Lake Garda in Northern Italy is the largest lake in the country and one of the most popular. Its turquoise waters are ringed with mountains, beaches and ancient cobbled towns, lying halfway between Venice and Milan. The northern part of the lake is quiet and serene, while the southern section boasts a theme park and sandy beaches, so Lake Garda holidays offer something for every kind of traveller.

1. Explore ancient towns, castles, and hot springs.

Holiday resorts share waterfront with ancient towns all around Lake Garda. Start off with the picturesque cobblestone lanes of Sirmione, a fortified Roman spa town in the south. It is situated on a peninsula in the centre of the lake, offering unrivalled views and photo opportunities. After a morning visit to the healing sulphur springs, explore the 13^th century Scaliger Castle and stop into the many restaurants and bars for a bite to eat. If you have more time, catch a ferry to explore the islands in the lake and spend a day at the popular Gardaland theme park as well.

2. Eat well.

The best part of holidays to Italy is surely the food and wine. The shores of Lake Garda are famous for their produce, particularly wine, olives and lemons. Catch a ferry to the colourful hillside resort of Limone, which is named for the yellow fruit. Stroll the waterfront promenade and stop into a café for a meal of fresh fish from the lake, or a hearty polenta dish cooked with local olive oil and a glass of Bardolino red wine which is grown in the area. Finish off with a tipple of limoncino for a totally local experience.

3. Get outdoors!

Lake Garda is a fantastic place to be active and get outside. The northern part of the lake is perfect for windsurfing and sailing due to the steady breeze coming out of the mountains, and there are many watersport centres that offer lessons and rentals. Explore miles of trails on foot or with a mountain bike, and you can even go rock climbing.  For families, peddle boats are available to rent in marked areas with lifeguards.

4. Take in the view.

The best view of the area is from the village of Malcesine in the northern section of the lake. Take the cable car 1750 meters up Montebaldo, a peak in the Italian Alps, for stunning views of Lake Garda below and the Dolomites behind. After taking pictures drop into the mountain-top restaurant or rent a mountain bike to explore the area.

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One Great Reason to Visit

One great reason to visit this travel destination is to find that Lake Garda offers something for every kind traveller!

Exploring Lake Garda

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• Wikipedia
• Guide to Lake Garda

Patagonia is most well-known for its wilderness taking up parts of Chile and Argentina and stretching from the most southern part of the Andes to the Pacific Ocean and across to the Atlantic Ocean.

One of the most popular travel destinations for its dramatic scenery and a good representation of Patagonia is Alerces National Park found in Argentina. It covers an area of 263,000ha and here you can see prairies, mountains, lakes and spry creeks. However, its biggest drawcard is the Alerce tree, a species that has survived for more than 4,000 years.

Patagonia was originally a remote backpacking destination, however it is now attracting increased numbers of cashed-up visitors, cruise passengers sailing by Cape Horn or visiting Antarctica, and activity holiday-makers. Patagonia offers terrific hiking opportunities, kayaking, horseback riding and vast photographic opportunities.

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes

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One Great Reason to Visit Patogonia

One great reason to visit this travel destination is to appreciate the wilderness landscapes.

Patagonia – Argentina

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Korce is the capital of the Korce Region located in the south/eastern region of Albania. It’s most well-known for its beautiful landscapes, medieval history, culture and festivals. There is always something happening to attract you to Korce.

Korce has served as an important trading market and route throughout the centuries. Albanian caravans began their travels from Korce to surrounding countries such as Turkey, Greece and Russia.

The outlying Korce Region is a place of great natural beauty, featuring the renowned Ohrid and Prespa Lakes, mountains and the National Park of Drenova. Twenty kilometres from Korce you can visit Dardha, a mountain village located at an altitude of more than 1,300m above sea level and is a great spot for hikers. With the region offering so much, Korce is an ideal travel destination as a base to explore the surrounds.

Lonely Planet: Western Balkans

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One Great Reason to Visit Korce

One great reason to visit this travel destination is for its natural beauty as Albania’s best-kept secret!

Korce, Albania

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Boxing Day is the day the Christmas tree comes down, the house is tidied and bags are packed for us to head off the following day on our annual summer vacation. This year we drove 3.5 hours east of Melbourne and based ourselves at a tiny town called Nicholson. Nicholson has the push-pin marked on the map below. This was our base for the following week to explore the region. So I have now compiled a list of the 7 places we visited and most enjoyed.

