Travel guides where every destination tells a story

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo during blue hour with pedestrians crossing

Tokyo Travel Guide: Best Things to Do, Eat and Explore

Plan your first Tokyo trip: top attractions, the best neighbourhoods, local food and a realistic five-day itinerary.

Japan35°41′ N · 139°41′ E

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Every guide is filed by continent and country. Search for a place you already have in mind, or start with a region.

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Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's titanium curves beside the Nervión River, with Louise Bourgeois's spider sculpture Maman

Spain43°16′ N · 2°56′ W

Bilbao Travel Guide: The Guggenheim, the Old Town and Pintxos

How to spend two or three days in Bilbao: Gehry's Guggenheim, the Seven Streets, pintxos bar etiquette, the coast, San Sebastián and where to stay.

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Aerial view of the Dubai skyline with Burj Khalifa rising above Downtown and the Sheikh Zayed Road towers

United Arab Emirates25°12′ N · 55°16′ E

Dubai Travel Guide: Things to Do and the Best Time to Visit

St. Mary's Basilica and the Main Market Square in Kraków at dusk, with café umbrellas and a lit fountain

Poland50°04′ N · 19°56′ E

Kraków Travel Guide: Old Town, Wawel, Kazimierz and Day Trips

Forested limestone karst islands rising from calm water in Ha Long Bay, northern Vietnam, at dusk

Vietnam16°03′ N · 108°12′ E

Vietnam Travel Guide: A North-to-South Itinerary from Hanoi to Saigon

Australia, coast to coast

Sydney
Melbourne
Brisbane
Perth
Adelaide

All Australia guides

Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge silhouetted at sunset, seen from the sandstone rocks at Mrs Macquarie's Chair

Australia33°52′ S · 151°13′ E

Sydney Travel Guide: Harbour Icons, Beaches and Day Trips

Flinders Street Station in Melbourne lit up at night with its dome and clock tower

Australia37°49′ S · 144°58′ E

Sydney vs Melbourne: Which Australian City Should You Visit?

Story Bridge spanning the Brisbane River with the city skyline behind on a sunny day

Australia27°28′ S · 153°02′ E

Brisbane Travel Guide: South Bank, Koalas and the Brisbane River

Perth city skyline at sunset reflected in the Swan River, seen from South Perth

Australia31°57′ S · 115°52′ E

Perth Travel Guide: Beaches, Fremantle and Rottnest Island

Yellow road signs warning of camels, wombats and kangaroos for the next 92 km on the Eyre Highway, Nullarbor

Australia25°16′ S · 133°47′ E

Australia Travel Guide: Visas, Seasons, Distances and Costs

Adelaide city skyline and the white Adelaide Festival Centre reflected in the River Torrens on a clear day

Australia34°56′ S · 138°36′ E

Adelaide Travel Guide: Culture, Food, Beaches and Wine Country

Sydney Opera House sails in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and city skyline across the harbor

Australia25°20′ S · 131°02′ E

Must-Visit Destinations in Australia: A First-Trip Bucket List

Orange slipper lobsters, known in Australia as bugs, on ice at a seafood counter in the Sydney Fish Market

Australia33°52′ S · 151°13′ E

Australia’s Finest Restaurants: A Food Lover’s Guide by City

Satellite-image world map on the Mercator projection with an oversized Greenland and Antarctica stretched along the bottom

Were We Lied To? The Truth Behind World Maps and Their Distortions

We grow up believing that maps show the world as it truly is. They don't, and the reasons change how you picture every place you plan to visit.

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Travel, holiday, experience

Three ways into the blog: the explorers, the dream locations, and the destinations that turn trips into stories.

Meet the voices behind Explore Venture World

Our editorial team is made up of travel writers and editors from different cultures, each bringing a unique perspective to every destination. Together, they tell authentic stories that go beyond maps and landmarks.

Akira Nomura

Editor

Asian culture specialist · Destination guides
Carlos Mendoza

Editor

Cultural travel · Urban destinations
James Walker

Contributor

Global travel · Destination guides
Jonas Weber

Editor

Architecture, history · Cultural landscapes

Field notes from every continent

Hidden hot springs, lost cities and night markets. 35 stories, filed by where they happen.

Spain43°16′ N · 2°56′ W

Bilbao Travel Guide: The Guggenheim, the Old Town and Pintxos

United Arab Emirates25°12′ N · 55°16′ E

Dubai Travel Guide: Things to Do and the Best Time to Visit

Poland50°04′ N · 19°56′ E

Kraków Travel Guide: Old Town, Wawel, Kazimierz and Day Trips

Vietnam16°03′ N · 108°12′ E

Vietnam Travel Guide: A North-to-South Itinerary from Hanoi to Saigon

Arlington Row in Bibury, a line of steep-roofed stone weavers' cottages above a green meadow in the Cotswolds

United Kingdom51°50′ N · 1°50′ W

Cotswolds Travel Guide: Best Villages, Walks and How to Plan a Trip

Turquoise Peyto Lake surrounded by forest and snowy peaks in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Canada51°26′ N · 116°11′ W

