Travel

Updated: 13:09 EST

Hitchhiker Ana Bakran's solo journey around the world

Ana Bakran, 34, made her epic solo journey - armed with pepper spray - from her Croatian hometown of Zagreb to Bora Bora, French Polynesia, in an astonishing feat that took her three years and eight months, and led her through 25 countries. Pictured is Ana on a fisherman's boat from Maupiti to Bora Bora (main); hitching a helicopter ride in Australia (top right); waiting on the side of the road in Iran (bottom right); gazing over Raiatea Island, in French Polynesia (bottom left); and (top left) hitchhiking in Australia in her wearable sleeping bag.

Images capture an abandoned Amazonian-themed water park

With slides long dried up and the Amazonian themed décor devastated by graffiti, the final days look bleak for the once popular Atlantida Water Park in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria. The once vibrant palm trees are now wilted and the pipelines that joyful children whizzed through into the waters below now lie rusted. The tourist attraction closed in 2009 and is now set to be transformed into a 26million euro (£22million) shopping centre.

The 73-year-old Monty Python star won the prize for his 'outstanding contribution' to travel writing at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards at London Olympia on Thursday.

MailOnline's Sophie Williams visited the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam in search of a luxury stay in the hip Dutch city. The hotel prides itself in giving guests the true Waldorf experience.

The Amazon jungle might not seem like the most hospitable place to take a holiday, but there are ways to do it in the lap of luxury, and even if you're scared of insects you will survive, as James Gordon found.

Two men had argued while queuing for security checks at China's Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport today. Footage shows the pair punching each other as security staff intervened.

Inside Japan's new Train Hostel Hokutosei in Tokyo

The Train Hostel Hokutosei, located in Tokyo's Nihonbashi business district, is fashioned from the retired Hokutosei sleeper train and opened in December, with beds costing 2,500 Japanese Yen (£17.70) per night. Pictured clockwise from top left, the hostel's convertible bunks and original aluminium ladders; one of its two private sleeping cabins; the communal kitchen area and its fold-out chairs.

As The Mail on Sunday's Caroline Hendrie reveals, there's something for everyone among these new and special cruises on the Continent's greatest cruises.

Nigel Planer took a 10-night cruise through central Myanmar from Mandalay down to Yangon, along the winding Irrawaddy river.

The most amazing plane facts ever

Some say the post-fact world has taken off. That may be true, but here you’ll only find grounded information about planes and air travel that will astound, amaze and intrigue. MailOnline Travel has scoured the internet and spoken to insiders at the Royal Aeronautical Society and carriers such as British Airways and easyJet to bring you 39 incredible plane facts. 

The Mail on Sunday's Caroline Hendrie toured France's River Doubs and Burgunday canal aboard the MS Jeanine barge, making stops in picturesque regions such as Besancon.

The Mail on Sunday's Sarah Lucas took a cruise aboard Emerald Waterways for a ten-day cultural voyage from Budapest to Bucharest.

The best hotels in North America and Europe revealed

The top 10 hotels in the US, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe have been revealed in a prestigious new 2017 ranking, by U.S. News & World Report. Based on expert and consumer ratings, over 5,000 luxury hotels across North America were evaluated, with Chicago’s The Langham crowned the number one hotel in the US (bottom right). Ritz Carlton Montreal took the title for Canada, One&Only; Palmilla, Los Cabos (top left), received the highest praise in Mexico and Eden Rock – St. Barths soared above all competition in the Caribbean. In Europe, 2,096 hotels were recognised as outstanding with The Lanesborough in London lauded as the best on the continent. Las Ventanas al Paraíso, A Rosewood Resort, San José del Cabo (bottom left), and Jamaica Inn, Ocho Rios (top right), also featured highly in the rankings.

Using the hack, which works by booking flights where your destination is only a stopover, then 'missing' the last leg, you can fly from London to Los Angeles cheaper in premium than economy.

The Mail on Sunday's Bridget McGrouther stepped aboard Saga's Pearl II for a cruise that departed in Dover with a Spitfire plane display and wound up in the French coastal town of Boulogne.

