Travel

Updated: 12:22 EST

Benedict Allen and Frank Gardner head to Papua New Guinea

Reporter Frank Gardner, centre, fulfilled a lifelong dream when he and explorer Benedict Allen, pictured behind him, voyaged to Papua New Guinea to reside with members of the Kandengi village. Frank's legs were paralysed after he was shot by terrorists in Saudi Arabia 13 years ago, while Benedict had already spent several months in Kandengi during the 1980s, undergoing a brutal initiation ceremony, right. Their hunt for the elusive bird of paradise, left, was never going to be easy...

Victoria Yore and Terrence Drysdale's breathtaking photos

Florida couple Victoria Yore, 24, and Terrence Drysdale, 28, spend their days roaming the world in search of its most beautiful, unspoiled frontiers. Armed with Terrence's camera and a selection of Pre-Raphaelite dresses for Victoria, they have captured breathtaking images in places like Arizona's Grand Canyon, left, Iceland's Skaftafell National Park, top right, and the Bunbeg shipwreck in Donegal, Ireland, bottom right.

The Kangra Valley Railway runs through the Himalayan foothills from Pathankot to Joginder Nagar, and crosses a mind-boggling 950 ornate bridges during the ten-hour scenic route.

The Japanese Diamond Fruitcake took seven months to create and was sold in Tokyo for £1.65 million (£1.3 million); while the $1,000 (£800) Westin bagel from New York has white truffle cream cheese.

A young man has been killed by a tiger in front of his horrified wife and child after getting dragged into its zoo enclosure at the Youngor Wildlife Park in the city of Ningbo, China.

A one-week skiing holiday in Courchevel costs £5,465 for a family of four, compared to only £1,949 at Bulgaria's Bansko resort - a difference of £3,500 overall.

Strictly Come Dancing's Karen Clifton in the Maldives

Strictly Come Dancing star Karen Clifton recharged her batteries in the Maldives following the last season, and stayed at the Sun Siyam Iru Fushi resort, right, with her husband Kevin, pictured. There she spent hours marvelling at the native fruit bats, inset, while other highlights included a dolphin cruise.

The Mail on Sunday's Sarah Turner checks out the Sheraton Grand Park Lane, where Meryl Streep recently starred as would-be opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins in the upcoming biopic.

The Mail on Sunday's Stephen Cole was highly impressed with Crystal's newest generation 31-cabin Esprit ship, which toured the Greek Islands for a week.

Holi is India’s most vibrant celebration so don’t miss it 

The Daily Mail's Jenny Coad threw herself into India's annual springtime festival of colours in Jaipur, inset, before jetting off to Udaipur, left, to experience its glorious temples and busy markets. She also enjoyed a quieter view of Agra's Taj Mahal, in Mughal park, Mehtab Bagh, on the opposite side of the river, right.

The Inspector called in at The Mill at Gordleton hotel in the New Forest, where he found the staff to be charming and the food plentiful but uninspiring.

The Daily Mail's James Taylor took his family to the Neilson Phokaia beach club, located on the Turkish shores of the Aegean, and boasting more than 20 free activities.

The Forbidden Forest opens up at the Warner Brothers Tour

The Forbidden Forest may be off limits to Hogwarts students but visitors to The Making of Harry Potter attraction will soon be able to explore its grounds. The Warner Brothers Studio Tour London is inviting guests, from March, to follow in the footsteps of Harry, Ron and Hermione into the magical lair, pictured. The tree-filled attraction will be populated by eerie creatures from the books and films.

The bizarre sight could be seen over the Duved ski resort in Sweden earlier this week and many stopped on the mountain to take photographs of the UFO-shaped cloud.

Photographer Eric Lafforgue travelled to North Korea six times from 2008. But he has now been banned from the country after his work was published and noticed by North Korean officials.

Private Caribbean island could be yours for £400k on eBay

Anyone keen to unleash their inner Robinson Crusoe can buy a private island off the coast of Belize - on eBay.The four acre hideaway comes with a one bed wooden house (bottom left), a timber cabin on the beach (bottom right) and a boat jetty.The caye's mangrove is a nature haven and the island has coral reef that is perfect for snorkelling, dolphin spotting and bird watching.

