Boat cruises to dune tours: The best things to do on holiday

An boat cruise along the canals in Amsterdam has been reviewed more than 10,000 times on Tripadvisor. — Unsplash

The best travel experience in the world is an open boat cruise along the canals of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where tourists will pass by iconic spots such as the Jordaan, Houseboat Museum, Rijkmuseum, De Duif and the Anne Frank House.

But this is only according to Tripadvisor’s “2022 Best of the Best” list, which was compiled based on reviews and recommendations published on the travel guide’s website.

There are two main lists: “World” and “Asia”, with 50 activities featured in total. The canal cruise by a company called Flagship Amsterdam, of course, is listed under the World category with as many as 10,195 (mostly positive) reviews published on Tripadvisor, and a 99% recommended rating.

Second on the list is an adventure tour in Dubai, where you get to experience the red dunes on either quad bikes/ATVs or camels. You can even try your hand at sandsurfing, before ending the day with a BBQ meal at the Al-Khayma Camp. This excursion has 4,922 reviews with a 99% recommended rating.

Other interesting experiences on the list include a jeep safari tour of the natural pools and Indian caves in Aruba; a Beatles tour in Liverpool, England; a chocolate tour in Edinburgh, Scotland; a Vespa sidecar tour in Rome, Italy; and Black Cab tours in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The latter is operated by a company that is owned by both a Catholic and a Protestant, which allows for an unbiased telling of “The Troubles”, the violent conflict that took place in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998.

In the Asia category, gastronomy tours are the obvious favourite as almost half the number of experiences listed are either food hunting excursions or cooking classes and workshops.

There are no Malaysian experiences listed. (This just means that the tourists who have visited Malaysia are either not bothered to leave reviews on Tripadvisor, or there are not enough reviews, or they do not use the travel guide at all.)

The top experience in Asia according to the list is a Thai and Akha cooking class in Chiang Mai, Thailand with 1,796 reviews. Akha is a hill tribe in Chiang Mai, so those who join the cooking class can get to know more about the community and their culture through food.

Next on the list is a private Khmer cooking class in Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia with 625 reviews, followed by another Siem Reap activity – a sunrise tour of Angkor Wat and nearby temples with 429 reviews from Tripadvisor users.

Other highlighted experiences include private heritage walking tours of the Jaisalmer Fort and Old Bazaar Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India; surf lessons for beginners in Bali, Indonesia; Korean cooking classes and local market tours in Seoul, South Korea; a chef-curated food tour in Bangkok, Thailand; and a tour of Osaka’s “backstreets” in Japan.

Finally, the list also includes a motorbike food-and-culture tour in Hanoi, Vietnam, and a full-day excursion at Care Pride Elephants in Chiang Mai.

Care Pride Elephants is an animal sanctuary and teaches tourists and visitors how to take care of its herd of mostly former “show elephants” that are no longer able to fend for themselves in the wild. There are strictly no elephant ride experiences available here.

There is also a private “Instagram tour” in Bangkok, where tourists are taken to some of the city’s most famous and iconic spots. These include Wat Ben (Marble Temple) and Wat Arun, Pak Khlong Talat or the flower market, the Grand Palace, Lumpini Park, the Sky Bar at Lebua, the Giant Swing and Chao Phraya River. There’s no note on whether these tours also provide photography services.

While Tripadvisor is a trusted source when it comes to travel, always remember to read reviews from different travel guides, platforms and blogs/vlogs before deciding to try an experience or paying for a tour to ensure that you have a safe holiday.