to travel from one place to another

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You can get directions for driving, public transit, walking, ride sharing, cycling, flight, or motorcycle on Google Maps. If there are multiple routes, the best route to your destination is blue, all other routes are gray. Some directions in Google Maps are in development and may have limited availability. 

Important: Stay alert when you use directions on Google Maps. Always be aware of your surroundings to ensure the safety of yourself and others. When in doubt, follow actual traffic regulations and confirm signage from the road or path that you’re on.

• On your computer, open Google Maps .

• Click points on the map, type an address, or add a place name.

Tip: To choose another route in any transportation mode, select it on the map. Each route shows the estimated travel time on the map.

Google Maps transportation modes

You can get directions for different modes of transportation in Google Maps. Learn about the differences in features and availability between each mode:

• If you want to change a driving route, click and hold a spot on the route and drag it to a new spot on the map.

• Not all cities have public transit directions in Google Maps. Before you can get transit directions, your local transit agency needs to add their route info to Google Maps.

• If you want directions in an area with ride or taxi services, you can compare ride services with transit and walking directions. Learn how to request a ride .

• Directions to multiple destinations, or waypoints, aren’t available for public transit or flight searches.
• Learn more about how to search for flights .

• Learn how to get directions for motorcycles .

Add multiple destinations

You can get directions to multiple destinations for all modes of transportation except public transit or flight.

• Add a starting point and a destination.

• You can add up to 9 stops.
• Click on a route to get the directions.

Tip : You can search for places along your route.

To change the order of your stops: 

• Find the destination you want to move. 
• Drag the destination.

Preview directions in Street View

• On your computer, under the route you want, click Details.

• Point to a step in the directions. If Street View is available, you get a preview photo.
• To get Street View for other steps in the route, in the bottom-left box, click Previous step or Next step.

Customize your route

• Choose Options .
• Check the box next to "Tolls" or "Highways."
• Get directions.
• After you get your directions, click Leave now .
• To change your travel dates or times, select Depart at or Arrive by .

When you enter a destination in Google Maps, we show you how to get there using different travel modes, like driving, cycling, or walking. 

Sometimes, the transport options we show you are ranked according to a combination of objective factors designed to help you find relevant and useful information. These factors can include duration, distance, price, your mode preference, or the relevance of a mode to your query. Generally, the most important factors are your mode preference, trip durations, and sometimes price.

Where available, we also show you other mobility services like public transport, scooter or bicycle rentals, and vehicle ride services. These mobility services are provided by third parties who have made their transport data publicly available or who have a partner agreement with us. Any partnerships or business relationships we may have with any transportation service providers do not influence the ranking of these services.

Related resources

• Get traffic or search for places along the way
• Plan your commute or trip

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Mileage Calculator

Use the following mileage calculator to determine the travel distance, in terms of miles, and time taken by car to travel between two locations in the United States, disregarding traffic conditions.

Driving Time Calculator

Driving time between two cities.

Travelmath helps you find the driving time based on actual directions for your road trip. You can find out how long it will take to drive between any two cities, airports, states, countries, or zip codes. This can also help you plan the best route to travel to your destination. Compare the results with the flight time calculator to see how much longer it might take to drive the distance instead of flying. You can also print out pages with a travel map.

You may want to search for the driving distance instead. Or if you're thinking about flying, make sure you compare flight times between airports. For a long road trip, check the cost calculator to see if it's within your budget.

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[ trav - uh l ]

verb (used without object)

to travel for pleasure.

• to move or go from one place or point to another.
• to proceed or advance in any way.
• to go from place to place as a representative of a business firm.

He travels in a wealthy crowd.

• Informal. to move with speed.
• to pass, or be transmitted, as light or sound.
• Basketball. (of a player in possession of the ball) to take more than two steps without dribbling or passing the ball.
• to move in a fixed course, as a piece of mechanism.

verb (used with object)

• to travel, journey, or pass through or over, as a country or road.

We traveled a hundred miles.

to travel logs downriver.

to travel to other planets.

to set out on one's travels.

a book of travels.

• such an account or work.

an increase in travel on state roads.

