Before Australia’s East Coast burnished its reputation as a haven of sun, sand and sea, it was the temperate climate of Tasmania, the country’s largest island, that lured visitors from across the British Empire. Sometimes called the “sanitarium of the south,” it was noted for its salubrious climes, which were considered an antidote to havoc wrought on delicate constitutions by tours in the equatorial colonies. Some two centuries later, the heart-shaped landmass 150 miles off the mainland’s southeast coast is still seen as a place of invigorating isolation.
Roughly the same size as West Virginia, with a population of just over half a million, Tasmania is a patchwork of pastures and wilderness surrounded by rugged coastlines and windswept bays. About 50 percent of the island is protected from development; nearly a quarter is World Heritage listed.
The island’s antipodean charms and violent history have long captured the imagination of artists. William Charles Piguenit, born a convict’s son in Hobart, the Tasmanian capital, in 1836, saw his depictions of the island’s landscape shown in Paris and London around the turn of the 20th century and is widely regarded as one of Australia’s first artists of note. Throughout the 20th century, fine art continued to flourish in Tasmania. The Polish sculptor Ewa Pachucka and the Czech painter Tom Samek were among a slew of international and interstate artists who took up residence there.
In recent decades, a new wave of creative professionals have descended on the remote island. In its West Coast region, Queenstown, a former mining town of fewer than 2,000 residents, has become an unlikely hub for artists and home to the Unconformity, a biennial contemporary arts festival. But it was the improbable addition of MONA (the Museum of Old and New Art), which opened in Hobart in 2011, that cemented the island’s credibility as an international art destination. The brainchild of David Walsh, a prodigious professional gambler and irreverent art collector who grew up in the nearby suburb of Glenorchy, this concrete and steel bastion on the banks of the Derwent River currently contains more than 450 antiquities and avant-garde artworks.
Here we ask four locals for their tips on how to make the most of a sojourn to the real deep south.
The website maxtravelz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Racheli Evanson had a magical childhood. She grew up on Turtle Island in Fiji, which was immortalized in popular culture when it appeared in the 1980 Brooke Shields film Blue Lagoon. Racheli’s American father, Richard, purchased the island in 1972 and turned it into a private resort, where Racheli, her siblings, and her Fijian mother lived until she left to attend boarding school in Australia. Now living in Brisbane with her partner Will Perrins, an Australian in industrial property development, she works remotely for the resort, and the couple has traveled there many times. So there was only one place where Will wanted to propose—and only one destination where they knew they’d marry.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Charissa Enget, a content creator and cybersecurity architect who gained her graduate degree in Thailand. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Singapore’s Changi Airport – the world’s most awarded airport with 680 awards to its name – has today released new figures for the first half of 2024, showcasing sustained post-Covid recovery. Changi Airport registered 33 million passenger movements from January to June 2024, representing 99.4% recovery in passenger numbers compared to the same period in 2019, and exceeding 2023 figures at 120%.
The next U.S. president is going to preside over the one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and can influence how many travelers from abroad can come to the U.S.
Make 2025 the year you realize your travel dream. Maybe that's flying in a helicopter to an Alaskan glacier where you can ride on a dogsled pulled by adorable huskies. Or, perhaps it's sipping wine at vineyards across Italy, Spain and France. Your bucket list might simply include visits to new countries across the globe, such as Japan, New Zealand or Thailand, or be as specific as watching the sun set over Hawaii's Haleakala Crater or snorkeling amid brightly colored coral and fish in Bonaire's Marine Park.
Low-cost Icelandic airline Play is helping travelers plan a European shoulder season vacation by offering 25 percent off fall and early winter flights.
American Airlines will launch a new flight to Turks and Caicos next year, marking the first-ever direct flight from the United States to the island of South Caicos.
For many, Pan American World Airways represents our collective nostalgia for the golden age of air travel, when jet-setters were transported around the world in sleek, spacious planes with stylish flight attendants and glamorous meal service.