Travel

Travel

I've discovered in recent years that the best way to put a trip together is to combine a big, juicy city, ripe for exploration, with a refreshing countryside escape. You get the thrill of exploring a sprawling urban landscape for the first time. You gain the historical insights, get your dose of cultural stimulation and find the most energetic districts in town. You soak up the atmosphere and stack up the step count.

SeatGuru was a website highly regarded by frequent fliers. The site hosted seatmaps for thousands of airplanes and categorized every seat on each aircraft in order to help fliers figure out which to book and which to avoid. "Good" seats were those with qualities like the most legroom in their class, the deepest unobstructed recline, and amenities like power ports. "Bad" seats were those with limited recline, proximity to the toilets, or obstructed windows.

Perched 1,350m above the Dolomites, this family-run hotel offers luxury wellness, a gravity-defying SkyPool, an innovative 'Heaven and Hell Spa', daily guided hikes, yoga and fine dining with locally sourced ingredients and wines. Featured on the BBC's Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby series with Rob Rinder and Monica Galetti, this stunning hotel is the perfect blend of local hospitality, luxury wellness and sustainable innovation - all anchored in South Tyrolean family values.

Diners fall silent as the haunting sound of the aulos a double-piped wind instrument from ancient Greece echoes through the vaulted breakfast room. The musician, Davide, wears a chiton (tunic), as do the guests; the mosaic floor, decorated vases and flicker of flames from the sconces add to the sense that we've stepped back in time. This is Moyseion, a one-of-a-kind hotel-museum in the famous troglodyte city of Matera, in Basilicata, known for its sassi cave dwellings carved into the limestone mountainside.

The Lower Yosemite Falls Trail is a short, paved loop just under a mile that winds through shaded forested areas and rocky outcroppings. It's ideal for families, casual hikers, and anyone who wants to enjoy beautiful scenery without a long or difficult climb. Even though the walk is brief, the views feel generous. You soon find yourself surrounded by the sight and sound of the waterfall.

We all know it-the world has become very expensive. People are having to work several jobs to keep up. Others in many cities have to flatshare to survive the astronomical cost of living. Knowing that there are places you can comfortably survive off of $750 is a dream many digital nomads, remote workers, retirees, or anyone taking a sabbatical would not hesitate to grab.

The sun, vermilion like molten glass, rose through a mist over Rwanda's capital, Kigali. We began our drive to the remote Magashi Peninsula in the country's northeast corner, where Wilderness has recently opened its newest camp. We passed through valleys tiled with rice paddies and villages with hand-painted murals advertising local beers and boasting of their community spirit. Everywhere along the road, women in batik-printed kikois wraps were carrying loads atop their heads.

At the eighth annual Points of View Summit, everyone is just happy to be there. Which is not to say that that's not usually the case for this assemblage of travel specialists and editors. But flight delays from the government shutdown left many of these usually unfettered frequent fliers uncertain as to whether or not they'd make it to New York. The fact that turnout is high means morale is the same, and the day is off to a solid start.

In addition to recommending visitors to skip the tourist traps and find traditional local food, Steves encourages sightseers to add stops for kebabs to their Europe itineraries. "Of all the international options in Europe, the ubiquitous kebab stand is my favorite," he wrote on Europe's Cheap Eats. "Kiosks selling Turkish-style döner kebab (rotisserie meat wrapped in pita bread), falafel (fried chickpea patties), and other Middle Eastern dishes are popular in many places, including Germany, Florence, and Paris."

Those of us who've had TSA PreCheck for a while have seen the express airport security line moving more slowly than it should. We've had our patience tested by newbies fumbling for passports at the counter or removing their shoes when it's their turn to be scanned. These days, you're more likely to encounter first-time users in the fast-pass lane than ever. The TSA reported in August 2024 that enrollment reached a record 20 million travelers.

In that regard, we have some good news: a new Saturday market has launched in Bethnal Green, east London, with six stalls selling an array of artsy goods. The market is hosted in front of legendary cafe E Pellicci on Bethnal Green Road, and it's the result of a project by E Pellicci, the East End Trades Guild, Oxford House and Newmans Stationary. It was crowdfunded by the century-old cafe and locals, who raised over £9,000 to kickstart the market.

The secret to Travel Tuesday isn't luck, it's preparation. The best deals rarely wait around. Many appear in the first few hours of the day and vanish by evening. To score the most enviable offers, be sure to do your homework: know where you want to go, track prices in the weeks leading up to the sale, and set alerts so you can pounce the moment fares drop.

