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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
10 places where you can ditch your car this summer
More than 45 million U.S. travelers took road trips for Memorial Day 2025—an increase of approximately one million from the previous year, breaking the 2005 record of 44 million people driving to their desired destination for the holiday weekend. Choosing a car-free destination is a way both to save at the pump and help save the planet. Places that prohibit, or at least greatly restrict, motorized vehicles range from the well-known (Venice, Italy, the world's largest pedestrian zone), to the less-charted Geithoorn in the Netherlands and Holbox Island in Mexico. A horn-free, less-hurried vacation can be more relaxing. 'Traveling without a vehicle alleviates the stresses of route-finding under pressure, the headache, and expense of finding parking spots in busy city centers, and allows people to slow down and soak in a destination at walking speed,' says Paul Melhus, CEO and cofounder of ToursByLocals, which leads trips to auto-free zones, including Dubrovnik in Croatia, Governor's Island in New York, and Hydra Island in Greece. Here are 10 places where you can ditch your wheels and start unplugging immediately. Inhabited since the Stone Age and just 1.4 square miles, Denmark's Tunø is easy to explore on foot, bike, scooter, and traxas, the island's tractor taxis. Travelers arrive via a scenic hour-long ferry from Hou (on the Odder Coast of Jutland), perhaps spotting seals and porpoises along the way. Covered in lush green hills that rise above sandy, stony beaches, the island lures hikers and birders. The best views come at the tower of the 14th-century Tunø Church, an unusual combination of chapel and lighthouse surrounded by apple trees and blackberry bushes. Tunø has several restaurants and a microbrewery, as well as a former dairy converted into a soothing and affordable seaside inn. Located on Lake Huron between Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas, Mackinac Island has been a popular vacation spot since the late 19th century. More than 80 percent of the 3.8-square-mile island is covered by Mackinac Island State Park, with its natural trails and butterfly conservatory. Historic buildings in the postcard-pretty downtown hold boutiques and restaurants including coffeeshop/art school the Watercolor Café and the Ice House BBQ with its expansive garden. The island's seven confectionaries crank out 10,000 pounds of fudge a day. The Grand Hotel, built in 1887 and home to the world's longest front porch, just added a new BMX bike path, a miniature golf course, pickleball courts, and a greenhouse nature center. (Explore why it's important to preserve historic hotels.) One of the largest contiguous car-free urban locations in the world, the 690-acre Medina of Fez is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the best-preserved medieval town in Morocco. Its 9,400 narrow, meandering streets are open only to foot and donkey traffic. Beyond its souks—which sell food, spices, lanterns, and leather—the medina holds centuries-old palaces, mosques, fountains, and schools. The Bab Boujloud (blue gate), is the main entrance to the old town. Dar Batha, a palace museum, has an excellent collection of local artifacts, especially textiles and embroidery, plus a garden with a mosaic patio and fountain. Stay at one of the city's many riads, historic mansions that have been transformed into boutique hotels. While non-Muslims are prohibited from entering most mosques, the library of the ornate Al Quaraouiyine Mosque is open to the public. A UNESCO World Heritage site with Hellenistic roots (B.C. 323-33), this small island settlement in the Adriatic features architecture from Roman to Baroque. Located an hour west of Split—reachable by bus, taxi, or water taxi—Trogir holds a quaint, cobblestoned Old Town with pristinely preserved medieval buildings. The finest might be the 13th-century Cathedral of St. Lawrence with its 150-foot bell tower, three naves, and a stone portal featuring intricately carved nude images of Adam and Eve. A short-but-dazzling waterfront promenade is lined with palm trees, seafood restaurants, and cafés. Local guide Dino Ivančić jokes, 'I can't keep up with them all. They are like mushrooms, popping out after the rain.' Several music festivals take place here in the summer. For the sunny Adriatic beaches Croatia is known for, Čiovo is a quick walk over a pedestrian bridge. A spit of land once frequented by pirates, Little Corn Island feels like a lost tropical paradise. Maybe that's because getting here requires a flight to Great Corn Island, about 50 miles off the coast of Nicaragua, then an eight-mile boat ride onward in the Caribbean. Although tourism is Little Corn's biggest business, even high season is crowd-free. Walk the