The glacier less traveled

Iceland's go-to destinations are often overcrowded. But you can experience geothermal saunas, glaciers, caves and more about an hour northwest from Reykjavik in a portion of the country that seems virtually untouched by tourists: the region known as West Iceland. The water flowing into Krauma, a geothermal bath, arrives directly from the smallest glacier in Iceland before being dispersed into five baths of varying temperature. Vatnshellir Cave, within Snaefellsjokull National Park, offers guided tours of an 8,000-year-old, below-the-surface lava cave. You'll feel like you've entered a different planet. If you take the Into the Glacier tour, which departs from Husafell or Klaki, you'll ride in a ridiculously large vehicle — or atop a snowmobile — to Iceland's second-largest glacier, Langjokull. Then, you'll enter a minuscule opening into a magnificent ice cave, complete with an ice bar and an ice chapel. Yes, you can get married here.

Washington Post

'Bleisure' is the new leisure

"Bleisure" is one of the biggest trends in business travel, according to a National Car Rental survey. Blending work travel with leisure travel is one of the best perks of traveling for work. It helps save on vacation costs and creates a better work-life balance for travelers. "National's new research shows that workers in general, and millennials in particular, are increasingly blending business travel with leisure activities, with nearly a third citing their desire to explore specific destinations as the No. 1 reason to do so," said Frank Thurman, vice president of marketing. "And business travelers of all ages clearly believe that bleisure travel helps them maintain a healthier work-life balance." National's research shows that nearly half (49 percent) of millennials say they've extended business travel into a leisure trip or scheduled a vacation around business travel to save on vacation costs.

TravelPulse

Historic Chicago hotel

Being both warm and palatial is a neat trick, but, then, the Palmer House in Chicago has some magic to it. The original hotel was a wedding gift from business and real estate magnate Potter Palmer to his bride, Bertha Honore Palmer. The first Palmer House opened in 1871 but fell to the Great Chicago Fire. Palmer then rebuilt what was advertised as the world's first fireproof hotel. The current 1,641-room hotel was built in the 1920s in Classical Revival style. "He was an exceptional man, she was an exceptional woman and they contributed to each other and to the nation," says Ken Price, resident historian. Price hosts the hotel's History Is Hott tour, revealing the back story of characters as intriguing as the city they nurtured, and describing the heyday of the legendary Empire Room, which showcased entertainers such as Tony Bennett, Carol Channing and Sonny and Cher (rates from $109; 1-312-726-7500; palmerhousehiltonhotel.com).

Washington Post

The ornate lobby at the Palmer House in Chicago.

San Diego targets Minnesota

San Diego welcomed a record 35.8 million visitors last year, and it hopes to attract even more this year following the launch of a $19 million advertising campaign that includes all-new TV commercials. In a move to ensure that San Diego is top of mind when people are making their vacation plans, the San Diego Tourism Authority has begun a broad advertising campaign that includes not only TV ads in eight cities, including Minneapolis, but also digital ads on online travel sites such as TripAdvisor, Expedia and Priceline.

San Diego Union-Tribune