Best Outdoor Travel Blog 2021
Finland tops the rankings of the happiest countries in the world for the fifth year running
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 eastern Greenland to northern Alaska, we explore some of the most remote places on Earth
Whether it’s astronomical distances, inhospitable climates or extreme terrains that define these remote and hostile lands, there’s one thing they all have in common: they are on my bucket list. That and the fact that people live there.
The most dangerous countries in the world to visit in 2022 have been revealed in the latest Travel Risk Map
The most dangerous countries to visit in 2022 are Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen according to the latest Travel Risk Map, an interactive tool produced by security specialists at International SOS.
The most peaceful countries in the world have been updated for 2021. Read our insights from the study and browse the rankings below
Iceland is once again the most peaceful country in the world followed by New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal, and Slovenia.
However, the world is a less peaceful place as civil unrest and political instability has increased due to the global pandemic according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) report.
Our favourite inspirational travel quotes that encouraged us to travel – with abandon – over the years. Maybe they will do the same for you…
For us, there is no such thing as luxury travel; travel is, by default, a luxury. It is a privilege provided by the country of our birth, a privilege that many are not as fortunate to enjoy.
Sometimes, we have to pinch ourselves at just how ridiculous our lives have become: an ex-teacher and jobbing writer travelling the world for a living. It is absurd, it is astonishing, and it is a luxury.
We take a look at the world’s most urban countries and why they go hand in hand with the most stressed
City life is stressful. It presses on our weary bones, wafts through windows on pungent fumes and boxes up our personal space.
We look at the most stressed countries in the world according to Gallup’s latest survey. The results may well surprise you
How did you feel yesterday? Did you feel physical pain? Experience enjoyment? Worry? Anger? What about stress?
These are the questions put to 151,000 adults in 142 countries across the world as part of the Gallup Global Emotions Report, which measures life’s intangibles – feelings and emotions – that traditional economic indicators such as GDP were never intended to capture.
African nations 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.
A selection of some of the most interesting facts about the world’s least-known countries we’ve picked up over the years
This is a subjective topic I know. What counts as an interesting fact? What counts as one of the world’s least-known countries?
There is no scientific answer but when this question was posed on Q&A site Quora, it certainly threw up some noteworthy particulars about some of the more obscure sovereign and not-so-sovereign states of the world.
A strange evening with Desconnexions in Catalonia reminds us why it’s so important to get off our laptops and occasionally leave our phones at home
I was on Wikipedia reading about a 2015 controversy involving a judge on the New Zealand version of X Factor when I realised I was doing it again: wasting time reading about a person I didn’t know involved in an event I didn’t care about on a show I didn’t watch.
I had fallen down the internet rabbit hole – again.
It was on a hike across Isla Del Sol in Bolivia a few years ago that I first wondered how many animals walk for pleasure – not to hunt or feed, not to find shelter or warmth, but to enjoy the act of walking itself.
Are those living in the world’s least densely populated countries happier than those living in more crowded ones?
Finland was recently named the happiest country in the world. As with previous years, it is clear that developed, conflict-free nations with stable governments tend to rank higher in these indexes.
What’s interesting is that many of the world’s happiest countries also have relatively low population density. Finland, Norway, Iceland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia all have fewer than 20 people per square kilometre (followed closely by Sweden with 22.12), and all appear in the top 10 happiest countries.
Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island is one of South Australia’s finest parks. We take a look at seven sights not to be missed
Sprawled across the western end of Kangaroo Island, Flinders Chase National Park is home to wild coastline, diverse wildlife and some truly extraordinary landmarks. The park has steadily recovered from bushfires that destroyed over 400 sq km of land in 2007, and today offers a uniquely Australian landscape of sugar-gum canopies and mallee scrub.
Ahead of our trip to Asia this year, we turned to 23andMe for some home truths about our roots
I never felt exotic growing up. I was one of eight Bangladeshi children in a street full of Bangladeshi residents in an area full of Bangladeshi immigrants.
Life for humans may be improving but what about everything else that shares our planet?
In trying times, social media users tend to share think pieces, charts and graphics proving that humanity has never had it so good.
These graphics focus on the growth of lovely things like basic education, literacy, democracy and vaccination, and the decline of awful things like extreme poverty and child mortality.
If there’s one thing I enjoy more than a good adventure yarn, it’s a good adventure yarn with a mysterious ending. Here are some of my favourite travel mysteries from around the world (and one from outside of it).
In ode of this great instrument of adventure, we run through 12 maps that changed our world view
There are few things that evoke the romanticism of adventure quite like a map – especially old maps. Full of exotic names (Persia, Abyssinia, Rhodesia!) and olde worlde lettering, they are reminiscent of a time when men sacrificed their lives for adventure and exploration.
Humans are an intrepid race. For centuries, explorers have disappeared over the horizon in search of new lands and distant shores on epic journeys of discovery. Thanks to these pioneers we’re able to follow in their footsteps now and forevermore.
Hear four heartwarming travel stories we’ve heard over the years. If no. 2 doesn’t make you cry, you are probably a robot!
Cancelled. Cancelled. Cancelled, begins Agnes Mwangale’s tale of travel. It was 6pm on 15th April 2010 and she had just arrived at Toronto airport. As she scanned the arrivals board, her stomach churned and she realised that everything would not be okay – despite the promise she had made her mother.
We list the 12 most common expat problems. The problems fall into three main areas: relationships, money and culture shock
Over the course of the past year, we have used our expat survey to gather advice for expats and their loved ones, most popularly 8 tips to know before you go and 6 things not to say to an expat.
Here, we list the 12 most common expat problems based on InterNations’ broader Expat Insider survey.
