Rock tips

Sitting at the Cave Bar at Rock House, on the Turks & Caicos Islands’ main island Providenciales, it’s easy to think that you’re on an island in the Cyclades: the resort is hilltop; built into a 75 foot limestone cliff; overlooking turquoise water and surrounded by walls composed of chiseled white stones. Mark Durliat, CEO of Grace Bay Resorts, of which this resort is a part, and his wife honeymooned in Greece, apparently, and transferred the romantic ambience (and Mediterranean cuisine) they encountered there to this nearly two year old resort. And it’s working: I checked in at the same time as a newlywed couple from New York and every day other couples were lined up by the pool, in the hideaway hillside terraces and on the 130 foot jetty decked out with loungers.

In Tangier, fresh off the ferry from Spain, I walk along the esplanade in cool morning air, then take the steps up into the casbah. My journey to Morocco started at St Pancras station in London three days earlier, and I spent a night each in Barcelona and Algeciras. I feel none of the dislocation or awkwardness that a flight would entail. I’ve seen the landscapes change: the lavender fields of Provence, the peach groves of Catalonia, then the wild upland magic of La Mancha. I spotted my first Arabic sign in Spain yesterday. Now the crafted casbah of Tangier seems like the natural next step. I take a turn up a narrow alleyway and pass an elderly couple, the woman in a straw hat decorated with fresh flowers, her husband hooded in a thick woollen burnous.

Sedona, Arizona, is an outstanding travel spot, drawing visitors with its radiant red rocks, exceptional hiking trails, and reputation as a spiritual mecca.

One Thursday last March I emerged from the Jungfraujoch, Europe’s highest train station, and crossed into another world. Inside the station, a guide with a novelty Swiss flag was marshalling a party of Asian visitors. Outside, we were soon on the Jungfraufirn, a small glacier that feeds the Aletsch, the largest glacier in the Alps. Sunlight shone through breaks in the cloud, and the ice, flanked by buttresses of dark rock, ran south for miles. The pitch was gentle and the ungroomed snow looked inviting.

Sure, the concerts and comedy shows still bring in crowds. But I discovered that you can be within miles of downtown Branson and never enter the popular town. That’s because there is so much territory to cover, and so much to do in Southwest Missouri, that you won’t have time. It’s like being in Disney World, but the fun, the adventure, and the discovery emanate from the flora and fauna rather than roller coasters and concession stands.

An ‘Alpine start’ is a wonderful thing. Not that it feels that way when the alarm commands my companion and me to tear ourselves from our hotel beds at 2.30am, shoulder our packs and exit into the silent streets of Santa Caterina di Valfurva, a village in northern Italy’s Ortler Alps. It’s only many hours later, after a ride in a ramshackle 4WD and a long uphill trudge behind our guide — moonlit snow shining beneath our feet — that we’re greeted by a mountain sunrise so spectacular that it makes it all worthwhile.

Staring at a map of North and South America, from the frozen extremities of Canada down to the Diego Ramírez islands off Chile, it’s hard to fathom the cultural variations that have evolved across the two continents. This is a region of ancient civilisations and lost cities, from the indefinable magic of Peru to the jungle temples of Mexico. Yet it’s also the birthplace of rock and roll, country music and the blues, with a wildly vivacious, deep-rooted commitment to the good times. Just look to New Orleans and the Deep South, where renowned music forms arose beside atmospheric marshlands, in a truly authentic piece of Americana. Here, five experts reveal their favourite cultural locations and experiences across the two continents.

It would take weeks – maybe months – to experience everything Crete has to offer.

When it comes to adventure, Belize’s glittering Caribbean coastline, wildlife-filled jungles, coral reefs and mysterious underground cave systems provide endless opportunities to explore. 

The United Kingdom was rocked by storms and severe wind during the Christmas and New Year's holidays, causing a spree of flight cancellations and delays. But amid all of this chaos, spare a thought for the pilots left to grapple with the elements to safely land their flights.

