The 7 New Rules of Packing You Must Know

By Celia Shatzman
March 30, 2017
Shoe bag Hudson + Bleecker
Courtesy Hudson + Bleecker

Can't find packing gear that suits your needs? Why not create it yourself, Shark Tank–style? OK, most of us don't have the time or expertise for that, but Hudson + Bleecker founder Eram Siddiqui took on the challenge so the rest of us don't have to.

Siddiqui always had trouble finding the perfect travel accessories to safely pack all of her things, so she launched her own line that blends fashion with function: attractive garment bags, jewelry cases, toiletry bags, and more. Each bag has a waterproof lining so nothing inside or out gets ruined (translation: no more spills that destroy everything in your suitcase), and the exclusive patterned textiles are printed in-house. Hudson + Bleecker's accessories are a splurge (check out the sale section for deals!), but they make for awesome gifts—even if they're presents for yourself.

The tips below, though? 100 percent free. And who better than a packing expert to tell us how to pack a suitcase? Below are Siddiqui's packing tips that'll streamline your next getaway like the sleek jet-setter you are.

1. FOR SHOES, FOLLOW THE RULE OF THREE. 

Real talk if you're overzealous about your footwear, whether it's too many sneakers for your favorite sports or an over-the-door shoe caddy's worth of heels: “Three pairs of shoes is all you need. It's efficient, takes the guesswork out of what to pack and saves a lot of room in your luggage. Pack one pair for a night on the town, one comfortable pair (sandals or ballet flats for women) to give your feet a break, and a pair of sneakers or runners for a run or hike. You can conveniently fit three pairs in our travel shoe bags.”

2. PRE-PACK A BAG OF TSA-FRIENDLY TOILETRIES. 

Collect a stash of 3.4-oz-or-less toiletries, and ensure it's permanently ready to roll through security. “I always have a toiletry bag pre-packed so that if I need to take off at a moment’s notice, all I need to do is grab a carry-on and pack my clothes and shoes, and I'm ready to go. If you're a frequent traveler, pre-packing your toiletries is a significant time-saver.”

3. BRING A PAPER COPY OF YOUR PASSPORT. 

“As a rule, we all know it’s best to keep a copy of your passport at home or with a relative. However, with new laws and travel restrictions domestically, I carry my passport and a copy of my passport at all times, whether it’s a quick domestic flight or a long haul.” 

4. SHIP THE HEAVY STUFF. 

“We all love to shop and collect keepsakes when we travel. To avoid overpacking and paying exorbitant baggage fees, I ship my new treasures home whenever possible. Now that I am a new mom, I also purchase all of my little one's essentials on Amazon.com and ship them to our final destination. If you're staying in a hotel, it is very easy to coordinate with the hotel concierge to collect your packages upon check-in.”

5. TWO WORDS: PACKING CUBES. 

“Trust me, the more organized and compartmentalized your luggage is, the more enjoyable your trip will be. Packing cubes have changed the way I pack and unpack. If you're traveling solo, use a packing cube to separate your apparel from your intimates. If you are traveling with children or family, pack one cube per traveler. I use our shoe bags to pack for my little one, as everything fits perfectly in one. This avoids having to dig through a never-ending pile of clothing, and I can literally unpack my bags in less than five minutes.”

Need a cube? Siddiqui designed this stylish packing cube ($50), look for rugged sets from outdoor brands like REI ($30), or check out see-through mesh cubes like these from Target ($25).

6. DESIGNATE AN "ESSENTIALS" POCKET. 

“Whenever and wherever, I try to travel with a carry-on only. So the front pocket of my luggage has everything I need to access quickly. A great hack is to pack a small pouch with chapstick, a small hand lotion, eyedrops, ibuprofen, and a small pair of socks, so if you need to refresh, you can grab what you need easily.”

If you're envisioning your perfect "essentials" pouch now, try Siddiqui's multi-use pochettes ($19), or click through an extensive collection of travel-themed Everything Bags (from $12.50)—artists receive a percentage of the proceeds.

7. THROW IN A SWEATER OR WRAP-NO MATTER WHAT.

Even if you're headed to a tropical paradise in the middle of the summer, play it safe and swaddle yourself. “Airplanes are always cold and so are hotel rooms, so I always pack at least one sweater or pashmina. You will inevitably use it during your travels or even when you arrive at your final destination. I like to pack either black, gray, or neutral colors, as those shades go with almost anything.”