Timo Lieber's THAW captures Greenland's melting polar ice

London-based landscape photographer Timo Lieber shot the series - dubbed Thaw - in July 2016, perched from small planes and helicopters as he was flown several hundred miles over Greenland. They capture the Arctic's increasingly large body of blue lakes and rivers as they spill over the melting ice, and aim to bring viewers closer to an environmental calamity that is unfolding far from where we'd otherwise witness it.

Scientists measured the air quality on board a ship leaving Marseille and found the concentration of ultra-fine particles was up to 20 times worse than in the city centres of port cities.

The sun rises over the clouds in front of the summit of Haleakala volcano in Haleakala National Park on Hawaii's island of Maui, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Park officials say the sunrise on Haleakala attracts over a thousand people a day, resulting in an overload of visitors and creating a safety hazard. As a result, anyone wanting to see the sunrise on the summit will now be required to make reservations in advance and pay a small fee. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

The number of people and vehicles visiting the summit of Haleakala for sunrise viewing exceeds the number of available parking spaces almost every day and the situation is only getting worse.

The creepiest playgrounds in the world revealed

MailOnline Travel has compiled a collection of frankly terrifying play areas from around the world, which you might want to avoid paying a visit to with your children. Pictured clockwise from top left, a wonky Thomas the Tank Engine in Kazakhstan; a disturbing tunnel arrangement in South Korea; a climbing frame draped with plastic skeletons at the Heilig-Kreuz Kirche church in Munich, Germany; a slide with a scenic view of an unknown graveyard; and (inset) a creepy playground in Russia.

The Mail on Sunday's Bridget McGrouther explored Norway's dazzling fjords aboard the Emerald Princess, which departed from Southampton and stopped at the Jotunheimen national park.

Cameraman Kim Wolhuter was able to get extremely close to a family of cheetahs and follow their progress for nearly two years. He witnessed their fight for survival as the cubs grew older.

World landmarks photographed under a blaze of stars

A self-taught photographer, Oscar Keserci has captured mesmerising nocturnal images of millions of stars over the island of Rhodes, Greece, and at home near Kirkkonummi, Finland. Pictured: The Milky Way shot at night over Inkoo, Finland (main); a snap taken on Attaviros mountain in Rhodes (bottom left) and a solitary tree on the island (bottom right).

Fliers travelling on the US low cost carrier's ‘Bare Fare’ ticket, set to be introduced in April, will see their free cabin baggage size allowance cut to 18in x 14in x 8in.

The world's best spas of 2017 revealed

The winners of the Conde Nast Traveller Spa Awards 2017 have been announced featuring blissful retreats to suit every type of serenity seeker in destinations including Italy, India and Germany. Pictured: Yaan Wellness, Tulum won the best new hideaway award (top left), Anassa in Cyprus was named most consistent high performer (top right), the best fitness regime accolade went to Rancho La Puerta in Mexico (bottom left) and stylish Thai retreat Amanpuri took the gong for best bespoke retreat (bottom right).

A travel booking site has revealed its strangest passenger demands in 2016. One customer asked to sit in the cockpit and another wanted posh chocolates instead of an aeroplane meal.

Villa specialist operators are now enjoying a comeback, especially at the higher end of the market in Corfu, finds The Mail on Sunday's Frank Barrett during a literary tour of the island.

SkyPixel reveal winners of aerial photo contest

Talented professional and amateur aerial and drone photographers hailing from countries including Italy, Iceland and Germany have won accolades in the SkyPixel 2016 aerial imagery contest. This spellbinding capture - Fishermen Closing the Net - taken in China took the Grand Prize (main) followed by a camel train snaking across the desert (bottom right) and a Spillway Selfie (bottom left) in first and second place respectively in the professional photographer beauty category.

In this Jan. 30, 2017 photo, a traveler walks past the soon-to-be-open ROAM Fitness gym at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Md. Working out while waiting for your flight will soon be an option at BWI, where the only gym at a U.S. airport past security will open this week, with plans for 20 more at airports by 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The only gym at a US airport that's beyond security opened this week at Baltimore Washington International Airport and there are plans to open 20 more at airports by 2020.

William Hanson on how Washington hotels host presidents

The Washington Hilton (inset), Capital Hilton and Hay-Adams in DC have all hosted presidential balls and dinners. Here Mr Hanson reveals how they keep presidents safe and well fed. Pictured clockwise from top left: President Obama at the 2009 MTV Youth Ball at the Washington Hilton, former president Bill Clinton with staff at the hotel, President George Bush at his inaugural ball at the Washington Hilton in 2005 and Ronald Reagan, with Nancy, at the same hotel when he became president in 1981.

