The Radar: Travel Lately

The Radar – the best of the travel blogosphere – is a regular feature on Intelligent Travel every Wednesday.

You can play, too. Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and tag your favorite travel stories #NGTRadar to help us find the crème de la crème on the web.

Here’s this week’s:

• Turkey links the East and the West — and its landscapes are just as unique. Read on as one blogger finds subterranean surprises in the smack-dab center of this cultural olio. @YoungAdventures
• Modern travelers may take to the air to see the globe, but some of the world’s wonders are still best seen by way of water. From Idaho rapids to a remote corner of Fiji, here are 21 places to get your feet wet. @MatadorNetwork
• Vilnius may be Lithuania’s capital and largest city, but Kaunas has its own contributions to make. Find out what makes this Baltic city tick (and don’t forget your umbrella!). @EuropeUpClose
• What do you get when you pair an iconic car with the Mexican backcountry? The Traveling Beetle — a series of all-inclusive road trips that one traveler calls “a vintage dream.” @Butterflydiary
• The elephant may be Thailand’s national animal, but that doesn’t mean they’re treated with universal respect. Pay homage to the mammoth mammals at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai. @WanderlandAlex

Got Radar? Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and tag your favorite travel stories from the web #NGTRadar. Then check back on Wednesdays for our Travel Lately roundup.