Waters tips

It was a sunny afternoon in February at the height of the high season on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, but my partner, Aaren, and I were far from lounging on a white-sand beach, snorkeling over a coral reef or strolling among the Easter-egg-colored buildings of Willemstad, Curaçao’s capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site — typical activities for travelers to this former Dutch colony.

I am looking for the gates to Hades, but have overshot the turn. Somewhere below is the cave from which Heracles dragged the fearsome three-headed dog Cerberus into daylight so bright its slobber formed yellow flowers of aconite. Instead, I find a beach of pale rock and water that's glass-calm to the horizon. Beneath its surface are hundreds of curled little fish with flanks of tarnished silver.

There is something magical about a natural hot spring.

The semi-private jet company is flying on-demand throughout the Bahamas now, with scheduled service from Palm Beach International airport to North Eleuthera and Marsh Harbour starting this winter.

Heavenly Zion National Park is the holy grail of Utah’s "Mighty 5" and one of the most-visited national parks in the country. 

Settling yourself for a week or a weekend on a car-free island can come with unexpected benefits: the joy of getting around via bicycle, the conversations that happen while walking from one place to another, the hilarity of golfcart transportation.  But while we all love a good road trip, sometimes the car is just a means to getting from point a to point b. On these islands, even the getting around is part of the fun. Not to mention its stress-free and incredibly freeing for everyone coming along on the trip. 

Summer is for music festivals and the best way to celebrate tunes and sunshine is at a new resort in the Riviera Maya. Located along Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya opened last June and is the place to be for an adults-only vacation with endless island vibes. The resort, inspired by the lyrics and lifestyle of singer, songwriter, and bestselling author Jimmy Buffett, is beautifully decorated with quotes, photos, and artwork. There are murals of colorful parrots around the property and cheerful and laid-back Buffett fans are fondly known as “parrot heads”.

Bordering the Consall Nature Park, a nature reserve featuring 740 acres of woodland, heath and moor, is The Tawny, a “deconstructed hotel”. This means that instead of a single house with rooms there are a collection of boathouses, huts and treehouses scattered around the woodlands and lakes. At the top of the hill is a modern glass building, the Plumicorn restaurant, and a heated outdoor pool looking out over the gardens. Stargazing sessions and night-time meditation are on offer, while spa treatments can be booked in the thatched cottage onsite. Huts from £240 B&B; thetawny.co.uk

Cala Galdana beach – and its neighbours – are spectacular. Turn off at Ferreries and take the attractive Me-22 road that brings you to a breathtaking horseshoe bay shrouded by pine trees. The golden sandy beach is peaceful, even on a busy day. There are beach toilets and a cafe. There are also water sports facilities if you want a bit more activity. Neighbouring Cala Mitjana, a beautiful beach a short walk to the east, is wilder, as is Cala Macarella, two miles by footpath to the west. If I could be teleported to any beach on my day off here’s where I’d go to.Bethan Patfield

If you’re addicted to coffee, partial to New World wine, enjoy skiing at weekends, and have a picture of Kurt Cobain on your wall, Washington could be your Nirvana.

Although not as well known as Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta, Costa Mujeres, Mexico is fast becoming a preferred luxury travel destination for American travelers and second home owners. Costa Mujeres has all the natural beauty of nearby Cancun – pristine white sand beaches and crystal clear turquoise waters – but with fewer crowds and less distractions. Its laid-back atmosphere, along with fresh seafood and delectable cuisine, makes it an ideal location for a tropical vacation.

On a still summer morning on Washington State's Orcas Island, I rented a pair of tandem kayaks from a sleepy-eyed, flaxen-haired attendant barely out of her teens, who quickly returned to painting watercolors in the tall grass beside the weather-beaten sales kiosk. A gentle wind went shhh through tall hemlocks as my family paddled, two by two, to a rocky islet at the center of Mountain Lake, on the flank of Mount Constitution. There we clambered ashore, and the kids, Agnes and Rex, immediately began darting among the lodgepole pines, collecting sticks and pine cones to build fairy houses. Aside from the faint smell of a forest fire burning in the Cascades and a smudge of smoke on the eastern sky, it could have been a scene from my own childhood.

