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36 Articles

Fewer Crowds, More Wonder

IN BARCELONA, tourist-weary residents have sprayed visitors with water guns. In Bali, the government has banned new hotel construction. And in Mallorca, local neighborhood associations and community groups have marched and demanded to limit mass tourism. The message is getting clearer in popular travel destinations around the world: Overtourism—when too many people visit a place, compromising it for the residents as well as for themselves—is a growing problem. Every fall, we publish our recommendations for Where to Go in the coming year. This time around, we’ve dedicated our list to lesser-visited places. Our writers have reported from all over the world to present 25 destinations where you won’t find huge crowds and where your visit could really count. For example, I wrote about a program in coastal Patagonia (page 67) that…

Fewer Crowds, More Wonder

MY FIRST TRIP TO PARIS with my mother was in 2014. Every morning, we started walking along the Seine River, and by the end of each day had covered a dozen miles. One afternoon, we wandered through the Marais district, popped into gardens, and posed in front of fountains between the 11th arrondissement and our attic apartment near the Louvre Museum. On the cusp of evening, we ascended the dark, narrow spiral staircase up to the bell tower of Notre-Dame cathedral. We spent much of our monthlong stay this way, willing and able to climb toward what we wanted to see, never considering the limits of our bodies. Three years later, we flew to Paris again, and I realized my mother’s mobility had deteriorated. For decades, she had worked a…

There’s No Place Like Cappadocia

FOR CURIOUS MINDS Dramatic Natural Landforms The enthralling history of Coppodocio dotes bock millions of years to the eruption of the two extinct volcanoes of Central Anatolia, the Erciyes and Hasan. The tuff and basalt layering throughout the region was then eroded by the wind the interplay of hot and cold air currents forming the amorphous rocks into conical "fairy chimneys" and rock pillars for miles on end. A Storied Past As the natural formations were completed, humans began to slowly make their way, adding migrations, invasions and conquering to this storied history. Luwians and Hittites were the first inhabitants of the region. They carved troglodyte settlements into these very rocks and engineered complete subterranean cities with ventilated living areas. Much later, Christians who fled oppression found their new home…

There’s No Place Like Cappadocia

Dark sky sanctuaries. Floating nightclubs. Blueberry farms. Indigenous-owned lodges.

The dots on this map represent Afar’s top 25 places to go in 2025. This year’s list features some of the world’s most fascinating and lesser-visited countries, regions, and cities where you won’t find crowds of travelers angling for the same Instagram Reel. From Chios, Greece, and Columbus, Ohio, to Guyana and Jordan, these destinations are bound to inspire another year of joyful and intentional travel. Where will you go first?…

Dark sky sanctuaries. Floating nightclubs. Blueberry farms. Indigenous-owned lodges.

Aotea Great Barrier Island, New Zealand

SIXTY MILES northeast of Auckland (New Zealand’s largest city) is nature’s guardian: the secluded, forested Great Barrier Island. The 110-square-mile isle, known by the Maori name Aotea, is graced with high, craggy cliffs and long white-sand surf beaches that shelter the mainland from the Pacific Ocean’s many moods. The majority of its land comprises a wildlife reserve of wetlands and old-growth kauri forests; endangered species such as the pāteke (the fourth-rarest duck in the world) live here free of predators. The island’s businesses and roughly 1,200 full-time residents are deeply committed to conservation. Aoteans live entirely off-grid—meaning all the ecolodges and apartment rentals, breweries and bakeries, generate their own power from solar and wind, harvest their own rainwater, and aim for zero waste. Don’t expect to step into a café…

Aotea Great Barrier Island, New Zealand

Belgrade, Serbia

BELGRADE’S HISTORY is sketched on its skyline. Stand by the ancient Ottoman strong-hold of Belgrade Fortress in the Old Town, where the Danube meets the Sava River, and scan the horizon. You’ll see a confluence of cultures and epochs: communist-era housing blocks and brutalist skyscrapers in New Belgrade dating to the 1960s and ’70s, and the ochre-tiled roofs of the former Austro-Hungarian riverside town of Zemun. The erstwhile capital of Yugoslavia was a crucial crossroads of Balkan trade, and its enduring blend of Slavic East and cosmopolitan West is most accessible in its food and music. I visited last summer and found several restaurants that could give those in Paris or New York a run for their money—suitably, given that the city has had a Michelin guide since 2021. Standout…

Belgrade, Serbia

WE’RE NOT JUST PRETTY SKI HILLS (BUT WE ARE THAT TOO).