The Swiss resort of Andermatt was popular with British skiers in the Eighties. Now, thanks to investment including the five-star Chedi hotel, it’s got grand plans to win them back.

Eerie photos capture awe-inspiring shipwrecks

These vast ships once waged war and carried cargo across the ocean, but today they sit submerged like ghostly skeletons for divers to explore. Pictured, top, the bow of the USS Saratoga, a World War II aircraft carrier which sank in July 1946 in the waters of Bikini Atoll, the Marshall Islands; bottom left, the wreck of a small boat nestled amid the Shangri-La reef in the Philippines; and bottom right, the remains of Umbria, an Italian freighter that was sunk by its own captain in 1940 in the Sudanese Red Sea to stop British forces from stealing its precious cargo.

Fascinating images of UK flights, dating back to the 1950s, have emerged revealing that ‘skycots’ were attached to the overhead luggage bin, with children placed inside for the journey’s duration.

Japan Airlines has launched a charter service that allows dogs in the main cabin on a flight from Narita airport near Tokyo to Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, for ¥150,000 (£1,037) a ticket.

Could you recognise the flag of your COUNTY?

The study of flags is known as vexillology, which is taken from the Latin word vexillum meaning flag or banner. National flags are often used as symbols of patriotism – and this is true for UK county flags, too. They are often used to represent an important historical event in a county’s past.

American historian Douglas Smith has lifted the lid on the extraordinary stash of US Army Major Martin Manhoff who was expelled from the USSR for leaving sensitive documents on a train.

Disneyland California launches 21 Royal dining experience

Disneyland Resort in California, top left, is now taking reservations for its '21 Royal' private dining experience, pictured. The elaborate custom-themed meal, main left, is hosted in a space once intended to be Walt Disney's apartment, designed using its original lavish plans. The evening costs $15,000 (£12,000) for up to 12 guests.

Al Judge and wife Kat run Alikats, which offers a collection of luxury chalets in the French ski resort of Morzine. MailOnline's Tammy Hughes sloped off to one - and found it irresistible.

The Swiss mountain region of Jungfrau inspired one of Byron's most famous poems. And its beauty is enough to captivate the modern traveller too, writes MailOnline's Alisha Rouse.

Zoos enter Twitter battle with their cutest animal snaps 

Zoos from across America and beyond have been battling it out by sharing snaps of their most adorable critters, tagged '#CuteAnimalTweetOff'. Pictured, clockwise from top left - a cheetah cub from Cincinnati Zoo; the seal pup which kicked off the contest, from Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington DC; a panda cub from Zoo Atlanta; baby chacoan peccary from Los Angeles Zoo, a turtle from Virginia Aquarium; and an elephant calf from Arizona's Reid Park Zoo

Outrigger Koh Samui beach resort features 52 standalone 'rooms' boasting plunge pools and drool-worthy designs, MailOnline Travel's Jennifer Smith reports.

Drone footage uploaded to YouTube by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) shows the massive fissure splitting the desert's surface in the Tator Hills area of southern Pinal County.

The world's wackiest boats and yachts revealed

MailOnline Travel has rounded-up a selection of bizarre, inventive, and in some cases wanderlust-worthy boats, built to whisk the most eccentric seafarers around the world. Pictured, clockwise from top left - the water-skimming Proteus, built by an Italian engineer to cure his seasickness; The Love Love, brainchild of French designer Julien Berthier, who cut his boat in half then sealed it with fibreglass; the Seabreacher, a dolphin-inspired leaping submarine conceived by New Zealander Rob Innes and Californian Dan Piazz; the Amphibious Lamborghini, which was sold on eBay in the UK last year for upwards of £18,000; and Swedish designer Christian Bohlin's duck-shaped boat, which boasts a sauna in the bow.

Recognising that almost 90 per cent of its passengers bring their own devices, American Airlines will not include monitors on board its new fleet of Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

More pictures have emerged showing men at the mosque and children at school after they were snapped by European tourists in North Africa in 1899 and put through the Photocrom process.

