Travel & Lifestyle

A little over a year ago, Disneyland’s iconic 1989 attraction Splash Mountain received a long overdue makeover when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened at the Anaheim, California theme park. The ride is the first to incorporate characters from Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. Tiana – the film’s titular Princess – has also spread…

Just around the corner from Disneyland, in an unassuming strip mall, lies Flightdeck+Rogue Racing, an immersive racing and flight simulation experience. With an impressive 8 race car simulators, 8 fighter jet simulators, and a 737 Boeing simulator to top it off, this place has something for everyone. Last month, we were lucky enough to try…

The mosquito nets ebb and flow with the breeze, drifting across the bed like clouds across the sky. Staring up through the mesh, it’s hard not to marvel at the intricate engineering of our two-story beach villa, built from driftwood and sheathed in alang-alang grass. The cavity towers upwards, designed to capture any errant sea…

It’s been a while since I last few business class with Virgin Australia across the country. So long, in fact, the airline still offered flat beds on the route when I did. These days, Virgin’s business class offering seems to be consistent across the board on their 737-800 fleet, with just 8 business class seats…

There was a repeat performance at this year’s Australian Aviation Awards. For the second year running, the Best International Airline gong went to a low-cost outfit in AirAsia X. It was far from the company’s only recognition, too. At the World Travel Awards, it also won World’s Leading Long-Haul Low-Cost Airline. It’s about bang for…

As Disneyland continues its 70th Birthday celebrations in Anaheim, California, the Christmas decorations are out and the spirit of the Winter Holidays is in full force. I visited the park last month to get a taste of what guests will enjoy until 7th January 2026, and what’s been added to the park since my last…

It’s been a tough time for the island of Maui in Hawaii. More specifically, for the people of Lahaina, the region on the western coastline devastated by fire in August 2023. But the tide has turned, with tourists welcomed back as the economy and its people embrace the green shoots poking through the charred soil….

The Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites is a great accommodation option for people who want the thrills of Waikiki Beach, without the hustle and bustle. You’ll find it at the very western edge of the famed Honolulu beach, sitting just behind the boat harbour. It offers direct access down to the lagoon, rock wall and…

Last month, I flew on United Airlines’ Transpacific service for the first time in almost two years. This time from Los Angeles to Sydney. I’ve been flying United over the Pacific fairly regularly over the last two decades, and every time I note that the experience has continued to improve. So was that the case…

In December 2021, after more than 20 years of the “FastPass” system (which this feature length documentary will tell you all about so I don’t have to), Disneyland scraped their relatively groundbreaking – if imperfect – queue cutting system, in favour of “Genie+”. The catch: putting it more in line with the add-ons offered by…

Travelers who move from one region to another often treat food as a guide. They follow flavors that spark curiosity and inspire movement. Many nomads choose their next stop based on a dish they want to taste or a style of cooking they want to learn more about. As these explorers move across borders, simple…

A new name is reeling in the good stuff at Westfield Chermside this November, as Catch Fish and Chips has officially opened its doors! Bringing a fresh take on the classic Aussie fish and chip shop, Catch Fish and Chips is all about simple, feel-good food done right – fast, fuss-free, and full of coastal…

Beechworth is beautiful. You’ll find it by peeling off the highway between Sydney and Melbourne, in the Victorian high country. Not far from Albury-Wodonga. It’s a town born from the 1852 gold rush and made famous by the Ned Kelly Gang trials. That era has been preserved with such respect that the Australian National Heritage…

What happens when you take one of the most iconic resorts in the world, Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal, and take it to the most iconic resort destination on Earth, the Maldives? That’s what we’ll discover in 2029! The brand’s owner, Kerzner International (UAE), is teaming up with the Assets Group (a Qatar-based company) to deliver…

It turns out island-hopping around French Polynesia on luxury cruise ship Star Breeze is as enjoyable as it sounds. I’m lying flat on my back, half-submerged. My feet dangle in the rich, blue, inviting Pacific Ocean on one side of the floating mat, my hair in the other. The sun is warm; the water is…

