A Nostalgic Rail Journey through Italy Aboard Gio Ponti’s 'Arlecchino' Train

It’s that time of year again. Leaves are changing colors, shoulder season trips are in full swing, and international airlines are sharing what new routes travelers can expect next summer.

Aman is well known for its ultraluxury resorts and hotels found in some of the world's favorite cities, like Tokyo and Venice, Italy, as well as destinations as close as Utah and as far as Phuket, Thailand.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, September 26, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Summer vacations to Europe don’t have to mean sea and sand. Fresh water is equally as appealing, and the continent’s most beautiful lake regions are simply stunning year-round. Lake Como’s crystal clear water, dramatic scenery, picturesque villages, and five-star hotels — not to mention A-list celebrity visitors — have contributed to the region’s reputation for being the most romantic (and luxurious) lake in Europe. And while this is very true, Como is breathtaking, across the continent are other bodies of water that deserve attention. From the shores of Lough Corrib in Ireland, where you can stay in an ancient castle, to the limpid turquoise water of Lake Päijänne in Finland, where you can sleep overnight in a floating hotel made entirely of glass, these are the best lakes in Europe for a luxury vacation.

We’re well-practiced at carrying our driver’s licenses in the US, but it might surprise you that there are countries in Europe where it is illegal to venture out without your passport.

There are two types of train trip: The long, slow, and often luxurious train journey that takes you through beautiful scenery that you book specifically to spend time on the rails; and the speedy, no-nonsense, cheap train ride you take to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In the first category, you’ll find grand trips like Australia’s The Ghan, South Africa’s Blue Train, and Britain’s Caledonian Sleeper. In the second, there are trips from London to Brussels in just two hours, from Rome to Venice in four hours, and from Miami to Orlando in three hours. And if you’re a train traveler who belongs to the second category and likes getting places fast without flying, there are plenty of trains in this world that do just that at speeds previously unimaginable on land, including the fastest train in the world and its closest competitors.

For Italians, Sardinia is synonymous with “Costa Smeralda” (Emerald Coast), the summer playground of the rich and famous. But the natural and cultural attractions of the second-largest island in the Mediterranean are available to many travelers, not just the glitterati who gather on their mega-yachts at Porto Cervo every August.

Train travel has been growing in popularity for the past couple of years and there’s no sign showing that this trend is going to stop any time soon. According to Eurail, the big boss of train travel in Europe, “more than 1,237,000 Interrail and Eurail Passes were sold in 2023, a 25 percent growth from 2022.” To satisfy the ever-growing demand for rail travel, new train operators are popping up and offering new exciting routes, especially crowd-pleasing overnight routes. That’s the case of rail operator European Sleeper which launched in May 2023.

A full slate of labor strikes are planned throughout Europe this month, which could impact both plane and train travel.Both flights and trains could be delayed as a result of the various labor actions in the coming weeks. Here’s a breakdown of the locations where strikes are expected to take place and when.

Normally, you don’t see Western European nations on a list of travel alerts issued by the State Department of the United States. But these aren’t normal times.

Strikes are a regular occurrence in Europe, as employees withhold their labour to fight for better pay and conditions.

If you’re planning a trip to Denmark, Italy, or the United Kingdom, the U.S. State Department urges you to exercise increased caution. In September, these popular European vacation destinations had their warning levels elevated due to the risk of potential terrorist attacks.