Two new Caribbean resort openings show travelers just how far the concept of the all-inclusive holiday is stretching, with lifestyle hotels translating their unique identities into all-inclusives and focusing less on buffets and the beach and more on wellness retreats, culinary travel, and immersive cultural experiences.
In Cancun, Mondrian is taking its famously design- and culture-driven hotel concept all-inclusive for the first time.
Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, the new adults-only Hyatt Vivid Punta Cana puts wellness, flexibility, social connection, and local culture at the heart of its interpretation of the all-inclusive vacation.
In other words, the wristband — literal or metaphorical — no longer has to define the experience.
The new Mondrian Cancun represents a significant crossover: a brand best known for stylish urban and resort hotels in places like Los Angeles, Miami, Cannes, Ibiza, Singapore and Hong Kong is entering all-inclusive territory, starting in Mexico.
Its 400 rooms and suites occupy a high-rise between the Caribbean Sea and Nichupté Lagoon, with contemporary interiors designed to keep the surrounding landscape in the spotlight.
But the bigger story is what Mondrian is bringing to the all-inclusive model: the social energy, design, dining, and nightlife of one of its landmark lifestyle hotels.
There are 10 dining venues and six bars, ranging from Mexican cuisine at Cuyo and Japanese fare at Niko to casual food-truck bites. Allegra features what the resort says is Cancun’s longest rooftop infinity pool, while Bungalow Beach Club gives guests a separate private beachfront playground reached by complimentary shuttle.
Entertainment stretches from mindful movement and wellness to live music, DJ sets and curated events. Mondrian+ takes things further with top-floor accommodations, wraparound terraces, butler service, private check-in, preferred beach-club seating and exclusive rooftop facilities.
And the resort isn’t finished. A later phase is expected to add an expanded spa and fitness center, teens club, steakhouse and Cuban-inspired sunset bar.
It’s an all-inclusive resort behaving very much like a contemporary lifestyle hotel.
Over in the Dominican Republic, Hyatt Vivid Punta Cana takes a different route to the same destination: making all-inclusive feel less packaged and more personal.
The new 467-room, adults-only beachfront resort at Cabeza de Toro is the first Hyatt Vivid in the Dominican Republic and is aimed at what Hyatt calls “social explorers” and “conscious connectors” — travelers who want plenty to do without feeling scheduled from breakfast to bedtime.
Its programming revolves around three ideas: flow, encompassing movement and wellness; discovery, connecting guests with local culture; and presence, emphasizing mindfulness and relaxation.
That translates into paddleboard yoga followed by wellness-focused nutrition, Dominican coffee “brew sessions” with healthy bites and DJs, stargazing, creative workshops, live music, and spa rituals featuring local cacao and tropical fruits.
Food is similarly flexible, with five à la carte restaurants, an international food hall, bar and grill, wellness café, seven bars and lounges — plus a hidden speakeasy guests can unlock through a creative workshop.
There’s also a notable emphasis on place. Dominican coffee, ingredients, art, music and traditions appear throughout the experience, pushing back against another old criticism of all-inclusives: that you enter a gated resort once and barely know what country you’re visiting.
These two new resorts aren’t identical — and that’s the point. Beyond the convenience of pre-purchasing almost every element of your vacation, all-inclusives are getting more specialized and sophisticated, not more cookie-cutter.
Mondrian is serving up its signature design, dining, nightlife and creative culture. Hyatt Vivid emphasizes wellness, spontaneity, social experiences, and local connections.
Increasingly, travelers are choosing an all-inclusive not simply because everything is included, but because what’s included reflects how you actually want your beach vacation.
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Images of Mondrian Cancun courtesy of Ennismore/Mondrian
Images of Hyatt Vivid Punta Cana courtesy of Hyatt Hotels
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by Erika Docor on 09/09/2026
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey put one of the world’s oldest travel stories back on the big screen in 2026—and launched Greek voyages back into our travel imaginations. It might be the year’s biggest inspiration for ‘set-jetting': planning your own dramatic exploration of Greece inspired by the film.
Homer’s epic follows Odysseus making his way on a ten-year voyage home across a mythical Mediterranean world of islands, storms, temptations, monsters and gods. Nearly 3,000 years later, real-life Greece is less dramatic, but a bucket-list odyssey of your own.
