All-Inclusive Resort Chains Sandals and Beaches Set New Standard for Covid Guarantees
Posted on 09/17/2021, 8:00 AM
Sandals Resorts International is redefining the term "all-inclusive" to fit the needs of pandemic-era travelers. The vacation company operates beachfront properties under the Beaches and Sandals banners in Saint Lucia, Jamaica (the Sandals Royal Caribbean is pictured above), Antigua, the Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, Turks & Caicos, and Curaçao. No, the company is not throwing in free spa tre...
Chile Reopens for Tourism—with Lots of Red Tape
Posted on 09/16/2021, 10:00 AM
Chile, like many countries, declared itself off-limits to international tourism about a year and a half ago. Starting October 1, the South American country is finally putting itself back on the market. But the host of requirements introduced would be difficult to fulfill on a backcountry hiking vacation to remote places such as eastern Patagonia and Torres del Paine National Park (pictured above)...
Thailand Reopening Bangkok and Other Popular Areas for Vaccinated Tourists
Posted on 09/15/2021, 12:45 PM
Bangkok, which was one of the world's most visited cities before the pandemic shut down tourism, will finally reopen to fully vaccinated foreigners on Friday, October 1. The Tourism Authority of Thailand announced that international visitors to the capital city and four other popular areas—Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Phetchaburi, and Prachuap Khiri Khan—will no longer have to undergo two weeks of hote...
North America Is Getting an All-Inclusive Ski Resort from Club Med
Posted on 09/13/2021, 9:00 AM
The year was 1950. Belgian water polo champion Gérard Blitz got a hold of a bunch of army surplus tents left over from the recently concluded World War II and decided to start a business venture with them. He set up a camp on the Spanish island of Majorca with the aim of creating simple, affordable vacation opportunities for his fellow Europeans. Guests would live communally in the tents, cook mea...
Unvaccinated Americans May No Longer Freely Enter France
Posted on 09/12/2021, 8:00 AM
Global options for the unvaccinated continue to shrink. France has tightened restrictions for visitors from America who have not been fully vaccinated. Last Thursday, the country moved the United States to a list of nations it considers to be dangerous, and the reclassification forces unvaccinated tourists to quarantine for a week before they are permitted to travel freely. Unvaccinated visitors...
Each Fall, Glowworms Put on a Spectacular Light Show at This Alabama Canyon
Posted on 09/11/2021, 5:00 AM
At Dismals Canyon in northwest Alabama, mossy boulders, a sunken forest, waterfalls, and labyrinthine caverns create a primeval scene on the verdant canyon floor. And for several weeks in spring and autumn, the visual wonders of the place continue after nightfall, when the rock walls of the canyon light up with a constellation of blue pinpoints emanating from hundreds of glowworms. (Images: Ronn...
No Vaccine, No Kangaroos: Australia's Main Airline Will Only Serve the Jabbed
Posted on 09/09/2021, 6:00 AM
In November 2020, as word of the upcoming Covid-19 vaccines hit the streets, the head of Australia's most important airline had already made a controversial decision. "For international travelers, we will ask people to have a vaccination before they get on the aircraft," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told a national news program back then. The general population was still months away from being able to ...
Shuck Yeah! Plan a Bivalve-Based Road Trip Along the Maine Oyster Trail
Posted on 09/04/2021, 7:00 AM
Just in time for autumn road trips in New England, a newly expanded, coastal Maine Oyster Trail has debuted, connecting 75 businesses devoted to the slurpable bivalve. Using the interactive trip planner at the trail's website, you can find oyster farm tours, raw bars (Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland is pictured above), boating excursions, and opportunities to buy directly from oyster cultivators i...
Three More European Countries Move to Restrict American Travel
Posted on 09/03/2021, 9:00 AM
Following the European Union's recommendation that the flow of travel from the United States should be curtailed again, more nations have joined Italy in placing new restrictions on visitors. On the same day that ABBA announced its first new album after nearly 40 years, the superband's home country blocked Americans from visiting. As of Monday, September 6, all nonessential travel to Sweden from ...
Hawaii Nails Tourist For Saying She Took the "Maderna" Vaccine
Posted on 09/01/2021, 12:00 PM
When we warned you that Hawaii isn't messing around with jokers who try to pass off fake Covid-19 vaccination cards, apparently not everyone heard us. Last weekend, Chloe Mrozak, a 24-year-old Illinois woman, was arrested and booked on charges related to suspicion of falsified vaccination documents. Hawaii authorities say Mrozak presented a forged vaccination record and fake hotel reservation to ...
