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Best forest and jungle hotels

Staying in a forest or jungle is a very different experience than what you typically get at a beach resort, and this year, we’re seeing a spike in interest in booking accommodations somewhere a little more offbeat and unique. Our forests are sadly some of the most threatened environments, and visiting and educating ourselves on their value, in a responsible manner, is important for the future of our planet. Many of the resorts listed here not only have a beautiful and wild backdrop but are also sustainable in practice and have an educational element at the core of their listed vacation activities. From the woodlands of the rugged Scottish Highlands to jungle resorts in Bali and Malaysia, here are the best forest resorts for the ultimate escape vacation.

1. Rayavadee resort, Krabi, Thailand

Photo: Rayavadee/Facebook

Several national parks cover the coastline and surrounding islands of the province of Krabi on the southern coast of Thailand. The mainland of the region is coated in a dense rich forest that is home to swimming holes, hot springs, waterfalls, and nature reserves. One of the highlights of the Krabi is Khao Pra-Bang Khram Wildlife Sanctuary, which is the last area of lowland rainforest in Thailand and is home to more species of bird than any other forest in the south of the country. The Emerald Lagoon in the Thung Teao Forest Natural Park is also rich in biodiversity and is home to the small Pitta Gurney bird, which was once thought to be extinct.

Rayavadee resort is within the Krabi Marine National Park and is close walking distance to the well known Railay beach, Nammao beach, and Phranang. This award-winning accommodation blends into the natural surroundings with domed villas and pavilions set in between the ancient trees. Rayavadee has 96 two-story pavilions and five luxury villas to choose from and all have stylish Thai-inspired details throughout. The resort makes a huge effort to reduce its impact on the forest, and sustainability is at the heart of everything they do. The owners and staff at Rayavadee also passionately organize and participate in activities from beach cleaning to mangrove planting and supporting the repopulation of marine life.

2. Tree House Hideaway, Bandhavgarh National Park, India

Photo: Pugdundee Safaris/Facebook

Bandhavgarh National Park in the state of Madhya Pradesh is best known for its population of Bengal tigers and being the original home of the white tiger. The sprawling park features dense forests of sal trees, valleys, steep hillocks and ridges, and grassy swamps — a perfect unspoiled natural habitat for its abundant wildlife.

It comes as no surprise that most visitors are drawn here for the tigers, and one of the more unique places to stay whilst on safari is the Tree House Hideaway. The small resort consists of five treetop rooms, which are on the outskirts of the park. Constructed of natural materials that camouflage into the forest, the unusual dwellings have private balconies offering guests stunning views and all come with an en-suite. Guests come together at a cozy dining area at the resort’s aptly named Watering Hole bar.

3. The Datai Langkawi, Langkawi, Malaysia

Photo: The Datai Langkawi

Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Malacca Strait, 19 miles off the coast of northwestern Malaysia. People come here for its laid-back atmosphere, pristine beaches, and rainforests.

The Datai Langkawi sits above Datai Bay on the northwest coast of Langkawi. The resort was designed by architect Kerry Hill with architect and interior designer Didier Lefort in 1993 and has recently been given a $58 million upgrade in honor of its 25th anniversary. Although the Datai is dripping in opulence, it’s surroundings really steal the show. The rooms look out over a lush rainforest canopy, and the minimalist approach to the design aesthetic allows for a seamless blend with the environment. The onsite Nature Center has a mini-laboratory and offers classes in ecology, and they also run naturalist-led educational walks through the woodland.

4. Nandini Jungle Resort and Spa, Ubud, Bali

Photo: Nandini Jungle Resort & Spa Ubud Bali/Facebook

Ubud is a well-known town and region in the uplands of Bali. Its iconic landscape of rice paddies, rainforest, and forests of nutmeg peppered with sacred shines makes it one of the most popular tourist destinations on the island. But regardless of this foot traffic, if you do visit, especially during a quieter season, there is something magical and calming about the natural surroundings and warm local hospitality.

A short 30-minute drive from Ubud is the rainforest of Payangan and the Nandini Jungle Resort and Spa. The stunning resort is balanced along a ravine, and the 18 one-bedroom villas offer guests views of the jungle and the Ayung River. The spa, Sungai, is located at the river’s edge, and treatments utilize water from a local fresh spring. Sungai’s menu is modest, but it includes traditional Balinese treatments such as an aromatherapy flower bath, Balinese massages, and their homemade coconut body scrub.

5. Pacuare Lodge, Limón, Costa Rica

Photo: Pacuare Lodge

This remote resort is only reachable via the Río Pacuare, a river that flows around 67 miles into the Caribbean and is famed for its awesome white water rafting. The surrounding jungle lines the banks of the river and is home to many species, such as ocelots, sloths, monkeys, and jaguars.

The Pacuare Lodge is a back-to-nature ecolodge that is owned by a family that is committed to sustainability and supporting local conservation efforts and community. The suites and all of the buildings were constructed with minimal impact on the environment. They range from five-star modesty in the riverside suites to the larger Linda Vista suites, which have a spring-fed infinity pool. The centerpiece of the lodge is the two-story Nairi Awari restaurant and bar, which offers creative set menus of locally grown organic produce. And as the river plays such an important role in guest’s experience here, an adrenaline-pumping excursion of white water rafting is highly encouraged and is run daily.

6. Bwindi Lodge, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Photo: Volcanoes Safaris Luxury Lodges/Facebook

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park can be found on the edge of the Albertine Rift in southwestern Uganda. The park is famed for its towering elevations reaching heights from around 1,160 to 2,607 meters. The forest here is over 25,000 years old and is home to a very diverse range of trees and fauna, but its most famous resident is the mountain gorilla. The primates are one of the main draws to this region and there are a variety of local safaris that run throughout the park.

