Photo: oatawa/Shutterstock
How to Successfully Play the Standby Game for Cheap Last-Minute Flights
Flying standby used to be easy, even if it was sometimes a tedious waiting game. You just showed up at the airport a few hours early without a ticket, put your name on the standby list with the gate agent, and if seats were available, you were handed one at a significant discount.
Now flying standby is more like a game of chess. Once you learn how to play, it’s actually fairly easy. But if you’ve never picked it up, you might feel completely lost.
Luckily, we’ve got the playbook for navigating standby in this era of air travel.
G U I D E
I'm Not a Backpacker, but I Spent 6 Days Walking Through the Outback
Photos: Katie Dundas
A first-time multi-day hiker signs up to walk six days through Australia's Red Centre, and comes back a convert.
The Larapinta Trail delivers wildflower blooms, sacred Arrernte cultural sites, dingoes howling outside the tent, and solar-powered eco-camps with showers and three-course dinners waiting at the end of each day.
S T A Y S
Hotels We're Putting on Our Wish List
No affiliate links. Just solid finds.
Photo: Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort
Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort (Costa Mujeres, Mexico): AAA Four Diamond adults-only all-inclusive, reopened this year after a full renovation with 424 suites, a Greg Norman golf course, and 10 restaurants.
Amrit Ocean Resort (Palm Beach, FL): New Signature Wellness Retreat pairing Ayurveda and Reiki with hyperbaric oxygen and red light therapy, plus a 40,000-square-foot hydrothermal circuit.
Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel (Venice, Italy): Legendary Venice landmark reopened in August after a multi-year restoration. Three connected palaces steps from Piazza San Marco.
Cori Hornbæk Hotel (Hornbæk, Denmark): September opening on the Danish Riviera, reviving a 1935 coastal landmark. Contemporary Nordic design across 77 rooms and five townhouses.
T I P S
The Real Reason You Cry at Movies on Flights
Crying on planes is common enough that Virgin Atlantic once trialed "weep warnings" before movies it deemed emotional. The airline introduced them in 2011, after a Facebook poll found 55 percent of flyers said their emotions ran higher in the air.
O U T D O O R
8 Countries Where In-the-Know Hikers Are Going in 2026
Photo: Florian Augustin/Shutterstock
Earlier this year, AllTrails, the world's largest trail database, released data showing that based on year-over-year interest from millions of users, some of these countries are climbing into the top ranks of hiking destinations.
2026 isn't over yet, so you might still have time to snag an uncrowded trail before everyone else catches on.
S T A Y S
These Are the Best Airbnbs in the US for Fall
Photos: Airbnb
With orchards and pumpkin patches gearing up and leaves already turning at higher elevations, these are the cottages and cabins built for the season.
Pack your warmest flannel and settle in for some of the country's best fall colors.
Travel Well
The Matador Editorial Team
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