The Camino de Santiago in northwestern Spain is an ancient pilgrimage trail that leads to the shrine of the Apostle St. James in the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela. Today travelers come for the spiritual and cultural value as well as the beauty of the landscape. Fresco Tours, which leads treks along the route, is discounting an April tour by 22% for those who book by Tuesday.

Thanks to a powerful solar flare, the northern lights are on tour -- sort of. Locals and lucky travelers in Northern Ireland this week have seen the dazzling ribbons of color usually reserved for higher lattitudes.

I’m guessing most New Yorkers have had enough of that whole winter-wonderland thing by now. They certainly seem relieved that after such a stormy winter, most of the snow in Manhattan is melted now.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday fined Delta Air Lines $2 million for violating rules that protect disabled passengers. The fine is the largest non-safety-related penalty ever imposed on an airline by the department.

Virgin America, the California-based airline known for its high-tech in-flight entertainment systems, is opening up shop in Chicago. Starting May 25, you can fly daily nonstops to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) from Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO), the airline announced Thursday. Tickets are on sale now.

Are you faking it when you go on vacation? Many people are, according to TripAdvisor's 2011 Travel Trends Forecast. The website, which features user reviews of hotels and other tourist sites, surveyed more than 3,000 of its users last year and reported that 69% said they connected with work while on vacation, and 62% said they checked their work e-mails.

Pick a slope, any slope, for this ski-and-room package from the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort Spa and Casino in Incline Village, Nev. The offer includes two lift tickets good at any of seven Tahoe-area ski resorts --  Alpine Meadows, Diamond Peak, Homewood, Heavenly, North Star, Mt. Rose and Squaw Valley.

An anchored boat packed with sleeping travelers sank early Thursday in Vietnam's scenic Ha Long Bay, killing 12 people from nine countries in the deadliest tour boat accident since the country opened to foreign visitors 25 years ago.

• Map: Tour boat accident

Yuma, Ariz., is inviting visitors to partake in the region’s bounty of all things green through the end of March, when fields are full of every conceivable type of lettuce - - including butter, iceberg and romaine -- plus other veggies such as asparagus, broccoli and cabbage.

Over the next few weeks, the back roads of California's San Joaquin Valley are  expected to provide a feast for the senses as tens of thousands of fruit trees burst into bloom

Turkish Airlines is kicking off its new nonstop service from Los Angeles to Istanbul on March 3 with a special rate of $752 round trip, including taxes and fees. As launch time nears, expect to see Laker giant Kobe Bryant in ads touting the new service as the airline's "global brand ambassador"-- a role that has been controversial.

Ever since Boeing Co.'s 747 jumbo jet made its first commercial flight more than 40 years ago, the plane has been an icon of the aviation industry. On Sunday, Boeing unveiled a larger, quieter and more fuel-efficient version of the passenger jet, which was shown to a crowd of 10,000 in Everett, Wash.

I just returned with my family from our three-night Bahamian cruise aboard the Disney Dream, where I blogged daily from the ship about our experiences and took photos.

• Photos: Aboard the Disney Dream cruise ship

• Day 1: Setting sail on the Disney Dream cruise ship

Los Angeles Times theme park blogger Brady MacDonald and his family sailed aboard the new Disney Dream cruise ship to the Bahamas and the private island of Castaway Cay.

Two California towns have earned a place on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of top heritage destinations for 2011. The nonprofit organization each year selects a Dozen Distinctive Destinations that "boast a richness of character and exude an authentic sense of place," according to a statement released Tuesday.