Health & Wellness tips

In a big step for animal rights, TripAdvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) recently announced it will no longer “sell tickets to, or generate revenue from, any attraction that continues to contribute to the captivity of future generations of cetaceans.” The policy on whale and dolphin activities is part of TripAdvisor’s broader commitment to improving the welfare of animals globally, particularly animals in tourism, which began in 2016 when the company adopted an animal attractions policy. Both guidelines extend to TripAdvisor’s activity-booking service Viator, as well.

In the three weeks since the FAA grounded Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft, we’ve learned a lot about the plane and what likely caused the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes. But we’re still waiting to hear when, exactly, Boeing will have a fix for the aircraft to return to the skies.

As reported yesterday, the U.S. has grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft until further notice. The move came after most major international regulatory bodies took similar action, notably in the Europe, the U.K., and Canada.

It’s no secret that millennial travel is a huge trend, with many group tour operators offering special budget-conscious trips, or ones with age limits. REI is the latest to join game, with nine new tour offerings across four different geographical areas.

Two models of Boeing’s latest twin 737 MAX 8 jet have crashed in the last six months: An Ethiopian Airlines flight headed for Nairobi on March 8, and October’s Lion Air flight that crashed off Jakarta. Both flights went down shortly after takeoff, killing all onboard. Since Sunday’s crash over 25 airlines grounded their models of the plane. On Wednesday the Trump administration followed other governments, including those of Canada, China, Germany, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, and the United Kingdom, in calling for the planes to be grounded and banned the aircraft from domestic airspace.

Hurricane season starts June 1 and runs through November 30, with a peak activity period from late August through September. So if you’re considering taking advantage of shoulder-season resorts or cruise deals in the Caribbean this year, you’d be smart to keep the forecast for hurricane season 2019 in mind and weigh the risk versus the reward—plus travel insurance.

If you thought 2018 was a bad year for travel, from travel bans to a number of fatal plane accidents, you’re not wrong. While 2017 was a banner year for airline safety (the safest ever, in fact), in 2018 the number of airline crash deaths spiked dramatically—increasing more than ten-fold to their highest point since 2014.

If you’re headed on a cruise this year or considering booking one, you most definitely want to check this resource. While cruises are undoubtedly a great way to travel, there are some downsides, like the fact that you’re traveling in a confined space and germs can spread much more rapidly. Between the norovirus, various outbreaks, and the risk of drinking contaminated water, you want to make sure you’re traveling on a cruise ship that has a clean bill of health … literally.

The Dominican Republic has been in the news a lot lately, but not for the reasons its tourism industry would like. The tropical island getaway, home to miles of fabulous beaches and countless resorts, grabbed headlines recently following a spate of suspicious Dominican Republic deaths and one very high-profile shooting.

On Wednesday, the United States and Canada joined almost every other country and dozens of airlines in grounding Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 planes closely following the second deadly crash of the brand-new aircraft model in recent months. A tragic Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed everyone onboard Sunday followed the deadly October Lion Air crash the went down near Jakarta. Both planes went down without warning, just after takeoff, and in both crashes, all passengers and crew were killed.

American citizens are pretty fortunate in terms of passport power, but your little blue booklet may not be quite as powerful as you think. The list of countries that require visas for Americans includes some travel hotspots, for example Australia, Brazil, Cuba, and China.

If you can’t imagine flying again on the Boeing model that was grounded following two deadly crashes that killed all on board in a span of five months, you’re not alone. A poll by SmarterTravel’s sister site Airfarewatchdog recently found that 73 percent of respondents would not want to travel on the model. Our own survey of a smaller group found more of the same. So where do travelers go from here?

Although a lot has changed since the Zika outbreak in 2015-16, Zika is still a concern for some travelers.

Calling Europe a “hot” destination this year has little to do with trends; when Paris hit 109 degrees in July, it marked the city’s hottest day on record—shattering the previous record by five degrees. And the worst may not be over: August could be even hotter, and heat waves in Europe, where fewer than five percent of homes have air conditioning, seem to be getting more common overall.

File this under: Maybe you don’t want to know. The 2019 Airline Water Study from Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center and DietDetective.com ranks the safety of the onboard water of a dozen major airlines. This is … probably not something most people think about. After all, doesn’t onboard drinking water come from water bottles?

The Department of Transportation announced this summer that it will issue new guidelines governing service animals on planes. The agency published a list of enforcement priorities, which offer insight into how it will structure rules around this growing issue.

Last week, I wrote about my upcoming round-the-world trip, which I had been planning for several months (here’s the story). My friends and family were concerned about me going to Asia amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Of course, I had some concerns, too. After asking for answers to the question “Should I cancel my trip to Asia?” on both my website and my Facebook page, I was shocked by how many people said that I should cancel. Some of the comments were coming from big-time travelers, including executives of Asian airlines.

How much of a hit has air travel taken during the COVID-19 pandemic? The short answer: Like nothing anyone has seen before. Even airline experts with long memories can’t remember a comparable impact of some critical event. Yes, 9/11 stopped air travel cold, but the immediate effect lasted weeks, not months. And the nation had a visible system in place—TSA screening—squarely aimed at preventing similar events in the future.

If you’re flying into the U.S. on January 26 or later, you’re going to need proof of a negative COVID-19 test to enter the country, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Strict enforcement of mask-wearing, strong ventilation, and disinfection of high-touch surfaces combine to make flying during the pandemic safer than other common activities such as going to the grocery store or eating inside a restaurant, according to a study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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