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Trains to chicago.

• Trains from Detroit to Chicago $78+
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Trains to Boston

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Trains to Philadelphia

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Trains to Los Angeles

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A child is between the ages of 4 and 11 years.

Many trains in Italy and beyond offer a discounted fare between 30% & 50% off the Adult fare for Children.

The child offer is now extended to children ages 4 to 14 years when traveling on high-speed Frecciarossa, Frecciabianca, Frecciargento, InterCity, InterCityNotte, EuroCity, and Thello trains. Your child will be assigned his/her own seat and children must be accompanied by an Adult when traveling on this offer.

Regional trains will still offer discounted fares for children ages 4 to 11 years.

Infants & Children 3 & under travel for free and will share a seat with the adult companion.

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Rome Tour Pass

Best of Florence & Tuscany by High-Speed Train from Rome

Pompeii and the Art of Pasta in the Shadow of Mt. Vesuvius

The Ultimate Bucket List Orientation Tour of Rome

Amalfi Coast Day Trip by High-Speed Train from Rome

Day trip to Pompei from Rome

Frascati Wine Road from Rome: Tasting & Lunch

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60 Best travel websites for researching & planning a trip

Researching and planning a holiday is like decorating a room. It’s all about the preparation. (Yes, you can have a great spontaneous holiday, but there’s a lot of luck involved in that…).

In the good old days, before the internet, we relied on travel agents, but in today’s digital world, a wealth of online websites and apps are on-hand to help.

But too many. The choice is overwhelming and the quality and trustworthiness variable.

So which ones are the best? Which ones should you use and for what purpose?

Planning a holiday – even before you book it – involves several steps. We’ve broken down this process and recommended the best tools to use at each stage, to make your research and planning process as simple, painless, fast –and enjoyable – as possible.

Where to go & what to do

1.1 ideas & inspiration.

Discover new places you never thought of going to, wonderful things to see & do on your travels. Add them to your travel bucket list.

Bucket List Travels

Concept: This specialist travel inspiration site works with an impressive list of leading travel writers around the world to recommend the world’s greatest travel experiences. It also offers destination guides, simple itineraries that link the top attractions together, and recommends the best places to stay while you’re there. You can search and filter through the recommendations e.g. to find recommendations by price, or that are suitable for kids. You can also save your ‘finds’ to your travel bucket list.

Pros: the search and filtering is unique amongst travel inspiration sites, and it allows you to sort through the thousands of expert recommendations to find what you want quickly – a huge time saver. The destination guides have curated, not comprehensive recommendations, so they’re effectively handing you a list of great recommendations for when you visit a new destination, i.e. the ‘bucket list’ experiences not-to-be-missed. The adding to favourites is also unique – great for ‘saving for later’ those brilliant experiences or places to stay you come across.

Cons: coverage is limited to only 100 or so destinations, which mainly centres on the UK and western Europe. Non-Europe content is limited (but being added in the near future).

When to use: Use it before any other site to decide on where to go or what to do next, and to get an outline list/itinerary of what you want to do there. Then supplement that with tours & activities from other inspiration sites listed here, especially the ones with the local authentic experiences.

Website : https://www.bucketlisttravels.com/

Concept: Instagram is a social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos with their followers. It’s popular among individuals, influencers, and businesses for promoting their personal brands or products.

Pros: Insta is a great source of travel inspiration, as it allows you to discover new destinations, attractions, and experiences through visually appealing and engaging content. You can follow travel influencers and bloggers for tips and recommendations, discover lesser-known destinations and experiences, find out about local events and festivals, and see how others experience a particular destination, which can provide ideas for your own itinerary.

When to use it: Day-to-day inspiration and idea generation for your next trip. Bookmark your favourites, or save your ideas to your travel bucket list for the next time you do want to go somewhere special.

Website : https://www.instagram.com/

Concept: Pinterest is a social media platform that allows users to discover, collect and share images and videos on virtual pinboards. Users can create boards on any topic and save Pins from other users or external websites, as well as search for inspiration and ideas. The platform has over 400 million active users worldwide.

Pros: Like Instagram, it’s a great visual travel inspiration tool, for discovering what to do in the world and specific destinations.

When to use it: For visual searches of potential destinations, and saving ideas (pins) for future trips.

Website : https://www.pinterest.com

Travel & Leisure

This high-end, luxury travel magazine covers a range of topics including hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises, food and drink, and various travel destinations around the world. Being a magazine, it focuses on the new and topical, so it’s a showcase of the latest and greatest in travel if novelty is your thing.

Pros: It’s top-quality content and genuine expertise from leading journalists and travel writers, with selective, curated recommendations. They have tonnes of round-ups of the ‘world’s best’ too.

Cons: Recommendations can be a bit too curated, missing lots of smaller experiences, and are often outside of the budget of most travellers. It’s primarily a magazine with an online afterthought, so recommendations tend to get buried in long pages of text. The site search turns up articles/posts that you then have to read further, rather than specific recommendations, and you can’t filter anything which is the big time saver.

When to use it: Sign up for their social feeds and newsletters, which often feature great round-ups like: “Best place to…”. Great for day-to-day inspiration and idea generation for your next trip. Bookmark your favourites, or save your ideas to your travel bucket list for the next time you do want to go somewhere special.

Honourable mentions: other great magazines for this include Conde Nast Traveller (featured later) and Wanderlust .

Website : https://www.travelandleisure.com/

Travel blogs

Concept: Travel blogs (too many to mention, but pretty much all the same in format) feature personal experiences, advice, and recommendations, usually written by an individual traveller or group of travellers who share their travel stories, photos, and tips with their audience.

Pros: You can’t beat personal experience when it comes to travel recommendations, and often these experienced author-travellers offer good insights and tips. They’re also usually an interesting, engaging read.

Cons: for planning a trip, blogs are hit and miss. They are written from the perspective of the blogger i.e. where they have just been or what they have just done, so it’s pot luck if that coincides with where you want to go or do next. They are also flat, text articles – you can’t search or filter their recommendations.

When to use it: Follow the ones you like if you enjoy reading such things. Once you have your list itinerary roughly planned out, they’re worth a quick scan for additional tips and insights (if you can find something relevant).

1.2 Top attractions, activities, tours & events

If you’re ready to start planning your trip, and nothing on your travel bucket list fits the bill, take a look at one of these sites to decide:

Concept: See listing above.

When to use: Head to their search results that shows all 100+ destination they cover, then use the filters to select a destination based on cost (cheap v expensive), or theme  (e.g. Science & Nature, Art, History & Culture) etc. You can also handily filter the list according to the best month of the year to visit.

FlightsFrom

Concept: this handy website lists all of the destinations you can fly to from every airport, on what days and with what airline.

When to use it: great for identifying where you can fly to from your local airport, and planning multi-destination trips.

Website : https://www.flightsfrom.com/

Google Flights

Google’s flight aggregator and comparison service consolidates flight schedules from all of the world’s commercial airlines in one place. By entering your dates and departure/arrival airports, you can quickly see who flies there, on what dates and at what times, and the price of the fare. Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts.

