The gift shop at Hacienda Doka in Costa Rica in October 2025. (Toh Gouttenoire/The New York Times) By ELAINE GLUSAC Amid a September downpour in a beach town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, I was reminded that I’d bet on poor odds. Locals had assured me their rainy season, from May through November, consisted of bright mornings and afternoon showers followed by clearing skies, at least most of the time. Still, the rewards for risking rain were substantial, including low p

Sometimes even your most valiant efforts aren’t enough to get you to the gate on time. (Weston Wei/The New York Times) By GABE CASTRO-ROOT The dubious social media trend known as “airport theory” holds that travelers can arrive at the airport just 15 minutes before their flight because the plane simply won’t leave without them. Don’t believe everything you see online: Your plane will leave whether you’re on it or not. Sometimes, though, it’s not your fault. Even if you give y

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Ga. following mandated cuts to flight traffic on November 7, 2025. The Federal Aviation Administration has required airlines to cut flights to reduce the strain on air traffic controllers, who have gone weeks without a paycheck. (Nicole Craine/The New York Times) By CHRISTINE CHUNG, CLAIRE FAHY and GABE CASTRO-ROOT After the Trump administration announced it would cut 10% of air traffic at 40 of the busiest airports in the country, airli

The gift shop at Hacienda Doka in Costa Rica in October 2025. (Toh Gouttenoire/The New York Times) By ELAINE GLUSAC Amid a September downpour in a beach town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, I was reminded that I’d bet on poor odds. Locals had assured me their rainy season, from May through November, consisted of bright mornings and afternoon showers followed by clearing skies, at least most of the time. Still, the rewards for risking rain were substantial, including low p

Downtown Reykjavik, as seen from the top of Hallgrimskirkja, the tallest church in Iceland, July 19, 2025. A volcanic eruption in 2010 put the island nation on millions of travelers’ maps. But is the country’s culture now at risk? (Hilary Swift/The New York Times) By STEFANO MONTALI “Sometimes it can feel like Iceland is just one big tourist attraction.” Helga Gudrun, a waiter at a family-owned restaurant in Vik, a scenic village in southern Iceland, had just placed a bowl of

The air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., Jan. 30, 2025. Air traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck of the shutdown on Tuesday, Oct. 28, as union leaders and the secretary of transportation warned of dire consequences if they missed another. (Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times) By KAROUN DEMIRJIAN and CHRISTINE CHUNG Air traffic controllers missed their first full paycheck of the shutdown Tuesday, as union leaders and t

An photo provided by Tom Marshall shows vintage cars on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in West Yorkshire, England. Grape harvests, colorful foliage and local festivities make autumn a great time to take a scenic train or tram excursion. (Tom Marshall via The New York Times) By PALKO KARASZ Lazy rivers, spectacular valleys cloaked in autumn colors, windswept moors: The fall is prime time for slow, contemplative journeys on some of Europe’s most scenic rail routes. Here ar

Commuter trains under Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, Aug. 24, 2022. With the government shutdown entering its second week, airline passengers and visitors to national parks have been bracing for major disruptions. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times) By CHRISTINE CHUNG and GABE CASTRO-ROOT With the government shutdown entering its second week, airline passengers and visitors to national parks have been bracing for major disruptions. Nonessential federal operations ceased a