AFAR

AFAR is a different kind of travel magazine that guides and inspires those who travel the world seeking to connect with its people, experience their cultures, and understand their perspectives. Get AFAR digital magazine subscription today for intriguing travel stories told with beautiful photos and a fresh design.

AFAR

Contributors

Cultural Currency

Cost of Living • During a visit to her ancestral hometown, our columnist considers the aesthetic homogenization that threatens to consume it—and what that means for the world.

Boarding School • A blind traveler heads to Hawai‘i to catch some waves—and finds a memorable surfing partner in the process.

How to Really, Truly Unplug on Your Travels

That’s the Ticket • We pay homage to the simplicity and nostalgia of transit cards before they vanish in our increasingly digital world.

The Best New Hotels of 2025 • EACH YEAR, after much consideration and debate, Afar’s global network of editors, writers, and travel advisors anoints the best new and renovated hotels in the world. For 2025, we’ve selected 25 properties that offer so much more than just a picture-perfect stay. These are places that help redefine a destination, set a new bar for sustainability and design, and bring travelers into communities where their dollars can really count. Inspiration for your next great trip starts here.

FEATURES

IN FRAME • On a family visit to Guangzhou, China, writer Bonnie Tsui 徐靈鳯 sees the city—and her relationship with her father—in a new light.

The Afar Guide to Guangzhou • Due to its location at the head of the Pearl River, Guangzhou has long been an important commercial and trading center. Once a key port on the Maritime Silk Road, today it’s one of China’s largest cities, renowned for its arts, crafts, and cuisine.

GREAT AMERICAN CITIES WASHINGTON, D.C. • Politics may be the foundation of the nation’s capital, but culture is what makes the district shine. Meet three local luminaries ensuring the city remains a creatively invigorating place for residents and visitors alike.

DOWN IN THE VALLEY • Often called Mexico’s Napa Valley, Valle de Guadalupe is forging its own path thanks to a new generation of winemakers and chefs working toward a more sustainable—and delicious—future.

DAY TRIP: ENSENADA • Twenty-seven miles south of Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada was officially founded in 1882 after the discovery of gold. Today, it is Baja’s third-largest city and supplies many of the region’s restaurants with reina and chocolate clams, scallops, briny oysters, and rich bluefin tuna. Here’s where to eat if you’ve got half a day in Mexico’s seafood capital.

Disconnecting in the Desert