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New York City Is Eyeing a Plan to Connect the New Moynihan Train Hall With One of Its Famous Parks

New York City is coming into 2021 with intention. Right out of the gates, the city debuted the gorgeous new Moynihan Train Hall, an addendum to Penn Station rebuilt right on the original Penn Station site that was torn down in the late 1960s. Now, the city is already looking toward the next steps in its plan to revamp the westside of Manhattan—connecting the sparkling new train hall to one of the city’s most unique parks. Governor Cuomo's new plan seeks to build an L-shaped path that will link
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This Hotel Group Is Offering Free Rooms to Travelers That Test Positive for COVID-19

Last week, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a big, upcoming, and unexpected change to U.S. entry requirements for all airline passengers arriving in the U.S. from a foreign country. On Jan. 26, 2021, travelers must present a negative COVID-19 test to be admitted to the U.S. In response, many hotels and destinations have begun offering guests free COVID-19 testing onsite within 72 hours of their scheduled flight back to the United States. However, one hotel group has
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A Man Went Undetected for Three Months While Living Inside Chicago O’Hare Airport

On Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, security at Chicago O’Hare International Airport arrested Aditya Singh, a man who had allegedly been living in the terminal for three months, relying on the kindness of strangers for food and company. Sound familiar? The story is vaguely reminiscent of the 2004 film "The Terminal," where Viktor Navorski, played by Tom Hanks, gets stuck living inside New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after a war invalidates his passport and makes it so he can no longer
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These Napa Resorts Are Showing Love To Frontline Workers With A $30,000 Wedding Giveaway

Hasn’t the pandemic felt like one big pause button—pause on regular life, travel, family get-togethers, holiday celebrations, and weddings. Well, two resorts in Napa want to try to make things right by helping throw the wedding of a lifetime for one lucky—and very appreciated—first-responder or emergency worker couple who have had to postpone their wedding to fulfill their frontline duties during COVID-19. Winners will get to invite 100 guests to witness their “I dos'' at a dream wedding that c
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Portugal Is Launching a Digital Nomad Village On a Gorgeous Island in Madeira

Now that working from home has become a new norm, the question is, where do you want your home office to be? Well, how about on a gorgeous archipelago off the coast of Africa? Portugal’s Madeira Islands invites remote workers en masse to become ‘citizens’ of the country’s first-ever dedicated digital nomad village. Starting Feb. 1, 2021, digital nomads will be able to come and spend one to five months on Ponta do Sol, a beautiful municipality in the Madeira Islands, where they’ll have access to
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Airlines Have Been Flying Up To The Frontlines To Help With Vaccine Distribution

Almost as soon as COVID-19 came and began demolishing the scene, we were desperate for a vaccine. At first, many guessed it might take years to find and trial a vaccine we could use. After all, before COVID-19, the fastest vaccine to ever materialize from lab to jab was for the mumps back in 1971. Developed in record time, the Mumpsvax still took four years. Four years wasn’t going to cut it for a worldwide pandemic with a rising death toll and impact on industry, families, and morale. Somewhat
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This Digital Health Pass Will Be Ready for Widespread Airline Use as Early as March

As we've all slowly begun to think about traveling in a vaccinated world, we've also had to contend with the challenges of tracking test results and vaccinations before—and while—we hit the road. Thanks to the International Air Transport Association's Travel Pass app, that might be easier than we think. The app, which works like an electronic wallet where travelers can upload and store digital health certifications and records for COVID-19 test results and inoculations, has been trialed in part
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Airbnb Is Blocking And Canceling All Reservations in D.C. Metro Area During Inauguration Week

Yesterday, Airbnb announced that it will be canceling all reservations made in the D.C. Metro Area during inauguration week next week, including reservations made on the service's hotel booking site HotelTonight. The vacation home booking company will also proactively block any new reservations from being made in the area during that time. Airbnb’s decision to cancel and block these bookings comes after several local, state, and federal officials urged people to avoid traveling to D.C. during i
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Here's How The New SARS-COV-2 Strains Have Affected Travel

Just as we were about to kick 2020 to the curb, it left us with a couple of unwanted parting gifts: two mutated strains of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. News of a new strain in the United Kingdom first broke on Dec. 14, 2020, as officials announced the variant had been detected in over 1008 SARS-CoV-2 cases in Southern England. This new variant, known most widely as B.1.1.7, contains 14 mutations and a double deletion which work to give it an “estimated increase of between 40 perc
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Are U.S. Tourists Responsible for Mexico’s Recent Record-Breaking COVID-19 Spike?

