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Wanna travel to Eritrea with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Eritrea on: February 21st to 28th, 2025 Popularly known as the North Korea of Africa for being the most repressive and hermetic country on the continent, Eritrea is a real off the beaten track, undiscovered […]

Wanna travel to Eritrea with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Eritrea on: February 21st to 28th, 2025 learn more Popularly known as the North Korea of Africa for being the most repressive and hermetic country on the continent, Eritrea is a real off the beaten track, undiscovered gem which not many people know about. Paradoxically, this is a surprisingly chilled-out and tourist-friendly destination, filled with kind-hearted people, huge diversity, and loads of unique things to do. Only being independent since 1991, after a 30-war against Ethiopia, traveling to Eritrea is the ultimate offbeat experience in Africa. This guide contains everything you need to know about doing tourism in Eritrea, including visas, permits, tips and a 9-day itinerary. In this Eritrea travel guide you will find: Table of Contents Introduction Visa Permits Places you can visit Travel Insurance Best time to visit Getting in Tours Books People & culture Safety Food Internet Money Accommodation Transportation More Information our recommended travel insurance for Eritrea IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Eritrea. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE Introduction: what’s tourism in Eritrea like Eritrea is a tiny nation sitting on the shore of the Red Sea, nestled between Sudan, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. When I was traveling in Ethiopia, many travelers asked me what traveling in Eritrea was like, and I always told them: Eritrea is sort of an extension of Ethiopia, very similar, but extremely different at the same time. The dominant group in Eritrea are the Tigrayans, a group of people who share the exact same culture as Ethiopians from Tigray region, in the north of the country, one of the most touristic regions in Ethiopia. Tigrayan women in Eritrea. If they told you these women were from Ethiopia, you would believe it However, in Eritrea, you also find many different ethnic groups and what makes tourism in Eritrea unique unlike Ethiopia is that this used to be an Italian colony, just like Libya, from 1890 until 1943. And, since this colonization is so recent, plus the Italians created the country pretty much from scratch, the Italian influence is very present, and visible, especially in Asmara, which was entirely built by the Italians, a capital filled with art deco buildings, palm-lined streets, and lovely cafés whose terraces are packed with Eritreans slurping delicious macchiatos. Unlike most capitals in Africa, Asmara has a sophisticated African style and is a reason in itself to visit Eritrea. However, once you leave the capital, you’ll find yourself in one of the most traditional countries on Earth, like if you traveled back in time. Old School Fiat in the center of Asmara. When you travel in Eritrea, you see more of these cars than in Italy itself How to get a visa for traveling to Eritrea Getting a valid tourist visa for visiting Eritrea can take time and money but it is easier than most people assume it will be. 1 – Getting an Eritrean tourist visa via embassy This is the cheapest way but it can take a lot of time, usually more than 1 month; plus there are only a small number of Eritrean embassies around the world, typically in those countries where there is a significant Eritrean population, including France, the UK, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. If your home country doesn’t have an Eritrean embassy, it is also possible to mail both your passport and application form to the nearest one, but I think they are very unreliable. Contact your nearest embassy to find out all the specific requirements & instructions. Your experiences and reports are welcome. 2 – Getting a tourist visa on arrival (via a travel agency) This is the most convenient way of getting a visa for Eritrea. Visa on arrival is available to those travelers who book a tour for Eritrea with a local tour operator. They’ll issue a Letter of Invitation, which you must show to the respective authorities when arriving in Asmara. What kind of tour do you have to book? It depends on the tour operator. They may either charge you an administrative fee or make you book a few-day private tour. The first time I traveled to Eritrea was in 2020. The local agency charged me 250 USD for processing my visa and 70 USD for a minimal tour, which included airport pick up and drop off, plus 1 night in a relatively good hotel, so 320 USD in total. I have been quite a few more times since then, but always as a tour leader for our group expeditions. By joining any of our groups, you will get your visa on arrival. These are the expeditions we have scheduled in 2025: January 18th to 26th, 2025 – SOLD OUT February 21st to 28th, 2025 – APPLY NOW November 7th to 18th, 2025 – APPLY NOW November 21st to 28th, 2025 – APPLY NOW How much does the visa cost? The visa costs 70 USD, and must be paid in cash at the airport, in US dollars. Processing your visa at the airport can take a while, sometimes up to 1 hour, depending on how many Eritreans with a foreign passport were on your flight. How long is the visa valid for? The visa for Eritrea is valid for 30 days. My visa for Eritrea in 2024 Permits. Is independent travel in Eritrea allowed? Eritrea is known as the North Korea of Africa for a few reasons, one of them being that a large part of the country is heavily restricted and off-limits to tourists. Another reason is that you need to get a specific permit for any place you visit outside of the capital, one for each different place you visit. How to get your travel permits for Eritrea Travel permits can be obtained at the Ministry of Tourism’s office, a small office located right in the city center, just across the big Roman Catholic Church. Each permit costs around 150 nakfas (10 USD) and they typically take half a day to process. For example, if you apply in the morning, you can pick it up in the afternoon and, if you apply in the afternoon, you can pick it up the next day. By the way, you’ll also need a permit to visit the tank graveyard just outside of the city. This permit only costs 50 nakfas and is issued instantly, from the moment you pay for it. Important: The office is closed on Sunday. When applying for your different permits, you must specify the exact dates you are going to spend in each place, so you really need to plan your day-by-day itinerary. This sucks because it means that there is no room for improvising. To be honest, the police never asked me for the permit, but all hotels did and, if the day you arrive doesn’t match the specified date in the permit, they won’t host you. What happens if you travel without a permit? I did visit one town (Foro) in which a special permit was required but I didn’t have one. There was a checkpoint right at the town’s entrance but the bus didn’t stop and, since it was market day, the village was packed with people from all over the region. I went there on a day trip from Massawa. According to my local partner in Eritrea, the reason they don’t ask for your permit is that they just assume you’ll have one. Which places in Eritrea are open to travel? When you are traveling in Eritrea, it doesn’t look like you are traveling in one of the most repressive states in the world: you barely see any police, and the atmosphere is so chilled that you never feel any sort of tension. However, it’s important to remember that, as a traveler, you can only visit a fraction of the country and, during my trip in Eritrea, I could never stop wondering: What is actually going on in that unknown part of Eritrea? While it’s true that certain areas are off-limits due to border tensions, other regions are closed for no apparent reason, nobody knows what are they trying to hide. In any case, a significant part of Eritrea is open to travelers. What happens if you visit a forbidden area? During my first trip to Eritrea, I met one Italian who tried to sneak into a no-go area near Keren, but he got caught by the authorities at the first checkpoint. They held him for a few hours before letting him go. No big deal, he said, but that’s because that area was near Keren, not super sensitive. I’d not try this in other further areas. Map of the places which are good to visit in Eritrea Asmara: The capital is all traveler’s first introduction to Eritrea. This is the only place for which you don’t need a permit and in my humble opinion, the best place in Eritrea, mainly due to the Italian heritage that makes the city so vintage, the closest thing to traveling back in time. Keren: The predominantly town of Keren is more similar to Sudan to the Eritrean capital. The most famous market in all of Eritrea takes place here every Monday. Decamhare: A town southeast of Asmara that served as the industrial hub for Italian Eritrea. At its peak in 1938, almost half the town’s inhabitants were Italian citizens. Decamhare still has good examples of colonial architecture. Qoiato: A pre-Axumite archaeological located at 2,600m on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, from where you get stunning canyon views. Senafe: The only place close to the Ethiopian border, which you can visit. There isn’t much to do in the town itself except for hiking to the top of a mountain, which also happens to be a Christian pilgrimage place for Eritreans. Massawa: A coastal city occupied by the Ottoman in the 16th century, hence the different feel and architectural style. Foro: A small village whose main interest is the weekly market that takes place on Thursday, and where you are likely to meet Afar people. The Old City of Massawa is particularly beautiful, but you need to a permit to visit it Travel insurance for Eritrea Most travel insurance companies don’t cover for travel in Eritrea, except for IATI. I recommend it because: Only travel insurance company that covers Eritrea They have different plans for all budgets Covers senior citizens too Readers of this blog can get a 5% exclusive discount BUY IT HERE TO GET YOUR DISCOUNT Best time to visit Eritrea Do you know what slogan the Ministry of Tourism uses to promote tourism in Eritrea? Eritrea, 3 seasons in 2 hours. Sitting at an elevation of 2,235 meters above sea level, Asmara might be one of the highest capitals in the world, a city which enjoys relatively cool weather all year round and, by only driving a few hours, you can get to the green rolling hills around Ginda, the humid and utterly hot shores of the Red Sea or the desert plains near the Afar region. Best time to travel to Eritrea: November to February The winter months are the best season to travel to Eritrea, when the weather is cool in most parts of the country. Worst time to travel to Eritrea: June to September In summer, the weather along the coast (Massawa) and Keren is unbearable, but if you only intend to visit Asmara, it should be all right. Asmara’s weather is kind of cool all year round, so you can visit it at any time How to get to Eritrea Eritrea shares a border with Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti but, as of today, all borders are closed, at least to foreigners. After Eritrea and Ethiopia signed the Peace Agreement in 2018, they agreed to open the border after decades of being shut down but, unfortunately, Eritrea decided to close it again after a few months, as many of the Eritreans who crossed into Ethiopia never came back in an attempt to seek freedom. Therefore, the only way to travel to Eritrea is by flying in. You can fly to Asmara from Istanbul (Turkish Airlines), Addis Ababa (Ethiopian Airlines), Cairo (Egypt Air) and Dubai (FlyDubai). Update 2024: Ethiopian Airlines has suspended all flights into Asmara indefinitely, starting from October 2024. Tours for Eritrea Eritrea isn’t the easiest country to travel independently. If you still wish to go solo, this post is an excellent travel guide to Eritrea. Otherwise, know that we run group tours to Eritrea all year long, the following expeditions are scheduled on: November 6th to 13th, 2024 – SOLD OUT January 18th to 26th, 2025 – SOLD OUT February 21st to 28th, 2025 – APPLY NOW November 7th to 18th, 2025 – APPLY NOW November 21st to 28th, 2025 – APPLY NOW LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ERITREA TOURS Best books for backpacking in Eritrea Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa’s most repressive state, by Martin Plaut Amazing book written by a BBC journalist, which helped me to understand the complexity of Eritrea, as well as its relationship with Ethiopia, a key factor in the evolution of the country. CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES ON AMAZON Eritrea travel guide by Bradt The last edition is from 2007 (the one I have) but the good news is that Bradt is releasing a new one in December 2020. Bradt specializes in offbeat destinations and has the most insightful guidebooks about destinations in Africa. I love Bradt. CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES ON AMAZON Eritrea: the people and culture Despite its small size – only 6 million people – Eritrea is a complex society, ethnically speaking. Ethiopia is also home to several ethnic groups, especially in the Omo area. Read my Omo Valley travel guide As I said in the introduction, Tigrayans are the dominant group but Eritrea is composed of 8 more different ethnicities: Tigre, Rashaida, Afar, Saho, Bilen, Beja, Kunama and Nara. If you visit Keren, you will meet the Tigre, who are Muslim. If you go to Foro or any place south of Massawa, you are likely to meet Rashahida or even Afar, if you go to Foro on a market day. Here you can read more about ethnic groups in Eritrea. Keren Market, Tigre people, one of the best shots I took during my trip to Eritrea From a traveling perspective, Eritreans are kind and pleasant people to deal with. Scams are rare and expect many Eritreans to approach you to ask your opinion about Eritrea, or what have you learned about their culture. In Asmara, they asked me this question several times a day. Other than that, most locals talking to you just want to have a small chat because they are curious, not because they want to get something from you, unlike in neighboring Ethiopia. In Foro, I think these women are Saho Language in Eritrea All the languages spoken by the different ethnicities are considered official but Tigrinya – and also Arabic – is the governmental language and the most commonly used among all Eritreans. Tigrinya is a Semitic language that comes from Ge’ez and is the official language in the Tigray region, northern Ethiopia. It also has many similarities to Amharic, the official language in Ethiopia. Do Eritreans speak English? Surprisingly, you always meet someone who speaks decent English, especially in Asmara. I also met many people speaking Italian, usually Eritreans above 60 or 70 years old. To be very honest, language shouldn’t be a barrier when backpacking in Eritrea. Religion Religion is a big deal in Eritrea and, according to official sources, Christianity is practiced by 60% of the population, whereas Islam is 40%. Most Christians are Orthodox – but there are Catholics too – from the same Orthodox branch as Ethiopians. In most cases, religion is based on ethnicity, which means that it is very regional, with the northern part close to Sudan being very Muslim, while the area close to Ethiopia being very Christian. Churches are always packed and I recommend you attend the Sunday service that takes place early in the morning, around 6 am, in which the locals sing some very peculiar canticles. Are you traveling around the Horn of Africa? Check my Somaliland travel guide The most important Orthodox Church in Asmara Is it safe to travel to Eritrea? Is Eritrea safe? Well, it is said that Eritrea is one of the safest countries in Africa. For real. I have been walking in the center of Asmara at 3am, with many people hanging out outside of the different bars and nobody bothered me. In Eritrea, you bump into the occasional intense and slightly aggressive beggar, but more often than not, if noticed by a local, they will approach and tell him to leave you alone. Crime in Eritrea is pretty rare, everybody says so, and I never heard of any foreigner saying otherwise. Moreover, according to the FCO advice, all of Eritrea is safe to go except for the area within 25km of Eritrea’s land borders but, in any case, as a tourist, you are not allowed to go there. Taking photos of local people Like in any traditional country, the streets of Eritrea are filled with great-picture opportunities. In my experience, in Christian areas, people were mostly OK with you taking photos, and I only had a few issues in very traditional Muslim areas, even when taking photos from far away, especially if there were women in the frame. Always ask for permission first, like you would do in any other country. Talking about local politics in Eritrea Honestly, the only potential danger you might face when visiting Eritrea is talking about politics. You should never say anything negative about the Government to people you don’t know or trust, since that’s enough reason to be put away for a while. I only talked deeply about politics with one Eritrean and every time I asked him a question, he would look around and whisper his answer in my ear. I had never seen anything like that before. Crazy. The tank graveyard in Asmara, one of the most popular attractions to visit in Eritrea. All the military arsenal the Ethiopian army left behind during the Ethiopian-Eritrean war Food & drink in Eritrea The local traditional food in Eritrea is pretty much the same as in Ethiopia, with no big difference, other than a slight change in their names and spices. Injera, the teff-based flat, sour, fermented bread is the base of any local meal. Some local dishes you must try are: Tibsi: small pieces of lamb fried in tomato sauce, always accompanied by injera. Shoro: spicy chickpea paste, also accompanied by injera. Kicha: pieces of flat bread dipped in different sauces or stews. Weird, too much bread for me. Foul: Smashed beans, typically eaten for breakfast Tibsi, fried lamb in tomato sauce, with injera The biggest difference from Ethiopia is that in Eritrea, because of the Italian influence, you find a lot of Italian food and in some restaurants, it is great, with pasta al dente and delicacies such as caprito al forno (lamb in the oven) or parmigiana. If you are vegetarian, you need to say you want nait-som (pronounced like night-some), which literally means fasting-food. Christian Orthodox Eritreans fast twice a week at least, days on which they can only eat vegan, so that’s why most restaurants will always serve vegetarian dishes. The traditional fasting dish usually consists of lentils and other stews with injera. Alcohol in Eritrea Beer is widely available in Eritrea, including in Muslim towns, but they only produce one brand: Asmara Beer. It never costs more than 15-25 nakfas (1-1.50USD) What is funny about Asmara beer is that it always tastes different. Sometimes it comes so light and watery, while on other occasions it is like one of those unfiltered, thick beers. Weird. In bars and more exclusive restaurants, you can find a wide variety of wines and spirits but since they are all imported, they are very pricey. Coffee in Eritrea is a big deal If you like good coffee, you will love traveling in Eritrea. Their coffee is mostly imported from Ethiopia but they prepare it in Italian style and, in the endless cafés around Asmara macchiato is the way to go. To be very honest, what they serve isn’t real Italian macchiato, but more like a Spanish cortado, but they prepare it very well, with thick foam and great presentation. If you like it strong, you need to order a black macchiato. Otherwise, they put too much milk in, in my opinion. Best time of the day Internet and connectivity in Eritrea When you travel in Eritrea, you must assume that you’ll be offline for pretty much your entire trip. Fact: Eritrea has one of the worst internet in the world. On the one hand, mobile internet doesn’t exist. There is Wi-Fi in some hotels but it’s so awful, that all you can do is send WhatsApp and emails, if it ever works. Alternatively, you may also connect to the internet in cyber cafés. For that, you will need to buy a 1-dollar voucher that allows you to connect for 1 hour. However, the connection isn’t much faster than in hotels, plus iPhone devices usually don’t work. In addition, you can’t use it unless you connect to a VPN. Before traveling to Eritrea, you must download all the information needed for traveling, including maps, Eritrea travel blogs, music, Netflix movies, etc. On the bright side, in the different cafés, restaurants, and buses, you never see anybody checking their phones but people are just talking like we used to do not many years ago. You get used to it surprisingly fast. Get a VPN for traveling in Eritrea You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Your connection will be much safer. Moreover, keep in mind that the only way to connect to the internet in Eritrea is with a VPN. I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap. Get a vpn If you want to learn more about VPN, check: Why you need a VPN for traveling. Cinema Impero, one of the best buildings I saw when I visited Eritrea Money in Eritrea $ In Eritrea, they use the Eritrean Nakfa (ERN) and approximately: 1 USD = 15 ERN A few years ago, there used to be a black market in which you could exchange 1 USD for 55ERN. This black market, however, was eradicated and, today, you can only change in those Government-run offices named Himbol. Both USD and € are accepted. By the way, you can also exchange in hotels at the same official rate. Paying by card or withdrawing money in Eritrea International cards in Eritrea can’t be used. You must bring cash for the whole trip. For cash emergencies, you can still collect $ from Western Union. How much does it cost to travel in Eritrea? Eritrea isn’t the cheapest country to travel. It’s certainly more expensive than traveling in Ethiopia. How can the local people survive? Well, they all rely on Eritrean diaspora, on the money they receive from their parents, sons, daughters, cousins and relatives. These are the costs of the most typical things: Macchiato: 7-10 nakfas Breakfast (foul): 15-25 nakfas Vegetarian lunch: 50-70 nakfas Non-vegetarian lunch: 100-120 nakfas Internet 1 hour: 15-20 nakfas Water 1 liter: 15-25 nakfas Beer: 15-25 nakfas Permits: 50 nakfas each Public bus from Asmara to Keren: 25 nakfas Mini-van from Asmara to Keren: 70 nakfas Public bus from Asmara to Massawa: 31 nakfas Mini-van from Asmara to Massawa: 75 nakfas For hotel prices, go to the Accommodation section The price of water in Eritrea On my first day, I went to a local grocery shop to buy some water. They only had a 1L size and when attempting to pay, he said: 20 nakfas, almost 1.50USD. I really thought he was ripping me off, so I left the bottle and left. Then, I went to a nearby shop where prices were written, only to find out that a 1L bottle there cost 25 nakfas, almost 2USD. What the hell? I talked about this to a random local I met in a café and he said that, yes, water in Eritrea is crazy-expensive and the reason is that there used to be a local company that processed mineral water but the Government shut it down without giving any explanation, so now they have to import it from Ethiopia, and this is a huge issue because most people can’t afford it and tap water isn’t drinkable. Eritrean notes are pretty cool Accommodation in Eritrea As you may imagine, Booking.com does not work in Eritrea. For booking a room, you’ll have to call the hotel, either yourself or your local guide. Independent backpackers should know that hotels are very unlikely to be fully booked so, if you can’t call from your home country, you could just show up the day you arrive. Hotels in Asmara Asmara has, obviously, the best offer of hotels, for all budgets. Budget: African Village – Best option for backpackers. A majestic colonial building in which you find rooms of all prices, from 10USD rooms with shared bathroom to 30USD. Budget-Mid-range: Top Five Hotel – The cheapest room you can get costs 20USD, with a private bathroom, and it is just OK, but it is clean. You can get better rooms paying a bit extra. The hotel’s restaurant is very good and it is always filled with locals. Mid-range: Sunshine – A fancier hotel with rooms starting at 60-80 USD. This is where we stay with our groups. Hotels in Keren Budget: Sicilia Hotel – The owner speaks amazing English and his mother impeccable Italian. The rooms are very basic but clean. All rooms cost between 8 and 12USD. It has a great garden/terrace. Mid-range: Keren Hotel – The first hotel ever opened in Keren, right in the city center. Rooms in the 30-50USD range. Best mid-range: Sarina Hotel. This is where we stay with our groups. It’s the best hotel in town but it’s a bit out of the way. Hotels in Massawa Budget: Luna Hotel – This is the best budget option but still, it is very overpriced. Non-AC rooms cost 20USD, and they are extremely basic, with not even plugs and a filthy shared bathroom. Otherwise, slightly better rooms with AC cost nearly 40USD. Mid-range: Dahlak Hotel – A fancier hotel next to Luna, with rooms starting at 60-70USD. This is where we stay with our groups. Transportation: How to travel around Eritrea As long as you have the necessary permits, you can move around Eritrea independently by public transportation. Traveling around Eritrea by bus Bus is pretty much the only way to travel between Eritrean towns and cities. There are both minivans and big public buses. I recommend you go early in the morning, otherwise, you may find very long queues and have to wait there forever and, occasionally, pushing hard and getting a bit aggressive is the only way to find a seat. Update 2024: Getting on a bus is becoming more and more complicated due to the high demand, to the extent that the Tourism Office is denying travel permits to backpackers who wish to travel by bus. Traveling around Eritrea by train The beautiful steam train that used to run from Asmara to Eritrea doesn’t work anymore and today, the only functional section is the one that runs from Asmara to Nefasit and it only works for the occasional tourists who book the whole train in advance. If you were a group of 15, you would pay around 50USD per person, and that’s something you should arrange with your local guide. Renting a car in Eritrea It’s possible to rent a car in Asmara, but that usually comes with a driver. Prices start at 100 USD per day. I never rode one of these buses but it would have been nice! More information for traveling to Eritrea and the Horn of Africa In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. A guide and article for traveling in Eritrea destination Asmara Travel Guide Travel guides to other countries in Africa Ethiopia Travel Guide Somaliland Travel Guide Travel Guide to Sudan Travel Guide to Egypt Libya Travel Guide Mali Travel Guide Travel Guide to Mauritania Tunisia Travel Guide

Of all the remote, barely inhabited regions and islands in the Arctic Circle, Svalbard might just be the most accessible. Located at 78º north, this archipelago is an Arctic desert made up of captivating tundra landscapes offering truly amazing hiking opportunities, and the chance of seeing polar bears. From a nature perspective, this is probably […]

Of all the remote, barely inhabited regions and islands in the Arctic Circle, Svalbard might just be the most accessible. Located at 78º north, this archipelago is an Arctic desert made up of captivating tundra landscapes offering truly amazing hiking opportunities, and the chance of seeing polar bears. From a nature perspective, this is probably the best trip I’ve ever done. This post is a comprehensive travel guide to Svalbard, and contains everything you need to know about how to get there, where to stay, activities, cruise expeditions, prices and more. By the way, I know that this sort of trip differs from all the original content on this site, which has always focused on places like Yemen, Syria, Mauritania or Kazakhstan but ultimately, we focus on remote and barely visited destinations, and Svalbard fully fits the bill. In this travel guide to Svalbard, you will find: Table of Contents About Travel insurance Visas Time needed Getting there Best time to visit Getting around Where to stay Shopping and food Internet Money & budget Polar bears Things to do Booking a cruise ship our recommended travel insurance for Svalbard With its Backpacker plan, IATI Insurance is the best insurance for any kind of adventurous destination, like Svalbard. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE Introduction to traveling to Svalbard Svalbard is an Arctic archipelago that technically belongs to Norway, even though it’s significantly closer to the North Pole than it is to the Norwegian mainland (650km vs 930km respectively). Svalbard belongs to Norway but it has a special status Svalbard falls under Norway’s sovereignty, as recognised by the Svalbard Treaty of 1920. However, according to the treaty, not all Norwegian laws apply in Svalbard. For example, any country is free to engage in scientific, commercial or industry activities within the archipelago, and anyone can travel there visa-free and stay for as long as they want, even if they don’t have a job. Is it Spitsbergen or Svalbard? Spitsbergen is the original name, given by the Dutchman who discovered it in 1596. When the archipelago became part of Norway in 1920, they renamed it to Svalbard, a term that appeared in old Icelandic Viking texts. Beaches in northern Svalbard Regular people live in Svalbard The inhabitants of Svalbard are just normal people from around the world trying to make a living. It’s not only scientists, but also doctors, teachers, policemen, plumbers, tour guides, bar tenders and basically, the kind of people you would find in any other small-sized town. There are no indigenous people from Svalbard Unlike other Arctic regions across Russia, Greenland or Canada, there is no evidence of the existence of an indigenous community in Svalbard, not even in the ancient Viking texts. Today, Svalbard is inhabited by people from all over the world, mainly Europeans, Russians and a large Thai and Filipino community. There are different settlements in Svalbard Despite its remoteness, Svalbard has a few towns or settlements. Longyearbyen is the largest town, home to around 2300 people. It’s a proper town where you find supermarkets, shops, schools, a museum and even fine-dining restaurants. The second largest settlement is Barentsburg, mostly inhabited by Russians and Ukrainians. This is Longyearbyen, the main settlement in Svalbard It’s illegal to be buried in Svalbard and women are technically not allowed to give birth there People are not allowed to die in Svalbard due to permafrost, which is a frozen layer under Svalbard’s surface that prevents bodies from decomposing. Meanwhile, hospitals in Svalbard are not fully prepared for delivering babies, even though they will of course help in case of an emergency. Svalbard is a frozen desert There are no trees in Svalbard, and there is so little vegetation that starvation is the main cause of reindeer deaths. Svalbard is a desert in its purest state, albeit a very beautiful one. Some of the amazing tundra landscapes in Svalbard Are there really more polar bears than people? People in Svalbard will always sell you the idea that Svalbard is land of polar bears, and that there are more polar bears than people living there. Nevertheless, this isn’t very accurate. While it’s true that there’s a large population of polar bears living across the islands, nobody knows the exact numbers, plus they keep moving and migrating across other parts of the Arctic, in Russia, and the icepack that surrounds the North Pole. More on polar bears in the Polar Bear section. We saw quite a few polar bears in Svalbard, including this little family Travel insurance for Svalbard Don’t travel to Svalbard without travel insurance. I recommend IATI Insurance because: So many different plans for all budgets, including specific plans for backpackers Coverage for up to 1-year trips, perfect for overlanding around the Stans Readers of this blog can get a 5% exclusive discount CLICK HERE TO GET 5% SPECIAL DISCOUNT How to get a visa for Svalbard Technically, the region of Svalbard belongs to Norway but, according to the Svalbard Treaty signed in 1920, they are not allowed to discriminate between nationalities, meaning each and every person is allowed to visit Svalbard without a visa and stay for as long as they want. This means that Svalbard might be the only inhabited region in the world where all nationalities can travel visa-free. However, remember that they aren’t part of the Schengen zone, so EU citizens and even Norwegians will have to carry their passports when traveling to Svalbard. Information for citizens of India, Pakistan, Venezuela and other nationalities that require a visa for Europe Keep in mind that all flights to Svalbard depart from Norway, and that your airline might require you to have a valid visa for traveling to Norway, even for connecting flights. How much time do you need to visit Svalbard? I personally spent 11 days in Svalbard: 3-4 days in Longyearbyen, and 7-8 days on a cruise ship. If you don’t have the budget and/or time to go on a cruise, staying in Longyearbyen for a few days is a great way to get a good sense of what it’s like to be in the Arctic. There should be enough tours and activities to keep you busy for 4-5 days – more on that in the Things to do section – but remember that tours are expensive (averaging €200 for any day trip); so is the food and accommodation. Also, there’s nowhere to go on your own outside of Longyearbyen, so you always have to book a tour. During my stay in Longyearbyen, I did a full day’s hike, and also booked the boat tour to the Soviet settlement of Pyramiden. I used the rest of the time to chill or just walk around Longyearbyen. On my fourth day in Longyearbyen, I embarked on a ship that took me to the far north of Svalbard, on the island of Nordaustlandet. This is the abandoned Soviet mining town of Pyramiden, the best day trip to do from Longyearbyen How to get to Svalbard Today, the only way to travel to Svalbard is by plane. There are also certain cruise ships departing from Greenland, Scotland and Amsterdam, although there aren’t any passenger ferries as such. The main settlement in Svalbard is called Longyearbyen, home to Svalbard Airport (LYR). How to get to Longyearbyen: today, only 2 airlines fly into Svalbard: Norwegian and SAS, always connecting from either Oslo or Tromsø. Best time to visit Svalbard You can travel to Svalbard at any time of year, including during the long and dark winter months. Here’s what you need to know season by season. Traveling to Svalbard in winter (November – February) During the winter months, Svalbard gets as cold and dark as it sounds. From mid-November to the end of January, the whole island is in complete darkness for 24 hours a day, a natural phenomenon known as polar night. This is a great time for seeing the northern lights, as well as doing snow-related activities such as snowmobile excursions or dog-sledging. On the other hand, winter isn’t great for spotting wildlife or visiting remote parts of Svalbard, since cruise ships can’t break through the ice. Funnily enough, winter is the favorite season for locals, the reason being that they have more freedom when it comes to mobility. There are very few roads in Svalbard, but the winter snow allows them to move around on their snowmobiles, while in summer, they’re all trapped in Longyearbyen. Svalbard is practically impossible due to the ice thickness Travel to Svalbard in summer (June – mid-September) While polar nights might sound intriguing to some, nothing can beat polar days and 24-hour sunshine. Leaving a bar at 12:30 am in Longyearbyen while getting blinded by the brightest sun is something you have to experience at least once. What’s more, summer is the best time for seeing wildlife and hiking, as well as the only time of the year when cruise ships operate here. I traveled in Svalbard from June 24th to July 4th. In summer, you can do some pretty amazing hikes Traveling to Svalbard during the rest of the year (March to May and mid-September to October) During the shoulder season, you can enjoy a bit of everything, depending on which month and time of the year you come. A colony of walrus we saw in northern Svalbard How to get around Svalbard: Transportation The only available public transportation in Svalbard is the bus that takes you to and from the airport; that’s it. Longyearbyen is a spread-out town, so there are a couple of taxis, and you may need one depending on where you stay. To get out of Longyearbyen, you will have to book a tour and for those, transportation is always provided, either by boat or snowmobile. Where to stay in Svalbard Longyearbyen has a few places to stay, including a budget hostel for backpackers, where I actually stayed. I strongly recommend booking your accommodation well in advance. Backpacking budget: Gjestehuset 102. The cheapest option in Longyearbyen. A cozy hostel but far from town, almost 3km from the center. Check on Booking.com Budget: Coal Miner’s cabins. Located right next to the hostel. If there are 2 of you, the price of a double room is the same as 2 dorm beds. Check on Booking.com Mid-range: Svalbard Hotell | Polfareren. Very nice hotel in the center of Longyearbyen, if your wallet permits, of course. Check on Booking.com Top-notch: Funken Lodge. Probably the best hotel in town, but $$$$. Check on Booking.com Some wild Reindeers we spotted in Svalbard Shopping and food in Svalbard As previously mentioned, Longyearbyen is a regular town with a variety of shops, including a modern supermarket, pharmacies and different clothing stores selling high-quality winter clothes. Shopping in Svalbard, nevertheless, is expensive, so best stock up on winter gear back in your home country. When it comes to food, Svalbard is well sorted for restaurants too, including high-end eateries. Local specialities include seal, whale and reindeer meat. However, travelers looking to venture into this controversial cuisine may be disappointed that all that meat is actually imported from the Norwegian mainland, since Svalbard doesn’t have the facilities and infrastructure needed to carry out the respective quality controls. Regarding restaurants, we did try dried seal in Vinterhagen and enjoyed some fish in Kroa. We also tried the restaurant at Coal Miners, which mostly has international cuisine. The capital also features Thai and Mexican restaurants. There’s a local brewery too called Svalbard Bryggeri AS. There are plenty of Arctic birds in Svalbard Internet in Svalbard The internet in Svalbard is extremely fast and reliable, despite the region’s remoteness. They operate under Norway’s mobile network, so EU SIMs can be used there at no extra charge. Wi-Fi is incredibly fast, as well, and it’s available in pretty much all hotels and bars. Get a VPN for traveling in Svalbard You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Your connection will be much safer. I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap. Get ExpressVPN If you want to learn more about VPN, check: Why you need a VPN for traveling. Money and budget The Norwegian Krone (NOK) is used in Svalbard, and approximately: 1 USD = 11 NOK Everything is quoted in NOK but most businesses won’t accept cash, only debit or credit cards. How much does it cost to travel in Svalbard? Svalbard is pretty expensive. In fact, this is one of the most expensive places I’ve ever been. Here are prices for the most typical things; Accommodation: from 1000 NOK for a double room Food: from 300 NOK for a main meal Drinks: from 100 NOK for a pint of beer Tours: from 2000 NOK for a day tour Flights: around €450 return from Oslo/Tromso Cruise: from €3800 for an 8-day tour Polar bears in Svalbard All travelers visiting Svalbard hope to see polar bears, but not everyone gets to see one. Most polar bears live in the northern parts of Svalbard, and they are rarely seen in the area around Longyearbyen. They do pop in from time to time, but the chances of travelers spotting one are slim. If you are only staying in Longyearbyen, your best chance of seeing a polar bear will be on the day tours that go by boat -although even then, in the unlikely scenario you should spot one, it would likely be from a good distance. Unfortunately, the only way to properly see polar bears is by taking a multiple-day cruise. On our cruise we did see 4 polar bears, one of them from relatively close up, walking along the shore approaching our zodiac. It was absolutely amazing but it’s important to remember that Svalbard is an stunning destination even without polar bears, so don’t ever get frustrated if you don’t see one. Two of the polar bears we saw Is it safe to travel to Svalbard? Polar bears and safety Polar bears are cute but everyone knows how dangerous they are, with their taste for human flesh. There’s been a lot of fatal incidents involving polar bears and tourists. I mean, why can’t you just go hiking on your own? The answer is polar bears. When heading outside of Longyearbyen’s perimeter, you must always be accompanied by a local guide or a person who is certified to carry a rifle. That’s what local people always do: they always carry their rifle wherever they go outside of their settlements, with no exception. This doesn’t mean they shoot the first polar bear they bump into, as the law dictates you can only use your gun as a last resource, when you feel your life is in danger, e.g., the polar bear is too close and ready to attack. The famous polar bear sign in Longyearbyen Things to do in Svalbard There are lots of places to visit in Svalbard. Here’s a short list: Longyearbyen Throughout this travel guide to Svalbard, we’ve mentioned Longyearbyen a lot. It’s the capital of Svalbard and any traveler’s first introduction to the Arctic, good to visit for half a day. The center of town houses a museum that showcases the country’s history, which mainly relates to the many explorers that have set foot on the archipelago over the last couple centuries. There’s a quirky church worth seeing and less than 2km east – around here – there’s a lake featuring the world famous warning sign with a polar bear. Other than that, I also found it interesting to walk around town and see what life is like for people living in such a remote area. By the way, in the center you can also find the northernmost post office in the world, which you can send a postcard back home. Pyramiden Pyramiden is an abandoned Soviet coal mining town that operated from 1910 to 1998. Today, it has become a tourist attraction and is one of the most visited places in Svalbard. This mining town used to host around 1000 people, housing a theatre, an abandoned swimming pool, a 24-hour cantina, a library, a school and of course, the northernmost Lenin statue. You can still visit all of those sites. Today, there are a few people still living in Pyramiden to help maintain the place. There’s a café where you can get Russian beer, vodka and Russian snacks. Pyramiden was one of the highlights of my trip to Svalbard. You can book it here. A Soviet mural featuring polar bears The northernmost Lenin in the world Hiking the Hiorthfjellet summit – The Arctic Challenge A pretty challenging hike in Svalbard, locally known as the Arctic Challenge. To summit Hiorthfjellet (928 meters), you first have to kayak across the fjord for 4 kilometers, climb the 928 meters, and then kayak back to Longyearbyen. The whole activity takes around 11 hours. It’s pretty tough, but I recommend it for intrepid hikers. You can book it here. The Arctic challenge Barentsburg If I’d had another day in Svalbard, I would have gone to the Russian town of Barentsburg, just to see how it differs from Longyearbyen. Barentsburg also features these 2 hotels: Hotel Barentsburg Hostel Pomor More things to do in Svalbard There’s a wide array of activities to choose from for both winter and summer. I booked my tours through a local company called Discover Svalbard. Just go to their website and browse all the available tours they offer. How to book a cruise ship in Svalbard When I traveled to Svalbard, I booked an 8-day cruise expedition. For this, I paid €3800 for a bed in a 4-bed compartment with 3 friends of mine. The company was called Oceanwide Expeditions. Please note that I’m not specifically advertising them, just offering some free information. Why did I choose this company? Well, I didn’t really choose it, my friends did and I just tagged along. The ship had a capacity of 108 passengers. You can find ships with a lower capacity but the price will obviously increase significantly. Things I liked about my cruise expedition: All of the guides had a scientific background with vast experience in the Arctic, and they always gave us presentations based on the things we saw and visited. They kept us busy with different activities, including 2 landings a day, which usually involved a 2-hour hike each time. Sailing up to 81º north, just at the edge of the ice pack and no more than 500km from the North Pole. This wasn’t mentioned in the program. One of the zodiac cruises we did during our trip in Svalbard In the following map, you can see all the places we visited. Overall, we were very happy with the tour/trip but I am not really an expert on cruises, plus I don’t have anything to compare it to, especially as I never did any research into it. However, based on my humble experience, these are the things you should look for when choosing the best cruise expedition in Svalbard Boat capacity. Ours held 108 passengers. It was OK, I wish there had been fewer people but it wasn’t that bad. Some cruise ships can have double and even triple capacity , and I strongly encourage you to stay away from these. Itinerary. Choose a cruise that heads north. On our boat, there was a guy who had previously done the southern part of Svalbard and he said that the north was far more stunning. Price. If you are budget sensitive, some cruise ships like ours have 4-bed compartments, which you can share with other random travelers. Our ship during our trip in Svalbard Conclusion: Is Svalbard worth visiting? During my trip to Svalbard, we sailed up to 81º north, right to the edge of the ice pack that surrounds the North Pole. On the way, we saw 4 polar bears, one of them pretty close. We also went on-shore multiple times, climbing small peaks that offered us jaw-dropping Arctic views. We experienced the Arctic silence, and being in such a remote, desolated, yet, absolutely stunning area felt amazingly good. We visited a Soviet mining town, saw many walrus, and 3 seals sleeping on the ice. All of this was shared with good friends and fantastic weather. Was Svalbard worth visiting, despite the high price tag? Oh yes, absolutely, it was worth every penny I paid. We’ve still to meet someone who hasn’t had an amazing time in Svalbard.

The first time I traveled in Afghanistan was in June 2021, just when the US Army had begun to withdraw from the country, and shortly before the Taliban took it over. With the new change of government, I decided to go back to see what it was like to travel in Afghanistan under new Taliban […]

The first time I traveled in Afghanistan was in June 2021, just when the US Army had begun to withdraw from the country, and shortly before the Taliban took it over. With the new change of government, I decided to go back to see what it was like to travel in Afghanistan under new Taliban rule. From a traveling perspective, a lot has changed in this country. After visiting Afghanistan 5 times, traveling all across the country, during the 4 seasons, from Kandahar to the Wakhan Corridor, here’s the most updated and complete travel guide to Afghanistan, containing everything you need to know relating to safety, visas, permits, budget, top experiences, cultural facts, and more. Check: 50 Photos that will show you the beauty of Afghanistan In this Afghanistan travel blog you will find: Table of Contents Can you travel there? Introduction Visa Travel insurance Safety Travel permits Dealing with Taliban Female Travel Getting in Independent Travel Best time to visit Top 5 Experiences Money and budget Getting around Culture Food Books Internet More Information our recommended travel insurance for Afghanistan IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Afghanistan. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE Can you travel to Afghanistan now? Yes, today, anyone can go to Afghanistan. In fact, Afghanistan has always been open for tourism, and visas have always been issued at the respective embassies. When the Taliban came into power, only 2 or 3 embassies could issue you a tourist visa but today, the number of embassies increased significantly – more on that on the visa section. Moreover, either because they want to whitewash their image, or because they need foreign currency, the new Taliban Government is welcoming foreign tourists, the only barrier being the ethical issues that such a trip may trigger on certain travelers. Somewhere in the Panjshir Valley Introduction: What’s going on in Afghanistan? More than 40 years of conflict have turned Afghanistan into an actual war-torn country, starting in 1979, when tribal people rebelled against the Communist party, starting a war between the Soviet Union and the Mujahideen, which lasted until 1989. The Soviets were defeated but then, Mujahideen warlords began to fight each other over power, impoverishing the country even more. Fed up with all that warlordism and disappointed that Islamic law had not been enforced after the communists were kicked out, a former Mujahid founded a movement named Taliban in the city of Kandahar. That man was Mullah Omar, the historical leader of the Taliban. The Taliban quickly took over the whole Kandahar province and, by 1996, they controlled 90% of Afghanistan’s territory, including Kabul, ruling until 2001. Then, the American Invasion came, initiating a war that ended with their withdrawal in 2021, an event that Taliban used to take over the country. Afghanistan under Taliban rule is the situation you will witness if you travel today in Afghanistan. Some Talib boys How to get a visa for Taliban Afghanistan Before the Taliban took over in 2021, you could get an Afghanistan visa at pretty much any embassy around the world but things have changed now, since there’s only a handful of embassies and consulates that can issue you with a valid visa: The easiest embassies where to get an Afghan visa are: Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Islamabad (Pakistan) Peshawar (Pakistan) Doha (Qatar) Furthermore, travel reports suggest that the following embassies are also issuing tourist visas for Afghanistan but I don’t have any personal experience with it – reports are welcome in the comments section: Istanbul (Turkey) Tehran (Iran) Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) And last, some embassies in Europe have also started issuing them in: Madrid London Berlin The easiest is to get your visa in your home country but if there is no active embassy in the country you reside, Dubai and Islamabad are the most convenient places, for the simple reason that you find there are daily flight connections with Kabul. Visa on arrival (VOA) for Afghanistan There is a way to get a VOA for Afghanistan and that is by crossing from Tajikistan at the Shir Khan border – this is the border that is closer to the Afghan city of Kunduz. The visa on arrival has a cost of 150 USD and the whole paperwork takes a few hours. From Kunduz, you can easily get to Mazar. This border however, is the most convenient one for those traveling to the Wakhan Corridor. In fact, this is the route we’ll take on our upcoming Wakhan Corridor Expedition. Travel requirements for the Afghanistan visa I’ve personally got my Afghan visa in Islamabad, Dubai and Madrid and generally speaking, these are always their requirements: 1-2 passport photos 1 passport copy 1 Pakistan visa copy (if you apply in Islamabad) 80-130 US dollars, depending on the urgency. Americans can pay up to 210 USD Letter of Invitation (LOI) + Company license of your sponsor – Optional Read: How to travel to Pakistan This is the passport photo I used for my Afghan visa, as you can see in the visa image below. I knew they’d like it, and they certainly loved it. When the respective authority saw the photo, he said: Nice, I like it My personal experience applying for the Afghanistan visa Islamabad: Showed up without an appointment. A visa costs 80 USD, but you can also pay an additional 50 USD to get your visa in less than 24 hours. In my case, I went to the embassy at 3:30pm and got it the next day around 2pm. If I had applied early in the morning, I could have got it on the same day in the afternoon. No LOI was needed. Madrid: Showed up without an appointment. Paid €200 and got my visa in 1 hour. The non-urgent service takes 1 week and costs €120. You may mail them your docs as well. No LOI was needed. Dubai: Showed up without an appointment. Paid 130 USD and got my visa in 3 hours. Travel reports suggest that sometimes, they do ask for the LOI. The other embassies and consulates have similar rules, but visa fees may vary. Your reports on this matter are welcome in the comments section. How long is the visa valid for? The visa is single entry and it’s valid for 30 days within a 90-day period. Which nationalities can go to Afghanistan? All nationalities are eligible to apply for an Afghan visa at any of the previously shared embassies. Can Americans travel to Afghanistan? Yes, US citizens can also travel to Afghanistan without any sort of restriction. Do you need a Letter of Invitation for your Afghan visa application? Upon applying for your Afghan visa, they might ask who will be your sponsor in Afghanistan, but you can say that you don’t need one, that you are traveling alone, and it should be fine. This rule applies in Islamabad and sometimes in Dubai as well, but in Dubai, some travel reports suggest that this hasn’t always been the case. At the end of the day, in Afghanistan, rules aren’t written and more often than not, they depend on the respective authority’s mood. My visa for traveling in Afghanistan Travel Insurance for Afghanistan Most travel insurance companies don’t cover for travel in Afghanistan, except for IATI. I recommend it because: Only travel insurance company that covers Afghanistan They have different plans for all budgets Covers senior citizens too Readers of this blog can get an exclusive 5% discount. BUY IT HERE TO GET YOUR DISCOUNT Is it safe to travel in Afghanistan with the Taliban? From a security perspective, Afghanistan has improved a lot but it’s a relative safety. Kindly allow me to go point by point. Visiting Afghanistan before the Taliban took over in 2021 Up to summer 2021, any trip to Afghanistan was potentially dangerous. The country was ruled by a “democratic’” Government, but they were in an ongoing war with the Taliban, who controlled a significant part of Afghanistan. Traveling in the Government-controlled areas was relatively OK but suicide bombings occurred every other day and violent crime in cities like Kabul were kind of a big deal. On the other hand, Taliban-controlled areas were physically possible to visit but the chance of getting kidnapped was extremely high. In summary, visiting Afghanistan was possible but you had to travel with an extra degree of caution and accept a certain amount of risk. Read: Is Pakistan safe? Afghanistan used to be dangerous, yes, but it all depended on where you go. Some areas were peaceful, especially rural areas controlled by the Government. These people are nomads living somewhere in Bamyan Traveling in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 2021 Despite the humanitarian and economic crisis, the war is finally over in Afghanistan and the new rulers are trying to build a peaceful and legitimate Government – or pretending to at least – aiming at being recognized by the entire international community. Taliban are not carrying out terrorist attacks any longer, kidnappings are a thing from the past, and violent crime seems to have disappeared from Kabul. Is this thanks to the Taliban? Well, that’s what they want you to believe but not really, it’s just that they are the ones in charge now, they aren’t fighting anymore and just wish to be a normal country, while attracting foreign investment. With the Taliban, the country is much safer than in 2021, one can really feel it because all the provinces are fully open and also because the Afghans you will meet along the way will keep repeating all the time, that Afghanistan is finally safer. However, there is a potential danger: Islamic State Khorasan. Warning: Islamic State Khorasan You might find it hard to believe that the Islamic State is still alive and that they have become the number 1 enemy of the Taliban, claiming that Taliban are too soft and mere puppets of the West. This branch of IS in Central Asia is called IS Khorasan and the Taliban are currently in a violent counterinsurgency struggle against them. IS Khorasan has carried out several terrorist attacks under Taliban rule. In fact, on May 17th, 2024, the Islamic State attacked a group of tourists in the town of Bamyan, where 3 Spanish citizens died. Unfortunately, the attack was against our group, we aren’t trying to hide it. Our conclusions on the attack in Bamyan While it’s true that safety in Afghanistan has improved a lot, remember that one must always assume a certain amount of risk. The attack was against our group but all those affected or involved keep believing that it was a random attack, since Afghanistan has been receiving thousands of tourists for the last years, plus the attack happened in an area where you always see travelers. While it’s true that we won’t be traveling to Afghanistan any time soon, travelers keep going there, since many also know that it was an isolated case. As a traveler, what would I do? Personally, I would wait for a few months to see how the situation evolves but what I truly believe is that these sorts of attacks shouldn’t be a barrier to your willingness and excitement for traveling in Afghanistan. Before the Taliban over, the Minaret of Jam was within a no-go zone, and the reason was that it belonged to a region taken by the Taliban. Today, it’s completely accessible, even for independent travelers Permits for traveling in Afghanistan For traveling around Afghanistan, you will need special permission from the Taliban. If you are traveling on an organized tour, you don’t need to worry about anything because your local fixer will take care of that but independent travelers will have to get it for themselves which, in our experience, isn’t an easy thing to do. Need to know about your permit for traveling around Afghanistan Your travel permit must mention all the provinces you will visit in Afghanistan. However, it should only mention those provinces you are planning to stay in, not those you are just passing through. For example, if you want to visit Bamyan from Kabul, you will inevitably pass through Wardak province, but you don’t necessarily need a permit for that, because you’ll just be driving through. You will have to pay 1000 AFN for each province you visit, which is around 12 USD. This permit is absolutely needed, and many Taliban will ask for it at checkpoints. Note: They will usually make you pay 1000 AFN per province you visit but sometimes, depending on the traveler, they don’t charge it. From what I heard, they usually don’t charge anything to female travelers. This is what the permit looks like How to get your travel permit for Afghanistan, a step-by-step guide Warning: The following steps look pretty straightforward but, in our experience, rules keep changing and everyone seemed to give us different information. Getting inside the different offices and ministries was also pretty challenging, since the Taliban guarding the gates don’t speak a single word of English, and they never seemed to understand the purpose of our visit. Here we were at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first place they told us to go to get our permits, but they weren’t issuing them there anymore. Step 1 – Go to the Ministry of Culture & Information Location is here. Here, you’ll need to get 2 signatures from 2 different authorities, which will take around 2 hours. Once you get your 2 signatures, they will give you an address and a phone number. In our case, each of the 2 authorities gave us completely different addresses, phone numbers and contact persons but only one of them picked up the phone. Step 2 – Go to the Tourism Directory, aka Afghan Tour Location is here. This building was difficult to find, since there wasn’t any sign but only concrete walls around it. Once you get in the building, you’ll be interviewed by a person, who will probably ask why you aren’t traveling with a guide or a translator. For this conversation, it’s important to wear local clothes, be extremely polite and pretend that you know your way around the country. We said we had good friends in Bamyan and Herat, that they would be our translators, which seemed to satisfy him. He’ll also ask for the provinces you plan to visit and after the interview, you’ll speak to the highest authority from this department, the person responsible for signing your travel permit and giving the final OK. Good luck. Afghanistan travel tip: Remember that on Friday, the offices are closed. How to register at the regional office Once you get your general travel permit, you will also have to register at the regional Information & Culture Department of every province you visit. For example, if you visit Kandahar, the first thing you should do before sightseeing is just showing up at the respective office to get the local permit, which you will get only if you show them the general travel permit you got in Kabul. This local permit will allow you to visit freely all the sites within the province. Where are these offices located? Herat is here Kandahar is here Bamyan is here Mazar is here Taliban checking our permit. How to deal with the Taliban when you’re in Afghanistan Taliban are everywhere and, as an independent traveler, you will have to interact with them at checkpoints or when trying to get your permits. Here’s what you need to know about it. Taliban are generally kind with foreigners Believe it or not, most Taliban I spoke with were particularly nice and helpful. They are mostly Pashtun, a group of people living across Pakistan and Afghanistan, known for being the most hospitable people on Earth, ruled by a code of conduct that dictates that guests should be protected with their own life if needed. I personally believe that, on most occasions, their kindness is genuine but you also need to remember that Taliban wish to be recognized as a legit Government and that their extreme kindness could be part of that strategy. Selfie with a bunch of Taliban at a checkpoint. Taking photos with Talib boys Taliban are usually very keen to be photographed or to be in selfies, and they seem to enjoy it a lot, so don’t be shy and just ask. With 2 Taliban, somewhere in Ghor Remember that you don’t need to like them, but at least pretend that you do Look, I have no particular sympathy for the Taliban. At the end of the day, we all know that their aim is imposing and forcing all Afghans to follow their fundamentalist Orthodox ideas of Islam. However, if you want to travel around the country independently, you will need to play along with their game and if you are not willing to do that, perhaps you should travel in Afghanistan with a local guide, so your interactions with them will be minimum. I am at a stage where I don’t really care to be judged by other travelers – or people reading this blog – so know that in Kabul, I did buy a Taliban flag, which I showed and waved at checkpoints when I found it convenient, just to make our journey a smooth one. What’s the general opinion on Taliban? It’s important to remember that Afghanistan is the most conservative country in the world (along with Yemen and way more than Saudi Arabia) and whether we like it or not, many Afghans – and that includes many women too – haven’t seen their lives changed with the new Taliban rule and that reason is that they were already following those rules. This is the reason why Taliban are supported by a massive part of the total population. Moreover, there’s another significant segment of Afghans who, while they don’t necessarily agree with the Taliban agenda, accept them because they have brought stability and safety across the country. Nonetheless, remember that not everyone supports them, especially Hazara people – a Shia minority – and that there are many Afghans who, while still conservative, are not happy with their extremist ideas, like banning women from higher education, for example. How to travel to Afghanistan as a women What is the situation like for female travelers in Afghanistan? If you are traveling with a man, it should be fine but solo female travelers will certainly have a different experience. My friend and fellow traveler Emma Witters has traveled solo extensively across Afghanistan, including in provinces such as Helmand. You can reach her at @emmawitters_ How to get to Afghanistan How to travel to Afghanistan by air Every day, more and more airlines have resumed their operations in Kabul. Kam Air is the national airline that can take you to Kabul. They have daily flights from Dubai and Islamabad, and also occasional flights from Tashkent, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Doha. Today, you can also fly with Emirates, Fly Dubai and Turkish Airlines. Just check flight schedules on their website. How to travel to Afghanistan by land Afghanistan shares a border with: Pakistan: The Khyber Pass at Torkham is finally open but this is the most chaotic border I have ever crossed. Iran: It’s fully operational. From the Iranian city of Mashhad, you can get into Herat. Many travelers have used this border in the past. Turkmenistan: The border is open as long as you have valid visas but this is truly unexplored territory. I contacted a Turkmen fixer who told me that Turkmen visas are often denied if your idea is to enter or exit Afghanistan from Turkmenistan, but there’s a chance to get in. Uzbekistan: You can get into Afghanistan from the city of Termez. Mazar-i-Sharif is the closest big city. Here you have the border crossing report. China: Very deep into the Wakhan Corridor, at 4,923m above sea level, the Wakhir pass connects Afghanistan with China. The border is closed for foreigners and in any case, it’s just too remote to go. Tajikistan: There are a few border crossings. Ishkashim used to be the most popular one but that one is closed now. Shir Khan, near Kunduz, is the one that is now open to foreign adventures. This is the legendary Khyber Pass Independent travel in Afghanistan Is independent travel allowed in Afghanistan? Yes, it is, as long as you have a valid travel permit. Check the permit section of this post. Is backpacking in Afghanistan difficult? Well, it depends on your previous backpacking experience and where you want to go within Afghanistan but, to be honest, I didn’t find it more difficult than backpacking in Pakistan. If you are planning to visit Mazar, Herat, Kabul or Bamyan, it shouldn’t be very difficult. There is plenty of local transportation or you can easily take a domestic flight. My recommendation would be however, to save the name and location of your hotel because for security purposes, some hotels in Afghanistan have no signs, so they can be difficult to find. Visiting rural areas, Kandahar province or traveling beyond Bamyan in Ghor province is a different story. Nobody speaks English, hotels are scarce (if any) and there’s little public transportation. We did travel from Kabul to Herat through the Hindu Kush by public transportation. It was difficult but worth the adventure. Check the travel report. Best time to visit Afghanistan With different geographical areas, Afghanistan can be a year-round destination. Traveling in Afghanistan season by season: Traveling to Afghanistan in winter In winter, many parts of Afghanistan are covered in snow, with temperatures reaching -20ºC in places like Bamyan or the Wakhan. In my opinion, this is the prettiest season to visit Afghanistan. Nevertheless, remember that winter doesn’t come with its own issues, and that roads and certain things may be blocked. We did run one expedition during the heart of winter in Afghanistan, and it was great. Check our upcoming Afghan expeditions here. Traveling to Afghanistan in spring & autumn From a tourism perspective, spring and autumn are the best seasons for visiting Afghanistan, when the weather is pleasant across the whole country. Nevertheless, it can be too early/late for trekking in the Wakhan Corridor. In late spring or early autumn, it might already be too hot for Mazar or Kandahar. In fact, I visited them in May and the temperature was already at nearly 40ºC. Traveling to Afghanistan in summer In summer, cities like Herat, Mazar and Kandahar are hell ovens, with temperatures averaging over 40ºC. Kabul is hot too but, because of the high altitude, it can be bearable for some. Summer, nonetheless, is the best season for trekking along the Wakhan Corridor. Spring is a great season to visit Bamyan Top 5 experiences in Afghanistan Some of the best things to do in Afghanistan are: 1. Strolling the streets of Old Kabul The old city of Kabul is one of those places where there is always something to look at. It’s chaotic, lively, bustling and its different bazaars are composed of labyrinthic lanes which are perfect for random rambling. The bird market is perhaps the most acclaimed spot among travelers. Kah Faroshi, the bird market of Kabul 2. Trekking in Bamyan Few places in Afghanistan feel as peaceful as Bamyan, a mountainous, remote region in central Afghanistan, home to a large ancient Buddhist heritage and some of the most epic, unspoiled mountains in the country. If you like nature, it doesn’t get better than Bamyan. A shepherd we bumped into during a trek in Afghanistan 3. Learning about the Taliban legacy in Kandahar Kandahar is the former Taliban capital, where the Taliban movement started and also Mullah Omar’s home city. It’s also the heartland of the Pashtun, a world apart from the rest of Afghanistan. Sra Jama, or Red Mosque, popularly known for being Mullah Omar’s favorite mosque, and the place where he used to invite characters to pray, like Osama Bin Laden. The mosque recently underwent a massive restoration. 4. Visiting the Blue Mosque of Mazar-i-Sharif This is one of the most imposingly beautiful mosques I have ever seen, dating from the 15th century, a reason by itself to travel all the way to Mazar. The Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif during prayer time 5. Getting off the beaten track in rural Afghanistan Afghanistan’s countryside offers some of the most unspoiled and authentic areas in the world, regions that have received very little exposure from the outside world, and are home to mesmerizing, lush valleys dotted with adobe-made villages and curious locals. A village, somewhere in Ghor province Budget, money, and costs in Afghanistan In Afghanistan, their currency is called the Afghani (AFN) and approximately: $1 = 72 AFN Afghani or Afghan? Some people commit the funny mistake (including myself in the past) of referring to the people of Afghanistan as Afghani. It’s wrong. Afghani is their currency and the people are Afghans. Exchanging money in Afghanistan I always change money at one of the many stalls in Shahr-e Naw, in Kabul. They accept both Euros and USD. They even accept Pakistani rupees, in case you have any left from your trip to Pakistan. ATMs in Afghanistan Surprisingly, ATMs in Afghanistan do accept international credit and debit cards. Just look for Afghan International Bank. There are quite a few of them in Kabul, especially in Shahr-e Naw area. Paying by card in Afghanistan You might be able to withdraw money from an ATM but you can’t pay by card anywhere in Afghanistan, so do have cash for your trip. How much does it cost to travel to Afghanistan? Everyday life in Afghanistan is cheap but domestic flights and accommodation add up. Here’s an overview of the most typical costs. How much do food and drinks cost in Afghanistan? Breakfast in a local restaurant (usually consisting of eggs, bread and tea) – 100 AFS Local meal in a restaurant (usually palaw rice, kebab, etc) – 200-300 AFS Meal in a mid-range restaurant – 400-600 AFS How much does transportation cost in Afghanistan? One-way domestic flight – 60-120 USD Taxi within cities – 50 AFN for short taxi rides. Up to 200-250 AFN for longer ones. Half-day taxi in Kabul – Once, I hired a driver in Kabul for the morning to take me to a bunch of different places I had in mind. He charged me 20 USD for that. Taxi from the airport to city center – 500 AFN in Kabul, 300-400 AFN in Herat or Mazar. One-way taxi to Bamyan – 75 USD Round-trip taxi ride to Panjshir – 50 USD Local bus within the city – 5 AFN How much does accommodation cost in Afghanistan? Here’s the thing. Good, decent accommodation can get pricey. Expect to pay anything between 30 USD and 50 USD for a room, a relatively basic one but clean and with security. You can definitely find cheaper hotels but there won’t be any kind of security. The Blue Mosque of Mazar is a first-league piece of architecture but it’s free of charge, like most places in Afghanistan Getting around in Afghanistan: transportation How to travel around Afghanistan by public transportation Afghanistan has a good network of buses, minibuses and local shared taxis connecting towns and cities. Experienced budget backpackers won’t find it difficult to move around the country. Read: Overlanding from Kabul to Herat via Minaret of Jam by local transportation These are the type of minivans you can travel with in Afghanistan How to travel around Afghanistan by plane Taking a domestic flight is also a good option for traveling around Afghanistan. You can book your tickets online on Kam Air. There’s another local airline named Ariana. That’s the one I use for flying from Kandahar to Kabul. Note that airlines in Afghanistan aren’t very reliable. They get delayed all the time, especially Ariana. Note that all domestic flights go through Kabul, and that there’s no direct flight from Herat to Mazar, for example, or from Herat to Kandahar, but you need to go through Kabul. Typically, all flights cost $60-$120 and, if you are already in Afghanistan, I strongly recommend booking it through a physical Kam Air office. It happened to me once that after booking a flight with Kam Air online, the booking never went through, even though they did charge it from my card. Eventually, I had to go to an actual office to sort it out. Airport security The level of security in all Afghanistan airports is absolutely insane, consisting of several security layers with body searches and bag scans. That’s why it’s recommended to be at the airport at least two hours before your departure time. These are the sort of roads you will find in the mountain regions of Afghanistan Facts about the country, the Afghans and their culture The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Something interesting to mention is that when the Taliban took over, the country officially changed its name from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They also removed any sign of the official flag – the one with black, green, and red stripes and replaced it with the Talib-friendly white flag, today visible everywhere. A local selling Taliban flags in Kabul A Taliban wearing the brand-new batch of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Afghanistan is multi-ethnic Afghanistan is composed of several ethnicities, including Pashtuns (42%), Tajik (27%) and Hazara (9%). Hazara are the Shia minority who have Mongolian features, Bamyan being their heartland. There’s also a significant population of Uzbeks in Mazer-i-Sharif and around, who mostly came from Uzbekistan escaping the terror from former dictator Islam Karimov. Dari is the main language, but Pashto is official too Dari is a variation from Farsi, the language spoken in Iran. Afghans and Iranians can understand each other without a problem. Dari is the language used by the administration and it’s spoken by nearly 80% of the population. Pashto is an official language too but it’s usually spoken only by the Pashtuns, who are the dominant ethnicity. A Hazara man and the local shared taxi driver that took us from Kabul to Bamyan Language barrier can be a problem sometimes When traveling in rural Afghanistan across the Hindu Kush, I found communicating with people to be extremely difficult, not only because of the language barrier but even sign language didn’t work, probably because they have had so little Western exposure, that their way of communication is just completely different. Beautiful Band-e Amir National Park Women in Afghanistan Afghanistan is the most patriarchal country in the world, with or without the Taliban but, since the latter returned to power, women have lost even more freedom. It’s not mandatory for women to wear the burqa, they can wear a hijab and they can walk alone in the streets but the Taliban have banned them from accessing higher education. I actually discussed this particular topic with a Taliban sympathizer and he said that according to Prophet Mohammed, schools must be segregated by gender so there’s no actual room for women now but the new Government is doing their best to figure it out. What I found truly unreal is that he was actually believing all that shit. A woman wearing burqa in Herat, Afghanistan Afghan cuisine Located at the heart of Central Asia, Afghan food is a mixture of flavors from Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. It’s heavily meat-based to the extent that it can be a struggle for vegetarians venturing into more rural areas. This is chainaki, a traditional lamb dish cooked in a clay pot, and only found in Kabul, the most famous place being in Bacha Broot, one of the oldest restaurants in Kabul. Their national dish is Kabuli palaw, consisting of rice fried in meat fat typically topped with carrots and raisins and essentially, the same as plov in Uzbekistan. Afghanistan also has their own dumplings named mantu, typically filled with mutton and covered with yogurt and yellow lentils. Ashak is the only vegetarian dish in Afghan cuisine, consisting of dumplings filled with leeks and other vegetables. This is ashak, the most popular vegetarian dish in Afghanistan Is there any alcohol in Afghanistan? Afghanistan is a dry country, as it was before the Taliban. Best books for traveling in Afghanistan Kite runner – Khaled Hosseini An American bestseller in 2003, Kite runner narrates the story of two Afghan kids in Kabul, a rich boy and the son of his parent’s servants. The book also gives endless insights of what life in Kabul and Afghanistan is like. CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES My Life with the Taliban – Abdul Salam Zaeef This is the mind-blowing biography of a senior former member of the Taliban. From growing up in conservative, rural Afghanistan to the years he spent in Guantanamo, this amazing book gives priceless insights into the Taliban movement from the inside. CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES Afghanistan Essential Guide to Customs & Culture – Culture Smart! Cultural Smart! is a series of guidebooks that focus on the country’s culture, giving loads of information about local customs, cultural etiquette and stuff like that. The one on Afghanistan is great, with deep explanations of why Afghans are so hospitable. CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES Afghanistan travel guide – Lonely Planet The travel guide to Afghanistan from Lonely Planet is outdated (2007) but still, is a great source of information on the country. It can be difficult to find a copy. CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES Internet in Afghanistan Is there Wi-Fi in Afghanistan? There’s kind of unreliable Wi-Fi in big cities but if you need it for work, it won’t be good enough. Getting a SIM card in Afghanistan To buy a SIM, you’ll have to go to one of the official branches, which tend to open from 8am to 4pm. There are many mobile companies in Afghanistan, including: Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wirless, Etisalat, MTN, Roshan, and Salaam. Apparently, each company is only good for certain provinces but everyone was telling us different things. In the end, I bought MTN because they said it was the best one for all Afghanistan but it only worked in the big cities. Note that there’s no 4G but only 3G or not even that. Get a VPN for traveling in Afghanistan You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Your connection will be much safer. Moreover, you will be able to access content which is typically censored in Afghanistan. I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap. Get Expressvpn More Information In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Afghanistan Visiting Kandahar Is Afghanistan safe? 50 Photos that will show you the beauty of Afghanistan Overlanding from Kabul to Herat via Minaret of Jam by local transportation Travel guides to other countries in Central Asia Tajikistan Travel Guide Travel Guide to Uzbekistan Travel Guide to Kazakhstan Pakistan Travel Guide Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide You might also like our Haiti travel guide.

