Yosemite's Historic Names Restored: Company Holding Them Hostage Relents
Posted on 07/19/2019, 12:00 AM
One of the most asinine instances of overlawyering in a genuinely asinine age has finally come to a resolution. In 2016, the year the National Park Service marked its centennial, California's Yosemite National Park reached the end of its contract with Delaware North, the vendor that had been running the onsite hotels and services. The company was not rehired. In a fit of legal pique, Delaware...
After a Millennium, Bears and Wolves Return to British Woodland—and You Can Watch
Posted on 07/18/2019, 8:00 AM
Bears and wolves haven't shared space in British woodlands for more than 1,000 years. Due to deforestation and overhunting, the European brown bear disappeared from England in the 11th century; gray wolves followed in the 17th. But soon, those animals will once again live in the same forest—and visitors will be able to observe all the ursine and lupine goings-on. Opening to the public on July...
Pauline Frommer: I'm Often Asked How to Become a Travel Writer, And I Suggest This Event
Posted on 07/02/2019, 12:00 PM
Every year, I give about a dozen speeches on travel across North America. When I sign books afterwards, a familiar scenario inevitably will play out. I’ll hand back the book that I've just autographed and notice that the individual standing in front of me looks very, very nervous… and doesn’t want to move away from the table. She or he will chit-chat for a few minutes before taking a deep breath ...
What Do Reindeer Do in the Summer? Attend Yoga Classes, Apparently.
Posted on 06/27/2019, 4:15 PM
Goat yoga classes, which combine breathing, posing, and snuggling with special guest ruminants, may be all the rage among limber animal lovers. But Alaska just upped the antlered ante. At a summer yoga class in Fairbanks, attendees complete a 60-minute hatha or vinyasa flow session in the presence of reindeer. Classes take place Monday and Friday evenings at 6pm at Running Reindeer Ranch, whi...
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...
United Airlines Will Now Automatically Hold Some Connecting Flights for Late Passengers
Posted on 06/20/2019, 6:00 PM
Thanks to new technology, United Airlines will automatically hold some flights for passengers trying to make tight connections—and those passengers don't have to do anything extra beyond, of course, hightailing it to the gate. The new tool, called ConnectionSaver, was introduced at Denver International Airport in February and later expanded to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, two of United's...
The Worldwide Airline Ranking Is Out. Can You Guess Where U.S. Airlines Place?
Posted on 06/20/2019, 5:45 PM
If you have been aboard a flight operated by a U.S.-based airline lately—where the conditions are cramped and the only mood settings are anxious and angry—you will not be surprised to learn that U.S. carriers didn't do so great on the annual ranking of worldwide airlines released by Skytrax, a research firm that keeps tabs on 300 carriers across the globe. U.S. airlines didn't crack the top 10. ...
The American Economy is Losing Billions from the Current Trade War: Arthur Frommer
Posted on 06/19/2019, 11:00 AM
Supporters of the president’s trade war against China are undoubtedly unaware of the impact of that angry policy on the number of Chinese tourists visiting the United States. I have read countless reports of that trade war, and not one of them (up until now) includes even a passing mention of incoming tourism from abroad. But recently, numerous newspapers have carried stories about a sharp...
An Animal Rescue Group Is Opening Its Own Hotel—Humans Allowed
Posted on 06/17/2019, 9:30 PM
An animal rescue organization is opening its own hotel, which won't just be pet-friendly—it'll be "pet-centric," according to a news release. Set to welcome two- and four-legged guests as of August 15, Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile is a new, 40-room property with a desert-modern look in Kanab, Utah. The hotel is owned and operated by Best Friends Animal Society, a nonprofit no-kill resc...
The President’s Ban on Travel to Cuba is an Odious Denial of Rights
Posted on 06/17/2019, 6:00 AM
The President of the United States has, in effect, blocked most Americans from visiting Cuba. In a recent directive, he prohibited the most popular means of going there (the cruise ship) and also banned group tours following people-to-people itineraries. Astonishingly, there seems no widespread popular protest against this action. Even from the cruise lines. Where are the heads of Carnival, ...
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...
Arthur Frommer: It's Smart to Make Sure Your Airbnb Host is at Home
Posted on 06/11/2019, 8:00 AM
A massive battle is being waged in courtrooms all over the world between supporters of short-term apartment rentals and cities wanting to put an end to those uses. The cities claim that such companies as Airbnb are worsening the availability of housing for permanent residents; that these permanent residents are unable to stay in a growing number of apartments illegally rented by landlord...
