Old Road Town is a quiet working village rather than a resort, but the two estates just above it on Wingfield Road give families a full morning: a zipline, a garden with an enormous old tree, wild monkeys and a craft workshop. Brimstone Hill Fortress is a short drive away for the afternoon. Sky Safari zipline (ages 6 and up) The zipline at Wingfield Estate runs 5 lines, rising more than 250 ft...

Eggum sits at the end of a quiet side road on the outer coast of Vestvågøy, which makes it a calm base for exploring the middle of Lofoten. Everything below is reached by car; buses barely serve the Eggum road, so do not count on one. Times are driving times from the Eggum car park, one way, in good conditions. In winter add time for snow and ice. Lofotr Viking Museum, Borg (about 12 km, 15...

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to...

Things to Do in Fujinomiya Fujinomiya is a shrine town on the south-western foot of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture. It is the start of the shortest climbing route to the summit, and the countryside around it holds spring-fed waterfalls, a mountain lake, dairy farms on the Asagiri Plateau and a fast river for rafting. Prices below are in Japanese yen. Climb Mount Fuji on the Fujinomiya Trail...

Why Stay Overnight Most visitors see Borobudur on a rushed day out of Yogyakarta, about 40 km away. Sleeping near the temple lets you catch the dawn light, climb before the heat, and still have time for the villages, the rivers and the small city of Magelang itself, about 15 to 17 km north of the monument. Two Days Day 1, temples. Start before dawn at Punthuk Setumbu (foreign entry about IDR...

Couples come to Lake Tekapo for the night sky. The village sits inside the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, and on a clear night the Milky Way stretches across the whole basin. A romantic stay here usually means a slow day by the turquoise lake, a warm soak, and a long evening outdoors. Prices are in New Zealand dollars, per person unless stated. Under the stars Soak in the Stars...

Eggum itself has no tour operators, no ticket office and no guided attraction tours. Its sights, the Snøhetta rest area, the Borga radar ruin and the Hode sculpture, are free, outdoors and self-guided, and you can see all three in a morning. If you want a ticketed attraction with guides and a programme, you drive out of the village. The nearest options are below, with driving times from the Eggum...

Old Road Town is where English settlers under Thomas Warner made their first permanent home on Saint Kitts, in January 1624. Basseterre became the capital in 1727, and Old Road settled into life as a fishing and farming village. Its sights are close together: a historic shore, two old estates on Wingfield Road, rock carvings, a parish church just west of town and, a short drive away, a fortress....

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to...

Old Road Town is a working fishing village, not a resort, so there are no luxury hotels, spa villas or overwater rooms here. What it does offer couples is a slow, lovely day: a garden under one of the oldest trees in the Caribbean, a glass of aged rum, a little adrenaline and supper by the water. Stay in Frigate Bay, the Southeast Peninsula or on Nevis and come over for the day.

Old Road Town sits on the island’s west-coast heritage route, so most guided tours of Saint Kitts pass through it or stop just above it at Romney Manor and Wingfield Estate. The village itself has no tour office. You book tours from Basseterre, from your hotel, or through your cruise line, and the guide brings you here. Island tours by taxi Licensed taxi drivers run half-day and full-day...

Lake Tekapo makes a good first or last night on a longer journey through the Mackenzie Basin. These are the multi-day trips that start here or pass through, with prices in New Zealand dollars. Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail: Tekapo to Oamaru The Alps 2 Ocean runs about 300 km from the Southern Alps to the coast at Oamaru. Published lengths range from 301 km to 322 km depending on the start and route.

Walking in Berat Berat is a town to explore on foot. The old quarters are stepped lanes paved with river cobbles, too narrow for buses, and most of what you come to see lies within a short, steep walk of the river. Wear shoes with real grip: the stones are polished smooth and slippery after rain or dew. In July and August walk early in the morning or in the evening and carry water.

Travel advisory: Oman has been drawn into the 2026 regional conflict involving Iran, and in March 2026 drones struck the Port of Salalah, about 45 km west of Taqah. At the time of writing the UK Foreign Office does not advise against travel to Oman, but it warns that the risk of sudden escalation in the region is high and that terrorist attacks cannot be ruled out. The US State Department rates...

Taman Kyai Langgeng The city’s big family park sits on the Progo River at Jl. Cempaka 6. It has a water park and pool, a carousel, a small coaster, a Ferris wheel, a children’s play zone called Kiddi Town and a glass bridge over the river, which costs about IDR 20,000 extra. Entry is roughly IDR 25,000 to 35,000 per person, more at weekends, and the park opens about 08:00 to 17:00.

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to...

Kittian Village is flat, compact and close to the sea, which makes it good walking country for short strolls. There is no dedicated walking-tour company in Frigate Bay, so most walks here are self-guided. Below are the routes that work, from a ten-minute beach crossing to a town loop in Basseterre. Across the isthmus: Atlantic to Caribbean Start on the sand of North Frigate Bay near the Marriott....

