Action Travel › Comments

“No.” I'm confused. Two days earlier, I had met filmmaker Brian Paul in New Orleans while he was promoting his documentary, Cure For the Crash, a fascinating look inside the minds of “train hoppers.” I told him I wanted to learn about the “art” of hopping, and he agreed to meet me across the river, in “What do you mean ‘No?,'” I ask, not even trying to hide my annoyance. - Action Travel

Dr. Seuss had one. Helen Keller claims they’re one of the best therapy dogs. Jon Stewart has two – and they watch over his young children. But these aren’t the stories you hear when you hear about pit bulls. “I think it all started back in 1987,” says Ken Foster, author of numerous books on… - Action Travel

Want to see one of your photos featured on our website or on the Intelligent Travel blog? Make it happen by uploading your favorite travel pics (don’t forget to add a caption!) to ngm.com/yourshot. Tag all your submissions #travelshot – then look for your photos in one of our My Shot galleries or on our blog. Big thanks to Salvador J. Stamatti Avila, who snapped this dizzying shot and submitted it to Nat Geo's photo community! - Action Travel

This spring brings the War of 1812 bicentennial to life in a most audacious way: with the kind of sailing ships that made the war a test of nerves for a young, unproven navy and civilian privateers. One way to relive that chapter in history is to head for the water. The Navy has collaborated with Operation Sail, the group that rounded up dozens of ghostly tall ships for the U.S. bicentennial in 1976, to arrange similar spectacles in U.S. cities this year. - Action Travel

“If you’re looking for something interesting,” the security guard said, “you should go visit the Queen Gypsy’s grave.” I asked who this was and he began to tell me a story that’s too long to go into here. In short, when Kelly Mitchell, “Queen of the Gypsy Nation,” died in 1915 while giving birth, as many… - Action Travel

Ships leave Istanbul and cruise up the Bosphorus -- a strait that separates Europe from Asia -- every day. On a cold April morning, I boarded one of them to follow in the footsteps of centuries of travelers who have left the city in this way. - Action Travel

Summer’s almost here, so we thought we’d take a break from our I Heart My City series and focus on the concept of getting away from it all. Taking a dive off the dock, toasting marshmallows around a camp fire at dusk, spooling out fishing line and pitching back to cast off, watching fire flies… - Action Travel

Her name is Karla, and her dad was Otis. Otis Redding. I'm praying she won't recognize me -- my hair was longer then; a few more grays in my beard. The whole "me camping outside their house thing" happened years ago. Surely they'd forgotten, right? I couldn't have been the only slightly deranged fan to show up on their doorstep. - Action Travel

Stroll down Savannah's picturesque Jones Street any morning around 10:30 and you'll see a line beginning to form outside a gorgeous old home called Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room. - Action Travel

Photojournalist Alexandra Avakian's coverage of Egypt appeared in the September 2011 issue of Traveler, and you can see the fruits of her labor in a story about Jerusalem in the May issue. Photo editor Krista Rossow asked Alexandra what it was like going on assignment in a city with such a long and complicated history. This is what she had to say. - Action Travel

“Hi, this is Aric – I’m either unavailable, or I’m avoiding someone. Leave me a message, and if I don’t call back… it was you.” “Hi, Aric – this is Paul, returning your call. Hope you’re not avoiding too many people. You might miss a few who are worth it. Call me back when you can.” - Action Travel

If I’m being honest — totally honest — I’ll admit to liking Savannah just a bit more than I liked Charleston. Less people, less fuss, less care, less… well, children. “People don’t discriminate by race here,” a new friend of mine said. “But they do by the square you live near.” I decided to take… - Action Travel

This week's #FriFotos theme is HOLY PLACES, so we decided to run this stunner that Ken Thorne submitted to National Geographic Traveler's 24th annual Photo Contest. This photo of a grove of ancient baobab trees, sacred to the Malagasy people, was taken near Morandava, Madagascar. The contest runs through July 11th, so you still have plenty of time to enter. - Action Travel

Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee this year, with key events taking place the first week in June. Queen Victoria is the only other English monarch to earn the distinction — and, given Elizabeth’s spirit and good health, she’s poised to out-reign her predecessor. If you’re headed to England, you’ll soak up spirit simply by walking the… - Action Travel

