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15 Best Things to Do in Hastings (East Sussex, England)

Where the sandstone ridge of the High Weald tumbles to the English Channel, Hastings is a working fishing port, Victorian resort and a historic settlement.

Hastings was one of a Medieval alliance of coastal towns known as the Cinque Ports, and has a gorgeous old town in a valley against the rocky East and West Hills.

The town gave its name to the Battle of Hastings, the most crucial event in English history when William of Normandy defeated the Anglo-Saxon pretender to the throne Harold Godwinson to begin the Norman Conquest.

The battlefield and its abbey are only 15 minutes by road or train, while there’s an award-winning pier, museums, art galleries and light-hearted family attractions to keep you in town for at least a day.

Let’s explore the best things to do in Hastings :

1. Hastings Old Town

The wonderfully quaint old quarter, in Hastings’ easternmost valley follows a cosy Medieval layout and has remnants of a wall raised in the 14th century during the 100 Years’ War.

Along the High Street and intersecting alleys are half-timbered houses and Georgian facades that conceal much older buildings.

These hold antiques shops, quirky one-off boutiques, historic inns, galleries, cafes and seafood restaurants.

There’s always something going on in summer, like the Seafood and Wine Festival, or the traditional Jack in the Green.

By the water is the Stade harbour, which we’ll talk about in more detail later.

But along Rock-a-Nore Road stand tall, black wooden huts, which are “net shops”, going back to the 19th century and providing weatherproof storage for nets and other fishing gear.

2. Battle Abbey

A journey that needs to b made if you want to tap into the history of Hastings, Battle Abbey is a 15-minute drive or train ride.

A partial ruin, this Benedictine abbey was erected on the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1070 by the Normans as penance for the slaughter that took place in their conquest of England.

The high altar was said to be positioned on the exact spot where the Anglo-Saxon King Harold fell.

This is now marked by a stone, as the abbey was torn down in the Reformation, and its abbot’s quarters were turned into a stately home.

You can take a look around the battlefield with an audioguide, watch a film and handle replica weapons at the visitor centre.

The house has a lovely 19th-century walled garden and you can make your way around the 13th-century ruins of the abbey

3. Alexandra Park

Meandering out to Hastings’ suburbs from the town centre, the 109-acre Alexandra Park has a linear design laid out in the 1870s by Robert Marnock, one of the leading landscapers of the day.

This park was given a multimillion pound regeneration in the early 2000s and since then has become an annual winner of the Green Flag Award.

The lower section has formal gardens around reservoirs, while the more northern part is natural and wooded.

Alexandra Park has an exceptionally rich collection of trees, a cafe, an adventure playground and a bandstand used for concerts in summer.

Youngsters will also love the miniature railway at the north end of the park.

4. Hastings Country Park

A great thing about Hastings is that you can depart on foot and be in protected countryside within minutes.

The Hastings Country Park is at the southernmost point of the High Weald Area of Natural Beauty, and has 660 acres of ancient woodland, cliffs and heathland.

The scene of a Bronze Age fort, this land has seen human activity since the Palaeolithic Age, and the Celts, Romans and Saxons all left their mark.

A feature of the park is its glens, sandstone valleys densely wooded and with beds of gorse shrub, as well as rare mosses, liverworts and lichens.

Fulmars, peregrines and black redstarts breed in the cliffs, while stonechats and Dartford warblers breed among the gorsr in the valleys.

If you come by in spring or autumn you may see some migrating bird species like Pallas’s leaf warblers, red-rumped swallows and Sardinian warblers.

5. Cliff Railways

Hastings has two funicular railways rattling up and down its sandstone cliffs.

The older of the two is the 150-metre West Hill Lift, which opened in 1891 and serves Hastings Castle and St Clements Caves.

This railway is unusual in that it runs through a tunnel and still uses its Victorian coaches.

The lower station is on the charming George Street departing from the old town.

The East Hill Lift will get you up to Hastings Country Park, and claims to be the UK’s steepest funicular railway, with a gradient of 78%. This line opened in 1902 and is capped with a pair of towers built to house the water tanks for the initial hydraulic propulsion system.

6. Jerwood Gallery

On the Stade in front of the old town is a contemporary art museum that opened in 2012 in a beautifully understated building covered with 8,000 black glazed tiles from Kent.

Its low profile and cladding helps it blend with the net shops along the Stade.

