Chicago has been named the best big city in the U.S. for the eighth year in a row, and Victoria has been awarded best small city in the world for the second year running. Conde Nast Travel today (Oct. 1), issued a variety of lists of top cities, best hotels, top islands and more with its 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. My home state of California came out looking strong, with San Diego being named the number two big city in the States and San Francisco finishing sixth. For International Large Cities, Montreal came in ninth and Vancouver fourth, so kudos Read more
Kauai
Today marks World Tourism Day around the globe. With that in mind, here are a few of my fave trips from the over the years. Here’s to more travel in the coming years! EASTER ISLAND I was attending a travel conference in Chile maybe 10 years ago, and was given the chance for a pre-trip to Easter Island, the incredibly isolated dot of rock also known as Rapa Nui and Isla de Pascua. I first saw those famous Easter Island moai statues in a magazine when I was a kid and have been fascinated by tales of Polynesian sea voyages Read more
Five inches of rain in Toronto this morning has me thinking that maybe instead of cool-weather vacations, which I mentioned in this space yesterday, it’s time to look at dry-weather destinations. I don’t normally dream of the desert in summer, but maybe it’s time to look at places where you’re vacation is unlikely to require a heavy-duty umbrella and thick, rubber rain boots. With that in mind, here are some great, dry (not in an alcohol availability sense) vacation places you could think of. The Atacama Desert, Chile There was a pretty good rain here a few years ago, but Read more
National Hawaii Day is today, July 5. To mark the occasion, yours truly, a 35-time visitor to the islands, is offering up some thoughts on special hotels and resorts you should consider for your next trip. Remember to visit responsibly and respectfully. Side note: Travel + Leisure came out with their list of the top 20 resorts of Hawaii on Tuesday, July 9. I believe eight of their top picks are on my list below. O’AHU Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina: Resting alongside the Aulani Disney resort outside of Honolulu, this is a chill spot overlooking a pretty Read more
Time to look at some interesting lists again. Trip Advisor has a list out of the top 25 beaches in the world, and in the U.S.A. I find these fun to look at, and I will say the world list includes a ton of places I don’t know. Still, I find the trouble with these lists is that Trip Advisor clients tend to go to a lot of the “usual” places, which skews the results. There are some unexpected spots on the world list, including Zanzibar and Indonesia. But Australia only gets one spot in the top 25, and it’s Read more