• Basketball. an instance of traveling with the ball.
• the complete movement of a moving part, especially a reciprocating part, in one direction, or the distance traversed; stroke.
• length of stroke.

to reduce the travel of food from kitchen to table.

a travel alarm clock.

/ ˈtrævəl /

she travelled across France

he travels to improve his mind

he travelled the country

• to go, move, or cover a specified or unspecified distance

to travel in textiles

• (esp of perishable goods) to withstand a journey

the sound travelled for miles

• to progress or advance
• basketball to take an excessive number of steps while holding the ball
• (of part of a mechanism) to move in a fixed predetermined path

that car certainly travels

• informal. often foll by with to be in the company (of); associate
• the act of travelling

a travel brochure

• usually plural a tour or journey
• the distance moved by a mechanical part, such as the stroke of a piston
• movement or passage

Discover More

Spelling note, other words from.

• travel·a·ble adjective
• non·travel·ing adjective
• non·travel·ling adjective
• outtravel verb (used with object) outtraveled outtraveling or (especially British) outtravelled outtravelling
• pre·travel noun verb pretraveled pretraveling or (especially British) pretravelled pretravelling
• un·travel·ing adjective
• un·travel·ling adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of travel 1

Example Sentences

López said she could not travel to Mexico because she is undocumented.

Sound waves traveling thousands of kilometers through the ocean may help scientists monitor climate change.

Biden traveled to the state days later, meeting with the Blake family and calling for unity and healing in the community, though he, too, denounced the violence that followed the shooting.

TripActions says it has added nearly 500 new corporate customers since March, a surprising achievement at a time when most employees are still not traveling freely.

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, which was first identified in China in December, has had sweeping effects in the public health, business, and travel sectors, among others.

You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.

He did travel to China and Australia while the story was unfolding.

In doing so he exposed the failure of other airlines in the region to see the huge pent-up demand for cheap travel.

“The tribe is really made of people who put travel as a priority in their entire lifestyle,” says Evita.

Brands like Lo & Sons and Delsey are already tapping Travel Noire to connect with black travelers.

One thing was certain: Grandfather Mole could travel much faster through the water than he could underground.

The mothers know better than any one else how hard a way the little girl will have to travel through life.

He could lie in bed and string himself tales of travel and adventure while Harry was downstairs.

Under ordinary circumstances these men can travel with their burden from twenty to thirty miles a day.

The rules regulating travel on highways in this country are called, "the law of the road."

Related Words

• sightseeing

• Travel Time
• Coordinates
• Flight Distance
• Flight Time
• Route Elevation

Travel Time Calculator

Travel time calculation.

• Q) I am driving from one city to another city and need to know how long it will take me to get there, where can I find this information?
• Q) I am traveling cross country and need to know whether I should drive or take a plane, how can I figure out approximately how long it will take to get there by car?
• Q) I am planning a trip and plan to make a stop along the way... I need to know the time it would take me to get to these 2 locations, how can I get this info?

A) The travel time calculator can give you a good estimate of how long it would take you to get to your destination.

Additionally, you can calculate the time it would take you to drive to your destination and compare that to how long it would take you to fly to your destination.

If you plan on stopping at a particular location along the way, you can calculate how long it would take you to get to and from that stop to your final destination.

Travel Time Information

Knowing the time it takes you to travel to a place is in many cases the deciding factor of which means of travel to take. Cost is usually the other factor.

With the travel time calculator you can figure out whether it's worth driving to your destination or whether you'll get there on time.

Now while driving may often seem like the right choice, certain delays along the way can make your trip take longer.

Delays such as stopping for gas, food or sleep can add to the time it takes you to get there. Poor whether conditions, road work and traffic can also cause delays along the way.

While the travel time calculator can't predict many of these things, it can prepare you for the road and give you an estimate of how long it would take you to get where you need to go.

Additionally, you can also view a road map so that you can see why the trip takes as long as it does.

