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So You Think You’re a Jet-Setter? Test Your Airport I.Q.

With up to 18 million people set to line up at airport security checkpoints this Memorial Day weekend, you may need a moment of respite. Why not step off the moving walkway, snag a comfy seat and take this quiz?

By Danial Adkison

36 Hours in Traverse City, Mich.

A new creative energy is invigorating this laid-back northern Michigan city, loved for its cherry festival, unspoiled lake vistas and access to epic dunes.

By Stacey Nield Brugeman

Where Royals Once Hunted in France, a Green Forest Welcomes Everyone

With its boulders, trails and proximity to Paris, the 50,000-acre Forest of Fontainebleau draws millions of hikers, rock-climbers, trail runners and forest bathers each year. Some worry that its popularity is taking a toll.

By Lindsey Tramuta

The 50,000-acre Forest of Fontainebleau draws 15 million visitors annually for bouldering, trail running, forest bathing and countless other activities.

San Francisco’s Hot Tourist Attraction: Driverless Cars

Cable cars are still trundling up the city’s hills, but robotaxis from Waymo are shaping up as the city’s latest must-do for visitors.

By Lauren Sloss

Self-driving cars from Waymo have been operating commercially in San Francisco since last August.

What’s Behind the Security Warnings for Pride Events

Citing the potential for terrorism, the State Department, F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security urged those attending L.G.B.T.Q. events to be vigilant. Here’s what to know.

By Derek M. Norman

The Austrian authorities foiled a plot to attack the L.G.B.T.Q. Pride parade in Vienna last June, arresting three men accused of being Islamic State sympathizers.

Fasten Your Seatbelts: What You Need to Know About Turbulence

Recent incidents with turbulence during air travel raise questions about this challenging weather phenomenon. Here’s what we know about it and how to stay safe.

By Christine Chung

Cinematic, Undiscovered, Cilento

In this less-traveled region of Italy, the scenery is spectacular, the water wine-dark. It has sun and sea, along with important Greek ruins, wild nature, curious legends and medieval religious sanctuaries.

By Nina Burleigh

The baroque Certosa di Padula, a former monastery and one of the largest in Europe, was inhabited by monks who kept a vow of silence.

Taking the Long Way Home From Alaska

On an epic road trip, a family plots a course from Alaska to the Lower 48, passing through some of Canada’s most spectacular scenery. The tally: 2,200 miles, five national parks, numerous hot springs and one excellent reindeer hot dog.

By Elaine Glusac

Nearly 600 miles of the Alaska Highway traverse the Yukon territory, in Canada.

52 Places to Go in 2024

No matter why you travel, our list offers inspiration.

By The New York Times

36 Hours on Minorca

This slow-paced Spanish island offers a quieter and wilder retreat than its more touristy neighbors.

By Yasmin Fahr

36 Hours in Colorado Springs

Colorado’s second-largest city, which brims with outdoor activities, is enticing visitors with a new museum and revamped hotels.

By Cindy Hirschfeld

36 Hours in Minneapolis

Springtime is best for exploring this Midwestern city’s lakeside trails, robust arts scene and top-notch restaurants.

By Ingrid K. Williams

36 Hours on Maui

The beauty and hospitality of this Hawaiian island, still recovering from last year’s wildfires, remain as vibrant as ever.

By Shannon Wianecki

36 Hours in Munich

Shedding its conservative reputation, the Bavarian capital is finding unusual ways to balance tradition and innovation.

By A.J. Goldmann

The World Through a Lens

Braving the Winter to Visit a Valley Shrouded in Snow and Secrets

Compelled by stories he’d heard as a child, the photographer Showkat Nanda traveled to the high Himalayas to see Gurez, a valley long off-limits to most travelers.

By Showkat Nanda

Long forbidden to both foreign tourists and most Indian citizens, Gurez recently opened its doors to tourists.

In the World’s Driest Desert, Ancient Wisdom Blooms Eternal

Burned out from life in New York, a photographer traveled to northern Chile to study the ancient wisdom of the Lickanantay, the area’s Indigenous people. Here’s what she saw.

By Irjaliina Paavonpera

Licancabur, a volcano along the border between Bolivia and Chile, towers over the desert.

A Statue Draped With Snakes? In Italy, It Happens Every Year.

Held in a small, mountainous village, this festival has it all: snakes, charmers, religion, science. See for yourself — and try not to squirm.

By Elisabetta Zavoli and Francesco Martinelli

Flamenco and Fervor: Inside Spain’s El Rocío Pilgrimage

The annual spectacle, featuring fanciful caravans and riders on horseback, is arguably the most potent visual representation of Andalusian culture.

