Travel

The National Geographic Nature Photographer of Year contest is run every year and sees awards handed out in four categories - wildlife, landscapes, aerial and underwater. The overall winner of the contest was a mesmerising snap of a shy orangutan hiding behind a tree in Borneo, top left. Others that were highly praised were a shot of an owl in flight in America, top right, tarpon cutting through a school of fish in the Caribbean, bottom left, and a rainbow over a lighthouse in the Faroe Islands, bottom right.

Airbnb has revealed its ultimate rentals wishlist, detailing the worldwide spaces most-desired by travellers. It includes a 600-year-old castle in Ireland (centre), a treehouse in Atlanta, Georgia (top right), a villa in Queensland (top left), a hut in Colombia (bottom left) and a private island retreat in Sweden. Which is your favourite?

It is hoped that the 'snoozeliners', created by mattress firm Simba, will begin operating next year and will run eight routes in cities including London, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham. The ultra-luxurious night buses will be fitted with 14 discreet futuristic pods and stewards will be on hand to wake passengers up before they reach their destination so they don't miss their stop. The cutting-edge sleep pods are being trialled with sound-isolating treatments and acoustic black-out blinds, together with a recessed amber light-therapy system.

A range of cruise companies in the UK and U.S across dozens of categories have been handed gongs in the ninth annual Cruise Critic Editors' Picks Awards. MCS Cruises' 4,475-passenger MSC Meraviglia sailed away with Best New Ship while Celestyal Cruises won a new award for 2017 - Best for Service. The U.S winner for best ship was the MSC Seaside, with editors raving that the ship has the potential to be 'one of the best Miami-based ships around'. Pictured clockwise from top left: Viking Ocean Cruises won the Best Spa category; Viking also won Best Itineraries in the River category; Cunard Line's Queen Victoria won Best Ship Refurb in the Ocean category; Celebrity Cruises won Best for Romance and this is its Lawn Club on the Silhouette and inset are the slides on the Royal Caribbean, which won Best Entertainment in the Ocean category.

The stunning pictures come from Wise Trees, a book that charts the world's oldest and most historically significant trees. Photographers Diane Cook and Len Jenshel spent two years travelling the globe to snap pictures of 59 extraordinary trees. They include The Sweet Shop Tree in India (main); the Derby Boab Tree in Australia, which can hold thousands of gallons of water and is around 1,500 years old (top right); a sacred tree in Bali that has a road passing through it (bottom right), Mexico's 140ft-wide Montezuma cypress tree (top left) and the trees in California that are over 5,000 years old (bottom left).

During winter some people lose their cool over blocked roads and cancelled trains. But others embrace the seasonal weather with impressive winter wit. Specifically, people have been producing very creative - and hilarious - snowmen, with everything from superheroes and celebrities to the occasional letterbox. Here, we reveal some of the very best.

Have you ever wanted to turn your body into a boat? It's probably not a question you get asked too often, but engineers of inflatable technology clearly decided that enough people would answer yes to warrant the building of something that transforms beach-goers into high-speed vessels that can bounce across the waves. Behold the Sumo Tube, which is a sort of inflatable shirt made by U.S firm Sportsstuff that swimmers can wear for all manner of sea-going fun, including being pulled along by a speedboat.

The world is one huge, must-see place. Breaking it down into manageable priorities can be tricky and even the most seasoned tourist can find decision-making overwhelming. Fortunately for us, the experts at National Geographic Traveler have created a bucket list for 2018, including Hawaii (main), Albania (bottom right) and Jordan (top right).

Le Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc in the French Alps has become arguably the biggest husky race in the world as 25 mushers compete over nine legs for their share of a £50,000 prize pot. MailOnline Travel's Kate Pickles took time out from the newsroom to cheer on racers while making the most of the spectacular scenery by trying her hand at a spot of Alpine and Nordic skiing.