TRY-CANADA.COM WHISTLER Don’t escape the cold — embrace it with an immersive thermal hot and cold journey at the Scandinave Spa, all while surrounded by nature. VANCOUVER Worked up an appetite from winter activities? Experience memorable and enchanting new flavors at one of the multiple Michelin-starred restaurants in this bustling seaport. SUN PEAKS Forget your car keys — Sun Peaks charming Alpine village is completely ski-through and pedestrian-friendly, making it a family favourite. REVELSTOKE The heli-skiing capital of the world. But don’t worry—with North America’s longest vertical descent and 40 to 60 feet of powder each year, there’s plenty of room for regular skiing, too. GOLDEN Renowned for its 240 km of groomed snowmobile trails, deep snowfalls and spectacular scenery, this powder playground is a must-see. BANFF Spectacular ski hills…

WE’RE NOT JUST PRETTY SKI HILLS (BUT WE ARE THAT TOO).

THERE ARE 32 islands and cays that make up the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and for years St. Vincent served as little more than a stopover for travelers on their way to celeb-favorite isles such as Mustique and Bequia. Accommodations were limited, and flights often required a connection in Barbados or St. Lucia. Now, direct flights from the U.S. and the U.K. and a new Sandals resort are helping make the 133-square-mile volcanic island a destination in its own right. St. Vincent has always been a stunner; the Indigenous Caribs originally called it Hairoun, which means “land of the blessed.” Jungle-like ferns, bougainvillea, and pink-blossomed Soufrière trees carpet the undulating terrain (the capital, Kingstown, boasts the oldest botanical garden in the Western Hemisphere), while the turquoise waters…

Bold Coast, Maine

CROUCHING DOWN, I ran a metal rake through the ankle-high shrubs and scooped up a dozen tiny gems—Maine’s famous wild blueberries. Around me, the sixth-generation Welch Farm unfolded to the ocean, part of the last 10,000-year-old low-bush blueberry barrens in the United States. This was just one stop on my drive along Maine’s 125-mile Bold Coast, which starts an hour north of the crowds in Bar Harbor. This less-trammeled part of the state is filled with jagged peninsulas and uninhabited islands. (Maine has more islands than any other state in the U.S.) The best way to experience it is by following the Bold Coast National Scenic Byway, which spans from Milbridge to the town of Eastport. I began my trip, appropriately for Maine, on the water—with a wildlife boat tour…

Bold Coast, Maine

Costalegre, Mexico

IN THE STATE of Jalisco, north of the port city of Manzanillo and south of tourist-thronged Puerto Vallarta, lies Costalegre, Mexico’s “happy coast.” The 200-mile expanse of sugary sand is bordered by dense jungle, protected estuaries, and sea turtle sanctuaries, juxtaposed with the peaks and valleys of the Sierra Madre mountains. It’s a rare feeling to be able to snorkel, hike, fish, and swim in this natural setting, which has been balancing the challenge of becoming slightly less remote (thanks to the upcoming Chalacatepec airport and new resorts) with an effort to conserve the things that make it so wondrous in the first place. Several private owners of the region’s oceanfront property are putting Mother Earth first by developing only a small fraction of their biodiverse land. In 2022, the…

Costalegre, Mexico

THE LAND THAT IS NOW Jordan has been a part of human history since Paleolithic times. As a result, civilizations from the Nabataeans to the Ottomans have left reminders of their stories and traditions that travelers can still see with their own eyes—from the archaeological site Petra to the Byzantine ruins at the village of Umm al-Jimal, which became the country’s seventh UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024. “Right now, Jordan offers a rare chance to experience its iconic sites in a quieter, more personal way,” says Brady Binstadt, CEO of luxury adventure company Geographic Expeditions, who recently traveled there. “With so few visitors around there’s a peacefulness in the air that brings Jordan’s beauty to life.” The nation spans a wide variety of landscapes: palm tree–dotted coastline, basalt plateaus,…

I’D NEVER REALLY considered Columbus until a friend implored me to visit. Come! she said. It has everything. I chalked up her passion to hyper-bole but booked a flight anyway. Over a long weekend, I got to see that everything wasn’t too much of a stretch. The Ohio capital counts more than 175 entries on the National Register of Historic Places, including the German Village district. One morning, we strolled past its biergartens and 19th-century brick cottages before joining the line at the bakery Pistacia Vera for chocolate-pistachio cookies. Down the street, we packed our baskets with literature inside the maze-like 32-room Book Loft, which is one of Columbus’s many independent bookstores—and one of the most sizable in the country. The city has been home to celebrated contemporary writers (Hanif…

