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  • September 30, 2022

TravelBits

Road Trippin’

Though coastal Highway 1 often gets all the glory when it comes to California road trips, insiders and mountain lovers alike know the real gem lies in a drive along Route 395, whether it be for stellar ski runs, view-filled snowshoe treks, or cozy bars full of boutique wines and craft beers. The route is also heavy on Hollywood history (Lone Pine has long been a favorite filming location), volcanic hot springs, and staggering high-mountain vistas.
Source: Condé Nast Traveler

Perfectly British

Here’s one for your bucket list. Take a bicycle trip from Wadebridge to Padstow, along the British coast in Cornwall, where the sea is a thousand shades of blue and the land is wild and open. There are bike rental shops at the start of the route, with bikes for all ages. Coming into Padstow the whitewashed town is incredibly pretty. Queue up for chef Rick Stein’s fresh catch, or, frankly, amble the narrow back streets for local meat pasties (aka a meat hand pie) and fish and chips covered in salt and vinegar, which you can eat on the harbor wall watching the seagulls and boats come in.
Source: Yahoo News

Good News for Weary Travelers

Online passport renewal is coming your way starting early 2023. The shift will eliminate the need for piles of paperwork and hours waiting in lines. But it will still take some time to actually get your hands on your passport.
Source: The New York Times

Have An Ice Day

The Rideau Canal, Canada’s 185-year-old, 124-mile-long waterway consisting of canals, rivers, and lakes, connects Ottawa and Kingston via 47 locks. And it is at its finest in wintry Ottawa, where a stretch of its waters become the Rideau Canal Skateway — the world’s largest skating rink. People swoosh by on 4.8 miles of groomed ice, pausing for hot chocolate and scrumptious slabs of fried dough called beavertails (a quintessentially Canadian treat). February’s Winterlude festival kicks it up a notch when townsfolk build massive ice sculptures.
Source: Lonely Planet

So Cheesy

Many destinations love to organize themselves with wine trails, street art walks, public art districts, and so forth — but did you know that Vermont has its very own Cheese Trail? This roughly 280-mile loop circuit of the state’s top cheesemakers makes for an excellent diversion no matter where you find yourself in the state. Some stops are small, family-owned dairy farms on sleepy country roads; others are larger institutions with museums and formal tours. Check out the Vermont Cheese Council’s website for an interactive map with all the stops.
Source: National Geographic

Chug-A-Lug

After two years of canceled festivals, Octoberfest returned to Munich, Germany, September 17-October 3, 2022, for what promised to be the largest, most-joyous celebration in its history. The two-and-a-half-week celebration featured parades, fair rides, traditional food, and music, and of course, lots of beer.
Source: USA Today

Get Lost — In a Good Way

The luxury boutique hotel, El Perdido, with its outdoor bathtubs, telescopes for stargazing, and awesome sunset views, is located down a dirt road in Pescadero, a small Mexican beach town. Its unassuming walls give nothing away to the outside world, but inside, an adventure worth getting lost for certainly awaits. The resort is home to all the comforts the discerning traveler could want, but what makes it stand out are the details that exist for no greater reason than to ensure you have fun and stop taking life too seriously.
Source: Travel + Leisure

Build Anticipation

A wide range of novels, histories, memoirs, travelogues, and works of journalism can offer unique and illuminating perspectives from a location’s residents or previous visitors. Fortunately, bookworms with wanderlust can turn to TripFiction, a free, easy-to-use online resource for finding reading recommendations for travel. Just enter a location in the search bar on the homepage and you’ll be shown a list of titles tied to that place. They won’t all be works of fiction either. In fact, you can refine your search by applying a filter to sort results by 18 different genres, from autobiography to YA.
Source: Frommer’s

Meet the eVTOLs

United Airlines is betting on a “Jetsons”-style future for commuters by putting down a $10 million deposit on a fleet of 100 flying four-person taxis from Archer Aviation. Despite the name, the taxis look less like cars and more like small helicopters. They are electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, or eVTOLs, and use batteries to hover and fly with the assistance of propellers.
Source: The Washington Times

Easing Travel Angst

Travel is inherently stressful, but the long lines and flight cancellations this year have led more people to discover that the airport is a great place to work out. Those passengers running, lunging, and exercising in terminals say the activity breaks up the wait time and lowers their stress levels. Gyms are also opening inside airports to accommodate demand. Click here for a U.S. based cheat sheet for those who want to exercise during flight delays or layovers.
Source: Wall Street Journal

Up, Up, and Away

If you’re yearning to hop aboard a hot air balloon but are too nervous to throw caution to the wind and take off, Dutch chef Angélique Schmeinck has something to sweeten the deal — literally. On CuliAir Skydining, the world’s first hot air balloon restaurant, you can enjoy a three-course meal while floating amid the clouds and celebrate your return with dessert and champagne at the landing site.
Source: NiceNews.com

Good News

The latest data from Hopper, the travel booking app that tracks airfare changes, suggests that round-trip domestic airfare in September and October will cost an average of $238, down $142 from the summer high. Here’s the top 10 domestic destinations getting the biggest price drops in airfare this autumn.

