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Founder’s Note: Beyond the Headlines

So you love the outdoors, and you really enjoy a good day of hiking. But at the end of that day, you’d rather treat yourself to a little post-hike pampering at a luxe hotel than camp or simply return home. If this is your style, there are plenty of destinations in the U.S. that offer superb hiking trails alongside posh lodgings. After all, you just climbed a mountain, you earned that spa treatment and Michelin-starred dinner.

Together, Laguna and Dana Point are home to an exciting food scene, with restaurants offering everything from Mexican and Asian favorites to vegan, Belgian, and California coastal cuisine. Make a reservation at a beachfront spot overlooking the ocean, or try your luck and just walk in somewhere. The worst that can happen is you’ll have to wait at the bar with a creative cocktail or glass of California wine.

It’s not surprising that this little island at the end of the continent is known for seafood, but the creative and artistic vibe of Key West means that the ocean-focused cuisine veers towards innovative. Come for the sun, stay for the fish!

Born free, today’s post-apartheid generation asks, what’s next?

In this modest Asian city, a vast galaxy of street food, night markets, and closet-sized seafood restaurants awaits. Don’t forget that small can be mightily good.

The great shopping street of more modern Istanbul, Istiklal Caddesi, is across the Bosphorus from the old Sultanahmet. It’s packed with lovely sidestreets and shops.

Mumbai’s street snacks are all about fresh ingredients assembled on the spot.

Tourism is down, prices are up, social services are disappearing, and the government is bankrupt. Which means it’s a good time to get to know Seychelles.

The old, the new, and the scarcely imagined sit side by side in Mexico City, and no one blinks an eye. The more you can be curious about that balance—and the more you can achieve it yourself—the better you’ll understand and enjoy this magical city.

Sometimes you don’t have to go very far to experience the wide world: in this case, the wide world of Asian noodles. Perhaps you live in New York, and want a taste of Xi’an or Tokyo. Or perhaps New York is on your fall travel list. Either way, slurp it up.

AFAR chose a destination at random—by literally spinning a globe—and sent comedian Jorma Taccone on a spontaneous journey to Nairobi, Kenya.

New Zealand’s city hotels combine comfort with modern design touches, while the lodges and country houses—set amid coastal cliffs, pristine fjords, and the soaring Southern Alps—serve luxury with a side of drama.

While in Tokyo, stroll the grounds of one or more of the thousands of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. The peace and relaxed nature of the temples and shrines offer welcome respite from Tokyo’s more hectic side.

Whether or not you consider yourself a museum goer, Berlin’s 170 (or so) museums are sure to serve up at least one or two collections that pull you in. History, culture, art, food, and more: it’s all inside (or, at the East Side Gallery, painted directly on) the walls of Berlin’s museums. Art lovers should head directly to the Hamburger Banhof Museum or the Bauhaus Archive. Want to look at the wall that once divided the city you’re exploring? It’s the open air East Side Gallery for you. For those who want to explore the history of WWII, the Holocaust, and of the history of the Jewish people in Germany, Berlin offers several incredible institutions, including the Jewish Museum and the German Resistance Memorial Center.