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The “Green Pass" Is Italy’s Must-Have Travel Accessory This Season

If you’re planning a trip to Italy this season—and possibly beyond—you’re going to want to make sure you’ve got one quintessential accessory before making the trip. No, it’s not a trendy beach bag for looking good during lazy days along the Italian Riviera, nor is it a designer pair of sunglasses. Italy’s new green pass is far less stylish than any other accessories you’ll be toting along for your travels, but it sure will make you look good and help you enjoy la dolce vita. Starting Aug. 6, if
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Man With COVID-19 Tries Skirting Flight Rules by Disguising Himself as His Wife

An Indonesian man found a creative solution to getting around COVID-19 flight restrictions. The COVID-19 positive man managed to fool airport check-in, slip through security, and board a flight from the Indonesian capital Jakarta to Ternate. How? By pretending to be his own wife. Yes, the man, identified only by his initials, D.W., disguised himself as his wife—donning a head-to-toe niqab and presenting her identification documents as well as his wife’s negative PCR test results. “He bought th
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Riviera Maya's New All-Inclusive Resort Is Perfect for All-Inclusive Haters

Mexico’s Riviera Maya is about as flush with all-inclusives as it is with beautiful beaches—but not everyone’s a fan. For anyone who thinks the all-inclusive resort isn’t for them, one of Mexico’s newer hotel groups is working hard to convince you to rethink your stance. Grupo Xcaret, the folks behind Riviera Maya’s famous natural adventure parks—Xcaret, Xplor, Xel-Ha, Xenses, and others—has once again raised the bar when it comes to luxury all-inclusive concepts. And this time, they’re going a
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Royal Caribbean Releases New Guidelines for Summer Florida Sailings

The ol’ game of switcheroo is still in full effect for cruise lines—but at this point, it’s all par for the course, right? Last week, Royal Caribbean sent out updated health protocols to booked passengers on the cruise line’s August sailings from Florida homeports. Think mask requirements, age recommendations for vaccines, social distancing protocols, and more. These changes were made—and differ ever so slightly—from the current health guidelines and protocol taking place on the July Freedom of
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Intrepid Travel Is Giving Away A Free Trip For Two to Antarctica—Here’s How to Enter

It’s fair to say that 2020 didn’t turn out the way that any of us could have planned. We were locked down, masked up, and travel meant venturing outside from the kitchen to the backyard for many of us. While travel may have opened up, all in all, the first half of 2021 hasn’t really been the cathartic change we were hoping to see. What if you could end this year with the ultimate adventure and ring in the new year in Antarctica? In celebration of the inaugural season for their newest polar exp
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Canada to Loosen Border Restrictions Next Month—as Long as You're Vaccinated

After 16 months of being tightly buttoned up, Canada announced that it would begin to loosen its collar around border restrictions. The first folks in? Citizens and permanent residents from the U.S. Yes, the long wait is finally over. Starting Aug. 9, 2021, fully-vaccinated U.S. travelers will be able to cross over into the Great White North for non-essential purposes. Entry from all other countries is tentative, dependent on the ever-changing status of COVID-19, but scheduled for Sept. 7—again
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The US Has Issued A "Do Not Travel" Advisory for the UK and Four Other Countries

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. State Department have officially raised the advisory level and are warning U.S. citizens and residents to avoid travel to five countries around the globe, citing a marked concern over rising COVID-19 cases in these areas. The five newest countries bumped up to the ‘Do Not Travel’ list include Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Fiji, the British Virgin Islands, and the United Kingdom. Until yesterday, July 19, these countries were all hovering
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This Luxury Train Will Make Slow Travel Smart and Sexy—if It Can Find a Buyer

Last month, we shared news about the Midnight Train out of Paris, a luxury liner that will make riding the train feel more like a hip and upscale boutique hotel than a utilitarian mode of transportation. However, this month it’s all eyes on the G Train, an ultra-luxury train like we’ve never seen before. French designer Thierry Gaugin’s vision for the new sleek, sexy, and smart G Train has basically sauntered down the rails saying, “Hold my champagne.” The futuristic train will leave the moder
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Airlines Are Now Adding—and Dropping—Flights in Anticipation of Future Travel

Starting an airline during a pandemic may seem like a gamble to some, but, as we reported back in April, that’s exactly the kind of challenge Avelo Airlines was up for. Helmed by several seasoned aviation and travel industry professionals, the new low-cost carrier hoped to appeal to rebounding travelers with low-fare flights that offered a low-frills (but not no-frills) experience. Although it only launched a little over three months ago, some hawk-eyed travelers spotted that the airline had al
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A Recent Overbooked Flight Ended up Costing Delta $180,000

If there was ever a sign that air travel is back, consider it the fact that airlines are starting to oversell flights again. While they may have struggled with capacity during the thick of the pandemic, it’s beginning to be more common for planes to be stuffed to the gills once again. What else is back? Apparently the airlines’ risky gamble of overselling flights in order to maximize profits. We get it, it’s been a tough 18 months—but a gamble is just that: a gamble. And, as Delta recently foun
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AmaWaterways to Start Immersive Sailings on Colombia's Magdalena River

