I’m strolling along the ghats and taking a shared rickshaw with a family to Vrindavan, a city of temples dedicated to Krishna. I visit several of them while wandering through the lively streets amid a crowd of devotees.

I’ve decided to do all my sightseeing on foot. I pass by the museum and head toward the central market, Psar Thmey. Along the way, I stop at a pagoda. A ceremony is taking place right now. The monks are seated in the middle, a young novice faces them, and his family is on the sides. I don’t dare go in, but a man gestures for me to join him. He explains that the young monk is trading his civilian clothes for the kesa, the sacred robe of monks.

I love staying a long time in the places I visit, giving myself time to discover the spots and meet locals. So no island-hopping this time—just the south. But when I say "just," it’s not limiting at all, since this island is so rich in landscapes, little encounters, and magical moments.

In 2026, traveling becomes a choice. While the same destinations are buckling under mass tourism, there are still preserved alternatives—often just a few hours away from the well-trodden paths. This guide doesn’t ban any countries but instead suggests different approaches and destinations that still have room to breathe.

Continuing the trip!

From Waterberg to Mapungubwe.

The roads in this area aren’t great. I should’ve taken the N1 and gone through Musina... Thunderstorm on the road... 60 km to go, hazard lights on...

Off on new adventures!!! For my wife’s 60th birthday, I really wanted to make her happy. While I usually pick warm, sunny destinations, she’d rather go somewhere we won’t suffer from the heat. So, it’s off to Norway!! A real challenge for me—a southern guy who’s as cold-sensitive as they come.

Mid-June, two Auvergnats on the starting blocks—it’s the big departure for the former Yugoslavia! We’d already visited a few spots and hidden gems in northern Croatia back in 2019, and we’re keeping the momentum going by planning a trip to the south of the country and then Montenegro.

On the way back, we’ll drift into Bosnia-Herzegovina just to mix things up a bit!

Dear members of this forum,

*With the pandemic, travel guides have been replaced by cookbooks. With lockdown, there’s no need for the globetrotter’s guide—the cookbook is gospel, and your daily life turns into a Spaghetti Western. It’s no longer about the good guys and the bad actors, but the good and bad fats. And for a few extra pinches of salt. To the tune of Ennio Morricone, it’s hard to diagnose your pastalogy—sorry, your pathology.

When you're prepping for a trek in Scotland, the Norwegian fjords, or the Icelandic highlands, you often spend hours hunting for the best jacket. It’s a logical reflex, but once you're out there, you quickly realize your upper body isn’t the whole story.

It’s busy today because it’s Sunday and Moroccans, especially from Casablanca, come here to spend the weekend. In town, the café terraces are packed with people having breakfast—msemens (flaky pancakes) spread with kiri and honey. Every café has little stalls on their terrace to cook these delicious pancakes, and we can’t resist buying some for our lunch...

So I’m gonna try to pick up posting travel journals again, starting with destinations where there aren’t many recent stories. I’ll kick things off with our 2-week trip exploring the western part of Cuba. Our itinerary, covered in a 1954 classic American car with our driver Yoan, who spoke excellent French.

And here we are at the end of September 2024. Another trip focused on arches—I never get tired of them. Every time I check one off my list, another gets added. Often it's a photo I've seen online or in the NABS (Natural Arches and Bridges Association) magazine, which I'm a member of. I also scour the WAD (World Arches Database) and make a list of arches I want to visit. Fewer and fewer "viewpoints" now—I've done all the most famous ones, and unless the sky is amazing, the photos start to look the same. Since my goal is still photography, in addition to hiking.

Okay, Palermo—we know it. We go there to marvel at the architectural wonders born from the Arab-Norman-Byzantine-Gothic blend. And rightly so. We also go to treat our taste buds to all sorts of delights, both savory and sweet. Rightly so, too.

My wife is asking for San Francisco and stuff we haven’t seen yet... so I’ve decided to skip the big parks and head for some unlikely spots.

This short stop in Doha is part of a longer trip. It lets us break up a flight to the Seychelles.

From March 27 to 29, 2026, the Occ'ygène festival returns to the MEETT in Toulouse. My Atlas / Voyage Forum and Les Rencontres Voyageurs are welcoming Cimalp as a partner for this year's event.

Some trips are born twice.

Ours was supposed to happen in 2020. Everything was ready: the itinerary, the flight tickets, the hotel reservations and Machu Picchu, the rental car, the dreams of high altitudes and wide-open spaces. And then the world stopped.

Mark your calendars: from March 26th to 28th, the MEETT in Toulouse turns into base camp for all adventure enthusiasts. At My Atlas, we wouldn’t miss this for the world!

I was a little worried that this new visit to Uncle Sam’s country wouldn’t be as "wow" as the others, but we still discovered some extraordinary places. For those who don’t know us, we’re a couple in our seventies who speak very little English, but that didn’t stop us from fully enjoying our stay. For this 6th road trip across the USA, we spent 21 nights there and covered 4,160 km by car and nearly 160 km on foot in a loop starting from Phoenix.

100% sunshine and temperatures between 25 and 35°C depending on altitude. No stress—Jordanians definitely live up to their reputation as a charming, helpful, and funny people. No hassles or solicitations, no pushy sales... In short, pure joy sharing time and laughter with them.

I just got back from a trip to Morocco and I want to share my experience of the few days I spent in the Happy Valley (it’s also called the Ait Bouguemez Valley—same place!) I’d contacted my guide Youssef, whose info I found here on VoyageForum.

From December 9th to 12th, experience a winter getaway in the heart of the Czech capital, under the lights of the Christmas markets 🙂

Enjoy an all-inclusive stay, blending cultural discoveries and festive Christmas vibes with Hasamélis & MyAtlas.

Explore Prague’s treasures: Old Town Square, the castle, and the Town Hall Tower for breathtaking views…

This guided tour also takes you to exclusive, privately booked venues: Strahov Monastery, Estates Theatre, Municipal House… A rich cultural program in a cozy, festive atmosphere.

Details and bookings here

Hi everyone,

I’m a newbie to this forum, passionate about wildlife, the landscapes of East Africa, and Tanzania in particular. This June 2024 trip/safari is our 7th visit to Tanzania, and our 5th in the south, which has drawn us more than the north ever since we discovered it.

Since no travel journal has been posted about this destination since 2020, I’m giving it a go—maybe it’ll jog some memories for a few or give others some ideas.

The setting is gorgeous—a stunning, well-maintained tropical garden with a lovely pool. You can also book massages. The cottages have a tropical style with living roofs, simple and no frills.

As mentioned in the title, this will be a trip around Tuscany in parts that aren’t the region’s most visited. No Florence-Siena-Pisa trilogy, no San Gimignano; there’ll be a quick stop in Siena, but without visiting the most famous sites. This choice, plus traveling in September, should help avoid overtourism.

Who among us hasn’t dreamed of having a ticket to Tahiti, Bora Bora, or the Marquesas in their pocket—preferably a one-way trip to "paradise"?

Our transatlantic flight will cross the snow-capped line of the Andes, arriving in Santiago de Chile and returning from Lima! Between the two, two domestic flights and a big road loop starting from the coastal city of Arica to discover the treasures of Northern Chile.

In these post-COVID years, South Africa has drawn me back again... The veterans on the forum might say I’m a bit obsessed (I’ve now made over twenty trips to the country, including two to Namibia)...

This trip had been on my mind for about fifteen years. But the discomfort of overnight stays, the difficulty of communication, and the prices of the few car rentals kept making me postpone the project. Then, things finally started to fall into place—I told myself, now’s the time! The preparations took longer than usual; the destination is still far from mainstream.