Meet Captain Balfour, Studio Robert McKinley’s Latest Maritime Elegy In Montauk

Adventures by Disney and National Geographic Expeditions provided an update on the two tour brands this fall, showcasing some of their most popular trips and providing an insight into their new offerings. 

Universal Studios Hollywood’s seasonal Christmas and winter holiday favorites, “Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” and “Grinchmas,” are beginning November 24, 2023 and will continue through January 1, 2024, with holiday activities included in the price of theme park admission during this period. 

Welcome back to another episode of the TravelPulse Podcast! 

As we climbed the slope toward one of the world’s most momentous archaeological sites in a gusty December drizzle, a futuristic shape loomed into view. It was the swooping white canopy erected over the main excavation at Gobekli Tepe, a group of Neolithic structures up to 11,400 years old in southeastern Turkey. Their unearthing in the mid-1990s caused a reconsideration of the standard timeline of human civilization. From under the space-age canopy, my partner, Anya, and I stared down into the monumental Stone Age panorama before us, like awed and slightly spooked time travelers.

The Board of Directors of NEOM, the sustainable regional development taking shape in northwest Saudi Arabia, today announced Leyja, its latest tourism destination, further strengthening and enriching the Kingdom’s ecotourism offering. Located in NEOM and steeped in history and mythology, Leyja starts from the Gulf of Aqaba coast and its alluring waters in the west, then winds inland to form a magnificent natural valley carved between 400m-high mountains that have been crafted over long centuries by the power of nature and water.

Israel is continuing to bombard Gaza - home to more than 2 million inhabitants - after militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack last weekend.

It’s that time of year again for Disney theme park fans. Last week, the company announced that it is raising some prices at both Disney World Resort in Orlando and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

Australian entrepreneur Jason Renwick came to Copenhagen in 2005, travelling in and out of the country before opening vegan cafe Souls in 2016. He then teamed up with British chef Brett Lavender, who had spent much of his career cooking in luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, to open Ark restaurant, in central Copenhagen, in 2020. The seasonal plant-based menu is a surprise for diners on the day, but might include signature dishes such as barbecued blue oyster mushrooms or deceptively complex combinations like turnip with apple and macadamia. 

Iceland has become a victim of its own popularity. As travelers continue to be drawn to the island nation’s dramatic—and Instagram-friendly—natural landscapes, the impact on its environment is growing. In an attempt to curb that mounting pressure, the country’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir announced late last month that a new tourist tax—with specifics still being discussed—will be implemented in 2024.“Tourism has really grown exponentially in Iceland in the last decade, and that obviously is not just creating effects on the climate,” she told Bloomberg. “It’s also because most of our guests who are coming to us are visiting unspoiled nature, and obviously it creates a pressure.”

On a recent trip to the Caribbean island of Antigua, Melissa Middlestadt, a writer from the Toronto area, was charged a $12-a-night resort fee by the all-inclusive Jolly Beach. She was told it covered the use of nonmotorized water-sports equipment and Wi-Fi.

When it comes to luxury, accessibility and affordability it's awfully hard to top an all-inclusive getaway to Grand Lucayan on The Bahamas' beautiful Grand Bahama Island.

JetBlue is putting flights on sale in time for fall and winter getaways with travel starting as low as $39.