Podcast: On the road with Rough Guides' authors

Travelers looking to explore the continent of Africa now have new options when traveling from the United States.Announced this week, Delta Air Lines is expanding it's partnership with Kenya Airways allowing frequent flyers to earn miles on each other's flights when flying on the same itinerary, and provide a more seamless travel experience to 31 destinations in Africa and 57 in North America. Kenya Airways currently operates a nonstop service from their hub at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to New York's John F.

As Lonely Planet’s creative director, I have the privilege of traveling for work and getting to some pretty remarkable places.

Bolivia’s tourism reputation is generally as a rugged backpacker destination with a few otherworldly gems for more sophisticated travelers—namely the Uyuni Salt Flats and La Paz’s buzzy culinary scene. But as my kids and I recently discovered on a multi-city road trip in the western part of the country, Bolivia has a diversity of landscapes (caves, deserts, and meteor-crash sites), distinct urban centers (silver mining towns and white-washed World Heritage cities), and colorful boutique hotels. 

Hewn from red volcanic rock and standing in a deep pit, this centuries-old monument is one of the world's most unique medieval churches.

Serengeti, Maasai Mara, Kruger – everyone who’s ever dreamt of going to Africa will know these safari big-hitters. Famous for their wildlife, they’re also famous for hordes of visitors that flock to them in convoys of Land Cruisers. If you want to get away from the masses, these are the best little-visited African national parks, each with extraordinary wildlife but far fewer humans.

Life on two wheels is a beautiful thing, and travel on two wheels can be epic. Here are a few of the world's greatest cycle routes to consider for your next big trip.

We left the trees far behind as we climbed up to Bolivia’s Altiplano, but this was no place for them anyway. The dryness would be fatal, and even if they could find water, the ferocious winds wouldn’t allow them to stand. On this high-altitude plateau, life has had to make some extreme adaptations to survive, finding ways to eke out water and nutrition over 4,250 metres above sea level. Trees are yet to find a solution.

As the Antarctic winter draws in at the end of April, Emperor Penguins begin the long march inland to their breeding grounds. There, they mate, before taking turns to insulate the egg while their partner travels up to 80km to fish. Back in the colony the penguins huddle together to protect the eggs from temperatures below -50 degrees celsius; only a small fraction of chicks survive each year.

Whether it’s a friendly face at check in or a taxi driver who’s full of useful tips, nothing beats getting a warm welcome on your travels – and our interactions with local people have a huge impact on how we view countries as a whole. We asked our Facebook and Twitter followers to share where they’ve found the most hospitable places around the world. Here’s what they said.

When you receive your Valentine’s bouquet this year, will you wonder where it came from? Probably not, but it’s possible your flowers are better travelled than you. Sitting just below the horn of Africa, Kenya is the largest exporter of flowers to the European Union, meaning your pretty petals may have crossed equators and oceans to arrive at your door. Kiki Deere visited an independent flower farm in Kenya to find out what it’s like to be an African rose.

Psychedelic tourism isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but there is nowhere on Earth where so many shaman serve such magical brews as they do in Peru. The typical setting for a session with an ayahuasquero or jungle shaman, is to meet him at a rainforest lodge on the edge of an Amazon tributory. After giving each guest a bitter, small gourd-full of psychotropic hallucinogen, the shaman begins to rattle, chant or drum. The effects can be challenging – the drug’s purging qualities mean many people vomit, while the colourful visions may be spiritual, sexual or just plain terrifying – but most people, helped by the shaman’s guiding songs and vision, make it beyond this to a healing and ecstatic session.