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Article / Air Travel

Southwest's New Plus-Size Policy Is Arbitrary and Unfair, Say These Flyers

There’s been a lot of belt-tightening at Southwest Airlines lately.Last year, the carrier nixed its popular and longstanding perk allowing each passenger two free checked bags. The…

Article / Air Travel

Warning: American Airlines Customers Are Accidentally Booking Bus Rides Instead of Flights

Like a college freshman trying to bluff through a philosophy midterm, American Airlines seems to have gotten tripped up in a category error.The carrier has classified some bus rides as…

Article / National Parks

What's the Cheapest National Park Trip to Take This Year?

The cost of plane tickets is on the rise, thanks to spiking oil prices caused by the war in Iran. Throw in other economic woes such as stubbornly high inflation, and you've got several…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Study Finds the Germiest Thing You Travel With—and It's Seven Times Dirtier Than Your Shoes

The dirtiest travel item was recently determined by a set of microbial tests conducted by experts—and it wasn't even close. Worse, the germiest object is something you definitely must…

Article / Air Travel

In a First for the U.S., This Airline Is Bringing Lie-Flat Couch Seating to Economy Class

On Tuesday, United Airlines announced a new Relax Row seating option that will convert three economy seats into a lie-flat sofa-like situation.Aimed at families with small children,…

Article / Air Travel

Some Airports Have Suspended Wait Time Reporting Online Due to Shutdown Chaos

Remember how we advised you last week to consult the website of the airport you're flying out of in order to find reliable estimates for security wait times? The Transportation…

Article / Theme Park

Coming Soon: The First-Ever Minecraft Theme Park Land

One of the best-selling video games of all time is getting its first-ever theme park land. Minecraft World (eat your heart out, Tetris) will debut at the U.K.'s Chessington World of…

Article / Air Travel

The Oscars of Airports Were Handed Out, and the U.S. Did About as Well as You'd Expect

Those of you reading this on your phones while stuck in a seemingly endless TSA line will probably not be surprised to learn that the U.S. didn't do so hot on the latest ranking of the…

Article / Air Travel

The Best Way to Check TSA Wait Times in Advance (It's Not the TSA App)

As the partial government shutdown continues to drag on, many U.S. airports have reported extended wait times for passengers at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. TSA…

Article / Entry Requirements & Customs

Why You Should Expect Long Airport Lines When You Get to Europe This Summer

Have you been horrified by recent images of extremely long lines at U.S. airports as a result of the ongoing partial government shutdown? We regret to inform you that similar scenes…

Article / News

Meet Pauline Frommer in Denver, Colorado at the Travel & Adventure Show Apr. 11 & 12: Free Ticket Code

So much of our lives are now spent online. But it's the in-person connections that give our lives texture and meaning. That’s the reason we still travel, right? We could just as easily…

Article / Air Travel

When Should You Book Plane Tickets in 2026? The Iran War Is Changing Those Calculations

Timing matters when it comes to airfare.We discussed that just a little over a week ago in an article about how buying trends from 2021 through 2025 could serve as a road map for…

Article / Money and Fees

One of Europe's Most Famous Churches Plans to Charge for Entry. Critics Say That's a Sin

Is it wrong—or at least morally murky—to impose entrance fees for accessing certain spaces?That's a question being debated in Germany following a recent announcement that Cologne…

Article / Air Travel

Epic Security Lines Mean Chaos, and Missed Flights, At Many United States Airports This Week

In the fall of 2025, during the longest government shutdown in United States history, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lost some 1,100 agents, a 25% jump in…

Article / Beach & Water Sports

Should You Cancel Your Spring Break in Mexico This Year?

I'm not going to sugarcoat it: with the war in the Middle East, and the recent violence in Mexico, the world is a scary place right now. So if the idea of travel raises your blood…

Article / Beach & Water Sports

"Record-High Levels" of Sargassum Could Pile Up on Beaches in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Florida This Spring

It looks like 2026 could be a record-setting year for stinky seaweed on beaches.Enormous blobs of sargassum, the large brown algae that floats on the surface of the ocean and can wash…

Article / Air Travel

You Could Get Banned from This Major Airline for Not Wearing Headphones

A major U.S. airline is going further than ever toward muting passengers who engage in the irritating, bordering-on-sociopathic practice of watching videos or listening to music at…

Article / News

Loving v. Virginia Courthouse Among Six Historic Sites Added to U.S. Civil Rights Trail

The courthouse where the Lovings of Loving v. Virginia fame were arrested, tried, and briefly jailed in 1959 has been added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The law that Richard and…

Article / Air Travel

This Airport Says "It's Time to Ban Pajamas" on Passengers

"We've seen enough. We've had enough. It's time to ban pajamas at Tampa International Airport," a tongue-in-cheek social media post from the Florida facility decreed this…

Article / News

This Summer You Can Stay at the 'Heated Rivalry' Cottage in Canada

This summer several Heated Rivalry fans will get to stay overnight at the visually striking cottage featured in the show. And you just know they're all going to start their inevitable…

Article / Air Travel

How Private Jets Are Making Flying Costlier and More Delay-Ridden For the Rest of Us

Picture this. You're on a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A321 at New York's LaGuardia Airport at 4 pm on a rainy afternoon. Your flight was scheduled to depart at 2 pm but due to weather,…

Article / News

Rome's 400-Year-Old St. Peter's Basilica Is Finally Entering the 21st Century

If you’ve been to Rome (or read any of our guidebooks on Italy), you’re probably familiar with the St. Peter’s Basilica caveat. While every other major attraction in Rome—including the…

Article / National Parks

These Hugely Popular National Parks Will No Longer Require Reservations

You'll no longer have to make reservations to visit some of the most popular U.S. national parks during the busy summer months. The federal government has announced that it's dropping…

Article / Theme Park

This Summer England Is Getting a New Live-Action Historical Theme Park

Will people go to a theme park centered on historical narrative rather than roller coasters? An ambitious project in northern England aims to find out. Set to open July 18, Kynren–The…

Article / Arts and Culture

How to Experience Japan's Pop Culture, Sacred Pilgrimages, and Foods That Make You Live Longer

This is part one of a two-part interview from a recent edition of the Frommer's podcast. Pauline Frommer spoke with David McElhinney, author of the newly released Frommer's Japan…