one-square-mile island under mango, breadfruit, and coconut trees. Or sink into a hammock on palm-shaded beaches. If you're not daunted by heights, climb the vertical metal ladder to the top of the Little Corn Lighthouse, a lightless tower with impressive views of the island and its candy-colored sunsets. Hiking and horseback riding paths head into the jungle and along the shoreline. The idyllic waters surrounding Little Corn can be explored via paddleboard, kayak, or Miskito, a type of primitive wooden sailboat named after the Indigenous people who created them. A 10-minute water shuttle from the Cote d'Azur zips nature and history fans to Porquerolles, the most-visited of France's Golden Isles. Its pristine stretches of sand, limestone cliffs, and lush greenery can be explored via hiking and biking trails that crisscross the seemingly trapped-in-time island, 80 percent of which forms Port-Cros National Park. Beaches, including secluded Notre Dame, can be reached by ferry, foot, or the many e-bikes for rent. Tour gardens and several historic fortresses, including the 14-century Sainte-Agathe Fort. The Villa Carmignac, a Provençal farmhouse-turned-museum, fills 21,000 square feet with contemporary art. The main village, founded in the 19th century, claims the bulk of the island's 22 restaurants and several shops. There are also dozens of lodgings options, from boutique hotels and villas to houseboats. The blissful surrounds draw thousands of visitors a day in the summer, making spring or early fall the best time to come. Wildlife watchers, kayakers, and hikers find crowd-free, car-free nature in California's windswept Channel Islands National Park. Five of these eight small islands off the coast of Santa Barbara can be accessed by private plane or boat or via ferries which operate several times a week in season. The trip through the Pacific takes between one hour to four hours each way; upon arrival you'll need your own water—and a tent if you want to stay over. (Take this epic trail around Canada's Prince Edward Island.) Isolation and a unique mix of warm and cool ocean waters fuel biodiversity on both land and sea. In the depths off Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Anacapa islands, snorkelers and divers might see giant black sea bass and California moray eel amid kelp forests and sea caves. Worthwhile hiking trails include a flat walk to Water Canyon Beach on Santa Rosa Island and a grueling 16-miler on foggy, challenging-to-reach San Miguel Island, best attempted with a guide. Birders come to the islands to spot Western gulls, Brandt's cormorants, Scripps's murrelets, and the only nesting population of California brown pelicans along the West Coast. Scenic and compact, Hội An is a former colonial trading port on the Thu Bồn River in central Vietnam. Its Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, features 1,000 buildings dating from the 15th through 19th centuries, including shophouses and pagodas. Its most photographed spot? A 400-year-old Japanese bridge, built, some believe, to prevent the mythical Japanese monster Namazu from thrashing about and causing earthquakes. The nights here are ambient and lantern-lit; days buzz with cruises on round, Vietnamese basket boats, cooking classes, or visits to one of Hội An's legendary tailors, who can whip up a custom dress or suit in 48 hours. Refuel with a sweet Vietnamese coffee or a banh mi; Hội An is considered a sandwich capital. There are numerous lodging options, including the new Hội An May Village and Hội An Riverland Villa. Less than an hour's drive southwest from Spain's Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra (the capital of a Galician province by the same name) went car-free in 1999, helped by a government program that created 1,600 free parking spaces around its perimeter. Now travelers can traverse Pontevedra's Old Town end-to-end in a 25-minute walk, taking in handsome stone buildings, including the Gothic-style Santa Maria Basilica and the barrel-shaped Church of the Pilgrim Virgin, who is said to guide voyagers along the Portuguese route of the Camino de Santiago. (Learn why the pandemic spurred a pilgrimage travel boom.) Pontevedra Museum showcases Celtic coins, religious iconography, and contemporary paintings. The city's tree-lined central plaza, Plaza de la Herrería, is surrounded by restaurants and bars, most pouring the crisp white wines of the nearby Rías Baixas. After lunch, walk over the Lérez River via the Burgo Bridge, a medieval crossing built over a Roman one. Water and wildlife are the big draws at Rottnest Island ('Rotto' to locals), a short ferry ride from Perth, amid the coral reefs and shipwrecks off Australia's western coast. Dozens of beaches offer swimming, snorkeling, sea bikes, and other watery diversions. Glass-bottomed boat trips spotlight marine life such as bottlenose dolphins