AP Travel Columns

NEW YORK - The annual list of the "World's Best Cities" as chosen by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine was topped by a city that many Americans may not be familiar with: Udaipur, India.

NEW YORK - Interested in New York history and architecture? Check out the walking tours offered by the Municipal Arts Society on everything from Beaux Arts buildings on the Upper West Side to the neighborhood around the city's new High Line, an old elevated train track reclaimed as a park.

For high school students who have the time and money to travel, visiting a college campus is the best way to get a sense of the students, the faculty, and the feel of the place where they'll be spending four years (or more).

NEW YORK - The incidents involving two girls traveling as unaccompanied minors who ended up on the wrong planes may have parents worried about safe trips for kids traveling alone.

MIAMI - Where else but Florida could a place like Jimbo's exist?

DES MOINES, Iowa - Turn a hunt for antiques into a getaway on the 60-mile stretch known as Indiana's Antique Alley.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Sarasota and the circus became forever linked more than 70 years ago when John Ringling decided to move the headquarters of his "Greatest Show on Earth" to the lovely Gulf Coast city where he spent his winters.

MIAMI - A good guidebook is more than just a compilation of information. It's a travel companion with personality, a sense of humor and usually both strengths and weaknesses. With the proliferation of smart phone guides, a new cast of travel companions is vying to join you on your travels.

NEW YORK - It's barbecue season, and if you don't want to get out the grill and smoke up your yard, here are 10 restaurants recommended for their barbecue by Bon Appetit magazine's July issue.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Looking for a beautiful beach without the crowds? Coastal Living magazine recommends 10 secluded beach destinations in its June issue.

BERKELEY, Calif. - If you're thinking about a road trip and you need more than a map to help you plan, Avalon Travel Books is out with a new edition of "Road Trip USA" ($29.95).

FORT LARAMIE, Wyo. - The frontiersmen who built this outpost in 1834 picked a spot they hoped would enable them to dominate the regional buffalo-hide trade: a valley where two rivers run together and the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains.

MUSKEGON, Mich. - Are you one of those people with no sense of direction?

NEW YORK - The Idaho town of Lewiston ranked No. 1 on a list of top places to live for hunting and fishing.

Like a lot of people who use social media, Israel Hyman and his wife Noell went on Twitter to share real-time details of a recent trip. Their posts said they were "preparing to head out of town," that they had "another 10 hours of driving ahead," and that they "made it to Kansas City."

MINNEAPOLIS - It may be the last big math problem to solve before school lets out: whether to fly or drive to that summer vacation.

HOBOKEN, N.J. - It sounds like a dream job: You have a beautiful old home with extra bedrooms in a location with lots of tourists. You're a great cook and a people-person. Why not open a bed-and-breakfast?

NEW YORK - You could pay a lot of money for the privilege of donating your labor to a worthy cause somewhere around the world on a volunteer vacation. Or you could just throw your sleeping bag in the car, drive to a nearby park, and for as little as $150, spend a week in the wilderness rebuilding trails with other nature-lovers.