Brazil. The word alone conjures visions of dark-haired, curvy women, swaying to samba in the sultry heat of a mid-summer’s night, clinging to their equally gorgeous counterparts on the coarse sands of Copacabana beach. The country just sort of exudes this sexy, vibrant, beautiful vibe to the average pale-faced foreigner, [...]

By Kyle Long of UnTourShanghai.com Although it’s certainly accessible these days, the Chinese once thought of the city of Sanya as the far reaches of the Middle Kingdom’s empire, and thus the end of the earth. Located on Hainan Island directly south of the mainland — putting it just a [...]

Frommer’s recently compiled a list of their favorite Central American islands, from the Turneffe Atoll in Belize — whose 30-mile-long stretch of shallow water offers over 70 different named dive sites — to the Corn Island in Nicaragua where the crowds and development are still years, if not decades, away. [...]

“Like Phuket before it became Phuket.” Anyone notice how this saying is quickly becoming the de facto description to use to describe an island in Southeast Asia that is, amazingly, undeveloped and seemingly undiscovered by tourists? (I recently wrote about this article about Boracay, Philippines — an island that also [...]

Colombia’s Caribbean coast is in the news big time this week, with article in both the Financial Times and the NY Times. Gone are the days when the region’s checkered history scared away tourists. Now, for better or worse (better if you’re a local depending on travelers), you’re more likely [...]

The gap year is a foreign concept to most Americans — most high school graduates here head straight on to college. But for the British, the gap year is a hallowed institution, the year-long break before Uni (that’s university to you Yanks) where the budding minds of the best and [...]

It’s probably safe to say that if you really want to get to know a city, stay away from where the scenic beaches and high-rise hotels are located. Far from the pulse of the city, these upscale, over-developed, tourist-friendly locales not only attract the crowds of tourists you’re likely trying [...]

It’s not often that I’m dumbfounded by the stupidity of people. Check that. It’s not often I’m this dumbfounded by stupidity. It looks as if a group of entrepreneurs locked themselves and copious amounts of drugs in a room and vowed not to leave until they had the perfect idea [...]

Is it me or does it seem like every time a new tiki bar or hotel opens up on a Southeast Asian island, the inevitable, “The next Phuket” tag seems to creep in? Which begs the question: how many Phukets can there be, and do we really need or want [...]

It’s a horrible analogy, but here it goes. Mozambique is to South Africa as Mexico is to the U.S.: Respites away from the home country where the currency goes further, the beaches go less visited, and the chance to get far away from it all is really not that far [...]