How to use it: The ‘Explore’ function allows you to specify a departure airport and see the cheapest flights to any destination you can fly to from that airport, for certain dates and trip durations – so great if you don’t have a fixed destination in mind. You can also handily add more than one departure airport if you have more than one departure option. (NB FlightsFrom shows you all available flights; Google Flights shows you available flights and their prices). NB Skyscanner has a similar ‘Explore everywhere’ feature, however, it is only available on the app and you can only enter one departure destination).

Website : https://www.google.com/travel/flights

This travel inspiration website provides a wealth of travel content, including destination guides, hotel and restaurant recommendations.

Pros: there’s loads of decent quality content, and their network of experts worldwide have good credentials and specialise in the destinations they write about.

Cons: The recommendations feature in text-heavy pages, making it hard to use for planning. You can’t filter, or save your favourites, and if you site search, you then have to wade through lots and lots of article posts. The content can also be quite random – as if it’s what someone felt like writing at the time, rather than being structured.

When to use it: Once you have your main list drawn up from the other sites listed here, it’s worth a quick scan for additional tips and insights.

Website : https://www.tripsavvy.com/

This global deals site specialises in providing exclusive offers and one-of-a-kind experiences to its 30 million members worldwide (membership is free). They partner with over 5,000 travel suppliers to source cut-price inventory.

When to use it: Sign up for their newsletter, then sit back and let the deals roll in. If you’re price-conscious, or just love a deal, then use their offers to decide on where to go and what to do next. Works best if you’re flexible on dates – most deals will be for when demand is lower i.e. in winter and/or outside of school holidays.

Website : https://www.travelzoo.com

1.3 What to do when you get there: attractions

Now you’ve decided on a destination, what should you do there? What are the top attractions, the must-see-and-dos, and the ‘bucket list experiences not to be missed?

How to use it: Navigate to the destination guide webpage. Our expert writes not only curates the top travel experiences – attractions, activities, tours & events – for you, but also further splits them as either ‘bucket list’ i.e. the not-to-be-missed, or ‘other’ experiences – nice to know about, but only for if you have time/interest.

Also, be sure to scroll through the destination page photo gallery for a pictorial summary.

Google Travel

Concept: Google’s travel planning platform offers a range of tools to help users plan their trips. It includes Google Flights (see later), a hotel aggregator and holiday rentals

For deciding what to do when you go somewhere, type your destination into the search, then click on the ‘Things to do’ side icon for full listings. It tries to list in order of priority/popularity, which mostly works, though it is an auto-generated list. The written descriptions come from Wikipedia, so it lacks that human expertise and it all feels a bit soulless (to me anyway). The interface however is easy to use, and you can add favourites to a trip list.

How to use it: After you’ve been to Bucket List Travels for the curated, expert list, if you feel you need more in your itinerary, and/or you’re worried we may have missed something, then use Google Travel to check the full comprehensive listings and see if there is anything else you want to do.

Website : https://www.google.com/travel/

Lonely Planet

Concept: The original ‘guidebook’ company, they have destination guides for pretty much every place on the planet. Their expert writers, who must specialise in the destination, provide comprehensive listings and recommendations for sightseeing, accommodation and food & drink, plus very detailed logistical and practical information.

How to use it: They’re comprehensive, not curated. They include a lot of minor attractions that the majority of travellers would not want to bother with, and there’s not a lot of imagery, just text. I use them as a cross-check once I have outlined what you want to do. It’s too detailed/comprehensive for researching and planning – unless you’ve got days to spare. Handy to take the book with you, though, for the in-depth local tips when you’re there.

Honourable mentions: all of the guidebooks are broadly similar. Also try Rough Guides , Fodor’s , Frommers’ , Rick Steves (Europe only) and DK Eyewitness .

Website : https://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Tourism Associations

Concept: A local government body, tasked with promoting tourism to the destination, that will provide comprehensive information, advice and recommendations for visitors to both attract and facilitate their visit. Being the local specialist, they should know better than anyone what to see & do, and they often include many smaller, high quality attractions and tours that others will miss. However, the quality of websites is highly variable (best in the most developed, richer nations as you’d expect), and they have to be impartial so there is no curation and little opinion.

How to use it: A great resource when it’s done well. If you’re going to a developed nation, I would say they are a must-visit. Use them to start drafting up your list.

Concept: A video-sharing website where users can upload, share, and view videos on a variety of topics. It attracts billions of monthly active users. There’s a digital tonne of travel content on there, covering every aspect – from destination recommendations to videos on how to book flights.

When to use it: if you’re a visual person, YouTube is a great resource for travel inspiration. It’s jammed packed these days with ‘What to see in X’, with video and image slideshows showing you the top sights. It tends to be top sights only, but a good place to start drawing up your shortlist. It’s also great for travel advice and tips.

Website : https://youtube.com

1.4 What to do when you get there: local experiences

‘Authentic’ experiences enable you to experience the real destination, to experience its culture, to meet its people, and to live like a local. Indeed, many travellers prefer them to crowd-thronged, tourist-spoiled ‘big ticket’ attractions. Here are some resources I use to discover them in my chosen destination:

Air BnB experiences

Concept: This service allows individuals and small businesses to offer unique activities and tours to travellers in over 1,000 cities around the world. Experiences can range from food tours to pottery classes to wildlife safaris, and are designed and led by locals who have expertise in their field.

Pros: Coverage is extensive, and the experiences can be a more immersive and authentic way for travellers to connect with the local culture and community.

Cons: Some of the experiences listed I feel are more for locals than tourists, and it’s tours/classes, so not really attractions you visit like museums.

When to use it: If you’re a first-time visitor wanting to tick off the main attractions, use a site like Bucket List Travels first to find those out and make a preliminary list, then complement what they give you with these experiences to add some local flavour and insight to your itinerary.

Website : https://www.airbnb.com/experiences

Atlas Obscura

An online travel guide that features unique, offbeat and even bizarre travel experiences – be it unknown/obscure destinations or little-known experiences within well-known destinations. It also offers tours and experiences to some of the destinations featured on the website.

Pros: Once again, this is a site for those seeking off-the-beaten-track, authentic and unusual experiences.

Cons: It’s very niche, aimed at the truly intrepid traveller. If you’re a mainstream tourist, wanting to tick off the main sites, this is not the site for you.

When to use it: If you want to avoid the big tourist sites and experience something unique and different in a destination. If you’re a first-time visitor wanting to tick off the main attractions, use a site like Bucket List Travels first to find those out and make a preliminary list, then complement what they give you with the Atlas Obscura experiences to add some local flavour and insight to your itinerary.

Website : https://www.atlasobscura.com/

Spotted by Locals

Concept: A travel website/blog that provides insider city tips from locals. Each city ‘guide’ is curated by a team of handpicked city residents, featuring their favourite local spots for food, drinks, culture, and entertainment.

Pros: it’s a great source for finding those authentic local experiences, away from the tourist hoards.

Cons: Recommendations/articles are quite random in subject – and you have to scroll through pages and pages of blog posts. You can’t search or filter by interest for example. Coverage is also limited to only 80 cities.

When to use it: They also don’t cover the big-ticket attractions first-time visitors will want to see, so use this for filling gaps in your itinerary or for second visits once the big ones have been ticked off.

