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 ...
Unknown to Most Americans, Florida Now Has a Speedy Railway, Writes Arthur Frommer
Posted on 04/17/2019, 9:00 AM
When the current governor of California recently announced that he was discontinuing work on a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, multitudes of train enthusiasts all but wept. How, they cried, could a poor country like Spain operate high-speed trains between Madrid and Barcelona, while wealthy California could not find the same resources in America? The god of trai...
This Spring, It Will Never Be Cheaper to Fly to Hawaii, Says Arthur Frommer
Posted on 04/10/2019, 9:00 AM
The biggest news in travel is the recent start-up by price-cutting Southwest Airlines of a massive number of flights from the U.S. west coast to the islands of Hawaii. Travel to those popular resorts will never be the same again. For several decades, the airlines serving Hawaii have zealously maintained the highest possible price level for flights there. Vacationers paid as much as $60...
This Rolling Hotel Moves to Wherever the Surf's Up
Posted on 04/09/2019, 7:15 PM
A new hotel makes traveling among the beaches of southwestern Portugal super-easy—because it's the hotel that does the traveling. The Truck Surf Hotel is just that: a cargo truck that has been converted into a surf hotel. The double-decker B&B on wheels features a kitchen, living area, bathroom, and large sliding doors on the lower level. Upstairs, hydraulic arms extend to make space for fiv...
South African President de Klerk's Retreat Becomes All-Inclusive Beach Lodge
Posted on 04/02/2019, 4:00 PM
The coastal retreat of former South African president F.W. de Klerk has been reborn as an all-inclusive, eco-conscious lodge overlooking an untouched, nearly 4-mile (6km)-long stretch of Indian Ocean beachfront. Set to open April 15, Lekkerwater Beach Lodge is located about a 3-hour drive east of Cape Town in a secluded area of De Hoop Nature Reserve, a landscape of sand and scrub between the oc...
Eat with the Fishes at Norway's New Underwater Restaurant
Posted on 03/25/2019, 9:00 AM
A new restaurant with what's being billed as Europe's first underwater dining room will soon open on the southern tip of Norway. The semi-submerged, aptly named Under is housed in a 112-foot (34m)-long rectangular building, one end of which sits on the seabed, 18 feet (5.5m) below the surface of the North Atlantic. The other, aboveground end looks kind of like an intermediate species dragging i...
Unruly Drinking on This Spanish Island Could Cost You Thousands
Posted on 03/22/2019, 1:00 AM
Tourists who break public drinking laws on the Spanish island of Majorca—long known for its beaches and raucous party scene—will face fines of up to €3,000 (US$3,400) this summer, as part of a crackdown on boozy misbehavior. Under the new restrictions, law enforcement can fine alcohol-fueled revelers for fighting, breaking stuff, and otherwise “causing a public nuisance," according to The Indepen...
Spot Orcas and Dolphins Along Western Scotland's New Whale Trail
Posted on 03/12/2019, 9:30 PM
About a quarter of the world's whale and dolphin species have been spotted at one time or another in the waters around western Scotland's Hebrides islands, according to the nonprofit Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust (HWDT). Starting in May, visitors should have an even better chance of glimpsing those cetaceans with the launch of the Hebridean Whale Trail. Developed by the HWDT, the trail is...
Meet the USA's Newest National Park
Posted on 02/22/2019, 3:45 PM
The United States has a new national park. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore has been re-designated Indiana Dunes National Park thanks to a provision in the same spending bill that averted another government shutdown on February 15. The Northwest Indiana site, which has been a federally protected national lakeshore since 1966, stretches for 15 miles along Lake Michigan, encompassing 15,000 acres...
You Can Go Standup Paddleboarding at San Antonio's River Walk Now
Posted on 02/12/2019, 9:30 PM
If you feel your city sightseeing hasn't done enough to test your balance and core strength lately, here's a good remedy: a new way to see San Antonio. Local company SUP SATX now offers lessons and tours in standup paddleboarding—which involves standing or kneeling on a surfboard while using an oar to propel yourself forward—along the city's namesake waterway. After a 30-minute lesson, paddl...
Key West Bans Common Types of Sunscreen
Posted on 02/08/2019, 1:00 AM
In a late effort to revive its rapidly dying coral reef system, the island city of Key West, the crown of the Florida Keys, will ban sales of all sunscreen containing the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate. "Various studies indicate the two chemicals can increase coral bleaching, cause mortality in developing coral and cause genetic damage to corals and other marine organisms," stated the offi...
The Caribbean's Newest Resorts are Now North of Cancun, Reports Arthur Frommer
Posted on 12/13/2018, 12:00 AM
We Americans tend to have widely divergent views about Mexico. Some regard that nation as a place of constant poverty and problems. Other more perceptive types are aware of Mexico’s skyrocketing rise in the world of tourism. Mexico is currently enjoying a major increase in its yearly number of international visitors, and similar advances in many other industries. In particular, giant new hotels...