The collection at the Jerwood Gallery has works by some of the big names of modern British art like Stanley Spencer, L. S. Lowry, Walter Sickert, Patrick Caulfield, Ben Nicholson and Augustus John.

There are normally three temporary exhibitions at any time.

Past artists featured at these shows include the Primitivist Christopher Wood and illustrator Quentin Blake.

In summer 2018 there was an exhibition marking the centenary of Abstract Expressionist Paul Feiler, a member of the influential St Ives School.

7. Hastings Castle

On the West Hill is what’s left of Hastings’ Norman motte-and-bailey castle.

One of the special things about this fortification is that it was started immediately after William the Conqueror landed, and before the Battle of Hastings even took place.

The ruined building there now dates from the reign of Henry III in the 13th century.

From that point on, Hastings Castle would be beset by trouble.

Some of the complex collapsed into the sea during a storm at the end of the 13th century, the castle was attacked and burnt during French attacks in the 14th century, abandoned in the 16th century and hit by bombs in the Second World War.

Somehow about a third of the structure is still standing, including a cloistered chapel and dungeons, labelled with information panels.

In a tent you can watch the “1066 Story”, detailing the castle’s history and the famous battle.

8. St Clements Caves

Smuggling was rife in Hastings for hundreds of years, and the sandstone caves on West Hill were burrowed with hundreds of metres of tunnels to move and store contraband like rum.

That activity continued up to the end of the Napoleonic Wars, when the town was gentrified as a resort.

St Clements Caves were rediscovered in 1820, and attracted royalty after they became a tourist attraction in Victorian times.

In this atmospheric and supposedly haunted environment, the world of smuggling is brought back to life with 70 life-sized figures of bootleggers, pirates and smugglers, accompanied by sound effects and interactive games for kids.

9. Pelham Beach

The most accommodating patch of coast in Hastings is the section between the pier and harbour.

Pelham Beach is all shingle, except when the tide receded and there are large patches of sand.

If you find the beach a little uncomfortable there are deck chairs for hire, and the sea is watched by RNLI lifeguards all summer long.

There’s some beautiful old architecture on the seafront, like a Georgian crescent centred on St Mary in the Castle, a Neoclassical church turned into a performing arts space.

The seafront has any number of cafes, restaurants and ice cream parlours, combined with family attractions like adventure golf, a trampoline park and amusement arcades.

10. Hastings Pier

Dating back to 1872, Hastings Pier pushes out into the English Channel for 280 metres.

Like all piers it has been susceptible to the elements, and suffered storm damage in 1990 and then a fire in 2010, which took out 95% of the structure.

The renovation project that followed won the coveted Stirling Prize for architecture in 2017, and the result is something that respects the tradition of the site, but is undeniably modern.

There’s a state-of-the-art exhibition in “the Deck” visitor centre, and a cafe with a scenic view on the upper floor, as well as food and drink stands, an interpretation trail, binoculars and telescopes.

The pier hosts free family workshops, live music, outdoor cinema screenings and street performers in summer.

11. Shipwreck Museum

If ever there were a place for a museum about shipwrecks it’s on the busiest shipping lane in the world, where up to 600 ships pass through each day.

The museum charts some of the many thousands of vessels that have been wrecked off the coast of Southeast England, from Goodwin Sands in Kent (more 2,000 shipwrecks have happened in this one spot) to Pevensey Bay in East Sussex.

The museum goes into detail on the geology and environmental conditions that has helped preserve many of these wrecks in situ.

There are artefacts from Anne, a 17th-century warship from the reign of Charles II and Amsterdam, a Dutch East Indiaman wrecked in 1749. The museum is multisensory, with lots of things to touch, smell and hear.

12. Hastings Museum and Art Gallery

The town’s museum has a diversity of exhibitions in a brick and limestone, Elizabethan-style mansion.

The highlight is the Durbar Hall, a magnificent interior space created for London’s Colonial & Indian Exhibition of 1886, with intricate wooden carvings in an Indian Islamic style.

The upper floor of the Durbar Hall, holds an exhibition of world art.

There’s an interactive dinosaur gallery for kids, and the town’s past is recounted at the Story of Hastings in 66 Objects.

Also worth a look is the exhibition of Native American artefacts relating to Grey Owl, or Archibald Belaney, a Hastings-born emigrant to Canada who fabricated a First Nations identity and became a prominent conservationist.

His true identity wasn’t discovered until after his death.

