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Atlas & Boots 
From a ship scuttled in World War II to a fiercely guarded secret spot, we share the best dive sites in Aruba as chosen by local divemasters
When it comes to choosing dive sites, we are yet to find a perfect solution. Official rating apps are often skewed towards popular spots, meaning that a mediocre dive site with lots of visitors will trump a less-visited but better site based on the weighting system.
We take a look at the best things to do in Colombo, the gateway city to Sri Lanka – the pearl of the Indian Ocean
Let’s be frank: Colombo isn’t what you would call a ‘world city’. Not many companies boast about offices in ‘London, New York, Colombo’. The city has never been an international player nor does it have a world-class attraction.
A one-glance guide to driving in the Faroe Islands, from navigating single-lane tunnels to dodging flocks of sheep
With spectral sub-sea tunnels, dramatic drops and 70,000 sheep to dodge, it’s no wonder that driving in the Faroe Islands puts some people off.
There are few places, however, more suited to a road trip. These wild, sea-salted isles offer stunning vistas around every bend and driving is a pleasure.
We share the most interesting facts about South Africa gathered on our two-week trip to this fascinating country
South Africa, if nothing else, is a land of contradiction. This ‘rainbow nation’ ostensibly celebrates multiculturalism, but has a long and dark history of racial segregation. It forms part of the largest conservation area in the world yet remains a hotbed of poaching. It has a high rate of homicide, but is the only country in the world to voluntarily dismantle its nuclear weapons.
Hiking Table Mountain isn’t a walk in the park like one might hope. We share our tips for getting to the top
Hiking Table Mountain is a rite of passage for visitors to Cape Town. The iconic behemoth defines the ‘Mother City’ in the same way Rio has a harbour, New York has a statue and San Francisco has a bridge.
This mountain is said to be one of the oldest in the world. Its formation began circa 280 million years ago and some of its rocks date back 600 million years (long before the Himalayas).
Blissfully quiet beaches, cut-price costs, cosy pubs and hearty grub – a St Ives winter break is the perfect antidote to a busy summer
It’s not hard to see why Cornwall is one of Britain’s most popular holiday destinations. It has 300 miles of jaw-dropping coastline, over 2,400 miles of inland walking paths, 12 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, four Michelin-starred restaurants and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
From the vast Pacific Ocean to the lively coast of West Africa, we take a look at the least visited countries in the world
There is perhaps no phrase more common in travel writing than “off the beaten track”. It’s applied liberally to all manner of things, from the vast Mongolian Steppe to an empty bar on a Bangkok side street.
A handpicked selection of some of the most dramatic, absorbing long reads on outdoor survival from the last five years.
You may have guessed that we at Atlas & Boots are just a little bit obsessed with tales of endurance. From the best books about survival to epic journeys of discovery, we have written about some of the most dramatic pursuits in the history of exploration.
In recent years, we have been intrigued by a number of brilliant long reads on outdoor survival (and surrender).
We share the most interesting facts about the Great Barrier Reef gathered on our week-long visit
We’ve all seen pictures of the Great Barrier Reef: a pearl-string of reefs and lagoons boasting every imaginable shade of blue. This natural wonder in Australia teems with life.
Marine animals here vary from microscopic plankton to whales weighing 100 tonnes. It is a riot of colour, a carnival of life. Clownfish of bursting orange curl next to fish of luminous blue. It is a true spectacle – but what exactly is the Great Barrier Reef? Is it really bigger than Italy and can it really be seen from space?
From cycling parched deserts to exploring mountain lakes, we share our favourite outdoor activities in Chile
There is a charming folk tale about Chile that claims when God created the world, he had a little bit of everything left over – deserts, lakes, mountains, glaciers and volcanoes – so he tossed it all together and created Chile.
The country, which stretches like a spine along South America’s western coast, is one of the most diverse in the world. From the parched Atacama Desert to the lush greenery of the Lake District, Chile swings from one extreme to another.
From Australia to Antarctica, we list the best places to see the southern lights
People often ask “aren’t you done with travelling?” or “where is there left to go?”
To be honest, we thought that 2018 would be the year we sort-of settled down and maybe looked into a semi-permanent base somewhere in England’s Peak District…
We share the most interesting facts about Russia collected over the course of two trips to this mammoth country
Russia has been described as many things: a mother, a winner, a force and a fighter. It is, as Churchill put it famously, a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.
Russia is outsize both literally and metaphorically. Aside from its physical bulk, it has loomed as a spectre over the west for decades.
We reveal the details of our new role as Lonely Planet Trailblazers, a partnership with the world’s biggest travel guide publisher
Those of you who have followed us from our early journey across the South Pacific will know that we have worked with Lonely Planet periodically, from taking over their Instagram account to co-hosting Twitter chats and running campaigns for third parties.
From dramatic mountains to unearthly caves, we explore the best natural wonders in France
If you ask a random person to name the best natural wonders in France, they’d likely come up short. There are plenty of manmade sights we can all reel off: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Notre Dame and so on, but France is far less famous for its natural wonders. Here, we explore the best on offer.
We share the most interesting facts about Mauritius, gathered on our month-long journey across the stunning country
After trips to the Maldives, Fiji and French Polynesia, we wondered if Mauritius would live up to the established standard.
After a year carrying around our tattered diving logbooks on our round-the-world trip, we finally decided to go digital. Enter a dizzying array of scuba diving apps, sites and services. It took us a long time to refine our options and find the apps that worked for us. To help you cut through the chaff, we put together a list of the most useful scuba diving apps on the market.
Sigiriya Rock Fortress is Sri Lanka’s most popular attraction. We show you how to avoid the queues, crowds and touts to make the most of your morning there
It’s not often people say ‘visiting rock formations’ when asked what they like doing on holiday – a curious fact given that so many of us spend time and money doing exactly that, be it Cappadocia in Turkey, Yosemite in the US, Guatape in Colombia or indeed Machu Picchu which would be only half as dramatic without its rocky backdrop.
Practical tips for visiting Ayasofya, Istanbul’s most iconic structure, including the best time to visit, how to avoid the crowds and things not to miss
Ayasofya (or Hagia Sophia in Greek) is one of Istanbul’s most iconic structures. It graces travel brochures and glossy magazines and has even made a cameo in video game Assassin’s Creed.
The 1,500-year-old structure is considered the most important of the Byzantine era and is one of the world’s great monuments. Completed in 537 AD, Ayasofya was the world’s largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.
Ayasofya and its central dome, a giant 32 metres (105ft) in diameter, stands sentry over Istanbul, offering beguiling views both inside and out. Here’s how to make the most of your time there.
Papua New Guinea is the world’s most diverse country, both ethnically and linguistically. We examine the rankings based on two academic studies
When Sadiq Khan was voted in as London Mayor, he announced his city ‘the most diverse and fantastic in the world’. This triggered interest from the BBC which ran a podcast examining his claim.
The podcast named the Canadian city of Toronto as the most diverse but in doing so, highlighted a number of methodological problems that also apply when measuring the world’s most diverse country.
US national parks offer a delightful assortment of sights, from trees that existed at the time of dinosaurs to the most active volcano in the world
As spring takes hold in earnest, nearly all US national parks are preparing for a special week.
