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Life is a journey, not a destination, as the saying goes – and this summer that’s truer than ever, as flight delays and cancellations continue.
But focusing on what awaits at journey’s end may be the key to pushing your way through the mayhem.
CNN Travel is here with destination inspiration and the latest aviation innovation as well as what you need to know about getting where you want to go this summer.
Destination inspiration
While there are currently plenty of hiccups on the transport side, destinations around the world are back open for business after a long couple of years.
We’ve rounded up 11 of the juiciest summer options for your consideration, including Australia, Greece and Britain – which this weekend is celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
May we also recommend the volcanic archipelago of the Azores or simply eating your way around Italy.
Aviation innovation
While humans have been bulking up over the decades, the standard for today’s airline seat sizing goes all the way back to 1954. No wonder things on board are getting a little cramped.
A Tokyo-based aviation interior consultancy has come up with an innovative single-aisle concept to let us stretch out a little – but first we need wider planes.
New York’s LaGuardia Airport – once dubbed a “nightmare airport” by travelers and “some third world country” by then Vice President Joe Biden – has undergone a six-year, $8 billion reconstruction. Brand-new Terminal C opens for flights on Saturday, June 4.
See you when you get there
Airfares and gas and hotel prices are high; rental cars and airline staff are in short supply. Flights are being canceled and delayed left, right and center. In China, flights are so restricted it has led to ticket scalpers taking over the market. Here’s the latest on what you need to know about traveling this summer.
Life on the open road isn’t much better: A new survey has revealed Europe’s “worst” drivers. Around 4 in 5 Europeans have a negative opinion of their fellow drivers, but some get a rougher ride than others.
In Venice, tourists have been caught skinny-dipping, while in northern England, they just want to drink your blood.
Covid travel risk levels are rising in Jamaica and Anguilla, but they’re dropping in Tunisia and Cuba (catch up on Anthony Bourdain’s 2015 visit to Havana and Santiago on the “Parts Unknown” podcast). A medical expert has advice for anyone thinking about changing their travel plans.
Natural world
It’s World Environment Day on June 5, International Cave Day on June 6 and World Oceans Day on June 8.
To celebrate, take a look at this rehab center in New Zealand where the patients are penguins. Then marvel at Vietnam’s Son Doong, the world’s largest cave and “just outrageous in size.” And finally, meet the American explorer who in 2019 became the first person to dive to the deepest points of the Earth’s five oceans.
For dessert, watch Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest active volcano, gush lava into the night sky and then check out NASA’s new capturing of “Sharkcano” erupting: the nickname for an underwater volcano in the Solomon Islands.
Dream big
An 83-year-old Japanese man is on the verge of becoming the world’s oldest person to sail solo across the Pacific. “Don’t let your dreams just stay as dreams,” Kenichi Horie said. “Have a goal and work towards achieving this and a beautiful life awaits.”
Other adventurers aiming high recently include Nepali Kami Rita Sherpa, who has scaled Mount Everest a record 26 times, and Full Circle, a group of Black mountaineers who also recently summited the world’s highest peak.
La belle vie
The US couple transforming a French chateau into a boutique hotel
California couple Mark Goff and Phillip Engel bought a rundown 48-room chateau in southwestern France. Now, they want to transform it into a boutique hotel and entertainment space.
In case you missed it
Vietnam’s new glass-bottomed bridge has set a Guinness World Record.
It’s the longest bridge of its kind.
She saw a stranger emerge from the gloom on a Scottish island.
Before the day was over, she knew she should be with him.
Las Vegas chapels have been told to stop hosting Elvis-themed weddings.
Don’t be cruel, the chapels respond.
Supersaver
Many couples dream of a fairy-tale honeymoon – but how to afford it without swapping their firstborn for Rumpelstiltskin’s gold? Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have the answer.
Emily McNutt booked her $18,584 honeymoon business-class flights from New York to Southeast Asia for less than $200. Here’s how she did it.