Go here on vacation — if you dare
Where should you go on vacation? If you don’t have to answer that question because you’re just planning to lie on the beach for a week or read a book while the kids splash in the pool, then wake up.
Destinations
A feature about sustainable and authentic destinations around the world.
Never go there when you travel
Chances are, you’re planning out your summer vacation itinerary right now. Our irreverent but eminently practical list of forbidden destinations can help you avoid boredom — yours and your kids’.
Why little things can make a big difference when you travel
When you’re on the road, little things can make a big difference. Like extra bags, a deck of cards, and eating utensils.
Listen to this song of the road
Music is everywhere when you travel. It’s the soundtrack to your vacation, too often unacknowledged by, ahem, the people who write about travel. But there’s a trick to making the melodies work, and it involves developing an appreciation for music, knowing how to listen with a minimum of conflict, and connecting a song to a place.
Adapt, or your next vacation could go down in flames
If you don’t adapt, your next vacation could go down in flames. I mean that literally.
But also, figuratively. I had a rental home lined up for next month, and it fell through dramatically last week. After a month of exploring South Dakota, we were about to become homeless.
Why every awesome adventure is a movie location vacation
It’s not made of mashed potatoes or shaving cream, but Devils Tower still looks like a great landing pad for space aliens.
The mashed potatoes and shaving cream, of course, are from the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Remember when an obsessive Richard Dreyfuss can’t get that monolith out of his head? Yeah, that was intense.
What to do when Mother Nature tries to ruin your vacation
Mother Nature vs. your vacation — you’ve been there too? But she doesn’t have to win. That’s worth remembering, even with Kīlauea about to engulf the interesting parts of Hawaii’s Big Island in slow-moving lava. And even with all those summer vacations that are up against the possible calamities, including earthquakes, hail storms, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and wildfires.
Why you should travel now — before things start to get crazy
Sometimes when you’re traveling, your timing is terrific. Sometimes, it’s just lucky.
On our trip to South Dakota last week, we were just lucky. Temperatures in the mid-70s, almost no visitors. Matt Plank, the assistant curator of reptiles of the Reptile Gardens, a private collection of alligators, snakes, and turtles, just outside Rapid City, described the mayhem of tourist season to me.
My best vacation advice? There’s no need to do it all
Want my best vacation advice? Don’t try to do it all at once.
Otherwise, you could end up like me: babbling incoherently after two straight days of driving through Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. I’m not making that up. If you try to push it when you take time off, you could end up wishing you stayed home.
Tell the truth about your last vacation
It’s time to tell the truth about your last vacation — the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Was that hotel or vacation rental overrated? Did that five-star restaurant only deserve four stars — or less? Was the place too crowded, too expensive?