By Kevin Faingnaert and Anna Hart

Pilgrims on horseback ride through Coto Doñana National Park.

Timeless Portraits of L.A.’s Arcades

Documenting video game parlors offered a French photographer a way to explore Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.

By Franck Bohbot

Here It Comes: Another Hot Summer in Europe

Extreme heat and other weather challenges are in the forecast this summer, and travel advisers, tourists and local officials are getting prepared.

By Ceylan Yeğinsu

A Mediterranean-Inspired Getaway in an Australian Surf Town

Plus: golden handbags, a Brooklyn boutique’s Tokyo pop-up and more recommendations from T Magazine.

By Gisela Williams

The L.A. Roller Rink Where the Years Glide By

Moonlight Rollerway has been hosting some of the city’s best skate parties for more than 60 years.

By Liz Brown

One Dead and Dozens Injured After ‘Extreme Turbulence’ on Flight

A Singapore Airlines flight from London was diverted to Bangkok, where more than 70 people were being treated for injuries.

By Claire Moses and Muktita Suhartono

Driver Takes Down a 113-Year-Old Salt Tram Tower in Death Valley

A traveler used the tower as an anchor to try to pull out a pickup that was stuck in mud at the national park in California.

By Emily Schmall

The 25 Essential Pasta Dishes to Eat in Italy

Two chefs, one cookbook author, a culinary historian and a food writer made a list of the country’s most delicious meals, from carbonara in Rome to ravioli in Campania.

By Deborah Dunn, Vicky Bennison, Marianna Cerini, Robyn Eckhardt, Laurel Evans, Kristina Gill, Andrew Sean Greer, Lee Marshall, Elizabeth Minchilli, Marina O’Loughlin, Katie Parla, Rachel Roddy, Eric Sylvers, Laura May Todd and Enea Arienti

Now One Fast Train From Tokyo: Culture, Crafts and Hot Springs

A new high-speed train stop unlocks Kaga, a destination for onsen, nourishing food and traditional crafts, as an easy-to-reach getaway from Japan’s capital.

By Hannah Kirshner

Chantal Joffe Paints Moments of Motherhood and Grief

Plus: silk lounge sets, a San Francisco film festival and more recommendations from T Magazine.

By Zoe Ruffner

Help! Our Cruise Operator Went Bankrupt and We Are Out $17,905.

A couple purchased an Arabian Sea voyage, but Vantage, the cruise company, went under. Their travel insurance was supposed to cover financial default, but the claim was repeatedly denied.

By Seth Kugel

On the Belgian Coast, a Design Gallery Where You Can Spend the Night

Plus: hojicha-infused sweets, ceramic watches and more from T’s cultural compendium.

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Renowned Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita returning from Mount Everest after his record 30th successful ascent, waves after he arrives at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Sherpa guide Kami Rita who climbed Everest 30 times vows to return to the mountain next year

Director of Samitivej Hospital Adinun Kittiratanapaibool talks to reporters during a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Many of the more seriously injured people who were on the Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence need operations on their spines, the Bangkok hospital said Thursday. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Singapore Airlines tightens cabin safety measures after turbulence killed one, injured dozens

A view of the construction site of the new 25.5-kilometer Metro C subway main hub in Piazza Venezia in central Rome, Thursday, May 23, 2024. During a tour Thursday of the construction site at Piazza Venezia, chief engineer Andrea Sciotti said works on the nearly 3 billion euro project, considered one of the most complicated in the world, were running at pace to be completed by 2034. In the background the Unknown Soldier monument. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Work on new Rome subway line under the Colosseum and Forum enters crucial phase

FILE - A neighborhood of single-family homes is shown Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015, in Honolulu. Forecasters say this year's hurricane season for waters around Hawaii will likely be “below-normal” with one to four tropical cyclones across the central Pacific region. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)

Hawaii officials stress preparedness despite below-normal central Pacific hurricane season outlook

Workers set up a huge black screen on a stretch of sidewalk at Fujikawaguchiko town, Yamanashi prefecture, central Japan Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Just a few weeks ago, the town began setting up a huge black screen to block a view of Mount Fuji because tourists were crowding into the area to take photos with the mountain as a backdrop to a convenience store, a social media phenomenon known as “Mount Fuji Lawson” that has disrupted business, traffic and local life. (Kyodo News via AP)

No more cute snaps of Mount Fuji over a convenience store. A screen was built to stop tourist crowds

Philadelphia airport gears up for the memorial day travel rush.

Airports around the country are bracing for the travel rush as Americans head out for Memorial Day weekend. AAA predicts 43.8 million people expected to travel between Thursday and Monday. (AP Video: Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Memorial Day travel expected to be its busiest in nearly 20 years

Science and nature inspire huge new sculpture series at london’s kew gardens, watch therapy dogs comfort anxious travelers at istanbul airport.