Nolan filmed part of his colossal new movie in Greece, especially in the Peloponnese, using real landscapes to bring Homer’s mythical world to life on screen.
You don’t have to follow Odysseus’ route literally. And fortunately, modern Greek island-hopping involves fewer monsters!
Even if you don’t specifically take a cruise to discover Greece, discovering parts of this nation of over 200 inhabited islands (and thousands more uninhabited) will involve time on the water, so you can channel your inner Odysseus.
If you close your eyes and picture a Greek island, chances are you’re picturing Santorini.
Whitewashed villages spilling down cliffs, blue-domed churches, narrow lanes, and the brilliant Aegean below have made Santorini one of Greece's defining images.
But its beauty was born from geological violence worthy of Greek mythology.
Santorini is what remains after an enormous ancient volcanic eruption transformed the original island. Today, a crescent of towering cliffs surrounds a flooded caldera, so arriving by sea means sailing directly into the remains of a volcano.
Odysseus had monsters. Santorini has geology.
The island capital, Fira, clings to the cliff high above the water, while Oia has become famous for sunsets that bring half the island to a standstill.
My Favorite Things: Santorini’s black- and red-sand beaches, intensely flavored tomatoes and capers, and Assyrtiko wines. The vines are traditionally trained close to the ground in basket-like shapes to protect them from island winds.
Not every Greek odyssey has to be ancient.
Cosmopolitan, fashionable and unapologetically social, Mykonos combines Greek-island scenery with Ibiza energy and a touch of French Riviera glamour. Beach clubs, stylish hotels, boutiques, restaurants and nightlife have made it one of the Mediterranean’s great see-and-be-seen destinations.
If Circe had run a beach club, it might have looked something like Mykonos.
But step away from the party and the island has plenty of character of its own.
Mykonos is nicknamed the “Island of Winds,” and its historic windmills remain defining features of the landscape. Built centuries ago to harness those powerful breezes and grind grain, they still overlook the town like sentries from another era.
The main town, also known as Chora, is a maze of whitewashed buildings and twisting lanes where getting lost is almost part of the experience.
Odysseus took ten years to find his way home. Give yourself at least an afternoon.
My Favorite Things: Little Venice, where rows of colorful old houses with balconies hang over the water and now contain cafés, bars, shops and galleries. It’s one of the island’s best sunset spots—and unlike Odysseus, you can enjoy yours with a stylish cocktail.
If The Odyssey leaves you craving monumental history, add Rhodes to your voyage.
Known as the Island of the Knights, Rhodes has one of Europe’s most impressive surviving medieval cities. Its UNESCO-listed Old Town is surrounded by huge fortifications built and expanded over centuries.
Walk the Street of the Knights toward the Palace of the Grand Master and the Middle Ages suddenly feel very close.
But Rhodes’ story reaches much further back.
In antiquity, its strategic location made it an important maritime and commercial power. Its greatest symbol was the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The enormous bronze statue stood for only decades before an earthquake toppled it, but even lying in ruins, it remained a tourist attraction for centuries.
Ancient travelers, apparently, also loved a famous landmark.
The popular image of the Colossus straddling Mandraki Harbour with ships sailing between its legs is almost certainly more legend than history. Today, two deer-topped columns stand at the harbor entrance, keeping the story alive.
My Favorite Things: Rhodes’ beaches and wine. The island has one of Greece’s oldest winemaking traditions, while its greener, mountainous interior is a surprising contrast to the fortified city and resort-lined coast.
To connect your trip more directly with Nolan’s film, leave the islands temporarily and head to the Peloponnese, a rugged peninsula on the south coast of mainland Greece.
Around Messinia, filming took place at dramatic locations including horseshoe-shaped Voidokilia Beach and nearby Nestor’s Cave, while other Greek locations such as Methoni Castle and Acrocorinth helped create the film’s ancient world.
Ancient ruins, medieval fortresses, olive groves, caves and beaches still occupy the same landscapes that inspired stories thousands of years ago.
Homer’s hero spent ten years trying to get home. Your problem may be forcing yourself to leave Greece.
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By: Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel journalist and expert
Images: Getty
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by Erika Docor on 09/09/2026
Vienna has spent centuries perfecting the art of living well. Coffee and cake in chandeliered cafés. Music, art and architecture on an imperial scale. And, increasingly, some serious pampering behind the doors of the Austrian capital’s luxury hotels.
