Monday newsletters always feature top 10 travel lists to inspire.
Today (November 3, 2014): Top 10 vacations of a lifetime.
Travel is the spice of life. And you cannot experience it by reading guide books or watching a travel program. If you do have the luxury of time on your side, you can be rewarded with a multitude of stirring memories that will stay with you for life. And while there are seemingly an endless amount of adventures that a travel aficionado can take, we hereby list our top 10 journeys of a lifetime (each of them based on a 2 to 3 week holiday).
Think we missed one? Share your favorite trip of a lifetime in the comments section, or take our poll at the bottom of the page!
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10. AUSTRALIA
With its endless sunshine, glorious beaches, extensive coral reef, weird wildlife, stunning variety of landscapes and cosmopolitan cities you’d expect Australia to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Actually, it’s a many-times-in-a-lifetime experience as Australia is a country of superlatives. It offers croc-spotting in the wetlands of the Kakadu National Park and unspoiled wilderness in Tasmania. It has fairy penguins and giant marsupials, wombats, wallabies and a wild assortment of crazy birds. Australia also has vast, scrubby deserts, untouched rainforests, towering red rock escarpments, and must-sees like Sydney Harbour, the sacred Aboriginal site of Uluru and the Earth’s largest living structure, the Barrier Reef.
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9. VIETNAM, LAOS & CAMBODIA
Indochina remains Asia’s most enchanting regions to explore. All three countries have shared history of being part of French Indochina, evident in the fading French architecture and cuisine. Begin in laid back Luang Prabang in Laos, which is still relatively untouched by Western influence, and discover ancient gilded temples, farmers markets and charming locals. Continue to Hanoi in Vietnam and explore the narrow shopping streets and wide French boulevards before cruising around the rugged islands that dot Halong Bay. Visit the beautiful coastal scenery of Vietnam’s southern beaches, saving the cultural splendours of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat for your final few days.
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8. TRANSSIBERIAN RAILWAY
The Trans-Siberian Railway, linking Moscow to Beijing, is not only one of the classic train journeys, it is also the longest continuous rail line on earth. Spanning 6 time zones, this epic journey covers almost 5,000 miles (or about 9,000 km) or over one-third of the globe. It links major cities to rural towns, from the might and splendour of European Russia to the country’s mysterious Far East. Travelling out from Moscow, embark on a 19 day journey of epic proportions, crossing the Urals into European Russia and through the immense wooded expanses of Siberia, hopping off at stops en route. Discover the last home of the Romanovs in Yekaterinburg, hike to Lake Baikal, camp out in a traditional Ger in Mongolia, and explore its capital city of Ulaan Baatar.
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7. NATIONAL PARKS OF WESTERN CANADA
Home of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta, where your journey will start, is a land of staggering beauty and awe-inspiring wildlife. A land where bears roam free, bison graze in boreal forests, moose amble through spectacular landscapes. From the dizzying mountains of the Icefield Highway through the crystal water of Lake Morraine to the open plains around Calgary, you can easily spend 10 days in this Canadian province alone, fishing, hiking, walking riding, and ranching. Afterwards, head to Prince Rupert for an awesome day cruise on the incredibly scenic Inside Passage. When arriving on Vancouver Island, stop at Telegraph Cove for a kayak trip with killer whales, before living the grand finale of your great Canadian adventure at the Pacific Rim National Park, where mountains, rainforests, wild beaches and the ocean meet in the most mesmerizing scenery of all.
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6. ALASKA & HAWAII
Raw nature awaits you in America’s Last Frontier, which once was part of Russia. The unspoiled wilderness, mountainous grandeur, mighty rivers, open tundra and awe-inspiring wildlife is overwhelming. Take a luxurious cruise through the Inside Passage during the first week of your trip and enjoy the views of spectacular fiords, marine wildlife and calving glaciers, and shift to a road trip the second week of your trip to take in the amazing sights of tundra and wildlife in Denali National park. While it could not be further apart from Alaska in terms of scenery, Hawaii is only a 6 hour, direct flight away. With their lava-spewing volcanoes, lush valleys, glorious waterfalls and towering coastal cliffs, the beautiful islands of Hawaii, especially Kauai, boast some of the most spectacular scenery on earth, and will be the perfect backdrop of the final week of this epic journey.
