Epic New Zealand Rail Line to Reopen After Quake
Posted on 08/15/2018, 12:00 PM
New Zealand's gorgeous Coastal Pacific rail service, which runs between Picton and Christchurch on the South Island's east coast, announced it will return on December 1. KiwiRail's popular five-hour, 335-km (208-mile) trip was halted in November 2016 after a major earthquake devastated the Christchurch area. For much of the journey, the route hugs the coast, with the sea on one side and the ...
Two New Non-Travel Books May Change The Way You See the USA
Posted on 08/09/2018, 8:30 PM
You drive into a new town. It is not a famous place and it certainly isn’t a tourist magnet. But it has a certain vibe, a personality. You start to explore, stopping by a local store, walking through a park, trying the coffee joint where townspeople are congregating. It’s an interesting exercise, but the takeaways are vague: seems like a nice place, you think. But you don’t think more than that, ...
California's Scenic Highway 1 Soon to Reopen in Full
Posted on 07/06/2018, 12:45 AM
For the first time in more than a year, all of California's spectacular Highway 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles will soon reopen to drivers. Parts of the 650-mile route, famous around the world for its coastal views (particularly in Big Sur), have been closed to travelers for months due to damage caused by heavy rains and a huge landslide in 2017. Caltrans, the state's transportation depart...
Route 66 and Puerto Rico Among USA's Most Endangered Historic Sites
Posted on 06/28/2018, 3:30 AM
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Route 66 all appear on 2018's "Most Endangered Places" list, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual roundup of important architectural and cultural sites in peril. The purpose of the list, the group says, is to raise awareness and spur action to protect landmarks—and in some cases landmasses—"facing a range of challenges and threats, from d...
Tips on Getting the Most Out of Your 2018 Summer Vacation
Posted on 05/30/2018, 4:00 PM
Remember when summer really meant vacation? I’m talking, of course, of the time before you were able to vote, when summer meant freedom from school and adventures at camp, a fun summer job, or long lazy days doing very little. However you did it, summer was a break from the daily routine—and a welcome one. But for most of us, summer now means the same commute, the same job, the same responsibiliti...
New Ferry Links Spain with Ireland, Thanks to Brexit
Posted on 05/22/2018, 5:00 PM
Something brand-new happened this month: A new ferry service between Ireland and Spain was inaugurated. Why? Because as the United Kingdom proceeds with Brexit, its half-baked plan to secede from the European Union, the border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, which remains in the EU, will become much harder to cross. The new ferry service allows Irish and Spanish people to pass easily b...
Hello Kitty Bullet Train to Make Japan Even More Adorable
Posted on 05/22/2018, 12:00 AM
We're just going to leave this right here. On June 30, 2018, a brand-new bullet shinkansen service will make its debut in Japan: a Hello Kitty train. The Hello Kitty Express, as we're calling it, will link Osaka and Fukuoka, two cities that are about 400km (250 miles) apart, but as of today, are at the center of our hearts. Everything will be pinker than a debutante, washed in the blush tones o...
Arthur Frommer: Recent Tax Cuts Will Force Reductions in Travel Services
Posted on 03/23/2018, 5:15 PM
Some commentators have rejoiced over the recent reduction in federal taxes enjoyed by American corporations and the wealthy. Fewer of those pundits have pointed out that those reductions have been achieved in part by reducing our government’s expenditures for programs that improve our quality of life. The U.S. travel world—and especially our trains and passenger aviation—has suffered in parti...
Why Don't More People Think of Renting an RV from a Private RV Owner?
Posted on 03/02/2018, 9:00 PM
Probably the most misunderstood, most underused travel facility is the recreational vehicle capable of both housing and driving a family. All over America, persons own such RVs, but a good percentage of them make only a sporadic use of the vehicles they own. For much of the year, their RV remains parked in their garage or outside their home. This is such an underuse of valuable fa...
Introducing Evaneos, a New Tool Connecting You with Local Planning Help
Posted on 03/01/2018, 3:30 PM
Planning for vacation is generally done in two ways today. There’s the O.C.D. version, in which the traveler spends weeks poring over the internet, reading guidebooks, putting down deposits, and prepping. And there’s the laissez-faire way, in which the vacationer picks a tour company—and then leaves the rest for others to plan. With the first option, the traveler gets a customized vacation, but ...
High-Speed Trains Soon to Zip Between London and Amsterdam
Posted on 02/13/2018, 8:45 PM
Starting April 4, travelers will have a new, fast, and affordable way to get from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands. High-speed Eurostar trains will begin whisking passengers from London to Amsterdam in three hours using the underwater Channel Tunnel that already speeds passengers to Paris in a little over two hours. The twice-daily service will depart London's St. Pancras station at 8:31a...
Arthur Frommer: My Choices for the 10 Most Memorable Destinations
Posted on 02/05/2018, 3:30 PM
As a professional travel writer, I was required to travel to far more destinations than the average American does. In my youthful years, I literally lived on an airplane, in constant motion, often traveling to several countries each week. And I loved every bit of that life—especially these 10 particular destinations. Here, based on that experience, are my choices of the world’s 10 most mem...
Paid Reservations Now Required to Visit California's Muir Woods
Posted on 11/30/2017, 12:00 AM
From Dubrovnik to Machu Picchu, popular tourist destinations around the world are devising new sign-up strategies to combat overcrowding caused by hordes of temporary visitors. The latest spot to add to the list, as Frommer's reported would happen back in 2015: Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, California, north of San Francisco. Starting on January 16, 2018, each visitor who arrives...
Two New Countries Get Dedicated Eurail Passes
Posted on 11/08/2017, 12:00 AM
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...
Passenger Jets Now Fueled by Food Scraps and Vegetable Oil
Posted on 11/01/2017, 7:00 AM
At the end of 1985's Back to the Future, Doc Brown opens his Delorean and dumps table scraps and beer into a "Mr. Fusion" tank to generate the power to whisk Marty McFly into the year 2015. Now it's 2017, and although personal fusion-powered travel is still in the distant future, the ability to fly passenger planes using food waste is here. In September, JetBlue announced a plan to purchase more ...
Starting Oct. 13, Drive California's Highway 1 from Carmel to Big Sur Again
Posted on 10/09/2017, 2:45 AM
With the completion of the new Pfeiffer Creek Bridge in Big Sur, California, a key portion of the state's spectacularly scenic Highway 1 is set to reopen on October 13. The original bridge had to be demolished in March after damage caused by heavy rains. That cut Big Sur in two and made it impossible for drivers to complete the rugged central coast route that starts in Carmel—one of the country'...
$5/Day One-Way Car Rentals to Florida Right Now
Posted on 09/20/2017, 11:00 PM
It's time for the Great Florida Drive-In. Each autumn, the major rental car brands need to shift inventory to their parking lots in Florida to meet winter tourist demand. Normally, it'll cost a hefty extra fee to drop off a rental car in a different location than where you picked it up. Not right now. For the next few weeks, renters in the northeastern United States will find deals that hover aro...
Rental Car Rates Could Zoom Sky-High Thanks to Lobbyists
Posted on 09/13/2017, 3:15 AM
Today, the American Car Rental Association (ACRA), a lobbying group for the car rental industry, is wrapping up its annual Washington, D.C. "Legislative Conference," during which it plots its political agenda and schmoozes lawmakers to help make it happen. But some of its battles against consumer protections have already been won on the state level. AutoSlash, the discount car rental aggregator, r...