MailOnline Travel's Myra Butterworth signed up for the North Face women's ski camp at Whistler (main) in Canada, a resort loved by the Beckhams (insets). She covered a huge amount of terrain and spent time working on moguls, some off-piste technique and discussing individual improvements. 

The Landmark Trust, a UK-based building conservation charity, has unveiled a list of weird and wonderful properties from a former fort to an isolated cottage that are available for Christmas. Among the properties are Stogursey Castle in Somerset, top left and bottom right, Clonque Fort in the Channel Islands, top right, Shore Cottages in Caithness, bottom left, and the Swiss chalet in Tavistock, inset.

Polish photographer Karol Nienartowicz has spent the past 15 years travelling all over Poland to capture its many mountain regions in all their Narnia-style wintry glory. From a sci-fi looking observatory to the vastness of a wintry sky, here are some of his best shots

The amazing footage shows Captain Dave Wallsworth bringing A380 'The Princess' in to Johannesburg, with on-screen graphics explaining the commands he's issuing. The plane touches down after being guided in by a ‘glideslope radio beam’, which keeps the aircraft on the centreline of the runway. Captain Wallsworth told MailOnline Travel: ‘I hope that what people take away from it is that we carry out each flight professionally but in a relaxed atmosphere. That there really isn’t anything to worry about.'

U.S travel blogger Loren Rhoads has penned the book 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die, revealing some of the most unusual and stunning places for burials around the world. Among the cemeteries named in the book is Arlington National Cemetery in the U.S (top left), the Isle of Iona graveyard (top right), La Recoleta in Buenos Aires (bottom left) and the Skogskyrkogarden graveyard in Stockholm (bottom right).

Here MailOnline Travel plays a game of 'would you rather?' with animal deaths just to underscore why wild beasts on the savannah should be treated with the utmost respect. Expert advice comes from Gordon Grice, author of The Book of Deadly Animals, who has spent 15 years researching wildlife.

Working the nine to five can be regimented and dreary. But not in these offices. Images posted to the internet show how some workplaces are utterly bizarre – with one featuring a zig-zag aquarium that doubles as a desk divider. Others appear to double as fitness studios, with treadmills and even a huge wooden hamster wheel taking the place of chairs. Then there are the desk spaces that are just monumentally untidy. Which sort do you work in?

Christmas super-fans (with large wallets) can go on a whirlwind trip that takes in hotels in the likes of London, New York and Paris that go the extra mile for the festive season. They can also check into hotels that have a four-storey musical tree, a gingerbread pirate ship (Amelia Island Ritz-Carlton, main) and five million fairy lights (The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, California). The tour also includes the Dolder Grand in Zurich (bottom right).

Plunging temperatures have one very definite upside - they can change the landscape into a winter wonderland. And lakes and rivers can be transformed into beautiful natural ice rinks. Pictured clockwise from top left: A frozen Lake Minnewanka in the eastern area of Banff National Park in Canada; Ostergotland in Sweden; the Lofoten Islands in Norway and Lake Vanern in Sweden.

Dubai is offering thrill-seekers a new way to see its dazzling skyscrapers - on the world's longest urban zip line. The 170-metre-high (558ft) XLine opens this week in Dubai's Marina neighbourhood. For an entire kilometre (3,280ft), those brave enough can whizz past some of the Marina's tallest skyscrapers at a speed of 80 kilometers an hour (50mph).

Norway's Fordypningsrommet resort is formed of 'mono-functional' houses - four for sleeping, one for cooking, one is a sauna and one is a bathroom. The cost? Three thousand pounds a week. It's meant to be a beautiful work space for artists or other creatives where they can go to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. There are no shops, cars or wild animals on the isle, which offers ‘no stress’. Any potential tourists must pack their own food for their stay.

Owners can book their pets in at the Critterati hotel in the Indian city of Gurugram, which is thought to be the first facility of its kind in South Asia, for $70 a night in one of the suites. The top-of-the range Critterati suite offers a giant bed with velvet headboard, television and private dog-flap leading onto a balcony. There is a swimming pool, a spa with ayurvedic massage oils and a vet on 24-hour call, while a medical unit with an operating theatre is being built.

