Nicholas Kontis
Nicholas Kontis was born on Santorini Island in Greece and raised in America’s cultural capital, San Francisco. After a 13-month whirlwind around-the-world adventure, Nicholas returned to San Francisco and started the first travel agency in the United States specializing in discount around-the-world airfares. He is an award-winning travel writer, journalist, and USA Today photojournalist who has traveled to over 100 countries and is the author of the experiential travel book Going Local Experiences and Encounters on the Road.
Articles by Nicholas Kontis
In my life as a globetrotter, I have missed large swaths of my own country, including much of the upper Midwest. Grand Rapids, Michigan, gave me an opportunity to discover something new. And it was a pure delight.
In the Canadian police drama “Hudson & Rex,” a detective and his canine partner solve crimes in and around picturesque St. John’s, capital of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Through six seasons (including 2024), their police work took them to all corners of Newfoundland, the world’s 16th-largest island, to adjacent Labrador, a sparsely populated fragment of the North American mainland. They even ventured to the French territory of St. Pierre et Miquélon, anchored just off the coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean.
Expedition cruises extend to some of Earth’s most fragile and captivating lands with itineraries that focus on nature and culture. Traditional cruises may offer a robust choice of onboard activities and a seemingly endless number of food options, but expedition cruises provide a very different motivation: Scientists, marine biologists, historians, and other experts lead expeditions. And no two cruises are ever the same.
A vast trail system, for hiking or biking, is not the first thing that comes to a person’s mind when the topic of discussion is the state of Alabama. The “Heart of Dixie” is more likely to evoke thoughts of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, or the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team.
Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas boasts steamy tropical rainforest jungles, fertile and pine-forested mountains, and standout colonial cities and towns. Known for its cobblestone streets, baroque buildings, and elegant plazas, San Cristóbal de las Casas is on many a traveler’s radar. The ruins of Palenque and Yaxchilán are two of the most spectacular archeological sites in the Mayan world. The surrounding jungle remains unscathed, home to cacophonous howler monkeys, brightly colored toucans, and various cats, including jaguars and ocelots.
