Lying on world-class beaches, island hopping and seeing wildlife that often feels straight from a David Attenborough documentary. The Galapagos Islands are a world famous nature reserve and are a real mega wow travel experience.
Whilst they are around a thousand miles from the mainland of Ecuador and generate images of true isolation, this wonderful experience is far more accessible than you would think and I’ve listed tips below for how to get the best out of it.
One big one: if you combine this trip around the main Galapagos Islands with nearby Scuba diving at Wolf and Darwin Islands, this truly becomes the trip of a lifetime and arguably the #1 travel experience in the world.
The most famous wine region in Latin America . . . making your way cycling from one superb vineyard to the next . . . stopping off for lunch overlooking the tallest section of the Andes range . . . all comes together as one of the highlights of all of Latin America.
Whilst Mendoza has a sea of vineyards spread out across a really wide area, Chacras de Coria is jam packed with vineyards in a manageable sized area that is geared for cyclists who can easily make their way between them. If you can, give yourself an extra day to head off to some of the other regions, but make Chacras de Coria your base.
The lakes and mountains around Bariloche are some of the most picture-perfect spots you can imagine. The 25km hilly cycling loop of the Chico Circuit offers the perfect way to experience the area whilst sampling the beers from what also must be the most picture-perfect settings for a brewery in the world. A must do experience if you’re staying in or around Bariloche and I would go as far as to suggest one of the highlights of all of Latin America.
Buenos Aires is one of the premier cites in Latin America and one that feels the most European – certainly has the same feel of a Barcelona or Milan – but with that Argentinian vibe that makes it so captivating. Its my favourite city in South America and in 3 days I’d recommend a combination of getting out and about, whilst giving the time to simply sit back and soak up all going on around you.
In a nutshell:
- Along with Rio de Janeiro, BA is the premier city in Latin America
- Highlight is La Catedral with all ages dancing the tango
- Cycling around the north part of the city also fab
- Be sure to stay in Palermo
- Visit in summer
Buenos Aires is one of the premier cities to visit in Latin America and no doubt one of the hubs you’ll pass through if experiencing this part of the world. Jumping on a bike, either through a tour or on your own, is a great and cheap way to check it out.
Top Tip – BA bikes was great for providing bikes and taking you on a tours; otherwise just rent one and be sure to head up along the coastline of the north part of the city which is stunning on a sunny day
Less than an hour ferry ride away from the bustling Naha, the islands of Zamami-jima and Aki-jima feel a world away. The crystal clear waters, white sand beaches and access to such wonderful wildlife make the trip worth it on their own. But it is the distinctly Japanese style of this tropical environment that makes it so idyllic, intriguing and pleasantly odd at times.
If visiting Okinawa, this is the highlight. Great little adventure.
When I first visited Bangkok I remember reading in the guide book, “fasten your seat belts, this is South East Asia’s centre of backpacker energy with all manner of ways to get into trouble”. For backpackers, I think this was fairly accurate and it’s always worth a trip to the Koh San road to get a feel for this energy if it’s your first time in Bangkok. If your a bit older, Bangkok also offers some of the best value rooftop bars and restaurants in all of Asia.
But it’s not all ping pong shows and refined dinning – you can also have a surprisingly rural experience right in the centre of Bangkok in its Phrapradaeng Peninsular, aka Bangkok’s Green Lung.
Best way to do it is a rent a bike – heaps of places to do so and your hotel / hostel can easily help – and head to the Khlong Toei Pier to take the regular boats over the river to the peninsular. From there, just head off through the canals, orchards, jungle and have a wander through the Bang Nam Pheung Market at the weekends. Can easily take a day passing through there and can still give yourself all the time to get loose in the evening in Bangkok’s mayhem.
Winters are brutal, but in the summer Chicago is one hell of a place to be with its lakefront beaches, host of activities and with its general buzzy sassy attitude. Speaking personally, I had one of the best days of my life in Chicago because I managed to combine a cycle up the lakefront, the boat tour of the sites, a baseball game, concert and drinks. Chicago in summer is raring to go and I’ve listed my top tips for an amazing day below.
Taroko Gorge on the east coast of Taiwan is stunning. Steep, bright and beautifully cut marble walls, lush vegetation, mountains, and cascading waterfalls all the way down. Cycling this is one of the highlight experiences for any trip to Taiwan.
One big tip – stay at the Taroko Lodge who can drop you off at the top of the gorge for a nicer cycle downhill. Whilst not super hard, the cycle up from the Visitor Centre, at the entrance to the valley, to just past the Tianxiang area, where most people finish, is around 20km / 1.5miles and with a net uphill of around 500m / 1650ft. For sure its a nice challenge for the 1.5 hours or so, but it can be a little bit of a slog uphill. If you stay at Taroko Lodge, which is a nice old-school homestay, they can arrange to rent you bikes and drop you off anywhere on the gorge, which takes the slog out of the whole experience. I took a very leisurely 2.5 hours to cycle from the bridge by Tianxiang back down to the Lodge. Bloody loved it.
Angkor Wat is one of the most recognisable ancient sites in the world and the surrounding area is said to be the greatest concentration of architectural riches anywhere – as one would expect, its a fantastic place to visit.
The problem is though is as with all such world-famous sites the huge commercialised tourist machine attached to it can spoil the experience. You’re looking for that feeling of wonder and adventure as you explore from one ancient temple being torn apart by the roots of giant jungle trees to the next . . . not trying to jump in between mega-phone wielding Chinese tour groups and trying to be original in your latest reason for why you don’t want a local Cambodian man to sell you a plastic statue. When they’re factored in, this is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ or maybe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ wow factor experience.
But if you cycle it . . . it is a knock-out ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ wow factor and one of the word’s great travel experiences.
Whilst for the main temples, such as Angkor Wat itself, the crowds are largely unavoidable, the outside cycling routes have very few tourists. The roads are good, almost entirely flat and you have a range of options that are 17km – 26km. You can also largely make up your own route for large parts of it depending on how you’re feeling. In fact, our favourite part of the trip was heading in the “wrong” direction and finding many of the less well-known temples largely to ourselves.
Angkor Wat is awesome, it’s even better cycling it.