It would be easy to read Evil Does Not Exist as being anti-travel—or, at the very least, anti-glamping. The new film from Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi is set in the tranquil (and fictional) village of Mizubiki some two hours outside of Tokyo. Locals live in deference to the nature that surrounds them, collecting water from the forest’s crystal-clear spring with quiet care. But, when COVID-era economic incentives drive a Tokyo consulting firm to erect a glamping site upstream of the village, without considering the environmental consequences on the community, a high-drama town meeting ensues, wherein villagers poke hole after hole in the hastily-drawn plan. Over the course of the film's two hours, it continues to meditate on topics of man and nature, framing stunning countryside scenery for so long, and with such focus, that you emerge refreshed as though from a cold plunge.

What comes to mind when you hear the words “death valley?” Some sort of desolate hellscape, I would imagine. In fairness, in the summer it’s one of the hottest places on Earth. With temperatures routinely over 120, you’d be forgiven thinking it was a place absent of all life. The truth is more surprising. While even the ultra-dry Death Valley gets rain sometimes, the last year has been exceptionally wet. It got a year’s worth of rain just between October, 2023 and April, 2024.

The terms “toiletry bag” and “cosmetic case” are often used interchangeably although toiletry bags are usually larger and hold more than cosmetics.

U.S. residents don’t need a passport to travel to this year’s winner of the “World’s Best Beach.” The No. 1 best beach in the world for 2024 is: Trunk Bay, located on St. John, a U.S. Virgin Island, according to The World’s 50 Best Beaches presented by Banana Boat.

Summertime in the Texas can really heat up. When temperatures spike, Texans and those who visit have two choices when they want to cool down. They can stay indoors and crank the AC, or head for water—if the drought hasn’t dried it up.

The Netherlands is a treasure chest of exquisite art-filled cities and towns, canals, windmills and tulip fields, along with shiny-new sustainable urban environments, and glorious natural landscapes, coastlines and islands. While it’s one of Europe’s smaller nations (you can cross the entire country in a handful of hours), choosing where to spend your time takes planning.

There is no worse feeling at the end of a perfect beach day than having to lug a heavy, sandy, soggy beach towel back to your car. Thankfully, beach towels have come a long way over the years, with features like sand-resistant fabric and roomier dimensions that mean your legs won't be dangling onto the hot sand.

When you close your eyes and think of Belize, visions of a dreamy, tropical vacation likely dance through your mind. Think: sugary shores, brilliantly blue water, bright green palms and thick, verdant jungles. Maybe throw in a luxury villa or a palapa-topped bungalow, for good measure. What you're not likely thinking of is an all-inclusive resort.

“About 25 years ago, I was asked by Marie Claire to visit the Arctic Circle in Canada to build an igloo, as one does, and to write a story about the process. I said yes because my best friend had recently died by suicide and I just wanted to get away. My faith in the universe was shaken and I needed something to happen. We went to Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, and my now husband, Chris, came with me. The minute you get there, everything on you freezes. It was so cold that, if you went outside to pee, it'd freeze. We met our Inuit guides, who brought these sled dogs. The dogs are workers. You don't pet them—you feed them and make them mush. So when I got down on the ground with them to say hello, the dogs flipped over, exposed their bellies, howled, and got all up on me. They were thankful and sweet. I don't think they knew they wanted affection. When I left, they snapped right back into work mode. Later, I rode a sled being pulled by a trainee team of dogs. During the run, one of them couldn't keep up. He started yelping, then tripped and fell. The dogs were all tied to each other, so he was flipping around in the ice and snow like a fish out of water. I turned into Marilyn Monroe in The Misfits, screaming and crying, begging the musher to stop. One of the guides got the dog detached, and we flew past him—just left the dog. I was sobbing: ‘We have to go back! We have to go back!’ And they said, ‘The dog didn't make the cut.’ That night, before building the igloo, I saw this big blue glacier reflecting the moonlight. It was immense. This is what [my friend's] depression must have felt like, I thought, so overwhelming, like this glacier that's bigger than the Empire State Building. I started walking toward it, getting really close. I wanted to say a little prayer for my friend. As I moved to touch it, my guide came running and screaming. He stuck his spear into the ice ahead of me to show me it could've shifted, and I would have fallen right into the water and died. Being there made me really appreciate the fragility of life. Oh, and by the way: The dog found his way back.”