Can't Get Global Entry? Skip Airport Lines with Mobile Passport Control—It's Free
Posted on 07/08/2022, 3:00 PM
With airports busy again, travelers are seeking ways to dodge cumbersome lines. Some of the worst queues stack up at the Border Protection desks at entry points to the United States. Frequent international travelers know that five-year, $100 memberships to the Global Entry program grant passengers access to a speed lane past the hordes waiting to get their passports stamped. But starting a Globa...
European Vacations Went Cashless Fast. Are You Prepared?
Posted on 06/26/2022, 8:00 AM
I spent all of May in the United Kingdom. And as incredible as it sounds, I didn't go to an ATM once. When I entered the country, I had £40 in my wallet, plus a little loose change. I struggled to find anyone who would accept it.The pandemic, which in its early days had people furiously disinfecting money and groceries, hastened a change that was a long time in coming, solidifying a new era of cash...
Airlines Messed Up 2022. All Your Travel Plans Should Be Cancellable Now
Posted on 06/23/2022, 3:00 PM
However you slice it, the airlines messed up this summer. They overpromised and can't deliver, and we're the ones paying the price.More than 14,000 U.S. flights were canceled or delayed over the holiday weekend last week. Some 900 flights were canceled outright on Sunday alone. The carriers simply can't get a handle on their own staffing and scheduling shortcomings, and yet despite such teetering u...
New Travel Warning: Hefty No-Show Fees for Missed Reservations
Posted on 06/13/2022, 3:30 PM
If there's one thing the modern travel industry is good at, it's penalizing customers for its own dysfunctional systems. Squeezing so many bodies on planes there's no longer enough space in the cabin? Charge passengers for bags! That decision causes a traffic jam for early boarding at the gate? Charge passengers to go first! And so on. Travel sellers no longer have much compunction about creating ...
9 Ways You Can Save Money on Summer Travel in 2022
Posted on 06/09/2022, 2:15 PM
Hard truth: Even if you follow every money-saving tip I'm about to give you in this article, you're still likely to spend more on your 2022 summer vacation than you did in 2021—and possibly in 2019. The sharp uptick in travel costs in just the last few months has been stunning. But that shouldn't keep you at home. If there's a lesson to be had from the pandemic, it's that life can change on a dime...
Cruise Lines Are Now So Understaffed They're Turning Customers Away and Cutting Services
Posted on 06/08/2022, 4:00 PM
In early 2020, the problem with cruises was people were forbidden to get off them. But now that Covid is more manageable, cruises have a new problem: People can't get on them.Travel infrastructure around the world is trying to cope with depressed staffing levels that lag far behind the explosion in pent-up passenger demand. Those worker woes are a big reason airfare is up some 25% and packed hote...
Traveling to Cuba Gets Easier for Americans—but Big Obstacles Remain
Posted on 06/03/2022, 8:30 AM
In late 2019, the Trump administration banned U.S. airlines and chartered flights from going to any cities in Cuba other than Havana. This week, as part of Pres. Biden's stated aim to "support the Cuban people" by easing some of his predecessor's restrictions, the U.S. Department of Transportation has lifted the only-go-to-Havana rule for U.S. airlines and chartered flights. The move was made i...
Instagram-Based Booking Account @hotel Debuts—And Its Prices Are Pretty Great
Posted on 06/02/2022, 5:30 AM
Help has arrived for travelers hoping to book affordable hotel rooms. But people won’t be turning to a website for that aid. Surprisingly, they'll use Instagram. The trip-planning app Tripscout just launched what has potential to be a game-changing new social media business called @hotel. It’s rough around the edges—very—but for the most part, it seems to be able to deliver on its promise to signi...
America’s Best Beach—for Now. What’s the Point of This Annual Ranking?
Posted on 05/28/2022, 2:00 PM
Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach (pictured above), a pristine, 16-mile stretch of sand and grass-covered dunes on a tiny island in North Carolina's Outer Banks, is the best beach in the United States, according to an annual ranking released by coastal scientist Stephen P. Leatherman, aka "Dr. Beach." Around Memorial Day every year since 1991, Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University, ...
The Dirtiest Surfaces in Planes and Hotels, According to Scientists
Posted on 05/26/2022, 3:00 PM
With the considerable rewards of travel come the inevitable risks of encountering crud. But some parts of hotels, airplanes, and airports are cruddier than others, according to Reckitt's Lysol Pro Solutions, which devises hygiene protocols for businesses. (You're not going to believe this, but the solutions the team comes up with nearly always involve Lysol products.) Based on their own research...