Plan Your Next Getaway
Keep reading
Travel Tips

Travel ban sparks confusion, fear, and protest

Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina spoke for most American travelers when they issued a statement over the weekend critical of the new administration’s travel ban. “Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism,” Senators McCain and Graham wrote in response to the order, which bans entry to the United States for refugees and residents of seven predominantly Muslim countries (Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Iran). WORLDWIDE CHAOS & CONFUSION The executive order, issued on the evening of Friday January 27 with the stated intention of protecting the U.S. from terrorists, caught airlines, airports, and world travelers completely by surprise, perhaps none more than the legal visa-holders who boarded planes from the seven newly banned nations without knowing that detention and potential deportation awaited them upon arrival in the United States. Among those detained were Iraqis who have worked side-by-side with American troops to fight terrorists such as ISIS. While the U.S. has from time to time throughout its history established targeted immigration and travel bans, the present travel ban is unprecedented in its scope and in the sudden way in which it was implemented. Senators McCain and Graham noted, “We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.” This past weekend saw detentions, attempted deportations, growing protests across the U.S., and lawsuits in several states that led to a temporary stay on deportations. The first successful lawsuit against the executive order was brought in Brooklyn on Saturday evening by a group of that included the American Civil Liberties Union; Judge Ann Donnelly halted deportations due to “substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals” and the potential for violating the right to due process and equal protection guaranteed by the Constitution. A VIEW FROM THE FRONT LINES In just one example of the confusion and delays sparked by the travel ban, a member of our Budget Travel community, Ann Lien, witnessed the scene at New York City’s JFK AirTrain on Saturday night first-hand. Ticketed air travelers and protesters were barred from boarding the AirTrain to JFK airport by order of the Port Authority because growing crowds of protesters were gathering at the airport. Soon, the area around the turnstiles at the AirTrain itself resembled a sit-in protest (see Lien’s photograph, above). When word of the sit-in reached New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, he intervened, ordering that travelers and protesters alike be allowed entry to the AirTrain. Governor Cuomo noted, “The people of New York will have their voices heard,” and that phrase became the basis of the protesters’ chant as they enthusiastically informed the police of the governor’s decision. BUDGET TRAVEL READERS WEIGH IN As we began to understand how many members of the Budget Travel community were potentially affected by the travel ban, we asked our Facebook and Twitter audience: “Has the new travel ban affected your travel plans or your travel schedule?” Replies came pouring in from around the world, reflecting the diversity that makes our audience such a rich source of information and opinions. Here, a few representative examples: “Yes, it has. My husband is an immigrant and we now know it's not possible (probably ever) for us to bring my in-laws here to visit us on a tourism visa. And we won't be able to go visit them again, perhaps for several years.” “Hasn’t affected my plans, but it has affected my heart. Sad. Sad. Sad.” “I just came back from my second trip to the U.S. in six months and it will be my last for a very long time. Two full hours in line at immigration - as a paying tourist and after 16 hours traveling!” “Not at all! I’m just glad [the president] is trying to make our country safer.... It’s crazy enough already. If it’s a problem, stay where you are. It’s a privilege to enter our country, not a demand. When I enter other countries, I abide by their rules. If I don't like their rules... I stay home.” “I am concerned about going to any area targeted by these actions because it isn't a big leap to guess that those areas won't be as welcoming to Americans. Unfortunately, I am considering not going to certain areas because of it.” “Won't affect my desire to travel but in a recent conversation, while in Cartagena, Colombia, a Colombian questioned whether she'd be welcomed in the USA or detained. Broke my heart.” “The people affected most were by the protesters blocking people from getting to their flights. Maybe you should write about that.” “[It does not] affect my plans but I'm sad that not everyone has that liberty anymore.” “There have been bans like this in the past by previous presidents. This too shall pass.” “I'm a U.S. citizen traveling to Jordan in March. I shouldn't be affected, but (sigh) who knows!” KNOW YOUR RIGHTS If you have any concerns about your rights as a traveler to, from, and/or within the U.S., we recommend that you start with the American Civil Liberties Union’s publication What to Do If You’re Stopped by the Police, Immigration Agents, or the FBI, and consider seeking legal advice from an immigration attorney before you book a flight.

