Anyone can vote in Fat Bear Week from their couch every fall. But seeing a brown bear pack on its winter weight in person is another thing entirely, and getting to Katmai to see it is neither cheap nor easy.

There is good news, however. Katmai isn't the only place to watch bears at their chunkiest. Last fall, I got the chance to watch almost a dozen grizzlies gorge themselves on salmon in a single day at one of the spots ranked here. There was nothing quite like seeing bears and their cubs in their natural habitat.

Some places close their viewing platforms in early September, so watch the dates. Here's where to go this fall.

-Kelsey Wilking, newsletter editor

Half of Portugal's border is coastline, yet the same handful of Algarve beaches get swamped every summer.

These are the quieter stretches, from Alentejo's rising coast to the lesser-known sands up near Porto, where you won't be fighting for a towel-sized patch of space.

August Edition

Luxury is a word that gets stickered to everything in the travel space now, but what actually makes a space luxurious?

So we're asking: what actually makes travel feel luxurious to you?

Travelers heading to Japan for food usually lock in on Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. But Hokkaido, better known for skiing, is the country's actual bread basket, holding nearly a quarter of Japan's farmland and some of its best cold-water seafood that stands out even in a seafood-obsessed country.

Most all-inclusives keep you inside the resort with endless buffets and bottomless drinks. Paradero, a boutique hotel that blends into the desert south of Todos Santos, does the opposite: its Unbound package uses that same planning to push guests outward, toward surfing, horseback riding, cooking classes, and a Michelin-recognized restaurant rooted in Baja's own landscape.

The best moments in Daytona Beach are the ones that turn an ordinary day into something more remarkable: sunrises over an empty beach, fresh seafood with a water view, engines roaring at one of racing's most legendary ovals, wild dolphins offshore, and a palm-lined riverfront you can explore on foot.

At "The World's Most Famous Beach," the good life stays within reach from your first step in the sand to your last dinner out.

The Matador Editorial Team

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