Travel

The Chicago skyline backdrops the Chicago Jazz Festival at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion on Sept. 4, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Conde Nast Traveler readers name Chicago ‘Best Big City’ for 10th year in a row

By Robert Channick

October 6, 2026 at 3:25 p.m.

Conde Nast Traveler received nearly 800,000 votes for this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards, which cover...

Olivia Estrada, the on board manager, carries plates of food to the dome car for guests aboard a Patrick Henry Creative Promotions private rail car as it travels from Chicago, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri, on May 19, 2026. Private train cars may seem like a relic of the past, but for some rail fans, nothing beats having — or renting — your own sleeper car. (Jamie Kelter Davis/The New York Times)

The quiet allure of private rail

By The New York Times News Service Syndicate

October 2, 2026 at 6:15 p.m.

Private rail cars traveled 429,000 miles on Amtrak in fiscal year 2025, according to the...

Cary Sabados shops for chocolate at Hotel Chocolat in Lakeview on Feb. 12, 2026. This Lakeview location, opened last April, was the first Chicago store. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Chicago-based Hotel Chocolat going nationwide with airport concessions, grocery stores and new retail markets

By Robert Channick

September 23, 2026 at 12:37 p.m.

This fall, Hotel Chocolat will pop up at 49 airports, hit the shelves at Wegmans,...

Dominican airline Arajet will offer direct flights from O'Hare International Airport to Punta Cana. (Business Wire)

Dominican airline to launch direct flights from O’Hare to Punta Cana

By Talia Soglin

May 20, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

One-way flights to the resort town in the Dominican Republic start at $117, Arajet said.

Juanita Morales, left, and Emma Yanus take a photo at the Cloud Gate sculpture, better known as The Bean, in Chicago’s Millennium Park on May 15, 2025. Morales is visiting from Arlington, Virginia, and Yanus lives in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Chicago saw a boost in tourism last year. Will the pope be a blessing in 2025?

By Robert Channick

May 15, 2025 at 6:34 p.m.

With a lift from major events, Chicago welcomed 55.3 million visitors last year, up 6.5%...

A deer walks along the south shore of Lake Superior in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. (William DeShazer/baiduhai)

Some Michigan tourism spots worry about Trump tariff toll on summer travel

By Detroit News

May 14, 2025 at 3:41 p.m.

The impact of tariffs amid a trade war is already showing up in travel from...

A Galapagos sea lion mother sits with two pups at Galapagos National Park. (SL_Photography/Getty)

Rare creatures, unusual geography add to the allure of the remote Galápagos Islands

By Robin Catalano

May 14, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Despite the islands’ seclusion and conservation-related restrictions, a trip to the archipelago is within reach...

A new Disney theme park, created with Miral, will have a waterfront location on Yas Island of the United Arab Emirates.(Walt Disney Co.)

Disney planning theme park resort in Abu Dhabi

By Dewayne Bevil

May 7, 2025 at 9:09 a.m.

Walt Disney Co. is planning a theme park resort for Abu Dhabi in the United...

Greg Collier, the chef at Loft & Cellar, shows one of the restaurant's dishes on Feb. 22, 2019, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer)

For families and foodies, Charlotte, North Carolina, offers ‘a surprise and delight factor’

By Amber Gibson

May 7, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Whether you’re in town to catch a pro sports team or visit a James Beard-nominated...

A sign at the federal courthouse in Tacoma, Washington, informs visitors of the federal government's REAL ID act in April 2016. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Homeland Security chief says travelers with no REAL ID can fly for now, but with likely extra steps

By Rebecca Santana

May 6, 2025 at 2:51 p.m.

Travelers who aren’t REAL ID compliant by the upcoming deadline this week will still be...

FILE — Planes at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, March 28, 2025. The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has fueled anxiety at airports, border crossings and other U.S. ports of entry, with visa holders and tourists concerned that they may be detained or deported. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)

What green card holders should know in preparing to travel outside the US

By The New York Times News Service Syndicate

May 6, 2025 at 1:28 p.m.

Here’s what to know about the rights a green card holder is entitled to and...

The Firebird floorless roller coaster at Six Flags America in Maryland. (Courtesy of Six Flags)

Six Flags begins selling off amusement parks

By Brady Macdonald

May 2, 2025 at 2:17 p.m.

The San Francisco Bay Area rivalry will soon sort itself out with California’s Great America...

American Airlines planes taxi and park at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Feb. 5, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/baiduhai)

American Airlines to launch service to 7 new destinations from O’Hare next winter

By Kim Quillen

May 1, 2025 at 10:53 a.m.

The new flights represent continued growth for American, which says it will offer 25% more...