Viator Travel Blog

It’s been two weeks since the April 14 eruption of the volcano Ejyafallajökull. By now, most delayed and inconvenienced travelers have found their way home and the world’s press has departed to cover the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Here in Iceland the cleanup is just beginning.

I go to a churches a lot. Rarely on a Sunday and never for the purposes of praying. I go to seek out hidden chapels and explore gaping cathedrals, it’s undeniably a favourite pastime, particularly when I travel. The reverent hush makes me walk with deliberation, and an inch of two taller. The inert chill [...]

Icelanders love to soak. And it’s no wonder given how well they do it. So inspired am I by the daily baptism in Iceland, I feel compelled to make an announcement. I have become a Bath Person. In Iceland baths are a necessity and bathing a right, not a privilege. Baths are simply part of daily life. So I have decided to cast aside my water guilt, dip my toe into a new cultural experience, and happily soak up to my neck in it. Next stop, the Blue Lagoon.

Put down your scones and raise your teacups and champagne glasses in a toast. Each of us owes an enormous debt of gratitude to the Duchess of Bedford. If not for her whimsical decree back in the 1800s that a tray of tea and buttered bread be delivered to her each afternoon, the charming English afternoon tea ritual might not even exist. And where would London be then?

Segovia hides out in the Castilian hills of central Spain like a well-guarded secret. Hemmed in by arid plains and fortress-like walls, she has stood as proof of man’s ingenuity since the 2nd century AD. The jewel in her crown is her Aqueduct; shaped like a ship on the crest of a limestone elevation, with [...]

Reykjavik (Reykjavík), despite its tiny population, is a very cosmopolitan place for being tucked away in distant Iceland. The nightlife in Reykjavik is legendary. And when the sun is out, the mustards and crimsons of its corrugated houses sit in happy contrast with the Nordic blue of the summer sky. Reykjavik is an awfully pretty town to meander through.

Who among us can honestly say that the idea of living Happily Ever Afterâ„¢ as a fairytale Prince or Princess in a bejeweled castle holds no appeal? Not I, good reader, not I. After years of vicarious tabloid-browsing and a steady diet of Handsome-Prince-Marries-Accidental-Princess stories since childhood, the idea of donning glass slippers and going to the ball has always held a magical appeal for me. So, on a recent visit to Denmark, home to one of the world’s oldest royal families and jam-packed with castles and palaces, it seemed only right that I indulge my fantasies and visit a royal residence or three.

During the perpetual light of Iceland‘s summer, people like to get out of town. Leaving their posts at their city desk jobs for weeks at a time, people load up the car with supplies, strap in their pretty blonde children, and merge with the summer traffic.

Since the completion of the national ring road in 1974 Icelanders have collectively set out to explore every inhabitable corner of their dramatic country. The 1,339km (832 mile) spin around Route 1 really is the ultimate road trip.

Copenhagen is one of those cities that just works. I’m not the only one who thinks so; it always rates highly on those coveted “Best in the World” lists for livability, environmental friendliness, and various other desirable traits. And the shopping is pretty sensational. Packed with palaces and castles, littered with gardens and snaked by pretty waterways, I can think of countless reasons to suggest a visit to the Danish capital. Here are 10 of them.

Most visitors to Iceland are blissfully unaware of the fact that the popular whale watching tour boats they happily bundle onto in Reykjavik share a dock with commercial whaling vessels. The same dock that is also home to a popular eatery that serves fresh whale kebabs daily. Funny, right? Or shocking?