Tamara Gane

I’ve never been to the moon, but I imagine it looks like the drive from Kona International Airport to the Kohala Coast. Eons of volcanic eruptions have created a landscape of ancient black lava fields along Queen K’ahumanu Highway, and it’s a surreal approach to enjoy as you arrive at the Fairmont Orchid.  In 2025, the Fairmont Orchid completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of the guest rooms, the Fairmont Gold lounge, the spa, and the meeting and event spaces. Throughout the property, new design elements and art honor Hawaiian culture, incorporating a palette of natural hues, and the result is an elegant hotel which doesn’t even try to compete with the scenery that drew you to Hawaii in the first place. Here’s what I thought of it.  What are the rooms like at the Fairmont Orchid?  Each is generously sized, ranging from spacious guest rooms to expansive suites (with plenty of options in between). There are 540 accommodations in total, and they’re spread across two six-story towers, but it manages to feel surprisingly intimate – oh, and this clever layout means that every room has a view of the ocean or gardens, each featuring at least one private lanai. ADA-compliant accommodations include styles with extra-wide doorways, walk-in showers, grab bars in the tub, and hearing-accessible rooms with visual notifications for door knocks, phone calls, or emergency alarms.  The decor is understated, with creams and beiges punctuated by the occasional pop of blue, gold, or green. Ou

You can’t drive far in South Dakota’s Black Hills without being reminded that Mount Rushmore is nearby. The four presidents appear on billboards, T-shirts, shot glasses and pretty much every souvenir you can imagine. But one of the most extraordinary things to see in this part of South Dakota isn’t carved into a mountain. It’s underground. Wind Cave National Park is home to one of the world’s longest and most complex cave systems. I recently descended 12 stories on a ranger-led tour, navigating 300 stairs and ramps while seeing geological formations found in few other places on earth. It was actually my second time taking the tour. I first visited Wind Cave four years ago, and I couldn’t wait to go back. Photograph: Tamara GaneCave tour at Wind Cave National Park The real attraction is 12 stories underground Wind Cave National Park looks nothing like a cave when you first arrive. It’s 33,970 acres of prairie and pine forest teeming with wildlife like bison, elk, pronghorn and prairie dogs. On the drive in, I passed a mamma bison and her calf a few feet from the road.  Then I went underground.  The Natural Entrance Tour takes about 75 minutes and covers two-thirds of a mile, which sounds easy enough. But there are 300 stairs, ramps, and sections where you have to duck to avoid hitting your head. I wouldn’t call it strenuous, but I used muscles I typically ignore, and I felt it the next morning. Before heading underground, our guide showed us the cave’s natural entrance. It’s

I am very good at falling asleep. Staying asleep is another matter. Most nights, I wake up at least once, usually several times, and struggle to fall back asleep. As a result, I’m so groggy in the morning I need coffee to think. So when I woke up at the Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, about an hour from Durango, Colorado and 2.5 hours from Santa Fe, New Mexico, I was surprised to realize I’d slept through the night. Then it happened again. And again. By the third morning, I had a question: What the heck was happening? I’d spent the previous three days soaking in mineral water from the world’s deepest geothermal hot spring. The resort has more than 50 pools and waterfalls ranging from cold plunges to temperatures reaching 114 degrees. I had come to Pagosa Springs to relax. I didn’t expect to sleep better than I had in years. Photograph: Tamara GaneThe views from the Panoramic Sauna I arrived to find robes, robes everywhere The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Springs Resort was robes, lots of robes. The accommodations are stocked with fluffy green bathrobes for the pools, but guests wear them everywhere. You see them in the lobby, resort restaurants and sometimes even in town. In my room, I found the first hint that the hot springs might offer some unexpected benefits. At the foot of the bed, a sleep tray included goodies like a lavender spray, earplugs and a small canvas sack for my cell phone. An accompanying brochure explained that the resort offer

There are countless ways to buy a donut. You could walk to a bakery. You could hit a drive-through. You could buy a box at the grocery store and be home before your coffee gets cold.  Or you could board a train in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and ride more than 14,000 feet up a mountain. On a recent trip with my brother, we chose the latter.   The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway has been carrying passengers to the summit of Pikes Peak since 1891. The trip takes a little over an hour each way, traveling from the forest outside Manitou Springs through increasingly rugged terrain to the top of one of Colorado's most famous mountains. The scenery would have been enough reason to go. But we had an ulterior motive. We’d heard about the donuts at the summit for years, and we weren’t raised to pass up a chance to indulge in a fresh pastry.  Photograph: Tamara GaneBoarding the Pikes Peak Cog Railway This isn’t your average train ride—and the climb gets wild The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway isn't a normal train. Pikes Peak is far too steep for a conventional railroad, so the railway uses a cog system. A toothed wheel underneath the train engages a rail between the tracks, letting it climb grades that would be impossible for a regular train relying on wheel-to-rail friction alone. The train leaves Manitou Springs and enters a forest of Colorado blue spruce, ponderosa pine, and ancient bristlecone pines estimated to be more than 2,000 years old. Pikes Peak is

I visit Alaska at least once a year. I’ve had some of the most memorable meals of my life there, including white-tablecloth dinners on the Alaska Railroad, a multi-course tasting menu at Foraker, and expertly prepared sushi at Sakura. My favorite meal, though, was at Taku Glacier Lodge in Juneau. It began with a plane ride. Taku Glacier Lodge has never been easy to reach. Built in 1923 as a hunting lodge for a frontier doctor named Harry DeVighne, the original cabin could only be reached by a half-day boat trip through the elements. As a modern-day visitor, I had the luxury of arriving by floatplane, soaking in views of winding rivers, dense forests, and bright blue glaciers. Photograph: Tamara Gane for Time OutThe plane departs from Juneau How do I get to Taku Glacier Lodge? The experience began at Wings Airways on Juneau's historic downtown waterfront. Ribbons of mist floated across the peaks of the Coast Mountains as I walked down the dock to a row of classic turbine-powered de Havilland Otter floatplanes. Within minutes, the city disappeared, replaced by mountains, waterfalls, dense rainforest, and rivers lacing through the wilderness. The planes were configured with a single row of seats on each side, which meant everyone had a window. There wasn't a bad seat on board. Photograph: Tamara Gane for Time OutHole-In-The-Wall Glacier is directly across the river I’ve been flightseeing in Alaska before, and this felt almost like a helicopter ride, floating low enough to so

When my brother and I began planning a trip to Alaska last summer, we considered taking a cruise. After all, cruising is how most travelers see the state. But the more we looked at rigid schedules and limited time in port, the more we found ourselves drawn to another option: the Alaska Railroad. Traveling by train gave us the freedom to build our own itinerary and decide how much time to spend in each destination. Instead of sailing from one stop to the next, we were able to experience Alaska at our own pace. We'd both been to Alaska before. My brother spent several summers working at a cannery during college, but he spent most of his time in a warehouse. I'd visited many times as a travel writer, but my trips were always woefully brief and left me wanting more. For this trip, we wanted to take our time, which made the Alaska Railroad a natural fit. How to plan and book your Alaska Railroad trip The Alaska Railroad operates year-round and offers five seasonal routes. Because we're both national park enthusiasts, we booked a nine-day itinerary that combined the Denali Star from Anchorage to Fairbanks, with stops in Talkeetna and Denali National Park and Preserve, and the Coastal Classic from Anchorage to Seward, the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park.  Other routes include the Glacier Discovery to Whittier, the Hurricane Turn, which provides flag-stop service into the backcountry, and the Aurora Winter Train, which follows the Denali Star route from mid-September to mid-May