Travel

Gilbert Ott (left), the 30-year-old New York-based founder of a popular travel blog, says that if you spot him at an airport, he will give up his luxurious seat - it will either be in business or first class - at any point over the next year, with upcoming trips to and from the US, Europe, Asia and beyond (top right). All you have to do is find him and ask. He's even issuing clues on social media in the days before each trip so hopefuls can monitor his movements. Mr Ott takes, on average, 100 flights a year.

Franco Banfi, 58, caught the magnificent creatures around 65ft underwater as well as his partner, free diver Sabrina, 51, just off the coast of the Caribbean island Dominica. The 40ft long sperm whales, known to be quite social, spend around seven per cent of their time sleeping and nap vertically for six to 25 minutes - in this case it was ten.

These images, most taken in American supermarkets, showcase the shoppers so out-there, they simply had to be captured on camera. Pictured, clockwise from top left, a somewhat scary looking ensemble; a child being towed by a mobility scooter; a woman with staggeringly high heels; a decidedly eccentric ensemble; two security offers making use of unusual transport; and a man with footwear we simply can't work out.

Comedian Jenny Eclair embarked on a relaxing painting retreat in Sicily (pictured) with Flavours Holidays, staying with 12 others at the stunning Villa Aragonese. She loved the relaxed pace and was pleased with the paintings she took home, one showcased (inset).

For the third time, Palawan Island in the Philippines has been crowned the 'Best Island in the World' by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine. The stunning archipelago is known for its two Unesco World Heritage Sites, which include a 5-mile underground river, and unparalleled scuba diving.

BBC Journalist Michael Buerk (left) returned to Bodrum in Turkey once again, having sailed there for 20 years, and found it delightfully quiet now that tourism has dropped by half. Bodrum's charming harbour is dominated by the Castle of St Peter, built in the 15th century (top right), and Michael stayed at the lavish Caresse Hotel (bottom right).

Following chaos at Majorca's Palma airport earlier in the week, police are warning travellers to expect even more delays at border control this weekend, as Brits vent their rage on Twitter. The situation can be blamed on an intensely concentrated flight schedule, as well as a lack of staff at passport control booths. However, the Spanish Airport Authority (AENA) has just issued a statement outlining immediate actions being put in place to combat the backlog.

Most passers-by assumed the dark, stationary object by the side of a Russian road was just a rock. But when one eagle-eyed driver stopped to have a closer look, he found a six-month-old kitten nearly frozen to death. So the man, Slava, wrapped the immobile creature in a towel and rushed her home to warm up. He later decided to adopt the adorable feline, and named her Nika. She had to have her frostbitten tail amputated but otherwise made a full recovery and now has a loving home with Slava.

Located in the Graubunden mountains of the Swiss Alps, the Null Stern Hotel has no facilities and the nearest public loo is a ten-minute walk away. While reservations can be cancelled at short notice due to bad weather (unsurprisingly) every night available at the hotel is currently booked.

From civic spaces to museum galleries, these interiors have been shortlisted for World Interior of the Year 2017. Pictured, clockwise from top left, the Soho 3Q Bund in Shanghai; the Whale Bar at the St. Regis Maldives Vommuli; the Nubo play centre in Sydney; the XTRA store in Singapore; and (inset) the Nimman Spa in Shanghai.

Dubai's bid to erect the world's largest ferris wheel is officially half complete (pictured). At more than 668-ft tall, the Ain Dubai, will eventually dwarf the London Eye, plus the current record-holder: the 548-ft High Roller in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In examples from far and wide, all which beg the question 'why?', these beachgoers appear determined to stand out from the crowd - from the woman who crafted her own bikini using just string and CDs (top left), to the new swimsuit printed with the hairy chest of a man (top right) which has been doing the rounds on social media of late, and the full-face masks (centre bottom) worn by some women to protect their complexions from the sun.

