Destinations - The Travel Chronicle

THE TRAVEL CHRONICLE · DESTINATIONS

Every destination here gets the same treatment: a warm, honest guide built on thirty-year climate data, official crowd numbers, and a clear verdict about who it suits, and who it doesn’t. We’d rather cover few places properly than many places thinly, so the map below is young, growing, and finished wherever it’s drawn.

Every destination so far

Portugal

The five Portugals, and which is yours

Hawaii

Six islands, and how to choose yours

Mexico

Beaches, ruins and cities, coast by coast

Puerto Rico

A Caribbean island with no passport needed for Americans

The Bahamas

Seven hundred islands, and the ones worth the trip

Belize

The reef, the Blue Hole and the Maya

Alaska

Glaciers, Denali and the Inside Passage

Japan

Temples, bullet trains and cherry blossoms

Costa Rica

Two coasts, cloud forests and volcanoes

Jamaica

Beaches, mountains and the north coast

Aruba

A dry island at the edge of the Caribbean

Florida

One state, a federation of trips

Portugal

The rooftops and river view over Alfama, Lisbon — Alfama and the Tagus · chapter one of the map

Our first full country: Europe’s best value-for-wonder ratio, packed into a strip you can drive in a day. The cocoon so far:

Start here: the Portugal playbook · the 12-month verdict · the itineraries: 10 days, 7 days, 2 weeks

Getting there and getting around: flights from the US · trains, buses and the rest · the car question

The practical file: entry rules · safety · packing · what it costs · what to know before you go

What to do and where to sleep: things to do across Portugal · where to stay, base by base

Eating: food and drink in Portugal, from the dishes to the kinds of rooms

Regions: Porto and the North · the Douro Valley · the Alentejo · the Algarve

Cities and anchors: Lisbon (what’s worth paying for, where to sleep, day trips, Lisbon in October, city habits) · Porto (things to do, where to stay, day trips) · Sintra and Pena Palace · Lisbon vs Porto, settled

The Algarve, town by town: Lagos · Tavira · Albufeira · Faro · Sagres · Carvoeiro · the cave at Benagil · the cliffs at Ponta da Piedade

Towns worth their own stop: Cascais · Évora · Coimbra · Braga · Guimarães · Óbidos · Nazaré · Ericeira

What to do, region by region: the Algarve · Porto and the North · the Douro Valley · the Alentejo

Jamaica, base by base: Montego Bay · Negril · Ocho Rios · the 10-day route · flights from the US

Who you are travelling with: Portugal with kids · the honeymoon file

The calendar, month by month: January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December · plus the Douro harvest almanac

The islands: Madeira · things to do on Madeira · Madeira in 3 days · the best time to visit Madeira · the Azores · things to do in the Azores · the Azores in 3 days · the best time to visit the Azores · Madeira or the Azores

Lisbon and Porto, page by page: the best time to visit Lisbon · Lisbon in 3 days · Lisbon airport to the city · is Lisbon safe? · the best time to visit Porto · Porto in 3 days · Porto airport to the city · is Porto safe?

When to go, region by region: the best time to visit the Algarve · the Algarve in 3 days · the Algarve or Lisbon · Faro · Sagres · Évora · Coimbra · Braga

Also in this guide: day trips from Madeira · where to stay in Madeira.

Also in this guide: where to stay in the Algarve · what to know before going to Madeira.

Also in this guide: what to know before going to the Azores.

Also in this guide: what to know before going to the Algarve · where to stay in the Azores · what to know before going to Porto.

Also in this guide: day trips from the Azores · is Madeira safe?.

Also in this guide: day trips from the Algarve · is the Algarve safe? · is the Azores safe?.

Also in this guide: Madeira airport to the city.

Also in this guide: funchal.

Also in this guide: funchal · pena palace.

Also in this guide: Douro Valley or Alentejo · funchal · pena palace.

Also in this guide: Sintra or Cascais · funchal · pena palace.

Also in this guide: funchal · pena palace.

Jamaica

Start here: the Jamaica country guide · the 12-month verdict · 7 days, two bases · what’s open, tracked monthly

Getting there and getting around: airport transfers · getting around · should you drive?

The practical file: entry and the C5 form · safety, with the actual map · what to pack · what it costs · know before you go · the hurricane-season file

What to do and where to sleep: things to do across the island · where to stay, coast by coast

Places: Montego Bay · Negril · Ocho Rios · Port Antonio · Kingston · the south coast · the Blue Mountains

Anchors and comparisons: Dunn’s River Falls · the Luminous Lagoon · MoBay vs Negril, settled · Negril vs Ocho Rios

Who you are travelling with: Jamaica with kids · the honeymoon file

The calendar, month by month: January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December

When to go, base by base: the best time to visit Montego Bay · Negril · Ocho Rios — and away from the coast, things to do in the Blue Mountains and on the south coast.

Also in this guide: what to know before going to Negril.

Also in this guide: what to know before going to Montego Bay · what to know before going to Ocho Rios.

Also in this guide: the best time to visit the Blue Mountains · the best time to visit Dunn’s River Falls · the best time to visit Kingston · the best time to visit the Luminous Lagoon · the best time to visit Port Antonio · the best time to visit the South Coast.