Website : https://www.spottedbylocals.com/

1.5 What to do when you get there: tickets & tours

Get Your Guide

Offers a very similar proposition to Viator (see below). GyG though is Europe-based, so it has much stronger tour options in Europe than the US-based Viator, which conversely has a better US inventory.

Website : https://www.getyourguide.com/

Concept: An online tour ‘aggregator’ combines and lists multi-day organised tours, both small and large group, from all the leading tour operator brands like Intrepid , G Adventures and Exodus. They are to guided tours what Booking.com is to hotels. Search is by destination, so you need to know where you want to go first.

Pros: Listings are comprehensive and up to date, giving you a window on all of the options available that you can search and filter to your specific need.

Cons: Always beware the pricing on aggregators. Operators have learned to use low pricing to get you to click through to them, then load that up with expensive extras and upgrades once you are on their site (or they lie about the price in the first place).

When to use: If you want to go on a guided tour, this is a great place to start. It will tell you who the best tour operators are, what are your tour options, and the prices.

Website : https://www.tourradar.com/

Concept: A ‘tour aggregator’ offers a wide range of tours and experiences in destinations worldwide, through local third-party tour operators. (Think of them as the Booking.com or Expedia of tours). Tours can be anything from 1-hour walking tours to 10-day organised tours. A US-based company (owned by TripAdvisor), it’s much more comprehensive in the US than in Europe.

Pros: They partner with the best local tour operators, so the tour quality is good, and you have someone to complain to if things go awry. The site search allows you to sort through the extensive catalogue quickly.

When to use it: Work out where you want to go, and get a feel for the top attractions, somewhere else, then come to Viator to book tickets and tours.

Website : https://www.viator.com/

1.6 Draft an outline itinerary

Now you know what you want to see & do in your destination, work out a rough day-by-day itinerary to ensure you get to do everything you want to do, with minimal travelling around.

Concept: see listing above.

How to use it: For most destination guides (where it makes sense to do so), our writers have set out simple itineraries of what to do and where to go on each day of a trip. For cities, they are usually 3- and 5-day itineraries (the 5-day version has the same first 3 days, then two additional days on top). They link all of the top attractions together in the most logistically convenient way, minimising travel, and including recommendations for lunch and dinner while you’re there.

Rick Steves Europe

Rick Steves is a travel guidebook author and television personality who specialises in European travel. His guidebooks offer practical advice and recommendations for budget travel, including tips on accommodations, dining, and sightseeing. His approach emphasises cultural immersion and connecting with locals, and his guides often include suggested walking tours and off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Pros: Rick’s guidebooks offer much more in-depth expertise than the others for Europe, with high-quality, well-researched recommendations based on experts with years of experience. The website has great travel forums for asking fellow travellers questions.

How to use it: It’s not a site for researching where to go and what to do. It’s better once you know where you want to go, and really want to drill into the fine detail. However, like Bucket List Travels , the site does have helpful itineraries that set out where to go and what to do day-to-day.

Website : https://www.ricksteves.com/

1.7 Specialist travel

Cruise Critic

The world’s leading online cruise review website and community provides comprehensive reviews, ratings and forums to help you assess cruise vacations. It’s the TripAdvisor of cruises (and not surprisingly, it’s owned by them), so just like with TripAdvisor, don’t believe everything you read.

When to use: We would personally recommend finding recommendations elsewhere e.g. from cruise travel journalists writing for newspapers, magazines or even Bucket List Travels. Then come to this site to check out the reviews of your shortlist.

Website : https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/

Euan’s Guide

Set up by wheelchair user Euan MacDonald MBE, this disabled access review website is the go-to tool for many disabled people wanting to travel in the UK and beyond. It shares accessibility information for venues and the experiences/reviews of other disabled users.

Pros: Helps to solve some of the challenges disabled people face, and gives them the confidence to travel.

Cons: the coverage is mainly UK and Europe, but thankfully is widening to the rest of the world at a pace.

Website : https://www.euansguide.com

We Love 2 Ski

This excellent online resource provides skiers and snowboarders with up-to-date and comprehensive information on ski resorts, conditions, accommodation, equipment, and more. The website features detailed reviews, insider tips, and expert advice on everything related to skiing, as well as an active forum for the ski community to share their experiences and knowledge.

It’s managed by 3 ski experts, with a wealth of expertise between them and who really know their stuff and take pride in keeping the information up-to-date. It’s one of those more genuine sites that care about their advice and is not trying to constantly do the hard sell.

When to use: if you want to go skiing, start here. If you’ve already found somewhere to go or stay, be sure to check what they say about it here before you go.

Website : https://welove2ski.com/

Getting there & around

2.1 flights.

Concept: a flight deal finder service that sends you price and deal alerts on flights. You enter your preferred departure airport and they send you notifications of great deals, and price movements. Tickets are discounted 40-90%, for flights 2-6 months out in Economy, Business and First classes.

How to use it: If you’ve got flexible travel dates, or have a bucket list destination in mind. Sign up and wait for a deal.

Website : https://www.going.com/

Google’s Flights is a flight aggregator that allows you to find and compare flights. It enables you to find the airlines that fly between your destinations, and available flight times.

Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts. The pricing can sometimes be inaccurate, however, and when you click through, it’s usually for a basic fare without any luggage.

When to use it: Start your flight search here. You may have to add in the extras, then compare prices, or you may not get the cheapest option.

Honourable mentions: Skyscanner and Kayak offer similar services. In my experience, they pretty much have the same inventory. It really comes down to which interface you prefer.

Hopper is one of the US’s most successful travel apps, selling over $4.5B of travel each year. It helps you find the best deals on flights, hotels, home rentals, and car hire by analysing trillions of data points to predict when prices will rise or fall. When you set your dates, you see a helpful calendar showing when prices are highest and lowest, and you can sign up for price alerts.

Their second big USP is their ‘price freeze’ option, where you pay a small fee (5%-15% of the price) to freeze the price for a limited duration (options range up to 3 weeks). If the price goes up, you pay no more; if it goes down, you pay the lower price (like insurance). They also offer Flight Disruption and Cancel for Any Reason Guarantees.

Pros: Simple to use, the most accurate predictor of prices, really helps you get the best deal (if your dates are flexible). The insurance options have been a godsend to many in the recent years of travel disruption and inflating prices. Unlike other flight aggregators like Kayak or Skyscanner they show the different airline fare options within the app, so you don’t get caught by the artificially low basic fare enticing you to click through (see Skyscanner summary).

Cons: None that we can see! It really is an excellent service.

When to use it: Once you know where you want to go, come to the site to get the best deal on flights, car hire and accommodation. Simple as that.

It works best if you’re dates are flexible, so you can pick the cheapest travel dates, and/or if you have time before you book – take out the freeze option and you can be assured that the price will only come down, or sign up for the price alert.

Website : https://hopper.com/

Concept: This flight aggregator, owned by Chinese-backed Trip.com and based in Edinburgh, does the same thing as Google Flights. . It enables you to find the airlines that fly between your destinations, and available flight times.

Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts.

When to use it: I’ve not found much difference in pricing to Google Flights, though I much prefer Skyscanner’s user interface. It really comes down to personal choice.