Its list already boasts icons including the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China. But following their annual meeting in Krakow, Poland, UNESCO officials have added 21 new destinations to their definitive rundown of World Heritage sites. Pictured, clockwise from top left, the Sambor Prei Kuk temple zone, Cambodia; The English Lake District; the Sacred Island of Okinoshima, Japan; Hebron, Palestine; and (inset) the Venetian Works of Defence, spanning Croatia, Italy and Montenegro.

Elite Traveler has published its definitive run-down of the world's priciest hotel suites, and their features are eye-watering. Pictured, clockwise from top left; the Penthouse Suite at Grand Hyatt Cannes, Martinez, France, £31,000 per night; the Ty Warner Penthouse at Four Seasons, New York, £38,000 per night; the Terrace Suite at The Mark, New York, £34,000 per night; Suite 5000 at Mandarin Oriental, New York, £27,800 a night; Maharajah Pavilion at Raj Palace, Jaipur, India, £50,000 per night; and the Royal Penthouse Suite at Hotel President Wilson, Geneva, the most expensive at £62,000 per night.

Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the 42-year-old millionaire 'Ooni of Ife' - one of Nigeria's most powerful spiritual leaders - was travelling with his high chiefs on a flight bound for Ontario, Canada. The footage, captured by an unnamed passenger, shows a member of the Ooni's entourage shake an African rattle in each hand with increasing force.

The footage, filmed in the North Sea from one of the upper decks, captures the monster wave loom high in front of the vessel (left) before breaking over the front (bottom right). And while most passengers would be cowering in fear, the man behind the camera is heard laughing with manic glee.

Drone footage has captured hundreds of sharks swimming close to school children and through schools of baitfish (bottom left and right) at Red Bluff on Quobba Station in Western Australia's north. Photographer Sean Scott couldn't believe his eyes when he saw two three-metre Bronze Whalers (top left) stalking the youngsters at the beach. 'I flew [my drone] over and then saw these sharks sort of swimming across thinking, "what's going on here''?' The Bronze Whalers came close to the children as they floated on their bodyboards in the water just metres from shore. 'They were obviously going over to have a little bit of a look and got pretty close and realised that wasn't their food chain and turned around,' Mr Scott said. 'But it was pretty incredible to see these boys just floating on their back.'

It's known as one of the most picturesque countries in the world. But, in case that wasn't already abundantly clear to globe-trotters, one creative couple have captured the wonder of New Zealand in a series of new, stunning images.  Australians Jake-Scott Gardner and Joanna Scott bill themselves as 'astrophotographers' because they focus their attention on the city of Queenstown's night sky. 

It is, of course, the world's largest and most-populous continent.  So deciding which parts of Asia to see can be a difficult quest for today's international traveller. Fortunately, the experts at Lonely Planet have whittled-down the options for us with their 2017 Best in Asia list – an agenda-setting collection of the area’s 10 best destinations to visit in the year ahead.

The medieval era was hardly known for its home comforts. But, despite this, one savvy hotelier is offering fans of TV series Game of Thrones the chance to experience an insight into the Middle Ages.   A historically-themed bed and breakfast in Southwold, Suffolk, fuses luxury furnishing with an extraordinarily quirky interior. 

Most people want to spend as little time as possible on public transport. But, for one American couple, that couldn't be further from the truth - as they proved by transforming a dilapidated old school bus into a stunning, new mobile home. Envy-inducing pictures show husband and wife team, Ben and Mande Tucker, from Holland, Michigan, ripping out the seats of their 1992 International bus and overhauling it. 

For a truly unique hotel stay, look no further than Tulum, Mexico. Known for its white-sand beaches and crystal clear water, the Caribbean destination was also a favourite hideout for Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar. And now sun-seekers, or fans of hit TV show Narcos, can stay in the King of Cocaine's former personal estate, which has since been converted into a 35-room luxury hotel.

