We know your summer vacation time is precious: You want to land where you can truly relax, breathe fresh air, get in some exercise and eat well -- without breaking the bank. That's why we teamed up with a panel of travel and health experts to help us find the healthiest of the nation's most popular beach and lake towns.
We know your summer vacation time is precious: You want to land where you can truly relax, breathe fresh air, get in some exercise and eat well -- without breaking the bank. That's why we teamed up with a panel of travel and health experts to help us find the healthiest of the nation's most popular beach and lake towns.
Summer excursions seem out of reach to many struggling young professionals, and the faltering economy isn't helping. But one New York City company, offering trips aimed at the young and thrifty, is capitalizing on the urbanite's desire to get away -- and finding success despite the downturn.
The Gomez family may be one of the few in the country who won't be too disappointed if it rains over the Fourth of July weekend.
From its colorful Old Town square to sumptuous Art Nouveau facades, Prague offers plenty to see and do. But if you're willing to leave the city and explore the nearby Bohemian countryside, you'll be rewarded with extraordinary scenery, moving sights and one bone-chilling church.
While Ireland's famed "Celtic Tiger" economy is more of a sickly kitten these days, the country is still vibrant as can be for travelers. And Dublin offers the best (and many would say only) urban thrills in the Republic of Ireland. Here are a few of my favorite things to do in Ireland's capital:
When I was 5, my parents went to a conference on Hilton Head Island and let me tag along, leaving my brothers landlocked in central Mississippi. Two memories stand out from my first encounter with the watery majesty of this Southern icon.
Portland, Oregon, doesn't lack for fashionable boutique hotels, but to the west, along the Pacific Ocean, the options have tended to be as primal as the shoreline. Recently, however, a group of properties has sprung up on the northern coast, aiming to seduce 21st-century travelers with designs steeped in post-World War II Modernism.
This summer, the key words are "quick" and "easy." But you still want a trip that delivers. So, hit the road! These seven drives are real getaways -- even if they take you only a few hours from home.
The goofy underwater shots of my husband and much-younger son grinning behind their masks always make me smile -- just the way a vacation photo should.
When a friend first e-mailed me about something she called "cruises for commitment phobes" -- and suggested I take one -- I couldn't help but wonder if I was stepping into the middle of an elaborate joke at my expense. I think I actually looked behind both shoulders while sitting at my computer, as if there might be a candid camera hovering somewhere out of sight.
If any European capital knows how to enjoy the good life, it's Vienna. Compared to most modern urban centers, the pace of life here is slow. Locals linger over pastry and coffee at cafes. Concerts and classical music abound. And chatting with friends at a wine garden is not a special event but a way of life.
Visiting southwestern New Mexico's Gila Wilderness is an adventure, in the this-place-would-gladly-kill-you-given-half-a-chance sense of adventure.
Face off with a giant croc! Ride the world's fastest coaster! And seven more of the season's greatest adventures.
Just a two-hour detour from Paris, the Loire was once a playground to Renaissance royals. Now its vaunted châteaux are attracting enterprising young couples and artists who have remade them into captivating -- and surprisingly affordable -- inns.
Eating and drinking in Europe is sightseeing for your taste buds. Every country has local specialties that are good, memorable, or both. Here are many of the fun experiences that stick in my mind after 30 years of travel. Seek out any of these on your next trip.
Just a minute ago I was sailing down a Texas Panhandle highway, level as a tabletop. Then I dropped off the face of the High Plains into the heart of a wild place called Caprock Canyons. It's the rough-and-tumble centerpiece of a 15,000-acre state park, 100 miles southeast of Amarillo.
It's the time of year when crowds flock to the Hamptons, but business owners are wondering whether the recession has cooled off the hot getaway destination for the rich and famous.
Race fans have a big Memorial Day weekend ahead. Open-wheel cars at the Indianapolis 500. Stock cars at the Coca-Cola 600.
You can cover a lot of territory in Scandinavia without ever checking into a hotel. Overnight luxury cruise liners stacked with saunas, smorgasbords and duty-free shopping sail nightly between Stockholm and Helsinki. Imagine enjoying a Scandinavian feast with a vista of archipelago scenery. Budget travel rarely feels this hedonistic.
