Travel with a Challenge web magazine

03/19/2026

LOTS OF WONDERFUL WALKING IN ENGLAND as King Charles III opens the longest managed coastal walking route in the world, unveiling 2,689 miles that was 18 years in the making. If you are up for walking the King Charles III Coastal Path, either in holiday segments over several years or in one very long walking challenge over many months, check out this story, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0dxexdd8xo.

11/07/2025

** EGYPTIAN MUSEUM OPENS IN GIZA **

After two decades and an estimated cost of $1bn, the Grand Egyptian Museum has been unveiled. Regarded as the world’s largest archaeological facility showcasing a single civilisation, the museum is located 2km (1.2 miles) from the pyramids of Giza and 8km (5 miles) from the capital, Cairo. With this article below, peak inside this world class facility and check out what to expect in its 45,000 sq metres (484,000sq ft) of exhibition space.

After two decades and an estimated cost of $1bn, the Grand Egyptian Museum opens its doors to the public on Tuesday.

10/29/2025

My longtime friend and colleague, Doreen Pendgracs has made a creative career of travelling worldwide to research and write about all things CHOCOLATE. I highly recommend her website and related blog at www.chocolatour.net where most recently she shares her health and wellness adventures on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, experiencing a chocolate body wrap!

This page introduces the visitor to the Chocolatour brand of books, chocolate tastings, events, and chocolate travel tours.

09/10/2025

** BETTER THE CARROT THAN THE STICK **

Several European cities are using innovative rewards with visitors in order to boost their sustainable tourism. Last summer Copenhagen, Denmark led the way with this innovative approach to engaging their visitors, which has since generated inquiries from more than 100 tourism organizations in Europe, Asia and North America as to how they had achieved such success so quickly.

As of September 2025, three more European cities have adopted the Copenhagen model. They are Helsinki in Finland, Berlin and Bremen in Germany. Read this story to learn how tourists are becoming instant allies rather than obstacles to meaningful sustainable travel goals,

European cities have been inspired by Copenhagen’s CopenPay good behaviour reward scheme.

09/01/2025

** THIS RENTAL CAR COMPANY’S NEW AI DAMAGE DETECTOR COULD COST YOU BIG! **

This July 24, 2025 article in SmarterTravel web magazine, https://www.smartertravel.com/car-rental-ai-damage-detector-could-cost-you-big/?ct=YTo1OntzOjY6InNvdXJjZSI7YToyOntpOjA7czo1OiJlbWFpbCI7aToxO2k6NTk7fXM6NToiZW1haWwiO2k6NTk7czo0OiJzdGF0IjtzOjIyOiI2OGE0YWZkYTZkZWYwMTk1MTUzODUzIjtzOjQ6ImxlYWQiO3M6NjoiMTQ1MzAyIjtzOjc6ImNoYW5uZWwiO2E6MTp7czo1OiJlbWFpbCI7aTo1OTt9fQ%3D%3D&utm_source=1, brought back ugly memories from six years ago, upon returning a rental car to an international rental car company at the Lisbon Airport. My husband and I were accused of having misplaced or even sold the car’s operator manual which wasn’t in the glove compartment when we turned in the keys. Though we had occasionally rented cars in the past, we had never previously had to account for such a manual when we walked around the rental car looking for damage and taking the usual pictures during pick-up a few days before. The bill for the manual was over $100 to replace it and the company wouldn’t budge on their demand that we pay it.

With the adoption of this new AI technology, it appears that AI will now be quickly and efficiently scanning all rental cars on return, and even if there is no visible “damage”, such as the one-inch scuff on a tire highlighted in this story, the AI can scan a whole catalogue of things during a brief assessment AND YOU WILL BE CHARGED plus hefty processing and administrative fees! For vacationers who like to rent a vehicle on holiday, you will find this article and the new technology to be food for thought, I’m sure.

Hertz’s new AI screening flags damage within minutes of rental car return. Here’s what you need to know.

08/03/2025

** BUSIEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS 2025 IN THE WORLD **

This August 2025 list release of the world’s busiest airports (by seats sold, not by number of aircraft passing through) is fascinating. Can you guess some of them? The list also gives you a good idea of which airports to try to avoid in transit if you can, thinking not only of sheer people volume but also what happens to really clog up your travels if there is a natural disaster, strike, accident or power failure to really clog up your travels, YTo1OntzOjY6InNvdXJjZSI7YToyOntpOjA7czoxNDoiY2FtcGFpZ24uZXZlbnQiO2k6MTtpOjQ7fXM6NToiZW1haWwiO2k6Mjc7czo0OiJzdGF0IjtzOjIyOiI2ODhmYzBjYjQ2Yzg0MjgzNDQ4MTUyIjtzOjQ6ImxlYWQiO3M6NToiMTcxMzQiO3M6NzoiY2hhbm5lbCI7YToxOntzOjU6ImVtYWlsIjtpOjI3O319.

