A beginner's guide to the Hawaiian islands

Large wildfires burning across the islands of Maui and Hawaii, fueled by intense winds, turned scenic beach destinations into smoky, catastrophic scenes on Wednesday. The fast-moving flames have scorched hundreds of acres, destroyed homes and businesses, and prompted a series of evacuation orders, road closures, and power and cellphone service outages. At least six people have died.

I was 20 years old and had J Robert Oppenheimer's house all to myself. From the porch of the small yellow cottage, four steps led down to the beach where coconut trees swooped low at the water's edge and the Evian-clear Caribbean gently lapped the sugar-white sand. Day after day, I'd hike here after work to marvel at the parrotfish, butterflyfish and hawksbill turtles that glided between the shallow coral reefs, never once seeing another soul. 

Space enthusiasts up and down the East Coast may be able to see NASA’s next rocket launch with their own eyes.

St Lucia is a volcanic island and one of the more mountainous in the Caribbean. At only 27 miles long and 14 miles wide, the island is small enough to get from one end to the other in less than two hours. 

For U.S. News & World Report, the road from weekly news magazine to publisher of company rankings has been a long and winding one. The key, though, to its shift toward data-driven ratings of companies and institutions was its 1983 publication of “America’s Best Colleges.”

Enter the Hallmark Channel “Summer Nights” sweepstakes by August 29, 2016, for a chance to win one of two grand prizes: 1) a seven-day Virgin Islands cruise for two, including air and hotel before and after the cruise; 2) or a four-night trip to Victoria Island, British Columbia, to visit the set of “Chesapeake Shores,” including air, transfers, and hotel.

Enter the Paul Gauguin Cruises “Soul of the South Seas” sweepstakes by May 31, 2016, for a chance to win one of four grand prizes: each a seven-night cruise for two of Tahiti and the Society Islands, including air, onboard meals, and ground transfers.

Want to visit the United States’ hottest destinations this summer, but don’t want to pay crazily inflated prices? TripAdvisor (our parent company) just released its 2018 Summer Vacation Value Report which gives you the low-down on the best places to visit and the least expensive week to go. Surprisingly, Memorial Day week (May 28) was the cheapest time to go for more than half of the destinations, so if you want to save time and vacation days, you’re in luck.

The esteemed Dr. Beach has released his annual list of America’s top ten beaches, and you’ll want to visit all of them this summer—doctors orders.

Hawaiian Airlines will become the latest airline to add basic economy fares, joining a now widespread trend in the airline industry.

America’s newest wicked-long flight is the Boston-to-Honolulu route from Hawaiian Airlines, which is now the longest flight in the country at 5,095 miles. And it’s not a fluke—the new Hawaiian flight is the longest nonstop route in the United States ever. The journey takes a whopping 11 hours 40 minutes when flying to the islands, but it will only take 10 hours and 15 minutes to get back to reality.

I recently spent a week in Hawaii, splitting my time between Honolulu’s bustling Waikiki area and the lush shores of Kauai. My trip was completely unaffected by the Hawaii volcano eruption that’s been going on since early May, despite the scary pictures I’d seen of spewing ash and fiery lava. My flights were on time, the air was fresh and clean, and I was able to enjoy the pristine landscapes and local hospitality for which Hawaii is famous.