Members of a rescue team discuss after a London-Singapore flight was diverted to Bangkok due to severe turbulence, in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The plane apparently plummeted for a number of minutes before it was diverted to Bangkok, where emergency crews rushed to help injured passengers amid stormy weather, Singapore Airlines said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Severe turbulence during Singapore Airlines flight leaves several people badly injured. One man died

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2010 file photo, snow-covered Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak at 3,776-meters tall (12,385 feet), is seen from an airplane window. Those who want to climb one of the most popular trails of the iconic Japanese Mount Fuji will now have to reserve ahead and pay a fee as the picturesque stratovolcano struggles with overtourism, littering and those who attempt rushed “bullet climbing,” putting lives at risk. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

Climbing limits are being set on Mount Fuji to fight crowds and littering

FILE 0 A Frontier Airlines jetliner arrives at Denver International Airport, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Denver. Frontier Airlines, which has struggled more than other U.S. carriers to recover from the pandemic, says it is eliminating change fees on some tickets and creating four fare classes to boost its appeal to more travelers. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Frontier Airlines, stuck in a money-losing slump, is dumping change fees and making other moves

Commuters wait to board a subway car, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 17, 2024. Argentine commuters in Buenos Aires on Friday were hit by an abrupt 360% increase in subway fares, as part of President Javier Milei's budget austerity campaign. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Subway commuters in Buenos Aires see fares spike by 360% as part of austerity campaign in Argentina

In this provided by the California Department of Transportation, a section of Highway 1 re-opened, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Big Sur, Calif., after repairs were made following storm damage. (Kevin Drabinski/California Department of Transportation via AP)

California’s scenic Highway 1 to Big Sur opens to around-the-clock travel as slide repair advances

United airlines says it has regained some privileges that were suspended after problem flights.

FILE - A Federal Aviation Administration sign hangs in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, March 16, 2017. Congressional negotiators have agreed on a $105 billion bill designed to improve the safety of air travel after a series of close calls between planes at the nation’s airports. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

House signs off on FAA bill that addresses aircraft safety and the refund rights of passengers

Festival workers lay the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals on opening day of the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. The Cannes film festival runs from May 14 until May 25, 2024. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/Invision/AP)

How Cannes works, from the standing ovations to the juries to the Palm Dog

Malians take part in the annual replastering of the world's largest mud-brick building, the Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali, Sunday, May 12, 2024. The building has been on UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger list since 2016. The mosque and surrounding town are threatened by conflict. Djenne's mosque requires a new layer of mud each year before the start of the rainy season in June. (AP Photo/Moustapha Diallo)

Thousands replaster Mali’s Great Mosque of Djenne, which is threatened by conflict

Cruise ship sails into new york city port with 44-foot dead whale across its bow, cruise ship worker accused of stabbing 3 people with scissors on board vessel bound for alaska.

FILE - The Transportation Security Administration's new facial recognition technology is seen at a Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport security checkpoint, April 26, 2023, in Glen Burnie, Md. A bipartisan group of senators wants restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology by the TSA, saying they're concerned about travelers' privacy and civil liberties.(AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Senators want limits on the government’s use of facial recognition technology for airport screening

Mick Jagger, of the Rolling Stones, performs during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

The Rolling Stones are set to rock New Orleans Jazz Fest after two previous tries

FILE - A United Airlines flight information screen displays flight information, including canceled flights, at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Jan. 14, 2024. Consumer groups are pushing Congress to uphold automatic refunds for airline passengers whose flights are canceled or delayed for several hours. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Consumer groups push Congress to uphold automatic refunds for airline passengers

FILE - Southwest Airlines plane prepares to land at Midway International Airport, Feb. 12, 2023, in Chicago. Flight attendants at Southwest Airlines on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, ratified a contract that includes pay raises totaling more than 33% over four years, as airline workers continue to benefit from the industry's recovery since the pandemic. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Southwest Airlines is considering changes to its quirky boarding and seating practices

FILE — This undated inmate photo provided by the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority shows Estes Carter Thompson III. Police arrested Thompson, an American Airlines flight attendant, Thursday, Jan 18, 2024, on suspicion of trying to secretly record a 14-year-old female passenger using a bathroom aboard an airplane he was working on last September. Thompson was indicted Thursday, April 25, 2024, by a federal grand jury. (Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority via AP, File)

Flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom

A british tourist is in a hospital after a shark attack. tobago closes several beaches.