and 400 species of fish. Rottnest (a mere seven miles by three miles) is small enough to walk in a day, but is best seen via hop-on, hop-off buses that loop around the island, or on an e-bike or Segway. Or explore hidden coves and shorebird-rich wetlands on the Wadjemup Bidi, a 27-mile network of walking trails. Keep an eye out for quokkas, native wallabies with upturned lips that some say are the happiest animal in the world. The Indigenous Whadjuk Noongar people inhabited the island thousands of years ago. Landmarks related to their culture headline in GoCultural's Aboriginal Tours and Experiences. This article was updated on June 6, 2025, but originally published on May 18, 2022. Robin Catalano is a Hudson Valley-based travel writer. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
National Geographic
2 days ago
- National Geographic
10 destinations where you can ditch your car this summer
More than 45 million U.S. travelers took road trips for Memorial Day 2025—an increase of approximately one million from the previous year, breaking the 2005 record of 44 million people driving to their desired destination for the holiday weekend. Choosing a car-free destination is a way both to save at the pump and help save the planet. Places that prohibit, or at least greatly restrict, motorized vehicles range from the well-known (Venice, Italy, the world's largest pedestrian zone), to the less-charted Geithoorn in the Netherlands and Holbox Island in Mexico. A horn-free, less-hurried vacation can be more relaxing. 'Traveling without a vehicle alleviates the stresses of route-finding under pressure, the headache, and expense of finding parking spots in busy city centers, and allows people to slow down and soak in a destination at walking speed,' says Paul Melhus, CEO and cofounder of ToursByLocals, which leads trips to auto-free zones, including Dubrovnik in Croatia, Governor's Island in New York, and Hydra Island in Greece. Here are 10 places where you can ditch your wheels and start unplugging immediately. Tunø, Denmark Inhabited since the Stone Age and just 1.4 square miles, Denmark's Tunø is easy to explore on foot, bike, scooter, and traxas, the island's tractor taxis. Travelers arrive via a scenic hour-long ferry from Hou (on the Odder Coast of Jutland), perhaps spotting seals and porpoises along the way. Covered in lush green hills that rise above sandy, stony beaches, the island lures hikers and birders. The best views come at the tower of the 14th-century Tunø Church, an unusual combination of chapel and lighthouse surrounded by apple trees and blackberry bushes. Tunø has several restaurants and a microbrewery, as well as a former dairy converted into a soothing and affordable seaside inn. Mackinac Island, Michigan Victorian architecture and old-fashioned atmosphere draw visitors to Michigan's Mackinac Island. Cars are banned, so tourists get around the 3.8-square-mile island on foot, bike, or via horse-drawn carriage. Photograph by Wiltser, Getty Images Located on Lake Huron between Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas, Mackinac Island has been a popular vacation spot since the late 19th century. More than 80 percent of the 3.8-square-mile island is covered by Mackinac Island State Park, with its natural trails and butterfly conservatory. Historic buildings in the postcard-pretty downtown hold boutiques and restaurants including coffeeshop/art school the Watercolor Café and the Ice House BBQ with its expansive garden. The island's seven confectionaries crank out 10,000 pounds of fudge a day. The Grand Hotel, built in 1887 and home to the world's longest front porch, just added a new BMX bike path, a miniature golf course, pickleball courts, and a greenhouse nature center. (Explore why it's important to preserve historic hotels.) Medina of Fez, Morocco One of the largest contiguous car-free urban locations in the world, the 690-acre Medina of Fez is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the best-preserved medieval town in Morocco. Its 9,400 narrow, meandering streets are open only to foot and donkey traffic. Beyond its souks—which sell food, spices, lanterns, and leather—the medina holds centuries-old palaces, mosques, fountains, and schools. The Bab Boujloud (blue gate), is the main entrance to the old town. Dar Batha, a palace museum, has an excellent collection of local artifacts, especially textiles and embroidery, plus a garden with a mosaic patio and fountain. Stay at one of the city's many riads, historic mansions that have been transformed into boutique hotels. While non-Muslims are prohibited from entering most mosques, the library of the ornate Al Quaraouiyine Mosque is open to the public. Trogir, Croatia The 13th-century Cathedral of St. Lawrence towers over the old town in Trogir, Croatia. