More Than 50 Million Americans Will Travel for July 4 — Here Are the Best Times to Hit the Road

My husband and I are from Barbados but we visit family in the US a few times a year. Living in Barbados, it's often difficult and expensive to find specialty food and ingredients, so we rely on our Trader Joe's trips to Miami to grab the items we can't find in our hometown.

After taking annual vacations to Europe for over a decade, I followed my dream and moved abroad right after my 32nd birthday. I initially did a six-month stay in Bordeaux, France, before heading to Barcelona, Spain, in early 2020.

In the heart of the enchanting Chianti wine region in Tuscany, Italy, stands an exquisite 16th-century stone farmhouse called "Villa Ardore." Transformed into a luxurious sanctuary for love and acceptance, this remarkable venue is a testament to the enduring power of passion and the triumph of progress over adversity.

Looking for a new museum to add to your travel to-do list? TripAdvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) has released the Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Museums of 2018, including the top 10 worldwide and the top 10 in the United States, with some surprising frontrunners. The findings also highlight bookable ways to see each winner—think VIP tours and scavenger hunts—with some offering the added perk of allowing you to skip the lines to get in.

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.

“Best airport” rankings aren’t typically the most helpful in terms of travel planning: If I want to go to Boston, I’m not going to head for Las Vegas instead because its airport is better. But those best airport lists do come in handy in two cases—when you have a choice of airport for your connecting flight, and when you can choose between multiple airports within a single metro area.

The travel app with the highest customer satisfaction score is World of Hyatt. That’s according to the first-ever U.S Travel App Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power. And according to the report, there’s much room for travel apps in general to improve.

AAA is out with its annual Memorial Day travel forecast, which outlines not only how many people will hit the road this year, but when.

For the sixth year in a row, Finland has claimed the top spot in the World Happiness Report. The annual report, compiled by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, surveys residents in over 150 countries to determine which nations are the happiest.

Denver is one of the fastest growing cities in the US, a one-time "cow town" turned Rocky Mountain powerhouse. At the core sits LoDo, the city’s oldest neighborhood with historic buildings, boutique shopping and some of Denver’s best hotels. Just west of there is LoHi, a leafy Victorian-era neighborhood and foodie’s haven. South and east are the Golden Triangle, Capitol Hill and City Park neighborhoods, home to museums, edgy urban life and big green spaces. And north is RiNo, Denver’s heart of cool, with street art and hipster nightlife.

Australia enacted some of the most strict lockdown restrictions in 2020, which kept any and all tourists out. Then, in February, the country once again opened back up to Americans — just in time for the more comfortable Australian winter temperatures.

By now, everyone knows that there’s a real-life Barbie DreamHouse in Malibu, California, that’s available on Airbnb in anticipation of the blockbuster Barbie movie that’s coming to theaters next month. But if Barbie taught us anything, it’s that no one is limited to just one thing. In Barbie’s case, that meant changing professions as often as she changed outfits. When it comes to travel, the doll’s do-it-all mentality is a nice reminder that we can go anywhere we want. The world is our bright pink proverbial oyster — at least in the case of these Barbiecore Airbnbs. If you’re planning a road trip this summer, why not do it in style at these bright pink Airbnbs?