Honourable mentions: US-based Kayak , originating in the US, offers a similar service to Skyscanner.

Website : https://www.skyscanner.net/

The Points Guy

If you’re someone that loves to save on travel using reward points, check out this advisory site by Brian Kelly. As he puts it, it’s ‘your go-to source for all things travel, points, miles, credit cards and more’. His advice covers both where best to earn points, and how best to spend them. There’s both a US and a UK website , with custom advice based on where you reside.

He gives up-to-date advice and tips in this ever-changing, evolving space that cuts through all of the confusion, and helps you find the best deals in the market, and explains how to take advantage of them.

How to use it: Visit here first if you’ve got points to burn, or will have and want to know the best scheme to sign up for.

Website : https://thepointsguy.com/

2.2 Car hire & taxis

Rentalcars.com

A global car rental booking platform that provides customers with access to over 60,000 rental locations in more than 160 countries worldwide. The site enables you to compare prices and features from a wide range of rental companies. Customers can also benefit from 24/7 support and free cancellation on most bookings.

I’ve regularly rented cars via them, and never found a cheaper deal. The customer service and support are also very good. There’s not really a reason to start looking anywhere else.

Website : https://www.rentalcars.com/

It doesn’t really need any introduction… but just for completeness. Founded in 2009, Uber is a ride-hailing service that connects riders with drivers in most major cities around the world. Through the app, you can request and pay for rides, track your driver’s location, and rate the experience.

Uber’s meteoric rise to a global brand can be attributed to solving several customer issues with then-taxi firms: they would find you a ride tell you how long it would take to arrive, how much the fare would be upfront, and sort payment automatically through your account, thus avoiding the need to have enough cash on you.

Other leading ride-sharing apps include Lyft (US and Canada) and Cabify (Spain & Latin America).

2.3 Rail, Bus & Ferry

Concept: Omio is a comprehensive travel search and booking platform that helps users find and book the best deals on trains, buses, and flights across Europe. The website offers a user-friendly interface, with real-time price comparisons and flexible search options to suit individual needs and preferences.

When to use: It’s a great tool for planning and booking multi-modal trips.

Website : https://www.omio.co.uk/

Rail Europe

Concept: Rail Europe is a one-stop-shop for planning and booking train travel in 33 European countries. The website offers a wide range of tickets, passes, and packages for different destinations and budgets, as well as information on train schedules, routes, and stations. Note, they don’t cover local trams and metros, it’s intercity trains only (that includes Eurostar). Enter the destinations you want to go to and they’ll recommend the best value ticket/pass.

For multiple trips, you’ll likely be recommended a Eurail pass. This brilliant invention allows you to travel on over 30 European railway operators and some ferries too. Kids under 11 travel free with an adult.

Website : https://www.raileurope.com/

2.4 Route planning

Google Maps

Who hasn’t used google Maps? And for good reason. Its coverage is comprehensive, it’s simple to use, and it’s is invaluable when you’re trying to figure out how to get from A to B in an unfamiliar place. It shows travel times and distances in multiple transport modes: on foot, bike, by available public transport and by car.

How to use it: use it to help plan upfront your transportation from point to point in your itinerary.

Website : https://www.google.com/maps

Hands down the best service for planning and booking journeys within and between countries. It combines and compares transport options from over 5,000 transportation providers across 160 countries, then recommends the cheapest, fastest, and most convenient routes for different modes of transportation including flights, trains, buses, and car rentals. The website also provides comprehensive travel information. It will quote prices, distances, times, mileage, route numbers, and which companies to book.

Their slogan is “Discover how to get anywhere by plane, train, bus, ferry & car – and it does exactly what is says on the tin.

Website : https://www.rome2rio.com/

Where to stay

3.1 'best' hotels - curated selections.

Whatever you go, there are always thousands of hotel options. These sites do the research work for you and use experts to curate a list of the best, based on location, quality and quality.

How to use it: For all the destinations we cover, we provide you with a curated list of the best hotels – for all budgets, from the mainstream to the unusual.

The selections are made by our writers, who must not only be leading travel journalists, but also specialise in that destination (either living there or visiting frequently). The writers have at least inspected and usually stayed in the properties they recommend.

Conde Nast Traveller

Similar to Travel & Leisure above, this high-end, luxury global travel magazine covers a range of topics including hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises, food and drink, and various travel destinations around the world.

When to use it: They do great round-ups of the ‘best’ hotels to stay in a destination – but obviously at the top end. If you’re not that price sensitive, start with their shortlist.

Honourable mention: Travel & Leisure, their great rival, also does destination hotel round-ups.

Website : https://www.cntraveller.com/

In my view, it’s the best ‘guidebook’ website for researching and planning a trip online – once you know where you want to go. They simply and helpfully list out a reasonably long short list of things to see & do and places to stay, and rate them each from 1-3, depending on how good they are.

However, like all the guidebooks online, coverage is comprehensive at times, requiring a lot of time and effort to research through it. The website is also swamped with banner ads that are off-putting and annoying.

How to use it: A good place to start your hotel search. They generally do select good options, though it’s more aimed at budget travellers.

Website : https://www.frommers.com/

The Telegraph (Travel)

This long-standing British newspaper does a fine job of curating and rating (out of 10) the best hotels in destinations around the world, for all budgets. The reviews tell you what you want to know – style, location, key amenities – without being overwhelming.

As for Bucket List Travels , selections and reviews are written by top travel writers who have inspected and usually stayed in the property. The number of hotels they recommend is a lot more than Bucket List Travels – and includes ones we certainly wouldn’t include – but it does give you a longer list to start with.

When to use it: if you care about where you stay, and really want one of the best places, this is a great place to start your start for somewhere to stay.

Website : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/

TripAdvisor

The original hotel review site, it has since expanded to become the global platform for reviews (and information) on hotels, restaurants, attractions, and other travel-related businesses. It also offers a variety of travel-related content and resources, including travel guides and forums.

Over the years it has, sadly become increasingly corrupted with fake reviews, but they can’t fake all of them and as long as there are at least several hundred reviews, the score should be reasonably reflective.

When to use it: I personally like to start drawing up a shortlist of places to stay on other sites listed here, then do a quick check of the reviews of each on TripAdvisor. I also filter to see only the negative comments, then look at 1) how recent they are 2) if it is a one-off complaint i.e. someone had a refund request refused and 3) if it is something that can and probably has been fixed e.g. a rude receptionist. Small room sizes, traffic noise from road proximity, and so on – these issues are not easily fixed.

Website : https://www.tripadvisor.com

3.2 Boutique hotel collections

If it’s a boutique hotel you’re after, try one of these specialist sites. They only list high-quality properties that meet their individual criteria.

Design Hotels

As the name suggests, this website offers a curated selection of over 300 independently owned and operated hotels and resorts around the world, each chosen for its unique design and aesthetic. The site emphasizes design and architecture and offers a range of luxury and boutique properties.

Pros: It’s a brilliant resource for finding unique and interesting stays, especially with modern and/or minimalist interiors.

Cons: if you’re not that worried about hotel design, then it doesn’t offer a lot of value other than a list of interesting hotels.