Wanna travel to Libya with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Libya on: October 26th to November 1st, 2024 This is the most complete and up-to-date Libya travel guide available on the internet. Libya is a surprising country indeed. Home to Leptis Magna and Sabratha, Libya […]

Wanna travel to Libya with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Libya on: October 26th to November 1st, 2024 learn more This is the most complete and up-to-date Libya travel guide available on the internet. Libya is a surprising country indeed. Home to Leptis Magna and Sabratha, Libya has outstanding, world-class Roman ruins, sitting on the Libyan coast. From 1911 to 1951, the country was an Italian colony, the heritage of which is still very visible, not only in the architecture that dominates the center of Tripoli, but also in the somehow sophisticated way Libyans drink their cappuccino. Except for a tiny part of the – today inaccessible – eastern coast, Libya is an utterly massive, barely populated desert, filled with ancient Berber, caravan towns like Gadhames, located more than 600km from Tripoli. Today, however, Libya has become a failed state struggling to put an end to an armed conflict that has been ongoing since 2011, preventing travelers from venturing into the most off the beaten track country in the whole Mediterranean. However, with proper planning and research, anyone can travel to Libya safely. This guide contains endless Libya travel tips that will show you how. In this Libya travel guide, you’ll find: Table of Contents Libya today Safety How to get a visa Travel Insurance Independent travel in Libya Tours Getting in Best time to visit Top experiences Internet & connectivity Budget & Money Getting around Culture Libyan cuisine Where to stay Solo female travel More information our recommended travel insurance for Libya IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Libya. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE Libya today: what is it like to travel to Libya? In 2011, following the Arab Spring in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, a set of peaceful protests against an absolute Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, escalated into a bloody armed conflict between the rebels and Gaddafi’s local forces. One year later, Gaddafi was defeated, captured, and killed, putting an end to more than 40 years of dictatorship. For the first time ever, Libyans were able to foresee a bright, beautiful future but, unfortunately, the same people who wanted to overthrow Gaddafi, claiming to favor democracy, began to fight each other over power and wealth, dividing the country into different regions controlled by different militias. A second civil war began, and on and off conflicts continued until the country officially split into two main regions, ruled by two different, independent Governments: West Libya, with Tripoli as the capital, and East Libya, with Benghazi as the main city. However, in October 2020, exhausted from a pointless civil war, both Governments signed a permanent ceasefire and promised to hold elections, but they have been continuously postponed ever since. Today, the peace agreement is still valid, but that doesn’t avoid the occasional clashes between the two Governments, and their permanent disagreements over power, like happened in May 2022. Tourists can travel to Libya now, but your visa will only be valid for travel in the Western part of Libya because the Eastern Government doesn’t recognize it. Update 2024: East Libya is now open and your regular tourist visa for Libya will be valid for the eastern part as well. When visiting Libya, don’t miss the theater found in Leptis and Magna Is it safe to travel to Libya? By far, safety is the number 1 concern for people wanting to visit Libya, which is kind of understandable, since the media has been showing nothing but years and years of conflict. As previously mentioned, a peace agreement was signed between both West and East Governments back in 2020 and, except for a few occasional clashes between the Government forces – where civilians are not targeted – traveling to the West part Libya is mostly safe nowadays. All Libyans will tell you that today, traveling to Libya is completely safe and as long as the money coming from oil – Libya is an oil-rich country – keeps flowing through both East and West, it will remain so, or that’s what many locals Libyans believe. My personal experience when I went to Libya From Afghanistan to Syria and Iraq, one can really feel that you are in a conflict or post-war country but for some reason, not in Libya. On the one hand, you barely see any military presence there, at least in the areas where you are allowed to travel, and that includes the capital too. On the other hand, while destruction is prevalent in most Syrian cities’ skylines, Tripoli is pretty untouched, as were all the places we visited, except for the main avenue in Misrata, the city that suffered the most. We saw a few buildings with bullet holes and stuff but not even 1% of what you see in Mosul or Aleppo. Again, I just saw one tiny part of the country, and I know that in Benghazi, for example, there was a fierce battle but, from a traveling standpoint, most places in West Libya are intact, and the atmosphere seems surprisingly relaxed. We found this building in Sabratha, an area damaged during the war How to get a visa for Libya SUPER UPDATE 2024! The visa for Libya used to be one of the most difficult ones in the world, a very painful process full of uncertainties. However, as of April 2024, the Government decided to implement an e-visa system, with which you can obtain your visa in one week. You can apply for your e-visa here. e-visa for Libya: FAQ How much does the e-visa for Libya cost? It costs 63 US dollars. How long does the approval take, and how long is it valid for? For now, the approval comes after 5 working days, approximately. Once you get the approval, you have 90 days to enter Libya. Is it 100% reliable? In Libya, things change all the time, like nowhere else in the world. Remember that in 2023, the Government also introduced a visa on arrival, which only lasted for 3 months. According to our contacts in Libya, the e-visa is fully working and travelers are getting into Libya without any issues but the real question is: Is the e-visa going to stay? We don’t know, and nobody can’t know, because this is Libya. Does the e-visa allow you to travel independently? Theoretically, you can’t travel independently in Libya. However, travel reports suggest that some travelers have tried to sneak in and our local contacts in Libya informed us that the tourist police are currently working on preventing this. They fear, nevertheless, that if travelers keep coming without a local sponsor, they will eventually block the e-visa. How to get a visa for Libya the old way (before the introduction of e-visa) The following information is irrelevant now, but I prefer to keep it here, especially because the e-visa system could also disappear, meaning that going back to the old way is a possibility, because this is Libya. This is how you used to get a Libyan visa up to March 2024. Step 1 – Getting your Letter of Invitation (LOI) In order to get your visa for Libya, the first thing you need to do is get a Letter of Invitation from an authorized Libya-based company. Note that Libyan companies won’t issue an LOI unless you book a full tour of Libya with them. How long do I have to wait to get the LOI? The problem with Libya is that nothing is official. They say that LOI are issued in 1 week but sometimes they don’t come until 3 weeks later and sometimes they in just 3 days. Libya’s bureaucracy is so random. How long is the LOI valid for? There’s no official date but rumors say it has a 1-month validity, extendable to 3 months. Again, this is also pretty random. Step 2 – Getting your actual visa at the embassy Once your LOI is approved, the next step is visiting the Libyan embassy in your home country or country of residence. The LOI will come with a 6-digit number, and it’s recommended to call the embassy in advance, telling them about your upcoming visit and the respective number. I got my visa at the Libyan embassy in Madrid. They told me to physically go there any day, from Monday to Wednesday, from 10am to 1pm, and these were their requirements: Passport with more than 6 months validity 2 passport photos Letter of Invitation Letter from the company you work for, stating the business reason you want to travel to Libya Once they checked that all my documents were correct, they told me to deposit the amount of 60€ in their bank account – which I did at the nearest bank – and come back with the receipt. When I gave them the receipt, they told me to come back after two hours to collect my visa, that’s it. That’s for the embassy in Madrid, what about the rest of the embassies? Requirements are pretty much the same across most embassies but, while some of them require the applicant to be physically there, others allow you to mail them all docs. Moreover, like in Madrid, some embassies issue your visa within 2 hours, while others might take a few days. The best way to find out is by calling your nearest embassy. What if there’s no embassy in your home country? Then, you can apply from an embassy of your choice, but you need to tell your local sponsor in advance. How long is the visa valid for? Up to September 2023, the visa was valid for 1 month, from the moment you collect it and it can’t be extended. However, now they say that they will extend it to 3 months. My visa for traveling to Libya Travel insurance for Libya Most travel insurance companies don’t cover for travel in Libya, except for IATI. I recommend it because: Only travel insurance company that covers Libya They have different plans for all budgets Covers senior citizens too Readers of this blog can get an exclusive 5% discount. BUY IT HERE TO GET YOUR DISCOUNT Traveling to Libya as an independent traveler: is it allowed? Not really, as mentioned in the visa section of this post. Actually, independent travel in Libya has never been allowed, even during Gaddafi’s rule, and the reason is that, in their eyes, foreigners could always be potential spies. With the new e-visa, things could have changed but theoretically speaking, here’s what you need to know on independent travel in Libya. Your local guide must pick you up from immigration Nowadays, upon arrival at the International Airport of Tripoli, even before getting your entry stamp, the authorities will put you aside, waiting for your sponsor, a representative from the company who issued your LOI – the local guide, in my case. This person will have to go through a few formalities and only then, will you be able to enter Libya. You will be accompanied by a local official During my trip to Libya, I had always to be accompanied by an official who claimed to be part of the tourist police. Along with my local guide and driver, this person stuck with us the whole time, eating with us and even staying in our hotels outside of Tripoli. While spending the whole trip with an official might seem quite annoying – you actually have to pay for his meals and hotels – but that’s included in the total tour package – the truth is that he was a pretty nice guy who basically became one more of us. He was unarmed, joked all the time and always tried to be helpful. Some travelers who travel to Libya as gas consultants (fake purpose, of course) claim that they were never accompanied by such an official, but only the local guide. Your itinerary can’t be flexible It can’t be changed. Your itinerary will be shared with the security department before your arrival and making changes won’t be allowed. Can you walk around Tripoli on your own Yes, you can but this is something you must discuss with your local guide. Two men from the tourist police who joined us for a few hours Tours for Libya Independent travel in Libya is not possible nowadays. Against the Compass, however, runs tours into Libya. Our next scheduled tour for Libya is in: October 26th to November 1st, 2024 – APPLY NOW January 30th to February 7th, 2025 – APPLY NOW Learn more about our Libya tours Best time to visit Libya Best time to travel to Libya: November to March The weather becomes pleasant during these months but note that temperature can drop to 0ºC in December-January, so do bring warm clothing for the freezing nights, especially in the desert areas. Worst time to travel to Libya: June to September In summer, Libya is too hot to enjoy. I personally came during the last week of May and days were already utterly hot, making sightseeing very difficult. Evenings however, were good. The coast of Libya is outstanding, pure Mediterranean How to get to Libya How to travel to Libya by air The main airport in Libya is Mitiga International Airport, located 11km from the center of Tripoli. This airport used to have plenty of connections but nowadays, you can only travel from the following cities: Tunis Cairo Istanbul I recommend coming from Tunis because there are a lot more flights, plus they are cheaper. Which airlines fly to Libya? Today, the only foreign airline that flies to Tripoli is Tunis Air but the problem is that it doesn’t fly there every day, only 2-3 times a week, so depending on your travel dates, it could be inconvenient. Alternatively, Libyan Wings flies from Tunis to Tripoli every day but the problem is that you can’t book tickets online, so someone has to go to an actual Libyan Wings office and pay in cash. This is something you’ll need to arrange with your local guide or sponsor. How to travel to Libya by land: Libya shares a border with 5 countries. Traveling to Libya from Tunisia Travel reports suggest the border is open, and there are actually direct buses from Tunis to Tripoli but, besides the nearly 800km distance, border formalities will take a lot of time if you go on a bus packed with people. Alternatively, you could head slowly to the border (the one by the coast) and cross on foot. However, if you opt for this choice, your local guide will have to pick you up from there, increasing the overall cost of your trip. Check my Tunisia travel guide Traveling to Libya from Egypt This border used to be open during Gaddafi’s time but not anymore, since the Eastern part of Libya is controlled by a different faction that won’t recognize your business visa. Check my Egypt travel guide Traveling to Libya from Algeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan Those borders are super closed. The Libyan-Algerian border. If you wanted to travel to Libya from Algeria by road, know that this border is closed to foreigners Which side am I? Top experiences in Libya Libya has actually a lot of touristic potential; it is no wonder that during the Gaddafi years, many tour groups used to come here. 1 – Visiting first-league Roman ruins Leptis Magna and Sabratha are exceptional Roman sites, with no reason to envy Palmyra in Syria, or Baalbek in Lebanon, and the best thing about them is that they are built by the sea. An epic amphitheater by the Mediterranean sea, one of the best things to check during your Libya trip 2 – Admiring the Italian Heritage in Tripoli As in Eritrea, Italians left their footprint in Libya, leaving behind a very strong coffee culture and the most beautiful buildings in the country. An Italian café in the center of Tripoli 3 – Experiencing the Libyan desert Whether you are driving from town to town, or just having tea with the Tuaregs, few countries in the world have such a vast, empty desert. The Libyan desert, less than 1-kilometer away from the Algerian border 4 – Visiting the ancient caravan city of Ghadames Ghadames is an ancient desert town and oasis, home to an entangled and massive old city composed of hundreds of pathways, which also turns out to be a UNESCO Heritage site. The Old Town of Gadhames 5 – Learning about the current crisis in Misrata Misrata was one of the most affected cities during the Libyan Civil war, the legacy of which is still very visible. Today, the city features a brand-new museum about the crisis. Internet and connectivity in Libya As expected, Wi-Fi isn’t particularly reliable in Libya, but you can easily get a local SIM card at the airport. I personally bought a SIM card packed with 20GB of data for just 39LYD (around 8 USD), which was more than enough for just 6 days. Get a VPN for traveling in Libya You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Your connection will be much safer. Moreover, you will be able to access content which is typically censored in Libya. I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap. Get a vpn If you want to learn more about VPN, check: Why you need a VPN for traveling. Budget and money: how much does it cost to travel to Libya? In Libya, they use the Libyan Dinar (LYD) and approximately: 1 USD = 4.80 LYD Obviously, the currency in Libya is not very stable, so do check the exact exchange rate before departure. Can you use credit or debit cards in Libya? No, you can’t, so do bring all your money in cash. However, you won’t need much money because you are likely to travel to Libya on a tour, where pretty much everything is included. In 6 days, I spent the equivalent of 30€, just for a few night meals which weren’t included in Tripoli. Where can I exchange money? I believe your local guide will help you with that but the main area for exchange is in a specific place in the old city of Tripoli. How much does it cost to travel to Libya? As mentioned, the only way to travel to Libya is by purchasing a tour, which tends to include all expenses but in any case, here’s a summary of the most typical costs: Visa: around 65 USD Round trip flight Tunis Tripoli with Libyan Wings: €250 Meal in a local restaurant: around 25-40 LYD Meal in a fancy restaurant: from 50-90LYD Espresso or cappuccino in a local coffee shop: 2 LYD Espresso or cappuccino in a fancy café: 5 LYD The 20-dinar note features one of the buildings from Gadhames How to get around Libya It doesn’t really make sense to add a getting around section since you’ll be traveling from city to city by car, with your local guide but still, here are a few things to keep in mind: Gas is extremely cheap, the second cheapest in the world after Venezuela. Despite having some of the most massive oil reserves, there’s an oil shortage, and many gas stations are virtually empty. On our way to Ghadames, we had to travel with three large cans filled with gas, since finding gas can be a gamble. The driving is bad, Libyans don’t really like to follow traffic rules, but that didn’t surprise me. The coastal road is sort of busy, but the roads leading inland are absolutely empty, only desert, and barely any cars. Roads in Libya, on the way to Gadhames Libya: the country, people and culture Along with Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia and Algeria, Libya is one of the 5 countries that compose the Maghreb region. It is the 4th largest country in Africa, and the 16th in the world, but its land is only inhabited by 6 million people, making it one of the least densely populated countries in the world. People, the Libyans Unlike other African countries, Libya has a pretty homogenous society. Arabs: Most Libyans can be classified as Arabs. However, while the western part of Libya has more similarities to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the eastern part has more resemblance to Egypt. In fact, this cultural difference is what has left the country divided, and dictates the international agenda too, since both Governments are supported by their respective foreign counterpart. Having lunch with my team Berbers: Apparently, 5% of the total Libyan population are Berbers, the indigenous ethnic group in north Africa before the Arabs came. They have their own language and folklore, and usually, they have a darker skin. I found Berbers from Libya had a stronger identity than Berbers in Tunisia or Morocco, since Berber flags were seen everywhere. However, they have absolutely no problem in saying they are Libyans. On the way to Ghadames, you’ll see lots of Berber towns. The Berber emblem, visible in all predominantly Berber areas Language In Libya, they speak Arabic and, like its people, while the dialect spoken in West Libya is similar to Tunisia’s, in East Libya it is similar to Egypt’s. Do people speak English in Libya? Not much but again, you are likely to be with a local guide the whole time, so communication shouldn’t be much of an issue. Religion Libyans are Sunni Muslims, but in Tripoli, you can find some churches that are frequented by the small Christian community. Like Bashar al Assad in Syria, Muammar Gaddafi was a secular dictator who always condemned fundamentalist and religious extremists but unlike in Syria, where there’s a very significant secular society, I found the people in Libya to be extremely religious and traditional. The few women you see in the street always wear hijab and to my surprise, many of them wore the niqab, something rarely seen in North Africa. Local women visiting Leptis and Magna Libyan cuisine Food won’t be the highlight of your trip, but some of their dishes aren’t bad. I can’t tell what’s food like in East Libya, but in West Libya, food is similar to other countries in the Maghreb. Cous-cous is their signature meal and what I like about it is that it’s quite juicy, usually tomato-based, like in Tunisia, while in Morocco I always found it to be drier. Grilled meat with white rice is always available in most restaurants and, thanks to the Italian influence, pasta too. In Tripoli, you can actually find many Italian restaurants, a very popular chain being Caffe di Roma, where you have a wide variety of pastas and pizzas to choose from. It’s not the best pasta ever but after a few days of just eating cous-cous, it wasn’t bad at all. Another dish I tried was usban, a Libyan sausage filled with rice and meat, too heavy for my taste, but sort of tasty. Alcohol in Libya Since Gaddafi came into power in 1969, Libya has been a dry country. Being such a secular ruler, I wondered why he banned alcohol. Some Libyans believe he banned it so people would not get drunk and start talking about politics, saying bad things about the Government. That’s hard to believe, since not even Kim Jong Un does that. Coffee in Libya I am a big coffee drinker, especially in the morning, so whenever I visit a predominantly tea country, I always struggle, and I thought Libya would be one of those, but I was wrong. Coffee culture in Libya is a big deal and, due to the Italian influence, they prepare it in a pretty sophisticated way, with so much love, and always with the right amount of foam. What was even more surprising, however, is that you can also have really good coffee in more rural towns, like Ghadames for example, and even in the random villages you find along the road. Libyan cous-cous Where to stay in Libya There aren’t many hotels in Libya, but there are enough to accommodate the few tourists, business people, and diplomats that visit the country. Where to stay in Tripoli Mid-range – Hotel Victoria – This is the preferred hotel for travelers, featuring a rooftop with excellent views to the city. 5 stars – Sheraton Hotel – Better than Victoria, of course. Top-end – Corinthia Hotel Tripoli – The best hotel in town Where to stay outside of Tripoli In Gadhames: we stayed at Ghadamis Hotel, a massive hotel with traditional architecture that opened 1 or 2 years before the beginning of the war but, since it’s government-owned, it has remained open. We stayed there for two nights, and were completely alone. In Misrata: With our groups, we used to stay in Safari Hotel In Al Baida: Al Baida is the base for exploring East Libya, and the hotel we stay is Hotel Marhaba Views from Victoria Hotel Solo female travel in Libya Independent travel is not allowed in Libya, so solo women will always go with the local guide and the tourist police, making things much easier for them. My local guide said he has had many female clients – some of them came alone, while others with a partner or friend – and he said all of them had a great time. Have you been to Libya (as a solo female) and want to write a guest post for Against the Compass to tell us about the experience? Then, kindly shoot me an email at joan@againstthecompass.com More Information for traveling to Libya In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. Travel guides to other countries in Africa Ethiopia Travel Guide Eritrea Travel Guide Somaliland Travel Guide Travel Guide to Sudan Travel Guide to Egypt Mali Travel Guide Travel Guide to Mauritania Tunisia Travel Guide You will also like our Syria travel guide, Iraq travel guide and Haiti travel guide.

Wanna travel to Venezuela with Against the Compass? Join us on a 2-week adventure across Canaima National Park, Los Llanos, Mérida and the Caribbean coast. January 8th to 21st, 2025 Arguably, Venezuela might be the best country for travel in the whole of South America. Blessed with the longest coastline in the Caribbean, the tallest […]

Wanna travel to Venezuela with Against the Compass? Join us on a 2-week adventure across Canaima National Park, Los Llanos, Mérida and the Caribbean coast. January 8th to 21st, 2025 learn more Arguably, Venezuela might be the best country for travel in the whole of South America. Blessed with the longest coastline in the Caribbean, the tallest waterfall in the world and the least unexplored part of the Amazon, Venezuela is packed with wilderness highlights. While you might be thinking that every country in the continent is filled with jaw-dropping attractions, what I truly enjoyed about traveling in Venezuela is that there is no other Spanish-speaking country in the continent which is also so raw and authentic. Yet Venezuela doesn’t come without its own travel difficulties and obstacles, so in this guide, you will learn how to travel in Venezuela, including tips on safety, money, accommodation, getting around and much more. In this Venezuela travel guide, you will find: Table of Contents Venezuela Today Is it safe to travel? How to get visa Travel Insurance Money & Budget Best time to visit Top Experiences Getting in Independent Travel Transportation Accommodation Venezuelan People Language Cuisine Internet More Information our recommended travel insurance for Venezuela With its Backpacker plan, IATI Insurance is the best insurance for any kind of adventurous destination, like Venezuela. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE Venezuela today Can you travel to Venezuela? Similar to Iraq or Somalia, Venezuela has an incredibly bad reputation for being one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Venezuela, nevertheless, has never experienced suicide bombings or war-related problems. What it did have was a problem with high rates of violent crime, inflamed by one of the worst and longest-lasting economic crises in the world. Venezuela’s economy is fully dependent on oil and is managed by extremely corrupt leaders with absolutely zero incentives, all fueled by the impementation of extreme Communist laws and policies that saw the country experience 10,000% inflation and a shortage crisis that lasted nearly 10 years, until 2019, a crisis that brought hundreds of Venezuelans close to starvation because they couldn’t even find a bag of rice in the supermarket. Venezuelans have suffered what is not written, and listening to their stories should be an unmissable part of your trip, as much as visiting the Angel Falls. Today, the situation isn’t great but with the stabilization of their currency and the significant improvement in security, local people are feeling more optimistic and enthusiastic about their futures. In my opinion, there hasn’t been a better time to travel to Venezuela than now. The sign says that here you can’t say anything bad about Chávez; despite leading the country to ruins, many people supported him Is it safe to travel to Venezuela? Is Venezuela safe for tourists? Several years ago, Venezuela was one of the most dangerous countries in the world – in my opinion far more dangerous than countries like Afghanistan, Yemen or even Mali. Express kidnappings, muggings and road assaults were part of everyday life for Venezuelans. On Monday mornings, the main topic of conversation between colleagues at pretty much any office or university was about who got robbed or kidnapped over the weekend. Venezuela was so dangerous that even the Venezuelans’ habits shifted in cities, with streets clearing after 6 pm, since people preferred to celebrate and gather with friends in their own homes. This terrible situation went on until around 2020. Right now, traveling in Venezuela is safe, for the following reasons: Mérida is peaceful and it’s filled with beautiful mesmerizing villages 1. The Government took action against local mafias Basically, by carrying out raids in specific shanty towns, targeting the organizations involved in kidnappings. The police were very effective, but only because they went in and shot everyone indiscriminately, killing loads of innocent people at the same time. 2. Because of the crisis, kidnappings were no longer profitable business Express kidnappings consisted of taking someone by force to make them empty their bank accounts, while threatening their and their family’s lives. The problem however, is that Venezuela was suffering the worst of all inflations, so wealthy Venezuelans moved their fortunes to bank accounts in either Madrid or Miami, hence there was no way for them to transfers their funds, meaning the kidnapping business wasn’t very profitable any more. Similarly, because of the crisis, ordinary Venezuelans weren’t carrying any money on them, mainly because the Venezuelan Bolívar was absolutely worthless, so mugging became increasingly difficult as well. 3. The thieves fled Venezuela to neighboring countries Given the situation, many thieves decided to leave Venezuela, heading mainly to other Latin American countries such as Colombia, Ecuador or Perú. Conclusion: Is Venezuela safe to visit? Venezuela is safer to travel than it used to be, as all Venezuelans will tell you. But remember that still, this is rough and raw Latin America, so use your common sense: don’t display your valuables, don’t walk about alone after dark, etc. Is Venezuela safe for Americans? Yes, of course. Local people won’t judge you based on your nationality. Also, it’s not like the USA has ever invaded and started a war in Venezuela, like they did in many Middle Eastern countries, so Americans can travel around Venezuela without fear. The shanty town of San Agustín, also safe today This is the shanty town of Petare in Caracas, one of the largest slums in the world. It used to be extremely dangerous. Now it’s not completely safe but it can be if you know the right people How to get a visa for Venezuela Most nationalities can get a free visa upon arrival, allowing you to travel in Venezuela for 90 days. This rule applies at both international airports and land borders. Can Americans travel to Venezuela with a tourist visa? Americans – and also Canadians – are the exception to the rule. They can’t get a VOA, so instead must apply at the Venezuelan embassy in either Mexico City or Panama City. The process can take up to 5 months (no kidding!) and the rules change all the time. Fortunately, there is a pretty active Facebook group where travelers share their experiences in securing a tourist visa for Venezuela. The group is called Venezuela Visa Support. The 2 right stamps are from Venezuela Travel insurance Venezuela is an adventurous destination, so we recommend going there with proper travel insurance. I recommend IATI Insurance because: Their backpacker plan covers all types of adventure activities, including trekking Very competitive prices Readers of this blog can get a 5% exclusive discount BUY IT HERE TO GET YOUR 5% DISCOUNT Money & budget for backpacking in Venezuela Money is a complicated matter when backpacking in Venezuela, there are so many particularities. Here’s what you need to know. The local currency is now in parity with the US dollar In Venezuela, they use the Venezuelan Bolívar and approximately: 1 USD = 36 VES I’m not an economist so I don’t know how this actually works, but after inflation of nearly 10,000% back in 2019, the Government of Venezuela managed to contain it by equalizing the Bolívar with the US dollar. The Venezuelan economy is now completely dollarized While the Bolívar is still in circulation, the US dollar is quickly becoming the main currency, and it can be used for any type of transactions. At small local businesses, such as fruits & veg shops, or convenience stores, they’ll likely give you the price in Bolívares although you will always be allowed to pay in USD. If something costs less than 1 USD, they will give your change in Bolívares. Bring all your money in cash You can’t really withdraw money from an ATM. I mean, technically you can, but ATMs always give Bolívares and only up to a certain amount, which tends to be the equivalent of no more than 25 USD. Therefore, do bring all your money in cash, and in US dollars. Bring the smallest possible notes This is the number one tip for traveling in Venezuela. In Venezuela, nobody has change, but I am not talking about not having change of $100. I am talking about buying something worth $4 dollars, paying with a $5 note and not getting your dollar change because the guy from the shop doesn’t have any. This didn’t happen just once, or twice, it was a constant nightmare that happened several times a day, every time I tried to buy something outside of Caracas. There’s a shortage of cash in Venezuela. In Caracas you can pay by card virtually everywhere so this shouldn’t be much of a problem there, but outside of the capital it really is. How are the locals dealing with it? Well, they don’t really use cash; instead they use Pago Móvil, a mobile app for instant payments that can only be used if you have a Venezuelan bank account. I know it’s hard to bring $1 bills, but just try to bring the smallest possible notes. You can’t get money out of ATMs but you might be able to pay by card However, don’t rely on this. For example, my Revolut Card didn’t work in Venezuela but my N26 did, even though both of them are Mastercard. In Caracas, cards are accepted everywhere, but that might not be the case in other parts of the country. It’s just random, sometimes they do accept cards, sometimes they don’t. How much does a trip to Venezuela cost? Estimating the cost of traveling to Venezuela is difficult, since it really depends on where you go, and what activities you do. On the one hand, there’s Caracas. Caracas is super expensive. If you decide to stay in Chacao, which is the safest area in the entire city – pretty much the only place where you can walk around without any fear – then know that things will be ridiculously expensive, e.g. $100 for a basic hotel room, $15 for an average local meal and $60 for a meal in an international restaurant (nothing fancy). Then there are the touristy places such as Los Roques, Canaima, Los Llanos, the Orinoco Delta and Roraima. These places are also super expensive, so you should budget around $150 a day depending on where you stay. Check out our Canaima travel guide to find out how to reduce costs. Mérida and Margarita are the only famous tourist havens that are pretty affordable, where you can find excellent accommodation for $30, and the food is cheap too. Everywhere else is cheap. In Valencia for example, you can find decent accommodation for $20, and a good local meal for $4. Public transportation is also cheap, I don’t think I ever paid more than $10 for a long-distance bus. Visiting Canaima National Park starts at $150 a day Best time to visit Venezuela Venezuela is a year-round destination, so the best time to visit will depend on what you want to do. Traveling in Venezuela from July to October: the rainy season. During the rainy season, all of the waterfalls in Canaima National Park will be at their fastest flowing, including Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world and the country’s top tourist attraction. It’s important to highlight that the rainy season in Venezuela isn’t one of those Asian monsoon seasons with hurricanes where it keeps pouring all day long. It’s more like heavy rain for a few hours a day. This season, however, might not be ideal for visiting the coast and the islands of Margarita and Los Roques. It will also be pretty cold in the mountains around Mérida and, while Los Llanos will be covered in lush green, it’s not the best season to spot anacondas and other animals. This photo was taken during the month of January Traveling in Venezuela from November to April: the dry season The dry season comes with its pros and cons as well. For Canaima, be aware that the later you go, the less water you’ll find, so I don’t personally recommend going there in March or April. On the other hand, the dry season is an excellent time to visit the islands, as well as for doing a safari in Los Llanos, including spotting giant anteaters and 5-meter anacondas. Check our travel guide to Los Llanos for more information. Venezuela travel tip: avoid local Bank Holidays In Venezuela, there are very few foreign travelers but domestic tourism is pretty big, especially during certain annual festivities. You may want to avoid traveling to Los Llanos, Canaima, Margarita or Los Roques during the following dates: Carnavales (February or March, depending on the year) Easter (March or April, depending on the year) Christmas Holidays July 5th and 24th Top Experiences in Venezuela Go on an anaconda safari Along with the Amazon, Los Llanos boatds with one of the largest populations of giant anacondas, and safaris to spot them can be easily arranged. Check our travel guide to Los Llanos. Our guide with a small anaconda in his hands Explore Caribbean towns The coast of Venezuela has a very distinct, very Caribbean culture, with the added advantage that it hasn’t been spoiled by foreign tourism – Choroní or Chacao being great examples. The Caribbean town of Choroní Visit the tallest waterfall in the world Venezuela is home to the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall (979 meters). This waterfall can be found in a stunning national park named Canaima, which is only accessible by flying in. Check our travel guide to Canaima. Angel Falls is the top tourist attraction in Venezuela Venezuelan people Venezuela has seen very few backpackers for the last 30 years, so expect to make friends everywhere – more than in any other Latin American country! Local people in Mérida Backpacking in Mérida Mérida is the best example of traditional Venezuela, old colonial villages built in the Andes that feel like stepping back in time. A remote village in Mérida Getting in: how to travel to Venezuela How to fly to Venezuela Maiquetía or Simón Bolívar International Airport is the main airport hub in Caracas. To be honest, it’s a fairly small airport with few connections. If coming from Europe, Madrid is by far the best hub. Check Iberia or Air Europa. You can also fly from Lisbon (TAP Portugal) and Istanbul (Turkish Airlines). There are direct flights from Moscow as well. Alternatively, you can also fly from Colombia, Panamá or México. How to travel to Venezuela over land borders Venezuela shares a border with: Colombia: all borders are open and easy to cross Brazil: despite sharing a very long border, there’s only one proper border crossing at Paracaima, the rest being dense jungle. Guyana: there aren’t any roads connecting both countries, only jungle, hence there isn’t any official border crossing. Independent travel in Venezuela I traveled around Venezuela for 25 days using public transportation. Do you know how many backpackers I saw? Zero, not a single one. I did see foreign tourists in Canaima National Park, as well as a tour group in Los Llanos but not a single backpacker traveling independently around the country, not even in Mérida. Venezuela is still perceived as a dangerous destination, few and far between are the travelers venturing here on their own, the reason being that it’s difficult to find any travel information about for it, e.g., there are barely any updated travel blogs on Venezuela. Margarita Island Transportation: How to move around Venezuela How to travel around Venezuela by public transportation Transportation in Venezuela isn’t very different from other Latin American countries. Each town will have its own bus terminal, from where you can catch a bus to other villages, towns and cities. Wealthy Venezuelans will always tell you that traveling by bus is very dangerous and that you shouldn’t even think about doing it, but I found bus travel to be one of the most enriching experiences in Venezuela, especially on long distance journeys, where bus passengers tend to become friends. It’s a great opportunity to get local insights from the segment of Venezuelans who have struggled the most, the people who can only afford to travel by bus. In big cities like Valencia or Caracas, some routes offer different types of buses, from comfortable AC coach buses to crumbling mini vans without windows. Venezuela travel tip: If traveling with an AC bus, do always bring one extra layer cause they tend to put the AC at 8ºC There are no general rules for taking buses, it just depends on the specific route, and which terminal it departs from. Sometimes there is a proper bus schedule, sometimes they depart only when full. You might also be lucky to ride on a neat air-conditioned coach, or you might get a crumbling mini van without windows. Where are the bus stations in Caracas? Caracas is obviously the main hub for bus travel around Venezuela, and these are the main 3 stations: Terminal La Bandera: buses that travel West of Caracas, including Valencia, Maracaibo, Los Llanos, Mérida or Amazonas State. Terminal Antonio José de Sucre: buses traveling east of Caracas – Oriente, like Venezuelans say – including Barcelona, Bolívar State or Santa Elena. Terminal Privado Aeroexpresos Ejecutivos: fancy buses for the most common destinations in Venezuela, including Mérida or Santa Elena. Buses here are more expensive, run less often and need to be booked in advance but they sell the idea of extra comfort and security. As a backpacker, I prefer traveling from either of the other 2 stations. The views from the room of my hotel in Chacao Traveling around Venezuela by shared taxi In small towns with small terminals, where buses don’t run that often, it’s easy to find shared taxis as well. You have to ask for a carrito a plaza. Traveling around Venezuela by plane Venezuela is a big country, so travelers with little time to travel in Venezuela might opt to take a domestic flight. The problem, however, is that flights can’t be booked online; you must purchase your flight tickets at the respective office in the airport. That or look for a local travel agency to do it for you, for an extra fee. Additionally, other than Los Roques and Margarita, flights between destinations don’t run every day, so you really need to plan your itinerary in advance. Common domestic airlines are Avior Airlines, Conviasa and Laser Airlines. Traveling around Venezuela with a Vehicle for Hire app Yummy Rides and Ridery are the local versions of Uber, available in most cities across Venezuela, but they can also be used for long distance transportation. Accommodation: where to stay in Venezuela Booking sites such as booking.com are not very useful in Venezuela, since they only offer a few expensive options in Caracas. The best way to look for accommodation in Venezuela is on Google Maps. Look for a hotel, call them and ask for price and availability. Local guest houses are locally known as posadas. They are usually cheap, averaging 20 USD a night without breakfast. Posadas can be found virtually everywhere in Venezuela. In touristy places such as Los Llanos, Delta del Orinoco, Canaima or Los Roques, you won’t find local posadas, and instead you will generally stay in lodges – which tend to always offer full board, especially since they are located in remote areas with no restaurants around. Venezuelan people I found people in Venezuela to be extremely friendly. The experience is similar to Colombia, let’s say, but many Venezuelans have barely interacted with a foreigner before, creating an extra incentive for them to meet foreign tourists. I was the first Spanish person to ever talk to many Venezuelans across the country, especially people in their 20s or 30s. They had only heard Castilian Spanish accents in movies, in La Casa de Papel (Money Heist), or on YouTube, so that was the perfect ice-breaker for any conversations. One day, I was walking along the promenade of Choroní when I approached a group of Venezuelans having a good time, with a portable fridge packed with beers. “Are you selling beer?” I asked. “No, but here’s one for you“, – he answered. It was 8 pm and I ended up partying with them until 4 am. Venezuelans love partying, drinking, loud music, dancing, having fun… and they will never hesitate to ask a stranger to join them. Other than friendliness, Venezuelans are generally very conservative. Well, I wouldn’t say conservative but it is still a very traditional society. They’re very family-oriented and things like homosexuality, for example, are still taboo. Don’t get me wrong; their opinion on homosexuality is different from the Middle East. You won’t go to jail and nobody is going to bother you, but a large number of people will think that it isn’t normal. Local man in Mérida How many people have fled Venezuela? Depending on which part of the world you’re living in, you may have noticed a massive influx of Venezuelans currently living abroad, who have fled their countries due to the economic crisis. It’s quite noticeable in Spain, as well as in the USA, and other countries in Latin America. People in their 20s, 30s and 40s are the one who left, and they have no intention to come back. This massive exodus of people is also noticeable in Caracas, where there isn’t much going on. Language Spanish is the official language of Venezuela, and I strongly recommend learning at least some basics because very few Venezuelans can speak English, not even in Caracas, or within the tourism industry. Even in Hato El Cedral in Los Llanos – where I met a group of people from Central Europe – they didn’t have any English-speaking guides, and they were only able to communicate with them because one guy in the group spoke fluent Spanish. Other than Spanish, up to 40 different languages are spoken in Venezuela by the indigenous communities, according to the local census. Cuisine: what are you going to eat during your trip to Venezuela? The local food isn’t the reason you will be traveling to Venezuela, but it’s alright, cheap and the portions are huge. Breakfast in Venezuela Most Venezuelans will have breakfast at the bakery, where they eat different kinds of pastries, the most popular being cachito de jamón y queso, a yeasted bread filled with ham and cheese. Surprisingly, many hotels and posadas don’t include breakfast, but a heavier breakfast would typically consist of cheese, eggs and arepa (corn bread) National dish Pabellón Criollo is the national dish in Venezuela, consisting of black beans, rice, meat and plantain, available in most local restaurants. pabellón Criollo Other snacks My favorite was cachapa, a slightly sweet Venezuelan pancake filled with cheese, but you can find it with many other fillings too. Another popular snack is the stuffed arepa, available with all sorts of fillings as well, but usually cheese and meat. Arepas Beer in Venezuela The cheapest thing you can buy in Venezuela is beer, which rarely costs more than 1 USD for a 20cl bottle. Venezuelans like to drink it ice-cold, so anywhere you go, cold beer is guaranteed. They have quite a few brands but Polar is the one that can be found everywhere. In fact, outside of Caracas and tourist sites, it’s difficult to find any others. Internet in Venezuela Venezuela has probably the slowest internet in all Latin America, here’s what you need to know. Wi-Fi Most hotels and posadas have Wi-Fi, with an OK connection. In Canaima, many lodges have a StarLink receiver, which is good enough for simple browsing. Internet data You can easily buy a SIM card packed with internet data. However, bear in mind that many areas of Venezuela, including Canaima or certain parts of Los Llanos and Mérida have very little coverage, and even in Caracas it’s a little bit slow sometimes. I bought a Digitel SIM at their official store in the Chacao area. Can you get an eSIM for Venezuela? Yes, now you can get an eSIM with Airalo, which offers different packages for Venezuela. However, I recommend getting a local SIM card, since eSIMs only offer internet service, but you might want to be able to call a local number, as explained in the accommodation section of this post. More travel information for Venezuela In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Venezuela destination How to visit Angel Falls How to visit Los Llanos More travel guides from the Americas Haiti Travel Guide Haiti Itinerary

Wanna travel to Venezuela with Against the Compass? Join us on a 2-week adventure across Canaima National Park, Los Llanos, Mérida and the Caribbean coast. January 8th to 21st, 2025 Los Llanos is a wet ecosystem, a massive area of seasonally flooded plains that spread across Colombia and Venezuela, characterized by their extensive savannas, unique […]

Wanna travel to Venezuela with Against the Compass? Join us on a 2-week adventure across Canaima National Park, Los Llanos, Mérida and the Caribbean coast. January 8th to 21st, 2025 learn more Los Llanos is a wet ecosystem, a massive area of seasonally flooded plains that spread across Colombia and Venezuela, characterized by their extensive savannas, unique fauna, and a cowboy-like culture palpable in their local folklore and the raising of cattle. I had the chance to visit Los Llanos for 4 days during my last trip to Venezuela, and it was very different from anything I had experienced before. In this guide, I want to show you how to visit Los Llanos independently. In this travel guide to Los Llanos you will find: Table of Contents Why travel How to visit Best hato to stay How to get into Best time to visit How many days you need to visit? How much does it cost? More information our recommended travel insurance for Venezuela With its Backpacker plan, IATI Insurance is the best insurance for any kind of adventurous destination, like Venezuela. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE Why travel to Los Llanos in Venezuela From Canaima National Park to the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela is packed with natural highlights, but none of them surprised me as much as Los Llanos. Imagine walking across the wild, wet plains – alone, with a simple stick and a local guide, crossing paths with 4 and 5-meter anacondas, while literally jumping over crocodiles. Show, not tell, check my Instagram Highlights – look for anaconda safari – at @againstthecompass, and you’ll know what I mean. Our local guide grabbing an anaconda with his hands The Venezuelans from these lands – the llaneros – grew up among this fauna, they’ve been walking over the marshes since they were tiny kids, and that’s why they can offer such raw and authentic safaris, something unheard of in any other country offering experiences of this kind. If a safari such as this was offered in any other country with mass tourism, like Tanzania or Kenya, I’m pretty sure things wouldn’t be the same, but the magic of backpacking in Venezuela is that the rules aren’t really set in stone, allowing plenty of flexibility for the most intrepid adventurers. This how we do safari in Los Llanos Los Llanos also boasts with thousands of different types of crocodiles, a massive population of capibaras – locally known as chigüires – and hundreds of bird species. Capibaras, locally known as chigüieres Piranha fishing is also a big thing in Los Llanos and, if you are lucky, you might also spot one of the weirdest animals in the world: a giant anteater – I was fortunate to see one pretty close up but only for 3 seconds. Add to this their cattle-raising culture and the gorgeous flat lands, and you have one of the best places to visit in Venezuela. By the way, the best time of year to experience the local culture and folklore is around March 19th, the day the Festival of Alorza takes place. Traditional local music Los Llanos How to plan your visit to Los Llanos Visiting Los Llanos isn’t a lot different from doing a safari in Kenya. It’s about choosing the right accommodation and spending your day searching for fauna. To do this, the best way to experience Los Llanos is by staying at one of the several hatos found across the region. What is a hato? It’s like a local farmhouse, or a local ranch, usually extending for thousands of hectares and home to all the animals Los Llanos is known for. Most hatos are exclusively used for cattle raising but a few of them have opened to tourism, offering accommodation and tours around their lands. By the way, when you visit Los Llanos, you are likely to see many farmhouses along the road, but not all of these are hatos. Hatos typically refer to those huge ranches that cover a certain number of hectares, hence they usually belong to the wealthiest local families. The smaller farmhouses are simply called fincas. This is a Venezuelan hato How to find the best hato to stay in Los Llanos When I visited Los Llanos, I stayed in two different hatos, each one offering a very different experience, and choosing the right one will depend on your objectives. Best hato for local culture: Hato Cristero Hato Cristero is a family-owned hato that has been run by the same family for 9 generations, founded in 1888 by a man named Humberto, a name which has been inherited by the first son of each one of those generations. The family is extremely lovely, welcoming and accommodating. The family at Hato Cristero One of the staff members It’s important to note that you’ll be interacting with the actual family all the time. During my visit, I met the grandfather, father, daughters, sons, uncles… The whole family lives there. Even some members from their staff have been there for decades. For example, both the gardener and the cook have been working and living in Hato Cristero for 30 years at least. Visiting Hato Cristero is the best way to experience the traditional regional culture. However, there’s a downside to Hato Cristero, which is that they don’t have a lot of fauna. I mean, they do have capibaras, crocodiles, anacondas and hundreds of birds species, but it’s only a tiny fraction of what other hatos can offer. In Hato Cristero, I did see crocodiles and capibaras but unfortunately, I didn’t spot any anacondas, while in the other hato, I saw more than 15. Moreover, keep in mind that staying at Hato Cristero is expensive, with prices starting at around 150 USD a night although this includes all meals, tours around the hato and 5-star accommodation (it’s pretty fancy), so you get what you pay for. You can contact them on Instagram at @hatocristero. Cattle raising culture in Los Llanos. This is the family in Hato Cristero taking care of a cow that was ill Best hato for fauna: Hato El Cedral If your objective is just spotting fauna, don’t think twice, head to El Cedral. Hato El Cedral is the largest hato in Los Llanos. It was opened to the public in 1987 but has been serving as a hato since the 19th century. This hato is home to thousands and thousands of capybaras, caymans, small crocodiles, anacondas and even giant anteaters. This anaconda had just eaten Seriously, there’s so much fauna that you’ll just get bored of crocodiles, because there are too many. At one point, I spotted over 30 at the very same location, not to mention that we bumped into loads of anacondas. However, there is one downside to this hato, which is that it isn’t family-owned. Instead, it’s actually owned by the Government of Venezuela. Why is it owned by the Government? Well, Hato El Cedral was just one of the many victims of former President Chávez and his policy of expropriating over 5 million hectares across the country. Therefore, today, everyone who works at Hato Cedral is a government employee. Don’t get me wrong though, the staff at Hato El Cedral are very friendly. Prices start at around 70 USD a day. This includes all meals and tours as well, as at El Cristero, although the accommodation is pretty basic. Overall, I am glad I visited Hato Cristero and got the chance to meet that family but Hato El Cedral offers a more outstanding and unique experience, since there isn’t anywhere else in the world where you can see so many anacondas and crocodiles. Our guide with a small anaconda in his hands Best high-end hato for fauna: Hato Garza This hato offers a similar experience to Hato Cedral but it’s significantly smaller and more expensive. The tours they offer are the same but their rooms are nicer, and I assume the food is fancier. I haven’t ever been there myself, but another traveler did recommend it to me too. How to get to Los Llanos Los Llanos is a pretty big area that spreads across 5 Venezuelan states, including Apure, Barinas, Portuguesa, Cojedes and Guárico. However, Apure and Barinas are the actual heartland of the cultura llanera (culture of Los Llanos), and where you find the largest concentration of fauna. Hato Cristero is in Barinas, while Hato Garza and El Cedral are in Apure. Barinas City is the capital of Barinas state and the main transport hub, while San Fernando de Apure serves as the same for Apure state. Keep in mind that both cities are far away from each other, around 430km. How to get to Barinas Barinas is one of the main gateways for travel to Los Llanos, especially as it’s not far from Mérida and has an airport with connections to Caracas. How to get to Barinas from Mérida: Visiting Los Llanos before or after backpacking in Mérida is really easy. Buses run regularly between both cities, taking around 5 hours along a very twisty, winding road. Here’s the bus station in Mérida, and here’s the bus station in Barinas. How to get to Barinas from Caracas: There are a few buses a day but remember that the bus journey can take around 10 hours. There are two bus stations in Caracas with buses departing to Barinas. The main bus station is called La Bandera; this is the main hub for buses going in that direction, mainly used by the Venezuelan working class. If you want to travel like the locals do, catch your bus here. Alternatively, in the wealthy district of Chacao, there’s a small terminal with fancy buses also departing to Barinas. Some tourists prefer catching it here because it’s supposed to be safer. It’s called Aeroexpressos Ejecutivos. How to get to Barinas by flight from Caracas: There are a few weekly flights connecting both cities. Check flights with Conviasa or just head to the domestic terminal in Caracas. Remember that in Venezuela, flights can’t be booked online, but you must purchase them at the respective office, usually located at the airport. How to get to Hato Cristero from Barinas City Hato Cristero is located 30km from the city of Barinas. As there’s no public transport, you will have to hire a taxi. Hato Cristero offers a transfer service, as well, but it will always be more expensive than hiring a random taxi. How to get to Hato Cedral from Barinas City Hato Cedral is located in Apure state, but it can be easily reached from Barinas, a 200km ride. Once you’re in Barinas, you can catch one of the buses to the town of Mantecal, from where you will have to hire a private taxi to Hato Cedral. A river divides Barinas and Apure states, and due to rain and the road conditions, sometimes buses can’t make it across. If that’s the case, you won’t find any direct bus to Mantecal, so you’ll have to go to Ciudad de Nutrias, from where you’ll have to cross the bridge on foot (or moto taxi) and then find transportation to Mantecal. Alternatively, from Barinas, you can also find local shared taxis. In Venezuela, these are called carritos por plaza. How to get to Apure If you’re traveling to Los Llanos from Caracas and only intend to visit Hato Cedral, I recommend going through Apure state instead, since the road and scenery are more interesting. How to get to San Fernando de Apure from Caracas: Buses depart from Terminal La Bandera, as mentioned in the Barinas section. How to get to Hato El Cedral from San Fernando de Apure You will have to take a bus to the town of Mantecal, from where you will take a taxi to El Cedral. Los Llanos Venezolanos Map Best time to visit Los Llanos Los Llanos is a year-round destination, each season offering a completely different experience. Traveling to Los Llanos during the rainy season: May to November During the wet season, the immense plains that comprise Los Llanos are flooded and beautifully verdant. This is the best season for bird watching, piranha fishing and boat trips across the marshes. However, if you’re interested in anacondas – for me, that was the highlight – the chances of spotting them at this time are slim. Visit Los Llanos during the dry season: December to April When it stops raining, the Venezuelan marshes dry out, thus exposing a large amount of fauna that was hidden either in the water or behind the tall bushes. This is the best season for spotting anacondas, giant anteaters and walking across Los Llanos. The downside is that it can get really hot and dry, and it’s not as beautiful as during the wet season. Raw safari in Los Llanos How many days you need for visiting Los Llanos? If you are only visiting El Cedral, which is what most foreign tourists do, here’s what I’d do: Day 1: Early morning, head to El Cedral from Caracas. Day 2: Full day in El Cedral. Day 3: Morning tour and departure after lunch. Alternatively, if you wanted to combine Cristero & Cedral, this is what I did: Day 1: Early morning, head to Cristero from Caracas. Evening tour in Cristero. Day 2: Morning tour in Cristero. Departure to El Cedral after lunch. Day 3: Full day in El Cedral. Day 4: Morning tour and departure after lunch. Massive crocodile in Los Llanos How much does it cost to visit Los Llanos? Similarly to visiting Canaima, accommodation in Los Llanos usually includes everything, so calculating your budget is pretty straightforward. Local transportation from Caracas to Hato Cristero or El Cedral will cost roughly 50 USD. Hato El Cedral costs 70 USD a night, while Hato Cristero is 150 USD a night. These prices includes all meals, tours and accommodation. Remember that as in most of Venezuela, price is always per person, whether you share a room or not. More information In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Venezuela destination How to visit Angel Falls Venezuela Travel Guide Other Related Travel Guide Articles: Haiti Travel Guide Haiti Itinerary

Wanna travel to Venezuela with Against the Compass? Join us on a 2-week adventure across Canaima National Park, Los Llanos, Mérida and the Caribbean coast. January 8th to 21st, 2025 Canaima National Park (Parque Nacional de Canaima) is a national park that spreads out across the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State, in south-eastern Venezuela. […]

Wanna travel to Venezuela with Against the Compass? Join us on a 2-week adventure across Canaima National Park, Los Llanos, Mérida and the Caribbean coast. January 8th to 21st, 2025 learn more Canaima National Park (Parque Nacional de Canaima) is a national park that spreads out across the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State, in south-eastern Venezuela. The park has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, mainly due to the table mountains – locally known as tepui – that cover 65% of its surface area, constituting a unique bio-geological entity. Canaima National Park, however, is more popularly known for being home to the world’s tallest uninterrupted waterfall, a 979-meter drop flowing from the top of Auyantepui, one of the many tepuis this park national is famous for among geologists and biologists alike. This waterfall is called Angel Falls, or Salto del Ángel in Spanish, and has today become the No. 1 tourist attraction in all Venezuela. In this guide, you will learn how to plan your trip to Angel Falls and and Canaima National Park. In this travel guide to Canaima you will find: Table of Contents Getting into Where to stay Best time to visit How to plan trip Day 1 – Arrival and tour around Canaima Lake Day 2 – Trip to Angel Falls Day 3 – Hike to Angel Falls viewpoint and return to Canaima Day 4 – Free day for extra activities Day 5 – Departure How much does it cost More information our recommended travel insurance for Venezuela With its Backpacker plan, IATI Insurance is the best insurance for any kind of adventurous destination, like Venezuela. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE How to get to Angel Falls and Canaima National Park Canaima is actually a village, or more precisely, an indigenous settlement built in the middle of the jungle, on the shores of Lake Canaima. It’s inhabited by the local indigenous group, the Pemon, who live across Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil, although mainly in the Venezuelan Gran Sabana. There are no roads connecting with the village so, as of today, the only way to travel to Canaima is by flying in from Caracas. The Gran Sabana of Venezuela How to get to Canaima from Caracas Conviasa is the only airline flying from Caracas to Canaima, operating 2 weekly flights between both destinations: Thursday and Sunday. This means that your stay will either be from Thursday to Sunday, or from Sunday to Thursday. Obviously, you can stay longer if you want to but technically, camping is strictly forbidden, plus accommodation is ridiculously expensive, so the length of your stay is completely up to you and the rate you manage to negotiate with your campsite. How to book your flight ticket from Caracas to Venezuela One of the difficulties of traveling to Venezuela is that you can’t book your domestic flights online. Instead, you have to go to the actual airline office at the airport and purchase your ticket in cash. That or hire a local travel agency to do it for you, for an additional fee. I paid around 150 USD for a round-trip ticket from Caracas to Canaima, from Sunday to Thursday, but prices may change depending on the season. Where to stay in Canaima and how to book your accommodation Travelers making a trip to Angel Falls are technically required to book accommodation in Canaima for their entire stay. To be honest, upon arrival, there isn’t anybody checking whether you’ve already booked accommodation or not, but since camping is not allowed, you’ll have to stay in a lodge anyways, and so booking in advance is highly recommended. Today, there are around 10-15 lodges scattered along the shores of Lake of Canaima. To book a room, just contact the property directly. Typically, the lodges all only sell 4 or 5-day packages that tend to include: Airport pick up Accommodation All meals Trip to Angel Falls (this could be either an overnight trip or a day trip) Half-day trip around Canaima Lake Note that prices are always per person. Except for 2 or 3 lodges, all of them try to attract the Venezuelan elite, charging similar sums to 5-star hotels in European cities, although they are far less luxurious. The Lake of Canaima, most lodges are located around this lake Most popular luxury lodges in Canaima Some of the most popular luxury lodges are: Waku Lodge Campamento Tapuy Lodge Campamento Canaima Ara Merú Lodge Waka Wená These lodges dominate the accommodation scene in Canaima, all of them charging around $1600 per person for the previously mentioned package. Mid-range lodges in Canaima Then, there are 2 campsites which are a little bit cheaper but still far exceeding any backpacking budget, charging around $1000 for your stay: Morichal Lodge Campamento Parakaupa Budget campsite in Canaima The only proper budget campsite in Canaima is Campamento Wey TuPu, which is run by a Pemon family, unlike most other lodges, which are run either by people from Caracas or by foreigners. That’s where I stayed, and I couldn’t have been happier. While it’s true that the rooms and facilities were very modest and basic, I felt I was giving something directly to the local community, plus the local family was absolutely lovely and accommodating. Moreover, the day you visit Angel Falls, you will be sleeping on a hammock right in front of the waterfall, and you will be staying at the same place, eating the same food and using the same toilet as people who paid $1500 to stay in one of the luxury lodges. In Wey TuPu, I paid $480 for the whole package, excluding flights and the entrance fee to the park, which was $40. Warning: The Lodge Mafia in Canaima National Park Depending on the week or season, you won’t be able to book your flight from Caracas to Canaima with Conviasa unless you have a reservation in one of the fancy luxury lodges. The reason for this is that they have an agreement with the airline under which they get the right to reserve all seats for themselves. This means that if you’ve made a reservation at the indigenous lodge of Wey TuPu, the airline might potentially reject your booking, as sad as it sounds. Best time to visit Angel Falls and Canaima Best season for your trip to Angel Falls and Canaima National Park: June to November June to November is the rainy season, when Angel Falls is at its fastest-flowing. Dry season: December to May December is when the dry season starts and the later you travel to Canaima, the less water you’ll find, to the extent that at the very end of the dry season, the boats might not even depart to Angel Falls due to the low level of the river. I visited Canaima in the month of January. There wasn’t a lot of water but everything was pretty amazing anyway. Another advantage is that you always get clear skies, while during the rainy season, Angel Falls can be shrouded in clouds and mist. This is how Angel Falls looks like in January How to plan trip to Angel Falls: Things to do in Canaima National Park Typically, this is the itinerary most lodges will be offering you, including Wey TuPu. Day 1 – Arrival and tour around Canaima Lake After lunch, your guide will probably take you around Canaima Lagoon on the canoe, visiting impressive waterfalls such as Salto del Hacha or El Sapo, with an opportunity to hike just behind the water curtain, which is pretty amazing. Day 2 – Trip to Angel Falls Trips to Angel Falls are always made in a canoe that can fit up to 10 passengers. The whole boat trip takes around 5 hours, with a picnic stop included. Remember that at the end of the dry season, the trip can take longer and you are likely to walk for the last kilometers. There are a few campsites near the waterfall, all of them pretty basic and featuring a few dozen hammocks. Some of the fancy lodges – like Waku Lodge – have their own campsite offering a bit more comfort, but not all of them. Customers from Ara Merú for example, were staying in the same site as us. Day trip or overnight stay? Some campsites offer the possibility of visiting Angel Falls on a day trip, but I think that’s a big mistake since you’ll basically be spending the whole day in a canoe, with little time to enjoy one of the most amazing natural wonders in the world. This is the view from the campsite I stayed at Day 3 – Hike to Angel Falls viewpoint and return to Canaima After breakfast, most travelers will hike up to a viewpoint located nearly at the foot of Angel Falls. The hike takes around 2.5 hours (round-trip). After that, you’ll head back to your campsite for lunch, and then back to Canaima on the canoe. Day 4 – Free day for extra activities If you are in Canaima from Thursday to Sunday, you’ll be departing on day 4, but if you’re there from Sunday to Thursday, you will have day 4 to keep enjoying the national park. Most travelers just sit around and relax for the entire day, while others climb one of the tepuis which are close by. There’s also the option of doing a helicopter tour over Angel Falls, but that costs $500 per passenger. I chose to spend the entire day walking around the lake and the village, where I got a chance to observe a tapir that had just sneaked into town. The tapir we bumped into Venezuela Venezuelan Tapir Day 5 – Departure The final day is departure day to Caracas. How much does a trip to Angel Falls and Canaima cost? Since all the various campsites will sell you the whole package, the total cost for traveling to Canaima is pretty straightforward to calculate: Flight ticket: Around $150 Entrance fee to Canaima National Park: $40 Accommodation: from $480 to $2000 More information for traveling Canaima National Park and Angel Falls In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. Bring your own alcohol Alcohol is crazy expensive in Canaima, like $4 for a 20cl beer bottle at the supermarket. I strongly recommend bringing whatever you want to drink inside your checked-in bag. I don’t know how it works in other lodges but in ours, Wey TuPu, they allowed us to put our beers in the fridge. Is there internet in Canaima? There isn’t any internet data but the Wi-Fi in the different lodges works OK. Is Canaima very touristy? It’s a touristy place, yes, but due to the hefty price tag and the current situation in Venezuela, there aren’t a lot of people, or at least it didn’t feel that way during my visit. As a traveler, I am not particularly happy about what Canaima has become – like some sort of an eco-park for the wealthiest Venezuelans – but perhaps it’s precisely that exclusivity that has managed to keep Canaima free from the crowds. All guides and articles for traveling in Venezuela destination How to visit Los Llanos Venezuela Travel Guide Other Related Travel Guide Articles: Haiti Travel Guide Haiti Itinerary

Dreamy landscapes and beaches, world-class architectural delights and the most authentic West African culture in the heart of the Caribbean. Few travelers know about any of the places to visit in Haiti, yet this is truly the most unique destination in the Americas, packed with exciting sites offering thrilling backpacking adventures. After spending 10 traveling […]

Dreamy landscapes and beaches, world-class architectural delights and the most authentic West African culture in the heart of the Caribbean. Few travelers know about any of the places to visit in Haiti, yet this is truly the most unique destination in the Americas, packed with exciting sites offering thrilling backpacking adventures. After spending 10 traveling around the country, here’s a comprehensive 7-day, safe itinerary containing the best things to see and do in Haiti. For all practical information including visas, safety, local culture, etc., check our travel guide to Haiti. In this Haiti itinerary, you will find: Table of Contents Accommodation Things to do Day 1 – Traveling from Santo Domingo to Cap-Haïtien Day 2 – Exploring Cap-Haïtien Day 3 – Day trip to Citadelle la Ferrière Day 4 – Hiking to Labadee Day 5 – Travel from Cap-Haïtien to Port au Prince Day 6 – Port-au-Prince Day 7 – Mirelabais and Dominican Republic More Information our recommended travel insurance for Haiti IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Haiti. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE Accommodation: where to stay at the places you visit in Haiti Where to stay in Santo Domingo Near the station for buses to Haiti: Torres Apart Studio Although this place is nothing special, it’s relatively well-priced and ideally located next to the bus terminal for buses going to Haiti. Check on Booking.com In the Zona Colonial, near tourist sites: La Puerta Roja Guest House Cheap, and very well located. This beautiful guest house is an excellent place to stay. Check on Booking.com Where to stay in Cap-Haïtien: Habitation des Lauriers This is the best place to stay in Cap-Haïtien. The rooms are basic and a bit expensive, but that’s what you always get in Haiti, and this accommodation offers the added benefit of having staff who speak English. You can also pay by card and exchange money. The views are amazing too, overlooking Cap-Haïtien. Check on Booking.com The views from Habitation des Lauriers is probably one of the most beautiful things to see in Haiti Where to stay in Port-au-Prince: Allamanda Hotel Pétionville is the safest area in the capital, and the only place where you should book a hotel. This one is one of the best choices in town. Check on Booking.com Things to do with Haiti in a 7-day itinerary Here’s everything you can visit in Haiti in 1 week. Map of things to do in Haiti Day 1 – Traveling from Santo Domingo to Cap-Haïtien I overlanded into Haiti from Dominican Republic and that’s what most travelers do, so our Haiti itinerary will focus on this area. In any case, remember that both Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien have an international airport with connections to different cities in the USA – especially Miami – but flights tend to be more expensive than any flight into Santo Domingo. The best way to travel from Dominican Republic to Haiti is by taking the direct bus that runs from Santo Domingo to Cap-Haïtien via Santiago de los Caballeros. A bus also goes to Port-au-Prince, but this Haiti travel itinerary will instead focus on the other route. Step 1: Head to the bus terminal at least one day before your intended date of departure The bus company going to Haiti is called Caribbean Tours, and the terminal is located here. Buses to Cap-Haïtien depart in the morning, between 7am and 8:30am. Tickets do sell out, so try to get there at least one day before to book your ticket and find out the actual time of departure. A one-way ticket costs 30-35 USD. This can be paid in Dominican Pesos too. Step 2: On the day of departure, go to the terminal to catch the bus and pay the respective border fees To exit Dominican Republic by land, some border fees apply and you must pay these before boarding the bus. Border fees cost 37 USD, and must be paid in USD. If you don’t have US dollars on you, there’s a money exchange office on the first floor of the bus terminal, where they will exchange your Dominican Pesos into USD at a pretty fair rate. Note that the office will most likely be closed by the time you get there, so make sure to buy your $ the day before. The bus journey officially takes 7 – 8 hours although it can easily take up to 12. Factors for potential delays include border crossing mishaps, but also bus breakdowns. The bus has a pretty long stopover in a city called Santiago de los Caballeros. They do also serve a meal on board consisting of Dominican-style grilled meat and rice, which I found to be particularly awful. The Caribe Tours ticket Immigration on Haiti side Step 3: Dominican Republic-Haiti border crossing The border is a bit chaotic but there’s an attendant/tour leader on the bus who will probably guide you through, including paying the mentioned border fees. On the Haitian side, some locals will offer to help you with filling out the forms – looking for a tip – but just ignore them. Step 4 – Arriving in Cap-Haïtien The bus will drop you at this terminal. I arrived at around 7pm, when it was already dark. Actually, it was really dark, since the street lights weren’t on, which happens pretty much all over Haiti. At the station, you’ll find plenty of motorbike taxis but the hotel I stayed at, Habitation des Lauriers, is just 1.7km from here, so I decided to walk. Day 2 – Exploring Cap-Haïtien Cap Haïtien is the second most important city after Port-au-Prince, housing the top tourist attractions in all Haiti. Furthermore, from a historical perspective, the area is far more significant than the capital, for the following reasons: It was here in Cap-Haïtien – in Bord de Mer de Limonade, just outside of the city – where Colombus built the first settlement ever in the New World. The area was the epicentre of the slaves’ revolt against their French overlords. Cap Haïtien served as the French headquarters during colonial rule. From the Habitation des Lauriers hotel, you get the best views of the city’s skyline, so there isn’t a better place to start your day. Other than that, Cap-Haïtien is a pleasant city to walk around while checking out some pretty cool local markets and old colonial French architecture. Things to do in Cap-Haïtien Place d’Armes & Notre Dame Cathedral: the central square with its respective cathedral, colonial buildings and gingerbread houses. Cap-Haïtien skyline, one of the most beautiful things in Haiti The main cathedral in Cap-Haïtien Iron Market: East of Place d’Armes, the Iron Market covers several streets of the city grid. It’s a bustling, fascinating market, something you won’t see anywhere else in the Americas, and very similar to local markets in West Africa. Around Place de la Résistance: This is a pretty random place that won’t be mentioned in any guidebooks, but at the entrance to the city, just before reaching the bridge, there’s a huge outdoor market, one that tourists never see and the best place in Haiti for people-watching. This market is located almost right on the beach, and it reflects the typical images we see of Haiti on the news: absolutely massive piles of rubbisha being dragged away by the ocean waves. Next to Place de la Résistance you find the best market to visit in Haiti Half-day trip from Cap-Haïtien: Bois Caïman Bois Caïman is one of the most important places in Haiti. On 14th August 1791, a group of black slaves from the sugar plantations of Cap-Haïtien and nearby areas gathered at a site called Bois Caïman to perform a Vodou ceremony, while also planning a mass uprising that quickly turned into the Haitian Revolution which freed the country from its French overlords. Bois Caïman is located 10km from Cap-Haïtien. How to visit Bois Caïman If you want to do it the backpacking – hard – way, first take a tap tap towards Vaudreuil. From there, it’s a 2km walk to the actual village, but you can also catch a taxi motorbike. In the village, there’s a painting and memorial of the Haitian Revolution and you can visit the actual cave where the Vodou ceremony took place, and where rituals are still held. A representation of the slave revolution in Bois Caïman, an unmissable in your itinerary in Haiti Day 3 – Day trip to Citadelle la Ferrière In my opinion, Citadelle la Ferrière is the most beautiful place to visit in Haiti. Less than 20km from Cap Haïtien, there’s a place called Milot, a rural town home to an absolutely astonishing fortress built on top of a mountain with superb views of the mountains around the region. This is the largest fortress in the whole American continent, and a symbol of Haiti’s independence, built by black slaves who had gained their freedom – the first of its kind – and the reason Citadelle la Ferrière is today a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the most famous place to visit in Haiti. It was built in the 19th century, commissioned by Haitian revolutionary Henri Christophe, and aiming to at thwart potential French invasions. The mountains around the fort, the top tourist attraction in Haiti How to get to Citadelle la Ferrière 1 – Take a tap tap to Milot The tap tap station for Milot is located here. It costs around 100 Gourdes per person. 2 – Arriving in Milot and ticket office Upon arriving in Milot, you will be approached by particularly intense young men on their motorbikes wanting to take you up to the Citadel. They won’t leave you alone. The ticket office for going up to the fortress is 10-15 minutes away from the tap tap drop-off point. The guys on the motorbikes will most likely follow you all the way there, insisting on taking you to the top. The entrance fee to the Citadel is 1000 Gourdes. 3 – Going up to the Citadel. Going to the top of the Citadel on foot is possible, but it would take a few hours. Instead, you can hire someone to take you there on a motorbike, and a round-trip ticket should cost no more than 1000 Gourdes but you’ll probably have to bargain a bit. Motorbikes can’t make it all the way to the top, so the last 1 or 2 kilometres must be done on foot. Lazier travelers can opt to ride a horse too. Henry Fort, the most famous landmark in Haiti More fort views Day 4 – Hiking to Labadee Many travelers agree that Labadee is the most beautiful place to visit in Haiti. Labadee is the bit of coast west of Cap-Haïtien, on the other side of the small peninsula. This is the best stretch of coast in the country, not only for its white-sand beaches and crystal-clear waters, but also because it’s impeccably clean and plastic-free, something hard to find in Haiti. Labadee is in fact a pretty laid back settlement, more notably known for being home to a tourist resort named after the village. This resort is an essential part of the itinerary for many Caribbean cruises sailing past the islands. But don’t worry, the resort is a bit far from the village and nobody is allowed to enter unless they are a cruise passenger. Moreover, cruise passengers are either not interested in leaving the resort or they just think it’s too dangerous. Actually, you won’t even notice there’s a resort here unless you climb one of the hills or come from Cap-Haïtien on foot. Locals claim that the coastline of Labadee is the most beautiful place to visit in all Haiti Hiking to Labadee How to visit Labadee The 10km hike that follows the coast from Cap-Haïtien to Labadee is an excellent day trip, and one of the best things to do in Haiti. By the way, you can also get there by motorbike taxi, but you’ll be missing a lot of things on the way. To hike to Labadee, you’ll first have to climb a hill through a slum, so there are no marked streets either, and it’s easy to get lost. In my experience, however, locals were pretty helpful in pointing me in the right direction. You need to start climbing somewhere around here. The slums you must go through if you wish to go Labadee on foot Climbing through a shanty town in Cap-Haïtien Once you leave the slum, you’ll get to the main road, and then you just need to follow the trail. Things to do in Labadee As mentioned, Labadee is a small settlement. There’s a small centre, the commercial area where locals gather and you can get a drink. From there, local boats depart to different beaches and settlements in the peninsula. A one-way ride costs the equivalent of 1 or 2 USD. I took the boat to a beach named Belly Beach. There’s a bar here, where you can order drinks and seafood. It wasn’t busy when I was there, and everyone was either wealthy Haitians or crew members from the cruise ship. Day 5 – Travel from Cap-Haïtien to Port au Prince I recommend visiting Port-au-Prince only if you have a good local contact, otherwise, I think it’s too dangerous to go. Everyone in Cap-Haïtien will think that you are crazy wanting to travel to Port-au-Prince. Maybe they’re right, I don’t know. They will even say it’s not possible to travel there by land, declaring that road access into the capital is controlled by the gangs. I actually believed them, so I decided to flew in instead. Domestic flights are run by a local airline called Sunrise Airways, and the Cap-Haïtien – Port-au-Prince route is a short 30-minute flight. However, it was after booking my ticket that I learn from my local contact in Port-au-Prince that buses do run regularly between the major cities, although they take a different route. In any case, remember that the bus journey takes around 9 hours. Day 6 – Port-au-Prince Remember that there is basically a civil war going on in Port-au-Prince. Some places like Pétionville are safe but to go further afield, you must go with someone who knows their way. The capital of Haiti is one of the most chaotic cities I’ve ever been. It is said that the city’s infrastructure can only accommodate a quarter of its total population, and what existing infrastructure there is isn’t great either, built in a city that has been crumbling since the earthquake in 2010. Port-au-Prince is dusty and extremely noisy, with piles of rubbish and extreme poverty filling all the streets. To be completely honest, this isn’t a destination for most travelers although Against the Compass readers may find a certain appeal in its chaos, art scene and particular nightlife. Pétionville, Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince is an unmissable place to see in Haiti, and it’s sure not to disappoint you. By the way, when visiting Port-au-Prince, you must stay only in Pétionville, the safest area in the city, and the only place where you can walk around freely. A good place to stay is Allamanda Hotel. Check on Booking.com Things to do in Port-au-Prince Pétionville: Originally a residential suburb in the mountains, Pétionville flourished after the 2010 earthquake, becoming the most prominent neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, housing the best restaurants and hotels. This is a safe area to walk around, and one where you can enjoy a lively market, a beautiful street where they sell pieces of local art, and numerous bars and restaurants. Street art in Pétionville Atis Rezistants: A workshop where they create art out of trash, mainly Haitian Vodou-related pieces. This was one of the most interesting places to visit in Haiti. One of the many art pieces in Atis Rezistants, Port-au-Prince The National Pantheon Museum: Among other things, this museum features the anchor from Santa Maria, the largest boat used during Christopher Columbus’ expedition to the New World, back in 1492. Remember that the first place there ever set foot on was in today’s Haiti. Check our travel guide for more information. 
Cité Soleil: The poorest slum in all of the Americas and one of the largest in the world. How to visit Cité Soleil The most infamous place to visit in Haiti is Cité Soleil. Cité Soleil is perhaps the most dangerous place in the Americas, and far more dangerous that infamous destinations such as Syria, Yemen or Afghanistan. The reason is that today, Cité Soleil is a battlefield for gangs trying to kill each other on an almost daily basis. Despite the current situation, however, I did visit Cité Soleil with the help of a local fixer who personally knows the gangs controlling the area, and I actually had the chance to meet the sub-chief of G-PEP. They showed me around the slum, we had a few beers with some gang members then left after 2 hours. The slum of Cité Soleil A woman in Cité Soleil 2 things I want to highlight: Firstly, that I’ve never felt so intimated in my life as, the time I visited Cité Soleil. Upon arriving at the main gang checkpoint to enter the slum, a group of extremely young Haitians came running towards us, but as soon as they saw our fixer, they all calmed down. It’s important to highlight that unlike checkpoints in Iraq for example, these Haitians do actually use their guns every other day. Second, kindly note that I won’t be sharing my fixer’s contact details as I don’t want Cité Soleil to become a playground for backpackers since eventually, someone will get shot and I really don’t want to be involved. Street shootings do occur every every day and stray bullets are a thing. With a gang member in Cité Soleil Day 7 – Mirelabais and Dominican Republic Unless you wish to keep exploring Haiti beyond what is included in this Haiti travel itinerary, on day 7 of the tour, I recommend going back to Dominican Republic. However, instead of getting a direct bus to Santo Domingo, I recommend doing it the backpacking way through Mirebalais and the Belladères border, so you can to see another, more rural side to the country. Step 1: Get a bus to Mirelabais. Buses run all day long, starting early in the morning. The station is located here. Step 2: Get on a tap tap to Lascahobas. You can find a taxi to take you to the border, but we couldn’t find a public tap tap. Step 3: Get a final tap tap to the actual border. No secrets, you’ll easily find the necessary transportation. Step 4: Cross the border on foot. On the Haitian side, you don’t have to pay any exit fees but on the Dominican side, a fee of 10 USD applies. I found this border to be very corrupt, so make sure you pay at the official stall, and get an actual receipt. The police may ask for it later. Step 5: Bus from Elias Pina to Santo Domingo. Elias Pina is a 20-minute walk from the border, maybe a bit more. There’s not much to see in this town, but it has a lively market and a very local feel. It’s easy to find transportation to Santo Domingo but you might want to spend the night here, or travel somewhere else instead. One piece of advice, however: I took the last bus to Santo Domingo, departing at 6pm. The ride was long and they dropped me off in the middle of the night at a very, very sketchy area of Santo Domingo, where muggings are not uncommon. The border crossing at Belladères More information In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Haiti destination Haiti Travel Guide Check travel tips to the following offbeat countries: Mali Libya Syria Yemen Afghanistan Somalia Other Related Travel Guide Articles: How to visit Angel Falls How to visit Los Llanos Venezuela Travel Guide

Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Syria on: September 15th to 27th, 2024 Prior to 2010, Syria was one of the most touristic countries in the Middle East, receiving an average of more than 8 million tourists per year. In 2011, […]

Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Syria on: September 15th to 27th, 2024 learn more Prior to 2010, Syria was one of the most touristic countries in the Middle East, receiving an average of more than 8 million tourists per year. In 2011, however, an unfortunate war made Syria one of the most dangerous countries in the world, preventing travelers from venturing into an amazing destination with epic places to visit. Nevertheless, few travelers know that, after several years of darkness, Syria is welcoming tourists again, and the reason is that some parts of the country are gaining significant stability, hence becoming safer for travelers. This is a comprehensive analysis of how safe is Syria from a tourism perspective. From the latest updates to safety tips and a compelling region breakdown, Against the Compass is always your source. Why travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Our honest review of what is it like to visit Syria with Against the Compass, what is it that makes us unique, as well as testimonials from some of our customers. In this Syria safety guide you will find: Table of Contents Syria today Travel insurance Syria Tours Travel advice My personal experience Safety by region Safety tips Solo female travel Is it safe for Americans? Conclusion More information our recommended travel insurance for Syria IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Syria. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE Latest update: Is Syria safe now? In March 2011, the Syrian Government decided to suppress the Arab Spring protests violently, an action that unleashed an armed conflict that later became a bloody civil war between tonnes of different groups supported by different foreign forces, including the USA, Iran, Russia, and Turkey. With several million refugees and hundreds of thousands of dead civilians, the Syrian war is considered to be the worst humanitarian crisis in the 21st century, the legacy of which has left a country divided. Today, the war is nearly over in many parts of Syria, but it has become a fragmented country made of different regions controlled by distinct armed and ethnic groups, including Al-Nusra, the Free Syrian Army, the Kurds, the Islamic State – composed of sleeping cells mostly hiding and operating in the Syrian desert – and even Turkey and the USA. The areas controlled by the Government are safe to visit Honestly speaking, Syria is still hugely chaotic, a real mess but, surprisingly, those areas controlled by the Syrian Government (Bashar al-Assad) are actually enjoying certain stability, safety-wise speaking, and that is why the Government decided to open their territories to foreign tourism. These Government-controlled territories comprise practically all of west Syria, including popular places such as Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Krak de Chevaliers, anywhere along the Mediterranean coast and also Palmyra. Those cities are pretty safe nowadays, open to all travelers with a valid visa, which you can only obtain through a tour operator. Is Syria safe due to the Israel-Gaza war in 2024? Back in October 2023, when the war in Gaza started, the situation across several countries in the Middle East was full of uncertainty and highly unstable. With more than a few war fronts opened in neighboring countries such as Syria or Iraq, nobody knew what this war could lead to, the reason why we decided to temporarily suspend all our Syria tours. However, life in Syria goes on as usual, markets keep being at their fullest and fortunately, all reciprocal attacks between Israel and Syria have been exclusively targeting military areas, never civilians. This is the reason why we are traveling back to Syria again. This is Damascus Souq, today, one of the safest places in Syria Travel insurance for Syria Like in Iran, because of all the sanctions, most travel insurance companies don’t provide cover for travel in Syria. The one that does, however, is IATI Insurance. They have loads of different plans for all types of travelers and the best of it is that the readers of this blog can get an exclusive 5% discount. BUY IT HERE TO GET YOUR DISCOUNT How to sign up for a tour in Syria The safest way to visit Syria is with a group and a certified guide who knows the latest security updates. Our upcoming Syria Expeditions for 2024: Sep 15th to 27th, 2024 (13 days). APPLY NOW Oct 13th to 20th, 2024 (8 days). APPLY NOW Dec 23rd to 30th, 2024 (8 days). APPLY NOW LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SYRIA TOURS One of our last Syria groups Is Syria safe to travel? A look into the Government’s advice If we look into the Syria travel advice–, the FCDO advises against all travel to Syria, and claims that foreigners should leave by any practical means. Is Syria dangerous for tourists? The FCDO say that the situation in Syria remains volatile and dangerous, which is partly true, but only in those regions where the Government doesn’t have any sort of control, especially in the eastern part of the country, an area absolutely off-limits to tourists. Regardless of your feelings about the current Syrian Government – we are not here to discuss politics – the areas controlled by them are currently safe to travel to, and no Syrian living in that part of Syria will tell you otherwise. As I always mention in similar safety reports, there is always a certain logic behind the FCDO travel advice, but it barely relates to the actual reality and is typically based on unlikely worst-case scenarios. That’s why, instead of trusting their over-cautious analysis, do talk to Syrians living in Damascus or Aleppo – not abroad – and travelers who have recently been there as well. You are likely to hear an opinion that doesn’t differ much from what you find in this Syria travel blog. Travel advice for Syria according to FCDO How safe is traveling to Syria from my personal experience Since the beginning of the war, I have visited Syria three times, and I can only say positive things about it. The people On the one hand, Syrians are genuinely kind and happy to see tourists because they are a clear sign that Syria is becoming safer as a country, plus let’s not forget that tourism used to be an essential part of Syria’s economy. Security in Syria On the other hand, I can affirm that the security situation between 2018 and 2022 has drastically improved and proof of it is that, back in 2018, going through checkpoints was more way tedious than it is today. In 2018, road checkpoints used to take ages and in Damascus, I remember the Syrian Army checking my backpack every now and then. In 2022, however, we managed to get through all checkpoints fairly quickly, making everything seem much more relaxed. A curious fact to mention is that in 2022, the only checkpoint where I was asked for my passport was the Bosra checkpoint, which isn’t controlled by the Government but by the Free Syrian Army (FSA). With a member of the Syrian Army, escorting the group on the way to Palmyra Is life back to normality in Syria? Despite the abundance of ghost towns and destroyed buildings, life in Western Syria is slowly coming back to normality, visible in the overpacked souks and restaurants of Damascus, for example. Homs and Aleppo have struggled much more than Damascus but a lot of rebuilding is ongoing, shops are reopening and, very slowly, Syrians are moving back to their hometowns. It will take a long time for Syria to recover the beautiful life from before 2010, especially because half of the people fled abroad, plus there isn’t any money to rebuild the numerous destroyed buildings. Nevertheless, the simple fact that this back-to-normal process has already started can only mean that Syria is becoming safer and that there is hope. Personally, I found Venezuela extremely more dangerous than anywhere I’ve been in Syria. Enjoying in Mar Musa monastery, one of the safest parts of Syria Which parts of Syria are safe to visit? Read: 1-week safe itinerary for Syria Here’s an overview of where in Syria is safe to travel. 1 – Safe regions to visit in Syria Is any part of Syria safe? – some people wonder. As I mentioned before, the safe areas to visit in Syria are those which are controlled by the Government. Is Damascus safe? Officially, the capital has always been one of the safest places in Syria – relatively speaking. While it’s true that the outskirts of the city are heavily bombed, both the old city and the new part of town are untouched, and the different streets and souks are back to life. Actually, all travelers are absolutely wowed by how ordinary everything seems to be. Today, walking around Damascus on your own is completely safe. Damascus is a safe place to travel in Syria Is Aleppo safe? Liberated in 2017 from Al Nusra, the old city of Aleppo was largely destroyed. People say that, before the crisis, Aleppo used to have the most beautiful souk in the Middle East. Sadly, most shops are closed nowadays but there is a lot of rebuilding going on and, compared to 2018, many small, family-owned businesses have begun to pop up. Living history – A Syrian man rebuilding a destroyed mosque in Aleppo Is Homs safe? By far, Homs was the most affected city by the war, nearly half of it being completely destroyed. When I first visited it in 2018, it was a deplorable, ghost town. The souk was gone and I could barely see anyone strolling the streets. But during my second visit in 2022, the souk had been rebuilt and some parts of the city center felt relatively busy. But again, it will take ages for Homs to come back to its original beauty, since many of its districts are today nothing but pure rubble. A sweets shop in Homs Is Krak de Chevaliers safe? Krak de Chevaliers is a Crusader fortress and one of the most well-preserved medieval castles in the world. It used to be a major tourist attraction but during the crisis, it was taken by a branch of Al-Qaeda named Al Nusra before the Syrian Army took it back. Luckily, the castle remained untouched, and foreign visitors are allowed to visit it again. Krak de Chevaliers Is Maaloula safe? Infamous for being the place where those nuns were kidnapped by Al Nusra, Maaloula is a historic, Christian town that was also taken by the jihadists in 2013, and recovered during the battle of Maaloula. You can still see some destruction but pretty much all churches and monasteries have been rebuilt and Maaloula is welcoming tourists again. More safe places to visit in Syria There are more places in Syria that are safe to visit: Hama: the city with the 17 norias Al Mishtaya and Marmarita: lovely Christian villages close to Krak Sidnaya: Christian town close to Maaloula Tartous and Latakia: the two main coastal cities Arwad: the only inhabited island in Syria Hama is one of the safest places to visit in Syria 2 – Relatively safe areas to visit in Syria The following places are actually safe to visit but they have some particularities: Is Palmyra safe? The city and archaeological site of Palmyra lie almost 300km east of Damascus. It was taken by ISIS on two separate occasions (2014 and 2016). They blew up the Temple of Bel, but the site is huge and most of its structures are still standing. The reason why Palmyra is in the relatively-safe section is that ISIS cells are not that far away, and a few attacks have been reported – always targeting the army – along the road that takes you to Palmyra. The situation, however, is calmer now, there is a crazy amount of security along the way, plus all tourists must be escorted by an army member. The archaeological site of Palmyra is guarded by the Russian Army. They are based in Qalaat Fakhr ad-Din al-Maani (Palmyra Castle), the fortress that overlooks the ruins, and a former tourist spot for watching sunset. The Roman site of Palmyra is safe and possible to visit Is Bosra safe? Bosra is a southern city located close to the border with Jordan. It’s a peaceful town, and pretty much the only safe place to visit that isn’t controlled by the Syrian Government but by the Free Syrian Army, an armed group representing the Syrian people who oppose the Syrian regime. The FSA had an important role in fighting the Syrian Government during the war but now, they are trying to make peace with each other and, in exchange for controlling that territory, they agreed to allow the Russian army’s presence. Bosra is safe to visit but it’s quite sensitive and most travelers venture here just to visit the Roman theater. 3 – Dangerous areas to visit in Syria The dangerous regions to visit in Syria have one thing in common, which is that you can’t visit them, even if you wanted to. Is Idlib safe? Being almost an enclave within the Government-controlled west part of Syria, the city of Idlib is an area dominated by Al Nusra. Their domination, however, is merely symbolic because it is actually occupied by Turkey, for real. No kidding, when you get close to Idlib (and you will on your way to Aleppo), you will receive a Turkish mobile network, along with an SMS literally saying Welcome to Turkey. Nobody knows which kind of deal is going on there but, in my understanding, it seems the Government has stopped fighting for Idlib, and Turkey began annexing it. In Idlib, they don’t use the Syrian Lira anymore but the Turkish, and their inhabitants are not allowed to enter Syria but they can enter Turkey. It’s not on the Western news, nobody talks about it, but it’s real. In any case, on your way to Aleppo, despite being so close to Idlib, the situation is safe because the road is controlled by the Government, and they don’t even allow cars to stop. Is Raqa safe? The former capital of ISIS is absolutely off-limits to tourists. While in Syria, I tried to figure out the current situation of Raqa but never managed to get a convincing response. Apparently, part of Raqa province is under the Government’s control, while the rest is under that of the Kurdish forces. Some people claim, nevertheless, that it’s still a dangerous place because ISIS sleeping cells are still a thing there. Is Rojava safe? Rojava – officially named the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria – is a region of Syria that could be essentially understood as Syrian Kurdistan. It gained its autonomy as a result of several battles during the war, and here you can read a fantastic explanation of it. Rojava is still a turbulent region with on and off conflict. For example, in February 2022, ISIS committed an attack on al-Sina Prison, located in a city within Rojava. In any case, Rojava is absolutely off-limits to tourists now. A tank from the Syrian army in Bosra Tips: How to stay safe in Syria Travel with a guide and a group Traveling with a group and a local guide who knows the latest security updates will make your Syria trip much safer. In any case, in order to get a visa for Syria, you must travel with a group and for that, Against the Compass has several scheduled groups per year. Our upcoming Syria EXPEDITIONS Sep 15th to 27th, 2024 (13 days). APPLY NOW Oct 13th to 20th, 2024 (8 days). APPLY NOW Dec 23rd to 30th, 2024 (8 days). APPLY NOW LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SYRIA TOURS Damascus with the group Use travel insurance that covers Syria In a country like Syria, where safety is the #1 priority, traveling with proper insurance is a must. IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Syria + COVID-19. 5% discount if purchasing via this link Don’t talk about politics Locals are not allowed to say anything bad about the Government, and neither are foreigners. According to many Syrians, walls in Syria have ears, so I recommend staying away from political conversations. Don’t venture into sensitive areas In the unlikely event that you are wandering around Syria on your own, don’t go to sensitive areas, and not only for your safety, but also because you risk getting arrested, as happened to a certain backpacker who I prefer not to name. Basically, he managed to reach the front between the Government and I don’t know which other group, a foolish act that got him arrested for a week. Is Syria safe to visit for solo female travelers? Is Syria a safe country for women travelers? Similar to neighboring Lebanon, Syria is an ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse country, also home to a large secular population and a lot of Christians. What I want to say is that Syrians are used to dealing with all sorts of people, meaning that bumping into a bunch of liberal women strolling down the streets of Damascus isn’t a rare thing to see so, unless you are visiting pretty conservative areas, you can dress up as you please, relatively speaking, of course. Moreover, while it’s true that many people do fast during Ramadan, many Muslims don’t, plus a lot of restaurants keep their doors open, and the reason is that the relatively secular population in Syria is quite large. Traveling as a woman in Syria is, obviously, more challenging than if you are a man – like in any other country – but what I can tell you is that popular destinations such as Morocco, Egypt or even Jordan are way more challenging than Syria, from a solo woman perspective. In any case, solo travel isn’t really allowed in Syria, but you must be with a local guide. Is traveling to Syria safe for Americans? Syrians are generally kind-hearted people who don’t make judgments based on nationalities. While it’s true that many Syrians blame – partly – the USA for what happened in the country recently, they also know that American tourists have nothing to do with the US Government and that they visit Syria just to learn about the conflict, meet beautiful Syrians and visit all their historical gems. If you want to know how to travel to Syria as an American, check our visa guide. Conclusion: Is Syria safe for tourists? It’s important to keep in mind that the situation in the areas controlled by the Syrian Government are not entirely safe, but relatively safe, so always pay attention to your surroundings and do your own research before going there. Against the Compass is not responsible for any potential, unfortunate event related to the current crisis. More information for traveling safely in Syria In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. Remember to check our upcoming tours: Syria Tours run by Against the Compass All our guides to Syria Syria Travel Guide Travel Guide to Aleppo Syria Itinerary Check more safety guides Is Afghanistan Safe? Is Iran Safe? Is Iraq Safe? Is Lebanon Safe? Is Mali Safe? Is Mauritania Safe? Is Middle East Safe? Is Oman Safe? Is Pakistan Safe? Is Sudan Safe? Is Tunisia Safe?

Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Syria on: September 15th to 27th, 2024 Syria had been in my plans for a very long time and, finally, they started to make it easier for travelers. Well, not that easy, but definitely easier. […]

Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Syria on: September 15th to 27th, 2024 learn more Syria had been in my plans for a very long time and, finally, they started to make it easier for travelers. Well, not that easy, but definitely easier. Since 2018, I have visited Syria 6 times, visiting places like Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Krak de Chevaliers, Hama, Busra, Palmyra and everything along the Syrian coast, including the island of Arwad. Syria is pretty epic. On the one hand, I got to visit ancient, marvelous sites that were a real blessing to my eyes. And, on the other hand, it was a very enriching experience as well, since I met loads of Syrians who told me their side of the story, plus I was able to witness one of the worst humanitarian crises in the 21st century, visiting hair-raising places that require a lot of cold blood, if you don’t want to breakdown into tears, making you empathize with the many beautiful Syrians. Long Live Syria. This guide contains everything you need to know for traveling to Syria, including plenty of tips regarding visas, safety, transportation and much, much more! Why visit Syria with Against the Compass? Here are the reasons why we believe Syria is a mind-blowing country to travel to, as well as my honest reasons why you should join one of our Syria tours. In this travel guide to Syria you will find: Table of Contents Syria tours Why travel to Syria Recommended books How to get a visa Travel Insurance How to get in Is Syria safe? The people How to move around Internet Money in Syria Responsible tourism and ethics Taking photos Don’t get off the beaten track Where to stay The food More information our recommended travel insurance for Syria IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Syria. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE How to sign up for a tour in Syria Unfortunately, independent travel in Syria is practically impossible nowadays, so the easiest – and only – way to travel to Syria is through a tour with a valid operator. More on that in the visa section of this post. Check this documentary on our Syria tours! Upcoming group tours for Syria Against the Compass has several scheduled group expeditions in 2024 Sep 15th to 27th, 2024 (13 days). APPLY NOW Oct 13th to 20th, 2024 (8 days). APPLY NOW Dec 23rd to 30th, 2024 (8 days). APPLY NOW LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SYRIA TOURS How to join an individual tour or a smaller group for Syria Do you wish to join a small group, but you can’t travel on any of the above dates? No problem, just shoot me an email (joan@againstthecompass.com) indicating: How many people you are How many days do you want to spend in Syria Which dates And we will try to find other travel partners you may travel with. Otherwise, know that we can also organize private, tailored trips. One of our latest Syria groups! Why should you visit Syria now? This is a very good question, one I have been asked a lot recently. The truth is that reasons vary. First of all, in the last couple of years, I have been traveling all across the Middle East, so visiting Syria, one of the most fascinating countries in the region, had been on my travel plans for a very long time. Another even more important reason is that Syria is a great country, home to one of the oldest civilizations ever, so visiting Syria from a tourism perspective is a must-do. The beautiful Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the oldest and largest mosques in the world However, most people asking that question tend to refer more to the ethical aspect of traveling to Syria, as this is a war zone from where many people have been forced to escape in order to save their lives. Well, I want you to know that I fully understand why someone would not want to visit a post-war zone because, truth be told, destroyed buildings and misery are not pleasant things to see. Nevertheless, the first thing you need to know is that I travel to learn and become wiser and, yes, I am interested in visiting a post-war zone, because this is living history and I wanted to see it with my own eyes, and not through a biased newspaper. I also think that traveling to Syria with the sole objective of empathizing with the locals is a good thing and, as long as you are absolutely respectful about the crisis, there is nothing wrong with it. But in the end, we should ask Syrians what they think about it and I can assure you that, since Syria used to be a major touristic destination, today Syrians are very happy to see that tourists are coming back because this is a real sign of recovery. For more information, read the Responsible Tourism section of this article. Read about my experience in Aleppo The views from the citadel in Aleppo… No words needed – Is it safe to travel to Syria Recommended books for traveling to Syria Syria travel guide by Bradt There are no updated guidebooks of Syria, but Bradt Guides has the only exclusive travel guide to Syria, updated as of 2010. Still, it is a good source and a nice introduction to the country CLICK HERE TO CHECK THE PRICES ON AMAZON The Rise of the Islamic State by Patrick Cockburn A must-read book. Written by one of the world’s top experts on the Middle Eastern conflict. In this book, Cockburn gives a very comprehensive explanation of the origin of DAESH, with many references to Syria. A very useful book to understand the complexity and origin of the conflict. CLICK HERE TO CHECK THE PRICES ON AMAZON How to get a tourist visa for Syria BREAKING NEWS Americans can now travel to Syria Since March 2023, Americans are finally allowed to apply for a tourist visa Last updated information 2024 Getting a Syrian visa nowadays is pretty straightforward but that’s something you can’t do alone because the Ministry of Tourism dictates that all travelers who want to get a Syrian tourist visa must book a tour with an operator. For that, Against the Compass is a licensed and valid tour operator that can help you obtain a visa for Syria. Join one of our groups, and you will automatically get your visa for traveling to Syria. We have several scheduled group expeditions over the following months: Against the Compass has several scheduled group expeditions in 2024 Sep 15th to 27th, 2024 (13 days). APPLY NOW Oct 13th to 20th, 2024 (8 days). APPLY NOW Dec 23rd to 30th, 2024 (8 days). APPLY NOW LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SYRIA TOURS How to get a Syrian visa directly from a tour operator The first thing you must know is that travel agencies will not issue a tourist visa for Syria but a security clearance (a background check), which you need to show at customs. Consider it as a Letter of Invitation. This is what the security clearance looks like. Usually, it includes several random people: The security clearance for Syria With your security clearance in hand, you will be able to purchase a Syrian tourist visa at the border. The problem, however, is that nowadays, travel agencies are not allowed to issue a security clearance unless you book a tour with them. Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Syria on: September 15th to 27th, 2024 LEARN MORE How much does the security clearance cost It’s always included in the total tour package, so it really depends on what tour you book. How long does it take to get the security clearance? 2 weeks as an average, but you may get the approval in just 2 days. How long is it valid for? The security clearance has a 90-day validity, starting from the day you receive it. How much does the tourist visa for Syria cost? These are the latest visa fees updated in 2024. Note that prices tend to fluctuate based on the exchange rate but, as an average: European passport holders: 75 USD Canadian passports: 100 USD British, Australian, and Argentinian passports: 150 USD US passport holders: 200 USD Try to bring the exact amount for the visa. Otherwise, they will give you your change in Syrian Pounds, using the official bank rate. You will also have to pay an exit fee of 2,000SYP. Can Americans get a visa for Syria? Yes, since March 2023, American passport holders may travel to Syria. Their visa application takes 4 weeks. My visa for Syria and my Lebanese stamps Which Tour Operator do I recommend for traveling to Syria? I recommend Against the Compass, which only works with the best and most knowledgeable local guides. As mentioned, we have several group trips a year and by the way, we also organize private tailored trips (from 2-day trips to Damascus to multi-day trips across Syria). Learn more about Syria expeditions in this video: Travel Insurance for Syria Most travel insurance companies don’t cover for travel in Syria, except for IATI. I recommend it because: Only travel insurance company that covers Syria They have different plans for all budgets Covers senior citizens too Readers of this blog can get an exclusive 5% discount. BUY IT HERE TO GET YOUR DISCOUNT The Old City of Damascus – The columns belong to an old Roman Jupiter temple – Is Syria safe? How to get to Syria How to travel to Syria by land 1 – How to travel from Beirut (Lebanon) to Damascus Traveling to Damascus from Beirut is the easiest way to travel to Syria. Beirut is only 115km from Damascus and the journey takes 2 to 4 hours, including the customs process. If you book a Syria tour with Against the Compass, we will take care of your transfer from and to Beirut, no problem. In the unlikely case you were traveling to Syria independently, know that there is no bus service but locals travel in shared taxis. They leave from Charles Hélou bus station, which is in a very central location, in Gemmazyeh. Shared taxis from Beirut to Damascus run all day long and I went there at 3pm and waited for no more than 15 or 20 minutes. The cost per person is around 20USD. Charles Hélou station – Beirut to Damascus If you go by yourself, you will pay 100USD. Beirut to Damascus border crossing: Very straightforward. On the Lebanese side, they barely check your passport and, on the Syrian side, they take around 20 minutes, as long as there are no people, of course. On our way from Beirut to Damascus First, they check your security clearance, then you purchase your visa at the bank counter and give your receipt to the immigration officer. You only get a stamp, not a visa sticker. After getting your Syrian visa and resuming your journey, you will go through several checkpoints, but you shouldn’t experience any problem. Read: A travel guide to Beirut 2 – How to travel from Tripoli to Tartus You can also travel to Syria from the border north of Tripoli. Shared taxis to Tartus cost around 12 USD and they leave until 8pm from this statio. It is only a 65km journey, so it should be fairly quick. 3 – How to travel from Amman (Jordan) to Syria The border is finally open but the journey from Amman is longer (200km) and the border crossing takes more time. If you want to enter Syria from Amman, pick-up may also be arranged. 4 – How to travel from Turkey to Syria Today, that border is not possible to cross legally. How to travel to Syria by air Damascus has an international airport but there are a few things that you may wanna take into consideration before booking your flight. The airport doesn’t have many connections, only with a few Middle Eastern cities such as Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, or Baghdad. The only airlines operating in Syria are Cham Wings, Syrian Air, and Iraqi Airways, airlines the tickets of which can’t be purchased online, but you must book them at the respective office in cash. Due to the situation in Syria, the airport in Damascus shuts down pretty often, so the chances of your flight being canceled are relatively high. This is why I strongly recommend flying to Beirut instead. Read: Lebanon – A 2-week itinerary Somewhere in Damascus – Can you travel to Syria? Is it safe to travel to Syria? Is Syria safe? Along with the visa, safety is the other big question mark for anyone traveling to Syria. Look, the war is practically over in West Syria (the city of Idlib is the last actual war zone) and cities like Aleppo and Damascus are perfectly safe. You see children roaming around and everything seems just fine now. Moreover, the Old City of Damascus is full of military checkpoints where they check your bag and look at anyone who seems suspicious, so there is a high level of security and nothing has happened for a long time now. Celebrating Christmas in Damascus – How to travel to Syria Actually, I was in Damascus for Christmas and, for the first time since the beginning of the war, the streets of the Old City of Damascus (and Aleppo as well) were filled with Christmas lights and celebration. The atmosphere was full of joy, happiness and both Muslims and Christians were celebrating such an event with very big enthusiasm (there is a huge Christian community in Damascus). This can only mean that even the Syrians themselves believe the city is safe. Long story short: I personally think that Syria is safe to visit but it will depend on where you go. For a better understanding, read my analysis: Is Syria safe to visit? Read: Is it safe to travel to Iraq A tank from the Syrian Army, somewhere near Palmyra Which parts of Syria are safe to travel? Read my 100% safe travel itinerary for Syria. Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Latakia, Tartus, Krak De Chevaliers, and also Palmyra. Still, keep in mind that this is a post-war zone, which means that it is highly unstable and things could change overnight. Long Live Aleppo – Is it possible to travel to Syria? The people – The Syrians Language spoken in Syria Levantine Arabic is the official language. You should know that many English-speaking people left the country but you will always find someone who does. In any case, try to learn some Arabic before traveling to Syria. Religion in Syria Around 65% of the population are Sunni Muslims but, like in Lebanon, in Syria, there are many different religions, including a large Christian population. Bashar Al-Assad is Alawite, a Shia branch. Friendly Syrians, always – Visit Syria tourism How do Syrians feel about tourism? According to the UN, around 500,000 Syrians have been killed, nearly 5,000,000 escaped from the country and several more million who are still in the country need humanitarian assistance. We are talking here about one of the worst humanitarian crises in the 21st century. Like I said at the beginning, many people are skeptical about traveling to Syria, claiming or thinking that it may be disrespectful to all the people that have been affected somehow. Well, what I think is that, before making any judgment, we should ask the actual Syrians living in Syria what do they think about it. When visiting Syria, I have never talked to a single Syrian who was not happy at seeing a foreign tourist. The ones who spoke English approached me, asking a lot of questions and showing their gratitude for visiting their country. They don’t hesitate to talk to you about the crisis, the problems that it has caused, etc. Hello, how are you? Well, alive, thank God! – A random Syrian told me However, I thought that wandering around Damascus as a tourist would be like being a celebrity. I mean, people were extremely nice and kind but it was not like when you travel in Pakistan, for example, where everybody stops you in the street to talk to you. The main reason was that most people thought I was a journalist and the second was that Syrians have always had great international exposure, so seeing foreigners is something they are actually used to, with the only difference they haven’t seen many since 2010. Long story short: Syrians are happy to see tourists. More friendly Syrians – How to visit Syria Transportation: how to travel around Syria Note: This info refers to 2018 when traveling in Syria independently was allowed. You can travel around Syria by local buses and shared taxis. I took the bus from Damascus to Aleppo, which takes more than 7 hours. The reason is that the section of the road from Homs to Aleppo is not totally Government-controlled, so after Homs, they turn right and make a huge detour to get to Aleppo. Update 2022: Today, the direct road from Damascus to Aleppo that goes through Idlib is finally under the control of the Government. There is not much to say here, other than the roads of Syria are full of military checkpoints, which is what you may expect. Your driver will keep your passport and he will handle everything for you, so don’t worry about that. I also took the bus from Homs to Damascus and it was a very similar story. From Aleppo to Homs I took a local shared taxi. Seriously, buses run normally, smoothly and without any problem In Damascus, this is the main bus station to go to Homs and Aleppo. The station at Aleppo is quite far from the city center but you will see plenty of taxis just outside. As per safety, the truth is that many people were being overprotective with me, always taking care that I was feeling safe and comfortable, so you should not worry about that. Most people taking the bus to Aleppo are from the army by the way. When you travel in Syria, you’ll see that Bashar Al-Assad face is everywhere Internet and connectivity in Syria Wi-Fi – Internet works relatively well across the country. The hotels I stayed at had a good connection and you can also connect in most relatively good cafés and restaurants. Mobile – I bought Syriatel and, for 7,000SYP, they gave me 2GB and some calls but, of course, prices may change. They only asked for my passport. I recommend you go to the official store. There is one next to Merjeh Square, right here: 33.513185, 36.29777. Get a VPN for traveling in Syria You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Your connection will be much safer. Moreover, you will be able to access content which is typically censored in Syria. I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap. Get a vpn If you want to learn more about VPN, check: Why you need a VPN for traveling. What you need to know about money before traveling to Syria In Syria, they use the Syrian Pound (SYP), a currency that has been fluctuating like crazy for the past 10 years. Before the crisis, $1 equaled 50SYP. In 2018, during my first visit, $1 equaled 490SYP. Today, you can exchange $1 in the black market for up to 13,950SYP. As a consequence, Syria is suffering from massive inflation and the problem is that most salaries haven’t increased accordingly. The new Syrian bill with Bashar Al-Assad’s face on it. Nowadays, this is around 50 cents. Exchanging money in Syria You can exchange both Euros (€) and USD ($) but USD can be exchanged at a better rate. If you bring 100 USD notes, keep in mind that they only accept the new ones with the blue line. If you have Syrian Pounds left when you leave, you can exchange them for Lebanese Pounds or USD in most exchange offices in Beirut, at the official bank rate, which means that it won’t be so good. Where can you exchange Syrian Pounds? The best is to exchange at the exchange offices you find before reaching the border. With our groups, we always exchange in a Lebanese town named Chtoura. ATMs and credit cards in Syria Because of the foreign sanctions, in Syria, you can neither pay by credit card nor using ATMs. You must bring all your money in cash. Update 2024: Due to the current financial crisis, the same rule applies to Lebanon. If you are traveling to Syria from Lebanon, you must bring enough cash for visiting both countries. How much does it cost to travel to Syria? These are the prices of the most typical things: Lunch in a local restaurant: 50,000 to 80,000SYP Food in a nice restaurant with wine: 150,000 to 250,000SYP Breakfast (like hummus or ful): 35,000SYP National Museum: 25,000SYP Aleppo Citadel: 2,5000SYP Bus from Damascus to Aleppo: 50,000 to 70,000SYP Budget Hotel in Damascus: $35 to $45 for a private room Mid-range hotel in Damascus: $60 to $90 for a private room Taxis within cities: 40,000 to 60,000SYP Local shared taxi Aleppo to Homs: 100,000 to 150,000SYP The Citadel of Aleppo – Traveling to Syria Responsible tourism and ethics Syria is a post-war zone, where millions of people have lost their houses and relatives, much like Haiti, so please, be a sensitive tourist. Don’t say war but crisis or situation instead You will see that many Syrians themselves don’t really use the word war but they prefer to say other less harsh words. Syrians hanging out in a destroyed building in Homs Don’t take selfies with damaged buildings Seriously, this is one of the most disrespectful things you could ever do and you would actually be an asshole if you did it. Empathize with the locals When you are in an area full of destroyed buildings be polite to the people, say hello, shake hands and just be nice with them. Collaborate with the local economy In Homs and Aleppo, you are likely to see small businesses open among all the ruins. Do buy things from them. In Homs, I saw one small bakery shop in the practically destroyed souk; I couldn’t resist buying one kilo of sweets there, which I gave to a young boy that was looking for something among the trash. Read: A travel guide to Iraqi Kurdistan The streets of Homs, which is around 40% destroyed – Is it safe to visit Syria now Are the Syrian cities really destroyed? This seems to bring a lot of confusion, so let me explain it to you: Damascus Only the outskirts of Damascus are destroyed, as there was a bloody battle there. That area is off-limits to tourists. The Old City and the new part of town remain intact. Aleppo A percentage of the Old City is destroyed, as well as some areas from outside the city. Most of Aleppo isn’t damaged but some very important sites from the Old City, like the Great Mosque, are gone. Nowadays, however, the city is being rebuilt and people are slowly coming back. Homs One of the most affected cities by the war. Approximately 40% of the city is destroyed and that includes its bazaar, one of the liveliest and most important souqs in all the Middle East. Palmyra The Temple of Bell was destroyed by ISIS but Palmyra is a massive archaeological site and many of its wonders can still be seen. the Old City of Aleppo – Is Syria a safe place to visit? Taking photos when you travel in Syria You can take photos of everything except for one thing: military stuff. Yes, it is very obvious but the problem is that there is military stuff everywhere, especially in Damascus. In Damascus, it happened a few times that I took a picture of some cool building or whatever, from relatively far away, and didn’t realize there was a checkpoint right next to it. Of course, the soldiers approached me but, after quickly checking my passport and my camera, very kindly, let me continue. In Damascus Old City, there are checkpoints everywhere, so pay attention before taking any photos. A soldier in Aleppo’s citadel Don’t get off the beaten track in Syria, not yet As of 2024, this section still is highly relevant. Seriously, don’t. Don’t do it because you are going to ruin it for everybody. Syria just started opening to tourism, so stick to the main touristic areas. I am telling you this because there was a German guy who went to the outskirts of Damascus to take photos of some destroyed buildings and he was put in jail for a week. That was back in 2018, when independent travel in Syria was allowed. Since then, booking a tour is required in order to get a visa for Syria so, even if you wanted to get off the beaten track, you would not be able to. Damascus bazaar is really good to visit Accommodation: where to stay in Syria Since the crisis, the Government of Syria has introduced a dual pricing policy in all hotels, in which foreigners pay more than the locals. This has increased the rates substantially but you can still find many affordable options. Where to stay in Damascus Budget – Green Hotel – Single rooms cost 15USD and double 30USD. It was very clean, there was a heater, good Wi-Fi and the guy from the reception spoke English. It was here, just outside of the Old City: 33.510168. 36.298925. Green Hotel in Damascus. I paid 15USD for this room. It was simple but clean and everything you need! Boutique Hotel – Beit al Mamlouka – A small hotel at the heart of the old city. Top option – Beit al Wali – One of the best hotels in the city. Luxury – Four Seasons – Crazy expensive, but the best hotel in Syria. Note that it’s not managed by Four Seasons anymore, even though they kept their name. Where to stay in Aleppo Mid-range – Aleppo Palace – Good, affordable option in Aleppo, with great views of the new part of town. It’s located right next to the I Love Aleppo sign. In Aleppo, you can also find a Sheraton. Where to stay in Homs New Basman Hotel – One of the few options in Homs is this hotel that offers basic but comfortable rooms. Where to stay in Al Mishtaya Al Mishtaya is a Christian village near Krak de Chevaliers and the place where we stay when I bring groups into Syria. They have a pretty good brand-new hotel named Vila Rosa Hotel. Where to stay in Palmyra and Busra Today, you can’t stay in any of them because there are no hotels. The food and alcohol in Syria In the last few years, I haven’t traveled to many countries that are famous for their food, but Syria definitely is. Being an olive-oil-rich Mediterranean country, the ingredients used in their cuisine are fresh and similar to the ones we used in Spain, Italy, France, and Greece. The food is actually pretty much the same as in Lebanon, with their own regional variations, of course. From the classic hummus to kibbeh (local steak tartar), different sorts of grilled meat or a typical dish of Aleppo consisting of meatballs in cherry sauce, the food in Syria is so varied. For me, however, breakfast is the best part, as they always serve different variations of hummus and ful deep in super tasty olive oil and vegetables. As per alcohol, you should know that Syria has a large Christian population, so alcohol is easily available, especially in the Christian district of the Old City of Damascus, where there is a street filled with bars and many liquor shops. You can actually buy a $1 beer and drink it in the street! Hummus for breakfast More information for traveling in Syria In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Syria destination Travel Guide to Aleppo Syria Itinerary Is Syria Safe? Travel guides to other countries in the Middle East Iran Travel Guide Palestine Travel Guide Travel Guide to Oman Travel Guide to Lebanon Iraq Travel Guide Travel Guide to Saudi Arabia Yemen Travel Guide You will also like our Libya travel guide and Haiti travel guide. You will also be interested in: Where in the Middle East is safe? and The most beautiful places in the Middle East. I hope this Syria travel blog will help you to plan your trip. I will try to keep it updated but, if you have more updates, please let us know in the comments section. Thanks

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Increase your chances of getting that approval — here are the 4 topmost important visa application tips to remember when you're applying!

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I am no stranger to visa applications. I perfectly know the struggle of applying for visas because I have to do it almost every time I fly out of my home country — it’s one of the many woes of being born in a third world country with a powerless third world passport. (Visa Application Tips) For instance, application processes and interviews would always be especially rigorous for us not only due to the ‘poor’ standing of our nation but also because of the unfortunate records that others have set before us. However, in spite of all the horror stories that you may have heard, seen, or read, getting a visa is still and absolutely achievable. Take it from me, a 3rd-world national who was able to travel to over 60 countries and ALL the 7 continents despite all the odds and hassles of applying for visas! Sure it’s tough, yes, but impossible? Not at all. So hopefully, with this article, I’ll be able to impart with you my top visa application tips. Looking for visa guides per country? Check out my list of visa and immigration tips around the world here. READ NOW DISCLAIMER: I do NOT guarantee that the pointers in this post will get you approved 100% when you‘re applying for a visa. In fact, NO ONE can give you a 100% guarantee; not even a lawyer, a consultant, a travel agent, or an embassy employee. Anyone who says otherwise is most likely going to be a scammer. . Take note as well that even if you have a friend who has the same income as you do and who has acquired a visa that you are also applying for, that wouldn’t instantly mean that you will get the visa too. This is because every consulate considers a LOT of varying factors. Hence, the situation of your friend or any other person will not always be the same as yours. Without the aforementioned guarantee, what then can I give you in this article? Helpful tips to increase your chances of getting that approval. The way I see it, applying for a visa is like dating — you lay out everything and put your best foot forward, hoping that by the end of it all, the answer will be a resounding YES from the other party. So in this situation, I would be your proficient and supportive best friend who will help guide you on this ordeal with a ton of visa application tips. These are not only from the numerous visa experiences that I’ve had but as well as the lessons that I’ve learned from friends and research. So without further ado, here are my top visa application tips with the top 4 things that consulates or embassies usually put strict attention to! (For each of these sections, I will also provide corresponding steps or workarounds that have worked really well.) ~ Top photo from Shutterstock Table of Contents Toggle Accurate, Complete & Genuine Documents True & Reasonable Purpose of Entry Sufficient Funds or Support Proof of Not Overstaying Other FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Accurate, Complete & Genuine Documents Accomplish the requirements. This is one of the visa application tips that is obviously common knowledge but it seems like some people think that skipping out on a few documents is fine — no, it’s not and it never will be. You can’t expect the embassy officers to say “Oh okay, just come back and submit this and that.” Even if they are as lenient like that, it’s always best to submit ALL the documents at once because most embassies would not even accept your application if it’s incomplete. At the very core, you should avoid wasting your time and effort; besides, do remember that appointments are often hard to get. TIP: Make sure your passport is not expiring anytime soon. In addition, submit all the documents in an organized way. It helps to provide a checklist too in order to give the embassy a quick overview that you have prepared everything that’s needed (at times this is one of the basic requirements). Mind the details. Some embassies would NOT need an interview since they will merely rely on the documents you submit; given this process, they usually put precise instructions, and one of my top visa application tips is for you to remember that it’s vital you take note of their requirements. Examples: they would want you to use only a specific kind of envelope, or that you have to staple your photo to the application form and NOT paste it, or they want you to write in blue ink. These steps might seem ridiculous or tedious but you should do it still; don’t slack off and don’t rebel. Make it a point to read the guidelines very well which should normally be on the embassy’s website. Only submit authentic documents. Don’t even try submitting fake or doctored/edited documents. After all, there is a high chance that you will not only get denied, but you will also be banned. Provide as much evidence as you can. One proof is fine, but if you can give more, then great! It will give them more assurance about the documents that you are trying to prove authenticity or genuineness to. In fact, overdelivering is always a good thing for as long as the things that you’re submitting are relevant. And of course, providing originals are always best! Show that you are ‘well-traveled‘. It can be through travel tickets/bookings or your passport stamps. Even if it’s not one of the requirements, it helps to show them this to send them a message that you have traveled before, that you always came back, and that you have never overstayed abroad. . INTERVIEWS: Your interview can affect the documents you are submitting; but surely, if you are submitting genuine papers, there’s no need for you to be nervous about this because the questions are always basic: what is your purpose for visiting, how long do you intend to stay, etc. Depending on your answers, the visa officer can be more thorough with the questions but they are mostly just about your background. One of my top visa application tips? Just be honest and precise. Simply answer what they ask for. DON’T launch into a full-blown storytelling spree. It’s not necessary for you to give out information when it’s not asked for! Besides, the officers unfortunately wouldn’t care about your story, no matter how sad or tragic it might be. Additionally, wear something presentable (no need to be too formal). Arrive early, be confident, and speak in English (or if you’re more comfortable in speaking your country’s mother language, then feel free to do so — unless the embassy doesn’t allow it). “Do I need to purchase and submit travel insurance?” I highly advise that you get travel insurance for your trip; after all, most embassies would require you to do so. To avail of travel insurance, I highly recommend World Nomads since they offer the best price and coverage (they cover all countries worldwide too!). If you want to cross-check this with another trusted provider, I recommend looking into SafetyWing especially since they have amazing plans catered for frequent travelers or digital nomads. • • • True & Reasonable Purpose of Entry TRUE PURPOSE: Apply for the appropriate visa. Read about all the information and processes that the embassy has in order to ensure what kind of visa you should be applying for — in fact, go ahead and call the embassy if you ever need clarifications. This is crucial so that, for instance, you can avoid wasting your time on the requirements for a tourist visa if what you actually should be preparing are the prerequisites for, let’s say, a ‘visit a friend’ visa, which is often a more specific category. Surely, if you plan to work abroad, don’t try and go for a tourist visa; please DON’T be one of those people who violate visa rules and conditions because that would paint your country’s fellowmen in the same bad light. You’re not helping others, nor are you helping yourself. STRONG & REASONABLE PURPOSE: If you’re applying for a tourist visa then this shouldn’t be a problem; after all, you really wouldn’t have any other rationale for visiting a country abroad other than for… well, tourism. So supply them the itinerary that you want to do, the places that you want to see, and the experiences that you want to achieve and you should be fine. The same applies to work, study, fiancé, or marriage visas because those are already self-explanatory — e.g. to work because you are being sent there by your company, to study because the university in that country is known for its outstanding program, etc. If, however, you’re applying for a visa to visit a friend or family, embassies commonly need a compelling argument to justify your plans of visiting. The first application isn’t typically a problem because seeing a friend or family member for the first time should somehow already be a reasonable purpose; but for the next visits, you or your host must have a stronger cause as to why you want to come back. Such may hold true too if you are planning to apply for a 2nd tourist visa to the same country and so on. Nevertheless, again, this is where dissimilarities can happen: some people can easily get a visa after the first time, but some people cannot. It’s always on a case-to-case basis. You might be thinking now, “What are examples of strong reasons?” I think it all boils down to having significant or sensible events. For tourism, let’s say you’ve been to Belgium before but currently, you want to come back because you want to see the concert of Tomorrowland; provide them the tickets for that and your motivation for wanting to see them (it happens only once a year anyway). Or maybe you have a blog and you want to experience and promote the country even more, etc. Or you might want to take a gap year before you start working on your career. . As for friends or family visits, if there’s a birthday, wedding, or reunion, make sure you or your host mentions that too. At the same time, don’t forget to prove the relationship you have with your host. . Ultimately, just make sure you have a decent motive or just be true to what your intention is — most of the time, your situation (no matter how simple or complicated it might be) would already be enough of a reason. TIP: One of my top visa application tips is no NEVER indirectly imply that you have plans of staying longer because that will go against the 4th section below. If you’re going on a student visa, don’t mention either your plans of working in their country after finishing your degree; it’s actually imperative that you have to express your desire to come back to your own country. Or if you’re going on a tourist visa, don’t carelessly mention that their country has a very good education system that you find fascinating, because that might incidentally hint something to the embassy officer that you might want to study there — this is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get what I’m saying… Then again, I’m pretty sure you won’t say such things if you follow the tips I’ve mentioned in the 1st section: which is to be on point about your answers. Say nothing more, nothing less! • • • Sufficient Funds or Support Every embassy wants you to convince them that you have enough money to support yourself because if you don’t, they would be skeptical about how you will be funding your stay and they will even doubt your purpose of visiting their country. As a general rule for visa application tips, here are ways for you to prove your financial solvency… For employed persons this becomes very easy since your employment already fulfills the requirement to prove that you are solvent and that you have a job to come back to (thereby verifying the 4th section as well below). Ordinarily, they need you to issue all of the following: Proof of employment (or COE – Certificate of Employment) with company stamp, stating your position, years of service, and monthly salary Most recent payslips (often for the past 3 months) Income Tax Return (ITR or any tax document) for the past year For self-employed persons it becomes tricky because even if you have your own business, they need to know that it’s established and sable. They also need to know that you have enough cash. So it helps to provide: Copy of Official Business Registration/ Business Permit Taxpaying certificate and/or tax statements Bank Statement or Books of the company and Financial Reports for the last 3 months Copies of personal credit cards, bank certificates, or bank statements in the last 3 months Proof investments or financial assets For retirees take note of the following documents. If you happen to still have your own business after retiring, it helps to give related documents to that (just refer to the self-employed section above). Proof investments or financial assets Evidence of pension payments, such as receipts Certification issued by competent authority stating the period of time and date of retirement For students or minors, depending if your sponsors are your parents or your school, or even both: Sponsorship letter from parents or legal guardian, with attached documents showing their solvency (as employed, self-employed, unemployed, or retiree persons) Certification from the institution/school confirming your enrollment and leave of absence; this document must specify the amount, term, and expenses that the scholarship includes For unemployed persons, provide as much proof as you can, submit: Proof investments or financial assets Copies of personal credit cards, bank certificates, or bank statements/books in the last 3 months. Sponsorship letter from your sponsor, with attached documents showing their solvency . NOTE: The requirements for employed and self-employed persons are applicable to freelancers too. Depending on your situation, you might have to provide not only your proof of employment but even the registry of your business. Also, please DON’T rely on this list alone; always double-check with your embassy since there might be some items that they would specifically want from you and which I have failed to mention here. After all, the documents I mentioned above are usually just the standard documents needed. TIP: If you feel that your financial standing is weak, it will help to add a sponsor to your visa application so that it adds more strength to your case. Usually, sponsors can be immediate family members, relatives, friends, or even your partner. In line with this, you would need to provide enough proof to show your relationship with these sponsors and why they are sponsoring you — and that of course you ACTUALLY have the funds to cover your trip since the immigration officers can check on this before your actual entry into their country (they have the right to ask for proof of cash on hand, credit card, bank statement, etc.) By the way, this is another area that you can overdeliver on, so feel free to provide as many documents as you can! “What is the minimum amount of money do I need to show in my bank account?” This is something I can’t answer specifically because every country would have its own minimum requirement, depending as well on the time period that you are going to stay. Therefore, I suggest that you call the embassy or check their website for any corresponding info about this. In my experience with Schengen Visas, for example, most of the member countries would need you to show that you have EUR 50 (Php 2,500+) per day of your stay. This is the bare minimum, that’s why I suggest that you add way more money to it. In line with this, be wary of providing bank statements from a bank account that is obviously new and just recently ‘fed’ with money. There is such a thing called as ADB or Average Daily Balance or something equivalent to a balance history in bank statements or certificates, and that will surely indicate the state of your bank account (which most embassies might assume is not really your money and something that you might have just borrowed to prove a false financial standing). RELATED READ: How to Save Money for Travel Meanwhile, as an additional way of showing that you can support yourself, embassies would surely need documents that show a hotel booking reservation. To obtain these documents you can (1) reserve directly with the hotel or (2) make a dummy online booking or reservation which can usually be done with Booking.com or through a travel agency. NOTE: With Booking.com, they list hotels that have FREE cancellation and/or can be booked with no prepayment. If however, you are going to stay over at a friend, partner or family’s house, the embassy would need details of your host like their ID cards, residence documents, proof of your relationship to them — all of which are easy to prepare. • • • Proof of Not Overstaying In my opinion, this is where embassies put the most emphasis on — they need you to be bounded to your home country, and that you have strong ties that will compel you to come back at the end of your stay. They definitely don’t want you aiming for ways to stay longer (illegally) nor aiming for ways to become an immigrant without going through the necessary procedures in your home country. What are examples of ‘strong ties’? They vary from country to country: they will consider your circumstances, travel plans, financial resources, and ties that will ensure your departure after the period of visit. Thus, other than the pieces of evidence already mentioned in the above sections, make sure that you’ve issued… For employed persons Leave of absence and/or certificate of employment from your employer A letter from you, stating any other reasons why you won’t overstay For self-employed persons Mention an event that would necessitate your return (it can be a board meeting, company event, etc.) Business registration Proof of possession of real and personal property (real estate, etc.) A letter from you, stating any other reasons why you won’t overstay For retirees Proof of possession of real and personal property (real estate, etc.) A letter from you, stating any other reasons why you won’t overstay For students or minors School enrollment certificate Approved leave of absence A letter from you and your parents or legal guardian(s), stating the reasons why you won’t overstay (explanation of your family situation, your long-term plans in your residence country, etc.) For unemployed persons as available: Proof of possession of real and personal property (real estate, etc.) If applicable, a letter showing a job offer (wherein you’ll start working some time at the end of your trip) If applicable, a letter showing the start of your studies (school enrollment certificate, wherein you’ll start studying some time at the end of your trip) A letter from you, stating any other reasons why you won’t overstay (e.g.: you’re planning to set up a business, etc. but then you’ll also have to back up those statements with pieces of evidence) . NOTE: These are NOT absolute. Chances are, one proof would already be enough; yet as usual, it helps to overdeliver on evidence. You can always ask the embassy for any other kinds of documents they might want from you to prove your situation. Now, I understand that some procedures for visa applications would require a round-trip ticket to be booked and presented — this would already be another proof that you will NOT overstay, but I advise that you provide more pieces of evidence still since tickets are the most basic affirmation. (But of course, most embassies nowadays do NOT require you to have round-trip tickets to be booked and presented before/during the application. If you really need to present tickets, it should be enough to show a flight reservation or itinerary only). WANNA GET FLIGHT RESERVATIONS? Use OneWayFly now — with them, you can easily get a flight reservation or proof of onward travel in just a few hours for only $16~. It’s definitely one of the easiest and fastest option online! In case you’re wondering where to look for the best flight deals, my go-to platform is Skyscanner since it always presents the best deals across all existing airlines worldwide. 
 TIP: Your passport stamps also help in justifying that you are not someone who overstays abroad. Photocopy these pages on your passport along with your past visas and present them to the embassy. RELATED ARTICLE: How to Stay in Europe Longer (Legally!) READ NOW • • • Other FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) What questions are usually asked in a visa interview? There’s no need to be nervous! The questions that are asked are always basic: what is your purpose for visiting, how long do you intend to stay, etc. Depending on your answers, the visa officer can be more thorough with the questions but they are mostly just about your personal background. Just be honest and precise — meaning that you just simply answer what they ask for. DON’T launch into a full-blown storytelling spree. It’s not necessary for you to give out information when it’s not asked for! Besides, the officers, unfortunately, wouldn’t care about your story, no matter how sad or tragic it might be. What they are always concerned about are just the facts about you AND your trip. What do visa officers usually check? Apart from checking the authenticity of your documents, they also verify your identity, analyze your travel history, check your proof of onward travel, as well as conduct other security checks among many others. Visa officers basically just want to ensure that what you’ve said about yourself and the purpose of your trip is true. Is it possible to get a visa again after I got rejected? Yes, it’s still possible to reapply for a visa after you are rejected on your first application. Some embassies have a required amount of ‘break time’ before you can reapply again, whereas there are some others that allow you to apply again at any time. However, it is important for you to decipher why you got rejected in the first place; most embassies will indicate the reason for their refusal so when you apply again, you must ensure that you have provided additional information and documents to support your application. What is the minimum amount of money I need to show in my bank account? Every country would have its own minimum requirement, depending as well on the time period that you are going to stay. Therefore, I suggest that you call the embassy or check their website for any corresponding info about this. In my experience with Schengen Visas, for example, most of the member countries would need you to show that you have EUR 50 (Php 2,500+) per day of your stay. This is the bare minimum, that’s why I suggest that you add way more money to it. In line with this, be wary of providing bank statements from a bank account that is obviously new and just recently ‘fed’ with money. There is such a thing called ADB or Average Daily Balance or something equivalent to a balance history in bank statements or certificates, and that will surely indicate the state of your bank account (which most embassies might assume is not really your money and something that you might have just borrowed to prove a false financial standing). Do I need to provide travel insurance? I highly advise that you get travel insurance for your trip; after all, most embassies would require you to do so. To avail of the best travel insurance, I highly recommend WorldNomads since they offer the best price and coverage (they cover all countries worldwide too!). If you want to cross-check this with another trusted provider, I recommend looking into SafetyWing especially since they have more affordable plans catered to frequent travelers or digital nomads. • • • Booking Essentials Booking.com TIP: It’s a good idea to crosscheck the prices with other popular travel insurance providers like World Nomads and HeyMondo (as my reader, you get 5% off)! . However, take note that a travel insurance’s affordability typically means lesser coverage; so please always ensure that you read the fine print in order to decipher which travel insurance company is the right fit for you and your trip! • • • Overall I dearly hope that these visa application tips help you! Good luck! FINAL NOTE: Even with these pointers, remember to always check with your embassy first. Please also direct any clarifications and follow-ups to your applications to their office, and NOT to me; this is in consideration of the fact that they would always know more about your situation than me. Again: this article is merely a helpful guide for you. The post Visa Application Tips: 4 Important Things to Get You Approved! appeared first on I am Aileen.

Here's why you should put a Mekong River Cruise high up on your bucket list for your upcoming Asia adventures!

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Going on a Mekong River cruise is tantamount to entering into a tapestry of bright landscapes, enriched by ever-flowing narration—journeys that entwine the word “adventure” with “luxurious indulgence“. For the discerning traveler, one would say that this is not a trip but a journey into the heart of Southeast Asia. Designed to achieve the perfect blend of rich culture, serene landscapes, and exceptional service, this article unveils a one-of-a-kind Mekong River cruise. It’s a classic experience crafted for those who seek elegance and refinement in their travels — it’s an experience for YOU! Table of Contents Toggle Luxurious Onboard Accommodations Gourmet Culinary Experiences Exclusive Shore Excursions and Cultural Immersion Harmony and Wellbeing on the River Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Travel Mekong River Cruise Luxurious Onboard Accommodations The fabled Mekong River becomes even more enchanting with the luxurious accommodations aboard this cruise, transforming the journey into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Each suite, featuring stunning panoramic windows, sumptuous interiors, and all the luxuries of a five-star hotel, is meticulously designed to be a haven of comfort and sophistication. Every detail, from the lavish bedding to the in-suite dining, is crafted to perfection, ensuring an extraordinary onboard experience. With expansive decks, spectacular infinity pools, and soothing spas, the cruise offers a serene escape. Coupled with the crew’s impeccable service and dedication to high hospitality standards, a Mekong River cruise becomes the epitome of luxury travel. – – – Gourmet Culinary Experiences Culinary delights are in store on a Mekong River cruise! Good food is a special event, and the menus are designed by master chefs with a rich culinary heritage during every meal. Onboard dining venues also serve the freshest fare from local markets with menus that include elegant à la carte substitute options and lavish buffets filled with the finest local specialties and international favorites. Wine lovers will even discover the extensive wine cellars with selections of good wines and champagnes coupled with sommeliers’ expertise to help guide you to the perfect match for every cuisine. Dining al fresco up on the sun deck with only the soft sounds of the river as ambiance adds an extra touch of magic to your meals. – – – Exclusive Shore Excursions and Cultural Immersion Beyond the superficial comforts of the cruise ship, Mekong River cruises offer meticulously designed excursions that immerse travelers deeply in local culture and history. Each unique excursion invites guests to explore everything from ancient jungle-bound temples to bustling markets teeming with life. Travelers have the opportunity to interact with local artisans, enjoy traditional performances, and participate in hands-on workshops that showcase crafts passed down through generations along the Mekong. These tours are not only engaging but also responsible and respectful toward local communities, making them ideal for the socially conscious traveler. – – – Harmony and Wellbeing on the River Many cruisers like the Mekong River for the simple reason that being there lets them shut down and refocus. The wellness options on board typically more than do justice to this, with a long list of treatments all echoing Asian healing practices and the use of all-natural and locally sourced ingredients. Pre-dawn yoga and meditation sessions offer a tranquil beginning each morning with views across the rising sun over the Mekong. With such facilities on board, fitness enthusiasts can continue with their okayed routines even aboard the vessel, while the sleepy-heads are off seeking the solace of the ship’s library or generally spaces designed to offer them comfort and tranquillity. This well-balanced blend of wellness activities offers every ennobled traveler a pace to find their style of relaxation. – – – Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Travel More and more, Mekong River cruises incorporate sustainability in their operations to preserve the ecological and cultural integrity of the river. Adoption for lowering impact includes state-of-the-art water treatment systems, energy-efficient technologies, and practices in waste reduction. In fact, it also continues to help the visitors understand more about the river’s ecological and social composition and creates an appreciation and respect for the destinations they visit along the course of the river. Opting for an environmentally friendly Mekong River cruise would mean making a small contribution to these efforts behind the scenes in making the conservation and preservation of this unique ecosystem possible. • • • Overall The Mekong River cruise seamlessly blends exploration, relaxation, and luxury, making it one of the finest travel experiences available. Elegant and thoughtfully curated, a cruise through the heart of Southeast Asia is more than just a journey—it’s an experience that enriches your soul, delights your senses, and creates memories that will last a lifetime. The post Elegance on the Water: The Ultimate Mekong River Cruise Experience for the Discerning Traveler appeared first on I am Aileen.

Explore the best hotels in Cebu — from luxurious five-star resorts, cozy boutique stays, to budget-friendly hostels!

The post Best Hotels in Cebu: From Cheap to Luxury Accommodations and Places to Stay appeared first on I am Aileen.

