AFAR

SARAH KHAN Writer Canada-born, New York City–based writer Sarah Khan spent the formative years of her childhood in Saudi Arabia. In Kingdom Come (p.92), she discusses her relationship to the country and its rapidly changing position on the global stage. “It’s fascinating seeing how it has evolved, and to watch [international travelers] discover it,” she says. Khan’s byline has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Travel + Leisure, and she recently served as the editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Traveller Middle East. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @bysarahkhan. KEITH DREW Writer Keith Drew is a journalist based in Winchester, England. He is the founder of the travel website Lijoma, which offers intel and inspiration for families on the road. There’s no place on Earth more intriguing to Drew than Transylvania…

AS AN OWNER of a travel media company, I’m fortunate to work with a knowledgeable team, publish great stories, and meet people who give me endless ideas about where to go next. The only challenge: It’s hard to choose. One of my favorite sources of inspiration is AFAR’s annual Where to Go list. Our editorial team reaches out to writers, reporters, and correspondents around the world for their top picks of places our travelers should visit in the coming year. They then sort through them and select destinations that feel poised for “a moment,” whether it’s a new cultural institution, park, or food offering. I just got back from a cycling trip to eastern Canada’s Prince Edward Island (PEI). I went there based on an early preview of this year’s Where to…

THE CLANG OF A BRASS BELL vibrates down my spine, and I watch my grandmother fold her hands in prayer. I mimic her movements, walk behind her, and circumambulate the altar. I am nine years old and visiting relatives in Bengaluru, India, from the United States. My mother, grandmother, and I are in a Hindu temple in Malleshwaram, a middle-class neighborhood that is the geographic center of my grandparents’ world. The fragrance of jasmine and champak flowers mingles with the mustiness of the space, and the stone feels cool to my bare feet. “Sit for a few minutes,” my grandmother, whom I call Ajji, tells me in Kannada. “We should always sit at the temple when we visit.” As we emerge from the dark interiors, we are greeted by a jumble…

After several years of backyard exploration and local getaways, many of us are yearning for longer, bigger, more ambitious trips. But am I the only one feeling a bit rusty when it comes to packing my bags and boarding a long-haul flight? We asked AFAR readers for advice on how to prepare for a far-flung sojourn. Here are a few of the dozens of tips we received. Pack smartly—and do the hard work before you leave home The consensus was that you should bring much less than you think. The general refrain: Make a thorough list of what you really need; pick the right luggage; invest in some packing cubes; edit and edit some more. That comfy flight pillow can quickly turn into an albatross clinging to your backpack once you’re on public…

Population 558,000 Know before you go The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre has reconstructed an Indigenous language, now called palawa kani (using only lowercase). How to get there Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar all fly direct to Hobart or Launceston from Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane. Nickname Tas or Tassie What if I had realized that a couple of hundred miles off the coast of Melbourne was an island known for its stark and dramatic natural beauty? Stay longer In Hobart, try the Rox—an 1880s schoolhouse turned into apartments—or the Pavilions, guest rooms run by the Museum of Old and New Art. The reservation to make The restaurant Van Bone, located on Marion Bay, serves a four-hour lunch made with the bounty from on-site orchards and nearby organic farms. IT WAS MY FIRST TRIP to Australia—my first trip abroad—in 2001, and I arrived in Melbourne a…

Best time of year to visit June to November. The camp is closed from December to May. Required eating Bread baked over an open fire on the spokes of repurposed bicycle wheels How to get there Fly into Dar es Salaam and take a smaller bush plane to the Jongomero airstrip, located in the southern part of Ruaha. SPRAWLED ACROSS 7,700 square miles in southern Tanzania, Ruaha is the country’s second-largest national park. Yet it draws only a tiny fraction of Tanzania’s safarigoers, who flock in much larger numbers to the more famous Serengeti in the north. But low visitation rates make biodiverse Ruaha a wildlife enthusiast’s dream: This vast landscape of habitats, ranging from savannas to wetlands, feels like a private game reserve, and travelers can go days without seeing another vehicle. In one of the…