Travel Articles

Rome - Silenzo, silenzo, no photo, no photo!

Sistine Chapel is the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is most famous for its decoration which has been frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini, and Sandro Botticelli. Full Story.

In Bangkok¹s steamy late afternoon, right on schedule at this time of year, black clouds threaten to swallow the setting sun, heralding the prospect of a spectacular monsoonal downpour. Full Story.

Spain - Spanish for Beginners

Need a relaxing change from snow-capped mountains, flowing streams and splendid seascapes? Try the tranquil streets, quiet charm and early nights of downtown Barcelona. Full Story.

The current operators of Cliveden House, von essen hotels have put together an intriguing Profumo Affair package there, a “Scandal Tour” walk around the property with long-time "Affair" researcher and expert Rupert Gavin. Full Story.

Chances are you’ve never heard of Ambae Island or Makana Mountain. And having agreed on that, you’re probably not really interested in reading any further. Full Story.

The “4 Roues sous 1 Parapluie” tour company offers a choice of destinations – from a 30 minute trip around the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower to the three hour secret Paris insider tour – in the comfort of the convertible 2CV. Full Story.

NSW - Hunter Valley

The now-trim little cottage overlooks gentle slopes on which kangaroos graze in the mornings amid swirling mists, and there’s the opportunity for guests to stroll through the nearby woodlands. Full Story.

Milano - Slow Shopping Movement

Milano is renowned for its designer fashion, bags, shoes, food and furniture plus superb retail shopping but it has much more to offer than just the latest luxury wares, albeit shopping is a huge drawcard. Full Story.

Far North Queensland - Mud Crab Fishing

On a recent visit to Far North Queensland, Sean Lynch waded through the waters of Cooya beach with Indigenous tour guide Brandon Walker, who taught Sean how to hunt crabs with a spear. Full Story.

Rome - Colosseum

This iconic structure of Rome was nearly lost to weather erosion, looting and constant earthquake damage until Pope Benedict XV consecrated the site in honour of all the Christians slaughtered in the name of entertainment. Full Story.

Hawaii - Captain Cook's Adventures

Today the land immediately surrounding the monument is formally British, in much the same way as an embassy would be, but this part of Kealakekua Bay isn’t the easiest to get to. Full Story.

Australia - 10 Ways You Know You're Riding on Australian Snow

Snowboarding in Australia is a downright unique thing to do. When you compare riding in places like Europe, North America and Japan, it is easy to find differences and the Aussie culture really stands out. Full Story.

Canada - Rocky Mountaineer

Guests spend the night in Kamloops hotels with a dinner-show as part of their package, so  they have two full days aboard the train to absorb the spectacular Rockies. Full Story.

Yorkshire - Rhubarb Triangle

Rhubarb actually originated in the cold, wet climes of Siberia, and when introduced to England several centuries ago flourished in the area bounded by Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield – four times the size of today’s Rhubarb Triangle. Full Story.

Australia - Surprises Galore In Sydney

Many of the historic old buildings have been converted into artists’ spaces and a large gallery. One has become a cinema, another an educational centre focusing on the wetlands’ birdlife and backpacker-style accommodation. Full Story.

Italy - Siena

The undeniable highlight of Siena is the 13th century Piazza Del Campo a brick lined fine-looking square and the site where chariot races were once held. Today, instead of chariots the square plays host to the annual horse race II Palio. Full Story.

Borneo - Rajang River

We explore remote “heart of Borneo” forts of the 19th century British Rajahs Brooke, fruit and vegetable farms, sago-making factories, village schools where the kids sing us songs and show us their favourite games, and go on jungle walks. Full Story.

Italy - Venice

There is plenty to keep you occupied with galleries, museums, theatres, workshops, churches, beautiful hotels, endless cafes and restaurants. Never a dull moment. You can also observe ongoing excavations in Venice as archaeologists unearth more ancient treasures. Full Story.

Austria - Oberndorf

Stained glass windows in the little 40-seat chapel depict Mohr and Gruber, Oberndorf and the nearby town of Arnsdor. A Memorial Celebration is held outside the chapel at 5pm every December 24 and in the nearby Stille-Nacht-Platz is a museum featuring the story of Silent Night. Full Story.

Hawaii - Waimea Bay

Waimea Bay featured in the 1964 hit movie Ride the Wild Surf with part of its musical soundtrack making America’s Top 20 at the time, while the Beach Boys’ classic Surfin’ USA and Jimmy Buffett’s Beautiful Swimmers also paid homage to the Bay. Full Story.