The city of Cebu, often called the “Queen City of the South,” is a gateway to world-renowned dive spots, heritage sites, and mouth-watering cuisine. Whether exploring its historic landmarks or lounging on its pristine shores, Cebu provides the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable stay — and what better way to experience all that this island paradise has to offer than by staying at one of the city’s best hotels, where comfort and luxury meet the warm hospitality Cebu is famous for? (Best Hotels in Cebu) – – – » Quick Travel Planning Top tours & experiences Find best flights to Cebu Visa requirements Best places to stay Travel insurance (w/ discount) Stay connected …Looking for activities to do? Here are the top things to do in Cebu! READ NOW In this article, we’ll guide you through the top accommodations in Cebu, ensuring that your visit is as relaxing and memorable as the destination itself. Table of Contents Toggle » Quick Travel Planning Best Budget Hotels in Cebu Nacho Hostel Cebu The Stopover Hostel Mactan Murals Hostel and Cafe BMAX SPACEPODS Hop Inn Hotel Cebu City Mid-Range Hotels in Cebu Cebu Parklane International Hotel Lex Hotel Cebu Seda Central Bloc Cebu Fairfield by Marriott Cebu Costabella Tropical Beach Hotel Luxury Hotels in Cebu Radisson Blu Cebu Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu Resort Crimson Resort and Spa Shangri-La Mactan » Compare All Cebu AirBnBs & Hotels « Best Budget Hotels in Cebu Nacho Hostel Cebu » BEST price on Hostelworld, Agoda or Booking.com Experience hotel-quality service in this hostel that’s situated a bit outside Cebu City so you can escape the bustle while still near key beach spots. To love: Good for value | Landmark: Ocean Park Naga | Price starts from: $5~ The Stopover Hostel Mactan » BEST price on Hostelworld, Agoda or Booking.com Enjoy basic amenities in one of the best hotels in Cebu that won’t break your budget. All rooms are air-conditioned with private bathroom. To love: Low price at the center | Landmark: Poblacion Plaza | Price starts from: $25~ Murals Hostel and Cafe » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com Murals Hostel and Cafe in Cebu offers a vibrant, artsy atmosphere perfect for travelers seeking a unique and budget-friendly stay. To love: Amenities | Landmark: Rainforest Park Cebu | Price starts from: $25~ BMAX SPACEPODS » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com If you want to experience staying in a capsul hotel then this is one of the best hotels in Cebu for you! Located near Mactan Airport, it also has quite a good location. To love: Unique rooms | Landmark: Hellokittyville | Price starts from: $35~ Hop Inn Hotel Cebu City » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com One of the best value-for-money 3-star hotels in the heart of Cebu City, offering clean, well-decorated rooms with all the essential amenities for a comfortable stay. To love: Good for value | Landmark: Family Park, Banilad | Price starts from: $35~ Mid-Range Hotels in Cebu Cebu Parklane International Hotel » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com An amazing hotel in the heart of the city featuring cosy rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center with sauna, and 3 dining options. To love: Pool | Landmark: Magellans Park | Price starts from: $55~ Lex Hotel Cebu » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com A guest favorite in this hotel is the beautiful infinity pool on the roof deck. Beyond this, the rooms and amenities are modern and well-designed. To love: Rooftop infinity pool | Landmark: Cebu Zipline | Price starts from: $55~ Seda Central Bloc Cebu » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com This is one of the best hotels in Cebu that offers sleek, modern accommodations in the heart of Cebu’s IT Park. With its rooftop pool and convenient location, it’s perfect for both business and leisure travelers! To love: Amenities | Landmark: I.T Park Cebu | Price starts from: $95~ Fairfield by Marriott Cebu » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com Offers a modern and comfortable stay in the heart of the city! With its convenient location and excellent service, guests can enjoy easy access to Cebu’s top attractions. To love: Modern design | Landmark: Mandaue Heritage Plaza | Price starts from: $95~ Costabella Tropical Beach Hotel » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com You’ll love this serene beachfront escape with lush gardens and a private white sand beach. Enjoy their spacious rooms, top-notch amenities, and a tranquil ambiance perfect for a relaxing getaway in Cebu! To love: Resort feels | Landmark: Cebu White Sands Resort and Spa | Price starts from: $95~ Luxury Hotels in Cebu Radisson Blu Cebu » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com A luxurious escape combining modern elegance with exceptional service. With its stunning views of the Cebu harbor and proximity to major attractions, it’s the perfect base! To love: Amenities | Landmark: SM Baywalk | Price starts from: $115~ Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com It is the home of the popular Ibiza Beach Club in Mactan which serves authentic grill dishes and a tapas bar accompanied by world-class entertainment! To love: Luxurious amenities | Landmark: Lapu -Lapu Shrine | Price starts from: $150~ Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu Resort » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com Experience the perfect blend of Thai-inspired hospitality and Filipino warmth in a serene beachfront setting when you stay in this accommodation that’s one of the best hotels in Cebu! To love: Amenities | Landmark: SM Baywalk | Price starts from: $200~ Crimson Resort and Spa » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com Indulge in this resort’s picturesque private beach — but that’s not all, it also has an infinity pool! Pair it off with the tropical-style rooms and grand amenities and it’s a stay to remember forever. To love: Luxurious amenities | Landmark: Serenity Park | Price starts from: $250~ Shangri-La Mactan » Get the BEST price on Agoda or Booking.com CHI, one of the largest spa villages in Asia, is found here. Beyond that, this world-class resort is a favorite among holidaymakers and nature lovers and has a variety of dining, entertainment, sports and recreational activities! To love: Amenities | Landmark: Treasure Island | Price starts from: $300~ • • • » Compare All Cebu AirBnBs & Hotels « • • • Overall Whether you’re looking for a serene beachfront retreat or a centrally-located urban haven, these hotels ensure a memorable stay in the heart of Cebu, providing the perfect base to explore the island’s vibrant culture and natural beauty. The post Best Hotels in Cebu: From Cheap to Luxury Accommodations and Places to Stay appeared first on I am Aileen.

Learn to claim EU261 compensation for flight disruptions like delays, cancellations, downgrades, or denied boarding!

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Embarking on a journey by air always holds the promise of new adventures and unforgettable experiences! And yet… amidst the excitement of travel, unexpected disruptions such as flight delays and cancellations can quickly dampen our spirits. But enter Regulation 261/2004, commonly known as EU261 — a beacon of protection for travelers within the European Union! (EU261 Compensation) If this is your first encounter with this law, consider yourself fortunate. Shockingly, nearly 90% of air travelers remain unaware of this regulation, missing out on the opportunity to claim compensation for flight delays or cancellations in Europe. Which is a shame because it’s SO easy and fast to file for an EU261 compensation. ⚠️ It helps to note that an EU261 compensation is separate from the compensation you may receive from your own travel insurance for a flight delay or cancellation. So imagine getting DOUBLE the compensation from your own travel insurance AND from the airline because of the EU261 law — amazing, right? So without further ado, I will delve into the intricacies of EU261 in this article, shedding light on the rights and perks that you can claim should you encounter a problem with your flight while in the EU zone! » Quick Travel Planning Find the best flights Global visa requirements Travel insurance (5% discount) Stay connected Table of Contents Toggle » Quick Travel Planning What is EU261? What Flights Fall Under EU261? What Flights are NOT Covered? What are Other Eligibility Requirements? Your EU261 Rights Flight Delays Flight Cancellations Denied Boarding EU261 Compensation: How to Claim? Personally Complain to the Airline Lodge a Complaint to National Authorities Hire a Company to Get the EU261 Compensation for You Deadlines to Claim EU261 Compensation EU261 Compensation Form of Payment F.A.Q. What is EU261? EU261, formally known as Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 or EC261, is a European Union law established in 2004 to protect the rights of air passengers of ALL nationalities. Unlike some regions where airlines determine their own policies for handling flight delays and cancellations, EU261 ensures that ALL passengers are entitled to certain protections and compensation. This law mandates that airlines must provide assistance and compensation to passengers facing any of the following: Flight delays Flight cancellations Denied boarding Missed connecting flights Thanks to EU261, air travelers flying within Europe enjoy enhanced rights and protections compared to other parts of the world. – – – What Flights Fall Under EU261? As a general rule, if your flight departs from or arrives at an airport within the European Union (EU) and experiences a delay or cancellation, you’re eligible to file a EU261 compensation claim. Additionally, the law extends coverage to flights departing from or arriving at airports in Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, and nine special territories associated with EU member states. These territories, also referred to as the outermost regions, include French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, La Réunion, Saint Martin, Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands. Flying from the UK? Despite the UK’s departure from the European Union in early 2020 following Brexit, it has implemented a law, UK261, which closely mirrors the EU261 regulations. Perhaps you’re wondering: does EU261 still apply if I’m flying with a non-EU airline? The answer is yes! To clarify when the law applies and when it doesn’t, refer to the table below. Flight Itinerary EU Airline Non-EU Airline EU airport → EU airport ✓ ✓ EU airport → non-EU airport ✓ ✓ Non-EU airport → EU airport ✓ X* Non-EU airport → non-EU airport ✓ X *In certain instances, you may still be eligible for compensation under EU261, so it’s worth attempting to file a claim with the airline. – – – What Flights are NOT Covered? The airline reserves the right to withhold EU261 compensation if the delay, cancellation, or denied boarding was due to ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ including… Bad weather (i.e.: snowstorms, windstorms, low visibility) Strikes of the airport personnel, traffic control, or employees Air traffic control restrictions (including runway closures) Political and civil unrest Terrorism However, despite some airlines listing technical issues as grounds for withholding compensation, such problems are NOT considered extraordinary circumstances because the maintenance of the aircraft is the airline’s responsibility. Therefore, if a mechanical issue causes a flight delay or cancellation, the airline may still be liable to pay you compensation. NOTE: Flights that are FREE or on reduced fares (usually not available directly to the public) do not apply for the EU261 law. – – – What are Other Eligibility Requirements? For as long as you have a confirmed flight reservation on the flight concerned, and one of the following conditions apply to you, EU261 applies: You arrived for check-in at the designated time specified in advance through written communication by the airline, tour operator, or authorized travel agent (or, if unspecified, no later than 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time). You were transferred by an airline or tour operator from the flight for which they held a reservation to another flight, regardless of the reason • • • Your EU261 Rights Flight Delays …then you can claim EU261 compensation for the flight delay which can range between €250 to €600 per passenger depending on the distance of your journey. There’s really no need for a flight delay compensation calculator, because the allocation is easy to see as seen in the table below: Flight Delay to Your Final Destination Flights Less Than 1,500km Flights Between 1,500km to 3,000km Flights More Than 3,500km Less than 3 hours No compensation No compensation No compensation 3 hours or more (never arrived) €250 €400 €600 In the event of lengthy flight delays exceeding 5 hours, you have the right to get reimbursement within seven days, covering the full cost of the ticket for any unused portions of the journey or for parts that no longer serve the passenger’s original travel plan. Additionally, if applicable, a return flight to the initial departure point should be arranged at the earliest opportunity. In addition to this monetary compensation, under EU261, passengers are entitled to have the “right to care” from the airline. This includes the following provisions: The right to be informed on why the flight is delayed and when you are expected to take off In the event of any flight disruption, airlines must furnish you with this information in written form. The airline is also obligated to display the EU261 text at its check-in counter and provide each affected passenger with a written notice detailing the rules for assistance and compensation. 2 FREE phone calls, emails, or fax messages FREE complimentary food and drinks FREE hotel accommodation if the flight has been delayed overnight as well as the transportation expenses between the airport and the hotel (advisable to keep the receipts for these transportation expenses) – – – Flight Cancellations If your flight is canceled, you are protected under EU261 or EC261 provided you meet the following conditions: You were the one who purchased the tickets The flight cancellation occurred less than 14 days before the scheduled departure date The canceled flight was supposed to leave from an EU airport or operated by an EU carrier It was the airline’s fault and not an extraordinary circumstance Once you meet all of the above conditions, you are granted the following rights: Full refund of your used and unused tickets (for example, a connecting flight that you can’t reach because of the cancellation) Access to an alternative flight; this replacement flight offered must depart at the earliest opportunity Right to compensation of up to €600 (see table below) “Right to care” similar to the one for flight delays The following compensation applies when an airline proposes an alternative flight Notice Short Flights (less than 1,500km) Medium Flights (1,500km to 3,500km) Long Flights (More than 3,500km) 7-13 days’ notice €125 – new flight arrives less than 2 hours after the old flight €250 – new flight arrives more than 2 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival None – new flight departs less than 2 hours before the old flight and arrives less than 4 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €200 – new flight departs more than 2 hours before the old flight, and arrives less than 3 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €400 – new flight departs more than 2 hours before the old flight, and arrives 3 to 4 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €400 – new flight arrives more than 4 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €300 – new flight departs more than 2 hours before old flight, and arrives less than 4 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €600 – new flight arrives more than 4 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival Less than 7 days’ notice €125 – new flight arrives less than 2 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €250 – new flight arrives more than 2 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival None – new flight departs less than 1 hour before the old flight and arrives less than 2 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €200 – new flight departs more than 1 hour before the old flight, and arrives less than 3 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €400 – new flight arrives more than 3 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €300 – new flight departs more than 1 hour before old flight, and arrives less than 4 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival €600 – new flight arrives more than 4 hours after the old flight’s scheduled arrival The following compensation applies when an airline does NOT propose an alternative flight OR if you refused the offer Notice Short Flights (less than 1,500km) Medium Flights (1,500km to 3,500km) Long Flights (More than 3,500km) For flights between EU & non-EU cities €250 €400 €600 For flights between two EU cities €250 €400 €400 – – – Denied Boarding In the event of denied boarding, you are also eligible to receive EU261 compensation. Most of the time, before denying boarding, airline staff will seek volunteers to relinquish their seats in exchange for negotiated benefits. If an insufficient number of volunteers is found, the airline will proceed to deny boarding to passengers. Your entitlements in such circumstances are as follows: “Right to care” similar to the one for flight delays Re-routing at the earliest possible time or a later date of your convenience Refund of the ticket cost Monetary compensation When it comes to monetary compensation, it will depend on your flight’s total distance: Flights Less Than 1,500km Flights Between 1,500km to 3,000km Flights More Than 3,500km €250 €400 €600 • • • EU261 Compensation: How to Claim? Even if you’re eligible for compensation under EU261, unfortunately, it’s not automatically granted — you’ll need to file a claim yourself, but rest assured, it’s simpler than it sounds! For instance, I successfully claimed mine with Aegean Airlines by filling out their contact form, and they responded within a few days (after following up and nudging them too via Twitter). Together with their response, they proceeded to transfer the compensation to my bank account. While it’s true that the ease of the claim process can differ depending on the airline, you can be confident that if your flight meets the criteria, you’ll eventually be compensated. After all, the EU imposes stringent penalties on airlines that fail to comply with the regulation, ensuring accountability. Now, before delving into the various methods of claiming your settlement, let me first offer some valuable tips once you encounter a qualifying event under EU 261. Gather as much information and proof for as much as you can. Start saving or taking screenshots of all communication related to your concerned flight. Ask the airline staff about the reason for the delay. Be sure to record the time; for instance, if your flight is delayed, make a note of the actual departure time. Ask the airline to respect your right to care. Especially for delayed flights, make sure to ask about your right to access free food and drinks. If the delay extends overnight, request accommodation. To reach the accommodation, you can either request a taxi from the airline or keep track of any taxi expenses incurred (retain the receipts) and seek reimbursement later. Once you’ve completed these steps, you can proceed to make a claim using ANY of the following methods: Personally Complain to the Airline This initial step is essential for YOU to do. It’s crucial to exhaust this option first before considering the other alternatives. To lodge a complaint with the airline regarding your extended flight delay, flight cancellation, or deboarding, begin by conducting a Google search using your airline’s name along with the term ‘EU261’ (e.g., search for “Aegean Airline EU261”). Each airline manages complaints differently: some offer readily accessible automated online forms, while others may require you to email them. If unsure, locate their customer service contact details and proceed accordingly. (You can even try contacting them via their social media channels). If you’re looking for a flight delay compensation letter sample template, you can use this: [click] Once you’re done doing step #1, it also helps to complete this form: ‘Air Passenger Rights-EU Complaint Form‘. This preliminary screening service aims to assist you in obtaining information on how to contact your respective airline, particularly if you encounter difficulties in finding their contact details. If the airline fails to respond within a few weeks or up to a maximum of two months, you can then explore the following options… – – – Lodge a Complaint to National Authorities As previously mentioned, if the airline fails to respond within two months or if you are unsatisfied with their reply, you can proceed to the next step of your flight compensation claim, which involves filing a complaint with the relevant national authority in the country where the operating airline is based. The official website of the European Union offers a list of links to each country’s national consumer bodies: [link]. In this scenario, you should submit your complaint to the National Enforcement Body in the Member State where the incident occurred. Provide them with the complaint you previously sent to the airline and explain the situation: either the airline did not respond, or you find their response unjust. The national authority will then offer you a non-binding legal opinion on how to proceed with your claim. Please note that if the incident occurred at an airport outside the EU, you should contact the national enforcement body in the Member State of your flight destination. If you are an EU national, you can also explore these other options: Utilize impartial out-of-court entities like conciliation services, mediators, arbitrators, and ombudsmen or complaint boards. They will review your case and suggest a resolution, or enforce one if a mutual agreement between you and the airline cannot be reached. If you purchased your ticket online, you have the option to lodge your complaint through the EU online dispute resolution site. This service is free of charge, and they will handle your dispute accordingly. Finally, if the airline refuses to compensate you and you decide to take legal action, you can opt for the European Small Claims procedure. This entails submitting your compensation claim to a competent court, which could be the place of arrival or departure for flights between EU countries (operated by one airline), or the courts in the country where the airline is registered. To initiate this procedure, you’ll need to complete form A and include any supporting documents such as receipts or invoices. Upon receiving your claim, the court will assess it, and if any necessary information is missing, they will request you to complete form B. Keep in mind that there is a court fee associated with the European Small Claims procedure, but this fee will be reimbursed if your case is successful. – – – Hire a Company to Get the EU261 Compensation for You I highly recommend attempting to file a claim on your own FIRST to ensure you receive the full compensation. Besides, based on my own experience and in most cases, this process can be quick and straightforward especially when the airline concerned is from the EU (examples being like RyanAir, EasyJet, Lufthansa, Air France, and many others). However, I understand that this may not always be feasible with other airlines; plus, it could be a hassle for you to do option #2 of lodging a complaint with national authorities. Time is valuable, after all! In such cases, there are several companies specialized in handling EU261 claims on behalf of passengers, albeit for a fee. These fees can be quite significant, often reaching up to 25% to 30% of your claim amount! For families or larger groups, this percentage can result in a substantial sum — but then the upside too is that they can really help; plus, if they fail in claiming a settlement, you don’t have to pay anything at all to them. But if this is the only remaining option you’d like to take, a quick Google search will reveal numerous options, but if you ask me, AirHelp consistently ranks as one of the top companies for EU261 compensation claims. • • • Deadlines to Claim EU261 Compensation EU countries have varying regulations regarding the timeframe within which you can claim compensation, as the regulation does not establish a uniform limitation period across the EU. The time limit for claiming compensation depends on the location of the airline’s headquarters: Deadline Country 10 months Latvia 1 year Belgium, Poland 2 years Croatia, Iceland, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland 2 years & 2 months Italy 3 years Austria, Czech Republic*, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany**, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden*** 5 years Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Scotland 6 years Cyprus, Ireland, UK (except Scotland) 10 years Luxembourg No limit Malta *Czech Republic: It’s crucial to inform your airline about the flight delay within 6 months of the incident. Once notified, your claim remains active for up to 3 years. **Germany: The period expires on the last day of the third year. ***Sweden: The limitation period resets each time a claim is made. Therefore, for any subsequent claims, the limitation period would be 3 years from the date the last claim was filed. • • • EU261 Compensation Form of Payment Your EU261 compensation can be disbursed in various forms such as cash, electronic bank transfers, bank orders, or bank cheques. Alternatively, if agreed upon, it may be issued in the form of travel vouchers or other services. At times, airlines may initially propose vouchers rather than cash. However, it’s essential to note that EU261 ensures cash compensation, which you’re entitled to if preferred. IMPORTANT TIP: Upon receiving a response from the airline, ensure that the offered compensation aligns with your situation before proceeding further. • • • F.A.Q. When should I submit my EC261 compensation claim? As soon as possible! If feasible, reach out to the airline on the day of the delay itself. Acting promptly increases the likelihood of a favorable outcome. Can an airline refuse my EU261 compensation claim? Certainly, the airline has the authority to reject your claim, especially if the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances. However, if you feel your claim was unfairly denied, you can explore the alternative methods I outlined in this article. Are connecting flights covered for EC261 compensation? Certainly. If your journey is booked as a single itinerary, any flight departing from an EU airport qualifies for flight delay compensation under EU261 regulations. It’s important to understand as well that your final destination will be considered in regards to EU261 eligibility. What if my flight was booked with miles—is it eligible for EU261? Regardless of whether you booked using credit card points, redeemed an award ticket with frequent flyer miles, or paid with cash, EU261 still applies. The only exceptions are tickets acquired for free or at reduced fares not typically available to the general public. I traveled with my baby, can I also get flight delay compensation? It varies. According to the EU regulation, passengers are eligible for compensation if their flight is delayed by more than three hours. However, passengers traveling for free are exempt from claiming compensation. For instance, if an airline allows parents to bring infants along at no cost, compensation cannot be sought for the infant. However, if you paid for a seat for your baby, even at a reduced rate, you can request compensation. Are hotels and meals covered by EU261? side from cash compensation, EU261 mandates provisions for hotel accommodations and meals. This provision, known as the “right to care,” obliges airlines to offer meals and refreshments proportionate to the waiting time. While other international airlines include similar provisions in their contracts of carriage, this is rather a guaranteed entitlement in Europe. My airline placed me in a lower class, different from the ticket I purchased. Can I still ask for compensation? Absolutely. Within seven days, the airline is required to refund you: – 30% of the ticket price for flights up to 1500 kilometers. – 50% for intra-community flights exceeding 1500 kilometers. – 75% for flights between European territories and French overseas departments. – Furthermore, 75% for flights not covered in the previous cases. We traveled as a group, can I ask for compensation for all of us? Yes, you can, but it’s preferable to file for compensation separately for each individual. How do I write a letter of compensation for flight delay? Check out this sample template I made: [click] • • • Overall I hope this comprehensive guide helps you claim the compensation that’s rightfully yours! The post EU261 Compensation: Your Essential Guide on European Flight Delays or Cancellations appeared first on I am Aileen.

Find out the BEST and safest countries for solo female travelers to go on adventures to — as well as the 5 most dangerous destinations!

The post 20 Safest Countries for Solo Female Travelers: The Best Trip Destinations in the World (& The 5 Worst!) appeared first on I am Aileen.

More than ever, women from all over the world are now choosing to travel solo — this comes as no surprise because traveling alone is one of life’s most rewarding experiences. (Safest Countries for Solo Female Travelers) In fact, in America alone, there are about 32 million women who are traveling solo and that number keeps rising every year! But… as the number of solo female travelers is rising, the number of unsafe destinations is also increasing as they are slowly being brought to light. I long for the day that I don’t have to write about which are the safest countries for solo female travelers; but the reality is that there are just some destinations that are more dangerous than others. Looking for more solo travel tips? Check out my solo travel guides and female travel tips! READ NOW Thankfully, journalists Asher and Lyric Ferguson helped make my research a lot easier when they created the “Women’s Danger Index“. They basically ranked the top 50 countries with the most international tourists in order to see which are the worst and safest to visit. To do this, they utilized 8 danger factors as they put more weight on street safety and intentional homicide: Safe to walk alone at night Intentional homicide for women Non-partner sexual violence Intimate partner violence Legal discrimination Global gender gap Gender inequality index Violence against women attitudes . As mentioned in their findings… To measure safety abroad, one cannot look at only data on street safety, rape, or violence. It also depends on the general attitude of the culture, the minutiae of the legal system, and the systematic oppression of local women. These issues can affect everything, from easily getting a taxi alone to having your voice be heard in a conversation, to even needing a male escort for your personal safety. . A lot on our list, such as attitudes toward partner violence may not affect solo female travelers directly, but these factors are a good indication of overall attitudes within the culture. So for all female travelers out there who are itching to book that plane ticket and tick off their bucket list destinations, below are the top 20 safest countries for solo female travelers (ordered by rank) that are ideal for both first-time and experienced female solo travelers. Looking for reliable travel insurance for your overall safety? You can take your pick between SafetyWing (cheapest coverage) or with HeyMondo (a more comprehensive coverage — and if you click this link you can get a 5% discount). Please make sure to read the fine print of their policies to ensure that you are covered for your specific needs (e.g. COVID cover, etc.). To see a detailed comparison table of these two providers, click here. READ NOW Table of Contents Toggle » Safest Countries for Solo Female Travelers « » Other Safe Destinations « » 5 Worst Countries for Women Traveling Alone « » Safest Countries for Solo Female Travelers « 1. Spain Photo by: Shutterstock Aside from being the second most visited destination in the world (just next to France), Spain turned out to be the safest country for female solo travelers as per the Women’s Danger Index. After all, it ranks high in street safety along and has low legal discrimination as well as low violence rating against women. So apart from the aforementioned reasons, there are also plenty of other reasons to visit this beautiful country: its scenic Mediterranean coastlines, endless servings of paella, rich culture, and fabulous architecture such as the Sagrada Familia among many others! READ MORE: Spain Travel Guides 2. Singapore Photo by: Shutterstock This small island nation is considered the safest Asian country on the planet! The country scores high in more than half of the factors, with 92% of women claiming that they feel safe when walking alone at night — which I also personally find to be true. So travel to your heart’s content when you’re in such a dynamic destination like Singapore! Marvel at how old and the new seamlessly coexist as it packs a lot of surprises for its visitors despite its small size. Some of the things you must NOT miss? As a start, don’t skip out on the Gardens by the Bay and Skyline Luge! READ MORE: Singapore Travel Guides Singapore Layover (Things to Do) 3. Ireland Photo by: Shutterstock Ireland may not have the best weather, but you’ll love the fact that it has particularly low levels of discrimination, gender inequality, and violence against women. Not to mention, it is a breathtaking destination with laid-back cities, beautiful countryside, and vibrant culture. So don’t forget to indulge yourself with some beer (how about a glass of Guinness?) and explore glorious sights like the Cliffs of Moher for an incredible Irish experience! READ MORE: Ireland Travel Guides 4. Austria Photo by: Shutterstock For many travelers, Austria is an almost perfect country and they even say that Austrians enjoy some of the best quality of life in Europe. This notion trickles down and reveals itself in the study as it shows how Austria has some of the lowest levels of sexual violence and lowest gender inequality among the countries reviewed. Aside from being one of the safest countries for solo travelers, Austria is truly a must-see destination for those who have a taste for fine culture. READ MORE: Austria Travel Guides 5. Switzerland Photo by: Shutterstock Switzerland is known for its stunning landscapes and fjords which are not limited to Mount Titlis, Jungfraujoch, and Grindelwald. Aside from such promising beauty, Switzerland is the seventh (7th) most peaceful country in the world, according to the Global Peace Index. Thus, it’s an incredibly safe country for a woman to travel alone. The country even performed very well when it came to street safety and low crime rates — I can attest to this fact because of my personal experiences. One situation that always comes to mind was when I once left my wallet at a crowded train station to Matterhorn; I only found out that I lost it when it was sunset (as it was my cue to go back to my hotel). ‘Lo and behold, the train staff held on to it and nothing was lost! READ MORE: Switzerland Travel Guides 6. Norway Photo by: Shutterstock If I say so myself, it comes as no surprise that Norway (or any of the Scandinavian nations) is regarded as one of the most female-friendly countries in the world. With high standards of living, crime rates are found to be extremely low even in major cities such as Oslo and Stavanger. With that said, it’s a must to try and do a road trip through this wonderful European city and chase the northern lights, hike to the famed Trolltunga or explore Arctic fjords! READ MORE: Norway Travel Guides 7. Portugal Photo by: Shutterstock Portugal makes it to this list of the safest destinations for female travelers and it scores big points not only for its magnificent scenery but also for its good track record with women’s rights and cultures. Some of the things to look forward to during your visit are the vibrant city of Lisbon, the dramatic views over Christ the King, and the turquoise-blue waters. READ MORE: Portugal Travel Guides 8. Croatia Photo by: Shutterstock Officially called the Republic of Croatia, this Mediterranean paradise features sapphire waters and pristine days — perfect for those who are seeking that premium European summer experience! Thankfully as well, crime in Croatia is relatively low, making it extremely safe for solo traveling, especially for females. So don’t miss out on this country’s beauty and consider booking yourself a tour of the Plitvice Lakes or a sailing experience. I went solo on a 7-day sailing trip from Split to Dubrovnik before and I met a lot of amazing people, ate a lot of amazing Croatian delicacies, and did a lot of amazing experiences. True enough, it was one of the most amazing Eurotrip activities that I’ve done! READ MORE: Croatia Travel Guides 9. Canada Photo by: Shutterstock Canada attracts solo travelers for its safety, solid women’s rights record, and diverse range of scenery. In fact, of all the countries in North America, Canada is considered the safest destination for women travelers. Besides, Canadians have this worldwide reputation of being the friendliest people, and you’ll soon see why once you set foot in this spectacular country. To add, it is home to a wide range of landscapes, including centuries-old forests, snow-covered mountains, breathtaking countrysides, and pristine lakes. READ MORE: Canada Travel Guides 10. Poland Photo by: Shutterstock Did you know? This Eastern European country is regarded as the safest place in Europe according to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and it’s mainly due to its low crime rates and positive attitude towards tourists. Even in the capital of Warsaw, though there might be some petty crimes here and there, solo travellers and female travelers alike will still feel relatively safe, especially with how hospitable Polish people are. For some of the top must-do’s, I recommend rediscovering the story of World War III by stopping at Auschwitz and the Schindler’s Factory. READ MORE: Poland Travel Guides 11. United Kingdom Photo by: Shutterstock Comprised of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, this historic state packs a lot of allure for visitors of any kind — no matter if it’s from their bustling cities such as London or peaceful countrysides like Windsor. To date, much like most European countries, traveling to the United Kingdom is very safe. For years, it is regarded as one of the safest countries for solo female travelers given that violent crime is rare. Though one of the reasons why it is placed a bit lower in this list is on how it ranks low on gender inequality and this can be somehow attributed to the pervasive ‘lad culture’ that has developed in the UK. Still and the same, for as long as you keep your wits with you, travel is generally regarded as safe. READ MORE: United Kingdom Travel Guides 12. Netherlands Photo by: Shutterstock The Netherlands is a famous European destination where tradition and innovation intertwine. There is much to be desired here: from tulip fields to romantic city canal cruises, from Van Gogh paintings to the gnawing history of Anne Frank, and so much more! And as a solo female traveler, you will be needing some caution especially in big cities like Amsterdam — but still and the same, the Netherlands is generally a safe country to explore in (your biggest concern might just be pickpockets). Besides, the Dutch are laid-back folks who are fairly polite; plus, I have traveled to this country far too many times by myself, and I have never felt unsafe. READ MORE: Netherlands Travel Guides 13. France Photo by: Shutterstock France is the most sought-after destination in Europe, and due to this popularity and ensuing crowdedness, it’s expected that most females don’t feel fully safe at night (especially in the big city of Paris). Nevertheless, it still earns its spot as one of the safest countries for solo female travelers because of how it puts high regard for women’s rights. Truth be told, the country has a low gender gap according to Ampersand. Moreover, catcalling and street harassment are outlawed and placed with hefty on-the-spot fines. So don’t let any of your fears stop you from flying to this popular destination as you finally witness the majestic Eiffel Tower, visit the Louvre Museum, explore the fantastical castle island of Mont Saint Michel, drive through the French Riviera, and more! READ MORE: France Travel Guides 14. Denmark Photo by: Shutterstock As I previously mentioned, you should always expect Scandinavian countries to be on the list of safest countries for solo female travelers. Visitors will have little to worry about when it comes to crime, and women travelers also don’t have much to worry about when it comes to harassment. Crimes still occur, that’s a fact, but common sense should keep you out of trouble. To make the most of your stay in Denmark, don’t forget to explore the Tivoli Gardens, take a trip to the ancient city of Roskilde, look for fossils at Møns Klint, sail a real Viking ship with the Viking Ship Museum, and so much more! READ MORE: Denmark Travel Guides 15. Italy Photo by: Shutterstock When it comes to solo travel, Italy is an outstanding destination: it’s relatively safe and plenty of sights or activities to keep you occupied for a while! One of my favorite destinations in the country is Rome and even if it’s crowded, female travelers like I do will generally feel safe while exploring key places like the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, and Roman Forum among many others! Of course, let’s not forget the other stunning cities of Florence, Venice, Naples… aaah, I can go on and on about Italy! All in all, there is just so much to see in this country, and as a solo traveler, you will be indulging in a lot of rewarding experiences. READ MORE: Italy Travel Guides 16. Czech RepubliC Photo by: Shutterstock Rates of violent crimes are low in the Czech Republic, and even most of Prague’s areas are safe to walk around even after dark. The country just so happens to be low on the list given the bad rating for its global gender gap. But as per usual, just use common sense much like how you would in any place in the world (even your home country) and you’ll be fine here as a solo female traveler. There is much to see, after all, in this amazing country: the Charles Bridge along with the grand Prague Castle, the quaint town of Český Krumlov, and many others. READ MORE: Czech Republic Travel Guides 17. Sweden Photo by: Shutterstock This Scandinavian wonder earns its place in this list of safest countries for solo female travelers due to its secure and progressive environment for women. The reason why Sweden scored lower than the other Scandinavian countries is mainly due to its low rating for non-partner and intimate partner sexual violence, as well as the global gender gap. These factors aside, Sweden is still one of the safest countries in the world and you can enjoy a number of activities, namely: chasing after Northern Lights through Lapland, hiking through the King’s Trail (Kungsleden), etc. etc. READ MORE: Sweden Travel Guides 18. Germany Photo by: Shutterstock Germany is also incredibly safe, not just for solo female travelers but also for other kinds of travelers as well. Plus, with a highly efficient rail network to take advantage of, tourists can move between central cities and most places in between with great ease! And of course, aside from being a safe country to travel to, Germany has so much to offer — from magical castles like Neuschwanstein to stunning natural sights of Zugspitze, from vibrant Oktoberfest festivities to enriching city tours, and more! READ MORE: Germany Travel Guides 19. Greece Photo by: Shutterstock With over hundreds of inhabited Greek islands, tourists are highly unlikely to experience crime or violence — even more so for women. Hence, Greece is a very safe country to travel to at any time. You might need to put more caution when traveling to more popular places like Athens, but in general, most destinations are safe with petty crime being the main crime you might have to pay heed to. But as long as you do basic precautionary measures, your trip should be smooth sailing! Speaking of sailing, apart from trying sailing trips, you should also try sailing (or flying!) to other places to experience incredible sights such as that of Santorini, Crete, and others! READ MORE: Greece Travel Guides 20. Japan Photo by: Shutterstock I gotta admit, I expected Japan to be ranked higher on this list because it’s truly one of the safest countries for solo female travelers. Case in point, I’ve been traveling to this destination solo for probably more than 15 times now; I’ve walked through tiny alleys by myself in the wee hours of the night, and yet I have never felt unsafe nor encountered dangerous individuals. So it truly came as a surprise to me to see that in the Women’s Danger Index, Japan ranked 20 out of 50. But then I realized that indeed… Japan has some problems when it comes to gender equality and attitudes toward women given that its society is still fairly misogynistic (which is deeply rooted in its old traditions and history). That aside, Japan is generally safe and it is even ranked 6th among the most peaceful countries in the world! With that in mind, it ticks all the other boxes: lively cities, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, hiking trails, and delectable cuisine. Beyond the well-known cities of Tokyo and Kyoto, don’t forget to explore its off-the-beaten-path spots too such as the Chubu region. READ MORE: Japan Travel Guides Japan Itinerary Guides – – – » Other Safe Destinations « As you may have noticed by now, the Women’s Danger Index is only limited to the top 50 most popular destinations in the world for international tourists, so there are off-the-beaten-path (yet safe) countries that this research has missed out on as well as some other key destinations, namely… 1. New Zealand I was actually surprised that this was not included in the previous top 50 list; nevertheless, New Zealand or ‘Middle Earth‘ (for Lord of the Rings fans) is the perfect destination for those who love adventure, sports, and nature. It is one of the safest countries in the world for solo female travelers and backpackers too given that it is the 2nd most peaceful country in the world according to the Global Peace Index. READ MORE: New Zealand Travel Guides 2. Australia Australia, just like New Zealand is considered one of the safest countries in for solo female travelers. The Australian metropolis even continues to hold the crown as the Most Livable City, according to the Economist Intelligent Unit. The locals are also known for their warm hospitality and good cheer that’s why a lot of solo travelers consider backpacking around the country safe. READ MORE: Australia Travel Guides 3. Iceland Iceland has some of the lowest crime rates and it’s ranked number one as the most peaceful country in the world on the Global Peace Index! The country is also one of the best destinations for solo female travelers in search of an ultimate female adventure journey (or a road trip at that!). After all, the country is a haven for travelers who love the outdoors, with numerous waterfalls to explore, glaciers to hike and geothermal spas to soak in. READ MORE: Iceland Travel Guides 4. South Korea South Korea is actually #21 on the Women’s Danger Index, so I thought that it’s worth mentioning this in this list of safest countries in the world especially because it IS safe. Much like Japan, I’ve had no problems traveling around the country as a woman; the only issue why South Korea scored low is its attitude towards women due to its society that’s similar to Japan. But don’t let this dissuade you from traveling to this amazing destination! READ MORE: South Korea Travel Guides 5. Taiwan When it comes to world standards, Taiwan’s crime rate is low; so much like its other East Asian countries, it’s a destination that is pretty much safer than many other places in the world. And as a solo female traveller, you’ll love the array of things to do in Taiwan! READ MORE: Taiwan Travel Guides 6. Finland The only explanation why this Scandinavian country is not in the top 20 is because it was not regarded as the top 50 most visited countries in the world. Nevertheless, much like its neighbors, the country is a haven for solo women travelers who are seeking for a range of exciting sights and activities! READ MORE: Finland Travel Guides 7. Philippines I’m not just saying this because of bias, but primarily because the Philippines IS a safe destination for solo girl travelers. After all, the Filipinos are probably the friendliest and most hospitable people that you’ll ever meet. Add the fact that English is one of the 2 official languages in the country, you won’t have a hard time going around the islands. Just use your best instincts and ‘street smarts’ at all time to not be targeted for petty crimes. READ MORE: Philippines Travel Guides 8. Indonesia Single travelers should never shy away from Indonesia’s charms because they hardly face any real threat or danger. A lot of solo travelers, after all, have been to this amazing country and they have all had a great time! Just don’t throw your common sense out of the window and you’ll have a smooth Indonesia trip right from day one. READ MORE: Indonesia Travel Guides 9. Thailand This is truly a favorite destination in Southeast Asia and while Thailand is generally safe, you should still be wary of your surroundings, as well as some of the cultural norms (e.g. some temples don’t allow women, you shouldn’t sit beside Buddhist monks in public transport, etc.). There’s much to be said about attitudes toward women, but still, it’s a relatively secure destination for females. READ MORE: Thailand Travel Guides 10. Namibia This has got to be the safest country for solo travelers in Africa especially since the locals are friendly and that most towns exude a safe atmosphere for tourists (the biggest danger that you might face are wild animals). Just do your research beforehand and you’ll be fine! – – – » 5 Worst Countries for Women Traveling Alone « DISCLAIMER: The countries in this list are those that ranked the poorest on the Women’s Danger Index that collects the top 50 most-visited countries worldwide. Naturally, this does NOT mean that you shouldn’t travel to these countries — in fact, it’s the opposite. . You should still go especially if you want to, BUT just take note that you must exercise caution due to the country’s bad record or attitudes toward women. If you’re still not confident, it doesn’t hurt to travel with a companion! 1. South Africa When I first visited Africa, Zambian locals expressed worry when I told them that my next solo destination was South Africa. “Are you heading alone to Johannesburg?”, they asked. When I replied ‘Cape Town‘, they breathed a sigh of relief and added, “that’s fine, just be aware of your surroundings especially since you’re alone.” I found it odd how they reacted like that, but after careful research, their reaction made sense because the country has historically treated women cruelly, not to mention the high crime rates. My trip to Cape Town went smoothly and though there were a few moments that I felt unsafe, I still thoroughly enjoyed my stay there! It might be because I spent most of my time driving around tourist areas (it’s said that most crime takes place in the townships); nevertheless, just exercise caution at all times and behave conservatively. 2. Brazil It might not be a surprise to you to see Brazil in this list of worst countries for solo female travelers because if you do a Google search, most articles won’t sugarcoat the reality that it’s a dangerous country — not only for women but for men too. It has a high rate of crime and most embassies will caution you to never walk alone at night and to never resist any robbery attempts. It’s still fine to travel alone, but if you ask me, this is not the best place to start with especially if you’re a newbie or beginner solo traveler. 3. Russia This is yet another surprising discovery when I went through the Women’s Danger Index because I have also traveled to Russia alone but I have never felt unsafe there — not even in the big cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. But indeed, that’s just my experience. Apparently, this vodka-loving destination is one of the worst when it comes to legal discrimination and general attitudes towards women. 4. Mexico Safety is, of course, never guaranteed wherever you may be in the world but some places are riskier than others. Mexico is one of those places and this may be also expected by some of you especially because it has low ratings when it comes to street safety and violence. Other solo travelers might argue otherwise and I’m a bit on the fence with that. I traveled to Cancun, Playa del Carmen, as well as Tulum in 2021 at a time when some cartel shootings just happened and there were a lot of army folks doing their rounds — it added a sense of security but it still felt unsafe at some times. My whole trip ended with no incident and I believe that some areas are safer than others (e.g. Valladolid); but I guess what I’m just trying to say is: just do your research and be cautious, and I’m sure you’ll be able to gauge your level of comfort. 5. Iran This came as yet another surprise for me because I regard Iran as one of the safest countries in the Middle East (I guess it just scores low as compared to the rest of the top 50 most-visited places worldwide). Though for you, you might have expected this because of how the media portrays this country; however, I urge you to do your own research so you can see how a lot of solo female travelers had no problems journeying through this country alone. You just need to prepare for some things first (e.g. knowing how wearing a hijab is mandatory in the country, knowing how there’s gender segregation in public, etc.) and you’ll be fine. • • • Overall Solo female travel has since become a worldwide trend and I hope that this article helped give you some ideas on the safest countries to travel to! Of course, there’s the reality that despite this assuring list, the chance of being harassed is still possible — however, this should never stop you from pursuing your travel dreams! A lot of women have gone through such adventures and YOU can too. The post 20 Safest Countries for Solo Female Travelers: The Best Trip Destinations in the World (& The 5 Worst!) appeared first on I am Aileen.

So you want to know how to start a travel blog? Here's a comprehensive and easy to follow step-by-step guide to help you start successfully!

The post How to Start a Travel Blog in 2024: Your Ultimate Guide with Easy Step-by-Step Instructions appeared first on I am Aileen.

Hey Aileen, I love your blog! I have been your follower for quite a while and you inspire me a lot! Right now, you inspired me to do one thing that I have been postponing for years and that’s how to start a travel blog or even just how to start a blog of any kind and lead a remote lifestyle like yours. . I don’t want to spend too much so I want to build everything myself… but I don’t have any know-how or web design skills. Is this still possible? – Lidia from Califorinia, USA Yes, absolutely! I get a lot of messages like this, and I get it. I really do. Being a travel blogger is an amazing profession that can enable anyone to travel the world AND even get paid for it. I’ve been doing this full-time for more than 5 years now, and sometimes, I still need to pinch myself to know that all of it is real! I’ve truly gained a lot from this travel blog: financial independence, non-stop travels to all 7 continents, notable press features, international awards, and so much more. In fact, it’s because of these achievements that it has since been my mission to help YOU experience all of these too. To date, there are a HUGE number of articles out there about how to start a travel blog and I’m sure it’s quite overwhelming for you. However, let me save you time, effort, and money with this detailed step-by-step guide that is easy to follow and easy to understand! (There’s no need to get all anxious about any technical terms and processes because I’ve got your back!). Plus, armed with my years of blogging experience and authority, as well as my past know-how of web design and development, you can definitely trust me in helping you launch the blog of your dreams from scratch! NOTE: Truth be told, this guide does not only apply to aspiring travel bloggers because the steps below can also apply to other kinds of lifestyle blogs that you might want to start: for art, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, photography, sports, tech, etc. Already Got a Blog? Check out my top blogging tips to help make your blog a constant success! READ NOW SIDE NOTE: It can be a challenge to do travel blogging if you are having a hard time figuring out how you can jumpstart a travel lifestyle. In case you have this dilemma, don’t fret! The following articles will help you travel the world: » How to Travel the World: 5 Steps to Start » Best Travel Jobs to Make Money While Traveling » How to Save Money for Travel DISCLAIMER: Some of the links mentioned on this page (such as BlueHost) are affiliate links. This means that if you click and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission in return which is at NO extra cost to you and which will also help me run this blog. . As always, however, I only recommend products and services that I trust and have personally used — and honestly, I’d still recommend them even if I’m not an affiliate! Now, without further ado, let’s start! Table of Contents Toggle Step 1: Find Your Target Audience and Specific Niche Step 2: Brainstorm a Kickass Blog (Domain) Name Step 3: Set Up Your Travel Blog’s Domain and Hosting Step 4: Install WordPress & Create Your Own Domain Email Step 5: Pick a Theme That Will Stand The Test of Time Step 6: Customize Your Blog Theme and Design Theme Colors, Logo, & Font WordPress Plugins Step 7: Set Up Your Blog’s Main Pages Step 8: Secure Social Media Handles & Start an Email List Step 9: Create Engaging Content Step 10: Monetize Your Travel Blog and Reap the Rewards! BONUS: Join My Blogging Master Class Course (SOON) Extra FAQ: About How to Start a Travel Blog Step 1: Find Your Target Audience and Specific Niche I can guess what you’re thinking… “But isn’t travel already a niche?“ Not really. It’s an industry, yes, but it is NOT a niche. In order to attract a good audience and build a relevant community from the very start, you would need to establish yourself in a more definite field of travel — a niche. Surely you can talk about travel as a whole, but as a ‘newbie’, it doesn’t help to market yourself as someone who is knowledgeable about all aspects of travel. This won’t definitely attract anyone to your website, because they can just go to bigger trusted authority websites like Lonely Planet or Nomadic Matt for travel tips. So what do you first need to do…? Place yourself in a specific niche that will help foster your growth and build your influence from the ground up. To do this, I highly recommend adopting this new concept called Blue Ocean Strategy wherein you position yourself in a ‘blue ocean’ rather than a ‘red ocean’. RED OCEAN In an existing saturated niche with lots of competition Exists in a broad spectrum Slow growth and tries to capture existing demand ↓ “A blog about traveling in a van” BLUE OCEAN In a new market with little to no competition Exists in a specific spectrum Stands out and captures new demand ↓ “A blog about traveling in a van on a budget for families in the USA” As you can see, if you’re in a ‘blue ocean’, there is a deeper potential for you to achieve rapid growth because you are targeting a distinct market space that is untainted by competition yet still filled with a lot of opportunities. So in order to arrive at your very own blue ocean, you can take out a pen and paper and start writing down some topics or styles of travel that you’re interested in — or are good at. When you’re done laying out all those ideas before you, you can now follow these 3 steps to narrow down your blue ocean: First, find a broad or common theme that you want to tackle or find a solution to in your travel blog (a target market: e.g. people looking to travel in a van) Find a subset of that theme or target market that you want to specialize in (a niche: e.g. families in the USA looking to travel in a van on a budget) This last step isn’t usually done by most but it helps to imagine the kind of ideal individual that you want to “serve” so that you have a clearer idea of the audience you want to target. To find this special profile, simply imagine an individual with clear characteristics that you want to cater to as dependent on the niche you picked from step #2 (the ideal client/reader/audience: a parent in the USA looking to bring the whole family to travel or live in a van indefinitely yet sustainably on a budget in order to avoid high house rental or mortgage costs, and maybe even find a way to make a living while doing it such as through remote travel work) . And that’s it! You’ve now pinpointed your blue ocean. Now, heed my next advice: stick to it. Why do I say this? Well, let’s say you started off with posts about budget travel for van life. After a few months, you have managed to build a community that is interested in your content — good job! But then suddenly, you release articles about luxury travel and an assortment of other topics. With this scenario, there’s a high chance that you will lose a certain chunk of your audience, and if you continue to be finicky about your topics and your expertise, you will continue to lose a number of people. Fast. So hear me out on this. Save the grand mix of travel tips/articles/guides/etc. once you get bigger with a more ‘entrenched’ audience that is interested in you as a travel blogger or personality. As an added example, let’s talk about my blog. At the very start, I positioned myself in a niche for solo travel that targets 20 to 30-something individuals (especially from third world countries) that want to learn how to travel the world. When my blog became an established authority on the web, I started to deviate from this as I shared a wider variety of travel topics — while still making my niche the core or center of it all. Other examples of niche travel blogs: The Blonde Abroad – focuses on solo female travel after quitting your 9-to-5 Travel with Bender – focuses on around-the-world family trips with kids Wandering Earl – focuses on budget travel and a permanent nomadic lifestyle The Points Guy – focuses on hacks for travel points and miles Will Travel for Vegan Food – focuses on traveling the U.S.A. as a vegan . BOTTOM LINE: When you want to know how to start a travel blog the right way, you should first be a personality or an expert in a specific sub-topic of travel with a targeted audience (i.e. your own blue ocean). If, however, you are not confident enough about your travel knowledge since you’re still new or still in the process of planning your journey, what you can do, at the very least, is to ensure that you have a unique story that will make anyone interested in following you. In a way, just put yourself in your readers’ shoes and find out what will make them tick. • • • Step 2: Brainstorm a Kickass Blog (Domain) Name “…domain whaaaaat?“ To put it into simple words, a domain name is the unique ‘address’ of your blog on the internet. For instance, this blog’s domain name is iAmAileen.com and it will remain to be my unique identifier for as long as I continue to pay an annual fee. Yes, a FEE. To be able to get these .com names, you would have to pay — rest assured, if you follow step 3 of this how to start a travel blog guide, you’ll get your domain name for FREE! So now that you are aware of the fact that a serious plan of starting a travel blog involves money (as well as hard work and dedication -wink-), if it’s just going to be a hobby or if you’re not that motivated enough to do it earnestly, you can always go for free platforms like Tumblr, WordPress.com (different from WordPress.org), and Blogspot. Just be reminded, however, that in these kinds of free-‘hosted’ blogs there are several disadvantages: They are NOT good for search engine rankings – meaning that your blog won’t be as visible on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. as compared to the ones who have domain names. You are not allowed to sell ads on your sites (this equals to NO earning opportunities for you); alternatively, these hosts can put ads on your website which is of no benefit to you. They have limited plugins and themes, or things that you need to optimize and ‘prettify’ your blog. They are not flexible. You will NEVER be in full control; also, the platform can delete your site at any time if they think it violates any of their site terms. They are not essentially ‘professional-looking’, so advertisers and brands won’t be so keen on partnering with you They take some time to type! Think: yourblogname.blogspot.com versus yourblogname.com – the second one is better, right? . This is why it helps to have your own domain name and hosting because it can offer you a lot of benefits and possibilities (for such an affordable price!) and it saves you the hassle of doing transfers in the future (from free-hosted to self-hosted). So if you’re a part of the determined ones, let’s get you started on your awesome travel blog’s domain title or name! How to properly choose a travel blog name? Come read my comprehensive guide on how YOU could come up with the best ideas on travel blog names! (Complete with step-by-step instructions, tips, ideas and examples). READ NOW When brainstorming for ideas on travel blog names, here are the top things that you should take note of: Make sure that it’s easy to remember — try to keep it short, too! Most of us have short attention spans anyway, so it’s a must to swiftly stand out from the crowd in order to be firmly remembered. Also, people want it fast and easy, that’s why it helps if your name would NOT take more than 2 seconds to type. Other things to take note of: Avoid hyphens or numbers because you risk people typing it out wrongly when they spread your blog’s name by word of mouth Avoid words that are not easily recognized or spelled by other people (especially words that are not in English, unless of course, you want to focus only on audiences in your home country) TIP: Try sharing your name with your mom or grandparents; if they’re having a hard time spelling it out, you’ll know you’re picking the wrong name Check if it’s good when combined together. For example, if you pick a name like “Speed of Art” if it’s squished up as a website URL it will look like: www.speedofart.com — you wouldn’t want that, would you? This will be the name that you will be introducing to others in the future so make sure it’s something that you like, love, and are proud of . TIP: Check out these 50 unique and unusual travel words to get some inspiration! Try to make it related to travel. Do NOT follow my example unless you’re really stubborn. (IRRELEVANT TRIVIA: I decided to stick with my blog title, ‘I am Aileen’ since I still have that *funny* lifelong goal of making ‘Aileen’ a well-known name worldwide that is not, in any way, related to the famous murderer, Aileen Wuornos.) As such, take note of these tips… Try to be unique and original. Go and play around with a combination of words. Use a thesaurus if you need to! Mix it with your name or nickname. Invent a word if you have to (but make sure it’s an easy word). Examples of unique names: Just One Way Ticket and The Planet D Avoid words like adventurous, backpacker, global, journey, nomad, or wander because they are used a LOT. They are even already taken by big travel bloggers like Adventurous Kate, Nomadic Matt, Wandering Earl, etc. so you have to steer clear of this. Why? Because you want people to recall YOU when they think of a word or phrase — surely if you go for ‘Adventurous YourName’, you’ll make other people think of the more popular one (e.g. Adventurous Kate) instead of you, and that would clearly do you no good. You can definitely go for SEO-friendly titles like ‘Solo Backpacker’, but then it’s so generic that people can easily forget your blog. . All in all, it’s important to have a travel-related name because apart from the fact that you have to market yourself as a travel blog, you also have to mind your blog’s standing on search engines and having a name that’s related to travel with your top keywords included will already help your whole site’s SEO. What is SEO? It’s short for ‘Search Engine Optimization’ and it’s an important aspect that every website owner should know of when learning how to start a travel blog. After all, knowledge of SEO will help increase the number of visitors on your site, as well as its visibility on search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. . If you want to learn more about this, you can go to Moz or SearchEngineLand given that they offer great FREE courses for SEO beginners like you! For more comprehensive courses, check Udemy. . Make it timeless; think long term! Your name will be your brand forever, so don’t tie yourself with a current trend or situation that’s bound to fade away. If you don’t intend to travel as a backpacker forever, don’t choose a name that will suggest that, or you’ll find it a bit hard to score with bigger luxurious hotels in the future. Don’t come up with something like ‘365 Days of Travel’ if you plan to keep your travel blog for more than a year. Don’t use ‘Teenage Traveler’ since, well, you are going to get old… but then again, it can be quite charming, so it’s up to you. Unless of course, you want a niche that discusses teen travel tips only for eternity to come. Consider that if you put ‘The Philippine Nomad’ they might think that you’re just concentrated on the Philippines — unless that’s what your travel blog is about. . Check its availability. Once you have a name in mind after following the aforementioned steps that I’ve stated in this guide of how to start a travel blog, it’s time to check if it’s available as a .com address. To do this, simply go to Bluehost to check. NOTE: If you still don’t have a name in mind — it’s okay! Just continue with step 3 below and decide on your blog name later! . Anyhow, if your domain name idea is still available as a domain, next, you should check if it’s available across all social media channels to also ensure that the username is not taken yet. To do this with ease, use the website KnowEm. Try Googling your name too! Use quotation marks (“your blog name“) to see if someone has already used your name phrase on another site, or if it’s related to some shady site or branding. If you’re in the USA and planning to register your blog as a business in the future, it’s a good idea to check if your name is trademarked. You can check this by going here. • • • Step 3: Set Up Your Travel Blog’s Domain and Hosting “Wait, what’s a hosting?“ A host or hosting is basically a service that you need to avail together with your domain in order to reserve your spot on the internet — it’s a place that hold’s all your blog’s data, posts, photos, and more. This means that once it’s connected with your domain name and someone types it out on their browsers, your hosting will work to quickly display your blog to whoever ‘called‘ for it. So where can you get your hosting? There are a LOT of providers out there. For example, I bet you have heard of HostGator given that it is one of the most popular hosting sites in the market. BUT heed my advice: Don’t. Get. Them. I’ve been their customer for years before and I encountered far too many problems with their hosting plans: they suspend my website for no reason and with no prior notice, the customer service takes too long to reply, live chat was almost like a ‘no chat available’ service, website loading times are slow no matter the optimizations I make, etc. It was the last straw when they suspended my account for the 3rd time! I then moved to SiteGround — and nope, this is NOT yet the hosting provider that I recommend because I’ve had bad experiences with them too. I made the error of following the advice of other bloggers to go for them; but it turns out that though SiteGround has great customer service, my site still kept crashing! For months’ end, I kept getting penalized for the high CPU usage of my site despite all the optimizations in place. In a nutshell, they just held a low capacity for the traffic I was having on a plan that was supposed to handle what it should. From then on, I made it a point to find a better host… and I gladly did! I guess it’s true that the third time is the charm because I am very contented with Bluehost! I absolutely recommend them to anyone. Why so? They offer quality hosting for a VERY affordable price. Bluehost rarely has downtimes. They have superb security protocols in place and lightning-fast loading times for websites. Not to mention that most established travel bloggers use them so they’re quite a trusted hosting network! What’s more, they are cheaper than most other popular hosting sites out there. Enjoy a 50% discount for a basic plan in Bluehost at a cost that starts at $3.95 (Php 175+) only per month! Are you excited yet? Because I am for you! They are user-friendly AND beginner-friendly. Their interface is perfect and clear. Additionally, they have a large and easy-to-understand knowledge base full of resources that can answer any question that you may have especially when you’re first learning how to start a travel blog. Otherwise… They have amazing customer service. You can just ask them anything and they will do their very best to assist you – ASAP. In fact, they are the most responsive team that I have ever encountered. They have a ’24/7 Live Chat’ feature too and I NEVER had to wait for too long. . To get started with Bluehost, simply follow the steps in the following expandable section. (To open/view, click the ‘+’ symbol below). » How to buy a domain name & hosting plan with Bluehost! #1. Go to Bluehost’s website and click the tab at the top that says Hosting, and then click Shared Hosting next. You will be seeing this section. #2. Pick the best plan as you learn how to start a travel blog! Bluehost offers Shared Web Hosting as one of their basic features and they have four (4) plans for this. Depending on your needs, you can pick: Basic – a good choice for you if you want a basic plan for one website only Plus – a great plan if you want to run multiple websites; this already includes great starter features like FREE SSL certificate, unlimited storage, and others which will greatly improve your site’s security and performance Choice Plus – a more comprehensive plan than the former but at a better price point given that it has the prime perk of having domain privacy (protecting your contact info online), security features, and site backups Pro – perfect for you if you plan to go big as a blogger while also handling multiple other sites; the biggest difference from Choice Plus on this plan is that you’ll have unlimited site backups and a dedicated IP for the best performance and site speed If you ask me, the Basic plan is great for starters so this can work just fine (after all you can always upgrade later). If you have a bigger budget, I suggest getting the Choice Plus plan like I did because not only does it have the best value for a 36-month term, but it also has the best added features that will help run your site smoothly. If you want to protect your contact information online, its domain privacy feature is great too! If you ever grow way bigger in the future, you can always upgrade to the Dedicated Hosting plans or VPS Hosting plans that Bluehost has! Once you decide on the plan that you want, click the corresponding button: “Select”. . #3. Time to register your FREE domain name! First, make sure that you are registering it under “Create a new domain”. Type in your blog name without spaces, and in the dropdown beside it, ensure that you have selected .com. (You can definitely select the other extensions like .info, .net, etc. but I always recommend that you use a .com.) Now click “Next”. NOTE: If you already have a domain name registered elsewhere or if you already have an existing website, just register it under “Use a domain you own”. Transferring it to Bluehost is FREE and easy once you sign up with them. . Otherwise, if you still haven’t come up with a domain name, you can just click the text that says “I’ll create my domain later“. #4. Once it is confirmed that your choice of domain name is available, the next page will be the billing section. Simply fill the boxes with your information under Account Information. Next, under Package Information, take note of the dropdown for ‘Account Plan’ that lists possible period plans. If you have the extra money to spend, I suggest that you go for the 36-month package option in the dropdown selection because it’s the maximum plan that offers a great-for-value discounted monthly rate. However, if you can’t afford the total bill for a 36-month, the 12-month option should be fine for a start. FYI: This is a common discount style across all hosting providers if you research how to start a travel blog. The difference is that with Bluehost, it already gives a huge standardized discount for any length of period, whereas other providers only put a huge discount if you pick the longest period. For Package Extras, if it’s not included in the plan you picked, the only extra I recommend that you purchase would be the ‘Domain Privacy + Protection’, since like I mentioned previously, it protects your private info from being looked up by anyone on the web (specifically your name and address that you had input in the Account Information section). Don’t also forget to check the ‘1 Microsoft 365 Mailbox – 30 Day Free Trial’ since it’s included FREE. NOTE: Sometimes, depending on the country you’re in, there could be an additional tax cost added to the total amount. Most countries don’t charge on hosting but there are some who do and it should be no more than $25. Once you’ve decided on the extras that you’d like to avail, proceed to fill up your credit card information under Payment Information. Once that’s processed, you now have your hosting account set up! Just follow the next on-screen instructions to create a password and then we’re on to the next step where I will teach you how to put up your blog through a self-hosted WordPress site. NOTE: If you have set up a blog before in Blogspot/Blogger or WordPress.com, Bluehost can easily import your posts for you to your new WordPress.org blog so no worries there! Just contact them about it. • • • Step 4: Install WordPress & Create Your Own Domain Email “Is there a difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?” Yes! In a nutshell, both are FREE BUT WordPress.org is the best platform to use when running a self-hosted blog (refer to step 2 of this how to start a travel blog guide as to why a WordPress.com-run site is NOT ideal). There are other blog platforms like Wix or Squarespace that other bloggers use — however, I do NOT recommend these. They are not as flexible, not to mention, you have to pay a fee in order to use them! WordPress.org, on the other hand, is FREE forever and used by many (most people who used Squarespace, for example, transitioned to WordPress eventually). In fact, WordPress.org is used by big websites like BBC, CNN, and New York Times! All you need to have in order to install and run it is a domain name and hosting — which you now have after registering with Bluehost. Truth be told, Bluehost automatically installs WordPress.org when you signed up with them as your web host — so yes, you don’t need to do anything anymore. It’s that easy! (To access your WordPress.org dashboard, the URL usually looks like this: yourblogname.com/wp-admin/. These details will be sent to you via email by Bluehost, so don’t worry!) WordPress is pretty straightforward and easy to use, but if you need guides on how to use and navigate yourself through the pages of the interface, you can always check out FirstSiteGuide’s tutorial or read through WordPress.org itself. . You can also check out Bluehost’s WordPress guide. Or if in doubt, feel free to strike up a conversation with their customer service team through their chat feature! BONUS: In order to help you look like a professional and serious travel blogger, you would need your own .com email and it’s pretty easy to set that up with Bluehost. Simply follow the steps mentioned in Bluehost’s Email Management guide. • • • Step 5: Pick a Theme That Will Stand The Test of Time “What’s a theme?” A theme is basically the design and layout of your WordPress.org site! In case you missed it during the sign-up process with Bluehost, there is a page where you can get to choose a theme for your site for FREE! The awesome thing about this is that you don’t really need to know HTML and CSS coding in order to come up with a nice website design because these themes already have set templates that you can easily edit. To install a theme for your site, here’s what the page would look like on Bluehost. (To open/view the section below, click the ‘+’ symbol). » How to install a theme easily! #1. In the next pages, just click Log-in by entering the password you previously set up. This will lead you to the page below that lets you choose a design theme for your site for FREE. If you’re not sure about the design choices below, do NOT worry because you can change this later on! Aaaand woop, congratulations! You now have your .com travel blog up and running! Watch out for the email from Bluehost that will remind you of the details of your account as well as your username and password for your WordPress.org site. #2. If in case you missed this page, you can easily set up themes from your WordPress.org dashboard itself. To do so… – Go to your WordPress dashboard (usually the URL looks like this: yourblogname.com/wp-admin/). – Hover over the “Appearance” on the left sidebar and click “Themes“ – Hover over the theme you like (e.g. Twenty Twenty-One) and click “Activate” to make the theme the new design of your site! – To look over other FREE themes, simply click “Add New Theme“ . — and that’s it. Your site should have a better look and feel now! …Though if I may share a pro tip when learning how to start a travel blog, even though you can change your theme afterward, it’s a good idea to plan your long-term “branding” as early as now and choose a theme that you will likely stick to for years to come. I say this because most website nowadays use a thing called ‘shortcode’ and if you change themes, your site and posts may end up breaking — thus requiring you to do a lot of work to update those shortcodes once you decide to switch themes. . “So should I get a FREE theme or a paid theme?” There’s nothing wrong with choosing a free theme for your blog because most starting bloggers start with a free theme after they learned how to start a travel blog; and then, later on, buy a paid theme. But hear me out: the big disadvantage that I see in using a free theme is the (annoying) limitation on its editing capabilities and design layouts. Not to mention that since they are free themes, the developers or the people who created those themes will NOT bother to update them — so if let’s say WordPress.org makes a huge update for security and other capabilities, your theme will end up incompatible with this update! With all that said, if you want to save time and avoid future headaches, I suggest investing in a paid premium theme (usually starts at $30) that is: Regularly updated by its developer(s) Offers comprehensive guides and customer support Tablet and mobile-responsive . My site currently uses the Divi theme from Elegant Themes. I have used a different theme before this one — BUT I wished I used Divi at the very start because it is such an amazing theme with so many capabilities! You can search through Google yourself and you will see the positive reviews and praises for Divi. Besides, it is currently the most popular WordPress theme in the market given its long track record and performance. PLUS: the biggest advantage to it…? “Divi is a website building framework that makes it possible to design beautiful websites without ever touching a single line of code and without installing and configuring dozens of disjointed plugins. . It can be enjoyed by design professionals and newcomers alike, giving anyone the power to create spectacular designs with surprising ease and efficiency.” So yes, it’s the perfect theme for newbies like you who have no background in HTML or CSS coding, thereby saving you money from hiring an expensive web designer! Anyhow, if you want to explore different options, below are some of the other top websites when shopping for paid or premium themes: Creative Market: An amazing community of designers offering affordable premium themes Theme Forest (or Envato): One of the biggest marketplaces for WordPress themes • • • Step 6: Customize Your Blog Theme and Design “What else do I need to consider for branding?” Theme You will now need to edit the theme that you installed so that it matches the kind of ‘look‘ that you’d want your travel blog and pages to have. To customize your themes, most paid or premium themes will have a guidebook or list of tutorials. It’s important to read this first so that you don’t get lost when you start to do further customizations. The Divi theme I use, for example, has a ton of resources that will help guide you in customizing your WordPress blog, and it’s very helpful! If, however, you are pressed on time, you can always get a web designer to do it all for you. For this, you can check out Upwork and Fiverr for affordable yet talented freelancers to hire. . Colors, Logo, & Font The next step is to further customize the tone or feel of your website — e.g. do you want it to feel professional or fun, etc. To do this, first, it helps to determine your travel blog’s color palette. Limit this to two or three colors only and make sure that they are NOT colors that hurt the eyes when viewed on the screen (e.g. bright neon pink, etc.). It’s important to determine this since it will be helpful when creating your logo, as well as in sectioning text headings for your posts and pages. Once you decide on your colors, proceed to create your blog/brand identifier or your logo. If you want to create one by yourself, there are three ways to do it: Start learning Adobe Photoshop – for creating or editing graphics, it’s helpful to learn it as early as now so you can create your own — which you’ll be doing LOTS of as you run your blog (the only downside is that it could be time-consuming to learn everything) Use Canva – a great platform for designing and creating graphics even if you’re a total beginner (given that they already have set templates, etc.) Buy from Creative Market – choose from a huge number of premade logo templates that you can easily edit (some will use Canva but some might need to be edited on Photoshop) Or do you want another person’s help? I’m a graphic designer myself, so I can help you out when I have the time. Otherwise, like I previously mentioned, you can refer to websites like Fiverr that can offer a graphic service for as low as $5. There are some bad designers but there are good ones too, and it’s easy to weed out the ones that don’t give quality work if you read the reviews. If you want higher quality work but don’t mind the price, you can post your job requirement to Upwork or 99 Designs. Afterward, still in line with your design branding, (if it’s not already provided from a premade one) find a font to use for your logo and even for some text headings. Try to minimize this to two at most, and you can buy these typefaces from Creative Market or Envato. . WordPress Plugins This is one of the reasons why I love WordPress.org: their plugins. You can think of these as like apps that help improve your site. After all, most themes don’t have ALL the capabilities or customizations that you need so you’ll definitely be needing some plugins! But actually, with Divi, I don’t have this problem because it’s such an amazing theme. Hence, I don’t have a lot of plugins installed — which is great because, in order for your travel blog to load fast, you need to have a few plugins installed. Therefore, when learning how to start a travel blog properly, here are the essential plugins that you need to have which you can easily add to your blog by going to your Dashboard: click ‘Plugins > Add New‘. In the search box, type the plugin names below and click ‘Install‘ as needed (otherwise, if it’s a file, just upload the .zip folder after clicking ‘Upload Plugin‘ on the ‘Add New’ page). Akismet – to protect your website from spam comments made by bots and spammers. Yoast SEO – to help optimize your blog’s ranking for Google. If you ever need help, the creator’s website has several tutorials that can help you manage your SEO better. Google Analytics – to track the growth of your blog. This is an important thing for you to set up! Google Analytics (GA) is a powerful tool that helps measure and analyze your blog’s traffic and in the future, advertisers would need data from this platform. So first, you need to register with GA and then install this plugin to easily integrate GA’s tracking on your website. WP Rocket – to speed up your website and help it rank better on Google. There are a lot of ‘caching’ plugins out there but this is the best on the market. This involves a lot of technical jargon (which I will explain in more detail in my other posts as well as in my Blogging Master Class) but it’s an essential plugin that you need to have especially since Google now takes into account fast page load times for ranking. WordFence – to help secure your website from hackers and malware. It has a FREE and paid version and the free version is enough to start with. TIP: Not exactly a plug-in but it helps to install the Grammarly Chrome extension so that it can capture any embarrassing typos and grammatical errors in all your posts and pages! • • • Step 7: Set Up Your Blog’s Main Pages “What are the main travel blog pages?” When learning how to start a travel blog, don’t confuse WordPress pages with posts. These are both content types but the difference is that pages are the main sections of your site (e.g. about page, blog page, contact page, etc.), whereas posts are the blog articles that are arranged chronologically and by category. For this section, you need to organize the pages of your blog in order to improve the navigation and user experience. To come up with ideas on the best pages that you need to have, you can try looking at your favorite websites and gather some ideas. As a start, below are the basic pages that you need to have: About – to introduce yourself. Make it engaging and informative in order to make people want to follow you. Blog – to show a summary of all your latest posts. Contact – to enable people or even brands to reach you. Privacy Policy – to protect your rights and affirm your protection from any liabilities as an online blogger (there are websites like Termly that can help generate a blog disclaimer for you) Others – as you grow, you might need other pages like what my blog has (example: FAQ, Press, Travel Tips, Destinations, etc.) and it’s totally up to you if you want these or not. You can get some helpful ideas from my pages but please refrain from copying the layout and design wholly. . Once you have these pages set up, don’t forget to organize them on your menu bar so that your readers can easily navigate through the sections of your site. To customize, just go to your Dashboard and click on ‘Appearance > Menus‘. Other sections that you can customize are the following… Footer. This is the bottom part of your page and you can do whatever you want for this. Some people simply leave it blank, while others include their social media links, email list sign-ups, etc. Sidebar. Typically appears beside your blog posts/articles so that you can remind your readers about important parts of your blog — it’s also great for promotions (e.g. advertisements). To control the contents that will show here, you just have to access your widgets section at Appearance > Widgets. For this, you can put your: About – Make it brief or catchy, and then include your photo along with a link that leads to your about page. Social Links – Promote your social media accounts! You can choose to show big boxes like this one by Facebook or you can use icons that would link to your account by using a plugin like this. Newsletter – Encourage people to subscribe to your updates and retain an active community, this can be made possible if you create email lists from websites like MailChimp or Convertkit (which I personally use if you want to scale and earn from your email list). After registration, these websites also have plug-in widgets that you can easily include on your sidebar. Popular Posts – to help direct your readers to your other articles, download this plugin, and display its widget. • • • Step 8: Secure Social Media Handles & Start an Email List This is a vital step when learning how to start a travel blog! Sure, your blog can grow by itself with the right SEO tactics… BUT if you want to amplify that growth, you must do promotions and start being ‘social‘ online and establish your web presence. So with your blog name, quickly register on the big social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. TIP: Keep the usernames the same as your domain name with no added dots, underscores or hyphens. I made you check this beforehand in step #1 because it’s definitely easier for your current and potential followers to find your linked social profiles with just a quick recall of your name. . Don’t follow my example… I happened to be too late on the Instagram hype that by the time I registered, someone already had my username ‘iAmAileen’ so I ended up going for i_am_aileen — which is a hassle to type with the extra underscores! “Now that I have “parked” myself in these social media accounts, does this mean that I need to be active on ALL platforms at once?” Not at all! Because if you do, you’ll most likely waste so much effort and time juggling too many platforms at once. While you’re still starting on learning how to start a travel blog, it’s important to put all your efforts in one or two social media platforms at first. To determine which social media channel to use… Find your strength. Are you skilled in creating photos? If yes, Instagram and Pinterest could be your bread and butter. Or are you rather into videos? Focus on YouTube or Tiktok for now. Do you like to talk instead and conduct interviews? Podcasts could be the option for you by signing up on Spotify or promoting it via Facebook or Instagram LIVE/Reels. If I may add another tip, I recommend including Pinterest in your strategy because it can drive crazy traffic to your blog! A tool I personally use to schedule posts or pins is Tailwind (sign up with this link and you can earn a FREE month of use!). Find where your audience is at. As a starter blogger, it will be hard at first to find this — but there are ways! Other than observing your competition, you can also create a simple survey for your readers to ask what platform they typically use. . “What is an email list?” An email list collects the names and email addresses of people who gave you permission to send them updates of your blog. For them to sign-up to this list, you can create a newsletter through websites like MailChimp or Convertkit which both come FREE with a maximum number of 2,000 subscribers — a pretty good deal! It is important to have an email list when learning how to start a travel blog because though there are social media channels, a majority of people still use emails and prefer to be notified through it. For this reason, you should take the chance and create one! Besides, it will help a lot in the future whenever you have giveaways, contests, or products to promote since you can also track email opens, conversions, and more! Plus, with Convertkit, you could even scale and do email automation to better increase your chances of earning more blog money through the promotion of your articles or affiliate links. Got more than 2,000 subscribers? Convertkit is a LOT cheaper than Mailchimp if you want to upgrade. You could even get a 30-day free trial before doing the monthly payments. Another alternative is Aweber. • • • Step 9: Create Engaging Content “How can I create content that stands out from the rest?” Some factors to consider as you learn how to start a travel blog and promote it… First, create pillar categories and posts. It’s important to brainstorm about the main topics that you plan to discuss in your blog in order to come up with about 3 parent categories that you will use for all of your blog posts (e.g. a parent category of ‘Destinations’ and its sub-categories are the continents). After you set this up, it’s helpful to come up with ‘cornerstone’ main blog posts for each of these parent categories in order to further develop your website’s SEO, and then creating several sub-posts that link back to ‘support’ these main blog posts. (I will discuss this in more detail on my Blogging Master Class course). . Learn basic SEO. I’ve already mentioned and explained SEO in the previous sections of this how to start a travel blog guide and I cannot stress enough how important it is! So please take the time to learn this either by reading through Yoast’s guides or by learning through comprehensive SEO courses. EXAMPLE: If you apply SEO properly, you can take the first spot on Google searches. For instance, if you type “unusual travel words” on the search bar, you will find that my post is ranked first. . Create original and engaging content as per a content schedule. It always helps to plan ahead and set out a posting schedule that you can stick to. After all, it does not only keep your readers updated but it also helps your rank on Google (as it will notify the algorithm that you are someone who is ‘current’ and posts regularly). I recommend posting at least 3 times a week; but eventually, you will get a feel of the number of times that you have to update as well as the best days to post so this frequency can go higher or lower (you can refer to your Google Analytics data for this). For instance, some bloggers have marketed themselves as Thursdays-only and that is quite a clever way to keep your readers coming back on a certain day. TIP: If you’re running out of ideas on what to post, other than observing the competition, make sure to look at trends. The website AnswerThePublic is also great for finding topic ideas after typing in a certain keyword. Quality is ALWAYS better than quantity. Tons of content won’t matter at all if they’re not well-written, SEO-optimized, nor meaningful. So how can you make great content after you learn how to start a travel blog? Through practice and research. ~ Keep writing and learning – you’ll eventually find your own blogging style and voice ~ Ask other people’s opinion before posting – it can be family or friends ~ Try to see what the other big bloggers are doing – do NOT copy or plagiarize, just draw inspiration from them! Ultimately, just tackle the topics that you would personally want to read or know about if you were to place yourself in the shoes of your readers. . Get visual. Use attractive visuals to further attract attention — most especially when posting on Instagram and pinning on Pinterest. Other than working on your photography skills, you can get stock photos from Shutterstock or Unsplash. . Promote your content through social media. It helps to create a schedule or checklist so you are focused on the social media sharing that you have to do after every new blog post (Later, for example, is a great Instagram scheduling tool). You can even try approaching big Facebook travel pages to see if they are open to allowing you to promote your posts. If you join the right online communities too, you can even meet fellow bloggers who are willing to collaborate or even cross-promote! READ: Best Facebook Groups Travelers & Travel Bloggers Remember that success through your content won’t happen overnight. After you learn how to start a travel blog, it will take time and you need to have patience before you can see significant change. Like most success stories, you must have the commitment and drive to stay dedicated to your cause. Day by day, it really involves a certain degree of hard work and if you can find a balanced system for improving your blog, the results can be very rewarding. . BONUS TIP. Try creating content for bigger websites to gain exposure and link backs to your website. Other than tapping bigger travel bloggers if they’re interested in guest posts, you can also consider submitting content to bigger websites like Thought Catalog, Matador Network or Huffington Post. Trust me on this one: if you become very active in pitching your unique story or experience to big websites like these, you will easily skyrocket to online fame! (It helps your SEO too!) To search for more websites that are open to article submissions, just search for them through Google. Be mindful though that there are websites that can be tough to ‘get into’ but it’s always worth a try to get your name or face out there. • • • Step 10: Monetize Your Travel Blog and Reap the Rewards! “I want to earn money after I learn how to start a travel blog! But just how exactly?” Obviously, one of the best things about owning a travel blog is the numerous opportunities or ways for making money — and remotely at that! I first started this blog as a hobby; but after redefining my brand and streamlining my strategies, it is now generating me a 6-figure income passively… and yes, you can do this too! However, it helps to note that since you’re still starting, it will take some time before you gain traction, authority and traffic. Still, It doesn’t hurt to start early and one of the best ways to get money as a newbie is through: Affiliate Sales. This allows you to earn a commission if your reader chooses to purchase another brand’s products or services through your specialized links — and it’s at no added cost to them!. Since your blog is about travel, try signing up for related companies or affiliate networks namely… Individual Companies Agoda Booking.com Amazon Affiliate Networks AWIN ShareASale CJ TIP: Since you just started to learn how to start a travel blog, please don’t go overboard in monetizing your blog, or else, some of your readers will be put off by let’s say, the gazillion of advertisements that you will be putting up on your site. What can you do then? Take it slow, be picky, and only put up the kind of ads that can best fit your audience. . Other ways. Over time, once you have enough posts, start to get a bit of decent traffic, and have established authority, you can start to do the following: Earn through Google AdSense for pay per clicks or Mediavine (minimum of 50,000 pageviews) or AdThrive (minimum of 100,000 pageviews) for pay per views — basically, earn through advertisements! NOTE: If you focus on doing travel vlogs (video blogging), YouTube’s partner program works alongside Google AdSense for monetization, so make sure that you enable that. Sell your own ad space on your travel blog Sell eBooks, consultation/coaching, or other digital products and services Sell your services for social media promotions Do sponsored posts or paid reviews (on products, services, etc.) Partner with brands for paid collaborations, etc. . Regarding the last bullet, once you have earned a good amount of readership (as evidenced by your website’s stats and following) you can use this data to pitch your blog’s influence to tourism boards, hotels, brands and airlines in order to get paid projects. Be aware though that this can be very tough and that more often than not, you will receive a reply that basically says NO to your proposition — but hey, what will you lose by that? Nothing! You’ll just feel that tiny pang of disappointment that they didn’t like you… and well, you can handle that, right? Besides, even if they say ‘no’ at first, you’re free to re-try again after you grow your blog further and make your pitch better (find out what they’re looking for, state what you can offer in return, etc.) There is no magic number to knowing how big you have to be in order to be eligible enough to pitch with brands; but surely, monthly visits of 1,000 and a total of 100 social media followers won’t do the trick. . Anyhow, what’s important in order to ace a partnership or sponsorship is to show that you are bringing in VALUE — that you have an engaged audience, and that you have a blog that is fit for the brand’s needs. . Here are some tips when contacting brands: Sign up for the Gmail extension: Mailtrack! This notifies you whenever someone opens or clicks on a link on your email, and that helps a lot for tracking. For one thing, it will aid you in estimating the time that you can send another email follow-up. (For example, since you clearly know that they opened your email, you can try following up 3 days after they opened it; otherwise, if they haven’t opened it at all, a good rule is to follow up after a week the first time you sent it with a max number of follow-ups at 3). Do your own research. Find the appropriate marketing or press contact on the website (you can also use a Google Chrome plug-in like Hunter). If you can’t find the right address, simply contact the generic address on the website to ask for the correct email that you can send your message to (or send them a message via their social media page). You can also simply write your proposal and ask them to forward it to the right person. Target brands that are evidently concerned about social media. It helps to partner with brands that are active on social media or that have partnered with bloggers before. This gives you the assurance that they are interested in growing their online reach (which you can try and help them with). Be convincing, direct, and honest. Be clear about your request right from the subject and first sentence of your email. Assure them on how you can grow their customer base or online exposure. It’s basically about HOW you can help them, and not about how they can help you. If you have a unique campaign that you think you can tailor well to their product/service, then don’t be afraid to pitch it! If I may add, it also helps to have a media kit to quickly show your website’s stats. (See media kit examples here). If you’re not good with Photoshop, try out Canva.com which is very easy to use even if you’re not good with graphic design. NOTE: Don’t go crazy! Don’t pitch to every company that you know of. You still have to make sure that the company that you are trying to partner with is relevant to your blog. • • • BONUS: Join My Blogging Master Class Course (SOON) Are you looking for more in-depth advice and tricks on how to start a travel blog? Do you want a detailed discussion about my best-kept secrets and tools for growing a blog and generating a HUGE passive income? . With my upcoming Blogging Master Class, you will gain comprehensive insights that will answer these two questions above — and more! Extra FAQ: About How to Start a Travel Blog There are already TOO many travel blogs out there! Should I still learn how to start a travel blog in 2024? I had this same bleak thought back in 2014, but I’m glad I pushed through — today, I am passively earning a 6-figure income from this blog alone, so you can just imagine how much I would have missed if I refrained from building a blog! The way I see this, there will always be saturated markets BUT it doesn’t mean that an opportunity does NOT exist in it. Because there is, there always will be. You just gotta dig deep. In fact, there are a lot of readers who have jumpstarted their blogs despite their fears by following my ultimate guide here, and by now, they have tripled their traffic and have even started doing paid projects! Bottom line: if you work hard yet smart, you can still achieve great results despite a crowded blogging scene. How to start a travel blog without traveling? In some way, it might be hard to establish yourself as a trusted personality if you don’t really travel at all — BUT, it is still and always possible to succeed as a travel blog if you don’t travel at all! How? Well, it all lies in having SEO-driven content and strategic positioning. I know a couple of blogs who are ‘generic‘ with not even a face behind them, and yet they have managed to rank high on Google. How? Mainly by targeting a specific niche and applying the right strategies for SEO and promotions. They also know the latest trending topics to take advantage of! Some bloggers even take on guest posts from people who actually travel. In short: yes, there are ways so it’s absolutely possible. How do blogs make money? Through a LOT of means. The top three things would have to be through affiliate earnings, advertisements, and paid partnerships. The icing to the cake? These can all be earned passively and I’ll teach you how in my other blogging tips posts. Any final tip to share when starting a blog? Anybody can learn how to start a successful travel blog — but not everyone can maintain it. This is why I think it’s absolutely important that you love and are highly interested in starting one. Why? Because it involves a lot of work and if you don’t find enjoyment or any sense of accomplishment in it, you might just break. After all, not a lot of people seem to realize that a blogger is typically juggling all sorts of tasks at once: being the writer, copywriter, researcher, photographer, videographer, editor, designer, developer, model, manager, promoter, and SEO specialist among many others. As such, if you don’t like the hustle, you really won’t last long in this industry. For instance, I personally don’t enjoy the process of promoting on social media as well as the act of editing photos/videos. The thought of it bores me… but when I think of my passion for traveling, for connecting with my community, and for sharing my stories as well as tips/hacks, I eventually find the joy in the challenge of managing it all, as well as in keeping up with the trends. I think in some way, I even think of it as a game wherein I “level up” each time I get over a hurdle that brings out the lethargic side of me. That’s why in the end, I think this is why I have lasted in this industry — and I’m sure you will too. • • • Overall I tried my best to be as detailed as I could in this and I dearly hope that this helps you learn how to start a travel blog successfully. Good luck! P.S. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions about how to start a travel blog. I would love to help you out! See the top must-haves you’ll need in travel blogging for beginners. Otherwise, you can check here for the rest of my top blogging tips. The post How to Start a Travel Blog in 2024: Your Ultimate Guide with Easy Step-by-Step Instructions appeared first on I am Aileen.

