Travel

Updated: 03:18 EST

TripAdvisor names 2017's best beaches in the world

TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards, the annual list of the world's, Europe's and the UK’s best beaches, voted for by holidaymakers, has been revealed. Baia do Sancho on the Brazilian archipelago Fernando de Noronha was crowned best beach in the world (top left). Other winners include Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays, Australia (main); Radhanagar Beach, Havelock Island, India (top right); Elafonissi Beach, Crete (bottom left); and Bavaro Beach, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (bottom right).

Entirely pointless signs from around the world

You'd like to think that anyone capable of passing a driving test would be familiar with the basic principles of rain - and yet one road sign in this collection, rounded up by MailOnline Travel, reads: 'Caution, water on road during rain.' It's not clear exactly where in the world these signs exist, and even less clear is why.

A shocking new infographic has revealed strange laws from the US to Russia. In some countries flame throwers on cars are perfectly legal.

Olga Smirnova, a 53-year-old Russian tourist, was arrested for feeding breadcrumbs to fish on Thailand's Phuket Island, flouting its strict environmental laws, and is now in police custody.

The Tube map of London's cycle lanes

Cycling in London can be confusing because there's a lack of at-a-glance maps that reveal how all the lanes connect up, but help is at hand. The London Cycle Network and Route Plan Roll has produced a map that reveals the capital's cycle lanes in a simple style that will be familiar to Underground users. The design reveals how the various superhighways, quiet routes and orbital routes connect up across the city. The map also shows which parks cycling is allowed in, which areas the Santander cycle hire scheme covers and it has markers that show how many minutes away by bike London’s districts are from centrally located Blackfriars station.

The Gold Coast has been voted the most popular western city for Chinese travellers, beating London, Paris and New York to take fourth place globally, in a survey of more than 3.6 million Chinese tourists.

The Paris Navigating Gym is a boat powered by exercise

It's not often you get to enjoy a great view as you slog it out at the gym. But this futuristic concept hopes to change that, by combining a fitness centre with a vessel that glides down the River Seine in Paris by harnessing energy for its passengers' workouts. Dubbed the Paris Navigating Gym, the 65-ft-long glass-walled boat, left, can host up to 45 people who power it with their exercise on spinning bikes and cross trainers, right.

As the most famous hotel in the affluent playground of Palm Beach, Florida, The Breakers regularly plays host to the 1%. They stay in an exclusive hotel within a hotel, finds MailOnline's Tamara Abraham.

Researchers took photos of red-bellied lemurs in Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar to test a facial recognition system for lemurs.The research could help with lemur conservation efforts.

The Oxfordshire retail village has smaller crowds and cleaner air than Bond Street. And the clothes cost up to half the price. A trip there and a stay in the Cotswolds makes for a perfect weekend break.

At Schlosshotel in Fiss, guests enjoy everything from mountain lunches and ski musicals to live bands. The 270-room hotel also has an in-house ski-hire shop with a lift that takes you onto the slope.

Explorer Ed Stafford on how eating TADPOLES was a new low

This is the stomach-churning moment explorer Ed Stafford tucks into a not-so-tasty meal of tadpoles. The 41-year-old adventurer revealed to MailOnline Travel that it was like 'eating small parcels of poo'. Recalling the unsavoury meal, which he ate while attempting to survive in the Patagonia wilds, he continued: 'I realised that tadpoles are essentially just thin bags of intestines. And intestines are full of s***.'

Which? found that the ‘big five’ travel insurance companies - Aviva, Axa, Churchill, Direct Line and LV - exclude valuables placed in the hold from their policies in the case of loss, theft or damage.

The Mail on Sunday's Martha Stutchbury ventured to the Czech Republic, where she delved into the history of revolutionary friar and scientist Gregor Mendel.

Nervous fliers look away! With runways on cliff edges and snow covered peaks, these really are the world's most TERRIFYING airport landings

From Scotland to Gibraltar the world's scariest airport approaches include steep mountain landings, short beach runways and ones that only appear when the tide is out. A fascinating new infographic has outlined 13 of the most hair-raising airports to take-off and land at including Narsarsuaq Airport, Greenland (bottom left), Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Nepal (top right), Courchevel Airport (bottom right) and Juancho e Yrausquin Airport, Saba (top left).

The Mail on Sunday's Joanna Tweedy discovered bliss at the Maison Cailler, Switzerland’s first chocolate factory, which lies in the tiny village of Broc, Fribourg.

