Leisure tips

Iceland’s Blue Lagoon reopened over the weekend for the first time since closing over volcanic activity last month.

The holidays are almost upon us, but there's still time to snap up some great gifts for the travelers in your life (or maybe just for yourself) at great prices.

Visitors to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center can now step inside a Blue Origin crew capsule in the first-ever permanent exhibit for Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space company.

‘Tis the season for traveling, and US government officials are urging travelers to make sure they know their rights ahead of time.

Nathan Phillips Square is the heart of downtown Toronto with a lively yet laid-back atmosphere. The newly transformed Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, across the street from the main square, has a similar sense of vivacity and easygoing sophistication. On a recent trip, there was a humming bustle of locals and travelers alike in the inviting lobby, which recently had a modern makeover. With cozy lounge areas, flexible gathering spaces, and artistic nods to Toronto, the hotel is the ideal resting point for business and leisure travelers who want to stay near the city’s main attractions and gathering points.

Airport security may look a little more like a self-checkout counter next year thanks to a new technology the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is testing.

Airlines in the United States are expecting very busy, and even record-breaking, holiday traffic this year as the Christmas and New Year’s holidays approach.

Low-cost airline Breeze Airways is adding to its warm-weather routes next year with seasonal flights from Connecticut to Orlando and new service from the New England state to Orange County, California.

It just got easier to visit Jamaica — for an affordable price.

The Cali Pass just got a major upgrade in time for ski and snowboard season.

As we head into the holidays, air travelers know all too well what to expect—the usual toxic brew of overcrowded airports, understaffed check-in counters, and clogged security lanes.

This year my family decided to skip the traditional turkey ‘round the table Thanksgiving. We figured let’s not take a few days off and treat this long weekend like a mini-vacation. Stuffing, be damned! So we took to Palm Springs and spent four gloriously sunny days at The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa and possibly developed a new tradition in the process.

Delta Air Lines seemingly wasn't successful in its coast-to-coast missions from New York's most convenient airport.

“Our goal is not to replace our workers, but rather empower them to make them more productive so they can automate certain tasks and focus on providing more value to our customers,” explains Adrian Lopez, who recently stepped into a newly created role as Head of AI for Corporate at Flight Centre Travel Group(FCTG).

Disclosure: TPG accepted a comped round-trip ticket from United for the SFO-CHC flight to get access to the events and executives on board. TPG paid $574.67 for a positioning flight to SFO and for other associated costs, such as hotel and ground transportation.

High-speed rail in the United States may soon be a reality. The White House recently announced the allocation of $8.2 billion in funding for several key rail projects including a Las Vegas to Los Angeles corridor; a Raleigh, North Carolina to Richmond, Virginia, route; new service throughout California’s central valley; and more. The investment is a component of President Joe Biden’s “Investing in America” Agenda.  While high-speed rail has been a popular wish among travelers for many years, the allocation of funding helps put the project in motion, with one administration official sharing with Travel + Leisure that the Las Vegas to Los Angeles route could be completed in advance of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. “If you’ve ever seen the standard of passenger rail service in Japan, Germany, Spain, or Italy, and come home and wondered, 'Why can’t we have these nice things?’ This is the beginning of the answer to that. Help is on the way,” Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, told T+L during a press briefing on the announcement.  Buttigieg said that the lack of investment in new rail services over the last several decades is a trend that is now being reversed and that while change won’t happen overnight, travelers will see improvements within a few years.  Over 35 rail projects were named as part of the funding announcement, including: 

High-speed rail company Brightline is making celebrating the holidays easy this year with $39 sale fares during Christmas and New Year’s.

Delta Air Lines will launch flights from Seattle to Taiwan next summer, flying direct from the United States to the island for the first time.

United Airlines is launching a new route next year from San Francisco to Barcelona, making it easier to get to the popular European city in time for summer.

If you’ve read the various hot takes on the state of the housing market as indexed by Airbnb revenue, here are a few concerns you can put to rest. What will happen to the housing market in a recession is anybody’s guess, but speaking purely of Airbnb as a stock, the company has a few things going for it.

Hope you’re having a good week so far. Hello from across the pond — I’m in London bringing you a European edition today. I was here to moderate a panel discussion at the Short Term Rentalz Summit yesterday and it was delightful.