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its wealth of medieval and Baroque buildings. Photograph by Robert Harding, Alamy Stock Photo A UNESCO World Heritage site with Hellenistic roots (B.C. 323-33), this small island settlement in the Adriatic features architecture from Roman to Baroque. Located an hour west of Split—reachable by bus, taxi, or water taxi—Trogir holds a quaint, cobblestoned Old Town with pristinely preserved medieval buildings. The finest might be the 13th-century Cathedral of St. Lawrence with its 150-foot bell tower, three naves, and a stone portal featuring intricately carved nude images of Adam and Eve. A short-but-dazzling waterfront promenade is lined with palm trees, seafood restaurants, and cafés. Local guide Dino Ivančić jokes, 'I can't keep up with them all. They are like mushrooms, popping out after the rain.' Several music festivals take place here in the summer. For the sunny Adriatic beaches Croatia is known for, Čiovo is a quick walk over a pedestrian bridge. Little Corn Island, Nicaragua A spit of land once frequented by pirates, Little Corn Island feels like a lost tropical paradise. Maybe that's because getting here requires a flight to Great Corn Island, about 50 miles off the coast of Nicaragua, then an eight-mile boat ride onward in the Caribbean. Although tourism is Little Corn's biggest business, even high season is crowd-free. Walk the one-square-mile island under mango, breadfruit, and coconut trees. Or sink into a hammock on palm-shaded beaches. If you're not daunted by heights, climb the vertical metal ladder to the top of the Little Corn Lighthouse, a lightless tower with impressive views of the island and its candy-colored sunsets. Hiking and horseback riding paths head into the jungle and along the shoreline. The idyllic waters surrounding Little Corn can be explored via paddleboard, kayak, or Miskito, a type of primitive wooden sailboat named after the Indigenous people who created them. Porquerolles Island, France A 10-minute water shuttle from the Cote d'Azur zips nature and history fans to Porquerolles, the most-visited of France's Golden Isles. Its pristine stretches of sand, limestone cliffs, and lush greenery can be explored via hiking and biking trails that crisscross the seemingly trapped-in-time island, 80 percent of which forms Port-Cros National Park. Beaches, including secluded Notre Dame, can be reached by ferry, foot, or the many e-bikes for rent. Tour gardens and several historic fortresses, including the 14-century Sainte-Agathe Fort. The Villa Carmignac, a Provençal farmhouse-turned-museum, fills 21,000 square feet with contemporary art. The main village, founded in the 19th century, claims the bulk of the island's 22 restaurants and several shops. There are also dozens of lodgings options, from boutique hotels and villas to houseboats. The blissful surrounds draw thousands of visitors a day in the summer, making spring or early fall the best time to come. Channel Islands, California Wildlife watchers, kayakers, and hikers find crowd-free, car-free nature in California's windswept Channel Islands National Park. Five of these eight small islands off the coast of Santa Barbara can be accessed by private plane or boat or via ferries which operate several times a week in season. The trip through the Pacific takes between one hour to four hours each way; upon arrival you'll need your own water—and a tent if you want to stay over. (Take this epic trail around Canada's Prince Edward Island.) Isolation and a unique mix of warm and cool ocean waters fuel biodiversity on both land and sea. In the depths off Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Anacapa islands, snorkelers and divers might see giant black sea bass and California moray eel amid kelp forests and sea caves. Worthwhile hiking trails include a flat walk to Water Canyon Beach on Santa Rosa Island and a grueling 16-miler on foggy, challenging-to-reach San Miguel Island, best attempted with a guide. Birders come to the islands to spot Western gulls, Brandt's cormorants, Scripps's murrelets, and the only nesting population of California brown pelicans along the West Coast. Hoi An, Vietnam Chua Cau, commonly known as the Japanese Covered Bridge, is a wooden structure dating to the 16th century. It's among the historic attractions in the old town of Hội An, Vietnam. Photograph by Peter Forsberg, Alamy Stock Photo Scenic and compact, Hội An is a former colonial trading port on the Thu Bồn River in central Vietnam. Its Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, features 1,000 buildings dating from the 15th through 19th centuries, including shophouses and pagodas. Its most photographed spot? A 400-year-old Japanese bridge, built, some believe, to prevent the mythical Japanese monster Namazu from thrashing about and causing earthquakes. The nights here are ambient and lantern-lit; days buzz with cruises on round, Vietnamese basket