But these days, “wellness” during your trip to Vienna can involve much more than a massage.
The city’s luxury hotel spas still deliver plenty of old-school indulgence, often in spectacular historic surroundings. At the same time, a new generation of wellness centers inside luxury hotels and beyond is introducing longevity-focused experiences like cryotherapy, red light and oxygen therapies, infusions, genetic testing, and even brain-health analysis.
In other words, you can come to Vienna for the fairytale Baroque design and history – and stay for the biohacking.
Vienna’s spa scene starts exactly where you might expect: in some of the city’s most storied hotels.
At Mandarin Oriental, Vienna, a meticulously restored Art Nouveau landmark conceals a 7,500-square-foot spa with a 43-foot heated indoor pool. Treatments draw on Traditional Chinese Medicine, while “The Artisan” turns the European sauna tradition into a three-hour ritual of aromatic infusions, steam exfoliation, and traditional sauna whisking.
The setting is even more unexpected at Park Hyatt Vienna’s Arany Spa, tucked into the former vaults of a historic bank. Beneath soaring ceilings, guests swim laps in a 49-foot pool accompanied by underwater music. “Arany” means gold in Hungarian, inspiring the spa’s gold-infused signature treatments. But here, tradition is already meeting the new wellness frontier: the spa has added a cryotherapy chamber.
At Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna, the 1873 palace now houses an 8,600-square-foot spa with a hydrotherapy pool, saunas, a steam room, treatments, and fitness facilities. Guests who prefer wellness in the fresh air can choose among three recommended running routes directly from the hotel.
Hotel Sans Souci Vienna makes another kind of splash with what it says is Vienna’s longest hotel pool: 66 feet, dramatically illuminated by crystal chandeliers. Saunas, steam, ice treatments and an extensive massage menu round out the experience.
Meanwhile, Almanac Palais Vienna gives the traditional facial a distinctly modern vocabulary. Its “Viennese Lift & Glow Ritual” combines gua sha, cupping, dry brushing and cryo massage.
And at boutique The Amauris Vienna, the pool sits beneath a glass roof in an interior courtyard. Treatments play with color, scent and sound, and the spa is reserved exclusively for hotel guests – making it one of the city’s more private wellness retreats.
Beyond Vienna’s hotel spas, wellness is taking an even more ambitious turn.
“Longevity” has become one of the hottest concepts in global wellness travel. The idea is no longer simply to relax during a vacation, but to use diagnostics, technology, nutrition, and targeted therapies to improve long-term health – and potentially extend the number of years we remain healthy and active – and traveling!
Vienna is becoming an interesting urban hub for that trend.
Biogena Plaza, which calls itself a “Luxury Health Day Spa,” has locations on Operngasse and Mariahilfer Strasse and is deliberately accessible to walk-ins. Its menu reads more like something from the wellness future: whole-body cryotherapy, red light, magnetic field and oxygen therapies, lymphatic drainage, bone-density measurements, skin analysis and physician-supervised vitamin infusions and health checks.
Its Operngasse location also incorporates a medical area operated by Mayrlife, bringing diagnostic and preventive approaches based on modern Mayr medicine from the celebrated Austrian health resort into the heart of Vienna.
The Longevity Center Vienna pushes even further into the intersection of medicine and technology. In addition to cryotherapy, oxygen and red-light treatments, lymphatic drainage and 3D body scans, it offers dozens of physician-supervised infusions and vitamin shots.
Its particularly intriguing specialty is the brain. The center analyzes brain function, including activity and cognitive responses, to help develop personalized preventive health programs – adding cognitive wellness to the longevity conversation.
At the Healthy Aging Medical Center Vienna, the approach begins deeper still: with genetics and epigenetics. Genetic testing and biological age assessments form the foundation for individualized programs involving nutrition, exercise, and, where medically appropriate, hormone therapies.
But you don’t have to trade a slice of Sachertorte for vitamin shots.
Vienna’s new longevity experiences are appearing alongside the things that have always made the city such an appealing place to spend a few days: culture, cuisine, beautiful hotels and the city’s renowned appreciation for taking time to enjoy life.
Now it helps you make it last longer.
