In the area of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, there is a cluster of national parks. Among these lies Bryce Canyon National Park, which is actually many natural amphitheaters rather than a canyon; it is known for its beautiful scenery, red sandstone, and hoodoos—rock columns created by erosion. A geological wonder, more than 1.5 million people visit Bryce Canyon each year to hike, camp, and just look at the views. So how do you navigate this natural masterpiece amidst so many other visitors?

What is the appeal of abandoned buildings? That depends on the explorer. Many explorers take their cameras to capture the texture of the decaying walls and the eerie lighting of the sun shining through holes in the roof. If they’re lucky and looters haven’t taken everything from the site, photographers might also find relics from the time of the abandonment. However, many urban explorers say there is an unspoken rule to leave the site as it was found, ensuring that the building avoids the look of recent human presence. Many urban explorers also upload their photos of abandoned sites to their blogs or websites to share their adventures with other explorers.

(photo by Richard Schneider) How Japan's Decreasing Population Will Change Travel

On my first day in Chile, colorful leaves were falling in May, and I couldn’t understand some of the signs and street vendors. I was visiting with my dance team, but I felt strange walking into a local church dance when I didn’t quite feel like part of the community. The event began with the performance of a traditional dance, and I looked on blankly, unfamiliar with the music and movement.

Sophia is only seven years old, yet, in her short life, she has already visited 27 countries. Sophia and her sisters Lexi (4 years old) and Savannah (1 year old) have traveled all across the world, even in the short span of time since Savannah was born: from Slovenia to Egypt, Lebanon to Portugal, Greece to Brazil. But, of course, they aren’t traveling alone.

A shot taken toward the top of Mount Odaigahara in Japan. (coniferconifer) Every time I come home from my latest family trip, I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation. After flying for hours, driving from place to place, seeing the sights, and eating—and spending—a little too much, I return home without having relaxed as much as I had hoped. So I was intrigued when I heard about forest bathing. It’s not what you might think; it doesn’t actually involve bathing in the middle of a shady grove. Forest bathing is the English term for “shinrin-yoku,” a practice Japanese people invented in the 1980s as an approach to healing. All it involves is walking peacefully through a forest and allowing yourself to take in the natural atmosphere around you. Scientific studies claim that the practice has therapeutic benefits for the body and soul. Forest bathing could offer you the perfect respite during your next busy getaway (or after your next hectic day at the office).

Every time my family travels, we’re faced with the impossible task of leaving our dog behind. It’s terrible; I don’t know if he can tell we’re leaving by all our rushing around or if he’s just learned what a suitcase means, but he spends the entire time we’re getting ready moping around and sighing.

You could go to Paris, pose in front of the Eiffel Tower, and add to the collection of the world’s most popular selfie spot. You could order overpriced Mickey Mouse ears in preparation for a day of nostalgic childhood flashbacks at Disney World. You could travel to see—with your bare eyes—that Great Wall that is visible to the bare eye from outer space.

“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.” Staring out your hotel window at a day marred by precipitation, you might find yourself humming this nursery rhyme. You’ve traveled far and spent a lot of money to come on this vacation, and now your sightseeing plans are halted by an unexpected storm. What can you do to make the most out of a trip when the weather gets bad?

Two billion dollars. That’s the amount organizations and individuals spend each year on voluntourism, a type of travel that combines tourism with service. An estimated 1.6 million voluntourists embark on trips ranging from a few days to a few weeks to third world countries each year. By definition, voluntourists have little or no formal skills or training. Voluntourist experiences are typically run by non-profit organizations, many of which have received criticism recently for focusing more on the short-term needs of participants than on the long-term needs of the locals.

If you open the flower altar book in St. Leonard’s Church in Downham, England, you’ll find Lord and Lady Clitheroe have signed up to provide flowers on the first of every month. You’ll also find that the couple provides and cares for the whole village, since they own it all (think Downton Abbey). The Clitheroes have possessed Downham for generations, and every lord in recent memory has enforced the same rule: no visible electric wires, satellite dishes, or distracting signs allowed.

While living in the American Rockies for a few years as a visiting professor, Loula missed Greece. It wasn’t just that no one in her new town shared her Orthodox upbringing or that the only version of her native language taught at the local university wasn’t even modern Greek. She missed her native land’s cuisine, its rich age, its sun-kissed hills and whitewashed seaside adobe homes.

Lunchtime.