As one of the most sought after adventures on the planet, an African safari will take you straight through the heart of some of the largest, and most exciting terrain to be found anywhere in the world.

Adventures don’t come much more electrifying than this; feel your heart beat through your chest as you come up close to some of the biggest and most powerful animals on the planet, including the notorious ‘Big 5’, lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo.

This week we’ve been inspired to select a ‘Big 5′ of our very own, here’s our five favourite African safaris…

Search for the 'Big 5' on the great plains of Africa.

Continue reading →

It would be hard to find somewhere that encompasses the spirit of Africa in the same way as Kenya. It’s a very raw example of many of the things that make Africa so amazing.

You can expect huge, green plains, buzzing with life and nature, traditional African warriors hunting and spear fishing, and cities full of people, all buzzing through the busy, congested streets.

If you want to experience an interesting and all encompassing mix of rural, urban, traditional and modern Africa, then Kenya is the place to go.

Continue reading →

Home to every element that makes Africa such a monumentally epic place to visit, including daunting trekking adventures through deserted landscapes, rural villages and some of the largest and most captivating wildlife to be found anywhere in the world. Tanzania is one of the continent’s most visited countries, and for good reason.

Whatever your idea of an amazing trip, Tanzania will make sure you’re not left disappointed. Pristine beaches meet some of the clearest most spectacular water you’re ever likely to see, huge, wild animals roam freely and local people live as simply as they did thousands of years ago. It’s a place that will grab you by the shoulders and shake you up, and you’ll love it!

The beaches of Zanzibar are some of the most pristine in the world.

Continue reading →

It’s question time again! No, not that boring show on BBC One with all the miserable people in suits – we’re talking about something much more interesting – travel!

This is the blog series where one of you, the STA Travel Blog readers, challenge our clued up Travel Experts to answer that question that has had you scratching your head for ages!

This week, Amy is here to suss out some super volunteer projects for a student at her school, sounds interesting. What’s your question Amy?

I am a career advisor at a school in Melksham and one of our current year 12’s is looking at taking a gap year. She hopes to go for the full year in Africa looking at areas of conservation and community projects. I have begun to do a little research for her but I wanted to know if you had any longer term projects available or if you could recommend any? Alternatively would there be any other possible projects that she could be involved in as well as in Africa to give her a chance to see other parts of the world? Amy, Wiltshire

Well Amy, we’ve got lots of love for volunteering projects here at STA Travel and offer a huge selection of opportunities for you to make a difference and travel at the same time – take a look at our Volunteer and Learn brochure for the full set of options. But before that, let’s see which particular projects our Expert Amy suggest for your student…

Continue reading →

Dubai is already a huge stopover hub for flights en route to China, Japan, India, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand as the home of Emirates, one of the world biggest airlines.

And from 1st April, thanks to a new partnership between Emirates and Qantas, the other huge airline servicing the same side of the world, it’s set to become a lot more popular as Qantas begin to stopover in the Arab state too.

So the question should really be; if you have to stopover in Dubai, and you have the chance to spend a few days exploring this unique city as an added extra, why the heck wouldn’t you grab the opportunity with both hands?!

The sad thing is, many of those travellers won’t even see outside of the airport departure lounge as they spend a few hours sat in Burger King and stocking up on duty free before carrying on with their journey.

Maybe that’s because many people aren’t aware of the option for a longer stopover, maybe it’s because they don’t have the time, or maybe it’s because they’ve been sucked in by a few age old myths about travelling to Dubai.

Think Dubai’s Not For You? Think Again…

Below are 5 myths we commonly hear about travel to Dubai. Reasons which, somewhat unfairly, stop people from making the decision to explore Dubai for themselves. So it’s time to bust them – once and for all!

See something a little different to the insdie of the departure lounge on arrival in Dubai.

Continue reading →