One of the best places to stay and organize a safari with is Bwindi Lodge. It was one of the first accommodation places to open and start running tours around 20 years ago and has evolved into a luxurious forest resort. Located on the northern side of the park, the lodge is an easy 10-minute walk into the small local village and the trailheads to the gorillas. Although this accommodation has the label of opulence, it has not lost its charm and places importance on supporting the local community through recruitment and by using local crafts to add unique style to the resort’s main buildings and guest quarters.

The eight cottages that are available are named after Bwindi gorillas and feature Ugandan hand-carved four-poster beds and balconies offering views stretching out over the forest below.

7. Cabin resort in Ardgartan, Argyll Forest, Scotland

Photo: Forest Holidays/Facebook

This cluster of cabins is located on the edge of the UK’s oldest Forest Park of Argyll on the banks of Loch Long in the Scottish Highlands. The park’s rugged, wild topography of glens, peaks, and lochs are attributed to its location at the end of the Highland Boundary Fault, a crack in the earth’s surface between the Lowlands and Highlands of the country. It’s also a well-known spot for excellent mountain biking, trail running, and hiking routes.

With a backdrop of pine-clad mountains, this resort has 40 cabins peppered along the shoreline of the water of Loch Long. Constructed from either silver birch or golden oak, the cabins have stunning views, and although the location is remote, they are luxurious and can sleep up to six people. All come with self-catering or resort catering options, and there are lots of lovely local places to eat nearby. Guests also have the option to book a range of outdoor activities with guides, which also includes a forest survival skill course and a night walk with a local ranger.

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New Zealand travel photos plea

We’ve all grown a bit tired of seeing the same exact travel photos on social media, especially in the world’s most picturesque destinations. Well, New Zealand is sick of it too. That’s why they’re launching a new tourism campaign designed specifically to encourage travelers to get more creative with their photography and stop copying pictures they see online.

To promote this message, the tourism board released a video starring comedian Tom Sainsbury as a member of the “Social Observation Squad.” He follows tourists to some of New Zealand’s most notable landscapes and urges them to get a little more creative.

Sainsbury says in the video, “”I’ve been alerted to a situation that’s been happening a lot lately. People have been seeing those photos on social media, and they’re going to great lengths to copy them. You know them. Hot tub back shot. Man sits quietly on the rock contemplating. Hot dog legs.”

The initiative is part of the New Zealand tourist board’s broader “Do Something New” campaign, which encourages travelers to find unique ways to experience New Zealand and express themselves. And since the country’s borders are closed to most international travelers right now due to COVID-19, you have plenty of time to brainstorm creative photos before your next trip.

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Where Americans can go Europe

The number one question on everyone’s lips right now is “when will this pandemic be over?” The number two question (probably) is “when can we travel to Europe again?” On March 17 the EU passed a travel ban prohibiting international visitors from entering Europe for 30 days. Since then, the ban has been renewed every month, plunging travelers to a nightmarish Groundhog Day-esque reality that keeps us wondering when we’ll be able to freely explore our world again. Not much has changed for us since March.

Flights are running on limited schedules between the US and Europe, but that doesn’t guarantee you can actually get in. The vast majority of European countries are only allowing entry to those with EU passports or residency permits, close family members of EU residents, and some countries are allowing essential workers and students. All that to say that, unless you meet very specific criteria, you’re not allowed in.

Technically each member state of the EU is free to do as it pleases. Pretty much every country, however, has decided to stick to the collective agreement and not open any borders unless it’s part of a coordinated effort to do so. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some slight deviations, which may prove intriguing to travelers. These are the European countries US citizens are currently allowed to visit.

North Macedonia

Photo: trabantos/Shutterstock

North Macedonia is welcoming US citizens with no testing or quarantine restrictions, though airports are conducting thermal screenings for all travelers.

Serbia

Photo: Vladimir Nenezic/Shutterstock

Serbia is welcoming US citizens who can show negative results from a COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours. Negative antigen tests are also acceptable.

Albania

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Photo: MehmetO/Shutterstock

Albania is welcoming US citizens with no testing or quarantine restrictions, though travelers can expect health screenings at the airport upon arrival.

Belarus

Photo: Dzmitrock/Shutterstock

Belarus is welcoming US citizens with no testing or quarantine restrictions.

Ireland

Photo: Sina Ettmer Photography/Shutterstock

While US travelers are allowed to visit Ireland, they’ll have to show proof of a negative PCR test upon arrival, and still abide by a mandatory 14-day quarantine. If you take another PCR test no less than five days after arrival, and obtain a negative result, the quarantine length may be shortened. Those who arrive without a negative PCR test could be fined $3,000 and face up to six months in jail.

Malta

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Photo: kavalenkava/Shutterstock

Malta is one of the few loopholes in the EU travel ban. US travelers can visit Malta if they transit via a “safe corridor country” that allows US visitors, like Turkey. As long as you stay in that corridor country for 14 days before traveling to Malta, you’ll be allowed to enter the island. Travelers must also fill out a Public Health Travel Declaration and Passenger Locator form before departure.

Montenegro

Photo: Boiarkina Marina/Shutterstock

As long as you have evidence of a negative PCR test result, or a positive antibody test result, you’ll be allowed to enter Montenegro. Neither test result can be older than 72 hours. No quarantine will be required for those with a negative test.

Romania

Photo: John_Walker/Shutterstock

In late January, Romania became the first European country to lift quarantine for travelers with both doses of their COVID-19 vaccine. Previously the country required travelers from high-risk “yellow list” countries — including the US — to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival. Now that quarantine is no longer required for travelers who can show proof of their vaccine, as long as it’s been at least 10 days since the second dose.