13. True Crime Museum

In the cliffs in front of Pelham Beach is a hard-hitting museum for grown-ups with a fascination for the darkest side of humanity.

The True Crime Museum has some chilling artefacts, like the actual tubs used by John George Haigh “The Acid Bath Murderer” to dissolve his victims, love letters from a serial killer, a genuine lethal injection table and paraphernalia connected to the infamous East End gangsters, the Krays.

The Crime Lab has games for wannabe forensic scientists, and there’s also a surround sound cinema with authentic recorded confessions by some of the most notorious serial killers.

14. Blue Reef Aquarium

Close to the East Hill Cliff Railway, the Blue Reef Aquarium has hundreds of marine creatures like rays, sharks, seahorses and octopuses, as well as a Jungle Room with snakes and bearded dragons.

The headline attractions is the enormous ocean tank with an underwater tunnel to see shoals of brightly coloured tropical fish from below.

The aquarium organises talks and feeds every hour during opening times, including two ocean presentations at the largest tropical tank, when you can find out more about the black reef sharks.

There are also two chances to come into contact with aquarium’s reptiles, as well as a ray feed, octopus talk and archerfish feed.

15. The Stade

Fronting the old town, east of Pelham Beach, is Europe’s largest fleet of beach-launched fishing boats in Europe.

A compelling slice of living history, the Stade is a shingle bay protected by a groyne and has been used for beaching boats for more than a millennium.

Originally the beach was small, until the construction of the harbour and groyne at the end of the 19th century caused a steep bed of shingle to accumulate.

At high tide the boats can slip into the sea easily enough, but they have to be hauled onto the beach when they come back.

In the past this was done with horses, but each boat now has a winch to pull itself ashore, while a caterpillar tractor is on standby for extra power.

15 Best Things to Do in Hastings (East Sussex, England):

• Hastings Old Town
• Battle Abbey
• Alexandra Park
• Hastings Country Park
• Cliff Railways
• Jerwood Gallery
• Hastings Castle
• St Clements Caves
• Pelham Beach
• Hastings Pier
• Shipwreck Museum
• Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
• True Crime Museum
• Blue Reef Aquarium

How to Pick the Best Travel Guide Books

Ann-Marie Cahill

Ann-Marie Cahill will read anything and everything. From novels to trading cards to the inside of CD covers (they’re still a thing, right?). A good day is when her kids bring notes home from school. A bad day is when she has to pry a book from her kids’ hands. And then realizes where they get it from. The only thing Ann-Marie loves more than reading is travelling. She has expensive hobbies.

View All posts by Ann-Marie Cahill

Travel. I love it. I live it. I breathe it . In my view, it all starts with the rush of exhilaration when I choose the magical destination for my next trip…only to come crashing down when I have to choose a damn travel guide to start my research. Because you don’t want to be lugging around every travel guide. You need to narrow it down to the best travel guide books. And I mean, really narrow it down. 

I hate that part.

We’re not talking the travel-inspiring books . We’re talking the more practical side of travel planning. And seriously, there are so many travel guides on the market, it is a nightmare of global proportions to choose only one. Add to that how q uickly the information can date, and you are left wondering if this really is such a good idea.

The thing is, each travel guide has its pros and cons. Some are perfect for the USA, some have a better understanding of the winding roads of New Zealand. There are guides perfect for your architectural adventures through Rome while others take you on a culinary tour of Paris. But unless you have nine months to read up on every travel guide, it’s really hard to know which is the best travel guide books. 

So I did the hard work for you. I narrowed it down to 11 of the best travel guide books and the reasons why (just so you know I didn’t simply accept whichever book was left on the library shelf). And how did I choose the best? Well, I read each of their editions for a city or country I am already VERY familiar with. Now, usually, we would only be reading travel guides of places we want to learn more about, right? What better way to ‘test’ a travel guide than to see if they know it as well as a local!

Before you start buying up on guidebooks, here are a few tips to help you choose your own:

The Best Travel Guide Books

Lonely planet guide.

Great for: Big picture travel across a whole country for most regions but especially Oceania, Asia, and the “Shoestring” range. New Zealand is the best ever.

Not so great : They need to update their South America collection. The most recent edition for Ecuador was lacking in detail and encouragement to try new things, especially for the Galapagos Islands. Really felt like at least two of the white male writers phoned it in from their NY base.

