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These top-level properties are the places to stay.

Longtime safari guide and travel adviser Kent Redding shares how to choose the right adventure, whether you’re traveling with young family members or a fiancé.

Overview

Overview

Overview

Going on a polar expedition would be life-changing. But what about the people who actually lead them?

Through Traveling Eyes: Kataneh Vahdani and “Avocados”

Tokyo’s Creative Corner

There are thousands of traditional Japanese inns with hot springs across Japan. This hot spring lodge is part of a decade-old Japanese pastime.

In Japan’s capital, youth dress up—and let loose—in over-the-top themed establishments.

The Grand Canyon itself has a limited selection of dining options, but luckily, Williams, Arizona, with its historic Main Street and collection of diverse restaurants, is a short drive away.

Whether you’re looking for laid-back two-steppin’ or a splashy night out, you’ll be in good company in Scottsdale.

Dot painting is a style of indigenous art often associated with the Aboriginal people of Central Australia. The Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre hosts daily dot painting workshops which go beyond the arts and crafts and delve into the cultural import of this tradition; workshops are hosted by Aboriginal artists who begin each program with stories of life spent in the Northern Territory and how that life influences their art. These programs are an incredible opportunity to glimpse at living tradition, and help bring the desert to life.

Workshops at Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre run from Monday through Friday.

Flash Parker traveled to Australia’s Northern Territory courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory and Goway Travel. His highlights are part of AFAR’s partnership with The United States Tour Operator Association (USTOA), whose members provide travelers with unparalleled access, insider knowledge, peace-of-mind, value and freedom to enjoy destinations across the entire globe.

Uluru, or Ayer’s Rock as many know it, is one of the most recognized landmarks anywhere in the world. This strange giant rock in the middle of the Australian Outback has long kindled imaginations, going back millennia. It may be an important tourist site today, but it also holds immense cultural value for the original inhabitants of the area, something I learned all about on the very unique Anangu Tour of Uluru.
In the Pitjantjatjara language, anangu means person or human being, and the tours are designed to teach newcomers about the native peoples. The tours are given in the Pitjantjatjara language, with interpreters translating for the guides. It’s not that the guide didn’t know English, he certainly did, it’s that they want visitors to hear the nuances of a language most of us have never before encountered.
The walk around the rock was an enlightening experience, learning all about traditional culture and the extreme importance Uluru holds in the Tjukurpa or Dream Time. Tjukurpa is Aboriginal law, culture, history, and their worldview all bundled into one. It is expansive, impossibly ancient and much of it is shrouded in mystery, transmitted only to certain people at particular times in their lives. To be a part of that was a humbling experience.

Celebrity chefs, award-winning eats, a surprising history of agriculture, and local specialties all conspire to create a terrific and booming food scene.