Exploration Vacation

Looking for a summer escape?

While an overwater bungalow is one way to enjoy French Polynesia, a road trip along Tahiti's wild east coast doesn't cost much and offers dramatic mountain scenery, black sand beaches, challenging hikes, a few small villages, and lots of waterfalls. 

And you'll mostly have it to yourself.

What could be better than that?

Sweden’s Icehotel is a great destination any time of year, but it's at its best in winter when the seasonal ice hotel is open, there's snow on the ground, and you might catch the aurora borealis in the night sky.

Sure, it's cold, but that's part of the fun. And you'll be so busy enjoying all there is to do and taking in the artful ice room galleries you'll decide it's worth tackling the cold!

Check it out on ExplorationVacation and see if you're ready to dive into winter fun!

Looking to catch a bit of Christmas spirit? Head to the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis to celebrate Christmas with a Scandinavian flair.

At Christmas, you’ll find the historic Turnblad mansion decked out for the holidays to represent the traditions of Sweden and other Nordic countries.

Learn more and see more pictures at ExplorationVacation.net.

There’s still time to see “Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes” at MIA (the Minneapolis Institute of Arts) in Minneapolis. The show features about 150 spectacular bronzes from ancient China, with lighting by art director and designer Tim Yip (best known for his work in the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). These bronzes were used to “make offerings to heavenly and ancestral spirits,” and every single one is exquisite.

 The galleries used for this exhibit are intended to evoke the settings where these pieces were originally used. However, the exhibit doesn’t include information on the individual pieces or their use aside from a very basic brochure. If you want detail on individual pieces, you have to look elsewhere.

I suspect this designed-for-Instagram exhibition style focused on visuals and emotions rather than history and facts is the future of signature exhibits. I’m sure it will make art museums more appealing to a wider audience. I’m less certain it will deepen understanding of and appreciation for the art itself or the cultures that created it. But the pieces included in this exhibit are exceptionally beautiful and the display is very dramatic. It’s beautiful. But you might want to do some homework before you go if you want to understand what you are seeing.

 “Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes” will be at MIA until May 21.

Every spring in Washington DC the the Tidal Basin and select spots around the National Mall erupt in clouds of cherry blossoms.

Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park offers a few lucky visitors the opportunity to hike in near solitude in spectacular scenery.

It’s that time of year again, when the tulip fields are blooming in the Netherlands. That makes it a great time for a Tulip Cruise!

Head over to https://explorationvacation.net/belgium-and-holland-gate-1-tulip-time-river-cruise/ to learn more about what you can see on (and what you need to know to book) a spring cruise through Holland and Belgium. Or combine a cruise with a driving tour like I did. . . or skip the cruise completely and explore on your own! 

I’ve been looking back at an amazing place I visited years ago, the Tsodilo Hills UNESCO World Heritage site in Botswana. It has one of Africa’s largest collections of rock art. And sometimes it also has amazing wind storms! 

Founded in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens is a sprawling UNESCO World Heritage site. Orchids are an important part of the Botanic Gardens, as they have been since the since the beginning.

Today the Botanic Gardens’ National Orchid Garden is home to over 60,000 orchid plants. It’s one of the world’s largest tropical orchid displays.

In the far north of Iceland, pretty little Siglufjörður (Siglufjordur) belongs on every Iceland Ring Road itinerary.

The Ring Road, Iceland’s Route 1, offers a wealth of stunning scenery, waterfalls, and weird geology. There are even a few charming towns right along the way. But some of the country’s most attractive towns require a side trip.

Siglufjörður, one of Iceland’s cutest towns, is a perfect example of why visitors should venture off Route 1 on their Ring Road adventure.