When to use: if you’re interested in design, and prioritise that in your accommodation, then this is a great resource. If it’s not that important, you’re better off elsewhere with a greater selection and better prices.

Website : https://www.designhotels.com/

This boutique hotel booking website offers a carefully curated selection of stylish, unique and independently-run hotels and vacation rentals around the world. They offer in-depth reviews of each property, personalised recommendations, and a friendly, 24/7 booking service.

Pros: The curated selection of unique and stylish properties is exceptional and of a consistently high quality that you can rely on. Each property has been personally inspected by staff. The reviews, from both customers and staff, are honest and in-depth and tell you who it is and isn’t for, rather than pretend everyone’s going to love it.

Cons: There’s a limited number of properties in many destinations, and it is property, not destination, led – meaning is easier to find the place, then decide on the destination rather than the reverse (which may suit).

When to use: if their style of property i.e. unique, high quality, small and independent, is what you like/are looking for, there’s no better resource to use. If they don’t have something in your preferred destination, then look elsewhere, but check first.

Honourable mention: Sawdays offers a similar service, but they’re UK & Europe only.

Website : https://www.i-escape.com/

Mr & Mrs Smith

This first-rate, UK-based hotel booking website curates handpicked, boutique hotels around the world, each personally inspected to meet their high standards of facilities, service and location. The website has in-depth reviews of each property, with insider tips like what are the best rooms to book, without being overwhelming.

There are also exclusive benefits for members like gifts on arrival, or late checkouts, and a 24/7 booking service.

Pros: The standard of hotels is consistently high, so much so that the brand has become a trusted stamp of quality. The booking service and post-sales support is efficient yet very personable, and hotel staff genuinely care about ‘Smith’ customers so you feel very welcome when you arrive.

Cons: They have limited or no options in many destinations. They also can’t match the benefits of the OTA reward schemes like Booking.com .

When to use: The site is great if this is your style of hotel, and you want to be looked after at every step. Limited coverage is only an issue if you are dead set on a destination. If you’re not really that bothered where you go, or at least are open to suggestions, check this excellent site first.

Website : https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/

Secret Escapes

A members-only hotel booking website that offers exclusive deals and discounts on luxury hotels and vacations around the world. The site negotiates special rates with hotels and resorts, available to their members only.

Pros: There some great deals and genuine exclusive discounts to be had, though max discount tends to be 30% (and average of 15%-20%), but still not to be sniffed at. They also do a good job of curation, so you know you’re getting a decent hotel.

Cons: You still need to compare prices to other sites like Booking.com and the hotel’s own website, as there are lots of sneaky tricks and breaking of agreements that going on behind the scenes and you never really know where the best deal is until you check.

When to use: if you know where you want to go, it’s well worth checking in for a deal.

Website : https://www.secretescapes.com/

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

This website has personally visited, verified and vetted every single one of its 520 hotels in more than 90 countries. The criteria for inclusions I small (<50 rooms, non-chain and offering the highest standards of luxury and service.

Pros: it’s an exceptional collection of outstanding hotels, and the brand guarantees a high-quality, luxury stay. Members get 10% off and extra (tiered) benefits like upgrades and late checkouts. Hotels welcome their members with open arms, as they usually spend well, and SMH look after their customers.

Cons: things this good come with a price tag. Many hotels are out of reach of most travellers’ budgets.

When to use: if you’re a discerning, occasionally demanding, traveller, that specifically wants a smaller hotel, this is a great place to start your search. Check other websites though for better prices – even with the 10% off – but if you’re not that price sensitive, it’s nice to book with someone who cares, as opposed to a hotel production line like Booking.com.

Website : https://slh.com/

Tablet Hotels

This New York-based brand, founded in 2000 and well-known across the US, has curated over 3,500 boutique & luxury properties around the world. In 2018, it was purchased by and merged with Michelin.

Similar to Mr & Mrs Smith, they curate a selection based on criteria, offer a full booking service, and exclusive benefits for ‘Tablet Plus’ members like VIP upgrades and free valet parking.

Pros: the curated selection guarantees a measure of quality, and some of the VIP benefits are really nice ones to have and make you feel a bit special.

Cons: You inevitably will pay more than on other sites, and sometimes they overpromise and underdeliver on the VIP experience – much depends on the attitude of the hotel. The criteria for selection is much broader than a Mr & Mrs Smith, so you’re not getting that real consistency of accommodation, and the personal relationship that Smith has with its properties.

When to use: If you want to feel like a VIP and value those benefits over saving a few pennies or cents, then they are worth a look.

Website : https://www.tablethotels.com/

3.3 Home rentals & stays

Launched in 2008 and needing no introduction, this global accommodation powerhouse forever altered the holiday market. Now with more than 300,000 listings in over 190 countries, it has expanded from its original core offering of ‘spare rooms to rent’ to include apartments, treehouses, villas – whatever you can stay in, it’s likely to be on AirBnB.

Pros: the sheer number of options and global coverage means you’re highly likely to find something you want. The site is simple and easy to use, with lots of photographs, user reviews and star ratings.

Cons: The product and website is great, but they don’t really care about customers, and customer service if something goes wrong can be challenging to find.

When to use: whenever you’re looking for something other than a hotel, and/or something more authentic or with a local feel. It’s especially good for families and groups wanting to stay together in one place.

Website : https://www.airbnb.com

Couchsurfing

This global hospitality exchange enables you to stay with a host for free for a few nights – be it sofa or, if you’re lucky, a bed. You simply create a profile, search for hosts, and request to stay with them. Surprisingly, perhaps, it works, and over the years the site has built a loyal following and a strong community of ‘couchsurfers’ who help and support each other, and even organise events around the world.

When to use it: When budget is tight and you just really want somewhere to crash, and/or you’re looking to connect with other travellers and the local community.

Website : https://www.couchsurfing.com/

This upscale holiday home and apartment rental specialist has a large catalogue of privately-owned places to stay, which you can filter by key criteria like price, location, number of bedrooms etc. Each listing is vetted by their team to ensure it meet minimum standards. It’s owned by the Expedia Group.

The quality of homes for rent is exceptional and varied, from lake houses to treehouses, and the search and filtering makes it quick and simple to find something that suits. Customer service is good, much better than AirBnB for example.

Website : https://www.vrbo.com/

Villas of Distinction

Villas of Distinction is a luxury villa rental company that offers an extensive portfolio of properties in over 50 destinations worldwide. They provide personalized service to help clients select the perfect villa for their vacation, and offer a range of amenities such as private pools, chefs, and concierge services to enhance the guest experience.

When to use it: When you’re looking for an independent, self-catering stay in an uber-luxurious villa. It’s top-end, with a price tag to match.

Honourable mention: One Fine Stay offers a similar service.

Website : https://www.villasofdistinction.com/

3.4 Campsites & Hostels

HostelWorld

The hostel specialist is the go-to place for booking budget accommodation in over 170 countries – both dormitory beds and private rooms. The website and mobile app allow you to browse and book from a wide range of hostels, hotels, and guesthouses, with a focus on affordable and social options. There are also offers travel guides, reviews, and a loyalty program for frequent users.

Pros: The UX is really smooth, the inventory (number of options) is much is larger than on the major hotel search engines (OTAs), and it does a much better job of setting out dormitory bed pricing and deal options. There are a number of ‘community’ features that encourage you to connect with fellow travellers.

