International tips

There's nothing that gets a traveler's heart racing like the impeding doom of missing a connecting flight. We've all been there: wildly sprinting through the airport terminal, hoping against hope that the boarding door hasn’t closed yet. Then, the worst feeling of them all: finding the door closed shut but the plane still there—and you're not allowed on it.

On an otherwise unremarkable Saturday in Tucson last month, I visited the intersection of the Harlem Renaissance and romance lit with Netflix darling Tia Williams, brushed up on global security threats with MSNBC contributors Barbara McQuade and Frank Figliuzzi, got an easy Roman-Jewish cake recipe from cookbook wunderkind Leah Koenig, and caught a dramatic reading by National Humanities Medal winner Abraham Verghese. All before lunch. And tens of thousands of people around me were doing much the same thing: making the rounds at the famed Tucson Festival of Books, where I’d decided to spend a few hours on a trip to see my parents. As I began to realize the more people I met in line, many had come to town just for this.

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Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Qatar was just named the best airport in the world in the 2024 Skytrax awards, knocking 12-time winner Singapore Changi Airport down to second place.

If there’s anything that sparks spirited debate among airline passengers, it’s the flight boarding process. No matter what system the airlines develop, the process always feels like a struggle, and some passengers are invariably left disgruntled. Airlines must balance the often-conflicting goals of loading a plane quickly and efficiently with rewarding passengers who purchase high-fare tickets or have airline status that includes an early boarding perk. Given airlines’ constantly increasing fees for checked bags, the passenger battle over early boarding in order to snag coveted carry-on space is likely to only get worse.

With the Paris Olympics a few months away, booking a hotel in the French capital may as well be a competitive sport. Thankfully, the editors of Forbes Travel Guide have eased some of the preparation by revealing the 30 best hotels in Paris. From five-star grande dame properties, to chic boutiques, here’s where to stay in the City of Light.

Priority Pass has revealed its best-rated airport lounges around the world — and you're definitely going to want to tick off a few of them on future trips.

The 28th annual edition of the international art fair Miart last week kicked off a month of art, architecture, design and fashion in Italy’s most fashionable city. With 180 galleries from 28 countries showing more than 1,000 artworks, Milan’s international fair has a well-deserved reputation for carefully selected galleries. The fair has made a stellar effort to stand out among the hundreds of annual art fairs that include mammoth fairs like Frieze and Art Basel by focusing on Italian galleries and by taking the unusual decision to have the emerging galleries, rather than the established blue chip galleries, right at the front of the fair.

On a recent visit to Hong Kong, I visited The Pier, a Cathay Pacific first-class lounge, before my flight to New York.

Qatar’s Hamad International Airport has, for the second consecutive year, been voted the world’s best airport for shopping at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2024 which took place last week. The accolade is an affirmation of a determination at the Qatar Airways hub to create a world-class retail destination ever since its inception in April 2014.

One of the quirkier aspects of flying out of Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C., is getting set for a major face-lift.

For the uninitiated, the Bicycle Day international holiday might suggest a celebration of bicycles and riding bikes. But that’s only part of the story.

Not all airports are created equal. Some are soulless, clinical spaces with little more than bright blueish lighting and endless corridors. They are nothing but a functional building from which to launch your next adventure, be it a weekend away with friends or a big solo trip in a new, far-flung destination.

Apart from the essential ingredients of the flying experience—the type of aircraft and seat, the quality of the service and how smooth the flight path is-details also play a role in that experience. That’s something executives at American Airlines have heard from customer surveys with the result a rollout of new onboard amenities due to take to the skies on over 300 international and transcontinental flights beginning Memorial Day weekend in Flagship® First Class, Flagship® Business Class and Premium Economy Cabins.

If you travel internationally at least a couple times per year, chances are you’ve thought about applying for Global Entry. The program gives members access to an expedited line at US Customs and Immigration checkpoints, allowing them to avoid lengthy wait times that become particularly painful during peak travel seasons. Although the Global Entry application process can take weeks or months to complete in full, it's a must-have for frequent flyers who want to make their airport experience as convenient as possible.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has once again been crowned the busiest airport in the world, serving a whopping 104.6 million travelers in 2023. The Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association of the world’s airports, published its annual rankings on Monday. Most notably, Atlanta’s international airport saw an 11.7% increase in traffic from the previous year when it also ranked as the busiest airport in the world.   The demand for domestic flights remained robust, with ACI’s report indicating a recovery of 96.8% of the 2019 passenger traffic level. However, the most encouraging trend was the resurgence of international air travel, which experienced a robust 36.5% growth and welcomed 90.4% of passengers from pre-pandemic numbers in 2019. 

One of the great pleasures of traveling to foreign shores is to dive mouth-first into the local cuisine. Whether it’s the tastiest Thai pad kra pao or the best German bratwurst, sampling national and regional foods is a fantastic way to get a true taste of new cultures. Also, most of them are delicious!

Turkey is one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world—so it only makes sense that its largest city would be home to some pretty decent wine bars and wine-focused restaurants with great local wine.

The Federal Aviation Administration just lifted a nationwide ground stop for Alaska Airlines.

Outdoor enthusiasts looking to save on their next trip national park trip need to look no further.A new report from flight price tracking service Going reveals that some parks are cheaper to fly to than others due to their location and surrounding airports. The cheapest National Park to fly to is Indiana Dunes National Park, which has four nearby airports that travelers can choose to fly into, including Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Midway, and Indianas' South Bend Regional Airport, and Gary/Chicago International Airport.

After years of delays and anticipation, Lufthansa's new Allegris product equipped with state-of-the-art first- and business-class seats will take flight for the first time in a matter of days.