Be forewarned: Utah is a state of mind, and the state of mind you adopt will determine the books you will want to read. As Brigham Young, the Mormon colonizer, said, “This is the place.” That invites the follow-up question: The place for what?

These dull, wet winter days are the perfect time to reminisce about sunny breaks spent on favourite beaches in southern Europe – and to plan future trips. Whether you love shingle and rock, busy town sands, or secluded coves at the end of a glorious hike, we’d love to hear about your golden discoveries. Is there a particular beach that you long to go back to? Don’t forget to mention any great beach bars and places to eat at or stay in on your shoreline travels.

The dog was carrying a whole baguette crosswise in his teeth. He trotted off the beach at the head of the cove, through a scrim of palms, maneuvering it between a red flowering hibiscus and a beached outrigger canoe. We followed. The dog passed a low tin-roofed house, one of only six dwellings in this roadless, remote island valley. He skirted two shirtless young men untethering a horse from a breadfruit tree. Ink covered their chests and arms in black patterns that looked like manta rays and birds. The dog went on, jauntily carrying his baguette, passing a grapefruit tree that shaded a telephone booth. Labeled “Téléphone” and containing a coin-operated pay phone, the steel-and-glass cabin looked wildly out of place in this setting. But we were in the Marquesas, where I was learning not to be too surprised by anything.

How best to rejuvenate? Many opt for doing less: loafing, lounging, luxuriating. The problem with this is that modern life is lived mostly in the mind. Even if you don’t have a job that requires control of an inbox, the exhausting PR project of modern social interaction is inescapable. If you simply stop working, the same processes still whir on, even if in the background. By contrast, actively doing something entirely different, something requiring energy and devotion, draws voltage away from tired wires, lets them cool. That’s why I chose to do the GR20, the path that travels the length of Corsica. People call it the hardest trek in Europe, and that’s what I wanted: to descend from brain into body and restore myself through physical effort.

Anticipation builds as you make the eight-mile drive across Canada’s longest bridge, which links New Brunswick in mainland Canada to the country’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island (PEI). The island's red hue intensifies on approach; the coastal cliffs, rich in iron oxide, tumble down to rust-tinged sandy beaches. During sunset and sunrise, the landmass seems to glow upon the silky expanse of the Gulf of St Lawrence, often frozen in winter. Inland, the scenery unfurls like a pastoral landscape, with rolling hills blanketed in colourful swaths of lupins come summer.

I know a man—let’s call him my husband—who often chooses between having dessert and ordering another drink. As someone who believes in indulgence (and regularly enables it), I appreciate those who practice restraint, but there is another way—the after-dinner drink that serves as dessert.

Of Arizona’s three national parks, Petrified Forest is the least visited. That’s a shame, since it is absolutely stunning. Though named after the fields of petrified wood, that’s only one reason to visit. Vibrant multi-layered and colorful sedimentary rocks look like few other places on earth.

Mongolia, renowned for its sprawling landscapes adorned with pristine yurts and the allure of nomadic culture, seldom conjures thoughts of polo. However, nestled within the depths of the Orkhon Valley lies an unexpected catalyst for change – the Genghis Khan Retreat.

Twin Coves, on the Atlantic Ocean side of the narrow, finger-shaped Bahamian island of Eleuthera, is a gorgeous spot: Two crescent-shaped, pink-sand beaches free of crowds, with calm waters protected from heavy waves by offshore sandbars.

Twin Coves, on the Atlantic Ocean side of the narrow, finger-shaped Bahamian island of Eleuthera, is a gorgeous spot: Two crescent-shaped, pink-sand beaches free of crowds, with calm waters protected from heavy waves by offshore sandbars.

Balancing on a narrow ledge at the top of Lone Mountain Peak, I peer down one of North America’s steepest and most challenging ski runs, the Big Couloir — a triple black diamond-graded gully ranging from 40 to 50 degrees over an intense 460 vertical meters. I’m going to ski down alone, with just the voice of legendary extreme skier Dan Egan cheering me on from behind. It’s the last day of Big Sky’s Steep and Deep camp, led by Egan, and this is the crux moment.