Roller coaster photos capture priceless expressions

The image of a man's priceless expressions as he rides a roller-coaster at Disney's California Adventure park, top left, has swept the internet, so here MailOnline Travel rounds up the best of the rest. Pictured, clockwise from top middle - men struggling with a vertical drop; a rider tearing his shirt from his chest with exhilaration on a ride in Ohio; six revellers facing their chosen destiny; a man taking a casual phone call; and a solo gentleman who appears to be having regrets at the Tivoli theme park in Copenhagen, Denmark.

UK travel firm Explore has developed software that analyses emotions to reveal ideal holiday destinations. It uses electroencephalography, or EEG, to track emotions against visual stimuli.

Researchers from Goldsmiths, University of London looked into the links between naturist activities and how satisfied the participants' felt with their bodies and their lives in general.

The haunting images of an abandoned Italian villa 

These haunting images, by 37-year-old Dutch photographer Maikel Brands, reveal how the villa’s glamorous days are long over, because the building, in the Marche region, lies abandoned. Brands, from Tilburg, said he loves photographing decaying buildings because ‘they breathe history’. He added: ‘It’s sad to see some of these old buildings go to waste. I want to capture them before they’re gone forever.’

Michael Portillo’s latest TV series follows American railroads from St Louis to Tennessee, through land trodden by explorers and cowboys as they tried to win the Wild West.

Alexander Fiske-Harrison packs his skis, walking and riding boots for a journey through the Romanian wilderness. It's an atmospheric adventure of faded gothic grandeur and vast virgin forests.

California's Mammoth resort receives record-breaking snow

More snow has fallen at the US resort this January than in any other month in its recorded history – 20.5 feet – which breaks the previous record by three feet. At the summit the base depth is a staggering 25 feet – and there’s 14 feet of snow at lower levels. Astonishing pictures have emerged from the resort showing cars and chalets buried in the white stuff (main and inset).

From addressing a flight attendant as a 'stewardess', to expecting help lifting your heavy bags into the overhead locker, here are ten things you should avoid doing next time you fly.

The ice breaks into shards after it hits the shoreline and remarkably even appears to look like a genuine wave as people gathered on the beach to watch the phenomenon at Lake Baika in Russia.

Conde Nast video shows 100 years of flight attendant style

A fascinating video exploring 100 years of flight attendant fashion has been released to highlight the iconic looks of each decade and how US air travel has evolved since its noisy beginnings. From the elegance of the 1930s to the vibrant skirt suits of modern times, female cabin crew uniforms reflect the aspirations of the jet-setting lifestyle.

MailOnline's Richard Marsden visits Hampshire, home to England’s burgeoning sparkling wine industry, which is pushing to knock Champagne off its traditional perch.

Amsterdam has developed an unfair reputation as a stoner mecca when really it has great bars, unique property and one of the world's top art collections. The stylish W Hotel has now opened up there.

Coober Pedy is an Australian Outback town underground

The mining town of Coober Pedy, located in the outback of South Australia's far north, is host to around 3,500 residents and comes complete with all the amenities of a home above ground. Pictured, clockwise from top left - a guest bedroom; one of the town's five churches; the entrance to a dwelling; a pool hall; and (inset) a welcome sign on stilts.

The formation has been dubbed an 'Independence Day' cloud due to its remarkable likeness to the one signalling the end of the world in the Will Smith film.

Plane cabin innovations in the aviation Oscars revealed 

The Crystal Cabin Awards have shortlisted 85 contenders for accolades in eight categories and are described as the ‘Oscars’ for futuristic plane cabin design. Strong entries include heated stone flooring (top right), touch screen windows (bottom right) and face cradle head rests, which have been designed by teams in Austria and Brazil. And United Airlines has been praised for its new business class cabins, which provide every passenger with aisle access (top left). Other breakthroughs include seats that can be packed away, by B/E Aerospace (bottom left).

The SoldatenKaffe, named after a cafe in Paris that was popular with Nazi soldiers, was a busy tourist spot in the city of Bandung but has now closed for good and been replaced with a karaoke bar.