Haberfield, Sydney - Food, Foodies & Focaccias

Visit Haberfield, Sydney for an Italian food experience. This suburb, 6 km west of Sydney's CBD, celebrates three different cultures at Piazza Federazione on Ramsay Street and sports three flags, one Italian, one Australian and one Aboriginal. Full Story.

Italy - Fabulous Florence

Florence is like an open–air museum that overtly flaunts its magnificent splendour. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries Brunelleschi and Michelangelo competed fiercely for financial approval of the Medici family. Full Story.

Greece - Peloponnese Peninsula

The Peloponnese Peninsula is a taste of true Greece, with aqua-blue waters lapping sunny beaches, patchworks of olive groves, vineyards and citrus orchards, ancient towns, monasteries, palaces, ruined castles and forts. Full Story.

Thailand - Resort Guests Capture Bridge On River Kwai

Guests at a deluxe new boutique resort that opens in Thailand in October of this year can expect a misty-eye, and possibly goose-bumps down the spine, at least once during their stay. Full Story.

Hawaii - Princess Trumps Kings On “Royal” Guest List

Retired British Army Major Douglas King and his wife would hardly have realised that a holiday in Hawaii back in 1927 would write them into history. Full Story.

England - Spooky Encounters With Spirited Lovers

When a romantic English lady named Maude nibbled at her lover’s ear that his passion “had her aflame,” little did she realise just how prophetic her words were to be. Full Story.

Greece - Stunning Santorini

Allison O'Donoghue takes a look around the stunning islands of Santorini, a small circular archipelago of volcanic islands located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200km southeast from Greece's mainland. Full Story.

France - Cycling on the Canal du Midi

The Canal du Midi is more than a recreational zone for cyclists and boaters. It's a world heritage listed oeuvre d'art (work of art), and also a hydraulic and structural engineering feat and one of the worlds first designed landscapes. Full Story.

NSW - Bundanoon is Brigadoon

NSW’s little village of Bundanoon emerges onto centre stage from the Southern Highlands mist on just one day every year to host one of the world’s biggest gatherings of all things Scottish. Full Story.

Queensland - Wallangarra

The Southern Downs Steam Railway group operates leisurely steam-train trips from Warwick to Stanthorpe with a visit to Wallangarra that includes lunch catered by Lynne and Brendan in the historic Refreshment Room. Full Story.

NSW - White Cliffs : Bed & Breakfast

Rooms start from $160 a night double or twin, including breakfast provisions of cereals, fruit-juice, home-baked bread, jam from the Pedler’s fruit trees; the “cottage” costs $400 for 2-nights (minimum stay,) again with brekkie supplies.  Full Story.

Canada - Alaska & Vancouver

Some of the less-charitable on Canada’s Vancouver Island were little backward in suggesting that one of their local doctors, Howard McDiarmid would do better sticking to medicine than dreaming about one day becoming an hotelier. Full Story.

America - The Road From New York To The Deep South

When NSW couple Dean and Kath Le Page told mates they were off to the USA for a bit of a driving holiday, the general reaction was: "Have a good time – see you in a couple of weeks" - but it was anything other than a "couple of weeks".  Full Story.

Outback Australia - Nullarbor Links

Only three true golf courses are involved (2-holes each at Ceduna, Norseman and Kalgoorlie,) with artificial greens at the others. Fairways could, at the most kindly, be referred to as “rough,” and to date only one player has carded a hole-in-one. Full Story.

Canada - Niagara on the Lake

If you’re heading to Niagara Falls do yourself a favour and have a few days at picturesque Niagara on the Lake and stay at the boutique Olde Angel Inn with its delightfully-named Captain’s, Sweethearts’ and Governor’s Rooms, or the Swayze and Courthouse Cottages. Full Story.

Lisbon - Portugal's Famous Tarts

Customers can queue for an hour or more if they want to take tarts and drinks at the patisserie with its yesteryear blue tile walls, but take-away service is quicker and if you see tour coaches outside, have a look at the Jeronimos Monastery nearby until the mobs have gone. Full Story.

Langkawi - Mahsuri’s Mausoleum at Kampung Mawat

Many visitors to Langkawi pay a visit to Mahsuri’s Mausoleum at Kampung Mawat about 15km out of the main township of Pekan Kuah; it contains Mahsuri’s tomb, an aviary of local birds and peacocks representing peace and beauty, and a traditional house with a small museum. Full Story.

