Where to go, and when · with the homework done
PORTUGAL · SINTRA VS CASCAIS · 38.7° N Two names come up every time a Lisbon trip has a spare day, and they pull in opposite directions: a wooded hill stacked with palaces, or a seafront town with sand, a marina and flat streets. Most travelers ask which one and get told “both,” which only … Read more
JAMAICA · KINGSTON VS MONTEGO BAY · 18.0° N · 18.5° N Montego Bay faces the north shore, Kingston sits on the sheltered south coast, and the weather figures for the two come from two different model grid cells rather than one island average. The south-coast cell over Kingston covers the island’s driest side: 1.12 … Read more
PORTUGAL · DOURO VALLEY VS ALENTEJO · 1991-2020 NORMALS The Douro arrives as a shock of vertical farming: schist terraces stacked from the water to the ridgeline, a river you can follow by road, by rail or by boat, and quintas that have shipped port for generations. The Alentejo does the opposite. It opens out. … Read more
FLORIDA · TWO GULF BEACHES · CLEARWATER VS SIESTA KEY Two Gulf beaches, one week of vacation, and a traveler with both tabs open. Siesta Key Beach took the U.S. News title of best beach in the country for 2026. Clearwater sits inside a cluster of three state-park islands that Florida measures down to the … Read more
SOUTH FLORIDA · MIAMI VS FORT LAUDERDALE · TWO NOAA GAUGES Miami International sits about 12 miles from South Beach, a 20 to 45 minute drive depending on traffic. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood is about 25 miles from the same sand, 35 to 50 minutes on I-95. Plenty of travelers fly into one airport and sleep near … Read more
FLORIDA · TAMPA VS ORLANDO · TWO NOAA STATIONS The argument usually starts in a kitchen, with one side wanting rides and the other wanting to end the day in salt water. Travelers weighing a single Florida week often treat the two cities as interchangeable, and the temperature tables encourage it: a July afternoon averages … Read more
