Take a boat trip along the harbour. You get the most spectacular views.

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A visit to London must surely include a boat trip on the Thames. Reasonably priced and interesting for everyone. I would recommend doing this early on during your trip because from the river, you can get your bearings and identify historical sites like the Tower of London that you may wish to add to your list of places to visit on land.

www.hotelara.com/england/

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From the big city to some of the last remaining pristine cloud forest on the continent in just a couple of hours. Estimates state that a mere 5-10% of the original coverage of cloud forest on the western cordillera of Ecuador still exists today. That the people of Mindo have opted to protect their corner of what’s left is just one part of the reason to go. The other part is that it’s great fun.
Suddenly skyscrapers and buses are replaced by dirt roads and beat-up truck-taxis. Hummingbirds, butterflies, orchids, waterfalls, huge trees, about 450 species of birds … Mindo’s got the lot for anyone enamoured with nature. For those with a taste for adventure, there’s a gravity-defying cable car, and Mindo’s unique version of “rafting” involving inner tubes. But the vibe is so laidback, it’s hard to maintain that pace. Just relax, no estas en Quito.

Getting there: Reina de los Nubes Bus Terminal, just down the hill from Quito’s main Terminal Terrestre, in the Old Town. About 2 hours to get there.

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The problem with travelling in Chile is that it is so damn long and the best bits are strung out along its entire length.

I travelled to Chile once a few years ago and made the mistake of not making all my arrangements before going there. Although this might seem like a more adventurous option, the problem is, that if you haven't got months to spend, that you will end up not seeing everything that you want to.

I was therefore left with a strong desire to return to Chile on a more organised trip. This time I did my research, reading articles and the like and I found Optimundo, a company that specialises in tailor made trips to Chile.

I can't recommend contacting Optimundo enough, if you are planning a trip to this amazing country. They put together exactly the trip that I wanted to take my family on and once there it went like clockwork. Everything: friendly guides, good hotels, interesting tours, and most importantly we got to see all the places on my wish list - the icebergs and glaciers of Patagonia; the volcanoes and lakes in the lake district; the dolphins and penguins; the dramatic desert landscapes.

So my tip is, if you haven't got heaps of time, get a detailed itinerary planned out before you go.

www.optimundo.com
www.optimundo.com/tailormade.htm

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Just outside Uyuni, and on the edge of Salar de Uyuni, is the Train Graveyard - a collection of rusting hulks, former trains from as far afield as the UK, that have now been left to the elements. Dust devils whirl around you and the silence is eery.

Uyuni, easy to take in as part of a tour of Salar de Uyuni.

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Still wonderfully remote border river between Nicaragua and Costa Rica connecting vast freshwater Lake Nicaragua to Atlantic Ocean. A long slow river journey through the jungle. Place to overnight is at the Eco Hotel in tranquil El Castillo about a third of the way to the Atlantic; no cars, only river traffic. They organise jungle trips and used to serve great tropical lunches.

Fly to San Carlos from Managua and pick up boat down river from there to El Castillo.
Alternatively a long uncomfortable overland journey by bus on un made up road round northern tip of the lake via Jinotepe - or cross the lake on a ferry from Granada to San Carlos

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It's worth considering a trip over to Tasmania, once you've had your fill of Melbourne. It's only an hour away by plane and you can get pretty good deals from companies such as Virgin Blue.

You can get to Tasmania by ferry or plane

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This is possibly one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. Central La Paz lies in a valley, or chasm (make no mistake, this "valley" is still at an altitude of 3,500m), surrounded by a high plateau.

Get a cab way before dawn and ask to be dropped off at a panoramic point somewhere halfway up the mountain: the views at sunrise are breathtaking, and due to La Paz's unique geographical location this experience will probably stay with you for a long time.

Obviously you should not do this alone or take valuables.

Ask a cab driver, preferably one that has been recommended by your hotel or hostel, to drop you off at a panorama point that he knows and recommends. This should be about halfway up the mountain, between central La Paz and the city of El Alto at the top

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It's so important to book tickets in advance! There is very little chance that you'll get a place on a trip otherwise. The audio facility available is brilliant, it really makes the tour mean something.

https://www.alcatraztrips.com/index2.asp

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There are almost no Germans left in Transylvania now - Chancellor Kohl saw to that - but their villages all have fortified churches which are not only lovely and evocative in themselves, but whose stories will leave you brimming with tears. Where once a thriving congregation worshipped, now a sole guardian will battle age and local indifference to keep the sites clean and flower strewn. Perhaps, and this is rare, only tourists can keep the places intact. Go there.

Take a trip out of Sibiu

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