Adventure Starts Here.
Every journey brings you closer to new places, to people you love, to family, and to yourself. Let’s make your next escape unforgettable.
Westin and Le Meridien Hotels have just introduced new family programs, they say, in response to a changing global demand for family travel. Rather than focusing on a kids club, this idea stresses that playing “knows no borders or language barriers but rather inspires kids to explore learn and build relationships.”
Is paying extra for premium economy worth the extra price? Sometimes, you get a lot for your buck; other times you wonder what you paid for.
I’m speechless. You would be too with a menacing Darth Vader haranguing you behind his black helmet and costume. But then I laugh and we pose for a picture. This is Disneyland, after all, at its immersive best.
What was a room I have only seen on television was a standard NBA Press Conference room. It was open seating, so I sat in a comfortable second row to await for LA Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers. Journalists were not shy asking about the tough questions.
I walked into the entrance of Star Tours–The Adventures Continue. That was the first ride of the day, yet I wondered, “What galactic troubles can I get into next…?”
This year, I hope everyone gets something they can use on their next trip, wherever they want to go, even if they are simply heading to a nearby city.
For many families, sharing holiday displays, whether at a theme park, a hotel or a nearby neighborhood is an annual tradition that gets everyone away from pre-holiday chores and stress. It’s just these days, you’ll find Santa, elves and millions of lights at the ready long before the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone.
When the two Whitaker teens talk about their holiday trip to Tanzania two Christmases ago, it’s not the animals they saw on safari that proved the most memorable, as amazing as the elephants and giraffes were. It’s how they helped a small unofficial orphanage.
At a time when hotels catered to businessmen, not families, Walt Disney thought there should be a place where families could continue the fun they had in Disneyland. On the same day.
The Force Awakens at Disneyland today, just in time for the holidays –and of course the much-awaited Star Wars movie debuting Dec 18.
I love Yellowstone in winter — no crowds, lots of animals and the chance to see Old Faithful and other thermal features without any crowds. (Did you know Yellowstone has more thermal features than anywhere in the world — 10,000 bubbling mud pots, hot springs and geysers?) Honestly, we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
Kids of all ages give high marks to Royal Caribbean’s second Quantum Class ship Anthem of the Seas which will be home-ported year round in Cape Liberty, NJ.
The Museum of History and Industry, now in the historic Naval Reserve Armory at Lake Union Park, boasts the largest heritage organization in Washington State with nearly 4 million artifacts. It is a good place to start any family visit to Seattle.
They were among the best baseball players in the United States, traveling cross-country to play the game they loved before cheering fans. But they were often forced to sleep on their bus and eat peanut butter crackers.
News release: Family Travel Influencers at 5th TMS Family Travel Conference prove to be case study in travel industry content paradigm shift to social media
Ashford Castle, in western Ireland on 350 acres along the shores of Lough Corrib and the River Cong, is famous for its fishing and falconry but if you’re a boy just staying in a bona-fide castle is the real attraction.
Tiny Telluride is a popular place. Nestled in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado, the mountain range has the highest concentration of 13,000 and 14,000 foot peaks in North America
No, I’m not a little early, though Halloween is nearly a month away. That’s because everyone from hotels to theme park to attractions to campgrounds to museums now have special Halloween doings that typically go on all month long.
We’ve signed on for Seattle’s only chef-led tour of the market with Elizabeth McClure’ new company Eat Seattle Tours. She also does cooking classes in the Market’s Atrium Kitchen, shopping with the students first for ingredients .
It is Friday night in Seattle. But what’s interesting is the Sazerac with its distinctive chandeliers and hip-but-casual vibe and food best described as modern South meets Northwest is in Kimpton’s Monaco Hotel.
Seattle has always been a center of innovation and it’s on display at the Bezos Center of Innovation at the Museum of History and Industry. Did you know the Native Americans and traders invented a whole new language?
Take advantage of the glorious fall weather wherever you live to get them away from electronics — you too — for a day or a weekend and head to a fall festival, an apple orchard or a pumpkin patch.
I’ve got chills as Amber Whaley, 12, and her friend Miko Uno, 11, lead us into their elementary school’s basement. This was all that was all that remained of the Honkawa Elementary School when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima 70 years ago this past August 6.
Visit Mexico during an annual festival and you will have special insight into the country’s cultural traditions and heritage. Mexico, of course, is a lot more than the sum of its beaches, as wonderful as they are.
Are you a windshield tourist? That’s what they call the many visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park who simply traverse the park’s famous 30-plus mile Newfound Gap Road through the park and don’t get out of the car much, if at all.
There’s shop after shop of kitchen wares—ceramic sake cups, wooden bowls for miso soup, colorful bowls for rice, all varieties of chop sticks and of course hand-made Japanese knives that will be engraved on the spot with your name in Japanese. And everything is a bargain!
