By Margarent Loftus For that special trip – whether it's soaking up the sun in the Sychelles or crossing the Gobi Desert on horseback – you'll need more than your standard, surf-the-Internet sort of planning. This is a good time to call in an expert, someone who has traveled extensively in a region, nurtured local connections, and whose affinity for the place is infectious. The best ones plan a trip with you in mind,  » Read more »

Reported and edited by David Jefferys and Nathan Lump, Illustrated by Gelman Who needs a travel agent? Who doesn't? Whether you're planning a honeymoon, a cruise around the world, or just a long weekend, a good agent can help you find the perfect place, the perfect rooms, and the perfect guides – all at the right price. For T+L's 2004 A-List, we conducted hundreds of interviews with top agents to find the ones whose knowledge,  » Read more »

Unhygienic restaurants, surly service and endless stops at "tourist-designated" shops? Fear not, luxury-lovers, for China's top-end travel market is coming of age.  by Guy Rubin, Managing Partner of Imperial Tours Few luxury tourists landing at Beijing International Airport are prepared for what they will encounter in the Middle Kingdom. The critical tenor of western media typically filters out favorable perspectives of China's development in favor of sensationalist stories,  » Read more »

by Leslie Chang  Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ABOARD THE MV EMPEROR ON THE YANGTZE RIVER — Shortly after our cruise ship set sail from the Sichuan town of Fengdu on its way down the Yangtze River, its hardworking crew began to entertain us. Four women in harem pants and navel-baring tops performed a lantern dance. The chief tour guide pressed several audience members into a potato race.  » Read more »

by Melinda Allman What's Cool: The Great Wall could stretch from Florida to the North Pole. China's Great Wall, stretching more than 4,500 miles (7,300 km) across the northern Chinese countryside, was built originally as a fortification to protect Chinese lands from invasion and to keep the nation's people from leaving the empire. In the centuries since, however, it has become both a symbol of tyranny – thousands of slaves were sacrificed during the building process-and a tourist attraction,  » Read more »