1. Buchan Caves

Buchan Caves

From Nicholson we drove north through rolling hills dotted with farms, followed by National forests before arriving at Buchan Caves. There are two main chambers being the Royal and Fairy Caves. We took a 45 mins walking tour through the magical wonderland of the Fairy Cave. Frank Moon discovered the Fairy Cave during 1907 which was opened to the public later that year. The Royal Cave was discovered in 1910 by Frederick Wilson and after an entrance tunnel was excavated, it was opened to visitors in 1913. The Caves Reserve was set out and planted mostly in the late 1930s. The stalactites, stalagmites, helictite, shawls and twinkling of water droplets make for a wonderful display from a different world.

2. Marlo

From Buchan Caves we drove south through the logging town of Orbost to the coastal town of Marlo. At Marlo the great Snowy River meets the sea and is a popular place for boating and fishing in both the river and estuaries. The historic Marlo pub is a great spot to grab a drink and admire the river and sea views.

3. Nicholson River Winery

This lovely family owned winery was just down the road from where we were holidaying and I surprised myself by only stopping in there the once! After enjoying the tastings, we pulled up some chairs in the garden with a glass of the NR Chardonnay and enjoyed the views over the Nicholson River.

Leaving Metung!

4. Metung

Metung is a delightful town attracting many city dwellers to own holiday homes in the area. The town has two focal points being the water ways of the lakes, and the village green. A number of cafes and restaurants cater well for the visitors making it a trendy destination! From Metung we enjoyed an afternoon cruise on the water to Lakes Entrance. The return trip took nearly 3 hours and we were spoilt with a complimentary glass of wine and nibbles. I did notice it also attracted a number of international visitors also. It was a very pleasant afternoon!

5. Paynesville

Another coastal town we visited was Paynesville and is a little larger than Metung so it had more in way of services and shops. There were a number of jetties for all the boating and water activities. A car and pedestrian ferry took people across to Raymond Island which only has a small population of no more than 500 people. I’m not sure if this population are permanent residents or holiday makers in their holiday homes!

6. Nyerimilang Heritage Park

Nyerimilang Heritage Park

Nyerimilang Heritage Park is on the shores of the Gippsland Lakes and has divine views of waterways, islands and the ocean beyond. The land was first owned by Mr A Murray in 1884 and he later transferred it to Frank Stuart of Melbourne who built a home as a base for fishing and shooting holidays at the Gippsland Lakes. During the early 1930s, his son Frank Jnr extended the house, developed the surrounding gardens and lived in style at Nyerimilang complete with housemaids and a gardener. A display featuring the history of Nyerimilang and the natural resources and history of the Gippsland Lakes is on display in the homestead and is extremely interesting.

7. Narkoojee Winery

Yes, we are wine lovers and on the way home from our week away (and my digital-detox) we stopped at one of our favourite wineries. Not that we’d been there before but we do enjoy their wine and all the more reason to detour off the Highway for a visit. Narkoojee produces two of my favourite Chardonnay’s, the Lily Grace and Reserve. Narkoojee is located just north of Traralgon at Glengarry.

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Gippsland, Victoria

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A hot New Year’s Eve was enjoyed at Lakes Entrance during our summer holiday to the Gippsland region. After an early dinner, we made our way to the beach where the children enjoyed the sand, shallow water and sandbanks. We all waded for sometime cooling our feet as the sun began to drop for the last time for 2010. The images the sun-rays created behind the boat silhouettes, was so peaceful. Let’s hope that’s a sign for what 2011 will bring to our world.

Floating Community Centre

The Tonlé Sap is the vast lake in Cambodia and The Tonle Sap is the largest lake in southeast Asia. In Cambodian its name means “Large Fresh Water River,” but it is more commonly translated as “Great Lake”) It is a combined lake and river system of huge importance to Cambodia. Julie Wilson writes of her trip to this region in Cambodia.

One of my favourite days was travelling up the Sangke River into the Tonle Sap Lake on our way to Siam Reap (the town near the Angkor Wat temple complex). We started our river journey from Battenbang. Our long boat was just one of many watercraft on river – all long and narrow and paddled or with tiny motors.

Floating Pig Pen

Our boat followed the Sangke as it meandered north for hours – the riverbank always dotted with interesting small settlements of two or three houses on either side along its length. After around 4 hours of serene travelling the river widened out, and then began to widened out again and again until it became a vast delta. And imperceptibly the delta became a vast and beautiful lake – the Tonle Sap Lake. Now dotted with waterlilies and low long pieces of ground almost level with the water and covered with lush green vegetation and even small trees.

