Smoke-Free Hotels On the Rise

Los Angeles Native Jonny Olsen: Huge in Laos

Saving Chekhov’s Yalta ‘White Dacha’ Home

Alain Ducasse: ‘I Am Not a Fan of Airline Food’

How Can I Save on Transportation During a Round-the-World Trip?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

13 Great Travel Horror Movies

The Hollywood horror archives are filled with tales of bad trips. To celebrate Halloween, Eva Holland and Eli Ellison sift through the carnage to pick their favorites—and lose a little sleep doing so.

Matt Weiland: Through 50 States With 50 Writers

The coeditor of “State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America” talks to Frank Bures about the book, the WPA and how the United States hasn’t been “bulldozed for speed”

Love Herring in Sweden

From artery-clogging casseroles to a fermented concoction that smells alarmingly like vinegary flatulence, Lola Akinmade digs in to a smörgåsbord of herring and explains how to best appreciate Scandinavia’s favorite fish. 

The Water Is Wide

Bronwen Dickey considers Tim Butcher’s “Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart,” which takes readers deep into the Congo

Vagrant Ruminations of a Compulsive Traveler

Where does the urge to hunt for that “fleeting fix of elsewhere” come from? Peter Wortsman recalls a life of travel inspiration. 

Notes From an Unofficial Tourist Greeter

Summer is over, and so is Julia Ross‘ season as an ambassador to travelers in Washington, D.C.’s Woodley Park neighborhood. She’s happy to be off duty.

In Defense of Caribbean Tourism

Patterson ignores the social context of countries with the highest leakages; Barbados, Bahamas, Antigua & Barbuda, etc… were never as stratified as islands like Jamaica where the land and lower classes continue to be exploited after hundreds of years of slavery, intensive agriculture and poverty.

I also find the constant ignorance of the ghettos of the Bahamas to be despicable.  The entire region is marked by lack of local sovereignty, and educational disparity is debilitating on Jamaica and Haiti.

I am overwhelmed to see the positive reactions to Costa Rica and and its people. Yet, in going back to the original article on defending the Caribbean, its interesting to note that while Costa Rica’s tourism is growing every day, the majority of tourists are flocking to the Pacific. As a home owner in Puerto Viejo (south Caribbean), I know personally about the beauty of the Caribbean. I would like to see more people traveling to see the Atlantic Coast and all it has to offer. I am proud to say that we will soon be one of the leaders in the boating world. In Limon, there is a project going up that will bring in boaters from all over the world to a marina where they can dock their boats and enjoy all of the wonders Costa Rica has to offer. I hope more projects like IslaMoin go into the Caribbean and help showcase its natural beauty.

Books about foreign exotic places are the best thing I’ve encountered. As a child my family had no money to travel and that made me work harder as an adult. Now I have the money but I don’t spare the time.  I still pick up the books I read as a child and go trough the descriptive passages over and over again. I close my eyes and almost feel the breeze on my face, I see the clear blue water and feel the golden sand under my feet...thank God there are books…

I am surprised to see nobody mentions Cuba. This is one Caribbean destination with a lot to offer and its culture does not get spoiled by the inluence of tourism. In fact one of the main atributes of Cuba is its history, its people, its culture and of course its natural resources.

As far as I can see this is more of a problem with the economical system then a social one. I doubt Patterson has ever actually been on a cruise to the Caribbean etc, it sounds like he is only looking at a list of numbers. Tourism can only be a good thing as long as tourists take care of the environment.