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The final mile of the drive from the resort town of Malindi to the secluded beachfront hotel Che Shale winds through lush vegetation and coconut-studded palms—a preview of the laid-back vacation that awaits you. The property itself is simple and stylish: guests sleep in thatched bandas made with locally sourced materials and dine with sand between their toes on soft-shell crustaceans from the hotel’s organic crab farm. There are hidden nooks up wooden ladders to read or snooze in, but the party is down on the beach, a snorkeler’s delight thanks to warm Indian Ocean waters teeming with tropical fish. This stretch of coastline also gets great waves, and kitesurfers flock here, though the staff can arrange lessons for novices. There’s also an on-site boutique filled with swimwear, beach bags, straw hats, and more should you decide to extend your stay.

Sitting at the edge of Kenya’s capital city is Nairobi National Park. Kenya’s first national park is home to a huge range of wildlife, including buffalo, rhino, zebra, and lions. You can drive on your own around the park, or book a game drive with the Kenya Wildlife Service in advance. The best times to view the animals are at dawn or dusk; while away some of the time in between by heading to Ololo Lodge for lunch and a swim, or stay the night at Nairobi Tented Camp. Helping fund the park with tourism is more important now than ever: It is under pressure from developers, and there have been a number of incidents involving wildlife straying into nearby farmland, due to the encroachment of humans on the animals’ habitats in recent years.

This 7.5-mile round-trip walk has some of the most amazing coastal views in Sydney and is a great introduction to the city’s Eastern Suburbs. Starting from Icebergs pool in Bondi, the path hugs cornmeal-sand coves, natural seawater pools, a marine reserve (Gordons Bay) that’s great for snorkeling, and unique attractions from ancient Aboriginal rock art sites to the oceanview Waverley Cemetery. In late October, site-specific art installations pop up along the cliffs between Bondi and Tamarama beaches as part of the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition, one of the largest outdoor sculpture events in the world. Spring (September through November) is also an excellent time to see migrating southern right whales spouting in the sunset. Toast your trek with a drink at the Coogee Pavilion.

Ocean Sole is an incredible Kenyan organisation which recycles flip-flops found on the beaches and in the waterways of Kenya and turns them into incredible works of art. Worth doing some shopping at when you’re next in town, each Ocean Sole product (everything from life-sized zebras to fridge-magnet turtles) is handcrafted to protect the oceans and teach the world about the threats of marine debris. It turns out that thousands and thousands of flip-flops are washed up onto the East African coast every year. Unused, they cause huge environmental damage, spoiling the natural beauty of the Kenyan beaches and also harming wildlife – the rubber soles are swallowed by fish and other animals, suffocating them.

East Coast Park is a wonderful stretch of seafront greenery containing plenty of trails where runners, walkers, cyclists, and in-line skaters can frolic in nature. There are shops where you can rent bikes and Rollerblades (just follow signs in the park), so come on down and join in the fun. If you’re feeling especially brave, try your hand at motorized wakeboarding—or just watch as a machine whips brave souls around the East Coast Lagoon (near the East Coast Seafood Centre) on a wire.

Peter Tosh, the reggae artist and cofounder of the Wailers, was born in the scenic coastal village of Belmont, and it’s here you’ll also find his tomb and memorial. Fans can visit Tosh’s burial site on sprawling property maintained by his surviving family as the Peter Tosh Estate. Stop by the grounds and chat with family members, who will tell you about the life of Tosh, one of the most popular Rastafarians in the world, and let you visit his grave in exchange for a donation. Die-hard reggae fans will want to include this stop on the way around the western coast.

On the north coast of Donegal, take a drive on part of the Wild Atlantic Way around the Fanad Peninsula and Rosguill Peninsula for some spectacular coastal scenery. There’s a mix of golden beaches, rolling farmland, and dramatic rocky headlands before you reach Fanad Head itself, where the Atlantic waves often bash the rocks of the photogenic Fanad Lighthouse, built in 1817. On the adjoining Rosguill Peninsula, an exhilarating seven-mile route called the Atlantic Drive has more spectacular views of cliffs, headlands, and white sandy bays around every hairpin bend. Stop along the way to take in the views over Tranarossan Bay, one of the drive’s highlights.

In the city’s once-gritty fishermen’s quarter, a group of activist chefs is reviving—and reinventing—traditional cuisine.