boats, cooking classes, or visits to one of Hội An's legendary tailors, who can whip up a custom dress or suit in 48 hours. Refuel with a sweet Vietnamese coffee or a banh mi; Hội An is considered a sandwich capital. There are numerous lodging options, including the new Hội An May Village and Hội An Riverland Villa. Pontevedra, Spain Less than an hour's drive southwest from Spain's Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra (the capital of a Galician province by the same name) went car-free in 1999, helped by a government program that created 1,600 free parking spaces around its perimeter. Now travelers can traverse Pontevedra's Old Town end-to-end in a 25-minute walk, taking in handsome stone buildings, including the Gothic-style Santa Maria Basilica and the barrel-shaped Church of the Pilgrim Virgin, who is said to guide voyagers along the Portuguese route of the Camino de Santiago. (Learn why the pandemic spurred a pilgrimage travel boom.) Pontevedra Museum showcases Celtic coins, religious iconography, and contemporary paintings. The city's tree-lined central plaza, Plaza de la Herrería, is surrounded by restaurants and bars, most pouring the crisp white wines of the nearby Rías Baixas. After lunch, walk over the Lérez River via the Burgo Bridge, a medieval crossing built over a Roman one. Rottnest Island, Australia Water and wildlife are the big draws at Rottnest Island ('Rotto' to locals), a short ferry ride from Perth, amid the coral reefs and shipwrecks off Australia's western coast. Dozens of beaches offer swimming, snorkeling, sea bikes, and other watery diversions. Glass-bottomed boat trips spotlight marine life such as bottlenose dolphins and 400 species of fish. Rottnest (a mere seven miles by three miles) is small enough to walk in a day, but is best seen via hop-on, hop-off buses that loop around the island, or on an e-bike or Segway. Or explore hidden coves and shorebird-rich wetlands on the Wadjemup Bidi, a 27-mile network of walking trails. Keep an eye out for quokkas, native wallabies with upturned lips that some say are the happiest animal in the world. The Indigenous Whadjuk Noongar people inhabited the island thousands of years ago. Landmarks related to their culture headline in GoCultural's Aboriginal Tours and Experiences. This article was updated on June 6, 2025, but originally published on May 18, 2022.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Yahoo
Dreading a long layover? Here's how to turn it into a second vacation
Layovers are an unavoidable part of travel that rarely spark joy. Why? Because they often afford extensive periods of sitting and waiting, or grant you just 30 minutes to sprint across city-sized airports at Olympic speeds to catch the next flight. Sometimes, it's a debate of whether seven hours is enough time to go through customs, leave the airport to explore, then come back and go through security again. Occasionally, you're contending with an awkward 12-hour stretch that may or may not be a great opportunity to explore a city, depending on whether that stretch falls in the middle of the night. But what if instead of dreading layovers, it was possible to turn them into part of the vacation; something, perhaps, you could even look forward to? Read on to learn how to transform your next layover into an actual vacation. Given how little vacation time most Americans have, it's not always possible to extend a layover. However, if you can budget in a few more days, the benefits of turning a layover into its own vacation go beyond simply getting to see another city. Considering the cost of flights, being able to work two trips into one flight also eliminates the need to book a second future flight to the layover destination. Also, consider the benefits of easing jet lag. If you're traveling internationally, you probably spent a good amount of money on your trip and don't want to waste your first few days in paradise sleeping off your jet lag. When flying across the world, jet lag can hit hard — taking a multi-day layover lets you begin adjusting to the time difference before reaching your destination. (Related: Jet lag doesn't have to ruin your trip. Here's what you can do.) Price is a factor when choosing a layover destination, both in terms of how affordable the flights are, and also how expensive the layover city is. Many European flights have stopovers in Zurich, Switzerland, but even if you find a cheap flight through Zurich, know that it is one of the most expensive cities in the world. The same goes for Singapore and Iceland, two excellent layover destinations that are also very pricey. However, while the layover may be costly, this is still a more affordable way to visit one of these destinations, rather than taking a dedicated trip there, as the flight would already be factored into your other trip. If you only have a couple of days to stay, contemplate