Latest news with #nighttravel
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Yahoo
The 'Noctourism' Trend Is Redefining Travel in 2025—Here's What You Need to Know
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." 'Because the night belongs to…'—well, sorry lovers. With noctourism (also called astrotourism) on meteoric rise, it may be time to tweak Patti Smith's classic rock ballad. In silent twinkles and glowing galaxies, dark skies are calling, and the night now belongs to travelers, who are increasingly following tourism's newest North Star. 'We've seen a significant uptick in night tourism, especially since the 2017 Great American total eclipse. Last year, that accelerated even more,' says Stephanie Vermillion, an astrotourism expert and author of 100 Nights of a Lifetime: The World's Ultimate Adventures After Dark. As her book and her wide-ranging, past-my-bedtime adventures illustrate, night tourism encompasses more than just spotting the Big Dipper. People are traveling to hunt auroras, for example, or to swim in bioluminescent bays, or watch the synchronous arrival of thousands of nesting loggerheads in Panama. On a recent trip to Hawaii, I spent an evening at the Lāna'i Observatory, dumbfounded by the darkest, vastest obsidian sky and what looked like a universe of diamonds scattered against black velvet. (More on that in a minute). I'm in good company when it comes to going dark. named noctourism one of its top travel trends for 2025, noting that while some adventurers want to pursue nighttime activities like starbathing and constellation-seeking, others want to avoid rising daytime temps or book accommodations without lights to encourage less light pollution and preserve local flora and fauna. The nocturnal travel industry sector, already accounting for $9.3 billion globally, anticipates a 10% growth rate again this year, on top of numbers that have soared since some 20 million people traveled to see the Great American Eclipse. That celestial moment, when we all put our wonky glasses on, gazed upward and collectively gawked at the once-in-a-lifetime solar peek-a-boo, was catalyzing, says Vermillion. 'There were so many people joining together, focused on one thing, all amplified by social media.' Thanks to eclipse-induced piqued curiosity, plus more headlines about space missions, satellites, and new astrological discoveries, and with the expanding reach of organizations like DarkSky International, which advocates for reduced light pollution and certifies International Dark Sky Places—it all adds up to a heavenly moment for those with interstellar interests. And the hospitality industry is taking note. In 2023, DarkSky International launched their DarkSky Approved Lodging program, with the glamping pioneers and outdoor hospitality pros at Under Canvas leading the way. Under Canvas's Lake Powell – Grand Staircase property became the world's first DarkSky-certified resort that year, and their tented portfolio adjacent to national parks across the U.S. now boasts five of DarkSky's seven certified U.S. properties. On a visit to Moab last year, where the luxurious ULUM is Under Canvas's latest affiliate to be certified, I was wowed by the surrounding red-rock geologic wonders by day, but equally mesmerized by the unfathomably vast canopy of stars at night. I came for adventure—to hike through Canyonlands National Park and rock climb at Looking Glass arch, visible from my cushy tent—but it was the after-hours awe that has most stayed with me. Relaxing around ULUM's cozy firepits, toasting marshmallows for s'mores, and simply looking up, transported me to a profound place of serenity. I wasn't just sleeping under a swanky safari-like canvas, I was immersed under a canvas brushed broad with the Milky Way and shooting stars, and I came away with a new-found reverence for the universe's marvels. 'We call it star-bathing,' says Vermillion. 'That meditative aspect of just soaking it up and letting your mind wander.' She encourages people not to get caught up in trying to identify stars or constellations, or fret over equipment. An iPhone can suffice for beginner night photography and numerous stargazing apps offer ready guidance. 'People are looking for new experiences,' Vermillion adds, 'and being outside at night, whether looking at stars or doing other after-dark adventures, brings that. Your senses are heightened, you wonder 'what's that sound?' You become alert in a way that you're not during the day. Night tourism gives us this chance to connect to our primal being.' Plus, there are practical perks. If you're visiting Rome, for example, and opt for a Coliseum tour at night, it's cooler and less crowded, 'and it's a totally different experience after dark,' says Vermillion, now at work on her forthcoming book, Stargazing: an Astrotourist's Guide to North America. While Utah's clear skies are stunning, there's nothing quite like being in the middle of the Pacific, on Hawaii's smallest and least-populated (and un-lit) island, to experience full cosmic jaw-drop. What's more, the sister Four Seasons properties on Lāna'i—Sensei Lāna'i and the Four Seasons Resort Lāna'i—have upped the ante by offering guests exclusive access to their high-tech Lāna'i Observatory featuring a PlaneWave 1 Meter Alt-Az Telescope. 'The Observatory has been open for three years now, and we're booked most every night,' says Isabel Campbell, a Lāna'i native and the observatory specialist. Having grown up on the quiet island, Campbell knew there was good stargazing, 'but until the astronomers who helped us install the telescope started gushing over our lack of light pollution, I never realized how good,' she says. Campbell leads the Observatory's Kilo Hōkū experience that explores Hawaiian ancestral mastery of celestial navigation through uncharted Polynesian waters. The night I visited, she was excited to show us Jupiter's moons and Orion's Nebula. I climbed up short stepladder and peeled my eye to the scope, and there I was: up close and personal with celestial objects and otherworldly astonishment. 'I love seeing people's reactions. I was ecstatic when we first opened, and I still get so giddy, and seeing other people have a similar experience is amazing. To think you're looking at something 32 million light years away, the remnants of a galaxy just like us—it blows your mind,' says Campbell. 'Having an observatory makes the world of astronomy way more accessible for people.' Which is what night tourism is all about—shedding light on the beautiful dark. You Might Also Like Spectacular Gifts for the Most Stylish Women in Your Life 16 Gorgeous Indoor Plants for Homes of All Sizes
New York Times
18-05-2025
- New York Times
As Europe Speeds By on Rail, America Is Stuck in Traffic