Running out of gift ideas? Not enough time to go shopping? Here are the top 20 online shopping sites in the Philippines to help you out!

The post Top 20 Philippine Online Shopping Sites for Gift Ideas & More appeared first on I am Aileen.

Anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, weddings — these are just a few of the various events in a year that warrants a gift-giving spree. Now, if you’re like me, these occasions are always a struggle because it’s difficult to think of great gift ideas; it’s even often tough to research for the right online shopping sites that will save me the time and effort. Of course, I realize the fact that it could be rather easy when the person you’re gifting has a strong interest in specific brands, shows, and some others — but then again, it can still be a daunting task to think of what to give them! Thankfully, experience has honed me for these situations and I have finally compiled the following list of the top online shopping sites in the Philippines… …to help you discover gift ideas …to help save you time …to save on ridiculous international shipping costs (if you’re living abroad) Don’t forget to shop on these online shopping sites during the hottest sales events! Apart from the well-known Black Friday (November 24) and Cyber Monday (December 2), Philippine merchants regularly hold sales too on double-digit dates such as 9.9 (September 9), 10.10 (October 10), 11.11 (November 11), and 12.12 (December 12). ~ Top photo from Shutterstock RELATED READ: 30 Local PH Brands for Christmas Gift Ideas RELATED READ: 25 Top Grocery Delivery Sites & Apps in Manila Table of Contents Toggle General Marketplaces Lazada Shopee Likhaan Deals & Coupons MetroDeal DealGrocer Gadgets & Tech Kimstore Henry’s Camera Poundit argomall CD-R King Globe Beauty & Fashion Zalora BeautyMNL Sephora Food & Groceries MetroMart SM Markets Online Food Panda For Kids & Families Milk & Honey Baby Store PH General Marketplaces Lazada » LINK: Lazada.com.ph Similar to Amazon given that it offers a vast range of local and international products to make shopping effortless and hassle-free right in your home! Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, Credit & Debit, PayPal, e-Wallet | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep and Pick-up . Shopee » LINK: Shopee.ph With its customer-centric platform: a lot of the buyers and sellers are more responsive, with items having more reviews. Payment Options: ATM + Online transfers, Bill Payment + Remittance centers, Cash on Delivery, Credit + Debit Cards, GCash, Over the counter bank payments, Shopee Wallet | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . Likhaan » LINK: Likhaan With a mission of bridging Filipino creators to the world, this new marketplace collects all handmade works of art — from paintings to home decor, furniture, clothing, jewelry, and more! Payment Options: Credit + Debit Cards, GCash, PayPal | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . – – – Deals & Coupons MetroDeal » LINK: MetroDeal.com Save up to 90% when you grab deals on this website that applies to restaurants, hotels, spas, travel, shopping and more! Payment Options: Credit Card, PayPal, Online Banking, Over the Counter / ATM Banking, Payments + Remittance Centers | Shipping Method: Electronic vouchers . DealGrocer » LINK: DealGrocer.com If you’re looking for more premium or exclusive deals and packages, DealGrocer should be your go-to website! Payment Options: Bank Deposit, Cash on Delivery, Credit + Debit Cards, Remittance centers, GCash, PayPal | Shipping Method: Electronic vouchers . – – – Gadgets & Tech Kimstore » LINK: KimStore.com If you’re looking for unbeatable prices, this site is a favorite among locals when shopping for affordable tech and gadgets! Payment Options: Bank Deposit, Remittance Centers, Cash on Delivery, Credit Card | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep and Pick-ups . Henry’s Camera » LINK: HenrysCameraPhoto.com Famous for its rock-bottom prices on camera gear, it’s great that they finally have an online portal for online shopping! Payment Options: Credit + Debit Cards, Pesopay, Bank Deposit, Mobile Banking, Dragonpay, Cash on Delivery | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . Poundit » LINK: Poundit.com Offers a wide selection of authentic gadgets and accessories from brands like Apple, Samsung, JBL, etc. Payment Options: Bank Deposit, Bills Payment + Remittance Centers, Cash on Delivery, Credit Card, GCash, Online Banking, PayPal | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . argomall » LINK: argomall.com One of the great online shopping sites for tech gadgets, it’s good practice to check this too when comparing prices. Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, Credit Installments, Dragonpay, Credit Card, PayPal | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . CD-R King » LINK: CDRKing Yet another local favorite when it comes to cheap gadgets and hardware. It even has FREE delivery within Manila! Payment Options: Cash on delivery, Credit + Debit Cards, PayPal | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . Globe » LINK: Shop.Globe.com.ph To widen your choices and your canvassing spree, Globe also has an amazing online shop. Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, Credit + Debit Cards, GCash | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep and Pick-ups . – – – Beauty & Fashion Looking to buy original/authentic Korean skincare and beauty products straight from Seoul? Check by the Althea online site! Purchasing through this link also gives you a Php100 coupon, so go and take advantage of it. Meanwhile, from my experience, shipping is also fast and efficient so they are quite reliable. SHOP NOW SHEIN » LINK: Shein.com After years of trial and error, this is one of the best international sites for clothes that ships fast to PH and at no extra cost. Another alternative would be YesStyle. Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, Credit + Debit Cards, PayPal | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . Zalora » LINK: Zalora.com.ph Shopping for imported and local branded clothes is now made easier thanks to Zalora! Most of the time, you’ll also find great finds here that are normally not in our local stores. Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, Credit + Debit Cards, PayPal | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep and Pick-ups at select 7-Eleven branches . BeautyMNL » LINK: BeautyMNL.com This is arguably the top go-to website when shopping for local + international makeup brands, hair, and skin beauty products! (Alternative: Look at Me) Payment Options: PayPal, Bank Deposit, Online + Mobile Transfers, Cash on Delivery | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . Sephora » LINK: Sephora.ph This is one of the popular chain on personal care and beauty, and YES — it’s now in the Philippines for ease of shopping on those coveted cosmetics and whatnot! Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, PayPal, Credit + Debit Cards | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . BONUS: If you’re looking for local fashion online shops, I would highly recommend the following… Apartment 8 Clothing Seek the Uniq Anthill Fabric Rags2Riches – – – Food & Groceries RELATED ARTICLE: Top Online Grocery Delivery Sites & Apps (Metro Manila) READ NOW MetroMart » LINK: MetroMart.com Ever since HonestBee’s disappearance, this has become the #1 online grocery shopping store! It sure saves us the time and the effort. Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, Credit Card | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . SM Markets Online » LINK: Shop.SMMarkets.ph Who doesn’t know SM and their range of affordable selections? Now with their mobile platform, ordering from their supermarket is easy! Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, Credit + Debit Cards | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep and Pick-ups . Food Panda » LINK: FoodPanda.ph With select top restaurants all over Manila, you can directly order your food (or feast) online and have it delivered to your address within the hour! (Another option is of course, GrabFood.) Payment Options: Cash on Delivery, PayPal, Credit + Debit Cards | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . – – – For Kids & Families Milk & Honey » LINK: MilkAndHoney.ph Biggest online shop founded for moms and moms-to-be with a plentiful and abundant selection of pregnancy and breastfeeding products. Payment Options: Bank Deposit, Cheques, M Lhuillier, PayPal, Credit + Debit Cards | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . Baby Store PH » LINK: BabyStorePH.com Selling authentic and high quality baby items of sorts, this has got to be one of the best baby onling shopping sites in the Philippines! Payment Options: PayPal, Remittance Centers, Bank Transfer/Deposit | Shipping Method: Directly at your doorstep . BONUS: Other amazing online shops for baby items… Modern Mama Tots and Toddlers Baby Outlet Baby Care Baby Steps Zuri Baby Couture • • • Overall These are just some of the many online shops in the Philippines that you can look into for gifts and trinkets. I’ve tried shopping with most of them and have trusted them; so, I hope that in turn, you get to enjoy them too! The post Top 20 Philippine Online Shopping Sites for Gift Ideas & More appeared first on I am Aileen.

Don't get swept away with the thrill of your travels — make sure to follow these top tips to stay safe online while traveling!

The post Top Tips to Stay Safe Online While Traveling appeared first on I am Aileen.

Traveling is one of those activities that offers a unique sense of freedom and adventure — and it can easily captivate the hearts of many, especially young explorers. The excitement of exploring new places, immersing oneself in diverse cultures, and broadening horizons makes travel an exhilarating experience. Solo travelers, in particular, can even find deeper meaning in their journeys, embracing independence and self-discovery. (Tips to Stay Safe Online) So whether one is navigating bustling city streets, venturing into remote landscapes, or savoring local cuisines, the allure of travel knows no bounds! Yet, amid this excitement, it’s essential to prioritize safety to guarantee a memorable and hassle-free journey. Here are some essential tips to stay safe online during your travels. Table of Contents Toggle Common Cyberthreats Faced by Travelers Practical Tips to Stay Safe Online and Offline The Importance of Staying Safe Abroad Safety should always be a top priority, regardless of the destination. Whether traveling solo or with companions, unfamiliar surroundings can always pose risks. As such, from physical safety concerns to safeguarding personal data online, vigilance is always key. And while digital connectivity has enhanced travel convenience, it has also introduced cyber security challenges. Therefore, protecting your well-being involves more than just physical safety—it also includes staying secure online to prevent potential threats to your personal information. – – – Common Cyberthreats Faced by Travelers Public Wi-Fi Vulnerabilities: Free Wi-Fi hotspots in airports, cafes, and hotels offer convenience but can also pose risks. Recent research has shown that these networks often have weak security measures, leaving users vulnerable to data interception by hackers. So, in order to protect your information, avoid accessing sensitive accounts like online banking while connected to public Wi-Fi. Phishing Scams: Travelers are often targeted by phishing attacks and it’s basically where cybercriminals send deceptive emails or messages impersonating legitimate travel agencies, airlines, hotels, etc. These attempts essentially aim to steal personal or financial information. So stay vigilant against unsolicited communications and always verify the source before clicking links or sharing your information. Unsecured Devices: Using unfamiliar computers or charging stations pose the risk of exposing your devices to malware. As such, it’s best to refrain from using public computers, especially for sensitive tasks. Additionally, consider using USB data blockers when charging devices in public places to prevent potential data theft. Lost or Stolen Devices: Losing a smartphone or laptop can be disastrous, particularly if it contains sensitive information. To safeguard your devices, always use strong passwords and enable device encryption. Additionally, consider installing tracking software to help locate lost devices in case of misplacement or theft. – – – Practical Tips to Stay Safe Online and Offline Keep Your Software Updated: Stay ahead of potential security threats by regularly updating your device’s operating system and applications. It’s also quite important to enable automatic updates for seamless protection against the latest vulnerabilities. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Enhance your account security with 2FA, which adds an extra layer of protection by requiring a second form of verification alongside your password. This simple step can greatly reduce the risk of unauthorized access. Be Mindful of Social Media Sharing: While sharing your travel adventures in real-time is tempting, doing so can alert potential thieves to your absence from home. Consider sharing photos and updates after you’ve returned from your trip. Secure Your Valuables: Utilize hotel safes to safeguard passports, extra cash, and important documents. When out and about, stay vigilant, keep your belongings secure, and remain aware of your surroundings to minimize the risk of pickpocketing or theft. Research Your Destination: Before traveling, take the time to acquaint yourself with local laws, customs, and potential safety issues, while staying mindful of your surroundings. Familiarize yourself with local emergency numbers and the whereabouts of your country’s embassy or consulate for added peace of mind. • • • Overall Traveling opens up a world of excitement and adventure, offering unforgettable experiences at every turn. To fully savor these moments, it’s important to prioritize safety, both online and offline. Stay vigilant, embrace new experiences, and make the most of your journey. Remember, a little caution can ensure your travels are not only enjoyable but also safe. Bon voyage! The post Top Tips to Stay Safe Online While Traveling appeared first on I am Aileen.

Make your South Korea travel dreams come true and get a single or multiple South Korean visa in Manila, Philippines!

The post Korean Visa Application Requirements for Filipino Tourists in Manila, Philippines (Single / Multiple Entry) appeared first on I am Aileen.

LATEST UPDATE: The Korea Visa Application Center (KVAC) in BGC will now be handling all Korean visa-related applications and the release of passports instead of the South Korean embassy (the embassy will no longer process visa applications except for special cases). The good news? There’s NO need to book an appointment and you can just walk in to KVAC directly to lodge your application. I’m sure that a majority of us Filipinos have encountered Korean influences at some point in our lives, may it be through K-Pop, K-dramas (Koreanovelas), cosmetic products, or food (among many others). Due to these things as well as other factors, South Korea has remained a dream destination for many — but for those who want to make it a reality, there is the question of how our weak Philippine third world passports can fare when it comes to entry or visa matters. Don’t fret though because applying for a South Korean visa is easy and also FREE! RELATED READ: – South Korea Itinerary Travel Guide – How to Explore Nami Island, Petite France, and More! – How to Rent a ‘Hanbok’ Looking for Seoul Itinerary Ideas? Come and check out my ‘DIY Seoul Itinerary Guide’ post which features detailed day-by-day activities that you could do, no matter the length of your stay! READ NOW The application process is SO simple and starting this 2018, the Korean Embassy is coursing applications through travel agencies (much like how the Japan Embassy does). As such, with the help of this guide, let us make your South Korea travel dreams come true! …But first, a disclaimer: NO ONE can give you a guarantee of your South Korean visa’s approval: not even a lawyer, a consultant, a travel agent, or an embassy employee. Anyone who says otherwise is most likely going to be a scammer. That being said, what I can offer you here is a comprehensive guide with helpful tips to increase your chances of getting that South Korean tourist visa. Top photo by: Shutterstock Table of Contents Toggle ApplicationProcess for South Korean Visa Step 1: Determine the type of South Korean visa that you need to apply for Step 2: Prepare the required documents for your application (Section A) South Korea Tourist Visa WITHOUT Any Guarantor/Sponsor (Section B) South Korea Tourist Visa WITH Any Guarantor/Sponsor (Section C) South Korea Multiple Entry Tourist Visa Step 3: Go to KVAC and submit your documents Step 4: Claim your South Korean visa results FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) ApplicationProcess for South Korean Visa Step 1: Determine the type of South Korean visa that you need to apply for There are, of course, various types of South Korean visas out there that you can apply for: a visa for studying, a visa for business, a visa for joining family, etc. For this particular guide though, I will only be discussing the requirements for a tourist visa since it’s an experience that I’ve gone through myself. If, however, you have a different situation or purpose of visit, it’s best that you contact the South Korea Embassy for more information and for the complete requirements. You can do this via telephone ([02] 856-9210, local no. 270 or 500) or via email: ph04@mofa.go.kr – – – Step 2: Prepare the required documents for your application Depending on your circumstance, click the symbol ‘+‘ below to view the corresponding requirements for each section. Make sure that you have authentic, original, and complete documents at all times! (Section A) South Korea Tourist Visa WITHOUT Any Guarantor/Sponsor Philippine Passport. Make sure that your passport is valid for more than 6 months prior to your intended travel date, it has your signature, filled out the emergency contact page, and has at least two (2) blank pages. . Photocopy of current Philippine Passport bio page. This is found on page 2 (the part where your passport photo and other info are shown). . If applicable, previous Philippine Passport(s). You only need to submit this if you have traveled abroad within the last 5 years. . If applicable, original and photocopy of all your OECD visas for the past 5 years. If you have been to any of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD countries in the past 5 years as a tourist, make sure to submit the original and photocopy(ies) of the relevant visas and arrival stamps. (UPDATE: As of 2019, even if Japan is part of the OECD countries, it is NO longer considered as an example due to several cases of applicants passing fake Japan visas.) Doing this will help expedite the processing time of your visa. When I say ‘original’, this means that you will have to submit the passport(s) that contains the OECD visas and arrival stamps (no matter if they are your old or current passport[s]). Only used visas are counted. It is said that you are NO longer required to submit an ITR if you have traveled at least once to OECD member countries in the past 5 years — or have traveled to South Korea for more than two times within the last 4 years. . If applicable, photocopies of your PRC or IBP card. Both the IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines) and PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) cards are identification cards issued by professional regulatory bodies. The former is for lawyers and the latter is for certified professionals such as nurses or engineers who’ve passed their respective licensure exams. . A duly accomplished South Korean Visa Application Form. Download the application form here: PDF. Before printing, properly fill the form on your computer and ensure that everything is in CAPITAL LETTERS (apparently, KVAC does not allow handwritten application forms). To do this, you can use websites like this: [click] to be able to accomplish the form digitally. Print the application form on an A4-sized paper. Do NOT write outside the boxes and do NOT handwrite your application form (except for your signature). If anything is not applicable to you, just put N/A. There is a part in Section 2 that asks for “Confirmation of Visa Issuance”. Just leave it blank or put N/A because this is basically info that’s only issued in Korea (most likely for Koreans only). See here for a SAMPLE filled-out application form: [click] and click the tab that says “Visa Application Form Sample”. There are sections here that ask for your address/hotel in South Korea as well as your intended date of entry and period of stay. Now regarding this.. . You are NOT required to present “booked” airline and hotels beforehand because the embassy does NOT require applicants to book it before approval. It might sometimes help to present a flight reservation though, and you can do this easily with One Way Fly with a fee that is as low as Php 900~ only. . Once your South Korean visa is approved, check Skyscanner to look for the best flight deals. As for hotel bookings, it’s best to do it with Booking.com or Agoda.com. With them, you can reserve a hotel with NO pre-payment and you can even cancel the booking a day before your arrival with NO cancellation charges at all. 
 1 Passport-sized photo. This should be around 35mm x 45mm, colored, and against a white background. Paste this on your South Korea visa application form. . Optional: cover letter and itinerary. These are NOT required, but it’s always good practice to prepare them, to see an example cover letter, you can check the letter I submitted for my Korean visa application before in this link. However, if you are a freelancer or if you have missing documents that you can’t submit such as an ITR, a Certificate of Employment, etc. — it is, therefore, a MUST that you submit a cover letter to the embassy to explain your situation. As for the itinerary, there have been some cases wherein some applicants were asked to submit a rough draft of their South Korea itinerary; so it’s best to prepare this just in case. . Proof of income or financial stability. The requirements for this differ depending on your occupation. But if in case you are a student, a minor, or a person who has no income, refer to section (B). For employed persons. Original personal bank certificate: this must indicate your account type, current balance, account opening date, and 6 months average balance (ADB). Original or certified true copy of your Bank Statement or passbook for the last 3 months. Original Certificate of Employment: this must be printed on your company’s official letterhead and must contain details of your officer or employer’s address, HR landline number (cellphone number is not allowed), HR email address, your position, your hiring date, and your salary. Photocopy of your ITR (or Form 2316) If you do NOT have an ITR or any of the other requirements above, write a simple letter explaining why you’re unable to submit them (examples: you’re newly employed so you don’t have an ITR, etc.). . For self-employed / business persons. Original personal bank certificate: this must indicate your account type, current balance, account opening date, and 6 months’ average balance (ADB). Original or certified true copy of your Bank Statement or passbook for the last 3 months. If you own a business, submit photocopies of your Business Registration issued by DTI / SEC, the company ITR, and your Business Permit or Mayor’s Permit. If you’re a freelancer, provide the latest photocopy of your ITR (or Form 1701A) with a corresponding payment receipt from a BIR-authorized bank and proof of work (examples: screenshots of your work, a letter from clients, proof of payments for your work, etc.). If you do NOT have an ITR, write a simple letter explaining why you’re unable to submit it (examples: if you are a new business, a newly self-employed person, you are being taxed in another country, etc.) It is said that the only time you are exempt from submitting an ITR is if you have traveled to OECD countries in the past 5 years. Start filing your local taxes as early as NOW — after all, a lot of embassies (not only Korea) require an ITR. So if you’re looking for a hassle-free experience on Philippines tax compliance, I suggest registering with Taxumo because they can take care of literally everything for you: tax forms, payments, and submissions. I’ve been using them for years now and it has been such a time-saver. Come sign up with my code AILEEN and you can get a 10% discount on all their subscription plans! For retirees. Original personal bank certificate: this must indicate your account type, current balance, account opening date, and 6 months’ average balance (ADB). Original or certified true copy of your Bank Statement or passbook for the last 3 months. Photocopy of your senior citizen ID. . For unemployed persons. Given the way the Embassy of South Korea presents its requirements for visa applicants, it’s best that you acquire a guarantor/sponsor who can provide an ITR. Refer to section (B) below for this. . For students, minors, housewives, ‘househusbands’, etc. Refer to ‘Section (B)’ below. . For elected politicians, government officials, and professional license holders From February 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, the following individuals do NOT need to submit bank certificates, bank statements, and ITR. HOWEVER, you will still need to submit an original certificate of employment OR certificate of appointment (take note that if you’re an immediate family member of these said individuals, you will need to provide proof of relationship). ELECTED POLITICIANS: Members of the Senate, Members of the Congress, Governors, Provincial Board Members, and Mayors (City or Municipality) — along with their immediate family members only: their parents, spouse, minor children (applicable for adult children who can prove to be students through documents), and spouse’s parents GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS: Persons with a rank higher or equal to Assistant Secretary of the Executive Branch of the Philippine Government, and Brigadier General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines/Philippine National Police (excluding those in acting duties) — along with their immediate family members only: their parents, spouse, minor children (applicable for adult children who can prove to be students through documents), and spouse’s parents PROFESSIONAL LICENSE HOLDERS: Those holding a valid PRC license ID (IBP ID for lawyer) with a profession of physician, dentist, lawyer (including judge, prosecutor), certified public accountant, pharmacist, and veterinarian— along with their immediate family members only: their parents, spouse, minor children (applicable for adult children who can prove to be students through documents), and spouse’s parents. . For individuals who hold a BDO Gold or BDO Elite credit card From February 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, BDO Gold and BDO Elite credit card holders, EXCLUDING supplementary card holders, do NOT need to submit bank certificates, bank statements, and ITR. The primary credit card holder’s immediate family members only — their parents, spouse, minor children (applicable for adult children who can prove to be students through documents), and spouse’s parents — can also enjoy this benefit as long as they provide proof of relationship to the primary credit card holder. The applicable credit cards are as follows: Mastercard Gold Credit Card Visa Gold Credit Card JCB Gold Credit Card UnionPay Gold Credit Card Diners Club International American Express Cashback Credit Card American Express Explorer Credit Card Mastercard Titanium, Platinum and World Elite Credit Card Visa Platinum Credit Card JCB Platinum Credit Card UnionPay Diamond Credit Card Diners Club Premiere Credit Card American Express Platinum Credit Card American Express International Dollar Charge Cards (platinum, gold, and green) . (OPTIONAL) Letter of Attorney. This is only if you’re planning to course your application through a travel agency, you will need to sign this Letter of Attorney. * * * * * * (Section B) South Korea Tourist Visa WITH Any Guarantor/Sponsor This kind of application is applicable for students, minors, unemployed persons, husband/wife (if one of you will be supporting the other), self-employed persons/freelancers (who can’t provide an ITR and have no strong reason why they can’t submit it) or just about any person who will take on a sponsor. This also applies to anyone who would have a company/agency to sponsor the trip. For submitting the necessary requirements, simply submit the requirements listed in section (A), numbers #1 to #8. And when it comes to (#9) Proof of income or financial stability, you should ask these documents from your guarantor/sponsor as dependent on their profession or occupation — this could be your mom, dad, brother, sister, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, relative, etc. Take note though that there are no guarantees of approval if your guarantor is NOT a family member of yours. In fact, it is said that it’s a lot better to have family sponsoring you. Moving on, you should also submit the following… Sponsor/Guarantee letter. This is a simple letter written by your sponsor indicating and confirming how he/she will cover the costs of your South Korea trip. . Photocopy of sponsor/guarantor’s passport. Provide a photocopy of the bio page only; if not, it can be a photocopy of any government-issued ID. If your sponsor is a company in Korea, provide a photocopy of their Korean Company Business Permit . TIP: If your sponsor is your brother/sister, you must also submit their birth certificate to the embassy. ADDITIONAL NOTES: If you are personally invited by a South Korean… …resident, you must submit an invitation letter and a photocopy of his/her passport or authentication ID …national, you must submit an invitation letter and photocopy of his/her passport or ID card. …company, you must submit an invitation letter and a photocopy of the Korean company’s business permit. . If you are married, submit a photocopy of your NSO Marriage Certificate. . If you are a student, submit the following: Original school certificate. Photocopy of your school ID. Photocopy of your NSO-issued birth certificate. Your parents’ or your sponsor’s supporting financial documents (depending on their occupation refer to the list in section (A) under #9.) If your parents are your sponsor, provide a photocopy of an NSO-issued marriage certificate. If your sponsor is other than your parents, explain your relationship with that person through a cover letter. * * * * * * (Section C) South Korea Multiple Entry Tourist Visa The South Korean Embassy only issues multiple-entry visas under certain conditions. Currently, there are 2 ways to avail this…. FIRST, by being a frequent South Korea traveler. Basically, it is said that if you have visited South Korea more than 4 times in the past 2 years OR if you have visited South Korea more than 10 times in total (with at least 1 of the visits done within the past 2 years), then you are suitable for a multiple-entry application. SECOND, it is said that if you show or submit proof that you have OECD visas in the past 5 years, the embassy can automatically just issue you a multiple-entry tourist visa. (Yet to be fully confirmed but there have been cases in which this happens). NOTE: If in case you are a Philippine national living or residing in a foreign country and you wish to avail a South Korea tourist visa, kindly inquire with the appropriate South Korean Embassy in the country that you’re living in. – – – Step 3: Go to KVAC and submit your documents Starting September 2023, the South Korean Embassy has officially inaugurated the Korea Visa Application Center (KVAC). Going forward, ALL visa applicants must now process their applications through this center either: By themselves; or, Through a designated travel agency See here for a complete list of these 35 accredited agencies) It helps to note that visa applications for diplomatic passport holders, official passport holders, and for those who require a visa urgently within 1 to 2 days due to clear humanitarian reasons will be the only ones who are exceptionally accepted at the embassy. Additionally, KVAC is only providing visa processing assistance; hence, the approval or denial of your visa is solely at the discretion of the Embassy of Korea after reviewing your documents. In my opinion, filing for a visa application by yourself presents absolutely NO issues. In fact, choosing to go through a travel agency primarily ONLY helps if you can’t personally visit KVAC to submit your application. Remember, much like KVAC, travel agencies only facilitate document submission for an additional fee and they have NO influence over the visa application’s decision. VISA PROCESSING FEES: A South Korean Visa is FREE of charge as long as you are only going to stay 59 days or less; however, KVAC as well as travel agencies charge for the service that they offer for processing your application. . KVAC currently only charges Php 900 as a service fee (they ONLY accept cash). As for other travel agencies, they typically charge about Php 500 to Php 2,000 as an additional fee on top of the KVAC service fee. (Meanwhile, for stays spanning from 60 to 90 days, the embassy will charge you a fee of about Php 2,000.). Take note that the consulate in Cebu still accepts direct applications — you can also course your application through their own accredited travel agencies, the list of which you can find here. For the complete address details of KVAC and the Cebu Consulate, see below: KVAC (Korea Visa Application Center) 9F~10F, Brittany Hotel BGC, 6 Mckinley Pkwy, BGC, Taguig, Metro Manila Website: https://www.visaforkorea-mn.com Email: kvacph@visaforkorea-mn.com Telephone: 02-8248-5440 Operation hours: 09:00AM to 17:30PM (except for Philippine & Korea holidays) . KOREAN CONSULATE IN CEBU 12th Floor Chinabank Corporate Center, Lot 2, Samar Loop Cor. Road 5, Cebu Business Park, Cebu Email Address: phi_cebu2015@mofa.go.kr Contact No.: (63-32) 231-1516(-9) CUT OFF TIME FOR VISA APPLICATIONS AT KVAC: 4:00PM Please take note that in case you are a group of applicants for a family trip or business trip, one of the applicants may submit ALL of your applications. But if you wish to submit visa applications through a representative (someone who isn’t coming with you on the trip), you must submit your applications to one of the designated travel agencies mentioned above. Once you arrive at KVAC, the process usually goes like this: Upon arrival, a guard in the lobby will provide you with a queuing number. (Most people will already be here by 8AM to line up, and even though the official opening time is 9AM, KVAC may already start distributing and calling queuing numbers at 8:30AM). You can then head to Level 2, a waiting area furnished with chairs and featuring a café station. Your companions can stay here to wait, but only the visa applicants with queuing numbers can proceed to Level 9 when their number is called. A staff person will regularly come to Level 2 to call out numbers. When yours is called, proceed to Level 9. Another staff person will receive your documents for preliminary checking. Once done, you will be given a new queue number. In a separate room, keep an eye out for your queue number once it flashes on the screen with its assigned counter. Once called, proceed to Level 10. This is the final checkpoint in which your documents will be reviewed and taken for submission to the embassy. Take note, any original document that you submit will NOT be returned to you — except for your passport. If you like, you can receive your results and passport via courier service for an added fee of Php 300 (within Metro Manila, sent within 3-5 working days) or Php 400 (outside Metro Manila, sent within 5-7 working days). If in case you have missing documents, KVAC also has a photocopy and printing service for Php 10 per page (payable by cash only). You will be given an Application Receipt with a barcode — keep this because it will be important when claiming your passport and visa application results later. – – – Step 4: Claim your South Korean visa results Typically, the processing time for visas is 5 working days, but due to the increased volume of applicants, expect it to go for as long as 10 working days or more. Rest assured, KVAC will regularly send you the status of your application via SMS. If you’re personally going to pick up your visa results and passport, just bring a valid government ID as well as the Application Receipt. If someone else will pick up your results on your behalf, the representative needs to present the Application Receipt, a photocopy of your ID, an original copy of the ID of the representative, and a notarized Special Power of Attorney (SPA). If you lose the Application Receipt, please secure a Police Report with a notarized Special Power of Attorney (SPA). Should your application be approved (yay!), make sure that your South Korean visa has your correct name, passport number, etc. Wanna track the status of your application online? Go to this page! 2020 UPDATE: The Embassy will NO longer issue a visa label for visa applications processed in the Philippines as of July 1, 2020. If your application is approved, the embassy will notify you by issuing a ‘Visa Grant Notice’ on the official website. From there, you can print out the visa document by entering your passport number, date of birth, and other relevant information. . The Visa Grant Notice will contain your personal details including name, date of birth, and passport number, as well as other details including visa issuance number, status of stay, period of stay, number of allowed entries, date of issue, validity of visa, and issuing authority. (Simply PRINT the Visa Grant Notice and present it to immigration officers before your flight and after arrival). What to Do in South Korea…? Come and check out this list of the top things to do in South Korea which features the best activities and tours to do in places like Seoul, Busan, and more! READ NOW • • • FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) How long does my passport have to be valid in order to apply for a Korea visa? Your passport must be valid for at least six (6) months beyond your intended period of stay. When is the earliest time that I can apply for a South Korean visa? You can apply as early as two (2) months or 60 days before your planned trip date departure. Which is the best travel agency to go to if I want to increase my chances of approval? There really is NO best travel agency out there when it comes to visa approval because they have NO control whatsoever over that matter. Again, these accredited travel agencies simply ensure that the documents you are going to give are complete. After which, they just pass it to the embassy who makes the analysis and final decision. Can I make an appointment on behalf of my friends? We’re all traveling together to Korea. In case you are a group of friends with similar plane ticket dates, or if you are a group going for a family trip or business trip, only 1 (one) from your group of visa applicants may submit ALL of your applications. But if you wish to submit visa applications through a representative (someone who isn’t coming with you on the trip), you must rather submit your applications to one of the designated travel agencies mentioned above. How long is the duration of a single-entry tourist South Korean visa? All tourist visa holders of a single-entry visa are permitted to stay in South Korea for a maximum period of 59 days. If I have a multiple-entry tourist visa, how long until I can re-enter South Korea again after a trip? There seems to be NO existing rule for a “break period” when you want to enter South Korea again — however, take note that if you enter the country again too soon, that will raise questions and the immigration might not let you in. Also, take note that you should NOT spend more than 180 days total in a year in South Korea as a tourist. How long does it take for my South Korea Visa application to be processed? Please refer to the info I mentioned above under step #4. Do I need to book accommodation and plane tickets by the time I send in my application? The embassy does NOT require applicants to submit “booked” roundtrip flight tickets and hotel(s) before applying for a visa. It might sometimes help to present a flight reservation and you can do this easily with One Way Fly which has a fee that is as low as Php 900~ only. Do I need to submit a cover letter for my visa application? This is NOT required, but it’s always good practice to prepare it just in case. To see an example cover letter, you can check the letter I submitted for my Korean visa application at this link. How much money should I show in my bank account? The South Korean Embassy did NOT mention any minimum balance requirement, but some people have been saying that you need to have at least Php 10,000 per day of your stay — you can use this as a standard but of course, it’s always best if you have more. The way I see it, there’s no amount that will guarantee approval. Just ensure that you have complete documents and have enough pocket money to support yourself during your trip. How can I track or follow up on the status of my South Korea visa application? You can go to this page. My South Korea Visa application was denied. Is there anything I can do? Sorry to hear that. Either way, you can reapply again after 3 months. • • • » Top South Korea Tours « N Seoul Tower Tour Marvel at the breathtaking views of Seoul! Nami Island Tour + stops to Garden of Morning Calm and more! • • • Booking Essentials Booking.com TIP: It’s a good idea to crosscheck the prices with other popular travel insurance providers like World Nomads and HeyMondo (as my reader, you get 5% off)! . However, take note that a travel insurance’s affordability typically means lesser coverage; so please always ensure that you read the fine print in order to decipher which travel insurance company is the right fit for you and your trip! Looking for more travel tips for South Korea? Check out my other detailed South Korea travel guides! READ NOW – – – As you can see, applying for a South Korea Tourist Visa is fast and easy — you can do it all by yourself! All in all, I hope the process becomes absolutely hassle-free for you with the help of this visa guide. Let me know how it goes… good luck! The post Korean Visa Application Requirements for Filipino Tourists in Manila, Philippines (Single / Multiple Entry) appeared first on I am Aileen.

South America is one of the most diverse continents — full of natural wonders and fascinating cultures. Join us as we explore the top 10 things to do.

The post Top 10 Things to Do on a Trip to South America appeared first on I am Aileen.

Hey there, globe-trotters! Welcome to South America — one of the most diverse and fascinating continents on Earth — and a favorite for backpackers. Are you ready to dive into the vibrant culture and utterly breathtaking landscapes of South America? After all, this place is a treasure trove of natural wonders, historical sites, and cultural festivals that will leave you spellbound. But before you grab your backpack, make sure you got everything you need — a valid passport, any necessary vaccinations, and, of course, your travel documents. Don’t forget you might need a visa, a travel authorization, a disembarkation card, or a combination of these for any of the countries you visit on your trip. Whether it’s a Colombia Check-Mig or an Argentina visa, make sure you apply in good time before your trip. So are you all sorted? You got everything? Then let’s embark on a journey to discover the top 10 things to do on a trip to South America. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on these experiences! Table of Contents Toggle 1. Witness the Majesty of Machu Picchu, Peru 2. Explore the Salt Flats of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia 3. Dance the Tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina 4. Marvel at Iguazu Falls, Brazil and Argentina 5. Journey Through the Amazon Rainforest 6. Discover the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador 7. Bask on the Beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 8. Trek the Colca Canyon, Peru 9. Savor the Wines of Chile’s Central Valley 10. Experience the Heart and Soul of Colombia 1. Witness the Majesty of Machu Picchu, Peru Let’s kick things off with the iconic Machu Picchu. Nestled high in the Andes, this Incan city and UNESCO World Heritage Site is on many people’s bucket lists for good reason. Few experiences are as atmospheric as wandering around the long-abandoned site, with its ancient buildings, silent tombs, and stone terraces. It is truly a masterpiece of architecture and engineering. For the things you can do, you can hike the Inca Trail at dawn, and be rewarded with a sunrise view that’s nothing short of magical. It’s not just a tourist spot; it’s a journey back in time. 2. Explore the Salt Flats of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia Next up, we have the surreal landscapes of Salar de Uyuni. The world’s largest salt flat transforms into a giant mirror during the rainy season, reflecting the sky in a way that’s hard to believe is real. You feel almost like you’re walking on clouds! It’s a photographer’s dream, and you’re sure to get a snapshot to remember from this unique experience. 3. Dance the Tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina beckons with the seductive rhythms of Tango. Buenos Aires, the birthplace of this passionate dance, offers countless milongas (tango clubs) where you can either watch mesmerizing performances or dare to step onto the dance floor yourself. It’s an experience that embodies the soul of Argentine culture. 4. Marvel at Iguazu Falls, Brazil and Argentina Straddling the border between Brazil and Argentina, Iguazu Falls is a spectacle of nature. This dramatic collection of cascades makes up the world’s biggest waterfall system. It completely dwarfs the likes of Niagara Falls. Walk the trails around these thunderous falls, feel the mist on your face, and understand why the indigenous Guarani people named it “Big Water.” 5. Journey Through the Amazon Rainforest Embark on an adventure into the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. Known as one of the largest rainforests in the world, the Amazon is famous for its unparalleled biodiversity. From exotic monkeys, sleepy sloths, and colorful birds to the deadly beauty of the jaguar and the massive anaconda, this forest is home to creatures that aren’t found anywhere else on Earth. The rainforest is so massive it takes up parts of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. You can make your adventure into the Amazon in any one of these nations. Canoe down its rivers, spot exotic wildlife and even meet indigenous communities. Thousands of indigenous people live in the Amazon and it is possible to visit some of these villages. This miraculous jungle is a living, breathing reminder of the wonders of our planet. 6. Discover the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador For wildlife enthusiasts, the Galapagos Islands are a must-visit. This archipelago is a living museum of evolutionary changes, with a diversity of animal species you won’t find anywhere else. Indeed, it was a visit to these islands that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution. Swim with sea lions, marvel at the giant tortoises, and walk among iguanas that seem to have wandered out of prehistory. 7. Bask on the Beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro is synonymous with its iconic beaches, Copacabana and Ipanema. Sunbathe on golden sands, sip caipirinhas, and soak in the vibrant atmosphere of this city. Then there’s the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue watching over the city from atop Corcovado Mountain — the perfect spot for a selfie! 8. Trek the Colca Canyon, Peru Not as famous as Machu Picchu but equally breathtaking, the Colca Canyon offers some of the best trekking in South America. It’s twice as deep as the Grand Canyon! Watch majestic Andean condors soar against a backdrop of rugged landscapes and traditional villages. 9. Savor the Wines of Chile’s Central Valley Chile’s Central Valley is a haven for wine lovers. Tour the vineyards, learn about the wine-making process, and, of course, sample some of the world’s best wines. The stunning scenery of rolling hills and vineyards adds to the intoxicating experience. 10. Experience the Heart and Soul of Colombia Ah, Colombia! This country has transformed and emerged as a jewel of South America. From the colorful streets of Cartagena to the lush coffee plantations in the Zona Cafetera, Colombia is bursting with life. — Dive into the Culture of Bogotá Start your Colombian adventure in Bogotá. The high-altitude capital blends modernity with centuries-old plazas. Visit the Gold Museum to see pre-Hispanic gold work that will leave you awestruck. — Wander Through Cartagena’s Old Town Cartagena’s Old Town is like stepping into a time machine. The well-preserved colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, and the warmth of the Caribbean Sea make it a romantic escape. The ancient walls once protected the city from pirates. Nowadays, they are the perfect place to take in the sunset. — Get Lost in the Coffee Triangle Coffee lovers, rejoice! Colombia’s Zona Cafetera offers you the chance to see how your favorite morning brew is made. Take a tour of a coffee plantation, learn about the process from bean to cup, and enjoy the freshest coffee you’ll ever taste. — Dance the Night Away in Medellín Medellín, once notorious, is now known for its innovation and culture. The city comes alive at night with salsa clubs that will have you dancing till dawn. The transformation of Medellín is a testament to the resilience and spirit of the Colombian people. • • • Vámonos Muchachos! South America is a continent of endless adventure, culture, and natural beauty. From the peaks of the Andes to the depths of the Amazon, each country offers its own unique treasures. Whether you’re dancing tango in Buenos Aires, marveling at the wildlife in the Galapagos, or sipping coffee in Colombia, you’re sure to leave with unforgettable memories. So, what are you waiting for? South America is calling your name! Now, go ahead and tick these experiences off your bucket list. And remember, wherever your travels take you, keep your heart open to the endless possibilities that await. Happy travels, amigos! The post Top 10 Things to Do on a Trip to South America appeared first on I am Aileen.

Journalism and travel, together at last

The post Matt Goulding on “Omnivore,” His Inventive New Show with René Redzepi appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Matt Goulding on “Omnivore,” His Inventive New Show with René Redzepi appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The beer is cheap and the larb is fresh, but Chiang Rai is more than all that. These 10 bits of local wisdom will help get you started.

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The post How Vietnam Eats Today<br> Q&A with Daniel Nguyen appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post How Vietnam Eats Today<br> Q&A with Daniel Nguyen appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

In Tanzania, NovFeed is transforming the country’s compost into a source of cheap and nutritious feed for farmed fish. NovFeed is a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post NovFeed: Turning Fruit into Fish appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post NovFeed: Turning Fruit into Fish appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

In Bangladesh, Pumpkin Plus transforms rural lives through the innovative technology of growing crops on sandbars. They are a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post Pumpkin Plus: Making the Sandbars Bloom appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Pumpkin Plus: Making the Sandbars Bloom appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Vermont’s Rich Earth Institute is looking to an unusual alternative to industrial fertilizer: human urine. They are a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post Rich Earth Institute: In Search of Liquid Gold appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Rich Earth Institute: In Search of Liquid Gold appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Could an all-natural steam seed treatment replace mainstream agricultural chemical treatments? ThermoSeed, a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize, thinks so.

The post ThermoSeed – A Swedish Seed Solution appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post ThermoSeed – A Swedish Seed Solution appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Transfarmation is an organization helping former factory farmers move from debt-laden, environmentally damaging practices toward a sustainable future. Transfarmation is a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post Transfarmation: From factory farm to sustainable enterprise appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Transfarmation: From factory farm to sustainable enterprise appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

In a small dry corner of England, Aquagrain is creating a super-absorbent biodegradable hydrogel that could help crops grow in degraded lands. Aquagrain is a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post Aquagrain: New Life for Poor Soil appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Aquagrain: New Life for Poor Soil appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Food accounts for 13% of cities’ carbon emissions every year. But a small league of C40 Good Food Cities, from New York to Quezon City, is hoping to change that. C40 is a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post C40: Mayors Making Good Food Cities appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

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The post The Right Gear, the Right Moment: Q&A with Photographer Beatriz Janer appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post The Right Gear, the Right Moment: Q&A with Photographer Beatriz Janer appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The geopolitical struggle between China and the Philippines has strangled Filipino fishermen’s access to some of their richest fishing grounds

The post Netted by Politics:<BR> a Fisherman’s Dilemma in the South China Sea appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Netted by Politics:<BR> a Fisherman’s Dilemma in the South China Sea appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Mestiza de Indias is an innovative, Maya-inspired regenerative farm in the middle of a region threatened by mass tourism and overdevelopment. Its founder has a lot to say about why food matters.

The post A Model Farm in the Yucatán: Q&A with Gonzalo Samaranch appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post A Model Farm in the Yucatán: Q&A with Gonzalo Samaranch appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Make it Loud: <br>Q&A with Dylan Eitharong appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Make it Loud: <br>Q&A with Dylan Eitharong appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post A Memoirist in Mérida: <br> Q&A with Jeremiah Tower appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post A Memoirist in Mérida: <br> Q&A with Jeremiah Tower appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

On Spain's Asturian coast, in the small fishing town of Puerto de Vega, on Plaza Cupido—Cupid Square—a self-taught cook writes culinary love letters to the Cantabrian Sea.

The post The Taste of Being Thrown Around by the Sea: Q&A with chef Mari Fernandez appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post The Taste of Being Thrown Around by the Sea: Q&A with chef Mari Fernandez appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The Toothpick Company turns fungi into bioherbicide to fight Striga, a devastating “master weed” that has devastated an estimated 40 million farms in Africa.

The post In Kenya, Using Fungi to Fight a War on Weeds appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post In Kenya, Using Fungi to Fight a War on Weeds appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

In Southeast Asia, the Protein Challenge is aiming for nothing less than a total transformation of regional food systems. The solution? Empowering and uniting the protein system’s various and diverse actors to create change from within.

The post Tackling Southeast Asia’s Protein Crisis appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Tackling Southeast Asia’s Protein Crisis appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Monarch Tractor has recently launched its first line of electric tractors with its groundbreaking MK-V model – the world’s first full-electric, driver-optional, data-collecting smart tractor. Its CEO hopes the company is going to revolutionize the future of farming.

The post Reinventing the Wheel appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Reinventing the Wheel appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Australian start-up Loam is using fungi to help crops capture carbon in the soil—and keep it there. It could be a game-changer for farmers and the fight against climate change.

The post Can Fungi Save our Soil? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Can Fungi Save our Soil? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Scientists agree that global agriculture is losing crucial diversity in its plants, animals and microorganisms. But you can’t fix a problem that you can’t measure properly. That’s where the Agrobiodiversity Index comes in.

The post Bioversity International: Making the Invisible Visible appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Bioversity International: Making the Invisible Visible appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

A team of chefs and scientists in southern Spain are trying to cultivate an edible sea grain for the first time. Can Aponiente’s “sea pantry” fight global food insecurity and be used for conservation purposes?

The post A Sea Grain to Feed the World appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post A Sea Grain to Feed the World appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Food providers—large-scale companies that mass-produce meals for institutions like hospitals and schools—serve billions of meals annually in the United States. Despite their size, there hasn’t been nearly enough focus on how to cut their greenhouse emissions. Enter Coolfood, a one-stop solution to facilitate plant-forward, climate-friendly eating.

The post Serving Climate-Friendly Meals, One Student at a Time appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Serving Climate-Friendly Meals, One Student at a Time appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The world’s thirstiest crop is also responsible for feeding half our planet. The Sustainable Rice Platform thinks it can make a better life for farmers and consumers alike.

The post Setting the Standard for Better Rice appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Setting the Standard for Better Rice appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Mangrove ecosystems provide community livelihoods, function as biodiversity hotspots, and help mitigate the effects of climate change, but efforts to protect them have been patchy and localized. A few organizations have banded together to change that.