DANES WILL BE the first to tell you that the Danish Riviera is nothing like its more famous Mediterranean namesake. But what it lacks in movie-star glamour and predictable sunshine, the North Zealand coast makes up for in tidy little towns, windswept beaches edged with wild roses, and a relaxed, wholesome charm that is the embodiment of Scandinavian summer. And because it’s just 90 minutes by train from Copenhagen, and easily traversed by bike once you’re there (rentals are common), this region makes for one of the more carefree—and environmentally friendly—beach holidays in northern Europe. Extending some 125 miles across the northern tip of Zealand, from Hundested in the west to Hornbæk or Helsingør (definitions differ) in the east, the Danish Riviera became a popular vacation destination for Copenhageners in…

AT THE EDGE of the Coral Triangle region in the Western Pacific Ocean, the waters of Palau—an archipelago of 340 islands southeast of the Philippines—are the habitat of sharks, turtles, manta rays, and more than 2,000 types of reef fish. “It’s like an underwater Serengeti,” says marine biologist Ron Leidich, owner of Paddling Palau, which offers day tours as well as overnight kayaking-and-camping expeditions into marine lakes and shallow bays. “The confluence of the Pacific and Indian oceans has created an evolutionary soup, producing a bewildering diversity of marine species over glacial epochs.” Conservation is core to the nation. Its Palau Pledge, launched in 2017, was drafted by island children and requires visitors to sign a stamp in their passport upon entry, promising “to act in an ecologically and culturally…

GUYANA IS A place on the brink of big things: A decade since 11 billion barrels of oil were discovered offshore, it has had the world’s fastest-growing economy for two years running. That means new direct flights and boomtown construction in its capital, Georgetown. But the nation—located on the northern coast of South America, with cultural ties to the Caribbean—is forging a sustainable path ahead by investing in renewable energy (free solar panels for Indigenous communities) and improving rural infrastructure (increased internet access, better roads). To get the truest sense of its ecotourism potential, leave behind the bustling coast, where 90 percent of the country’s roughly 800,000 people live, and head to the Rupununi savanna, near the Brazilian border and across from the Amazon rainforest. Accessible by air or a…

SANDWICHED BETWEEN snowcapped mountains and the Sea of Japan, Toyama has become a prime culinary destination, in part because its bay is the source for some of Japan’s top seafood. And thanks to newly extended service on the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo, it’s now a lot easier for visitors to get to. Toyama has recently attracted international trailblazers such as Richard Geoffroy, the former cellar master of Dom Pérignon, who brews sake here under the brand Iwa Sake. And local chefs, such as Eiju Yunoki at Cave Yunoki and Takahiro Gejo at his eponymous sushi restaurant, create dishes with the area’s quality seafood, including nodoguro (blackthroat sea perch), aori ika (bigfin reef squid), and baigai (a local mollusk whose name means “Japanese ivory shell”). In the Iwase district, warehouses…

Western Australia

EVEN BY ANTIPODEAN standards, the state of Western Australia is huge. Were it a country, it would be the 10th largest on Earth by area, yet it has only 2.9 million residents, about 80 percent of whom live in Perth, the capital. Within its borders are forests of towering karri trees, parched deserts, and rockscapes daubed a rusty red. For more than 65,000 years, Aboriginal peoples have maintained a strong connection with these lands, passing down Dreamtime stories (origin myths) and creating songlines (like a map in song form, describing landmarks along a route). A four-year, $20-million government initiative to create and expand Aboriginal-led experiences across Western Australia wraps up in 2025 and has already resulted in numerous ways for travelers to gain insight into one of the world’s oldest…

Western Australia

Prince Edward County, Canada

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY IS to Torontonians what the North Fork of Long Island is to New Yorkers: a popular weekend getaway spot that’s a little bit fancy and a little bit beachy, with a whole lot of wine. PEC, as the locals call it, offers farm fresh food on every menu, a thriving art scene, and a series of three sandy beaches considered among the best in Canada, with dramatic dunes that rise over 80 feet tall in some areas. About 130 miles from Toronto on the Loyalist Parkway, PEC consists of 10 wards filled with shops, galleries, restaurants, and tasting rooms. In the small town of Picton, Base31, an arts and entertainment venue featuring emerging artists, opened in 2022 on a former World War II air base. PEC’s small…