They recently enjoyed a lavish wedding in Argentina. But, now the five-star festivities are complete, football ace Lionel Messi and his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo, are living it up on the Caribbean island of Antigua. The glamorous newlyweds are currently enjoying a luxurious honeymoon in a super-private villa on Harbour Beach, Jumby Bay, where they're joined by their children, Mateo and Thiago, plus fellow footballer Luis Suarez and his family.

The World Architecture Festival celebrates its tenth edition in Berlin in November and has released highlights from the 924 entries it has received so far for its awards programme. Some of the eye-catching designs picked out by the judges include a futuristic pharmacy in Japan, a space-aged illuminous footbridge in Berlin and the British Airways i360 observation deck in Brighton. Other structures that have been commended include The Smile landmark project in London, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and the Zhuhal Opera House in China. Architects from the UK are most widely represented on the shortlist, closely followed by colleagues in the USA, Australia and Turkey, with entries from Asia up by a third year-on-year.

The UK’s first-ever Tiger Lodge has now opened - where guests can catch 40 winks just inches from a tiger’s enclosure, with just a sheet of glass separating their boudoir from the big cats. The unique lodge, at Port Lympne in Kent, opened last month and allows families the extraordinary opportunity to live and sleep within the reserve’s tiger enclosure.

In partnership with National Geographic, see the winning entries of this year's drone photography competition hosted by social network Dronestagram. Among the photos that earned top honours was an image of the lavender harvest in Provence (main), a bird's eye view of the Dubai cityscape (top right), water lilies in Vietnam (bottom left) and a mesmerising road in Romania (top left).

They say it takes a village to raise a child. But, when it comes to creating an aircraft, it clearly takes a town - or, rather, a factory the size of a town.  Specifically, it requires something like the Boeing production facility in Seattle's Everett, which happens to be America's largest source of commercial jets and the world's biggest building. Stretching out over nearly 100 acres - the equivalent of 50 football pitches - its vastness is hard to comprehend until you roll through the main entrance gates, where it appears before you like a real estate juggernaut, writes Peter Lloyd. The space is so vast staff use tricycles (inset) and rikshaw bikes to traverse it.

Some people have an inner nerd – but some are quite happy to display it for all the world to see. Or at least, for their friends and families to observe in their homes. Photographs have been emerging on U.S site Imgur of the nerdiest furniture around, from Tetris-style windows to coffee tables that look like giant floppy disks.

Anyone who works in a skyscraper knows the importance of lifts and escalators. Since their game-changing invention, they've transformed the scope for architecture and how we scale big buildings. But now there's a new innovation option on the block - which, bizarrely, allows people to cycle vertically up and down a high-rise. Designed by Elena Larriba, from London's Royal College of Arts, the Vycle resembles the front half of a bike fixed to a rail. She believes it's a practical alternative to lifts and stairs.

Instagram is full of holiday snaps that make us feel, well, like failures. One type of photograph that does this is the extreme camping shot - taken by intrepid travellers keen to let us know that they've spent the night in a dangerous location. Some have even used Photoshop to do the job, it would seem. But one disgruntled user has decided to call them out - by questioning whether they really did sleep somewhere dangerous, or whether, actually, they took a quick set-up shot and spent the night somewhere more relaxing. It's called #YouDidNotSleepThere and it has attracted more than 40,000 followers. Run by a 28-year-old Canadian called Luisa, it has one message for those who post pictures of tents and hammocks in precarious places - you're just being cliched. Here are a few examples of just what drives her mad.

A tiny British beach has beaten the Costa del Sol and the Greek Isles to be voted the best beach in Europe - and one of the most beautiful in the world, according to Suitcase Magazine. Among the other top picks are tropical paradises in Panama, Hawaii, Brazil, the Philippines and Miami's iconic South Beach. The stunning shoreline at Rhossili sits within the first designated 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' to be given in the UK.

Bus travel will never be the same again thanks to Cabin's new overnight sleeper service. Starting later this month, the 'moving hotel' will take passengers between between San Francisco and LA departing both cities at 11pm and arriving at the destination at 7am. With a price-tag of $115 each way, the cost is not insignificant, but it is surprisingly luxurious.