The multi-car crash took place on the M40 near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire as plunging temperatures meant London was 16.4C colder than Kinlochewe in the Highlands.

Infographic reveals the riskiest laws for travellers

Pictured clockwise from top left - photographing the police, airports or any railways is illegal in Cuba; in Uganda miniskirts are banned and so is wearing camouflage; in Saudi Arabia, visitors are forbidden from having any Christmas decorations or dancing in public; and in Malaysia, collecting local flowers without permission is also punishable by law.

Ninety holidaymakers will fly to South America in a Boeing 767-300 for the three-week trip, which costs £35,000 per person. They will visit the Iguassu Falls, the Falklands, Easter Island and Cusco in Peru.

Usually, Vegas staff hand out free drinks to most gamblers on the casino floor, but Caesar's Palace and MGM Resorts are now both trialling drink-per-gamble systems on certain gaming machines.

Norwegian crew members were cooking up waffles on the boat in the Arctic sea when they got the visit. The bear poked its head through the porthole and was rewarded with a fillet of fish.

Stunning finalists of National Geographic Traveller awards

The annual competition showcases the UK’s best travel photographers in six categories. Finalists travelled to India, Ireland, Brazil and beyond to capture breath-taking snaps of dreamy landscapes and striking locals. Top images include a pair of lions drying off in South Africa (top), Northern Ireland's cloudy coast (bottom left) and the shadow of Christ the Redeemer framed by a rainbow in Rio de Janeiro (bottom right).

National Geographic has compiled a list of the best beaches in the world and includes unspoilt relaxing spots, dramatic coastlines as well as places perfect to explore the diverse marine wildlife.

From the mountains of Japan to the deserts of Namibia, the travel experts at Lonely Planet have curated a selection of honeymoon trips to suit every pair of newlyweds.

Dubai Airports said 'near record numbers' in December had pushed annual traffic at the Gulf hub to 83,654,250 passengers, compared with 78,014,838 in 2015.

Perfume creates a positive first impression and prevents odour on planes. A new French diffusion system will allow companies to scent a passenger's entire flight, from boarding to landing.

The Prague hotel with ONE ROOM that's 230ft up a TV tower

Adventurers can now have absolute privacy at this one room hotel, which offers guests a panoramic view of Prague. The beautiful city can be seen from 230 feet up, with guests able to appreciate the breathtaking view from a bird's perspective. The Tower Park Praha is a reconstructed cabin inside a television tower above the city that offers tourists a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The suite itself is fitted with a luxurious bed with hand-sewn horsehair upholstery. The beauty of the suite is reinforced by the soothing effect of natural minerals in the bathroom.

Australia plans to trial the first contactless system in Canberra later this year with fliers faces, fingerprints or eyes scanned. The technology means passports won't be checked at manned desks.

Of the 3,391 firearms intercepted at US airports in 2016, a shocking 2,815 were loaded, TSA officials have revealed. They've also listed the country’s top 10 airports for firearm discoveries.

Kristina Makeeva captures Lake Baikal frozen in Siberia

Russian photographer Kristina Makeeva captured Siberia's Lake Baikal - the oldest and deepest freshwater lake in the world, as well as one of the clearest. The vast natural cracks that form, top right, stop fish from suffocating, and the intricate bubbles, main and bottom right, are produced from methane released by the algae underneath.

Nicola Stone, 20, from Queensferry, Edinburgh, was on a trip to Lisbon, but spent most of the holiday covered in painful bites. Her bed sheets were littered with bug excrement and spots of blood.

'Babee on Board', which has been developed by 10x, a London-based innovation firm, is an app that pregnant women can use to find a seat.

Astonishing fake goods in China revealed

Travellers heading to China need to be very careful about what they purchase as it's a country that specialises in producing brazenly fake goods with names clumsily altered from the original.For instance, it is possible to pick up a caramel frappuccino at a 'Starbncks' coffee house or some groceries from an '8-12' convenience store. Elsewhere, image-conscious shoppers can buy a 'Rolexe' watch and a pair of 'New Barlun' trainers.

