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,...

I want a refund instead of a Royal Caribbean cruise credit

By King Features Syndicate

April 19, 2021 at 11:32 a.m.

Q: In 2019, my wife Sandy and I booked a Royal Caribbean cruise to New...

Airbnb' s "ban on parties" is continuing into the summer months when many Americans expect to be vaccinated and ready to travel again.

Booking an Airbnb for Fourth of July? You might need a good track record to get a place

By Dallas Morning News

April 19, 2021 at 11:15 a.m.

Airbnb's "ban on parties" is continuing into the summer months when many Americans expect to...

Rick Steves’ Europe: A conversation in Amsterdam, where a coffee shop is more than a coffee shop

By Rick Steves

April 15, 2021 at 1:00 p.m.

Wandering around Amsterdam, every few blocks you pass a window full of plants displaying a...

Travel Troubleshooter: TAP Air Portugal rescheduled my flight — can I get a refund?

By Christopher Elliott

April 22, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.

Q: In August 2019, I booked two roundtrip tickets to Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal,...

Go away with … Chin Han

By Jae-Ha Kim

April 15, 2021 at 12:37 p.m.

Already one of Singapore's most famous actors, Chin Han has also found success in Hollywood....

Rafael Garcia, center, and and Lucia Garcia, left, of San Fernando, Calif., bring more than 85 pieces of Pollo Campero fried chicken on an Avianca flight from El Salvador to Los Angeles on Feb. 13, 2020.

Why flights from Central America to LA often have the enticing aroma of fried chicken

By Brittny Mejia

April 15, 2021 at 12:20 p.m.

Norma Ramirez stepped off Delta Flight 1903 from Guatemala City with a backpack, a blue...

They’re back! Six Flags Great America opens April 24 and Hurricane Harbor opens May 29

By Annie Alleman

April 14, 2021 at 7:17 p.m.

When Caitlin Kepple heard a loud rumbling noise outside her office, she couldn't quite place...

A towrope links the Volunteer canal boat to Moe the mule, in the distance along the I&M Canal Trail, during a ride down the canal at a leisurely 2 miles an hour.

By foot, pedal or mule power, exploration awaits along historic Illinois canal

By Jay Jones

April 12, 2021 at 5:16 p.m.

Hoofing it down the trail at a flat-out 2 miles an hour, Moe is to...

Ed Perkins on Travel: Amtrak’s infrastructure bill wish list

By Ed Perkins

April 8, 2021 at 4:56 p.m.

Amtrak already has a list of projects to fund if it gets the billions it...

FEWEST DAYS RECEIVED | Part of the reason Americans took the fewest vacation days is because U.S. employees also received the fewest vacation days when compared to other countries surveyed, getting just 13 on average.

Rick Steves’ Europe: Siena: Italy’s medieval soul

By Rick Steves

April 8, 2021 at 4:51 p.m.

Stretched across a Tuscan hill, Siena offers perhaps Italy's best medieval experience. Courtyards sport flower-decked...