Articles

Zac Thompson

Article / Passportable

2020’s Ranking of the World’s Best Airports (Remember Airports?)

Do you miss airports? We've been in lockdown so long, we've even started to develop nostalgic feelings for LaGuardia. For those of you who also yearn to stuff your toiletries into…

Article / Passportable

Our Weekly Travel Podcasts: The Future of Cruising and Far-Flung Adventures

Each week, Frommer's brings you two fresh podcasts stuffed with travel tips, news, and inspiration. Recordings are made from our weekly call-in show on WABC in New York and our…

Article / Car, Bus, Rail

A Guide to Amtrak's Pandemic Policies

Amtrak is still rolling, but with changes. Here's what to know about service cuts, face masks, and other new policies aboard American trains. 

Article / Arts and Culture

Second City Simulation: Spend a Day in Chicago from Home

Our one-day itinerary for doing Chicago from afar highlights its best art, architecture, culture, and food. (And some day you can go do these for real.)

Article / Passportable

After Backlash, Frontier Airlines Drops Social Distancing Fee

Frontier Airlines has abandoned plans to charge passengers extra to fly next to empty middle seats on flights, according to news reports. The move was made following widespread (and…

Article / Passportable

Adorable Canine Instagrammer Has NYC’s Top Tourist Sites to Himself

By now, you've probably seen plenty of eerie photos showing normally crowded tourist sites looking desolate amid the pandemic lockdown. You know what makes them look less desolate?…

Article / Passportable

Frontier Airlines Will Let You Socially Distance—for a Price

One thing you can always count on from the airlines: They will never run out of excuses to charge extra fees. Now an airline is charging passengers more if they want to observe CDC…

Article / Passportable

Southwest Airlines Introduces New Social Distancing Rules

Southwest Airlines has introduced new social distancing measures at airport gates and in the skies. As of May 2, the airline is following a temporarily modified boarding process and…

Article / Passportable

Ja, Tulips Are Still Blooming in the Netherlands! See For Yourself

For the first time in 71 years, Holland's Keukenhof, the famed garden southwest of Amsterdam, is closed for tulip season. During ordinary springs, the garden's elaborate,…

Article / Passportable

WATCH: Baby Turtles Hatch and Go to Sea at Island Resort in Thailand

About 200 green sea turtles have hatched and waddled their way to the ocean this month on the beach of a luxury resort in Thailand. The mother turtle laid the eggs in late February…

Article / Passportable

Duck Boats Are Not Safe, Government Agency Warns

The deadly sinking of a duck boat on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, could have been avoided, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has concluded. The accident…

Article / Passportable

Look at the PPE Suits AirAsia Is Testing for Flight Attendants

Sure, you all laughed in early March when Naomi Campbell showed up at the airport in a hazmat suit. Turns out the supermodel was, as usual, ahead of the fashion curve. Malaysia-based…

Article / Passportable

Aloha Also Means Goodbye: Hawaii Extends Stay-at-Home Order

Several U.S. states, including Florida and Georgia, have begun lifting lockdown restrictions in spite of the global pandemic. Not Hawaii, though. On Saturday, Gov. David Ige extended…

Article / Air Travel

How to File an FAA or Consumer Complaint Against an Airline: A Guide to Directing Your Government Grievances

When is it time to report an airline to the Federal Aviation Administration or other Department of Transportation agency? And more importantly, how do you do it?

Article / Passportable

United Airlines Flight Attendants Now Required to Wear Masks

Starting today, United Airlines requires all flight attendants to wear masks while on board aircraft. The company is the largest U.S. carrier to adopt that policy, which has…

Article / Passportable

Frank Lloyd Wright Sites Are Sharing Weekly Virtual Visits

We wouldn't mind being quarantined in a Frank Lloyd Wright house. For one thing, the famed architect was all about bringing the outdoors in, which sounds like a promising treatment for…

Article / Passportable

Vegas Mayor Wants Casinos to Reopen—No Matter What

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has kicked up her crusade to reopen the city's casinos, restaurants, shops, and other nonessential businesses in spite of the global pandemic. The…

Article / Passportable

WATCH: The Year's First Baby Bison Appear in South Dakota

A bison would make a good mascot for social distancing. Though the woolly animals may look invitingly pettable, getting too close can have disastrous consequences for humans—as the…

Article / Outdoor & Adventure

Listen to These Soothing Nature Sounds When You Can’t Explore Outdoors

Make every day Earth Day! These natural soundscapes available for free online will help calm your frazzled nerves and get you dreaming of future explorations.

Article / Passportable

A Reason to Cry in Your Beer: Germany’s Oktoberfest Canceled for 2020

This year's edition of Munich's Oktoberfest—the huge beer and folk festival that's synonymous with the Bavarian region and, in some minds, Germany as a whole—has been canceled. The…

Article / Passportable

Too Soon? Jacksonville, Florida, Already Reopening Beaches

Jacksonville, Florida, is among the first locations in the United States to loosen social distancing restrictions—the city's beaches reopened to the public Friday at 5pm. According to…

Article / Passportable

How to Celebrate Massachusetts Patriots' Day Events Online

Each year on the third Monday of April, Massachusetts commemorates the start of the American Revolutionary War with Patriots' Day. The statewide celebration includes a parade in…

Article / Passportable

Delta Air Lines Changes Boarding Procedure

To accommodate social distancing recommendations, Delta Air Lines has temporarily adjusted its method of boarding passengers onto planes. As of April 10, the carrier has been filling…

Article / Slideshows

Hotel Desserts You Can Make at Home—from Sacher Torte to DoubleTree Cookies

This may surprise you, but lots of world-famous desserts originated in hotel restaurants. Boston cream pie came from the Omni Parker House in Boston, peach melba from the Savoy in…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Europe Border Closures Almost Certain to Be Extended—But for How Long?

Most of Europe has been closed to foreign visitors since March 17. That's when the member states of the European Union and the Schengen zone (referring to an area in which internal…