I paid $250 to stay in a plastic tiny house in New Zealand in the middle of winter. I thought I'd freeze, but by morning, I didn't want to leave.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nabila Ismail , a 30-year-old from New York who quit her corporate job to travel. It's been edited for length and clarity.

Saying goodbye to a loved one just got more difficult at a small New Zealand airport.  The Dunedin Airport in the country’s southern end recently posted an advisory sign warning travelers not to hug for more than three minutes in the departure zone.  «Max hug time 3 minutes. For fonder farewells please use the car park,» the sign reads in the drop-off zone area.  The airport updated their drop-off policy in September 2024, in an effort to prevent traffic jams caused by lingering cars.  «We wanted to have a bit of fun with this,» Dunedin Airport CEO Daniel De Bono shared in an interview with a local radio station. «It's really about enabling enough space for others to have hugs.” The airport says that three minutes for a hug is plenty of time, and that a 20-second hug is the average length. The somewhat joking, but serious looking sign, has caused a social media conversation with travelers sounding off on the new advisory.  »How much is the fine if I hug longer??" one person shared on Reddit, with another person just commenting «Bruh.»

Airports and emotional farewells go hand-in-hand, but one hub in New Zealand is cracking down on public displays of affection.

We all know the sadness of dropping our loved ones off at the airport, especially if it's the last time you'll be seeing them for a while. But for travelers at Dunedin Airport, hugs during those heartfelt goodbyes could now be cut short.

Wellington, New Zealand straddles one of the world’s great natural harbors. It's a vibrant capital city, gently nestled along the corrugated landscape that rises from the water to meet the 650-foot ridgelines of Matairangi (also known Mount Victoria). As stunning as it was to observe this scene from the Interislander ferry port, I had to wonder what I was doing here: I came to embark on a nearly two-week long Great Journeys New Zealand train trip. But this was where the adventure was to commence—aboard a 1350-passenger sea vessel, with nary a track nor train car in sight.

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Qatar Airways operated its first flight equipped with Elon Musk’s Starlink from Doha to London on Tuesday. 

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Earlier this year, my kids' relentless pleas to take a cruise reached a fever pitch.

The Sphere, which illuminates Las Vegas’ skyline and has enthralled Sin City guests, will open a second attraction in Abu Dhabi.

Whether you’re a frequent flyer in first class or it’s a distant dream, the experience may soon be coming to an end worldwide.

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