It’s the travel battle of the fortnight: one of our loyal Blog readers takes on a member of our fabulous staff, as they both face five tough travel questions that will test their experience, opinions and aspirations. Who’ll come out victorious? There’s only one way to find out…

Do you want to step into the Gauntlet? Then drop us an email, and we’ll get back to you with five travel questions to answer.

Now, let’s meet this week’s brave contestants.

Running The Gauntlet this week, it’s…

Travel lover Nicola Dunkinson from Hampshire! Here’s Nicola cycling along the beach in South Goa.

Nicola gets active on her travels in India

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It’s shaping up to be a busy old week here at STA Travel HQ, but our Experts are never too busy to answer your questions. They’ve been hard at it, pulling their biggest travel tricks out the bag, and conjuring up some solutions to your travel queries.

They’re here every week, so if you’ve got a travel related question you just can’t get outta your head, let us know about it! Email us, and we’ll pass your question onto the Experts.

This week’s question comes courtesy of Lisa from Aberdeen. Take it away, Lisa:

Hi Experts! My boyfriend and I are flying to Mexico City this September and have 3 weeks in which we would like to see some of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Can you offer any advice on the best way to see all of these countries in the time that we have? Lisa, Aberdeen

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A little while ago, we made a phone call to a young lady named Laura Henley, and broke the news that she had won our competition prize of a 16-day trip to Costa Rica.

We caught up with her recently to find out how the trip went, and get a few juicy details about life in Central America.

Costa Rica is famously diverse; offering some of the most varied flora and fauna in the world, in breathtaking settings. On top of this, the country is also an adventure travellers paradise, with rushing rivers and towering volcanoes aplenty.

But don’t take our word for it, read our interview with Laura, about her journey along one of our most popular tours of the region, the Costa Rica Adventure.

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A round the world trip should be an adventure. It’s a time to do things you’ve never done before, and see sights you never dreamed of seeing. It’s a time to be daring. To take risks. To be courageous. To go… wild.

Here at STA Travel, we know all this. So we got our thinking caps on. Then we put our travel planning hats on. And finally, we put ourselves in your place. And we came up with our wildest round the world route yet. It’s called (funnily enough) Wild at Heart.

Nairobi. Johannesburg. Bangkok. Hanoi. Hong Kong. Beijing. Amazing destinations in their own right. But they’re also all gateways to some of the world’s most unexplored territories.

Take Wild at Heart on our Tripline below, and see for yourself what an adventure this round the world trip can be.

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How many times have you heard, “There’s nowhere like New Zealand”? Guess what: there really isn’t. New Zealand is one of the most creative and forward-thinking destinations, and currently ranked on the Global Peace Index as the second most peaceful country in the world (it was number one in 2010, but someone sneezed).

But what is it that makes New Zealand so unique? Is it the steaming thermal landscapes of the North Island? Is it the thrusting coastline? The perfect mountains? Perhaps those cool looking glaciers…

Perhaps it’s their can-do spirit, that’s spawned innumerable champions: from land speed records to mountain climbers; wood choppers to heroines of women’s rights.

Today, we’re taking a look at five of our favourite experiences in New Zealand that, as far as we know, are not available to enjoy anywhere else in the world.

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