The Mail on Sunday's Fred Mawer provides his insight on all-inclusive hotels, and suggests the best of the bunch, from establishments in Halkidiki to St Lucia.

Inside the aircraft converted into a vegetarian restaurant

Hawai Adda, a grounded Airbus A320, has recently been converted into a vegetarian restaurant, bakery, kitty hall and café. Parked at the Verka Milk Bar premises in Ludhiana, India, the aircraft has retained many of its original features to transport patrons on a culinary journey. The passenger jet, which previously belonged to Air India, took over a year to convert with the team re-designing the fuselage and keeping much of its original wiring.

The Mail on Sunday's Huw Turner explored the Gainsborough Bath Spa, located in central Bath, where warm water is piped in from a source originating 2,000 years ago.

The Mail on Sunday's Daniel Macdonald cycled from Thailand to Vietnam, averaging around 30 miles a day through back roads, with highlights including a stop at Cambodia's magnificent Angkor Wat.

Photographer dresses up as Gandalf for wild self portraits

An avid Lord of the Rings fan dressed as Gandalf and travelled 9,300 miles across New Zealand for a truly magical photo project. Akhil Suhas, 21, from India, shot self-portraits showing him posing at various locations where the fantasy trilogy was set. In one of the breathtaking images he is seen dwarfed by the famous Redwood forest on the country's North Island, with his wizard hat glimmering in the sun. In another shot, he scales the golden sands of Te Paki dunes, using his 'magic' staff for support. Akhil spent six months working on the wizarding photo series. Pictured clockwise from top left: By the rocky edges of Lake Marian, looking towards the 7,516ft snowy peak of Mount Ngauruhoe, gazing out to sea from the so called ‘winterless’ Northland, summiting Mount Roy and standing in the mist at Waiotapu, an active geothermal area on New Zealand's North Island.

The Mail on Sunday's John Craven took a seven-night cruise aboard the Star Clipper ship, making stops at St Martin/St Maarten, Anguilla, Virgin Gorda, St Kitts and St Barts in search of iguanas.

The 1km long chink calved from the front of the Pine Island Glacier, one of the main glaciers responsible for moving ice from the interior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to the ocean.

Drone video shows beauty of Iceland by moonlight

A spell-binding drone video of Iceland shot under a full moon is sure to inspire even more holidaymakers to book a ticket to the picturesque country. Icelandic photographer Ozzo Photography has captured the serenity of the coastline while kayaking and surfing at night. Gushing icy waterfalls, the steamy lagoons and snow covered glaciers also make an appearance in the stunning footage.

The wife of Shawn Thomas, 35, who died earlier this month after a vehicle accident while serving in Niger, Africa, came to Raleigh-Durham International Airport to see his coffin (pictured).

Temperatures in the UK will be hotter than Greece, Dubai and Saudi Arabia thanks to a 'blast of hot air from the Caribbean', bringing weather fit for a barbecue on Monday.

The Daily Mail's Rory Ross has rounded up seven of the best places to stay along Mozambique's idyllic coastline, with an option for every type of traveller.

Man who skied down Everest and climbed it in ONE DAY

Tormod Granheim from Norway summited Everest in just one day and pushed the boundaries even further by deciding to make history as the first to ski down the north face of the peak. It was the first time anyone had skied down the North Face, but this wasn't the only mind-boggling feat Granheim achieved that day, more than a decade ago.

The Daily Mail's Anna Pasternak took her teenage daughter to the Anassa hotel and spa in Paphos, Cyprus, and even spotted Great British Bake Off star Paul Hollywood.

There are new experiences to be had for every type of traveller this month, such as a package from the Baglioni Hotel London which includes a tour of Kensington Palace's new exhibition.

The most bizarre subway sightings revealed

From bare-bottomed riders to a granny wielding a gun, these are some of the extraordinary scenes captured by commuters on public subways. Wacky fancy dress outfits have also been snapped by passengers who were no doubt extremely surprised to find their journey taking a turn for the hilarious. In one shot, taken on the New York subway, a man appears dressed from head-to-toe in green in a bid to look like a Green Army Man from Toy Story. In another image, a 'mummified' commuter is seen completely wrapped in bandages. But it's not just suspect clothing turning heads - bizarre poses also attract the camera's glare. From top left, clockwise: Heroic passengers, a woman who squeezed a ladder into a carriage, commuters taking part in 'no pants subway ride', a woman wearing a massive visor, yoga on the go and a woman who appears not to have had time to get dressed before setting off.

Up to 200 couples will have the chance to stay in the specially-built retreats which will arrive at three secret locations in Wales for a mini-holiday season - before switching to the next destination.

