North America
Every V-TIMES guide across North America.
Canada · road trip
Banff and Lake Louise
Land in Calgary, pick up the car and drive under two hours to Banff for the hot springs, the gondola, Lake Minnewanka and Vermilion Lakes at sunset. Move to Lake Louise, reach Moraine Lake by shuttle, walk up to the Lake Agnes Tea House and, in late September, the golden larches of Larch Valley. Cross into Yoho for Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls. Drive the Icefields Parkway past Bow Lake and Peyto Lake to the Athabasca Glacier, and on to Jasper for Maligne Lake and dark skies. Come back south and fly home from Calgary.
USA · road trip
California Coast Road Trip: Highway 1, San Francisco to Los Angeles
San Francisco to Monterey and Carmel, then the heart of the drive through Big Sur, on to Hearst Castle and San Simeon, Santa Barbara, and finally Los Angeles, with a night or two banked in or near Big Sur.
Costa Rica · multi city
Costa Rica: Arenal, Monteverde & Manuel Antonio
San José to La Fortuna for three nights of volcano trails, hanging bridges and hot springs; across Lake Arenal to Monteverde for two nights of cloud-forest reserves, a night walk and coffee; down to Manuel Antonio for four nights of national park, beaches, mangroves and a waterfall day; back to the airport via the crocodile bridge at Tárcoles. Ten days is our honest minimum; with twelve, add a Río Celeste day from La Fortuna and a whale or mangrove day from the coast.
USA · multi city
Maui and Oahu: Planning the Two-Island Hawaii Trip
Four nights on Oʻahu for Pearl Harbor, Waikīkī, the North Shore and the windward beaches, then five or six nights on Maui for Haleakalā at dawn, the road to Hāna, a Molokini snorkel morning and the resort coast. In winter, whales fill the channel off West Maui as a bonus.
Mexico · region
Los Cabos
Base by your style (San Lucas for energy, San José for charm, the corridor for luxury), take a water taxi to the arch at Land’s End, snorkel Chileno or Santa Maria, give San José del Cabo an evening for the Gallery District, and add a Todos Santos or Cabo Pulmo day trip. From mid-December to April, build in a whale-watching morning.
Mexico · city
Mexico City
Come between late September and early May, sleep in Roma Norte or Condesa, book the Casa Azul and Pujol or Quintonil weeks ahead, walk the Centro from the Zocalo to Bellas Artes early, give the Anthropology Museum a half day, ride out to Teotihuacan at opening, spend a slow Saturday in Coyoacan and San Angel, and eat everything: the tacos are as much the point as the museums.
USA · city
Miami
Split your attention across four areas: South Beach for the Art Deco district and the sand, Wynwood for murals and brunch, Little Havana for Cuban food and music, downtown for the museums. Add a day trip to the Everglades or Key Biscayne.
USA · city
New York City
Split your nights between Midtown or the Lower East Side for the classic sights and a night or two in Brooklyn for the neighborhood feel, book timed tickets for major attractions in advance, and leave at least one evening unplanned for whichever neighborhood you liked best.
USA · multi city
San Francisco and Napa Valley
Three or four nights in San Francisco for the city and its day trips, then two or three in Napa Valley for the wine country, linked by a 1.5-hour drive rather than a flight.
Saint Lucia · island
St Lucia
Soufriere and the Piton corridor for the drama: the two peaks, the sulphur springs, the botanical gardens and the island’s most photographed hotels. Rodney Bay and Gros Islet in the north for Reduit Beach, the marina, most of the restaurants and the Friday night jump-up. Marigot Bay as the pretty, sheltered pause between them, Castries for the market, and the windward east coast for turtles and emptiness rather than swimming.
Turks and Caicos Islands · island
Turks and Caicos
Grace Bay and the Bight on Providenciales for the beach, the restaurants and nearly all the rooms. Long Bay on the same island for the kitesurfers and a shallow warm lagoon. Chalk Sound, Taylor Bay and Sapodilla Bay on the south-west coast for the island at its prettiest and, in high season, its one easily reached sunset over open water. Blue Hills and Five Cays for conch and the cheap tables. Grand Turk for the old capital, a National Museum that opens only when a cruise ship is in, and an open-ocean sunset the famous beach cannot give you. North and Middle Caicos for caves, a plantation ruin and the best coastline in the country.
USA · road trip
Utah Mighty 5 and Grand Canyon Road Trip
Las Vegas to Springdale for two nights in Zion, with the Narrows or a lottery permit for Angels Landing; over the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel to Bryce for sunset and a dawn on the rim; Scenic Byway 12 over the Hogback to Boulder and dinner at Hell’s Backbone Grill; Capitol Reef’s orchards and a pie at the Gifford House; three nights in Moab for Delicate Arch, Mesa Arch at sunrise and Dead Horse Point at sunset; a night in Monument Valley with a Navajo guide; Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend from Page; then the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, a night in Tusayan, and the drive back to Las Vegas.