Features

First time in Tasmania? Check. First time on a group tour? Check.

One of the most genuine ways to understand a country’s culture is to experience a family homestay. But what’s it *really* like?

I lived in Istanbul for three years, and then returned back to my current home of Toronto in late 2017. Though, Istanbul isn’t a city that you leave behind, it’s a city that you carry with you.

In 1975, as a 25-year-old newlywed, I travelled to Morocco for a road trip in a shiny blue Renault. 42 years later, I returned to walk with the Berber nomads.

Before I travelled to Tanzania for the first time in 2009, I was a little gobsmacked by some wildly incorrect notions my friends and family had about the coastal African country.

As a travel writer and producer, one of my favourite parts of adventuring is the build up of nerves, and subsequent feelings of euphoria, that come with throwing myself well and truly out of my bubble.

Don’t let the thought of spending a night or two on an overnight train put you off your travel plans – for many, it ends up being a trip highlight.

“I’m travelling on an 8-day adventure through Kenya and Tanzania’s incredible national parks, landscapes and villages. It’s my first visit to Africa, but I know it won’t be my last.”

Less well-known but no less magnificent than neighbours such as Vietnam and Thailand, Cambodia is a gem of a Southeast Asian nation. And one that should be on your list.