Discover the Wonders of Canada: A Traveler’s Guide

Elephants grazing in green Amboseli grassland with snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro rising behind

Africa2°20′ S · 34°50′ E

Discover the Wonders of Africa: Must-See Places and Experiences

Colorful houses of Positano stacked up a steep hillside on the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy

Italy41°54′ N · 12°30′ E

Explore the Enchanting Wonders of Italy: A First-Timer’s Guide

Turquoise water and swirling white sand of Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island, Queensland

Australia16°55′ S · 145°46′ E

Queensland Beyond the Gold Coast: Reef, Rainforest and Islands

Calm blue water with floating ice between snow-covered mountains in the Lemaire Channel on the Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctica64°49′ S · 63°29′ W

Antarctica Travel Guide: Wildlife, Seasons and How to Get There

White houses and blue domes of Oia on the cliffs above the Santorini caldera, seen from a boat

Greece36°23′ N · 25°28′ E

Exploring Santorini: Things to Do, Best Time and Travel Tips

Green aurora borealis over snowy boreal forest and a glowing tipi near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Canada62°27′ N · 114°22′ W

Aurora Hunting in Canada’s Arctic: Where and When to See It

Abandoned section of the Great Wall of China

China40°26′ N · 116°34′ E

Exploring the Abandoned Regions of the Great Wall of China

Crowds eating at food stalls under strings of flags inside Gwangjang Market in Seoul

South Korea37°34′ N · 126°59′ E

South Korea Night Markets: The Best Street Food and Where to Find It

Argentina & Chile49°20′ S · 72°53′ W

Undiscovered Glaciers and Mountains in Patagonia Beyond the Crowds

Snorkelers in drysuits floating in the clear blue Silfra fissure between mossy lava walls in Þingvellir National Park, Iceland

Iceland64°58′ N · 19°01′ W

Iceland’s Hot Springs and Underground Rivers: Nature’s Hidden Wonders

Maletsunyane Falls plunging 192 meters into a green basalt gorge near Semonkong, Lesotho

Africa28°45′ S · 28°53′ E

Africa’s Tallest Waterfalls: 8 Little-Known Natural Wonders

Huge white icebergs filling the Ilulissat Icefjord beyond dark rocks, tundra and small pools in West Greenland

Greenland69°13′ N · 51°06′ W

A Unique Journey Through Greenland’s Glaciers: Ilulissat and Beyond

Mountains reflected in a thin layer of water on the Salar de Uyuni salt flat at sunrise, Bolivia

Bolivia20°08′ S · 67°29′ W

The Stunning Reflections of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia’s Great Salt Flat

Turquoise bay and white sand of Haukland Beach seen from above, with Lofoten mountains across the water in Norway

Norway60°28′ N · 8°28′ E

Norway’s Blue Lagoon: The Hidden Sources of Its Turquoise Water

Towering Grandidier’s baobabs lining the red dirt road of the Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava, Madagascar

Madagascar20°15′ S · 44°25′ E

Madagascar’s Baobab-Lined Roads: The Avenue of the Baobabs

Lichen-covered stone walls of the abandoned township of Hallaig on Raasay below the flat-topped hill Dùn Caan

Scotland56°29′ N · 4°12′ W

Ghost Towns of Scotland: Abandoned Cottages and Cleared Villages

Abandoned concrete apartment blocks rising behind the seawall of Gunkanjima (Hashima Island) near Nagasaki

Japan32°38′ N · 129°44′ E

Gunkanjima (Hashima Island): Japan’s Lost Island Village

Aerial view of the wide Congo River with forested islands near Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo

DR Congo4°19′ S · 15°19′ E

Adventure on the Congo River: River Villages, Boats and Safety

Two neighboring Kelimutu crater lakes on Flores, one bright turquoise and one dark brown, separated by a rocky crater wall

Indonesia8°46′ S · 121°49′ E

Indonesia’s Color-Changing Volcano Lakes: Kelimutu and More

Green northern lights over frozen Lake Torneträsk and mountains in Abisko National Park, Swedish Lapland

Canada58°46′ N · 94°10′ W

The Top 10 Hidden Places to Watch the Northern Lights

Aerial view of dense Amazon rainforest canopy near Manaus, Brazil, under which ancient earthworks can hide

Brazil3°28′ S · 62°13′ W

Ancient Lost Cities in the Amazon Rainforest: What LiDAR Revealed

Rusting boilers of the old whaling station on the black volcanic beach of Whalers Bay, Deception Island, with snowy hills

Antarctica62°58′ S · 60°39′ W

Antarctica’s Hidden Hot Springs: Deception Island’s Geothermal Beaches

White houses of Lindos below the clifftop acropolis on Rhodes, seen from the north-east

Greece36°26′ N · 28°13′ E

Rhodes, Greece: A Captivating Island of History and Nature

The illuminated Eiffel Tower at dusk seen along the Seine with the lamps of Pont Alexandre III in Paris

France48°52′ N · 2°17′ E

The Eiffel Tower: Symbol and Architectural Marvel of Paris

Aerial view of ring-shaped coral reefs and small islands in turquoise water in Baa Atoll, Maldives