Great for: The best highlights of any city, especially in Europe (e.g.  Paris ). 

Not so great: Personal local touch, or if you plan to stay in one place for longer than a week at a time.

Recently, they have been changed their focus to a more budget-friendly approach, but I don’t think it is coming through with their local writers.

Great for: Mainstream Travel with an upmarket touch, especially Western Europe (see Frommer’s Europe ).

Not so great: “One block over” travel, stepping away from the regular, e.g. the Melbourne guide did little to entice me into exploring the city’s famous laneways of culture, coffee, and bookshops.

DK Eyewitness

Great for : visually inspiring your holidays. Beautiful for places like Rome or London. Great guide for Italy . 

Not so great: Day-to-day travel details. Once I stepped out of the Vatican Museum, it was pretty much useless.

Rick Steves

Great for: First-timers travellers visiting one of the major cities of the world, like London or  Paris

Not so great: Anyone looking for a little more depth, e.g. do not use for Venice—that’s a city you need to be lost in at least once.

Rough Guides

Great for : Historic or off-the-beaten-track adventures, like SE Asia, NZ, South America

Not so great: Big cities or glossy photos for visual cues. It was of no help in Kuala Lumpur.

Bradt Guides

Good for: Cultural highlights of countries and regions, especially Macedonia .

Not so great : Asia. The Borneo guide was lacking in details about the various cultures and land issues for the locals.

Blue Guides

Great for : Book Riot, history and literary buffs, that big cultural holiday you were taking through the Romantic History of Europe. The Blue Guide: Greece (The Mainland) is especially lovely to read!

Not so great: The rave scene in Berlin. Not really the Blue Guide style.

Footprint Travel Guides

Great for : transport. Really useful in busy, stretched out places like Bangkok and Thailand

Not so great : Budget details.

Insight Guides

Great for: Giving you an idea in your mind of where you want to go. The Insight Guides Turkey  is especially memorable

Not so great: Actual travel. Don’t rely on these books to get you around a city like Naples and the Amalfi Coast.

This is… by Miroslava Saska

As always, I’m open to suggestion and we LOVE suggestions here at Book Riot. So, if I have missed your favourite, please tell us all about it in the comments. Or if you are looking for a suggestion for your dream destination, ask us!

Bon Voyage!

[Ed.’s Note: This article originally incorrectly stated that The Insight Guides is produced by the Discovery Channel; they’re produced by APA Publications, which is not affiliated with the Discovery Channel.]

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You are here: Home > Destinations > Hastings

Salty sea dog

Set between hills that reach to the sea, Hastings is an oyster that comes with its own grit, where the smooth bustle of modern life rubs along with the rough edges of tradition. Look up and you’ll see the ruins of the castle watching over the town, as they have in one guise or another for nearly 1,000 years . The three-mile seafront stretches from the fishing fleet at the eastern end through the hustle and bustle of the arcades and funfair rides, to the pier and unique double-decker promenade Bottle Alley , arriving finally at peaceful Grosvenor Gardens.

Find out more below about the history of Hastings ,  things to do in Hastings ,  what's on in Hastings ,  where to stay in Hastings  and  where to eat in Hastings . 

Despite the feeling of seclusion, it's easy to get here by rail, sea or road.

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1066 and all that in Hastings

This East Sussex coastal town is best known for the famous battle of 1066, but if you want to see where it actually took place you'll have to visit the Nearby town of Battle.

The sea is a big theme in Hastings, which is one of the Cinque Ports. At the excellent - and free - Shipwreck Museum you can see artefacts collected from the wreckage of ships found in the English Channel.

Soak up the atmosphere of the Old Town

The meandering alleyways of the Old Town reveal a different side to Hastings, with quaint weather-boarded cottages, Georgian-style shops and friendly bars creating a unique atmosphere.

For the best views of the Old Town, hitch a lift on one of the funiculars that go up the hillsides. West Hill is topped by the ruins of the castle built by William the Conqueror after the Battle of Hastings. East Hill lies at the start of a glorious stretch of coastline that makes up Hastings Country Park.

Brave a Smugglers Adventure

Discover the area's links to 18th-century smugglers at St Clements Caves on West Hill. The labyrinth of sandstone caverns and mysterious passageways reveals the secrets of Hastings' smugglers, bootleggers and warring gangs as an array of characters, interactive displays, eerie lighting and sound effects bring the story vividly to life.