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5. EAST AFRICA’S GREAT MIGRATION, MOUNT KILIMANJARO & ZANZIBAR
The yearly wildebeest migration in Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara just might be called “the greatest animal show on earth”, when ten of thousands of wildebeest and zebras migrate to greener pastures as the seasons change, with lions, cheetahs and other predators following them and waiting for an opportunity to strike the strays and the weak. For decades, nearby Mount Kilimanjaro has been a legendary magnet for adventurers from around the globe for a trek to the summit guaranteeing the experience of a lifetime. But while you do not have to be an expert climber to conquer Africa’s highest peak (just regularly fit), do not take the climb lightly and foresee at least 5 days for the exhausting hike. At least, you have to prospect of relaxing afterwards on the powdery white, palm-fringed sands of the tropical spice island Zanzibar.
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4. NATIONAL PARKS OF THE USA
America’s West is home to the country’s – and perhaps world’s – most outstanding National Parks, and you can witness each firsthand on this extraordinary 3 week road trip. Start your journey in Yosemite National Park, where dizzying granite domes, towering waterfalls and the highest trees on earth will take your breath away. After the road takes you through Death Valley and Las Vegas, you will gasp for air at the most spectacular viewpoints in the Grand Canyon National Park, while nearby Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks are even more impressive and incredible luxury will await you at Lake Powell. Another day on the road will you take you into the heart of America’s most beautiful, untamed wilderness (the other national parks that you visited on this trip so far will pale in comparison), being Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, with spouting geysers, rough mountain peaks and vast plains where bison and wolves roam freely. While a little out-of-the-way, finish your trip at Glacier National Park, probably the most scenic of all USA National Parks, offering incredible hiking opportunities as well as best chance for spotting grizzlies in the wild.
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3. PATAGONIA, ATACAMA DESERT & IGUAZU FALLS
Foresee at least 10 days to see the stunning glaciers, majestic mountains and pristine national parks, when travelling from El Calafate to Ushuaia : marvel at the calving Perito Moreno Glacier from a boat, hike in some of the most stunning mountain areas on the globe in the Fitz Roy and Chalten mountain ranges, gasp for air while absorbing the unrivaled beauty of South America’s most pristine wilderness area in Torres Del Pain, and enjoy first class resorts in Ushuaia at the end of the world. The contrast cannot be greater with the driest desert on the planet, the starkly desolate but unique Atacama desert in northern Chili, an easy connecting flight away from Patagonia. With its deeply incised canyons, high steppe and towering Andes mountains, is an ideal 3 to 4 day trip for photographers, nature lovers and active travelers alike. Finish your journey with 2 days at Iguazu Falls on the Argentinian-Brazilian border, where you can get close to 275 thundering cascades and wander through nearby virgin jungle.
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2. NEW ZEALAND & TAHITI
Bilbo Baggins and Tolkien’s Middle Earth will come to your mind when you travel through the vast plains of New Zealand’s majestic nature. New Zealand’s position straddling two tectonic plates has given birth to awe-inspiring geothermal areas, with spouting geysers, hot water pools, bubbling mud and active volcanoes on the North Island. A palate of even more dramatic scenery, New Zealand’s South Island hosts the purest natural landscapes you will ever experience, with towering mountains meeting peaceful sounds and rugged coastlines merging with sweeping plains. It will be hard to leave Middle Earth, but believe us that mere words cannot describe the magic of the most mythical of all Pacific islands, Bora Bora, that will await you a 5 hour, direct flight away from New Zealand. An überluxurious hotel stay over the water on stilts in Bora Bora’s lagoon is unquestionably a trip of a lifetime.
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1. VICTORIA FALLS TO CAPE TOWN
Follow in the footsteps of Dr Livingstone and brace for thé trip of a lifetime. Travelling from the mighty Victoria Falls to the Mother City in South Africa encompasses an epic journey through Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, that covers all of Southern Africa’s highlights: hiking in the Fish River Canyon, spotting wildlife in Etosha Pan National Park, tracking predators in the Okavango Delta (where unrivaled luxury lodges await you), watching the sunrise in Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert, getting sprayed by the world’s largest sheet of falling water at Victoria Falls, and some final days of pure chill on the stunning beaches of the world’s most beautiful city, Cape Town.
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Top 10: trips of a lifetime
Monday newsletters always feature top 10 travel lists to inspire. Today (November 3, 2014): Top 10 vacations of a lifetime.