Cricket commentator, Henry Blofeld and his wife, embark on their first voyage on a big ocean liner, the Cunard's Queen Elizabeth, on a journey from the UK to Spain and Portugal.

In the Post Office’s latest Family Ski Resort Report, Kranjska Gora in Slovenia has overtaken Bansko in Bulgaria in the best-value rankings and is the cheapest of 16 ski resorts across Europe.

Les Machines de l'ile's giant mechanical animals in France

Welcome to Les Machines de l'ile, a curious theme park located at the former shipyards of Nantes, western France, where mechanical animals roam amid the crowds. Pictured, clockwise from top left, a huge spider; a 40ft moving elephant that can transport 50 passengers at a time; a dragon-horse hybrid; and (inset) a pair of horses on the arcade's Carrousel des Mondes Marins.

The setting for Shakespeare's great tale of teenage obsession, Romeo and Juliet, Verona is an Italian city of love and affection. Singleton Daisy Dunn wonders if she will be swept off her feet.

Police believe suspects threw poisoned chicken meat into the lions' enclosures at a game farm in Alldays, South Africa, and that the thugs tried to skin one of the big cats but said they were interrupted.

Lanzarote is renowned as a beach destination and a place for winter sun. But this craggy member of the Canary Islands club also conceals volcanic secrets galore. Jo Knowsley goes into the belly of the beast.

The Loire region of France is best known for its dreamy chateaux and its wonderful wines. But it is also a fine venue for a family cycling and kayaking break, as Gordon Miller discovers.

Inside the abandoned horse racing grandstand in Japan

The derelict Imperial building, hidden behind shrubbery and a fence, lies atop a hill overlooking Negishi Forest Park in Japan (top left). Dating back to 1866, Negishi Grandstand was one of the first Western-style racetracks to open in the country. However, it became a printworks around the time of WWII, then a prison then later a bowling alley, before being left to rot in the 1980s. The buckled interior betrays signs of its previous incarnations with discarded sofas (bottom left), signs in English (inset) and a warren of haunting corridors (top right) all captured on film by a French photographer.

Crete is the biggest of the Greek islands, and the most southerly too - making for mild weathers and out-of-season sunshine. Angela Epstein finds history and food in the middle of the Med.

Stunning winter drone images from Canada to Russia

Winter may be unpleasant to experience – but as these stunning drone photographs taken in places such as Russia, the US, Canada and Italy show, its effects are incredible to look at. MailOnline Travel reveals how winter’s icy tentacles leave behind some amazing scenes. The main image shows an epic migration of caribou on lake Ennadai in Canada, bottom left an enchanting snowy wood in Italy and bottom right the Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt, Russia.

Researchers from Wits University, in Johannesburg, found evidence for a continental crust beneath Mauritius (pictured), which would have been part of the continent 'Mauritia'.

An international team of experts has now visited the reef, which runs from French Guyana to the Brazilian state of Maranhão - an area larger than the cities of São Paulo or London.

Russian women stage racy mannequin challenge in Dubai

The Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah (centre) was annoyed at being geo-tagged in several pictures by guests on Instagram. It complained that some pictures looked like a lingerie shoot. In retaliation, the women staged a display of flesh-flashing outside the front door, which was captured by a drone camera.

Zoos from across America have been battling it out by sharing snaps of their most adorable critters, tagged '#CuteAnimalTweetOff' - with entrants from Cincinnati, Virginia, New York and beyond.

From the French-designed 'sinking' yacht, to the spider-like water vessel built by an Italian engineer to cure his seasickness, MailOnline Travel reveals the strangest water vessels.

Zookeepers from the US have revealed which animals have the funniest behaviour. They include a wolf that liked to steal people's belongings and a chimp that traded a keeper's keys for bananas.

Balint Alovits, from Budapest, captured these images of Bauhaus and Art Deco staircases in a bid to show his hometown's 'unnoticed architectural masterpieces'.