United Kingdom

Photo: steny02/Shutterstock

Travelers to the UK must have a negative COVID-19 test taken 72 hours before departure, and quarantine for 10 days. Given the appearance of the new COVID-19 variant in the UK, it’s strongly discouraged to travel to the UK for leisure. Because of the new variant, the country is in national lockdown. President Biden has also banned incoming travel from the UK.

A version of this article was previously published on September 29, 2020, and was updated on January 28, 2021, with more information.

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New Orleans’ “house floats”

New Orleans isn’t having a traditional Mardi Gras celebration this year thanks to COVID-19, so the residents are getting creative to salvage their iconic holiday. Many of the Mardi Gras-related activities have been canceled, including the famous parades, because government guidelines and gathering of crowds is the perfect environment for COVID-19 transmission. As an alternative to watching wacky floats parade down the street, people are turning their own houses into floats instead.

Photo: Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee/Krewe of Red Beans

Thousands of homes have been transformed for the two-week Mardi Gras period, which runs until mid-February. It’s part of a special project that encouraged homeowners to hire the artists who would typically spend months designing floats, but instead, put them to work on their houses.

Photo: Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee/Krewe of Red Beans

Each home has a unique theme, with some reflecting the city’s jazz culture, some paying homage to the area’s Cajun roots, and others are a creative genius.

Photo: Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee/Krewe of Red Beans

The idea originated from Megan Joy Boudreaux, who suggested it in a Twitter post after the official cancellation of the Mardi Gras parades. She initially only expected friends and neighbors to join, but by the start of January over 9,000 people had joined the fun — some from as far away as Australia.

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London dry gin

Champagne has to be made in Champagne, France; Parmigiano-Reggiano must come from four distinct regions in Italy; and bourbon must be made in the United States. London dry gin, however, keeps the name of the place that made it famous without any geographical restrictions.

If you know only one style of gin, there’s a good chance that it’s London dry. Many of the most famous brands lay claim to the style designation — Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, and Gordon’s, to name a few — though it’s rare for the big names in London dry gin to actually be made in London (Beefeater is a notable exception).

The name can be confusing for people just learning about gin. Imagine, for example, that nearly all of the famous Florida oranges were actually grown pretty much everywhere but Florida. Yet the name is important nonetheless, and there’s a long history behind why this particular type of gin refers specifically to London — a city with deep connections to gin production.

What is London dry gin?

If not the name, then what makes these spirits a London dry gin?

The name London dry gin refers to production methods rather than location. The European Union defined the style in 2008 as “a type of distilled gin” that’s “obtained exclusively from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin.” The flavor must come exclusively from redistillation (more on that later), and it can’t have more than 0.1 grams of added sugar per liter or any coloring in the final product. It also must be at least 37.5 percent ABV.

The primary flavor, as with all gins, is juniper. London dry gins are also commonly high in citrus notes from lemon and orange peel.

In the mid-2010s, there was a push to create a standard by which any gin with the name London dry gin had to be made in London, according to The Spirits Business, but that was scuttled due to the massive effort it would take to make and enforce the switch.

Why is it called London dry gin?

Photo: r.classen/Shutterstock

To understand how gin became London dry gin, you have to start in the early 1600s when distilling was still a nascent practice. Women — like housewives and housekeepers — of the era typically performed distilling and brewing. The 1602 book Delights for ladies to adorn their persons, tables, closets, and distillatories, with beauties, banquets, perfumes, and waters (or, more simply, Delights for ladies) by Sir Hugh Plat included what’s believed to be England’s first juniper-based drink that also included nutmeg, clove, and mace. It was called “spirit of spices.”

British soldiers fell for a juniper spirit while serving abroad, before the country went all-in on domestic production. During the Thirty Years’ War from 1618 to 1648, they drank Holland’s “Dutch courage,” which was genever (sometimes spelled jenever). The spirit is made in pot stills using malted grains similar to whiskey, and it’s flavored with juniper and other botanicals. Genever is both the precursor to modern gin and where gin got its name.

The spirit had medicinal properties, too. Englishman Samuel Pepys wrote in 1663 that he used a juniper-based “strong water” (liquor) “to make myself break wind and go freely to stool before I can be well, neither of which I can do yet.”

Gin really took off, however, when the Dutch William of Orange became king of England in 1688. He banned all trade with France, which meant no French brandy or wine on English soil. Home-grown spirits based on grain were encouraged instead. As Anthony Lane documents in the New Yorker, the encouragement worked, and England flooded with cheap, homemade liquor. The average person in England drank about a third of a gallon of spirits in 1700 and just over two gallons by 1743.

This led to a period known as the Gin Craze. According to a history recorded by the gin brand Sipsmith, one in four residences were producing gin in parts of London. It was not a quality tipple, to say the least. Alcoholism was rampant, and producers used shortcuts like turpentine to mimic the Christmas-tree flavor of juniper. Laws called the Gin Acts tried to curb overconsumption of the cheap spirit, but it took decades to make a difference. For a visual representation of the madness, consider William Hogarth’s diptych Beer Street and Gin Lane.

London regained some of its sobriety by the 1800s, but gin — particularly a barrel-aged style of gin called Old Tom — remained popular. Then the invention of the Coffey still in 1830 by the Irishman Aeneas Coffey changed distillation forever. His column still could make a much higher alcohol spirit faster than pot stills. Column stills also had fewer impurities and a more neutral taste — think vodka versus moonshine.

