Contrary to popular belief, the world is a lot safer than it was a decade ago.

So you fancy escaping the city but don't want to spend all day in your car? Here's everything you need to know about Auckland's most accessible regional parks.

Best luxury resorts If you enjoy escaping into a James Bond novel, you'll love the 21ha Jamaican paradise where Ian Fleming initially

Wide open spaces, geysers and lofty mountains lend this state's parks unusual grandeur.

This forested park is crisscrossed with boardwalks, allowing close-up animal encounters.

Getting your kids to turn off their phones can turn into one endless nag, writes Emily Shelley.

Explore these wilderness areas and you'll find a staggering variety of animal species.

This park is home to the highest peak on the USA's Eastern Seaboard.

This state's national parks will leave visitors' jaws hanging.

Cathrin Schaer finds a flash, chauffeur-driven way to go wining, dining and singing with the locals in Sri Lanka's capital.

Sarah Daniell goes where she has never before dared.

Visitors venturing from Indonesia's well-worn tourist haunts have thousands of alternatives, writes Kristi Eaton.

Trying to learn the Russian alphabet during long days in a train compartment was unfortunately no help when advice was ignored, writes Natasha Harris.

This park's windswept, grassy valleys and desolate badlands are softened by the explosion of wildflowers which appear each spring.

Adventure junkie and entrepreneur AJ Hackett is opening the world's highest bungy jump, among several other multi-million dollar projects.

Glorious scenery, quaint pubs, perfect drives, wonderful hiking - Kerry has it all, says Simon Horsford.

A boys' weekend in Rotorua is full-on and full of fun, writes Mike Lane.

YouTube star Devin Supertramp's exhilarating stunt videos will inspire you to take on the world.

Queenstown novice Dan Ahwa experiences the resort town's extreme, adrenaline-fuelled activities for the first time.

In the absolute silence of deep underground, Bronwyn Sell experiences true darkness - and the beauty it conceals.

Derek Cheng basks in a panoramic view that few have experienced.

With its caves, magnificent bristlecone forests and isolated star-gazing opportunities, visitors to this national park are in for a visual feast both above and below ground.

Breath-taking thrills and spills and awe-inspiring sights are on offer in the tourist mecca, writes Morgan Tait.

Home to the world's longest known cave system, Kentucky's only national park is a must-visit for keen spelunkers.

If moonbows, starry skies and volcanic activity peak your interest, head to one of the two national parks on these remote Pacific islands.

It's featured in many travellers' photos, but Donegal man Iain Miller has become the first person in 25 years to successfully scale the Dun Briste sea stack.

Can it really be called adventure travel if you're helicoptered to a luxury lodge in the middle of nowhere? Kirrily Schwarz dosen't think so.

Kim Knight felt the fear (and then walked it off) on a six-hour side-trip to Hokitika.

Once a hotbed of gambling and outlaws, the geothermal features of this state's only national park now attract those looking for rest and relaxation.

Visitors to Yosemite National Park in California have more room to roam after officials announced a 400-acre expansion of the park