Table of contents for Spring 2026 in AFAR

Sandals® Resorts is where you experience the Caribbean the way it’s meant to be — worries left behind, days shaped by nothing but the schedule of the sun. Across eight island destinations, our adults-only, all-inclusive resorts are set on beaches you’ll want to linger on: Jamaica’s lush north coast, Saint Lucia’s sparkling blue views, Grenada’s quiet coves, Curaçao’s vivid reefs, and the jewel-bright shores of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines. Each destination has its own personality and its own path to relaxation. Some guests explore every resort on every island. Others fall in love with just one. Here, all-inclusive means the freedom to follow your day wherever it leads. Wake when you want. Drift from beach to pool to spa. Let the world stay wonderfully out of reach. Or keep…

1. Oi Sympetheroi At this compact grocery store, owner Thanos Vrettakis sells some of the top small-batch food items in Greece—everything from Ikarian wine to Volaki cheese from Andros. Snag a seat at one of the two barstools by the open storefront window for a local draft beer. Stournari 14 2. Behold Theman Excellent coffee, a spacious De Stijl–influenced interior, and vegan banana bread make this artistic café one of the busiest in the city. Go anyway. Stournari 6 3. The Black Salami Microbakery Occupying an old carpentry workshop, the Black Salami draws crowds for its limited sourdough loaves (100 per day) and housemade sandwiches with a Greek twist. The moussaka sandwich—beef ragu, béchamel, crispy matchstick potatoes, and roasted eggplant—is a crowd favorite, available seasonally. Zoodochou Pigis 71 4. Tanini…

THE HIGH-END Under Canvas glamping collection continues to grow for a reason: These tented retreats place travelers in the heart of their surroundings while offering a balance of comfort and wilderness. The 13th property, and first in California, opens this spring in Yosemite National Park, just a 10-minute drive from the park’s west entrance, set on 80 acres thick with ponderosa pines and black oaks. California is “a destination that we’ve had our sights set on for many years,” says Matt Gaghen, chief executive officer of Under Canvas. “What we’re really looking forward to with this location is offering our guests unmatched access to Yosemite.” Travelers, he adds, will have the opportunity to be “immersed in nature without sacrificing comfort and style.” The main lounge is furnished with pieces from…

Naturee EXPERIENCE THE ARCTIC THROUGH ITS PEOPLE HX Expeditions’ “Northwest Passage—Across the Top of the World” in August is a 26-day trip from Nome, Alaska, to Nuuk, Greenland, through the end of the brief, luminous Arctic summer. Watch from the deck of the hybrid-powered 265-stateroom MS Roald Amundsen to see the scenery unfold in stark, mesmerizing layers—drifting ice sheets, bobbing bergs—and keep an eye out for breaching gray whales and sunbathing walruses. Passengers will connect more deeply with the landscapes through HX’s new community-led shore excursions, developed in partnership with Inuit elders and other residents. Hike with Indigenous storytellers in Pond Inlet on Nunavut’s Baffin Island, or fish for arctic char in Victoria Island’s Cambridge Bay. HX works exclusively with local individuals and businesses for each experience, ensuring that meaningful…

A Storied Revival The train known as the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) debuted in 1982, after American entrepreneur James Sherwood first acquired original Orient Express sleeping cars at a Monte Carlo auction and restored their art deco interiors. His revived route from Paris to Istanbul echoed the 19th-century service, which made its inaugural journey from Paris’s Gare de l’Est in 1883. Europe On Wheels Today, the VSOE crisscrosses Europe, visiting Amsterdam, Brussels, Geneva, Prague, Istanbul, and Florence. In spring 2026, a new three-night route will connect Paris to Italy’s Amalfi Coast, with overnights in hotels such as the Caruso, A Belmond Hotel, in Ravello, along with one night spent on board the train. Cabins are without televisions, as the landscapes serve as plenty of entertainment. The VSOE travels at an average…

“GOOGLE ‘CARIBBEAN ISLAND’ and you’ll find a Windows XP background—blue water, palm trees, and white beaches,” says photographer Gilleam Trapenberg. “But I don’t feel that that’s all Curaçao is.” At the southern edge of the Caribbean Sea, roughly 40 miles north of Venezuela, Curaçao sits outside the so-called hurricane belt and sees less rainfall than its island cousins further east and north. To Trapenberg, what helps set the destination apart is its topography: more cacti than palm trees, and volcanic rock formations juxtaposed with lush vegetation. Trapenberg grew up in Curaçao’s capital, Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a well-preserved historic district of Dutch-style buildings painted buttercup yellow and robin’s-egg blue. The first Europeans to land on Curaçao were 15th-century Spanish colonizers, who enslaved the Indigenous Arawak people and…

STUNNING WATERWAYS Cypress-filled swamps. Rivers, bayous, and marshes. The Gulf. Louisiana offers endless opportunities for kayaking, canoeing, fishing, and more. Drift across vast spaces like the 2,700-acre lake at Poverty Point Reservoir, or wind your way through extensive river trails like those at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park. The Sabine River and Toro Creek offer sandy beaches for pleasant stops. Anglers can go after bass in Toledo Bend – the South’s largest man-made lake – or chase amberjack off the coast near towns like Hopedale. You can book guides around popular freshwater lakes and rivers, and throughout the Atchafalaya Basin region. Offshore charters can be found in coastal destinations like Venice, Grand Isle, and Cocodrie. BIRDS OF A FEATHER With distinct landscapes and abundant wetlands, Louisiana is a haven for…

Installed in 1887, the fountain at Hotel del Coronado was known as the Naiad Queen, featuring the bronze statue Venus Rising From the Sea by French sculptor Charles Cordier. Guests were captivated by the lush palms and sound of water; at night, electric lights and music transformed the court into a scene likened to a fairyland. In 1912, the fountain and statue were removed to make way for a flower house, and over time, the original sculpture was presumed lost. In 2024, a replica (cast from a mold of a duplicate statue) returned the Naiad Queen to the Del’s garden court. Opening Soon Get set to reserve: These four properties are almost ready for guests. Set between Napa and Yountville along the Napa Valley Vine Trail (a 47-mile walking and…

DOWN A ROCKY DIRT ROAD, about 10 miles north of Jodhpur, a field of okra, potatoes, and marigolds bakes in the autumn sun. Nearby, half a dozen women stand over metal basins, dipping lengths of raw silk and velvet into natural dyes colored with madder, rose petals, and indigo. A swath of rich ruby-brown fabric hangs on a drying line, lifting with the breeze, shimmering ombré as the light filters through. The women dip and toil, gold nose rings and bracelets flashing in the daylight. Two little girls pick through a small mountain of mustard-yellow marigolds. The blossoms smell spicy and wild. Here in the rural Indian village of Kali Beri, the artisans of Saheli Women are wrapping up a week’s work before Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. When…