Abandoned for centuries, the Mogao Grottoes somehow survived everything that nature and man could throw at them, including earthquakes, floods and sandstorms.

As security lines spiral out of control in the US, one airport has found a novel way to lighten the mood - send in the clowns!

Check out the latest pictures from the NZ Herald Travel Instagram account.

Shaoshan is the hometown of former Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong, popularly known as Chairman Mao.

Cheap, fast and frills-free. Hong Kong's street restaurants have served well-loved favorites for decades. The city's much-loved food stalls are finding new favour, discovers Justine Gerardy

Diplomats tell us what Kiwis need to know about their homelands.

If you've ever craved a burger and fries while flushing out your pores, Finland could be the latest destination to add to your bucket list.

Here are the top 25 tourist attractions in the world, according to TripAdvisor's millions of users.

By the end of my Contiki tour of Vietnam, it felt like I'd been on the road for weeks - but now that I'm back in the office, it's like a blink of the eye.

This sinister botanical wonderland is home to 100 of the world's most lethal plants...

It's 6pm and there's something of a party atmosphere at the Uluru sunset viewing area.

No bananas! I couldn't believe there had been no bananas in our entire village and in the middle of a sweat-drenched 10km jungle trek, I was starting to cramp up.

Dizzyingly tall skyscrapers, countless shopping malls, congested streets: I knew Hong Kong was packed with them.

Make a list. What is your holiday priority? Sun, rest and recharge within short-range of New Zealand?

More than 10 years after the Boxing Day tsunami, the tiny village of Mirissa, on the south coast of Sri Lanka, is still doing it tough.

Dusty's sits at the foot of the Dave Murray Downhill and is one of Whistler's first apres spots.

The Tourism Industry Association estimates that in the year to March spending will reach $32.5 billion.

One industry watcher says it's time for NZ hotels to get investment in new properties.

Second stop is Admiral's Arch. It's here we watch honking New Zealand fur seals frolic in the huge washing machine swells.

It's hard not to feel like James Bond stepping off the hovercraft on the crunchy ice of frozen solid Lake Baikal in Siberia.

Well, for one, it's pretty magical to get to experience a white Christmas - sure, it'll be extremely cold, but Europe does Christmas exceptionally well.

Eli Orzessek reports from Contiki's Vietnam Highlights tour.

One of the largest islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Ko Samui is known for palm-fringed sandy beaches, coral reefs and coconut trees.

There's a 10 per cent chance of sunshine in Colombia's Chingaza National Park.

"Y'all not from round here, are ya? Ain't nobody drinks Buuuud. This is Shiner Bock country, sir."

Singapore Airlines this month celebrates 40 years of flying into Auckland.

I'd been warned about the intense traffic in Vietnam when I had trouble crossing the streets in Taiwan.

The hotel manager offers a broad smile as he guides me down the boat ramp on to the warm sand of the eastern shore of Phi Phi Island (pronounced "PP").

The mountains of East Africa are being dissolved by climate change, Jason Patinkin reports.