We passed whole villages of four to eight houses either on tall silts of five or six meters high or, even more fascinating, floating on bamboo rafts. The floating settlements of houses all on rafts were so picturesque. Each house was floating on each own bamboo raft. And not only houses but small sheds, vegetable patches, chicken coups and pig pens – each on its own bamboo raft base and linked by a rope to a house.

As our long narrow boat travelled on up into the great lake we went through small floating towns – shops, community halls, schools, and school playgrounds were all floating on their own raft. Truly a beautiful and amazing sight.

So if you get the chance, I highly highly recommend that you include the river journey on the Sangke from Battenbang to Siam Reap as a travel destination to Cambodia. I loved it! For me it was, with the temples, the highlight of the trip and such a relaxing and enchanting way to travel too.

Cambodia (Country Guide)

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One Great Reason to Visit the Sanke River and Tonle Sap Lake

One great reason to visit this travel destination is to view the communities living upon the water. Houses on stilts or floating out on the water on bamboo rafts. Fascinating!

Tonle Sap, Cambodia

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Isola Bella

Situated in northern Italy and not far from the Swiss border, Lake Maggiore or more commonly known by the locals at Lago Maggiore, has much to offer as a spectacular travel destination. The lake and surrounding area make it a popular summer destination, attracting visitors from all over.

A number of islands are dotted throughout the lake, with Isola Bella being one of the more significant. The island forms part of the Borromean Islands and has been occupied since well before 1632 by inhabitants of a tiny fishing village. However, during 1632 the construction of the monumental Baroque ‘Palazzo Borromeo’ commenced by Count Carlo III. The Palace contains priceless furniture, tapestries and art collections. The terraced gardens are an excellent example of a seventeenth century “Italian garden”. Isola Bella is easily accessed from the lakeside town of Stresa.

Rick Steves’ Italy 2010 with map

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One Great Reason to Visit Lake Maggiore

One great reason to visit this travel destination is for the utterly romantic location of Isola Bella and the Palazzo Borromeo.

Lake Maggiore – Italy

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Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain in the background is located in the Cradle Mountain National Park in the state of Tasmania. The area forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The area offers a variety of bushwalking. Some short walks and some overnight camping walks. The abundance of wildlife so close up is fabulous for the visitor – to see paddy melon wallabies nibbling at the grasses, echidnas and bennets wallabies just to name a few.

Photo courtesy of Australian reader Julie.

Granada Architecture

Granada is the fourth largest city of Nicaragua and was established by the Spanish during 1524 as a showpiece. It was built in recognition of its Spanish namesake, Granada. Granada lies on the shores of Lake Nicaragua but is only a mere 70km from the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The rich, Spanish colonial heritage, can be seen in its architecture and layout. Granada is commonly referred to as the “Gran Sultana del Gran Lago”, the Great Sultan of the Great Lake.

Granada is an ‘off the beaten track’ travel destination but well worth a visit for its colonial heritage and beautiful architecture that can be enjoyed here. Granada is built around its main square, the Parque Central, and represents the city’s cultural, social and economic hub. Around the Parque Central you will find Granada’s cathedral, City Hall, banks, cultural centres, as well as a collection of small shops and stalls selling traditional food and handicrafts.

Lake Nicaragua with its warm climate makes it rich in tropical flora and fauna and is home to the only species of freshwater shark. A volcanic chain cuts right through the lake forming many beautiful islands that attract many to the area to enjoy a range of outdoor and water activities. A ferry service connects Granada to neighbouring cities on the lake.

Lonely Planet – Nicaragua (Country Guide)

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One Great Reason to Visit Granada

One great reason to visit this travel destination is to enjoy the beautiful architecture of Spanish-heritage displayed throughout the city.

Granada, Nicaragua

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Parliament House

Canberra is the political capital of Australia and located in the Australian Capital Territory. It was a purpose built city by US architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahoney Griffin. They were announced the winners of a competition to design the national capital during 1912. Canberra is well planned and demonstrates modern orderliness.

Some of the great sites to visit in Canberra include the grass topped Parliament House on Capital Hill, War Memorial, National Gallery of Australia, Lake Burley Griffin, National Botanic Garden, Old Parliament House, National Film & Sound Archive and the Australian Institute of Sport. If you have access to wheels there’s also some great places to visit just out of Canberra.

A terrific time to visit Canberra is during September and October – early Spring. For a period of 4 weeks, Canberra becomes Australia’s drawcard to celebrate the arrival of Spring with the Floriade Festival.

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One Great Reason to Visit Canberra

One great reason to visit Canberra during September and October is to marvel at the display of Spring flowers at the Floriade Festival.

Floriade – Australia’s Celebration of Spring

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