Destinations | Viator Travel Blog

Touring New Zealand: An Insider’s Guide

4. November 2009

I'm not originally from the northern hemisphere. But now that I live up here, only now do I realise just how idyllic my native southern hemisphere was. Is. Growing up in the southern hemisphere, each year my mother sent me to the family dairy farm in Golden Bay, at the top of the South Island of New Zealand, for a two-month summer holiday.

Atlas Obscura: Cemetery Edition

30. October 2009

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This month, Atlas Obscura leads us through the dark alleys of Highgate Cemetery in London, St. Sebastian’s Cemetery in Salzburg, and Merry Cemetery, Romania. Happy Halloween!

All My Roads Lead to Dubrovnik

27. October 2009

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Dubrovnik, in Croatia, just keeps pulling me back in. For starters it’s beautiful; for another thing there are a few different ways to experience it. In the past I’ve always stayed in or near the old town (Grad). The walled old city is so spectacularly beautiful that to wake up in the morning and look out the window at all that history is magical.

Reykjavik, Iceland: Top Things to Do

23. October 2009

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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.

[contest] Win 20 Free Nights at any Hampton Hotel!

21. October 2009

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[contest] Win 20 Free Nights at any Hampton Hotel!

Editor's Note: The contest is now closed. Thanks again for contributing such fantastic answers, and stay tuned for the announcement of a winner! Enter our Hampton Hotel contest to wins 20 FREE nights at any Hampton Hotel (you'll have 1,700+ locations to chose from... Manhattan to New Orleans, San Francisco to San Antonio, Puerto Rico to Mexico to Canada and beyond!). And you'll receive a $200 Viator.com gift certificate. All you need to do is answer one question: What do YOU wish in life came with a 100% guarantee?

Madrid’s Top 5 Day Trips

20. October 2009

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The Spanish capital, Madrid, isn’t exactly short of things to do. But for those who have got a little more time to explore, there are some awesome day trips from Madrid available. There are a series of interesting cities that are either a short distance away or can be reached in surprisingly quick times via high speed train. Whether it’s mosques, cathedrals and castles or a carnivorous feast on local specialities, these cities have plenty to offer. And then there are the royal and literary hang-outs that are just on Madrid’s door step...

[contest] Win 2 SF Helicopter + 2 Academy of Sciences Tickets!

20. October 2009

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[contest] Win 2 SF Helicopter + 2 Academy of Sciences Tickets!

[Editor's note: The contest is now closed! Thanks again for entering, stay tuned and we'll announce a winner soon.] We're giving away two free tickets on a San Francisco helicopter tour plus two free tickets on a behind-the-scenes platinum tour of the California Academy of Sciences. We are asking everybody who enters the contest one simple question. Why YOU?

Jack the Ripper Tour of London. Boo.

19. October 2009

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It was a dark and blustery day in this dirty old town. Time was ripe to do something dangerous, weird and sinister. Well, perhaps I would just go and listen to something like that. I love all the crazy stories of London – if you have read Dickens you will know it have always been a throbbing hub of criminality and destitution. It still often feels that way as many of the buildings are remnants of times gone by, good and bad.

Melbourne’s Tram Restaurant

14. October 2009

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It’s a cold late-winter Tuesday in Melbourne and I’m standing on a tramstop under the glare of the Casino’s neon. A brown shelter keeps the rain off but not the bitter wind out. Trams rattle past ferrying commuters home from work. A crowd builds. Then, out of the fading light comes a glow of soft light. It’s here: Melbourne's Colonial Tramcar Restaurant.

Bizarre Germany: Odd Things To See & Do

13. October 2009

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So you've ticked off the wall in Berlin, the Oktoberfest, the Rhine cruise and all manner of stunning castles and cathedrals? Well, you’ve only just scratched the surface of Germany – and the way to get the most out of the rest is to make things a little weirder. We’ve picked out eight of the most bizarre places to visit in Germany and they’re far from the usual suspects.