Valarie D’Elia, Travel Reporter on TV and Radio, Dies at 64

5-day forecast cone for Hurricane Milton. (Photo Credit: National Hurricane Center)

Last year, I took my family of three from Orlando to Southern California for a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood .

An Army contractor and his girlfriend used government funds to finance personal vacations across the country, including 31 trips to Orlando, federal prosecutors say.

I took my first river cruise somewhat reluctantly. It was on my mom's bucket list, and I love my mom. So I agreed to a Columbia and Snake River cruise on American Cruise Lines that would take us from Idaho through Washington to Oregon, with stops in sleepy towns ripe with Lewis and Clark history.

While 2024 represented the ‘Year of the Great Recharge’ as sleep retreats made headlines, Hilton’s annual Trends Report indicates that travelers are looking to pair their desire to relax and recharge with high-impact adventures and experiences to maximize their time and financial investment. 

Delta Air Lines is on a roll in Austin with plans to add five new routes next year.

When Erin Hynes and Lucas Amormino quit their jobs in Canada to travel around the world for six months, most of their loved ones were supportive.

From #BookTok to celebrity book clubs to high-profile literary film adaptations, it's safe to say that reading hasn't been this cool in years. So it's not a big surprise that our favorite nerdy pastime has also begun to seep into the world of nightlife.

There are two types of train trip: The long, slow, and often luxurious train journey that takes you through beautiful scenery that you book specifically to spend time on the rails; and the speedy, no-nonsense, cheap train ride you take to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In the first category, you’ll find grand trips like Australia’s The Ghan, South Africa’s Blue Train, and Britain’s Caledonian Sleeper. In the second, there are trips from London to Brussels in just two hours, from Rome to Venice in four hours, and from Miami to Orlando in three hours. And if you’re a train traveler who belongs to the second category and likes getting places fast without flying, there are plenty of trains in this world that do just that at speeds previously unimaginable on land, including the fastest train in the world and its closest competitors.

The best thing about August isn’t the searing heat – it’s the fact that summer has matured and there’s been (hopefully) plenty of time to get out and test new gear. Matador’s editors tested everything from socks and underwear to luggage to mountain bike gloves this month, and below is the stuff we loved most. The editor who recommended each is listed, so if you have beef – or a competing product – you know who to contact. Preference was given, as it should be, to brands working towards more sustainable production methods.

Southeastern France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is famous for some big things, from Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, and the rolling landscapes that unfurl below it to the millennia-spanning architecture that defines the region’s capital city, Lyon, and beyond. Ironically, one of the best ways to experience all that grandeur is to think small — that is, to visit the small towns that reflect the best of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes’ endless outdoor possibilities, robust agriculture and gastronomy, and long history and cultural heritage.

I think of myself as a well-traveled individual with a very solid knowledge of geography and tourist sights. Most of the people at Matador Network see themselves in the same way. After all, we live and breathe travel day in, day out. Yet, apparently, none of us know much about Germany.