Our Travel Podcasts: Travel Bans and Flight Plans
Posted on 06/11/2019, 12:00 AM
Each week, Frommer's brings you two fresh podcasts stuffed with travel tips, news, and inspiration. Recordings are made from our weekly call-in show on WABC-770AM in New York and our nationally syndicated radio program. Last week, the Trump Administration surprised Americans—and the travel industry—by banning all educational and cultural tours, known as "people-to-people" trips, as well as a...
In Wake of Cuba Ban, Norwegian Cruise Line Slashing Prices to Bahamas
Posted on 06/10/2019, 12:00 AM
On the day that the Trump Administration abruptly banned all sailings to Cuba last week, some 800,000 travelers were left holding cruise reservations to the island nation for the coming months, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group. The cruise lines quickly issued cancellation and change policies, followed as rapidly by pretty remarkable deals to fill...
London Airport Soon to Let You Keep Liquids and Laptops in Carry-Ons
Posted on 06/08/2019, 7:30 AM
If all goes as planned, travelers at London's Heathrow Airport will soon get to keep liquids and laptops in carry-on bags while passing through security checkpoints. The airport announced that it can make that change thanks to new 3D scanners equipped with high-tech CT technology to provide a clearer-than-ever picture of what, exactly, you've got in your hand luggage—no removal of makeup-packed ...
This Harbor Is a Refuge for Burning Man Artwork—Without Burning Man Crowds
Posted on 06/06/2019, 6:00 PM
The nine-day Burning Man festival, held in the depths of summer in a remote area of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, earns mixed reviews. Founders describe it as “a temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance.” But others, such as former attendee and writer Soren Bowie, remember it differently. “I went seeking a Utopian enclave … Instead I found misguid...
The Aviation Industry is Asked to Do Something About Emissions, Writes Arthur Frommer
Posted on 06/06/2019, 7:00 AM
If humankind is to survive into the next century, something will have to be done about the drastic climate change currently experienced on earth. Though narrow-minded politicians may find it easy to call such reports a “hoax,” hundreds of eminent scientists are virtually unanimous in urgently drawing attention to that danger. Other irresponsible people claim that the problem is o...
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...
You Can Now Stay at a French Castle That Hosted Mozart and Voltaire
Posted on 06/04/2019, 12:00 PM
Some of the biggest stars in 18th-century European culture—including Mozart as well as Age of Enlightenment thinkers Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Denis Diderot—spent time at the estate of Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay in the castle-packed Loire Valley southwest of Paris. Now you can stay there, too. Following a meticulous renovation, the baron's summer residence has been reopened as ...
A Website Called Fairbnb Has Flung an "Ethical" Challenge to Airbnb
Posted on 06/04/2019, 8:00 AM
Although it has successfully helped millions of travelers to find overnight accommodations in an apartment or home, Airbnb is still mired in controversy and fending off attacks. It has been challenged by (and remains embattled against) numerous city governments which claim that Airbnb has worsened the housing situation in their jurisdictions and reduced the available accommodations for p...
Our Travel Podcasts: Summer, Star Wars, Safety, Scams
Posted on 06/03/2019, 6:00 PM
Each week, Frommer's brings you two fresh podcasts stuffed with travel tips, news, and inspiration. Recordings are made from our weekly call-in show on WABC-770AM in New York and our nationally syndicated radio program. With Memorial Day behind us, the summer travel season has begun—and we've got a lot of news you need to know before you hit the road. First, hosts Pauline Frommer and Jas...
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...
Florida Finally Gives Tourists a Way to Avoid Rental Car Rip-Offs on Cashless Roads
After years of paying extortionate fees from rental car companies to use cashless toll booths, tourists finally have a solution—if they know about it.
Arthur Frommer: Add Austria to the Nations Where Neo-Nazi Extremists Are Gaining Power
Posted on 05/28/2019, 7:00 AM
Turns out I was too limited in recently listing the western European nations partially or wholly controlled by neo-Nazis. You can now add Austria (for reasons set forth below) to the countries whose current government will cause progressive people all over the world to cease visiting them. Although the new ruling party in Austria is not itself far right-wing, they have apparently...
L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art Getting Rid of Admission Fees
Posted on 05/22/2019, 8:45 PM
Pretty soon, it won't cost you a penny to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. The institution announced it is reducing its $15 general admission fee to $0, a move made possible by a $10 million donation from the president of MOCA's board of trustees, Carolyn Clark Powers. You'll still have to pay for special exhibits, however. Speaking to the New York Times, museum dire...
