Piché, a wine bar in a busy community mall in Bangkok, March 19, 2026. From back-street wine bars to world-class museums, new spots are sprouting up all over the world’s most visited city. (Lauren DeCicca/The New York Times) By SETH SHERWOOD Travelers have been flooding Bangkok, elevating it into the most visited city on the planet. And it’s not just tourists. International five-star hotel chains, global luxury brands and renowned chefs are jockeying for prime spaces amid the

Lemon trees frame a view of Menton, France, Jan. 16, 2026. A region famous for its sun-drenched climate becomes a refreshing retreat when the summer heat, megayachts and swarms of tourists are gone. (Gianni Cipriano/The New York Times) By ALEXIS STEINMAN The French Riviera conjures images of sunbaked tourists lounging on palm-lined beaches, bustling cobblestone streets and megayachts anchored in sparkling blue bays. But that’s only in the summer. This region of southeastern F

A taxi driver waits in a park in Havana, Feb., 2016. (The New York Times) By SHANNON SIMS This month, under pressure from the Trump administration, the Cuban government opened the door to allow Cubans living abroad to invest directly in businesses on the island. But that change may not be enough of a lifeline to offset the steep decline in tourism that Cuba has seen over the past few years. Roughly 2 million people visited the island last year, down from a peak of more than 4

Visitors soak in the warm waters of Strawberry Park Hot Springs, just outside of Steamboat Springs, Colo., in December 2022. Wellness travel is booming, projected to account for $1 trillion worldwide this year, according to the research nonprofit Global Wellness Institute. (Andrew Miller/The New York Times) By ELAINE GLUSAC In Iceland, I paid $11 for access to the outdoor recreation complex in Akureyri, the country’s second-largest city, to swim laps and wind down in geotherm

An undisturbed beach at the Pine Cay resort in the Turks and Caicos in February 2026. Turks and Caicos, a chain of Caribbean islands just southeast of the Bahamas, teems with high-end, all-inclusive resorts. What many guests seemed to want, and are willing to pay thousands of dollars a night to get, is glorious silence. (Danial Adkison/The New York Times) By DANIAL ADKISON The boat skipped across the shimmering turquoise water at a breathtaking speed. “You’d better take off y

Kitanomine, one of two ski zones at the Furano resort on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, on Dec. 22, 2025. Faced with soaring ticket prices and bare slopes at many U.S. resorts, Americans are flocking to the island of Hokkaido, which gets up to 50 feet of snow a year. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times) By MEGHAN DAVIDSON LADLY I had never encountered a ski lift quite like this one. Each one-person seat looked like a pizza box hung from a cable on a metal hook. Only a low ba

The center of Guadalajara is mostly empty in Mexico, Feb. 23, 2026. A wave of unrest after the killing of a cartel leader has rattled tourists at popular destinations in Mexico, prompting travelers to reconsider their plans. (César Rodríguez/The New York Times) By SHANNON SIMS With spring break just weeks away, and snowbirds looking to dodge a blustery winter, the recent unrest in Mexico has left travelers concerned about whether visiting the country is safe right now. While

La Plata Beach in Vieques, Puerto Rico, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. Vieques, a 20-mile-long isle just east of Puerto Rico’s main island, has long attracted in-the-know travelers with its raw beauty and uncrowded beaches. (Erika P. Rodríguez/The New York Times) By LUIS FERRÉ-SADURNÍ Vieques, a 20-mile-long isle just east of Puerto Rico’s main island, has long attracted in-the-know travelers with its raw beauty and uncrowded beaches. Since Hurricane Maria crippled it in 2017, clo

Queue lines sit empty during a shutdown at the Telluride Ski Resort in Mountain Village, Colo., Dec. 27, 2025. Little snowpack, strikes by mountain staff and Trump administration policies that are keeping international visitors away have made this a difficult season in the Rockies and beyond. (William Woody/The New York Times) By DAVID GOODMAN Bare slopes. Closed terrain. Canceled vacations. In the Western United States, the 2026 ski season is shaping up to be one of the wors

Travelers are shown vintage boarding passes during a celebration hosted by Southwest Airlines to commemorate the end of its longstanding open-seating policy, at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, last Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. The airline said its new policy, rolled out on Tuesday, responded to passengers’ preferences, but some customers said the scramble was part of the charm. (Jacob Langston/The New York Times) By CHRISTINE CHUNG With a water-cannon salute, balloons an