Posts

Atlanta’s international airport was once again the busiest airport in the world in 2021, according to a new study, seeing more than 75 million passengers pass through its terminals last year. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which was temporarily dethroned in 2020 by Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport, saw a 76.4% increase in traffic compared to the first year of the pandemic, according to the Airports Council International. However, the airport still didn’t reach pre-pandemic levels and remained 31....

There’s always a special magic about visiting a small town. The slow-paced lifestyle, a sense of community that welcomes you, long-established traditions and crafts to learn from, and dishes that tell stories. But in Mexico, there’s a special concept behind some small towns. In 2001, the Mexican government started a program that highlighted some towns as “Magical Towns” (pueblos mágicos) for their cultural and natural richness. In order to get this fantastic distinction, a town must have historic architecture, amazing landscapes, and rooted traditions....

I glance at the clock in the corner of my screen, 4:55 p.m. peers back at me. I pen my out-of-office email and shut down my computer. I suddenly feel as if I’m floating. My vacation has officially started, and there’s nothing standing between me and 10 days of hiking in Washington’s beautiful North Cascades National Park. But here’s the best part: I’m only using four vacation days! Over the years I’ve learned ways to maximize my limited company vacation days to the point where coworkers have asked if I negotiated more personal time off, or PTO, or if I somehow discovered the secret to being in two places at once....

What are your long-term travel plans? COVID-19 is not forever, yet for many it’s still making it complicated to plan a faraway trip. So why not extend your horizons and allow yourself to think about the epic trips you want to take some day? Then get planning! Here are six incredible once-in-a-lifetime trips you can research, plan, and even book years in advance. How to Plan a Cruise Around Antarctica...

Shoppers Love These Comfortable KN95 Face Masks — and They’re Available for Both Kids and Adults CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, says “you should be wearing a KN95 or N95 mask,” since they have a better fit and the tightly woven material is better at blocking respiratory droplets....

Someone call Mulder and Scully. At approximately 9 p.m. local time on Thursday night, the sky lit up across the Pacific Northwest in what looked like a wildly intense, super-concentrated meteor shower — or maybe even an alien attack. Videos surfaced on social media almost immediately, with witnesses across the region speculating that it could be a comet breaking up or, more darkly, a plane crashing. In fact, it was the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket burning up as it reentered the atmosphere, according to Center for Astrophysics astronomer Jonathan McDowell, whose tweet explaining the incident went viral....

Travelers have been masking up on planes for nearly two years — and the CEO of one European airline thinks the protocol is here to stay. “We have put into place so many additional protocols,” TAP Air Portugal CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener said, as she visited TAP employees in Newark this week, according to Skift. “I am absolutely convinced they will stay forever.” Individual airlines in the United States have enforced mask policies throughout the pandemic and were federally regulated until January 2021....

Dubai-based carrier Emirates Airline has a team of cabin crew made up of more than 20,000 individuals who travel from across the globe to move to the destination and become part of one of the world’s top airlines. Crew members receive accommodation in Dubai and conduct extensive training to ensure a safe and smooth flight for passengers, learning everything from how to deliver babies mid-flight to how to conduct water landings, all while traveling to locales around the world....

Sometimes, you can find rainbows in unexpected places, including in the middle of northwestern Arkansas. Spanish street artist Okuda San Miguel teamed up with Justkids (an art curation house) and 64.6 Downtown (a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing the community) to completely transform a rundown house in Fort Smith, Arkansas, into a beautiful, colorful destination​​​​​​, Hyperallergic reported. Courtesy of Justkids Dubbed the “Rainbow Embassy,” the house-slash-art installation has been painted in all the colors of the rainbow as well as eye-catching patterns such as stripes, geometric shapes, and stars, according to Artnet News....

It’s no surprise that workers are taking shorter and shorter vacations. According to Expedia’s 18th annual Vacation Deprivation study, workers across the globe are using fewer vacation days than ever before. Today’s vacation deprived workers aren’t necessarily against the idea of having a vacation — far from it. But many are looking for a time-efficient solution that lets them get away and also shields them from the fear of work piling up when they get back....

