Latest news with #T+L
%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%2FTAL-header-truck-rv-BOUGHTRVNP0625-56f6010158e34194b25f6a729527e8c9.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Travel + Leisure
12 hours ago
- Travel + Leisure
How Winning a $15k Price From T+L Led Me to Buy an RV and Visit 20 National Parks Around the U.S.
The white was blindingly bright against the blue, cloudless sky. But it wasn't fresh snowfall; we were in the desert of New Mexico. It was gypsum—undulating dunes of gypsum sand, one after the other, stretching across the horizon. We were in White Sands National Park. The sun appeared gold on a distant spire. It could have been a golden temple in Thailand, but it was a distant mountain glowing at dusk. We were in Death Valley National Park. The trees dripped. The ocean below heaved. But it was quiet under the redwoods, their girth dwarfing our truck and trailer. We'd driven to Redwood National Park in northern California on the road trip of a lifetime. White Sands, Death Valley, Redwood—we visited 20 U.S. national parks and monuments on an 11,000-mile, two-month journey through southern and western America. And we have Travel + Leisure to thank for it. I entered T+L's World's Best Awards survey by rating hotels we'd stayed at in Singapore and Thailand. Then, I forgot about it. Months later, I received an email saying I might have won a prize. I thought it was a scam. But it wasn't: I had won $15,000. I thought, what could I do with $15,000? I could take a trip. In 48 years of marriage, we'd traveled to Europe, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, and China. We'd been to resorts and on cruises. But other than the Grand Canyon, I'd never been to the national parks. It had to be a road trip, and it required a traveling "home,' a recreational vehicle. The prize money from T+L helped us buy Rosie, a small camping trailer named for her likeness to the robot maid in The Jetsons . She had everything we needed: a queen-sized bed, a diminutive kitchen with a dinette, and a bathroom just big enough for Superman to change in. Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Jane Siegel/Travel + Leisure We left our home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Nov. 25, 2024. Our first national park was the smallest one: Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. We took the ratcheting little elevator up to the top of the world's tallest arch at 630 feet. The view from above St. Louis was pretty, but I found the one from below, at the base of the stainless-steel monument designed by Eero Saarinen, to be even better. We spent Thanksgiving near Oklahoma City, and had steak, eating local, instead of turkey. After a long drive following Route 66 through Texas and New Mexico, we visited Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Entire trees, some 200 feet tall, left where they fell in the Painted Desert more than 200 million years ago, are now crystalline. The Route 66 wall mural in Winslow, Arizona. Jane Siegel/Travel + Leisure Entering Death Valley National Park, we stopped at the first overlook, Zabriskie Point. The view was shocking: miles and miles of rock—mudstone badlands—filling the horizon. People were scrabbling over these enormous piles far off in the distance. It was just before Christmas, and The Inn at Death Valley, a restored adobe compound set in a desert-oasis garden, was decorated with pinyon pine. Frank Sinatra's voice, singing Christmas songs, wafted in the air. From our first view of El Capitan and Half Dome, Yosemite felt big—big sky, big climbs, big views. The valley is ringed by monumental granite walls, made famous by photographer Ansel Adams. On our second night, we visited The Ahwahnee hotel for dinner. Walking into the dining room, we were overwhelmed by the height of the windows at one end and the timbered ceiling beams above us. When we left Yosemite, snow was just starting to fall. Our last national park before the holidays was the Redwood. It was wet with rain, but silent under the protection of the big trees. We hiked quietly through the park, the only sounds the squishing of our shoes and the dripping of water onto our heads. The iconic Joshua trees in Californias Joshua Tree National Park. Jane Siegel/Travel + Leisure In January, we visited Sequoia National Park, California wine country, and Palm Springs, followed by Joshua Tree and Saguaro national parks. In Carlsbad Caverns, we walked 750 feet down into the earth, met at every turn with calcite formations. Big Bend National Park is in the southwest corner of Texas, along the Rio Grande. It's one of the biggest and most remote national parks, with 1,250 square miles that includes the Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountains, and spectacular river canyons. We hiked Santa Elena Canyon, its sheer walls rising in Mexico barely a stone's throw away. Traveling through Big Bend National Park in Texas. Jane Siegel/Travel + Leisure Our last park was a national parkway, the Natchez Trace, which follows an ancient trail used by Native Americans and explorers such as Daniel Boone, from Natchez, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee. We hiked parts of the Sunken Trace, a portion so deeply worn down that its walls can reach up to 15 feet above the trail. We arrived back in Michigan on Feb. 1, 2025. Rosie is now in storage, waiting for the next adventure. And I am itching to get back out again. The national parks restored in me a childlike sense of wonder. Every day brought something new to see. You should go. And when you see the next T+L contest, enter it. You might be surprised by what happens next.