The ANA aircraft skidded off the runway and eventually came to a stop in a pile of snow after landing at an airport in Japan on Thursday morning. No injuries were reported.

The third class passenger coach used to transport wounded soldiers from the Western Front. Owners Ross and Claire Moore have now converted it into a railway-themed eatery in West Bay, Dorset.

Dorset B&B Bindon Bottom named the best in the world

Thousands of guests say that it's the best they've ever stayed in and pictures reveal that the interior of the B&B; (top right), near Dorset's Jurassic Coast, is furnished to five-star hotel standards. Bindon Bottom (bottom right) is run by Clive and Lisa Orchard (left), who set it up in 2010 as a change of lifestyle and a break in their careers.

Sweden’s Treehotel has unveiled designs for the 7th Room which is due to welcome holidaymakers at the end of this week. Split across two levels, the cabin sleeps six and has a lounge and bathroom.

The winners of the Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2016 competition have been announced showcasing compelling landscape, wildlife and adventure images from Sweden to South Africa.

'Haunted' Bodmin Jail set to be transformed into a hotel

There are plans for Bodmin Jail in Cornwall to be turned into a 63-bed hotel. The prison has a reputation for paranormal activity as it held more than 60 executions between 1779 and 1909. The owners want to refurbish two derelict cell-block wings, with each bedroom made up of three old cells. The inset image shows a current view of the hotel, while the other three are renderings that reveal how it will be transformed.

The Met Office said overnight fog was causing fresh disruption to air travel to thousands of people across southern England who were hoping to fly, a day after dozens of cancellations and delays.

Each animal burrows deep into their partner's fur to remove dirt and root around for ticks. Visitors can be heard laughing at the display of equine solidarity at Taigan Safari Park in Crimea.

New motor home comes with a hot tub and its own helicopter

The Elysium motor home (left) is the brainchild of Furrion, a US company that makes luxury tech products. It is a gadget-lover's paradise, with widescreen TV's, a smart toilet and a marine-grade audio system. It also has a built-in helipad on the rooftop that comes with a two-person Robinson R22 helicopter, a wooden sun deck (bottom right) and a hot tub (top right).

During the Fitur tourism fair in Madrid this month, noticeably more companies were plugging cultural attractions and nature activities to the LBGT market.

Retired engineer Jim Mitchell, 68, videoed the seven swans freeing themselves from the ice that covered the lake in Bradgate Park, Leicester.

A new interactive infographic reveals what foreign tourists are up to in the UK on a real-time basis; from how much they are spending on fish and chips, to which attractions are most popular.

World travel expert Gilbert Ott tackles five of the most common myths about securing cheap airline tickets, and explains why it is possible to get a refund after you've booked if you've paid too much.

The Mail on Sunday's Gareth Huw Davies visited the scenic French region of Vaucluse in Provence to pick his top must-see attractions - from villages and Roman ruins to markets and a grand hotel.

The Mail on Sunday's Wendy Gomersall explored Nepal's Himalayan region, where she stayed at the Dwarika’s Kathmandu hotel, and its sister property in Dhulikhel.

The restaurants with the world's best views revealed

The criterion that goes into creating a list of the world's best restaurants often centres around the food, the service and the ambience - rarely is the environment outside ever considered. But there are restaurants around the world, often in remote and isolated locations, where the unforgettable experience is as much about the view from the windows as it is about what you're eating. Instead of focusing on the food alone, you could be taking in the mesmerising views from Stratosfare in Queenstown (top left), Piz Gloria in the Swiss Alps (top right), Ithaa Undersea Restaurant in the Maldives (bottom left) or Suhail in Abu Dhabi (bottom right).

Stunning images of Britain's beautiful beaches

An Italian photographer was so taken aback with the beauty of Britain's beaches that he made it his mission to photograph them all. Alessio Putzu, 28, has spent two years touring the UK's coastline to capture the most magnificent scenery - and has snapped calm waters and crashing waves everywhere from Cornwall to the Highlands, and Northumbria to The Mumbles, Wales. Pictured clockwise from top left: Durdle Door, Dorset; Black Church Rock, Devon; South Stack lighthouse, Wales; Godrevy lighthouse, Cornwall; and inset, Hartland Quay, Devon.