AmaWaterways, a stalwart of European river cruising, is heading to South America. The beloved boutique river cruise line has announced that starting in December 2023, it will sail along the beautiful banks of the Magdalena River in Colombia. And, thanks to its partnership with Metropolitan Touring, the leading tour operator in South America, passengers who dip their feet in the new all-suite experience can take a fully immersive plunge into Colombian culture from both land and water. “Drawing o
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Getting Into Hawaii Just Got A Little Easier—As Long As You’re Vaccinated

Planning travels to Hawaii? If you’re fully vaccinated and got your jabs somewhere in the U.S., then you’re good to go. The Aloha State has officially expanded their Vaccine Exception Program— which dropped the islands’ pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirements for anyone vaccinated in Hawaii—to also include fully-vaccinated travelers who received their shots elsewhere in the United States. This means that travelers who have been jabbed on the mainland or in any U.S. territory bypass the state’
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Tennessee Will Chip in for Your Flight to Visit the State’s Most Popular Cities

Got your sights on a trip to Tennessee? What if we told you that your flights could be free? The Tennessee tourism team really wants you to come visit. They want everyone to come visit. So much so that their newest campaign, Tennessee on Me, is giving $250 airline vouchers to 10,000 people to help with the flights. The gist of this offer is that Visit Tennessee will give $250 worth of airline vouchers on either Delta, Southwest, or American Airlines to anyone who books at least a two-night sta
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Get Your Own Month-Long Vegas Residency With This Hotels.com Sweeps

Ever want to know what it’s like to live the high life in Sin City? Well, the odds have just gotten better thanks to a new sweepstakes from Hotels.com. One lucky winner will join the likes of celebs like Britney, Gaga, and Celine with a Vegas residency on the Vegas Strip-complete with all the VIP perks that come along with it. Performing a live show to a sold-out crowd is hard work, so, thankfully, Hotels.com’s first-ever Hotel Resident will barely have to lift a finger. Instead, they’ll just h
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This New European Overnight Train Line Wants You to Ride the Rails in Style

A French startup is hoping to get us all back on track with a new sleeper train service operating out of Paris—and we’ve got the pandemic to thank for it. After peering out the window at an almost post-pandemic travel landscape, founders of Midnight Trains saw a second chance for the European sleeper train. And, in true Parisian fashion, they’re looking to make it a stylish journey. Before country-hopping flight routes became plentiful and ultra-budget airfares inundated the scene, train travel
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13 Years After a Fire, This Popular Big Sur Hiking Trail Has Reopened

Thirteen years ago, lightning struck along the coast of Big Sur, igniting one of the worst wildfires in California history. Devouring 162,818 acres, the Basin Complex Fire destroyed the area—including much of the bridges, signage, and railings of Pfeiffer Falls Trails, one of the area’s most popular hiking trails. The trail was immediately closed to the public and has been ever since—until recently. Instead of viewing the casualty as a loss, the California Department of Parks and Recreation and
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Thanks to a Big Legal Win, Cruises Can Now Return to Florida Ports

A Florida man has just won big in court, securing the immediate future of the state’s cruise industry. Cruises can now officially restart from Florida ports as soon as July 18, 2021—without following the rules outlined in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Conditional Sailing Order—all thanks to a lawsuit filed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis back in April. The controversial Republican governor hasn’t been alone in his criticism of how the cruise industry has been treated through
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Royal Caribbean's First Sailing Delayed After Crew Tests Positive for COVID-19

It looks like there’s been another anchor tossed overboard in the cruise industry’s efforts to get back out to sea. On June 16, Royal Caribbean announced that the inaugural sailing for Odyssey of the Seas would once again be pushed back. We’ll give you one guess why. “Two steps forward, and one step back,” Royal Caribbean president and CEO Michael Bayley shared in a statement on Wednesday. Bayley then announced that eight of the ship’s crew had tested positive for COVID-19 during the second rou
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Cruise Ships' Recent COVID-19 Cases Might Actually Be Good News—Here's Why

Another attempted cruise ship restart, another round of passengers who’ve tested positive for COVID-19. It’s becoming a tale as old as time—or at least as long as we’ve been dealing with the current pandemic. Try as they might, it seems cruise ships can’t catch a break. No matter what they do, COVID finds a way on board. Will we ever safely cruise again? In the most recent bout of cruise doubt, this past Thursday, two passengers aboard the Celebrity Millennium tested positive for COVID-19. It
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Amtrak Has Finally Brought Back Its USA Rail Pass—and It's on Sale

The return of the USA Rail Pass is being celebrated in true Amtrak fashion—with a sale. From now until June 22, 2021, the reinstated all-you-can-ride passes are just $299, nearly half off from the regular $499 price tag. The national rail service, which turned 50 this year, has been on a roll lately, from restoring daily service on long-distance routes to offering up great fare sales. This latest news is proof they are not slowing down and are continuing to let the good times roll. The new rein
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