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Images: Top image: Almanac Palace Vienna Pool, copyright Tony Gigov photography, courtesy Vienna Tourism Board
Hofburg Palace: Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel journalist and expert
Sans Souci’s Pool with chandeliers, copyright Chuttersnap, courtesy Vienna Tourism Board
Cryogenic treatment and Red light therapy: Getty
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by Erika Docor on 09/09/2026
Twenty-five years ago, moviegoers got their first glimpse of Middle-earth — and savvy travelers discovered that it looked remarkably like New Zealand.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring premiered in 2001, the first chapter of Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. All three movies were filmed back-to-back in Jackson’s native New Zealand, with more than 150 locations eventually used across the North and South Islands.
It wasn’t just hometown patriotism. Jackson had an extraordinary range of landscapes practically on his doorstep waiting to be filmed: pastoral farmland, primeval-looking forests, volcanic terrain, wild rivers and some of the Southern Hemisphere’s most dramatic mountains. It meant multiple realms of Tolkien’s imaginary world could be created within one country - often with surprisingly little digital enhancement - with accuracy that awed even the most critical of ardent fans.
A quarter of a century and a new generation of Lord of the Rings Fans later… these film locations are still a magnet for ‘set-jetters’ today, who are thrilled to track down and escape into their fandom fantasies in the footsteps of the actors.
The Fellowship of the Ring has actually become one of travel’s great examples of “set-jetting,” and fans have a checklist of locations:
New Zealand has embraced its new identity as the “Home of Middle-earth,” developing new location tours and visitor experiences to celebrate the now-classic film milestone.
For Tolkien fans, that means the 25th anniversary comes with an irresistible proposition: rewatch the movie — then go see how much of Middle-earth was real all along.
New ways to road trip through Middle-earth: Independent travelers can explore the region at their own pace with Tourism New Zealand's Middle-earth Itineraries.
Designed for varying trip lengths and fandom levels, the itineraries include Halfling's Ramble, a North Island route featuring Hobbiton, Tongariro and Wellington; Elven Magic, which blends cinematic landscapes with cultural and scenic highlights; and Wizard's Journey, the ultimate full-country pilgrimage for dedicated fans.
A year of Middle-earth events: Countrywide celebrations will extend well beyond the film locations, with anniversary-themed activations and fan events taking place throughout the year. Festivities begin on International Hobbit Day (September 22, 2026), when fans celebrate the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins with special tours, themed dining and festivities at Hobbiton.
Visitors can also attend Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings concerts in Auckland, raise a pint at the annual Hobbiton Beer Festival in November, join the official 25th anniversary celebration on December 19, 2026, or take on the Middle-earth Halfling Marathon on March 20, 2027.
This 25th anniversary year of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring sets the scene for a new film slated for release in 2027, which brings new reasons for fans to make the journey to the real-life landscapes behind the films.
Of course, there’s an actual New Zealand beyond the appeal of the film version of Middle-earth, and these journeys are a springboard to a real-life New Zealand experience – from hiking, beaches, and wildlife to Māori culture, food and wine, and the country’s cities.
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Images courtesy of Tourism New Zealand
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by Erika Docor on 08/27/2026
What cruises give you the warmest welcome in Europe’s coolest months? River and coastal ocean cruising doesn’t completely stop when the Christmas holidays start. In fact, Europe’s “quiet season” is becoming a season of its own for cruisers.
It’s true that most Christmas markets pack up around Christmas Eve, although some extend through the holidays. But then come New Year’s celebrations, winter sales, Carnival, distinctive seasonal foods and traditions — and, along parts of the Mediterranean, the first blossoms of the year.
More cruise lines are extending their European seasons, sailing Mediterranean coastlines and rivers including the Rhine and Danube after the Christmas-market crowds have gone home.
The Mediterranean’s mild temperatures and sunshine make it a delightful winter cruise destination.
On France’s Côte d’Azur, mimosas’ brilliant yellow blossoms (pictured, top) bloom January into March along the Route du Mimosa through southern France. Mandelieu-La Napoule celebrates an annual February Fête du Mimosa, complete with flower-covered floats and parades.
It’s also citrus fruit season across the Riviera – and nearby Menton celebrates its colorful and tasty winter crop with its Lemon Festival.
