The body of a hiker was found on a remote trail in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona in what was the sixth death reported in the sprawling park this month, the authorities said.
27.08.2024 - 16:41 / lonelyplanet.com
Aug 26, 2024 • 8 min read
With 300 miles of barrier-island beaches and innumerable coastal towns waiting to be explored, North Carolina’s shoreline attracts millions of visitors each year – and it’s not hard to see why.
From romantic escapes to kid-friendly family vacations, and action-packed adventures to lazy days in the sun, the region offers something for everyone. Here are a dozen of the best beaches in North Carolina.
Best beach for families with young kids
Just below the Virginia border on the Outer Banks, Corolla (pronounced “kuh-RAH-luh”) is a go-to choice for families with young kids, thanks to its gentle waves and 24 miles of wide, white sand.
Corolla is the only place in the region that allows four-wheel-drives directly onto the beach year round, fee-free (though you'll need a permit if you want to park).
Interestingly enough, the 4x4 beaches are also where you’ll find Corolla’s best-known attraction: wild horses. Descended from Spanish Mustangs, these horses have had the run of the place for hundreds of years. It’s illegal to come within 50ft of the horses, but a handful of tour operators can get you close enough for a photo opp.
Best beach for families with teens
Barely 15 miles south of Corolla, the resort town of Duck has just 500 permanent residents, but its numbers swell during the summer season. It’s a hugely popular destination for families, especially those with teens.
On the eastern ocean-facing side of town, shops and restaurants are clustered around a six-mile-long trail with sidewalks and bike lanes.
On the western side, Duck Town Park covers 11 acres of greenspace, with a playground, a public canoe and kayak launch and a mile-long boardwalk that winds along the Currituck Sound. The town plays host to an annual jazz festival – typically the second weekend in October – and its beaches are private and well-kept.
Best beach for hang-gliding
One of the best-known towns in the Outer Banks, Nags Head is a destination for spring-breakers and multi-generational families. Its location on Bodie Island, a few miles south of Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers National Memorial, makes it a draw for aviation buffs.
It can get very crowded in the summer, so it’s almost better to visit during the off-season. Less crowds mean more space to yourself for fishing off the pier, hang-gliding at Jockey’s Ridge – a state park with the tallest natural sand dune system in the eastern US.
Average temperatures don’t usually dip below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius), so a wintry stroll on a beach wouldn't be too uncomfortable.
Best beach for shelling
Once a hideout for the infamous pirate Blackbeard and the site of his death in 1718, Ocracoke Island is known today for its natural beauty and
The body of a hiker was found on a remote trail in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona in what was the sixth death reported in the sprawling park this month, the authorities said.
I moved to Japan from North Carolina with my husband and our young daughter in the spring of 2022. My husband is in the US military and this has been his first overseas assignment.
Melissa Dewalt caught the travel bug a decade ago when she drove from her home state of Pennsylvania across the country to California to visit her then-boyfriend. She then road-tripped north to Seattle.
Surprises can be great. But outside of an unexpected first-class upgrade, most of us prefer to know what to expect when it comes to travel.
A residential cruise ship that was supposed to travel around the world has been stuck in Northern Ireland for the past three months.
Clarksville, a historic district of Austin, Texas, has lately emerged as a stylish dining and shopping enclave. Among the area’s most compelling new businesses is La Embajada, a design shop housed in a 1923 Craftsman bungalow. Combining the hospitality and interiors expertise of its founder, Raul Cabra — who has designed tableware for some of Mexico City’s most celebrated restaurants, including Rosetta and Pujol — La Embajada presents a refined, regionally diverse selection of Mexico’s artisanal offerings. A series of small rooms display vintage and contemporary furniture, from stately midcentury armchairs and 1970s glass sconces to a minimalist agave fiber rug by the Oaxaca-based textile artist Trine Ellitsgaard. The house is also an actual residence. Cabra often stays in the bedroom up the creaky stairs, and he’s recently made it available for short-term stays (bookings include a daily basket of baked goods from Austin’s Swedish Hill). Guests can purchase the room’s handmade décor, such as a pair of sleek bedside lamps in milky white onyx, a 1960s La Malinche dresser and a bedspread from a Michoacan manufacturer that once supplied Herman Miller. Downstairs, glassware, candles and gifts fill a section modeled after a typical general store in a small Mexican town. But La Embajada’s heart is its inviting kitchen, where visiting chefs cook elaborate meals and staff prepare ice cream and coffee. In another twist, every bespoke detail — including a hammered copper sink, caramel-colored tiles and waxed pine cabinets — can be custom-ordered for one’s own home.
The thing about Hawaii cruises is that there’s no bad time of year to take one. Thanks to its year-round sunshine and warm weather, Hawaii will be there for you whenever you’re ready to set sail.
Frontier Airlines unveiled 11 new routes across 15 airports that are scheduled to launch in October and November.
“See America,” an old Amtrak slogan promised, “at See-Level.” And if you ride the railroad’s Empire Builder route from Chicago to Seattle and back, as I did recently, you’ll watch the scenery evolve, from city to suburb to small town to north woods to sweeping grasslands to Great Plains to sandy buttes to snow-capped peaks to sagebrush meadows to pine-lined streams to small town to suburb to city.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Scarlett Kiaras-Attari, a marketing executive and education content creator who moved to the UK for her studies. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Aug 23, 2024 • 7 min read
Between Sri Lanka’s eight UNESCO world heritage sites, its thriving wildlife, and pristine white sand beaches, the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” has enough glimmer for everyone—and now, visiting the South Asia island nation, located off the coast of India, is about to get easier (and cheaper) for travelers from 35 countries.