Prince Edward County, Canada

BENIN IS A tiny African country with a big history. About the size of Ohio with a population of 14 million, it’s the birthplace of Vodun, the land of the all-female Agojie warriors who inspired the Viola Davis film The Woman King, and one of the most significant sites for the transatlantic slave trade. And now the coastal nation is doubling down on sharing its culture and storied past with visitors. In the next few years, a handful of new museums will open across the country, formerly known as Dahomey. The Royal Palaces of Abomey, a UNESCO World Heritage site in what was once the Kingdom of Dahomey’s capital, are being restored for late 2025 with a museum that will house the 26 royal treasures—including ceremonial thrones and statues—that were…

Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan

THE KARAKORAM MOUNTAINS contain an outsize number of natural wonders: five of the world’s 14 peaks above 26,000 feet, more than 7,000 glaciers, and one of the highest and most scenic roads on earth, the Karakoram Highway. Yet, this part of northern Pakistan, also known as Gilgit-Baltistan or “Little Tibet,” drew only 11,000 visitors in 2023, or 7 percent of the international travelers who flock to the Himalayan towns and trails of nearby Nepal each year. And now, responsible-tourism company Intrepid has launched three tours—one for women only, which includes meetings with female leaders and visits to spaces where men are not allowed—that are all led by local guides, in an effort to share more of this region punctuated by soaring summits, turquoise rivers, and alpine valleys. During my visit…

Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan

THERE IS A walking route in Europe believed to have been traveled by pilgrims since the 6th century. No, it’s not the Camino de Santiago—which, incidentally, was established around 300 years later. This 135-mile trail is found in North Wales, and it cleaves its way through the foothills of Snowdonia’s mountains and along the sandy beaches and towering cliffs of the Llŷn Peninsula. It’s called the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way (in Welsh, Taith Pererin Gogledd Cymru) or, increasingly, the Welsh Camino. A group of local volunteers began reestablishing the walk in 2011 after it had been forgotten for nearly 500 years. While it was originally a religious undertaking for Christians, its modern iteration is a BYOB (bring your own beliefs) pilgrimage. “I’d walked Spain’s Camino and knew we had an…

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

SITUATED IN THE Black Forest near the French and Swiss borders, Freiburg im Breisgau is a medieval university city of 235,000—and one of the world’s greenest urban centers. Nicknamed Europe’s “solar city,” it’s been so successful in expanding its solar and wind energy use that it vows to achieve climate neutrality by 2035 (stepped up from 2050). With a storybook old town of car-free streets, colorful half-timbered houses, and Gothic churches, Freiburg is best explored on two wheels. More than 300 miles of bike paths mean zero-emissions cycling is the most practical way to get around; ubiquitous Frelo bikeshare stations make hopping on easy. Travelers should ride south of the city center to Vauban, a planned community focused on sustainability. To the east of the mini-suburb is the Heliotrope, a…

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Lititz, Pennsylvania

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pennsylvania, is best known for being home to America’s oldest Amish settlement and oldest continuously operated farmers’ market. People come for rustic farm stays, buggy rides, quilt shopping—and, as it happens, to rock out. Lititz, less than 30 minutes from the city of Lancaster, is the de facto mission control of live music in the country; it has the largest concert tour production facility in the United States. For the past 10 years, everyone from BTS and Beyoncé to U2 and Green Day has descended upon this borough (population: 9,800) to perfect their epic stage shows at Rock Lititz’s 70,000 square feet of studio space before setting out on tour. And, yes, sometimes you can find rock stars wandering around downtown. Chance celebrity sightings aren’t the sweetest part…

Lititz, Pennsylvania

Wild Coast, South Africa

WHILE MOST INTERNATIONAL visitors to South Africa go on a safari and maybe visit Cape Town or Johannesburg, relatively few make it to the country’s untamed southeastern shore, an area whose name couldn’t be more accurate: the Wild Coast. Here, golden hills are marked with cylindrical huts called rondavels, rivers spill into sweeping bays, and beaches are scattered with roaming Nguni cows and remnants of shipwrecks. Once known as the Transkei, an area where many Black South Africans were forcibly relocated during apartheid, the Wild Coast has a complex past and a compelling present. Getting there is an adventure. The easiest option is to hop a domestic flight to the lively town of Mthatha, rent a car, and venture down dirt roads to beachfront destinations like Chintsa and Port St.…

