Planet Whitley - Page 19 of 19 - Global travel advice and ideas

Thoughts

Türkiye vs Turkey: When do you start using a country’s new name?

Türkiye vs Turkey A couple of weeks ago, I watched an episode of the Apprentice. The two teams were selling team-building days in Cappadocia and Bodrum. The Turkish authorities – probably the tourist board – had obviously spent a considerable amount of money to make…

Seagull in the Colosseum, Rome.

Thoughts

Why Rome is a brilliant city for solo travellers

Attraction-heavy Rome is an ideal destination for self-indulgent travel without the family. The treat of alone time You only start to realise how great travelling on your own can be when you rarely get to do it any more. It’s a similar vibe to when…

Autumn colour in Massachusetts.

Thoughts

Why leaf-peeping is not just for old people

Driving through New England, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, the joy of autumn colours reveals itself. What is leaf-peeping? Up until I actually tried it, I’d treated the concept of “leaf-peeping” with utter contempt. For the uninitiated, the general concept works as follows: You drive…

Thoughts

Some random observations about driving in the US

Americans drive differently, you know. The following random thoughts were ones that sprung to mind as I drove from Boston to Chicago. They’re not entirely based on this trip – a lot of these things I’ve noticed on other big US drives as well. Not…

View from Millennium Park in Chicago.

Thoughts

Revisiting Chicago – and why the third visit to a city is often the best

A third visit to Chicago provides a valuable lesson to apply to the rest of the world. First time vs second time in Chicago The first time I visited Chicago, I was thoroughly bowled over. The skyline got me giddily excited, the vibe seemed right…

The old customs hut on the France-Switzerland border.

Thoughts

The day I decided to walk to France

There is an irresistible lure in crossing a border, purely because you can… Being entertained by maps From fairly early in my career as an annoying child, my parents realised the way to stop me screaming to go into every Little Chef we drove past…

The Montreal Biodome.

Thoughts

Montreal is Canada’s best city: Here’s why…

David Whitley compares his experiences in Canada’s big three metropoles. A free gig in Montreal Sidling down past cafés and restaurants that have abandoned their usual premises to sell their wares from temporary grills on the street, I find myself following the noise to a…

Kayaks lined up by the Muri Lagoon, Rarotonga.

Thoughts

Muri, Rarotonga: The perfect holiday town?

On Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, David Whitley discovers that a decade can make a substantial difference. How Muri has changed Muri doesn’t quite look or feel like it did. The key lure is still the same – the most photogenic stretch of Rarotonga’s lagoon,…

Family room

Thoughts

Why booking a family holiday is horrible – and how to improve it

The problem with booking a family holiday Last night, I booked a holiday. I remember a time when this used to be relatively simple – find the cheapest flight, pick out a decently-located, affordable hotel. But finding somewhere to stay as a solo traveller, or…

Piazza Colonna in Rome, Italy.

Thoughts

The two things Rome’s piazzas sadly lack

The famous squares of Rome There’s a certain romance to the grand piazzas of Rome. Bernini’s symmetry and classicism makes St Peter’s Square justifiably revered worldwide, the grand fountains of Piazza Navona provide a glorious focal point for the café terraces and elsewhere, restaurants spill…

The Las Vegas Monorail.

Which hotels are on the Las Vegas Monorail?

Hotels with Las Vegas Monorail stations include the MGM Grand, Sahara and Linq. With monorail tickets costing from $5.50, you can save money on taxis going to shows. Where does the Las Vegas Monorail go? The Las Vegas Monorail is, for many visitors, the best…

Las Vegas, Nevada, public transport, USA

In praise of the decent restaurant within a short walk of your hotel

In praise of the decent restaurant within a short walk of your hotel

Repeat after me: Not every meal needs to be an adventure. Before I write this exhausted. I have spent four days on my feet, walking back and forth across Rome, and having my ankles repeatedly brutalised by its savage, merciless cobblestones. It is my last…

Italy, restaurants, Rome

Michelangelo's frescoes from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

Why I hated the Sistine Chapel

I went to see one of the greatest pieces of art ever created, and it was awful. The Conclave Fantasy If I was a cardinal, I would drag the Conclave to elect a new Pope out as long as possible. It would be a shameless…

art, Italy, Rome