Articles

Zac Thompson

Article / Passportable

Will Americans Soon Need a Visa for Europe? What We Know So Far

The European Union has considered requiring a visa for tourists from the United States for some time. After all, the U.S. has required special authorization from visitors from European…

Article / Passportable

There's a Second, Smaller Commercial Airport for Seattle Now

As of this week, travelers have a new commercial airport option in the Seattle area. Located about 25 miles north of the city in the town of Everett, Washington, Paine Field has been…

Article / Money and Fees

Tipping in Portugal: A Gratuities Guide for Hotels, Restaurants, and Taxis

What to tip waiters, taxi drivers, tour guides, and hotel staff in Lisbon, Porto, and other locations in Portugal

Article / Passportable

What? Self-Disinfecting Hotel Rooms Open in an Old Danish Brewery

Part of Copenhagen's iconic Carlsberg brewery, where the Danish pilsner was made from 1847 to 2008, has been transformed into a stylish new hotel.The 155-room Hotel Ottilia, named…

Article / Passportable

Dollywood's New Expansion, Open in May, Is Its Largest Ever

Dolly Parton's Dollywood amusement park—located in the foothills of Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains, where the country icon grew up—is opening its largest expansion ever this…

Article / Passportable

Meet the USA's Newest National Park

The United States has a new national park.Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore has been re-designated Indiana Dunes National Park thanks to a provision in the same spending bill that…

Article / Money and Fees

Tipping in China: When You Can—and When You Shouldn't

Gratuities aren't standard in China. Here's when to tip waiters, hotel staff, and tour guides—and when to keep the change. 

Article / Slideshows

Never Again: Important Museums and Memorials to Human Rights Disasters

The museums and memorials that chronicle the saddest chapters of the 20th century serve at least three essential functions: to tell the truth about what happened, to remember those who…

Article / Passportable

Airline Ticketing Will Include Nonbinary Gender Option

The major U.S. airlines are changing their online ticketing sites so that passengers can identify gender with options other than male and female. According to the Associated Press,…

Article / Passportable

Mascot Hall of Fame Ready to Rev Up Crowds Near Chicago

Original Phillie Phanatic Dave Raymond founded the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2005 to pay tribute to professional and college sports teams' costumed crowd pleasers.The enterprise started…

Article / Passportable

You Can Go Standup Paddleboarding at San Antonio's River Walk Now

If you feel your city sightseeing hasn't done enough to test your balance and core strength lately, here's a good remedy: a new way to see San Antonio. Local company SUP SATX now…

Article / Passportable

In Nevada, a School for Stolen Native American Kids Will Be a Museum

Starting in the late 19th century, the U.S. government forced tens of thousands of Native American children to leave home and attend boarding schools with the goal of assimilating…

Article / Passportable

Rare Civil War Artifacts Debut at Philly’s Constitution Museum

Philadelphia's National Constitution Center—chartered by Congress to "disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis"—is adding a new permanent exhibit…

Article / Air Travel

How to Check TSA Wait Times Online

Several apps promise to tell you airport security times—but are they reliable? Results vary.

Article / Passportable

Better Visit D.C.'s Newseum Soon: It Closes in 2020

Just a little more than 10 years after unveiling a splashy new steel-and-glass building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., the journalism-focused Newseum has announced it will…

Article / Passportable

Martin Luther King's Family Home Will Open to the Public

The house in Atlanta where Martin Luther King, Jr., lived with his wife, Coretta Scott King, and their four children will soon be open for tours. The nonprofit National Park Foundation…

Article / Passportable

Casino Giant Caesars Planning Non-Gaming Hotel in Arizona

Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment, the company behind the Caesars, Harrah's, and Horseshoe brands of casino resorts, is expanding beyond slot machines and roulette tables. Caesars…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Can the Taj Mahal Be Saved? New Measures To Preserve India's Wonder

The Taj Mahal remains the most convincing argument that Agra, the northern Indian city where the marble mausoleum stands, was once something like a paradise.Gazing at Shah Jahan's…

Article / Money and Fees

Tipping in the U.K.: A Gratuities Guide for Taxis, Hotels, and Restaurants

Some pointers on tipping waiters, taxi drivers, and hotel staff in England, Scotland, and Wales—without overdoing it

Article / Passportable

New Website Finds Flight Discounts and Travel Deals for U.S. Military Members

The U.S. military's first-ever website for leisure travel is now up and running.The Department of Defense partnered with Priceline to create American Forces Travel, an online booking…

Article / Slideshows

Pints with a Past: Must-See Historic Bars Across the United States

More than one bar lays claim to being the oldest in the United States. But we’re not here to settle the matter, mostly because that would involve hairsplitting, nitpicky decisions…

Article / Passportable

What to Do About TSA Delays Caused by Government Shutdown

The U.S. government's partial shutdown, now in its fourth smash week, has started to have a negative impact on airport security lines. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)…

Article / Passportable

Floating Hotel Debuts in Edinburgh, Near the Queen's Old Yacht

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has been a yachtless monarch since the 1997 decommissioning of Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, which was eventually sent to the Port of Leith in Edinburgh…

Article / Money and Fees

Tipping in Japan? Not So Much a Thing

Why Japan doesn't go for gratuities—but why you still might have to pay extra fees for meals and accommodations

Article / Passportable

Tiger Woods Designing Public Golf Courses in Missouri and Chicago

It has become common for golf greats to turn into course designers. Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, and Jack Nicklaus all went in that direction—a career avenue that seems unique to their…