Wild Coast, South Africa

Oxfordshire, England

THE CITY OF Oxford, England, is beloved for its sandstone buildings, intricate church spires, and illustrious university. But over the past few years, smaller towns throughout the county of Oxfordshire have added a healthy crop of new restaurants, hotels, and inns that infuse this bucolic region with modern twists. Southeast of Oxford, the well-heeled riverside town of Henley-on-Thames sees 300,000 people descend on its streets for a rowing regatta each July. But outside of the five-day event, few make the journey to wander its flagstone market square or leafy Thames-side footpaths. Those who do can tour the award-winning Henley Distillery or watch the open-fire cooking theatrics in the newly restored Barn restaurant at the Bottle & Glass Inn. Drive 13 miles west to reach Wallingford, whose greatest claim to fame…

Oxfordshire, England

Sumba, Indonesia

SUMBA HAS MANY of the same natural draws as the Indonesian hot spot Bali, which is just an hour flight away—white-sand beaches, hidden waterfalls—but with a fraction of the tourists. In a given month, Bali has more than 500,000 visitors; in an entire year, Sumba has 25,000. It also has a culture all its own. Here, many Sumbese draw beliefs and rituals from an ancient form of ancestor worship called Marapu. The best time to visit is February or March to witness one of the island’s best-preserved Marapu events: pasola, a jousting-like competition in which opposing groups ride sandalwood ponies (a breed of small horse unique to Indonesia) and hurl wooden spears at each other. Traditionally, spilled blood translated to a healthy harvest; now, the spears are blunted, but the…

Sumba, Indonesia

THE FIFTH-LARGEST Greek island, Chios is famous for its miraculous mastiha, the aromatic resin from mastic trees that is used in cooking and works wonders for oral health and digestion—something the ancient Greeks have known since the fifth century B.C.E. Because of this valuable export and a longstanding maritime tradition, Chios hasn’t prioritized tourism as much as other Greek locales have. But that’s starting to change. Situated in the low-key northeastern Aegean just 50 minutes from Athens by plane, the island is luring travelers with painstakingly preserved medieval villages, new cultural experiences, and landscapes that vary from pine forests and citrus groves to tamarisk-lined pebble beaches. Journalist-turned-taverna-owner Nikos Georgoulis is spear-heading cultural heritage tourism efforts to revive Pityos, a village of about 40 inhabitants in the north. He has recruited…

LONG STEREOTYPED BY its twisters and cattle country locale, Oklahoma City is an underrated capital on the rise—quite literally, as the proposed Legends Tower would be the tallest building in the United States. If completed, it would rise to 1,907 feet, to match the year that Oklahoma joined the Union. Record-setting architecture is only a facet of this growing city, a trend spurred by a low cost of living, the rise of remote work, a burgeoning film industry, and an increasingly lauded dining scene. Residents and travelers alike frequent the area’s cultural attractions, such as the Oscars-qualifying DeadCenter Film Festival, and recent films shot and set in the Sooner State—including Twisters (2024) and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)—have been boons to the local economy. Meanwhile, also in 2023, Andrew…

PATAGONIA’S PERCEPTION in the popular imagination is well defined—jagged mountains, brilliant white glaciers, and teal lakes—but there’s a lesser-known part of this region that looks nothing like the guidebook covers. Patagonia Azul, a slice of Argentina’s eastern coast, is a biodiverse wonderland. It’s a place where slender guanacos with chestnut-brown fur roam steppes stretching to the Argentine Sea, and colonies of marine birds—including the endemic Chubut steamer duck and Olrog’s gull—soar over the kelp-packed waters. Wildlife thrives here, but humans are sparse. Few visitors pass this way, and just over 1,500 people live in Camarones, the area’s biggest town. It’s all part of the UNESCO Patagonia Azul Biosphere Reserve, newly under the stewardship of Rewilding Argentina, an offshoot of the Tompkins Conservation organization that has protected huge tracts of land…

Boone, North Carolina

CRADLED WITHIN North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Boone emerged from geographical isolation with the arrival of the Tweetsie Railroad in 1919. Wealthy industrialists, such as Gilded Age denim magnate Moses H. Cone, built summer estates in the area, turning the sleepy village into a coveted destination. Today, Boone’s appeal endures as a gateway to outdoor adventure, about two hours north of the larger city of Asheville. From a base in the spirited mountain town, you can hike the trails of 5,946-foot Grandfather Mountain; take in scenic segments of the Blue Ridge Parkway by car; and go tubing, kayaking, and fishing in the New River. Additionally, in 2025 seven new public sites are opening along Boone’s leg of the Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail, where diverse fresh-water fish species and the hellbender…