Distillers, many of which were based in London, no longer needed to add sugar to cover up impurities. This drier style gin eclipsed the popularity of what came before and adopted the name of the city where much of it was made.

What’s the difference between London dry gin and other types of gin?

Photo: Wise Dog Studio/Shutterstock

All gin is made from the same basic ingredients: a neutral-tasting spirit and botanicals. Juniper is required to be the “main characteristic flavor,” according to the TTB, but any number of other herbs and spices can be thrown in as well.

Gin can be made three ways. The easiest to make is called compound gin, which simply mixes a neutral spirit with the botanicals and then strains out the liquor once it’s picked up some of the flavor. Redistilled gin is made by taking a neutral spirit and then distilling it again with botanicals. Finally, there’s distilled gin, which is made by adding botanicals to the original mash and then distilling it all together from the start. London dry gin adheres to the final category. Today, any gin can be called London dry as long as it’s a distilled gin with less than 0.1 grams per liter of added sugar, no matter where it’s produced.

Any gin that macerates botanicals or adds flavor in any way after the spirit has been distilled isn’t a London dry. Hendrick’s, for example, adds cucumber and rose after distillation. The sugar content is another factor that differentiates London dry, though not all dry gins are London dry because they add botanicals after the first distillation.

How to drink London dry gin

Photo: Marian Weyo/Shutterstock

London dry was one of the most popular and widely available gin styles throughout the late 1800s and into the mid-1900s. This is also when cocktails became in vogue, so many of the most famous gin cocktails and drinks are based around the clean flavor profile of London dry.

This includes the most famous gin drink, the martini (as well as its spin-offs, the dry martini and dirty martini), which is made with gin and dry vermouth. London dry gin is also the style classically used in gin and tonics. Gimlets, made with gin and sweetened lime juice, get a nice juniper bump in flavor from London dry, as do negronis.

The best London dry gin brands to try from London

Photo: TY Lim/Shutterstock

Gin distilling fell out of fashion in London in the latter half of the 20th century, but it has once again become popular. When it opened in 2009, Sipsmith was the first copper distillery to operate in London in nearly 200 years. There were only 12 gin distillers in all of the UK at the time. Today, there are more than 540 in the UK and 24 just in London.

Sipsmith: The company helped change an excise act from 1823 that effectively prohibited small distilleries, and with the change, it ushered in a new era of London gin distilling. Its London dry gin was the first spirit it made and remains a tried-and-true expression perfect for cocktails.

Beefeater: Started by James Burrough at a distillery in 1863 in the Chelsea neighborhood of London, Beefeater is still one of the most popular London dry gins available. It’s also one of the most classic. Today, it’s made in the Kennington neighborhood using nine botanicals, including juniper, Seville orange, and lemon peel.

Hayman’s: This distillery is run by Christopher Hayman and his children James and Miranda. They trace their family history back to James Burrough of Beefeater fame — Christopher is Burrough’s great-great-grandson. The Burrough family sold Beefeater in 1987, but the lineage continues today with Hayman’s. Hayman’s London dry is made with juniper, orange and lemon peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, angelica, and licorice root.

Portobello Road: A gin made from nine botanicals (juniper, coriander, angelica root, orris root, lemon peel, orange peel, licorice root, cassia bark, and nutmeg) that started, as the name suggests, on London’s Portobello Road.

The best London dry gin brands to try from the UK

Photo: Eyesonmilan/Shutterstock

Salcombe: Start Point, Salcombe’s London dry, is made in the town of Devon and is named after the Start Point lighthouse. The citrusy gin was first released in 2016, and it’s inspired by the fruits and spices brought in by the Salcombe Fruit Schooners, which made voyages to the Mediterranean and back to England in the 19th century.

Tanqueray: Charles Tanqueray started his eponymous distiller in the 1830s. He was one of the first to make a London dry style of gin, and today Tanqueray is one of the most widely selling gins — London dry or otherwise — in the world.

Bombay Sapphire: Easily recognizable from its blue bottle, Bombay Sapphire opened in 1987 in Hampshire County in southern England. Despite the brand’s relatively recent founding date, it has its roots in the 1830s when the Dakin family purchased a copper still and created a gin recipe using vapor infusion rather than a straight boil.

Gordon’s: One of the most historic gin brands as well as a classic example of London dry gin. Alexander Gordon started his distillery in 1769 in Southwark, London. Today, it’s owned by the spirits conglomerate Diageo and is no longer distilled in the city.

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Snowy owl in Central Park

The rare appearance of a snowy owl in New York City is giving people something to get excited about this winter. The owl was spotted in Central Park on Wednesday, and shortly thereafter the park was filled with onlookers eager to see the rare bird. The owl was sighted in the middle of the ballfields, which is unsurprising given snowy owls favor flat, sandy areas for watching prey.

The Manhattan Bird Alert Twitter account posted an update saying, “The SNOWY OWL on a west ballfield of the Central Park North Meadow, perhaps the first-ever documented record of this species in the park, with its new buddy, an American Crow.”

David Barrett, a birder who runs the Twitter account, told Patch, “It probably ends up in Brooklyn or Queens, or it might even keep going farther east and end up in Long Island.”

The 2nd record for Snowy Owl in Central Park was a treat today, especially when a Red-tailed Hawk repeatedly made low passes. We're all lucky to have seen it. Thanks @BirdCentralPark for the alerts. And thanks @BirdingBobNYC for driving over from State Line Lookout. #birdcp pic.twitter.com/PgteVh6Cg8

— Deborah Allen (@DAllenNYC) January 28, 2021

Snowy owls spend the summer in the Arctic, where they breed, and then fly south during the winter to New England, New York, and the Upper Midwest. The sighting is notable because no snowy owls have been spotted in Central Park for at least 30 years, and given the relative lack of things to do these days, it was likely the highlight of New Yorkers’ entire winter.