The post Building a Global Mangrove Movement appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Building a Global Mangrove Movement appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Travel That Cares for Our Planet and Its People

Last Updated on September 12, 2024 by Audrey Scott Active sustainability communications should be an integral part of any sustainable tourism journey, yet it is often seen as an afterthought instead of integrated into all marketing and communications. This is ... Continue Reading

The post 7 Ways to Effectively Communicate Your Sustainability Story in Tourism appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on September 12, 2024 by Audrey Scott Active sustainability communications should be an integral part of any sustainable tourism journey, yet it is often seen as an afterthought instead of integrated into all marketing and communications. This is a missed opportunity. Sharing your sustainability story — initiatives, achievements, challenges, and impact — in a way that is easy to understand and resonates with travelers, trade partners and other stakeholders not only highlights your accomplishments, but it also helps engage others in this journey which can amplify the impacts of your work. I was recently asked by a colleague to contribute some tips on how to do this for a sustainable tourism training program. Below are a few practical ways to tell your sustainability story to avoid jargon and incorporate storytelling that also highlights the local context, strengths and challenges. Exploring Lazio, Italy by ebike on a specially designed ecotourism route to limit impacts. 1. Start your sustainability story with why you decided to start this journey or certification process in the first place. Why was this important to you, even if it might be difficult and messy at times? Why did you care enough to do this? What were the underlying values or motivations behind choosing to operate more sustainably? What big change did you want to create or what impact did you want to make? And for whom or for where (e.g., location or natural environment)? Be transparent if your motivations changed as you get started. For example, I was recently speaking with a guest house owner who shared that when she first started the training for sustainability certification she did so because she thought it was a trend and something she should do to meet traveler demands. However, after attending the training, those motivations moved way down the list as she understood better the underlying values of sustainability and realized for herself the need to do more now to preserve for future generations. And how she could contribute to that by operating more sustainably. 2. Provide local context when sharing your sustainability activities and stories. Don’t only provide a list of sustainability initiatives of what you did, but also explain why these specific initiatives are so important to you, your community or surrounding environment and the impact of these initiatives. Cyprus is a popular Mediterranean destination with limited freshwater resources so efforts to conserve water have great impact, but many travelers don't realize this. Your audience may not know the local context to understand the importance of these activities locally as their home context might be different. For example, in a fragile high desert environment activities around conserving water take on higher importance. Or how the impact of providing economic opportunities in remote areas can help prevent migration of young people to cities or to foreign countries. 3. Don't be vague when describing the impact or change as a result of your sustainability activities. This can be interpreted as greenwashing or trying to hide something, and it doesn’t support the greater transparency we need to advance sustainability as the default. An important part of sustainable tourism is measuring and monitoring, so use that information to provide tangible results whenever possible. For example, don’t just say “reduction in water use” but give the average percentage or liters of reduced water use over a period of time. Or instead of “increased employment”, specify the number of local people who now have a sustainable livelihood from tourism thanks to your company’s activities. 4. Remember that sustainability is not only about the environment. Some environmental or carbon reduction initiatives might feel more tangible and therefore, easier to talk about. However, be sure to tell stories as well about the activities and impacts related to local people, economy, and that also highlights the specific local context. Staying with families during a trek in the Alay Region of Kyrgyzstan provides them with additional income that is often invested in children's education or improving living arrangements. One way to highlight the socio-economic elements of sustainability is to think of one person impacted through your sustainable tourism initiatives. Tell that person's story of what changed — individually, for the family, for the community, etc — and use their name (with permission, of course). This makes a story personal, relatable and the impact feels real. 5. Tell stories of your challenges – and what you learned from them — as well as your successes. This type of transparency and honesty earns trust, combats greenwashing and helps others learn from your journey. Sustainability is messy and sometimes doesn't always work out as you had hoped. Share not only your challenges or mistakes, but most importantly what lessons you learned from the experience and what you plan to do in the future to try and overcome these challenges. Keep sharing updates as you make progress and find new solutions to address these issues. Other companies or destinations may be able to learn from how you overcame obstacles, or perhaps share their own solutions to similar problems they faced. 6. Highlight how your sustainability activities actually are an experience enhancer. Travelers sometimes think of “sustainable” or “responsible” as boring or more expensive as has been shown in different studies over the years (yes, sustainable tourism has a branding problem, but that is for another article). However, it shouldn’t be this way. Incorporating sustainability principles into your tourism product or service should improve or deepen the travel experience (if it doesn't then you need to go back to the product development stage). Learning to Make Shrak, traditional bread, during a community tourism project in Jordan provided so many opportunities to connect with and learn from local women. A highlight from our ten days in Jordan. For example, don't just list all your sustainability activities at the top of your tour description. Instead, highlight first how your tour provides a deeper or more personal connection to local people and culture…and how your sustainability initiatives to involve the local community in product development contributes to this. Or highlight how your hiking tour provides greater immersion in nature as you’ve developed new routes with fewer crowds, and have worked with local families to set up homestays. Or there is the “feel good” satisfaction for travelers of knowing that their money is staying local and having an impact in the community. When visiting the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op in the Sacred Valley of Peru you know that the money from all the handicrafts and souvenirs you buy goes directly to the women who made them. 7. Invite travelers to be part of your sustainability journey, and make it easy and simple. Don’t assume that travelers know what the “right” or more sustainable thing to do is, especially as they might not be familiar with the local context and its specific environmental and socio-economic situation. Don't preach with a list of things only focused on what not to do. Travelers sometimes tune this out, especially as behavior science shows that their first priority on vacation to have fun and not “behave sustainably.” Instead, provide simple and easy ways that travelers can make more sustainable decisions or adjust behaviors to advance sustainability locally. A key behavior science principle of this is to break down desired sustainable behaviors into actions that truly are easy and simple for travelers to do so it's a friction-less choice. Then, place this communication in strategic places in order to nudge them when they are making decisions. The post 7 Ways to Effectively Communicate Your Sustainability Story in Tourism appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on March 11, 2024 by Audrey Scott The 2024 International Women’s Day theme is Inspire Inclusion, a call to action “to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected.” While much ... Continue Reading

The post How Tourism Can Better Invest in Women appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on March 11, 2024 by Audrey Scott The 2024 International Women’s Day theme is Inspire Inclusion, a call to action “to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected.” While much progress has been made in gender equality and inclusion over the years, there is still so much awareness needed and work to be done to achieve the goal where everyone is included and has an opportunity for success. Companies, governments, and communities play a crucial role in creating this more equitable world through deliberate change and actions to ensure that women and marginalized groups are: included, that women of all backgrounds are invited and welcome to the table given access to support, education, resources, and investment provided opportunities in employment, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The tourism sector is certainly no exception in the role it can play to provide these fundamentals to women of all backgrounds and nationalities. Travel and Inclusion In an ideal form, travel is all about celebrating diversity, valuing differences, breaking down stereotypes and bias, engaging local communities, and making places better for local people to live. At least that's the goal for many people who work in tourism, and something that much mindful and sustainable travel achieves. We know, however, that sadly not all tourism businesses and travelers live up to this ideal. The tourism sector is able to deliberately pursue greater participation from women and greater social impact as a way to get closer to this ideal. This inclusiveness promises not only to strengthen the sector and make it more resilient, but it will also help construct deeper and more transformative travel experiences for travelers that are closer to that ideal above. With the landscape in mind, this article offers some specific ideas and mechanisms that tourism and travel can apply to empower women, support women entrepreneurs and businesses, and actively invest in communities to do so. Through all this, the travel sector can #InspireInclusion and deliberately work towards making a more equitable and inclusive world. Women in Tourism In 2019, women accounted for 54% of the tourism sector’s employment worldwide (we haven't been able to find an updated post-pandemic statistic). On one level, this statistic can be interpreted as an achievement, a foundational step toward opportunity and access for women. However, according to research done by the UNWTO, most of those jobs are concentrated in the least powerful, lowest-skilled and lowest paid positions. Only around 19-25% of leadership and C-suite levels are filled by women. This implies that women are often hired only for low level jobs and especially for those participating in the informal economy, the remain the most at risk of job loss and displacement from economic shocks like the pandemic. The tourism sector's challenge is not only to focus on greater involvement of women as part of the workforce, but as partners, managers and leaders. And if we think of this year's theme of inclusion, to provide the needed resources and opportunities in that local context for women and marginalized groups to be successful. Why Investing in Women Matters Before we dive into some of the ways that the tourism sector can better invest in and support women, let's look at why this matters for our world. TL;DR: Investing in women is an investment in our communities and future generations. Kiva, a microfinance organization which lends money low-income entrepreneurs around the world, found that women reinvest 80% of the income they earn into the education and wellbeing of children. Other research from the United Nations indicates that women-led economic empowerment leads to more gender equality and rights, economic growth, increased rates of girls education, and other community indicators of well-being. Moshi Mamas provides business and skills training to women, as well as market access for handicrafts. We've seen this play out in our projects repeatedly over the the last 10+ years, whether working with microfinance or tourism organizations. Shoshe, who had received business training and market access for her handicrafts through a program in Moshi, Tanzania, explained this concept above in personal terms: “I want to break the cycle for my daughter. I want to prove women can work and earn money.” Alessandra Alonso from Women in Travel explained during a G Adventures Retravel panel on the topic of women in tourism: “For us, economic empowerment is the beginning of everything. Because when a woman earns, then the kids get educated, the extended family eats and the whole community is much better off.” Learning to Make Shrak, traditional Jordanian bread, with women from a Zikra Initiative social enterprise. How Tourism Can Better Invest in Women Here are a few practical ways that travel and tourism can better invest in women, be more inclusive, and support empowerment, women businesses and leadership. Develop tourism products together with local community organizations and social enterprises that focus on supporting local women and marginalized groups. This social impact product development approach not only provides opportunity and to women and marginalized communities, but it can also provide crucial market access and a source of income for the local organization. If you are unsure on how to get started with a community-driven product development process, we can help. Hire more women, and not only at the lowest levels of participation. Focus especially on leadership and management positions. If you believe that your company already does an adequate job at gender diversity, conduct a simple audit to see how many positions in the company are filled by women or individuals from marginalized communities. This might offer a more objective snapshot of the actual diversity of your company’s workforce. Deploy innovation in gender diversity. Open positions and offer or expand training for women-led initiatives that might at first be considered unconventional. This will help to expand the definition and idea of what a “woman’s job” is or what’s possible for women to aspire to do. For example, Chobe Game Lodge was the first company to in Botswana to feature an all-female safari guide team. Sakha Cabs in India trains women to be taxi and professional drivers, a profession once considered “a man’s work.” Women in these roles push boundaries. Stereotypes are changing. Get ahead of the curve. Don’t just localize the supply chain, but make it more gender equal by choosing women-owned suppliers and local businesses. If you don't know where to get started in finding women-owned tourism businesses, check out this list on Wanderful of women-owned tourism businesses, women empowerment community tourism enterprises at the Planeterra Foundation or search for local women tourism networks where you operate. This approach will not only support your sustainability efforts, but women-owned businesses tend to amplify and expand opportunity and employment for other women in the community. Identify barriers and understand local women’s needs by asking them. Then provide the support they need to productively engage in projects, get the skills they want, and join the workforce. For example, this might include offering child care, transport to and from work to alleviate safety concerns, skills training to supplement basic education, and flexible work hours to accommodate traditional responsibilities at home. Encourage women to be the storytellers. Especially in indigenous communities, we’ve found that women are the stewards of tradition and culture. They are often the ones who pass on knowledge, traditions and techniques to their children, thereby sustaining community wisdom. Women’s voices often go unheard, for they don’t understand the value of their knowledge, nor are they actively given the opportunity to share it. Tourism companies are in an ideal position to amplify these stories and voices by inviting women to be guides or speak as local experts. Communicate to your customers and your travelers the deliberate decisions you’ve taken to invest in women. Share stories of access and opportunity. Be transparent and don’t be afraid to season your story by sharing some of the mistakes you’ve made along the way. Invite your customers to join this journey with you. Educate them on the impact of their decisions and behaviors to support women around the world. If you don’t know how to get started with social impact communications, let us know. Lynn, part of the all-women guiding team at Chobe Game Lodge, with her fully-electric Land Cruiser. For those of us in tourism, we know that it can create opportunity and jobs, thereby enhancing lives and livelihoods. It can take transferable skills and embed them for use in the formal economy. The Business Case for Inclusive Work Forces In addition, investment in women and inclusive work forces makes good business sense. Studies show companies that exhibit higher levels of gender diversity, especially at the executive level, usually outperform those without in terms of economic profit. One of the reasons is that men and women often display different leadership styles. The expression of diverse opinions and perspectives generates collective intelligence and can often result in more creative solutions and more effective problem solving. The business rationale is there on the consumer side, too. In tourism and travel, it’s estimated that women consumers make 70-80% of the travel decisions. Women travelers comprise a growing percentage of the entire traveling community. A company’s capability – aided by workplace diversity — to comprehend and process the needs of its current and prospective customers seems a no-brainer. Inspiring Inclusion Every Day As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we need to move from words and inspiration on one day of the year to deliberate and continual action which supports and empowers women every day. Should the tourism sector rise to “Inspire Inclusion,” women will be invited, welcomed and provided with the resources and support they need to take the driver’s seat on the journey to create a more inclusive and equitable future for all of us. And that's the inclusive world we'd like to live in. The post How Tourism Can Better Invest in Women appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on February 4, 2024 by Audrey Scott While many cities in Germany have one main Christmas Market, Berlin has dozens of Christmas Markets from which you can choose based on your interests and style. So, which are the ... Continue Reading

The post Berlin Christmas Markets: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on February 4, 2024 by Audrey Scott While many cities in Germany have one main Christmas Market, Berlin has dozens of Christmas Markets from which you can choose based on your interests and style. So, which are the best Christmas markets in Berlin? Whether you're looking for a traditional German Christmas market or something a bit more offbeat, I offer here my handy Berlin Christmas Market guide. The recommendations are based on our experience living in Berlin for ten years and being avid Christmas market fans. It has all the information you need to know, including dates and schedules of Berlin Christmas markets and notes on how to visit my local favorites — these are Christmas markets that will make your visit to Berlin during the Christmas and holiday season even more special. Berlin Christmas Markets. How can you not get into the holiday spirit? Winter 2022 COVID-19 Update for Berlin Christmas Markets: Currently, there are no Covid requirements to visit Berlin's Christmas Markets in 2022. They are all open without any restrictions. The Spirit of German Christmas Markets There’s something that just about everyone looks forward to in December in Berlin: Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt or Adventsmarkt). They offer a retreat from the shortening days of the year, into the company of gathered friends and neighbors. In the selection that follows, you'll find the “markets” listed less about shopping and more about community — where friends and families make plans to meet at the market after work or on weekends. A place where the aroma of glühwein (spiced, mulled wine) and sweet roasted almonds wafts in an atmosphere of twinkling lights in a chilly winter vapor. As conversations happen over steaming mugs of glühwein and hearty German street food like bratwurst, market-goers catch up on life and give air to what awaits at the turn of the new year. Christmas markets serve as the perfect antidote — or accompaniment if you like — to the approaching Winter Solstice. I confess that I am a bit of a Christmas market geek. I helped launch a Christmas market when I lived in Estonia many years ago. Dan and I have even taken Christmas market-themed road trips through Germany and Central Europe. Maybe this Christmas market affinity of mine has something to do with the fact that I'm American and I didn't grow up with the Christmas market culture. So, I get a little giddy when the season rolls around and I'm within reach of one. Whatever the cause, this is one of the reasons we stick around Berlin in December. Eierpunsch (egg liqeur punch) in Potsdam. Winter therapy? Does Berlin Have Christmas Markets? At this point you might be thinking: “German Christmas markets are famous, but I’ve never heard anything about Christmas markets in Berlin.” OK, then. Berlin’s Christmas markets haven’t traditionally carried the same reputation or history as those in other German cities like Munich, Nuremberg or Stuttgart. But that’s changing. Berlin makes its own way and blends the traditional into the tapestry of its forward-lurching, unusual self. Just as Berlin doesn’t have one town center, it also doesn’t have one main Christmas market. Instead, Berlin usually features more than 50 markets (in 2022 it's gone up to 70 markets!) spread throughout the city, each with its own distinct personality, atmosphere and specialties. Some run the length of the Advent season, while others are limited-time offers or tuned to the spirit of their local neighborhood for only a weekend or two. Of course, a certain commercialization and schlock lurks conspicuously at some markets. With this in mind, we share our personal recommendations: a few trusted and traditional or local and authentic favorites to help you get started in your Berlin Christmas market exploration. Note: This post was originally published on December 3, 2015 and updated on November 29, 2022 with updated dates, times and other information. . Berlin Christmas Market Dates Berlin Christmas markets are usually open for the entire Advent Christmas market season, from the end of November through Christmas (and sometimes through to the New Year). In 2022, most of the Berlin Christmas Market open on 21 November 2022 and run until the very end of December or beginning of January 2023. Best Berlin Christmas Markets All Christmas markets — totaling around 70 — are open in Berlin in 2022, so you'll have quite a few to choose from to enjoy the holiday season. We find these Christmas markets especially atmospheric when it's dark and everything is tastefully lit, which is easy since the sun sets in Berlin before 4PM throughout December. Glühwein seems to taste better in the evening, too. READ MORE: Berlin Travel: A Beginner's Guide WeihnachtsZauber Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market. Traditional, bright and cheery. Why: For a bit of the traditional in a beautiful setting, especially at night as the Konzerthaus (Concert Hall) and nearby churches and buildings are lit. Gift stands at the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market tend to be handicraft-oriented or luxury-focused. Food quality is generally pretty high here as well. Be sure to check out the big feuerzangenbowle (fire-tongs punch) tent and seek out the wooden barrel of rum to the right of the bar should you need to “enhance” your steaming mug full of punch. In general, if you encounter a choice of glühwein “mit schuss”, that simply means “with a shot” as in a shot of rum or possibly amaretto. Note: Gendarmenmarkt charges a nominal entrance fee of €1. For more information, check out the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market page. Location and Directions 2022: The WeihnachtsZauber market has moved in 2022 from Gendarmenmarkt to Bebelplatz at the State Opera just off of Unter den Linden. Take the U6/U5 to Unter den Linden station or the U5 to Museumsinsel. Neighborhood: Mitte. 2022 dates for the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market: 21 November – 31 December 2022 Opening hours: 12:00 – 22:00 Sunday-Thursday, 12:00 – 23:00 Friday and Saturday (except 24 December until only 18:00) Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas Market – Last Chance in 2022 Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas market. Why: To drink mugs of steaming glühwein in the shadow of a 300+ year old Baroque palace. The Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas market is one with big time European fairytale charm. Some of its stands feature traditional — and huge — Christmas pyramids which entertain as figures go round and round all night long. Also fun, but kind of cheesy, is the light show at night. For more information, check out the Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas Market page. Note that 2022 will be the last year to enjoy this Christmas Market as the space will soon be used for something else. So, prioritize a visit to the Schloss Charlottenburg Market this year! Location and Directions: Just in front of the Schloss Charlottenburg Palace main entrance on Spandauer Damm. Closest U-Bahn stations include Sophie-Charlotte-Platz or Richard-Wagner Platz, as well as Westend station on the S-Bahn. Neighborhood: Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Dates for the 2022 Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas Market: 21 November – 26 December, 2022 Opening hours: Monday – Thursday, 14:00 – 22:00, Friday – Sunday, 12:00 – 22:00, 25-26 December, 12:00 – 20:00 Lucia Christmas Market at Kulturbrauerei (Nordic-Scandanavian Christmas Market) Berlin's Lucia Nordic-Scandinavian Christmas market at night. Why: Because you always wanted to taste the difference between Swedish, Norwegian and Danish glögg (Scandinavian mulled wine). Top off the entire experience with reindeer sausages and a host of other Nordic games and treats and you might just forget where you are. Compared to other open-space Christmas markets, the Lucia Christmas Market is set up in the winding courtyards of Kulturbrauerei, a 19th century brick industrial complex. For more information, see the Lucia Christmas Market at KulturBrauerei page. Location and Directions: The Lucia Christmas Market (and Kulturbrauerei) has multiple entrances at Knaackstr. 97, Sredzkistr. 1 and Schönhauser Allee 36-39. Closest U-Bahn station is Eberswalder Str. (U2) or Trams 12, M10, M1. Neighborhood: Prenzlauer Berg Dates for the 2022 Lucia Christmas Market: 21 November – 22 December, 2022 Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 15:00 – 22:00; Saturday – Sunday, 12:00 – 22:00 Spandau Old Town and Citadel Christmas Markets Spandau Christmas Market in all its holiday-lit glory. Why: To feel as though you’ve been transported to a small German village even though you remain within the Berlin city limits. The citadel of Spandau, one of the best preserved Renaissance fortresses in Europe, is taken over by its Christmas market. The old town of Spandau also hosts a large Christmas Market on its streets. While the atmosphere and some of the bigger stands along the main strip can feel a bit commercial, the little courtyards and stands convey something a bit more traditional. For more information, see the Spandau Christmas Market page. Location and Directions: Take the U7 to Zitadelle Spandau or S3/S7 to Spandau. Follow the crowds to the Citadel. Neighborhood: Spandau Dates for the 2022 Spandau Citadel Christmas Market: 21 November – 30 December 2022 Opening hours: Daily from 12:00 – 20:00, closed 24-25 December Entrance Fee: €3.50 for adults, free for those under 15 years old Medieval Historical Christmas Market at RAW Why: To feel like you've gone back in time to a medieval village complete with axe throwing or archery competitions and hand-operated carousels. This Berlin Christmas market is built each year on the grounds of the RAW Cultural Center and is a fun experience and atmosphere, especially for families or kids, thanks to all of its performances and games. You can warm yourself up around one of the several fire pits and drink mulled wine or hot mead from heavy ceramic mugs. There is also plenty of hearty food, some of it of it aiming to be “medieval” (aka, heavy), to keep you warm and full. A fun way to spend a cold winter evening. For more information see the Historical Christmas Market at RAW Cultural Centre page. Location and Directions: Revaler Straße 99, take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn to Warschauer Straße station. Neighborhood: Friedrichshain Dates for the 2022 Historical Christmas Market at RAW: 17 November – 22 December 2022 Opening hours: Monday – Friday 15:00 – 22:00, Saturday – Sunday 12:00 pm – 22:00 Entrance Fee: €2 for adults, Thursday – Sunday. Free from Monday – Wednesday. Potsdam Christmas Market A proper Christmas pyramid at the Potsdam Christmas Market. Why: To take a break from the big city. Visit the Potsdam UNESCO sites of Sanssouci Palace and gardens during the day and enjoy eierpunsch (spiced egg punch) at the Christmas market at night. The market takes over the streets of the old town for blocks on end and features some of the most elaborate and largest displays we’ve seen. There’s also an ice skating rink and other fun stuff for kids…or adults. There is also a Polish Christmas Market nearby at the Kutschstallhof from 2-4 December to get your fill of Polish pierogis, handicrafts and other specialties. For more information, see the Potsdam Christmas Market page. Early gatherings at the Potsdam Christmas market. Location and Directions: Take the S-Bahn to the city of Potsdam, which is about a 45-60 minute ride from central Berlin. This requires an ABC ticket. Neighborhood: Potsdam Dates for the 2022 Potsdam Old Town Christmas Market: 21 November – 29 December 2022 Opening hours: Daily from 12:00 – 20:00, closed 24-25 December Berlin Neighborhood and Weekend Christmas Markets In addition to Christmas markets which run the entire length of Advent, Berlin also features its share of short-run special and weekend markets. These markets are typically smaller affairs featuring local organizations and neighborhood-oriented venues. If you're visiting Berlin for a couple of days during the Christmas season and authentic and local is what you seek, it's absolutely worth doing some research to see which of these markets happens to be timed with your visit. Alt-Rixdorfer Christmas Market The Rixdorf Christmas market is local, but its atmosphere draws crowds from across Berlin. Why: The Rixdorf Christmas Market serves as a nice kickoff to the Christmas season. It also illustrates how a neighborhood Christmas market can be done well and at scale with local organizations selling homemade crafts to raise money for schools, charities, firemen’s groups, and more. Stands tend to be locally run and offer a perfect excuse to get to know the Neukölln district a little better. The square where the Alt-Rixdorf Christmas market is held, Richardplatz, features an enclosure with pony rides and a petting zoo. The whole thing is sweet, quaint and helps take you back in time a bit. For more information, see the Alt-Rixdorfer Christmas Market page. Location and Directions: On Richardplatz near the Karl-Marx Strasse station (U7). Neighborhood: Neukölln. Dates for the 2022 Alt-Rixdorf Christmas Market: 2-4 December 2022 Opening hours: Friday 17-21:00; Saturday 14:00 – 21:00; Sunday 14:00 – 20:00 Heissa Holzmarkt Bonfires and an urban village scene are all part of the Christmas market at Holzmarkt. Why: For a mixture of traditional and alternative in a fun and eclectic Berlin community space. Located on the Spree River in Friedrichshain, Holzmarkt is open all year around with its fixed shops, bakery, art studios and event space. Its Christmas market open on weekends during the advent season transforms what feels like its own urban village into a bit of a traditional and modern winter wonderland with bonfires by the river, ample amounts of glühwein, silent disco booths, German and international food options, bizarre puppet shows, and much more. This has become one of our favorite Berlin Christmas markets in the last years. For more information, see this Heissa Holzmarkt Christmas Market page. Location and Directions: Holzmarktstrasse 15, Friedrichshain. The Holzmarkt urban village is a compound of buildings on the Spree river. It's a 10-minute walk from S+U Jannowitzbrücke station. Neighborhood: Friedrichshain Dates for 2022 Heissa Holzmarkt: 29 November – 22 December 2022, weekends only Opening hours: Friday 16:00-22:00; Saturday-Sunday 14:00 – 22:00 Schloss Britz Christmas Market Schloss Britz, a Christmas market with a medieval feel. Why: To experience an intimate Nordic Medieval Fairytale Christmas market in the courtyard of an 18th century manor house. Though medieval costumes are involved here, the market somehow seems to pull this off without being a caricature of itself. As Schloss Britz Christmas market doesn't typically see the hordes that other markets might, you'll have the opportunity to speak to the various artisans and learn more about their handicrafts, preserves and other wares. The food served is usually inventive and a bit different than standard fare. There is a €3 entrance fee, but we feel that the atmosphere and quality of the stands warrants the price. For more information, see the Schloss Britz Christmas Market page. Icicles and Christmas pyramids at Schloss Britz. Location and Directions: Schloss Britz, near Parchimer Allee station (U7) or bus 181 Britzer Damm/Mohriner Avenue. Neighborhood: Neukölln Dates for 2022 Schloss Britz Nordic Market: 25 November – 21 December 2022, weekends only Opening hours: Friday 14:00-21:00; Saturday-Sunday 11:00 – 21:00 Christmas Market at Domäne Dahlem Why: Located on the grounds of a manor house which also serves as a sort of farm and agricultural museum, the Christmas Market at Domäne Dahlem includes many small producers and artisans selling everything from sea salts and spices to traditional German handicrafts. There is also an emphasis on fresh and organic foods, so you can certainly eat well and heartily here. Domäne Dahlem is a bit outside Berlin center, but if you want a more neighborhood and countryside feel, check out this Christmas Market during one of the Advent weekends. Entrance is €3. For more information, see the Christmas Market at Domäne Dahlem page. Location and Directions: Königin-Luise-Straße 49, 14195 Berlin. Take the U3 to Dahlem-Dorf station. Neighborhood: Dahlem Dates for 2022 Domäne Dahlem Christmas Market: 26 November – 28 December 2022, Saturday and Sunday Only Opening hours: Saturday-Sunday 11:00 – 19:00 Berlin Christmas Market Maps and Resources A complete list of Berlin Christmas markets maintained by Visit Berlin More Holiday Things to do in Berlin Even if visiting Christmas markets is the main goal of your winter visit to Berlin, there are other holiday and Christmas-oriented things to do in the city. Here are a few of the more popular tours, events and experiences in Berlin as offered by our partner (also Berlin-based), Get Your Guide. They offer many different Berlin tours with no booking fees and free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Christmas Garden in the Botanical Gardens: I have to admit that I never thought about visiting the Botanical Gardens for Christmas this until my hairdresser recommended it as her favorite holiday activity in Berlin. A 2-km route takes you through a winter wonderland of lights and different holiday installations. Berlin TV Tower Fast View Tickets: Get out of the cold and up above it all with these fast-track tickets that allow you to skip the line and go straight up to the top of the TV Tower. You'll have great views of the Christmas market below at Alexander Platz as well as the city as a whole. Berlin Welcome Card with Transport Pass: Get around the city by public transportation easily without worrying about buying or validating your tickets with this Berlin Welcome Card (ABC Zones). You can choose different lengths, from 48-hours to 6-days. And, the Welcome Card provides you with lots of discounts at different attractions, shops or museums. We've used Berlin Welcome Cards quite a bit when we've had visitors as it's cost-effective when you plan to travel around a lot and do a lot of different activities. Best Areas in Berlin To Stay for Christmas Markets Here are a few recommended accommodation options in some of our favorite Berlin neighborhoods of Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain, Neukölln, and Mitte. Weinmeister Hotel in Mitte: Located in the heart of Mitte near Hackescher Markt and not far from Alexanderplatz, this design hotel is in a great location and has a beautiful rooftop terrace for meals and drinks. Several friends and work colleagues have stayed here and recommend it. Note: this is an adult-only hotel. Hüttenpalast in Neukölln: Located in a fun and hip area between Kreuzberg and Neukölln, Hüttenpalast offers both retro-style caravans and cabins, as well as hotel rooms, and a relaxing garden. Friends have enjoyed staying here. Nena Apartments in Bergmannkiez, Kreuzberg: If you want your own apartment and kitchen to self-cater, these apartments on a quiet street in the cute Bergmannkiez part of Kreuzberg are a good option. There are also Nena Apartments in Neukölln (Hermannplatz) and in the Moritzplatz area of Kreuzberg. Michelberger Hotel in Friedrichshain: Located close to the East Side Gallery (2km of the Berlin Wall that is now an outdoor mural gallery) and Spree River, the Michelberger Hotel has a great lobby and restaurant on the ground floor and unique design rooms of all sizes and prices. Several friends who have stayed here recommend it for the rooms and the location. Circus Hostel in Berlin: If you are looking for a hostel or budget accommodation option, several friends have recommended Circus Hostel with both dorm and single/double room options. It's located very close to Rosenthaler Platz in Mitte with lots of local restaurants, cafes and bars in walking distance. The owners have recently opened up Circus Hotel nearby if you aren't into the hostel vibe. Plan Your Berlin Christmas Market Trip How to get to Berlin: There are endless options to fly to Berlin thanks to all the traditional and low cost airlines flying into TXL (Tegel Airport) or SXF (Schönefeld Airport). We often use Skyscanner to compare flight prices and to book tickets because it displays all the various airline combinations, including options from low-fare airlines. Berlin restaurant recommendations: For budget eating, check our our guides for favorite cheap eats in Berlin under €5 and our favorite neighborhood meals under €10. StilinBerlin offers another reliable resource for local Berlin restaurants and “best of” guides. The post Berlin Christmas Markets: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on November 23, 2022 by Audrey Scott The tires of our e-bikes rested on the cobbles of what we imagined was an old imperial road. Our early morning cycle had wound up through the meadows and canopies of ... Continue Reading

The post Exploring Lazio: Off-the-Beaten Path Italy Outside Rome appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on November 23, 2022 by Audrey Scott The tires of our e-bikes rested on the cobbles of what we imagined was an old imperial road. Our early morning cycle had wound up through the meadows and canopies of a nature reserve carved out along the banks of the Tiber River in central Italy. A long stretch of road opened revealing veils of mist rising above the bends of water below. As the road turned steeper still and narrowed, a 13th century castle with hill towns in view just behind it hinted at the medieval history around us, of struggles between barons and popes. This is Lazio, a slice of Italy with all the archaeological, culinary, natural and romantic trappings you might expect but, for now at least, without the crowds. Storming the castle in Nazzano…by e-bike. Lazio, Italy: Wide Open “Where is Lazio?” a friend asked when we first spoke of setting off on this trip. Despite having visited Italy well over a dozen times since we married (in Tuscany), we knew little about Lazio prior to this project, one initiated by Thybris River Experience and funded by Lazio Region, one intended to craft new guided e-bike itineraries in the region. If you felt the need to place yourself in the geographic center of Italy, you might not imagine Lazio, the regional home to Italy’s capital Rome. But it’s about where you’d be. As our guide Giorgia unspooled her stories, she hinted that Lazio was pressed between the ritualized Etruscans to the north in Tuscany and the free-wheeling Bourbon-influenced provinces of southern Italy. In all ways, Lazio seems to teeter in between these worlds. She also explained the word Lazio was derived from the Latin word latus meaning “wide.” While this referred to the low-lying areas around Rome, the idea of Lazio as “wide open”, including for exploration, grew on us as we spent more time. Much of what we experienced felt relatively undiscovered from a tourism perspective. Cycling the pine forest of Castel Fusano outside Rome. From the well-preserved ancient echoes of Ostia Antica to the modern psychic imprint of Italian film greats and philosopher-poets like Pier Paolo Pasolini, this part of northern Lazio might bear a label that reads “greater Rome.” Yet our daily experience was more expansive. It featured hill town espresso breaks, hidden sculpture gardens, migratory bird hides, and overnights in restored villas, all punctuated with random encounters and mid-afternoon noshes on pastas turned in local products and paired with local wines. Developing guided e-bike itineraries in Lazio Our journey through Lazio included ten days' worth of e-bike rides in three distinct areas, each within about an hour's train ride from Rome. The goal of these three itineraries, which our involvement and feedback will help refine, is to enable travelers to engage with lesser-known hill towns, protected areas, cultural curiosities and historical sites in Lazio Region along the Tiber River as it winds its way from north of Rome, through the city and out to the Tyrrhenian Sea on Italy's west coast.⁠ The two- and three-day customizable trips connect travelers to still relatively unknown areas near Rome in a way that celebrates local communities, artisans and experiences. Cycling with e-bikes from hill town to hill town in Lazio. Core to these guided tours are the concepts of sustainability, community, and a focus on all things local, including accommodation, guides, food, transport and providers. Although all destinations noted here can be accessed via other methods of transport, e-bikes featured as our primary mode of transport together with an occasional regional train. The aim: to maximize local benefit and minimize environmental impact. Across three multi-day itineraries in Lazio, here are just some of the people and places you might encounter. A big thanks goes to Giorgia Cadinu, a dynamic professional guide in Rome and cycling enthusiast. She initiated this project and shared her curiosity and passion for the Tiber River and Lazio Region with us all along the way. If you wish to book or customize any of the following guided itineraries, contact Thybris River Experience. Note that the website may refer to the tours as Pomona (Tuscia and Teverina), Bona Dea (Tevere Farfa Reserve and Nazzano), and Leucotea and Egeria (Ostia Antica, Fiumicino, and Isola Sacra into Rome) lands respectively. 1. Tuscia and Teverina: hill town and villa life Just an hour outside Rome by train are the Tuscia and Teverina districts of northern Lazio on the border of Italy's Umbria and Tuscany regions. Despite the accessibility of these districts to the capital city, you'll find what feels like a completely different world — one defined by rolling landscapes, wine farms, and a spread of palazzi and manor houses which harken back to barons whose designs for power may have conflicted with a pope or two. Explore the hill towns of Tuscia in Lazio by e-bike While Tuscany and Umbria are famous for their hill towns, you’ll find the beauty of medieval hill towns with melodic names like Civitella d'Agliano, Celleno, Roccalvecce, Sippiciano and Vitorchiano perched high above the Tiber River valley in Lazio. But these destinations come without the crowds, for now at least. The town of Vitorchiano, perched cliffside and catching some early morning light. Cycling the medieval walls of the hill town of Roccalvecce. Over the hills and vineyard dale, Teverina by e-bike. One of the benefits of traveling by e-bike from hill town to hill town around the region is the opportunity to appreciate the contours and changes in landscape, as well as the subtle shifts in character of the towns and townspeople along the way. From forest to rolling hill to volcanic farm, our cycling journey from one destination to another delivered some of the most memorable and most photogenic experiences of the day. Trebotti Wine Farm: Taste volcanic wines from a fully sustainable winery While many wineries today have only just begun to focus on sustainability, Trebotti winery in the hills of Tuscia has made sustainability core to its family-run operations for over 20 years. During a tour, you'll see this considered in every detail: the (re)use of an ancient Etruscan cellar to store its sparkling wines, the choice to grow only indigenous grapes on its volcanic soils, the use of lightweight glass bottles, and an elaborate self-regulating air circulation system to reduce energy consumption. The goal of all this is to operate sustainably, to live up to the wine's organic label, to manage environmental impact and to find balance with nature. If anyone wished to understand what sustainability looks like in detailed operation, this wine farm would be a great place to start. Federico, our host, summed it up well: “To be sustainable is to respect the land.” Wine tasting above the terraced vineyards at Trebotti winery. Federico, our Trebotti winery host and guide. Trebotti wine farm overlooking the valley. Our wine tasting featured five wines paired with homegrown produce and homemade bites, enjoyed overlooking the Trebotti vineyards below.⁠ Sample the local Grechetto, a white wine varietal you'll likely become familiar with on your visit to the Lazio region. We sampled a rose and orange wine, both of which paired nicely with semi-dried tomato confit, crostini and local cured sausage. Finally, we tasted two red wines, including our favorite Gocce Rosso made from Violone, the local Lazio name for the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo varietal. This paired with a 72-month aged caciocavallo cheese and homemade salted chocolate nocciola red wine crema proved an astonishing way to conclude a tasting. La Serpara: Find the hidden sculpture garden For over 25 years the artist Paul Wiedmer and his wife Jacqueline have invited artists to find inspiration in nature and to harness the creative spirit at their home-atelier tucked in the hills near the town of Civitella d'Agliano. Today, La Serpara is open for private visits. You can enjoy a guided walk around sculpture gardens and bamboo forests dotted with modern art installations and take in the story of the site and the works that various artists-in-residence have created over the years. Jacqueline takes us around the garden to admire the sculptures. Paul Weidmer, artist and co-founder of La Serpara, with his puppy welcoming committee. Civitella d'Agliano: craftsmen bicycles and castles There seems to be no trade or service that couldn't be delivered on the back of a bicycle in early- to mid-20th century Italy. Knife sharpener, priest, portrait photographer, mattress cleaner, hairdresser, obstetrician. These are just a few of the professions, together with their customized, elaborately outfitted bicycles, that form the private collection at Il Mulino dei Mestieri (The Mill of Craftsmen) in Civitella d'Agliano. Yes, all of that photography processing equipment went on the bike. Streets so steep, Civitella d'Agliano. Alessia and her husband Daniele have spent over ten years collecting, repairing and lovingly restoring their collection of antique craftsmen bicycles. This snapshot of 20th century village trade history is now on display in a local mill. As Alessia showed us around and demonstrated kits of each bicycle, it was remarkable to see how every step, tool and feature of each service or trade was carefully integrated into bicycle construction. If you are a bicycle-bound obstetrician, a baby's life depends on it! Delivery services today seem to have nothing on the early 20th century blend of ingenuity and efficiency. And certainly nothing of the personality. Celleno: Il Borgo Fantasma The town of Celleno, known today as Il Borgo Fantasma (the “Ghost Town”), had been a vibrant, living hill town for over 1000 years until the mid-20th century when a string of earthquakes and landslides rendered it a dangerous place to live. However, each time the authorities tried to clear inhabitants from their homes and move them elsewhere, they returned. It was their home after all. Eventually, in the 1950s, the authorities demolished most of the old town buildings. Hence, Celleno became a ghost town where only the ruins of buildings remain. Like a movie set, the “Ghost Town” of Celleno. Some of the surviving medieval structures have recently been transformed into an open air museum and a series of historical exhibitions. One features a collection of 20th century sound and recording devices, while another antique and artifact exhibition is built around a multi-story medieval trash tunnel dating back 800 years. These “medieval trash heaps” as they are called are fascinating, not least of all because they give pause and make one wonder what story will one day be drawn from all the trash we currently generate. Celleno, beautiful and intriguing, offers a fascinating story of of rescued history. A taste of Tuscia, with a view at San Rocco Restaurant San Rocco Restaurant, in the inhabited “new town” of Celleno, lies just outside the rampart walls of the ghost town and focuses on local Tuscian fare. Note that's not Tuscan fare, but Tuscian fare from the local region including hill towns like Celleno and the nearby city of Viterbo. We were fortunate since our visit coincided with the porcini harvest. In-season porcini mushrooms were picked fresh from the forest off in the distance below our lunch terrace. Lunch also included rabbit stew, gnocchi in cime di rapa (broccoli greens) and a plate of stewed fagioli (beans). We opted to pair it all with a local Lazio Pinot Grigio called Satres from Le Lase vineyards. The orange hue in the glass? From 24 to 48 hours of contact with the skin of the grape. A visit timed with fresh porcini season. Delicious! San Rocco Restaurant, Celleno. Stay in the restored 18th century Villa Lais One of the most memorable highlights of this itinerary was our 3-night stay at Villa Lais just outside the town of Sipicciano. Maddalena, the artist proprietor of Villa Lais, purchased this 18th century compound almost ten years ago and has lovingly renovated it over the ensuing years. Returning “home” to Villa Lais after a day of exploring Tuscia. Design and decor at Villa Lais. A warm welcome from Caino as one of Villa Lais' 10 cats conducts surveillance. Ceilings and walls of inlaid wood illustrated in muted yet dazzling color mesmerize with detail, line and story. The tableau is rich yet not gratuitously busy or overdone. Maddalena's careful eye for design shows in everything, from the furniture to the wine glasses used at dinner, to create a feeling of living history and continuity to the villa's past that feels in no way contrived. Another characteristic that makes this place feel like home are the four dogs and ten cats who are always ready to greet you when you return from a day of countryside exploration. Sacro Bosco, the 16th Century “Park of the Monsters” Sacro Bosco (“Sacred Forest”), also affectionately known as Park of the Monsters, is more firmly on the tourist path than most other destinations we visited in Lazio. But we kind of understand why. The park and its sculptures were commissioned in the mid-16th century by Prince Pier Francesco Orsini as a way to express his grief due both to the untimely death of his wife and the weight of the brutality he had witnessed in war. This one was probably for war grief. Sacro Bosco, Bomarzo. Featuring a collection of large stone sculptures depicting fantastic and often disturbing creatures all scattered about in a forest just outside the hill town of Bomarzo, the park was a bit ahead of its time in its vision and anticipation of the need for exhausting one's grief. Despite the fairly steep price of individual admission (13€) and the park's undeniable commercial feel, it might still be worth a look. 2. Tevere-Farfa Reserve and Nazzano: nature, hill towns and art Our exploration of Lazio continued further along the Tiber River in and around the Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve. This is the place where the Tiber River environment takes center stage in the experience. Landscapes are green and the pace is reflective, despite the area only being an hour northeast of Rome by train. Hill towns feature again, but they serve as the backdrop for natural surroundings like swimming wild boars, as well as moments of contemporary culture and artistic flourish, and a surprising lesson in modern history. Canoeing the Tiber River The bends of the Tiber River in open green space define the Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve. Landscape is defined by texture, including hillsides of exposed volcanic tufa rock. Castles seem to keep watch atop the nearby hills overlooking the river valley. Wildlife make their way about. For the first time, we encountered wild boars swimming, making their way from one side of the river to the other. When we did our paddle, we encountered grey herons and egrets, and various birds pausing as they make their way southward. Canoeing the Tiber River in Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve. Nazzano Castle up ahead. Eat farm-to-table at La Fattoria Campo di Contra As we lounged and noshed farm-to-table with Mauro, founder of La Fattoria Didattica Campo di Contra, we found our table refreshed multiple times with simple dishes fashioned from produce fresh from his organic garden and goods sourced from nearby farms and producers. Over conversation about life in the region, we enjoyed a range of small plate treats like zucchini flower fritters sided with honey made by bees who snack on local resin, antipasto locale, grilled melanzane (eggplant) and peppers, and fresh bean salad. And Mauro served all of it with his rather quaffable homemade wine. With our meal as the object lesson, we could feel the vision Mauro has for his land and for helping to connect visitors to nature. A post-canoe lunch at La Fattoria Campo di Contra. Medieval hill towns and castles to explore Hill towns featured again in our travels across the Tiber River valley, including one of our visual favorites, Nazzano. It's the one you'll see from below in the Tevere-Farfa Nature Reserve. Historically, we imagined it high up and cliffside in order for its minders to eye the Tiber River below as it flowed with goods into Rome. As we dreamily perused listings posted inside windows of real estate agents in Nazzano we wondered what it would be like to set up shop, restore one of these buildings and actually live here. There be castles in Lazio, too. This one in Nazzano. Grand entry by e-bike to the hill town of Filacciano. In other hill town stops, we enjoyed beer and snacks in a piazza (and got invited to lunch), took espresso breaks with locals enjoying the morning sun and did things like snack-slurp suppli di telefono, a warm croquette so-called because its mozzarella is so oozy it stretches like telephone wire. Hike and cycle the trails of Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve is the first protected area in Lazio Region. When we first entered the park, we found ourselves clearly in the thick of nature. The sun was low and peeked through the trees, casting light and shadows on the more curious members of the local boar families lurking about. Between boat rides and canoe trips, we took gentle strolls and and cycled much of the trail that winds itself around and through the bends in the Tiber. HIking in Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve, Lazio A few of the characters at Ecoturismo Tevere Farfa. The cycling trails of Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve in late afternoon. Ecoturismo Tevere Farfa, built on the site of the old organic farm cooperative, is the only accommodation in the park itself and served as our base. Home to a curious cast of characters including a donkey and a sheep who enjoys giving head butts, it functions also as an educational and community gathering center. Ponzano Romano: Enjoy a conversation with a local artist Though most of Michele Longo's working years were spent in Rome directing films and mixing it up in cafes with the likes of Pasolini, he now focuses his time painting and creating mixed media art in his apartment studio in the hill town of Ponzano Romano. Surrounded by plants and fruit trees on his sunny veranda, we enjoyed a conversation with him over Cornettino di Ponzano Romano (a savory crisp croissant twist dashed with anise, extra virgin olive oil and glazed just slightly sweet) and demi-tasses of espresso. Longo's passion is palpable, as is his concern for what he sees as the deterioration of societal elements that support the development of creativity. We appreciated his pithy wisdom and spirit at 82-years young. We also discovered his secret to “creative fermentation” along the way. Hint: it's not about virtual interaction. Conversation with an artist, Lazio edition. Ponzano Romano is also known for its contemporary art museum, which was unfortunately closed at the time of our visit due to a change in exhibitions. However, if you take note of Longo's observation that Ponzano Romano is a more creative city than Rome, the museum is likely worth a look. Bunker Soratte: Go deep in the WWII and Cold War tunnels Just when you think you've seen it all in terms of WWII and 20th century military history, you walk into this place and one jaw-drop follows another as history bends the mind again. Marvel at the scale of Bunker Soratte, Mussolini’s mega-bunker tunnel complex atop Mount Soratte and near the town of Sant'Oreste. Apparently sensing the winds of war, Mussolini ordered it carved into the mountains by Italian engineers. After its construction from 1937 to 1939, and due to Il Duce’s loose hubristic lips, the bunker was squatted by Nazi Germany thereafter and run by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring as the Supreme Command of the South. Later during the Cold War, the four kilometer tunnel network would become a nuclear fallout shelter for officials in the Italian government. One of the long, deep tunnels of Bunker Soratte. Bunker Soratte's Cold War history comes through in the NATO situation room. Exhibition illustrating the Nazi German occupation of Bunker Soratte during World War II. Site lore makes the place even more intriguing. One story tells of the allied bombing of the bunker (that deliberately spared the nearby town) with the help of a local engineer who communicated intelligence and guidance signals via a transmitter hidden in a birdcage. (Does that make him “the bird man” of Sant'Oreste?) And the lost, stolen Nazi gold? That one begs a miniseries. The whole thing is pretty sobering too, once you overcome the fascination. Some reflective time out for an espresso or the drink of your choice should follow in the friendly little town of Sant'Oreste nearby. Fondazione Serpone: art, nature and a surprising chapel The sculpture garden and outdoor art installations at Fondazione Serpone in Torrita Tiberina are made available by way of a private family collection open to the public (by appointment). Each of its artist-donated pieces is carefully considered and positioned throughout the grounds of the hillside property. Together, the pieces delight in playful, subtle ways. The subtlety ends, rather deliberately, upon opening the door to the chapel installation executed by Austrian philosopher-artist Hermann Nitsch. What might be considered the centerpiece of the property and its installations, the chapel's interior offers a surprising and challenging interpretation of the spiritual. And the chapel is blessed by the local bishop! Art in nature at Fondazione Serpone. Nitsch Chapel, something to experience. Ecofattorie Sabine: terrace lunch on an organic farm After all that movement and cycling, uphill and down, a bit of restoration and stock-taking is required. Ecofattorie Sabine in Poggio Mirteto offers an ideal location for a meal before catching the train to Rome. The farm is right there, so everything is fresh, but so is the train station, so you can roll onto the train after your meal. For lunch, we shared honey-bathed ricotta; gnocchi with pumpkin cream, sheep cheese, sage and crouton crumble; pici pasta with walnut pesto and stracciatella; cicory greens ripassta and an autumn salad. With our meal, we enjoyed a Lazio Tragugnano Orvieto DOC from Sergio Mottura vineyard, an organic white wine blend featuring, again, the Greccheto varietal. Ecofattorie Sabine, where ingredients are fresh from the organic farm next door. III. On Rome's Edge: Ostia, Fiumicino, and Isola Sacra Everyone knows of Rome, the Eternal City, for its deep history and archeological wonders. However, not too far out of town in the direction of Fiumicino airport lies a handful of remarkable sites that often go unnoticed. ⁠ If you are looking for even more impressive history and ruins without the crowds, check out Ostia Antica and Portus, two nearby Tiber River gateways for commerce and exchange during the Roman Empire. These lesser known archeological ruins speak to the development and growth of Rome and form the cornerstone of a kind of “Rome you never knew” experience. To connect past to present, our itinerary also included encounters with passionate local people and projects highlighting the link between community, history and nature in and around the surrounding communities of Fiumicino and Isola Sacra. Ostia Antica: The ancient Roman Empire…just outside Rome Stroll the ancient streets, homes, theater and businesses of the once thriving ancient city of Ostia, known today as Ostia Antica. Although this site does not garner the attention (or crowds) of the top-tier archeological sites in nearby Rome, nor trigger the kind of emotion you might experience at Pompeii, the evidence of what life was like in this town some 2000 years ago astonishes due to its remarkable state of preservation. Marble-topped bars? Ostia Antica had them. Street food stalls? Those too. Maybe that's why Ostia Antica is considered among Rome's first colonies despite its proximity to Rome itself. Theater mask sculptures in the Roman Theatre, Ostia Antica. Mosaics in the Roman baths of the chariot drivers, Ostia Antica. The 1st century A.D. Roman amphitheater of Ostia Antica. It's still in use today. Portus (The Port of Claudius and the Harbor of Trajan) Just down the road from Ostia Antica in the direction of Fiumicino (home to Rome's airport FCO) lies Portus and the Archaeological Area of the Imperial Harbours of Claudius and Trajan. Imagine the bustling ancient city of Portus while strolling the stone-quiet ruins of the Port of Claudius (42 AD) and Harbor of Trajan (100 AD). Today, this archeological site is 3 km from the Mediterranean coastline, making it difficult to imagine that 2,000 years ago this artificial, hexagon-shaped harbor was fully submerged and served as Rome's main port to the Mediterranean Sea. Portus, once ancient Rome's main port on the Mediterranean. Severiani warehouses, Portus. Goods arriving by sea were unloaded at the port and harbor, then transferred to smaller boats on the Tiber River to take to Rome. This configuration allowed Rome access to the Mediterranean Sea along with a layer of protection. Portus grew in such size and importance that it received the status of an independent city in the 4th century. However, history consigned the port to disuse. Much of it remains undiscovered, quite literally underground, so one can only imagine what lies underneath the airport and the nearby towns of Fiumicino and Isola Sacra. Explore the ancient tombs at the Necropolis of Portus If you wish to understand the ancients, understand how they honored, buried and stored their dead. The Necropolis of Portus in Isola Sacra is a vast cemetery dating from the 1st century A.D. Although the well-off at the time could afford mausoleums and tombs whose epic mosaic floors remain intact even today, workers from the Roman port and harbor and tradesmen of various crafts were relegated to packed burial niches and much tighter quarterage. Mausoleums and burial niches, Portus Necropolis. Tomb layers, Portus Necropolis. The site is absolutely worth a visit. The necropolis and its surroundings combines the tranquility you'd expect from a burial site with the wonder and story of a cache of archaeological ruins offering a glimpse into the lives and livelihoods of those who helped build the surrounding history. Eat and drink local in Fiumicino For lunch on the Tiber River near a marina in Fiumicino, we enjoyed 4112 – QuarantunoDodici Restaurant, a more laid back bistro version of the Michelin-starred Il Tino restaurant upstairs Resisting an urge to try everything on the menu, we reined it in and opted for a palate cleansing starter, the merluzzo (salted codfish) and red beet carpaccio dashed with raspberry vinegar. Appreciating the scratch pad of the seven local species of fresh fish on offer, we shared a whole sarago, a kind of Mediterranean bream not to be confused with either branzino or orata. Distinct, tasty and light. We went bold and paired it all with a Fioranello Bianco from Lazio. Codfish and red beet carpaccio. QuarantunoDodici (1441) restaurant, Fiumicino. Fried polenta and tomato cream atop cicoria greens, BioAgricola Triano. Homemade pasta in zucchini pesto, BioAgricola Triano. When we were in Fiumicino poking around the Port of Claudius and Harbor of Trajan, we stopped by nearby Bioagricola Traiano for lunch. The restaurant is located on the edge of its organic garden, chicken hut and bee hives so you can imagine the source of many of the ingredients you see on the regularly changing menu. We opted for a couple of appetizers and pasta dishes, including fried polenta over cicoria greens and homemade pasta with zucchini pesto. Meals are visually appealing and tasty enough, but portions are big and hearty so beware of over-ordering as we did. Meet a local historian at Museo della Cultura Contadina ⁠Past and present come together at the Museo della Cultura Contadina in Isola Sacra. Our host, Oswaldo, shared the history of the area and how it had been transformed from a swamp — they literally drained the swamp — into a productive tract of agricultural land during the early-to-mid-20th century. The unique story of Isola Sacra, Museo della Cultura Contadina. He is one of the few remaining descendants who still lives there. Through the museum he works with the community to preserve the story of the establishment of the area as an economic development opportunity and enticement to Italian World War I veterans from around Italy to settle and work the land after the world wars. Check out the Pietro Micca steam tugboat Along the Tiber River as it readies to spill into the Tyrrhenian Sea, Giulio, the passionate owner of the Pietro Micca steam tugboat, keeps a piece of maritime history and heritage alive to illustrate the evolution of technologies and energy use. The Pietro Micca dates back to 1895 and has known many incarnations, including its original role as a tugboat, then support ship for an American military base in Naples. Most recently it served as a traveling, floating modern-day sustainability education program run by Giulio and his family. The Pietro Micca Steam Tugboat. Giulio in the engine room of the Pietro Micca steam tugboat. Although the operations of the ship are not currently sustainable since its steam is generated by diesel, Giulio remarks that “we need to remember and understand where we were and are [in terms of sustainability and energy] to know where we're going.” In fact, his vision of sustainable evolution for the ship includes its eventual conversion to electric power. That would be something. Birdwatch at LIPU Oasis and witness the regeneration of nature Two decades ago, Alex Polinori of LIPU Oasis (Centro Habitat Mediterraneo Ostia) set off to turn a garbage dump into a suburban oasis and a thriving home for migratory birds. Since then, he and his team have planted over 7,000 trees and helped reclaim a patch of once disregarded wetlands that now attracts a fast-growing list of migratory bird species and local wildlife. LIPU Ostia is a case study in natural land reclamation and regenerative tourism. If you are bird enthusiast, it's worth the effort to time your visit with that of the visiting birds' migratory patterns. Before image from 20 years ago. After: Ostia's Lipu Oasis, now a natural reserve. To optimize the atmosphere of the wetlands, it's only possible to watch the birds through two bird hides. The hides provide birdwatchers an opportunity to enjoy the birds in their natural environment without disturbing them. Depending upon the time of year you may see an unusual and wide array of birds and water fowl including flamingos, pelicans, rare Europeans duck species, woodpeckers, and more. Birdwatching in one of the bird hides. Lipu Oasis, Ostia. Sentiero Pasolini and Regina Ciclarium: A return to Rome From Ostia and the coast, human civilization yields again to nature. As it does, reeds and thickets have been cleared along the hand-marked Sentiero Pasolini (Pasolini Path). Pier Paolo Pasolini, whose name comes up often throughout the itinerary, was a prolific poet and film director, perhaps most well-known for his film Mamma Roma (1962). For the first-timer, Pasolini is difficult to grok: in parts folk, suburban, spiritual, philosophical, and wary and weary from his time in the war. Controversial, thoughtful. And unfortunately, a voice snuffed out by murder (and some say assassination) in 1975. The Pasolini Path yields to the Regina Ciclarium as it winds its way through the suburbs of Rome, by street art caches, and over and around old bridges and Tiber River infrastructure from the Roman Empire. The paths, for cyclists and hikers alike, are community-maintained and in full disclosure, a work in progress. Sentiero Pasolini (Pasolini Trail) en route to Rome. When in Rome, you see the Colosseum. A street mural tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini along the cycling route from the coast to Rome. After navigating and emerging from what felt like a time warp, we found ourselves somehow startled to be staring at the Roman Colosseum. From there, we wound our way further past the imposing yet human scale of history, through to more polished neighborhoods and the touristic center city Rome. In many ways, we'd completed the cycle. Disclosure: The experiences above were provided to us in conjunction with a Lazio Region-funded consulting project with Thybris River Experience entailing product advisory, product marketing and destination positioning. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own. The post Exploring Lazio: Off-the-Beaten Path Italy Outside Rome appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on January 6, 2023 by Audrey Scott The hike to the Lost City in northern Colombia takes you 46km (28 miles) round trip through the jungles, hills and river valleys of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We’d had our ... Continue Reading

The post The Lost City, Colombia: A Guide to Hiking to La Ciudad Perdida appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on January 6, 2023 by Audrey Scott The hike to the Lost City in northern Colombia takes you 46km (28 miles) round trip through the jungles, hills and river valleys of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We’d had our sights set on the Lost City Trek for years, so expectations had built up. Fortunately, the challenge, landscape, and experience exceeded so many of them. This Lost City Columbia Hiking Guide shares why that is and includes a day-by-day overview of the Lost City Trek, all you need to know to choose the right tour, how to pack and organize so that you can enjoy the Ciudad Perdida and this multi-day hike to the fullest. We were out of breath, having just climbed 1,200 stone steps when Celso, our indigenous guide, called for us to join him around a group of stones arranged in a circle in a clearing. In the middle of the circle stood another square stone on top of which lay a pile of coca leaves placed as an offering. Celso explained with trademark calm in a slow, deliberate voice, “This is a place where we should let go of our impurities, our negative thoughts and emotions.” We stood in silence, not only to “cleanse” ourselves so that we might better experience this sacred site, but also to enjoy its peace and quiet. To Celso, we were then prepared to further visit Teyuna, otherwise known as the Lost City (La Ciudad Perdida) in Colombia, the ultimate destination to which we’d been trekking in the rain forest for the previous two days. A taste of landscape along the Lost City Trek. Here’s why you might want to consider putting the Lost City or Ciudad Perdidia in Colombia on your travel or hiking wish list, in case it isn’t there already. In this Lost City Colombia Guide we include the day-by-day hiking experience plus all you need to know about to choose a Lost City tour and how plan, prepare for and pack to be able to enjoy the complete Lost City Colombia experience. Update: This article was originally published in June 2015 and updated in May 2022 with information about the new G Adventures Lost City Trek itinerary. The following experiences are from our G Adventures Lost City Trek. If you are considering this tour and want to know what to expect, here’s a taste of the itinerary and route, interaction with local indigenous guides, campsites and Wiwa community project. Disclosure: This tour was sponsored and provided to us in conjunction with our partnership with G Adventures as Wanderers. About this Lost City Colombia Trek Guide When I researched the Lost City Trek as part of our travels in Colombia, I found a fair bit of conventional history about the site, often paired with a photo or two of the final destination, including what I refer to as the “golf course” shot. What I didn’t find much of was information on what the actual journey to the Lost City was like, including the hiking experience, difficulty, landscapes, sleeping and eating conditions, weather, and more. That's the goal of this Lost City Trek day-by-day section. Us in front of the “golf course” shot. The landscape along the trail is more beautiful and varied than we had expected and the Lost City site itself is far more extensive than most photos indicate. We especially appreciated having an indigenous guide to put everything into cultural and historical context. Celso, a member of the local Wiwa indigenous community, shared his culture with us and linked it to the other indigenous communities, their relationship to nature and their shared connection to the ancient Tayrona civilization. Our Wiwa guide, Celso, with his poporo, a gourd used for carrying crushed seashells (lime). Our days usually began early, around 5:00 A.M., so we could get on the trail while it was still cool and so that we could complete our day’s journey before the rains of the mid-late afternoon. We appreciated getting up early, and we enjoyed all the benefits of the early morning – light, coolness and silence among them. Lost City Trek Map The map below shows the basic Lost City trail with different options for campsites and sections. We did a four-day hike, but if you opt for a five-day Lost City trek then your second and third days will be shorter as you'll have two days to complete that same route. The current G Adventures Lost City Trek is five days. Lost City trailhead sign with route, campsites and distances. Hiking to the Lost City in Colombia: Day by Day Itinerary Day 1 of the Lost City Trek Start/Finish: Machete (El Mamey) to Adán or Ricardito Camp (Campsite #1) Distance: 7-8 km All Lost City treks, no matter which tour company you choose, seem to set off from Santa Marta in northern Colombia. From there, a jeep or van transfer takes 45 minutes along the highway. You’ll likely stop at a convenience store for last minute snacks and water. From there, you’ll head up a dirt track into the mountains. After you arrive in Machete, you’ll have lunch, say goodbye to the driver and meet your local indigenous hiking guide. Then, the hike begins. (Note: this is when you should ask the people coming off the trek if they have a walking stick they can give you. It is really helpful for balance and ease on the trail.) The first of several swimming holes along the trail. The beginning of the walk eases you into things, with a swimming hole a close 25 minutes from the trailhead. After cooling off in the water, you’ll have a steep uphill for around 45 minutes, then a bit of a break, then a long descent into the valley where the first campsite is located. Everything on the trail comes up on the backs of mules or horses. Enjoying the view during a fruit and water break, Day 1. Steep terrain into the valley of the first campsite. Day 2 of the Lost City Trek Start/Finish: Adan or Ricardito Campsite #1 to El Paraiso or Paso Lorenzo Camp (Campsite #3) Distance: 14.7km (Note: for the 5-day Lost City Trek this day is 7-8 km) If you are doing a 4-day Lost City Trek, then this is a long hiking day. If you are doing a 5-day route like the G Adventures Lost City Trek then this will be a similar distance as the previous day, 7-8 km, to Wiwa Camp (Campsite #2). The trail crosses Rio Buritaca several times during the journey. The first segment of the day takes you uphill and across some beautiful terrain, including some local farms. After a jump in a swimming hole and lunch at Campsite #2 (Wiwa Camp), we continued all the way to Campsite #3 (El Paraiso or Paso Lorenzo Camp), located only 1 km downhill from the site of the Lost City. If you are doing the 5-day Lost City Trek, then you would stop at Campsite #2 for the night. A little rain never hurt anyone… This day takes you through a great deal of varied landscape — deeper into the tropical jungle, across rivers and by a couple of Kogi village communities along the way. Passing by a small Kogi village. When the river is too high, you cross in a mid-air cage-like contraption. Don't worry, it's more secure than it looks. After the rains, enjoying the open landscape. Day 3 of the Lost City Trek: Visiting La Cuidad Perdida Start/Finish: El Paraiso or Paso Lorenzo Camp (Campsite #3) to Wiwa Camp (Campsite #2), via the Lost City / Ciudad Perdida Distance: 13.6km Note: This is day 4 if you are doing a 5 day Lost City Trek. You rise very early on this day (around 4:30A.M.) so that you can set off at dawn and enjoy the Lost City in the softest light and coolest air possible. After a short walk from the campsite, you reach the starting point of the 1,200 stone stairs you’ll need to walk and scramble to reach the terraces of the city above. It’s not an easy climb, and can be a bit treacherous if wet or damp, but if you take care and get into a meditative rhythm, you’ll find it goes very quickly. Slow and steady up 1,200 carved stairs. After the steps, you’ll have reached the lower chambers of Teyuna, also known as The Lost City or Ciudad Perdida. It is believed that this was a capital city built by the Tayrona civilization in 800 A.D., approximately 600 years before the Incas built Machu Picchu in Peru. When Spanish colonialists came close to finding or approaching the in the 16th century, the Tayrona people opted to abandon the city instead of allowing it to fall into Spanish hands. Two Kogi men return from the upper chambers of Teyuna. Of course, the Lost City Colombia was never truly “lost.” Teyuna was overtaken by jungle for the next several hundred years, as only the shaman (holy men) of the four indigenous groups who live in the area were aware of its existence and would visit it regularly for ceremonies. It wasn’t until the early 1970s that the site was “discovered” by the outside world. Tomb thieves cleared out much of the gold, valuable artifacts and other remains. Due to this misfortune and the fact that no written record of the Tayrona exists, much about the city and civilization remains the subject of speculation. Celso explains the competing theories of the Lost City version of the Rosetta Stone. The Wiwa, Kogi, Arhuaco, and Kankuamo indigenous groups that remain in the area are believed to be the descendants of the Tayrona and have carried on their stories and traditions. We noticed when we arrived at the Lost City, Celso let down his hair, the surprising length of which is said to represent the wisdom that flows from the sacred mountains through the rivers to the coast. He was dressed in white, as was his custom, to represent the purity and integrity of the snow-covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, out of sight in the distance. Celso leads us to the upper terraces of Teyuna, the Lost City. Throughout our journey, he shared stories that had been passed on to him, through generations, from shaman to shaman, from elders to children, about the Lost City / Ciudad Perdida. The stories told of its creation, the symbolism of the different terraces, and the Tayrona relationship with nature. The indigenous people that inhabit the area around the Lost City in Colombia believe they are the symbolic “elder brothers,” there to protect both the sacred Sierra Nevada Mountains and their “younger brothers” – meaning the rest of us. The sense of responsibility to the equilibrium and the good and health of others was evident. Approaching the upper chambers of the Lost City. After your visit to Teyuna, the Lost City, you return to El Paraiso or Paso Lorenzto Camp (Campsite #3) for a quick lunch and begin your return all the way to Wiwa Camp (Campsite #2). For us, we were met with an afternoon downpour that made it feel as though we were skiing through mud crevasses in the rain forest. We were glad for the experience. It was actually more delightful than it sounds as the rain was warm and everything around was so green and lush drinking in the much appreciated water. After the rains, watching the clouds rise up through the hills. Day 4 of the Lost City Trek Start/Finish: Wiwa Camp (Campsite #2) to Machete and Santa Marta Distance: 12.7km This is another early rise since much of the trail is uncovered and therefore becomes quite hot as the day goes on. Try to make it as far as you’re able before the sun becomes too strong. Through a limestone path en route to Machete. As you’ll remember from your first day, much of the trail is up or down, without much in between. After a stop for fruit at the first campsite and a jump in the swimming hole, you find yourself back where you began, with a celebratory lunch in Machete. Then you'll transfer by vehicle to Santa Marta for a nice, hot shower and to reunite with the rest of your stuff. Back where we started, at the trail head sign in Machete. Lost City Trek Difficulty and Hiking Conditions We’d give this trek a medium-high difficulty ranking for all the reasons we’re about to elaborate. This means that you should not require special training to hike the Lost City Colombia trail, but you should be relatively active and in good physical shape. You should either be accustomed to or be prepared for day-long treks with steep, slow uphill climbs and long walks in intense heat and humidity. Lost City Trek is Not a Technical Trail The Lost City Trek is not at all technical, meaning that you will not need any special equipment (e.g., climbing ropes or other fittings). The trail is well-maintained and for the most part, it’s an easy path to follow. But, it’s necessary to have a guide to navigate the rivers and some turns. Through the tropical forest on the way to the Lost City stairs. You’ll have to cross a few streams or rivers — with river shoes on or with your shoes and socks in your hand — but that is part of the fun. Altitude, Steep Hills and Valleys Altitude is not really an issue, as the trek’s highest point is around 1,500 meters/4,920 feet. However, the Lost City trail seems to either be straight up or straight down without much flat so there's a lot of steep ascents and descents on the trail. Our advice is to take it slow and steady on the uphill. Keep in mind that it’s not a race. It’s better to hike deliberately and slowly and take fewer breaks than to go quickly and wear yourself out with frequent and longer stops to recover. Heat and Humidity One of the challenges of the Lost City Colombia Trek is the combination of heat and humidity. I’m not sure we’ve ever poured sweat with such intensity and consistency. It actually felt great, like a cleansing process. Just be sure that you drink plenty of water to replenish. Note that respite from the heat comes a couple of times a day in the form of rivers and swimming holes to jump into. Bugs Along the Trail Another challenge and irritation of this trek: bugs and their bites. There are lots of them, especially mosquitoes at the Lost City itself. We suggest applying plenty of bug repellent (bring on the DEET if you need to). If you are especially susceptible to mosquito bites consider hiking in long trousers as Dan did. Finally, pick up a pack of generic B-complex tablets (“Compejo-B generico” runs 25 pills for $1.00) in a pharmacy in Santa Marta before the hike, as certain B vitamins are said to repel mosquitoes. Another thing to watch out for are fleas and/or bedbugs in the hammocks and/or blankets at the campsites – this is where we collected most of our bug bites (especially campsite #2). We recommend carrying a sleep sack, so that you have another layer of protection while you are sleeping. Finally, check your body closely for ticks when you emerge from the Lost City Trek. We each had a few on us; they are very tiny and difficult to see, so look closely. (Note: For advice on how to properly remove a tick, check out this article.) Rain and Mud Along the Lost City Trail We had been warned plenty about rain and mud, but didn’t find wet weather too much of a hindrance. Yes, it rained from time to time (usually mid-afternoon), but it was often so hot anyway that the cool rain was welcome. Be certain any valuable electronic gear is well-protected and any dry sleeping clothes are at least wrapped in plastic (e.g., ziploc, garbage bags or a dry sack) inside your backpack. Then, have an outer backpack cover to protect your backpack from the elements. A little rain and mud just adds to the excitement. If you fall in the mud, just go with the flow and don’t think about it too much. You can always wash yourself and your clothes later. Best Time to Hike the Lost City Trail While you will experience heat and humidity almost all year round in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern Colombia as it is a rain forest, there is still a rainy and dry season. December through March is considered the dry season and so it often is considered the bet time to hike the Lost City Trek. In general, May through September is considered the rainy season for the region. This means expect more downpours and higher river crossings. That doesn't mean that you should avoid those months altogether as the rain can be a welcome relief from the heat and provide an interesting experience. For example, we did our G Adventures Lost City Trek in early June and thought the few rainfalls were kind of pleasant and added to the experience. Note: The Lost City Trail is usually closed in September for trail maintenance and to do upkeep on the campsites and other services. Lost City Trek Food You will certainly not go hungry on the Lost City Trek. Each group is assigned a cook and not only will you be served three large meals a day (e.g., fish and rice, pasta, chicken and potatoes), but you will also enjoy well-placed fruit stops along the trail. These are very welcome for the additional boost of energy and hydration just when you need it. Enrique, our cook, made us a feast every dinner. If you are vegetarian or have food restrictions (e.g., gluten or lactose free), alert your trekking company and your guide in advance so they can respond accordingly. Lost City Trek Campsites and Sleeping There are a handful of different campsites along the way that the tour companies use. We can only speak firsthand to the ones that we stayed in — Adán Camp, Wiwa Camp, and El Paraiso — but we understand that the other campsites are quite similar in design, comfort and services. Not always, but often, you’ll have an option to sleep in a hammock or on a mattress/bed (both with mosquito nets). We always chose the hammocks, but some may prefer mattresses. Sleeping along the Lost City Trek. Hammocks covered with mosquito nets. There are cold water showers and flush toilets at all the campsites. Clotheslines will be strung around so you’ll be able to hang up your wet clothes from the day. However, the rain forest is damp so do not expect anything to fully dry overnight, if at all. Evenings also get cool, so keep a long-sleeved shirt or fleece jacket handy at night. Organizing a Lost City Tour: Your Options Choosing a trekking operator You cannot do the Lost City Trek independently (at this time), meaning you must go with one of the four or five authorized tour operators. We took our Lost City Trek with G Adventures and can highly recommend the experience. G Adventures work with a local organization that provides indigenous guides so that their travelers are able to learn about the indigenous cultures and communities still living in the Sierra Nevada mountain area. Regardless of which operator you choose to take you on the Lost City Trek, we suggest you select one that works with indigenous guides. The cultural and living history background is essential to a full Lost City Colombia experience. How many days do you need for the Lost City Trek? Most trekking operators offer four-, five- or six-day trek options. We did the Lost City Trek in four days, but now all the standard G Adventures Lost City Trek offerings are five days. As the route is the same, the main difference is that a five-day trek includes a relaxed day #2 with only a few hours of trekking to the second campsite. As for the six-day option, we can’t really imagine taking that much time to do the trek. But if you are worried about your trekking abilities and stamina then talk with an operator regarding what they suggest. Leaving your luggage behind during the trek Most accommodation and tour operators/trekking agencies will allow you to leave your big bags or luggage with them for the few days that you're doing the Lost City Trek. We left our big backpacks at our hotel in Santa Marta and we saw other travelers leave their bags at the tour operator/trekking agency office. Lost City Trek Essential Gear and Packing List Much of what we include in our Hiking Essentials Checklist holds true for the Lost City Trek. However, we offer a customized Lost City Trek packing list with recommended hiking gear for this specific hiking experience. The goal is to ensure you have what you need for the tropical rain forest conditions but that don't overpack and weigh yourself down with a heavy backpack. While there is the option on some of the route to hire a mule to carry luggage and belongings, it's best not to count on it. You should pack and plan as if you will be carrying your pack the entire length of the trail. Trust us, pack light. You’ll quickly begin to feel the extra weight going up those steep hills. Hiking Backpack for the Lost City Trek When we did our Lost City Trek we just repurposed our regular travel and laptop daypacks. This worked fine at the time, but since then we have invested in real hiking backpacks that fit our backs better and don't cause any aches and pains in the shoulders or back. Here are two recommended options for hiking backpacks that will fit the hiking clothing and gear you need, but not be too big or bulky: Women's Hiking Backpack: I have a larger version of this Deuter ACT Trail Pro SL Backpack (22-Liters) and love it. The SL backpacks are designed for women's bodies and I find this backpack fits me really well, is well designed with its own backpack cover and zippered areas, and is both light and sturdy. Men's Hiking Backpack: Dan loves Osprey hiking backpacks as they fit his body type (e.g., tall) and back really well. He likes the Osprey Stratos 24-Liter Hiking Backpack for day hies or for multi-day hikes like this where you don't need to carry a lot of gear. Refillable Water Bottle for Drinking Water You will go through several liters of water each day (if not, then you’re not drinking enough) since you’ll be sweating constantly. Bring with you 1-2 refillable water bottles or a water bladder so that you always have at least one liter of water on you at all times. Each campsite offers clean water, so you can refill your water bottles every couple of hours on the trail. If you really want to play it safe consider carrying with you a SteriPEN or sterilization drops. Consider bringing electrolyte sports drink tablets or packets with you to help you replenish some of the minerals that you’ll sweat out each day. And let’s face it, sometimes drinking liters of water gets boring and you want some flavor. Walking Stick We highly recommend carrying a walking stick. We were very thankful for ours, especially when things got muddy and slippery. Hikers just finishing and on their way out of the trail donated their wooden sticks to us. If this doesn’t happen, then ask your guide for one and he will find a walking stick for you, or fashion one for you with his machete. Alternatively, bring your own walking sticks (these are good travel-friendly walking sticks). We usually just use one stick each so a set of two is sufficient for two people. A walking stick, even a basic one like this, is essential for this trek. Hiking Clothing for the Lost City Trek You really don’t need much in the clothing department. Don’t worry about packing clean clothes for each day. You will be sweating buckets within minutes every morning of getting out on the trail. Here’s what we suggest for hiking clothing and gear essentials: 1 set of hiking clothes: T-shirt (preferably quick dry), shorts, hiking socks. This means you will wear the same clothes every day. Don’t worry about it. Everyone does it. And you’ll be thankful not to carry the weight of extra clothes. Note: if mosquitoes love you, consider wearing hiking pants the whole time. Dan did this and it cut down on his mosquito bites considerably. If you are especially sun-sensitive, consider bringing a very light long-sleeved hiking shirt, but be aware that you may be warm. Hiking shoes: We wore low-rise hiking shoes (his and hers) and these worked great for us. Other people wore light trainers, however some mid-ankle support is useful because of the pitch of the terrain. 1 set of evening clothes for post-shower and sleep: T-shirt, long pants (or pajama bottoms), socks. To ensure these remain dry, pack them in a plastic bag or other impermeable container inside your backpack. Extra t-shirt: Just in case. Underwear for every day of your trek: With an extra pair thrown in for good measure, if you like. Recommended his and hers quick dry underwear for men and women. Extra pair of socks: Just in case your first pair get soaked beyond comfort while rock jumping at the river crossings. Bathing suit: Keep near the top of your backpack to have handy for swimming holes. Long-sleeved shirt: For cool nights or sleeping (recommended his and hers). Fleece jacket: For cool nights or sleeping (can double as a pillow, too). Rain jacket (optional): We didn't use ours due to the heat and humidity. We appreciated the cool rain. Not to mention, a rain jacket in the tropics can feel like a personal sauna. Flip-flops or river shoes: To use in river crossings, showers, and evenings when you wish to get out of your hiking shoes. Women's Tevas | Men's Tevas Other Essential Hiking Gear Waterproof backpack cover: You never know when a rainstorm will hit, so it’s essential to keep a rain cover for your backpack close at hand. Your guide will likely also have a supply of plastic garbage bags in case you need extra rain protection. Quick-dry travel towel: To dry off after showers, and also after a swim. Hang it on the outside of your backpack in the morning so it dries quickly in the sun and air as you move. Silk sleep sack: To provide an extra layer between you and the hammock (or mattress) and blanket. Fleas and other bugs in the hammocks bit us and other travelers we spoke to. Headlamp: Most of the campsites do not have electricity, so be prepared. Carry your own headlamp to find your way to the toilet and to sort through your stuff at night in and around your hammock. Silicone earplugs: A precaution in the case your camp has a snorer. We know from our Lost City experience that this can demolish a good night’s sleep. Toiletries and Health Kit You will have access to a shower every evening, and you will be so thankful for the cold water shower to wash away all the sweat and salt on your body from the day’s efforts. Shampoo, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste: The basics. Sunscreen: The higher the SPF, the better Sunglasses: Of course. Bug repellent: You will apply this frequently, especially at the Lost City itself. The mosquitoes there are big, aggressive and plenty. Hand sanitizer: To be on the safe side. Pack of tissues or toilet paper: The campsites all have toilet paper, but it’s always a good idea to carry a pack of tissues in case of messes, spills or emergencies. Vitamin B Complex: Take one pill per day (called Complejo-B in Spanish, available at pharmacies in Colombia). Supposedly, mosquitoes don’t appreciate the smell and taste of your blood when B-1 Thiamine is present. It is debatable whether this really works to repel mosquitoes, but we appreciated using it and felt that it helped. Foot care and blisters: Duct tape is very effective for hot spots and blisters on your feet. Also consider picking up some Compeed, which is magic when you already have blisters. Medical Kit (for emergencies): Your guide will also have some basic first aid items with him, but it's always good to be prepared. Our basic medical kit includes: Band-Aids, anti-bacterial gel (for cuts), rehydration powders or electrolyte tablets, Azithromycin/Ciprofloxacin (or another medication against stomach bacteria), Tylenol/Panadol (anti-headache/aches), Immodium (or some sort of “stopper” if you get diarrhea), tea tree oil (great to apply to mosquito bites) Note: all these are easily and inexpensively purchased at local pharmacies, including in Santa Marta from where you depart for the trek. Electricity and Charging Batteries While a couple of the campsites do have electricity, it’s unreliable. Prepare yourself for not having access to electricity during the trek. Some tips to handle this and further your battery power. Put your smartphone on airplane mode. There is no connectivity along the trek anyhow, so don't waste your phone’s battery power trying to find a network. Consider buying a phone case that doubles as an extra battery. It provides another 1-1.5 charges. Take an extra camera battery or two. Don’t spent time reviewing your images, as this will eat up your battery power quickly. Unless you are reviewing images to determine whether you’ve captured a specific shot, there will be time enough for photo review when your trek is finished. G Adventures Lost City Trek Options G Adventures Lost City Trek Tours Here are some of the G Adventures Lost City Trek small group tour options. These G Adventures tours all include an indigenous guide and all the support you need for a successful hike to La Ciudad Perdida in northern Colombia. The links below are affiliate links meaning that the price of the G Adventures tour stays the same to you, but we earn a small commission from the sale to be able to keep sharing articles like this with you. Colombia - Lost City Trekking (7 days) Photo Credit: Uncornered Market The Lost City Trek tour we took that included all the experiences in this article, including an indigenous guide and cultural experience. The tour is 7-days and begins and ends in Santa Marta with 5 days of hiking the Lost City Trek. Book this tour Colombian Culture, Caribbean and Lost City (22 days) Photo Credit: Uncornered Market This comprehensive 22-day G Adventures tour in Colombia takes you from the capital city of Bogota through Colombian coffee country to Medellin and finally to the Caribbean coast to explore Cartagena and Tayrona National Park before ending with the Lost City Trek (5 days). This tour is very similar to the experience we had with G Adventures in Colombia when we combined the Colombia Journey tour with the Lost City Trek. It's a great overview of the main regions of Colombia. Highly recommended. Book this tour Colombia Caribbean Adventure: Lost City Trek and Medellin (12 days) Photo Credit: Uncornered Market This 12-day G Adventures tour in Colombia takes your from Cartagena to Medellin with the Lost City Trek in-between. This allows you to explore two of Colombia's most dynamic and fun cities with the adventure of the 5-day hike to the Lost City or Cuidad Perdida. Book this tour Colombia's Caribbean Coast & Lost City (14 days) Photo Credit: Uncornered Market This 14-day G Adventures Colombia tour allows for an in-depth look at northern Colombia's Caribbean coast in Cartagena and Tayrona National Park before heading into the Sierra Nevada mountains for the 5-day Lost City Trek. Book this tour Have other questions about the Lost City Trek in Colombia? Just ask in the comments below and we’ll incorporate the information into the article so others may benefit. Disclosure: Our Lost City trek was provided to us by G Adventures in cooperation with its Wanderers in Residence program. Check out this article for all the different G Adventures tours we've taken and recommend. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own. The post The Lost City, Colombia: A Guide to Hiking to La Ciudad Perdida appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on February 4, 2023 by Audrey Scott What hiking essentials do I need for a multi-day hike? What gear and hiking backpack should I take on a day hike? What gear would be too much? And what hiking ... Continue Reading

