Two New Countries Get Dedicated Eurail Passes
Posted on 11/07/2017, 7:00 PM
As of January 1, 2018, two more nations will have one-country Eurail passes available for sale to tourists. Starting then, if you're visiting Turkey or Serbia you can purchase a pass that covers all rail travel in those countries during your vacation. Prices have not been announced. The new passes will not yet be available as part of multicountry passes—so far, they're strictly for unlimited trav...
Kids Won't Be Allowed on Virgin's Cruise Line
Posted on 11/07/2017, 5:00 PM
When Virgin Voyages launches its first cruise in 2020, you can be sure of one thing: There won't be any kids on board. At a keel-laying ceremony last week, company CEO Tom McAlpin announced that bookings from passengers under 18 will not be accepted so that the ship can supply a "more elevated and premium experience," reports Travel Weekly. The move, dubbed "Adult by Design," is part of an industr...
Free National Park Entry on Nov. 11 & 12, But for Which Parks?
Posted on 11/06/2017, 12:15 PM
This weekend, Nov. 11 and 12, entry to many (but not all) national parks will be free in honor of Veterans Day.The National Park Service has posted a state-by-state list of the free parks at this link.If you love these free days as much as we do, buckle up. The U.S. Government is floating a plan to vastly increase their entry costs. Despite the fact your income taxes go to support these pristine pl...
Airfare is About to Rise. Here's Why
Posted on 11/01/2017, 2:00 PM
American and Southwest airlines have both sent signals that their airfares are about to go up.Why? Simple: They're making more money, so they don't need to put flights on sale as often.The message came in the form of Q3 earnings reports, says the Chicago Tribune, in which major carriers reported a rise in "revenue per mile," which is the monetary metric that all airlines use to judge your business....
One More Airline Adopts Basic Economy Pricing
Posted on 10/31/2017, 5:45 PM
Monkey see, monkey do. The biggest airlines have now instituted new, bare-bones "basic economy" fares that strip passengers of the automatic right to checked bags or seat assignments unless they pay extra charges. Now Sun Country Airlines, a long-running Minneapolis-based airline that covers the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean, has jumped on board.Its pricing structure is even more complic...
National Park Fees May Triple, Become Unaffordable
Posted on 10/26/2017, 7:00 AM
Entrance fees at many of the country's most popular national parks could soon go way up.To address a backlog of maintenance needs and infrastructure improvements, the National Park Service has proposed increasing admission charges to $70 per vehicle at 16 sites, up from the current fee of $25 to $30 depending on the park. That would mean more than doubling—or, in the case of the $25 fee, almost tr...
More Complex Screening Begins for U.S. Passengers
Posted on 10/24/2017, 8:00 PM
You might remember that last spring, several international airlines, mostly from predominantly Muslim countries, were banned from allowing laptops in passenger cabins. That, and the uneven application of the policy across airlines, caused a diplomatic furor, and some carriers even curtailed service to the United States. In response, the U.S. government reversed the requirement but dictated new secu...
Study: Booze Boosts Foreign Language Skills
Posted on 10/24/2017, 5:30 PM
Alcohol improves your ability to speak a foreign language, according to a new study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Researchers from the University of Liverpool, Maastricht University, and King's College London devised an experiment in which 50 native German speakers who had recently learned Dutch were asked to down either booze or an alcohol-free control liquid. Participants were then instru...
Visit the World of the Hunger Games at a Dubai Theme Park
Posted on 10/23/2017, 4:45 PM
We're guessing the world of The Hunger Games wasn't intended to be the sort of place people would like to visit. After all, Suzanne Collins's hugely popular young adult novels—and their film adaptations—take place in a dystopian future where teenagers are forced to battle to the death for the entertainment of rich jerks.Nevertheless, you can now (safely) immerse yourself in the land of Katniss Ever...
Statues in Dublin Can Call Your Mobile Phone
Posted on 10/20/2017, 4:15 PM
In the famously word-drunk city of Dublin, even the statues now have the gift of gab. As part of a new tourism project called Talking Statues Dublin, 10 of the Irish capital's most recognizable sculptural likenesses—including writers James Joyce (on Earl Street), Oscar Wilde (at Merrion Square), and George Bernard Shaw (at the National Gallery) as well as political figures James Larkin (on O'Connel...