Boone, North Carolina

A FRIEND ONCE told me this about her approach to teaching high school history: “If you start with George Washington, you may never get to Abigail Adams. But if you start with Abigail, you’ll eventually get to George.” Begin with the obvious, essentially, and you might never go beyond it. I feel similarly about travel. For decades, I’ve made it my practice to visit a country’s “second” attractions first. Starting slightly further afield leads me to something richer, more unexpected. In this age of overtourism, it’s also a way to avoid the disappointing throngs at classic locales, and to give some relief to the exhausted locals. I may have to search a bit harder for things to do, see, or eat, but the payoff is often a relationship to a…

THE AFAR GUIDE TO BUSAN

WHERE TO STAY The 532-room Paradise Hotel on Haeundae Beach has spacious rooms with a right-on-the-water view. The spa facilities—rooftop baths, an outdoor swimming pool—are among the best in the city. Check in, grab a coffee, stroll to the end of the beach, and take in the scenery on a half-mile circular walk around Dongbaek Island. The rooms at the Park Hyatt, located in a sleek sky-scraper on the Busan marina, feature minimalist decor with floor-to-ceiling windows. Watch the Gwangan Bridge’s twice-nightly light shows from the coziness of your bed or while floating in the indoor pool. The Lavalse Hotel in Yeongdo is well situated for exploring historic Nampo-dong; the tradeoff is less luxury than elsewhere in town, but the convenience is worth it. Go for a corner room with…

The Light Fantastic

A LACE TABLECLOTH IN SICILY, a taxi seat in Japan, a single bloom in Barcelona: Spanish photographer Pia Riverola’s attention to light and shadow transforms commonplace objects into images of delight and warmth. These daily details form the subject of her second book, Días (Loose Joints, 2024), which draws from her travels in some of the world’s most popular destinations. “I love spaces frequented by locals, rather than those dictated by trends,” Riverola says. “Even if these places don’t have the most extraordinary cuisine or breathtaking views, they offer something more profound—a genuine connection and sense of place.” Born in Barcelona, the 35-year-old photographer credits her grandfather for inspiring her love of photography. When she was 12, he gave her a Minolta camera, which she started carrying with her to…

The Light Fantastic

HOW BLUE CAN YOU GET?

HIS NAME’S Edward Antoine, the man who’s singing, but he calls himself King Edward, just like the historic hotel a mile away. He just turned 87, and though he must sit down to perform, his voice still sparks and crackles like autumn leaves. The house band behind him, most members young enough to be his grandchildren, keep the beat. The crowd at Hal & Mal’s in Jackson, Mississippi, whoops with pleasure at the end of every stanza. “What you have to learn about the blues,” says Bobby Rush, the man sitting next to me, “is it ain’t just something to make you sad. Because the same thing that will make you laugh is the same thing that will make you cry.” Rush, 91, has just won his third Grammy award,…

HOW BLUE CAN YOU GET?

HOW TO TAKE A BLUES TRAIL TRIP

THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL OF US IN THE TINY ROOM, AND IT’S LIKE THE BEST HOUSE PARTY I’VE EVER BEEN TO. Begin your trip in Jackson, the soulful state capital; the Westin Hotel is centrally located. Head to the funky Fondren District for a night out at the live music venue Duling Hall, housed in a 1927 school; for a quieter evening, try the neighborhood of Belhaven Heights for a late performance at Urban Foxes coffee shop. The next day, drive into the Delta, where Indianola, 100 miles north, pays tribute to B.B. King in its museum and interpretive center. Just 20 minutes to the west, the small town of Leland is worth a visit to hear Pat Thomas, son of famed blues-man James “Son” Thomas, play his father’s music…

HOW TO TAKE A BLUES TRAIL TRIP

MOST PEOPLE GO to Miami Beach for, well, the stylish beach. But it was so hot the weekend I took my mom to the Palms Hotel & Spa that we sought out different kinds of cool: refreshing spa treatments, ice cream, and air-conditioned museums. Luckily, we didn’t have to go far to start chilling out. The hotel staff welcomed us into the retro-designed lobby (pictured above) like old friends, offering icy drinks and recommendations. One that came up repeatedly: Azucar scoop shop in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, where we sampled Cuban-inspired flavors such as Abuela Maria (vanilla with guava, cream cheese, and Maria cookies). It was a deliciously frosty break, but we were happily sweating again once we joined the crowd across the street dancing to bands at Viernes Culturales,…

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