  1. San Diego: $252 round-trip, down $230
  2. Portland, Oregon: $314 round-trip, down $218
  3. Salt Lake City: $242 round-trip, down $201
  4. Seattle: $301 round-trip, down $191
  5. Los Angeles: $246 round-trip, down $189
  6. Anchorage, Alaska: $428 round-trip, down $183
  7. Colorado Springs, Colorado: $323 round-trip, down $177
  8. Denver: $203 round-trip, down $154
  9. Big Island, Hawaii: $484 round-trip, down $154
  10. Phoenix: $254 round-trip, down $153

Source: Travel + Leisure

An Artful Experience

Stockholm is surrounded by 30,000 islands, but only one of those islands allows you to experience it as you marvel at art. The Artipelag Gallery on Varmdo sits amid 54 acres of fields and forests of the archipelago and it can be reached by a 20-minute bus ride from the city center or by ferry on the weekend (a bit like visiting MONA in Hobart). Be sure to stroll along the wooden paths on the water’s edge near the gallery, enjoy a lunch at the restaurants and enjoy the design of Artipelag, the late architect Johan Nyrén’s last and possibly finest creation.
Source: fiftydegreesnorth.com

Fantasy Come True

If you’ve ever watched the Diane Lane classic, Under the Tuscan Sun, it’s probably safe to say you’ve dreamed of moving to Tuscany or, at the very least, booking an extended vacay there. Well, there’s no time like the present, because you can now rent none other than the Villa Bramasole, officially known as Villa Laura, for a week-long stay. With a completely modernized kitchen, 10 bedrooms and 10.5 bathrooms, the massive estate includes a farmhouse, conservatory, and sprawling grounds.
Source: housebeautiful.com

The Search is On

Frommer’s regularly pits the best airfare search engines, aggregators, and booking sites against each other in a battle royale to see which can find the lowest price on more than two dozen identical searches. Currently their top five sites, starting with number one, are Skyscanner, Kiwi, Hopper, Kayak and Tripadvisor. In fact, they suggest never booking a ticket without checking Skyscanner first. Source: Frommer’s

Texas Luxury

This Four Diamond resort is in the Texas Hill Country, but the waterfront, palm trees, and colorful macaw parrots make it feel more like South America. The dramatic landscaping at Horseshoe Bay Resort in Horseshoe Bay, TX includes a par-72 putting course, waterfalls, and a flamingo pond among beautiful gardens. Elegant rooms with traditional decor vary in size and design, and you can upgrade to one with a balcony.
Source: AAA.com

What’s Your Pleasure?

Located on the sun-kissed island of Key Largo, around 70 miles south of Miami, Bungalows Key Largo appeals to couples in search of a private and peaceful Florida Keys getaway. At this adults-only, all-inclusive resort, couples can enjoy luxuries spanning an in-town courtesy car to complimentary valet parking, along with amenities such as free cruiser bikes and daily yoga sessions. While here, go for a dip in one of two outdoor pools, relax on 1,000 feet of private beach, or get out on the water in one of the resort’s kayaks or paddleboards. For an additional cost, lovebirds can even pamper themselves with decadent treatments like a bamboo massage or mineral bath at the resort’s on-site spa.
Source: U.S. News & World Report

Time to Book It

Experts recommend booking your Thanksgiving flight by late August or early September for the best price. And the best deals on Christmas flights are usually available through late August and early September. At the latest, you should book Thanksgiving by Halloween and Christmas by Thanksgiving, but the earlier the better. Source: Budget Travel

Dive In

Arriving in a new city can be stressful. Lugging bags around while finding your way can leave your mind and body on the brink of exhaustion. But there’s a shortcut that can solve some of these problems: Plan a trip to a local dive bar. If you research before you arrive, you’ll know why, for example, Jimmy’s Corner and Rudy’s can be an escape from the suffocation of midtown Manhattan, why to look for Sam Smith’s pubs in London, and why you should ask for a “city wide” — a shot and a beer — at a dive bar in Philadelphia.
Source: Washington Post

Reopened Sacred Trail

Following two years of extensive restoration and a delayed launch due to COVID 19, the Kingdom of Bhutan has reopened its historic and sacred Trans Bhutan Trail. The trail has historically connected remote communities and helped distribute much-needed income to local people as travelers move across the landscape.
Source: Forbes

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