TRAVEL NEWS

The ideal base camps for your National Park adventures.

After you’ve spent a day exploring the natural splendor of America’s National Parks, you’ll want somewhere equally beautiful to rest your head and reflect on everything you’ve just experienced. Whether you prefer the creature comforts of a place to stay or just don’t want to lug around all of your camping equipment, these Airbnbs will allow you to relax while still giving you easy access to the park.

Let’s get ready to mangia!

Are you craving some hand-made pasta, a bottle of Barolo, and maybe a little tiramisu to cap it all off? Luckily, you don’t have to go all the way to Italy in order to sample some of this exquisite cuisine. The United States is home to some incredible Italian restaurants where all you need is one bite to transport you from Bologna to Sicily.

Honoring the women who paved their own path in aviation.

The achievements and progress made by women throughout history shouldn’t just be relegated to Women’s History Month. While there is still so much room for female inclusion in the aviation industry (roughly, only 8% of pilots in the United States are women), there have been some incredible women who have stood out across decades with their accomplishments in the field.

These thrilling travelogues will take you on a journey around the world.

The pandemic may have halted our travels for now, but it’s made us more determined than ever to plan that trip of a lifetime. With slower and more mindful travel set to be a big travel trend once the world opens up again, we’ve put together a collection of inspiring travelogues and memoirs brimming with adventure—beyond the usual contenders—to get your imaginations whirring and your feet itching with wanderlust.

The states are starting to reopen. But is it wise to venture out?

[Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article that originally ran on May 19.] Disclaimer: This is meant to be a general overview of how each state is reopening. It is not intended to provide every last detail regarding guidelines and restrictions; please refer to the government website of each state for specifics. In addition, please remember that even if a state has been given the green light for a category of businesses to reopen, individual businesses may choose to remain closed. As such, please be sure to contact each business or site before visiting to ensure that it is open. As the United States begins to relax its shelter-in-place orders and some emerge from their homes, many are counting the days when we can get back out there and travel, even if it’s by car to a neighboring community or state. But as we know, a very different landscape awaits out there than the one we left earlier this winter at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. There are things travelers must consider that we never did before, including social distancing and personal sanitization. The big question is: Is it safe to travel in the United States? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pretty clear in its stance. It’s recommended that you stay home as much as possible, especially if your trip is not essential. Social distancing still needs to be practiced, especially if you are in a higher risk category or an older adult. You shouldn’t travel if you feel sick, or travel with someone who is sick. And you need to protect yourself and others by knowing how to prevent the virus from spreading.  Perhaps the most hopeful advice comes from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. According to him, summer travel “can be in the cards.” He urges caution, since we risk COVID-19 spreading rapidly if proper precautions are not taken. “When infections start to rear their heads again,” he says, “we have to put in place a very aggressive and effective way to identify, isolate, contact trace, and make sure we don’t have those spikes we have now.” As long as we’re aware that “getting back to normal is not like a light switch that you turn on and off,” he says, we should be able to get back to some sort of normalcy. So the answer is: We’re not quite there yet. The best thing to do is pay attention to the several-phase reopening plans that each state has developed, outlining when hotels, restaurants, retail businesses, outdoor areas, etc., should be open for business and what precautions they must take. Some states are freer than others—and that’s something to consider. Do you really want to be on a beach where social distancing guidelines aren’t being maintained? It’s a whole new world that we’ll be navigating, literally. The guidelines are fast-changing and it’s hard to keep up, but here’s where they stand today, state by state.                                  

These deserted spaces around the world each offer a glimpse into the past and a story of their own.

Abandoned spaces always tell a story. Whether it’s the futuristic sporting stadium left unfinished thanks to an escalating war in Lebanon or a theme park swallowed by the Indonesian jungle, each of these places—intended for people to congregate and take pleasure—are now haunting relics of the past. These ambitious projects and their subsequent failure speak to the hubris of humankind and remind us that life is, indeed, uncertain. We have a particular fascination with ruins, perhaps out of curiosity about what the world will look like after we’re gone when nature has reclaimed what was originally hers. Look no further than the glut of post-apocalyptic films and books released each year for evidence. Standing alone within the empty walls and chambers of the sites on this list, we can let our imagination run wild. That future might look something like this.