Copyright (c) 2024 Distancesto.com

Synonyms of travel

• as in to trek
• as in to traverse
• as in to fly
• as in to associate
• More from M-W
• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

Thesaurus Definition of travel

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Synonyms & Similar Words

• peregrinate
• road - trip
• knock (about)
• perambulate
• pass (over)
• cut (across)
• proceed (along)
• get a move on
• make tracks
• shake a leg
• hotfoot (it)
• fast - forward

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hang (around or out)
• slow (down or up)
• collaborate
• take up with
• keep company (with)
• rub shoulders (with)
• fall in with
• pal (around)
• rub elbows (with)
• mess around
• be friends with
• interrelate
• confederate
• cold - shoulder

Thesaurus Definition of travel  (Entry 2 of 2)

• peregrination
• commutation

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Thesaurus Entries Near travel

Cite this entry.

“Travel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travel. Accessed 14 May. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on travel

Nglish: Translation of travel for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of travel for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about travel

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8 Helpful Things 50-Plus Travelers Never Knew They Need to Do Before Traveling

Research is key but don’t forget to have a conversation.

Judy Mandell,

If you are getting ready to travel, you probably have a pre-travel checklist that you follow. TSA PreCheck ? Active. Passport ? Check. But if you haven’t traveled in a while, you might not know where to start checking for the necessary information and documentation .

After the record number of passengers screened in 2023, David Pekoske, the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said earlier this year that the agency expects the trend to continue this year. Indeed, 65 percent of people 50-plus plan to travel this year, according to the AARP 2024 Travel Trends survey .

AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal

As you prepare to travel this summer, here are eight tips you never knew to follow before taking a trip.

1. Call the non-U.S. 800 number for airlines

Peter Greenberg, the travel editor for CBS News, wants travelers to not rely solely on online research when booking a trip. “The websites are by design misleading because the presumption that people make, which is false, is that they’re seeing all the availability and inventory on their screen. They’re not.”

Greenberg suggests having a conversation with a travel agent, travel adviser or travel provider to find the full availability that often isn’t depicted online. Instead of being put on hold on a U.S.-based airline 800 number, call an 800 number for United Airlines in London, American Airlines in Dublin or Delta Airlines in Paris, he says. “They are open 24/7. They won’t put you on hold. And they’re seeing the same thing on their screen that the headquarters are seeing” in Chicago, Dallas or Atlanta, Greenberg says.

2. Check the expiration date on your passport

Many countries, including most of Europe, Morocco, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Thailand, will not let you enter if your passport expires in less than six months. Check the U.S. State Department’s travel site for more details.

3. Get an international driver’s permit

Do you plan to drive overseas? If so, there are some countries that require an International Driving Permit, says William Lee, the head of marketing for Chima Travel in northeast Ohio. According to usa.gov, if you visit Canada or Mexico, your state driver’s license is all you need. However, a trip to Spain or Greece will require an International Driving Permit. “The process to get one is actually really simple,” Lee says. Before you travel, either visit AAA in person or online. AAA is the only entity that issues the permit in the U.S. Supply two passport-style photos or have the pictures taken at certain AAA offices. The fee for the permit is $20, plus processing and delivery fees. You don’t need to be a member of AAA to use this service.

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4. Book the first flight of the day on an airline not based in your city

Greenberg says advice to take the very first flight of the day is nothing new. “What is new is to take the first flight of the day on an airline that’s not based in your city,” he says. “You want to take the first flight on a plane that overnighted, which means the crew stayed with that plane; the plane is ready to go, and your odds of getting out on time first thing in the morning are infinitely increased.” Greenberg adds it could be a problem if you are waiting for a plane to arrive from somewhere else.

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5. Apply for entrance authorization

In 2025, the new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) will require passport holders from more than 60 visa-exempt countries to apply for approval to enter 30 European countries. Previously, countries such as France, Germany and Greece did not require advance approval to enter for visits of less than 90 days. Once the program is running, travelers to Europe will fill out the form online or via a mobile app and pay a 7 euro charge (about $7.54, depending on exchange rates; free for applicants 70 and older). And don’t forget about visas. “You just need to search for ‘country + visa requirements,’ ” Lee says.