Travel Tips

Interview: Badlands National Park’s rogue tweeter speaks

Fans of America’s national parks, including BudgetTravel.com editors and readers, have had a turbulent ride over the past few days, at least as far as their Twitter feeds are concerned. NPS’s account deactivated. On Saturday January 21, the day after the presidential inauguration, the National Park Service’s official Twitter account was deactivated after the account had tweeted images comparing this year’s inauguration crowds with the larger inauguration crowds from 2009. The NPS account is now back in action, but the NPS has encouraged social media managers to post only about public safety and park information and to avoid commenting on policy issues. As all this was going on, our Budget Travel social media audience voiced its support and affection for NPS Twitter feeds as sources for weather, road conditions, special events, and especially for the gorgeous photography. Badlands National Park goes rogue? On Tuesday January 24, the official Badlands National Park Twitter account seemed to be actively resisting the new NPS social media mandate. The park, a South Dakota favorite of Budget Travelers for its dramatic peaks, canyons, bison, and affordable local lodgings, appeared to post a series of tweets about climate science, including “Today, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is higher than at any time in the last 650,000 years.” Although the tweets shared basic earth science that high schoolers across America understand, the posts were seen by many as a purposeful challenge to the new president, who has criticized climate science and played down the need for the reduction of carbon emissions. Some Twitter users celebrated the posts as acts of political resistance, while others noted sardonically that the employee responsible would likely soon be out of a job. As if following a boilerplate thriller screenplay, the climate-science tweets then disappeared from the Badlands National Park account, sparking head-scratching and censorship concerns. Badlands officials told the press that the tweets were the work of a former park employee who should not have had access to the account, and that the tweets were taken down voluntarily, not as the result of a government order. Meet the rogue tweeter. Things got even more interesting today with the debut of a Twitter account, @Badlands_NPS, which states that it is “unofficial” and has posted the climate-science tweets that were deleted from the official Badlands account. Curious, I reached out to the owner of the new Twitter handle,  who participated in an email interview with me on condition that the “rogue tweeter” remain anonymous. I honestly don’t know whether the person I interviewed is, in fact, the former employee blamed for the Badlands climate-science tweets. But I do know that the BudgetTravel.com audience is a well-educated, open-minded, and voraciously curious bunch who will be interested in learning more about this new Twitter star. Q: How has the work environment at Badlands changed since the new administration took office last Friday?A: "I can neither confirm nor deny that the person or persons behind this Twitter handle are currently employed by the government. I think that everyone all around the country is in limbo concerning the new administration. No one knows what Trump is going to do, or why he is going to do it. We know he wants to privatize a lot of Federal land, and we are hopeful that he doesn't plan on privatizing the National Park Service." Q: What was your motivation for starting this new Twitter handle?A: "One of our greatest national treasures is our environment, park system, and federally owned land that is available for use by the public. It would be a travesty to allow private companies to take possession of our birthright as Americans." Q: What do you think each and every national parks lover can or should do to protect public lands from privatization?A: "I think that everyone who values our public land and park system needs to get out and vote. Protesting is awesome, marching creates community and engenders hope, but in order to change the new status quo, we need to vote. Vote for candidates in local and state level elections that support the environment. Make sure that they believe in climate change and understand that global warming is real and dangerous. We need to work from the bottom up, and effectuate change on a local level before we can turn to the federal level in 2018." The opinions expressed by interview subjects on BudgetTravel.com are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Budget Travel, its parent company, or affiliates.