A radical solution to tackle losses of sea ice in the Arctic has been proposed by Arizona State University. It would involve constructing 10 million wind-powered pumps to produce more ice.

Mesmerising winners of the underwater photography awards

The winners of the 2017 Underwater Photographer of the Year awards have been announced, with entrants hailing from 67 countries and submitting 4,500 images to the prestigious competition. Top entries include the British Underwater Photographer of the Year's shot of light streaming through a Mexican cenote (main); a humpback whale hunting in Norway (bottom left) and a playful sea lion with a starfish in Panama (bottom right).

The pair spent $5,000 converting their Dodge Sprinter van into a cosy mobile home and have clocked up 7,000 miles on their journey so far. They've shared their envy-inducing US travel snaps.

A large crack in the Antarctic ice shelf called the 'halloween crack' made the British Halley VI research station in Antarctica decide to close down temporarily.

Terrifying New York City visitor pamphlet from 1975

This shocking pamphlet (left) depicting a nightmarish New York was distributed by the council of firefighters and law officers at the city's airports in 1975 - during one of the most tumultuous periods in the Big Apple’s history (right). The official advice states: ‘Until things change, stay away from New York City if you possibly can.’ However, for those prepared to brave the city, nine stark guidelines for survival such as ‘staying off the streets after 6pm’ and ‘remaining in Manhattan’ are provided. 

Met Office meteorologist Steven Keates said Monday should be the warmest February day since February 23, 2012, when it reached 18.7C in northern Wales.

London artist remodels Gatwick as the Statue of Liberty

The artistry is the latest work from Londoner Rich McCor – also known as Paperboyo – whose intricate work with paper and scissors has garnered him 237,000 Instagram followers. The transformation of Gatwick shows that his imagination is still soaring. To take the photographs for the scenes McCor reveals that he was taken behind the scenes of the airport – and it was apparently a bit hair-raising at times, with large airliners blowing over his equipment.

From confusion over pants and trousers to the very different uses of the word rubber, a handy infographic has outlined 63 of the main differences between British and American English.

A man has been filmed waterskiing barefoot and drinking a beer while holding onto the edge of a boat - before he loses his balance and faceplants it into the water as his friends laugh hysterically.

British woman reveals how she was hugely welcomed in Iran

British adventurer Rebecca Lowe (main) reveals that when she visited Iran last year as part of a journey by bicycle across Europe and the Middle East she discovered a people genuinely curious about Britain, ‘extraordinarily welcoming’ and an underground party scene (top left) where ‘gallons of spirits and wine’ were drunk – and even drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy taken.

A Frontier Airlines plane was pushing away from its gate at around 8pm when it 'clipped the wings' of a Southwest Airlines aircraft that was taxiing nearby at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Harry Houdini once graced the stage at The Empire Theatre in Burnley, but now the venue lies crumbling, its stalls riddled with moss, floors littered with rubble and light pouring through the roof.

Fascinating maps reveal the scale of countries worldwide

While some are aware that 2D maps fail to accurately convey the scale of countries and continents on Earth, a mind-boggling new infographic reveals the true extent of this distortion. For example, spanning across 11 time zones, while Russia may well be the largest country in the world, despite it’s dominance on most maps it’s actually only 1.8 times bigger than the USA.

A luxury 722ft superyacht called Quintessentially One is set to be built by British concierge company Quintessentially. It has been dubbed the 'world's largest floating private members' club'.

MailOnline Travel has rounded up some of the most amusing holiday fails - from African safaris to US forests, beaches and camp sites - causing a sensation online.

Based on a popular internet forum thread which asked various Europeans to reveal the sentences that most annoyed them, this map has some comical - and controversial - revelations.

The mother and baby were found in what was described as a life-threatening situation by a local animal rescue team in Ketapang, West Borneo, who had to camp out with them overnight.

From falling in love to the pain of separation, a fascinating new infographic has illustrated and translated global expressions of love from Norwegian, Spanish and more into English.

Comical foreign signs that got VERY lost in translation

It's always helpful when authorities in foreign countries bother to translate their signs. Unless they get it wrong, of course. MailOnline Travel has rounded up a collection of deeply confounding examples from countries including France and China - so can you work out what they really meant to say?

In Zurich the total average price of a hotel, food, drink and a taxi journey per person is £170.43 ($210) a night, according to a new study. The cost of the same activities in New York is £157.29 ($195).

