The Best Luggage on Amazon, According to Our Editors and Thousands of Reviews

“In Cuba, nothing is exact. That is the appeal of the place,” wrote award-winning Cuban novelist Pedro Juan Gutiérrez in his book Our Graham Greene in Havana. This inexactness, and its simultaneously volatile yet enduring qualities, are what define Cuba and its vibrant capital. Stuffed full of plazas, baroque beauties, twirling ironwork, buffed-up vintage American motors and limping Ladas, Havana is a city of tremendous beauty soldiering on through dire times marked by power shortages, transport issues, external and internal blockades, inflation, and a slow post-pandemic tourism recovery.

Jul 18, 2024 • 6 min read

Qatar Airways was declared the best airline in the world at the 2024 Airline Awards in London on June 24. Qatar beat out Singapore Airlines, last year’s winner, who slipped to the number two spot this year. Emirates, ANA All Nippon Airways, and Cathay Pacific Airways completed the top five. No North American airline made the top twenty, with Delta narrowly missing out at 21. Other North American airlines that made the top 50 are Air Canada (29) and United Airlines (42). In fact, those three airlines are the only North American airlines to receive any Airline Awards. Other popular North American airlines like American, JetBlue, and Southwest failed to even be mentioned for any individual award.

Expect more private equity deals in the tour operator and travel agency sectors.

Jul 17, 2024 • 8 min read

Jul 17, 2024 • 7 min read

When settling on a place to live, cost of living is certainly a factor. But so is the recreation opportunities.

Los Angeles has the most sleep-friendly airport in the United States thanks to an overabundance of lounges open day and night.

I'm zooming across Gull Lake in a Malibu Wakesetter 22 LSV powerboat, which I've been told has enough torque to rocket me to the moon. The water is 77 degrees, warmed by a sun that just won't quit. Captain Amanda Nash and instructor Matt Soundy barely look old enough to drink, yet both are skilled wake surfers, excited to show me their TikTok moves. They're living the wet, hot American dream here in central Minnesota: zigzagging across six-foot swells, sucking down root beer floats, and partying every night after work. They're fun gossips too, pointing out the rumored lake homes of Tom Cruise and some med-tech bajillionaire who allegedly imported his own beach sand because the lake sand wasn't “white enough.” I enjoy the chitchat, but I'm here to launch my own wakeboarding career—one of several ways I'm trying to embrace the “lake life” I've heard so much about since moving to Minnesota six years ago. The state is the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” as its license plates proudly attest, but as my New Yorker husband, Andrew, and I learned, that motto rounds the number down: There are actually 11,842, if you want to get persnickety about it.

As the steaminess of summer sets in — and with it, long, sunny days followed by warm, starry nights — who doesn't dream of taking off and getting away? We know that there is no one-size-fits-all trip when it comes to summer vacation, though, and everyone needs a little inspiration sometimes. After all, some travelers are searching for ocean breezes and ample pool time, while others might look for destinations with an excellent food scene or a buzzy, cosmopolitan nightlife.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ivette Cuevas, a café owner living in Costa Rica, and her 16-year-old son, Vincent Alcampo. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Several airports across the Caribbean have closed and airline travel alerts issued as Hurricane Beryl barrels toward Jamaica.