Vast places to visit in 2014 (part 1)

The new year has just started, so we think it’s time to start looking at some of the places and things that you might want to consider while planning your holidays this year, and we’ll start with vast places to visit in 2014.

Rub’ al-Khali (Empty Quarter) – Oman

Smothering a fifth of the Arabian peninsula, the Rub’ al-Khali or ‘quarter of emptiness’ is the largest sea in the world…the largest sand sea, that is. But one can see why it’s a sea once one gets there. It seems endless, it ripples with red-orange waves, and the dunes are ever-moving and ever-treacherous.

The vastness isn’t infinite, though it may seem so, it carpets more than 580,000 sq km of Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

One of the easiest ways of accessing the ‘Quarter of Emptiness’ is via a guided expedition from Salalah, Southern Oman.

Maldives

The Maldives are usually part of many lists of places to visit, because of their great natural beauty and weather, but it also makes it on our list of vast places to visit in 2014.

There are several wonderfully stark atolls which will offer a ravishing view of the surrounding blue expanse. A large expanse in which you can dip and find the world’s largest fish – the whale shark, which despite the name and their size – they can reach up to twelve meters in length – they actually feed on plankton, so it’s perfectly safe to dive or snorkel with them.

Atacama Desert, Chile

Mountain ranges and deserts are definitely vast places to visit, but going to the incredibly arid Atacama Desert, you’ll also see the vastness of the Universe. The air is so dry here that clouds are a rare occurrence, thus making sky watching a wonderful pastime. There is no real light pollution to talk of either because you’ll be in a desert.

These are just a few of the vast places to visit in 2014, keep in mind some worldwide car rental services when you plan to visit them.