Looking for accommodation in Hastings? Travelodge Hastings Hotel is perfectly placed, right in the centre of the town. Further afield, Travelodge Eastbourne Willingdon Drove Hotel is in the popular seaside resort.

Nearby attractions

• Hastings Pier
• Hastings Railway Station
• Brightling Park

Nearby locations

• Bexhill On Sea

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Travel tips: A blog about my travels and tips along the way

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Best book review: the vietnam war, by max hastings.

Hastings, Max , Vietnam – An Epic Tragedy , 1945 – 1975, 2018, HarperCollins Publishers, New York. ISBN 978 0 06 240566 1

• One of the mayor themes I’m interested in concerning the US History is the Vietnam War (see my introduction on USA History books ).

Max Hastings’ book is so far the best book I’ve ever read on Vietnam.

Until now, I’ve read several good books on the Vietnam War, nonfiction & fiction. Because of that, a lot of things in Hastings’ book weren’t new to me. However, other things were. 

In that sense, the longer ago a certain event, the better the chance the author can get the whole picture. Also because archives open up and more and more information becomes available. 

Finally, the fact that the writer is British can also help. Taking a certain distance to the subject. (Although Max Hastings is not a complete outsider. He worked shortly as a journalist in the USA, as well as in Vietnam.)

Many voices

One of the main goals the author tried to achieve in the book about the Vietnam war was to get a perspective from both sides. Or better said, from as many sides as possible. 

Although mostly written from a Western perspective, using a majority of US voices, we also hear many testimonies of the Vietnamese people as well. Soldiers from the North & South, guerrilla fighters, authorities and common people. 

Besides that, I found it interesting to hear about the Russian and Chinese experiences, who gave assistance to the North Vietnamese. Or to read what the Australians had to say about their participation along the US forces in the South. 

These personal stories were mostly new to me. And made me realize more then ever before that it wasn’t only a war between the Vietnamese and the North Americans (and earlier on the French of course). Many people and several countries were involved.

… but not enough

I found these stories so interesting that I longed for more. And to be honest, the introduction on the cover sleeve also made the impression I would get more of these personal experiences. 

I wanted more of them. Not only in sum total, but also in length.

All in all, it’s my only critique on Hastings’ Vietnam . I really enjoyed the book a lot and was fascinated by what the author justly calls  “an epic tragedy”. 

Not only for the Vietnamese, but als for many US soldiers and their family & friends. As well as for many people in Laos & Cambodia, and also participants from Australia, New Zealand, North & South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines. 

The story is chronologically told and easy to follow and read. Mainly focused on the political and military dimensions of the war.

Besides the story, the cover photo is beautiful. A famous picture which everyone immediately identifies with the Vietnam war. A photograph you can see as many times as you want, but always keeps attracting your attention.

If I had to review this Vietnam book by its cover, I would have given it the full 5 stars. And maybe also if I could read in Hastings’ Vietnam the story behind it. 

For that, I needed the book I will review for you next. An even more amazing book about the Vietnam War, as you will see (click to Ward & Burns’ Vietnam book review).  

• For more insights in my reading preferences, go to My Books page on Goodreads.

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2 thoughts on “ Best Book Review: The Vietnam War, by Max Hastings ”

• Pingback: USA History book reviews – TravelArtWay's Book reviews
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JAKARTA TRAVEL GUIDE 2024: A Journey Through Artistic Masterpieces Kindle Edition

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By Alexander Nazaryan

For many parents and guardians, putting a child on a flight alone may seem terrifying. Belligerent passengers, delays, turbulence: All loom large in a caregiver’s imagination.

Life sometimes leaves no other option. Hudson Crites , 17, of Marshall, Va., was 10 when he started flying unaccompanied to visit his father in Kansas and later Georgia, said his mother, Chelsea Tippett. But the extra attention from airline staff made Hudson “feel special,” Ms. Tippett recalls. Other than a single tarmac delay, he has had no problems.

On rare occasions, children have had troubling experiences. In December, Spirit Airlines accidentally flew a 6-year-old to Orlando, Fla., instead of the intended destination of Fort Myers. Spirit apologized, fired the gate agent responsible and offered reimbursement to the boy’s grandmother for her travel to Orlando. But while the boy was unharmed, his grandmother expressed worry that he had been kidnapped .