Here's a snapshot of Portugal's defining experiences: beaches, cities, and food and wine. Get a sense of which ones fit your travel style and your budget.
Another day, another castle. But no one's complaining.
Tom Hanks dashes through a graceful Roman piazza, past an ancient Egyptian obelisk surrounded by fountains of water-spouting lions, his eyes focused on a church tucked into the corner of the square.
The visiting kids are shy about meeting the Arizona locals until Lance, Bailey and Sonora start showing off their tricks, wowing their young guests.
If you want to get away from it all when traveling in Greece, head for the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Studded with antiquities, this land of ancient Olympia, Corinth and Sparta offers plenty of fun in the eternal Greek sun, with pleasant fishing villages, sandy beaches, bathtub-warm water, and none of the tourist crowds that plague the much-scrambled-after Greek Isles.
A century and a half ago, Athens was a humble, forgotten city of about 8,000 people. Today, one out of every three Greeks packs into this city of about 4 million.
From open-air tropical bungalows to luxe tree houses, let these idyllic hideaways decrease your carbon footprint as they expand your horizons.
With rates as low as $36, these flashy new European hotels take the convenience of the pod concept and expand it with style.
The fiberglass head weighed 600 pounds and resembled Clarabell the Clown from the 1950s "Howdy Doody Show." Bill Ziegler, owner of the Wild Bill's nostalgia store, stumbled across it on an artist's Web site and wondered if it would work for a project he had in mind.
Carl Edwards, one of NASCAR's elite, makes a living traveling at speeds upwards of 200 mph and is on the road more than 200 days a year. So when he wants to slow down, he heads to his hometown of Columbia, Missouri.
With its exotic wildlife, sun-soaked coasts and dramatic mountains, this Central American playground offers trips for all types of explorers.
Italy's Cinque Terre is a quintet of villages clinging to a bit of rugged coastline between Genoa and Pisa. Long cut off from the modern world, this remote chunk of the Italian Riviera only became easily accessible with the coming of the train.
Great weather and shopping are high on Atlanta, Georgia, native Keela Starr's list of the city's top attributes, but it's the cuisine that's most likely to impress visitors.
Trinnette Morris and her group of girls followed in President Obama's footsteps when they stopped at Ben's Chili Bowl during a recent visit to Washington.
It's easy enough to find your average bistro in Paris. The challenge is discovering those off-the-radar spots that locals keep to themselves. Budget Travel leads us to seven restaurants that are destinations in their own right.
It's that rare vacation moment when everyone is happy at the same time. And all it took was an old-fashioned train in a remote Arizona town and a singing cowboy leading the kids in a spirited rendition of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."
With family vacation budgets tight as ever, one Georgia organization is offering an inexpensive vacation alternative that is at once economically and environmentally friendly.
Even the most sophisticated traveler could be forgiven for thinking that there's little more to Panama than its iconic canal, seaside capital, and snorkeler-packed Bocas del Toro islands.
It sparkles everywhere -- on the walls, the floors, on the ceilings in fanciful art displays guaranteed to make you say, "WOW!" no matter what your age.
My ancestors came from Norway, so I'm partial to that corner of Europe. But even if you're not from Viking stock, don't miss the fjords.
Mount Vernon is undergoing a renaissance. Today the site's annual attendance matches its highest since 1976. Why? Visitors used to spend only an hour or so at his house, then leave still thinking of George Washington as that grim, old man on the dollar bill. Now, visitors meet him face-to-face in three life-sized statues, and they can't get enough of America's first action hero.
Some people travel so they can climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, or ski the Rockies, or feast on rare delicacies in Bangkok. Not me. I think of the world as a series of fabulous flea markets, displaying each culture's best bibelots -- many of which can be had for a paltry few pounds or yen, euros, or dollars.
Whether entrenched in business meetings or stuck on a layover, you may find yourself in Chicago with limited time to spare. But this vibrant city has so much to offer that it's worth using every free moment to see something new. Here are some of the things I managed slip in on a recent business trip to Chicago.
Be forewarned, Ireland is seductive. Traditions are strong and stress is a foreign word. I fell in love with the friendliest land this side of Sicily. It all happened in a Gaeltacht.
