California Improving Coastal Access with New Beach Wheelchairs
Posted on 09/11/2019, 5:15 PM
Eighteen coastal sites in California—from Clam Beach, where Highway 101 meets the Pacific in northern Arcata, to lively Ocean Beach in San Diego—are getting new wheelchairs and other mobility equipment designed to roll on sand. The state-run California Coastal Conservancy has approved a program to award grants to 11 different nonprofits so that they can purchase a total of 29 beach wheelchairs ...
Take Your Next Beach Vacation in the Bahamas: It's the Right Thing to Do
Posted on 09/10/2019, 8:15 PM
The pictures are devastating: mile after mile of rubble, overturned cars, and marooned boats where once homes, streets, and marinas stood. Hurricane Dorian, the slow-moving, hugely powerful storm that hit part of the Bahamas, was arguably the most destructive hurricane in modern history. Many are now asking how to help. The clear, if unexpected answer is: Go to the Bahamas on your next vacation....
Key West Hotels Introduce "Underwater Library" with Waterproof Books
Posted on 08/26/2019, 5:00 PM
Reading while lounging next to bodies of water is so popular it spawned a whole literary genre. But here's the thing about beach reads: There's a very real chance you'll ruin the book if you get it wet. Two hotels in Key West, Florida, have devised a clever solution to this perennial vacation problem: waterproof books. The new "underwater library" is an aquarium tank stocked with fully submerge...
Arthur Frommer: Viewing Whales and Dolphins in Captivity Should No Longer be Seen as Ethical
Posted on 08/15/2019, 1:00 AM
A major step forward in the ethical treatment of large sea life was just taken by Sir Richard Branson. On behalf of all the Branson entities, he has announced that his companies will no longer participate in tours with or presentations of captive whales and dolphins, otherwise known as cetaceans. Those large animals are today found to be thinking creatures with emotions and tho...
Vacation Rental Law Hits Hawaii Hard—How to Navigate Tough Rental Regulations
Posted on 08/14/2019, 6:00 PM
Long before Airbnb was a twinkle on founder Brian Chesky’s browser, New York State had a law severely limiting short-term rentals. Called the "Multiple Dwelling Law," it has, in its many iterations, banned short-term rentals of less than 30 days in the state, including New York City, since 1929. The law was strengthened in both 2011 and 2018; today, it applies to apartments in buildings with mo...
Visiting This Australian Museum Will Require Flippers and an Oxygen Tank
Posted on 07/24/2019, 12:00 AM
Deep-sea divers with an interest in sculpture should mark their calendars for December, when the first installation of visionary artist Jason deCaires Taylor’s Museum of Underwater Art is set to be unveiled at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. (Image by Jason deCaires Taylor) The MOUA, which will eventually comprise works at several spots around Queensland, will debut with a coastal-bas...
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Now Streaming: A Social Media–Themed Water Park near Orlando
Posted on 06/24/2019, 9:45 PM
A new water park with a social media theme has just opened next to Margaritaville Resort Orlando in central Florida. Dubbed Island H2O Live!, the park has eight water slides with names like Follow Me Falls, Hashtag Heights, and Reply Racers. You'll also find the Chat Creek lazy river, Megabytes snack bar, and adults-only Private Domain pool. Seems like there should also be a Data Mine slide wher...
Richard Branson Touts His New Cruise, But What Is it Like, Asks Arthur Frommer
Posted on 06/13/2019, 8:00 AM
You can count on Sir Richard Branson to market his new ocean-going cruise ship, the Scarlet Lady, in an utterly unique fashion—and that’s what he has now done. Springing the funds for a costly, full-page New York Times ad, he has used that extravagant space to appeal to residents of South Dakota, of all places—because, he claims, South Dakota is the only state in America that has not yet...
Here Are the Major Cruise Lines' Policies on Cuba Cancellations
Posted on 06/05/2019, 6:00 PM
Tens of thousands of people are holding tickets for cruises to Cuba that, in a snap of a finger, the Trump Administration has said they now can't use. Here are the cruise companies' current policies—verbatim—on what to do if you have booked a Cuba-bound cruise with them. Norwegian Cruise Line As you know, yesterday the United States government announced new and immediate travel restric...
Trump Administration Announces Bans on Cruises and Tours to Cuba
Posted on 06/04/2019, 3:00 PM
The other zapato has dropped. In April, White House National Security Advisor John Bolton announced that the Treasury Department would soon implement new regulations to restrict non-family travel to Cuba. But I don't think anyone expected the roll-out of those new regulations to be as abrupt, messy, or sweeping as the ones announced today turned out to be. On Tuesday afternoon, the Treasury De...
Arthur Frommer: Seaweed is Invading the Mexican Caribbean, But There's a Bright Side
Posted on 05/30/2019, 7:00 AM
Among the current important news of travel is a sudden and mysterious drop in tourist traffic to the so-called “Mexican Caribbean” (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, the Mayan Riviera), an area which usually accounts for half of all tourism to Mexico. After several speculative guesses as to what is happening, scientists and Mexican officials have agreed that the cause is “sa...
Famous Thai Beach to Remain Closed Two More Years—at Least
Posted on 05/13/2019, 4:00 PM
Thailand's Maya Bay, which played the titular locale in the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach, is currently closed to tourists and will remain that way until at least 2021. Officials first banned visitors from the scenic scoop of sand on the island of Koh Phi Phi Leh during the summer of 2018. The idea was to give the natural environment, particularly fragile underwater corals, a chance to ...