If you decide to fly your child unaccompanied, you’ll discover that each airline has its own procedures, fees and routes open to children. While some may find the process complicated, flying alone may be exciting for your child, instilling some independence. Here’s what you need to know.

Before you book, know the process

Regardless of the airline or route, flying an unaccompanied minor differs from an adult or a family catching a flight. Airlines require a trusted pre-authorized adult to be at the departure and arrival gates, and will ask you at booking to provide contact information for those adults. They will also need to present identification at the terminals.

The journey begins at the originating airport’s airline ticket counter. There, airline staff will check your identification and check in the child, perhaps handing them a lanyard or wristband to wear. The agents will provide you with a pass to get through security with your child. You will accompany them to the gate, where you will hand them off to a gate agent. You must stay at the gate until the plane takes off.

In the air, the flight crew will keep watch — but will not babysit, or sit with, your child. If the flight has a connection, a crew member will walk your child off the plane and a gate agent will take him or her to the next gate.

At the arrival airport, the child will be handed off by staff to the authorized guardian or parent who should have already checked in at the ticket counter with proper identification, gone through security with their gate pass and be waiting at the gate.

To learn more about this process, read the Department of Transportation’s online guide, “When Kids Fly Alone,” followed by the website of your selected carrier.

Choosing an airline and paying an extra fee

Before purchasing a ticket, experts advise you to consider an airline’s on-time performance. “Solid on-time performance is hard-earned, and signals a carrier that has tight control of its operation,” said the Ask the Pilot author, Patrick Smith. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has those numbers.

Booking procedures vary. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines require you to call. United Airlines allows bookings online. JetBlue Airways does online bookings, too, but asks for three printed copies of its forms upon arrival at the airport.

International flights may call for a notarized consent letter describing where the child is traveling, with whom they’ll stay and how long they’ll be there.

On top of the ticket fare, flying an unaccompanied minor can be pricey.

Southwest Airlines charges $100 one way for each child, regardless of distance. Alaska Airlines charges $50 per child if the flight is nonstop; a connection adds $25. On Delta, one $150 fee will cover up to four children, and American’s $150 covers all siblings, with no cap on number. United charges $150 for one child, or two children flying together.

Restrictions: There are plenty

U.S. carriers allow children to fly as unaccompanied minors once they turn 5 and before they turn 18. But regardless of your child’s age, make sure he or she is ready by discussing the trip details and your expectations of their behavior. No policy can replace your judgment.

The low-cost carriers Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air don’t allow unaccompanied minors, Other airlines have restrictions that, in the broadest terms, differentiate between young children and teenagers. American and Delta restrict children under 8 from routes requiring connections. Both airlines allow children between 8 and 14 to take some connecting flights.

On American, no unaccompanied minor is allowed to take an overnight flight requiring a connection, or a flight that includes a connection on its final leg that also happens to be the last such flight that day (“unless it’s the only flight,” the company adds). Minors are not allowed on code-share flights.

United and Delta have similar rules. Southwest, JetBlue and Spirit don’t allow unaccompanied minors on connecting flights.

JetBlue prohibits minors from flying to Europe, and limits the number of unaccompanied minors in one party to three. Spirit does not allow children on flights to Central or South America. Southwest doesn’t allow children on any international flights. American, United and Delta let minors fly abroad, but restrictions on connections, code-shares and overnights limit options.

American and Delta allow children to opt out of flying as unaccompanied minors once they turn 15 — that is, the child can fly without the assistance of airline personnel. JetBlue ends unaccompanied minor service at 14, while Alaska has an opt-out option at 13. Southwest boasts the lowest opt-out age: 12.

However, you should be able to accompany your child to the gate even if they’re not flying unaccompanied. American requires that you do so for teens between the ages of 15 and 17, even if they’ve opted out.

What to pack

Have a plan to head off your child’s hunger, boredom and thirst. If they are older, make sure they have emergency money and a charged phone.

When her two daughters, then 9 and 11, flew to Denver, Joey Conover of Charlottesville, Va., had a long list for their carry-ons.

“Pack a backpack with iPad, headphones, lightweight book to read, a pad of paper and colored pencils (markers might smear), a small travel game, water bottle (bring empty and fill in airport), snacks, some kind of surprise fidget or animals to play with, hoodie, and a lovey,” she wrote in an email.

“Write your name and phone number on the inside of their arm in Sharpie and put a parent’s business card in a luggage tag on both suitcase and backpack,” Ms. Conover said. (A sheet of paper with all their identification, and their guardian’s contact information, also works. Simply stick in an easy-to-access pocket.)