Travel Tips

Why Canada tops our 2017 travel list

For an untold number of years, Americans have held a rather narrow view, to say the least, of Canada. All too often, say "Canada" to an American and people think Montreal, a Francophile’s accessible fantasy; Niagara Falls, ice hockey, poutine, and the Toronto Blue Jays (because, well--baseball.) Chalk it up to Justin Bieber’s endless stream of chart-toppers, Ryan Reynolds’ show-stopping performance in “La La Land” and, of course, just about everything that Justin Trudeau, dreamboat-in-chief and humanitarian extraordinaire, says and does, but these days Canada is on everyone’s minds. And travel bucket lists.  It’s Canada’s moment, and not least because 2017 marks the nation’s 150th birthday. As a tribute to our 3,855,103-square-mile northern neighbor and its greatness, we did some exploring, in case you’re thinking of paying a visit this year. Not only did we find some astonishing and unique sights and destinations, we found that many of them are the best—the biggest, the tallest, the oldest, the most uncommon—in their class. In other words, Canada is not just great in a lot of ways. It’s unrivaled. Here are just a few of the reasons why. 1. NATURAL WONDERS As we did our research, we ended up asking ourselves over and over again: will wonders never cease? Of course, Niagara Falls is the belle of Canada’s natural ball, but over the vast landscape, plenty of other spectacles are worth seeing. Geographically speaking, Newfoundland and Labrador is home to Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America and home to an iconic lighthouse, where the dawn breaks first. The Charlevoix region, an hour east of Quebec City, draws adrenaline junkies because of Le Massif de Charlevoix, a mountain looming above the St. Lawrence River with the highest vertical drop east of the Rockies. Within its boundaries you’ll also find the 11th biggest crater on earth, the still-breathtaking effect of a 15-billion-ton meteorite that crashed down between land and a river 400 million years ago, resulting in the province’s hilliest region and one of North America’s most panoramic road. In the Quebec Maritime region, the Manicouagan impact crater, which fell to earth 215.5 million years ago, is 62 miles in diameter, making it the fifth largest in the world. It's visible from space. The largest tree, a Sitka spruce casually referred to “Heaven Tree” grows in British Columbia's Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park. It's 11.5 feet in diameter and is estimated to be 800 years old. The “Hanging Garden Tree,” a vision to behold on Meares Island, near Tofino, is one of the oldest known western red cedars, estimated to be anywhere between 1,500 and 2,000 years old. Provincial Park is home to one pretty mighty tree, but Kitlope Heritage Conservancy Protected Area on BC’s central coast is the location of many, many trees that make up the world’s largest intact coastal temperate rainforest. Home to bald eagles, grizzlies and plenty more wild animals, it's over 793,208 acres and located within the traditional territory of the Haisla First Nation. If you want to check it out, it’s best reached by boat and July and August are prime time to visit. And as for water, when we talk about rivers, lakes, and oceans, we talk about depth, distance, and what lives beneath. We don’t, however, talk about speed. Unless we’re in Skookumchuck Narrows on BC’s Sunshine Coast. The water rushes along at more than 16 knots, one of the fastest flowing tidal currents on the planet. But what’s a mere breakneck tidal current in the face of a whirlpool? New Brunswick lays claim to the brutally powerful Fundy’s Old Sow Whirlpool, which, with a width of 75 meters, is the largest in the Western Hemisphere and second largest in the world. (The largest is the the Maelstrom Whirlpool of Norway.) Its sheer force is evident at the Bay of Fundy, known for having the highest tides on Earth.  2. ON THE MOVE Kelowna, a small city in the south of British Columbia, is arguably the most attractive to active, sporty types. The highest skating rink in North America sits 5,570 feet above sea level at Big White Ski Resort. It’s Olympic-size, free to use, and offers awe-inspiring mountain views. Pretty though it may be, Kelowna’s rink is practically quaint compared to the Rideau Canal Skateway, the planet’s largest naturally frozen ice skating rink, as declared by the Guinness Book of World Records. Every winter, the Rideau Canal, Ontario’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, freezes into this playscape, which stretches for 4.8 miles through downtown Ottawa and has a surface area equal to 90 Olympic-size rinks.  Attention adrenaline junkies: Peachland’s ZipZone is Canada’s highest freestyle zipline, a 381-foot thrill ride. Winsport, a sprawling athletic center in Calgary, has Canada’s fastest zipline, along which you can cruise at 87 mph. This one comes from the department things you never realized were measured but are: publicly owned waterparks. Kelowna’s H2O Adventure and Fitness Centre is Canada’s largest, with waterslides and plenty of other water runs. Add in Canada’s most extensive cycle network, a 211-mile expanse, and it’s little surprise to learn, then, that Kelowna is Canada’s fittest city. The annual HOPE Volleyball SummerFest, which takes place at Mooney’s Bay on the Rideau River near downtown Ottawa, is the largest one-day beach volleyball tournament in the world. (And it raises thousands of dollars for deserving local charities.) 