What You Need to Know Before Visiting Petra, Jordan’s Lost City

Southwest Airlines is already preparing for spring break next year with new flights to Belize, Los Cabos, and San Juan.

Southwest Airlines will significantly reduce midweek flying capacity next year, becoming the latest airline to do so.

Just hours after the Department of Homeland Security published its ban on electronic devices on flights to the U.S. from 10 Middle East and African airports, the U.K. followed suit, with its own ban on carry-on devices on flights to the United Kingdom from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.

Emirates has announced it will reduce service between Dubai and almost half its destinations in the U.S. Flights to Boston, Seattle, and Los Angeles will be reduced from two per day to one, and daily flights to Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale will be reduced to five per week each. The total number of weekly flights cut comes to 25.

It’s official: Passengers flying on nine airlines non-stop to the U.S. from 10 airports (Cairo, Egypt; Amman, Jordan; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; Istanbul in Turkey; and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates) will be prohibited from bringing electronic devices larger than cellphones on board with them.

Although the shocking passenger-bashing incidents at American and United have mostly upstaged the laptop ban story in recent weeks, another media-focus turnaround may be in the offing.

AirHelp, the online service that files complaints against airlines on behalf of passengers entitled to compensation for air delays or cancellations, knows a thing or two about air travel. Because it’s hard for the average person to understand air passenger rights and pursue a legal claim when they’ve been wronged, AirHelp is always going toe-to-toe with airlines and airports—and reveals once a year which ones that treat their passengers for the better (or worse).

If seeing the seven wonders of the world is on your bucket list, then group-travel operator, Contiki, wants to help you achieve this dream by paying your rent while you do it. With the company’s new Jordan trip, it now has itineraries to all of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World. To get the savings, book each of Contiki’s trips to the seven wonders (these are individual trips that visit the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Christ the Redeemer, Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, Petra, and the Colosseum) and then prove your rent amount with your rental agreement. Contiki is offering a savings of up to $2,840, the national average of rent for two months.

In stressful times like this global pandemic, it’s easy to get caught up in fear, confusion, and the never-ending news cycle. But perhaps the best way to escape it all is to mentally dive into a good vacation. Researching your dream trip of choice is a helpful reminder that the world will go back to normal again—and when it does, you’ll have a decisive plan of action for a trip you’re excited to take. Whether it’s a new type of travel for you (sailing, hiking, train itineraries, or road tripping) or a destination you’re unfamiliar with, now’s the time to tackle all your wildest travel ambitions.

Autumn enthusiasts are constantly on the hunt for that first sign of changing leaves. Fall looks a little different in every part of the country and dedicated leaf peepers don’t want to miss a thing. From golden aspens amidst the Rocky Mountains to classic New England foliage along the East Coast, here are seven destinations where leaf peepers can catch the best fall colors.

A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985 and one of the new seven wonders of the world, Petra is among the most famous archaeological sites in the world alongside Athens’ Acropolis and England’s Stonehenge. While it now has competition from Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s own extraordinary rock-hewn site, travelers to the Middle East would be remiss to pass on this ancient city and Jordan’s most popular attraction.

If you know someone who’s been to Saudi Arabia, chances are they visited AlUla. There’s a good reason for that. Located in the Medina province in northwest Saudi Arabia, AlUla is defined by its almost surreal landscape of canyons, wadis (dry valleys), sandstone cliffs, and ancient Arabic rock dwellings and tombs that trace the 7,000-year history of people living in the region. It’s also the home of Hegra, the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, a city built by the Nabataeans – the same civilization that built Petra – over 2,000 years ago. Thanks to this concentration of geographic and historical wonders, it’s no surprise that AlUla has become the centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning tourism push.