Huddled underneath Niagara Falls, a shot of an ice-encrusted building (top left) by Canadian Mark Duffy has won an international photo competition. And Duffy also bagged second place with a superb picture of a storm rolling across the plains of Saskatchewan province (top right) near his home. His pictures came top in the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers' Power of Nature competition. Pictured bottom left and bottom right are two pictures by Ukrainian Yevhen Samuchenko taken in Nepal that were highly commended.

Akaiami (main) is one of the 15 islets in the Aitutaki atoll of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Between 1951 and 1960, Tasman Empire Airlines Ltd (top right) would drop the likes of John Wayne and Marlon Brando (inset) off at Akaiami while the plane refuelled on the way to Tahiti. David Whitley followed in their footsteps to experience the dreamiest white sand and sparkling water, including One Foot Island (bottom right).

Pictures posted online showed the extent of the damage to the nose cone of the Aeroflight flight from Moscow when it landed in St Petersburg after striking what is thought to be a great cormorant. Nobody on board the aircraft was injured and the plane landed safely. Bird experts say great cormorants are a common sight near the airport.

Couple Bec Ormond and Mike Pinker spent a whole day being a 'live-in luxury art installation' in an open bedroom set up in the public lobby of the Crown Towers hotel in Perth, Australia. There, other guests and passers-by could watch them as they relaxed on the bed, top left, watched TV, top right, ate dinner, bottom, and even had massages, inset.

Ted Thornhill checks into VIP Ski's ludicrously well-placed Avoriaz digs Chalet Poudreuse. It's great value luxury in an excellent resort for skiers and boarders - with just one or two niggles. Such as his bedroom having no view whatsoever. But aside from that, all is very well indeed. There are 400 miles of pistes to explore and superb chalet staff.

The Sandersons and friends spent their summer holiday exploring the 'trulli' beautiful region of Puglia, on the 'boot of Italy's heel'. They stayed at the Villa San Michele (pictured) a family friendly 13th-century former monastery with a swimming pool, pizza oven and even its very own medieval cave, just outside Ceglie Messapica between Bari and Brindisi.

The Antonov AN-22 is very rarely spotted and drew a huge crowd of aviation enthusiasts to the airport to witness it. Flying in from Helsinki, Finland, it was originally due on Thursday afternoon but that arrival was cancelled. The Antonov AN-22 is a heavy military transport aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in Kiev, Ukraine. The aircraft is capable of 460mph and has a staggering 211ft wingspan.

The Maldives, Hawaii and Mauritius are all known for their beautiful beaches and azure waters. But tropical locations don’t have the monopoly on idyllic coastlines, as these pictures prove. Can you guess where they are? They show picture-perfect beaches with silver sands and lens-baiting bays. And one has been awarded a best-beach TripAdvisor accolade.

Croatia, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Malta... film and travel blogger Andrea David has recreated Game of Thrones scenes in a variety of locations. She compares shots of Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Daenerys Targaryen and others from the series against their real locations across the world.

Intriguing time-lapse footage has been released by Virgin Atlantic that reduces a working day on board a Dreamliner flight from London to Los Angeles to just a few minutes. It begins by showing 25-year-old stewardess Emma Ashley arriving at London Heathrow on a chilly October morning for a briefing with flight service manager Mark Gallagher (bottom left). Emma is one of 10 cabin crew and the clip underscores just how busy they are (bottom right). She does get some time out, though, in a hidden crew bunk (top left) and in the galley (top right), where the crew nibble chocolate – one is filmed grabbing a quick Twix - eat meals and make the odd round of tea.