%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%2FTAL-nice-france-UNITED2NICE0625-daba054a34a74957bdc6a4d1570e36ff.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Travel + Leisure
2 days ago
- Business
- Travel + Leisure
United's New Route Makes It Easier to Visit a European Beach Destination Famous for Lavender Fields and Celeb Spotting
Saying 'bonjour' to the French Riviera just got easier. United Airlines recently launched new service to France's Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) from Washington, D.C. (IAD). Best of all, the service operates four times a week and adds 30 percent more seats to the region compared to previous years, according to the airline. The new flight will operate from Washington, D.C. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The airline has assigned a Boeing 767-300 for the service, which runs seasonally now through Sept. 24. Travel + Leisure spotted flight availability throughout the summer season, with one-way fares starting at $439. 'We are excited to launch this further expansion of our route network from France to the U.S. and United's first-ever service from Nice to Washington D.C.,' Grégoire Dutoit, a sales manager at United, said in a statement to T+L. Nice has previously been described as "must-visit" and the "coolest place to be" in the French Riviera region by T+L. The region is home to famed lavender fields and the Cannes Film Festival, which brings global celebrities flocking to the area. The quaint corner of the French Riviera recently welcomed Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel, which features luxury accommodations with sweeping views of the coast. There's also Hôtel du Couvent, a 17th-century convent that underwent a $100 million renovation and features medieval-modern accommodations, along with a large underground spa. NCE is also a convenient entry point to Côte d'Azur area, which is roughly 1.5 hours away. What's more, this new route makes Monaco more accessible to travelers, as Nice is a quick 29-minute drive (traffic-permitting) from the independent city-state. The area is famously home to Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix as well as other tourist events. The U.S.-to-Nice route comes as United continues to expand its international route map, including new flights to popular destinations in Asia like Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. United is also enhancing its footprint in Europe, as the carrier recently announced new year-round service connecting San Francisco (SFO) and Paris (CDG).
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo pulled for extra screening by TSA over this common snack
Actor Ellen Pompeo revealed in an interview with T+L that she was detained by the Transportation Security Administration in March after officers flagged something suspicious on her bag of organic sunflower seeds. 'I had a bag of sunflower seeds, like organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, so they were probably the most expensive sunflower seeds money can buy. They literally held me for an hour, and they brought the bomb squad in,' she told the magazine. "I was like, what is happening? Is this a joke? They said it was most likely a chemical on the packaging of these super expensive, fancy, organic, clean sunflower seeds." Pompeo is hardly alone in having TSA delays caused by food. Anyone who has ever traveled with ground coffee or other containters of relatively small food items can probably attest that issues like this are common. The TSA recommends that travelers "separate items from carry-on bags such as foods, powders, and any materials that can clutter bags and obstruct clear images on the X-ray machine." One TSA agent recently told USA TODAY that some items frequently set off alarm bells, even though they're obviously harmless. If their chemical composition is too similar to a dangerous substance, the security officers proceed with caution and perform further tests. Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Ellen Pompeo had her flight snacks examined by TSA
%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%2FTAL-lost-cultures-podcast-cover-TLLCTEASER0525-1d3e63ff1b1c4debb5f9fb148ab0bb44.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Travel + Leisure
14-05-2025
- Travel + Leisure
T+L's Award-winning Podcast Returns for Season 2—and It's Taking Listeners From Bermuda to Norway
