Europe has a reputation for being easy and safe to travel, and the numbers mostly back that up. Western and Central Europe remains the most peaceful region in the Global Peace Index[1], and seven of the top 10 countries in the 2026 ranking are European[2]. Still, “safe” depends on what you’re measuring, so it helps ...
When the U.S. State Department puts a country in its top tier, it means something. A Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory is the strongest warning the agency issues, and it isn’t handed out lightly. This week brought fresh reminders: the State Department renewed its Level 4 warning for Iraq on October 24, 2026[1], and ...
Most guests drop their bags, glance at the view, and call it good. People who have worked behind a hotel front desk tend to look at the room a little differently. They know a room change is a routine request, and that the best time to make it is in the first few minutes. The ...
A growing trend of bad guest behavior is emerging at Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions. What started as guests fearing large drops and evacuating ride vehicles may now be escalating into a troubling social media trend. Keep reading for the roundup of all the recent issues with guest behavior on rides and what Disney does when guests break the rules, plus the most recent viral incident. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Disney Princess mee
Losing a wallet at home is a bad afternoon. Losing one in a city where you don’t speak the language, with a hotel bill due and a flight to catch, is a different kind of problem. The cards are replaceable, but the stretch of time without any way to pay is what really hurts. Most ...
Most people know the checkpoint isn’t the place for stand-up comedy. The warnings are on signs, in announcements and all over travel advice. Still, officers keep hearing the same handful of phrases, and the results are rarely good for the person who said them. The five below come up again and again in TSA guidance, ...
Europe is still one of the most visited regions for Americans, and the official picture for most of it hasn’t changed much. Several things did shift in 2026, though. Border procedures are new, the Middle East conflict has raised the State Department’s worldwide caution, and terrorism remains a stated concern in a few popular countries. ...
A daypack feels like the safest thing you own on a trip. It sits on your back, it holds your water and your map, and it makes you look like you know what you’re doing. Thieves know that too. A 2025 study of more than 13,000 tourist reviews found Paris ranked first globally for theft, ...
Most hotel rooms have a small safe tucked into a closet or under the desk. Plenty of travelers ignore it for the whole stay, and others lock away everything they own on the first night. The sensible approach sits somewhere between those habits. Travel guidance from motoring clubs, universities, and travel writers points to a ...
Airports have changed enormously over the past two decades, but some travelers never quite got the memo. Grandpa still shows up with the same jokes, the same confident opinions about “the good old days” of flying, and the same knack for saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong checkpoint. It is not malice, ...
Most people who travel to see the Northern Lights come home with memories of a green glow. A lucky few see something far stranger: the sky turning pink. 2026 is one of the best years in a decade to witness it. The catch is that the window is already starting to close, and the places […]
Risk has always had a strange pull on travelers. Some people book the trip because the place has a reputation, and others simply don’t look closely at what they’re signing up for. Either way, millions of visitors keep heading to spots where the terrain, the heat, the altitude or the politics can turn serious quickly. ...
Ask ten people about Mexico and you’ll probably hear two stories. One is about a beach week that went perfectly. The other is about a headline that made a relative cancel a trip. Both reactions come from real information, which is why the debate never really settles. The answer depends heavily on where you’re going, ...
For most visitors, Mexico’s resort towns mean beaches, buffets and a short flight from home. In 2026 that picture was disrupted more than once, in places that rarely make headlines for gunfire. The events reached airports, hotel zones and archaeological sites. The record is uneven. Some destinations saw sharp, sudden unrest, while others reported steep ...
The U.S. and Canada have a lot in common, but not everything that's legal in the U.S. is legal there. Even some legal things are forbidden to cross the border.
Sleeping in your car generally isn't illegal on its own, but where you park, how long you stay and whether you've been drinking decide whether it gets you a knock on the window, a ticket or a DUI.
While cruises can be convenient, fun, and all-inclusive ways to see multiple cities or even countries at once, seniors should watch out for scams when booking.
Picture the cruise ship hospital: gleaming operating rooms, a full pharmacy, a specialist for every ailment. Now picture what’s actually down there. Ships have a medical center, also called an infirmary, and it’s built for urgent care, routine treatment, and emergency stabilization. It isn’t a hospital, and the gap between those two images is where ...
Mexico’s security story in 2026 is hard to sum up in one line. National figures point in one direction, while the news from certain cities and states points in another. Both can be true at once, and the gap between them matters if you live, work or travel in the country. This piece looks at ...
Most people picture airport assistance as one friendly person with a wheelchair. That’s only the part you can see. Behind it sits a chain of flags, equipment, staff assignments and security coordination, and much of it is set in motion before the traveler reaches the curb. Some of these steps are written into federal rules. ...
Most people know that the line at the checkpoint isn’t the place for comedy. The warnings are on signs, in announcements and all over travel advice. Still, officers keep hearing the same few phrases, and the results are rarely good for the person who said them. The three below come up again and again in ...
Summer travel used to mean picking a sunny place and packing sunscreen. In 2026, it also means checking whether the monument you came to see is open at two in the afternoon. Heat has moved from a background annoyance to a factor that decides when, where and how people travel. The countries below are not ...
If you're traveling for Halloween and planning to dress up, keep in mind that some costume elements and accessories may not be allowed through airport security.
Dolphin encounters, pig swims, parasailing, and casual jet-ski rentals ask travelers to accept a poor value or a risk level that a short port day does not justify.
Caribbean port service can be useful and inexpensive, but only if you keep the phone disconnected while sailing and read the carrier text when you get ashore.
Travel writer Jillian Dara flies two or three times a month, but even she’s had something taken away at airport security. It was a corkscrew with a small knife hidden inside. She spoke with former TSA officer Caleb Harmon-Marshall about the things people often bring through checkpoints. He told Travel + Leisure that water bottles...
Most of us treat a flight or a border crossing as a chore to get through. For the people working there, every sentence you say is a data point. Words that would pass as small talk at a café can be read very differently in a cabin or at a customs booth. The stakes are ...
Let’s be clear about one thing first. As of late October 2026, none of the countries below has announced a plan to shut its doors to all tourists. “Closing” can happen in several ways: a conflict that shuts airspace, a government that stops issuing visas, or a destination that decides it has too many visitors. ...