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Egyptian treasure exhibition US tour

Last year wasn’t a great year for museums. The coming years promise to be much better, especially given the opening of exhibits like “Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold.” This traveling exhibition of Egyptian treasures is touring the United States and Europe starting in November 2021 and will continue through to January 2025. So even if pandemic-related travel restrictions remain in place for the majority of this year, you’ll still be able to catch it before the end of the half-decade.

The exhibit is centered around the ancient Egyptian royal dynasties and their treasures dating back more than 3,200 years. It’s likely to be one of the biggest Egyptian exhibits you’ll see unless you can make it to Egypt itself, so if you’re a history buff living near one of the host cities, it’s worth a trip.

The exhibit will start in the US, making its first stop at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, then proceeding to the De Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, and finally crossing the country to The Saunders Castle at Park Plaza in Boston. After its US tour, the exhibit will travel abroad to London and onto the Grande Halle de La Villette in Paris. Each city will host the exhibition for six months.

The exact dates and ticket information haven’t been released yet.

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Steamboat Springs, CO, travel

When more than a few professional skiers, snowboarders, racers, Nordic combined-ers, and other cold-weather pros gather in one place, it’s called the Olympics. In Steamboat Springs, it’s simply another Tuesday. Here in north-central Colorado, where the ranching lifestyle of the Old West still thrives and agricultural land encircles a collection of small mountain towns, is where future stars come to hone their craft. Steamboat Springs is the region’s isolated hub.

The town is a three-hour drive from Denver. Winter commutes tend to be slightly longer as you must drive over the frequently storm-covered Rabbit Ears Pass, making it an ideal place to settle in for a while. Once here, its separation from the I-70 gridlock further south is just one of Steamboat Springs’ greatest perks. Downtown is full of cultural and culinary highlights, and its ski history is renowned. Here’s how to take it in on a winter trip, both après-ski and on a day off the slopes.

Steamboat Springs is a living history lesson in American ski culture.

Photo: LanaG/Shutterstock

A record 98 Olympians have called Steamboat Springs home, including mega-stars of the winter sports world past and present like Buddy Werner, Billy Kidd, and Todd Lodwick. The town sent 15 athletes to the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, more than many countries.

Steamboat’s Olympic heritage stems from its legendary ski hill and winter training facilities that have attracted top-notch athletes since the mid-1900s. That hill is not the Steamboat Resort — though this iconic ski area is a destination in itself — but an older, smaller, ski area called Howelsen Hill. With its first ski jump opened more than a century ago, Howelsen Hill has been in continuous operation longer than any other ski area in North America.

Today, it’s also home to one of the few full-scale ski jumping venues in the state and the largest in the country. Norwegian ski jumper Carl Howelsen founded the ski hill in 1915, bringing with him a Scandinavian’s taste for both Nordic and alpine skiing and giving the United States its first true taste of ski culture. In the ensuing decades, training facilities for ski jumping, racing, nordic combined, and other winter sports have popped up on and around Howelsen.

You can access Howelsen Hill’s lift-operated skiing from downtown Steamboat Springs and experience this history yourself. Ski Howelsen Hill from late November through April from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The best local hack is to make a reservation to ski on Sundays, when lift tickets are free. We don’t recommend hucking yourself off of the massive ski jumps without proper training and permissions, but if you happen to catch athletes on training day, it makes for quite a show from the base area — whether or not you’re skiing yourself.

Photo: steve estvanik/Shutterstock

Beyond watching ski jumpers in training, the most popular show in Steamboat is the annual Cowboy Downhill, open to members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association or Professional Bull Riders. They ski in a chaotic downhill challenge, dressed to the nines in their Western garb, in an event that is basically a rodeo on the slopes. There are crashes, outlandish style, and loads of whooping and hollering. Thing is, you have to be in town in January to catch it.

It doesn’t need to be January, though, to see the bust of Buddy Werner at Steamboat Resort. Werner’s story is well-known in the ski world — but in Colorado, and particularly in Steamboat Springs, he is a legend. Werner and his family learned to ski at Howelsen Hill and he competed in the Olympics as a ski racer in 1956 alongside his sister, Skeeter. His family is credited with popularizing skiing and racing in the Rockies, and Werner won numerous awards including being the first non-European to win the Hahnenkamm ski race in Austria. Sadly, he was killed in an avalanche near St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1964 at age 28. You’ll find the commemorative bust located near the top of the gondola at Buddy’s Run on the aptly named Mount Werner. A long-standing tradition is to toss a handful of snow on Buddy’s face as you ski past — so don’t mistake the locals’ admiration for hostility.

Learn more about Steamboat Springs’ ski culture at the Tread of Pioneers Museum, which features a Ski Town USA exhibit. Here you’ll find artifacts and stories on the history of skiing in the area beginning with Carl Howelsen and continuing to today, along with quirky aspects like the history of ski fashion and how the town’s iconic Winter Carnival came to be.

You can get on the big mountain even as a non-skier.

Photo: David A Litman/Shutterstock

A unique aspect of Steamboat, the nearly 3,000-acre behemoth of a ski area that extends from the east end of town to the peaks beyond, is that you can ride the gondola to have happy hour on the mountain sans-ski, if you want to. Thunderhead Lodge, which serves as the upper terminus of Steamboat Resort’s gondola, hosts Thursday afternoon “gondola happy hour” sessions on the deck in both winter and summer. The drinks and vibes themselves are enjoyable, but the real perk of doing this is the sunset view to the west, over the Yampa Valley and across the surrounding Rockies. Steamboat Springs is known as the “snowglobe” of Colorado, and this is the best way to find out why.

