Off The MRKT

View Original

Seven Continents, Seven Ideas For Traveling

Traveling the world is one of the greatest things that you can do. There are options galore around the globe and taking it all in is a challenge even for the most well-versed traveler. Here we are going to take a tour around the continents and focus on some of the places or things you can do.

Africa

Approaching the continents alphabetically takes us first to Africa, home of some of the most diverse cultures and lifestyles the planet has to offer. Now, there is a lot this great continent has to offer from the pyramids in Egypt to the beauty of Table Mountain in South Africa. However, for the purposes of our look at travel around the globe, we are going to focus on the safari aspect of African tourism.

A lot of the countries in Africa boast their own safari and you should tailor your trip so that you come across the animals that are nearest to your hearts. We are going to look at Tanzania where you will be able to travel out to the Serengeti. Tanzania, just south of Kenya, is a great place to visit for a safari and offers you guarantees of seeing the famous big 5; lions, elephants, leopards, rhino, and buffalo. Depending on the tour you choose to take, there is a high chance that you will start at the Crater in the Ngorongoro Nature Reserve. Make sure you wake up early so that you can see the sunrise of this beautiful landscape and watch as the night seems to melt into the Crater as it makes way for another day. A day in which you are going to be exploring the plains of Africa where you should keep an eye out for zebras, hyenas, and gazelle.

Don’t be fooled by the local zoo, there is nothing quite like seeing these animals in their natural habitat and Tanzania is a great beginners guide to safari.

Antarctica

Antarctica might not be everyone’s idea of a holiday, but if you’re looking to see some of the most unique vistas that you will ever come across then look no further than this icy continent. Following on from the safari talk, the wildlife that you will come across in Antarctica is second to none. There are whales and all sort of marine life to admire, such as penguins and seals. It is also one of the quietest places on Earth, there aren’t any skyscrapers or trains to disrupt your peace. It is just somewhere to visit and admire Mother Nature in all her glory.

Asia

The difficulty when discussing where to visit in the form of continents is that while all seven have distinct personalities from each other, the diversity of the countries can make it a real challenge to choose one location. With Asia, we could recommend Japan, South Korea, or Vietnam. All fascinating places with incredible histories and cultures that are core to their identities. However, we are going to focus on China and in this case the reason is because it is home to one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China. Whenever you choose to visit a new country, there should be an aim behind your trip and for a lot of tourists heading to the Great Wall is more than enough. You can spend days exploring this feat of human engineering which has stood for centuries. While in China you can explore its culture and cities like Beijing, home of the 2008 Olympics, and Shanghai. There are few places on the planet quite like China, and if you have come from a Western country then you might just want to take some time to soak in the culture and way of living.

Europe

Europe, surprisingly enough, is actually one of the continents that is easiest to write about. That is because despite having 50 countries to visit, you can get a real flavor of its variety thanks to the incredible transport links between the borders. So any discussion about Europe should always include a collection of different countries and a train map to see how easy it is to move between them. To start off with you should make your way around the capital of the UK, London and pay a visit to the Queen. She might not actually be in, but you can check by visiting Buckingham Palace and looking out for the flag. If the Royal Standard is flying then the Queen is in residence, and if it is the Union Jack then she is elsewhere. But don’t hang around, finish your cup of tea and catch the Eurostar over to Paris where the Eiffel Tower is waiting for you.

The City of Love is the crown jewel in the nation of France and will keep you busy with the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysée, as well as the incredible French cuisine. And before you know it you’ll be boarding a train again to head, well to head anywhere you want to. From Paris, you have easy access to get down to Spain or over to Amsterdam in the Neverlands. With the Eurorail Card, this continent really is somewhere that you can spend a few weeks and visit at least five countries if not more.

North America

As we have alluded to above, when it comes to choosing a single place to visit on different continents it can be an incredible challenge. There are so many options and that isn’t helped when you come across somewhere like North America that is pretty much two different continents squashed together. Central America, while not a continent, is the region that is referred to when discussing countries like Cuba, Jamaica, and Barbados. However, this time we are going to focus on the largest country in this continent and that is the United States of America, and more specifically California.

California is one of those places that gives you a real flavor of what America has to offer because the state itself is a great demonstration of diversity from San Francisco down to San Diego. The most famous part of California is without doubt, Los Angeles. The City of Angels, home to Hollywood and Venice Beach - two of the most iconic images that come to mind when people think of the Golden State. LA is so much more than you might consider it to be. There’s the glitz and the glamour, but there is also a big heart to the city that can often go overlooked with great facilities that support sober living for men and women and organizations that support people from across all walks of life. The people of LA are proud of their city’s offerings and you will soon feel at home as you take a walk past Muscle Beach or go on a tour of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.


Photo by coffeewithmilk from Pixabay

Oceania

Oceania is an interesting continent because it actually includes lots of different regions under one umbrella. Much like with North America, we are going to focus on the biggest part of this continent and that is Australia. Broken up into six states, the land down under has a wealth of activities, sightseeing options, and wildlife. This is one country, however, that a lot of travelers tend to avoid the capital of. Now, that isn’t a slight on Canberra, but when you think of Australia there are three key images that come to mind.

The first idea of Australia that you will probably have ever had is the Sydney Opera House in the capital of New South Wales. This impressive structure sits opposite the Sydney Harbour Bridge and will be on every postcard that you see on your travels around the wonderful country. Sydney itself has a lot to offer and just behind the opera house is its botanical garden which is home to a litany of Australia’s flora and fauna. As promised there are other plans that come up when you visit Oz, one of those being the Great Barrier Reef. The largest living organism on the planet resides in the north-east of Australia and is a must-see for anyone. You don’t have to be a particularly strong swimmer to your head under the surface to see the magical underwater world. And finally, sports fans will need to make sure they head to Melbourne to soak up the MCG. The 100,000 seater is home to cricket, football, Aussie-rules, and many other events and is a specimen to behold. Melbourne itself has a lot to offer outside of sport such as Phillip Island with the world-famous march of the little penguins and St Kilda beach.

South America

The final continent in our alphabetical guide is South America. Now if you pay a visit to Antarctica, there is a chance that you will visit this continent first as most trips over to the southernmost continent have a stop in Argentina. However, this time we are going to take a look at Brazil which, much like China, is home to one of the world’s seven wonders with Christ the Redeemer.

This impressive homage to Jesus Christ sits in Rio de Janeiro where you will also be able to take a walk down the Copacabana and if the natural world entices you then you aren’t far from Tijuca Forest. In fact, if it is nature that you are looking for then South America as a continent has something just for you. The Amazon Rainforest touches nine countries in this part of the world, mostly Brazil, and that should give you a sign of the scale that it covers. You should take the opportunity to explore this 55 million-year-old rainforest because you might not ever come across anything quite like it again.

Have a listing you think should be featured contact us or email at Jeremy@offthemrkt.com to tell us more! Follow Off The MRKT on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

See this content in the original post