James Asquith, 28, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the journey, which saw him visit all 196 countries from Australia to Iraq and San Marino in five years, by the age of 24.

The 28 foot-long luxury micro cabin in America, can be towed to any destination its owner chooses. Other design quirks include a dining table that can be transformed into a bed.

Broadcast systems engineer, Jack Richens, 37, transformed a 2012 Mercedes Sprinter with his partner - and the end result is is now full with all the fittings worthy of a 'Pimp My Ride' van

Historic images show the dramatic mountains and barren deserts surrounding Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine and Jordan which have deep cultural significance for many different religions.

The Mail on Sunday's Samantha Simmonds took her husband and three kids - aged eight, five and three - to Club Med's Pragelato ski resort in Italy, and the eldest two coped much better.

The new design by Denver-based Molon Labe features staggered seating, with the middle seat positioned further back than the outer seats. It is also lower and wider than an average seat.

Composite photos reveal 'average face' of airline staff

Software was used to generate a single 'face' for each airline made from multiple photos of its female staff (pictured) - and the Emirates image, top left, was voted the most attractive overall, as per the survey of 2,000 respondents. The United Arab Emirates-based carrier was followed by composites for American Airlines, WestJet, SkyWest, United and Delta respectively. Emirates and WestJet, a Canadian company, were the only non-US winners.

Rummu prison, Estonia, housed Soviet prisoners forced to work in a nearby quarry but it has since been abandoned and flooded, making it a dangerous attraction for ice skaters.

A glamping park in Dorset has created Britain's most luxurious treehouse that comes with a spa deck, rotating fireplace and pizza oven. The Woodsman's Treehouse sits 30ft above the ground.

The Mail on Sunday's David Whitley ventured to Portland, Oregon, where he toured some of the city's 71 beer breweries, and explored the mass of food trucks on Alder Street.

The Mail on Sunday's Jane Bussmann explored Diani Beach, a coastal region close to Kenya's Mombasa, where she found bliss at the kooky but charming Four Twenty South resort.

Jersey and Guernsey make the perfect holiday match

The Daily Mail's Fiona Hardcastle was delighted by both the Channel Islands. She marvelled at the historic Castle Cornet in Guernsey, left, where she stayed at the historic Old Government House hotel, bottom left. In Jersey, she admired St Brelade's Bay, top right, and relaxed at the lavish Atlantic Hotel, bottom right.

The Daily Mail's David Allsop explored the Grossarltal valley in Salzburg, Austria, which boasts 50 miles-worth of ski runs and plays Mozart music through speakers at lift stations.

The Inspector called in at The Inn West End near Woking, in Surrey, where he was pleasantly surprised by its warm atmosphere, newly-built rooms and excellent value food.

Beth Moon photographs the world’s oldest trees

From the otherworldly beauty of Socotra’s distinctive shrubs to the eerie, twisted branches of Florida’s kapoks – the world’s ancient trees have long fascinated holidaymakers. US-based photographer Beth Moon has travelled to Madagascar, Cambodia and beyond to photograph some of the world's oldest specimens. Pictured is the Dragon’s blood tree in Yemen (left), Kapok tree in Florida (top right) and the Avenue of Baobabs in Madagascar (bottom right).

An exotic trip to the Maldives might do your mind a world of good, but sitting down for a lengthy flight could do some serious damage to your body, according to several US health studies.

A former United Airlines stewardess from the US has shared her tips. She says it is crucial to prepare an escape plan before take-off. Advice includes where to store luggage and which exit to use.

Now THAT’s one way to pass the time waiting for a flight! Astonishing video shows female passenger doing the limbo under airport seats

Shemika Charles from New York was filmed limbo dancing at Philadelphia airport. The 23-year-old, who is a two-time Guinness World Record holder for limbo dancing, made fellow passengers' jaws drop when she completed the move earlier this week as they waited to board a flight to Wisconsin. Shemika, who calls herself the 'Limbo Queen', started practising her skill when she was 14.

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