Inside this season's new luxury hotel and chalet openings

This season's new holiday chalets in places like Europe and Canada can cost up to £400k a week. They feature everything from F1 simulators and wine cellars to cigar rooms and beauty salons. MailOnline Travel has rounded up some of the best new openings on the market this season. Pictured clockwise from top left: Ferme de la Corderie chalet in Les Gets, France, Chalet Chouqui in Verbier, France, Chalet Blumen Haus in Lech, Austria, Chalet Chouqui, and Chalet Milou in Verbier, France.

The image of a man's priceless expressions as he rides a roller-coaster at Disney's California Adventure park has swept the internet, and here MailOnline Travel rounds up the best of the rest.

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.

The Mail on Sunday's Giles Milton and his wife enjoy their first holiday without the kids in tow. After travelling by ferry to Normandy they are rewarded with incredible gastronomy.

The amazing image was uploaded to Reddit of '80 hawks' being flown on a plane 'by a Saudi prince' which baffled and delighted social media users in equal measure.

Iran before the revolution shows a stunning contrast

The stunning photos of life across vibrant Iran in the 60s and 70s portray a seemingly cosmopolitan kingdom on the brink of change. MailOnline Travel has rounded up a selection of archive images of this colourful destination, which has long been shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding. Pictured: Female students relax outside Tehran university in 1971 (left), Persian rugs line the road for President Eisenhower's motorcade in Tehran in 1960 (top right) and the capital's glamorous locals kick off their heels to do the Tehran twist in the 1960s (bottom right).

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.

Comparing the cost of 120 return flights from eight airports across the UK, travel experts found that ticket prices soared on average three times more than the same flight taken earlier that month.

The Attrap'Rjves family hotel is built in the heart of woodland in Allauch, France. From £100 a night, guests can stay in a two-person bubble room made from clear plastic with 360-degree views of nature.

The Kardashians' amazing Costa Rican holiday home

The Kardashian-Jenner clan holidayed at Villa Manzu on the Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica. The eight-suite estate sits on five acres on an isolated peninsula, with two swimming pools, a spa, a cinema room and 180-degree sea views. It comes with a 'naturalist guide', chef, bartender, concierge and a butler. Plus a range of sports vehicles for guests to use.

This infographic shows retreats where famous works were penned. It includes the Edinburgh cafe where J K Rowling wrote Harry Potter, George Orwell's island home and Mark Twain's writing hut.

Chilean red La Moneda Reserva Malbec won best in its category at the Decanter World Wine Awards last year and it was imported into Walmart stores. We reveal how it took the US by storm.

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.

Is this Cotswolds cottage Britain's loveliest B&B?

Pepper Cottage in Kemerton is a gem of a B&B;, with a worldly, charming host, opulent rooms and a very green and pleasant setting. It is the quintessential, delightful English country cottage. It has a thatched roof and nestles down a narrow lane between two orchards in a village that's barely more than a handful of houses. Inside it's wonderfully olde worlde with lots of wooden beams – the building dates back to the late 1500s – and slightly uneven floors.

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 with her husband Kevin.

The Daily Mail's Jenny Coad threw herself into India's annual springtime festival of colours in Jaipur, before jetting off to Udaipur to experience its glorious temples and busy markets.

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. Their hunt for the elusive bird of paradise, inset, was never going to be easy...

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 churches, museums, bars art galleries, and a pool hall.

The Crystal Cabin Awards have shortlisted 85 contenders for accolades for their futuristic plane cabin designs. Teams in Brazil, Austria and the US have come up with innovative concepts.

Sydney is set for one of its hottest nights on record with the mercury expected to hit 31 degrees at midnight. Temperatures reached 35 degrees in the city by 1pm on Monday and nearly 45 in the west.

A brave slack-line enthusiast captured the moment on video that he incredibly walked between the two ends of Yosemite Park's Upper Falls in California's Sierra Nevada mountains.

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 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.

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 Harry Potter 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.

In Saudi Arabia, you are banned from having any Christmas decorations and dancing in public, while taking any literature that glorifies Nazis in or out of Germany is also illegal.

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 landscapes and locals.

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.

The Tower Park Praha is a reconstructed cabin inside a television tower above Prague that offers tourists a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Russian photographer Kristina Makeeva captured Siberia's Lake Baikal - the oldest and deepest freshwater lake in the world - frozen over to reveal vast cracks and trapped bubbles.

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.

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