Then comes Carnival, the last hurrah of decadence before the 40 days of Lent prior to Easter begin.
Venice’s famous Carnevale transforms the lagoon city with elaborate masks, costumes, performances and festivities. Nice stages one of the world’s great Carnivals, including enormous floats, nighttime parades and its famous flower battles.
Beyond Nature’s winter bounty, exploring archaeological sites in Italy and Greece, and cities such as Barcelona and Rome is much different without peak-season crowds and heat.
Europe’s great rivers offer a different winter experience, too.
New Year’s Eve is the standout. Even if your river cruise doesn’t coincide with the festivities, a pre- or post-cruise extension can have you in Vienna on December 31. Austria’s capital may be the ultimate Danube destination for New Year’s Eve, when its historic center becomes a street celebration of music, food and dancing. At midnight, St. Stephen’s Cathedral rings in the New Year, The Blue Danube begins to play — and revelers waltz in the streets. There are NYE balls and concerts for classical music lovers – not to mention the Vienna Philharmonic’s world-renowned New Year’s Concert on January 1.
Further southeast on the Danube, Budapest is another spectacular NYE setting (above), while Rhine itineraries put cruisers in the heart of festivities in cities including Cologne, Strasbourg and Basel.
After New Year’s, the emphasis shifts to cozy winter lifestyles: coffee and cake in historic cafés and warming regional specialties — Käsespätzle, Central Europe’s delicious mac and cheese: soft egg noodles layered with melted cheese and crispy onions; and the renowned Hungarian goulash, a comforting beef-and-paprika soup; Rhineland sauerbraten, slow-cooked marinated beef with rich gravy and red cabbage; Strasbourg’s Alsatianchoucroute, a French version of sauerkraut heaped with sausages and smoked pork (pictured below, image: Lynn Elmhirst)
Image: Lynn Elmhirst; in Strasbourg aboard a Rhine River cruise.
The rivers themselves look different, too. Bare vines reveal the contours of steep vineyard terraces, castles stand out against the hillsides and, with luck, snow transforms riverside towns altogether.
Christmas markets may have put winter river cruising on the map. But increasingly, they’re only the beginning of Europe’s cruising season.
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By: Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel journalist and expert
Images: Getty unless otherwise indicated
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by Erika Docor on 08/27/2026
For generations, travelers have organized their days around daylight. Get up. See the sights. Take the photos. Then, as the sun sets, the day starts wrapping up.
One of travel’s fastest-growing trends turns that itinerary upside down. And the lights off.
“Noctourism” – or nocturnal tourism – is the growing appetite for travel experiences after dark.
Noctourism can intersect with astrotourism, but they’re not exactly the same thing.
‘Astrotourism’ is about traveling for celestial experiences. And a recent survey of tens of thousands of travelers found that nearly two-thirds were considering trips to darker-sky destinations for ‘starbathing,’ constellation tracking and rare celestial events.
At night, right?
Actually, one of the most recent examples of astrotourism was in the daytime: the August 2026 total solar eclipse, the ‘eclipse of the century,’ lasting over 6 minutes in some places, took place in the middle of a day that was plunged into darkness. Entire countries went on pause to witness the longest total eclipse that almost anyone alive will ever see. Countless travelers planned trips around the eclipse and cruise lines sent dozens of sold-out ships on itineraries specifically designed to put the vessels and their fascinated guests in its path.
The extraordinary response to the solar eclipse reminds us how travel is increasingly about collecting experiences, not simply places.
More and more, the spotlight, if you’ll excuse the pun, is shining on the nighttime. Enter noctourism, which includes
No wonder noctourism is one of the fastest-growing travel trends!
Part of noctourism’s appeal is practical.
As summer temperatures climb in many popular destinations, travelers can shift sightseeing into cooler evening hours. That survey found more than half of travelers planned activities for evenings and early mornings, not just for nighttime attractions, partly to avoid daytime heat and sun.
Sometimes it’s quieter, too, after the daytime crowds have gone to bed.
But the best noctourism isn’t simply daytime sightseeing rescheduled.
Some travel experiences only happen in the dark.
A new focus on noctourism is making the whole world of travel just a little brighter.
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By: Lynn Elmhirst, travel journalist and expert
Image Credits:
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by Erika Docor on 08/27/2026
I adore river cruising. I constantly recommend river cruises to viewers and followers.
