Patagonia is the trip people over 60 either book or regret not booking. The terrain looks intimidating in photos. The reality, with the right itinerary, is different. The hiking is moderate, not extreme. The lodges are comfortable. The food is good. The glaciers and mountains are exactly what the photos show. The hard part is … Read more
The Galápagos delivers on its reputation. The animals have no fear of humans, which means a sea lion pup will nap next to your shoe on the dock and a blue-footed booby will pose at eye level while you take photos. The landscapes are volcanic and strange. The water is clear enough that you can … Read more
A total solar eclipse is one of the few travel experiences where the event itself is the entire point. You are not going to see the city. You are going to stand in a specific spot on Earth for four minutes while the sky does something it almost never does. There are three total solar … Read more
Small-ship cruising is a different category from ocean or river cruising. The ships hold 100 to 200 passengers. The itineraries are expedition-grade: Galápagos, Antarctica, the Norwegian fjords, Svalbard, the Northwest Passage, the Kimberley coast, the Russian Far East. The daily activity is the trip, not the ship. This is the premium end of experiential travel … Read more
European river cruising has matured into a real product, not a curiosity. The ships are smaller than ocean liners (190 passengers vs. 2,000-plus), the ports are city centers, and almost everything is included in the fare. It is also more expensive per night than ocean cruising, which surprises people. The math makes sense once you … Read more
Holland America and Viking both sell a calmer version of cruising. Neither is trying to turn the pool deck into a spring-break commercial. Both put serious effort into destination programming, decent food, and ships where a conversation is still possible after dinner. That is where the similarity ends. Holland America is still recognizably a traditional … Read more
Everyone who visits Santorini sees the sunset. The white-washed buildings of Oia, the volcanic caldera, the blue-domed churches. These images are why two million people a year make the trip. Almost none of them stay long enough to do anything else. The sunset takes 20 minutes. The flight is 8 hours. That math doesn’t work. … Read more
Most city walking tours are mediocre. A guide reads dates off a card, gestures at a building, moves the group to the next stop. You finish the tour knowing slightly more about the city than when you started but having spent 3 hours walking behind a person holding a flag. A good walking tour is … Read more
A cooking class is one of the best ways to make a trip stick. You learn something, you meet locals, you take home a skill, and the meal you cook is the most memorable meal of the trip. Most cooking classes on vacation are mediocre. The good ones are unforgettable. This is how to find … Read more
Most lists of “must-do” Mediterranean experiences are exhausting. They name fifty things, weight them equally, and leave the reader no better equipped to actually book something. This list is different. Ten specific experiences. Each one is genuinely worth flying to the Mediterranean for. Each is bookable. Each is sized for travelers who want quality over … Read more