Maldives3°12′ N · 73°13′ E

Discover the Magic of the Maldives: Atolls, Reefs and Travel Tips

Hagia Sophia with its great dome, buttresses and four minarets on the historic peninsula of Istanbul

Türkiye41°01′ N · 28°59′ E

Hagia Sophia: Istanbul’s Historical and Architectural Marvel

Sharp-crested orange sand dunes of Erg Chebbi in the Moroccan Sahara in low evening light

North Africa23°25′ N · 25°40′ E

The Sahara Desert: A Guide to Africa’s Largest Sand Sea

Machu Picchu citadel and Huayna Picchu mountain at sunrise in Peru

Peru13°10′ S · 72°33′ W

Machu Picchu Travel Guide: Tickets, Routes and Tips

Colorful neoclassical houses rising above the harbor of Symi island in the Dodecanese, Greece

Greece37°58′ N · 23°44′ E

Lesser-Known Places in Greece: 12 Underrated Destinations

Follow the journey

Short films, first looks and routes from the road, before they become guides.

Travel guides where every destination tells a story

Tokyo Travel Guide: Best Things to Do, Eat and Explore

Browse the atlas

New guides

Bilbao Travel Guide: The Guggenheim, the Old Town and Pintxos

Dubai Travel Guide: Things to Do and the Best Time to Visit

Kraków Travel Guide: Old Town, Wawel, Kazimierz and Day Trips

Vietnam Travel Guide: A North-to-South Itinerary from Hanoi to Saigon

Australia, coast to coast

Sydney Travel Guide: Harbour Icons, Beaches and Day Trips

Sydney vs Melbourne: Which Australian City Should You Visit?

Brisbane Travel Guide: South Bank, Koalas and the Brisbane River

Perth Travel Guide: Beaches, Fremantle and Rottnest Island

Australia Travel Guide: Visas, Seasons, Distances and Costs

Adelaide Travel Guide: Culture, Food, Beaches and Wine Country

Must-Visit Destinations in Australia: A First-Trip Bucket List

Australia’s Finest Restaurants: A Food Lover’s Guide by City

Were We Lied To? The Truth Behind World Maps and Their Distortions

Travel, holiday, experience

Explorer Teams

Dream Locations

Travel Destinations

Meet the voices behind Explore Venture World

Akira Nomura

Carlos Mendoza

James Walker

Jonas Weber

Field notes from every continent

Bilbao Travel Guide: The Guggenheim, the Old Town and Pintxos

Dubai Travel Guide: Things to Do and the Best Time to Visit

Kraków Travel Guide: Old Town, Wawel, Kazimierz and Day Trips

Vietnam Travel Guide: A North-to-South Itinerary from Hanoi to Saigon

Cotswolds Travel Guide: Best Villages, Walks and How to Plan a Trip

Discover the Wonders of Canada: A Traveler’s Guide

Discover the Wonders of Africa: Must-See Places and Experiences

Explore the Enchanting Wonders of Italy: A First-Timer’s Guide

Queensland Beyond the Gold Coast: Reef, Rainforest and Islands

Antarctica Travel Guide: Wildlife, Seasons and How to Get There

Exploring Santorini: Things to Do, Best Time and Travel Tips

Aurora Hunting in Canada’s Arctic: Where and When to See It

Exploring the Abandoned Regions of the Great Wall of China

South Korea Night Markets: The Best Street Food and Where to Find It

Undiscovered Glaciers and Mountains in Patagonia Beyond the Crowds

Iceland’s Hot Springs and Underground Rivers: Nature’s Hidden Wonders

Africa’s Tallest Waterfalls: 8 Little-Known Natural Wonders

A Unique Journey Through Greenland’s Glaciers: Ilulissat and Beyond

The Stunning Reflections of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia’s Great Salt Flat

Norway’s Blue Lagoon: The Hidden Sources of Its Turquoise Water

Madagascar’s Baobab-Lined Roads: The Avenue of the Baobabs

Ghost Towns of Scotland: Abandoned Cottages and Cleared Villages

Gunkanjima (Hashima Island): Japan’s Lost Island Village

Adventure on the Congo River: River Villages, Boats and Safety

Indonesia’s Color-Changing Volcano Lakes: Kelimutu and More

The Top 10 Hidden Places to Watch the Northern Lights

Ancient Lost Cities in the Amazon Rainforest: What LiDAR Revealed

Antarctica’s Hidden Hot Springs: Deception Island’s Geothermal Beaches

Rhodes, Greece: A Captivating Island of History and Nature

The Eiffel Tower: Symbol and Architectural Marvel of Paris

Discover the Magic of the Maldives: Atolls, Reefs and Travel Tips

Hagia Sophia: Istanbul’s Historical and Architectural Marvel

The Sahara Desert: A Guide to Africa’s Largest Sand Sea

Machu Picchu Travel Guide: Tickets, Routes and Tips

Lesser-Known Places in Greece: 12 Underrated Destinations

Follow the journey