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Last fall we traveled back east to New England to be part of the annual fall festival of colors. We put over 1,000 miles on our rental car, and were treated to great weather, superb accommodations, and exquisite dining. We also met some wonderful Americans – in the land where the country began.

There’s a lot to see in Massachusetts. On this trip we decided to stay away from the big cities and concentrate on small communities where we might discover something of that hometown flavor we yearn for

“Honey, I still don’t see any action in the restaurant!”  

We were sitting on the balcony of our hotel high above the Adriatic with a view directly into a large, empty, open-air restaurant built in a cave which was also high above the crashing surf. For experienced independent travelers we were getting a little concerned. Did we just make a big leap of faith on a good friend’s recommendation to go to this isolated location for an exceptional dining experience?

The Journey of Faith and a Twinge

Sayulita is a beach for adventurers. Age does not matter, and nor does whether you come as a family, a couple or with friends. What attracts tourists to Playa Sayulita is the fact that it places new experiences, from surfing to camping by the edge of the sea and making friends from around the world, within their grasp. In this Nayarit paradise, relaxation is for the nighttime; during the day, adrenaline and joy will keep your senses alive and your heart racing.

If you are already an experienced s

I love all of the Balearic islands for overlapping but different reasons, and there’s no question that the third-largest is definitely a change of pace from Majorca and certainly Ibiza. Not that there isn’t nightlife, as well as luxury and touches of glam here and there. But Minorca (aka Menorca, as they say in Catalan and Spanish) has managed to make its way into the 21st century with more of that laid-back, old-time island vibe blessedly intact (even despite the fact that tourism has certainl

Costa Rica welcomes rainy season (also called the “green season”) like a parched traveler reaching an oasis after a long, dry desert crossing. Dry season dust is gone and Costa Rica’s landscape springs back to life with lush green vegetation, carpets of blooming flowers, and new animal life.

Costa Rica in general has two major seasons – “summer,” or the dry season from December to April, and rainy season from May to November. Mornings during rainy season are almost always sunny, with showers in

What do you get when you build the world’s highest-altitude glass-walled rotating restaurant overlooking a 360-degree panorama of the Swiss Alps? What if deep below this restaurant carved into glacial ice, you can explore lit passageways connecting large grottos filled with ornate ice carvings, an ice altar for celebrating weddings, and another room completely outfitted as a playground with slides and ladders for the children? My first words to describe these wonders high above Sass Fee atop th

It’s true that Prague, with its ravishing Old Town, bangin' nightlife, and other allures, is enough to hold any visitor spellbound for an entire vacation and then some. But much of the essence of the Czech Republic flows from the cities, towns, and countryside outside the capital. Many visitors don’t make it out here, but there are some marvelous rewards easily reachable in day trips or overnights (in some cases you can even fit two spots in a single day, since they’re fairly close together).

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by Felice Hardy

Happily, powderhounds in withdrawal don’t have to hang on till December to hit the ski resorts. The Southern Hemisphere is happy to oblige us with some superb skiing on amazing terrain throughout the southern Andes, where the reversal of seasons means of course it’s winter there right now.

The South America skiing season in Argentina and Chile runs from June through October, with skiing for all levels, modern lifts, some great off-piste skiing, quirky resorts and e

Are you looking for a​n ideal​ tropical paradise for an upcoming vacation?

One with a 10-acre pristine ,​sandy ​beach, superb food, a fabulous spa and fitness center, a nearby 18-hole championship golf course, yoga and tennis, a choice of three swimming pools with pool activities and tranquil waterfalls, and ​gorgeous lush​ vegetation?

How about a gaggle of friendly peacocks who will welcome you every morning to breakfast or a few resident iguanas to visit with you around the

I had some business meetings scheduled in downtown Atlanta, and I wanted to find a top rated hotel in the area that offered character, class, and quality.

The Glenn, part of the Marriott Autograph Collection chain, promotes a boutique-ish vibe and looked appealing.  Ditto the upscale Courtyard by Marriott and swank Ritz Carlton.  While all were within walking distance of my confabs and appeared to be perfectly fine choices, I hesitated on the chain thing:  given the uniqueness of Atlanta, my pre

The province of Quebec, Canada has so much to offer the tourist that we found the best way to present the many vacation options was to separate them into several categories; this story zeroes in on just one of Quebec’s major attractions – lighthouses.

On the Trail of the Lighthouses

North America’s most spectacular lighthouse trek is in Canada’s Québec Maritime, located along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the St. Lawrence River. Central to the Maritime region is the Gaspésie (or Gaspé) Peninsula,

The best way to actually “see” Dubrovnik is to take your time and spend a few days exploring this remarkable destination, at your own pace, as an independent traveler with an inspired itinerary.

Every year, the whales that live close to the Antarctic waters of Chile make a trip of over 8,000 kilometers to the Pacific coast of Colombia to give birth and rear their whale calves. The best time to see them is between July and October, although they start to arrive in June. You can see them throughout the Pacific coast. Sometimes the whales come so close to the shore that they can be seen from the beach or from the viewpoints in the hills.

Some of the most recommendable sites to see these mag

We travel writers, as you can imagine, regularly get questions from people going on holiday. But when someone referred to me by a dear friend asked what she should not miss when she goes to Italy's capital for all of one weekend, I wanted to ask her – “ma sei pazza??”  (Are you nuts?) You could spend every waking hour for weeks barely scratching the surface of this breathtaking city with a history stretching back nearly 3,000 years, so trying to truly capture la Città Eterna in a mere 48 hours

Well, New England Patriots quarterrback Tom Brady may be in the doghouse now, but he'll always have Montezuma, Costa Rica.

Sure, Brady was trying to impress a girl – his wife, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen – when he shocked the world with his #AirBrady leap off Montezuma Falls near his vacation home of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. And while Brady posted: “Never doing that again!” on his Facebook page under the video that went viral with close to 11 million views so far, there are plenty o

Between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara runs the US 101, alternating between rolling hills and stunning sea views. Family activities abound at a midpoint in Ventura County West, making for an excellent three day vacation close to the heart of Los Angeles. This area includes Camarillo, Oxnard, and Ventura.

Choose day trips between wine tasting, old airplanes, classic cars, or whale watching, just to name a few, as well as the tourist-friendly downtown shops and eateries with craft beers.

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Visitors to New York City don’t come for the beaches, certainly. But if you should happen to be in town during the warm weather (say, through September), and want to see where many of the locals get their splash and tan on – especially on weekends – there are some pretty decent spots to get wet, from strands out in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens (reachable from Manhattan by subway) to glorious stretches farther east out along the south shore of Long Island, which also offer a look at a qu

by Atila Ximenes

Nowhere is nature wilder and more striking than at South America’s southernmost reaches, its dense forests and Andes mountains cinematically spectacular and crammed with wildlife including llamas, pumas, and grey foxes, its beaches and frigid waters teeming with penguins, whales, and sea lions.

Just over 402,000 square miles (1,043,000 square kilometres) in size, Patagonia straddles two countries, covering Argentina’s provinces of Neuquén, Chubut, Santa Cruz, Río Negro and th

For many people, exploring Southeast Asia might be on their travel list, but Laos is often overlooked in favor of larger neighboring Vietnam and Thailand. Those who take the time to visit, though, soon discover that this country is their equal, with fantastic scenic beauty, welcoming locals, delicious dishes, impressive temples, and many activities such as kayaking, rock climbing, and biking .

With hidden caves, terraced rice paddies, beautiful limestone mountains, imposing waterfalls, charming

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