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The holiday season may have come and gone for you, but it’s going to last for at least another month for Queen Elizabeth. According to reports, the monarch is planning to leave the holiday decorations up at her Sandringham estate through early February for one particularly heartbreaking reason. While many believe it to be bad luck to keep holiday decorations up past the Epiphany on Jan.6, the Queen apparently doesn’t believe in religious superstition....

Although many West Coast residents still face the threat of evacuation and poor air quality due to recent wildfires, a slow return to normalcy has begun as Yosemite National Park reopens to visitors tomorrow, Sept. 25. This reopening comes just in time for Saturday’s National Public Lands Day, during which all national parks offer free entry. Starting Friday at 9 a.m., guests can begin entering Yosemite National Park, though only some visitor services will be available, while others will open incrementally over the weekend....

Emirates is ready to fly you on a quarantine-free vacation to Italy once again. Beginning June 1, passengers can fly from New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP) without the need to quarantine. Instead of staying in place for weeks on end, Emirates explains, passengers will instead present a negative COVID-19 PCR or rapid antigen test result on departure from New York. (The test must be performed within 48 hours before departure....

Staying at Upper Saranac Lake’s Dry Island will cost you $4,000/night, but it comes with a full staff, unlimited wine and 14 boats. Better yet? The entire island is yours, and yours alone, for your stay. Want to rent a private island in a warmer spot? Off the Florida Keys, Charlie’s Island sleeps up to eight people for $2,795 for a full week. When you break that down, it’s only about $50/night per person to have an island just for you and your friends....

After more than a year of restrictions and tough lockdowns across Germany, the sight of people enjoying steins of beer in Bavaria was a welcomed sign of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This week Germans were allowed to enjoy a beer outside as Biergartens in parts of Bavaria were permitted to reopen, according to The Associated Press. The southern German state — famous for its biergartens and annual Oktoberfest celebrations — has permitted areas that report a COVID-19 infection rate of less than 100 cases per 100,000 people to reopen their beer gardens....

Everyone is hunting for the perfect socially distant adventure. For those willing, that dream can be a reality: All it takes is a few nails, a hammer, and some sweat equity. Hello Wood, a Budapest-based company, is bringing together the tiny house and outdoor movements with its newest product, the Kabinka. The entire build comes delivered in a flat package that you assemble yourself in your own yard, the woods, or anywhere you’re allowed....

Upon walking through the original arched door of the new Hotel Emeline, the eye is pulled in a number of directions. Opened in July in Charleston’s Historic District, the stylish lobby welcomes guests with a woodsy aroma of the hotel’s custom-made scent. Plush sofas provide guests with a place to relax while listening to records. The hotel seems to have countless corners for curiosity. Inside Hotel Emeline’s playful Italian-inspired eatery, Frannie and the Fox, are mid-century style green banquettes and palm-printed chairs....

Travel booking site Expedia and home sharing site Vrbo will increase security on bookings around the Washington, D.C. area as well as all state capitals ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. The companies, which are owned by the Expedia Group, announced on Monday that all bookings through Jan. 24 will be screened and cross-referenced against local and federal government databases “to ensure those identified as persons who pose a threat to homeland security, including individuals arrested in connection with the Capitol siege, are not booking on our platform....

When you’re spending as much as $30 a day for hotel parking, tipping the valet each time he or she retrieves your car can seem like an unnecessary investment. That $30, however, goes only toward the valet’s base pay, which—much like a waiter’s—is calculated assuming that he or she will receive gratuities. If you don’t want to hand out money each day, ask the concierge if it’s possible to leave a total tip at the end of your stay: many hotels pool and distribute tips evenly to the valets....

It’s a sweltering September morning in Nairobi when I make my way into a gas station to grab cold water for the road. My 10-day journey with Intrepid’s first female-only expedition through Kenya has only just begun. I feel a small bead of sweat collect on the back of my neck before it drops down my spine and seemingly evaporates into thin air somewhere along the way. As I step outside, I think to myself, what sweet relief it will be for the engine to turn over on our 20-passenger truck, roll down the windows, and feel the air wash over my face....

