America’s newest national park is located in wild and wonderful West Virginia. The park seeks to protect the beautiful New River Gorge, created by one of the oldest rivers in the world. We spent Labor Day weekend hiking through lush scenery and camping on the river, amazed by this unspoiled treasure of the East.
We topped off our holiday in Hawaii with three days on O’ahu. By far the most popular island, Honolulu’s hordes of tourists still took us by surprise. But O’ahu is as stunning and unique as any other Hawaiian island, offering plenty of natural beauty away from Honolulu’s crowds.
Hawaiian Airlines transported us from Maui to the Big Island, the largest island in the state of Hawaii. Shaped by active volcanoes of which one was erupting during our visit, the island is home to extremely diverse landscapes and climate zones. We looped around the island on this five-day road trip itinerary.
We flew in and out of Mérida, driving the entire Yucatán peninsula on a two-week road trip itinerary. After exploring the states of Yucatán and Campeche, we moved on to neighboring Quintana Roo. Home to Mexico’s most spectacular coastline, beautiful beaches and mass tourism are never far away.
The Yucatán Peninsula is Mexico’s number one tourist destination with good reason. Hidden cenotes, ancient pyramids, stunning haciendas and picture-perfect beaches, all wrapped in a tourist-friendly version of Mexico: no need to worry about safety, bumpy roads or excessive toll fees. We flew in and out of Mérida, driving the entire Yucatán peninsula on this two-week road trip itinerary. Week 1: Yucatán & Campeche.
Grutas Tolantongo was on our radar since we moved to Mexico City. A collection of hot spring pools built into a cliff and a surreal turquoise river: weekend escapes don’t get better than this. We picked a long weekend in January to explore this natural spa.
We towed our Little Guy from Texas to California and back in a two-week teardrop adventure (II). After following Route 66 to Los Angeles, we sticked around in California. The Golden State hosted us on seven campgrounds in eight days. Tag along for this teardrop-proof California itinerary.
When moving to Argentina for a yearlong exchange, I expected a bustling city like Buenos Aires or Córdoba. Instead, I landed in a humid little town up North, separated from the nearest city by fifty miles of palm trees. Little did I know this would make my experience all the more special.
Other than producing delicious wine, Argentinean provinces La Rioja and San Juan are known for two remarkable parks. Ischigualasto and Talampaya National Park contain a unique fossil record of the Triassic Period, often called the Age of the Dinosaurs. The desert area also hosts the annual Dakar Rally.
The provinces of Salta and Jujuy are home to some of the most scenic drives in Argentina. We started in colonial Salta and ended in Cafayate, a wine region praised for its Torrontés grapes.
Iguazú National Park comprises hundreds of waterfalls, right on the border of Argentina and Brazil. The views from both countries are equally spectacular yet entirely different. We picked our favorite after visiting both sides in one day.
We topped off our amazing trip to Peru with a relaxing three-day stay in the Peruvian Amazon. A short boat ride from Puerto Maldonado lies Tambopata National Reserve, home to an abundance of wildlife. Limited accessibility makes this a relatively undiscovered part of Peru.
The Salkantay trekking to Machu Picchu is a unique four-day hike through extremely diverse scenery. We passed snow-covered peaks, turquoise lakes, coffee plantations, hot springs and more on route to Peru’s Wonder of the World. The tropical storms and frozen fingertips only added to the adventure. On day four, we explored the majestic Inca city before the crowds arrived.
The contrast between Rocky Mountain National Park and its neighbors Arches and Canyonlands is striking. Snow-covered peaks and alpine lakes make way for desert vistas and colorful rock formations on the stunning 300-mile drive between Colorado and Utah. Discover all three National Park’s unique landscapes with this 4-day itinerary.
After our intense morning exercise in the Colca Canyon, we could sit back and relax on a ten-hour bus trip to Puno. Following a spectacular sunrise over Lake Titicaca from our hotel room, we launched our kayaks onto the world’s highest navigable lake.
So far we had discovered Peru by air, sea and sand; now we would do so by land. Following a day in Arequipa, we put on our hiking boots for a two-day trek in the world’s second deepest canyon.
In between driving the Florida Keys and touring Miami, we reserved two days to discover Florida’s natural beauty. Florida counts three national parks, which share one common good: water. The best way to explore Dry Tortugas’ marine life, Biscayne’s mangroves and the Everglades wetlands is out on the water.
We started our two-week trip to Peru along the Pacific Coast. The country welcomed us with excellent seafood, a shower of bird poop and a private jet ride.
In between Daytona Beach on the East Coast and St. Pete Beach on the West Coast, we found a piece of authentic Florida far away from Minnie Mouse and Miami Beach. The Sunshine State didn’t live up to its name in this weekend getaway, but proved to be a great destination nonetheless.
Thanksgiving weekend was the perfect occasion to cross Texas with destination Big Bend National Park. When covering 2500 km in four days, you might as well enjoy the journey. That’s why we turned our trip into a road trip, with stops in Austin, Marfa, San Antonio, and some ghost towns along the way.
This tour combines two features of Belgium: you can barely see it on a map, but it’s home to the world’s best beers. The former made it possible to discover the latter by bike. A total of 214 km took us past seven breweries, sampling over 25 different Belgian Beers in four days.
This tour is the sequel to our adventure last summer, when we went on a bike mission to taste the best brews of Southern Belgium. Part two took us past four Trappist breweries in Flanders and Holland, and several microbreweries in between.
I got my planning game on for this trip, as we only had 8 days to discover all the beauty Iceland has to offer. Luckily, the sun was on our side for more than 20 hours a day in early August. We used this abundance of daylight to drive the entire Ring Road, along with venturing out to the Westfjords.
Klara the Explorer 