Across the Atlantic - Malaga in Spain to Madeira in Portugal

It's not for just a week, but a whole 12-nights as we swan our way from Malaga in Spain to Madeira in Portugal, and across the Atlantic to San Juan in the Caribbean. Full Story.

Tasmania - Hobart

With brochures, including The Farm Gate Guide, Tasmania's Wine Routes, and the flyers for Cadbury's factory and Cascade Brewery I set off to explore Hobart, including Sullivan's Cove, Salamanca Market & Moorilla Estate and so much more.   Full Story.

Summer By The Seaside. Bellarine Peninsula

The Bellarine Peninsula offers plenty of modern attractions - a water park, surfing, sailing, diving, golfing, music festivals and fishing. Not to mention gourmet delights and swimming with dolphins. Full Story.

Puerto Rico - Carmelite Convent : Part 2

Last week we looked at something of the history of the extraordinary Hotel El Convento in San Juan, Puerto Rico – how it began life as a Carmelite Convent a-near 360 years ago, declined into a flophouse for the homeless in the 1900s, now we continue...  Full Story.

Puerto Rico - Carmelite Convent

In this first of a two-part feature, David Ellis discovers a boutique hotel in Puerto Rico with a history as rich as any tale Hollywood could conceive out of the Caribbean; and next week he continues its remarkable journey from convent to flophouse to an extraordinary boutique hotel.)  Full Story.

New Zealand - Walk in Tongariro National Park

The Tongariro National Park has many claims to fame. For a start, it's the location of one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks. It is also one of the 890 World Heritage Sites. Whether tramping the Mount Tongariro Northern Circuit or not, a visit to Tongariro National Park will almost certainly be anybodys cause for celebration. Full Story.

Pacific Islands - Fiji

Fiji is about four hours flying time from Sydney and is two hours off to the north of New Zealand. It has two main islands - Viti Levu and Vanua Levu - although there are more than 300 islands in the group. Full Story.

Australia - Hunter Valley

If getting it right in real estate jargon means position, position, position, then it’s a safe bet that the Hunter Valley’s Holman Estate guest house is one place that's got it right. Full Story.

New Zealand - Trekking Lake Waikaremoana

The Lake Waikaremoana Track is located in the Te Urewera National Park on the North Island of NZ. It is located 614 metres above sea level and is 46 kilometres long. It is one of New Zealand's least tramped Great Walks. Full Story.

New Zealand - Trekking The Heaphy Track

Sitting on a huge drift-log on a very wide beach, I watched the incoming tide occasionally defeat the Heaphy River's narrow mouth, crashing into the outflow and sending waves rippling swiftly along the river for a hundred metres. In the background, spectacular, sonorous waves pounded and plumed over Heaphy Bluff.Full Story.

Cambodia - Phnom Penh

If you're heading to Phnom Penh, rent the movie first so you’ve a feel for the city with its proud but crumbling French architecture, and dusty hurly burly streets that have little changed from when the movie was shot eight years. Full Story.

Egypt - Up & Down The River

The land of the Pharaohs needs no pointing out on a map; however the Egyptian government would do well to invest in street directories for the locust swarm of cabs in the streets of Cairo. Full Story.

Cairns - Kuranda Railway

Ask travel agents to book you on the 1.5hr trip up the rainforest mountain on the Kuranda Railway, and back down to Cairns on the Skyrail cableway when making Cairns holiday reservations – it’ll prove a day you’ll long remember. Full Story.

Hawaii - Greenwell Farms Coffee

When Tom Greenwell talks about coffee, especially coffee from Hawaii’s Kona Coast, he does so with a passion — and an authority that comes from this fourth-generation grower of one of the world’s most valuable products. Full Story.

France - Excitement, Romantce, Paris

From the narrow streets and smokey caf�s of the Left Bank to the treasures of the Louvre to the splendour of the Eiffel Tower and omnipotent Notre Dame, Paris makes for a seductive holiday any time of year. Full Story.

New Zealand Travel Stories

Our roaming travel writers have written so many descriptive stories on the Land of the Long White Cloud that we've dedicated an entire area to the Commonwealth country. Herein you'll find travel stories from both the North and South islands. Recent articles: Orakei Korako; Napier; NZ Wind Farms. NZ Index.

Snow Cameras

Sure, you can read the weather forecasts and check out the latest reports, but why bother when you can see exactly what's happening on the mountain? Click here for our comprehensive snow cam page, covering Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.

Surf Cameras

If you need to check up on the what the surf is doing - right here, right now - our extensive surf cam page will be just the ticket, covering Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Click here for the full list.