At Ski Time Square, locals and visitors gather at Slopeside Grill for pub food and beer beginning in the early afternoons. A short hike uphill from Slopeside is the T-Bar, as close to a Euro-style après-ski vibe as you’ll find this side of the Atlantic. Grab a chair outside, watch the skiers fly by, and maybe dance on your seat to 1990s rock, hip hop, and dance classics.

The town is a hotbed for culinary innovation.

Photo: Table 79

Well-known outdoor brands including Big Agnes, HoneyStinger, and SmartWool were founded in Steamboat Springs, establishing the town as a hub for adventure entrepreneurship. That pioneer spirit manifests itself in local dining rooms as well, where veggies and meats produced in the surrounding valleys are commonplace in dishes that upend the tired ski town menus of chili cheese fries, burgers, and fried chicken. In particular, two buzzy eateries have become emblematic of the town’s culinary progression, and they so happen to bookend the downtown dining corridor.

On the south end, the menu at Table 79 is at once both Western and modern, a convenient nod to its Colorado roots. On the menu are mountain town standards like beef short ribs and wild game, but you’ll also find vegetarian dishes with an equal punch, like a spaghetti squash “Bolognese” made with seitan rather than meat. And it’s not only the food that makes this restaurant a forward-thinker. Its business model incorporates a three percent surcharge on all dining orders, in order to provide what it calls “a more sustainable compensation model” for its kitchen staff. The fee is meant to help address common issues plaguing Colorado’s ski towns, as busy winter and summer seasons shift to shoulder seasons that often find service industry workers facing reduced hours. Year-round, many resort and service industry workers struggle to afford to live in ski towns where rental rates tend to fall victim to the price-gouging “Airbnb effect” and a high barrier to entry to own property.

Across downtown, Laundry Kitchen & Cocktails brings a more international flare to a former laundromat (hence the name). Plates are built for sharing, tapas-style, like the Ojibwe rice pilaf and the chili-braised bison. The spot is all about the hip atmosphere that could be saying, “It may only be 6:30 but I’m two Mules deep and feeling groovy.” Those same athletes that you watched ripping down the mountain in the morning can be found lingering over cocktails at the bar here, warming up for a night along Lincoln Ave. Up the road, Schmiggity’s brings in local and touring bands and is a popular meeting spot for after-dinner drinks and dancing. In the grand tradition of ski towns, Steamboat Springs tends to turn in by midnight in favor of catching first tracks in the morning. If you do want to hit last call, head to Sunpie’s on Yampa Street.

Test your comfort level at the hot springs and crash in comfort.

Photo: Teri Virbickis/Shutterstock

Strawberry Park Hot Springs is an anomaly among soaking baths in the Rockies. It’s well maintained and has on-site lodging and camping, something not so uncommon around the state. But what makes this hot springs resort, atop a winding dirt road blanketed by champagne snow, unique is what you’ll find after dark. Or rather, what you won’t find: clothes. Strawberry Park is “clothing optional” at night, and many soakers take the opportunity to don their birthday suit while they relax in the sulfur springs. It’s not required that you go nude, but if you’re comfortable with the idea, go with it — it’s dark out and the atmosphere is mellow. Plus, you already ascended the treacherous road to get there. The worst is behind you, and at this point even the hesitant tend to find that they get more from the experience when their inhibitions are left in the locker room alongside their trousers.

You can stay in a cabin on site, but if you prefer to stay in town, check into the Nordic Lodge, an appropriate ode to the town’s Olympic history and rustic mountain town culture, located right downtown. Rooms start at about $128. Or, for chic and modern, book a room at the Ptarmigan Inn, with a minimalist ski-centric aesthetic and on-site lounge, for about $282 per night.

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Airplane rules and etiquette

“I travel all the time. I know how to handle myself on planes and not be that annoying passenger. Trust me.”

If you’ve ever uttered the above sentence, or something like it, I’ve got news for you: You have been “that annoying passenger.” We all have, and we can’t help it. Planes are cramped, uncomfortable spaces that tap into the darker elements of our human nature: the selfish instinct to put our own needs first while subconsciously turning a blind eye to how our actions impact others.

Many travelers have the best intentions. No one takes their seat thinking, “I can’t wait to fall asleep and drool on this total stranger’s shoulder.” But when the seatbelt sign goes off, flight attendants buckle in, and the next meal service is an eternity away, passengers are left to their own devices and it’s not pretty. Like any recovery process, the first step is identifying the problem. These are the airplane etiquette rules you’re probably breaching without realizing it.

Sharing an armrest

The airplane armrest is the ultimate battlefield for passive aggression. Being an armrest hog is a bad way to endear yourself to your neighbor, but if you relinquish your rightful territory without a fight, you’ll regret it until you land. Luckily, the solution is pretty simple: Your armrest etiquette depends on which seat you happen to be sitting in.

The aisle and window seats are prime real estate. They have additional space to stretch out, rest your head, or enjoy the view. They’re basically the airplane version of a high-rise apartment, while the middle seat is the slums. That’s why the middle seat gets both armrests. It’s really the only consolation for the crushing shame and discomfort of being a middle-seater. So be a good neighbor, be charitable, and let the person in the slums have both armrests. It’s the least you can do.

