I paid $500 to upgrade from business to first class on British Airways. I was blown away by luxury perks like a private suite and massages.

I receive a ton of side-eye glances of disapproval on international flights because I travel business class and leave my teenager in coach. 

Of the half million annual visitors to the Edinburgh International Festival (running from 4-28 August this year), the vast majority don’t leave the city. Which is understandable given the cultural smörgåsbord on offer, and that it takes place in (arguably) the UK’s most attractive city. But it’s also a wasted opportunity given that this is the capital of one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with a wealth of stunning scenery on its doorstep.

“Hello, over there in Albania!”, my kayaking guide Gigo shouts across the water as he paddles along effortlessly. He doesn’t really need to shout, because although we’re in Montenegro, we’re only a few metres away from the Albanians. We’re on the Buna (Bunë) River, a 40km stretch of water which divides the countries and is so tranquil that every sound is amplified, from the dip of our paddles to the rousing tones of the Muslim call to prayer.

American tourists don't always have the best reputation abroad, but it can be amusing to see how other countries view US culture.

Iraq's prime minister has launched an investigation after a bear being transported on a commercial airplane escaped from its crate in the cargo hold.

Last month I traveled by train from London to Berlin and back.

Greece is offering free one-week vacations to visitors whose trips were disrupted by the recent wildfires.

I spent the first seven years of my life in the United Kingdom and still have some British terms and phrases in my vocabulary.

1 Hotel Mayfair, is the first European property for the American-based, sustainable hotel group. The location is great, with Green Park across the road, museums like the Royal Academy down the road and the stylish shops of Bond street and Burlington Arcade nearby. This chic new luxury hotel claims to be London’s very first sustainable luxury hotel, a big assertion indeed but one that does appear to have substance. From the moment you walk through the doors, you’re surrounded by living things, natural materials and textures, complemented by muted colors from nature. Over 1,300 plants from 200 species can be found throughout the hotel.

A passenger on a low-cost airline in India discovered on Monday that she'd arrived in a city some 1,000 miles from her planned destination after being told to board the wrong flight.

The number of people concerned about their health and wellbeing has rocketed since the pandemic began. The stats are legion but among them, 80% of those surveyed by Public Health England in 2020 — in the first year of Covid-19 — reported wanting to change their lifestyle in 2021 to become healthier. Meanwhile, an Ipsos study in 2021 noted that 62% of Americans believe health is more important to them than before the pandemic. And this has, as countless more reports will attest, changed the way many of us want to travel.

You may remember the 100,000-mile bonus for new British Airways credit card sign-ups in 2010.