Be forewarned, Ireland is seductive. Traditions are strong and stress is a foreign word. I fell in love with the friendliest land this side of Sicily. It all happened in a Gaeltacht.
Todd Hawkins never figured himself for a cruising kind of guy. He grew up camping and still loves long road trips. But he got married to someone whose family vacation style couldn't have been more different.
Style has come home to roost in St. Louis. Downtown is experiencing a major revitalization, powered by a brigade of young artists and designers who are giving the area a new lease on life, much like that vintage Chanel handbag you found in your grandmother's attic.
You'd love to go. Just think of the history, the beautiful artwork ... the things you could learn. But upon hearing the word "museum," your kids break into a chorus of "I'd rather die."
From the Czech Republic to Greece, the eastern part of Europe is changing so fast that you could visit every year and feel as if you've experienced something completely new.
As the temperature nears 200 degrees Fahrenheit, I peer through the steam at 75-year-old Pentti Hirvonen. "It's time," he says.
Peppermint s'mores, ice cream sundaes or bright turquoise gummi butterflies?
Welcome to a secret world. For nearly 500 years, the Forbidden City's fortified walls and 170-foot-wide moat protected the Chinese imperial family from fires, invaders, and nosy Europeans.
It's about that time of year, when dyed green rivers and Guinness beers flow, the shamrock sunglasses and leprechaun T-shirts come out, and corned beef and cabbage enters the mainstream menu.
I've never been a fan of the cold. As a kid, my favorite part of skiing was the hot chocolate, and I relished blizzards for the snow days, not the snowball fights. So when I booked a trip to the Icehotel in northern Sweden, my family and friends were amused -- and a bit concerned, especially when I got sick days before my flight. "You can't go to the Arctic with a cold!" my mother admonished.
Many sights in Germany and Austria have been renovated in the last year or two to better display this region's rich heritage, making 2009 a good time to visit.
This spring break, thousands of college students will ditch the bars and the beaches to do something more meaningful with their vacation time.
Anne and Jim Stewart and their two teenagers are happily counting down the days till their Jamaica spring break.
Fantastique France continues to make its heritage and culture easier for travelers to appreciate. Being up-to-date on changes for 2009 will help your visit go smoothly.
'"I had such a crush on him when I was a kid," says my friend Didi Linburn, pigtails peeking out from beneath her pink ski helmet rather than the wool pompom hat she wore as a kid. I peer into the tiny ski shop at the Alta Peruvian Lodge and catch a glimpse of a cute guy in glasses behind the counter. "No idea how old he is," she says, "but I've seen him here every winter since I was 15."
Nothing, but nothing, has the power to spoil New Orleans' appetite. The people of this city love to eat, and they eat it all -- from simply fried oysters and perfectly dressed po' boys to cutting-edge dishes served Cajun style. Here, a meal-by-meal primer of the Big Easy from a lucky visitor who came to eat and stayed to listen.
Spanish lessons, yoga or a snooze on the beach in an oversized casita?
Forget everything you thought you knew about hostels. These six new spots come with designer credits, private and shared rooms, restaurants and some of the coolest furniture on the planet.
When I'm updating my guidebooks, one of my favorite places to visit is rollicking Amsterdam. This Dutch metropolis is ever changing -- and ever crowded with fun-loving sightseers.
Up on the Lido Deck there is a rockin' band playing another love song.
Taos feels like a comfortable Navajo blanket, wrapping you with coziness and color. Pueblos with their sandy hues. Warmth despite the snow on the ground and majestic mountains as a backdrop. Crackling fires in kiva fireplaces and smoke billowing from chimneys.
Climbing up the spiral stairs and through a stone tower to our room, we notice a passageway. "Where do you suppose it goes?" asks my wife, Sandra, as she signals me to follow her.
While updating my guidebooks for 2009, I found plenty of changes, starting with London's museums.
The Miami area seems to be enjoyed most by people who live somewhere else.
The White House may be the official residence of the U.S. president, but it's only a temporary address. The former homes and libraries of presidents offer an inside look into the lives of the select few who served as the nation's leader.
A trip to Vegas might sound like a gamble, but deep discounts make it a better bet than it's been in years.
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