This summer has “sort of flipped itself on its head,” says one airfare expert. That means more deals than usual for the typically busy summer season.
Buena Vista Images/Photodisc/Getty Images
The ‘golden summer of cheap flights’: Now’s the time for last-minute deals
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Maire & Andy Bain
Her boyfriend fell asleep on the train. Then she spent the six-hour journey talking to her future husband
2RWXAT5 People crossing rainbow crosswalk with brilliant blue sky overhead in Castro District
Nicholas Klein/Alamy Stock Photo
How San Francisco’s Castro district became the capital of LGBT America
Passengers walk through at Reagan National Airport at the start of the Memorial Day weekend in Arlington, Virginia on May 26, 2023. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Solo flyers on US flights can pay much more than those traveling as a pair, report finds
Tourists leave the Acropolis hill in Athens, on July 17, 2024. The Greek Ministry of Culture announced a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of visitors during the heatwave, restricting access to the Acropolis site between 12pm and 5pm. (Photo by Aris Oikonomou / AFP) (Photo by ARIS OIKONOMOU/AFP via Getty Images)
Aris Oikonomou/AFP/Getty Images
Europe’s hottest city battles to keep its cool as tourists arrive for another scorching summer
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• Video 2:35
CNN
Hear why Wolf Blitzer says to bring a passport when you visit his hometown 2:35
2025/05/21: Tourists are seen taking pictures at the Parc Guell terrace, a famous tourist landmark. With more than 100 million tourists expected to visit Spain in 2025, and 18 million Barcelona alone, the city is struggling to find a balance between the economic benefits of mass tourism and the need to keep the city livable for local residents.
Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
‘Cities turned into theme parks’: Why Airbnb is facing trouble in Spain
A woman from the Red Dao minority, in Lào Cai Province, northwest Vietnam doing some embroidery at the door of her property, with her great-granddaughter alongside her. The Red Dao are one of the most distinctive of the ethnic groups, and largely due to their headdresses. They are known for their intricate embroidery - a skill which is passed down from mother to daughter and on down to further generations of the family.
Justin Cliffe
Incredible photos from the National Geographic Traveller competition

NEWS

04 June 2025, Bavaria, Memmingen: A Ryanair passenger jet stands on the apron at Memmingen Airport. The plane was traveling from Berlin to Milan when it hit turbulence. Several people were injured and rescue teams were deployed at the airport in Unterallgäu.
Jason Tschepljakow/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Nine injured after Ryanair flight hits turbulence
Jun 5, 2025
CATANIA, ITALY - JUNE 02: Mount Etna exhibits a Strombolian eruption, with a volcanic plume rising from the southeast crater, on June 02, 2025 in Catania, Italy. An orange aviation warning has been issued. The images show aerial views of the volcano with the city of Catania in the background. (Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images)
Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images
Huge eruption on Italy’s Mount Etna leaves tourists fleeing volcano
Jun 3, 2025
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Peter Bannan/Moment RF/Getty Images
Stand up on the plane too early? You could be risking a fine
May 31, 2025
A United Airlines plane prepares for takeoff as a JetBlue plane lands at San Francisco International Airport in 2023.
Tayfun CoSkun/Anadolu/Getty Images/File
United Airlines and JetBlue Airways to allow frequent flyers to earn and use miles on each other’s airline
May 29, 2025
21 February 2022, Brandenburg, Eisenhüttenstadt: Clouds pass over the St. Nicholas Church of the Eisenhüttenstadt district of Fürstenberg. The district is located directly on the Oder-Spree Canal near the German-Polish border river Oder.
Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images
This German town wants to lure new residents with free accommodation
May 29, 2025
Illustration of the Giant s Causeway, a geological formation of 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns plunging into the ocean and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on August 9, 2024. (Photo by Pat Batard / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by PAT BATARD/Hans Lucas via AFP/AFP via Getty Images)
Pat Batard/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
Heritage body begs tourists to stop jamming coins into Giant’s Causeway
May 28, 2025
Southwest Airlines customers will soon have to pay to check a bag.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Southwest Airlines reveals how much it will cost to check a bag
May 27, 2025
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Tom Caw
Video Watch passengers trying to catch birds onboard Delta flight 0:44
May 28, 2025
Kami Rita Sherpa poses for a picture at Everest Base Camp in 2021.
Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images
Sherpa climbs Mount Everest for a record-breaking 31st time
May 27, 2025

Food & drink

2J9KMCJ young indonesian girl drinking ayran in a silver cup wearing a hat during summer
Alexander White/Alamy Stock Photo
The greatest hot-weather drink you’ve probably never heard of
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CNN
Don’t call these small plates ‘tapas.’ They’re pinxtos
TOPSHOT - People dine at a restaurant at a shopping mall in Beijing on May 26, 2023. (Photo by Jade Gao / AFP) (Photo by JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images)
Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images
Husband-and-wife lung slices? Why translating Chinese food names into English is ‘an impossible task’
• Video 1:32
CNN
Video Seoul’s biggest seafood market is a feast for the senses – but what should you eat? 1:32

Stay

The Motel Inn, formerly the Milestone Mo-Tel, closed in 1991 and now sits abandoned.
Ian Dagnall/Alamy
The world’s first motel opened 100 years ago, but now only ruins remain
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Fabio Lovino/HBO
‘White Lotus’ is luring more tourists to Thailand. These are the locations featured on season 3 of the hit show
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Jodie Schaefer Photography
Two sisters with no hospitality experience bought a century-old inn. Here’s how it worked out
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BDPST Group/Fortepan/Archikon Architects/Alexander Waterworth Interiors Ltd./Gábor Nagy/MÁ-TUN ART
It had become a shabby relic. Now one of Europe’s grandest hotels is being restored to its former glory

CHANCE ENCOUNTERS

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Matt Reinecke and Cristina Farina
She arranged a date with a guy she met on a plane. When he didn’t show, she unexpectedly met her future husband
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Erin Tridle
She met a man on a rooftop bar on her first night in Paris. Her life changed forever
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Alexandra Nelke
She got back in touch with a vacation fling from over 15 years ago. What happened next was unexpected

SURVIVAL GUIDES

Hippo
Papa Bravo/Adobe Stock
‘I was up to my waist down a hippo’s throat.’ He survived, and here’s his advice
ZAO, JAPAN - JANUARY 20: Snow trees are seen at Zao Ski Resort on January 20, 2018 in Yamagata, Japan. The natural creation is called Ôsnow monstersÕ, attract visitors. on January 20, 2018 in Zao, Japan. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
Matt Roberts/Getty Images
You’re trapped in a blizzard. Do you know what to do next to survive?
A bison looks back as it crosses the road near Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park.
Erik Petersen/The Washington Post/Getty Images
You’ve come across a bison in the wild. It’s looking at you. Do you know what to do next?

flying advice

A flight information display system shows departure times at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on December 27, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
What to do if your flight is canceled or delayed
New World Traveller on board the new Boeing 777-300ER, BAMC, Cardiff, UK, 12 August 2010 (Photo by Nick Morrish/British Airways)
Nick Morrish/British Airways
A flight attendant’s secrets to surviving long-haul flights
Luggages are seen at the Barajas Airport in Madrid on July 1, 2022. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images
What to do if your luggage is delayed, lost, stolen or damaged
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Engi Caribe/Adobe Stock
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