In what is considered one of the earth’s greatest spectacles, over a million wildebeest make their way from Tanzania’s Serengeti to Kenya in search of lusher grasslands. The great migration is a very good reason to visit the diamond in Kenya’s crown of national parks, the Masai Mara. The most dramatic scenes take place at the river crossings, where the wildebeest slip and crash down the steep embankments of the Mara River into crocodile- and hippo-infested waters and, if they get through that, still have to gallop past the Mara’s high density of lions awaiting them on the other side. The best time to see the migration here is between the months of July and September. Porini Lion Camp is an excellent accommodation choice, with knowledgeable guides and a responsible approach to protecting the delicate Mara ecosystem.

Established in 2001, Snæfellsjökull National Park—the first ever national park created in Iceland—covers an impressive 65 square miles around the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, which itself extends some 44 miles into the sea from Iceland’s west coast. The park is dominated by the Snæfellsjökull volcano, whose 4,741-foot-high ice cap—made famous by Jules Verne’s novel Journey to the Center of the Earth—is sometimes visible from Reykjavík. The volcano remains one of the main draws of the park, thanks to its opportunities for climbing, sledding, and skiing, but the rugged coastline of the peninsula is also dotted with picturesque fishing villages and full of native birdlife and lava fields such as Búðahraun, a designated nature reserve, ripe for exploration.

Five open-plan huts sit on the shores of a private island, deep in the wildlife-rich wetlands of Lake Baringo. In the morning, after a breakfast of fresh fruit, take a canoe out to spot hippos and some 450 species of birds. This appeared in the July/August 2012 issue. Read Matt Gross’s feature on running in Kenya.

When Southern Ocean Lodge, the flagship property of Australian hotel brand Baillie Lodges, opened in 2008, it was Kangaroo Island’s first true luxury lodge, known for its cinematic spot atop grass-covered limestone cliffs, with curved guest suites facing the namesake seas. Surrounded on three sides by national parks, Southern Ocean Lodge connected travelers with Australia’s powerful natural landscapes. Then in early January 2020, wildfires consumed more than half of Kangaroo Island, reducing the ecological paradise to sandy hills and blackened branches. Southern Ocean Lodge was a casualty of the blaze.


As AFAR’s Katherine LaGrave reported in her feature on the island, rebuilding began in earnest in February 2022, with the goal of becoming more sustainable: “The new lodge will use 25 percent less energy than the original lodge, and diesel fuel consumption will be halved. There will be rainwater harvesting, reliance on a hybrid solar-and-battery system, and elevated boardwalks to minimize impact on the health of coastal plants. Smart landscaping will create a sort of buffer around the lodge.”



Along with the new sustainable choices, the lodge has replicated the footprint of the original property, with 25 guest rooms slightly reoriented to optimize sea views. A new ultra-premium suite, the Ocean Pavilion, has up to four bedrooms and bathrooms (or two separate suites) with an outdoor terrace and private pool. And the ever-popular main lodge still has a Great Room with a suspended fireplace and a deck with a plunge pool that juts toward the sea.

St. Lucia’s iconic twin peaks—Gros Piton and Petit Piton—dominate the island’s scenery, soaring 2,500 feet from the sea on the island’s southwest Soufrière corner. Designated a World Heritage Site along with the surrounding Pitons Management Area, these volcanic spires take every first-time visitor’s breath away. There are various ways to experience the Pitons. The brave hike either peak—Petit Piton is more strenuous, and the trail isn’t marked; Gros Piton has marked trails and is a two- to three-hour hike from the village of Fond Gens Libre. Others opt to take it easy and sail past them on a catamaran cruise, or view them from land along the coast or from the terrace of La Haut’s restaurant. Sugar Beach, facing Gros Piton, offers a frontal view of the peaks as you swim.

Below the hotel’s cottages, the Kerio Valley’s grasslands spread toward the horizon like an infinity pool. Take the plunge on mountain bike or on foot, or marvel from a distance while enjoying a goat barbecue. The restaurant also serves a hearty beef stew by the fire in the stonewalled lodge. This appeared in the July/August 2012 issue. Read Matt Gross’s feature on running in Kenya.

Since 1974, Starr Interiors has showcased a handsome array of Zapotec Indian (Indians of the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico) weavings, which the owner hand-selects. Expect a great selection of gifts from coasters, place mats, wood carvings, Oaxacan Masks, hammocks and hand crafted sterling silver.