6. Research local currency and exchange rates

“Many travelers get ripped off due to a lack of research,” says Michael Sawyer, operations director at Ultimate Kilimanjaro, a company that specializes in assisting people who want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Sawyer suggests exchanging some currency prior to your departure or getting a travel debit card.

7. Search for tipping etiquette

Sawyer says tipping customs vary greatly depending on the city or country. “Knowing how to tip at restaurants and other services can assist in avoiding awkward situations,” he says.

8. Download offline maps and other key apps

If you are traveling to a destination with limited internet access, it’s good to have these products readily available, Sawyer says. City-specific apps can provide information on attractions, public transportation and restaurant recommendations.

Contributing: Kimberley Lovato, AARP

Judy Mandell is a Virginia-based writer who contributes to the New York Times , the Washington Post , Prevention magazin e and many other major newspapers and magazines. She lives in North Garden, Virginia, with her rescue dog, Maple.

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The Morning

When travel plans go awry.

There are ways of keeping ourselves anchored, even when we enter a parallel universe disconnected from time.

By Melissa Kirsch

The weekend trip is, in theory, the perfect break. Two nights someplace else, just a small duffel bag and limited logistics standing between you and a reset. Leave on Friday, come back Sunday, fill the hours in between with enough that’s novel and return refreshed, or at least with a slightly altered perspective. You might take a weekend trip for vacation or work or to see family, but the effect is the same. You’re a little changed on return. You see your regular life a little bit differently.

I took what was meant to be a quick trip last weekend to attend a college graduation, and it was, strictly speaking, quick: I was scarcely away for 48 hours, but extreme weather marooned me for most of those hours in the liminal spaces of transit — airports, grounded planes, traffic jams — where time loses legibility. An old friend used to call these neither-here-nor-there realms the “zero world” for the way they feel unfastened from reality, parallel to daily life but separate. The flight cabin after an announcement of a fourth lightning delay is a world detached from the one you know, a temporary society populated by temporary citizens with perhaps not much in common save one deeply held belief: We need to get out of here.

I was as cranky and impatient as the rest of my fellow travelers at each complication in our journeys, but also fascinated by the communities and customs and Cibo Express markets of the zero world. Each of us was, at any given time, one captain’s announcement away from a temper tantrum, but we were also competitively careful to be polite to one another and to the airline staff, as if determined to demonstrate that those wild videos of short-tempered passengers being duct-taped to their seats did not represent us, the makeshift civilization of this departure lounge.

Graduation, when I finally arrived, was a joyous affair despite the glitches. The speaker, an astronaut, showed a photo of the farm where she grew up, the place she thought of as home for much of her life. Then she showed a photo of the limb of the Earth, the glowing edge of the atmosphere, and described how, when she went to space, home was no longer a town on a map but this planet, a shift in perspective so massive I felt a little queasy contemplating it.

On Hour 3 in the airport bar on Sunday morning, beside two German travelers practicing Spanish, I ordered an omelet and imagined my own home, which felt very far away and lit by its own otherworldly halo. What would I be doing if I were there? Reading, texting, catching up on emails — the same things I was doing here. What was so bad about this? Was it the lack of choice? The lack of fresh air?

It was all those things, and also the feeling of being trapped in a warp between origin and destination. My emotions felt out of proportion to the situation: I hadn’t traveled very far for very long, was in no peril and would still arrive in New York with enough day left to do whatever needed to be done, but I felt on the verge of tears, loosed from my moorings, floating between fixed points, dislocated. I put on my headphones, put on a favorite band whose songs are so familiar they provide a home base no matter where I am. I listened to the same album on repeat for the duration of the flight, in the car on the way home, even at home once I finally made it there.

There’s a story in The Times today about how A.S.M.R., the pleasant, brain-tingling feeling we get when hearing certain sounds or watching certain comforting scenes, has become a feature of all viral internet content, not just specialized videos devoted to inducing the sensation. You can still put on a very specific video of someone whispering into a microphone or crinkling paper, but you’re just as likely to find the stimuli in videos of people cooking or cleaning their pools. This seems like a logical extension. We’re restless beasts in need of soothing. Sometimes we’re dramatically homesick, sometimes it’s just a bad day. Why not imbue the mundane with the choreography of comfort? Why not add pleasure whenever and wherever we can?

