Hope your weekend is off to a good start! Here’s your weekly roundup of the travel related stories that caught our eye this past week, starting with the latest Covid-19 developments:
France announced this week that they are banning all travel to its territories in the Caribbean and French Polynesia. This means that US travelers can no longer visit Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barts, St. Martin (French side) and Tahiti. Our list of potential Caribbean destinations continues to shrink. Need to watch this closely, since so much of the Caribbean is made up of territories controlled by European countries. Especially keep an eye on what the Brits and the Dutch may do in their territorial islands.
You should also note that there is some talk within the Biden administration about requiring all passengers on US domestic flights to have a recent negative Covid-19 test before being allowed to board. This is a reaction to the more contagious variants being detected around the world. We’ll keep an eye on this and keep you posted of any further developments.
Here’s a good source for additional information on getting the now-mandatory Covid-19 test prior to returning to the states.
The other trend we’re watching relates to cruising in 2021. Two domestic cruise lines announced that they will require all passengers and crew to be vaccinated beginning July 1, 2021. And Canada will not permit any cruise ships to enter its waters until March 1, 2022 at the earliest, a move that will disrupt most Alaska cruise itineraries.
And now, the rest of the stories. . .
Photo by elena popova on Unsplash
Armchair trip of the weekend: If you’re missing a guided walk through one of the world’s great art museums, click on over to the Google Arts & Culture page. Ten great museums, including MoMA New York and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, are represented. It’s not the same as being there, but in some ways it’s better: You can really study some of the details much more closely without having to look around that person in front of you.
If you’re planning a trip up or down the Pacific Coast Highway anytime soon, you should know that a section of the 101 collapsed last week due to heavy rains https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-29/winter-storm-causes-landslides-in-big-sur. The affected section is south of Big Sur, so travel from Carmel south to Big Sur should not be impacted. Click here for an amazing drone’s eye view of the damage.
February is Black History month, and here’s a chance to learn about one woman’s crusade to preserve some of her family’s history on Cape Cod. We made a contribution to the project’s GoFundMe page, and hope you might consider doing the same.
Not too far away, in Nantucket, a beautiful new hotel is opening with a unique backstory: Its design is based on a fictional story about it’s former owner and her return to her home island after years of adventure. https://www.travelandleisure.com/hotels-resorts/boutique-hotels/faraway-hotel-nantucket-opening-june-2021
Trying to find a safer way to travel in a Covid-19 world? Perhaps an RV trip should be in your travel plans, or maybe a stay in a 21st century version of the roadside motel https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2021/01/how-families-can-make-the-most-out-of-spring-break/#close.
If you consider yourself to be a travel nomad, here’s a story about some real American nomads https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/feb/04/modern-nomads-nomadland-van-life-us-public-lands?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits, including the inspiration for the film Nomadland, an Oscar contender starring the great Frances McDormand.
American Express announced some terrific promotional offers this week, making it even easier for its cardholders to offset the cost of annual fees https://frequentmiler.com/amexs-preemptive-retention-credits-mark-a-strategy-shift/. But don’t apply for one of these cards now to take advantage. . .the offers are only valid for cardholders as of January 1, 2021.
“The Bachelor” filmed this season at the beautiful Nemacolin Resort in southwest Pennsylvania. . .here’s a look at how they did it and how you can put together your own version. Come on, I know some of you are into this show. . . https://www.travelandleisure.com/hotels-resorts/nemacolin-resort-matt-james-the-bachelor
We stumbled upon a great YouTube show called “Gino’s Italian Escape” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKMlRAsmqWQ&list=PLrvNWozhFlGiXhMJxcROsPPhtrN7tjUmX. Gino D’Acampo is an Italian celebrity chef who mixes his travels around the boot with some great recipes to produce an always entertaining show. If you’re as addicted to Italy as we are, check it out.
Who isn’t interested in visiting some truly off-the-wall places? Atlas Obscura does the scouting for you. Use their website https://www.atlasobscura.com/ or buy the book. They’re up to 20,720 unusual places to see, and some of them are right in your backyard, like the Frozen (and Leaning) Cleveland Lighthouse.
What are your favorite travel websites, books or videos? Please share them with us by leaving a comment below. Thanks for being a part of The Exceptional Traveler community!