But river cruising is facing an industry-changing crisis. And I think it’s time to face it head-on with new solutions that will benefit everyone.
Low water levels on Europe’s major rivers – including the Rhine and the Danube – are making headlines around the world.
I was at (not on!) the Rhine last week (early August, 2026), and I was shocked at the water levels, as you can see in the VIDEO ABOVE.
What happens when the waters are too low for the ship to travel its planned route?
The river cruise lines’ teams go into overdrive, performing miracles of last-minute logistics to deploy tactics like:
Which all come at a cost: making those changes at the last minute and/or providing refunds and credits.
And then there are the soft costs - possibly more expensive over time.
I’ve been on some of these river cruises – and if you go on any of the many social media groups devoted to river cruising - you’ll see two guest responses:
Group 2 is getting bigger and louder.
And they’re also asking: ‘Didn’t the cruise lines see this coming?’
This is the worst year – but far from the first year - of desperately low water. In fact, at least for the past five years in a row, low water has interrupted river cruising in the height of the summer.
I believe we’ve come to the point where the inability of river cruise lines to operate consistently for a (growing) number of weeks every summer season has become a ‘known risk factor.’
That requires a new solution.
If you’ll excuse the river navigational pun, we’re at a confluence of the interests of three key parties:
Where these interests meet is a solution:
Out with traditional ‘high season’ of July – August.
At Virtuoso Travel Week this year, a notable change was observed: more travel was booked to Europe in September than in August. But there are even bigger changes on the horizon.
Viking, and even the new, charter-only Transcend river cruise line, are operating year-round on the Rhine. Others are narrowing their annual midwinter shutdown periods.
Those extra weeks of operation in mild winters can help cruise lines pay off those beautiful, expensive ships – while offering guests the benefits of ‘quiet season’ cruising.
They also get the freedom to change, promote – and price! – updated schedules that reflect the new reality of European summer heat.
The new ‘high’ seasons would become the earlier and later weeks that balance fair weather and reasonable expectations for navigable water levels with the full river-cruise experience.
I see a future with 6 seasons in the European river cruising calendar:
That provides the best possible outcome for cruise line revenues and reputations, travel advisors’ clients’ confidence and satisfaction… and traveler experience.
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Story, images and video by Lynn Elmhirst, cruise/ travel journalist and expert.
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by Erika Docor on 08/13/2026
In July 2027, the Tour de France will make cycling history in the UK. Three men’s stages and three women’s stages will put Britain on the cycling world stage. In fact, it will be a historic double-header: for the first time, both the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes will hold their Grand Départs - in the same country - outside France.
The 114th edition of the world’s most famous bicycle race will begin with a 630-kilometer road trip through Britain. The men take the peloton from Edinburgh through Scotland, England and Wales’ most compelling landscapes. Then, four weeks later, the women arrive and tour England.
It all gives cycling, outdoors and sporty travelers a great reason to plan a British vacation: to be part of the crowds cheering racers on along the route; or to channel (excuse the pun) your own inner Tour de France racer and plan a cycling trip through any of the race’s scenic vistas.
Stage One: Scotland
Edinburgh to Carlisle — July 2, 2027
The men roll out from their Grand Départ from Edinburgh on Friday, July 2, with the 184-kilometer opening stage beginning in one of Europe’s great historic capitals.
The teams will be formally presented at Edinburgh Castle on June 30, providing a dramatic opportunity to see the riders against this evocative and historic backdrop before racing begins.
Then the peloton heads south through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders, past the Eildon Hills and over the Côte de Melrose before crossing into England and finishing just outside medieval Carlisle Castle appropriately.
Stage Two: England
Keswick to Liverpool — July 3
Stage Two may be the one that has travel photographers queueing for the best view.
Starting in Keswick, riders will race through the UNESCO-listed Lake District alongside Thirlmere, Grasmere, Rydal Water and Windermere. Then come Morecambe Bay, Lancaster and the Lancashire hills before the race charges into Liverpool, finishing on The Strand in front of the city’s famous Three Graces.
It amounts to an extraordinary moving postcard of northern England.
Stage Three: Wales
Welshpool to Cardiff — July 4
On July 4, the Tour makes its first-ever visit to Wales. The 223-kilometer stage from Welshpool to Cardiff is also the toughest of the British opening stages, with eight categorized climbs, six packed into the final 80 kilometers.