3. CULTURE There’s an old joke that goes: What’s the difference between Canada and yogurt? Yogurt has an active culture. (*rimshot*) Well, turns out Canada gets the last laugh in the culture department, what with an assortment of longstanding theaters and museums and brand new institutions. In Winnepeg, for instance, Winnipeg Art Gallery is the oldest civic museum in Canada and home to the world’s largest collections of contemporary Inuit art. The city, Manitoba’s capital, is also home to Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the country’s oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. Speaking of enduring, Winnipeg's Le Cercle Moliere is Canada’s oldest continuously running theatre company while Rainbow Stage in Kildonan Park is Canada’s largest and longest-running outdoor theatre. But there are plenty of new establishments of note, too, like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which opened in September 2014 and is Canada’s first national museum to be built outside the capital region. It's also the only museum exclusively focused on the history and future of human rights. Saskatoon is on track to open the Remai Modern this year 2017. The museum, which comes with a $80.2 million price tag, houses the world’s largest collection of Picasso linocuts. And for all the trivia nuts out there, here’s a fun fact: St. Boniface Museum in Manitoba, which houses artifacts related to Western Canada’s French-Canadian and Métis heritage, is located in a former Grey Nuns’ convent house, which was built around 1850 and happens to be the city’s oldest remaining structure and the largest oak log building in North America. The title for the nation’s oldest, continuously operating museum, however, goes to New Brunswick Museum, established 1842. This family-friendly institution spotlight’s the region’s art, cultural heritage, and scientific history. Look at the municipal schedule of any Canadian city and you’ll easily be convinced that Canada holds more festivals than any other nation. We don’t have the international data to confirm that, but while we compile a comprehensive listing of festivals throughout the year, we can offer a few teasers: The Ottawa International Animation Festival is North America’s largest animation festival. The annual Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival (AKA: Chamberfest) is the world’s largest chamber music festival. Not to be outdone, Winnepeg: Folklorama is the world’s largest and longest-running multicultural festival, allowing visitors to travel the globe in one city at 40-plus pavilions featuring traditional food, drink, cultural displays and live entertainment from countries around the world. Meantime, Western Canada's largest winter festival is Festival du Voyageur, where Voyageur, Métis, and First Nations histories are brought back to life with music and performances, food, and lots more.   4. CULINARY Some of Canada’s restaurants have rather eccentric claims to fame. BC Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, near Golden in the Kootenay Rockies, is home to the country’s highest restaurant, the Eagle’s Eye. It’s 7,710 feet high on the summit of the Golden Eagle Express gondola. Over in Winnepeg, RAW: almond is the world’s only pop-up restaurant located on a frozen river, and Mon Amis Louis is North America’s only restaurant on a bridge. The eatery, which specializes in French-inspired cuisine, is closed for the winter, but the inspiring views of the Red River are the stuff spring dreams are made of. A bit less esoteric and a whole lot more wholesome, Florenceville-Bristol in New Brunswick is the planet's French Fry Capital, supplying one third of all fries around the world. Native sons built the first McCain Foods Limited French fry plant in town in 1957. The town is now home to the Potato World Museum.   Canada’s whiskies have been making waves and winning awards in the past few years, but one tipple that’s uniquely Canadian is Omerto, an aperitif tomato wine made by a boutique operation called Domaine de la Vallée du Bras in Charlevoix. The nation also does its part to keep up with the global craft beer scene. There’s been such a proliferation of interesting breweries operating in BC that the BC Craft Brewers Guild recently established the BC Ale Trail, an online guide that organized notable breweries into seven suggested road trips. Self-guided tours cover areas as diverse as the rugged Kootenay Rockies, the pastoral Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, and suburban Port Moody. The Trail guide links to accommodations and local attractions, as well as tips on signature pours at each brewery. You'll find options for walking, biking, or driving.  5. AND EVERYTHING ELSE Alberta deserves a section of its own, not least because the tourism bureau has plotted out a road trip of some of the most distinctive and whimsical attractions that are the largest—if not only—in their respective class. To wit: it’s home to the largest mallard duck, which has a wingspan of 23 feet, and the world’s most massive working oil lamp, which is 42 feet high and looks like something out of a Mother Goose tale. It’s on display at what is arguably the region’s oddest museum: the Donalda & District Museum, which houses more than 900 kerosene lamps dating from the 1600s and the 1960s. But Alberta doesn’t have a monopoly on Canada’s quirky attractions. The Calgary Stampede is known as the richest rodeo event in North America. Also in Calgary is Heritage Park, an interactive and nostalgic museum with displays that stretch back to Canadian life in the 1860s. It's Canada’s largest living historical village. The Town of Shediac in New Brunswick, the lobster capital of the world, lays claim to the world’s largest lobster, a sculpture that’s 35 feet long and 16 feet high. Question is, though, where’s the world’s biggest bowl of melted butter?