FILE - A track from a wolf is seen in the mud near the Slough Creek area of Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. As Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming opens for the busy summer season, wildlife advocates are leading a call for a boycott of the conservative ranching state over laws that give people wide leeway to kill gray wolves with little oversight. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Animal groups are urging tourists not to visit Wyoming after a man hit a wolf then took it to a bar

FILE- Mayor Patrick Rosenello stands next to a destroyed section of sand dune in North Wildwood N.J., Jan. 22, 2024.. on April 25, 2024, North Wildwood and the state of New Jersey announced an agreement for an emergency beach replenishment project there to protect the city until a full-blown beach fill can be done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that may still be two years away. Winter storms punched a hole through what is left of the city's eroded dune system, leaving it more vulnerable than ever to destructive flooding. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)

Help is coming for a Jersey Shore town that’s losing the man-vs-nature battle on its eroded beaches

FILE - The air traffic control tower of Charles de Gaulle airport is pictured in Roissy-en-France, north of Paris, Tuesday, April 23, 2024 in Paris. Air passengers traveling to and from Paris experienced significant disruptions on Thursday, despite a canceled strike by air traffic controllers after last-minute negotiations. Although the strike was averted, the prior adjustments made in anticipation caused a substantial reduction in flight operations. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

French air traffic controllers cancel a strike but Paris flights are still disrupted

Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy's Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Venice tests a 5-euro entry fee for day-trippers as the Italian city grapples with overtourism

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, center, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, right, drive rail spikes into a symbolic rail, on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Rail spikes hammered, bullet train being built from Sin City to the City of Angels

FILE - Joan Torrent, 64, walks toward his house carrying two plastic jugs of water refilled at a natural spring in Gualba, about 50 km, (31 miles) northwest of Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Jan 31, 2024. Spain’s drought-stricken northeastern Catalonia is considering imposing water restrictions on tourists in the driest parts of the region if domestic consumption is not curtailed, the Catalan government said Tuesday April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Barcelona to get floating desalination plant to help fight drought in northeastern Spain

A man carries a child through floodwater caused by heavy rain while waiting for transportation on Sheikh Zayed Road highway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 18, 2024. The United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out Thursday from the heaviest rain the desert nation has ever recorded, a deluge that flooded out Dubai International Airport and disrupted flights through the world's busiest airfield for international travel. (AP Photo/Christopher Pike)

United Arab Emirates struggles to recover after heaviest recorded rainfall ever hits desert nation

Emergency management work in the former Stock Exchange of Copenhagen, Boersen, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. A fire raged through one of Copenhagen’s oldest buildings on Tuesday, causing the collapse of the iconic spire of the 17th-century Old Stock Exchange as passersby rushed to help emergency services save priceless paintings and other valuables. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Copenhagen fights the last pockets of a fire that destroyed a 400-year-old landmark

Travelers queue up for the check-in counter for Aeromexico Airlines Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in Denver International Airport in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Biden administration recruits 15 states to help enforce airline consumer laws

Don’t let it flow: tourists to spain’s catalonia may soon see water restrictions in the dry season.

FILE - Boeing employees walk the new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner down towards the delivery ramp area at the company's facility after conducting its first test flight at Charleston International Airport, Friday, March 31, 2017, in North Charleston, S.C. A Senate subcommittee has opened an investigation into the safety of Boeing jetliners, intensifying safety concerns about the company’s aircraft. The panel has summoned Boeing's CEO, Dave Calhoun, to a hearing next week where a company engineer, Sam Salehpour, is expected to detail safety concerns about the manufacture and assembly of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. (AP Photo/Mic Smith, File)

Boeing pushes back on whistleblower’s allegations and details how airframes are put together

This image released by the Italian Culture Ministry on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, shows a fresco depicting the Greek mythology's figures of Helen, left, and Paris of Troy, right, inside an imposing banquet hall, with elegant black walls, decorated with mythological subjects inspired by the Trojan War, recently unhearted in the Pompeii archaeological area near Naples in southern Italy. (Italian Culture Ministry via AP, HO)

Project to shore up Pompeii yields stunning black banquet hall, with frescoes of Trojan War figures

Tourists visit Bayon temple at Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. The Angkor site is one of the largest archaeological sites in the world, spread across some 400 square kilometers (155 square miles) in northwestern Cambodia. It contains the ruins of Khmer Empire capitals from the 9th to 15th centuries, including the temple of Angkor Wat, featured on several Cambodian banknotes, such as the 2,000 riel note depicting rice farmers working fields around the temple, as well as the country's flag. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodia’s relocation of people from UNESCO site raises concerns

Condé Nast Traveler

What Our Editors Are Doing for Memorial Day Weekend

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How to Avoid Traffic and Crowds While Traveling This Memorial Day Weekend