If you think a 14-course dinner might be a little much to handle, come sample Chef Kenichiro Ooe’s fare at Kozue on the 40th floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo with stellar views of the city.
The Honkawa Elementary School is in the heart of Hiroshima and when the Atomic Bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, all but one of the 420 students and teachers perished. Today is a again a bustling school and a memorial to those who died.
I know a lot of kids don’t even read “real” books anymore. Everyone is all about interactive books kids can read on tablets with all sorts of fun features. But there’s still something to be said for stopping in at a local bookstore — or a national park visitor center — and browsing their collection of children’s books.
These aren’t just any comics. These are the enormously popular and traditional Manga, the basis for Anime, at the Kyoto International Manga Museum which is run by Kyoto Seika University and the Kyoto City Government. The University teaches aspiring Manga artists and writers in its design and fine arts department.
Welcome to the traditional Japanese Riokan. There are these hotels all around Japan, some in the mountains, which offer the chance to try the Japanese hot springs baths called onseng
Kyoto is famous for its Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. This morning, we’re cycling a 14-mile loop with Kyoto Cycling Tour Project with stops at the Golden Pavilion and Ryoanji Temple with its world-famous rock garden – two of the city’s and Japan’s top tourist attractions.
No cruise is complete without its follies and unexpected discoveries.
Listen up parents — if you thought the educational part of cruising was only seeing historic and cultural sites, you were wrong. It seems much more cultural exchange happens right on board at the kids’ and teen club, kids say.
The ship staff had warned that navigating on your own in Japan is different than elsewhere. Very few locals speak English and signs are only in Japanese. I understand now why in the U.S. Japanese tourists always move in a group with a guide.
Visit Orlando’s magical dining month, which starts August 24 and continues throughout September and highlights many restaurants offering prix fixe dinners for $33. (Ready to share with your junior foodie?)
Good news! I’m going to live at least seven years longer. That’s because I’ve visited a Japanese Onseng—a hot springs resort. They are ubiquitous in Japan—there are thousands of them.
The on board Izumi Japanese Bath features indoor and outdoor bathing experiences ($15 for 90 minute visit), including misted steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi and hot tubs, some open to the sky.
Like other cruise lines, Princess offers specialty restaurants on board for which you pay an extra fee.
Like on other cruise lines, the specialty restaurants offer an enhanced experience.
We’re in Kushiro, Japan, on the island of Hokkaido, and are visiting the Japanese Crane Reserve on a shore excursion from the Diamond Princess, which is spending the morning here.
Until I came aboard in Yokohama, I hadn’t thought much about the cruise experience being educational but here, with more than 1000 Japanese passengers, we westerners are getting a lesson in Japanese culture and food.
We are at Ireland’s School of Falconry — the oldest in the country and home to more than 30 birds, including the always popular Dingle the owl. The school is located at Ashford Castle
It is eight in the morning and we are at Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji Fish Market, Japan’ largest. More than 15,000 people work here; international tourists line up in the early hours of the morning for the chance to watch the famous auctions of the fish, including the tuna.
The Mizuki Spa at the Conrad Tokyo is the largest spa of its kind in Tokyo and boasts Tokyo’s only true Hinoki bath. Treatments are inspired by the moon and the water.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the largest children’s museum in the world, hopes to inspire children—and their families—to think about religion in new ways with the opening of National Geographic Sacred Journeys on Aug 29.
Jake and Tobey Bill, ages 12 and 13 from Weston CT, went on a “Safari In Style” tour of Tanzania with the tour operator Abercrombie & Kent. They had heard great things about Africa and watched a few PBS specials about it, but nothing prepared them for what them saw and experienced in this amazing place.
The 91-year-old had chosen the Windstar Star Legend, a 212-passenger ship for a cruise with her 17-year-old grandson— one of three yachts without the line’s famous sails that the company has recently acquired from Seabourn
Sixteen-year-old Enesi Domi shares his daily diary from a youth service experience in the Dominican Republic with the community service organization Rustic Pathways. This is the second of two installments. More than 5000 youths will go on Rustic Pathways service trips this year.
Sixteen-year-old Enesi Domi shares his daily diary from a youth service experience in the Dominican Republic with the community service organization Rustic Pathways. This is the first of two installments. More than 5000 youths will go on Rustic Pathways service trips this year.
“It’s like you are on top of the world you’re so high,” said Aman Gaudani, from Oakbridge, NJ who was taking in the view from the newly opened One World Observatory, atop the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
Browse through a selection of travel ideas for cities, countries, and unique regions that offer memorable experiences for every type of traveler.
Escape to the outdoors where lush parks, scenic trails, and serene natural retreats provide the space to relax, recharge, and experience the world in its purest form.
Every destination has its own flavor. Let the food take you on a journey through local traditions, and unforgettable meals.
