Podcast: How to Quarantine in a Ghost Town

In Lonely Plan-It, we take you step by step through how we planned some of the most complicated travel adventures. Here, Craig McLachlan explains how to make the most out of your biking adventure to this South Pacific paradise’s deep south.

Though Disneyland is in sunny Southern California, Walt Disney's original theme park has prominent ties to New Orleans. The park has an entire land called New Orleans Square, inspired by Walt's travels to the city in the years leading up to Disneyland's opening in 1955. The mayor of New Orleans was even on hand to make Walt an honorary citizen of the city when the land was added to Disneyland in 1966.

Travelers are drawn to Arizona by the blinding desert sunshine, but the Grand Canyon state has so much more to offer. Under these flawless blue skies, everything you can imagine to entice, entertain and enthrall is up for grabs.

A visit to New York is nothing without heading up to the top of one of the city’s much-loved skyscrapers. Viewing the cityscape from up high – from one of its observation decks – is a must-do and thrilling experience.

Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor officially became sister parks in June as a way to amend the relationship between the United States and Japan after World War II.

These days, the hotel world is abuzz with “sleep tourism,” a clever albeit trendy marketing term used to describe programming that extends beyond blackout curtains and soft, plush bedding. A 2016 study in the Current Biology journal expands on the “first-night effect” in human sleep research — stating that new environments often cause tossing and turning. So, then what’s a weary traveler to do while — trying— to sleep in New York City (aka the city that never sleeps)?

The east coast may have the dawn, but here in San Juan, La Union, we get the sunsets. Cumulus clouds pile high over the horizon as waves obliterate themselves on the sand, turning into a mist, making everything glow.

Queenstown, New Zealand, is known for many things. To start, it’s one of the world’s foremost adventure capitals, famous for both alpine recreation and adrenaline thrills. It’s also an excellent place to relax, from its delicious restaurants and rejuvenating wellness centers to the Central Otago wine region located beyond the downtown core. In a place as naturally blessed as Queenstown, it’s hard to pick a bad accommodation — as long as you have access to windows, you’re bound to fall in love with the lakeside, mountain-ringed town. But many of the Airbnbs in Queenstown go above and beyond, whether located in woodsy surrounds, scenic suburbs, or within walking distance of the main drag. Here are nine of the finest Queenstown Airbnbs.

In 2012, the government of Singapore set out to create a “City in a Garden,” a futuristic botanical garden that would showcase the city-state’s embrace of the future and add to its already distinct skyline. Singapore is small — 274 square miles — yet it managed to fit Gardens by the Bay, an area containing several hundred acres of lush greenery, a waterfall, 1.5 million plants, and the largest glass greenhouse in the world into its tiny frame. Many visitors to Gardens by the Bay come for the iconic Supertrees, Cloud Forest, and Flower Dome, but there are a number of lesser-known exhibits to walk through on a day trip to the Gardens by the Bay.

Summer may be coming to a close, but there's good news that comes with school being back in session: College campuses everywhere are springing back to life in full force. The Midwest is home to several of the best, with world-class museums, acclaimed restaurants, and notable festivals, boasting their own unique draws. And while autumn is always an exciting time to visit (think football and foliage), there’s enough happening in each of these destinations to warrant a getaway any time of year. From a bustling big-city suburb to a UNESCO City of Literature, here are the Midwest’s best college towns to visit now.

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If you spend a lot of time outdoors at night in the summer, you might be used to seeing shaky, silhouetted creatures flitting above. Maybe you’ve stopped to watch them skim over your garden at twilight, or you’ve caught them while you’re camping near a lake, or you just sense a brief flash of movement outside your window. Birdwatching is great, but bat-watching is another world entirely.