When to use it: If you’re on a budget or want to meet people when you’re travelling, start here with your accommodation search.

Website : https://www.hostelworld.com/

If you’re looking for something off-grid, preferably unique and unusual – but don’t want to compromise too much on luxury, this website is for you. It’s a directory of for luxury campsites and stays, with various accommodation options ranging from tents to tipis, log cabins to vintage caravans. Coverage is mainly Europe & UK, though they have plans to expand beyond.

Website : https://campaglam.com/

3.5 Price comparison

Concept: This Expedia-owned hotel search engine allows you to compare prices from various booking sites for over 1.8 million hotels in more than 190 countries. You can search & filter to discover hotels matching your criteria, then each hotel listing shows the price of a room on the various OTA sites. The site also offers user reviews, ratings, and filters to help you decide.

For all aggregators, the prices are often inaccurate, and not the cheapest option when you click through. The OTAs (like Expedia, Booking.com) have learned over the years how to manipulate them to ensure their listing comes up first with the cheapest price.

When to use it: It’s a good place to start your hotel search, especially when you have specific requirements such that you can use the on-site filters to narrow down the options quickly. If you discover a hotel you want somewhere else, always come and check the prices here before booking.

Note – it doesn’t always include the hotel direct price (so make sure you check separately), and sometimes the prices are inaccurate when you click through.

Honourable mentions: HotelsCombined , owned by Booking.com and the main rival to Trivago, is known for having better deals as they search lesser-known booking sites (though that can come with risks). Both I suspect of bias, however, in pushing Booking.com and Expedia products. Skyscanner also now offers accommodation price comparison, and they have the advantage of being independent and unbiased of the leading OTAs. Kayak also offers price comparison – but they are owned by Booking.com too. I prefer Trvago above the rest purely because they also helpfully show you show the lowest price depending on the ‘deal’ type i.e. cancellable or non, including breakfast etc. which obviously makes a big difference to the ‘cheapest’ price.

Website : https://www.trivago.com

3.6 Accommodation booking

Booking.com

The world’s largest accommodation online booking service that lists over 28 million hotels (and now rentals, B&Bs and hostels) from around the world. They offer a tiered loyalty program called ‘Genius’ The three levels offer 10%, 15%, and 20% discounts (respectively) on bookings at hundreds of thousands of participating locations. They also include priority customer service help, and free breakfast packages or room upgrades when possible.

Pros: The website is easy to use, with excellent filter options, and once you have created an account, you can book within a few clicks. Their inventory is phenomenal, with most hotels in the world signed up. The loyalty program is accessible and with great benefits.

Cons: The loyalty program only applies for a limited number of participating hotels, so you won’t always get the benefits. Hotel websites often still have a better deal, and some don’t release all of their room types to Booking.com so you can’t see these rooms.

Booking.com may also confusingly say ‘sold out’ when there are rooms available still on the hotel website. So always check the hotel website before booking.

When to use it: Start your accommodation search here, and then once you’ve narrowed down the options with the filters, check other sites and the hotel website for a better deal.

Honourable mention: Agoda is essentially a carbon copy of Booking.com – they are owned by the Bookings Holdings Group. Agoda has it’s roots in Asia, and is based in Singapore, so it has more comprehensive Asian content. If that’s where you’re going, it’s worth using.

Website : https://www.booking.com

Concept: same as for Booking.com, with a similar tiered loyalty program, though at time of writing, the tiered benefits are not lifetime like they are with Booking.com. You need to be a regular customer to benefit from the higher tiers – not the case with Booking.com.

Their famous loyalty program of stay 10 times, earn one free reward night – now the basic tier – requires you to book at least once every 12 months or your reward night expires.

Honourable mention: Expedia is essentially a carbon copy of Hotels.com. They’re owned by the same group, and effectively have the same hotel inventory and pricing. There are slight differences in the reward program – I think Hotels.com’s one is better, hence why they got the nudge.

Website : https://hotels.com

HotelTonight

Owned by AirBnB , this mobile app and website offers last-minute hotel rooms at discounted rates. Inventory ranges from budget to luxury, and you can use the filters to specify your location and preferences. There’s also a ‘Rate Drop’ feature that discounts same-day prices after 3pm.

When to use: if you need a last-minute room, it’s definitely worth checking for a deal. However, in my experience, their deals weren’t especially good compared to other standard booking sites – though the ‘Rate Drop’ does deliver discounts.

Website : https://www.hoteltonight.com/

Food, drink & entertainment

4.1 food & drink.

A food and dining news website that provides reviews, guides, and information on restaurants and food trends in various cities across the world. The site offers articles on topics such as dining culture, chefs, industry news, and more. They also feature videos and podcasts related to food and restaurants. The quality of content and recommendations is excellent, and they’ve regularly won awards to their food & wine journalism.

When to use it: Officially it only spans 23 US cities, and if that’s where you’re headed, it’s a good place to check. However, that’s for detailed coverage. For most cities, however, they have a round-up of ‘the best restaurants in X’, covering all price ranges. Just search for it on their site.

Website : https://eater.com

Foodie blogs

Local foodies blog about anything from food trucks to Michelin-starred restaurants. In any destination, especially cities, the food scene changes so fast that almost any corporate website will not keep up. Local foodies are out testing daily, and take pride in keeping their blogs up to date with the latest and greatest. They also cover the smaller, more niche places that only a local would know about.

There are too many to mention, but search for ‘food blogs in X’ by Googling (or Binging) and see who you can find.

When to use: When you want to discover some insider foodie experiences in a destination, and get some good restaurant tips that are not Michelin-starred.

Concept: Increasingly the go-to resource for vegan and vegetarian dining around the world, run by vegans, as the popularity of the movement continues to gather a welcome pace and momentum. The site is also becoming a thriving community hub, with active forums and listings of fellow vegans in local cities that you can message for tips.

When to use it: to discover the best vegan and vegetarian dining options in your destination, or to get tips/advice from the local community.

Website : https://www.happycow.net/

This stalwart former magazine is still the place to go in the digital era for local listings of ‘what’s on’. It provides comprehensive listings, information and reviews on cultural events, concerts, theatre performances, film screenings, and other entertainment in cities around the world.

When to use it: If you’re wanting to book in some entertainment on your trip, this is the best place to start looking.

Website : https://www.timeout.com/

Yelp is a platform that allows you to search for and review local businesses, including restaurants, bars, shops, and other services in 220 cities in 32 countries . It’s best known for restaurant reviews, however – some of the other business listings can be fairly light. As with all review sites, it suffers from fake reviews,  but the volume is sufficient to give you an overall sense of what’s worth a try.

How to use it: I use it to draft a short list of places to try, then cross-check that with other sources and/or my hotel if I’m staying in one. Concierges will give good restaurant tips, but in my experience, the options they give are limited.

Website : https://www.yelp.com

Before you go

Centre for Disease Control

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health institute in the United States. The website provides comprehensive information and resources on health and safety topics, including infectious diseases, vaccines, travel health, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and more.

