travel blog
Arctic or Antarctic: how to pick your polar adventure
Can’t decide between the Arctic or Antarctic for your polar adventure? Our guide will help you choose between 66° north or south The North and South Poles were only “conquered” in relatively recent history. The South Pole was first attained in 1911 by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen after his epic race with the ill-fated Robert Falcon Scott. The conquest of the North Pole is a little murkier thanks to its location in the middle of the Arctic Ocean among waters that are almost always covered with shifting sea ice. It’s possible that Frederick Cook was the first to reach the North Pole in 1908 or perhaps it was Robert Peary in 1911 or maybe Richard E. Byrd who was the first to fly over it in 1926… But it wasn’t until Roald Amundsen’s definitive flight over the Pole...
Is Antarctica worth it? – and all your other questions answered
Our expedition to the great white continent inspired a host of questions, most commonly: is Antarctica worth it? We share our answers below The cynic, it is said, knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It doesn’t make you a cynic, however, to question the value of a trip to Antarctica given the hefty price tag. Ranging from seven to twenty thousand dollars per person, it’s a once in a lifetime expense, so it’s perfectly natural to ask: is Antarctica worth it? This is the question readers asked most frequently about our trip to the seventh continent. Value, of course, is subjective. Some people value an expensive wedding while others prefer to spend on the honeymoon. Some value a three-carat diamond while others prefer fine dining. Of course, we at Atlas & Boots value t...
In photos: 22 reasons to visit Antarctica
From island-sized icebergs to close encounters with humpback whales, we share some of the myriad reasons to visit Antarctica Antarctica was the final frontier for us. It was the only continent we hadn’t visited – our seventh – and a twice-postponed adventure that we had been planning for over two years. We finally boarded our Albatros Expeditions ship in early January and sailed out of Ushuaia to cross the notorious Drake Passage. Three days later, we crossed 66°33′48.9″ south of the Equator – the Antarctic Circle – before making landfall on the continent the following morning. Finally, we’d made it. Albatros Expeditions A map of our voyage 21 reasons to visit Antarctica For us, visiting Antarctica was a watershed moment. It was everything we had hoped it could be: wild, isolated, beautifu...
How to choose hiking boots: a beginners guide
Our simple guide on how to choose hiking boots will ensure you enjoy every step of the trail. Here’s how to pick the perfect pair Footwear is a hiker’s most critical piece of gear. Inappropriate or poorly fitted boots or shoes can spoil a day on the trail and have you gritting your teeth with every step. But with a dizzying array of choices, from lightweight trail running shoes to double-layered plastic mountaineering boots and everything in between, knowing where to start can be bewildering. how to choose hiking boots To make the decision easier, we’ve put together a beginners guide on how to choose hiking boots. Know your requirements Before you consider the following points, first give some thought to when and where you’re going to be hiking and what the conditions and terrain will be l...
Antarctica: why my seventh continent was more than just an ego trip
Kia explains why a voyage to Antarctica finally gave her a sense of peace I am one of six sisters, which has always earned me a certain cachet; a sort of second-hand, useless celebrity like that of air hostesses and identical twins. The last time I mentioned “all my sisters” in public, a stranger cut in to ask how many. People are often keen to know if we all get along, how often we see each other and what it was like growing up. I tell them it was happy and messy and loud. The truth is that it was for a while, but as soon as we entered our teens, we found ourselves shunted to a different orbit: home, school, library. My sisters and I were no longer allowed to roam freely, thanks to our parents’ conservative views on what young Asian women should and should not be. We each adju...
7 US national parks that require a reservation in 2022
America’s outdoor spaces are becoming increasingly congested, so more US National Parks will require a reservation in 2022 In 1872, the US established Yellowstone National Park, the country’s first and the world’s second national park (after Bogd Khan Uul in Mongolia). The park became an international model for the preservation of biodiversity and cultural history; a model that has been replicated around the globe. In 2021, Yellowstone received a staggering 4,860,537 recreation visits, up 28% from 2020 (3,806,306 visits), making it the busiest year on record. May, June, July, August, and September were the busiest months on record with July also the most-visited month on record in Yellowstone’s history and the first time visitation exceeded one million visits in a single month. Although Ye...
12 of Earth’s most remote places and communities
From eastern Greenland to northern Alaska, we explore some of the most remote places on Earth Whether it’s astronomical distances, inhospitable climates or extreme terrains that define these remote and hostile lands, there’s one thing they all have in common: they are on my bucket list. That and the fact that people live there. It’s highly unlikely I’ll actually make it to many of these far-flung realms – I certainly didn’t get to Ittoqqortoormiit on my 2019 trip to Greenland – but I salute the hardcore residents who carve out an existence in the most remote places and communities on Earth. 1. Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland Ittoqqortoormiit is located on Liverpool Land, a peninsula in eastern Greenland and one of the most remote towns in the country. It was first inhabited in 1925 b...
Best travel books 2022: our top 10 picks
From a grumpy hiker’s outing in the mountains to the isolated shores of North Sentinel Island, we list the best travel books 2022 Travel memoirs are tricky beasts. In theory, 400 pages about someone else’s trip isn’t exactly appealing – like a protracted version of Jenny from Accounting’s week-long trip to Tuscany. In reality, travel memoirs can be entertaining, illuminating, funny and heartbreaking. Our best travel books 2022 include one man’s look at slavery and racism in the oldest city on the Mississippi River; a mother’s attempt to escape poverty by tracing whales to Alaska; and a historian’s portrait of the most isolated tribe in the world. These books not only reveal new and strange places, they expose curiosities closer to home. Most importantly, they encourage us all t...
Our top Instagram shots of 2021
From the Throne of Zeus to the largest glacier in the Alps, we share our top Instagram shots of 2021 Unsurprisingly, travel in 2021 turned out to be more, uhm, domestic than we had planned. After the disappointments of 2020, we had high hopes for 2021. Alas, it turns out that pandemics are unpredictable. We did manage to squeeze in a couple of international trips, but they were definitely more short than long haul. As such, our top Instagram shots of 2021 reflect this. Most are shots from around the UK, with one or two from Europe, but anything from further afield was a throwback post to a time when we took travel for granted. We’ve got big plans for 2022, but – just like last year – they will all depend on circumstances that are largely beyond our control. So, for now, I’ll bid you all a ...
Atlas & Boots’ top 10 posts of 2021
As we come to the end of another difficult year, we reflect on our highs and lows – on and off the blog I thought that things would be different this year. We ended 2020 on a low but hopeful note and I really thought the world would be back to normal this year. Instead, travel continues to limp on. Here in the UK, lockdown hangs like the sword of Damocles, yet again threatening our trip to Antarctica. There is a sense of time ticking by, especially for Peter who has lost two years of climbing in his prime, which has impacted his lifelong dream to climb the seven summits. As ever, we’re trying to focus on the good things. Peter managed to get away to Switzerland and Greece, and we had our first trip together in nearly two years: a beach and diving holiday in Cyprus. He walked th...
20 most beautiful mountains in the US
The most beautiful mountains in the US are a contentious subject, for this is a land that brims with beauty. We scoured the states and whittled them down to a list of 20 Legendary climber Reinhold Messner said that there are three rules of mountaineering: “It’s always further than it looks. It’s always taller than it looks. And it’s always harder than it looks.” Messner was the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousander mountains and has undoubtedly seen the ugly side of the world’s most beautiful mountains. Thankfully, those of us less alpine inclined can observe these peaks from afar. Most of us might content ourselves with the most beautiful mountains in the US instead. To help get you started, we’ve whittled our favourites to a list of 20. Most beautiful mountains in t...
