Published 20th Feb. 2025
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There’s something special about spending the night under canvas. Evoking the simple pleasures of childhood camping trips, but with the grown-up indulgences thrown in (en suite bathrooms, lantern-lit paths, private plunge pools...), these tents put the ‘amp’ in glamping. And with just a thin fabric separating you from the world beyond, you’ll feel far more connected with the wilderness and wildlife outside.
Experience the Sahara in style at this desert sister-stay of Dar Ahlam, a luxurious 19th-century kasbah in Ouarzazate. You can expect similar levels of comfort but under canvas: tents with king-sized beds draped in luxurious linens, sundowners served with views across sunburnt sand dunes and, at night, glowing lanterns leading the way to a crackling campfire before a candlelit dinner.
Channelling pre-war big game hunters and Hemingway, Jack’s is a charming time capsule of a camp in the rugged Kalahari, complete with paraffin lamps, campaign furniture and even a vintage pool table. Designed as an homage to the owner’s father, the camp abounds with personal touches, from family photographs to curio cabinets. By day, embark on game drives and bush walks to spot brown hyenas and Kalahari lions. By night, curl up with a cocktail and watch the sun set over salt pans.
Located deep within Albania’s Kurvelesh highlands, a region of craggy peaks, plunging canyons and traditional mountain villages, this remote hideaway is a hiker’s haven. Stay in a spacious Meru tent inspired by African safari camps and styled with the same rustic elegance. The property’s chief calling card, however, is the view: a breathtaking and unbroken sweep of mountains and canyons as far as the eye can see.
This safari-style camp, set deep within the Colca Valley, is the first of its kind in Peru. Cocooned in a quieter part of the valley, with only alpacas and Andean hummingbirds for neighbours, it’s the perfect place to slow down and reconnect with nature’s rhythms. Accommodation is rustic yet eminently comfortable, and the nourishing farm-to-fork fare offers a flavourful tribute to Andean heritage.
Rustling dune grasses and lapping waves are the soundtrack to this beachside bush camp in Western Australia’s Cape Range National Park. With the ocean a few steps away, stays here are centred around the wonders of the underwater world. Ningaloo Reef, the world’s largest fringing coral reef, is just 100 yards offshore and home to 500 species of fish and 300 types of coral.
Wellness is woven into every aspect of this camp in Bhutan’s fertile Punakha valley. The tented rooms – set among pine and jacaranda trees – are havens of tranquillity, each with a private butler to attend to your every need. A visit to the nearby Punakha Dzong (Bhutan’s second-oldest fortress) is a must, and on your return, there are extensive grounds to explore and a traditional hot stone bath, where you can soak your aches away.
Practical advice and inspiration for your next trip
Southeast Asia is a favourite for first-time travellers – safe, welcoming and easy to explore. Yet all too often, Cambodia is the casualty of the Indochina loop, with many simply dropping in to see the (admittedly awe-inspiring) Angkor before moving swiftly on. On my first visit, I was guilty as charged. But my return visit changed everything. Cambodia, I realised, has come of age. It’s no longer the ‘add-on’ destination, but a country that demands time, rewards curiosity and offers depth, warmth and discovery at every turn.
29th October 2025 - Cambodia Travel Inspiration
This article originally featured in the first edition of our magazine, Original Traveller. The world’s first tourist destination; Egypt has attracted the great and the good for more than four millennia. Tom Holland charts the ebb and flow of the country’s time travel. Egypt is where tourism began. Perhaps this is hardly surprising. By the 5th century BC, when the first tourist guide to Egypt was written, pharaonic civilisation was already more than two and a half millennia old.
29th October 2025 - Egypt Travel Inspiration
For those of us who don’t have to adhere to the constraints of the school holidays, we have a wide choice when it comes to choosing what season to travel in. Though the summer remains a top choice, thanks to the good weather across much of the Northern Hemisphere and the general societal norm of treating ourselves to a break at this time, the so-called ‘shoulder season’ is becoming ever-more popular.
28th October 2025 - Travel Inspiration
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