When to use it: before you go to a new destination, stop here to check any disease risks and vaccination requirements (you can search by country from the home page). It also has helpful advice for people with special health conditions , and/or doing specialist activities.

Website : https://www.cdc.gov/

5.2 What to take

This global online store is a specialist in all things travel accessories, with over 200 products covering everything from adapters, to travel pillows and luggage security.

How to use it: have a skim before you go. I always end up seeing/buying things I never even knew I needed!

Website : https://go.travel

Packing List Checklist App

A handy app to create packing checklists – a godsend for people like me who always forget their sunglasses. A plethora of packing list apps, I like and use this one before it’s simple, quick – and free. No upgrades needed.

You manually create your own list(s) – you can create multiple different ones, for different holiday types for example – then select from a list of a fairly comprehensive list of suggested items to start you off. Most of the time that will do it, though you can add your own if needed. When it comes to packing, you can tick things off as and when they’re in the case.

How to use it: Next time you get a few free moments, create a packing list. Add to it as and when things pop into your head. Tick them off when you pack.

Website : https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/packing-list-checklist/id1235121075

5.3 Travel planning

TripIt is another travel organising app that allows you to store all of your travel plans in one place. Users can forward their confirmation emails for flights, hotels, and rental cars to the app, which will then create a master itinerary for their trip. The app also provides real-time flight alerts, directions, and travel recommendations.

Website : https://www.tripit.com/web

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The Maya Train Will Get You to All of Yucatán’s Best Spots. But Not Yet.

In December, the train began running on its first route through Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. On a five-day journey a few months later, the author encountered enthusiasm, and scheduling hiccups.

By Elisabeth Malkin

Elisabeth Malkin has been visiting the Yucatán Peninsula for three decades.

I stepped off the platform at the gleaming new Maxcanú train station, eager to see the magnificent Maya archaeological site of Uxmal. All I needed was a taxi to take me there, a trip of about 30 miles away.

There are no taxis, said the stationmaster, as we stood on the polished limestone floors of the high-ceilinged station, which was cool and breezy despite the brilliant late-morning sun outside. And I was the third person in two weeks to get off at Maxcanú expecting to reach Uxmal, he said.

I was midway through a five-day trip to explore the brand-new Maya Train and several of its destinations in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico . Designed to run 965 miles (1,554 kilometers) around a loop of 34 stations when completed, the train will whisk passengers in cool comfort through colonial cities, archaeological sites, splashy resorts and tropical forests.

Now I was stunned. Wrangling a taxi has never been a problem in Mexico. But the drivers gathered in the main square of Maxcanú offered only beat-up vans that hopscotch through small towns, where I might or might not find a taxi to Uxmal. The next van was leaving in 45 minutes.

Yucatán’s layers of history have long held me spellbound. During earlier car trips, I have clambered up deserted Maya temples and palaces, stepped into the cool naves of massive 16th-century churches and visited restored haciendas, testaments of the ostentation — and hardship — of the peninsula’s 19th-century plantation economy. Traveling by train, I thought, would allow me to steep myself in more of that history.

But as I found in Maxcanú, a train won’t necessarily get you to where you want to go.

During my February trip, I traveled on the only route then available, an east-west leg that opened in December and runs from Cancún to Mérida, and then south through the port city of Campeche to the Maya site of Palenque (a short route between Cancún and Playa del Carmen opened last month, with three trains a day). I encountered scheduling confusion, unfinished stations and a dearth of trains — just two operating daily each way between Cancún and Campeche, and only one to Palenque. Overnight sleepers and special dining trains seem years away.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador considers the Maya Train his showcase development project, and wants to inaugurate the rest of the train before he leaves office on October 1. Based on my experience, that goal seems elusive.

A $29-billion route through the jungle

I started my journey in Cancún, where in the pre-dawn gloom the station hovered like a glowing spaceship. An attendant scanned the ticket I had bought online and a half-dozen more pointed me toward my tourist-class car, which was about a quarter full. I planned to go to Campeche, about 300 miles away, stopping once each day. At 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) an hour, the train covers the route in about six hours, the same as a car. (When construction is complete, the train’s speed should increase to 160 kilometers an hour.)

The car’s wide windows looked out at a wall of low jungle. The blue-green seats were comfortable and there was ample space between the rows. I bought a very good cappuccino at the snack bar, but declined the plastic-wrapped sandwiches. The rest of the merchandise was fruit cups, milk boxes and junk food.

The train will ultimately cost much more than the $29 billion budgeted so far, and it’s not the first time ambitious planners have alighted on the region. Cancún was once a tiny fishing village, selected half a century ago as a tourist hub. Last year 10 million international tourists flew into its airport, more than the airports of Mexico City, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta combined.

But uncontrolled growth has stressed the Caribbean coast’s fragile environment. The Maya Train, scientists warn , will push those problems south, threatening the area’s water supply, its unique system of underground limestone caves and its vast nature reserves.

Mr. López Obrador has charged ahead, handing the train over to the military , and arguing that it will spread Cancún’s wealth and attract new visitors. Mexico received more than 42 million overseas tourists last year and they spent almost $31 billion .

Local governments see an opportunity. “The train will allow people to disperse throughout the peninsula,” said Michelle Fridman, the tourism secretary for Yucatán state, which promotes dozens of attractions far beyond highlights like Mérida and Chichén Itzá .

Now that the train is operating, transport companies will begin to connect stations with lesser-known sites nearby, she said.

It’s fair to ask whether the train is the most effective way to develop the peninsula’s tourism. Tour companies already run trips to many sites from major cities, which are well served by buses. Driving a rental car through most of the area is considered safe , according to U.S. State Department travel guidance .

Route of Mexico’s Maya Train

Canceled trip.

It took two hours (and one time-zone change) to reach Valladolid, a colonial city of handsome streets and ancient churches, where I bought the rest of my tickets at the station. A tourist-class ticket from Cancún to Valladolid costs 472 pesos (around $28) for foreigners and 355 pesos (around $21) for Mexicans. First class, with wider seats, costs 755.50 pesos and 566.50 pesos, and discounts are available for older travelers and residents of the five states along the train’s route. (A first-class bus from downtown Cancún to Valladolid costs between 222 and 344 pesos, depending on the time of day, and takes half an hour longer.)

It was impossible to run the new Maya Train tracks into dense city centers and the Valladolid station, like the rest, was outside the urban core. A waiting bus took disembarking passengers downtown, a 15-minute ride for 35 pesos.

That day I toured Ek Balam , the site of a ninth-century Maya kingdom that is dominated by a 100-foot palace distinguished by a facade of carvings depicting winged warriors, stylized animal features and geometric patterns bordered by giant fangs. Admission to the site includes entry to the X-Canché cenote, one of thousands of limestone sinkholes that were sacred to the Maya.

Later that afternoon, I was wandering through the Museum of Ethnic Clothing, a private collection of traditional dress, embroidery and hats, when a WhatsApp message from the ticket office blinked on my phone. My train scheduled for the following day was canceled.

I decided to deal with the problem in the morning and enjoy the city. As I wandered past the antique shops and boutique hotels of the elegant Calzada de los Frailes, it was clear that Valladolid’s tourism, and the infrastructure to handle it, was well established. The Maya Train is simply an alternative way to reach a city that tourists discovered years ago.

