Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Nanjing’s best nature spots don’t require leaving the metro network. Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake Park sit right in the city, Meihua Shan’s plum blossoms are a five-minute add-on to a Purple Mountain...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Bahrain is currently a participant in the 2026 regional conflict involving Iran, and Manama has sustained direct strikes, including a drone strike on a hotel in the city. Governments including the US...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Read this before you book. Saudi Arabia is under a US State Department Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory over Iranian and Houthi drone and missile risk from the regional conflict active since February...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Set expectations before you pack hiking boots: Nanjing’s terrain is low hills and paved park paths, not alpine trekking. Purple Mountain is the main event, a walkable loop connecting several major sights rather...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Bahrain is currently a participant in the 2026 regional conflict involving Iran, and Manama has sustained direct strikes, including a drone strike on a hotel in the city. Governments including the US...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Bahrain is currently a participant in the 2026 regional conflict involving Iran, and Manama has sustained direct strikes, including a drone strike on a hotel in the city. Governments including the US...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Once you’ve done the Purple Mountain classics and the Fuzimiao night scene, Nanjing has a second layer worth a half-day: the ruined footprint of the original Ming palace, a Taiping-era garden turned museum, a...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Bahrain is currently a participant in the 2026 regional conflict involving Iran, and Manama has sustained direct strikes, including a drone strike on a hotel in the city. Governments including the US...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Nanjing’s calendar runs on flowers and seasons more than ticketed festivals: plum blossom in late winter, cherry blossom and osmanthus through spring and autumn, and Qixia Mountain’s maples closing out the...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Nanjing is nicknamed China’s “duck capital” for good reason, and two dishes anchor almost every meal here: salted duck and duck blood and vermicelli soup. Both are cheap, both are everywhere, and...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Read this before your first day out. Saudi Arabia is under a US State Department Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory over Iranian and Houthi drone and missile risk from the regional conflict active since...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Bahrain is currently a participant in the 2026 regional conflict involving Iran, and Manama has sustained direct strikes, including a drone strike on a hotel in the city. Governments including the US...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Nanjing’s essential first-timer list runs through Purple Mountain (Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Ming Xiaoling, Linggu Temple), the Confucius Temple/Qinhuai night scene, a stretch of the Ming City Wall, the...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Bahrain is currently a participant in the 2026 regional conflict involving Iran, and Manama has sustained direct strikes, including a drone strike on a hotel in the city. Governments including the US...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Nanjing gives you two kinds of day trip, and you should do both. Inside the city’s own limits, Qixia Mountain and Niushou Mountain are half-day escapes reachable by bus or metro plus a short ride.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Read this before you book anything else. Saudi Arabia is under a US State Department Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory over Iranian and Houthi drone and missile risk from the regional conflict active...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Montenegro is a tiny Adriatic nation, around 620,000 people, that packs a UNESCO-listed bay, a beach-and-nightlife riviera, and a mountain interior with its own national parks into a country you can drive across in a...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war, and overland travel safety and access can vary. Most governments currently advise against all or most...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Read this before you head out with a camera. Saudi Arabia is under a US State Department Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory over Iranian and Houthi drone and missile risk from the conflict active since...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Ostrog Monastery is Montenegro’s most important pilgrimage site, a working Serbian Orthodox monastery built directly into a cliff face near Danilovgrad. It welcomes Orthodox, Catholic, and Muslim visitors alike...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca. It is a legal restriction, not a custom, enforced at checkpoints on every road into the city, and it applies equally to the central Haram area of Medina. What follows is background for...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Read this before you head out of the city. Saudi Arabia is under a US State Department Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory over Iranian and Houthi drone and missile risk from the conflict active since...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. The Bay of Kotor is Montenegro’s essential stop: a walled medieval town, a chain of fjord-like inlets, and a baroque village reachable only by boat, all inside one UNESCO World Heritage listing since 1979. Two...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, and the country remains in an active civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with a civil war still going on. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca; access to the Masjid al-Haram is restricted to Muslims, enforced at checkpoints on every approach road. What follows is for Muslim pilgrims planning Umrah or Hajj, not a sightseeing...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, and the country is in an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Seven days is the 6-day plan (coast, Njeguši-Lovćen-Cetinje, Skadar, Ostrog, Durmitor’s first day) plus a second morning at Durmitor and the drive back to the coast for a proper last night. That extra day is...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Your first trip to Brasília will disorient you before it delights you, and that’s normal. Lúcio Costa’s airplane-shaped Plano Piloto replaced street names with sector codes (SQN, SHS, SCN, and more), and...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Read this before you plan a hiking day. Saudi Arabia is under a US State Department Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory over Iranian and Houthi drone and missile risk from the conflict active since...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, with an ongoing civil war. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel, so check your own government’s current...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, and a civil war is still ongoing. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel to Myanmar, so check your own...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Six days takes the 5-day plan , coast plus Njeguši-Lovćen-Cetinje, Skadar, and Ostrog, and adds a sixth day inland at Durmitor National Park, a second UNESCO World Heritage Site around Žabljak with its own glacial...

Non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca. This is the fullest version of the plan: the 6-day core (Umrah, one sacred hill, Medina) with a second day added for Jabal Thawr and a third full day added in Medina, for pilgrims who want an unhurried pace rather than a rushed week. Before you travel Nusuk Umrah permit and visa MenACWY meningitis vaccination certificate Ihram garments (2 seamless white cloths for...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Read this before you plan your dates around an event. Saudi Arabia is under a US State Department Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory (Iranian and Houthi drone and missile risk, conflict active since...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, and a civil war is still ongoing. Most governments currently advise against all or most travel to Myanmar, so check your own...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Five days takes the 4-day plan , coast, Njeguši-Lovćen-Cetinje, and Lake Skadar, and adds a fifth day at Ostrog Monastery, Montenegro’s most important pilgrimage site, built into a cliff face in the...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Read this before you wander off the main circuit. Saudi Arabia is under a US State Department Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory over Iranian and Houthi drone and missile risk from the conflict active...

Non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca. This 6-day plan gives the 5-day core (Umrah, ziyarah, Medina) an extra day of rest between the rites and the trip to Medina. For the fullest version, see the 7-day plan , which spreads the sacred hills across 2 separate days. Before you travel Nusuk Umrah permit and visa MenACWY meningitis vaccination certificate Ihram garments (2 seamless white cloths for men;...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Seven days only makes sense framed honestly as Nanjing plus wider Jiangnan: the 6-day core (Fuzimiao, a full Purple Mountain day, the Presidential Palace and Ming Wall, a solemn Massacre Memorial afternoon, Qixia...

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Four days builds on the 3-day plan , Kotor, Budva, and the Njeguši-Lovćen-Cetinje mountain day, and adds a fourth day at Lake Skadar, the largest lake in the Balkans and a completely different landscape from the...