How civilized to catch a train, enjoy a meal on board and then go to bed in a cozy cabin while the moonlit world zips past. Recently, I've boarded sleeper trains in Brussels and disembarked in Vienna; bid 'Gute Nacht' to Munich and 'buongiorno' to Venice. Closer to home, the Caledonian Sleeper shrinks the 400-mile journey between London and Edinburgh to just 40 winks — with supper, a nightcap and breakfast en route. Such journeys are possible on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, but the future and fate of night trains in Europe and the United States are set on very different tracks. In 2025, Europe's sleeper train network has been enjoying a renaissance. Revitalized in the age of flygskam (the Swedish word for the feeling of climate guilt associated with the emissions from airline travel), the continent's expanding offering of nocturnal routes aims to compete with short-haul flights on speed, cost, comfort and climate impact. The European Union has plans to double high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and link all major cities in the bloc. But as Europe embraces the night train, the United States seems to be sleepwalking into a transport dead end, slashing funding for public infrastructure and firing transit workers. Long-distance public transport in America may be heading inexorably toward a binary choice: fast, exclusive and environmentally ruinous or slow, tortuous and run-down. America has long been in thrall to cars, of course. 'Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night?' Jack Kerouac asked in 'On the Road.' In 2025 the answer seems to be home, or to the local airport. In President Trump's second term, with many climate commitments and environmental protections already up in smoke, the road ahead seems clear: more gas-guzzling cars, planes and rockets. The national rail system is written off as either irreparably broken (like the long-suffering Amtrak) or a mismanaged white elephant (as with several stalled high-speed rail projects). One reason for this is America's identity as a land of individual freedom, an idea embodied by the mid-20th-century automobile. It's clear that it hasn't served America well. In an April study, 'Does Car Dependence Make People Unsatisfied With Life?' researchers highlighted the correlation between high levels of car dependence and a crash in American drivers' happiness and mental health. Far from freewheeling dream machines, cars now can represent headaches and nightmares — a depressing necessity in a congested land with few alternatives. Yet, rather than invest in ways to help people leave their cars at home, America's typical response to congestion has been to build more lanes and highways. In a nation where cars are king, it's no surprise that more freeways are often portrayed as the only way. New and refurbished rail networks and subway systems would seem an obvious way forward, but rather than investing in such infrastructure, America often opts to spend millions, if not billions, reinventing the wheel with unproven moonshot projects, niche urban merry-go-rounds or bijou supersonic passenger jets. Elon Musk, America's anointed tech guru in chief, is on record enthusing about China's impressive bullet train network while disparaging America's railways as a national embarrassment. This is ironic coming from a man whose now shelved Hyperloop — a theoretical high-speed transportation system — beguiled and distracted a lot of potential investment from tried and tested transit systems across the United States. The secrets to China's fantastically successful matrix of high-speed railways are clear: consistency of vision, courage of conviction, a successful nationwide rollout and, crucially, adequate funding. The only transit system Mr. Musk has built successfully is a series of tunnels beneath Las Vegas through which his Tesla vehicles loop, much like an underground rail service, only, at present, much less efficiently. In both cases, capacity seems laughably limited — a couple of dozen passengers per Hyperloop capsule, sedans of five in rotation. Then there is the current drive to revive supersonic passenger jets. Boom Supersonic, the U.S. company following in the Concorde's contrails, is hoping its 64-seat concept will take off by attempting to circumvent some of the sticking points that grounded its predecessor — namely demand, price, and regulation. Such dreams are attractive for the few who can afford them, while leaving the vast majority in the dust. An exclusive, myopic mind-set prevails. Be it five or 64 seats, such limited capacity won't move America. In the age of billionaires talking up ballistic futures beyond this planet, it's easy to dismiss old and underfunded technologies as systems begging to be superseded. The early railways also had their share of 19th-century tech-bro hype, but they were always built for mass transit. Trains, synonymous with community, connection and shared purpose — the 'traveling coincidence' of Philip Larkin's poem 'The Whitsun Weddings' — allow for chance meetings and brief encounters with fellow travelers. (I should probably declare myself as someone who doesn't drive and enjoys meeting and talking to strangers.) Once the glamorous go-to for travelers rich and poor, trains were a staple of 20th-century culture, woven into the worlds of Agatha Christie's Poirot, Ian Fleming's James Bond and the characters in Alfred Hitchcock films. In 'The 39 Steps,' 'The Lady Vanishes' and 'Strangers on a Train,' Mr. Hitchcock loved a train for its powerful collision of velocity, romance and intrigue, a defined cast of passengers but perils unknown. But once the jet age got underway and travel habits changed, train thrillers ceded to the generally less-satisfying genre of airplane action movies. Meanwhile, American railroads went into a tailspin. In Europe, trains are the old/new answer — old-world comfort married to new, faster rolling stock. The drive between London and Berlin, for example, is about 12 hours. The fastest trains get you there in just under nine hours. Contrast that with the 13-hour drive between New York and Chicago, a trip that takes roughly 20 hours by train. Europeans have sleeper trains because we value the infrastructure, and we are the better for it. The prospect of that kind of commitment for 50 states so reliant on insular cars and planes would be a game changer. However big the United States might be, however divided about the future, revitalized railways offer an alternative way ahead. To streak across the country day or night, to see the nation pass and talk to your fellow citizens and strangers as you go: There's surely no better time for the rediscovery and rebuilding of that American dream.
