How to experience Inca ruins at Machu Picchu – without the crowds

Experience the wildlife-rich Galapagos on Aqua Mare, the newest luxury ocean vessel of Aqua Expeditions and the first of its kind in this archipelago.

In Lonely Plan-It, we take you step by step through how we planned some of the most complicated travel adventures. Here, Craig McLachlan explains how to make the most out of your biking adventure to this South Pacific paradise’s deep south.

Despite its famously sepia-toned skies, England remains a perennially popular destination.

After damage from heavy rains prompted its closure to travelers in April 2022, northern Peru’s Llaqta de Kuélap ruins—one of the largest ancient monuments in the Americas—has reopened to visitors, with limits in place.

Sunrise happens slightly before 7am during Cairo’s winter peak season. Visitor access to the Pyramids of Giza site — a nine-mile trip west from downtown Cairo — starts at 8am throughout the year. The potential pre-dawn start gives you more time and room to fully experience the awe of these 4,500-year-old monuments, and their watchful companion, the Great Sphinx. An estimated 2.3 million stone blocks make up the Great Pyramid itself, the only survivor of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 

Hugging the Andes mountains, Southern Peru continues to celebrate its age-old customs and traditions. Cities like Cusco, Puno and Arequipa proudly preserve ancient festivals and culinary techniques (think masked paraders paying homage to the Sun God and ceramic pots stacked on wood-fired ovens), making each an extraordinary destination for travelers craving authentic experiences.

Cusco might be just a short flight south from Peru’s capital of Lima, but you’ll feel as if you traveled centuries back in time.

For most French people, Provence conjures up the sound of the cicadas, the lovely accent of the inhabitants of the region, sunny weather, and olives. To most outsiders, Provence is all about lavender fields. No matter where you’re from and what you think Provence is like, you won’t be disappointed because it’s all the above. The historical region of Provence is an area of simple beauty and unhurried, uncomplicated pleasures, all of which are best enjoyed in the late spring and summer.

Sometimes, it's all about the setting.

Even if you have status on every airline under the sun, jet lag is no joke. Whenever I find myself embracing my inner zombie too much, I do two things: hike and hydrate. Both activities instantly wake me up. It doesn’t matter where I am—and as a travel writer, I go through countries like a golden retriever goes through tennis balls—this is my modus operandi. Walk, water, repeat. That said, I don’t carry cumbersome water bottles that leak or constantly need refilling. Whether I’m hiking the Appalachian Trail or exploring Incan ruins in the Andes, the Camelbak M.U.L.E. Hydration Pack is always on my back.

Spanning from the tangled depths of the Darién Gap to the frigid reaches of southern Patagonia, South America offers a spectacular array of stunning natural landscapes to explore—and as an added bonus, the continent is no stranger to luxury accommodations either. While polished resorts can be found from northern Colombia to the southern tip of Argentina, South America’s resident Relais & Châteaux properties offer a glimpse into the rich culinary culture of each destination, with no shortage of incredible outdoor adventure and wellness experiences to explore along the way.

When I arrived at Austria's Wien Meidling station to board an overnight train from Vienna to Venice last year, the informative screens said that my train was going to Switzerland.