For the survey, each island's trail offerings were assessed in terms of quality and quantity. For example, to determine quality, average trail length, safety, climate conditions, and accessibility were all considered. Certain travel metrics were also taken into account, such as average nightly room rates and the number of online searches for trails on that particular island. Afterwards, each of the 20 destinations included in the survey was assigned a Hiking Quality Index score.

We arrived in Amsterdam from New York City on little sleep, early and subdued after a red-eye flight. It was my partner's first time in the city, and my second - but I'd decided this trip would have a different pace. Disinterested in ticking off Red District landmarks or retracing old café steps - what I wanted for our long weekend away (from a Friday morning to Monday afternoon in mid-August),

The main attraction here, however, is the unparalleled direct view of the Eiffel tower, not to mention Les Invalide, Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre, and even a hint of Notre Dame. The already hard-to-book, Parisian hotspot Kinugawa Rive Gauche restaurant frames this 270-degree perspective with its wrap-around floor-to-ceiling windows. On offer, a fusion of French and Japanese classics. The space is cast in a clever interplay of raw composite materials and polished metal finishes.

But despite the step forward, airlines are still canceling or delaying hundreds of flights following the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) mandated capacity reductions. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were more than 1,700 delays within, into, or out of the United States and more than 1,000 cancellations, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) had the highest number of cancellations at more than 50 outbound flights, followed by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Denver International Airport (DEN), and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

For example, renting a car may seem convenient, but in some cities, finding parking can be tricky. This is because some areas have "limited traffic zones," where driving is limited to authorized vehicles only. In my experience, Uber isn't widely available in many parts of Italy, either. And although a train between two cities can sound practical, it sometimes ends up taking much longer than expected. Sometimes, a flight can be quicker.

Copenhagen has an impressive résumé when it comes to high-quality living. This year, the Happy City Index ranked Copenhagen as the world's happiest city, based on factors like health, mobility, and environment. Plus, the World Happiness Report named Denmark the second-happiest country in 2025. After spending a week there on a solo trip getting a small taste of the Danish city and talking with locals, I think I understand why.

warning Americans to "reconsider travel" there "due to unrest, crime, terrorism, and targeting of gay and lesbian individuals." The warning is one tier below the highest Level 4 alert. "There is risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Tanzania," the State Department wrote in its advisory, adding "Violent crime is common. It includes assault, sexual assault, robberies, mugging, and carjacking. Local police have limited resources to respond effectively to serious crime."

Unlike OBB's Nightjet, which travels through Strasbourg and Frankfurt, the new route on European Sleeper will go via Brussels - though exact timings are yet to be confirmed. European Sleeper's co-founder, Chris Engelsman, said the company endeavours to offer higher capacity than the Nightjet. Speaking to the Guardian, he said: 'OBB operates 12 coaches from Paris but it splits to Vienna and then Berlin. On the other hand, we have 12 to 14 coaches that will run entirely to Berlin, with a capacity of 600-700 passengers.'

Just as the days start to become unbearably short and dark, the holiday season kicks in to bring a bit of light and cheer to those cold winter nights. Whether it's warm drinks at the Christmas markets, sharing a hearty meal at home, or observing some of Germany's quirky holiday traditions with your loved ones, there is plenty to enjoy during the winter holiday season.

Each airline's boarding pass has a different design, but the basics are all there. Your seat number, departure time, airline and flight number, frequent flyer number, and class of service are all standard practices to provide the information travelers and airline staff need. A lot of that is stored within a scannable bar code. The first thing that most travelers look for when handed their boarding pass, though, is their seat assignment.

Since finding it nearly two years ago, my mini weekender has become my go-to personal item, accompanying me on journeys across the world on two-week trips to India, Ireland, home to Rome, and more. Seriously, I might need to get it a passport of its own. Don't let the word "mini" fool you - it packs quite the punch when it comes to organizational capacity.

"We often encounter guests who either forget or choose to leave behind certain amenities that just don't make the cut," says Joon Chang, assistant general manager at Kimpton Hotel George in Washington, D.C. "Ultimately, we want guests to feel their best while staying with us, and if our amenities can free up a bit of suitcase space for souvenirs and unforgettable memories instead, that's even better."

Whether I'm checking out new restaurants and bars or traversing vast vineyards and farms, I often end my trips with shoes that are muddy and don't exactly smell the best. I used to throw stinky shoes into a plastic grocery bag that would leave my luggage, clothes, and other toiletries with a lingering scent - or with dirt, grime, and mud everywhere.