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The Best Memorial Day Sales for Luggage, Clothing, Beauty, & Outdoor Gear

By Meaghan Kenny and Paris Wilson

The Best Airbnbs on the Outer Banks for Stargazing, Kite Surfing, and Family Retreats

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Where to Eat, Stay, and Play in Salerno, the Often Overlooked Gateway to the Amalfi Coast

By Federica Bocco

What It Took to Create a National Park in Chile

The Real ID Deadline Is Approaching—Here’s How to Be Prepared

The Best Beaches in San Diego

By Marie Tutko and Archana Ram

Destination Guides

Mexico City Travel Guide

Cape Town Travel Guide

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Hot list 2024.

The Best New Hotels in the World: 2024 Hot List

The Best New Hotels in the United States: 2024 Hot List

The Best New Cruises in the World: 2024 Hot List

The Best New Restaurants in the World: 2024 Hot List

The Best New Hotels in Europe and the UK: 2024 Hot List

The Best New Hotels in the Caribbean and Mexico: 2024 Hot List

The Best New Hotels in Africa and the Middle East: 2024 Hot List

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Women who travel podcast.

Women Who Travel Podcast: A Cookbook Author—and Super Traveler—on Eating Well, Wherever You Are

Women Who Travel Podcast: Three Photojournalists on Revealing the Human Side of Conflict

Women Who Travel Podcast: An Astrologer Predicts Our Travel Plans

Women Who Travel Podcast: Bear Encounters in Nevada and Chasing Poachers on the Masai Mara

Women Who Travel Podcast: Criss Crossing America to Visit Every Baseball Stadium

The future of travel.

What Does It Actually Mean to Create a ‘Sensory Inclusive’ City?

By JD Shadel

Digital Nomads: Are They Crowding Destinations or Reviving Them?

The Future of International Travel Is Passport-Free

Sailing the Aegean Sustainably—Just Like the Ancients Did

By Elissa Garay

AI Chatbots Want to Plan Your Future Trips—Should You Let Them?

Can Aviation Ever Be Sustainable?

California Is Getting ‘World-Class’ High-Speed Trains

These Major Airlines Just Flew Planes Powered Entirely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel—So, What's Next?

By Rachel Chang

Wedding Guest Essentials

43 Spring Wedding Guest Dresses for Every Type of Ceremony

By Meaghan Kenny

The Most Comfortable Heels to Pack for a Wedding

The best garment bags for travel, tested and reviewed, tested and reviewed: the best travel steamer to take on the road.

By Erinne Magee

The Best Packing Cubes to Keep Your Suitcase Organized

By Kristi Kellogg and Meaghan Kenny

35 Beach Wedding Guest Dresses to Pack This Summer

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Mergers and Acquisitions

Big Bus Tours Acquires Tour Dubai, Adding Safaris and Cruises to Portfolio

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Understanding Google’s AI Search

Uncover the next wave of innovation in travel. June 4 in New York City

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Tourism News

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Latest Daily Briefings

Skift forum highlights.

Connect with global travel leaders at Skift Forums and Summits.

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Earnings season news.

Norwegian Cruise Investor Day: More Ships, More Premium – And Cost Cuts May 22, 2024
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Skift Travel 200 Vs. S&P 500

The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number, making it easy to track travel industry performance for the first time ever. See more on travel company stock performance .

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New Report: Reimagining Loyalty to Engage Today’s Consumers

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THE BIG IDEA

Why travel should be considered an essential human activity

Travel is not rational, but it’s in our genes. Here’s why you should start planning a trip now.

Two women gaze at heavy surf while lying on boulders on the coast.

In 1961, legendary National Geographic photographer Volkmar Wentzel captured two women gazing at the surf off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. This and all the other images in this story come from the National Geographic image collection.

I’ve been putting my passport to good use lately. I use it as a coaster and to level wobbly table legs. It makes an excellent cat toy.

Welcome to the pandemic of disappointments. Canceled trips, or ones never planned lest they be canceled. Family reunions, study-abroad years, lazy beach vacations. Poof. Gone. Obliterated by a tiny virus, and the long list of countries where United States passports are not welcome.

Only a third of Americans say they have traveled overnight for leisure since March, and only slightly more, 38 percent, say they are likely to do so by the end of the year, according to one report. Only a quarter of us plan on leaving home for Thanksgiving, typically the busiest travel time. The numbers paint a grim picture of our stilled lives.

