travel blog
The travel that changed me: Mark Vanhoenacker
As a commercial pilot and best-selling author, Mark Vanhoenacker has seen the world from a rare perspective. Here, he tells us about life in cockpit Growing up in the small town of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Mark Vanhoenacker spun the illuminated globe in his bedroom and dreamt of distant cities. Streets unspooled, towers shone and anonymous crowds bustled in cities where Mark could be anyone – perhaps even himself. Now, as a commercial airline pilot, Mark has spent nearly two decades criss-crossing the planet, touching down in the cities he imagined as a child. Mark revisits these cities month after month and year after year, and has seen them grow and change in a way few of us ever will. Mark first wrote about his experiences in the best-selling Skyfaring, followed by How to Land a...
Trekking the Highlander Svaneti in Georgia
Trekking the Highlander Svaneti offers an authentic taste of Georgia’s unspoilt northwest, a region as beautiful as it is remote Just 20 years ago, Svaneti was considered a danger zone. Today, with an embarrassment of snow-capped 4,000m peaks, enchanting villages dotted with tower houses and gleaming glaciers standing sentry over meadows of wildflowers, Svaneti is a paradise for hikers. Located in the remote northwest of Georgia, on the slopes of the mighty Caucasus Mountains near the border with Russia, wild and mysterious Svaneti has seen a tumultuous history including marauding Mongols and murderous blood feuds. Following independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union and the ensuing Georgian Civil War, the frontier region became a safe haven for criminals on the run. Atlas &a...
20 interesting facts about Svalbard
We share the most interesting facts about Svalbard, collected on our expedition to ‘the last stop before the North Pole’ Svalbard is said to be Europe’s last great wilderness. This archipelago of ice, rock and permafrost lies midway between Norway and the North Pole and is accordingly untrammelled. Measuring 24,209 sq mi (62,700 sq km), Svalbard comprises nine main islands, chief among them Spitsbergen, home to the de facto capital, Longyearbyen. Very little grows in Svalbard and it’s shrouded in darkness for much of the year, making it one of the most hostile places on earth. While ostensibly part of Norway, Svalbard operates as a separate entity with its own quirks and customs. Here, we share the most interesting facts about Svalbard, gathered on our 8-day expedition to the ‘last stop be...
Visiting Ny-Ålesund, the northernmost settlement in the world
Kia reckons with a palpable sense of desolation while visiting Ny-Ålesund, the literal edge of civilisation There are places and moments in my life which have felt far removed from civilisation: the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, the Atacama Desert in Chile, Lac Abbé in Djibouti, Paradise Bay in Antarctica, and 81°17’5’’N in the High Arctic. These places have one thing in common. They are untamed and uninhabited. They have felt wild because they are wild. They can be dangerous, even fatal, in the wrong conditions. It’s fair to say that these are frontier places – but none have felt so strikingly bleak as Ny-Ålesund on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. Here, it’s not the wildness that strikes you but the opposite: the tiny huddle of buildings that dare at civilisat...
The travel that changed me: Melanie White
In a new memoir, former yacht chef Melanie White examines the dark side of luxury travel. Here, she explains why her story had to be told At age 22, Melanie White is flying high. Good grades at school? Check. Reliable university degree? Check. Steady graduate job? Check. Her feet are firmly planted on the ground until she finds herself plunged into the superyacht industry – despite having been on a boat only three times in her life. Melanie White As a yacht chef, Melanie must devise, develop and deliver fine dining menus for some of the wealthiest people on the planet, all while learning how to run, sail and race a multi-million-pound yacht on the job. She is forced to adapt to a wholly unnatural life, largely confined to a crammed galley and bunk bed with live-in colleagues. Amid the...
Longyearbyen: a walking tour of the world’s northernmost town
Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost town, is easily seen on foot. We share our tried-and-tested route for exploring this remote outpost It’s okay. You didn’t come all the way to Svalbard, anchored in the Arctic Ocean roughly midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole, to linger in Longyearbyen. You don’t need to “eat like a local” here or “get under the skin” of the destination. It’s just not that type of town. There has never been an indigenous population in Svalbard. The first humans arrived on the archipelago just over 400 years ago to hunt and whale. As a result, local populations of wildlife were decimated with several species brought to the brink of extinction. Fortunately, decades of conservation work have seen vast tracts of land protected and wildlife number...
