5 Vacation Destinations For Every Type of Traveler and Party Size
You don’t have to be a particular type of traveller or the size of your group to find the perfect vacation spot. The reason, mission and people to visit when planning a vacation, do not forget to keep this in mind while picking out a destination.
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu in Peru seduces with its beautiful majesty and history, and has drawn ever more visitors despite increasing damage to the environment due to tourism and urbanisation around it.
Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a construction masterpiece, a monument of the ancient Incan world. If the visitor wants a detailed history of the region and also a sense of connection with its history, visiting its well-preserved ruins will allow them to do so; the best ways to do this are Temple of the Sun and Inti Watana Stone; more adventurous visitors can climb Huayna Picchu peak for stunning panoramic views of the whole of Peru.
Cusco and Aguas Calientes offer visitors everything from luxurious lodges to eco-villages, food and drinks with both the high-class and the comfortable in Cusco, and the native cuisine and its many Peruvian wines.
The Grand Canyon
Centrally situated there is Arizona’s Grand Canyon. At the Utah and Colorado border, its fabled slot canyons of Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell (the second-largest reservoir in America), Tower Butte or any of its national parks is worth the drive.
Every US president Teddy Roosevelt encouraged every one of us to make a visit to the Grand Canyon more than 100 years ago. Nowadays, more than 6 million people annually visit its vast size and rainbows of rock.
But this national park is about more than the scenery: the range and resources here made it a haven for loggers, miners, ranchers, guides and guides who needed to make a living out of their work. Those settlers and their offspring left marks of sandstone buildings like Verkamp’s Curios – a beautiful structure with souvenirs and Native crafts for sale – that constitute its Historic Village District.
Venice
There is nothing on this planet that you do not want to visit at least once. The majority only see Venice because of the canals, but Venice has a lot more history and culture – not just legends that persist, but habits, words and things we actually do all the time.
Venice was a wonderful trade centre that inspired an exquisite architectural tradition and art heritage that is now inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage.
Wander the alleys, bridges and steps that snake across Venice by foot or aboard a gondola for a different look at this underwater maze. Enjoy some local cicchetti (tapas snacks) and wine in one of many local bacari bars; in Dorsoduro you can even find mask-makers who will give you your own Dorsoduro carnival mask to decorate, or experience Venetian art and architecture in one of the city’s museums.
Thailand
The visitor to South East Asia will be amazed at the range of experiences on offer, from its big city Bangkok to its quiet islands all along its coastline. It’s mountainous, beautiful beaches, palaces; mountainous, epic beaches; forestous, verdant hills; beachous, verdant mountains; forestous, verdant mountains and palaces aplenty – not to mention Bangkok with its glittering sky bars on the Chao Phraya River; temples of statuary marvels such as its largest lying Buddha at Wat Pho.
Thai life is not just all about glamour. Jim Thompson’s House, a beautiful exhibition of local art; Ayuthaya gives travellers a trip into the past in its UNESCO city and beyond.
Jungle hikes in northern mountains, and a chance to meet the Akha, Lisu, Hmong and Karen hill peoples; east coast island resorts vary from busy islands such as Koh Phi Phi to less bustling locations such as Wat Plai Laem, where fishermen can wade into a quiet lake while accompanied by an 18-armed statue of Guanyin.
