The best islands in the Great Lakes

I was 20 years old and had J Robert Oppenheimer's house all to myself. From the porch of the small yellow cottage, four steps led down to the beach where coconut trees swooped low at the water's edge and the Evian-clear Caribbean gently lapped the sugar-white sand. Day after day, I'd hike here after work to marvel at the parrotfish, butterflyfish and hawksbill turtles that glided between the shallow coral reefs, never once seeing another soul. 

Compared to the typical Latin American tamale — a corn-based mixture steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf — the Mississippi Delta’s iteration is smaller, spicier, meatier and often simmered rather than steamed. Some say the dish came from Mexican migrants or soldiers in the Mexican American war; its origins may lie in Native American cuisine, or hail from the African dish, kush — cornbread hash. The flavours are as varied as the backstory — here are some of the best places to try them.

Late last year, I was itching to leave my hometown of Los Angeles and booked a short trip to the East Coast. But, as soon as I boarded my return flight, I realized I couldn't wait to get back home.

On a Saturday morning in the Lake District, perhaps at the base of a popular fell or along the shores of a placid lake, you might think you were at a countryside Crufts. The region’s footpaths are bustling with spaniels, labradors and golden retrievers – and the ubiquitous cockapoo, of course – all in procession, dragging their owners up hills or along forested trails, tongues out, tails wagging, noses poised to sniff the behind of anything they might pass.

OAG, which dubs itself an “air travel intelligence company,” has released its top-10 rankings of the most and least punctual airlines in 2016. The group analyzed 54 million flight records using full-year data from 2016 to compile the list, and for the purposes of the study defined “on-time” as “a flight that arrives or departs within 14 minutes and 59 seconds (under 15 minutes) of its scheduled arrival/departure time.”

This month saw the launch of what many in the travel blogosphere are calling the best travel-rewards credit card ever: the Sapphire Reserve Visa card from Chase.

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.

In this time of isolation, businesses and individuals around the world are sending out messages of hope. Discover, in photos, how we’re keeping our spirits up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Glacier National Park is one of the most gorgeous parks in the national park system. The sprawling park is in northern Montana and is home to some of the oldest glaciers in the US — not to mention wildlife like grizzly and brown bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, pumas, wolves, elk, moose, and more. The park has gorgeous day hikes running between half a mile or 20 miles, and some of the best backcountry backpacking in the US. You can even hike from the US into Waterton Lakes National Park, the attached national park just on the other side of the US-Canada border.

There’s only one place on Earth where you can see swimming iguanas, lava lizards, and giant tortoises: the Galápagos Islands. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1978, the archipelago off the shore of South America is a must-visit destination for anyone with a passion for fauna and flora, and their protection. 97 percent of the land was designated as a national park in 1959, and over 51,000 square miles of ocean around the islands have been a protected marine reserve since 1986, making for a destination where you’re a guaranteed to be immersed in nature and observe unique wildlife.

Lake Como, or Lago di Como, is what the Riviera is to France: An area of the country that is so beautiful and serene it has attracted the rich and famous for centuries. (It is no secret that George Clooney has a swanky villa along the lake.) All these wealthy celebrities have managed to create a bubble of luxury around this magnificent part of northern Italy by building immense and luxurious villas along the lake’s shore, but if you’re a non-millionaire traveler who wants in on the action, worry not, there are ways to have a good and affordable time on the shore of Italy’s most famous lake.

There are few tourism destinations out there that have avoided the scourge of high-rise condos, Quarter Pounders, and traffic lights. And if that destination happens to be our planet at its most beautiful? Forget about it.