Another year in travel, another 12 months of meltdowns and debacles. As one analyst put it, 2023 “took chaos to a new level.” Yikes. Still, travelers kept flying, including in record-breaking numbers on Thanksgiving weekend.
Whether they decided to enter the fray or just armchair travel, our readers loved stories that took them away, whether it was about a journey across London on the new Elizabeth rail line, hiking long-distance walking routes (like the new Pekoe Trail in Sri Lanka or the 637-mile Michinoku Coastal Trail in Japan), or the slow-motion ballet of whales off the coast of Long Island in New York.
And plenty of odd trends emerged, too: fake A.I.-generated guidebooks flooded Amazon, dogs flew in private jets and “sky couches” became an in-flight amenity option.
Here are eight of Travel’s most-read stories for 2023, some of which got readers very fired up (let’s say people have opinions on airplane sock etiquette).
“Housekeeping!” Does the phrase — usually following two startling knocks on the door — fill you with happiness or dread? In 2023, travel largely rebounded to prepandemic levels, but daily cleaning in hotels appeared to have become a thing of the past. Good for sustainability, perhaps (less laundry), but hotel unions are concerned the changes could threaten housekeepers’ jobs.
You said:
“Staying in a hotel without daily housekeeping service is like going out for a nice dinner and then being expected to stay and do the dishes afterward.” Allison, out west
An obscure phrase became more popular in 2023: skiplagging. Passengers discovered that, in some cases, airfares to their destination were cheaper when booked as a layover to somewhere else — so they would disembark after the first leg of the flight, and not board the second. Genius, right? Turns out, the airlines don’t think so — American Airlines banned one teenager for three years for the practice.
You said:
“Too bad for the airlines. After decades of putting the thumb screws to travelers (seat size, tarmac delays, etc.) it’s about time customers beat them at their own game!” The Eyewitness, New York
Is anyone surprised this was the most-read 36 Hours guide of the year? Laura Cappelle, a Paris-based theater critic for The Times, mapped out a weekend exploring a different side of the French capital. After reading her guide, you might dream of climbing the spiral, wrought-iron staircase in the painter Gustave Moreau’s magnificent two-story art studio.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at NYT > Travel…