Glacier tips

Discount carrier Avelo Airlines in May will launch four more routes from its base in Sonoma County, Calif.

Cruise vacations are a wonderful way to visit multiple destinations in one trip and unpack only once. And while cruises may not give people multiple days in each destination, it acts as a sampler for people to discover new places that they may possibly want to return to later.

Alaska's impressive southern coastlines contain hordes of island archipelagos, deep fjords and ancient glaciers. Nearly all of the area is roadless, so seafaring vessels, including cruise ships, are a popular way for visitors to experience these pristine areas.

Seeking an authentic experience in the Norwegian fjords? The Nordfjord region epitomizes the beauty and cultural richness of the Norwegian fjords, offering everything from breathtaking natural landscapes to immersive cultural experiences.

The busy summer travel season is fast approaching in Alaska, and with it comes the opening of several new hotels and significant renovations to others. It's been a busy offseason in the 49th State.

In a land of mind-boggling wilderness, rugged roadside pit stops and some of the world's most impressive big fauna, Alaska’s epic highways offer unlimited possibilities for adventurous drivers.

Yosemite National Park is one of those dazzling, large-than-life destinations with a beauty that must be seen firsthand to truly appreciate it.

Setting out to choose Europe’s top national parks was no easy task.

There’s nothing like scrambling along a jagged granite ridge resplendent in russet and lime-green lichen, when it should be covered in snow, to remind you that the climate crisis is in full swing. My guide, Maxant Danilo, and I are at an altitude of more than 2,500 metres in the Hautes-Alpes, but even though it’s late January, conditions on south-facing slopes such as these feel more like late spring. Our snowboards are strapped to our backpacks instead of our feet.

Claude Folmer was about 40 years old the first time he visited the Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in the French Alps. He remembers enjoying the panoramic view from the observation platform, then taking a short hike down to the ice, where he toured the ice cave that’s carved into the glacier’s surface.

Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park is all about water. This unique national park features stunning glaciers and icy waters.

I’d been waiting for months when I finally got the call from Alaska last March: Wild ice was on.

There’s only one way to arrive by land into Whittier, Alaska: a 2.5-mile-long one-lane tunnel. Once part of a World War II railway, the underpass’ rugged walls remind you that you’re driving straight through a 4,000-foot mountain.

I’d been waiting for months when I finally got the call from Alaska last March: Wild ice was on.

Hidden beneath an overhang on steep cliff walls above the Pinturas River Canyon are more than 800 stencilled handprints and painted images of animals. Nobody fully understands why Patagonia’s nomadic hunter-gatherers crafted the graffiti, but we do know they were created around 9,300 years ago using mineral pigments mixed with blood and fat, and that they provide a glimpse of early life in the glacier-carved province of Santa Cruz.  

Sponsored by

To walk across New Zealand is to experience some of the greatest landscapes in the world. From moss-carpeted forests to sun-drenched mountaintops with impossibly far-reaching views, the country is blessed with an almost unfair share of natural beauty, thanks to the volcanoes, glaciers and rivers that have helped carve out its environs over millions of years.   

Ice-skating through pine forests, across alpine lakes, and on urban canals and remote glaciers can be an exhilarating way to experience winter wonderlands. But with rising global temperatures, natural ice, or “wild ice,” is becoming a rarity.

Have you ever experienced a day that never ends? In Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the Arctic summer offers exactly that.

Don’t worry,” says our guide Charlotta, flashing her rifle. “I’m really quick if I need to be.” My 12-year-old daughter glances around the Arctic wilderness anxiously. As much as she loved Philip Pullman’s armoured bears, one of the reasons she longed to visit, our proximity to the real thing is starting to dawn on her.

From phenomenal volcanic landscapes to glaciers and waterfalls galore, Iceland is a nature lover’s dream. The country tops the list of desirable travel destinations for so many people with a keen interest in adventure travel, geology, or nature in general.