Viator Travel Blog

I first visited Amman in the winter of 1980. It was cold, wet and windy and the capital’s 500,000 inhabitants retreated behind the stark concrete walls of their houses and apartments that stretched over the hills surrounding the city. It was relatively small compared with bustling Cairo or Damascus and appeared to have little of their charm, intimate architecture or extensive historical heritage. There were just two international hotels, the Intercontinental and the Holiday Inn, and these were packed with consultants, businessmen and the occasional traveller.

Need some help with your travel itinerary? Why not take inspiration from the world’s rich smorgasbord of festivals, and plan your next vacation around the dates and locations of some of the planet’s most exciting events. To get you started, here’s our top 12 far-flung festivities, one for every month of the year…

A perfect blue sky, friendly companions, and a knowledgeable guide – what else could you ask for on a Dutch Villages and Countryside Bike tour? We met at the Yellow Bike office near Central Station and biked the quick route to the ferry where we crossed over to the north part of Amsterdam and started the tour. We then took the flat, easy-to-navigate paths all around the countryside, seeing windmills, canals, scenic villages, and old churches interspersed with horses, cows and sheep grazing in the fields.

Meet Kumar, one of Viator’s local experts in Kathmandu, Nepal (and a highly rated licensed tour guide you’ll find at Viator Private Tour Guides).

For the fourth week of our Viator’s 2011 Ultimate Holiday Giveaway, we’re giving away tickets to one of our most popular Thailand tours!

New York City crackles with energy come fall, and nowhere better can you feel that excitement than on Broadway. During this time of year, the buzz is palpable as Broadway theaters unveil their dazzling new shows for the first time. Fall is also your chance to see the stellar ongoing performances, all inside such opulent settings as the New Amsterdam Theater, the Ethel Barrymore Theater, and the Majestic Theatre. Inside these hallowed temples of entertainment, lavish sets and creative costumes come together with dashing heroes and romantic heroines to transport you into a fantasy world of Disney extravaganzas, splashy musicals, and tingling dramas. Get your tickets early!

Las Vegas has a little bit of everything. On any given night, you’ll see anything from new brides, to wandering Elvis Impersonators, to costumed super heroes, to any assortment of individuals from all parts of the world. This is a city that cracks jokes that visitors come back to visit their money, and that the happenings within this oasis in the desert are too sordid to relay at home. Is it any surprise that there is honestly a dark side to Vegas that isn’t talked about?

Meet Tim, one of Viator’s local experts in Washington, DC (and a highly rated licensed tour guide you’ll find at Viator Private Tour Guides).

As Hurricane Rina churns toward the Yucatán Coast, with Cancún in its sights for a Thursday afternoon touchdown, a familiar drama is playing out up and down the glittering Caribbean coastline. Alerts are out to some 45,000 tourists estimated to be staying in Cancún, Cozumel, and along the Riviera Maya, based on careful analysis of the storm, recommending evacuation for most resort areas, and requiring it in places deemed high-risk, in this case Isla Holbox.

If you want to learn about the ghost that still stalks the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane and London‘s most notorious killer, Jack the Ripper, the Jack the Ripper and London Ghost Walk is for you.