COVID-19 We are believers in the life-changing aspects of travel. While travel may at this time be limited, not possible, or beyond your personal safety boundaries, that doesn’t mean you cannot dream, plan or get inspired, and our stories will help you do just that. If you do hit the road, traveling near or far, always remain informed and respectful of an area’s safety guidelines. Remember that operations and hours of businesses may temporarily change. To help guide your decisions about traveling during the pandemic please visit the CDC and check with local travel destinations.
It has been a very long 2020 but through it all we found our readers still wanted to dream of travel, to think about travel, and to plan for travel. This was made clear with our Top 10 Stories of 2020 as selected by our readers and what they viewed. Local and regional U.S. stories, stories that highlighted adventures closer to home and ideas for road trips, sprinkled with a few topics drawn from our archives allowed us and our readers to keep dreaming of travel in 2021.
Experience the lighter side of an Iditarod adventure. The Iditarod is an epic sled dog race held in March that begins in Anchorage and ends nearly 1,000 miles later in Nome. It has been an annual sporting event in Alaska since 1973, attracting spectators and the best dog sled mushers from around the world.
Little Charlie wasn’t only a musician to me. He was a buddy, somebody with whom I had shared a passion for languages and travel. Most knew Charles Baty as an internationally renowned blues and jazz musician. He passed away on March 6, 2020. I will miss my buddy Charlie forever.
We put out a call to friends and colleagues around the world for photos to document how some of us are experiencing life during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Photos from Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Innsbruck, Boston, New Orleans, London, New York, and California. Each of the photos capture a world on hold during the coronavirus outbreak — sad, strange or with humor.
You are stuck at home because of coronavirus stay-at-home requirements from governments and health agencies. Looking for things to do? This is your ultimate stay-at-home travel itinerary … where every day will be the same and only your imagination will limit your travel adventures. Tongue planted fully in cheek!
In two short weeks, we went from happy travelers to anxious escapees. Therese and I held hands and stared out the airplane window. It was goodbye Berlin. Hello to a world forever changed. From Tegel airport to London Heathrow to Los Angeles and then home, each airport provided a glimpse of a world turned upside down because of COVID-19.
The coronavirus upended the entire travel world seemingly in days. Hurrying out of Berlin, I felt like an evacuee – not that I really know what that feels like – but here I was being forced to leave somewhere I didn’t want to. I felt like Pac-Man scurrying away from the hungry ghost called COVID-19.
Should we be traveling in the age of coronavirus? We make our living as travel writers and photographers. For us, it’s either travel, or find another line of work. But the fear of COVID-19 is real. How do we travel and still stay safe from coronavirus? Read our personal essay on learning to stay calm and travel despite a fear of cornonavirus.
Times have changed a lot over the years, especially when it comes to travel, travel preparation, and things we don’t do anymore when traveling: Postcards? How quaint. Paper lists of addressees? Ah, adorable and clumsy. Paper maps? Why when we have Google?
When travel goes wrong you are rarely as prepared as you’d like to be. I had made my way to Berlin two weeks before a long-planned photo trip to Morocco that I was beyond excited about. My plans were about to go sideways.
A daily bike safety check while you are on a bike tour will help you identify potential bicycle part problems that could cause discomfort, inconvenience, or even serious injury when on the bicycle ride — such as a missing bike seat!
Armed with digital cameras and smartphones travelers are able to detail every idyllic moment of every trip in all its “Instagrammable” glory with often ridiculous travel photos. In truth, Instagram is turning us all into idiots as we embark on a frantic search for the most Instagrammable moment.
I had been volunteered to learn to hang glide for a feature story. So like Icarus centuries before, I found myself attached to a set of wings — learning to fly a hang glider — wondering if it were really possible to soar like a bird.
Body odor is a rather personal subject, so while it is not my intention to offend, consider this a warning up front – I stink. I was both thrilled and slightly apprehensive at the prospect of testing odor free antimicrobial clothing.
I have an inability to say “no” when presented with an enticing adventure and story angle, no matter how far outside my comfort zone the adventure is. Which is how I found myself discovering fear and loathing while climbing Moosedog Tower in Joshua Tree.
When I received a phone invitation to go on a hike through the Giant Sequoias in California with President George H.W. Bush during the summer of 1992, my initial reaction was, “Right, who is this, really?” I could name any number of wonderful friends who would make such an “official” offer while doubled up with mirth and glee – eager to hang any appearance of gullibility over my head for a lifetime.
The secrets of my grandfather’s life are held in a box — a 1914 Princess Mary gift box. It’s just a simple brass box. Weathered, dented, tarnished. But to me it is precious because this box saved his life. Which meant this box, in a way, saved my mum’s, mine and my daughter’s life too.
Luis Vargas, founder of ModernAdventure.com, talks with us about transformative travel, curated experiential travel, and how his vision for a new type of travel company will help travelers connect with the intersections of art, music, food, culture, history, design, and fashion on a truly local level.
I arrived at my photography workshop eager and excited for learning while traveling, but also more than a bit nervous. “Why?” asked one of the instructors earlier when I mentioned that I was a bit anxious. “We don’t bite.” Transformative travel is a marvelous thing for learning.
Fabrizio Ghilardi started Socompa Adventure Travel in November 2004 as a lark – with a website, a 4x4, and not much else. In listening to him talk about the early years of Socompa, Fabrizio seemed destined for adventure. Yes, he had a good job in Italy,...
It doesn’t take you very long to determine Frank Hugelmeyer is pretty comfortable traveling to exotic places. Apparently, that’s what happens after spending your childhood on a sport fishing boat and then 30 years or so promoting the sporting goods, fitness, outdoor and RV lifestyles across the globe.
Kevin Wenning is our guest on this episode of My Travel Tales. Kevin decided to create his bike photography tours when he couldn’t find a cycling vacation that catered to photography enthusiasts. You’ll hear about bike touring with cameras, and four tips you can use right now to make any photo better on any trip you take. And what does this experienced bike guide and photographer always pack with him where ever he goes in the world? Listen in to find out.
