Short version: the Canadian side has the better view, the American side has the better experience, and if you can do both, do both. Longer version follows, because the difference matters more than people expect and the border crossing is a real consideration. Why the Canadian side wins on views There are three falls: the […]
Niagara Falls: Canadian Side or American Side? Read More »
Around 500,000 people now walk some part of the Camino de Santiago each year, and a fair share of them arrive having read a lot about the spiritual journey and almost nothing about their feet. This is the practical version. Where to start, what it costs, and what actually goes wrong. There isn’t one Camino
The Camino de Santiago: The Practical Version Read More »
Pickpocketing in Europe isn’t random and it isn’t violent. It’s a craft, practised by people who are very good at it, in a small number of extremely predictable locations. Which is good news, because predictable is the same thing as avoidable. Where it actually happens Almost all of it occurs in about five situations: Crowded
How to Avoid Pickpockets in Europe (Without Being Paranoid) Read More »
Sardinia has water the colour of a Caribbean brochure and it’s a two-hour flight from most of Europe. It also has 7,000 Bronze Age stone towers, a language that isn’t Italian, and an interior almost nobody visits. Most people see the beaches and go home. That’s a fine holiday. It’s also about a third of
Sardinia: The Beaches, and Everything Else People Miss Read More »
The Everglades is not a swamp. It’s a river — 60 miles wide, a few inches deep, moving so slowly you can’t see it happen. The Seminole called it Pa-hay-okee, grassy water, and that’s a better description than anything on a park sign. It’s also the only place on Earth where alligators and crocodiles live
The Everglades: Which Entrance to Use and When to Go Read More »
Joshua Tree is where two deserts meet, which is why it looks like nowhere else. The higher, cooler Mojave in the west grows the Joshua trees; the lower, hotter Colorado desert in the east grows creosote and cholla. You drive across the boundary and the vegetation visibly changes. It’s also two and a half hours
Joshua Tree: Two Deserts, One Park, and When to Go Read More »
Mallorca has a reputation problem. Say the name in Britain or Germany and people picture Magaluf or Arenal — high-rise hotels, all-inclusive wristbands, sunburn. That’s about 5% of the island. The other 95% has a UNESCO-listed mountain range, medieval hill villages, an old town in Palma that rivals any in Spain, and coves you can
Mallorca Beyond the Resorts: Mountains, Villages and Coves Read More »
Nobody puts this in the Instagram caption. You’re four days into a solo trip, you’ve seen three cathedrals, the food was good, and at about 7pm on a Tuesday it hits you that you haven’t had a proper conversation since you landed. This is normal. It happens to almost everyone. And it’s not a sign
The Part of Solo Travel Nobody Posts About Read More »
Everyone goes to Como. Lake Maggiore is the next one west, it’s bigger, it has three islands covered in baroque palaces and botanical gardens, and it costs meaningfully less. It also has roughly none of the George Clooney tourism. If Como has started to feel like a queue with a view, this is where you
Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands: Como’s Quieter Rival Read More »
Mount Rushmore takes about an hour. That’s the honest answer and it disappoints people who’ve driven a long way. The trick is to stop thinking of it as the destination and start thinking of it as one stop in the Black Hills, which is one of the more underrated corners of America. Two hours east
Mount Rushmore and the Badlands: What’s Actually Worth the Drive Read More »