Nowadays, the word “luxury” is vague and overused in the travel industry. Every influencer and their Pomeranian specialises in “luxury.” Every travel writer and blogger specialises in “luxury”. Everyone wants a piece of that upper-crust lifestyle (very understandable), but few understand that genuine luxury goes far, far beyond aesthetics, location and exclusivity. You cannot claim…

One of the largest rooftops in L.A., a prime position tucked away from crowds of first-time tourists, and 220 comfortable, light-filled rooms that look like they’re paying homage to Hollywood’s black-and-white era. This is The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood, which has been pitched as one of the neighbourhood’s most fashionable boltholes since opening in the second…

HQ Group’s Afloat Melbourne has reopened with a fresh new look, bringing the flavours, energy, and vibrance of Rio De Janeiro right to our very doorstep. Launching right into the summer season, patrons will get a taste of Brazil with a rich, flavourful menu including empanadas, coxinha, pastels, dulce de leche flan, and other dishes…

Niagara Falls in Canada just got its first major new attraction in three years. The last – the Niagara Parks Power Station – brought new life to a disused hydroelectric plant, with nightly projections, great exhibits and access to one of the most unique views of the Falls by way of “The Tunnel”. Now, Niagara…

Anyone who has visited the Sphere in Las Vegas will tell you that it’s one of the most impressive places on the planet to see a live concert. Indeed, with a 270 degree screen on the inside, and a landscape-altering 360 degree screen on the outside, there is no place like it. The venue opened…

The Crowne Plaza brand is one of the most recognisable banners for IHG, sitting comfortably in the “affordable premium” market as opposed to outright luxury, often fashioned as that mid-to-upscale that values balance over priced-out exclusivity. It’s been that way for decades, which is why Crowne Plaza is such a prolific brand for every type…

Chicago neighbourhoods are just as diverse as New York neighbourhoods. “Think of Chicago as New York City, but just the right size.” That’s how the city was described to me when I first arrived at O’Hare. I was 22 back then, wide-eyed and full of energy, looking forward to my first overseas trip as an…

I think it’s important to have “favourite” artists. Creatives whose words, thoughts and/or works resonate with you so hard that they bypass traditional modes of communication. They don’t speak to your consciousness, they dive to the bottom-of-the-iceberg part of your brain where memory and emotion lie. Music, paintings, books. Any work that speaks to you…

Imagine waking up to the sound of the Mediterranean Sea gently lapping at the dock below. You open your shutters and step out onto your balcony, where you are met with vast shades of cerulean sparkling under the morning sun. You’re on the French Riviera in a hotel that is steeped in a history so…

“Everything cool in Los Angeles is hidden,” says Jonny D’Amico, who moves through West Hollywood with the cocksure swagger of the area’s unofficial cultural czar. He never claims the title, but his confidence suggests it. I’m skeptical. Yet after walking with the firebrand up and down West Hollywood’s signature Sunset Strip, I’m convinced. This is…

It has been five years since COVID-19 stalled Victoria’s tourism sector. With borders shut and lockdowns dragging on, once-bustling regions like the Great Ocean Road saw visitor numbers plummet. But the rebound has been remarkable: 2.6 million visitors made the trip in 2023, climbing to 3.3 million in 2024, the highest on record. To see…

It had been 13 years since I’d set foot in Nice, but I still had vivid memories of posing for photos in front of the Fontaine du Soleil, resting in bright blue chairs on the promenade while gazing out over the Mediterranean Sea, and gorging myself on socca as I strolled down Old Town alleyways….

Detox retreats, infrared saunas, ice baths, sound healing, cacao ceremonies. Some of these practices, once relegated to the mystical realm of “woo-woo,” are now becoming increasingly mainstream in travel spaces around the world. So, should you be donning a kaftan and ecstatically dancing your way to wellness? Let’s delve into wellness tourism and find out….

When I tell people I spend the summer in Geneva every year, their first question is always, “Why?” Why spend months in a city known for politics, finance, and diplomacy when there are arguably better places to explore? I can assure you that by the end of this feature, you’ll have fallen just as much…

I haven’t seen the Eiffel Tower since I was nine, so when I crane my neck at the latticework girders and perfectly formed apex, I sigh. Just inches to the left, I duck under the Arc de Triomphe to soak up the romance. For a moment, I feel like I’m in Paris. I dream of…