For nearly the entire pandemic, the United States has had the highest number of COVID-19 cases—and deaths—in the entire world. According to data from John Hopkins University, the current running tally of 21,503,004 positive cases and 364,218 COVID-related deaths in the U.S. account for nearly a quarter of the world’s cases and almost 20 percent of worldwide deaths. (*Editor's note: This data was recorded on date of article: January 8, 2021 and changes by the minute). It’s no wonder that, in 202
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Penn Station's New Train Hall Is A Sight For Sore Eyes And Weary Train Travelers

The first travel gift of the new year—the brand-new Moynihan Train Hall—arrived in New York City on Jan. 1, miraculously right on schedule (and budget) despite challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. The snazzy new station is perfectly timed for Amtrak’s 50th anniversary. When the original Penn Station was constructed in the early 1900s, it was a feat: lavish, large, an architectural marvel—and a symbol of not just New York City but the United States. However, after cars and planes ro
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Meet The United States’ Newest National Park: New River Gorge

Last year wasn't a complete train wreck of disappointment. At the final hour, the United States managed to add another national park to their roster. Signed and sealed on Dec. 27, 2020, West Virginia's New River Gorge officially became the 63rd national park and 20th national preserve in the United States. Located in the southern part of the state, New River Gorge is one of the oldest rivers in the country and is the first park in West Virginia to be minted as a bonafide national park and preser
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JetBlue Mosaic Passengers Will Be Able to Bring a Plus One On Flights in 2021

As airlines struggle to find ways to increase much-need profit margins while still enticing more passengers to fly and continue flying during a pandemic, it’s creating some amazing wins, namely when it comes to frequent flyer status and perks. JetBlue went the extra mile and added an incredibly enticing new perk to its TrueBlue Mosaic level members. While airlines simply extended elite status or offered bonus miles to loyalty members as gifts, JetBlue is crossing the finish line into the first
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United Will Offer Optional Contact Tracing On All Flights

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and United Airlines have teamed up to create the first real contact-tracing initiative in the United States. Yup, nine months into a worldwide pandemic, and it looks like we will finally have some ability to traceback and identify positive cases—at least those related to air travel. Until now, studies on the safety of air travel have been performed and published (but not peer-reviewed), but there has been no concrete way to definitively t
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Costa Rica’s New Travel Sweepstakes Is The Perfect Way To Say Thank You This Year

Fittingly, on Thanksgiving Day, the Costa Rica Tourism Board announced their newest plan to help get people to Costa Rica—by giving away 15 free week-long trips for two. However, unlike most of the pandemic promotions we’ve seen where entrants submit why they deserve to be the chosen one(s), this sweet sweepstakes works a little differently. Visit Costa Rica's "Who is Essential to You" campaign is inviting people to nominate someone who they believe deserves a week in tropical paradise. It's th
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The Jose Cuervo Tequila Train Just Resumed Its All-You-Can-Drink Trips

While 2020 may have really gone off the rails, Mundo Cuervo is inviting us to get back on track the only way it knows how: a scenic train ride stocked full of all-you-can-drink tequila. That’s right, folks, the beloved Mundo Cuervo Jose Cuervo Express is back—and better than ever. Whenever you board the Tequila Train, it’s just as much about the journey as it is the destination. For those who want to drink and ride in ultimate style, the Tequila Train just added a new Elite Wagon to its hitch.
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Indy’s Hot New Boutique Hotel Lives Inside A Vintage Coca-Cola Bottling Plant

Indianapolis gives a nod to its history with the brand new Bottleworks Hotel, a gorgeous Art Deco boutique inside of an old Coca-Cola bottling plant. The stylish 139-room boutique will take the soda brand’s 1948 slogan “Where There’s Coke There’s Hospitality” to heart when it's set to open on Dec. 15. Occupying the top two floors of what was once the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottling plant, the Bottleworks Hotel is part of a massive $300 million dollar adaptive reuse rehabilitation for the his
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Airlines No Longer Have to Accept Emotional Support Animals As Service Animals

What will 2020 take from us next? The Department of Transportation just announced its final ruling on plane passengers flying with service and emotional support animals. The ruling was threefold: officially classifying emotional support animals as nothing more than pets, tightening the definition of a service animal only to include canines, and allowing airlines to cap the number of service animals brought on board to two per person. “This final rule is intended to ensure that our air transport
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St. Kitts and Nevis Has Reopened With Some of the Strictest Entry Requirements

The gorgeous twin-island federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is finally reopened to tourism on Oct. 31—months after some of its Caribbean neighbors. However, with zero current COVID-19 cases and a full recovery of all 19 cases the islands previously dealt with, the destination is not taking any chances as it begins welcoming visitors back to its shores. All arrivals to St. Kitts and Nevis will have to jump through several safety hoops before they can relax in paradise—or go back home. All incomin
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