Reclining your seat

Is it acceptable to recline your seat? It’s a classic, perennial debate as old as the airplane itself. This question isn’t as black-and-white as it may seem, since there are varying angles of reclining and some are more acceptable than others. The chief problem is that there are rarely repercussions to egregious reclining. Unlike the quiet battle for the armrest, you never have to look at your victim, and you may very well not see their face the entire flight. Unless the person being leaned back on is especially assertive (or in a really bad mood), they probably won’t even express their frustration — they’ll just quietly stew with hatred and maybe “accidentally” whack you with their backpack while deplaning.

The key to mastering a respectful recline is spatial awareness. How much room do you actually need to recline? Does your head need to be in the lap of the guy behind you to feel relaxed, or will just an inch or two do the trick? For every inch you recline, that’s one more inch of space you’re taking away from the person behind you and one inch closer their TV screen just got to their face.

Betty Thesky, a long-time flight attendant and host of the Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase travel podcast, witnesses this airplane faux pas every day. “It would be kinder not to put your seat all the way back,” she tells Matador Network. “Just put it partially back so it doesn’t infringe on people’s space and they can still have meals.”

So there you have it. Feel free to recline, just be aware of space, don’t get greedy, and take a peek behind you to make sure your unsuspecting victim isn’t in the middle of a meal.

Opening your window blinds

Photo: leungchopan/Shutterstock

While it’s standard practice to keep your window shade open for takeoff and landing, the rest of the flight is a free-for-all. The window-seater holds all the power here. It’s an almost godlike responsibility: To bathe the plane in light, or submerge it in darkness?

Keeping the shade open during takeoff and landing is both expected and polite, so those around you can glimpse the view if they wish. Keeping it open during the flight, however, is a bit more controversial. Even if you personally enjoy looking down at the clouds, there’s a good chance people are trying to sleep, and the bright light could be hampering their efforts — not to mention creating glare.

“During the day it can be bright in people’s eyes,” Thesky says. “Passengers often ask flight attendants to shut it because they’re too shy to ask the person themselves, or they aren’t sitting in the same row.”

Thesky also says that the issue can get so contentious that passengers nearly come to blows.

“One time,” she says, “there were two men sitting next to each other. One wanted it up, one wanted it down, and they got very animated about it — and I had to play kindergarten cop. It’s just a window shade for goodness sake!”

So play it safe and shut the blind when you’re inflight. You’re really not missing anything. It’s certainly better than squabbling with your neighbor over a 2×4 piece of plastic.

Taking your shoes off

Here’s one we can all agree on — or so you’d think. The idea of sitting next to a stranger’s bare feet in an enclosed space for 12-plus hours is absolutely revolting. On the flip side, however, the prospect of sitting in an enclosed space for 12-plus hours with your bulky shoes, and no way for your feet to breathe, can be equally revolting. Unfortunately for your feet, the best etiquette is to keep those shoes on.

According to Betty, “The thing that bothers us is when people walk into the bathroom barefoot. Socks are fine.”

I’m sorry, but if you’re walking into an airplane bathroom in your bare feet, you’re either a baby or a sociopath. Socks are the happy medium here. Socks are the answer. Socks won’t offend anyone, except maybe those truly committed to the barefoot lifestyle.

Gate lice

Arguably the most ubiquitous breach of etiquette happens before you even get on the plane. You know the drill. It’s an hour until takeoff, the VIP boarding groups haven’t even been called yet, but 70 people are crowding around the gate like it’s a Best Buy on PS5 launch day. This phenomenon is derisively known as “gate lice.”

After waking up early to get to the airport, clearing security, and finding the gate, people are anxious to progress to the next step — boarding. Each stage of the airport process is like a new level in a video game in that we crave the next level and enjoy the dopamine hit of getting there. The final stage of the airport, the final level, is getting on the plane, and sitting around idly staring out at the tarmac just isn’t gonna cut it. Standing at the gate is proactive. It’s an outlet for our restlessness. It’s an understandable symptom of herd mentality. Unfortunately, it’s also really bad etiquette.

Being one of the gate lice is obnoxious both to other passengers and to the flight crew. If you’re in boarding group B but a bunch of gate lice from boarding group D are hanging around the gate, it creates confusion about who, exactly, is supposed to board. The issues aren’t just on the passenger side, either. According to Thesky, “People are understandably anxious to board, so they all congregate around the gate. This makes the gate agent’s job tougher, though, because there’s a wall in front of the gate.”

Think of it this way. Crowding the boarding gate is like showing up at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru at 7:00 when you know it doesn’t open until 8:00. No matter how early you get there, you’re not getting your waffle fries until 8:05.

Constantly accessing the overhead bin

The real heroes of the airplane aren’t well-behaved passengers, they’re the flight attendants who play kindergarten cop. If a flight concludes rather smoothly, without any incidents of violence or vomit, it might feel like the flight attendants had an easy day. That’s not entirely true. What you might consider standard passenger behavior can actually be a point of irritation for flight attendants, who aren’t even free to express their frustration.

According to Thesky, one of the most common accidental breaches of etiquette is when passengers don’t adequately prepare for the flight.

“Passengers don’t consider what they need for their flight beforehand, and it’s all up in the bin,” she says. “So you’ll have one passenger going for the bin five times getting chargers, books, who knows what. And sometimes they don’t even close the bin. One guy seriously hurt himself by standing up and bashing his head off a bin that hadn’t been closed.”

It might seem like no big deal to keep a book in the overhead bin, especially if you’re in the aisle seat, but it can seriously complicate the lives of the flight attendants who need to move down the aisle without obstruction.

Ignoring the fasten seatbelt sign

Photo: Fotokon/Shutterstock

This little red light often feels like a guideline more than a mandate, especially when you see people up and about when the light is on. Flight attendants don’t always enforce this rule, depending on the severity of the turbulence, but know that they’re definitely giving you a death glare from the galley. The seatbelt sign isn’t a totalitarian method of control. It’s for your own safety.