For weekend travel inspiration: The Times’s 36 Hours series.

How to deal with the increasing unpredictability of travel .

Stunning views of Earth from space .

How A.S.M.R. became a sensation.

THE WEEK IN CULTURE

The final round of the Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Sweden today. This year’s favorites include a Croatian techno act called Baby Lasagna. Read , or listen to , a guide to the competition.

“I won’t let anything break me”: Eden Golan, Israel’s 20-year-old entrant, spoke to The Times about the campaign to exclude her country from the event because of the war in Gaza.

The stage crew has 50 seconds to disassemble and reassemble sets. Watch a video from The Wall Street Journal .

Film and TV

“It’s easy to get caught up in the bigness of it all”: Owen Teague, the star of the latest “Planet of the Apes” film, and Andy Serkis, the lead in the earlier movies, sat down for a conversation .

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is not as transporting as the previous trilogy of films, the Times critic Alissa Wilkinson writes , but “there’s still a tremendous amount to mull over.”

The latest season of “Doctor Who,” starring Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th actor to play the doctor, opened with a double episode. Read a recap.

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a plan to bundle their Disney+, Hulu and Max streaming services this summer

The recording engineer Steve Albini, who died this week at 61, was “arguably the most influential figure ever to emerge from indie rock,” Pitchfork wrote . Listen to 10 of his essential tracks , which shaped the sound of alternative rock music.

Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s rap beef crashed the website Genius , where users can annotate lyrics to songs. Times critics discussed where the rappers’ sonic conflict goes next .

Other Big Stories

A stage version of the beloved animated film “Spirited Away” is running in London, after premiering in Japan. The adaptation is opulent and impressive, but it could use more heart , our critic writes.

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that would bar the Des Moines Art Center from dismantling “Greenwood Pond: Double Site,” an environmental work by Mary Miss that includes wooden walkways and sitting areas in need of repair.

The owners of the Los Angeles house where Marilyn Monroe last lived, and died, sued the city, accusing officials of “backroom machinations” to save it from a planned demolition .

David Shapiro, a lyrical poet who appeared in a famous photograph from the 1968 uprising at Columbia University, died at 77 .

THE LATEST NEWS

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A Biden administration report said that Israel may have broken international law in Gaza, but that Israel’s “credible and reliable” assurances mean the U.S. can keep sending weapons.

The Biden administration is still waiting for Israel to show how it plans to evacuate and protect civilians in Rafah ahead of a possible invasion.

The U.N. General Assembly voted to support Palestinian statehood , a symbolic move. The U.S. voted no, and Israel accused delegates of “shredding the U.N. charter.”

Michael Cohen, who paid Stormy Daniels hush money and whom prosecutors say Donald Trump reimbursed, is expected to testify Monday in Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial. The judge asked prosecutors to stop Cohen from criticizing Trump .

Russia tried to break through Ukrainian lines in the country’s north using shelling and armored columns. Ukraine said it had repelled the attacks.

Russia is upgrading a munitions depot in Belarus, possibly to house nuclear weapons , a Times analysis of satellite imagery found.

The Biden administration plans to raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to protect U.S. auto manufacturers.

Apple is revamping Siri to offer more advanced A.I. responses , akin to ChatGPT.

An appeals court upheld Steve Bannon’s conviction for defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee. He could soon have to serve prison time.

A Virginia school board voted to restore the names of Confederate leaders — including Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson — to two schools, reversing its 2020 decision to rename them .

CULTURE CALENDAR

By Desiree Ibekwe

🎥 Back to Black (Friday): You may well have seen the online discussion about this movie, an Amy Winehouse biopic directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. The movie — which focuses on Winehouse’s relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil — was No. 1 at the British box office but divided viewers and critics, some of whom found fault with the appearance of its star, Marisa Abela. “I don’t need to convince people that they’re actually watching Amy,” Abela told The Times . “I need to remind people of her soul.”

