DRIVIN' FOR MILES

Texas accelerates to No. 1 on list of best states for road trips this summer

Siri, take me to Texas.

Photo by Getty Images

Summer's just getting started in the Lone Star State, and so is the summer travel season. Good news for in-state adventurers - especially those who prefer not to fly: Texas is the No. 1 state for a summer road trip, according to the latest report by personal finance website WalletHub.

With a total score of 60.33, Texas sped into the top spot in 2023 after ranking third in WalletHub's 2022 report (score: 56.63). New York, which ranked first last year, slipped into second place in the new report, while Maine fell all the way down into No. 10 after ranking second-best in 2022.

The analysis takes 32 different metrics into consideration to determine the rankings for the 2023 edition of the "Best and Worst States for Summer Road Trips". One factor is the price of gas, which currently is more than $3.50 per gallon nationally but about $3.21 in Texas, according to AAA. Only two other states in the WalletHub report - Louisiana and Mississippi - had lower costs to fill up the tank.

Other factors include camping costs, road safety, number of recreational activities, and more. And travelers can't forget about one major monetary inconvenience: inflation.

Texas earned a respectable No. 7 ranking for costs, and did even better in the category of activities, coming in at No. 5.

Texans already know how fun their home state is, with activities ranging from exploring some of the state's best parks, to trying out urban treasure hunting, to visiting world-class local museums. It's no surprise WalletHub agreed.

In terms of safety, Texas ranked a less desirable No. 38. The top five safest states for road trips, in order, are Maine (No. 10 overall), Vermont (No. 27 overall), New Hampshire (No. 34 overall), Iowa (No. 21 overall) and Wyoming (No. 8 overall).

The top 10 best summer road trip destinations are:

No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – New York
No. 3 – North Carolina
No. 4 – Ohio
No. 5 – Idaho
No. 6 – Louisiana
No. 7 – Florida
No. 8 – Wyoming
No. 9 – Minnesota
No. 10 – Maine

The worst summer road trip destinations, as decided by WalletHub, are Montana (No. 46), Hawaii (No. 47), Connecticut (No. 48), Delaware (No. 49), and Rhode Island (No. 50).

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

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Canal News

American Airlines adds new roundtrip from DFW Airport to Venice, Italy

Skyscrapercity.com

New destination from DFW Aiport.

Starting in May 2025, Fort Worth-based American Airlines is adding new flights to Italy, including a direct flight from DFW Airport to Venice.

It's part of a big Italy expansion with increased flights to Rome (FCO), Naples (NAP), and Venice (VCE).

“As Italy continues to remain popular for summertime travel, American is making it easier than ever for customers to shop, dine or unwind in their favorite destinations,” says American senior VP Brian Znotins in a release.

Tickets will be available for purchase starting Nov. 4 on aa.com and American’s mobile app.

American will offer its first-ever nonstop flight from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to VCE starting June 5. Complementing existing service from Philadelphia (PHL), the airline will offer convenient one-stop connections to VCE from more than 230 destinations in North America.

Other non-DFW flights include:

Building upon its new NAP service that launched this year, American will fly nonstop from Chicago (ORD) to NAP in 2025.

Rome will see expanded summer service from Miami (MIA) and Philadelphia (PHL), starting in June. American already offers daily year-round service from Rome to Philly but now will operate a second daily flight during the summer.

American recently announced additional nonstop service to Europe, including resuming service to Edinburgh, Scotland (EDI), next year. The airline will also launch more flights to Athens, Greece (ATH), and Milan (MXP) next year.

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