And no, going to the bathroom isn’t an excuse. The sign’s entire purpose is literally to prevent you from going to the bathroom.

“People actually end up in the hospital sometimes,” Thesky says. “The light is on for a reason. When I tell someone to take their seat and they tell me ‘I’m going to the bathroom,’ I’m thinking, ‘Well of course you are. Where else would you be going? You still gotta sit down.’”

Not wearing a mask

None of these faux pas can compare to the largest (and newest) etiquette battle in the skies these days. All major airlines mandate masks to protect passengers against the spread of COVID-19. It’s not only for your own good, but for the good of your seatmates, flight crew, and everyone else on the plane. Still, a startling number of people refuse to wear masks, or forget to reapply them after eating.

According to Thesky, it’s the single biggest issue on flights right now.

“It’s become a giant chore,” she says, “like we’ve become the mask police. I never signed up for that. People always get upset about other passengers not wearing a mask, and ask us to do something about it. On my last flight a flight attendant told a passenger, ‘You need to have your mask while talking to me,’ and the guy literally said, ‘I’m a lawyer, I’m gonna sue you.’”

Sure, you could be the guy threatening to sue a flight attendant for asking you to wear a little piece of cloth on your face, or you could be a decent human being. This one’s not even about etiquette, it’s about not being a walking public health hazard.

Thesky sums up the flight attendant-passenger relationship like this: “Just like in a marriage, being a flight attendant is about picking your battles.”

Upholding your end of the relationship is easy. When in doubt, don’t give them a battle to fight.

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Digital nomad visas in Europe

Europe is embracing the digital nomad movement. Parts of it, at least, and in segmented phases. Several countries have developed specific digital nomad visas — for the first time even embracing the term “digital nomad” in some cases — that permit verified remote workers to perform their work in the country without having to follow the restrictions or time limits of tourist entry, which generally prohibit performing profitable work while in the country. Each is unique and addresses common issues facing traveling remote workers in different ways, such as tax requirements, length of permitted stay, and whether or not you need to be working remotely for a business based in that country.

Spain

Photo: Balate Dorin/Shutterstock

Spain offers an established visa that digital nomads can use to remain in the country for longer than 90 days, the Self Employment Visa, with a few notable caveats.

First, you have to be self-employed. While this can include freelancing or contracting with a foreign company on an ongoing basis, it does not include remote workers who are W-2 employees of a US-based company, for example. You’ll have to provide information on your work or business and note if jobs will be created in Spain because of your efforts, where you will base your business in the country (consider a coworking space), and other info on your work as requested.

Second, all documentation must be completed and submitted in Spanish, and translating must be done by a Sworn Translator (of which the Spanish government provides a list). You also must prove that you have at least 661.5 euros ($804) in your bank account, and more for longer stays.

Finally, you must apply at least 90 days in advance of your arrival to Spain, schedule an interview at a consulate, and bring the required paperwork with photocopies. Download and print the visa application form to submit to the consulate, and again, be sure to fill out the form in Spanish.

Worth noting is that the Spanish island of Gran Canaria actively welcomes digital nomads to come, so much so that it has wholeheartedly embraced a digital nomad conference held on the island and its name, Nomad City.

Estonia

Photo: Oleksiy Mark/Shutterstock

Estonia doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to embracing modern technology. It became the first country to allow its citizens to vote online, for example, and also pioneered the concept of the e-residency, which allows foreigners to open bank accounts and base their remote business in the country without ever having to even set foot in Tallinn for a physical meeting. It then went further last year, with the aptly named Digital Nomad Visa.

Its requirements are straightforward: You must work remotely. You must maintain and perform most of your work for non-Estonian businesses. You must make at least 3504 euros ($4,262) per month and have been doing so for at least six months. If you can answer “yes” to each of those three questions, apply online and start packing your bags — a year in Estonia is on the horizon.

Croatia

Photo: Dreamer4787/Shutterstock

The Croatian digital nomad visa is new, announced by the government in August, 2020, and in effect as of January 1, 2021. The visa includes tax exemptions, meaning you don’t necessarily have to pay taxes to the Croatian government if your income is already taxed elsewhere. It does require that you maintain health insurance, a rental contract for your residence in Croatia, and provide proof of your remote employment.

Working for a Croatian company is prohibited, as the law states that a permitted digital nomad will perform “work through communication technology for a company or his own company that is not registered in the Republic of Croatia and does not perform work or provide services to employers in the Republic of Croatia.” So, have your remote work situation together before applying for the permit.

Meet these requirements and pass the background check, and you could find yourself spending up to one year residing along the shores of the Adriatic Sea. Should you wish to stay longer, you may be required to leave the country for six months before re-applying for the visa permit. Visit the Croatian government’s relevant permit page to get the process going.

Svalbard, Norway

Photo: Jane Rix/Shutterstock

Norway’s digital nomad visa is unique. For one, Norway isn’t a member of the EU but is part of the Schengen Zone that encompasses most EU states, meaning travelers to Europe can generally remain in Norway for up to 90 days. This remote work visa allows remote workers to base themselves only in Svalbard, the archipelago north of mainland Norway that is home to the northernmost city in the world, Longyearbyen.

The coolest thing about this visa, other than the fact that you’re based on the expensive but beautiful island, is that it is valid for the rest of your life. So, if you were inclined to, you could pack up your stuff and permanently live in the Arctic — so long as you’re working remotely and follow the specified requirements. If you contract with a Norwegian business, you may also qualify for the Independent Contractor visa, which allows you to base out of mainland Norway while you perform your duties.

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