The post How to Pack For A Hike: The Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on February 4, 2023 by Audrey Scott What hiking essentials do I need for a multi-day hike? What gear and hiking backpack should I take on a day hike? What gear would be too much? And what hiking gear is essential so that you are prepared for all types of weather and other scenarios? How am I going to carry it all so it's not too heavy? This Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist aims to answer all of those questions — and much more — to prepare you for your next day hike, multi-day trek or outdoor adventure. It's no secret that hiking and going on multi-day treks is one of our main loves in travel. We've gone hiking on all continents, from the top of Tanzania to the jungles of Colombia, and over the years we've become quite adept at packing efficiently and effectively for treks of all lengths and weather conditions. Our goal in figuring out the best hiking essentials and gear is to be prepared for changing weather, but to still pack light so we're not carrying a lot of weight. After receiving numerous emails, queries and comments asking about how we prepare and pack for these multi-day and day hikes, we decided to assemble our hiking essentials checklist with our favorite gear and advice for hikes, long and short. Packing light and efficient for a multi-day trek in the Alay Region, Kyrgyzstan. By way of background, during the first six years of our journey we carried all that we needed in our backpacks so as to be prepared for just about any kind of climate or activity, from beach to glacier. In retrospect, we made some silly decisions in those early days. As a result, we carried a few bits of gear we never used. But through experience and experimentation and after about a dozen multi-day treks in all types of weather and altitudes, we got smarter and more effective in our packing for hikes. This isn't only regarding what hiking gear to carry with us, but also when it made sense to rent gear locally for the duration of the trek or even to buy the gear on the ground. And we figured out how to do all this while on a budget. What is the difference between trekking and hiking? Good question. While this article does a good job breaking it down, for our purposes here we're using the two words somewhat interchangeably to represent going out and walking in nature for a period of time. This is different from mountaineering that usually involves specialized climbing gear and technical skills and backpacking that usually involves camping gear. Note: The following advice applies mainly to multi-day hikes where your sleeping and eating arrangements are taken care of already (think guest houses, lodges, tea houses, home stays, yurts or even with a trekking agency that takes care of carrying your tent and food). If you are camping on your own, then you'll need to add food, camping, and cooking gear to everything below. Update: This article was originally published in June, 2014 and updated last in May 2022 with additional gear and tips that we've learned from additional day hikes and multi-day hikes we've done during that time (e.g., Alay Mountains in Kyrgyzstan, 10-day Huayhuash Trek in Peru, a winter trek in Bhutan, hiking in Cyprus). We've added a section on winter trekking gear, a note on sustainability when thinking about hiking gear, and an updated Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist. This article is long and covers a lot of different topics and types of hiking gear. Use the Table of Contents below to find the information and section that best suits what you're looking for and your needs. If the hiking gear that we originally bought and use is no longer available, we will find and recommend the closest current option. Hiking Gear Myths: Don't Make The Same Mistakes as Us We've made a lot of mistakes with hiking gear and packing for hikes over the years. Here are some of the trekking packing myths that we've discovered along the way. 1. You must purchase the latest and greatest hiking gear. It's true that some trekking clothing technology is especially useful for lightness, wind-resistance, waterproofing and wicking (GoreTex, fleece, Polartec, etc., come to mind). However, we suggest focusing on the hiking gear essentials: clothing that is comfortable, breathable, light, easily layered. You're not climbing to the peak of Mount Everest here. (If you are, that's for a different article altogether). For a little perspective, watching locals breeze by you in flip-flops might make all your fancy hiking gear seem a little unnecessary. There's no need to overspend. Go for good quality so you can use it for a long time, but resist the shiny bleeding-edge hiking gear toys. I know it's hard. Outdoor stores are dangerous shopping vortexes for us, too. 2. You need to bring EVERYTHING with you. For almost every multi-day hike we've undertaken, there's been ample opportunity to rent or buy gear to supplement our regular hiking gear kit. For example, it's just not practical for us to carry around bulky sleeping bags in our backpacks when we only need them a tiny fraction of the time during a trip. Do your research and find out what is available on the ground and at what cost. Ask the tour company you're going with or reach out to other independent travelers who've experienced the same hike. When you land on the ground, shop around for the best price to rent or potentially even buy something used or new. Decked out in layers of rented trekking gear on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Before climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, we'd traveled through Bali, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Jordan and Thailand — all with the same gear in our backpacks throughout. So it was more than worth the $65 I spent in Moshi, Tanzania to rent a sleeping bag, waterproof pants, waterproof jacket, walking stick, gaiters and more to get me to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Dan even rented hiking shoes for $15 which offered a little more ankle support and stability than the ones he'd been wearing. When we departed for our safari just after the Kilimanjaro trek I could just drop all that stuff off at the trekking gear shop and continue with my regular light backpack. 3. Real treks require camping. This is all subjective. It's true that camping and carrying all your own gear may give you a greater sense of independence and accomplishment and allow you to dive deeper into nature. However, we take issue with the assertion that camping equals a better hiking experience. In fact, some of our most memorable hikes (e.g., Annapurna Circuit, Markha Valley Trek, Svaneti, Peaks of the Balkans, Kalaw to Inle Lake in Burma, etc.) have been memorable precisely because of the local culture and human interaction dimensions surrounding our sleeping and food arrangements with local families. It's the combined experience of nature and people (and the human nature that responds to the surrounding environment) that we find truly soul nourishing. READ MORE: 13 Best Offbeat Treks That You’re Not Considering…But Should Packing for Your Hike: Hiking Essentials Principles When it comes to packing for a hike in an efficient way so that you have maximum flexibility with minimum weight, we follow the following hiking essentials gear and packing principles and philosophy. This has come together over the last fifteen years with all the different treks we have done all over the world. 1. Hiking clothing: it's all about the layers. This is true in all types of travel, long-term and short, but especially for hiking into high altitudes. Temperatures can change very drastically during the course of a day. I always prefer to have an extra layer in my bag than to go cold or wet. Layers. The key to preparing for a freak Himalayan blizzard in June. Even if the days are warm at low altitude, nights may still be chilly. On summit days you'll often need to pile on everything you have to get to the top, only to peel it off layer by layer as you descend. 2. Hiking clothing for overnights: carry separate rest and sleeping clothes. I learned this from the folks at Erratic Rock in Puerto Natales near Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. They called the yucky, stinky clothes you'll find yourself wearing every day until the very end your “hiking uniform.” In light of this — and even if you are going minimalist — try to include an extra set of night clothes to change into at the end of the day to relax and sleep in. These clothes will be dry (quite important if you've hit snow or rain that day), comfortable and relatively clean (in comparison). I usually pack an extra t-shirt, pajama pants and socks. I'll further layer other clothes on top to stay warm at night. Regardless, the layer closest to my skin is dry and relatively fresh. Oh, the little joys while on the trail. This technique also gives your wet and stinky clothes a chance to dry and air out overnight. The next morning you can slip back into your hiking clothes — yes, your uniform — and you'll be ready to go for another day on the trails. 3. Never skimp on sun protection. As you advance higher in elevation, the sun becomes scary strong. So even if you tan beautifully on the beach without any sunscreen, be sure to pack ample and strong sunscreen once you head into the mountains. Carry a hat that will protect your face from the sun (think rollable foldable sun hat or baseball cap — we don't need to look pretty while trekking). Hiking with sunburn — face, neck, or hands — is miserable. And if your sunburn is bad enough, you'll almost feel flu-like. Not good for peak performance. Also be sure to have sunglasses with quality lenses that protect your eyes. Otherwise, they too will become burned and sore. Choosing a Hiking Backpack You’ll be carrying all your stuff on your back up and down mountain passes so the size, fit and comfort of your hiking backpack is super important. Aim to carry a hiking backpack that is big enough to hold the essentials (e.g., water, jacket, rain gear, sunscreen, etc.), yet not too big that it will weigh you down. The size of your hiking backpack will depend on the number of days of your hike is, your sleeping and eating arrangements, and temperatures. No matter what, don't forget to bring a rain cover to protect your backpack in storms. In the early days of our travelers we often repurposed our laptop backpacks or rented backpacks from trekking agencies. This usually did the trick, but they did not always fit use entirely and thus were not very kind to our back and shoulders. We've since invested in proper hiking backpacks and haven't looked back. Our only regret is that we wish we had done this earlier to save ourselves some of that early discomfort. Here are the hiking backpacks we're now using and can recommend for comfort, weight, size and convenient features. Recommended women's hiking backpack I really do love my Deuter ACT Trail Pro SL hiking backpack (32-liters) and take it with me every chance that I have. It's very light with all sorts of great functionality like a built-in rain cover, water bladder compatibility, wide waist belt for stability, and more. The SL means that it's designed for women's bodies and I don't know how much of a difference that makes, but I find that it does fit my back and body quite well. Loved my Deuter hiking backpack walking 960km along the Camino Norte. Even after walking almost 1,000 km / 600 miles with it on my back during the Camino de Santiago, I still found it comfortable and had no issues with it. I've used this hiking backpacks both on multi-day hiking trips as well as on day hikes when I wanted to carry several layers of jackets and rain gear, a water bladder and other hiking essentials. Although it is a bit big for a traditional day pack, I still find it comfortable and light enough to serve this purpose. Deuter no longer makes this backpack in 32 liters, but you can still find it or similar Deuter SL hiking backpacks in other sizes. Buy on Amazon (28-Liter) | Buy on REI (22-Liter) | Buy on Backcountry.com (34-Liter) Recommended men's hiking backpack for multi-day hikes The Osprey Exos hiking backpack comes in several sizes, so the Large version is well-suited for tall people (like Dan). Light, comfortable, and durable. This was the first hiking backpack that Dan used that didn't leave him with a sore back and shoulders at the end of the day. Dan light on his feet with his Osprey Pack on the Camino. The only complaint about this backpack is the walking stick holder as it's a little janky, but that's a small thing compared to comfort and all the other great features of this Osprey hiking backpack. Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI (48-liter) | Buy on Backcountry Recommended men's hiking daypack As you know from above, Dan is a big fan of Osprey packs as they are adjustable and fit his back and torso well. So when he was looking for a smaller size daypack he stuck with Osprey and chose the Osprey Packs Stratos 24. This 24-liter size is great for day hikes or as a daypack on multi-day treks (e.g., when most of your hiking gear is carried by mules). Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI | Buy on Backcountry.com Hiking Clothes for Men and Women Below is an overview of the hiking clothes we each carry for a 5-10 day hike. If you are going on a shorter trek then you can cut back, but if your hike is longer you can still carry the same amount of clothes or even less (e.g., we carried a similar amount for our 40-day Camino de Santiago walk). Recommended trekking pants = Clothing Arts Travel Pants for Men and Women For longer hikes and treks you'll just need to “recycle” your hiking clothing more or find a way to wash them along the way. By recycle, I mean turn things inside-out, air them out, wash them. Whatever the best mechanism you have available to give it longer life and whatever your tolerance level might be. The most important thing is not whether you stink (there's a good chance you just might), but that you are dry and comfortable. My approach is to carry and maintain separate hiking and sleeping (or relaxing at night) clothes so that you always have something clean(ish) to change into at night (see above for more details on this). To be on the safe side to protect against things getting wet, put your sleeping clothes and whatever else you aren't wearing at the time in Ziploc or another kind of plastic bag. Hiking Clothing: Base Layers and Mid-Layers Hiking pants (one pair): We're both been using Clothing Arts Travel Pants (men's hiking pants and women's hiking pants) for over ten years on all of our day hikes and multi-day treks. These hiking pants are not only are sturdy (we've put them through a lot and they still look great), but they are also quick-dry and avoid stains and odors. We find the additional secure zipper and buttoned pockets useful on treks for keeping phones, money, tissues and other things handy. (Note: This is especially relevant for women as many women's trekking pants hardly have any pockets of any size.) Women's hiking pants in the Dolomites of northern Italy. Thermal underwear (top/bottom): I love my silk long johns as they are warm, comfy and take up almost no room at all. Also good is Uniqlo's Heat Tech collection of thin, but warm, layers of leggings and tops. Dan is still keen on his Patagonia zipper top and bottoms that he's been using for over 20 years. 2-3 short-sleeved t-shirts: Preferably quick-dry or regular cotton for comfort and versatility. We often use our running shirts on hikes as they are light and wick away sweat well. Plus, the bright colors of the shirts allow us to easily find each other when we're hiking at different speeds. Bright running shirts also make for good hiking tops. 1 long-sleeved pullover or zipped shirt: When you need another light layer to go over your t-shirt for cold or sun protection. I've been enjoying a light zipped top for women and Dan's been using a half-zip pullover. Pajama/sleeping pants: I find that cotton leggings or yoga pants work quite well. Hiking Socks and Underwear Underwear: However many pairs that you're comfortable with carrying. Underwear is light and doesn't take up much space so you have some flexibility here. Here are recommended men's boxer shorts and women's underwear. 3 pairs of socks: I love SmartWool hiking socks. Not only are they comfortable, but my first pairs lasted me almost seven years of very heavy usage. If you prefer a thinner sock check out their ultra-light line. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Hiking Outerwear: Jackets and Waterproof Gear I always prefer to have the option to remove layers than to not have enough to put on when I'm beginning to chill as I head over a mountain pass or through a storm. Never know when a freak snowstorm will hit. Always be prepared with layers. Waterproof Shell Jacket and Pants For jackets, we each usually bring a light fleece jacket, thin windbreaker and some sort of outer waterproof or water resistant jacket. Waterproof Jacket: For our recent trek in Peru I upgraded to a NorthFace Climatech technology waterproof jacket and I love it. It not only provided protection against the rain and cold, but the jacket material is very breathable so it didn't feel like a sauna inside. Highly recommended. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry A waterproof jacket as an outer layer provides comfort and protection against rain. Waterproof Pants: We used to borrow or rent waterproof pants from a local trekking agency, but most recently we picked up a pair of light pull-on biking waterproof/water resistant pants. They fold up into a small bag so they barely take up any room or weight in your backpack, but keep you quite dry when the clouds open up. Waterproof Poncho: If we really think we're going to be facing a lot of bad weather we'll also pack a waterproof poncho that goes over our hiking backpacks for extra protection. It can get steamy under the poncho, but it's worth it for that additional layer to keep you and your gear dry. Light Down or Puffy Jackets We've also started carrying a light down jacket that can be stuffed into a tiny cinch bag. It hardly takes up any room or weight in the backpack, but can provide warmth and comfort at night when temperatures drop. Dan loves his seamless ultra-light down jacket from Uniqlo. I carry a down jacket similar to this that packs up small and light. Hiking Shoes and Other Footwear Shoes may be the most important thing you bring with you so if you invest in one thing in advance, invest in a solid comfortable pair of hiking shoes. And break them in. Your shoes can literally make or break a trip. Hiking Shoes or Boots If you have a particular trek or hike in mind, ask in advance whether you need mid- or high support hiking shoes for ankle support as this may influence your purchasing decision. We don't find ourselves often needing high support boots. However, if your ankles are weak or susceptible to turns and sprains, more support is better than less. We both recently shifted to wearing Oboz Sawtooth hiking boots. The insoles and support for your feet are really good, and the shoes are sturdy and can stand up to some tough terrain. In addition, Oboz plants a tree for every pair of shoes sold so you can feel good that your purchase is going towards reforestation and environmental projects. Men's Obuz Sawtooth Hiking Shoes: Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Women's Obuz Sawtooth Hiking Shoes: Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Flip flops or river shoes At the end of a long day of walking you may want to take off your hiking shoes and give your feet a rest. But you'll still need something on your feet to go to and from the outhouse or nearest bush. That's where flip flops or river shoes worn with socks (yes, ignore the fashion police) are perfect. Outside of these situations, you may find river shoes either useful for crossing or fording rivers. Depending on the bottom surface of the river and the depth, we've also just managed in bare feet, but river shoes protect your feet from stray rocks and make the crossing more comfortable. Women's Teva River Shoes: Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI | Buy on Backcountry Men's Teva River Shoes: Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI | Buy on Backcountry Other Hiking Gear Essentials Sleeping and Drying Off Gear Sleeping Bag Liner: Arguably non-essential, but nice to have. Whether staying in home stays with provided bedding or sleeping in a rented sleeping bag, you sometimes wonder when the last time anything was properly laundered. And you may also wonder about bed bugs and other critters. That's where a sleep sack with a pillow wrap comes in to provide a clean layer between you and everything else. Our preference is for a silk liner as it is very light, but keeps you quite warm and dries quickly. Buy on REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Note: We do not usually carry a sleeping bag with us as we prefer to rent one locally if we need one. This saves us a lot of room in our luggage. Quick-Drying Travel Towel: Always good to start and end your day by washing your hands and face. Don’t expect hot showers on treks, nor running water of any kind. But on a few occasions we've been able to get a couple of bucket baths that were really, really nice. Buy on REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Silicone earplugs: A good night's sleep on the trekking trail is supremely important for your condition. And although you may be sleeping in the middle of nowhere, there are still noises from roosters, howler monkeys, birds, lions, and not least other trekkers that will all conspire to keep you up. That's where earplugs come to the rescue and help shut it all down to silence. Trekking Poles and Walking Sticks Walking stick: Highly recommended on most treks, especially for steep downhill sections. Two walking sticks or one, you ask? We'll usually share one walking stick set of two so each of us uses one stick. However, using two walking sticks will provide you with more stability. This set of reasonably priced travel-friendly walking sticks fold up easily for luggage and assemble quickly when on the trail. Walking sticks help keep your balance in all sorts of terrain. If you don't bring a walking stick with you, then keep your eye out for a tree branch or limb that can be carved for the purpose. We've done that plenty of times as well. Sharp Knife and Lights Leatherman: A multi-tool device with a knife, bottle opener, screwdriver, and more comes in quite handy when on the trail. We use ours all the time for cutting cheese, vegetables, bread or other food items for picnic stops. Note: remember to take it out of your carry-on bag when you fly! Headlamp: Lights the way and keeps your hands free. If you're staying with families in guest houses or home stays, you may find they are without electricity at night or in the bathroom/outhouse, a most unfortunate place to trip in the dark. If you're camping, headlamps are of course absolutely essential. Water and Filtration Reusable water bottle: We each carry a reusable liter water bottle on us and refill along the way with purified or clean water. We also usually carry CamelBak water bladder in the backpack as well as we find we drink more water this way as it's easy to access and you can easily hydrate while walking. Even if your trek has bottled water to sell, resist the urge to buy it. Plastic bottle waste is an enormous problem at elevation and in villages around the world. If you get tired of the taste of regular water, consider adding some electrolytes to it. Water Purification: Some treks will provide you with clean, boiled water as part of the service (e.g., Kilimanjaro, Markha Valley). Sometimes there will be a program of UV (ultraviolet) purified or pass-filter cleaned water services in villages where you can refill your bottle with clean water for a small fee. Hop on it, maybe even pay a little extra. It's worth it to you, the village, and the environment. On other treks it's up to you to somehow purify or clean the water you source from mountain streams or village taps. We suggest carrying either a water bottle that has its own purifier, a SteriPEN or sterilization drops/tablets. We've found this 2-part water sterilization drop system to be good and doesn't make the water taste too much like chemicals. The SteriPEN uses ultraviolet (UV) light and technology to purify the water which does not affect the taste so it still might taste funky even if it's clean. The sterilization drops may make the water taste a little funny, but it won't make you sick. Sun Protection Sunscreen, hat and sunglasses: Bring the highest SPF sunscreen you can find and wear a hat at all times. The sun's rays are exceptionally powerful at altitude and you'll find yourself especially exposed when there isn't a cloud in the sky. Moisturizing skin cream and lip balm (with SPF): Creams and moisturizers may sound extraneous, but they can make a difference. Many mountain treks involve high desert where you will not only be exposed to lots of sun, but also arid conditions. Your skin and lips will dry and crack to discomfort if you don't keep them moist. Treat them nicely: moisturize! And be sure to carry only a tiny lightweight container, not the original 32 oz. tube! Personal Hygiene Items and Toiletries Hand sanitizer gel and soap: One of the best ways to avoid becoming ill: wash your hands thoroughly and often. If you feel a little obsessive compulsive with the hand cleaning, that’s a good thing. Toilet paper / tissue packets: One roll, used sparingly. Better to be self-sufficient here. No explanation needed. I often also keep a pack of tissues in my pocket as well for such emergencies. First Aid Kit and Medicines Basic first aid gear we recommend packing: Band-Aids, aspirin/Tylenol, rehydration/ electrolyte packets, anti-flu powder (a packet that dissolves in water that breaks fevers may work better than a pill if someone has been throwing up), Foot care: Address any hot spots or blisters the moment you begin to feel them as they can get painful really quickly. Our go-to gear for preventing and treating blisters include duct tape (magic in preventing and managing blisters) and Compeed (magic when you already have blisters). Medicines: You may be miles or days away from any doctor so be sure to have some basic medicines with you in case you (or others) fall ill. On our treks, we've picked up sinus infections and helped others who have picked up the wrong kind of gut bacteria. Having some basic medicines with us like Amoxicillin (or other basic antibiotic) has allowed us to deal with medical issues immediately and to keep going. For a full list of travel medicines and how to use them, check out these travel health tips. Note: You can easily stock up on medicines at pharmacies in many countries. Basic medicines such as the ones listed here and in the article above will likely not be very expensive and will often not require a prescription. Other Useful Hiking Bags Dry sack: You never know when it's going to rain or snow, so prepare for the worst — particularly if you have gear that must remain dry. We carry a dry sack with us in order to protect our gear against freak storms or inadvertent submersions while fording rivers. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry.com Camera Bag: If you're carrying a separate camera and multiple lenses consider packing a separate camera bag to protect your gear and to allow you easy access to it. My ThinkTank camera bag fits perfectly under my small daypack. Recently, we switched to a mirrorless Fuji camera and lenses. One of the main reasons for this was that they are smaller in size and weight, meaning I could carry a smaller camera bag on treks. I really like the ThinkTank Sling Camera Bag which fits a camera body and two lenses. Its shoulder strap is useful for urban settings while the waist strap makes it comfortable for hiking as it sits right on my hips. I can still wear a backpack or daypack that rests on top of it. Hiking Snacks and Food Snacks: Even if your meals are provided to you on a trek, it’s sometimes nice to have a little something to nibble on between stops. We usually bring a small stash combination of Snickers bars, granola/power bars, a jar of peanut butter and crackers. You'll want a little bit of both salty and sweet foods. Peanut butter. Helped us up Mount Kilimanjaro. Electronic Gear and Chargers Batteries, memory cards: It's usually better to assume that you won't find electricity along your trekking route. If you do, consider it gravy. Be sure to ask your trekking guide or agency, or other route-experienced travelers (either in forums or once you are on the ground). Ask them all once, then again for good measure. Bring extra memory cards for your camera so you have ample space to snap away or record video. This means you should try to bring extra batteries for your camera, headlamp, and anything else that's battery-powered. If you're carrying your smartphone with you consider bringing a solar powered power bank and putting your phone on Airplane Mode to preserve battery life. We also use a battery case for our iPhone as this will usually provide 2x of the phone's regular battery life. And, it protects the phone if it is dropped accidentally. If there's electricity along your trek and you'd like to recharge, by all means bring rechargers. We do. But it's just something else to pack — and something you must prioritize when the final bag stuff begins just prior to setting off. READ MORE: Ladakh Trekking: A Beginner’s Guide Winter Hiking Gear We recently did our first proper winter trek — The Druk Path in Bhutan — and needed to gear up specifically for those conditions. This included temperatures going down to -10 C /14 F at night (and it felt even colder than that), potential snowfalls and walking on snow and ice. However, daytime temperatures were quite pleasant and warm (15 C / 65 F) when the sun was out. So, we had to be prepared for all types of temperatures and conditions. Winter Sleeping Bag If you are doing a winter trek it is very important that you bring a warm sleeping bag so that you are not uncomfortable in your tent at night. We highly recommend buying or renting a sleeping bag that is COMFORT rated to -10 C/15 F (or even more). Even if you don't trek during the winter some places still get very cold at night and in the early morning. It's better to take off layers or unzip the bag than to not be warm enough. Trust us, being cold in your tent sucks. Enjoying the last bits of sunshine and warmth at Simkotra Lake campsite. We always prefer to rent our sleeping bags locally, but for our recent winter trek in Bhutan that wasn't an option so we had to bring our own. We purchased this Mammut Nordic OTI winter sleeping bag, which was warm enough, synthetic (vs. down, which requires more care) and came at a great price. However, it's a bit bulky and took up quite a bit of space in our luggage. (Here's a similar Marmot winter sleeping bag that is comfort-rated to 0F) Another good sleeping bag option would be one of the down sleeping bags offered by Hyke & Byke (e.g., this sleeping bag goes down to 0 degrees F) as they are very reasonably priced for down and the quality of the bags. Here are some other winter sleeping bags offered at REI. Winter Hiking Clothing and Gear We didn't really change our clothing packing strategy or items listed above based on having lots of different clothing layers. Instead, we just added more — and heavier — layers together at one time for the early hours of the morning and in the evening after the sun set when temperatures were the coldest. Then, as we started walking and the day warmed up we'd take the layers off bit by bit. This mean that our day backpacks always had several layers of clothing inside, including rain gear (jacket and pants), fleece and other light jackets, and a down jacket. Winter hiking at its best. Prepared with shoe gaiters, waterproof outerwear and lots of layers. Here are a few other pieces of winter hiking gear we'd recommend, especially if you know there will be snow and ice on the trail. Shoe gaiters: We picked up a knock-off North Face pair of gaiters in Paro, Bhutan before our trek to protect our shoes from getting wet from the snow on the trails. We were very thankful to have them, especially on day 3 when we woke up to a snow storm. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon Crampons or Traction Cleats: If you're doing the winter trek and have fears of slipping on the ice, carrying a pair of lightweight traction cleats can provide peace of mind. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Waterproof gloves: The only thing worse than cold hands are wet, cold hands. It's important to have waterproof gloves (or mittens) if you think you'll be trekking during a snowfall or rain. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Hand or toe warmers: If your hands and feet get cold easily consider bringing a pack of adhesive hand and/or toe warmers. One of the women in our group in Bhutan had bad circulation and she used these adhesive warmers daily in her shoes and gloves. They were a lifesaver and really helped keep her warm and comfortable. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Winter sleeping clothes: Even if it's cold in the tent I'll change into separate sleeping clothes as it feels cleaner and better to me. For winter conditions this meant heavier base layers, including a long-sleeve Uniqlo HeatTech shirt and warm leggings (or fleece-lined running tights worked really well). Then, I added to that a fleece jacket, socks, hat, and scarf to stay warm during the night. Buying Sustainable Hiking Gear and Clothing If you are concerned about sustainability here are a few considerations and things to think about regarding buying sustainable hiking gear and clothing: The most sustainable option is the one you already own. If you can reuse or repurpose a piece of clothing, backpack or other piece of hiking gear that is already in your closet, this is usually what is most sustainable as you don't need to purchase anything new. We realize this may not be particularly fun or sexy, but it is practical and also good for your budget. Buy second-hand hiking clothing and gear. There are more and more options available for purchasing high quality second-hand or “barely used” clothing and hiking gear, whether through 2nd hand or consignment shops or in online marketplaces. This is another great way to shop sustainably as you are reusing something (and perhaps preventing it from going in a landfill) vs. buying new (that takes a lot of resources). Buy from brands focused on sustainability and fair wages: If you can't meet your hiking essentials needs through the suggestions above, then purchase your hiking clothing and gear from brands that are grounded in sustainability in terms of sourcing, materials used, fair wages, packaging and more. Do research on your favorite brand's website to see how specifically they are tackling sustainability in their operations and products. For example, Patagonia has been a leader in sustainable practices and materials for decades. Not only that, but their products do tend to last a long time (Dan using his Patagonia long underwear for 20+ years is proof of that) and they also have a strong repair policy. Another brand whose clothing we like that is focused on sustainability is Prana. These are just two of many outdoor gear brands who are making good products that also focus on minimizing their negative impacts (e.g., environmental) and maximizing their positive ones (e.g., socio-economic). If you can't find the information you want on a brand's website then contact them directly and ask your questions. Any company truly focused on sustainability would be proud to respond with transparent answers. The Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist – PDF Download To help you pack and prepare for your next hike with all the right gear, we've created a simple one-page downloadable hiking packing checklist. I know from experience when I haven't used this list that I have accidentally forgotten to pack a scarf, hat or river shoes. I really missed these items when I was out on the trail, but by that point it was too late. Now we're more careful to review that we have everything we need before going to the airport. How to use this ultimate hiking essentials checklist: Print out a copy or save a version to your phone (that's what we do now). As you're preparing for your hike or trek, review the list to see if you have everything you need already. If not, the linked items on the list go to recommended gear that you can purchase online or look for in a shop. When you are ready to pack for your hike or trek, put all your trekking gear on the floor and go through the list one by one. Double check that everything is there before placing it your suitcase or backpack. What did we miss? What are your go-to items and essential gear for hiking? The post How to Pack For A Hike: The Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on December 1, 2022 by Audrey Scott Hiking in Cyprus may not be top of mind when travelers consider this Mediterranean island for vacation. Most associate it with its beaches and resorts. However, our recent visit to Cyprus ... Continue Reading

The post Hiking in Cyprus: Best Hiking Trails and Travel Itinerary appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on December 1, 2022 by Audrey Scott Hiking in Cyprus may not be top of mind when travelers consider this Mediterranean island for vacation. Most associate it with its beaches and resorts. However, our recent visit to Cyprus illustrates that the country not only offers sea, sun and deep history, but a variety of natural landscapes and geological diversity that makes hiking on the island a delight. We share here our favorite hiking trails in Cyprus, from coastal to mountain hikes. Whether you're interested in a hiking vacation or just to include a hike into your visit to Cyprus, here is all the information you need to plan your trip. Cyprus, a Surprising Hiking Destination With its rocky coastlines, dramatic cliffs, impressive Troodos Mountains, and forests filled with old, gnarly juniper, cypress and pine trees, Cyprus surprises as a hiking destination. Add to that pleasant weather almost all year around thanks to its position in southern Europe, a fascinating and long history, hearty local food and increasingly good quality wines, and you have all the ingredients for a well-rounded, active Mediterranean getaway. Hiking in Cyprus. A view from the Aphrodite Loop hiking trail. Our goal traveling to Cyprus for a week: a vacation filled with hiking, sunshine, good food and wine — all rounded out by walks around the capital city of Nicosia and visits to archeological sites. To do this, we chose several hiking trails in Cyprus as the anchors of our one-week travel itinerary, then planned everything else around those hikes and whatever the weather gods threw at us. For us, exploring Cyprus through its hiking trails allowed us to see the best of the island by way of its national parks and natural beauty including endemic flora and fascinating geological formations. This approach also helped us avoid many of the touristy areas and crowds that Cyprus can be known for. If you’re interested in the best hiking in Cyprus and assembling an active travel itinerary, then this hiking guide has all you need to know. It includes our favorite hiking trails, the best time to go hiking, what to bring with you, and where to stay — all so you can plan, organize and enjoy your hiking trip to Cyprus. This post is long as it includes everything in one place we needed to know before we took our hiking trip to Cyprus. Feel free to click on a specific section from the table below to get to the information you need. Favorite Hiking Trails in Cyprus Despite Cyprus being a relatively small island, its hiking trails feature a surprising diversity of natural landscapes and styles. As you'll see from our photos, each of the hiking trails highlighted below was unique to the others, making for a well-rounded hiking experience. Most of the hiking trails below are located in protected areas and feature some trail markings, but we suggest downloading GPX tracks and/or using you favorite map app (we use PocketEarth for offline maps) or hiking app (we use Komoot and AllTrails). This way, you'll have at least one digital version of the trail in case you get lost. As Cyprus’ environment and nature is quite fragile, be sure to stick to marked trails and be gentle with the natural surroundings. Surveying the rocky coastline on a hike near Cape Greco, Cyprus. Be sure to check the forecast in advance as weather can change quite dramatically, especially in winter. Bad weather can make a hike unpleasant and, especially in the case of canyon hikes, dangerous. Early starts are recommended, both to take advantage of better weather in the mornings and to end early enough to seek out a sunset drink. Finally, be sure to seize the occasional moment to take a deep breath, look around you, and appreciate where you are. Note: All hiking trails noted below are in Republic of Cyprus, the southern side of the island. We did not hike any trails in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Aphrodite Loop Extended – Best Hike for Coastal Views in Cyprus Distance: 11.5 km / 7.15 miles Time: 3-4 hours Difficulty: Moderate Aphrodite and Adonis Loop Trail Map and Tracks Deep blue coastal views from the Aphrodite Loop hike. Located in the northwestern part of Cyprus near the Akamas Forest, the Aphrodite Loop is deservedly one the island’s most popular hikes thanks to its dramatic cliffs and coastal views. The trail takes you past the Baths of Aphrodite and a waterfall grotto set in some botanical gardens, then up along some juniper-dotted rocky cliffs to the Moutti tis Sotiras overlook of Cape Arnoutis below. On the descent the hiking trail makes its way past some ruins of a medieval monastery, a 500-year old oak tree and through diverse forests populated with local mountain goats. The highest point of the Aphrodite Loop hiking trail. We recommend following the Aphrodite Loop trail clockwise. This way, you begin your hike along the coast and continue climbing higher toward the cliffs, with the hills with sweeping coastline views beneath you. The trail markers indicate the opposite direction, which might make the hike easier and less steep overall. However, setting off along the coastline offers excellent light and pairs the best early morning weather with the coastline where you'll likely appreciate it most. Taking the longer Adonis hiking trail through old pine forests on the return. While the standard Aphrodite Loop is around 7.5 km / 4.7 miles, we turned onto the Adonis trail on our inland descent (after the monastery ruins) to add more distance (4 km / 2.5 miles) and some additional landscapes. The Adonis is a pleasant trail through old pine, cypress and juniper forests and grassy areas filled with grazing sheep and goats. Keep an eye out for all the wild sage, oregano and other herbs along the trail. How to get to the Aphrodite Loop trailhead: We drove from Paphos to the Aphrodite Loop trailhead, a beautiful route of around 50 km or 1 hour. Free parking is available near the entrance to the Botanical Gardens. There's also a public bus stop for bus 622 from Polis which you can connect to from Paphos and other locations. Avakas Gorge Trail – Most Dramatic Hike in Cyprus Distance: 10 km / 6 miles Time: 3-4 hours Difficulty: Moderate-Hard (Do not attempt this trail when raining or if there is any risk of rain.) Avakas Gorge Trail Map and Tracks Go deep…into the Avakas Gorge in Cyprus. The depth of the Avakas Gorge makes this hike both stunningly beautiful and challenging. While most only hike the first kilometer or two into the gorge and turn back (this segment offers the most dramatic landscapes for the least effort), we encourage you to keep going until the end of the gorge. For the fit and intrepid, the gorge deepens, winds and opens up in varied and striking ways. You may even run into some wild goats grazing in the hills along the way. A bit of bouldering on the Avakas Gorge hiking trail. Unfortunately, the trail markings mostly end after the first kilometer or two, leaving you to follow the direction of the gorge and look for worn paths and footprints on either side of the stream. The trail becomes quite challenging at times, especially following rainfall (common in winter) as the water in the stream rises and the rocks become slippery. You may find yourself climbing over boulders and hugging onto cliffs, so be sure to wear good hiking shoes and carry your hiking poles. The hiking trail around the rim of Avakas Gorge on the return leg of the hike. The Avakas Gorge Trail continues through the entirety of the gorge until you reach a hilly, green pasture at the end. This is a good stop for a snack or picnic, or just to enjoy the bucolic scene of grazing sheep and goats around you. Many Avakas Gorge hiking trails suggest you return again through the gorge, but we found a hiking trail south of the gorge up along the rim and through the Peyia State Forest. We recommend taking this trail back. This approach will offer some variety, be easier on your joints, and be faster than going back through the entire gorge again. How to get to the Avakas Gorge trailhead: We drove from Paphos to the Avakas Gorge, which was supposed to take around 30-45 minutes. However, beware of Google Map directions as it will suggest the shortest route, which includes going on some unpaved country roads until it reaches a road that has been washed out, forcing you to turn around (as it did us). Instead, be sure to follow the directions which take you by the Avakas Gorge Road that approaches the gorge from the west (the coast). The last part of the road is not paved. We ended up parking around 0.5 km away from the trailhead parking lot, just to avoid taking our tiny rental car on the final stretch of the road that was full of bumps and holes. However, you can drive further to the parking lot at the trailhead. Just be advised. It’s technically possible to get close to the Avakas Gorge by public bus, but you’ll have to switch buses times and have a bit of a walk at the end to get to the trailhead. Atalante Trail – Best Troodos Mountains Hiking Distance: 14.75 km / 9 miles Time: 4-5 hours Difficulty: Moderate Atalante Trail Map and Tracks It may surprise you, but Cyprus has mountains! Hiking in the Troodos Mountains in winter. Atalante Loop hiking trail. The Troodos Mountains in the center of the island of Cyprus features a peak of close to 2,000 meters / 6,400 feet at Mount Olympus. Not only does this mean skiing in the winter (yes, Cyprus has ski resorts), but it also means some terrific Troodos Mountains hiking trails. We opted for the Atalante Trail Loop as it did a circle around Mount Olympus and was a bit longer and more difficult than the Artemis Trail (8 km / 5 miles). Enjoying a bit of snow, hiking in the Troodos Mountains. When we hiked the Atalante Trail in early January most of the hiking trail was covered in snow, sometimes several inches deep. While the snow made it tricky at times to follow the trail — thankfully a few others had gone before us so we could follow their footsteps and we had our digital tracks/map — it also made our walk beautiful and somewhat magical. We recommend following the trail clockwise from the trailhead near the parking lot, just as we did. The trail is fairly well marked and the first few kilometers of the Atalante hike take you through some beautiful old forests punctuated by gnarly juniper trees and other local endemic growth. The vista then begins to open up so you can look west over the hills to the coast. The loop continues around past the ski resort and through more tall pine forests Completing our Troodos Mountains hike on the Atalante Trail. Note: If you visit Cyprus in winter, be prepared for possible snow in the Troodos Mountains. We knew this in advance and came prepared with layers of jackets, hats, and gloves. We also highly recommend taking hiking poles on this route, no matter what the weather, as some sections are steep and can be slippery. How to get to the Atalante Hiking Loop trailhead: The Troodos Mountains are located almost halfway between Nicosia and the coast (Paphos or Limassol). The Atalante trailhead and free parking lot are located right next to Troodos village. We drove there from Nicosia, which takes around 1.5 hours on the fast route or 2 hours on the country roads. After our hike we then drove to Paphos, which took around 1.5 hours. There are also a couple of buses that will take you to the main square in Troodos village from Nicosia or Limassol. If you want to do several hikes in the Troodos Mountains, you could consider staying in Troodos village or in a nearby town so that you can get an early start on the trails. Cape Greco Hiking Trail, Sea Caves to Konnos Beach Distance: 10 km Time: 2.5 – 3 hours Difficulty: Easy Cape Greco Sea Caves to Konnos Beach Trail Map and Tracks Hiking near Cape Greco, first stop: sea caves. There are a several different hiking paths around Cape Greco National Forest Park and out to Cape Greco itself. Many paths are quite short and just go to the sea caves, up to the Cape Greco Viewpoint or to visit the picturesque Ayioi Anargyroi Chapel. We wanted something a bit longer and more continuous to stretch our legs and see more of the natural landscape along Cyprus’ eastern coast near Ayia Napa. Most of the dramatic scenery is in the first 5-6 km / 3 – 4 miles along the coast. The path we took then returns to the trailhead via an inland route. Continuing our hike on one of the Cape Greco hiking trails. This Cape Greco hike took us first to the sea caves, a collection of sandstone rock formations that stand in dramatic contrast to the crystal clear turquoise waters below. We then continued along the coastal trail past the hilltop with a view over the entire cape. You can opt to take one of the hiking trails up to the viewpoint, but we continued east along the coast. The landscape changed frequently, from dry, rocky desert-like conditions to fields of green and blossoming flowers. Winter daffodils blossoming along the Cape Greco hiking trail. The trail then continues along the coast past the blue lagoon and the natural rock bridge to Ayioi Anargyroi Chapel. Take the stairs to a sea cave that you can scramble into. (Be sure to time your entrance and exit so that you and your camera are not soaked by crashing waves.) We continued to Konnos Beach where we doffed our shoes and walked across the white sand beach. If we had had our bathing suits with us, we would have gone in — it was just warm enough even in winter. We returned via the hiking trail following the road. Cave near Ayioi Anargyroi Chapel along the Cape Greco trail. How to get to the Cape Greco Sea Caves trailhead: We drove from Larnaca (around one hour) and parked near the sea caves at the marker indicated on the map above. You can also park closer to the sea caves. There's plenty of space to park there. As for public transportation, you can catch bus 101 from Agia Napa waterpark to the sea caves or the Cape Greco National Forest Park entrance. Hiking in Cyprus: What to Pack Because the hiking trails in Cyprus we recommend here are day hikes that take only a few hours, you really don’t need to bring much with you. Just be sure to carry clothing layers to protect from the elements — sun, rain or maybe snow. Always be sure to carry plenty of drinking water with you. You can also find a full list of our favorite hiking gear and essentials. Hiking Daypack: We shared one hiking daypack between the two of us. This was more than enough space to carry the essentials for our day hike. Hiking Shoes: We saw some people hiking in sandals or sneakers. While that works for some of the easier hikes, we recommend wearing hiking shoes to provide your feet with support and traction for climbing over boulders and steep inclines and descents. Hiking Poles: For lighter hikes, we typically share one set of trekking poles between the two of us (i.e., we each use one pole). We were especially thankful we had these on the Avakas Gorge Hike and Atalante Loop Trails. We recommend this foldable traveler set of hiking poles as they are easy and light to carry. Drinking water and snacks: Many of these Cyprus hiking trails are far away from shops and services, so be sure to bring your own water and snacks with you on your hike. Temperatures can get very warm, especially in the summer, so make sure you bring LOTS of water with you to avoid dehydration. One of the unfortunate things in Cyprus is that tap water is not potable (all the locals we met advised against drinking it) so bring a water bottle that also purifies or buy large (e.g., 5-10+ liter) containers of water and refill your own reusable water bottle. Sun protection: Even in the winter, the sun can be strong in Cyprus. Be sure to carry plenty of sun protection with you in the form of sunscreen (the highest SPF you can find), hat, and sun glasses. Best Time to go Hiking in Cyprus We hiked Cyprus in winter, over the New Year’s holidays, from the end of December to the beginning of January. We thought it was a great time to go hiking as the weather along the coast was beautiful most of the time with highs in the mid to high 60s F / 18-22 C. The added bonus of this time of year: we also experienced fresh snowfall in the Troodos Mountains. Enjoying some glorious winter Cyprus weather at the Tomb of Kings in Paphos. In addition, there weren’t many people on the hiking trails at this time of year. However, Cyprus winter weather can be very changeable — including rain — so be sure to stay tuned to weather forecasts and remain flexible when planning and taking your hikes. Several local people we spoke to said that spring (March-early May) offers great hiking weather since it’s precedes the hot summer season and offers the chance to see wildflowers blossoming along many of the hiking trails. A few others recommended November since temperatures have cooled off from the warm summer and early autumn, but the winter rains have not yet arrived. Summer is the most popular time in general to visit Cyprus, especially for the beaches. However, we’ve heard that summer (June-September) is not the best time for hiking in Cyprus given the high temperatures (90+ F/30+ C) and intense sun. If you hike Cyprus in the summer months, be careful to avoid heat exhaustion and overexposure from the sun, particularly in the wide open areas along trails. Carry LOTS of water with you. Planning a Hiking Focused Cyprus Trip: Our One Week Travel Itinerary When we assembled our one-week Cyprus travel itinerary, we focused mainly on finding the best hikes in Cyprus and used those as our anchors. We then figured out a general route to travel around the island, noting places we could stay and base ourselves along the way (see below). We also watched the weather at all times as it changed frequently. Since we traveled in Cyprus during the low season and had a rental car, we were able to remain flexible and book accommodation pretty last minute. Here is our final Cyprus travel itinerary for one week that included four day hikes, a 2-day stop in Nicosia (where it rained) and visits to archeological sites. Day 1: Fly into Larnaca Airport Day 2: Larnaca – Cape Greco Hike – Nicosia Day 3: Nicosia (Greek Side) Wandering the old town streets of Nicosia, the capital of the Republic of Cyprus. Nicosia remains a divided capital city, with the southern side of the city as part of the Republic of Cyprus and the northern side of the city as part of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The United Nations Green Zone, a buffer zone, divides the two sides. There is an official border crossing which is very easy to cross at the moment. Wander the streets in the Nicosia's old town (southern side of the city). We did a variation of this self-guided walking tour, but in reverse order. For more recommendations, check out this Nicosia travel guide by our friend Steve and try to get your hands on the Use It Nicosia map/guide as it's got lots of great restaurant and cafe recommendations, as well as historical, cultural and other info presented in a fun and light way. We highly recommend a visit to the Cyprus Museum (free entrance at the time of writing). This small but jam-packed archeological museum is filled with well-interpreted antiquities going back almost 10,000 years. The museum does a remarkable job illustrating Cyprus’ long history and civilizational influences over the millennia. Day 4: Nicosia (Turkish Side) Exploring north Nicosia, Büyük Han Caravanserai. Cross the border to the northern side of the city (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). As of January 2022, you need proof of a negative PCR test (less than 7 days old) and full vaccination to cross into the Turkish side. Follow the blue line that takes you past most of the major sites on this side (mosques, markets, caravanserai, etc.). Once in the northern side of Cyprus, you'll notice that the currency and language both change to Turkish. Despite this, you'll likely get along fine with your Euros and English, and even your credit cards in some restaurants and businesses. Day 5: Nicosia – Troodos Mountains Hiking (Atalante Trail) – Paphos The Troodos Mountains are between Nicosia and Paphos on the coast. Stopping off in Troodos for a hike like the Atalante Trail is a great way to break up the drive and get a feel for Cyprus' mountains and the geological diversity at the center of the island. Where to stay in Paphos: We stayed in a convenient studio apartment a short walk to the sea, archeological sites, restaurants and shops. Day 6: Paphos – Aphrodite Loop – Paphos Day 7: Paphos – Avakas Gorge – Paphos Day 8: Paphos – Archeological Park and Tombs of Kings – Larnaca Airport Note: There is also an airport in Paphos in case that offers more convenience for your Cyprus itinerary. The Tombs of the Kings archeological site in Paphos. Our final morning in Cyprus. Renting a car in Cyprus We really appreciated having a rental car on Cyprus. It gave us a lot of flexibility. which proved especially helpful because of the changing weather. A rental car also allowed us greater spontaneity to stop off in different places along the way. During the time of our visit, rental car prices were very reasonable (e.g., around $20 USD a day including insurance). And since the island isn’t very big, we didn’t spend a lot of money on petrol. All of the hiking trails above featured free parking lots and most of the places we stayed in Cyprus also had free public or inexpensive private parking lots. Driving in Cyprus is on the left-hand side of the road. If you’ve never experienced this, note that it takes some practice and getting used to. Podcast about Hiking in Cyprus and Our Itinerary If you prefer an audio version of all this, you can listen to our interview about our travels in Cyprus on the Amateur Traveler Podcast. We talk about all the details of our one-week itinerary and all of the Cyprus hikes we recommend in this article. Travel to Cyprus – Amateur Traveler Episode 798 If you've only thought of Cyprus as a beach getaway or resort destination, we hope this Cyprus hiking guide has provided a different perspective on the island as a hiking destination. From the coastlines and cliffs to the gnarly, old juniper forests and mountain vistas, Cyprus offers a lot of hiking trails and options, making it a pleasant, worthwhile and surprising Mediterranean hiking getaway destination. The post Hiking in Cyprus: Best Hiking Trails and Travel Itinerary appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on August 6, 2022 by Audrey Scott What is it like to go trekking in Bhutan? To go on a Himalayan mountain adventure with wide open landscapes, snow-covered peaks, Buddhist temples, prayer flags, high altitude camping and alpine ... Continue Reading