JetBlue’s revamped Mint experience will have passengers flying in style — and privacy. Passengers will find the new suites, aboard JetBlue’s hotly-anticipated transatlantic flights — complete with sliding doors — to London this summer. The new Mint suites will feature a 17-inch seatback screen, wireless charging capabilities, a phone ledge, in-seat power, and storage space for laptops, shoes, and handbags. And when it comes to napping, passengers will have the ability to comfortably recline in their seats developed by mattress company Tuft & Needle....

This year’s World’s Best Awards survey closed on March 2, just before widespread stay-at-home orders were implemented as a result of COVID-19. The results reflect our readers’ experiences before the pandemic, but we hope that this year’s honorees will inspire your trips to come — whenever they may be. Although Shanghai has a reputation as a futuristic megalopolis, the allure of this city — the largest in China, with a population of more than 25 million — is the dichotomy of the old and the new....

Your bed is an oasis. And whether you’re spending more time in it lately or you still look forward to cozying up after a long day, your choice of bedding is a key part of a good night’s sleep. And while there are tons of bedding brands out there, they don’t all use eco-friendly and sustainably-sourced materials. Bedding made from bamboo or organic cotton, for example, can make less of an environmental impact and is still durable and soft-to-the-touch....

While many American prisons are trying to navigate overcrowding, prisons in the Netherlands are so empty, people are coming up with creative new plans for the buildings. Over the past 10 years, the incarceration rate in the Netherlands has dropped from one of the highest in Europe to one of the lowest (57 people per 100,000). The recorded crime rate has dropped 25 percent over the past eight years. And although some argue that the main reason behind the drop is the closings of police stations across the country, there are now former prisons just sitting empty — and available for rent....

Editor’s Note: Travel might be complicated right now, but use our inspirational trip ideas to plan ahead for your next bucket list adventure. The lowest point in the world’s oceans is the Challenger Deep, more than 35,000 feet below the surface. While 12 astronauts have walked on the moon, only seven people have explored this trench in the Pacific, says Ben Lyons, the CEO of Eyos Expeditions. “That makes it the most exclusive destination on Earth,” Lyons says....

You know your dog is a star, so why not share their cuteness with the world? BARK, the dog company behind the dog toy subscription service BarkBox, is searching for the ultimate dog person to make TikToks of their pup. This person would be responsible for posting several videos a day of their precious canine in an effort to grow BARK’s presence on the platform. Frankly, turning our pets into viral superstars from home sounds like a pretty sweet gig....

Every year for the past decade, the World Happiness Report ranks how people in more than 150 countries evaluate the quality of their lives to find the world’s happiest countries. And for the past four years, the top spot has been claimed by Finland. Today, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which publishes the report together with Gallup World Poll, announced that the Nordic country is yet again leading the list....

I checked the schedule on the train platform in Gdańsk, Poland for the umpteenth time and looked up and down the track again. I was quite sure my train should have been here by now, when a local came up to me and asked, “Warsaw?” I nodded. She pointed to the opposite track behind me. Despite having traveled by train on four continents, the rail systems around the globe differ so greatly that they can be challenging to navigate, especially when there’s a language barrier....

With a city as big as Los Angeles, planning a getaway leads to a lot of questions, one of the first being, “Where should I stay?” Choosing a home base for your travels can set the tone for an entire vacation, and seeking out local boutique hotels over large chains offers a more bespoke experience. Boutique hotels in Los Angeles have that personal touch needed to take your vacation to the next level, and these are the best of the best in the City of Angels....

Vacations are meant to take you away from the demands of daily life so you can relax and reset — but that’s almost impossible when the kids are begging for an expensive excursion and you’re already over budget. If you want a truly care-free vacation, it’s best to pay upfront for an all-inclusive family resort so your crew can enjoy all the food, drinks, entertainment, and activities, worry free. It won’t matter if you want another round of cocktails or your kids can’t seem to get their fill of horseback riding — it’s already been paid for....