this little wonderland. The island might be small, but it has a lot to offer. Menorca is like a detailed miniature piece of art, it is fascinating. The green Balearic Island sits in pristine sky-blue waters and offers breathtaking windswept landscapes, prehistoric history, sandy beaches, and sunshine. From sustainable practices to renewable energy initiatives, Menorca's environmental consciousness is big. Let us delve into the lush wonders of this eco-friendly haven, and let's connect with locals and places. Prepare to be inspired, as we explore the secrets of a destination that is so similar, but very different from its more well-known big sister Mallorca.

Travel Estonia – Tallinn: Travel Guide for First Time Visitors

This travel guide is full of up-to-date background and travel information, and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to Tallinn in Estonia. A travel guide with museums, churches, and cathedrals, a library, street art, cafés, restaurants, and a hotel recommendation. 

Read whether you need a visa to visit Tallinn, how to pay, which language they speak in Tallinn, when to best use public transport, whether they have wi-fi, and what time is the best to visit.

 

How to Slow Travel on Your Next City Trip

We are all part of the problem, but each one of us can do a lot to improve the situation. We need to slow down. Slow travel has got nothing to do at all with the length of time you travel. Here is the good news. You don't need to circumvent Australia on foot, and walk your soles raw, to be eligible to call yourself a slow traveller. You can easily Slow Travel on your next city trip.

Travel Mauritius - Guide to the island in the Indian Ocean

This travel guide is full of up-to-date travel information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to Mauritius, the tropical island, in the Indian Ocean.

The Republic of Mauritius is an island country. The island of Mauritius lies off south-eastern Africa 800 km east of Madagascar and is about the size of Berlin. Mauritius and Rodrigues are the larger islands of the Republic, there are also many smaller ones. The volcanic island is surrounded by coral reefs. When standing on a beach, there are 160-kilometres of soft white sand, you can see waves on the horizon. These giants mark Mauritius' outer limits.

 

Travel Romania - Places to visit in Timisoara

This travel guide is full of up-to-date tourist and general travel information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to Timisoara in Western Romania. Come for the history and architecture – stay for the multicultural atmosphere.

Travel Croatia – Pretty places to visit on Krk Island

This travel guide is full of information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to Krk Island in Northern Croatia. Come for the beach – stay for the friendly atmosphere.

Travel Ireland: 40 places to visit on the Wild Atlantic Way

This travel guide is full of information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland. You are going to see and hear about lakes studded with islands, the ocean, small islands, abandoned islands, remote sandy beaches, seabirds, goats, dinosaurs, lush forests, green hills, stark cliffs, and monastic ruins, beautiful castle ruins, and lonely cottages: The Wild Atlantic Way sure is spellbindingly beautiful.

And you are going to hear stories about Viking raids, Queens, Kings, brave revolutionaries, sturdy fishermen, and curious adventurers. You are sure going to find your ideal place.

Travel Iceland – First-time Visitors Guide

This Iceland guide is full of information and travel inspiration for first-time visitors to Iceland. Leaving Iceland is like a return to the real world, it is this beautiful. Iceland is blue icebergs, untouched, wide, and wild open space, long distances, lonely roads, snowy mountain tops, majestic glaciers, glacier lagoons and lakes, black endless beaches, boiling water and steam, the rough North Atlantic Ocean, mystic rock formations, lava fields, wildflowers and moss, cliff edges, birdlife and seals, sturdy and cute Icelandic horses, reindeers, and sheep. You find Iceland on the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Only about 366,450 people call Iceland home and you can add millions of tourists who love Iceland to that number.

How to be a delightful tourist in Iceland?

Icelanders want to welcome people from all over the world. They are keen to share the beauty of their home country, and they admit that over-tourism is a problem also. This article provides an awesome overview and describes important things to desist from doing in Iceland in just a few lines. Everything you read is inspired by everything and everyone I saw and noticed on my road trip through Iceland. On my way, I spoke to different Icelanders about what I experienced. They all agreed they need tourists to come and visit Iceland, as tourism is great for the economy.

 

Travel the Netherlands – Ten places that are beyond beautiful

The Netherlands is polders, meadows, a long stretch of North Sea coast, lakes, canals, and tech innovation. Flower markets can be found in almost every town, and in spring you find colourful large tulip fields behind the Netherland’s North Sea dunes. Famous paintings by artists like Pieter Bruegel, Vincent Van Gogh, Hieronymus Bosch, Johannes Vermeer, and Rembrandt van Rijn transport you directly to the Netherlands.

Here come ten places in the Netherlands that are just magnificent to visit, they are simply beyond beautiful. Of course, it all starts with the all-time favourite one.

Travel Spain – Magnificent places to visit in Lanzarote

In 1993, UNESCO declared Lanzarote a »World Biosphere Reserve«. Thousands and thousands of tourists visit the northeastern of the Canary Islands every year. They come for all-year-round warm weather and sunshine and for black, white, and golden sandy beaches. Lanzarote offers more than 300 days of sunshine per year. On average it rains only 16 days in Lanzarote, that is per year, not per month. There is more than magnificent beaches and superb weather: Pretty places to visit in Lanzarote.

 

Travel Austria - Pretty Places to Visit

Make your way to the country in the heart of Europe. Here are a few of Austria's best sights to see on a road trip across the country. Before you jump into a car, make sure you bring the right music. There is pretty much only one type of music you want to listen to on a road trip through Austria.

People in the times of the coronavirus crisis – Eyewitness Suzanne Benadie from Sense of Africa in South Africa

Being the not-so-secret ambassador of South Africa, I feel this natural curiosity for the country. I like to know what South Africans are up to. Suzanne Benadie who lives in Johannesburg has worked in tourism ever since leaving school in 1989. She started her career as a tourist guide. Over the years, her love of nature and conservation areas across Southern Africa grew even stronger. Today, together with travelling, the protection of wildlife and creating sustainability for locals is what she is most passionate about.

People in the times of the coronavirus crisis – Eyewitness Sabine Blehle from GoVacation Africa in South Africa

As we know life is what happens when one is busy making other plans. And life happened. Unexpectedly. Sabine Blehle grew up on a dairy farm in the South of Germany. She finished a degree in tourism and put her skills to good use at the local tourism office. Wanting to see more lead her to South Africa. All the ones who visited South Africa know that the country is the ideal place to gain more experience in tourism. Forever an admirer of the great outdoors, she planned to stay for one year. Today, South Africa has been her home for 23 years. Not shy of pursuing happiness, Sabine worked her way up all the way to the top. She started out as a consultant and is now the CEO for GoVacation Africa, a full service destination management company, specialising in inbound travel. She loves that she can share the love for South Africa with her clients. Sabine Blehle lives in Johannesburg.

Sabine Blehle - Chapman's Peak Drive

 

Bookshops recommend the best novels to transport you to their hometowns

Sitting in a bar by this swimming pool. Sipping espresso. Looking into the far distance. There is loud music playing. This is heaven for all the ones who only like music when played loud. The sky is of a bright big blue, the day is almost too hot. Right next to me sits what seems to be a large family. An elderly woman, most likely in her eighties, she is tiny and wrinkly. There are a few who could be her children, and these also brought their children along to the gathering. One of the younger couples has a baby, wearing a onesie with round ears. They take family photos. Making memories. They do it in every line-up and arrangement possible. The young dad wears a t-shirt and cap that tells everybody how much he loves Miami. I never meet the grandpa and I probably never will. (Vinales, Cuba).