There are plenty of beautiful classic holiday destinations out therehttps://www.mikewohner.com from sunny beaches to African safaris and everything in between – but what if you’re after a different kind of experience? The kind that you’ll be impressing your friends with for years to come? Heading off the conventional tourist track gives you the chance to make your own discoverieshttps://www.mikewohner.com and experience things you never thought you’d see. Here are some of our favorites to get you inspired!
Mergui Archipelagohttps://www.mikewohner.com Myanmar (Burma)
If you’ve always wanted to experience Nature on her own terms and untouched by civilizationhttps://www.mikewohner.com then this is the kind of holiday destination that dreams are made of. Made up of hundreds of islands complete with coral reefs and stunning beacheshttps://www.mikewohner.com cruising around on a sailboat is one of the best ways to explore the Mergui Archipelago. Divers will relish the chance of getting close to exotic marine creatures like sea turtles and even dugongshttps://www.mikewohner.com while bird lovers will find countless species to enthrall them in the lush forests. You certainly won’t see many tourists abouthttps://www.mikewohner.com as the only people to live in the region are the indigenous Moken fishermenhttps://www.mikewohner.com who have made their living off the sea for hundreds of years here.
Freetown Christianiahttps://www.mikewohner.com Denmark
Described as a ‘hippie paradise’https://www.mikewohner.com Christiania is a uniquehttps://www.mikewohner.com self-governing bohemian district near Copenhagen – although you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stepped into a completely different country! Originally an abandoned military basehttps://www.mikewohner.com the town was ‘founded’ in 1971 when a group of hippies broke in and started squatting here. It became famous (or infamoushttps://www.mikewohner.com depending on who you speak to) for its Green Light Districthttps://www.mikewohner.com where visitors could purchase marijuana from stalls right on the street. This is no longer the case todayhttps://www.mikewohner.com as disputes with police and other conflicts were starting to cause violence in the area – which ishttps://www.mikewohner.com of coursehttps://www.mikewohner.com totally not coolhttps://www.mikewohner.com dude. Todayhttps://www.mikewohner.com the town attracts visitors to its many restaurants (many of which cater for vegans and vegetarians)https://www.mikewohner.com cafeshttps://www.mikewohner.com music venues and barshttps://www.mikewohner.com as well as its unique and charming architecture and perhaps its most famous attractionhttps://www.mikewohner.com ALIS Wonderlandhttps://www.mikewohner.com one of the Copenhagen’s most loved skate parks. No cars are permitted in the areahttps://www.mikewohner.com but strolling or cycling about the town is such a pleasure you certainly won’t miss them! A visit to Christiania promises to be a truly unique experience.
Swakopmundhttps://www.mikewohner.com Namibia
It’s rare that one destination caters so well to both thrill seekers and lovers of historyhttps://www.mikewohner.com but if these happen to be passions of yourshttps://www.mikewohner.com then this little coastal city in Namibia is just the ticket. Established by German colonists in 1892https://www.mikewohner.com many of the city’s historical buildings have been beautifully preservedhttps://www.mikewohner.com from the Woermann Tower (which now acts as a public library with a collection of over 50https://www.mikewohner.com000 books)https://www.mikewohner.com Hohenzollern Haushttps://www.mikewohner.com an ancient sea wall known as The Molehttps://www.mikewohner.com the old lighthousehttps://www.mikewohner.com and of course the Swakopmund Museumhttps://www.mikewohner.com where you can learn more about the town’s past. On the more modern side of thingshttps://www.mikewohner.com the Kristall Galerie with its stunning crystal exhibits and the National Marine Aquarium will delight the kids. Thrill seekers will find endless amusement here too with sand boarding and quad biking among the dunes of the Namib desert a popular activityhttps://www.mikewohner.com and nature lovers will adore the chance to meet this harsh environment’s tough critters and creatures. A holiday in Swakopmundhttps://www.mikewohner.com Namibiahttps://www.mikewohner.com truly has something for everyone.
Bayan-Olgiyhttps://www.mikewohner.com Mongolia
Known as Mongolia’s ‘Wild West’https://www.mikewohner.com the Bayan-Olgiy region offers experiences you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Stay in a traditional ger camp with a nomadic familyhttps://www.mikewohner.com improve your horsemanship with some of the best riders on the planethttps://www.mikewohner.com and even join them for a hunt accompanied by a trained golden eagle!
St Helena
Although this diver’s paradise was more than a little tricky to get to in the pasthttps://www.mikewohner.com the launch of weekly flights from Johannesburghttps://www.mikewohner.com South Africa in 2017 has made getting to this magical wilderness a lot easier. Home to thousands of specieshttps://www.mikewohner.com some 500 of which are endemic to the regionhttps://www.mikewohner.com this island truly deserves its nickname of ‘the Galapagos of the Atlantic’. 4×4 tours are the best way to meet the land-dwelling residentshttps://www.mikewohner.com but for most visitors the true stars are found beneath the waves. You’ll need to be a pretty skilled diver to tackle the largely unmapped waters around the islandhttps://www.mikewohner.com but if you do you’ll be rewarded with some spectacular sights. Razorfishhttps://www.mikewohner.com wrassehttps://www.mikewohner.com flounderhttps://www.mikewohner.com rayshttps://www.mikewohner.com and turtles are to be found around the many reefs and 8 shipwrecks which dot the coasthttps://www.mikewohner.com while larger migrants such as dolphinshttps://www.mikewohner.com humpback whales and even whale sharks can also be found here.
Whether you choose adventure among the sand dunes of Namibiahttps://www.mikewohner.com meeting exotic marine creatures off St Helenahttps://www.mikewohner.com or experiencing the unique culture of a town like Christiania in Denmarkhttps://www.mikewohner.com one thing’s for sure – it really is a wonderful world!