AFAR

THIS ISSUE MARKS the 10th anniversary of AFAR. It is a humbling and gratifying occasion for us. When we started AFAR, the world was in the midst of the Great Recession. People weren’t traveling. Businesses weren’t opening. And that went double—OK, qu

Start with these 3 different trip options. Head here to compare the modern and ancient Aussie lifestyles. Do as the locals do and hit the beach to relax, then take a convict history tour of The Rocks. See the ancient rock art of Aboriginal people, wh

Jacqueline Winspear Writer Friends in High Places p.64 Ready to party: “In Crete one day, my friend and I found a little family-run restaurant. We stopped to get a drink. Next thing we knew, they’d dragged us into the family birthday party. We couldn

ON A RECENT FLIGHT to Philadelphia, I was feeling glum: It was my third business trip in as many weeks, and I’d been missing my family since the minute I left my house. I was also sick. But when I landed in Philadelphia, I made a conscious decision t

Sipping a handcrafted bourbon. Watching a graceful Thoroughbred race down the homestretch. Spending a day on the lake or venturing below-ground for exploration of “Mammoth” proportions. These are a few of the things that make us happy – and they’re a

Lisbon, Portugal The six suites that occupy an 18thcentury residence in Lisbon’s old cultural quarter have linen curtains, gleaming white subway tiles, soothing gray walls, natural wood furnishings, and precious little else except peace and quiet. A

Whether you’re playing golf, having dinner, or just walking around, the shimmering Atlantic that surrounds Bermuda is a constant companion. Here’s how to enjoy. Bermuda’s famous stretches of pink sand are perfect for activities like swimming, catchin

Meik Wiking is an author and the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, a think tank based in Copenhagen. His newest book, The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments (HarperCollins), is due out October 1. He shared his tip

In her new book The Atlas of Happiness: The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy, U.K.-born, Denmark-based author Helen Russell takes readers on a round-the-world trip—not to the usual tourist attractions but through distinct concepts of happiness that

Simply uttering the names of Tahiti and Bora Bora is enough to trigger visions of idyllic tropical serenity. And the best way to make those visions a reality is on board the m/s Paul Gauguin—the highest-rated and longest continually sailing luxury cr

The fluidity of Tokyo's identity is one of the city's most remarkable facets to behold. Countless neighborhoods are continually evolving in unexpected and compelling ways, and this is particularly apparent in their relationship with contemporary art.

When Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955, the style we now call midcentury modern was all the rage. Many of those retro touches remain. After entering the park and passing under a plaque that begins here you leave today, check out vinta

MOST TRAVELERS TO the Swiss city of Schaffhausen go to explore the Old Town—a bastion of baroque, rococo, and late Gothic architecture on the Rhine River—or to see Rhine Falls, Europe’s largest waterfall, which is just a few miles south of town. Watc

WE LANDED ON Heraklion, the largest city in Crete, fizzy with the excitement of being in a new place. Corinne, my flatmate, and I had no plans, not even a guidebook. The year was 1978, and we’d chosen our destination at random, drawing upon our perks

I WAS BORN and raised in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. Art and fashion were always important to my family. My dad painted and drew as a hobby, and my mom ran a sewing factory. Every day after school, my mom or dad would pick me and my older sis

IT HAS BEEN six months of anticipation, alternating between excitement and dread, but when I receive my Spin the Globe assignment, I’m ecstatic: MADRID. “Maybe you’ll see Ferdinand!” says my six-year-old, referring to the pacifist bull from Munro Lea

Travel experiences are more fulfilling when you walk away with a deeper understanding of a destination. That’s why AFAR has partnered with Context Travel—to help you access richer travel experiences. Context’s private tours are run by true experts in

THE SMELL OF apple pie and roasting coffee beans fills the air inside Café Bach, a 51-year-old coffee shop in Tokyo’s rough-and-tumble Minami-Senju neighborhood. Café Bach is what many young Tokyoites might describe as “Shōwa.” Japan’s Shōwa era (192

At the Grand Cayman Marriott, discovering and cherishing small pleasures have always been a cornerstone to their way of life. This can be as simple as an evening walk on Seven Mile Beach, letting the warm Caribbean sun dry your skin after a dip in th

in the town of Paro was, according to my guide, a modest storefront unworthy of much description. Fine by me. As a blind guy, I don’t always care what the world looks like. What mattered most was the water inside. My wife, Tracy, and I had landed in

At the charmingly ramshackle farmhouse in northern Norway where Roddie and Lindis Sloan live with their three children and a dog named Stella Bente Svendsen, a burst of unexpectedly warm weather has given everything the slightly giddy feel of a holid

As our boat floated in the Gulf of Thailand, a scratchy voice over the radio alerted our captain that divers had seen an endangered whale shark nearby. On deck, the energy was palpable. Even the instructors, tanned and perpetually sandy, were giddy.

WHEN AFAR FOUNDERS Greg Sullivan and Joe Diaz tell the story of AFAR’s birth, it always starts in India in 2007. The friends had been traveling there for weeks, exploring the country without set plans, meeting entrepreneurs, artists, and even gurus.

At Manshausen, a private-island resort off the shores of the far northern town of Nordskot, cabins with window walls provide uninterrupted views of the 55-acre islet and surrounding Grøtøya Strait. The white sand beaches look out at the mountains, an