It is not natural for us to be this sedentary. Travel is in our genes. For most of the time our species has existed, “we’ve lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers moving about in small bands of 150 or fewer people,” writes Christopher Ryan in Civilized to Death . This nomadic life was no accident. It was useful. “Moving to a neighboring band is always an option to avoid brewing conflict or just for a change in social scenery,” says Ryan. Robert Louis Stevenson put it more succinctly: “The great affair is to move.”

What if we can’t move, though? What if we’re unable to hunt or gather? What’s a traveler to do? There are many ways to answer that question. “Despair,” though, is not one of them.

wall-to-wall seaside sunbathers in Ocean City, Maryland

In this aerial view from 1967, wall-to-wall seaside sunbathers relax under umbrellas or on beach towels in Ocean City, Maryland .

During a fall festival, each state shows off its costumes and dances.

A 1967 fall festival in Guadalajara, Mexico , starred traditionally costumed musicians and dancers.

We are an adaptive species. We can tolerate brief periods of forced sedentariness. A dash of self-delusion helps. We’re not grounded, we tell ourselves. We’re merely between trips, like the unemployed salesman in between opportunities. We pass the days thumbing though old travel journals and Instagram feeds. We gaze at souvenirs. All this helps. For a while.

We put on brave faces. “Staycation Nation,” the cover of the current issue of Canadian Traveller magazine declares cheerfully, as if it were a choice, not a consolation.

Today, the U.S. Travel Association, the industry trade organization, is launching a national recovery campaign called “ Let’s Go There .” Backed by a coalition of businesses related to tourism—hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, airlines—the initiative’s goal is to encourage Americans to turn idle wanderlust into actual itineraries.

The travel industry is hurting. So are travelers. “I dwelled so much on my disappointment that it almost physically hurt,” Paris -based journalist Joelle Diderich told me recently, after canceling five trips last spring.

(Related: How hard has the coronavirus hit the travel industry? These charts tell us.)

My friend James Hopkins is a Buddhist living in Kathmandu . You’d think he’d thrive during the lockdown, a sort-of mandatory meditation retreat. For a while he did.

But during a recent Skype call, James looked haggard and dejected. He was growing restless, he confessed, and longed “for the old 10-countries-a-year schedule.” Nothing seemed to help, he told me. “No matter how many candles I lit, or how much incense I burned, and in spite of living in one of the most sacred places in South Asia, I just couldn’t change my habits.”

When we ended our call, I felt relieved, my grumpiness validated. It’s not me; it’s the pandemic. But I also worried. If a Buddhist in Kathmandu is going nuts, what hope do the rest of us stilled souls have?

I think hope lies in the very nature of travel. Travel entails wishful thinking. It demands a leap of faith, and of imagination, to board a plane for some faraway land, hoping, wishing, for a taste of the ineffable. Travel is one of the few activities we engage in not knowing the outcome and reveling in that uncertainty. Nothing is more forgettable than the trip that goes exactly as planned.

Related: Vintage photos of the glamour of travel

Travel is not a rational activity. It makes no sense to squeeze yourself into an alleged seat only to be hurled at frightening speed to a distant place where you don’t speak the language or know the customs. All at great expense. If we stopped to do the cost-benefit analysis, we’d never go anywhere. Yet we do.

That’s one reason why I’m bullish on travel’s future. In fact, I’d argue travel is an essential industry, an essential activity. It’s not essential the way hospitals and grocery stores are essential. Travel is essential the way books and hugs are essential. Food for the soul. Right now, we’re between courses, savoring where we’ve been, anticipating where we’ll go. Maybe it’s Zanzibar and maybe it’s the campground down the road that you’ve always wanted to visit.

(Related: Going camping this fall? Here’s how to get started.)

James Oglethorpe, a seasoned traveler, is happy to sit still for a while, and gaze at “the slow change of light and clouds on the Blue Ridge Mountains” in Virginia, where he lives. “My mind can take me the rest of the way around this world and beyond it.”

It’s not the place that is special but what we bring to it and, crucially, how we interact with it. Travel is not about the destination, or the journey. It is about stumbling across “a new way of looking at things,” as writer Henry Miller observed. We need not travel far to gain a fresh perspective.

No one knew this better than Henry David Thoreau , who lived nearly all of his too-short life in Concord, Massachusetts. There he observed Walden Pond from every conceivable vantage point: from a hilltop, on its shores, underwater. Sometimes he’d even bend over and peer through his legs, marveling at the inverted world. “From the right point of view, every storm and every drop in it is a rainbow,” he wrote.

Thoreau never tired of gazing at his beloved pond, nor have we outgrown the quiet beauty of our frumpy, analog world. If anything, the pandemic has rekindled our affection for it. We’ve seen what an atomized, digital existence looks like, and we (most of us anyway) don’t care for it. The bleachers at Chicago ’s Wrigley Field; the orchestra section at New York City ’s Lincoln Center; the alleyways of Tokyo . We miss these places. We are creatures of place, and always will be.