Kittian Village sits in Frigate Bay, and most of the island’s sights are within an hour’s drive of it. The list below runs from the closest to the furthest, with the hours and fees that matter. Hire a taxi by the day or rent a car (traffic keeps left) for the northwest coast. Timothy Hill The lookout on the South East Peninsula road, just above Frigate Bay, is the island’s...

Kittian Village, the hotel and villa area around the golf course in Frigate Bay, makes a comfortable base for a couple’s trip to St Kitts. The romance here comes from sunsets over the Caribbean, quiet beaches down the South East Peninsula and a short hop to Nevis. Sunset on the water A sunset sail is the easiest romantic evening to arrange. Blue Water Safaris runs a sunset catamaran cocktail...

There are no packaged multi-day tours that start in Kittian Village. St Kitts is small, and Frigate Bay sits in the middle of it, so the usual approach is to stay in one hotel and make day-long outings, adding a night on Nevis if you want a change of scene. The plan below fills four days. Day 1: Frigate Bay and Timothy Hill Swim at South Frigate Bay, the calm Caribbean-side beach, in the morning.

Kittian Village is a resort area in Frigate Bay with hotels, villas and a golf course rather than playgrounds or theme parks. Families do best by mixing calm beach mornings with one outing a day around St Kitts. Everything below is suitable for children with an adult close by. Beach mornings on South Frigate Bay Frigate Bay has two beaches, and only one is for swimming with children. South Frigate...

From a hotel in Kittian Village, Frigate Bay, three day trips cover almost everything worth seeing: Nevis across the water, the beaches of the South East Peninsula, and the heritage sites of the northwest coast. All three work without a tour, as long as you plan transport. Nevis Nevis is the sister island across The Narrows, and the crossing is easy. Passenger ferry: from Basseterre to...

Frigate Bay hotels in Kittian Village are a good base for St Kitts’ guided tours, because most operators collect from the resort area or meet in Basseterre, about 5 km away. Book through your hotel desk or directly with the operator, and confirm pickup, inclusions and the fare in writing. St. Kitts Scenic Railway The island’s signature tour uses the narrow-gauge line built from 1912 to...

Kittian Village is the cluster of hotels and holiday villas around the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club and the St. Kitts Marriott in Frigate Bay, the narrow neck of land about 5 km southeast of Basseterre on St Kitts. It is a resort base rather than an old village, so the things to do sit a short walk or a short taxi ride away: two very different beaches, a championship golf course, a row of beach bars,...

Travel advisory: Oman has been drawn into the 2026 regional conflict involving Iran, and in March 2026 drones struck the Port of Salalah, about 45 km west of Taqah. At the time of writing the UK Foreign Office does not advise against travel to Oman, but it warns that the risk of sudden escalation in the region is high and that terrorist attacks cannot be ruled out. The US State Department rates...

Ketep Pass and the Merapi View Ketep Pass sits at about 1,200 m on the saddle between Merapi and Merbabu in Sawangan district, east of the city. It is the safe way to look at Merapi, which has been at alert Level III since November 2020 with climbing closed on every route. Terraces face the volcano, a volcanology museum shows rock from past eruptions, and the Ketep Volcano Theatre screens films...

Lake Tekapo is a small village with short distances. Most family outings are a few minutes’ drive or walk from the lakefront, and many of them still work on a cloudy or cold day. Prices are in New Zealand dollars. Family passes usually cover two adults and two children. Tekapo Springs Tekapo Springs at 300 Lakeside Drive is the main family stop. Children have the Aqua Play area, with water...

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to...

Lake Tekapo is on State Highway 8, the road through the Mackenzie Basin, so most day trips are drives along that highway. Distances and times below are by car. There is no passenger train in the basin. InterCity runs a daily coach along SH8, but a rental car gives you far more choice. Prices are in New Zealand dollars. Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park (full day) Mount Cook Village is about 104 km...

The Borobudur Climb Is Always Guided You cannot wander up Borobudur alone. Every visitor on the monument joins a small timed group led by an official local guide, and the guide’s fee is already inside the climb ticket. Groups start from 08:30 and leave in hourly sessions through the day, every day of the week including Monday. The climb ticket costs IDR 455,000 for a foreign adult and IDR...

How long to stay One night in Berat is enough to see the castle and the old quarters. Two or three nights let you add the canyon, a waterfall and the wine country without rushing. Buses and furgons from Tirana’s South and North bus terminal take about 2 to 2.5 hours and cost roughly 400 to 500 lek, and Berat’s bus station is on the edge of town, so allow time for a taxi to your room.

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to...

Old Road Town is a small village of about 1,600 people on the Caribbean coast of Saint Kitts, roughly 10 to 11 km by road north-west of Basseterre. English settlers under Thomas Warner made their first home on the island here in 1624. Today the activities cluster a short way uphill from the shore, around two neighbouring estates on Wingfield Road: Romney Manor and Wingfield Estate. Most visitors...

Eggum is not a town with a list of monuments. It is a scatter of houses around a fish-landing station at the end of a dead-end road on Vestvågøy, in Lofoten, facing the open Norwegian Sea. The sights are few, free and outdoors, and all of them sit within an easy walk of one car park. Plan on a car to get here: the village is about 12 km from the E10 at Bøstad and about 25 km from Leknes.