05/17/2025

** GREAT TRADITIONAL YACHT CRUISING ALONG TURKEY’s TURQUOISE COAST **
A small-ship cruise along Turkey’s deeply historic and stunningly-beautiful Lycian coast has caught my eye for several reasons. https://www.rowadventures.com/.../turkey-yachting-adventure. It is an invitation to live aboard a beautifully-restored traditional Turkish sailing gulet while going ashore each day to explore the ruined history of four ancient empires, experience remote local villages and welcoming villagers, and to anchor by night in undisturbed coves, with turquoise waters, of course! If you’re free to travel for 11 days in mid-September 2023, I certainly recommend this Turkey Yachting Adventure.

Another reason, if you require one, is the outstanding US-based sustainable travel company, ROW Adventures, www.rowadventures.com, that has been offering this trip regularly since 1984 when the same owners were just starting out. WOW, folks ... that’s nearly 40 years ago! I traveled with this company myself 18 years ago on their Croatian Adriatic Coast cruise, also aboard a Turkish gulet, and that remains a highlight of my travels anywhere in the Mediterranean.

So I am sharing my first-hand knowledge gained while exploring the Croatian Adriatic coast and its islands, and most recently in 2023 during an introduction to the nature and ancient cultural history of Turkey’s southwest coast, https://www.rowadventures.com/blog/magic-travel-gulet If you care to share your own thoughts on gulet travel, you are most welcome!

The Magic of Travel by Gulet

03/21/2025

** VISIT FINLAND, THE WORLD'S HAPPIEST COUNTRY! **

For the eighth year in a row, Finland has been named the world’s happiest country in the 2025 World Happiness Report. Compiled annually by pollster Gallup, the United Nations, and the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, the report uses data gathered from over 140 countries around the world.

The top four continue to be an all-Nordic affair with Finland being followed by Denmark (second), Iceland (third), and Sweden (fourth). How do you measure a country’s happiness? Check out this story in Euronews,

For the first time in the annual World Happiness Report, benevolence is being considered as a factor in gauging our well-being.

01/03/2025

** BEST COUNTRIES TO RETIRE TO IN 2025 **

If you have decided to retire in 2025, or even if you are dabbling with that thought for a few years down the road, it’s time to consider where that dream might happen. Affordability, comfort and a stimulating environment should all be top of mind with this decision.

Just released, here for your consideration is the 2025 Global Retirement Index, https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to-retire/, an essential roadmap for finding the retirement destination that best fits your situation. This annual resource, published by International Living, https://internationalliving.com, is dedicated to successful retirement abroad. In a detailed free report, check out this year’s top 10 countries and why they were chosen!

Live, Retire and Invest Overseas. Articles, news, classifieds, information on retirement, and living abroad from International Living...

07/26/2024

** THINKING OF JASPER, ALBERTA IN THE MIDST OF WILDFIRES **
As I follow news of Jasper National Park and its beautiful mountain town of Jasper under siege from wildfire flames between July 24, 2024 and today, I am reminded of what an outstanding park that is in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I am also reminded of a quite enchanting few days I spent exploring the inviting streets of Jasper (population 5,000) where unique adventures and welcoming local people were everywhere to be found, https://www.travelwithachallenge.com/?page_id=2728.
At present the entire park is closed, and Jasper residents and visitors are all safe, having made a hasty evacuation during this emergency phase. Damage assessments come later, I am sure whatever rebuilding is required will follow with determination. Be sure to visit when the invitation goes out once more!

07/26/2024

** ARE YOU A VACATION RENTAL FAN? **
It seems that a lot of other travelers are fans as well, with 2024 expecting clients to pay $100 million for vacation rentals worldwide, generating revenues of more than camping and cruising combined, https://stocklytics.com/content/vacation-rentals-to-become-a-100-billion-industry-this-year/. In the next five years, the income is projected to reach one billion dollars!!
The rise of platforms like Booking.com, Airbnb, and Vrbo has revolutionized the vacation rental market, providing easy access for property owners to list their rentals and connect faster with travelers. The mobile app versions of these platforms and their user-friendly interfaces only fueled the market growth, helping it to gross more revenue than ever.