PBS host Samantha Brown reveals two Midwest winter favorites

While the Wisconsin capital might be a strange winter favorite for someone who’s traveled the world, PBS’ “Places to Love” host Samantha Brown says, “There’s just something about when a lake freezes over and creates an entirely new space that is simply mesmerizing.” “Madison is a nice-sized city with a lot going on with food and culture,” she adds. “Stay at the Edgewater Hotel right on the lake and watch locals walk across it and university students cut a hole and jump into it. A must is to go to a Wisconsin supper club.” Brown also shares her love for Traverse City, Mich., which she describes as a “lovely small city with a fantastic food and local wine scene.” “Then there’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which transforms in the winter — you can snowshoe, cross-country ski and go sledding,” she continued. “Make sure you stop by Leelanau Cheese for award-winning raclette.”

TravelPulse

For years, Airbnb gave travelers access to reasonably priced, home-like stays. But the cost of an Airbnb has increased so much that in many cases it’s no longer a cheaper option than a hotel. Airbnb users like New York resident Jack Hahne said the cost and experience of a stay is not what it used to be as he recently completed a solo road trip across the U.S. “For a lot of the cases, either the price was about the same, maybe a little cheaper, but just wasn’t as convenient as like a hotel would be in terms of flexibility of like check-in times,” he said. “When I think about Airbnb now, a lot of it is more kind of absentee landlords,” he said. “Back in 2015, 2016 — there was a lot more to like the social aspect of it. Where it’s just some guy who was renting out a bedroom.”

Denver Post

Conde Nast Traveler’s “25 Best Places to Go in 2025” is a diverse list with everything from Greenland — “once a feather in only the most seasoned travelers’ caps,” the CN Traveler editors say — to the Great Barrier Reef. Greenland’s Nuuk airport expansion makes travel easier, they point out, with more flights bound there in the new year. Ho Chi Minh City gets a shout-out on the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. In Germany, the Ahr Valley is welcoming visitors back for the first time since the wine region was devastated by a 2021 flood. And in South America’s Gran Chaco, a destination long considered impenetrable, river safaris and glamping accommodations have popped up. Now is the time, CN Traveler says, to head for Argentina’s El Impenetrable National Park within the 300,000-square-mile Gran Chaco.

Mercury News