Otters tend to look cute no matter what they’re doing. But when a group of them chase a butterfly it’s hard to imagine anything more adorable, as this clip shows. Footage has emerged of a clan of the creatures in hot pursuit of a butterfly at Memphis Zoo in Tennessee.

Public transport vehicles are rarely considered luxurious. But, for one Illinois family, that's certainly not true - as they proved by pimping-up an old American school bus and transforming it into a stylish mobile home. Luke Davis, from Oswego, spent $30,000 and 18 months creating his vision, which he now inhabits full-time with wife, Rachel, and daughter Charlotte.

For most of human history, getting this close to a deadly animal would be the last thing you'd ever see. But thanks to today's advances in photography, we have the privilege of witnessing these fearsome beasts in incredible detail from the safety of our screens. Pictured clockwise from top left: The wandering spider, bullet ant, inland taipan, tiger, saltwater crocodile and great white shark.

The capybara, native to South America, is the largest rodent in the world and a highly social creature which has been observed bonding with everything from cats, monkeys and tortoises, to bunnies, ducks and even a caiman. These adorable semi-aquatic animals grow to around four feet in length and weigh up to 145lbs, and live in groups as large as 100.

Lucy Campbell (pictured), from Woolacombe in North Devon, is now England's top female surfer and tours the world chasing waves in far-flung locations from Australia to Costa Rica and beyond. She's on a mission to get onto the prestigious World Tour, a feat no other British female has yet achieved.

It is one of the world's most famous cities. But, while it's primarily known for its religious heritage, Jerusalem has also managed to move with the times - developing into a modern metropolis that's both past and present. Proof of this can be seen in the latest series of work by photographer Noam Chen, who's spent months travelling the region to capture its essence. However, its growth can be hard to quantify out of context, which is why we've compiled a before-and-after collection here.

It may rain a lot in England, but humour there is dry as can be - and evidence of this can often be found on the London Underground's daily-changed noticeboards. Some announcements appear to be genuinely written by TFL staff, while others are the surely the work of a cheeky impostor. It's up to you to decide which is which.

The first barbers in history were doctors and dentists by trade, and the first shops served not only as salons, but as a social setting for men to meet and debate issues of the time. It's a tradition kept alive today all over the world, presented here in countries including (clockwise from top left) Nairobi in Kenya; Kilis in Turkey; Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Hanoi, Vietnam.

It might be one of the most peculiar retreats on earth. A Colombian 'love motel' with no less than 180 themed rooms for couples to get down to business in - everything from a shocking chamber full of Nazi decorations to an Arctic igloo-inspired grotto and one with a bright yellow submarine. Charging from £23 for a junior suite, the Motel Kiss Me in Cali boasts rooms with a wide range of props, statues, massage tables and hot tubs. It costs £50 for four hours in the presidential suite and £70 for its most elaborate domain, equipped with its own spacious bondage cage. Photographer Kurt Hollander, based in Mexico City, spent two weeks documenting a variety of local models posing inside the 17-year-old establishment.

Katie Rick is one of America’s best ‘log rollers’ – and an incredible video has emerged that shows just how amazing she is at sprinting over wet timber. Footage of her competing at the 2017 Midwest Log Rolling Championships at Lake Wingra in Madison, Wisconsin, has gone viral.

Many of these examples - starring everything from ethereal nature shots (left), Donald Trump concentrating hard on a pen (centre) and a hamster nibbling on dried pasta - were already absurd or amusing before the Photoshop wand was waved by computer wizards around the world, but take on a whole new lease of life when altered.

There are disasters you can see coming for miles, and then, as these images show, there are situations and sentiments which escalate with no warning. Pictured, (left) an American child's sweet note which swiftly turned into a soul-crushing dig, (top right) a news writer who was clearly so overwhelmed by the number of criminal charges listed, they had to radically simplify the headline; and (bottom right) according to this particular Whirlpool washing machine, there's either a small load or an extra large one, and nothing in between.