Svalbard packing list: how to prepare for the last stop before the North Pole
A curated Svalbard packing list with links to specific products that have been tried and tested by Atlas & Boots I was feeling if not cocky then certainly complacent. I had been to the Arctic once or twice and had returned from Antarctica just a few months earlier. Svalbard in comparison would be a cinch I was sure. The route map, however, gave me pause. Svalbard is known as ‘the last stop before the North Pole’ and it’s not just a marketing gimmick. It is really bloody north. To put it into context, our trip to Antarctica reached 66°33′ south of the equator. Our trip to Svalbard, however, would travel to 81°17′ north, far further than we’d travelled before. In fact, we would go within 500 miles (800km) of the North Pole – just over half the length of Britain. [embedded con...
Don’t look down: the world’s most dangerous hikes
With bandits, molten lava and wild animals posing a threat, blisters are the least of your worries on the world’s most dangerous hikes From trekking across the treacherous windswept mountains of South Georgia to picking your way along the rickety walkways of Mount Hua Shan in China, these hikes are not for the fainthearted. 11 of the world’s most dangerous hikes Dizzying heights may be the least of your worries on the world’s most dangerous hikes. Instead, you have to prepare for extreme weather, erupting volcanoes and ferocious wildlife among other threats on these hair-raising trails. 1. Shackleton’s Route, South Georgia Island Biggest danger: Exposure, crevasses and a very remote location On 20th May 1916, Sir Ernest Shackleton and two others stumbled into the whaling station ...
Kayaking in Svalbard: ice and isolation in the high Arctic
Kayaking in Svalbard among the icebergs of Hamiltonbukta showed us the true magic and magnitude of nature in the Arctic Sometimes, I hear myself talking about my job and think, “God, I sound ridiculous.” It’s usually when I’m rattling on about where I’ve been and have to check myself, remembering that most people aren’t fortunate enough to visit places like the Galápagos or Easter Island – let alone both in a single trip. Recently, one of these occasions cropped up when I was wriggling into a heavy-duty dry suit in preparation for our kayaking excursion in Svalbard. A fellow passenger asked me if I had done this before and I explained that, unfortunately, I had missed out on a kayaking excursion earlier in the year in Antarctica because of Covid-related restrictions. “You were in Antarctic...
Polar Plunge Q&A: everything you need to know
The Polar Plunge is a fearsome rite of passage for visitors to Antarctica and the Arctic. Here, we share what you need to know so you can leap with ease I still remember the moment I learnt about the Polar Plunge. I was at home in London on a typically gloomy day in the mid 2010s. I was wasting time online when I came across an article about Antarctica. Sadly, I can’t remember the writer’s name, but the photo of her was joyous: midway through the Polar Plunge, her body drawn into a starfish shape, a jubilant smile on her face. It was so pure and fun, and completely unselfconscious in a way that women are taught not to be. I decided that one day I too would take the Plunge. Fast forward seven years and I’ve done it in both Antarctica and the Arctic. To help you decide whether or not t...
In photos: 20 reasons to visit Svalbard
From vast landscapes and giant glaciers to sly foxes and posing seals, we share some of the myriad reasons to visit Svalbard in the Arctic Known as the last stop before the North Pole, Svalbard proved to be the Arctic we had always imagined: midnight sun, gleaming glaciers and snowcapped peaks, a frigid ocean riddled with ice and extraordinary wildlife including walruses, sea birds and polar bears. We visited the remote archipelago on an 8-day Svalbard expedition with Albatros Expeditions aboard the Ocean Atlantic where we sailed in the perpetual sunlight of the Arctic summer. Our route took us from the main town of Longyearbyen around the west coast of Spitsbergen, Svalbard’s largest island, where we dropped anchor in sheltered fjords to make landings and Zodiac excursions. We t...
In videos: 12 surreal man-made dive sites
From lost ancient cities to the world’s largest underwater theme park, these man-made dive sites are sure to intrigue At Atlas & Boots, we’ve dived some astonishing sites, from Steve’s Bommie in the Great Barrier Reef to the Sonesta plane wrecks in Aruba. We’re pretty hopeless at fish identification, so when it comes to diving, unless it’s a truly amazing reef system, we’re generally more interested in diving something new or unique (like an airplane or bommie). Enter the man-made dive site. We’ve scoured the Internet in search of videos of some of the most curious artificial dive sites out there – every one of which has now been added to our diving bucket list. Man-made dive sites From historic cities that have crashed into the ocean to artificial exhibitions installed ...