After the attacks of September 11, many predicted the end of air travel, or at least a dramatic reduction. Yet the airlines rebounded steadily and by 2017 flew a record four billion passengers. Briefly deprived of the miracle of flight, we appreciated it more and today tolerate the inconvenience of body scans and pat-downs for the privilege of transporting our flesh-and-bone selves to far-flung locations, where we break bread with other incarnate beings.

Colorful designs surrounding landscape architect at work in his studio in Rio de Jainero, Brazil

Landscape architects work in their Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , studio in 1955.

A tourist photographs a tall century plant, a member of the agaves.

A tourist photographs a towering century plant in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 1956.

In our rush to return to the world, we should be mindful of the impact of mass tourism on the planet. Now is the time to embrace the fundamental values of sustainable tourism and let them guide your future journeys. Go off the beaten path. Linger longer in destinations. Travel in the off-season. Connect with communities and spend your money in ways that support locals. Consider purchasing carbon offsets. And remember that the whole point of getting out there is to embrace the differences that make the world so colorful.

“One of the great benefits of travel is meeting new people and coming into contact with different points of view,” says Pauline Frommer, travel expert and radio host.

So go ahead and plan that trip. It’s good for you, scientists say . Plotting a trip is nearly as enjoyable as actually taking one. Merely thinking about a pleasurable experience is itself pleasurable. Anticipation is its own reward.

I’ve witnessed first-hand the frisson of anticipatory travel. My wife, not usually a fan of travel photography, now spends hours on Instagram, gazing longingly at photos of Alpine lodges and Balinese rice fields. “What’s going on?” I asked one day. “They’re just absolutely captivating,” she replied. “They make me remember that there is a big, beautiful world out there.”

Many of us, myself included, have taken travel for granted. We grew lazy and entitled, and that is never good. Tom Swick, a friend and travel writer, tells me he used to view travel as a given. Now, he says, “I look forward to experiencing it as a gift.”

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Watch CBS News

Memorial Day weekend 2024 could break travel records. Here's what to know.

By Emily Mae Czachor

May 20, 2024 / 5:04 PM EDT / CBS News

Despite another month of spring technically still ahead, travelers often view Memorial Day weekend as an unofficial kickoff to the summer season — and traffic notoriously reflects that . Based on current forecasts, travel around the upcoming 2024 holiday next Monday, May 27, is not expected to relieve Memorial Day of its bad reputation for drivers and airline passengers. They may actually find themselves on some of the busiest highways and flights they've seen in decades.

The American Automobile Association, or AAA, warned of potentially unprecedented congestion on roads this weekend, along with airports that could be even more crowded than in years past. The organization, which looks at various economic factors and partners with other groups to project travel conditions, announced earlier this month that an estimated 43.8 million people across the United States would likely travel at least 50 miles from Thursday to Monday. That would mark a 4% increase in overall travel compared with 2023, according to AAA. It would also come close to the busiest Memorial Day weekend on record, which happened in 2005 when 44 million people left home for the holiday.

"We haven't seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years," said Paula Twidale, the senior vice president of the travel division at AAA, in a statement. "We're projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we're exceeding pre-pandemic levels but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead."

For those planning to hit the road or board a plane this weekend, here's what to know.

Prepare to hit traffic

Memorial Day weekend in 2024 is expected to set a new record for road trips, according to AAA. The organization has estimated that 38.4 million people will travel in cars over the course of the weekend, which would be the biggest number recorded around this particular holiday since the group first started keeping track of Memorial Day travel patterns in 2000.

Car rental company Hertz told AAA that demand for rentals this year will be highest in Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas and Orlando, with most renters scheduled to pick up their cars on Thursday and Friday.

In general, drivers hoping to beat the traffic, or at least face less of it, should avoid the roads during afternoon hours on any day of the long weekend. Citing transit data from INRIX , AAA said the worst times to travel by car , in any U.S. time zone, are between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday, between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday, between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday, and between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday.

The best times to drive will be before 11 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on Thursday, before 11 a.m. or after 8 p.m. on Friday, before 1 p.m. or after 6 p.m. on Saturday, before 1 p.m. on Sunday, and after 7 p.m. on Monday.

Airports will be crowded

Airports across the country are bracing for another spike in travelers, following an upward trend in flights booked around Memorial Day since last year's air travel numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels. An estimated 3.51 million people are projected to fly this weekend, according to AAA, which is up from 3.35 million who traveled on planes to their destinations last year. If as many people fly as expected, this will be the most crowded Memorial Day weekend at airports since 2005, when AAA said 3.64 million people caught flights for the holiday.