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

By Melissa Clark

Strawberry Shortcake

It’s Mother’s Day tomorrow, and if your mom has a sweet tooth (and if so, I can relate), Jane Grigson’s strawberry shortcake as adapted by Nancy Harmon Jenkins might be just the thing for a celebratory brunch. Make the biscuit dough and cut out the rounds the day before (just keep them in the fridge until baking time). Then, while they’re in the oven, you can macerate the berries (any kind you like) with sugar and prep the whipped cream. Be sure to save any leftover biscuits. They’re excellent toasted for breakfast the next day.

REAL ESTATE

The hunt: An American took a chance on the Lake Geneva area of Eastern France, with a $300,000 budget. Which home did she buy? Play our game .

What you get for $900,000: A Frank Lloyd Wright house in Wilmette, Ill.; an 1879 three-bedroom house in Wilmington, N.C.; or a renovated ranch house in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Free help: A filmmaker, feeling unhelpful in her daily life, decided to offer small favors to passers-by in Union Square.

Made for walking: Brides are increasingly pairing cowboy boots with relaxed silhouetted dresses.

Scarlett Johansson: The actress shared her beauty regimen with T Magazine.

How to: Restoring a chair is easier than one might think . Here’s how a couple known as the Brownstone Boys did it.

ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER

Food processors, blenders and choppers.

Countertop appliances can help you get a meal on the table faster, often with less work and a quicker cleanup. But deciding which gizmo is best for you can be a challenge. It depends on what kinds of foods you most frequently prepare, Wirecutter’s kitchen experts say. For example, if your main goal is to reduce the time you spend prepping ingredients, a food processor is likely your best bet. If you demand the smoothest, silkiest textures from your soups, sauces and smoothies (and have ample storage space), consider a full-size blender. Oh, and those TikTok-famous manual vegetable choppers ? No one needs those. — Rose Lorre

GAMES OF THE WEEK

W.N.B.A. season openers: A once-in-a-generation group enters the W.N.B.A. next week. You may already know their names: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso. Their college matchups shattered viewership records, and their pro draft last month did the same. The W.N.B.A. is trying to seize the moment: Nearly all of Clark’s games with the Indiana Fever will be national broadcasts , and some of her games are moving to bigger arenas to meet fan demand.

The season begins Tuesday, as Clark and the Fever face the Connecticut Sun and M.V.P. contender Alyssa Thomas. After that, the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces play Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury. 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2

More coverage

Clark and Cardoso are featured in a documentary series , “Full Court Press,” airing on ABC this weekend, which follows them through their final season of college.

The W.N.B.A. is expanding : The league plans to add a 13th team, in the San Francisco area, next season, and a 14th, in Toronto, the year after.

NOW TIME TO PLAY

Here is today’s Spelling Bee . Yesterday’s pangram was uncloak .

Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week’s headlines.

And here are today’s Mini Crossword , Wordle , Sudoku , Connections and Strands .

Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa

Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox . Reach our team at [email protected] .

Melissa Kirsch is the deputy editor of Culture and Lifestyle at The Times and writes The Morning newsletter on Saturdays. More about Melissa Kirsch

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This underrated Australian capital city is one of the world’s most photogenic sunset spots

Perth has been ranked as the ninth most popular place to watch the sunset, with Melbourne and Uluru also making the top 20

Witnessing the sunset in a brand new city is perhaps  the most magical experience you can have while travelling – and it doesn’t cost a cent. Whether you’re soaking in golden hour from a mountaintop or admiring the glowing reflection over Australia’s beautiful beaches , disappointment is simply not on the cards. 

Down Under, we’re blessed with some pretty incredible sunset spots and, as it turns out, they rank among the best on the planet. In a recent analysis by tour company, Titan Travel , three Australian destinations ranked among the world’s 20 most popular sunset-watching spots. The travel experts ranked places based on those with the highest number of posts tagged #[location]sunset on Instagram, with Perth in Western Australia nabbing the ninth spot of all world destinations. 

