This may be Ronaldo Island but there’s more to Madeira than the football star’s hotel

The Portuguese discovered this remote archipelago, scattered 800 miles west of their mainland in the swirling mists of the Atlantic Ocean in the early 1500s. The Azores comprise nine islands, each a mythical, magical land of volcanoes, bubbling thermal waters, geysers of rising steam, turquoise-toned lagoons, and bottle-green lakes. With a landscape that seemed alive, it is no wonder that the population turned to the Holy Spirit for protection—an allegiance they still have today, as witnessed in the many shrines and chapels that dot the towns and villages. More than anything, devotion to the Holy Spirit is a defining element of being Azorean.

Among the many wonderful things about Greece is that everyone has a favorite island—and everyone is right. For veteran Forbes travel contributor Jim Dobson, that magical isle is Sifnos. Reachable by ferry from Athens in a little over two hours, Sifnos has beautiful beaches, numerous hiking trails along the Aegean Sea and a remarkable 237 churches. Here’s where to eat, stay and play on Sifnos.

A passenger on a low-cost airline in India discovered on Monday that she'd arrived in a city some 1,000 miles from her planned destination after being told to board the wrong flight.

For a little over two months, Emma Di Palma was planning a 10-day trip to Portugal with her live-in boyfriend. They would explore the southern part of the city and end their vacation in Lisbon.

This coming August, all eyes will turn to the beaches and stadiums of Rio de Janeiro, where the 2016 Summer Olympics will be in full swing. The Games are expected to bring athletes and tourists from across the globe to Brazil, and now for Americans, a huge hurdle has been removed. In a move to stimulate the Brazilian economy, the Brazilian government announced that it will waive visa requirements for citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan.

When it comes to lie-flat luxury on planes, transatlantic long-haul airlines like Emirates, Qatar, and Virgin Atlantic dominate the market. But now JetBlue is upping its flatbed seat count on short-haul flights, raising the question: Could the airline be readying for its own transatlantic routes?

When it comes to traveling abroad, there’s a lot more to it than just buying a plane ticket. You need to do your research. This means finding out if you need a visa, what the weather will be like, what kind of currency they use, etc. For more popular abroad destinations, this might mean a series of quick Google searches, but when you’re traveling somewhere off the beaten path, the information you need is not always readily available.

AirHelp, the online service that files complaints against airlines on behalf of passengers entitled to compensation for air delays or cancellations, knows a thing or two about air travel. Because it’s hard for the average person to understand air passenger rights and pursue a legal claim when they’ve been wronged, AirHelp is always going toe-to-toe with airlines and airports—and reveals once a year which ones that treat their passengers for the better (or worse).

Travel to Europe is going to get slightly more complicated in 2021. Starting that year, visitors from the U.S. will need to get an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) approval before entering countries in the Schengen zone. According to the delegation of the European Union to the U.S., the measure is not a Europe visa, but an authorization that “will enable us to get more comprehensive information from travelers coming from visa-exempt, third-country [nations] arriving at the Schengen external borders.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has barred residents of New York State from enrolling in or renewing membership in several “trusted traveler” programs including Global Entry. Specifically, the order covers four programs that expedite the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) entry process: