The Journal
Written by the people who run the tripsFree · no signup, ever
No. 01 · Destination guide
China: Beijing, the Great Wall, and Xi'an's Terracotta Army
China's classic first-timer route strings together Beijing's imperial monuments, a hike along the Great Wall's less-crowded secti…
September 18, 20265 min readThe TripClub desk
Read the feature →Photo: Lloyd Tudor / CC BY-SA 4.0
Also in this issue
23 pieces · 6 departments- 02
Rio de Janeiro and Iguaçu Falls: Brazil's Essential Two WeeksRio's beaches, samba, and mountain backdrop pair with Iguaçu's thundering, 275-waterfall spectacle on the Brazil-Argentina border…Destination guide5 min - 03
Chile: The Atacama Desert, Santiago, and Wine CountryChile's absurd geography — the driest desert on Earth in the north, a European-feeling capital in the middle, vineyards in the ce…Destination guide5 min - 04
Zanzibar: Spice Islands and the Swahili CoastZanzibar's Stone Town blends Swahili, Arab, Persian, and Indian influences into a UNESCO-listed maze of carved wooden doors, whil…Destination guide5 min - 05
Tulum and the Yucatán: Cenotes, Ruins, and Mexico's Caribbean CoastThe Yucatán Peninsula pairs Tulum's clifftop Mayan ruins and Caribbean beaches with a landscape riddled underground by thousands…Destination guide5 min - 06
Sicily: Volcanoes, Greek Ruins, and Italy's Deep SouthMount Etna, the Valley of the Temples, and a food culture shaped by three thousand years of conquest make Sicily one of the Medit…Destination guide6 min - 07
The Basque Country: San Sebastián, Bilbao, and Europe's Best Small-Plate Food SceneSpain's northern Basque Country pairs a Michelin-star-dense pintxos culture with a fiercely independent identity, a language olde…Destination guide5 min - 08
Porto and the Douro Valley: Where Port Wine Comes FromPortugal's second city pairs a riverside old town of tiled facades with the terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley upstream, the…Destination guide6 min - 09
Kerala's Backwaters: Houseboats, Spice Ports, and India's Slow-Travel CoastA network of lagoons and canals behind Kerala's coastline, best explored by traditional kettuvallam houseboat, anchors a state th…Destination guide6 min - 10
Ladakh: High-Altitude Monasteries, Turquoise Lakes, and India's Cold DesertPerched above 3,000 meters in the Himalayan rain shadow, Ladakh pairs centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist monasteries with some of the…Destination guide5 min - 11
Yellowstone and Grand Teton: America's Original National ParksThe world's first national park pairs geysers, hot springs, and some of the lower 48's best wildlife viewing with the jagged, gla…Destination guide5 min - 12
Why I Stopped Chasing Bucket ListsAfter a decade of ticking off countries, I noticed the trips I actually remembered weren't the ones on any list at all.Planning and itineraries5 min - 13
The Case for Traveling Alone at Least OnceYou don't have to make solo travel your whole personality. But everyone should try it once, and here's why.Solo travel6 min - 14
What Overtourism Actually Looks LikeFrom Venice's day-tripper fee to Barcelona's water pistols, a look at what happens when a destination's popularity outgrows its c…Planning and itineraries6 min - 15
The Souvenir ProblemWhy the shot glasses and magnets end up in a drawer, and what actually stays out on the shelf.Planning and itineraries6 min - 16
Learning to Slow Down: The One-City TripA canceled flight stranded me in Oaxaca for ten days instead of two. It became the best trip I've taken, and changed how I plan e…Destination guide5 min - 17
What a Decade of Guiding Tours Has Taught UsTen years of group trips have changed how we think about itineraries, guides, and what travelers actually remember.Planning and itineraries6 min - 18
The Honest Case for Group ToursPast the matching-hats stereotype, small-group travel solves real problems — and the criticisms worth taking seriously.Planning and itineraries5 min - 19
10 of the World's Best BeachesFrom silica-white sand in Australia to pink-tinted shores in the Bahamas, ten beaches that earn their reputations for entirely di…Destination guide6 min - 20
Top 10 National Parks Before They ChangeFrom retreating glaciers to bleaching reefs, ten national parks where documented change makes the case for visiting sooner rather…Adventure travel7 min - 21
8 Weekend Getaways from Mumbai and DelhiFour picks near each city, chosen for how well they fit into forty-eight hours, from hill stations to heritage forts to India's a…Destination guide6 min - 22
Best Time to Visit Europe Month by MonthA month-by-month read on crowds, weather, and the specific events worth planning around, from Venice Carnival to the last Christm…Continents and countries6 min - 23
7 Destinations for a Long Layover Done RightFrom Singapore's free city tours to Iceland's stopover program, seven airport hubs where a long layover is worth turning into a m…Adventure travel4 min - 24
Top 10 Food Cities Worth Traveling ForFrom Bangkok's street stalls to Naples' wood-fired ovens, ten cities where the food alone justifies the trip.Activity information6 min
That is the issue. Everything above came out of running these routes — so if a piece raised a question, the desk that wrote it will answer it.
Stop reading, start planning →