Corona Travel Updates June 2020

Earlier this month, government leaders made an important step toward fixing a lot of the problems with air travel today.

Travelers heading to or from Washington, D.C., through Reagan/National Airport can expect major ground travel disruptions and delays through July 18. Trains on both the Blue and Yellow lines will suspend operations on two track segments:

Jet lag—the grogginess, dehydration, and general discomfort that follows a long-haul flight, has always seemed unavoidable. Especially now, as airlines pack even more passengers into dry, pressurized cabins and decrease their average seat size. Right?

The esteemed Dr. Beach has released his annual list of America’s top ten beaches, and you’ll want to visit all of them this summer—doctors orders.

The European train pass system Eurail (formerly known as Eurorail) has completely overhauled its passes for 2019. The new options are, overall, a major improvement for rail travelers, including lower prices, new country inclusions, and new routes including added island ferries.

Italy’s Riviera di Ponente, or Western Riviera, has long attracted travelers—in the late 19th century new rail connections made it easier for well-heeled and titled English and Russians to escape their dreary winters, but before and after WWII, destinations on the Côte d'Azur and Riviera di Levante (the Eastern Riviera), like Rapallo, Portofino, and later, Cinque Terre, stepped into the spotlight, drawing celebrity names and eventually flocks of tourists.

The Great American West is as great as its name implies. The region – covering North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho – is big-sky country, characterized by epic landscapes from the towering Rocky Mountains to the tumbleweed Great Plains. You’ll find fifteen national parks and monuments here, ripe for exploring. But how has the area experienced coronavirus, and how is it opening up? We chatted with The Great American West PR and Communications Manager Kim Paulson to learn more.

We might all be marooned in our houses, but what about those stuck on actual desert islands? Here, we take a look at coronavirus in the Caribbean, diving into its impact and thinking about what travel here might look like for the rest of this year and into 2021. In the meantime, evocative virtual campaigns are emanating from the region – inspiring content that will bring tropical vibes to your quarantine barbecue and have you gagging to visit. We talked to Sharon at the Grenada Tourism Authority, who helped us to scratch beneath the surface to start understanding what coronavirus means for the Caribbean.

With lockdowns starting to gradually lift across Europe, travellers everywhere are looking to the future. The question on everyone’s lips: will I be able to take a summer holiday? The short answer is (probably) yes – though it might be sensible to set your sights on somewhere a bit closer to home. And it almost goes without saying that while you’re away you’ll still need to respect all government and local regulations.

Greece is a country with a big heart, lapped by the waves of the Mediterranean, Aegean and Ionian seas. This is a place defined by its sea-salt location, peppered with stunning islands, jaw-dropping beaches and hideaway rocky coves. Add masses of ancient ruins and superlative fresh food to the mix, and it’s no surprise that travellers have flocked here since time immemorial. Having weathered the coronavirus pandemic better than many expected, visitors are already turning their heads to Greece again. We spoke to the Secretary General of the Greek National Tourist Office, Dimitris Fragakis, to find out more about how the nation has coped with Covid-19, and what travel might look like in the summer season and beyond.

The island of Mauritius, flung in the Indian Ocean some 800 miles from Madagascar, is the perfect tropical paradise. It’s synonymous with bleach-white sandy beaches and luxurious resorts, but there’s also rugged mountain peaks, teeming wildlife and enough activities to keep the pulse racing. The island responded early to coronavirus, thankfully resulting in low case numbers and fatality figures. We spoke to Arvind Bundhun, Director of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, to find out more.

Understandably, most of us are closely following the effects of coronavirus at home: the daily news keeps our minds directed to what’s happening close to us. But cast your mind back two months, before the coronavirus hit Italy, and you’ll recall that back then, much of the media’s attention was focused on the Middle East – specifically, Iran, which was the first country outside China to suffer a huge number of cases of coronavirus.