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…Soaring mountains, ancient Inca ruins, colonial architecture, cute alpacas, expansive Amazon rainforest… Visiting Machu Picchu in Peru is a bucket list item. And you can’t beat reaching it at sunrise after a multi-day trek along the Inca Trail through the Andes Mountains. Due to the altitude of the hike, it is recommended that you spend at least 3 days in Cusco to acclimitise. Cusco is a wonderful destination in its own right with beautiful sights, great culture, fabulous nearby hikes, and fantastic restaurants. If you time your visit with the Corpus Christi festival, you can also enjoy the festive atmosphere, parades, and outdoor food stalls.
We were also eager to visit the Peruvian Amazon, which makes up ~60% of the country and is the 4th largest rainforest in the world. Tambopata National Reserve on the Tambopata River is relatively close to Cusco and so we couldn’t resist adding it on to our itineary. Here are highlights (DINK Trip Tips) from our trip...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Cusco
Machu Picchu
Tambopata
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…Limestone karst formations, white sand beaches, turquoise lagoons, extensive coral gardens… We were lucky to have friends who decided to have their wedding on Sangat Island in the Philippines. This was all the excuse we needed to explore the Coron region, which is in the northern part of the Palawan Provence. The islands in the Coron region were beautiful, the diving great, the food delicious, and the people super friendly. Needless to say, we will definitely be coming back to see some of the other 7,000 islands that make up the Philippines.
Here are highlights (DINK Trip Tips) from our trip...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Manila
Coron, Palawan
…Water Festival, Buddhist pagodas, ancient temples, Inle Lake, beaches... Myanmar (formerly Burma) was on our travel wish list for years and so we were very excited when it finally opened up to foreign visitors in 2012, after 50 years of military domination. We decided to visit over the Easter holidays in 2014 as the dates lined up with Thingyan, the Burmese New Year Festival (also referred to as the Water Festival). Thingyan is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated over a period of 4-5 days before culminating in the new year celebration. The government relaxes restrictions on gatherings and in Yangon crowds are allowed to gather on the Kandawgyi Pat Lann and Kabaraye Roads where temporary water-spraying stations (pandals) are set up. There is live music, dancing, water fights, and lots of laughing.
Myanmar is a Southeast Asian country bordering Thailand, Laos, China, Bangladesh, and India. For our first visit we focused on the main sites (Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake) as well as Ngapali Beach, which was fairly devoid of tourists. Here are highlights (DINK TRIP Tips) from our trip...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Yangon
Bagan
Inle Lake
Ngapali Beach
…Spectacular scenery, remote hiking, beautiful coastal vistas, delicious food and wines… Tasmania reminds us of a mini-New Zealand, which makes it another one of our favorite travel destinations. It offers fantastic hiking, amazing scenery, and delicious food and wine.
Here are highlights (DINK TRIP Tips) from our various trips...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Launceston
Walls of Jerusalem
Cradle Mountain
Freycinet
Three Capes Walk
Maria Island
Hobart
...Varied landcapes (white sand beaches, turquoise water, rugged cliffs, lush forests), fantastic snorkelling, sensational sunsets, delicious French food and wine… New Caledonia quickly moved up our “to do” list after we moved to Australia due to its proximity 750 miles east and relatively short flying time from Sydney (<3 hours). While the main island (Nouméa) has a lot on offer, the more off the beaten path Loyalty Islands appealed to our style of travel. Since moving among the Loyalty Islands involves flying back to the main airport on Nouméa, we decided to focus on just two (Lifou and Ouvéa) for our first trip. We’re looking forward to visiting Maré and Tiga on our next trip.
Here are highlights (DINK Trips Tips)...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Lifou
Ouvéa
Nouméa
...Crystal clear water, turquoise lagoons backed by deep blue oceans, abundant marine life, majestic volcanic peaks, spectacular sunsets… French Polynesia will definitely be a repeat destination for us, especially given the vast diversity of islands.
French Polynesia consists of over 100 islands in the South Pacific. The islands stretch over a 2,000km area and are divided into 5 sub-groups (Society, Tuamotu, Marquesas, Gambier, Austral). On our first trip, we focused on a couple of the high islands in the Society Islands archipelago, which are the most well-known and easiest to access. On our next trip we’re thinking of focusing on checking out a couple of the coral atolls in the Tuamatos archipelago. Here are highlights (DINK Trips Tips)...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Bora Bora
Huahine
Ra’iatea
Taha’a
…Pyramids, temples, monuments, antiquities, markets, diving… Seeing the pyramids in Egypt is definitely a bucket list item. And they do not disappoint! Their sheer magnitude is awe-inspiring. But the pyramids are just the tip of the iceberg. The magnitude of antiquities to be seen and appreciated is mind boggling. There's also the beauty of the Nile and many parks & gardens to enjoy, fantastic alleys and markets to explore, and amazing mezze and fresh fish to eat. On top of all that, there's also spectacular diving in the crystal clear waters off the Sinai Peninsula.
Here are highlights (DINK Trip Tips) from our trip...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Cairo
Alexandria
Dahab
Luxor
…Karst limestone mountains, waterfalls, rivers, caves, water buffalo… Laos felt much more relaxed and less touristy than other places we have travelled in SE Asia. As a result, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves even though it didn’t feature any “big ticket” items (e.g. Angkor Wat, white sand beaches, crystal clear waters). We found the people to be genuine, and to our pleasant surprise they mostly ignored tourists. There was no aggressive hawking or bargaining, which made shopping in the markets lovely. There was also beautiful scenery (karst limestone mountains, waterfalls everywhere). Curfew is set by the Government at 10:30pm (I think it’s now midnight) so no crazy bar/club scene and most people go to bed early and wake up early. This was one of our most relaxing holidays with our time spent exploring, reading, and enjoying the local cuisine, including the BeerLao (delicious!) and French food and wine at fantastic prices.
Here are highlights (DINK Trip Tips) from our trip...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Vientiane
Luang Prabang
Nong Khiaw (north of Luang Prabang)
Tha Khaek (south of Vientiene)
…Majestic waterfalls, luxurious riverside lodges, impressive big game… Victoria Falls is a bucket list destination that doesn’t disappoint. Luxurious lodges on the Zambezi River provide a wonderful spot to relax/indulge while visiting the awe-inspiring falls and partaking in adventure activities nearby.
Originally described by the Kololo tribe living in the area as “Mosi-oaTunya” (“The Smoke that Thunders”), Victoria Falls is now known as the greatest curtain of falling water in the world. At the height of the rainy season more than 500 million cubic meters of water per minute fall over the edge over a width of almost 2km into a gorge over 100m below. Facing the falls is another sheer wall of basalt of the same height with a mist-soaked rain forest on top. A path along the edge of the forest provides amazing views of the falls. Another fabulous way to view the falls is by helicopter. Here are highlights (DINK Trip Tips) from our trip...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Highlights:
…Sunrise and sunset safari drives, awe-inspiring big game, amazing sunsets and night skies, luxurious lodges… African safari is definitely a bucket list item. And Botswana is one of the top places to see big game. Historically, Botswana has opted for higher price, lower volume tourism as part of its conservation strategy and to distinguish itself from other safari destinations. So most of the reserves are private properties with small, luxury lodges. And if you decide to visit more than one reserve, your transportation will likely be small bush planes (some with as few as 4 passengers!) and dirt runways with the occasional ostrich that needs to be shooed away.
Here are highlights (DINK TRIP Tips) from our various trips so far...for more details or to help plan your own visit, contact us! Highlights:
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