Travel + Leisure 's award-winning podcast, Lost Cultures: Living Legacies , is back with an all-new season filled with episodes highlighting the people who make some of our favorite travel destinations so special and culturally rich. Hosted by T+L's associate editorial director, Alisha Prakash, season two takes listeners on a multi-episode trip through communities whose histories continue to shape the world today. Last season, we heard from cultural experts in New York City's Lower East Side, once the epicenter of immigrant America, and Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, where the Maya still preserve millennia‑old rituals. We ventured to Egypt to learn more about the Nubians, traveled to Louisiana for a bit of Creole backstory, met the mysterious "painted people" known as the Picts—a once-prominent tribe in Scotland that nearly disappeared from history books—shared a conversation with the Taino people of the Caribbean, and sailed to the remote Rapa Nui (also known as Easter Island) to discover how islanders carry their ancestors' legacy forward. Each episode features engaging conversations with archaeologists, chefs, artists, and local stewards who are working hard to ensure their cultures live on forever. We're expanding our reach in season two, spotlighting more celebrated and little-known cultures. First stop: Bermuda. "Bermuda's living legacy is its people. I think we are pretty special," Dr. Kristy Warren, a Bermudian and professor at the University of Lincoln in England, shares in the episode. "There aren't many of us in the world, and we seem to be able to punch above our weight. We show up in all sorts of areas of life and across the world." From there, we set our sights on Hawaii to meet the Kānaka Maoli, the ultimate ocean navigators, then on to Norway, where the Indigenous Sami await. Then, it's off to Asia to explore the Baghdadi Jewish community of India, back to the U.S. for a conversation with the Indigenous Narragansett community in Rhode Island, and more. Each episode delves into the heart of why we're having these conversations in the first place: What can we learn about a place when we explore the histories of those who once lived there, and live there still? So, go ahead, toss on your headphones, and stay tuned for new episodes each week, with our first episode premiering May 21 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Player FM, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and everywhere podcasts are available.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mexico to Charge Cruise Line Passengers a Tax—Here's What Travelers Need to Know
Travelers will soon be responsible for paying a $5 fee on cruises to Mexico. The amount is significantly less than the originally planned $42 fee. Cruise operators will collect the fee from passengers. A cruise stop in Mexico just got more expensive this summer travel a $42 cruise ship fee had been scheduled to take effect for all passengers this summer, industry leaders and the Mexican government have come to a compromise. Instead of the high tax on those cruising into the ports of Mexico, passengers will only be responsible for a $5 fee per guest. The charge will be added to each cruise fare and collected by the cruise operators. The fee begins on July 1, and will increase to $10 on August 1, 2026. It will subsequently increase to $15 on July 1, 2027, and then $21 on August 1, 2028. It was not revealed what will happen to the fee after the 2028 cruise season. (All of the denominations are in U.S. dollars.)The fee and negotiations were confirmed to Travel + Leisure by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), which acts as an industry representative for 95 percent of all cruise capacity in both the Caribbean and Latin America. "[W]e thank the Federal Government of Mexico for working with us to reach an 'in transit fee' agreement that safeguards cruise tourism to the country and aims to enhance the benefits for local communities whose livelihoods depend on it,' a FCCA spokesperson shared in a statement to T+L. Related | 10 of the Best Mexico Cruises to Book Right Now | Learn More Mexico is a popular cruising destination, with large operators such as Carnival, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Margaritaville at Sea, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and Virgin Voyages offering sailings throughout the region. Cruise industry insiders say that the agreement will be helpful at a time when the region will likely experience significant growth."Mexico has been and will continue to be an important destination for cruises," Josh Tolkin, a cruise expert and vice president of supplier relations for World Travel Holdings, told T+L. "With capacity growing 34 percent in 2025, another increase of 16 percent in 2026, and additional investments being made—such as new ships in the market and Royal Caribbean building another Perfect Day there, it's important that there were agreed upon terms with minimal impact to our customers."Some of the top ports for cruise ships in Mexico include Cabo San Lucas, Cancun, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