Perth is the only capital city in Australia where you can witness this natural phenomenon over the Indian Ocean, with plenty of sundowner spots peppering the 123km coastline. While most tourists love the sunset vista over Cottesloe Beach , you can also gawk at the daily light show from the less-crowded Fremantle Boat Harbour, the  Art Gallery of WA  rooftop bar, Kings Park or Zig Zag Scenic Drive. 

Melbourne doesn’t disappoint when it comes to gorgeous sundowner sessions either, with the Victorian capital ranking as the 11th most photogenic location for sunset snaps. If you haven't sat on St Kilda Pier with some fish and chips and watched the sun slowly fade away, you can't call yourself a true Melburnian. Yet, views from The Boatbuilders Yard in South Wharf also deliver an instant wow factor, perhaps rivalled by the 360-degree views from the city’s highest viewing platform at Melbourne Skydeck .

The third and final Aussie destination to get a shout-out on the list of the world’s most photogenic places to watch the sunset was our nation’s real and proverbial heart, Uluru (Ayers Rocks), in 15th place. Witnessing the colossal red rock turn countless shades of deep orange, red, pink, purple and blue throughout the duration of the sun’s descent is truly mind-boggling, and we aren’t surprised that this very special place made the cut.

Titan Travel backed up their study by looking into the most viewed sunset spots around the world on TikTok. Once again, the three same Australian destinations secured spots in the top 20, with Perth claiming tenth place, Uluru at number 12 and Melbourne in 19th spot. 

Here is a list of the 15 most popular sunset-watching spots around the world:

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The latest on the massive solar storm

By Angela Fritz, Elise Hammond and Chris Lau, CNN

Incredible lighthouse picture from Maine

From CNN's Chris Lau

Among a flurry of surreal images capturing the dazzling auroras is one taken by Benjamin Williamson of a lighthouse in Portland, Maine.

"It's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, the awe and wonder," Williamson told CNN.

He said he used a long-exposure technique to snap the shot, but did not edit it.

Watch the full interview with Williamson here .

Things could be about to ramp up

If you still haven't seen the aurora, hold on for another 30 minutes to an hour, according to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.

The next wave of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, which cause the aurora, is about to arrive, he said.

"Just wait a minute because things are going to start to ramp up here," he said, adding that the increase could arrive "anytime now." "When it comes, get outside, get ready, put your coat on."

For those who are too busy to witness the phenomenon tonight, Myers said the aurora is expected to last three nights.

Why does the aurora last for a weekend?

By CNN's Chris Lau

Generally, it takes just eight minutes for light to travel 93 million miles to the Earth from the sun, but astrophysicist Janna Levin said the energized particles causing the current wave of aurora travel a lot slower, causing the phenomenon to last for the weekend.

"Some of these mass ejections are trillions of kilograms," she said. "They're slower. So they're taking longer, but still hours, maybe tens of hours."

Here's how the solar storm looks in the South and on the East Coast

The aurora was visible across the East Coast and in the South Friday.

Here's how it looked in Chester, South Carolina.

Down in Florida, waves of color swam through the sky.

Up north in New Jersey, a purple-ish haze could be seen in the sky.

Will solar storms get more intense and risky in the future?

The answer is probably not in the short term, according to astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi.

He said scientists study what is constantly happening on the surface of the sun and have found a pattern.

“Geological data shows us that in the past the sun was way more active than it is today. It has cycles where it goes very quiet ... and you have events that show that the solar activity was much, much greater,” he told CNN. “So there's no evidence that we're going to see those big maxima this cycle." 

But the astrophysicist also spoke of a caveat - the limitations of modern science.

“Even though it's predictable in the short term, we still don't quite understand what creates the magnetic fields in the sun,” he said, adding: “That's why NASA has so many satellites looking at the sun.”

In Pictures: Auroras light the sky during rare solar storm

From CNN Digital's Photo Team

A series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun are creating dazzling auroras across the globe .

The rare solar storm may also disrupt communications. The last time a solar storm of this magnitude reached Earth was in October 2003, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center.

See more photos of the aurora from tonight.

Behind dazzling aurora could lie “real danger,” Bill Nye the Science Guy says

The massive solar storm could present “a real danger,” especially with the modern world relying so much on electricity, according to Bill Nye the Science Guy , a science educator and engineer.

