No matter if you’re flying solo, hitched, somewhere in between — or don’t identify with any of it at all — Valentine’s Day has a way of putting love front and centre. But this isn’t a love letter about roses, chocolates, or restaurant reservations…
It’s about the kind of love you feel on the road. The kind sparked by rolling, wide-open landscapes, early mornings or late nights, and moments that make you stop mid-step.
These aren’t places you rush through or reduce to just ticking a box or grabbing a photo. They’re landscapes that can’t help but ask for your full attention — and give you something back in return.
This is a love letter to the places that really make you pause. To scale, stillness, and the kind of travel that stays with you long after you return home. Get ready to 'Travel Your Heart Out'.
The view that really steals the conversation
There are views that people tell you about — “just wait until you see this” — and then there are the ones that still manage to surprise you.
Standing atop a remote, snow-capped mountain pass, walking along a vertigo-inducing coastal cliff, or reaching a viewpoint at the end of a long hike tends to have the same effect: conversations trail off. Phones come out of pockets, then swiftly go away again. Everyone just stands there for a minute longer than planned.
This is why hiking and trekking remain some of the most rewarding ways in which to experience a destination. The effort creates context, the elevation creates perspective, and the view feels earned — not staged.
From famous alpine routes and dramatic coastal lookouts to trips to actual ‘lost cities’, these are the places that don’t need any kind of explanation once you’re there. Just a combo-platter of silence, atmosphere, and pure, uninterrupted magic.
Experience epic views on: Trekking Mont Blanc or Torres del Paine — Full Circuit Trek
The sunrise you don’t regret waking up for
Some mornings are worth the early alarm — trust us! Before the day fills up with noise and hustle and bustle of people, there’s a short window where everything feels softer. Beaches are empty. Hills sit under a thin layer of mist. The light changes slowly, and you notice it because there’s nothing else vying for your attention.
Whether you’re watching the sun rise over coral-dappled coastlines, lush rice paddies, or snow-covered forests, these moments reward those who step outside early. They don’t demand anything from you — just that you’re there to see them. You might head back for breakfast afterward. Or a nap. Or both. Either way, you’re already glad you made it out of your bed and went.
Watch incredible sunrises on: Laos: Sunrises & Street Food or Morocco Kasbahs & Desert
The places where photos just don’t cut it
Let’s face it, we’ve all tried to take photos that really don’t translate to a screen. Waterfalls are louder and mightier than expected. Glaciers feel closer and more awe-inspiring. Wildlife moves on its own schedule. The scale is off, and the depth disappears. Eventually, you decide to lower your phone or camera and just try and soak it all in.
These are the landscapes that really work best in real time — Iceland’s raw terrain, Patagonia’s shifting weather, Mongolia’s vast rolling plains, the unique Ngorongoro Crater — places where the environment changes hour by hour. They’re dynamic, unpredictable, and impossible to fully pin down. You don’t leave with the perfect photo, but you leave with the memories of being there — which are a reward in itself.
Put the camera down in: Nomadic Mongolia or Tanzania Uncovered: Wildlife of the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater
The silence that you didn’t know you needed
Silence hits differently when it’s natural. Far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, traffic and timelines, places like the remote Scottish islands or highlands, the deserts of Morocco, and polar regions like the Arctic and Antarctica offer a different kind of quiet that feels rare and unique.
We’re not talking about being empty — just uninterrupted. Think wind whistling over water, footsteps crunching on crisp grass, long pauses between conversations, and perhaps a distant bird cry every once in a while.
It’s in these settings that you stop filling every moment with your own noise, and just let the environment set the pace. Wildlife sightings feel more meaningful. Landscapes feel less like a backdrop here; instead, they invite you in as a willing participant. It’s not about escaping the world — it’s about reconnecting with it on simpler terms.
Experience the silence on: Expedition Through the Scottish Isles: Where Land Meets Legend or Antarctica Classic
The night sky that makes you feel small
When the sun sets and the city lights fade, the night sky becomes a universe of its own — an open ceiling of stars, constellations, and celestial phenomena that remind you how vast the world really is. When you’re out of the city and away from light pollution, the Milky Way stretches into view, bright constellations arch overhead, and shooting stars make elusive but unforgettable appearances.
Some destinations like Canada, Norway, Finland and Iceland even offer the chance to witness nature’s most electric light show: the Aurora Borealis — AKA the Northern Lights — shimmering curtains of green, blue, and purple that appear when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s atmosphere near the poles. Even without auroras, places with open skies — from high mountain plateaus to remote wilderness — offer some of the best stargazing on Earth, where just looking up is enough to put everything else into perspective.
Test your luck on: Iceland Northern Lights & Golden Circle or Canadian Rockies: Northern Lights Winter Explorer
The feeling that you carry home with you
Then, when you do return home, it’s not just the memories of the trip you begin to unpack. It’s a quieter, slower, more intentional way of travelling. You slow down. You linger longer. You choose experiences that go deeper rather than faster. These aren’t trips built around ticking boxes, grabbing content for TikTok, or rushing between highlights — they’re immersive journeys shaped by wide-open landscapes and time spent truly being present and ‘there’.
Travel that asks for your full attention and gives something back in return. Long after the trip ends, that feeling stays with you — a reminder of scale, stillness, and why we keep choosing to explore the world this way and ‘Travel Your Heart Out’.