how quickly and easily you can explore the top sights. For short layovers, it makes sense to visit somewhere with densely packed attractions so you don't spend the entire time in a car or on a bus. For extremely short layovers, consider booking a tour with a company like ToursByLocals; the company offers several hours-long tours with guides who may also be able to pick you (and your luggage) up from the airport and drop you back before your connection. The timing of your trip can also help determine where you should — or shouldn't — schedule a layover, such as the Caribbean during hurricane season. Additionally, knowing what significant religious, cultural, or seasonal activities are taking place can impact where you decide to spend extra time. A large number of international flights (including US-based airlines like Delta, United, and JetBlue) fly directly to Amsterdam before continuing on to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Some of these stopovers include extra-long layovers that are 16-22 hours, which is enough time to explore some of the main attractions without having to book a separate ticket. Nearly all of the city's top sights (Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, canal boat rides) are located within its hyper-walkable city center, which makes for efficient exploration. Note that many top museums here sell out months in advance, so book tickets as soon as you have your flight. Singapore's Changi Airport might even be better known than the destination it's located in. Tourists flock here to visit its hundreds of eateries and to see thousands of plants adorning a 131-foot indoor waterfall. In fact, so many travelers schedule long layovers here that tour agencies arrange quick city trips right from the airport. As impressive as the airport (and its food) are, there's far more to explore in Singapore. Travelers can spend up to 96 hours in Singapore without extra airfare costs, and through Singapore Airlines' Stopover Holiday Package, travelers can take advantage of free airport transfers and discounts on top attractions and luxury hotels. Considering how many direct flights to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East fly out of New York's JFK Airport, New York City is an extremely popular layover destination for travelers heading from the West Coast. And, because booking a separate roundtrip ticket out of JFK can sometimes save hundreds of dollars per ticket, travelers can redirect those savings toward a vacation in New York. The same goes on the West Coast, where many direct flights to Asia fly out of Seattle and Los Angeles, making both cities great options for layover vacations. Given how many direct flights leave out of Dubai to Asia, Africa, and elsewhere in the Middle East, it's also a prime layover location. Dubai's hometown airline, Emirates, offers direct flights from a dozen US cities, and their Dubai Connect program provides free hotel accommodation, ground transfers, meals, and visa assistance to passengers with layovers between eight and 26 hours. For longer stays, a separate stopover package is needed, and the Emirates Stopover program offers discounted rates on hotels, experiences, bundle packages, and new flight bookings. Mexico City — often referred to as CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico) — may be one of the biggest cities in the world, but it's also one of the easiest to explore. Major airlines offer direct flights here from almost every major US city. Once you've arrived in CDMX, it's a quick hop around the Caribbean or down to Central and South America. Or, stay longer and explore the vibrant culinary scene and the alternative and artsy side of Mexico City, where many of the top attractions are conveniently located in and around walkable neighborhoods. You can also head an hour north to the Mayan archeological site of Teotihuacan, home to the third-largest pyramid in the world. (Related: A taste of Mexico City.) Given Iceland's climate, your itinerary could differ dramatically depending on when you visit. While some options — like visiting glaciers, geysers, and thermal baths — are available year-round, summer is the best time for hiking, biking, and puffin-spotting, while winter is the best time to see the northern lights. Iceland's largest carrier, Icelandair, makes it an even more appealing layover destination with its generous 'Stopover in Iceland' package that allows travelers to spend up to seven days in Iceland before flying to Europe. The website is easy to use and the booking process lets you choose a stopover on one or both legs of the journey, and it even offers suggested one-, two-, and three-day itineraries. Cassandra Brooklyn is a New York City-based writer and tour leader who specializes in sustainability and the outdoors. She is the author of the guidebook Cuba by Bike. Follow her on X.
