World Travel Guide

Grand Canyon National Park

Measuring a mile deep, up to 18 miles wide and more than 275 miles long, no other sight in the USA beats this giant hole in the ground for instilling stupefying awe. Peering over the edge of the Grand Canyon is enough of a thrill for some, but to really appreciate the canyon’s grandeur, hike all the way down inside it to the rushing Colorado River.

Top tip: To escape the crowds, visit the canyon’s North Rim, which gets one tenth as many visitors as the South Rim. Note that the North Rim is open from mid-May to mid-October only.

Redwood National & State Parks

The world’s tallest trees grow on the fog-kissed Northern California coast. Redwoods can reach a height of 379ft, taller than the Statue of Liberty in NYC, and live for up to two millennia. Almost half of all the old-growth redwood trees remaining that have never been logged are protected by the chain of Redwood National and State parks.

Top tip: Pick up a free permit to visit hidden Tall Trees Grove at the national park’s Thomas H Kuchel Visitor Center on Hwy 101.

Denali National Park

In the indigenous Koyukon Athabaskan language, it means ‘the high one,’ which is fitting because Denali is North America’s highest peak (20,310ft). Prominently poised above the surrounding wilderness, it’s in fact taller than Everest when measured from its base. Climbers first reached the south summit in 1913, a feat now attempted by more than a thousand people every year.

Top tip: Flightseeing tours depart from Talkeetna, a railroad town about 150 miles south of Denali National Park.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is not just one, but three waterfalls that gush along the US-Canada boundary between New York and Ontario: Horseshoe Falls, American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. They aren’t the USA’s tallest waterfalls, but together these powerful cascades have a bigger water flow than any others on the planet. Get up close and feel the cool spray on a Maid of the Mist boat tour.

Top tip: The Canadian side of the falls claims more natural beauty, so bring your passport for international border crossings.

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Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is the USA’s oldest national park and is a wonderland of unique geology and wildlife. At this Unesco World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, you’ll be amazed by the world’s largest collection of geysers and hydrothermal features, including hot springs, boiling mud pots and steaming fumaroles. Look for herds of bison roaming free alongside the park’s main roads.

Top tip: Vacationing here during early fall avoids some of the biggest crowds, but be prepared for freezing overnight temperatures and, possibly, snowfall.

Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave

In America’s heartland, aptly named Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest cave system. Almost 400 miles of underground passageways have been explored (so far, that is) inside this limestone karst cave labyrinth sculpted by subterranean rivers. See oddly shaped stalactites, stalagmites and other impressive speleothem formations on a lantern-lit cave tour.

Top tip: Bring a sweater or a jacket, since temperatures inside the cave average 54°F (12°C).

6. Long and lazy lunches in beach bars

Some of my favourite afternoons in Ibiza were spent having long and lazy lunches in beach bars, but there are so many to choose from it can be difficult to know where to go. I was most impressed with Babylon Beach for the small and intimate surroundings, bean bags lined up along the rocky coastline and comfortable and casual dining tables and chairs both shaded and in the sunshine. The difference with the food here is that it’s all sourced locally and organically and you can really taste the difference. The flavours are so fresh and their cocktails are a bit different, like the smoked chilli and basil, gin-based one I tried. Delish. 

Tropicana Beach Club does some of the best tapas including melt in the mouth jamón carved on site and I was sold by the stairway-to-the-sea!

7. Walk the old streets of Ibiza town after midnight.

With the old walled city of Dalt Vila lit up like something out of a fairytale, this is one of the most captivating experiences Ibiza has to offer. Even long after midnight, you’ll find bars, cafés and all sorts of boutiques still open and selling their wares. The scent of the evening by the port is something you will forever associate with long summer nights. And then of course there are the club parades. Pacha, Amnesia send out their entourages into the streets around the port, handing out their flyers and enticing you into their clubs. It’s worth staying out late just to catch a glimpse or two of the ‘beautiful people’ as they troupe by.

8. Enjoy special foods and Ibiza cuisine

If you’re getting peckish, here are our recommendations of some great places to eat:

• El Olivo, Plaça de la Vila, Ibiza Town: Quality French and Spanish meals. 
• The Fish Shack on Talamanca beach: No menu, no formality, and not even a roof – just whatever’s been brought in by the fishermen, freshly cooked. 
• Sa Capella, Carretera Sant Antoni, San Antonio: Chic and modern, this is less the kind of place to fuel up and more somewhere you’ll need to dress up! 
• Bambuddha, Carretera de San Juan, Santa Eulalia: Contemporary Asian cuisine served in truly lavish surroundings. 
• Las Dos Lunas, Carretera Eivissa-Sant Antoni: Italian meets high-end dining in the discreet, romantic restaurant. 

9. Watch the firework display at the old town of Ibiza on August the 15th.

Regular visitors to this site will already understand just how enthusiastic the Ibicencs are about their fireworks. Not a festival goes by without an explosive display. The big one, however, takes place on the night of August 15th, the Spanish-wide celebration of the ascension of the Virgin Saint of Paloma, a woman rescued from men and revered to this day. It can bring slightly different taste of island life for tourists. It’s a national holiday not just in Ibiza, but in all of the Balearic Islands and mainland Spain itself. There is no equivalent in the UK but then, this is not the UK, and there will always be a reason to party here. This is quite simply the biggest party there is, so prepare to be awed.

Source: factoflife.net