Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Peru's Cruz del Sur elevates sleeper bus luxury
Its sleeper buses pair seats that recline up to 160 degrees with hot meals and personal entertainment screens for long Andean routes.
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A ferry ride through volcanic ash
The 15-minute Sakurajima Ferry crossing runs around the clock near one of Japan’s most active volcanoes. Passengers can eat udon while volcanic ash coats the…
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Budapest's historic baths turn into giant raves
On weekend nights, Budapest's Széchenyi Baths trade quiet relaxation for “sparties,” with thousands of clubbers dancing in the heated outdoor pools as lasers…
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An Åland stop helps Baltic ferries keep duty-free shops
The islands sit outside the EU's VAT and excise territory, creating a tax exception for routes that call there. That makes the port stop commercially…
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You can walk around one marker and enter three countries
At Vaalserberg, Germany, Belgium, and the European Netherlands meet at a tripoint. The marker puts three national territories within a few steps. It is a…
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Iceland's Katla volcano reshapes the glacier covering it
Geothermal heat melts ice from below, creating depressions called ice cauldrons on the surface. Meltwater carries evidence of the hidden activity into…
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Berlin turned an airport's runways into public space
After Tempelhof closed, the airfield opened as Tempelhofer Feld in 2010. People could cycle, skate, fly kites, and picnic on land formerly organized around…
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A Himalayan monastery grows out of a cave mouth
Phuktal's buildings cluster on a cliff above the Tsarap River in Zanskar, with a natural cave at the center of the complex. The final approach is on foot.…
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Jordan's desert walls hide 8,000-year-old hunting traps
From above, the low walls form kilometer-wide funnels that drove gazelles into deep killing pits—prehistoric traps built more than 8,000 years ago.
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Why floating markets hang fruit from bamboo poles
Merchants display their produce on tall bamboo poles, so shoppers can spot what each boat is selling without shouting over the engines. Want a pineapple? Look…
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Where shipwrecks lie hundreds of meters inland
Dense coastal fog and strong currents have wrecked ships along Namibia’s coast. As the desert advances over the shoreline, some rusting wrecks now sit…
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Dogo Onsen strictly forbids swimming and wet towels
Bathers must strip naked, scrub themselves before entering, and keep even a modesty towel out of the communal water.
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Fontainhas colonial tiles shine brightest during monsoons
Monsoon rain washes dust from Fontainhas’s Portuguese colonial facades, making its patterned azulejo tiles and mustard-yellow walls stand out against the gray…
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Douro Valley volunteers crush wine grapes in granite lagares
Harvest volunteers crush the grapes barefoot in huge granite lagares, marching in rhythm to the harvest master's commands. Their legs can stay stained purple…
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Tokyo's tuna auctions use secret hand signals
At Tokyo’s Toyosu Market, licensed buyers use rapid-fire hand signals to bid on premium bluefin tuna. The auction moved there from the former Tsukiji Market.
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A treetop walk looks down on a former tuberculosis hospital
At Beelitz-Heilstätten near Berlin, a raised walkway passes above parts of the former sanatorium complex. Trees have grown around abandoned buildings, so…
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The bus terminal that works like a small city
TAPO is more than a place to catch a bus: the terminal has chapels and food markets, giving it some of the feel of a small city.
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Ferries to Stromboli follow the lava
Captains adjust docking schedules around the Sciara del Fuoco, the lava flow on Stromboli, to avoid arriving while molten rock is reaching the shipping lane.
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Changi Airport sends long-layover travelers sightseeing
For layovers longer than five hours, Changi offers free, government-sponsored tours, including trips to Gardens by the Bay, before travelers catch their…
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On the Camino, the shell is not always an arrow
The scallop shell identifies the pilgrimage route, but its orientation is not a universal direction code. Yellow arrows and local signs provide the practical…
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McMurdo Station caps tourist alcohol consumption
Visitors to McMurdo Station face strict alcohol quotas, with consumption monitored to keep the station's supplies from being depleted.
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Refuge du Goûter enforces biometrics on alpinists
The hut uses biometric identity checks to keep unauthorized climbers from crowding its dining room floor.
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How dead flamingos help guide salt-flat drivers
Across Bolivia’s featureless salt flats, drivers use distant mountain peaks, salt ridges, and even mummified flamingos as landmarks.
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Mongolian airag turns mare's milk into a shared ceremonial drink
Traditional production uses fermentation and repeated stirring in a hide vessel, with skills and customs passed between generations. It appears in hospitality…
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