In an effort to entice Florida locals to strap back into theme park thrills, Universal Orlando Resort is now offering a new type of ticket just for Florida residents that touts unlimited free entrance to Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay until Dec. 24, 2020—all for less than the cost of a single-day ticket for each park. Florida may be battling some of the country’s highest numbers for confirmed coronavirus cases, but the state has widely remained open for tourism

Last week, Singapore and Hong Kong announced that they have agreed to pair up this cuffing season to create the world’s first reciprocal travel bubble. While Australia and New Zealand teased the idea months ago, the small island country of New Zealand—which, at one point, had totally eradicated the virus—was hesitant to commit. The new ‘bubble’ agreement between Hong Kong and Singapore is scheduled to take effect on Nov. 22. It allows Singapore and Hong Kong citizens to fly freely between the t

Amtrak’s flagship high-speed Acela train just turned the Big 2-0. To celebrate, Amtrak announced it would be offering $20 business class fares on all Acela routes between Nov. 16 and Dec. 17, 2020. Acela has been a long-time favorite for riders in the Northeast, and not even the pandemic can stop the love. Amtrak reported that they’ve seen an increase in passenger bookings on the Acela during the pandemic. This is likely in part due to Amtrak’s enhanced coronavirus protocols the rail service ro

Royal Caribbean has been stirring up the high-sea rumor mill. The cruise line started some unofficial chatter that it may soon be looking for volunteers to help run simulation cruises that test out the new pandemic protocol within the Conditional Sailing Order laid out by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week. To get back to regular passenger sailings, cruise ships will be required to navigate several requirements and receive a certification for conditional sailings. As

When the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Oct. 30 that it was officially letting its No Sail Order expire, it also reported that cruises would begin a phased return to U.S. waters and ports this week. While at the time no dates or time frames were given as to when regular paying passengers would be allowed to cruise again, it now looks like it won't be anytime soon. On Monday, Nov. 2—just one day into the ability to resume operations in U.S. waters—Carnival Corp

New York is once again welcoming visitors from any U.S. state—all you need to do is present a negative test ahead of your trip and quarantine upon arrival. As one of the hardest-hit states early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, New York has been very deliberate and careful when it comes to where its incoming visitors arrive from in order to help keep virus numbers down. For the last several months, the state has kept a stringent and tedious list of “cleared” states that are able to enter, all depen

The U.S. may lead in many industries, but train travel is not yet one of them. Although we’ve been riding the rails here for almost 200 years, we’re operating one of the most antiquated train services available in a well-developed country. That said, more ground to cover means more staff, more trains, and more upkeep (the majority of the trains running on our national rail are nearly a half-century old). Still, love ‘em or hate ‘em, Amtrak is a national treasure. Even in 2020, Amtrak has manag

On the brink of one of the most important and historic elections in U.S. history, voter education and empowerment is coming from perhaps an unlikely source: hotels. In an unprecedented move, hotels across the U.S. are stepping up to help citizens exercise their democratic right to vote and to squelch voter suppression and misinformation in some delightfully clever ways. Leading the charge is Austin-based Bunkhouse Group, the hospitality group behind some of Austin’s most celebrated boutique hot

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped some seriously big news ahead of Halloween weekend—it’s finally going to let its strict No Sail Order expire. Cruises are cleared to begin a phased restart in U.S. waters as soon as Monday, Nov. 1. While this news may seem like a treat, true to the Halloween spirit, there’s also a bit of a trick. While the No Sail Order will be allowed to expire, it’s being replaced with the framework for a new “Conditional Sailing Order” that includes

If you’re hoping to hop around sans car or airplane while saving a buck this holiday season, you’re in luck! Amtrak just announced their newest fall sale—and it’s super family-friendly. Kids (ages 2 to 12) ride free with a paying adult with select fares on almost all of Amtrak’s routes, including Acela business class and coach class on popular routes like the Coast Starlight, Downeaster, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, California Zephyr, Empire Builder, and even The Auto Train. (Sadly, the deal

All the opening and closing and selective reopening and closing of borders worldwide have affected more than just our sanity—the pandemic has drastically affected the world’s passport rankings. Back in June, The Passport Index, a real-time resource that ranks the strength of the world’s passports, reported that only about a third of the world was open for travel—a huge drop from the all-time high of 54 percent recorded in December 2019 (you know, right before the pandemic hit). "Evidently, the

Summer may be officially over—R.I.P.—but Amtrak is already giving us reasons to get excited about celebrating fall. This week the national rail service announced a huge buy-one-get-one sale on Acela business class and Northeast Regional coach train fares. This means you can buy a ticket and bring a friend for free—or just split the difference and save 50 percent on ticket prices. Sure, cars are great for road trips, but trains are where it's at when it comes to the ultimate hands-free way to sn

It looks like Belize has finally re-set its reopening date for tourists—for real this time. After coronavirus concerns caused the country to scrap its original Aug. 15 reopening date, Belize recently announced that it would begin welcoming international visitors via Philip Goldson International Airport starting Oct. 1. However, visitors seeking the Belizean sun, sand, scuba, and eco-adventures should expect to have to jump through a few hoops to get to it all. Belize isn’t taking chances when i

As if gambling on the COVID-19 cautiousness of your fellow travelers and waiting it out to see if our pre-flight PCR tests come back negative (and in time) wasn’t all the excitement we could handle, Virgin Atlantic Holidays has swooped in to offer up yet another way to roll the dice this winter. The British travel company is now offering a new ‘Escape Pass’ that basically promises a quarantine-free Caribbean vacation—clutch during a time where traveling to many countries (if you can even get in)

Whenever cruises get the green light to restart passenger sailings, don’t expect the big ships to have Key West on the itinerary. Sailings on ships with a capacity of more than 250 passengers have been suspended in U.S. waters since March, finally giving the good people of Key West a glimpse at what a life without tens of thousands of cruising daytrippers looks and feels like daily. Well, the people have spoken—well, voted, rather—and they want to keep out big ships and large cruise crowds. On

If you’re bummed out about having to skip the big family gathering this Christmas, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises has got just the cure for your quarantine holiday blues. Come July 2021, the luxury cruise line will be turning back the clock to give you red, green, and everything that’s festive in between with their Christmas in July sailings. That’s right, they are giving everyone the ultimate 2020 gift: a do-over. “During these challenging times, the holidays will undoubtedly look different f