Since mask mandates have returned in many states, it’s become important once again to find a comfortable, protective face mask that you can wear for both everyday activities and travel. I’m a travel editor, and I’ve been wearing the Bloch Soft Stretch Reusable Face Mask for over a year now. It’s still the mask I always reach for, no matter where I’m going. 8 Comfortable Face Masks to Wear While Flying...

Millions of Americans have been inoculated against COVID-19, receiving the vaccine that brings the promise of returning to life pre-2020. But what that means practically has been an evolving science since news of the shot first emerged, leaving many with questions. The jab offers protection and comes with certain benefits, like getting together in small groups and avoiding some quarantine requirements, but experts told Travel + Leisure it doesn’t mean we will be putting away our masks anytime soon....

Listen up New Yorkers, you don’t have to make your way to Munich or navigate complicated pandemic travel restrictions to have a memorable Oktoberfest. From now through Oct. 31, you’ll be able to celebrate on board a boat while leaf-peeping along the Hudson River. Circle Line’s Bear Mountain Cruise leaves from Pier 83 in Manhattan, heading 50 miles up the Hudson River to Bear Mountain State Park. Passengers on board the approximately eight-hour round-trip journey can feast on bratwursts, pork schnitzels, Bavarian pretzels, potato salad, and beer in celebration of Oktoberfest....

California is once again experiencing a super bloom of, well, super proportions. Though the sight of stunning orange poppies is certainly enticing, the hoards of tourists flocking to — and sometimes trampling — the flowers are becoming an issue. However, those tourists have nothing on the couple who decided to skip the line and land their helicopter on the flowers instead. As CNN reported, a helicopter landed right inside the popular Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve....

When a land dog meets a sea dog, they’re naturally going to become best friends. A dachshund named Stanley met a rescue seal named Aayla while visiting the Sea Life Trust Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, Cornwall on Thursday — and they instantly became buddies, Helen Le Caplain at Kennedy News and Media reported. Melanie Talbot, Stanley’s human companion, managed to capture the moments when Stanley and Aayla rubbed noses on the glass partition, and then posed for the camera....

Only one airplane on Earth can carry four Russian military tanks, an entire train, or 50 cars. It requires six engines and a staggering 290-foot wingspan (that’s nearly the length of a football field) to accomplish these feats, but such superlatives have helped the Antonov An-225 claim the distinction of being the world’s biggest airplane. Designed to carry Soviet spacecraft in the 1980s, the An-225 (also known as the “Mriya”) weighs just a hair over 661 tons and is 276 feet long....

With more restaurants, bars, and other indoor venues in Hawaii requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination, the state is launching a digital health pass. Like the digital health passes being adopted in France, New York, California, and Louisiana, Hawaii’s system uses QR codes to confirm vaccination status. Governor David Ige described it as “another step toward protecting the health and safety of our residents and visitors, while also balancing the need to support local businesses and Hawaii’s economy....

Hong Kong Disneyland will close its doors again due to a spike in coronavirus. “As required by the government and health authorities in line with prevention efforts taking place across Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland park will temporarily close from July 15,” a Disney spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Travel + Leisure on Monday. “The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort hotels will remain open with adjusted levels of services. They have put in place enhanced health and safety measures that reflect the guidance of health and government authorities, such as social distancing measures and increased cleaning and sanitization....

Museums aren’t all famous artifacts and beautiful paintings. Sometimes, things you find in a museum can be downright…creepy. Since many museums around the world are closed in accordance with coronavirus lockdown measures, a visit to the museum is pretty much impossible at the moment (unless you opt for a virtual museum tour, that is). With so many museum curators waiting for the moment to reopen their doors to the public, they’re finding ways to engage with people over social media....

The bright lights of Broadway have been dimmed for nearly 11 months, but there may be a glimmer of hope in the distance. At his press conference on Monday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo detailed a plan to safely rev up the state’s performing arts industry that has been dark since March 12 because of the coronavirus outbreak. “When you shut down Broadway, when you shut down movie theaters, you stop an entire industry,” he explained at the conference, shared in a video by ABC7 Eyewitness News....