Travel Tips

Trending 2017 trips to book now

There’s always a renewed sense of excitement, anticipation, and inspiration at the beginning of the year. Resolutions are fresh and positive change feels within reach. Most importantly (for us, at least) there are travel dreams and fantasies that beg to become realities. And my, those dreams are bountiful. Planning travel is an exercise in discipline and decision-making. And the hardest decision is the first: Where to go in 2017. CANADA CALLING Not surprisingly, Dubai, London, Tokyo, Sydney, Washington DC, Machu Picchu, and Bangkok remain on experts’ lists for destinations that continuously attract increasing numbers of visitors. But for the most part, hot spots on everyone’s must-see list change. Sometimes a city is an attraction because it is planning anniversary events, either for itself and its own founding or of an iconic historic celebrity, the way Salzburg and Vienna did in 2006 on to celebrate 250 years since Mozart’s birth. Montreal (pictured above) is a hot ticket this year because it’s commemorating the 375th anniversary of its establishment. All of Canada, in fact, will be a source of attention because the country is celebrating its 150th anniversary. That makes Canada a great budget destination for Americans at the moment, what with a strong dollar against the Canadian dollar. Only problem is that hidden gems may no longer be hidden. Canada made a very select list of top destinations that Orbitz put together. Montreal and Toronto in particular are sure to be on everyone’s radars, with the anniversary festivals and celebrations building on the 10 percent increase in visitors the cities saw last year. Meantime, according to the Conference Board of Canada, Toronto is one of the country’s fastest growing metropolitan economies. A slate of cultural happenings, like an expanded location of the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Bentway Project, a mile-long recreational space beneath the Gardiner Expressway, chances are slim that the boom will slow in 2017. WINE COUNTRY YOU CAN ACTUALLY AFFORD Another North American destination that’s sure to grow is Paso Robles, a relatively "undiscovered" Central California region that’s home to more than 200 wineries. In addition to the many tasting rooms to visit, there’s a booming restaurant scene that’s getting hipper by the minute.   NORDIC TRACKS As far as the tried and true go, though, Iceland is not losing any interest, what with its natural wonders on full display and the quintessentially Scandinavian vibe in Reykjavik, where hip artists, musicians and chefs dictate the tone of the city. Plus an increase in budget airlines offering minimal flight prices from the US is added incentive for wallet-watchers. You may want to hang tight on planning, though. According to its data, Skyskanner says the most strategic time to book is week of October 23 through 29.  And for the been-there-done-that folks, Helsinki is having its moment, according to the travel experts at Bloomberg. It’s the nation’s 100th anniversary and parties abound, like choral concerts in national parks starting end of August. Plus an Arctic Treehouse Hotel and Northern Lights Village, a glass-domed architectural feat, are just a few of the new attractions in Finnish Lapland that might make adventure-seeker get up and go. THE CARIBBEAN IS STILL HOT And for those who prefer lounging around on the beach, Caribbean destinations that are getting a lot of buzz include Saint Barthélemy, which is showing off the fruits of its years-long hotel-building boom, largely in the luxury realm. Just take note that almost everything is shuttered in September for hurricane season. Turks and Caicos is another luxurious splurge. Among the spate of new luxury accommodations, there are cabin accommodations that make for a feasible stay for families and groups. Nature lovers will love the three nature reserves and the third-largest coral reefs. On the budget side, Isabela, a surf town in northwest Puerto Rico (always one of our favorite budget destinations), is welcoming a spate of hip new resturants, cocktail bars, and surf shops, thanks to entrepreneuring Americans.