North America

To get you wanderlusting, we’ve found some of the most extraordinary places to eat, see and visit around the majestic Hawaiian islands of Kaua‘i, Lanai and Hawai‘i. 

With such a jam-packed calendar of annual festivities and commemorations across their seas, we’ve teamed up with Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania to round up some of our must-visits to inspire your next luxe beachside vacation.

We’ve waited oh so patiently, and finally our wanderlust prayers have been answered—international travel is back on the cards, baby! Put this on your radar because the countown is on to dust off the passport and dig out your suitcases, because Euro summers and snow seasons in Asia holidays are back on the menu.

Immersive art installations are taking over the world. From the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Rooms to Desert X in Coachella Valley, people are traveling far and wide to experience the indescribable. Enter Meow Wolf, the latest, and no doubt long-lasting, darling of the art world. The artistic collective, which started in the US way back in 2008, has grown from a group of rag tag artists to a multi-million-dollar enterprise that has secured funding from Game Of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin.

So, you’re thinking about heading to the playa for the first time?

YSL is turning heads again at this year’s Coachella Music Festival, with their extravagant beauty gas station on route 111 in Palm Springs, California.

If the recent -30° weather in North America has you second guessing a transpacific trip, you’ll be pleased to hear about Toronto’s secret weapon—a hidden underground network of cafes, restaurants and shops spanning 30km. Stay in the right hotel and you won’t even need to go outside for an Australian worthy cup of coffee. As we learned it can be disorientating for a first timer, so here are some tips on how to navigate and enjoy the Toronto underground PATH. 

Busabout is on the hunt for six travel hungry content creators to undertake the job of a lifetime. That’s right, you could be getting paid to travel around Europe, Asia or the USA.

If you’re planning a trip to California in the next few months, you’ll be excited to know Desert X is coming to the Coachella Valley in February and sticking around until 21 April. The free and interactive art exhibit spanning Greater Palm Springs successfully launched in 2017 and is back for 2019, featuring more than a dozen new installations.

Travellers the world over know this conundrum all too well—where to stay so you’re close to the sites, minus that sinking feeling you get when you realise you’ve landed in a tourist trap. Enter, The Renwick Hotel NYC.

If you find yourself in Boston and you don’t stay in a classic brownstone, are you even really in Boston? Exactly. So, if you, like us, choose your hotel based on character, with a whole lot of luxury thrown in (because you’re worth it), then you’re going to love our latest discovery.

Cities don’t come better than New York and hotels don’t come much cooler than The Arlo NoMad. 

Love the idea of living it up in the Big Apple without breaking the bank? We hear you and raise you Moxy Times Square.

It’s the eternal questions: What are *actual* best things to do in New York City? Specifically in neighbourhoods that aren’t Soho. . Lucky for you, we’ve pulled together the best spots to hit in four NYC ‘hoods that are brimming with coffee to drink, pizza to eat and culture to soak up. Load up your Google Maps and get ready to brave the crowds, it’s time to act like a local. 

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it twenty times: New York is a walking city. Sure, you’ve got yellow cabs and Ubers and the Subway, but getting around on foot is the best way to cram in all the sights, sounds, and foods. Get on your walking shoes, friends. We’re about to hit the pavement!

When it comes to travel, you always have options. Of course, first you have to decide where you want to go but it’s also important to choose the right person to travel with. And if you’re anything like us—AKA terribly impatient and constantly planning your next trip—you probs don’t want to wait for your mates to get it together before booking.

One of the most fascinating places in the world to visit right now is Cuba. Having only emerged from the grips of communism relatively recently, it’s a captivating and mystifying destination—with the capital of Havana an undisputed highlight.

From local craft breweries, to Insta famous cocktails and a street dedicated to late-night ramen, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Destination Canada to put together the only guide you’ll need to navigate Vancouver’s coolest neighbourhoods - Gastown, SOMA and The West End.

Set to launch during next month’s New Fashion Week—when else(?)—iconic fashion and beauty house, YSL is levelling up once again, opening a hotel dedicated to all things YSL beauty. Seriously, we can’t make these things up…

BrewDog has taken things to a whole new scale and instead of just opening up any old bar has opened the world’s first craft beer hotel, DogHouse!

This pop-up is purely dedicated to a food that we all know and love as it can never do us wrong, PIZZA!

Starbucks ain't the only internet hub around.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but it shouldn’t.

​We know that places like New York City, Miami and LA are on your bucket list. Hell, they’re on ours! But remember that America is a HUGE place (one of five countries bigger than Australia #funfact) and it has heaps of non-touristy places that are 100% worth your time.

No travel bucket list would be complete without an appearance from the USA. And—newsflash—there’s so much more to America than New York. 

You’re going to want to be on the next plane STAT.

Check out everything this buzzy desert town has to offer

Ah, Waikiki…the home of long boards, ukuleles and Mai Tais; where rainbows appear on the daily, kitsch is cool again and Hawaiian shirts are worn proudly as the tourist uniform. 

Home to deep dish pizzas, hot dogs and that weird bean, it’s not all that surprising we’re kinda obsessed with Chicago—if it’s good enough for Oprah, it’s good enough for us! 

​We know what you’re thinking. Only a crazy person would try to take on New York City in 48 hours. Correct. But we’re a little bit crazy here at The Urban List and we like to make the most of every minute, so if all you can manage is 48 hours in the city that never sleeps, you damn well better take it. If you can manage more, lucky you, we’ve got some extra tips for you at the bottom

Holidays are often seen as a luxury. And we get it, we really do—those things are expensive. But, here at The Urban List we are super thrifty, and we’ve managed to hack our way to two international holidays a year…without sacrificing UberEats and plenty of vino along the way.

There are two words that can make any holiday infinitely better: road trip. There is the playlist, the company, the LOLs, and most importantly, the views that pass by your window. Being the prolific road trip supporters that we are when we found this road trip we knew we had to share it with the people who would appreciate it the most—you guys!

Holidays planned around what cocktail to sip by the pool are great and all, but there is something to be said about a holiday that leaves you ticking items off your bucket list in abundance and creating stories that you’ll be able to tell the grandkids one day.

When you think Canadian fare, you’d be forgiven for thinking that poutine and maple syrup are the be all and end all. Turns out there’s a whole load more deliciousness hidden away in the Justin Bieber and Celine Dion motherland—who knew?!

Your bucket list is something that you hold close to your heart. It’s something you curate while slogging away on the treadmill, crafting yet another email to your nightmare co-worker, or doing the dishes. Given the amount of work that goes into curating your bucket list, it’s only fair each inclusion is seriously worth it. Luckily, we’ve found a whole heap of bucket list inclusions that will have you booking a plane ticket faster than you can say “goals!”

Poutine is a national treasure. It sits up there with ice hockey and maple syrup. If you’re unfamiliar, firstly where the heck have you been, and secondly, here’s a quick explainer: poutine is a pile of deliciousness, really—think crispy chips piled with gravy and squeaky cheese curds. It’s heavenly.

As anyone worth their weight in grade eight geography knows, Canada is pretty big. Not only in size, but also in its calibre of bucket list worthy must-sees (you’re going to want to spend a serious chunk of time exploring this beauty). So quit your job*, pack your bags, and jump on a flight to Canada because, you guys, this is the MUST do road trip to see the real Canada. PS—yes, the best way to explore Canada is via road trip!

Pass the cocktail pls. We're about to show you how to kill it in Palm Springs. This Cali desert oasis is actual heaven.