Also in this guide: Kingston or Montego Bay.

Florida & the Everglades

An alligator resting beside a boardwalk trail in the Everglades — Anhinga Trail, where the wildlife commutes to you

The American opener, and a study in contrasts: a state that contains both the country’s most engineered fun and its strangest wilderness, fifty minutes apart.

Plan it: the Florida orientation (regions, the two seasons, and when to come) · the Everglades visitor guide (entrances, the classic day, what you’ll actually see) · the honest Everglades calendar, mosquito math included.

Start here: the Florida state guide · the 12-month verdict · 7 days, coast to coast · know before you go

Getting there and getting around: which airport to fly into · getting around, tolls included · the road trip

The practical file: safety, rip currents and alligators · what a week costs · Florida with kids

What to do and where to sleep: things to do across the state · where to stay, coast by coast · weekend getaways from Orlando

Parks, springs and wildlife: the national parks, fees and passes · the Everglades · when to visit the Everglades · camping in the Everglades · Dry Tortugas and how to get there · swimming with manatees

Places: Miami · Key West · St. Augustine · Siesta Key · South Walton and 30A

Month by month: every month of the Florida year has its own page, city by city — January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December

Also in this guide: day trips from Key West · where to stay in Key West · where to stay in St. Augustine.

Also in this guide: day trips from St. Augustine.

Also in this guide: day trips from Miami · where to stay in Miami.

Also in this guide: the best time to visit Key West · the best time to visit Miami · the best time to visit St. Augustine.

Also in this guide: Key West in 3 days · Miami in 3 days · St. Augustine in 3 days.

Also in this guide: is Key West safe? · is Miami safe? · is St. Augustine safe?.

Also in this guide: Key West airport to the city · Miami airport to the city · St. Augustine airport to the city.

Also in this guide: things to do in Key West · things to do in Miami · things to do in St. Augustine.

Also in this guide: Miami or Key West.

Also in this guide: the best time to visit Orlando.

Also in this guide: Orlando airport to the city.

Also in this guide: Miami or Orlando.

Also in this guide: Key West or South Walton.

Also in this guide: the best time to visit South Walton.

Also in this guide: what to know before going to Key West · what to know before going to Miami · what to know before going to St. Augustine.

Also in this guide: Miami or Siesta Key.

Mexico & the Riviera Maya

The winter-sun corridor Americans reach in four hours from most of the East Coast. Cancun
anchors it, and the calendar matters more here than the map: the same beach is a bargain in
September and a scramble in March.

Which month is which is set out in the best time to visit Cancun, with the twelve months behind it.

Start here: the Mexico travel guide · when to go, month by month · is Mexico safe? · entry requirements · a 7-day itinerary · the Riviera Maya.

The Dominican Republic

Punta Cana sits at the island’s eastern tip and takes the trade winds full on, which is
why it is a windsurfing coast as much as a resort one.

The best time to visit Punta Cana takes the year month by month, wind and hurricane season included.

Hawaii

Honolulu is the gateway, on the leeward south shore of Oahu. The windward side and the
mountains behind take several times the rain, and no airport gauge sees it.

Rain, surf and crowds peak at different times of year; the best time to visit Honolulu separates them.

Nevada & Las Vegas

The one destination on this list where the season decides comfort rather than crowds:
the valley floor swings from a mild winter to a summer that keeps you indoors by noon.

The swing is wide enough to plan around, and the best time to visit Las Vegas gives it month by month.

Italy

Rome first, for the obvious reasons. The city sits inland of its own coast, and the hills
of Lazio behind it are cooler than either.

Also in this guide: the best time to visit Rome.

How a destination earns its page

No guide ships until the homework is done: climate normals computed from the 1991–2020 record for the actual city (not the country), crowd curves from official lodging data, prices and hours checked against primary sources, and a verdict we’d defend at a dinner table. When we haven’t been able to verify something, we say so on the page. The full recipe lives on the methodology page.

Destinations coming next

The 2026–27 build list, in no promised order: Costa Rica to widen the winter-sun corridor, Japan and Iceland for the bucket-listers, more of Italy beyond Rome, and the American national parks, where the Everglades guide is the template for the series. Each new place arrives the same way Portugal did: country first, then regions, then cities, then the months.

Lisbon and Porto, in detail: three days in Lisbon · Lisbon airport transfers · is Lisbon safe · three days in Porto · Porto airport transfers · is Porto safe

Montego Bay, in detail: things to do · where to stay · day trips · three days · airport transfers · safety

Negril, in detail: things to do · where to stay · day trips · three days · airport transfers · safety

Ocho Rios, in detail: things to do · where to stay · day trips · three days · airport transfers · safety

The last word

A destination page here is a promise: that someone did the arithmetic before writing the adjectives. Start with Portugal if you want the full cocoon, the Everglades if you want the single best day trip in American wilderness — or start from your month and let the calendar choose for you.

Every destination so far

On this page

Portugal

Jamaica

Florida & the Everglades

Mexico & the Riviera Maya

The Dominican Republic

Hawaii

Nevada & Las Vegas

Italy

How a destination earns its page

Destinations coming next

The last word