The CDC Issues Even Stricter Covid Guidance for Cruise Ships
Posted on 02/10/2022, 4:00 PM
Much of the world has been easing pandemic restrictions lately, with European countries dropping strict entry requirements and U.S. governor after U.S. governor announcing the end of indoor mask mandates. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) appears to be bucking the trend when it comes to cruise ships. This week the federal agency released guidelines for its new voluntary Cov...
It's True: This European Country Has Abandoned Covid Restrictions
Posted on 02/04/2022, 3:00 PM
Imagine a land with no masks. No social distancing. No entry tests, no quarantine. A place where tourists can do whatever they want as soon as they get off the plane. Imagine, in short, what traveling was like in February 2020. That life is back. It's in Denmark. Head to the website of Visit Denmark, the charming Scandinavian country's official tourism bureau, and you're greeted with this star...
New Zealand Is Reopening, the Headlines Cheer. Don't Get Too Excited
Posted on 02/03/2022, 3:00 PM
If you were to go by the headlines this week, you'd be planning a vacation to New Zealand tomorrow. New Zealand is "welcoming vaccinated Americans this summer," says USA Today. New Zealand announces plans "to reopen to the world," trumpets CNN and the Washington Post. About that. Living through the last few years should have taught us all a few things. One of the biggest lessons: Always read de...
Dunes Dues: Indiana’s Popular Lakeside National Park Adds Steep Entry Fee
Posted on 02/02/2022, 9:00 AM
This summer, lazing on the sand at Indiana Dunes National Park will no longer be free. The 15,000-acre swath of forest, marshland, and beaches dotted with towering dunes next to Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana (just southeast of Chicago) is adding an entrance fee. Starting Thursday, March 31, those who enter the park on foot, bicycle, or boat will need to pay $15 per person, up to a maximum $...
Vaccination Is No Longer Enough—a Booster Is Now a Must in These Places
Posted on 01/27/2022, 4:00 PM
Like a winter snowstorm, it came in a sudden flurry. The list of destinations that now require visitors to have proof of a Covid-19 booster shot in addition to an original vaccination has snowballed in recent weeks. Increasingly, studies demonstrate boosters provide strong protection from severe illness—research released this week in the United Kingdom found they cut the risk of hospitalization b...
Work from Italy: Venice Will Help Remote Workers Relocate
Posted on 01/26/2022, 12:45 PM
The Italian city of Venice has never had trouble attracting visitors—quite the opposite—yet the population of permanent residents is in decline. The new Venywhere program proposes a solution: turning some of those visitors into long-term residents. Launched last month by the city's Ca' Foscari University and the cultural-heritage nonprofit Fondazione di Venezia, Venywhere aims to fill the unused...
Summer Vacation in the National Parks? You Need Reservations for Some of Them Now
Posted on 01/22/2022, 6:00 AM
In case you haven't heard, the U.S. national park system had record visitation numbers in 2021, with the crown jewel parks stretched to the breaking point. Arches National Park had to temporarily close its entry gates 120 times in 2021. Yellowstone National Park attracted 4.4 million visitors—a full million more than it got in 2020. And rangers at Grand Canyon National Park performed more rescues...
WHO Revises Guidance: "Lift or Ease International Traffic Bans"
Posted on 01/20/2022, 4:00 PM
The World Health Organization has a new message for governments around the world: We can't stop Omicron anymore. The horse has left the barn, so why close the gate behind it? Those aren't the exact words the United Nations health agency used, of course. But it was the essential message of the esteemed group's new position on international Covid-19 safety regulations. According to the WHO's just-...
Airfare Is Set to Rise, So When Is the Best Time to Buy Plane Tickets Now?
Posted on 01/19/2022, 4:00 PM
According to experts at the price-tracking app Hopper, domestic airfares will tick up 7% every month between now and June. That's a head-turning rate. It's normal for airfares to increase between the nadir of the low travel season (January) and the high season of summer, but in the past, the jump has only been 2% per month. But airfares were so low during the doldrums of 2020 and 2021 that they ha...
Florida Gov. DeSantis Voided a Vote in Key West, but Cruises Are Respecting It Anyway
Posted on 01/17/2022, 4:00 PM
On Election Day in November 2020, the people of Key West, Florida, a remote but heavily touristed island in the Gulf of Mexico that's barely 7 square miles in size, went to the polls and demonstrated the kind of self-governance that the United States is all about. By a sweeping majority of over 60% of votes cast, residents decided to restrict the number of cruise passengers allowed in the historic...