In 1867 Paranapiacaba was the operation headquarters of the English-owned Sao Paulo Railway, but now lies mostly abandoned with a much-reduced population.

Vintage photos show Victorian tourists at Egypt's pyramids

A series of astonishing photographs from the 1890s to the 1930s capture Victorians in formal wear exploring Egypt's iconic landmarks including the pyramids, tombs and Sphinx at Giza (centre). In the images, mostly taken during the British occupation of Egypt, European holidaymakers are pictured clambering up the pyramids (top right) and enjoying picnics inside dusty tombs (bottom right and top left). Fascination with the country's antiquities is well documented during this period, with the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 sparking further interest. Pictured bottom left are two women in Victorian clothing stand by the River Nile at the island of Philae. 

Kate Pickles left behind the humdrum suburbia of west London for 10 days and enjoyed life on Celebrity Cruises's Constellation, taking in sites from the Amalfi coast to Kotor, Montenegro.

The Airlander team announced it has reinstalled deck instrument panels, overhead console, and the associated wiring, allowing the craft to ‘power-on’ once again after its August crash.

The world's best cruise ships of 2017 revealed

The world’s best cruise ships have been named in prestigious annual awards based on UK passenger reviews. Among the winners, Celebrity Reflection (right) was awarded Best Overall ship in the large vessel category; Oceania Cruise's Riviera (top inset) took the crown in the mid-size overall category; Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas, known for its 10-story slide (left), was named Best for Families and Celebrity Cruise's Silhouette, which features a lawn for croquet, won the award for Best Public Rooms and Best Service.

Passengers on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship who were expecting to be on their way to the Bahamas instead spent the night stuck at a port in central Florida due to safety issues found on the ship.

The 23-year-old blonde put on an envy-inducing display in a vibrant two-piece, which left her rippling abs and tiny waist on show, as she posed beside her man, 24.

Sydney Brown talks life aboard the Harmony of the Seas

Sydney Brown, a 25-year-old acrobat, talks to MailOnline about leaving her small Canadian hometown of Greensville, Ontario, to live and work on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas cruise ship. Pictured clockwise from top left: Sydney leaping into the ocean in Mexico with the ship behind her; performing a dive into the ship's AquaTheater pool; rehearsing underwater with a fellow crew member; and with her team on Maho Beach in St Maarten.

Sections of land are seen missing after falling to the sea in Pacifica, California in 2016, as storms and powerful waves caused by El Nino have been intensifying erosion

Erosion at 29 beaches from Washington to southern California during the winter of 2015-16 was 76 percent more than usual, by far the highest rate ever recorded, according to the study in Nature Communications.

Photographs taken from the air show the extent of the bike burial ground, located at Zhengzhou University in central China's Henan province.

The worst jobs in the world revealed 

If you think your job is grim and laborious, spare a thought for the people around the world whose professions include, clockwise from top left, armpit sniffers for a deodorant brand; working in Indian sewage tunnels, holding a target practice board for a shooter we can only hope has exemplary aim; waddling the streets of Stockholm dressed as a boat; and being the excavator of an elephant's bottom.

Muse hotel in Saint-Tropez takes luxurious serenity to another level, finds MailOnline Travel's Ted Thornhill. There are only 14 rooms and it's tucked away on a hillside. Perfect for a zen-like getaway.

Orlando has welcomed two new rides - Mako, the highest, fastest and longest roller coaster at SeaWorld - and the immersive, spinning Cobra's Curse at Busch Gardens.

A fascinating map also reveals that Surrey is home to the most company HQs, Norfolk the most medieval churches and East Riding the most white phone boxes.

The stunning aerial views of Iceland and Norway show a geyser shooting water high into the air as well as the intricate patterns the land makes when looked at from above.

A luxury hotel in Damansara, outside Kuala Lumpur, has been set up to offer pampered moggies the ultimate stay with services including playtime, grooming and dating for felines on heat.

Photos of the unusual stunt at the Shiniuzhai Geopark, situated in the southern province of Hunan, show a group of lovebirds locking lips in a range of creative ways.

Barges, railway stations, old churches – second-hand bookshops can be found in the strangest places. And, as their celebrity customers know, there’s gold hidden on the shelves.

The Airport Jacket has enough pockets to WEAR your luggage

The Australian manufacturers claim fliers can fit two laptops, an iPad, two pairs of shoes, a pair of jeans, five T-shirts, a jumper and a camera into the coat. Product designer Andy Benke said: 'Essentially this coat would allow you to carry onboard everything you would need for an overnight or long weekend stay without worrying about your luggage getting lost or paying excessive baggage fees.'