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

7 of the best all-inclusive experiences to book this year, from a travel planner

• As a travel planner, my clients seem to be increasingly interested in all-inclusive trips .
• Some of my favorite luxury resorts are in Costa Rica, the Maldives, and Isla Mujeres.
• Cruises, group tours, and adults-only lodgings can also come with all-inclusive options. 

As a travel planner at Marvelous Mouse Travels , I know vacations are expensive — especially if you're looking to go somewhere this summer . But all-inclusive travel is often a great way to get the most value out of a luxury experience.

I've been on several all-inclusive vacations with my family, friends, and work, and I've helped other people book them in destinations around the world .

Here are some of the best all-inclusive experiences I'm recommending to my clients this year.

Try a split-stay vacation to see the best of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is one of the most sought-after vacations , and for good reason. It's great for both relaxation and adventure.

I recommend booking a split stay, starting at an all-inclusive resort in Guanacaste near the beach for some fun in the sun and moving to a resort near the famous Arenal Volcano for a jungle adventure.

Some of my favorite resorts in Costa Rica are the Westin Reserva Conchal and the Dreams Las Mareas. And if you're looking for an even more unique experience, check out the glorious swim-out suites with private pools at Dreams.

Baglioni Maldives is one of my favorite all-inclusive resorts.

The Maldives, a remote set of islands in the Indian Ocean, offers a plethora of resort options for couples and families, but Baglioni Maldives is my favorite.

For many in the US, getting to the islands can be daunting — there are very few direct commercial flights, and it can take almost an entire day. But it's hard to beat the country's luxury accommodations and gorgeous landscape.

The Maldives also has some of the most beautiful marine life and coveted spots for snorkeling and scuba diving.

No matter where you go, overwater bungalows are the ultimate all-inclusive splurge.

Overwater bungalows — villas standing on poles over open ocean water — are prevalent at all-inclusive resorts in destinations like the Maldives, Fiji, and Bali.

But I've also come across the luxurious accommodations at select adults-only Sandals Resorts throughout the Caribbean.

I think having a private villa on the water is the perfect way to unwind and relax.

Adults-only vacations are on the rise.

Traveling with kids can be a blast, but I also think it's important for adults to take a much-needed break on their own.

Adults-only resorts have been a total respite for me and my husband after hectic months of juggling work with our kids' school and sports schedules.

If you're looking to unwind with a partner, relax on a girls' trip, or even connect with your adult children, there are countless adults-only, all-inclusive resorts to choose from, depending on where you're looking to visit.

Some properties, including Sandals and Beaches Resorts, also offer butler service. Designated staff members can help with anything from room requests and dining reservations to cabana rentals and transportation coordination.

I upgraded to the service at my favorite adults-only spot, Le Blanc Los Cabos, and I felt totally pampered.

Isla Mujeres is pure luxury.

Isla Mujeres, a small island off the coast of Cancún, is known for its crystal-clear, turquoise water and peaceful vibe. It's also home to Playa Norte, one of the best beaches in Mexico .

Impressions Isla Mujeres by Secrets is a gorgeous all-inclusive resort on the island. It offers luxury at its finest, but with only 125 rooms, it has a boutique feel.

One of my favorite features of the resort is the waterslide that leads right into the beautiful ocean.

There are plenty of all-inclusive packages at sea.

Cruising is one of the most popular vacations , whether it's an epic adventure on a Royal Caribbean Cruise, a couples-only journey on Virgin Voyages, or a regal tour of Europe on Viking River Cruises.

Although cruises aren't traditionally considered all-inclusive, with the right booking, they can have the same feel as a luxury resort.

Most cruise bookings include food, nonalcoholic drinks, and live entertainment. If you add beverage packages and excursions in advance, your trip should be fully paid for before you depart.

Book a small-group or private tour if you're looking for adventure.

Group travel is a great way to explore new places while soaking up culture and history.

Popular destinations include Italy, Japan, Costa Rica, and Alaska, and many travel companies take care of everything for you, essentially making it all-inclusive.

I like Adventures by Disney , which offers small-group travel all over the world facilitated by seasoned guides. All the trip details are taken care of, including experiences, food, lodging, and transportation.

Additionally, Kensington Tours offers luxury private travel where every facet of the trip is meticulously planned for you.

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