Margo Kay

When you plan your dream trip to New Zealand, chances are Auckland will be your city of both entry and exit. With non-stop flights from New York’s JFK airport on Air New Zealand and Qantas, and multiple carriers from the west coast, Auckland on the North Island serves as a gateway for tourists. My husband and I spent the first two weeks of March, 2026 in New Zealand, itching to get to the South Island’s natural wonders—fjords and the Remarkables and Golden Bay were calling! But rushing away from Auckland would have meant missing out on a vibrant young city, centered on sailing culture and seafood and wine. We saved the last couple of days of our trip to explore the area, and it deserves a spot on your New Zealand itinerary.

"Today's rain is tomorrow's whisky" is an old Scottish saying; words to live by whether metaphorically or literally. The Hebrides consist of a smattering of islands off the western coast of Scotland. The Inner Hebrides include the islands of Skye, Gigha, Mull, and Islay, the latter of which is famous for its Norse and Celtic history, stunning—and at times surreal—landscape, and, of course, Islay whisky. Fèis Ìle, the Islay Festival, will be celebrating 40 years in 2026. For 10 days—Friday, May 22, to Sunday, May 31—whisky and Islay lovers from around the world will converge on this 25-mile-long island with a year-round population of less than 3,300. Many have been coming for years.

Niseko, Japan is a long flight from the NYC area, but when your husband wants to spend his 60th birthday in that legendary Siberian powder, you make it happen. Hokkaido, about 100 km southwest of Sapporo and New Chitose Airport, is North Island outdoor sports heaven. Getting there from Tokyo’s Haneda airport is a combination of planes, trains, buses and/or automobiles. But the scenery and the skiing, even for this less-than-expert skier, are worth the effort. Known for its beer and raman, spas and onsen, Niseko delivers winter magic.

I never tire of exploring London, but after living in the UK for a decade and hitting the highlights on repeat, I’m ready to turn eastbound. East London is much more than Cockney Rhyming Slang. A center of commerce since Roman times, the neighborhoods of Stepney, Hackney, and Spitalfields have been home to immigrants from Huguenots to Bengali. Today, Canary Wharf has enjoyed a renaissance as financial giants move operations from the “City” to the Isle of Dogs. And south of the river Thames, Greenwich harkens back to the days of British Naval greatness.

The county of Kent in the southeast corner of Great Britain draws me back every year. I was a junior year abroad student at the University of Kent in Canterbury many moons ago and met my future husband there. Kent is called “garden of England” for a reason: orchards and vineyards abound, classic pubs await down twisty village lanes, and the coastline is strewn with fishing villages and maritime history. Deal is one of my favorite coastal towns, easily accessible from London for a weekend getaway.

2025 marked 25 years of the Wellfleet OysterFest, two days in October to celebrate these delicious bivalves with 10,000 fellow aficionados. Enjoy local beers and wines, the ferocious Wellfleet Oyster "Shuck-Off," and, of course, platefuls of local oysters. This year's dates were October 18th–19th and the weather was perfect Cape Cod autumn.