Americans are not ready for the Real ID Act that goes into full effect a year from now, according to a survey released last week by the nonprofit trade group U.S. Travel Association. The Real ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 to increase security measures concerning state-issued personal identification cards, mainly driver’s licenses,…
TripAdvisor will no longer sell tickets to attractions that breed, import or capture whales, dolphins, porpoises and other cetaceans for public display, the company announced on Wednesday. The move will ban sales to attractions and events at parks and aquariums worldwide, including SeaWorld, which has locations in Florida, Texas and California, Loro Parque in Spain…
In the Kihnu Museum on a tiny Estonian island, the elders, dressed in matching striped skirts, pondered a favorite question over coffee. What hasn’t a Kihnu woman done? They kept a running list of all of the necessary jobs they remember Kihnu women doing in the absence of men, from fixing tractor engines to performing…
If you travel overseas, be warned: Pickpockets really are out to get you. I don’t mean the light-fingered thieves who try to grab your wallet. I am talking about digital pickpockets: hotels, restaurants and shops that systematically overcharge foreigners who use credit and debit cards in their establishments. A few weeks ago, my family ate…
When the real estate developer (and former Starwood Hotels & Resorts executive) Paul McGowan was touring colleges with his daughter, he couldn’t find decent accommodations near the schools they visited. So he launched Study Hotels in 2008, with The Study at Yale. A modernist tower in Philadelphia followed, and The Study at University of Chicago…
For the first time, Saudi Arabia is officially opening its doors to tourists interested in visiting the kingdom for more than religious reasons. The ultraconservative Middle Eastern kingdom announced a new e-visa program on Friday that will allow people from 49 countries to enter the country for tourism, for stays as long as three months.…
Penny Yim-Barbieri, 47, a freelance translator based in Las Vegas, didn’t have the Cook Islands on her travel radar when she got an email alert from Scott’s Cheap Flights about round-trip tickets to Rarotonga from Los Angeles at $495. She and her husband jumped on the deal and soon found themselves scuba diving in the…
Visitors to the Galápagos Islands will likely pay an increased park fee starting next year, a decision that reflects growing concerns that skyrocketing tourism on the Ecuadorean archipelago is harming its fragile and unique ecosystem. Visitors currently pay a $100 fee to the Galápagos National Park, with mainland Ecuadoreans paying $6. Last month, Ecuador’s ministries…
Just outside the train station in the Swiss town of Sion, a yellow signpost points hikers in two main directions with no fewer than 16 routes to choose from. As you cross the medieval downtown, keeping the Valère Basilica and the Tourbillon Castle on the right, aim for the Valaisanne Brewery. If you can resist…
When the Norwegian Encore, the newest ship from Norwegian Cruise Line, launches in November, it will carry no plastic water bottles to offer guests. The 4,000-passenger ship will instead carry Just Water, with a carton made mostly of paper, and a cap made of sugar cane. The company aims to switch its entire fleet over…