While the heart of the Midwest may not be everybody’s first choice as a travel destination, Columbus, Ohio, is a wonderful place to vacation in the spring and summer. With a wealth of festivals, activities and sporting events, coupled with easy access, Ohio’s capital city is perfect for families and solo travelers alike. Traveling to Columbus can also be done rather cheaply when redeeming points or miles for travel.
If you’ve paid any attention to advertising in the last 15 years, you’re probably familiar with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority slogan “What Happens Here, Stays Here.” Not only did the phrase drive millions of fun-seekers to Sin City, it also inspired a movie trilogy. Too bad it’s often wrong. Depending on federal and state laws, as well as your employer’s policies, your conduct while on vacation—or even just after hours—could have a direct effect on your job.
From the Olympic Sculpture Park and Pike Place Market to the Space Needle and Seattle Underground, Seattle and the surrounding area offer a wealth of opportunities for sightseeing and relaxation whether you have a weekend or more to explore.
Its idyllic coastline, tropical climate, year-round festivals and relatively unknown status among tourists makes the Indian state of Kerala a near-perfect destination. Among the area’s appealing attributes are miles of tranquil beaches, myriads of ecotourism activities, unique local celebrations and access to ancient Ayurvedic healing practices.
Alaska Airlines has been adding more and more routes to its lineup recently, so the carrier’s latest addition, a flight between Orange County and Los Cabos, comes as no surprise. Southern Californians get ready for nonstop action to the land of beaches, water sports and margaritas.
Mexico City is a place where tradition meets modernity. And as one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, the city can easily overwhelm visitors with things to see and do. It offers seemingly endless numbers of quaint streets, fascinating museums, amazing restaurants, historic buildings and archaeological sites to explore.
United Airlines is turning up the heat next summer with new daily nonstop transatlantic routes bound for three European hot spots: Athens, Barcelona and Lisbon. Flights between New York and Athens will run from May 25, 2016, to October 5, 2016. Service from Washington, D.C., to Barcelona and Lisbon starts on the same day, and ends on September 6.
United Airlines is expanding its global reach with three new nonstop routes from San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand; Xi’an, China; and Tel Aviv, Israel.
JetBlue has set its sights on Music City, USA, with the announcement that it will fly to Nashville from Boston and Fort Lauderdale. The nonstop flights will begin on May 5, 2016.
If you’re traveling to South Africa from the United States, it makes sense to stay a while and see as much as you can, since it takes a long time—about 15 hours from New York—to get there. Many travelers fly into the city of Johannesburg before embarking on a safari adventure in Kruger National Park or one of the nearby private reserves, such as Sabi Sands or Timbavati.
If you’re traveling this holiday season, you can earn major bonus miles by taking advantage of the latest offers from Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France and KLM. Rent a car and earn enough miles to fly to Europe for spring break.
White houses with blue domes, and idyllic beaches with beautiful sunsets can all be found on the Greek island of Santorini. Located in the Aegean Sea, this volcanic island also serves as a great home base for island hopping. You can easily visit other popular spots in the Cyclades, a group of Greek islands southeast of the mainland including Mykonos, Naxos and Paros, or some smaller, less crowded islands, such as Folegandros.
Alaska Airlines’ new route from Orange County to Puerto Vallarta has gone live, with year-round service to the popular resort town. More than just fantastic beaches, Puerto Vallarta has a thriving culinary scene, bustling nightlife, nearby jungle adventures and a historic downtown that’s ready for you to explore.
Southwest Airlines—known for its no-frills, low-cost approach to flying—has opened a new international concourse in Houston’s Hobby Airport. Passengers using the Houston hub now have more options, as this previously domestic-only airport goes international with five new gates.
Tasmania is located 150 miles south of mainland Australia, across the Bass Strait. While the biggest island is called Tasmania, this Australian island state is composed of over 330 islands.
Qatar Airways will be flying from Los Angeles to its hub in Doha starting January 1, 2016. This new route is part of the expansion that the airline announced earlier this year, which also includes service from Atlanta and Boston to Doha, and more flights out of JFK airport in New York.
Known as the City of Gold, Jerusalem is a holy place for three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. One of the oldest cities in the world, no trip to Israel is complete without visiting its ancient religious sites, such as the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount. The ancient walled quarter in the center of town, known as the Old City, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Hanoi, the 1,000-year-old capital of Vietnam, is one of the most dynamic capitals in Asia. It offers a fascinating blend of Vietnamese, Chinese and French cultures, as well as modern high-rises, centuries-old traditional architecture, sweeping boulevards and quaint narrow streets. The city attracted nearly 2 million visitors in 2014, and ranked fourth in TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards for the Best Destinations in the World for 2015.
One of the most famous stretches of sand in the Western Caribbean is Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman. There’s something magical about the powdery soft sand, even if it is really closer to five miles than seven. This coveted beach is great for sunbathing and as a jumping-off point for fishing, snorkeling and diving trips.
Taiwan is an island nation probably best known for its modern cities, but it also has beautiful tropical beaches, sea-skirting cliffside roads, mountain peaks, hot springs and tranquil lakes. Portuguese sailors who saw it for the first time in the 16th century were so impressed with its natural beauty that they called it Ilha Formosa, which means Beautiful Island.
