Articles

Miscellaneous

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

U.S. State Department Travel Advisories: Where to Find Them, How to Read Them

In 2018, the U.S. State Department revamped its travel warnings to make them easier to understand. Here's how to find them and how to use them to plan a safe trip overseas.

Article / Passportable

U.S. Civil Rights Trail Links Dozens of Historic Sites in 14 States

Fourteen states, covering a chunk of the U.S. from Delaware to Kansas, are joining together to promote tourism to more than 100 landmarks crucial to the struggle for civil rights.The…

Article / Passportable

Tour Operator to Pay Passport Fees for Travelers Age 18–35

More than half of Americans age 18–35 don't have passports, according to Contiki, a tour operator specializing in that very demographic.For a limited time, Contiki is offering some…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Arthur Frommer: For No Real Reason, Feds Attack the Legality of Cannabis Tourism

Because the current U.S. Attorney General is a fierce opponent of marijuana, we can expect a massive legal attack against travel to the states—mainly California and Colorado—that…

Article / Passportable

Now You Can Fly Round-Trip to Europe for €399—with a Catch

First, U.S. domestic airlines introduced Basic Economy fares so their rates would appear more competitive with low-cost carriers in Web searches.Now the transatlantic airlines are…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Slump in the Number of Foreign Visitors to the United States Continues

Commencing with the inauguration of President Trump, tourism officials in several U.S. cities have drawn attention, with alarm, to a reduction in the number of foreign residents…

Article / Passportable

No More Airline Miles for Hotel Stays Among Changes to Hilton's Loyalty Program

Hilton Worldwide is making changes to its 70-million-member hotel loyalty program, Hilton Honors.Among the most consequential of the updates: Starting April 1, members will no longer…

Article / Passportable

Strange Japanese Ferris Wheel Reopening After Nearly a Decade

It sure doesn't look like it, but the structure pictured above is actually a Ferris wheel. The oblong oddity adorns the Don Quijote discount shopping center along the Dotonbori River…

Article / Passportable

NYC's Met to Charge Mandatory Admission to Out-of-Towners

For the first time since its founding in the 1870s, New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art is instituting a mandatory admission fee. Starting March 1, visitors who do not live in…

Article / Passportable

When Southern California Museums Open for Free This Month

The 13th annual Free-for-All day at Southern California museums will be Sunday, January 28. Nineteen institutions in the area will waive their admission fees on that day, offering…

Article / Passportable

Days When You Can Visit U.S. National Parks for Free in 2018

Each year, the National Park system throws open its gates for a few days and spreads the good word by admitting everyone without charging entry fees. It's a great way for low-income…

Article / Passportable

To Visit This Island Paradise You Have to Pledge to Protect the Environment

In order to enter the island nation of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean, visitors must now sign a "passport pledge" to protect the environment.The mandatory vow was enacted to…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Cherished National Monument Was Just Reduced by 85%—Is a National Park Next?

On a recent trip to Utah, on which he was accompanied by Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, President Donald Trump reduced the acreage of the Bears Ears National Monument by 85% and reduced the…

Article / Passportable

Huge Nature-Themed Light Show Illuminates Winter Nights in Japan

Each winter at Japan's Nagashima Resort in the city of Kuwana, millions of LED lights are used to create ravishing nighttime nature scenes. Held in the gardens of the complex (which…

Article / Passportable

Royal Caribbean Increases the Daily Fee Used to Tip Staff

For the third time in three years, Royal Caribbean Cruises is hiking up its "automatic gratuity"—the term for the service fee that lines recommend each passenger pays per day during a…

Article / Passportable

Turkey Fully Resumes Issuing Visas to Americans

For nearly three months, Turkish authorities and the U.S. government have been in a diplomatic spat, resulting in the suspension of visas for American tourists. The quick and painless…

Article / Passportable

Robert De Niro’s Hotel Brand Goes On a Building Spree in 2018

Nobu Hotels, co-owned by actor Robert De Niro, star chef Nobu Matsuhisa, and movie producer Meir Teper, will have a busy 2018. The upscale chain is adding new properties in Chicago;…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Arthur Frommer's Travel Resolutions for the New Year

Because they often seek to regulate all of human activity, I find most New Year’s Resolutions to be rather unsatisfying. Here’s an attempt to limit these rules to the world of travel,…

Article / Passportable

New App Helps Visually Impaired Travelers Navigate Airport

American Printing House for the Blind's "Nearby Explorer" app—a GPS-enabled mobile wayfinding service developed specifically for visually impaired users—has a brand-new feature to help…

Article / Passportable

Hyatt's Cancellation Rules Worsen for Consumers

Hyatt Hotels has made it more expensive for you to cancel a reservation. At most of the company's 700-odd properties, customers must now cancel at least 48 hours ahead of their planned…

Article / Passportable

Lady Gaga Residency in Vegas Set for Late 2018

By the end of next year, it will be easier than ever for Las Vegas gamblers to watch Lady Gaga perform "Poker Face" on the same day they perfect their own.The singer is settling in at…

Article / Slideshows

Great Traditions Worth Experiencing at World Hotels

Hotels can be destinations, too, and sometimes checking into a historic property is reason enough to travel. From afternoon tea at the Ritz in London to the obsessive polishing of the…

Article / Passportable

In January, Learn to Ski—for Less—in Michigan

It might surprise you to learn that Michigan has one of the highest concentrations of ski areas in the United States. There are around 40 places to hit the slopes in the…

Article / Passportable

It's Here: Donald Trump Robot Unveiled at Disney's Hall of Presidents

About six months behind its usual post-election refurbishment schedule, Walt Disney World has unveiled its Audio-Animatronic version of the current president of the United States,…

Article / Passportable

Why Hotel Bills in Hawaii Are About to Go Up

On January 1, the tax on lodgings in Hawaii will increase by 1% statewide.But that's not all. The fee charged to tourists who rent rooms in hotels, condos, B&Bs, and "transient…