Articles

Health, Insurance, Security

Article / Miscellaneous

The TSA Has Banned These Hair Care Products from Checked Luggage

This year, the Transportation Security Administration has made a few important tweaks to security rules at the airport.In February, the TSA clarified that portable chargers and power…

Article / Miscellaneous

Don't Take Stones or Sand from These Tourist Sights—or You'll Unleash a Curse

In August 2025, a Scottish tourist was on a group tour near the Basilica at Pompeii Archaeological Park outside Naples, Italy, when he noticed a few loose stones under his…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Polio is Cropping Up In Countries You'd Never Imagine, the CDC Says. How to Keep Yourself Safe

This month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its global warning about polio, releasing a list of 39 countries where Americans should "practice enhanced precautions." On…

Article / Hotels

Did La Quinta Hotel Really Make Guests Check in by Video Conference?

We know that American business owners are contending with a sudden reduction in low-paid workers, particularly in the hospitality industry, which is being impacted by the ripple…

Article / Money and Fees

Airbnb Scam Warning: AI-Altered Photos Used to Accuse Guest of Causing $16,000 in Damage

Airbnb has had to apologize and issue a refund to a guest after a host allegedly used AI to create fraudulent photos in support of a claim that the guest had caused a whopping $16,000…

Article / Miscellaneous

When Are Passport Stamps Going Away in Europe? Entry/Exit System Start Date Announced

A start date for Europe's much-delayed new system of automated border crossings has been announced. According to the European Union, the bloc's Entry/Exit System (EES) will finally…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Tourists Warned of Scary Brain Parasite in Hawaii: How to Protect Yourself

Medical experts and public health advocates are sounding the alarm about a frightening threat in Hawaii.Caused by tiny roundworm parasites, neuroangiostrongyliasis—known more commonly…

Article / National Parks

Tourists Continue to Make Terrible Decisions Around the Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park

The hot springs at Yellowstone National Park have injured or killed more people than "any other natural feature" there, according to the National Park Service. As you might imagine,…

Article / Beach & Water Sports

Caribbean Islands Without Hurricanes: Where to Avoid Major Storms on Vacation

When it's hurricane season in the Caribbean, the risk may not be bad if you're on the best islands. These Caribbean countries are usually safe.

Article / Air Travel

In Parts of Europe, They're Letting You Fly with Up to 2 Liters of Liquid Now

On July 8, at the moment U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was throwing a fancy press event for the cameras to announce the end of the Transportation Security…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

How to Travel with Wegovy, Zepbound, and Other Weight-Loss Injection Meds

Millions of people use injectable weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, and Mounjaro. But the nature of these prescription medications—which have to be stored within a…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Rise in Measles Prompts Popular Caribbean Destination to Require Vaccination to Visit

There has been an update to this story. See the bottom of this post. The United States has logged at least 1,200 measles cases so far in 2025. Although the U.S. had declared the…

Article / Hotels

Travelers Beware! These U.S. Cities Have the Most Bedbugs

Here's a distinction no city's chamber of commerce wants: the Bedbug Capital of America. Even so, the pest control company Terminix has released its annual ranking of the "most…

Article / Air Travel

Your Personal Airline Data Is Secretly Being Sold to U.S. Homeland Security

Perhaps it surprises nobody that in this age of meaningless digital privacy protections, the U.S. government has been secretly buying up data about airline passengers.But that's what…

Article / Entry Requirements & Customs

Does the Trump Travel Ban Mean Americans Can't Visit the Blocked Countries?

As of Monday, the Trump administration's new travel ban has taken effect. Foreign nationals from 12 countries, mostly in the Middle East and Africa, are barred from entering the United…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Kidnappers Are Targeting Dating App Users in This Tourism Hot Spot, U.S. Embassy Warns

U.S. government officials have issued a warning for tourists who use dating apps while on vacation. In a new security alert, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico reports that it has confirmed…

Article / Cruise

This $10 Item Could Keep You from Getting Sick on a Cruise Ship

A purported symbol of luxury that turns out to be a source of contamination may sound like a metaphor for critiquing society. But it's also an actual thing on cruise ships, according…

Article / Air Travel

Standing Airline Seats Are Reportedly Coming in 2026. That News Doesn't Sit Well

When you have covered travel news for 25 years, as I have, you notice that certain stories flare up with the regularity of heartburn. Such it is with standing airline seats, a sizzling…

Article / Air Travel

TSA Tips for Getting Through Airport Security This Summer

Summer is upon us once again and you know what that means: way more people at the airport and all of them in front of you in the TSA line. The agency says it's "ready for the…

Article / Air Travel

Southwest Airlines Becomes the First U.S. Carrier to Ban a Common Electronic Device from Overhead Bins

If Southwest Airlines had a theme song for 2025, it would have to be Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'."Not only has the carrier ditched its much-beloved/much-maligned…

Article / Air Travel

Make Sure This Common Electronic Device Isn't in Your Checked Bag—Now TSA Rules Forbid It

Amid all the brouhaha over the long-awaited launch of the Transportation Security Administration's REAL ID requirement at U.S. airports, you might have missed news of another important…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Flyers without REAL ID Asked to Arrive 3 Hours Early (Or Just Bring This Instead)

REAL ID is a case study of how constantly shifting politics in the United States makes it nearly impossible to get constructive long-term projects done. First developed in 2001 after a…

Article / Air Travel

Newark Airport is a Mess. Has it Become Less Safe to Fly in the U.S.?

Even people who live nowhere near New Jersey have been shaken by reports of chronic flight delays and cancellations at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) due to ATC. There's…

Article / Cruise

How to Stay Safe on Cruises Now That the CDC Has Fired Health Inspectors

A new virus emerges. It has a high infection rate, sickening dozens almost immediately after its discovery. The Trump administration underplays the threat.Sound familiar?History is…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Don't Have a REAL ID? You Can Use These Forms of Identification Instead

Update, December 1, 2025: As of February 2026, the United States government will charge its citizens a $45 fee to fly if they go to the airport without a REAL ID. Read more about the…