Things to do tips

While many travel companies fret over delivering personalized recommendations to potential or existing customers through artificial intelligence and other technologies, Tripadvisor is supplementing those efforts the old-fashioned way — by emailing a quiz.

In a move to prioritize resources, Google Travel eliminated the feature that enabled Gmail users to view their past and upcoming trips, including everything from accommodations reservations to flights and things to do bookings, on google.com/travel.

Tripadvisor is currently attempting a turnaround under a new CEO hired in 2022, and one of the reasons it needs one is Google had used its market power to divert users to sponsored ads and take back the free traffic Tripadvisor benefited from.

The capital of Japan is famously crowded, colorful and charismatic. Toyko is also great fun for families, with a host of attractions that offer maximum amusement for tiny travelers, from giant video game arcades to the anime-focused Ghibli Museum.

Exploring Japan's capital is a mind-blowing experience, but it can also blow your budget. Don't despair – there’s an abundance of things to do and see in Tokyo that don’t cost a single yen. From gardens and temples to contemporary art, sumo practice and a world-famous fish market, here's a list of Tokyo's best free attractions.

Toyko is the megacity that other world capitals look up to. Nowhere else has quite the same mix of timeless history and space-age tech, of strict tradition and up-to-the-second fashions, of bewildering crowds and moments of utter serenity. It's the past and future wrapped up together into one thrilling package – and understandably, it's one of the top tourist destinations on the planet.

A land that mesmerizes with its natural beauty as much as it enchants with its traditional culture, Mongolia is an adventure like no other.

Benin is the birthplace of voodoo – a religion that worships natural spirits and reveres ancestors. It was also a significant source for transatlantic slave traders. A history you’ll learn more about at its museums. 

With its puffing volcanoes, pounding surf, sprawling salt flats and glistening glaciers, Chile is the ultimate wonderland for South American adventures. But you don’t need to be a skier, surfer or hiker to find something fun to do here.

Granada is Spain’s cultured, creative southern city; a place with a storied past centering on the Alhambra, one of the world’s great human-made wonders.

With a durable peace deal in place that has opened up vast swathes of the countryside and an ever-growing number of international visitors, Colombia has become one of the most sought after stops on any South American ticket.

While Colombia is an affordable destination overall, visiting touristy Cartagena can leave your wallet feeling lighter.

Morocco is a country of dazzling diversity, from its ancient cities and craggy mountain ranges to rolling deserts and deserted beaches. 

There are many Indias within India. This land of ancient temples and opulent palaces, forgotten cities and lost traditions, spice markets and spicy food is almost a world unto itself. For many travelers, a visit here is the trip of a lifetime.

While you might have heard of North Dakota’s largest city, Fargo, from the Coen Brothers' 90s hit movie Fargo or the recent television series with the same title, the Midwestern city attracts hockey enthusiasts, college football fans, and those in love with the Great Plains to the Peace Garden State. With new hotel openings, the renovation of a Radisson Blu, and the opening of a community square—all taking place within the past two years, the city is reimagining its downtown area.

The United States is vast and varied, spanning roughly 3000 miles from east to west and 1650 miles from north to south – and that’s not including Alaska and Hawaii.

Historical streets, mountain trails, trendy markets and one-of-a-kind museums coexist in Colombia’s capital city, located 2600 meters (8530ft) above the sea.

It's a city that's famously blustery, hilly, and wet—but a common refrain among Wellingtonians is that you can’t beat Wellington on a good day. And they have a point: New Zealand’s compact capital is a picturesque city, curled around a sparkling harbor notched into the very bottom of the North Island. Emerald hills rise around the center, and bright, weatherboard villas spill down their steep slopes to meet the waterfront.

Fear not, financially challenged traveler, Bogotá has a bounty of free and economical things to do if you know where to look. Public transportation is cheap and much of the art and entertainment requires neither a ticket nor a tuxedo – it’s played out on the street. 

Auckland is a city with many faces. Known locally by its Māori name, Tāmaki Makaurau, the city has a cosmopolitan heart with some of the best dining, drinking, and shopping in the country. Yet, urban sprawl quickly gives way to landscapes of New Zealand’s signature beauty here; to the west, the forested hills of the Waitākere Ranges border black sand beaches pummeled by surf. To the east of the city is the island-studded Waitematā Harbor.

Closer to Barcelona than it is to Paris, Toulouse’s peach-tiled roofs and long days of sunshine give its historic center a Mediterranean look, but without some of the high prices you might find on the well-heeled Riviera.