MailOnline Travel's Rachel Monk wanted to find out what had changed and whether her daughter would be just as thrilled with the theme park as she was the first time she visited.

Writer Hunter Davies mistakenly booked himself into Club La Santa which boasts Olympic standard facilities. He swaps hotels to stay at Princesa Yaiza, a luxury resort across the island.

The Peppercorn class A1 steam locomotive, Tornado, will pass over the 'Roof of England' on the famous Settle to Carlisle line, carrying hundreds of steam enthusiasts.

The much-hyped virtual reality software lets users yank ropes and wield ice axes as they 'climb' to the summit of Mount Everest for a breathtaking experience of the Himalayan landmark.

Amusing snaps of holiday romances gone horribly wrong

Pictured, clockwise from top left: a cautionary tale for anyone planning a hotel bath-for-two; a couple who are clearly enjoying their ocean horse ride much more than the man leading them through the waves; a man whose girlfriend fell fast asleep during a romantic Amsterdam canal cruise; a tourist making a mockery of the Instagram-famous 'follow me' pose; a park proposal marred by a mooner in the background; and a woman whose husband invited her along for a dreamy sunset paddle-boarding session, only to knock her off and laugh instead.

Disney has announced that its hotly-anticipated Star Wars-themed lands will open in 2019 at both Disneyland in California and Florida's Walt Disney World.

Alessandra Ambrosio is looking flawless in the winter heat. The model took to her Instagram page on Sunday to post a photo of herself in a pool where she dons a bikini.

London-based airline expert Alex Macheras and he was invited on board a Swiss airline CS100 jet as it performed an aerobatic fly-by for the attendees of the St Moritz Ski Championship in the Alps.

Fascinated by this remote outpost's complicated history and striking beauty, The Mail on Sunday's Sarah Gordon falls under Easter Island's spell.

Haunting beauty of Europe’s abandoned cooling towers

A photographer has captured in striking detail, the variety of the internal architecture of some of Europe's obsolete and overlooked cooling towers. in Belgium, Germany, Italy and France.

From a mysterious room at Mount Rushmore to an abandoned ballroom above Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, MailOnline Travel unlocks the secrets of the world's top tourist attractions.

After 13 years languishing at the side of an airfield in Bristol, the last iconic plane was towed to a hangar in preparation for it becoming the centrepiece of a new museum set to open this summer.

The towers (pictured) will be built in Nanjing and with enough greenery to absorb 25 tons of CO2 each year and produce about 60kg of oxygen. They are due to be complete in 2018.

The Hilton Molino Stucky is Venice's largest hotel and a city landmark in its own right - and MailOnline Travel's Samantha Lewis discovers that it is the perfect base from which to explore the city.

These are the amazing colour postcards of the Princely county of Tyrol, an Alpine region of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The extraordinary images show picturesque villages, some bustling with markets stalls others with quiet cafes.

Rescuers search the wreckage of a bus for survivors after an accident on a highway in Taipei on February 13, 2017 ©Sam YEH (AFP)

Local media said the coach had been returning from a cherry blossom viewing trip at a farm in central Taichung when it came off a road in eastern Taipei.

Learning the art of wine tasting at a Tuscan castle

MailOnline Travel's Ted Thornhill checks into Castello di Potentino (pictured), an extraordinary historic hotel-winery-residence tucked away in a fold in a valley on the side of dormant volcano Monte Amiata. There he is taught all about wine by Emily O'Hare, the former sommelier of Michelin-starred London eatery River Café. She conducts the world's only wine and yoga retreat that leads to a WSET 1 (Wine And Spirit Education Trust) qualification in wines. There is also yoga instruction by an expert tutor (pictured inset by the castle's pool).

The attraction, called Samba, resembles a disk and was spinning at high speed when it snapped off its axis, tipping the people inside onto the ground. The accident happened in Ligua, central Chile.

Edward Rex Nantes was left frustrated when his cargo ship out in the North Sea began rocking so violently his belongings and furniture were sent flying across the cabin.

Nostalgic images reveal the days of drive-in theatres

In 1933 Richard Hollingshead Jr opened a drive-in movie theatre in Camden, New Jersey, and a cultural phenomenon was born. By the 50s drive-in movie theatres numbered over 4,600 across America and drive-in restaurants were also booming. Now there are just over 20 drive-in restaurants and 300 movie theatres left nationwide. Here, MailOnline Travel takes a nostalgic glimpse back at this vanishing pastime.

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