United Airlines said more than 500,000 people are expected to fly each day from Thursday to Tuesday, which would be the airline's busiest Memorial Day weekend on record. Delta said 3 million people are expected to fly on its planes over that six-day period and American Airlines said it expects 3.9 million people to fly over the weekend.

Public transportation tips

Any of the projected 1.9 million people who use public transit systems to get to where they're going this weekend can plan ahead, too. INRIX projections show metro riders will face a degree of congestion in major cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C. Congestion on metros is expected to peak in those places in the late afternoon, early evening and mid-morning each day between Thursday and Monday.

Forecasts suggest D.C., Los Angeles, Houston and Tampa will see the largest jumps in metro crowding compared with their respective norms. The worst is projected for one route from Gainesville to Tampa, where INRIX said metro congestion on Sunday at 9 a.m. local time could be 88% higher than usual.

Kris Van Cleave contributed reporting.

Memorial Day

Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

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Memorial Day weekend 2024 will be one of busiest for travel, AAA says: How to plan ahead

T he 2024 Memorial Day weekend is on track to be one of the highest traveled since the AAA Auto Club began tracking them in 2000, with people heading out to domestic and international destinations on more once-in-a-lifetime, luxury and solo trips.

"Memorial Day will be the start to a very busy summer of travel," Debbie Haas, vice president of travel for AAA, said. "American travelers are forecast to surpass pre-pandemic levels, making this the busiest Memorial Day holiday weekend in nearly two decades."

Compared to last year, gas prices are up a few cents a gallon ; domestic hotel prices are down slightly, about 5% — and there’s been more interest in traveling to theme parks and entertainment venues and internationally than there has been in a while.

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

Top domestic destinations include Orlando, Seattle, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, Anchorage, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Boston. Top foreign travel destinations include Italy, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Netherlands and Greece.

Domestic car rental rates nationwide are down about 17%, according to AAA.

Traveling by car

AAA is forecasting nearly 1.3 million Michiganders will travel 50 miles or more, the second highest since it began tracking them, with 1.17 state residents driving, nearly 70,000 flying, and another nearly 60,000 using some other form of transportation.

Nationally, AAA projects the second highest traveled Memorial Day on record, with nearly 43.8 million Americans going 50 miles or more, that’s 1.7 million more travelers than last year, a 4% increase, but slightly behind the 44 million set in 2005.

Of those 43.8 million, most, 38.4 million, are traveling by car and 3.5 million by air.

"Traveling by car is appealing for many people because of the convenience and flexibility it provides," Adrienne Woodland, a AAA spokeswoman said. "However, Memorial Day drivers may have to pay more at the gas pump."

More: Michigan gas prices drop ahead of Memorial Day weekend travel

During last year’s weekend, Michigan gas prices averaged $3.60 per gallon. The state average is up slightly.

"Drivers should expect continued volatility at the pump as the summer driving season gets underway," Woodland said. "The wildcard remains the cost of oil, and unlike last year, there are now two wars — in the Middle East and Ukraine — that could roil the oil market."

Best, worst times to travel

Meanwhile, those flying might want to leave extra time to get to the airport.

Nearly 2 million people are expected to travel by bus, train, and — on cruises, which are popular again.

"This category took the biggest hit during the pandemic," Haas said. "Now — five years later — we’re back to 2019 numbers. Leading the charge is the resurgence in both ocean and river cruising, which came back extremely strong and continues to gain popularity."

AAA said many more people this year have decided to take once-in-a-lifetime and luxury trips, and even take trips by themselves.

If you do plan to travel by car, INRIX — a Kirkland, Washington-based analytics company, urges drivers to leave Thursday or Friday early to avoid commuter traffic. Those going back Sunday or Monday should avoid the afternoon hours, when return trips are at their peak.

The worst times to travel: noon to 6 p.m. Thursday; noon to 7 p.m. Friday; 2-5 p.m. Saturday; and 3-7 p.m. Sunday; and 3-7 p.m. Monday. Best times: before 11 a.m., after 7 p.m. Thursday; before 11 a.m., after 8 p.m. Friday; before 1 p.m., after 6 p.m. Saturday; and before 1 p.m. Sunday; and after 7 p.m. Monday.

"Travel times are expected to be up to 90% longer than normal," Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst at INRIX said. "Travelers should stay up to date on traffic apps, 511 services, and local news stations to avoid sitting in traffic longer than necessary."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Memorial Day weekend 2024 will be one of busiest for travel, AAA says: How to plan ahead

The Memorial Day weekend could unleash the most Michigan travelers in years, AAA says

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