The Côte de Rhigos and Côte de Caerffili could help determine who wins in Cardiff — and who carries the yellow jersey back across the Channel.
Don't put away the yellow bunting. Nearly four weeks later, the Tour de France Femmes makes its British debut with another three stages in England.
Stage One: Leeds to Manchester — July 30
The women begin in Leeds, where enormous crowds famously welcomed the men's Tour in 2014. From Yorkshire, the route crosses the Pennines before finishing in Manchester, giving northern England another day in the international cycling spotlight.
Stage Two: Manchester to Sheffield — July 31
The following day brings a considerably tougher proposition. The Manchester-to-Sheffield stage packs in nearly 3,000 meters of climbing, turning the Pennines and Peak District into both spectacular scenery and a serious sporting test.
Stage Three: London — August 1
For the British finale, the Tour heads to the capital — and makes a little cycling history in the process.
London hosts the inaugural team time trial in the history of the Tour de France Femmes: an approximately 18-kilometer race through central London, finishing on The Mall. Instead of a fleeting glimpse of the peloton, spectators will see teams racing separately against the clock through one of the world's most recognizable cityscapes.
In 2027, you can still go to France for the Tour de France. After finishing the initial British stages, the race transfers back across the Channel to familiar roads in France for the remainder of the 114-stage grand tour.
But for both Grand Départs, set your sights on Britain.
Find more information here at the Official Grand Départ Great Britain 2027 routes and visitor information
START YOUR SPORTING TRIP!
Images courtesy of Visit Britain
Top image credit: South of Scotland Destination Alliance/Clacks Active/ Andy McClandlish
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by Erika Docor on 08/13/2026
You came to the Caribbean for the beach. So did the wildlife. Throughout the islands, some stretches of sand come with company: two legs or four, from birds to beasts to reptiles.
Some creatures are unexpected, others have earned celebrity status. Some are indigenous to their islands, while others have adapted over centuries to new climes.
Here are some Caribbean beaches where you may have to share your patch of sand – and get a glimpse of a local resident of the wilderness.
The Caribbean has plenty of marine mammals. The Bahamas famously has marine pigs.
The best-known live on Big Major Cay in the Exumas, now nicknamed Pig Beach. With no permanent human residents, the pigs have become its celebrities, frequently swimming into the shallows and sometimes paddling out toward arriving boats.
Exactly how pigs ended up on this uninhabited island remains the stuff of legends rather than settled history. What isn’t in doubt is their international fame: swimming with the pigs has become one of the signature experiences of the Exumas.
Cute pigs swimming in crystal clear waters: who doesn’t want to post that photo? Just remember to follow local guidance about feeding and interacting with them, and give them space.
Pigs are the most unlikely mammals occupying Bahamian beaches – but some reptiles lay claim to fame, too. And these are indigenous to The Bahamas.
On several islands and cays in the Exumas, endangered Bahamian rock iguanas emerge from the vegetation and bask on beaches, looking like miniature survivors from the age of dinosaurs.
Reptile lovers will want to head to Allen Cays, whose famous iguanas can grow several feet long. Their habit of congregating near landing sites is partly the result of generations of visitors feeding them, something conservationists now discourage.
Few birds look quite as much like an imaginary creature as a flamingo, and seeing one strolling regally through turquoise shallows only adds to the surreal effect.
Head to the ‘ABC Islands’ in the southern Caribbean, specifically Bonaire.
The island is one of the most important places in the region for American flamingos, which thrive around its salt pans, lagoons and protected wetlands. Thousands may gather around Pekelmeer Flamingo Sanctuary in the island’s south, creating great streaks of pink against the brilliant white salt and blue Caribbean sky.
The sanctuary itself is protected and off-limits to visitors. But flamingos can often be spotted from surrounding roads and viewpoints, allowing travelers to see them behaving naturally without interfering with these wild creatures.
The renowned green vervet monkeys of St. Kitts have an unusual Caribbean backstory. Their ancestors were brought from West Africa centuries ago, and today their descendants are well established throughout St. Kitts and its sister island, Nevis.
You may encounter them not just around beaches, but even along roadsides and wherever there’s vegetation. They’re charismatic, clever — and wild.