‘We’re on the Tren Maya!’

In the morning, I found that my train had not been canceled, but the station for which I had a ticket, Tixkokob, was closed. I got off instead one stop earlier at Izamal, known for its ocher streets and the giant Franciscan convent of San Antonio de Padua, built atop the ruins of a pyramid.

During the 90-minute ride, I heard widespread enthusiasm among fellow travelers who expressed a willingness to give the train time to work out the kinks. “We’re an experiment,” said Oliva Escobedo Ochoa, 64, who was vacationing from her home in central Mexico.

Leticia Iliassich, 57, who is Mexican, was traveling with her Croatian husband along with relatives from Mexico and Croatia. They had initially been scheduled on an earlier train to Mérida that had been canceled. “We knew that it was a new project,” she said. “We don’t mind.”

The group had already sent a video to friends declaring, “We’re on the Tren Maya!”

At the Izamal station I hitched a 15-minute ride into the town center with a man who had asked me to take his photo alongside the train and his father. From there I negotiated a taxi to Hacienda San Lorenzo Aké, a working hacienda that still turns the fiber from an agave plant called henequén into coarse rope. Global demand for henequén, known as Yucatán’s “green gold,” brought fantastic wealth to the region in the mid-19th century, speckling the peninsula with more than 1,000 haciendas. ( Many are now sumptuous hotels.)

Where geometry, nature and the divine merge

It was during my third day that I found myself stuck in Maxcanú, after a 90-minute train ride from Izamal. The stationmaster, an army captain, offered me a ride to Uxmal, just as he had to the stranded tourists before me.

Eying Uxmal’s 4 p.m. final ticket sale, I accepted.

My situation made it clear just how distant the Maya Train’s promises are for tourists seeking to explore more of Yucatán. In time, that will change, said Ms. Fridman, the tourism secretary. “The idea is to have more hotels along the train line,” she said. “That will happen little by little.”

But Uxmal , among the most stunning of the Maya sites, made up for the inconvenience. Uxmal’s grand buildings are faced with intricate decorative masks as well as friezes in which geometry, nature and the divine merge. New plaques at each structure offer detailed information in English and Spanish, part of the government’s investment in improving displays at Maya sites for the train project.

Most tourists either take day trips by car or bus to Uxmal from Mérida or stay at one of three nearby hotels. As I finished dinner at my hotel, the dining room began to fill up: 47 Polish tourists had arrived.

Panama hats and a cramped van

My plan for the day was to go by taxi to Bécal, a town where Panama hats are woven in limestone caves to keep the fibers soft, and then pick up the afternoon train in nearby Calkiní for the port city of Campeche.

But I spent so much time watching the hat-making demonstration and then fitting my new hat and buying gifts that we set off with little time to reach the station. To my chagrin, I missed the train, the last one of the day.

On Calkiní’s central square, I found a van that was leaving for Campeche. Cost: 65 pesos. Time: about 1 hour and 20 minutes, similar to what I would have spent on the train. Of course, I was trapped in a cramped seat and had to listen to the driver’s choice of sentimental ballads, but I was dropped off in downtown Campeche, close to my hotel.

The next day, I toured the Museum of Maya Archaeology , an expertly curated collection that included haunting jade funeral masks, glyphs and delicate ceramic figures.

José Madrigal, 45, an engineer from Fremont, Calif., was trying to make Maya pottery interesting for his twin sons. The boys had just turned 5 and their birthday present had been a ride on the Maya Train. “They love trains,” Mr. Madrigal said. Then the family moved on, keeping up a brisk clip through the museum. They had another train to catch.

Should you take the train?

Yes, if you are traveling between larger stations. The train also offers a way to get to Palenque, which is harder to reach and has roads with security concerns. Travelers can stow bicycles on board.

To see train times, check the destinations on the website . You cannot buy tickets online more than a week in advance. But when you finally board, the ride is smooth — and the coffee is excellent.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

Train strikes in May 2024: Full list of dates and lines affected

Rail lines are set for disruption in the week following the first May bank holiday as train drivers at 16 rail companies strike on different days.

Thursday 25 April 2024 10:29, UK

Train drivers will stage a fresh wave of strikes and overtime bans in May, causing disruption to the rail network.

The strikes are part of a long-running dispute over pay.

Members of Aslef union at 16 rail companies will walk out on different days from 7 to 9 May.

Additionally, all members will refuse to work any overtime from 6 May to 11 May.

Here is a full list of the services affected by strikes and when.

Rail strike dates

Tuesday 7 May

Strikes will affect c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway.

Wednesday 8 May

Strikes will affect Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains.

Thursday 9 May

Strikes will affect LNER, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express.

Overtime ban dates

From Monday 6 May to Saturday 11 May union members will not work overtime.

Overtime bans, an action short of a strike, means some services may not be running or may be reduced as drivers refuse to work their rest days.

People are advised to check before they travel, as some areas may have no service.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

How do strikes and overtime bans affect services?

Strikes tend to mean services on lines where members are participating are extremely affected or cancelled entirely, whereas overtime bans often lead to reduced services.

Are there strikes on the Tube too?

There have been regular strikes on London Underground too recently, and while there aren't any planned walkouts for drivers, customer service managers are set to walk out on Friday 26 April in a dispute over terms and conditions.

There will also be an overtime ban for the customer service managers on the following days:

Monday 29 April

Tuesday 30 April

Wednesday 1 May

Tuesday 2 May

Wednesday 3 May

Thursday 4 May

Friday 5 May

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) says the action by its members is likely to cause Tube stations to close at the last minute, including on the Saturday following the strike (27 April), while TfL has said on its website "some stations may need to close at short notice".

Despite the warning, a TfL spokesperson has said they aren't expecting significant disruption.

This action follows strike action taken by the same workers on 10 April, which the TSSA said had a "real impact" with "many stations shut at short notice".

They say they are "extremely concerned" about TfL's 'Stations Changes' proposals.

"We have made it clear that our union will not accept the continued threats to our members' roles, locations, terms, and conditions to stand unchallenged," a TSSA spokesperson said.

"We will continue to take sustained action until London Underground is prepared to negotiate with us in good faith."

Commenting on the impending strikes, a TfL spokesperson said: "We are disappointed that TSSA is continuing with this strike action following a consultation process.

"While we don't expect this action will cause significant disruption, we urge TSSA to continue to work with us to help find a resolution.

"There are no planned job losses as part of these vital changes which will improve the service we provide to customers at our stations."

How can I stay in the loop?

You can use the National Rail's journey planner to see when trains are running.

Be sure to check it close to when you plan to travel, as it will be updated regularly.

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Install the Sky News app for free

Why are the strikes still happening?

Aslef rejected a two-year offer of 4% in 2022 and another 4% this year, saying it is way below inflation, and is linked to changes in terms and conditions.

Aslef said train drivers have not had an increase in salary for five years, since their last pay deals expired in 2019.

The union said after its members voted overwhelmingly in February to continue taking industrial action, it asked the train operating companies to hold talks.

General secretary Mick Whelan said the year-old pay offer of 4% and another 4% was "dead in the water".

Related Topics

• London Underground
• Rail strikes