Travelogue

The cruising game has changed, almost entirely for the better. So this week, we bring everything you need to find the perfect cruise: small ships vs large; how to customize; Caribbean cruises vs Mediterranean; how a cruise can be the perfect multi-generational family vacation; and more. Consider it your all-inclusive insider's guide to cruising today.

In the aftermath of Delta’s computer failures, we chat with our aviation expert about how mass cancellations can happen in the 21st century, and how you can still get to your destination ASAP when the system seems to be against you.

Rio de Janeiro: It’s on everyone’s mind right now, thanks to a Zika- and Olympics-fueled buzz. But while the Summer Olympics may last for the next 17 days, its affect on Rio, a city finally growing up from its status as the ultimate beach town, is yet to be seen.

Hard to believe we're already thinking about the end of summer, when it seems like it only just started. But we are—and the truth is, there are some places (like the Pacific Northwest) where the best weather's just getting started, and others where the deals are unbeatable (like London and Hong Kong). We take a look at the best of both, and tell you where you should be booking that long weekend between now and late September.

East-African safaris have been a bucket list staple for generations. And while you should still take one—in many ways they're better than ever—they're far from the only kind of African trip you should be planning these days. This week our editors tell you where to go, when to go, and what to look for when you're there, from surfing to wine tasting to, yes, a great safari.

It's the summer of the Great American Road Trip, with gas prices at an 11-year low and some 36 million Americans taking advantage of it—many of them in rental cars. Do you know what to do if you're in an accident in a rental car? Or what kind of insurance to get, if any? Should you pre-pay for gas? What rental car company should you go to for the best deal—or if you want a luxury ride through California wine country? Here's what you need to know if you're renting at home or abroad.

Lists are everywhere, right? We hate them, but we can't get enough of them. Best-of lists; worst-of lists; what-to-do lists and what-not-to-do lists. This week Bon Appetit's Andrew Knowlton and Epicurious's Matt Duckor join Condé Nast Traveler's Becca Misner to talk about how lists are made in the travel and food worlds, what we love about them, what we don't like quite so much, and why we think they're here to stay.

Even the pros can't escape an insanely long TSA line, getting stuck on the tarmac for hours, a tropical flood or a rare insect fever. This week we confess the travel disasters we've endured, how we got through them, and why we wouldn't trade them in.

This week, we talk to chef Massimo Bottura, whose restaurant, Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, was just awarded the number one spot on the annual World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Chef Bottura tells us all about his hometown of Modena, his mind-bending approach to food, his passions for art and travel, and what it's like to come in first at the biggest food party of the year.

All the gear you should be packing when you hit the road this season, from a "life-proof" camera to the latest crop of selfie-snapping drones, including one that "boomerangs" when you fling it from your wrist; from a device that turns your cell phone into a walkie-talkie to tiny trackers for your keys and luggage (and kids?); from an artificial-intelligence planner bot to the latest in tablets on the high end and the low.

It's summer; time to visit Europe! Except that lately, Europe seems to have gone bonkers—even more than usual. Strikes and fuel shortages in France; flooding in France and Germany; travel advisories and the Brexit vote. This week, we break down news from the Old Country, and offer suggestions on how to prepare for inconveniences both standard and off-the-menu. We also reminisce on some of our favorite reasons to go, and tell you why we think it's worth it, even if there's a bit of frustration along the way.

We're celebrating the arrival of the summer travel season with our not-so-short list of the best places to go. Whatever kind of trip you're looking for, we've got it covered: surprisingly economical standbys like Europe; domestic journeys from the classic to the up-and-coming; far-flung excursions through the Arctic and Nepal; the ultimate National Parks Road Trip; and great new spots to get pampered in South Africa and Oman. With great deals on the road or in the air, this summer's the time to get gone.

Our excitement for the coming summer travel season hit a long, ugly, bureaucratic wall last week, in the form of soul-crushing lines at TSA checkpoints in airports across the country. Aviation correspondent Barbara Peterson drops by to talk about the causes of the insanity, what the government (and airlines) are doing about it, and whether or not U.S. airports threatening to replace the TSA can actually get away with it.

Concierges see and hear it all, from the hilarious to the heartwarming. This week we chat with comic ex-concierges Anna Drezen and Todd Dakotah Briscoe, authors of the blog-turned-book How May We Hate You: Notes from the Concierge Desk, for the scoop on what it's really like to man the front line of travel. What do concierges really want from guests? Are kickbacks real? When should you tip, and how much? And which things should you just Google yourself?

It's in our fantasies as we shuffle the TSA line dropping belts and shoes into buckets, or jam ourselves between the iron-maiden-esque armrests of a middle seat: a vision of bygone days when airline crews were uniformly charming and gorgeous, the meals opulent, and "inflight-entertainment" meant heading to the lounge for a smoke and a cocktail. On today's podcast, we revisit those days with someone who actually lived through them as special guest Linda Joyce, who worked as a Pan Am stewardess in the '60s and '70s, drops by to give us the inside scoop on what it was really like to fly during the Golden Age of Air Travel.