That’s an important distinction. Experts advise avoiding operators offering staged photographs with captive monkeys, feeding or handling them. Keep your eyes open, and the chances are you’ll see one or more in the wild and have that story to take home.
Or how one cheeky monkey stole your ball off the Four Seasons Resort Nevis resort golf course, which a friend of mine never gets tired of telling (whether it’s true or not!)
On the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, thousands of free-roaming horses appear along roads, in fields, around communities — and sometimes beside the Caribbean itself. Descended from horses brought from Spain in the 16th century, they have become an unofficial symbol of Vieques.
Seeing horses wandering through a tropical landscape is striking enough. Spotting them with palm trees, sand and sea in the background makes Vieques feel like nowhere else in the Caribbean.
They may look domesticated, and some are owned but allowed to roam freely. Regardless, visitors should treat them as wild animals and avoid approaching, feeding, or attempting to touch them.
The Caribbean’s beaches are our vacation playgrounds. They’re also nesting grounds, feeding grounds, habitats and, quite simply, home to many types of wildlife that can enlighten and inspire us on our island escapes.
Images: Getty
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by Erika Docor on 08/13/2026
82 years after what Winston Churchill called “the most complicated and difficult” military operation in world history, Normandy’s D-Day Landing Beaches finally achieved long overdue recognition of their place in the world as we know it today – plus the protection needed to ensure their lessons live on for future generations.
LEARN MORE IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: Normandy Landing Beaches Designated UNESCO World Heritage Site after 82 years.
The surprise landing of over 150,000 Allied soldiers – from the UK, USA, Canada, France and more - on the shores of France in 1944 somehow overcame dreadful odds, weather, miscalculations, intense Nazi fortifications and thousands dead to create a foothold to begin to retake Europe back after 5 long years of war and occupation.
The sheer scope and audacity of the Landings, as well as the extraordinary feats of human spirit and international cooperation, make a visit to the Landing Beaches an essential trip for us all to this day.
Walking on the hallowed beaches in the footsteps of Allied soldiers is extraordinarily illuminating and moving.
From a cruise lover’s perspective, you have a number of cruising options to make your own pilgrimage to this sacred ground for Americans, Canadians, and British people.
The Seine flows north from the Paris area, emptying into the English Channel.
River cruises begin and end in Paris. That round trip from Paris is doubly convenient: you can fly into and out of the same city, plus you can, of course, bookend your river cruise with a pre- or post-cruise extension in Paris or its surrounding regions.
At the northern end of the cruise itinerary at the coast, all the major river cruise lines offer shore excursions to the Normandy Landing Beaches, including:
• Scenic
• Viking
• AmaWaterways
• Avalon Waterways
• Uniworld Boutique River Cruises
• Tauck: in addition to other Seine itineraries, Tauck offers a family-focused Seine river cruise; perfect for a memory-filled multi-generational trip to the historic beaches.
Check the details of the shore excursion to the Landing Beaches to make sure you will see the places of most meaning to you. There are 5 Landing Beaches:
• 2 American (Omaha and Utah),
• 1 British / Commonwealth (Gold),
• 1 British and French (Sword), and
• 1 Canadian (Juno)
as well as monuments, cemeteries and landmarks meaningful to WW2 and families of Allied veterans. No single excursion can encompass every sight.
River cruises aren’t the only way by water to see Normandy. The D-Day landings, of course, happened from the sea, and visitors in these peaceful times can also arrive in Normandy on ocean cruises.
The usual ocean port of call for Normandy is Le Havre, France. And while some cruise lines offer shore excursions from Le Havre all the way to Paris, that is a) a long way to go, and much too little time in Paris to do the City of Light justice, and b) you miss Normandy and the D-Day beaches.
I recommend taking the ship’s D-Day beaches shore excursion instead, while you are right there in Normandy, so you don’t regret missing walking in the very footsteps of one of the most impactful and heroic moments of our collective history. You can always take a post-cruise extension to Paris afterward.
START YOUR D-DAY COMMEMORATIVE TRIP!
By: Lynn Elmhirst, Cruise/ Travel Journalist and Expert
All rights reserved. You are welcome to share this material from this page, but it may not be copied, re-published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
by Erika Docor on 08/13/2026
Shawna Schrank
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