John

The ferry cuts through choppy East China Sea waters, and suddenly it appears. A concrete battleship rising from turquoise depths 9 miles offshore from Nagasaki. Hashima Island emerges like a post-apocalyptic vision, its gray high-rises collapsing into the sea after 50 years of abandonment. This UNESCO World Heritage site once housed 5,267 souls on just … Lire plus

Winter fog drifts across the Connecticut River mouth where two lighthouses stand sentinel 3,000 feet apart. Old Saybrook’s twin lights mark where New England’s longest river meets Long Island Sound. An atmospheric confluence just 20 minutes from New Haven. While coastal Connecticut draws summer crowds, January transforms this maritime crossroads into something rare. Authentic coastal … Lire plus

Weekend crowds pack Camelback Resort’s parking lots by 8am, families paying $89 for lift tickets and $150-250 for resort lodging. Drive 20 miles west to Palmerton, where Blue Mountain Resort delivers Pennsylvania’s highest ski vertical at 1,082 feet for $59 weekday tickets. This zinc mining town of 5,600 residents offers authentic Appalachian winter charm with … Lire plus

The boat slices through water so transparent you can count starfish 15 feet below. White sand stretches beneath turquoise shallows like a natural swimming pool. This is Cayo Zapatilla, Panama’s best-kept Caribbean secret where five pristine destinations offer knee-deep lagoons that rival the Maldives for a fraction of the cost. 5 Caribbean lagoons where transparent … Lire plus

The speedboat cuts through turquoise channels toward a palm-fringed arc of white sand. This is Playa Rincón, where the Dominican Republic kept its Maldives moment secret on the Samaná Peninsula. Crystal-clear water shows sand ripples 20 feet down while coconut palms create natural shade across 2.5 miles of undeveloped coast. January brings 84°F days and … Lire plus

Walking 5.5 miles across lava-carved coastal roads sounds brutal until you glimpse the reward: America’s only green sand beach. Papakōlea sits tucked inside a 49,000-year-old cinder cone where olivine crystals create emerald shores found in just four places worldwide. This January, while most Hawaii beaches swarm with crowds, the challenging hike keeps visitor numbers near … Lire plus