Rash of Violent Muggings Plagues Cape Town's Landmark Table Mountain
Posted on 01/25/2024, 4:30 PM
What can a city do when its most photographed tourism icon gets the reputation as a no-go area?That's the quandary facing Cape Town, South Africa, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. What makes Cape Town so beautiful, in addition to its sublime food and fascinatingly diverse population, is glorious Table Mountain. The nearly perfectly flat, nearly exactly 1-kilometer-tall geological feat...
Lyft Is Charging Customers Extra Fees but Hiding How Much
Posted on 01/22/2024, 7:45 AM
A warning for travelers who rely on rideshare company Lyft: The company is quietly hiding the true amount it takes in extra fees that are added to your base fare. A recent ride I took from Orlando International Airport (MCO) illustrates the tactic, although the problem could affect Lyft users wherever the service is available in the United States. The Orlando airport recently increased its mandat...
TikTok Travel: 2023’s Most Popular Destinations Named
Posted on 12/27/2023, 6:30 PM
A national survey released earlier this year found that 60% of TikTok users in the U.S. said they've become interested in visiting a new destination after seeing a TikTok video about it. It's safe to assume, then, that the places on the video-sharing app's list of the most popular destinations in 2023 generated a whole lot of wanderlust. Based on TikTok's data for the year, the country hashtag...
2023 in Review: These Top Travel Trends Were Hot on Frommer's
Posted on 12/21/2023, 5:15 PM
As 2023 draws to a close, a look back at the year’s headlines shows it was an eventful one in travel—and much of what happened wasn’t great. Wars raged. The planet roasted. Prices soared. A wildfire devastated Maui. A tiny sub carrying passengers to see Titanic wreckage met a similarly tragic end. Higher-ups in various C-suites and statehouses made often mystifying, frequently infuriating deci...
Report: Car Rental False Arrests Not Limited to Hertz
Posted on 12/07/2023, 5:15 PM
We're sorry to tell you there's a new chapter in the ongoing saga of people renting cars legally yet somehow being accused of vehicle theft anyway—a story Frommer's has been following for a while now. According to a new investigation, the problem is even more widespread than it first appeared. Turns out Hertz isn't the only car rental company reportedly prone to upending customers' lives in thi...
Paris Métro Tickets Set to Double and Hotel Rates to Quadruple During Summer Olympics
Posted on 12/02/2023, 9:00 AM
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are shaping up to be très cher for spectators. That's French for "a big fat rip-off." This week local authorities announced a plan to nearly double the price of a single ride on the Paris Métro from July 20 to September 8, 2024—a span that covers the dates of the Olympic Games (July 26–August 11) as well as the Paralympic Games (August 28–September 8). During th...
Where to Stay for Edinburgh Festivals in 2024 When You Can’t Find a Hotel
Posted on 11/21/2023, 6:15 PM
Each August, the Scottish city of Edinburgh hosts five—count 'em, five—major arts and culture festivals dedicated to the performing arts, the visual arts, books, and military bands. By far the largest event is Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which launched in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival (itself still going strong), with the offshoot eventually dwarfing the original t...
American Airlines Flight Attendants Were Reportedly Reminded to Stop Lessening Your Misery
Posted on 11/13/2023, 3:00 PM
You know how flying with a commercial airline is terrible? The seats are cramped, the fees are outrageous, and the other passengers are always brawling or screaming about how their seatmate isn't real or showing off their bare feet or belting out their new gospel single. One of the few things that can make the whole stress- and thrombosis-inducing ordeal slightly less torturous is the rare moment ...
Report: 2024 Travel Trends to Include Destination Dupes, Dry Tripping, Set-Jetting and More
Posted on 11/09/2023, 8:00 AM
"Destination dupes," "tour tourism," "dry tripping," "go-ccasions"—these are among the top travel trends we can expect will inspire vacationers in 2024, according to a new forecast from Expedia Group. At least none of those terms are as hideous as "bleisure," long may it languish wherever lifestyle-section trend pieces go to retire. To crown 2024's batch of buzzwords, Expedia relied on its own d...
NYC Hotel Rates Are Shocking Now! Here's Why, Plus How to Pay Less
Posted on 11/06/2023, 8:00 AM
A perfect storm has hit the hotel market in New York City, driving prices to historic highs. The ascent began, partially, in spring of 2022, when Governor Greg Abbott of Texas started busing migrants to New York. So far, Texas has sent 15,800 people, according to the Associated Press. The number could be closer to 50,000 though, when the migrants sent from Florida, or coming on their own, are adde...
