Travel News & Advice – December 30, 2024

FTC in the U.S. passes law about “junk fees.” This new law prohibits bait-and-switch pricing that hides fees at hotels and in live-event ticketing. It’s about time, right? But bear in mind that this doesn’t prohibit fees, just the hiding of them.

Free city tours during airport layovers. The following cities offer free tours, so if you have a layover, take advantage: Singapore, Istanbul, Seoul, and Taipei.

The Maya Train. This new train is now running. It connects towns in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo. Reserve tickets!

An artifact in the Rubin Museum. Photo by Barbara Angelakis

Rubin Museum closes. I’m sad that the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC closed its doors in early October. It will continue to share its collection of Himalayan art digitally and in traveling shows, but I will miss the permanently housed collection.

Trevi Fountain reopens. The Trevi Fountain has been under construction, but it has now officially reopened. So you won’t be disappointed if you’re traveling to Rome!

Steepest cable car opens. The Schilthorn Cableway, the world’s steepest cable car, is now in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland. You can ride it to a revolving restaurant on the mountain that was featured in the James Bond movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It climbs 2,543 feet in four minutes.

+ posts

Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like

Rising Prices of Farm Products

Rising Prices of Farm Products

If you’re wondering why the price of potato chips, an American snacking staple, has been rising so rapidly, there are two reasons. General inflation is one; according to the the Federal Reserve, the US dollar has lost 87% of its purchasing power since 1971. But another reason that has not been considered by the buying public is an overheating planet!

read more
Recipe: Bisque d’Ecrevisses

Recipe: Bisque d’Ecrevisses

Auguste Escoffier, a chef of acknowledged genius, published his Guide Culinaire in France toward the end of his career. Looking through his recipes, I found the following Bisque d’ Ecrevisses, a dish that I recently enjoyed at a friend’s home in Florida. This friend is from Alsace, and she prepared it according to her mother’s recipe. It was the same as Escoffier’s with the exception of one ingredient – the addition of finely chopped fresh chives.

read more
Serving Cheese: An Exceptionally Tasty Indulgence

Serving Cheese: An Exceptionally Tasty Indulgence

Cheese plates and cheeseboards are a fantastic way to elevate the end of a meal or titillate the palate at a friendly gathering. With so many cheeses available in the market from all over the world, you can go overboard and create a spread that overflows with a variety of the available domestic and international varieties. But here’s a piece of advice: don’t do it!

read more
Rocky Mountaineer Train Journey through Western Canada

Rocky Mountaineer Train Journey through Western Canada

Jagged white peaks speckled with pines, stretches of parched terrain alongside vast lakes, glacial blue water sliding into creeks, and black ridges iced with snow. These are among the images that stick with you when you travel through the remarkably diverse landscapes of western Canada. And there’s no better or more relaxing way to see these panoramic spectacles than on board the Rocky Mountaineer train.

read more