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November 8, 2025

This week’s 36 Hours column touches down in Kauai, Hawaii, which retains the charm of Old Polynesia. Daeja Fallas for The New York Times

Dear Travel Fan,

It’s been a chaotic week in the world of travel.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that airline flights were going to be cut back over the next week because of the continuing government shutdown and the potential threat to airline safety. On Friday, the airlines began cutting departures, though the numbers remained limited. If you’re traveling in the next days, we put together this explainer to help out. We also took a look tourism in Washington, D.C., where many of the top sightseeing attractions — including the 21 museums operated by the Smithsonian Institution — have been closed for more than a month. And we talked to some air traffic controllers who have been reporting for work even though they are not getting paid; some of them are taking second jobs to get by. Finally, in light of an emergency order this week from the Supreme Court, we considered the implications of the new gender rules for U.S. passports.

I was in London this past weekend, and it was perfect timing: We just published our Travel 101 guide to that city, which is packed with great suggestions of things to do, including taking an Uber boat along the Thames. (This is our second guide in the series, after Rome.)

We’ve also got useful advice on how to keep children and teens safe when you travel.

We visited islands around the world this week, from Tasmania, off Australia’s southeast coast, where the writer Ben Buckland went in search of the southern lights, to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where our 36 Hours column touched down, to Madeira, the Portuguese island off the coast of Morocco, where we went hiking in search of waterfalls.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to work on a cruise ship, there’s a whole genre of popular social media videos that take you behind the scenes. We introduce you to some of the people behind them.

If the thought of getting on a plane is too much for you right now, we’ve got this roundup of great U.S. road trips that take you to rural areas.

Hoping you haven’t been caught up in the disruption (if you have, please tell us about it),
Amy Virshup

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AND TRAVEL

Mario Tama/Getty Images What Travelers Need to Know About the Flight Cuts Tied to the Shutdown As the government shutdown continues, more challenges await passengers as they deal with the Trump administration’s announcement of a 10 percent cut in flights at 40 U.S. airports. By Christine Chung, Claire Fahy and Gabe Castro-Root

Daniel Heuer/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Another Victim of the Shutdown: Tourism in the Nation’s Capital The government shutdown, now the country’s longest, is fueling a continued trend of declining tourism to Washington. By Christine Chung

Paul Sancya/Associated Press Odd Jobs and DoorDash: How Air Traffic Controllers Are Surviving Five weeks into the government shutdown, controllers across the country, forced to work without pay, are taking second jobs to stay afloat. By Gabe Castro-Root

OPEN UP YOUR WORLD

Daeja Fallas for The New York Times 36 Hours 36 Hours on Kauai With its pristine jungles and small towns, this Hawaiian island retains the unmanicured charm of Old Polynesia with few modern intrusions. By Brittany Lyte

Seeking the Elusive Southern Lights in Tasmania A writer returns to his native Australian island, where seeing the aurora takes more work than in the north, home of mass-market lights tourism. But the awe is the same. By Ben Buckland

Michael Harmon Chasing Waterfalls in Madeira’s Misty Mountains The island, a Portuguese territory, is only 35 miles long, but its mountains are laced with scenic trails, tumbling cascades and inviting villages. By Michael Harmon

The New York Times Travel 101 Your Guide to London From the must-see locations to the most frequently asked questions, our guide has all you need to plan your next visit. By Susanne Fowler

THE CHANGING WORLD OF TRAVEL

Bryan Henderson They Live on Cruise Ships. People Love to Watch. Crew members’ videos let cruising fans get behind the scenes of what life is really like on board. (Spoiler: It’s not as glamorous as you might think.) By Claire Fahy

Sophie Kuller Road Trips Where Rural America Shines Small towns and agricultural regions that have long been neglected are regenerating themselves through tourism. By Elaine Glusac

Nicole Craine for The New York Times What to Know About the New Gender Rules for U.S. Passports A policy that requires passports to display a person’s sex assigned at birth will come into play during renewals and first-time applications. By Gabe Castro-Root

TRAVEL 101

Weston Wei Travel 101 How to Travel Safely With Children and Teens Experts advise starting conversations about safety about a week before a journey, taking a family photo at the start of each day, and labeling bags and clothes. By Danielle Gelfand

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