China

What to Know Before Travelling to Xinjiang

Permits, checkpoints, hotels that can and cannot take you, altitude with children, and the context you should read before deciding — from nine days on the ground.

China

The Karakoram Highway: Ghez Canyon, Karakul and Tashkurgan

From Kashgar at 1,300 metres to Karakul Lake at 3,650, under a 7,509-metre peak — the red walls of the Ghez canyon, the braided rivers of Tashkurgan, and what it takes to get there.

China

Kashgar: Old Town, Bazaars and the Sunday Livestock Market

Green tiles, arcaded lanes, coppersmiths and a Sunday morning of yaks changing hands — four days in the far west of China, where the map runs out and Central Asia begins.

China

Turpan: Tuyoq, Bezeklik and the Flaming Mountains

Two days below sea level in the Turpan depression: a mud-brick village at the bottom of a gorge, Buddhist caves above a river, red-striped mountains, and a whole city built of packed earth.

China

Dunhuang: Mingsha Dunes, Crescent Lake and the Yangguan Desert

The dunes start where the street ends. Two days in the Gansu oasis where the Silk Road split in two — sand ridges, a crescent-shaped lake, Bactrian camels and the desert road west to Yangguan.

China

Silk Road China: A 9-Day Itinerary from Dunhuang to the Pamirs

Nine days west along the old Silk Road, from the dunes of Dunhuang to a glacier lake at 3,650 metres — by night train, with a guide, and through about ten checkpoints.

China

Yunnan Itinerary: 11 Days from the Rice Terraces to Shangri-La

A south-to-north route across Yunnan by train and bus, from the Hani rice terraces at 240 metres to the Tibetan plateau at 3,300 — with no hire car at any point.

China

Lijiang and Shangri-La: Old Town Roofs and the Tibetan Plateau

Lijiang gets written off as a tourist trap and Shangri-La gets written off as a marketing exercise. Both judgements are lazy, and half a day in the right places undoes them.

China

Tiger Leaping Gorge with Kids: What Three Hours of Climbing Actually Looks Like

The High Trail is the best-known trek in Yunnan and the question nobody answers honestly is whether children can do it. They can. Here is what it costs them, and what it gives back.

China

Dali and Shaxi: Bai Country by Scooter

Dali has the lake, the pagodas and the crowds. Shaxi, three hours north, has a market square that has barely changed since the caravans stopped coming. Do both.

China

Jianshui: The Old Town Most Yunnan Itineraries Skip

A Confucian temple, a merchant's garden of 42 courtyards, a seventeen-arch bridge and a street full of potters — Jianshui deserves two days, and almost nobody gives it one.

China

Yuanyang Rice Terraces: Which Viewpoint, Which Hour, Which Season

The Hani terraces reward precise timing more than any other sight in Yunnan. Here's where to stand, what hour to be there, and what the fields actually look like season by season.

Spain 🇪🇸

Where to Stay in Mallorca: Palma, Sóller or the East Coast

Mallorca is four very different islands depending on where you sleep — and two or three bases beat one, or seven.

Spain 🇪🇸

Where to Stay in Menorca: Maó, Ciutadella or Somewhere Quieter

Menorca splits in two, and so should your stay — two or three nights at each end beats one base and a lot of driving.

Oman 🇴🇲

Where to Stay in Oman: Nizwá, the Desert, Sur and Muscat

Oman is a road trip, so the question is not where to stay but in what order — mountains, desert, coast, capital.

Greece 🇬🇷

Where to Stay in Halkidiki: Nikiti, Neos Marmaras or Vourvourou

Sithonia has two bases at either end and one quiet option in the middle — the drive times decide it, not the brochures.

Greece 🇬🇷

Where to Stay in Zagori: Monodendri, Papingo, Kipoi or Tsepelovo

Four stone villages, four different trips — and the one thing every Zagori base has in common is that there is no hotel.

Greece 🇬🇷

Where to Stay in Meteora: Kalambaka or Kastraki

Kalambaka or Kastraki? Two villages at the foot of the Meteora rocks, and why we would not send everyone to the larger one.

lang-en

Beyond Ubud: Sidemen Valley, Munduk Waterfalls, Tegalalang Rice Terraces and the South Coast

Five day-trips from an Ubud villa base — Sidemen, Munduk waterfalls, Tegalalang rice terraces, Tanah Lot and Uluwatu at sunset. Honest family logistics.

lang-en

A Slow Villa Week in Penestanan, Ubud: Pools, Rice Fields and a Drone-Eye View

Five nights in a shared villa in Penestanan, west of Ubud — pool, rice fields and the perfect base for Bali day-trips.

lang-en

Gili Air with Kids: Mama's Pizza, Scuba Diving and Sea Turtles

A family week on Gili Air, Indonesia — Mama's Pizza, a child's first turtle dive, no motorbikes, and a sweet-spot island in the Gili trio.

lang-en

East Bali Beyond the Crowds: Amed Black-Sand Beaches, Tirta Gangga and the Gateway to Heaven

Four slow nights on East Bali's quiet coast — black-sand beaches, Tirta Gangga and Pura Lempuyang before the Instagram crowds.

lang-en

Hiking Kawah Ijen with Children: What I'd Do Differently (Sulphur, Toxic Fumes, and Why We'd Think Twice)

Climbing Kawah Ijen with kids was the hardest moment of our Indonesia trip. Here's what happened, why we'd think twice, and how to do it safer.

lang-en

Mount Bromo Sunrise with Kids: An Honest Family Guide (No Sugar-Coating)

We climbed Mount Bromo with kids in August 2019. Here's the unvarnished truth — jeep timings, dust, horses, and whether it's actually family-worthy.

lang-en

17 Days in Bali and Java with Kids: Our Honest Family Itinerary (August Edition)

Seventeen days across Java and Bali with our family of four and two friend-families — sunrise volcanoes, Gili Air pizza, an Ubud villa, and the day we turned back on Ijen.