If You Need a Passport by This Summer, You Could Be in Trouble: What to Do
Posted on 05/16/2023, 7:30 AM
Ever since March, the U.S. State Department has warned that the wait time for a new passport in 2023 is 10 to 13 weeks.It's now May, and that estimate hasn't changed. That means if you're planning to travel this summer and you need a new passport, you're facing a serious challenge.Just look at the calendar. If you jump 13 weeks ahead from this week, you'll be in the middle of August. Ten weeks from...
Lyft Airport Pickup Just Got a Lot Easier for Some Riders
Posted on 05/15/2023, 6:00 AM
The tricky task of timing pickup at the airport from a ride-hailing app is getting easier for a lot of Lyft users this summer. The company has launched a new feature that lets you order a ride as soon as your flight lands at select U.S. airports. Instead of trying to gauge walking distances from gate to pickup area—sometimes in an unfamiliar city, no less—and factor in the timing of variables su...
This Summer, Some of Amtrak's Best Scenic Routes Are Finally Back
Posted on 05/11/2023, 3:30 PM
In good news for travelers, two Amtrak routes that have long been popular with vacationers are finally returning to service after years of closure. • The Adirondack, which connects New York City with Montréal, had been silent since the pandemic necessitated the route's closure. Although the border between Canada and the U.S. reopened in 2021, it somehow took until early April of 2023 for this Amtr...
These New Hikes in Switzerland Are Led by a "Mountain Air Sommelier"
Posted on 05/10/2023, 5:00 PM
Plenty of travel experiences focus on showing you the sights, but how many specialize in sniffing the scents? To help address the sensory imbalance, Switzerland's Graubünden region invites visitors to follow their noses on a new set of tours led by the "world's first mountain air sommelier." Award-winning perfumer Patrick Stebler (pictured above), who hails from the canton's capital city of Chur,...
New Travel App Rates Accessible Hotels, Restaurants, and Attractions
Posted on 05/05/2023, 3:30 PM
For people with disabilities—a group making up an estimated 26% of the U.S. adult population—travel planning in great detail is essential. Trouble is, great details are hard to come by. If you have specific access needs because you use a wheelchair, for example, you're probably accustomed to confirming that an out-of-town hotel, restaurant, park, or sports stadium has the right accessible ameniti...
Natural Bridge Caverns Near San Antonio Opening Huge Hidden Cave for the First Time
Posted on 05/03/2023, 7:45 PM
The considerable charms of the Texas Hill Country, which include bluebonnet-blanketed meadows, natural swimming pools, and vineyards, even extend underground. In the region's elaborate cave systems, spooky chambers and multitudes of icicle-esque rock formations elicit subterranean oohs and ahhs. Starting Friday, May 12, travelers to this scenic area between San Antonio and Austin will get access t...
Money-Saving Travel Trick: Join AARP Even if You’re Under 50
Posted on 04/28/2023, 1:30 PM
When it comes to reaping AARP travel benefits, 30 is the new 50. The advocacy group, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons but now officially just AARP, focuses on issues affecting people over the age of 50—but did you know that the numerous discounts that come with AARP membership aren't restricted to that demographic? As the FAQ page at the AARP website explains, you ca...
New Amelia Earhart Museum Celebrates Aviation Trailblazer
Posted on 04/24/2023, 5:00 PM
A new museum dedicated to the life and legacy of Amelia Earhart has opened in the pioneering aviator's hometown. The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum began welcoming visitors earlier this month in Atchison, Kansas, located about an hour's drive northwest of Kansas City. Earhart was born in Atchison in 1897 (her childhood home, at 223 N. Terrace St., is also a museum). In 1932, she would become the fi...
New Paris Museum Lets You Tour the Time-Capsule Home of a Scandalous Icon
Posted on 04/18/2023, 5:00 PM
UPDATE, April 18, 2023: This post, originally published December 17, 2021, has been updated with new information. Even before French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg died in 1991, fans began scrawling tributes on the facade of his home in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. After the entertainer's death from a heart attack at age 62, the colorful spray-painted hommages on the building's exterio...
2023 Will See the Best Whitewater Rafting in Years in California
Posted on 04/18/2023, 11:00 AM
Sierra South Mountain Sports, which has operated whitewater rafting tours since 1985 in Kern County, California, used to be able to take visitors out onto the rivers each summer season until Labor Day. Last year, the outfitter had to close up shop in mid-August due to a lack of water. Two years ago, business ran dry in July. But in 2023, the floodgates will reopen after years of drought. Accordi...