Masters of Landscape Photography. It’s a book title that is 100 per cent accurate, with images taken by 16 of the world’s leading landscape photographers who are clearly at the very top of their game. The book's editor, Ross Hoddinott, says that 'each photographer has been chosen because of their pedigree and reputation in... an increasingly crowded field'. The pictures come from all corners of the globe and include the immense Trango Towers mountains in Pakistan, the ice fields of Greenland, the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway (bottom left), the Lake District in northern England and the Seljalandsfoss waterfall in Iceland (top right). Pictured top right is a sailing boat in Somerset and bottom right is a wood in the Netherlands. Here MailOnline Travel presents a tantalising selection of photographs from the book.

This is Mexico as you've never seen it before. A trio of British photographers has captured the daily trials of love, life and death there for a stunning new book - Sweet Dreams. British photographers Charlie Kwai, Chris Lee and Paul Storrie are otherwise known as Tripod City, a trio who travel the world to document different cultures. Their work explores the difference between cultural stereotypes and reality. After projects in Asia and India, the photographers headed to Mexico to explore beyond the preconceptions that many have about the country.

From the northernmost reaches of Norway to the tropical oases of the Caribbean and the South Pacific, the world is graced with stunningly beautiful beaches. Powder white beaches amid swaying palm trees and turquoise waters might represent the holiday ideal for some. Others might crave more adventure: perhaps a windswept and craggy coastline with towering volcanoes or snow-capped mountain peaks looming over the shore. Whatever your tastes, there's sure to be a beach or two you love in a new list assembled by travel site FlightNetwork. It ranks the world's 50 best beaches according to the opinions of more than 600 travel journalists, editors, bloggers and agencies. Pictured at top is Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos, which placed first. At bottom left is runner-up Whitehaven Beach in Australia. At bottom right is third-place winner Anse Lazio in The Seychelles.

The African Queen, which is moored in Mapledurham near Reading, was bought by Bonny and Andy Cowley for £250,000 in 2004 and the couple transformed the vessel. They spent almost two years converting the barge into a floating hotel and have spent the past 10 years running weekend and five-day cruises on the Thames. The inset picture shows the barge sailing up the Thames before it was transformed. The other images show it after the refurb.

The seats are set to be available on all of the German carrier's regular routes from 2020 and will coincide with the roll-out of the Boeing 777-9, which has a wider cabin than its predecessors. The cabin, pictured, will come in a 1-2-1/1-1-1 seat configuration, meaning everyone will have direct access to the aisle, so you will never have to disturb your neighbouring passenger if you want to nip to the loo or stretch your legs. The bed lengths, Lufthansa says, will be up to 220cm (86.6 inches).

British Airways captain Claire Bunton (pictured), who lives on the UK's south coast, kindly agreed to tell MailOnline Travel what it's like to fly the world's biggest passenger plane. It has wings that at 2,775 sq ft are 54 per cent bigger than those of a Boeing 747, Rolls-Royce engines that are the size of a Mercedes C-series and enough storage space to transport 3,000 suitcases and 525 passengers. Here she describes its 'funky tech, how it handles, and where she sleeps on ultra-long-haul flights.

An online gallery of disgusting pictures has revealed some of the worst food airline passengers around the globe have been served up. And they show some bizarre meals including, top from left, bizarre looking pasta sauce, small portions of chicken, tiny cucumber sandwiches as well as, bottom from left, cardboard like cheese toasties, a green-looking mush and rubbery eggs.

More than 1,300 professional and amateur photographers from around the globe entered their stunning landscape images into the 2017 Epson International Pano Awards.The winning photographer was Spanish snapper Jesus M Garcia, with his snap of Damian Shan in China, top left. Other impressive images entered include the Dubai skyline, top right, a volcanic eruption in Chile, bottom left, and a rainbow over Arizona, bottom right.

Don Parrish, 73, from Chicago, started travelling the globe in 1965 after visiting Germany and after reaching Conway Reef off the coast of Fiji has been named as the world's most-traveled man. The most exotic places that he has visited include the South Pole, top left, Somalia, top right, North Korea, bottom left, Sri Lanka, bottom right and the Mauritius jungle, inset.