Features
Review: The PhoneSoap 3 Is a Beloved, Bulky Device That Kills Germs
If you want proof that it works, probably check out this Discovery Channel segment. (Strangely, we do know a microbiologist, but he’s under lockdown and therefore not available for scientific testing.)
Turkish Airlines Flight Draws Their National Flag In the Sky
One Mile at a Time recently posted this neat little tidbit: Today, Turkish Airlines flight TK1920 drew the Turkish national flag to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
Review: Map Happy Teaches How To Properly Binge MasterClass. (Do It.)
This post is brought to you by MasterClass.
So by now, you’ve probably been inundated those MasterClass ads right? How about another one?! 😀
Celebrate Travel With Jerrie Mock’s Moroccan Chicken Bastilla Recipe
Forget pumpkin pie, how about kicking off the most gluttonous season of the year with a recipe from the first woman who flew around the world?
The Make-A-Wish Foundation Is Requesting Airline Miles
Make-A-Wish is kicking off their Trips That Transform campaign this month, and asking for donations in the form of airline miles. Million milers, we know you’re out there!
The United Kingdom Opens Its Electronic Passport Gates To More Nationalities
Updated: May 20 & June 4, 2019Per an official statement, the electronic gates are open to citizens of the seven countries listed starting May 20. On June 4, our editors were able to independently verify that this was in effect at London Gatwick Airport (LGW), where customs officers were actively redirecting qualifying passengers toward the ePassport gates.
One Mile at a Time recently reported this fortuitous change in the UK’s immigration process: Starting June 2019, the automated e-gates at immigration in all UK airports will be available to passport holders from seven new countries, including the U.S.
The countries included on the list are:
- Australia
- Canada
- Japan
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- South Korea
- United States
It is already available to UK, EU, EEA or Swiss passports. It is not known if the new countries will kick in on June 1, or sometime later during the month of June.
Essentially, this means these citizens are now eligible to use the ePassport gates, which use biometric scanning and a camera to get through immigration instead of speaking to a live, customs officer.
Though the UK has a Registered Traveller program through which select passport holders were able to use these (for a cost, like a whopping £70 or $87.39 USD per year), that simply won’t be the case anymore.
(Portugal already offers this service to electronic passport holders, and I was able to use this recently while exiting the country. Hong Kong also offers this to its residents. I’d love to see more and more countries begin to offer this, instead of jumping in a ginormous, inefficient line.)
Probably a countermeasure against Brexit, or something.
The Quick Lowdown on Portugal
This post is brought to you by Visit Portugal.
Everyone has heard it, time after time. Portugal is amazing. But what they often to fail to tell you is what that really means.
Experiencing the Andaman Sea on a Tall Ship Under Full Sail
Editor’s NoteThe world is a big, wondrous place. One of the reasons we want to make sure you get there is so that the lesser known parts of the world can peek through in its unassuming glory. Our friend, and former Travel + Leisure editor, Mark Orwoll, sends us this postcard, reminding us that the world is to be explored, in its fullest sense.
Don’t bring “meatpig” onto Ko Panyi, a floating fisherman’s village, or you’ll be fined $63. The penalty for bringing alcohol onto this strictly Muslim island is even more severe: $158—plus one goat.
Tell Us How Much Your Trip Really Cost.
No shame here, but we were fully inspired by Refinery29’s money diaries to want to ask you how much you actually spend on a trip.1
Besides, we are secure enough to admit when we don’t have an original idea.
Real talk, how much did you spend on hotels and hostels, the Michelin prixe fix lunch, the booze, and flying over the Nazca lines? How much was incurred in foreign transaction fees? (I mean, if you’re that fastidious about the money tracking, by all means.)
There are a couple of things that we want to do differently, though. We want this to include travelers of all genders and walks of life, so even if there’s a little one in tow, we want to hear about this. Plus, the truth is, that in this day and age, many people are using points to pay for a substantial amount of things.
Travel editors also don’t travel like normal people.2 In our gilded life, tourism representatives wine and dine us, and we stand at the freakin’ center of Mexico, in the crypt that houses all the archbishops (seriously).
So we’re relying on you to tell us! Aside from blogging about our occasional, once-a-year vacation where we’re forced to pay for things. 😅3
Pro Tip Our budgeting spreadsheet is not only helpful for tracking expenses, but also for submitting this diary. 😉
How To Use Atlas Obscura To Plan a Trip
Looking for something a bit kooky to visit? Here’s how to navigate Atlas Obscura for the next trip, short of building a master adventure map.
The Travel Photographer of the Year Award Photos Are Stunning
In our minds, a good travel photo captures the place, the people and not just a random stranger walking down a lonely, deserted, oversaturated road.