Rafting the Elo River The Elo is the easy river: Grade II to III water over roughly 8 to 12 km, taking 2.5 to 3 hours and finishing near Candi Mendut. Operators price it per boat, not per person, with a maximum of 4 paddlers plus a guide. Expect about IDR 600,000 to 750,000 a boat depending on what is included; the cheaper packages cover gear, local transfer and lunch, while dearer ones add photos...

What Berat offers families Berat suits families who like exploring old places on foot, with a few outdoor days around it. It is a small town, so set expectations: there is no zoo, aquarium, theme park or children’s museum here. What it does have is a castle that children can wander, cool water in the hills and a lively evening promenade. Cash in lek covers ice cream, snacks and most tickets.

Lake Tekapo’s guided tours mostly happen after dark or in the air. The basin sits inside the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, designated in June 2012, and the Southern Alps start just west of the village. These are the tours you can book from the village, with prices in New Zealand dollars. Prices are revised every year, so confirm them when you book. Observatory tours with...

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to...

Eggum is a small fishing village on the seaward north-west side of Vestvågøy in Lofoten, at the end of the road that runs north from the E10 at Bøstad. There are no shops, no restaurant and no activity companies here. What you come for is open sky, a long view over the Norwegian Sea, a few free sights and some fine walking. Prices are in Norwegian kroner (NOK), and you will want a car: Leknes, the...

Choosing a day trip Berat makes a good base for central Albania, but mountain roads are slow, so judge each trip by drive time rather than distance. The UK Foreign Office notes that Albanian roads can be poor and that night driving is risky, so plan to be back before dark. Times below are approximate. Osum Canyon (full day) The canyon near Çorovodë is about 60 km from Berat, and the drive takes...

Lake Tekapo (Takapō) is a small village at about 710 m on the shore of a glacier-fed lake in the Mackenzie Basin, inside the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. Most of what there is to do falls into four groups: the night sky, hot pools, Mount John, and walking or cycling. Prices below are in New Zealand dollars (NZ$) and change often, so check before you go. Stargazing The village...

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to...

Travel advisory, November 2026: The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and tells Americans not to travel anywhere in the Oromia region except Bishoftu and Bale Mountains National Park. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to the Wollega zones, parts of North and West Shewa and the strip along the Kenya border, and against all but essential travel to...

How touring works in Berat The old town is small and steep, so tours in Berat are either on foot with a local guide or by minibus and 4x4 out to the canyon and the mountain. There are no sightseeing buses: the lanes of Mangalem and the castle are stepped and too narrow. The main adventure operator is Albania Rafting Group (ARG), based at Hotel Castle Park in Berat, and other companies also run...

Berat at a glance Berat sits on both banks of the Osum River. The Mangalem quarter climbs the slope below the castle, Gorica faces it from the far bank, and the castle quarter sits on top. Berat was added in 2008 to the UNESCO listing first made for Gjirokastër, now called the Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra . Carry cash in lek for tickets. Berat Castle (Kalaja) The castle stands on a...

Planning your days in Berat Berat is a compact UNESCO town on the Osum River in central Albania, with an inhabited castle on the hill and two Ottoman quarters below it. Most of the active things to do sit outside town, in Osum Canyon, at Bogovë Waterfall and in the wine villages, so plan one day for the old town and one or two for the countryside. Prices in town are in Albanian lek (ALL) and small...

Heidelberg is easy to explore on foot, and three self-guided routes cover the main sights without a booking. They differ a lot in effort, from a flat Old Town stroll to a long stair climb up the mountain. Route one: Altstadt and riverside (easy, flat) Start at Bismarckplatz and follow Hauptstrasse, the pedestrian street about 1.6 km long, east towards Marktplatz. Look at the Heiliggeistkirche and...

What Fits in a Day Shymkent sits on the main road to southern Kazakhstan’s Silk Road sites. Distances below are from the city centre and are approximate. Start early in summer, when highs reach the mid 30s C and can pass 40 C, and carry water for every outing. Turkistan Turkistan is about 160 km north-west and takes around 2 hours by minibus or shared car from Samal bus station. Trains take...

Parks and Rides Shymkent has plenty for children, and most of it is outdoors, so plan around the heat. Summer highs reach the mid 30s C and can pass 40 C. Go in the morning or after about 18:00. Jailaukol Park is next to the zoo. It has a lake with boats and catamarans and the Altyn Eye Ferris wheel. Fantasy World is an amusement park with a Ferris wheel, a pirate ship, go-karts and trampolines.

Choosing a Tour Most organised visits from Shymkent fall into four groups: the Sayram shrines inside the city, a long day to Turkistan with Otrar and Arystan Bab, an evening city bus ride, and a guided day in the Aksu-Zhabagly reserve. Read what an operator includes before you book, because entrance fees at the sites are often extra. Sayram Shrines Half Day Sayram is a mainly Uzbek district of...