Discover where locals travel in Türkiye

Monsters might be fictional characters in books and movies, but these ominous, otherworldly creatures are often linked with real-life places.

It’s one thing to love a hotel room with a balcony, quite another to stay in one that’s built into the side of a mountain. But for longtime Forbes travel writer Jim Dobson—who first slept in a cave hotel many years ago in Santorini, Greece—the experience provides a neo-ancient twist on a room with a view. From Mallorca and Puglia to Turkey and Texas, here are some of the most amazing hotel suites built into caves.

UNESCO has added 42 World Heritage Sites to its list of the planet’s natural and cultural sights worth special protection — the biggest group of new entries in more than two decades. The European listings alone span the mighty and the minute, from a gorge-carved landscape in Greece to a charmingly vintage planetarium in the Netherlands.

Editor note: This article is regularly updated as new information becomes available and is accurate as of 10:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 19. For the most up-to-date information, contact the U.S. Department of State or similar official websites.

As the crisis in Gaza deepens, efforts to evacuate tourists from Israel have been heightened. On Monday, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship assisted in evacuating US nationals from Israel to Cyprus; meanwhile, US government charter flights continue operating out of Ben Gurion Airport (located near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem) to take American tourists home.

For travelers looking for a unique Thanksgiving experience, travel booking experts recommend setting your sights abroad. 

Coffee table books are my achilles heel. I live in a modestly-sized apartment in Boston where space comes at a premium, but I will never deny myself the joy of a beautiful travel-inspired tome. I’ll collect them until my shelves are full, until they serve as impromptu nightstands, until every kitchen cabinet overfloweth and, yes, until they cover my coffee table itself. I simply can’t stop collecting them, and the books given to me by others are especially nostalgic—is there any gift more elegant?

There’s nothing like the first sip of a creamy Chardonnay after a long drive on a sunny day. In the garden at Kuzubağ, a winery in southwest Turkey, a cold glass slips down easily. The Aegean breeze rustles the leaves, the sunset paints the open skies rusty orange and resident feline Misket jumps up for a belly rub. “Our cats appreciate attention,” says vineyard owner Aslı Kuzu, before gently shooing her away.

There are many reasons to love Chicago, the nation’s third largest city sitting on Lake Michigan and beloved for its iconic skyline, deep dish pizza, Italian beef and top-notch museums. These days however, with more travelers feeling stressed, lonely, and anxious (a recent World Travel Protection survey noted only one third of business travelers are happy traveling for work), finding relaxing activities and sleeping well has never been more important.

Israel is continuing to bombard Gaza - home to more than 2 million inhabitants - after militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack last weekend.

Costa Navarino, a luxury resort destination in Greece’s Messinia region, may not have the cultural cachet of Mykonos or Santorini, but that could soon change with the opening on Mandarin Oriental’s first Greek property. Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino features 99 suites and villas with views of the Ionian Sea. The hotel also features five restaurants, a spa and an 82-foot swimming pool. Should you actually want to leave the property, it’s a short drive to the 18-hole Bay Course, which also has views of the coast.

On Saturday, violence erupted across Israel and Gaza in one of the worst conflicts the region has seen in decades, according to The New York Times. After Hamas militants began launching thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli towns early Saturday morning, the conflict has continued to escalate, with Israel’s military responding with massive air strikes. The violence has left thousands dead, according to CNN. Thousands more are injured on both sides.