Scientists are warning an increase in solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun have the potential to disrupt communication on Earth into the weekend. Solar flares can affect communications and GPS almost immediately because they disrupt Earth’s ionosphere, or part of the upper atmosphere. Energetic particles released by the sun can also disrupt electronics on spacecraft and affect astronauts without proper protection within 20 minutes to several hours.

In comparison to tonight's event, Nye drew comparisons with another incident in 1859, known as the Carrington Event, when telegraph communications were severely affected.

“The other thing, everybody, that is a real danger to our technological society, different from 1859, is how much we depend on electricity and our electronics and so on,” Nye said. "None of us really in the developed world could go very long without electricity."

He noted that there are systems in place to minimize the impact, but “stuff might go wrong,” stressing that not all transformers are equipped to withstand such a solar event.

“It depends on the strength of the event and it depends on how much of our infrastructures are prepared for this the sort of thing,” he said.

Bill Nye breaks down significance of the solar storm | CNN

This post has been updated with more details on solar flares' impact on electronics.

Here's where clouds will block the view of the northern lights in the US

From CNN's Angela Fritz

After an incredibly stormy week, most of the Lower 48 has clear skies to see the northern lights. But there are some areas where clouds and rainy weather are spoiling the view.

A deck of clouds is blocking the sky in the Northeast, from parts of Virginia into Maine, as an area of low pressure spins off the East Coast.

In the Midwest, the aurora will be hard to see through thick clouds in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan — including the Upper Peninsula — and Illinois.

A stripe of clouds is tracking across Texas, including Dallas-Forth Worth, and into Louisiana.

And in the Southwest, patchy clouds across the the Four Corners region could make the northern lights difficult to spot.

Aurora seen at least as far south as Georgia

Barely visible to the naked eye, the aurora can be seen in Atlanta in the 10 p.m. ET hour. 

It is easier to see through photographs using a long exposure. The photos below, taken by CNN's Eric Zerkel and Emily Smith, used 3- and 10-second exposures.

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U.S. soldier detained in Russia and accused of stealing, officials say

A U.S. soldier was detained in Russia last week, a U.S. Army spokesperson said in a statement.

The soldier, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, had been stationed in South Korea and traveled to Russia on his own, not on official business, according to four U.S. officials.

He had finished his deployment and was heading back to the U.S. when he made a side trip to Vladivostok, Russia, to visit a woman he was romantically involved with, officials said. They added that he had traveled there without permission from his superiors and that he is being held in pretrial confinement.

The soldier is accused of stealing from a woman, the officials said. It was not immediately clear whether it was the same woman he was visiting.

The soldier was detained Thursday, U.S. Army spokesperson Cynthia O. Smith said in a statement.

Smith said the soldier was apprehended in Vladivostok "on charges of criminal misconduct."

"The Russian Federation notified the U.S. Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations," Smith said. "The Army notified his family and the U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the Soldier in Russia. Given the sensitivity of this matter, we are unable to provide additional details at this time."

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he is "deeply concerned" by reports that a soldier was detained in Russia."Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage," McCaul said in a post shared on X . "A warning to all Americans—as the State Department has said, it is not safe to travel to Russia."

Current travel guidance from the U.S. State Department restricts travel for citizens to Russia. "Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions," according to the State Department advisory. The Defense Department also restricts travel for Pentagon personnel.

Black is one of a number of Americans detained in Russia, including several civilians.

Arrests of Americans in Russia have increased as the relationship between the two countries has sunk to Cold War lows, The Associated Press reported . The U.S. has accused Russia of targeting Americans and using them as bargaining chips, according to the AP.

Among the most prominent U.S. citizens to be detained are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed last March , and former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018. The U.S. government has said that both Gershkovich and Whelan are wrongfully detained.

WNBA star Brittney Griner spent 10 months in Russian penal colonies for drug-related charges but was released  in a  rare prisoner exchange  for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in 2022.

Courtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.

Mosheh Gains is a Pentagon producer for NBC News.