The Radar: The top travel news, stories, trends, and ideas from across the Web. Got Radar? Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and tag your favorite travel stories from the Web #ngtradar. Check back on the blog for our roundups. Photograph by Joseph Wong, My Shot - Action Travel

Everyone’s heard of Brer Rabbit. Everyone knows the song “Kumbaya.” And everyone has cooked a “one-pot meal” at some point in their life. So why do so few of us know about the Gullah – the people who gave us things like these? That’s the question many people with Gullah heritage — descendants of slaves brought from… - Action Travel

Swiss expat Katja Meier arrived in Siena in 1999, fell in love with an olive grove, and never left. She lives with her Tuscan native husband and their two badly behaved Swiss-Italian kids in Southern Tuscany, working as a health and life coach and organizing retreats for people from all over the world who are battling cancer and other life-threatening… - Action Travel

After spending a day at Fields to Families – a Charleston charity that collects fresh produce from farmers and distributes it to the needy — volunteer coordinator Tina Arnold pulled me aside and said, “If you really want to meet someone doing good things, you should go to the soup kitchen here and ask to meet “The Librarian.”… - Action Travel

The Radar: The top travel news, stories, trends, and ideas from across the Web. Got Radar? Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and tag your favorite travel stories from the Web #ngtradar. Check back on the blog for our roundups. Photograph by Michael Dawson, My Shot - Action Travel

Oh, how I wished for nine days to walk around with a camera. But what I got was about an hour. So what you get are a few quick snaps from my iPhone. They won’t blow you away, but hopefully they’ll add to your ongoing list of reasons to visit Charleston. - Action Travel

You have to wonder what Paul and Tracy Wilkes did. Rob banks? Run a Ponzi scheme? They had to have done something terrible. Because no couple devotes so much of their time to doing good. - Action Travel

As stated in the video, while driving out of Charlotte, NC, I received a random message on Twitter to join an unknown person in his plane. This is how that went. [Apologies for the bumpy ride -- this was shot and edited on my iPhone.] - Action Travel

This week's #FriFotos theme is PARADISE. The Paradise side of Mount Rainier is famous for its wild flowers and breathtaking views. Our favorite look-out is Inspiration Point. Thanks to Allen Abendroth for submitting this keeper to our My Shot community! - Action Travel

A finger, slightly dirty with chipped nail polish, pointed right at me. "How would you feel if you were chained up, your fur was covered in snow, and it was 3 degrees below zero outside?!" Kids say the darndest things. Except this happened to be more truth than darnd. The student was describing the winter walk that inspired her art teacher, Libby Scandale, to found Project Bark. - Action Travel

There’s no real way of describing the magical mystery that can be found at 606 South Elm Street in Greensboro, NC. Some call Elsewhere a “collective,” others a “playground.” Operations curator Valerie Wiseman calls it a ”living museum.” But what kind of museum allows you to touch, play, build, nap, and create — and has a… - Action Travel

Spanish chef José Andrés, a force of nature in the culinary world (Time just named him among its annual 100 most influential people in the world) and an enduring presence in this nation’s capital, founded America Eats Tavern less than a year ago in the space formerly occupied by his popular Café Atlantico (405 8th Street,… - Action Travel

Dear Reader, I’d never heard of Lynchburg. Lynchburg Lemonades – sure, but never the town. On a tip from a reader, I pulled in for a cup of coffee. And ended up being two hours late to Greensboro because of it. Quiet and nice. If I were an up-and-coming artist, I’d rent a space here… - Action Travel

I don’t consider myself an over-packer. But when I showed up for an eight-day trip in a country (Jordan) and region (the Middle East) I’ve never been to with a bag twice the size of the ten other travel writers in my group, I figured I still had a few things to learn. Here’s what… - Action Travel

The Radar: The top travel news, stories, trends, and ideas from across the Web. Got Radar? Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and tag your favorite travel stories from the Web #ngtradar. Check back on the blog for our roundups - Action Travel

Almost a year ago, I joined 600+ other travel bloggers in Vancouver, BC for the annual TBEX Conference to network and get inspired by their stories. During a Q&A with one of the many presenters, a woman named Tracey Friley stood up and introduced the entire assembly to an idea she called The Passport Party Project. - Action Travel