National Geographic
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
Visit this island to dodge Thailand's 'The White Lotus' boom
Spend a day at sea Just as Koh Samui is surrounded by the Ang Thong National Marine Park, Malolo Island also has extraordinary ocean adventures accessible by boat. While the characters of The White Lotus simply cruise around on Gary's yacht in episode four, you won't regret packing a snorkel to see the magnificent coral reefs. For a more hands-on experience in marine restoration, join the Coral Gardeners, an organization that tends to coral nurseries and transplants coral to damaged reefs to help restore the delicate ecosystem. Visitors staying on Malolo Island can arrange a day trip to other islands in the Mamanuca archipelago, like South Sea Island, where active vacationers can go kayaking, snorkeling, and swimming. Photograph by Don Mammoser, Shutterstock Set-jetters shouldn't miss the nearby Monuriki Island where the movie Cast Away, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year—was filmed. Sidney James Cox, a private tour guide with ToursByLocals recommends heading to the iconic island for a hike. 'Many people love to take a day trip to Monuriki Island, known as 'Castaway Island.' There are short hikes to amazing viewpoints here, and you can see many pristine beaches.' Malolo Island and the surrounding area are ideal for watersports. 'Paddleboarding, swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and sailing are all fun ways to get out in the ocean,' explains Cox. Adventurous wave riders can take a 30-minute boat ride to the famous, but challenging Cloudbreak surf spot, known for its world-class lef-hand wave that breaks over a shallow reef. Embrace local Fijian traditions and culture Visitors to Malolo Island can immerse themselves in Fijian culture and learn about traditions such as meke performances, a traditional Fijian dance combined with song and storytelling to share the island's history, culture, and values. It's not uncommon for local resorts to host or feature these traditional performances on-site. Visitors to the island should also witness firsthand a lovo—a customary feast cooked in an underground oven. This Fijian feast usually consists of a slow-cooked chicken with sweet cassava as well as other meats and root vegetables marinated in flavorful local herbs and coconut milk. While on Malolo Island, visitors can't leave without trying kava. Fiji's national drink is made from dried yaqona root, a pepper plant. An acquired taste, the calming, intoxicating beverage hits the palate with bitter, earthy overtones, but the social aspects of the kava ceremony are what you will truly remember. Commonly practiced in Pacific Islands, the traditional ritual involves drinking the mildly sedative drink served from a communal bowl (tanoa) into coconut shells (bilo) to participants sitting in a circle. Kava gives the taster a numbing sensation in their mouth, followed by a mellow, relaxed feeling, amplified by the charm of being welcomed into a circle of strangers. Ravitu compares the importance of culture in Koh Samui and Malolo, saying, 'Both islands have a strong cultural identity, with Malolo embracing Fijian traditions that you can experience firsthand when visiting the neighboring village. This hospitality is driven by the upbringing of the Fijians where their traditional community mindset and welcoming ways are extended to tourists visiting the islands. Visitors often experience these cultural practices firsthand, such as the kava ceremony. This traditional ritual not only allows guests to connect with locals but also fosters a sense of belonging and shared experience.'
