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Lower fares and better service: Back-to-school season is the good-news season for deal-savvy flyers.

Why not make your holiday shopping list an excuse for a trip? From a famous record shop to the hippest boutique in Iceland, our editors share the places they’d travel to for unique holiday gifts around the globe.

From Japan to Iceland, we’ve got you covered on spa etiquette.

The Icelandic bread is cooked in a unique way—with heat from geothermic springs.

Overview

On an expedition cruise to the ruggedly beautiful Arctic, one traveler discovers her inner outdoor adventurer.

How travel is changing, according to experts.

Musician Nico Muhly’s Guide to Iceland

Writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner went to Iceland seeking puffins and peace. Along the way, she learned that the perfect Icelandic adventure is just a dream—but you can, and should, still go in search of it.

36 destinations to kick-start your travel dreaming and scheming.

AFAR chose a destination at random—by literally spinning a globe—and sent Chris Colin on a spontaneous journey to Iceland.

Whether you’re searching for a spot to sip a craft beer while watching the Northern Lights or a popular bar that serves up au courant cocktails and electronic music, Iceland has you covered. Reykjavík is, easily, Iceland’s most popular city for those who like to pair drinking and dancing, but it also offers plenty of places to perch if you’re more in the mood for conversation with locals over a nightcap. One of the city’s coolest trends: many of the coffee shops turn into buzzing dance parties during the evening hours. Of course, many of Iceland’s most-celebrated restaurants also go to town when it comes to cocktails. Worry not, you’ll never go thirsty.

Reykjavík’s old harbor, built between 1913 and 1917, has seen quite the transformation in recent years, morphing from a mainly functional area dominated by ships and their fishermen to a lively, modern tourism area that’s almost a new city district of its own. The sparkling, award-winning Harpa concert hall and conference center has dominated the area since it opened in 2011, and several restaurants and cafés, along with offices, now line the harbor promenade, interspersed with the occasional cultural spot such as the fascinating Reykjavík Maritime Museum. The boats, trawlers, and whaling ships are still there, of course, and remain a big part of the atmosphere, but they’re today joined by a number of tourist boats offering whale-watching and puffin tours.

Despite being located just outside Reykjavik’s main center, the Hilton Nordica maintains its popularity thanks to its superb service and welcoming Scandi-mod interiors. Though working travelers tend to favor the property for its many functional conference rooms and business center, leisure visitors prefer to cozy up in a leather armchair by the fire in the plush neutral-toned lobby. The aesthetic continues in the spacious rooms and suites (the smallest is 300 square feet) with their calming, natural palettes, colorful photos of Reykjavik, and large windows that allow Iceland’s generous light to flood in; suites also enjoy separate lounge areas. The VOX restaurant serves gourmet New Nordic cuisine with an emphasis on Icelandic and Scandinavian ingredients, and the open-concept bar serves coffee, tea, and cocktails, and is a comfortable spot for lounging or mingling whether you’re coming in from a busy day of sightseeing or getting ready to hit the town.