The post Bhutan Trekking: The Druk Path Trek and New Trans Bhutan Trail appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on August 6, 2022 by Audrey Scott What is it like to go trekking in Bhutan? To go on a Himalayan mountain adventure with wide open landscapes, snow-covered peaks, Buddhist temples, prayer flags, high altitude camping and alpine lakes? We share a taste of trekking in Bhutan with our Druk Path Trek experience — including what you’ll experience day by day, difficulty, how to pack and organize a Bhutan trek, what to expect from a winter trek, and why this is one of the most popular treks in Bhutan. We also share information about the Trans Bhutan Trail, a new hiking route in Bhutan coming available in 2022. Over the last years we've been fortunate to do some incredibly beautiful and challenging hikes around the world, yet hiking in Bhutan remained high on our travel wish list. We were curious about the trekking experience given the country's location in the Himalayas, its focus on environmental conservation and the fact that Bhutan sees so few visitors. Druk Path Trek, Bhutan. A Himalayan adventure with mountains, temples and glimpses of living history. We chose to hike the Druk Path Trek, one of Bhutan's most popular trekking routes, in late January-early February. Our decision to do a winter trek, something that we had never done before (we usually flee the cold), provided a new sort of adventure, experience and challenge for us. Druk Path Trek in winter, beauty and stillness. The experience did not disappoint. We enjoyed the winter trekking experience, appreciating the snow, stillness and silence. The following tells why — and makes the case as to why you might want to add trekking in Bhutan, whether the Druk Path Trek or another route, to your trekking wish list. We’ve included in this Bhutan Trekking Guide all you need to know to plan, prepare for and enjoy trekking in Bhutan. In addition, we provide some information about a new trekking route in Bhutan – The Trans Bhutan Trail — recently restored and opening up again to the public in April 2022 for the first time in 60 years. The following experiences are from our Druk Path Trek on a tour to Bhutan with G Adventures. Currently, this tour no longer includes the Druk Path Trek as part of its itinerary, but if you want to go trekking in Bhutan then we recommend looking into the G Adventures Camp the Trans Bhutan Trail (11 days) or Highlights of the Trans Bhutan Trail (12 days). If you want to know what to expect on a trek in Bhutan, this article shares a taste of a trekking itinerary and route, trek difficulty, campsites, food, and what you need to pack and prepare. Disclosure: This tour was sponsored and provided to us in conjunction with our partnership with G Adventures as Wanderers. Bhutan Covid Travel Requirements Bhutan is opening up to all tourists on 23 September, 2022 without any quarantine requirements (check for official updates). Bhutan used its focus on community and trusted leadership to manage the pandemic quite well. In April 2021, Bhutan was able to vaccinate 85% of adults (first shot) in just one week and in early 2022 the country was finishing up a booster vaccination campaign. This shows the country's commitment to public health and protecting its people. Find more Covid-19 travel resources and recommendations on how to travel responsibly during Covid with care towards the health and safety of local communities and people. The Trans Bhutan Trail: A New Trekking Route in Bhutan Starting in 2022 The history of the Trans Bhutan Trail is deep and goes back thousands of years as an ancient trading and pilgrimage routes between Bhutan and Tibet. The trail not only connected fortresses, or Dzongs, across remote areas of the Bhutanese Kingdom, but it was also used by Buddhist pilgrims to visit sacred sites and temples in western Bhutan and Tibet. Although the trail was actively used for centuries as it was the only way to get to certain remote parts of the country, it fell into disrepair and disuse in the 1960s. Repair of the trail began in 2018, but the restoration of the Trans Bhutan Trail was accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic as 900 furloughed workers worked to rebuild bridges and create hundreds of miles of footpaths. The Trans Bhutan Trail is being opened to the public in April 2022 so travelers, local people and pilgrims can walk this ancient trail once again. The total length of the Trans Bhutan Trail is 403km / 250 miles long, going from Haa in the west to Trashigang in the east. Don't feel like you have to do it all; you can select shorter segments of the trail to experiences specific mountain landscapes and culture. The goal of hiking the Trans Bhutan Trail is not only to be able to enjoy the stunning landscapes and nature of the high Himalayan mountains, but also to connect with local people, culture and communities along the way through village homestays, sourcing food from local farms, and other community initiatives so that rural communities also benefit from the trail and tourism. In addition, the Trans Bhutan Trail is focused on several sustainability initiatives to conserve the natural environment, from a zero plastics policy along the trail (which also includes providing refillable water bottles and filtered water) to planting a tree for each international visitor. Our partner, G Adventures, was selected as the first group adventure tour operator to offer trekking tours when the trail opens in 2022. This speaks to the alignment of values regarding community tourism and sustainability. Currently, G Adventures is offering two different active tours that include selected segments of the Trans Bhutan Trail. This includes the G Adventures Camp the Trans Bhutan Trail (11 days) that has a similar style as the tour that we took as it includes four days of trekking with several nights of camping. Alternatively, Highlights of the Trans Bhutan Trail (12 days) also includes several days of hiking the Trans Bhutan Trail, but has more family homestays and guesthouses for overnights than camping. Both tours include both trekking and visiting some of Bhutan's famous monasteries, temples and sites, so it's a good balance of experiences and immersion into Bhutan's nature, culture, history and cuisine. What to Expect on a Bhutan Trek: The Druk Path, Day by Day The Druk Path Trek, or Thunder Dragon Path, takes you approximately 36-45 km (22-28 miles) through pine forests and rhododendron thickets, along mountain ridges and past alpine lakes in the lower Himalayan Mountains in western Bhutan. The trail follows an ancient mule route connecting Paro and Thimphu, and the area plays home to yak herders in the summer months. The highest point of the trek is Labana Pass at 4,200 meters / 13,800 feet. Much of the trail and its campsites sit at a similar and fairly high altitude, so the Druk Path Trek is considered a medium-difficulty trek. The Druk Path Trek includes a diversity of landscapes, trails and views. When I researched the Druk Path Trek, especially for information regarding winter trekking and conditions I found plenty of tour itineraries. However, I didn't find many details or images of the different landscapes and experiences — and possible weather — along the trek. That's what this “Day by Day” section is aimed to do: to help you understand the actual trek journey and give you a sense of what you might encounter and experience each day, including the camping, difficulty of the trail and landscapes. Our days usually began early, with tea served to us inside our tents around 6:30 A.M. Breakfast followed around 7:00. The goal was to set off on the trail in the morning when the skies were still clear and the sun had the chance to warm things up. As is typical in the Himalayas, clouds might develop as the morning and day unfolded. Note: The route below is for the four-day Druk Path Trek that we took with G Adventures in late January. Many tour companies offer this as a five to six day trek, but we found that four days was perfect for us in terms of the daily distance, difficulty, breaks and free time in the evenings at the campsite. If you are in reasonable shape and have some experience trekking at altitude then four days for this trek should provide ample time. Our trekking guide made a couple of adjustments to our route due to winter conditions so that the mules carrying our gear wouldn't injure themselves on the snow and ice. If you do the Druk Path Trek in the spring or fall you might notice a few differences to the route below, but most of it will be the same. Also, our guide said that our small group walked rather quickly. Some daily hiking times might be longer if your group is larger or has less experienced trekkers. Note: the hiking times below do not include resting, snack and lunch breaks. Day 1: Ta Dzong to Jele Dzong Temple to Tshokam Distance: 13.7 km / 8.5 miles Number of hours hiking: 5 1/2 – 6 hours Most Druk Path Treks set off from outside Paro in the early morning. You'll make your way by van transfer along a relatively new dirt road rising into the hills for around 30-45 minutes. (Prior to the road being built, this segment was part of the actual trek.). At the conclusion of this short ride, you'll meet your trekking support team: a cook, assistants, mule handlers and a group of mules to carry your tents, your allotted camping and trekking gear, all the food and cooking gas, and the kitchen, dining and bathroom tents. Starting out on the Druk Path trail, through the woods. The start of the walk begins on the dirt track and eases you into things with a slow and steady incline that takes you into mid-alpine woods. Eventually this turns into a steep uphill for around 45 minutes through beautiful forest trails until you reach a clearing where you begin to get above nearby hills and have a view of the valley below. The trail leading up to Jele Dzong Temple on day 1. After a short incline you'll reach the 15th century Jele Dzong temple and take a tea break. The temple guardian was away during the time of our visit. If he's around, you'll be allowed to explore inside. We continued onward alternating between forest paths and trails along the edge, revealing valley views and mountain layers in turns. At one of the clearings we stopped for lunch, a hearty meal of rice and several hot dishes. Getting above it all to enjoy views of the valley below. We began our final push towards the Tshokam (Dry Lake) campsite (3,800 meters/12,500 feet) on mostly flat trail. When we arrived, our tents had already been set up for us, which is always nice to see after a day of hiking. We took the free time and enjoyed the last bit of sunshine with some snacks and tea outside. It gets cold once the sun sets, so we enjoyed a bonfire before and after dinner. Tshokam campsite, our home for the first night. Day 2: Tshokam to Janytscho to Simkotra Lake Distance: 8.5 km / 5.3 miles Number of hours hiking: 4 hours While this is a shorter trekking day than the first, it features a couple long, steep inclines which make for a bit of a challenge. Our guide had to make a few adjustments on this day due to snow and ice on the trail. As a result, we didn't go on the higher (and longer) trail to Jimilang Tsho lake as it was dangerous for the mules. Following the mules along the trail in the early morning light. The first segment of the day is relatively flat and takes you on a forest trail along a stream and over a bridge. After a short break there, you continue to a clearing called Narithang for some mid-morning tea and snacks. Then the uphill really begins. This was a steady climb of a couple of hours through the forest. The idea: go slow and steady on the steep incline so that you maintain a consistent pace as you climb in altitude. The trail continues from the woods onto a clearing at Janytscho which overlooks the lake. This is where we stopped for lunch and a rest, but we've heard that some groups will stop here to camp for the night. Dan emerges from the forest and a rhododendron thicket. Mules make their way carefully in the snow, carrying all of our trekking gear and food. Following our trekking guide along the ridge trail to Janye Tsho. It was a winter trek after all, so we encountered some snow and ice on the trail at this point, so we and the mules had to be careful on the ascents and descents. The path continues along a rocky ridge until you reach Janye Tsho, an overlook draped with prayer flags and offering views of the nearby snow-covered Himalayan mountains in the distance. A break and a view at Janye Tsho along the Druk Path Trek, day 2. It's an easy and short walk from here to the campsite near Simkotra Lake at 4,000 meters / 13,100 ft. As this is the highest elevation campsite of the Druk Path Trek, expect it to also be the coldest campsite at night. Be sure to bundle up with lots of layers, especially if you are doing the trek in winter, early spring, or late fall. Enjoying the last bits of sunshine and warmth at Simkotra Lake campsite. A campfire keeps us warm at night as the temperature drops. Day 3: Simkotra Lake to Labana Pass to Phajoding Monastery Distance: 8 km / 5 miles Number of hours hiking: 4.5 hours This was my favorite day of the Druk Path Trek as it not only took us to the highest point of the trek — Labana Pass at 4,200 meters / 13,800 ft — but it was also filled with a diversity of landscapes, experiences and views. Note: Sometimes trekking groups camp before Labana Pass making it part of the fourth day. Winter trekking at its best. We woke up to a blanket of snow everywhere at Simotra Tsho. This meant that some of the views we were supposed to have that morning of the high Himalayas were obscured by the clouds. Instead, we enjoyed some remarkable landscapes in the beauty of their winter stillness and silence as the snow continued to fall for the first couple of hours. Enjoying the silence of the frozen trail on the morning of day 3. The trail is a combination of a gentle uphill and flat through endless rhododendron patches until you reach the final ascent towards Labana Pass (4,200 meters / 13,800 feet). This final push is a bit steep, but you'll be rewarded at the top with prayer flags and excellent vistas, including of the valley below and of the snow-covered mountains of Dochu La and Jhomolhari in the distance. Enjoying the view at Labana Pass (4,200 meters/13,800 ft). Taking in the layers of hills and mountains at Labana Pass. Our trekking group takes a well deserved break at Labana Pass. The trail then descends into the valley on a rocky ridge path for another hour or more. We stopped for lunch before continuing up along a chain of small hills until we reached a chorten atop one final peak overlooking Thimphu, Bhutan's capital city. One last bit of snow on the way up to the chorten. Chorten with a view of Thimphu, Bhutan's capital city. Descend into Thimphu Valley on a rocky trail for around 30-45 minutes until reaching Thujidrak Goemba, a Buddhist temple and meditation center stitched into the mountain rock face at 3,950 meters / 13,000 feet. We were fortunate that a local monk was around. He let our group inside to see the 14th century temple. Temple kitty at the 14th century Thujidrak Goemba. Food is deliberately left outside to feed nearby animals. From there it was an easy walk downhill through fields to reach Phajoding Monastery. The camping area on the monastery's edge had recently been closed to trekkers so our group ended up staying, with the permission of the resident monk and school principal, in the monastery's abandoned schoolhouse. Since temperatures dropped quite considerably that night, we were thankful for the protection the building provided from the wind and cold. However, a new camping area is being set up for future groups. One of our group's mules enjoying the view from the Phajoding Monastery. Day 3: Phajoding Monastery to Thimphu Distance: 5 km / 3 miles Number of hours hiking: 2-2.5 hours This final day is very easy, with a relatively short downhill hike. The dirt trail from the monastery continues through the forest, and becomes steep at times, so use your walking sticks and be careful. As the elevation decreases, the trees and flora begin to change. You hear signs of “civilization” below as cars and trucks use the mountain roads. The final descent, forest track toward Thimphu. The trail ends at the edge of the forest, near one of the prince's residences. Our tour driver met us with a big smile, a selection of local beer, cake and other snacks. This is where you'll say goodbye to your trekking support team and the mules that carried all of your gear during the trek. Our mighty trekking support team of our guide, cook, helpers and mule handlers. Bhutan Trekking Difficulty Level and Conditions We’d give the Druk Path Trek a medium difficulty ranking given its length, inclines and altitude. You should be accustomed to or be prepared for slow, steep uphill climbs at reasonably high altitude. A couple of the people in our group felt that the long ascents and hills on the first day were quite difficult, but this broke them in and they didn't have problems with any of the climbs during the rest of the trek. Plenty of trail and landscape variation on the Druk Path Trek. If you are already relatively active and have some experience trekking at altitude you shouldn't have any problems along this trek, nor should you require special training. However, if you don't have a lot of hiking experience then consider doing a series of long day hikes, preferably with hills, prior to this trek. In addition to preparing you physically, this will help build your confidence. As long as you have the proper winter gear, hiking through the snow is beautiful and peaceful. The winter conditions made this trek a bit more challenging for us at times as we had to watch our footing more in the snow and ice. Nights were also very cold (down to -10 C / 14 F). This did not impact the trek experience or its difficulty much. The Druk Path Trek is not technical, meaning that you will not need any special equipment (e.g., climbing ropes or other fittings) or training. The trail is well-maintained and is easy to follow. Even in the winter, none of us had any special ice or other gear, just some gaiters to prevent the snow from getting in our shoes. Dealing with Altitude When Trekking in Bhutan The Druk Path Trek does take you pretty high, up to 4,200 meters / 13,800 feet, at its highest point. In addition, the first two campsites are just below and just above 4,000 meters / 13,100 feet. This means that you need to be prepared for hiking and sleeping at altitude. If you don't have experience at altitude, be sure you talk with your trekking guide about what to expect and possible symptoms of altitude sickness. Take it slow on the uphills. It's better that you walk at a steady pace and take fewer breaks than to quickly wear yourself out by speeding up the hills and needing to recuperate with frequent and longer stops. Proceeding at a slow, steady pace will also allow your body time to adjust to the high elevation. Slow and steady on a steep climb through the forest. Be sure to drink lots and lots of water, as in liters per day. This is one of the best ways to prevent potential altitude sickness. Consider using a water bladder in your day pack and drink from it regularly as you walk. I find I drink more water this way than with a water bottle, that usually requires a stop to get it out the bag. Our tour included an acclimatization hike to Kila Goempa outside of Paro. This helped us adjust to the terrain and the altitude. If your tour does not include this, be sure to ask for an acclimatization hike. Acclimatization is important to gauge how your body reacts to altitude. It also prepares your body for the multi-day trek ahead. Snow, Rain and Mud Along the Druk Path Trek Since we chose to do the Druk Path Trek in winter (late January/early February), we understood that we might encounter snow. We packed — and at times wore — waterproof/water resistant pants, jackets, and gaiters to protect us from the snow, wet and cold. We did not find the snow and winter conditions a problem, but a feature and differentiating factor of this trek and timing it in winter. Really important to be careful on the icy and snow-covered trails. During other times of year, especially in May as you get close to the rainy season, you might encounter some rain and mud along the trail. It's always good trekking practice to carry waterproof layers or a rain poncho with you to protect you and your daypack from rain and the elements. See the packing list section below for recommended trekking gear to pack to keep you warm and dry, and protect you from the elements. Food Along a Trek in Bhutan You will certainly not go hungry while trekking in Bhutan! Each trekking group is assigned a cook and a couple of helpers. In addition to three hot meals per day you will also have several tea breaks and snacks (e.g., cookies, popcorn) along the trail and when you arrive at the campsite. A hot lunch with several vegetarian options and a meat dish was served each day on the trail. Luxury. On our Druk Path Trek, breakfast included a combination of a hot dish (e.g., eggs or oatmeal) with toast and different toppings (peanut butter, jam, honey, etc.). For lunch and dinner expect several options of Bhutanese vegetarian dishes (e.g., chili and cheese, sauteed greens, vegetables and cheese, etc) and a meat dish or two (e.g., chicken, beef or pork curry) served with rice or noodles. We ate mainly from the vegetarian options as we prefer lighter, vegetarian meals when we trek. If you are vegetarian, vegan or have food restrictions (e.g., glucose or lactose intolerance), alert your trekking company and your guide in advance so they can respond accordingly. Campsites and Sleeping Arrangements The Druk Path Trek has a few standard campsites that are located on flat ground and near a water source. By the time we would arrive at the campsites, our 2-person tents and sleeping mats were already set up for us by the trekking support team (luxury, I know!). A large tent is also set up for eating meals together. Our sleeping tents and dining tent under a layer of snow at Simkotra Lake campsite. At night we would usually have a bonfire made from dead or fallen tree or bush branches (it's illegal to cut down branches) to warm us up as it got rather cold once the sun went down. Just before bedtime we were given hot water bottles to put in our sleeping bags – so nice!! Each morning hot tea or coffee was delivered to our tent at around 6:30 AM as a wake up call. A bowl of hot water followed to wash our face, hands, etc. We would then pack up the stuff in our tent before taking breakfast in the dining tent at around 7:00AM. A hearty breakfast outside at the campsite. There are no showers or permanent toilets set up at the campsites, but the trekking support team set up a camping latrine or toilet at each one. Please use this instead of going off into the woods so that all waste and toilet paper is collected and disposed of in one place. Best Time to Go Trekking in Bhutan The high season for trekking in Bhutan, including the Druk Path Trek, is in the spring months of April and early May when the rhododendron bushes and trees are in blossom. September, October and early November are also considered good times to trek because it's dry, warm and the skies are clear. The summer months from late May to July are usually not considered a good time to trek as this is the rainy season so you would likely encounter muddy and rainy conditions, as well as clouds blocking views of the surrounding mountains. Although we had to bundle up for the cold weather we really enjoyed the Druk Path as a winter trek. Although winter (January – February) is not considered a recommended time to do the Druk Path Trek, we actually enjoyed it. The snow and winter weather added another dimension to the experience and we had the trails and campsites to ourselves. It can get very cold at night (-10 C/14 F), however, so it's important to pack a warm sleeping bag, lots of warm layers, and waterproof gear. All this said, weather in the Himalayas is highly variable. Organizing a Trek in Bhutan Choosing a Bhutan trekking company You cannot trek in Bhutan independently, meaning you must go with an authorized tour operator in Bhutan. This means that your trek will be fully supported, including a trekking guide, cook, helpers, and a team of mule porters to carry your trekking and camping gear. The same minimum daily package fee for Bhutan applies on treks as well. Our Druk Path Trek was with G Adventures and was part of a larger 11-day tour to Bhutan. We recommend this as the tour combines several days on the trek where you are immersed in nature with visits to temples, fortresses and towns to learn more about Bhutan's culture, religion, people and history. Note: The Druk Path Trek tour that we took no longer exists, but both the G Adventures Camp the Trans Bhutan Trail (11 days) and Highlights of the Trans Bhutan Trail (12 days) offer a similar combination of trekking with exploring Bhutan's monasteries, historical sites, villages and towns. For more details on how to get a visa to Bhutan, minimum daily package fees, flights to Bhutan, and more, check out our Bhutan Travel Guide. Packing for a Trek in Bhutan and Leaving your Luggage Behind For the Druk Path Trek and other treks in Bhutan with G Adventures (and other trekking agencies), you are allowed to bring a maximum of 7.5 kilos per person for the mules to carry. This includes your sleeping bag, clothes, toiletries, towel and any other trekking gear you might need at night. We carried a day pack with us during the day with water, camera, snacks, and necessary layers and winter bits like hat and gloves. Two people would share one of these G Adventures duffel bags for a maximum of 15 kilos. We left our big bags or luggage behind with our tour driver in Paro. We took only what we needed for the trek with us. At the end of the trek, when we emerged from the mountains all our luggage was waiting for us in the tour van. It was available immediately when we arrived at our hotel in Thimphu. Bhutan Trekking Packing List Much of what we include in our How to Pack for a Trek article applies here. However, we offer a customized Bhutan Trekking packing list based on our Druk Path Trek. It has a special focus on winter trekking as this was our experience, to ensure you have what you need to stay warm and dry in all conditions, but that you don't overpack. Remember that you will not have access during the day to the bags with the 7.5 kilos/person of gear so this bag should only include things you need at night. All our waterproof gear and jacket layers we carried with us in our day packs. Better to be prepared as you never know when the temperature and the weather might change as you walk. Even with these layers, try to pack your day pack as light if you can. You’ll quickly begin to feel the extra weight going up those steep hills. Drinking Water You should consume several liters of water each day (if not, then you’re not drinking enough) since you’ll be walking at altitude most of the time. Bring with you a refillable water bottle or a water bladder (or both) so that you always have at least one liter of water on you at all times. I find that I drink more water on the trail when I drink from a water bladder so I carry both. For hygiene and safety, you'll have access to boiled water at the campsites. This can be used for tea and coffee, but it is also what we used as clean water to refill our water bottles. If you really want to play it safe consider carrying with you a SteriPEN, sterilization drops or a water bottle that includes a filter. Trekking Daypack Recommended Women's Trekking Daypack Deuter ACT Trail Pro Backpack: Very light with all sorts of great functionality like a built-in rain cover, water bladder compatibility, wide waist belt for stability, and more. I have the 32-liter, but you could go with a smaller 28-liter option for this trek as you don't need to carry that much during the day. Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI (28-Liter) | Buy on Backcountry.com (34-Liter) Recommended Men's Trekking Daypack Dan's Osprey 24-liter hiking backpack was comfortable and had more than enough space. Osprey Packs Stratos Men's Hiking Backpack: Dan is a big fan of Osprey packs as they are adjustable and fit his back and torso well. The 24 – 34 liter size is great for day hikes or as a day pack on multi-day treks like this. Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI | Buy on Backcountry.com Sleeping Bag It's very important that you bring a warm sleeping bag so that you are not uncomfortable in your tent at night. We highly recommend getting a sleeping bag that is COMFORT rated to -10 C/15 F (or even warmer). Even if you don't trek in the winter time it still gets rather cold at night and it's better to take off layers or unzip the bag than to not be warm enough. We purchased this Mammut Nordic OTI winter sleeping bag, which was warm enough, synthetic (vs. down, which requires more care) and came at a great price. However, it's a bit bulky and took up quite a bit of space in our luggage. Another good sleeping bag option would be one of the down sleeping bags offered by Hyke & Byke (e.g., this sleeping bag goes down to 0 degrees F) as they are very reasonably priced for down and the quality of the bags. Here are some other winter sleeping bags offered at REI. Trekking Poles / Walking Sticks We highly recommend carrying trekking poles. We were very thankful for ours, especially on the steep downhills and when the trail was covered in snow and ice. We brought our own set of travel trekking poles (they fold up compact) with us. We share one set between the two of us so that we each carry one pole on the trail. If you didn't bring walking sticks with you ask your guide if you can rent or borrow them. Our guide made several wooden sticks available for people in our group who didn't have them. They were very thankful to have them. Clothing to go Trekking in Bhutan You don't need a lot of clothes, but you do need the right layers. Don’t worry about packing clean clothes for each day, as you can just re-wear the same things each day. Trust me, no one cares and that's what everyone does. Here’s what we suggest: 1 pair of trekking pants: We're both been using Clothing Arts Travel Pants (for men and for women) as our go-to trekking pants for over eight years. They've been through a lot of different treks and conditions, yet remain in excellent condition. We find the additional secure pockets useful on treks for keeping phones, money, tissues and other things handy. Thermal underwear (top/bottom): I love my silk long johns as they are warm, comfy and take up almost no room at all. Also good is Uniqlo's Heat Tech collection of thin, but warm, layers of leggings and tops. Dan is still keen on his Patagonia zipper top and bottoms that he's been using for over two decades. Short or long-sleeved shirts: I often start with a quick dry t-shirt at the bottom and then add the layers on top. This tends to wick away any sweat quickly so that I don't get cold. On this trek, however, I mainly used a long-sleeve shirt as my bottom layer (e.g., this Uniqlo option or this REI long-sleeved option) as I was aiming for warmth. 3-4 pairs of socks: I love SmartWool hiking socks. My first pairs lasted me almost seven years of heavy usage. If you prefer a thinner sock check out their ultra-light line. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Hiking shoes: We wore low-rise Oboz hiking shoes and were fine. Other people wore light trainers. However, some mid-ankle support is useful because of the pitch of the terrain, and some traction is the soles is useful when you encounter rain, mud, snow and ice. Men's Obuz Sawtooth Hiking Shoes: Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry + Women's Obuz Sawtooth Hiking Shoes: Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry 1 set of sleeping clothes: I prefer sleeping in different clothes than the ones I've hiked in all day. So even if it's cold in the tent I'll change into my sleeping clothes as it feels cleaner to me. Given the winter conditions this included a long-sleeve Uniqlo HeatTech shirt, fleece jacket, warm leggings (or fleece-lined running tights), socks, hat, and scarf. To ensure these remain dry, pack them in a plastic bag or other impermeable container inside the bag the mules are carrying. Underwear for every day of your trek: With an extra pair thrown in for good measure, if you like. Recommended men's underwear and women's underwear. Long sleeved pullover or zipped layer: This thin layer provides an important layer of warmth during the day. Buy on REI (Men's)| Buy on REI (Women's) Light fleece jacket: For an extra layer during the day or to keep warm during sleeping, but not too bulky. Buy on REI (Women's) | Buy on REI (Men's) Rain jacket: A useful layer for warmth and against the snow, rain or wind. You can use a light windbreaker-in-a-bag that is water resistant or a more substantial waterproof rain jacket like this (women's and men's). Down jacket: This is an invaluable layer, especially if you are trekking in the winter, as the jacket compresses into a small bag so it's light and easy to carry. But, it provides an important layer of warmth, especially when you get to the campsite and the temperature drops as the sun goes down. Dan has really enjoyed his down jacket from Uniqlo. I use a similar down jacket to this. Flip-flops or river shoes (e.g., Tevas): To use at night in the campsites to give your feet a break from hiking shoes. Women's Tevas & Men's Tevas. Shoe gaiters: We picked up a knock-off North Face pair of gaiters in Paro before our trek to protect our shoes from getting wet from the snow on the trails. We were very thankful to have them, especially on day 3. Gaiters are especially important if you're doing a winter trek and expect snow. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon Crampons or Traction Cleats: If you're doing the winter trek and have fears of slipping on the ice, carrying a pair of lightweight traction cleats can provide peace of mind. We left our set of Yaktrax traction cleats at home (we were not expecting much ice) and were fine without them. We used our walking sticks to maintain balance on ice. However, were we to pack again for a winter Druk Path experience, we would bring them with us just to be on the safe side. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Other Trekking Gear Waterproof backpack cover: You never know when a rainstorm will hit, so it’s essential to keep a rain cover for your backpack close at hand. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry | Buy at REI Quick-dry travel towel: To dry off your hands or face after washing them in the morning. Hang it on the outside of your backpack in the morning so it dries quickly in the sun and air as you move. Buy at REI |Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Sleep sack or sleeping bag liner: To provide an extra layer of warmth in the sleeping bag. Highly recommended. We prefer the silk liner option as it is light to carry, but a warm layer. Buy on REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Headlamp: The campsites do not have electricity so a headlamp is useful to make your way to the camping toilet and to sort through your stuff at night in the tent. Silicone earplugs: A precaution in the case your camp has a snorer. Hand or toe warmers: If your hands and feet get cold easily consider bringing a pack of adhesive hand and/or toe warmers. One of the women in our group had bad circulation. She used these adhesive warmers daily in her shoes and gloves. They were a lifesaver and really helped keep her warm and comfortable. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Toiletries and Health Kit On the Druk Path Trek, you won't have access to a shower. But hot water bowls in the morning go a long way. Soap, toothbrush and toothpaste: The basics. Sunscreen and lip balm with sunscreen: The higher the SPF, the better. You'll be at high altitude. Sunglasses: The sun is strong at altitude. Hand sanitizer: To be on the safe side. Pack of tissues or toilet paper: The campsites all have toilet paper, but it’s always a good idea to carry a pack of tissues just in case. Duct tape: Very effective for hot spots and blisters on your feet. Also consider picking up some Compeed, which is magic when you've already developed blisters. Medical Kit (for emergencies): Band-Aids, anti-bacterial gel (for cuts), rehydration powders, ciprofloxacin (or another medication against stomach bacteria), Tylenol (anti-headache/aches), Immodium (or some sort of “stopper” if you get diarrhea), tea tree oil (great to apply to cuts and mosquito bites) Note: all these are easily and inexpensively purchased at local pharmacies, including in Paro from where you depart for the trek. Electricity and Charging Batteries None of the campsites have electricity so prepare yourself for not having access to electricity during the trek. Some tips to handle this and further your battery power. Put your smartphone on airplane mode to not waste your phone’s battery power trying to find a network. Consider buying a phone case that doubles as an extra battery. It provides another 1-1.5 charges. Take an extra camera battery or two. Don’t spent time reviewing your images, as this will quickly consume your battery power quickly. Unless you are reviewing images to determine whether you’ve captured a specific shot, there will be time enough for photo review when your trek is finished. Pack a solar-paneled power bank. We would leave ours outside in the early morning light or during breaks along the trail to charge it in the sun. Not sure how much it really recharged, but ours did give us some much appreciated juice to recharge our phones after a couple of days. Have other questions about trekking in Bhutan or the Druk Path Trek? Just ask in the comments below and we’ll incorporate the information into the article so others may benefit. Disclosure: Our Druk Path Trek and tour in Bhutan was provided to us by G Adventures in cooperation with its Wanderers program. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own. The post Bhutan Trekking: The Druk Path Trek and New Trans Bhutan Trail appeared first on Uncornered Market.

At the end of last year as winter days grew shorter and the holidays approached, we set our sights on checking in with each other before we found ourselves immersed in the uptake of a new year. Taking off to the Caribbean to spend some time together away from our laptops, reflect on the past year and take a deep breath before a busy year ahead was just what we needed.

The post Travel to St. Maarten: 18 Unusual Things to Do appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on January 8, 2023 by Audrey Scott Many people travel to St. Maarten / St. Martin for its Caribbean white sand beaches. While they are beautiful and all that you would expect from a Caribbean island, there are so many more things to do in Saint Maarten / Saint Martin than just its beaches. This travel guide shares 18 unusual things to do in St. Maarten / St. Martin drawn from ten days traveling all around the island with the goal of finding some of its more off-the-beaten path experiences and places. Whether you’re traveling to St. Maarten / St. Martin as a standalone Caribbean island vacation or as an excursion from a cruise, you'll be sure to find something from our travel guide below with favorite outdoor activities, hikes, beaches, and day trips to make your visit memorable. Exploring St. Martin / St. Maarten beaches. Deservedly famous. Visiting the Caribbean Island of St. Maarten / St. Martin At the end of the year as winter days grew shorter and the Christmas holidays approached, we set our sights on checking in with each other before we found ourselves immersed in the uptake of a new year. Taking off to the Caribbean to spend some time together away from our laptops, reflect on the past year and take a deep breath before a busy year ahead was just what we needed. It was with this frame of mind that we left our home base in Berlin mid-December for St. Maarten, the Dutch side of an island in the Caribbean divided in two with its French counterpart St. Martin. Caribbean beaches – long horizons and shades of blue. While we weren't fully disconnected from the internet and the world during our time on St. Maarten, we found that removing ourselves from all that was familiar and routine — and giving ourselves a dose of sunshine and warmth — helped us to relax, gain some perspective, and enjoy time together as an ordinary married couple (i.e., not as business partners). Not to mention, a sort of decompression seems to occur naturally when staring out over water to the horizon for long periods of time. In this way, pressing the pause button from time to time in one’s life creates space to disconnect, reconnect and to clarify what matters most. Update November 2022: We have updated this article to take into consideration any St. Maarten / St. Martin Covid travel requirements and to try to ensure that all activities and recommendations below are still available with the most updated information. This post was originally published in February 2016 and updated in November 2022. Going Off the Beaten Path in St. Maarten / St. Martin The idea of this trip, as with most of our travels, was to go beyond the obvious — in this case, the beaches. This involved exploring both sides of the island — Dutch St. Maarten in the south and French St. Martin to the north – and following suggestions, on and off the tourist trail, to experiences that would move us. The cliché of white sand Caribbean beaches stretching along dazzling, turquoise water is far too accurate. We were tempted to park ourselves on one of the several we sampled, and never leave. But we also knew there was more to discover and things to do in St. Maarten than appears on the surface. Next, we would be fibbing if we told you that St. Maarten / St. Martin is not heavily touristy. It would be very easy to visit and only see the developed and trafficked areas of the island and draw your experience and conclusions from there, but dig a bit deeper and you’ll find a dimension to the island that few others see. On several occasions we found ourselves surrounded by rugged natural beauty, without a soul around. Resorting to a selfie; nobody else around to take our photo along the Sentier des Froussards trek. We enabled our experience of St. Maarten in full by talking with as many people as we could. Our goal: to connect with and better understand this island of 80,000 inhabitants that welcomes an astonishing 3.7 million travelers a year, and to uncover a diversity of experiences that speak to both adventure and relaxation. That’s where this travel guide filled with unusual things to do in St. Maarten / St. Martin comes in. Pick and choose from the experiences below to piece together a St. Maarten travel itinerary that best suits your travel goals and interests, from beaches to hiking to adventure activities. 18 Unusual Things to Do, See and Experience in St. Maarten / St. Martin As you go through our recommended beaches, hikes, tours, and things to do in Saint Maarten / Saint Martin below you'll notice that they are mostly activities that take place outdoors, in nature and away from crowds. This reflects what we did and our personal recommendations. However, this also makes these more “Covid-friendly activities” as doing things outside has a lower risk than indoors or with large groups of people. Some of the following experiences and activities we paid for ourselves and some were provided free to us (as indicated below). Some we learned about by talking with locals or long-time residents, and others we discovered on our own. In other words, we tried to learn as much as we could about St. Maarten/St. Martin and experience it to the fullest in the ten days we had. A note on costs: Prices for experiences vary slightly depending upon season (high or low), number of people in the group, and other factors. Legend: $ = up to $50, $$ = $50-$100, $$$ = $100-$150, $$$$ = $150+ 1. Race at sea and take the controls of a real America's Cup boat with the 12-Metre Challenge. Yes, this experience can take you on THE winning boat from the 1987 America’s Cup, the Stars & Stripes. This alone is kind of exciting. Board the boat, and each of your group is assigned a crew position. From there, you get a quick lesson, you practice a bit, the helmsman issues the commands and with a traditional 6-minute start, it’s off to the races. You witness and participate firsthand in the teamwork required to make a craft like this take flight on the water. This became even more evident – and dramatic — as we sailed right into a brief tropical storm with the wind whipping the sails and our boat carving slightly terrifying angles. What really set this experience apart, however, was the competition. We raced against another America’s Cup boat (True North, from Canada) under standard regatta regulations, giving us a wee taste of the adrenaline of an actual race. The 12-Metre Challenge, returning to shore after a successful race. The only danger with this experience is that it may make you want to take sailing lessons and rent your own sailboat to go around the Caribbean. Not that we speak from experience or anything… If you only have one day in St. Maarten as an excursion from your cruise, consider this activity. It has the right mix of adrenaline, being out on the open waters and fun. How to do it: The 12 Metre Challenge is located at Dock Maarten, Philipsburg. Note: Cruise ship passengers must book through their cruise line. Cost: $$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 2. Day trip to Shoal Bay, Anguilla to relax on the #1 ranked beach in the Caribbean. On our first day in St. Maarten we heard Shoal Bay beach described to us as “heaven on earth.” That the recommendation came from a long-time resident with experience throughout the Caribbean told us we must go. But we’ve been to plenty of “best beaches,” so we managed our expectations. Shoal Bay blues, with a side of paddle boarding. Shoal Bay Beach over-delivered. Not only was the beach a carpet of soft, pristine white sand, but the light and water played a range of blue shades of the likes we’d never before seen, except for glaciers in Antarctica. The blue glow can appear almost artificial and HDR’d, but it’s not. It’s simply the way Mother Nature worked out in this part of the world. Now we understand why this beach is ranked #1 in the Caribbean and #5 worldwide. The other notable feature of this beach during our visit: it was almost empty. The restaurant where our tour went was a simple, local family-run establishment, which lent a fitting and traditional laid-back Caribbean feel. Shoal Bay Beach, Anguilla – a little slice of nostalgia and Caribbean beach life. How to do it: We took a day trip package that included a speedboat from St. Maarten (dock near the airport) to Anguilla + bus transfer to/from Shoal Bay + lunch + free use of beach equipment such as snorkel gear and paddle boards. Cost: $$$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. Other day trip options to Anguilla from St. Maarten include: Catamaran to Prickly Pear and Anguilla islands (8 hours): This day trip sails along the coast of St. Maarten and visits both Prickly Pear and Anguilla Islands so you can swim in the clear waters and enjoy the beaches in both places. Departs in the morning from Simpson Bay. Price includes a BBQ lunch. Private speed boat from St. Maarten to Anguilla (8 hours): Enjoy a private excursion to Anguilla to enjoy the beauty of Shoal Bay beach and nearby Sandy Island and the clear waters of Crocus Bay. Enjoy complementary champagne and drinks. You'll have flexibility with your day as you'll have your own captain and guide to help create a memorable private trip experience. Speed boat day trip to Anguilla (6 hours) that includes stops in Cap Juluca, Sandy Island, and Little Bay in Anguilla to go swimming and enjoy lunch (included in price). On the return you stop by Maho Beach in St. Maarten to watch the planes land just above you at the airport (see #3 above). Departs in the morning from Cole Bay, St. Maarten. Remember that Anguilla is a different country so be sure to bring your passport and $20 for the clearance and customs fees. 3. Get away from it all with a hike in Guana Bay. It’s easy to get caught up in St. Maarten tourist trail areas and question, “Is this all there is to the island?” However, a short drive over the hill to the southeastern corner of the island and Guana Bay served as our first glance at a different sort of St. Maarten / St. Martin. Hiking in Guana Bay with our guide, Joost. The trek from Guana Bay to Pointe Blanche is one of the areas on the island where you'll find yourself surrounded by rugged natural beauty without a soul around, save perhaps for a few goats. How to do it: You can do this Guana Bay hike with Tri-Sport. They offer a couple of departures each day during high season. We recommend choosing the morning departure (9AM) as you’ll avoid the strong heat and sunshine. Joost, our guide, provided terrific historical and environmental context. Not to mention, he’s a font of useful information and recommendations for other treks in St. Maarten. Cost: $ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 4. Drive a Rhino along the western coast of St. Martin. “I designed this myself and it’s impossible to tip. That’s why we call it a Rhino,” Oliver, the owner of Rhino Safaris explained when we first arrived. He did this so that everyone – from children to 90+ year olds – could enjoy the experience. I had memories of tipping a jet ski on a college break many years ago, so I was of relieved to find out this hybrid Jet Ski/zodiac could not be flipped. It took a few minutes to get used to the Rhino and what it could do in terms of speed, turns, and tricks, but once we did, it was fun and addictive. Driving a “rhino” up the western coast of St. Maarten. Additionally, having spent time sitting in traffic driving the western part of the island, it was a pleasant change to enjoy the same areas from the freedom of the water. How to do it: The “Rhino Safari” departs from Simpson Bay just behind Pineapple Pete’s restaurant. The tour includes not only driving your own Rhino up the western coast, but also snorkeling at Creole Rock at the northern end of the island. Cost: $$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 5. Marvel at the planes landing over Maho Bay beach. Never have we been to a destination where the airport is such a tourist attraction. But sit on or near the beach at Maho Bay and you’ll quickly understand why. The photo below pretty much says it all. It looks Photoshopped, but it’s not. Extreme plane watching at Maho Bay, St. Maarten. How to do it: While you can stand on the beach to watch the planes land overhead, we recommend Sunset Bar as an ideal spot to capture a photo without the jet blast. The surfboard outside the bar is updated daily with the flight schedule. Or you can check out the arrival schedule at SXM airport and try to figure out which flights will have the biggest planes. Good looks can also be had from Driftwood Bar on the other side of the beach. Air France flies the largest jets (i.e., most dramatic landings and photos). Book a tour to watch the planes land over Maho Bay: If you have limited time in St. Maarten, consider booking a plane viewing day trip that will transfer you from the port in Philipsburg to Maho Bay so you can enjoy some time on the beach and see the planes landing. Alternatively, you can arrange a half-day trip in St. Maarten that will take you to Orient Beach and then to watch the planes at Maho Bay. 6. Enjoy the sunset and a rum punch on a catamaran. There’s something naturally calming about staring out over the sea at a sunset as the glow of the sun melts into the water. Now, do that same thing with from the webbed deck of a catamaran with a rum punch in your hand and you’ll find yourself exhaling – literally and figuratively — even deeper. Sunset cruise. Not pictured: rum punch in hand. How to do it: Aquamania offers sunset and dinner catamaran trips on Wednesday and Friday evenings, departing from Simpson Bay Resort marina at 5:30 PM and returning at 8:30 PM. Alternatively, you can choose this shorter sunset cruise (1.5 hours) with daily departures that includes drinks and snacks, but not a full dinner. Cost: $$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 7. Wake up early and go for a run (or stroll) at Cupecoy Bay and enjoy a Caribbean beach all to yourself. If running isn’t your thing, then swap it with walking or cycling. Whatever you do, get up early and head to the cliffs. You’ll be rewarded not only with the soft glow of early morning light, but also with a Caribbean beach to yourself. The view from our running path, from Maho Bay to Cupecoy Bay, St. Maarten. 8. Get above it all at Pic Paradis. There is something about making your way to the highest point to get some perspective. Having an aerial view of St. Maarten (and St. Martin) from the lookout at Pic Paradis, the highest point on the island at 1,391ft / 424m, helps you see the contours of the land and how all of the places you’ve visited fit together. Pic Paradis, enjoying the view from the top of St. Martin. How to do it: In our rental car we followed the Pic Paradis signs from the main road between Marigot and Grand Case and parked on the side of the road up the hill from Loterie Farm (it was closed the day we visited, Monday). From there it was a relatively short, but steep, walk to the top. Alternatively, if you have a 4-wheel-drive car you can drive virtually the entire way to the peak and lookout. 9. Cross the border and practice your French. One of the things that attracted us to St. Maarten/St. Martin was that the island has been divided between the French and the Dutch for over 350 years. Today, the Dutch side is an independent country, while the French side remains a territory of France. We wondered what that would look and feel like. Crossing the border, St. Martin style. While there are no border controls between the sides and countries, you’ll still see signs posted across the island welcoming you each time you cross. Cross from the Dutch side north and you’ll have a chance to practice your French. You’ll also see a different style of architecture and town planning. Not to mention, the bread and pastries are unsurprisingly better on the French side of the border. 10. Chill out at Mullet Bay beach. There is no shortage of postcard-like beaches to choose from on the island. One of our favorites for relaxing, swimming and sunning was Mullet Bay. Since there's a golf course on one side of the beach, it is somewhat protected from development and the shadow of any large buildings. Mullet Bay beach in the morning. Of course, we aren’t the only ones to have discovered this beach. But, we noticed that if we went before noon or after 3PM it emptied as day passengers returned to the cruise ships. Ideal for a morning read or late afternoon nap. A note on St. Maarten / St. Martin beaches: All beaches on the island are public, meaning that you have access to try any one you’d like. Some beaches have sun chairs and umbrellas for hire, usually organized by restaurants or bars, but you have the right to plunk your beach towel at random and enjoy the beach for free. 11. Bicycle to Fort Amsterdam. With so much of St. Maarten covered in new buildings and developments (something like 90% of the island was destroyed by Hurricane Luis in 1995), we were curious to learn more about its history and the strategic role the island played in the colonial wrangling between the Spanish, Dutch and French empires over the centuries. This is where the historical bicycle tour of Philipsburg with Barend, our guide, helped fill in the gaps. Philipsburg bicycle tour leads us to Fort Amsterdam. One of the focal points of the bicycle tour is 17th century Fort Amsterdam, originally built by the Dutch, then lost to the Spanish and successfully defended to ward off a return Dutch invasion. The Dutch leader from that lost the fight (and his right leg), Peter Stuyvesant, went on to become mayor of New Amsterdam. Eventually he traded New Amsterdam (now, New York) to the British for the wee island of Curacao, in perhaps the very first of the worst of Wall Street deals. This story reinforces how the islands are historically more connected to our present day circumstances than we realize. Additionally, the bicycle tour takes you through Back Street, Philipsburg. While the souvenir shops and tourist restaurants in Philipsburg harbor and Front Street may feel overwhelming, this residential area just a few blocks away will give you a sense of what the island might have looked like before the rebuilding and tourism boom. Many traditional homes have remained in the hands of the same family for multiple generations. Worth the effort to walk to Back Street to experience the contrast between the two Philipsburgs. How to do it: The historical bicycle tour with TriSport leaves from the cruise ship harbor in Philipsburg. There’s a choice of several departures, but we recommend taking the early one (8:30 AM) to beat the heat and the crowds. If you would like a more challenging ride, check out the other bicycle tours offered. Cost: $-$$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 12. Scuba dive at Saba island and swim with sea turtles in coral gardens. “I’m sorry. It looks like visibility isn’t as great as it usually is,” Bob, our dive master, apologized to us before we descended to the dive site known as Tent Reef. A few minutes later we swam over coral gardens bursting with colorful coral and fish. We encountered sea turtles noshing on jelly fish, and saw puffer, parrot and lion fish dart in and around the reef. I thought: “Hmm, if this is considered ‘bad' visibility, I can’t imagine what ‘good' must look like.” Scuba diving off of Saba island. Diving in Saba was a top priority for us as we’d heard that the dive sites there are considered some of the best in the Caribbean. It took a little logistical juggling, but we did find a way to combine two dives there within a day trip from St. Maarten. The only downside of this plan is that you don’t have time to explore the island itself. There are supposed to be some gorgeous coastal treks, so consider extending your Saba trip to several days. How to go scuba diving in Saba: There are ferries that offer day trips from St. Maarten to Saba that run most days in high season. Edge offers a day trip package to Saba with round-trip ferry service, hiking and the option for scuba diving. Makana Ferry goes to Saba in the late afternoon/early evening in case you want to spend a couple of nights there. The ride takes 1.5 hours and can get rough. If you get seasick easily, consider taking some motion sickness medicine or carry Sea Bands. We arranged our dive in advance with Saba Divers. They meet you at the ferry, check your Padi certification, gear you up, manage two dives, and get you back to the ferry for the late afternoon return to St. Maarten. Fun and experienced dive masters. Cost: $$$$ Saba Covid Travel Requirements (November 2022): No requirements now for proof of vaccination, negative test or EHAS form. How to go scuba diving in St. Maarten: If you want to go diving, but don't have the time to go all the way to Saba for the day consider doing a half-day double tank drive in St. Maarten instead. The dive staff will choose the dive site based on weather and visibility that morning so that you're diving in optimum conditions. If you haven't been diving within the last year, it's recommended to start with a shallow dive as a refresher. If you don't have your PADI certificate, but want to get a feel for scuba diving and being underwater, then you can do a 3-hour Discover Scuba tour that introduces you to scuba diving and all of its gear in shallow waters. This is a great way to test out scuba diving in clear Caribbean waters. 13. Taste rum at a local distillery. “I used to experiment with flavored rums in my kitchen to make gifts for friends or for guests at my husband’s restaurant. After I decided to do this professionally, I taught myself enough Mandarin to navigate the factories in China to get the bottle design exactly as I wanted it. I’ve always been hands-on,” Melanie, co-founder of Topper’s Rhum, laughed as she explained the genesis of her rum business. Teaching yourself “enough” Mandarin is no easy feat, but this focus on detail fit with what we saw and tasted during our visit to the distillery. Rum tasting at Topper's Rhum distillery. Melanie has been successful with her current lineup of white, spiced, coconut and flavored rums like white chocolate raspberry. Her experiences continue with new flavors in her office-cum-laboratory. The coconut rum was our favorite for drinking straight, but we later sampled the Mocha Mama (think Kahlua without the cream) over vanilla ice cream. Nice! How to do it: Topper’s Rhum now offers distillery tours for the public. Otherwise, you can sample (and buy) any of the rums at one of the two Topper’s restaurants. 14. Practice Your Tanning Skills at Orient Bay. On our first night in St. Maarten we asked our waitress, Samantha, which beach on the island was her favorite. Her quick response: “Orient Bay. I didn’t realize how lucky we are to have this beach until I left the island and visited other places. I love it.” Time to brush up on tanning skills, Orient Bay. Located on the French side of the island east, the beach at Orient Bay is long, wide and lined with restaurants and cafes that offer beach chairs and umbrellas. It’s more of a place to “be seen” than Mullet Bay, but it’s not too over-the-top. It also features beach segments that are clothing optional, so if nude bathing is your thing, this is the place to be…or to be seen. 15. Enjoy scenes of local life in Grand Case. Grand Case is on the French side of the island and has more of a local feel to it than some of the other areas of the island that have been built up for tourism. It's a good place to park your car and wander the streets and pier for these glimpses of local life…like school kids jumping off the pier or playing in the surf along the beach. There is something so light and innocent about the scene. Listen to the giggles and feel the energy. An inimitable local sight and memory. School kids play in the sea in late afternoon light. Grand Case, St. Martin How to do it: Park your car in the public parking lot on the north end of the main street in Grand Case. Walk out by the pier behind the cluster of outdoor grill restaurants. Plenty of food options here, too, from the informal grills at the beach side to more formal French restaurant options along what is known as “Restaurant Row.” 16. Kayak through the mega yacht harbor to the mangroves. St. Maarten is one of THE places in the Caribbean for yachts and boats of the “mega” variety to be docked. So it’s a fun juxtaposition – not to mention great perspective — to paddle through the nautical playground of the rich and famous before coming back down to earth with the jellyfish and sea cucumbers in the mangroves. Kayaking through the mega-yachts of Simpson Bay lagoon. How to do it: Tri-Sport usually offers a lagoon kayak tour a couple of times a day. We recommend choosing either the early morning or late afternoon option to avoid the heat of the midday sun. Chris, one of the guides, is a St. Maarten local so he can advise you on anything you might want to know about the island, including local food. Cost: $-$$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. Grab a Johnny Cake at Hilma’s and ask her about Anthony Bourdain and her 40+ years on the island. Update: Hilma's Windsor Castle was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. We are keeping the entry below in honor of Hilma, her spirit…and her johnny cakes. Although a separate section below is devoted to recommended dining and island eats, we include Hilma’s (technically, Hilma’s Windsor Castle) because eating at one of the four stools is an experience well beyond the food. Hilma has been operating from a converted trailer on the same spot in Simpson Bay for 22 years, and she’s lived on the island for more than 40. She purposely keeps operations deliberately small and personal for manageability. She has so many stories to tell, so plan some time for a conversation or two. The always smiling Hilma of Windsor Castle food stand in Simpson Bay. “I was all by myself when I first started here. None of this was here,” Hilma told us as she looked out over the road now filled to the brim on both sides with restaurants and shops. When we asked her about Anthony Bourdain, she confirmed, “Yes, he used to come here often. He vacationed here before he became really famous. He’s eaten everything here. The advice he gave me was to not change, that I should stay true to my roots.” Sage advice. How to do it: You can find Hilma’s Windsor Castle on the lot between the RBC Bank and Jerusalem / The Palms restaurants on Airport Road in Simpson Bay. Hilma is open Monday to Saturday from 7:30AM – 2:00PM. 17. Hike the northern coastline at Sentier des Froussards. This hike and the northern coastline of St. Martin falls under the “hidden” and “I had no idea something like this existed on the island” categories. We woke up early to do the trek Sentier de Froussards hike (from Anse Marcel to Eastern Point and back) during our last morning on the island. A rather ideal way to end our travels in St. Maartin / St. Martin. The hike consists of a surprisingly beautiful and secluded 3-mile footpath out along the northern coast of the island and features a couple of bathing-worthy beaches, rugged coastline and fabulous windswept landscape. Hiking the northern coast of St. Martin along the Sentier de Froussards path. How to do it: Big thanks to Joost from TriSport for recommending this trek to us. Drive towards Anse Marcel and after coming over the big hill (and before entering the marina and resort area) turn to the right where you see a small trekking sign and parking lot. You’ll walk a ways on a dirt road before reaching the trailhead on the right. Go very early (arrive around 7:30AM) to avoid the traffic and heat. En route to Anse Marcel from the south, fetch yourself a pain au chocolat or croissant from the boulangerie on the right side of the N7 main road in Grand Case. 18. Throw open the curtains at sunrise…and realize how fortunate you are. This began my morning routine. I noticed it most on that final day, perhaps because it marked the final time I would feel it this trip. It was the combination of the sound of the curtains moving on their track along with the reveal of the morning, the water, the horizon, the sun, a new day. The sensory combination of sight and sound of our morning routine foreshadowed the day to come and offered a moment to reflect on what we have, here and now. This is a lesson for life. One reaffirmed on the island. Day Trips and Excursions in St. Maartin / St. Martin Our partners, Get Your Guide and Viator, offer many St. Maarten tours, day trips and tickets for attractions. They guarantee lowest prices with no booking fees or hidden charges, as well as information on Covid hygiene and safety precautions. In addition to confirming your place and avoiding lines by pre-booking, you can cancel up to 24 hours before in case your plans change. Although we've made quite a few recommendations above for activities, excursions and tay trips, we also wanted to share some other interesting St. Maarten tours and day trips. Day tour around St. Martin / St. Maarten with a local guide: This 5-hour tour around both the French and Dutch sides of the island with a local guide sounds quite interesting as it focuses on topics related to the history and resilience of the island and its people, especially as the island was badly destroyed recently during Hurricaine Irma. It stops in several places on the French side like Grand Case, Marigot, and Fort St. Louis, as well as Maho Bay and Philipsburg on the Dutch side. Sailing and Snorkeling Trip Along St. Martin's Coast (5 hours): If you want to maximize your time on the water and see St. Martin / St. Maarten from the sea, this sailing day trip on a trimaran (i.e., it has three hulls vs. two as in a catamaran) is a good option. The journey will take you up the southwestern coast of St. Martin and up the Anguilla Channel, and you'll stop along the way for swimming and snorkeling. Departs from Nowhere Special Restaurant right next to the St. Maarten Yacht Club. Lunch included. St. Maarten hiking and snorkeling nature tour (4 hours): This nature tour combines a couple of our recommendations above – going up to Pic Paradis for panoramic views, taking a hike or nature walk, and snorkeling in the clear waters below — in a nice half-day time period. With your local guide you'll have a chance to learn a bit more about the island's biodiversity and the different species of animals above and below water. A good and active introduction to the island's nature if you are on an excursion or only have a short time. Where to Stay in St. Maarten / St. Martin For the ten days we visited St. Maarten, our home was the Morgan Resort (previously, the Alegria Boutique Hotel) in Maho Bay, just walking distance from the famous beach where airplanes fly overhead to land at the Princess Juliana airport (See #4 above). When we stayed here as the Alegria Boutique Hotel the rooms were more like small apartments or studios, outfitted to facilitate comfortable longer stays (e.g., full kitchen, washing machine) with a balcony and separate bedroom. This is why, during our visit, we referred to Alegria as our “home base.” When we returned to the hotel after a full day of experiences, we unwound in comfort and space to reflect on the day and plot our path for the next. Although, what was very different from home is that we did all this with a balcony view over the Caribbean Sea, often with a sailboat or catamaran tracking across the horizon at sunset. Or, there was always the option to relax in the saltwater pool. Sunset view from our balcony at Alegria Boutique Hotel. From what we can tell on the Morgan Resort website, the rooms have been renovated and upgraded considerably, into more of a luxury stay. There are still some suites available if you want a bit more room. Book a room at Morgan Resort Spa and Village. St. Maarten Hotels and Apartments Whether you are traveling to St. Maarten as a standalone vacation or starting your cruise from there, you may want to stay on the Dutch side of the island for a few days. The St. Maarten hotels and apartments below are conveniently located and in quieter, less developed areas. We think of them as good places to base yourself to explore the island. Hotels in Maho Bay – Cupecoy Bay – Simpson Bay These locations are all pretty close to the airport. We enjoyed staying in Maho Bay as it was a bit removed from a lot of the more built up areas and we had easy access to Mullet Bay and Cupecoy Bay beaches. Plus, we could always pop down to one of the nearby bars to see the planes land overhead at the airport. Not many activities start in Maho Bay, so t means that you'll need to add in driving or transfer time at the beginning and end of the day. Some of the activities and tours above start in or near Simpson Bay so it is a bit closer. El Zafiro Boutique Hotel: This is very close to where we stayed in St. Maarten and is located right on the beach so you'll have good views of both the coast and mountains from your room. Convenient for watching planes land at SXM airport. Adonis Cupecoy Hotel: Located in a good position not far from Cupecoy Bay (see #2 above), Maho Bay (see #4) and Simpson Bay with some restaurants and shopping nearby, but it's still a quieter, less developed part of St. Maarten. The Horny Toad Guest House: If you want your own apartment or studio with a kitchenette, seating area and terrace, then this is a good option right on Simpson Bay Beach. Close to the airport and you are walking distance from local restaurants. Hotels in Philipsburg and Eastern St. Maarten The little town of Philipsburg might be a fun place to base yourself as it has some historic areas, a beach and nearby restaurants and shops you can walk to. Plus, you're not too far from Guana Bay Beach (see #3 above) and can explore Fort Amsterdam easily. If you're coming to St. Maarten early for a cruise, Philipsburg is conveniently located near the cruise terminal and port. Alicia Inn: A good budget option right in the middle of Philipsburg so close to the restaurants, shops and beach. Public transport is also located nearby if you don't have a car and want to explore by local bus. Bay View Apartment: A little outside of town in the hills with views over Great Bay and the Atlantic Ocean below. This is a full apartment so you have everything you need to feel at home on the island. A good place if you want a bit of quiet and privacy. St. Martin Hotels and Apartments: Staying on the French Side Next time we visit the island we might stay on the French side for a change of pace as there is less tourism development and fewer big resorts. Sunshine Studios, Grand Case: Although our time in Grand Case was short, we really liked the feel of the place as it had more of a local lived in vibe than many of the other more tourism oriented places on the island. And, it's near “Restaurant Row” if you want to enjoy some French cuisine on your visit to St. Martin. The studios here also include kitchens so you can also enjoy self-catering and eating on your balcony. Happy Residence, Orient Bay: Located on Orient Bay Beach, one of our favorite beaches on the island. The apartment has a kitchen and everything you need, but it is also located walking distance to other restaurants and shops. Tiko Lodge, Oyster Pond: In the eastern side of the island close to Babit Point Natural Reserve, which is good for hiking, and not far from Orient Bay. The lodge offers rooms or apartments, and views over the water. Although quiet and remote, there are still restaurants nearby that are walking distance. Where to Eat in St. Maarten As we stayed in St. Maarten, the Dutch side of the island, we took all of our meals there. Much of the food in this part of the island is international, a reflection of both the people who now call this island home and the demographic of the tourists that visit it. If you are interested in traditional French cuisine, however, then head up to “Restaurant Row” in Grand Case on the northwestern side of the island in St. Martin. We didn’t have the opportunity to eat there during this trip as were often there too early for dinner, but the menus posted outside were very similar to what you might see in France. Long-time European residents confirmed the quality of the restaurants in Grand Case is also top notch and recommended: Auberge Gourmande, Bistro Caribe, Sol e Luna, Ocean 82 and Tastevin. Our quick look at the Auberge Gourmande menu told us this is the place we’d likely visit, but we might be swayed by what is fresh and the plat du jour elsewhere. Top Carrot, Simpson Bay Vegetarians and vegans delight. If salads, vegetables, juices and healthy eating are your thing then this is your place. The focus at Top Carrot: fresh ingredients, either grown on the island (when possible) or just off the boat from nearby Dominica. Specials change daily. After each meal, not only were we truly satisfied, but we also left feeling as though we’d done our bodies a favor. The French co-owner, Lydia, is usually there and has some great stories from living on the island for 20+ years. She’s exceedingly kind, too. Vegetable goodness at Top Carrot. Recommended dishes: Baked goat cheese (St Marcellin) salad, veggie wrap and mahi mahi with passion fruit sauce and caramelized onions (daily special, was terrific). Where to find Top Carrot Restaurant: 3200 W South Airport Rd (near Simpson Bay Marina), Simpson Bay. The Palms, Simpson Bay What happens when a Canadian Trinidadian opens restaurant in St Maarten? You get Caribbean favorites like drunken ribs and Trinidadian bites served in a Canadian (and Torontonian) paraphernalia flair. You get The Palms. Greg, the owner, and his mother change the menu daily based on what’s fresh. He's also a great resource for other restaurant recommendations and tips for the island. Recommended dishes: Drunken ribs and pholourie, spiced split pea flour puff fritters with house special cumin-tamarind sauce. Rib portions are large, so consider splitting one between two people or pair with an appetizer instead of a 2nd main dish. Where to find The Palms restaurant: 25 Airport Road in Simpson Bay (near RBC Bank). Sunset Bar, Maho Bay Sunset Bar features a prime location next to Maho Bay beach, making it the viewing lounge of choice for oglers of airplanes landing at SXM airport (see #4 above). It’s also good for sunset gazing with a drink in hand. Recommended dishes: Most people come here to drink rather than eat, but we found the seared tuna atop salad greens to be really abundant, nicely-cooked and fresh. Consider asking for the dressing on the side. Where to find it: Maho Bay, just behind the runway for the airport. Disclosure: Our first meal here was provided to us. Driftwood Boat Bar, Maho Bay If you’re looking for a tasty, cheap eats on St. Maarten, we can vouch for the chicken schwarma sandwich at Driftwood Boat Bar. A healthy chunk of grilled, spiced chicken covered with lots of vegetables and dressing. The location also offers another venue to watch the planes land at the airport in case the Sunset Bar on the other end of Maho Bay is packed. Where to find the Driftwood Boat Bar: Maho Bay, west side, just behind the runway. Planning a Trip to St. Maarten / St. Martin One island, two countries, no border. While the island is divided into two countries, there are no border controls between them. The Dutch side is home to the major international airport (SXM, Princess Juliana) and cruise ship port, so it services most of the visitors coming to the island. However, there is a smaller airport, SFG (L’Esperance Airport Grand-Case) on the French side. To understand one difference, as residents tell us, “The Dutch side takes more influence from the United States. Anything goes here.” The French side is technically part of France, so it adheres to E.U. requirements. This means that building and development is more regulated; you'll often find fewer crowds. Renting a car in St. Maarten St. Maarten is a relatively small island (34 square miles), but if you’re interested in doing a variety of activities as we did, a rental car is essential. There's plenty of rental car competition on the island, so prices are decent, starting from around $30-$40/day for the economy cars. Gas/petrol prices are currently pretty reasonable, particularly by European standards. One caveat: traffic on the island can be bad and stressful, and parking can be equally challenging. Ask locals about traffic patterns, timing and rush hours up front so you can plan your route and schedule your outings to minimize irritation. Disclosure: Our rental car was provided by Empress Rental Car just near the Princess Juliana airport. We had a simple rental car that got us around the island with no problems. Note: We also find that Skyscanner offers good rental car prices for St. Maarten / St. Martin. Public Transportation and Taxis on St. Maarten If you don’t plan to explore the island much (i.e., you're focused on a nearby beach or all of your activities include a pickup or transfer), then consider taking the occasional taxi or flagging down one of the public transport minivans making their way around the island. There are plenty of both. You can also easily book a shared airport transfer or private airport transfer from Princess Juliana airport (SXM) to your hotel so that you have someone waiting for you at the airport when you arrive. Money in St. Maarten / St. Martin The official currency of the French side is the Euro(€) while on the Dutch side it's the Netherlands Antillean Florin (NAF). Don’t bother taking out NAF from the ATM as all prices on the Dutch side are posted in $USD and every place accepts dollars. Most places on the French side will also accept $USD (often on a 1:1 basis with the Euro). SIM card and mobile data on St. Maarten We purchased a TelCell SIM card on the Dutch side for $15 and bought 500MB of data for an additional $10. However, mobile data does not work when you cross over to the French side. Although we have no experience with the UTS/Chippie, they are another option for SIM cards, calls and mobile data on the island. When to visit St. Maarten / St. Martin Our visit to St. Maarten/St. Martin was in mid-December. We found it just about perfect, as our timing was right before high season, which runs from just before Christmas (Dec. 22-ish) to the beginning of April. The weather during our visit was excellent – sunny and warm during the day, beautiful water temperatures, and breezy and temperate at night – and came with the added bonus of fewer crowds and reduced traffic. We were told that August-October us usually incredibly hot and at the tail end of the hurricane season, so probably best to avoid that period. One long-time resident told us that his favorite season is April to June as it’s not too hot and high season crowds have begun to dissipate. How to Travel to St. Maarten / St. Martin Visiting St. Maarten / St. Martin on a Cruise Many people visit the island as a day trip or excursion from a longer Caribbean cruise. This will provide you a taste of the island in a short period of time. In fact, many of the activities and tours recommended above are scheduled for cruise excursions so they pick you up at the port in morning and return you with plenty of time in the afternoon. Traveling to St. Martin / St. Maarten as a Vacation As you might have guessed from this article, we suggest visiting for longer than just a day trip as there is quite a lot to do and see in St. Maarten / St. Martin. You could do what we did and visit as a standalone vacation for 5-10 days, with side day trips to Anguilla and Saba islands. Or, you could combine a visit to St. Martin with other nearby Caribbean destinations for a multi-destination vacation. Flying to St. Maarten If you are flying to St. Maarten from Europe, there are usually direct connections from KLM and Air France. Coming from the United States there are quite a few airlines that fly into SXM airport like Jet Blue and American Airlines. You can check out flights to St. Maarten, including a comparison of airlines, prices and times of year, on Skyscanner. St. Maarten Covid Entry Requirements As of November 2022, St. Maarten / St. Martin island is open to travelers with no restrictions or Covid-19 entry requirements. However, be sure to check the official Saint Maarten Covid Travel Requirements website before your trip for the latest information and updates. Most of the international entry points to the island are on the Dutch side so it’s mostly likely that you will arrive on the island in St. Maarten and will need to follow these Covid entry requirements. St. Martin Covid Entry Requirements As Saint Martin is technically part of France, it has some similar Covid travel requirements. Although most international arrivals will be on the Dutch side (see above for St. Maarten), if you happen to arrive on the French side at St. Martin’s small airport (Grand Case Esperance SFG Airport) or a ferry port, you should check out the official St. Martin Covid travel requirements website for specifics and the most updated details. Disclosure: Our trip to St. Maarten and stay at Morgan Resort (previously, Alegria Boutique Hotel) were provided by Choice Hotels in conjunction with its #ChoiceCaribbean campaign. Any experiences and meals above that were provided to us have been noted inline. We would also like to thank Karen Hana, General Manager of the Alegria Boutique Hotel, for sharing with us her 20+ years of experience living on the island and for her suggestions on experiences across the island. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own. The post Travel to St. Maarten: 18 Unusual Things to Do appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on April 21, 2024 by Audrey Scott How can one travel safely during Covid? What Covid research and travel planning can you do manage risk while still having a fun vacation? What any additional travel safety measures should ... Continue Reading

The post Traveling Safely During Covid: Research, Planning and Managing Risk appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on April 21, 2024 by Audrey Scott How can one travel safely during Covid? What Covid research and travel planning can you do manage risk while still having a fun vacation? What any additional travel safety measures should one take? How might choices as to where to go, activities, accommodation and transport change during the pandemic? In this article we address all of this, focusing on the stuff and choices in our control with the goal to mind the health and safety of others, as well as yourself. These lessons apply not only to travel but also to daily life, during the pandemic and beyond. We touch on decision-making, logistics, managing risk, flexibility, adapting to new information, managing expectations, gratitude and satisfaction. Oh, and how it's still possible to have fun and enjoy yourself even in the midst of pandemic challenges, risks and uncertainties. Navigating research, planning and execution right now: ups and downs. When we traveled to Italy from Berlin, Germany to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, we had plenty of reservations. We questioned whether we ought to travel at all given the pandemic. We were not only concerned about our own enjoyment and safety, but we were also more attuned to the safety of others and the impact of our visit. Our decision-making process while planning and taking this trip was more deliberate and careful than usual. We considered all potential impacts — good and bad — as we researched, planned and executed the trip with Covid-19 still a reality. As we responded to questions from friends, family and readers about how traveled during the pandemic, it occurred to us that it might be useful to turn our travel planning and on-the-road process during COVID-19 inside-out here. Update January 2022: Even though the trip we mentioned occurred before vaccinations were available, many of the same precautions, planning factors and considerations are still relevant now given the new variants and low rates of vaccination in some places. We've updated this article to take into consideration vaccination certificates, country-specific passes and other considerations to be able to navigate requirements, manage risk and have a good trip. This update also includes specifics and experiences traveling to and within the United States and to several EU countries (e.g., France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Moldova and Cyprus). CAVEATS: We understand Italy does not reflect travel realities across the rest of the world. Each destination is different based on their vaccination rate, Covid-19 case load, hospitalization rates, season, restrictions and many other things. However, we believe many of the travel planning, safety tips and recommendations that follow will resonate and apply on some level no matter where you live and where you wish to travel. To be clear, we are not advocating that everyone travel right now. There are ethical considerations and even with vaccination roll-outs gaining speed around the world, COVID-19 rates are again on the rise in many countries with new variants like Omicron (see our COVID-19 Travel Resource Guide for more details on relevant data and considerations). However, people will continue to travel now and in the future. Our suggestions are aimed to help travelers plan and execute travel more seamlessly and manage risks for themselves and the host communities they visit. One of the best ways to do this is to get vaccinated yourself and visit places with high vaccination rates so that local people are already protected. Mindful Traveler Oath Basics First, consider the following basic elements of the as-yet-unspoken Uncornered Market Mindful Traveler Oath: Keep ourselves and others safe. And not necessarily in that order. Act mindfully and responsibly, for positive (or to minimize potential negative) impact on the people and places we visit. Have fun. Enjoy ourselves. We did our best on this trip to accomplish all three. “Good Grief, What a Headache” Caveat to the Mindful Traveler Oath Some of our suggestions may elicit a response of, “Oh Dan and Audrey, what a headache. I just want to travel.” In turn, we offer the following perspective: “What do we most remember about the trip?” What we remember most from our trip: celebrating at a mountain hut in the Dolomites. In this case, we recall the phenomenal hiking, dazzling food, beautiful towns, pleasant people, and lovely interactions. Also expressing disbelief, usually over a glass of the local vintage or beer, that we’d been married to one another for 20 years. Last on the list of our memories: any inconvenience of wearing a mask or having to mind the impact of our actions on the health and safety of others. Now to the list. How To Travel Safely* During Covid: Research and Planning Note: *safely in terms of doing full research to understand the risks associated with the place you want to visit and the type of travel you want to do. Unfortunately, there is no 100% safe guarantee when it comes to Covid or anything else in life. The idea is to be prepared with relevant data and information to make a decision on whether to travel in the first place given the risks, where you can travel based on border and other restrictions, and then where you want to travel based on the current Covid situation, requirements, and other associated costs and time. 1. Do your COVID-19 & travel restriction research Prior to setting off, we took our own COVID travel advice when deciding where to visit. Our goal: to make sure the places we wanted to visit weren’t identified as COVID-19 hotspots, had high vaccination rates and that we wouldn’t be required to quarantine upon arrival or encounter problems upon our return home to Germany. Covid-related research and considerations to choose where to travel now include: Country entry and stay requirements: Use tools like Sherpa, Reopen Europe, and country-specific government pages (always confirm information from secondary sources) to understand entry requirements. This includes not only whether proof of a negative test is needed to enter, but also whether testing is required upon arrival, quarantine times, and whether regular testing is required during the stay. Some countries also require you to fill in a government form in advance and upload your proof of vaccination or negative test as a sort of pre-approval process. You're usually required to show this — either in paper or app form — when you check in for your flight and upon arrival in the country. Many countries have different requirements for vaccinated vs. unvaccinated travelers, so be sure to double check the requirements not only for your vaccination status, but also for how old your vaccination is (e.g., whether you've gotten a booster). Country specific Covid data: Be sure you understand the current local Covid situation where you want to visit to ensure this fits within your desired risk level. This means not only Covid daily rates, but also hospitalizations and ICU availability, vaccination rate (high is good), and where the concentration of new infections is happening (e.g., maybe you stay away from the cities or outbreak areas). Re-entry requirements to your home country: Not only do you need to know what is needed to get into another country, but you also must be aware of what the requirements are to return home. Countries are constantly being evaluated based on their current Covid caseloads and put on low or high risk lists, with the latter having stricter re-entry testing and quarantine requirements. Be sure to check the status of the country where you want to visit so that you are prepared with what forms you need to fill out, if you need a negative PCR or antigen test, and whether you need to quarantine. Availability and cost of Covid tests: In addition to possibly needing to show a negative test to fly home, some countries require Covid tests upon arrival or every couple of days. Do your research to understand not only the testing requirements (antigen or PCR), but how much the tests cost and how difficult it is to schedule. For example, during our recent trip to Cyprus, a PCR test upon arrival was required of all passengers. However, this was done immediately at the airport when we disembarked the plane, cost €15 (very reasonable) and the results were sent in 3-6 hours. This made it easy, efficient and inexpensive to fulfill this requirement. However, we're heard stories in other countries of the required tests adding hundreds of dollars or Euros to the cost of the trip, plus they were difficult to find and schedule. That sounds less enjoyable. What happens if you get Covid on vacation – local requirements and restrictions: Imagine the worst case scenario and you test positive for Covid during your trip, either developing symptoms during your vacation or you get a surprise result when you do your Covid test to return home. What are the procedures and requirements where you are going in terms of where you are allowed to stay (e.g., some countries have quarantine-specific hotels or centers so you can't just stay in a regular hotel or apartment), quarantine length, required testing regime, access to medical care, and who pays for everything, etc.? We know this isn't a pleasant exercise, but it's better to be prepared for what could happen (e.g., we know several people who tested positive when fulfilling Covid requirements to return home). Then, you have all the information you need to decide if you still want to go to that destinations given the requirements and potential additional costs and time. For example, on our recent trip to Cyprus we researched that if we were to test positive then we would have to go an official government quarantine hotel for two weeks, but that the costs of this were paid by the government. Given that we mostly work remotely anyway, we decided that this was a risk we were willing to take. On-the-ground Covid safety requirements: We now actively look for destinations with strict mask mandates and where proof of vaccination is required to access restaurants, museums or other indoor areas. This provides us with a bit more peace of mind and security that people are taking the risks seriously and are trying to manage them the best they can given the current tools and knowledge that we have. This, of course, is all in addition to all the usual travel logistics and destination planning we do for a normal vacation. How it played out: Although our goal was to hike the Dolomites in northern Italy, we identified several alternative destinations in case COVID-19 rates or travel restrictions increased there. We also regularly checked official government (German and Italian) websites to ensure we had the latest information before making any decisions. 2. Plan. Remain flexible. Adapt. Expect to cancel during Covid. I’m with Dwight Eisenhower on this one. “…[plans] are of no particular value, but [planning] is indispensable.” Eisenhower was quoting a military officer speaking about managing peace after World War II, but the premise applies also to the winds of change of travel. Plan, yet remain flexible. Accept that you may be forced to change plans or cancel at any moment, either while planning or on the road. Adapt your expectations and decisions to the discovery of new information. Preparation opens the mind to possible outcomes; the resulting flexibility helps maximize satisfaction. The less surprised you are as scenarios arise, the more equipped you will be to respond. And the more resilient you'll become. If you happen to be a fan of the saying, “It’s all about the journey, not the destination,” this ought to resonate. How it played out: We postponed our anniversary trip once. The possibility of last-minute cancellation hovered over us right up to the time of our departure. We deliberately chose to travel by train rather than fly to Italy, since it featured fewer bureaucratic hassles and was less expensive, particularly if we had to cancel. We also chose a rental car option with flexible cancellation and refund policies and were willing to pay a little more for that flexibility. (Note: If terms and conditions regarding cancellation aren’t clearly articulated, do not hesitate to inquire before booking so as to avoid surprises.) Changeable weather is a key factor, especially during the shoulder season. It determined where we stayed each night and from which Dolomite trailhead we set off each morning. We checked weather multiple times a day (Wunderground and various mountain forecast sites were our favorites) for various cities and towns within the region. We adjusted our route accordingly and often headed to an area which promised the most sunshine and the lowest chance of precipitation the following day. Weather and forecast variation was remarkable, even between towns no more than an hour or two from one another. 3. Take advantage of the shoulder and off-seasons We’ve always been fans of traveling in the shoulder and off-seasons not only because of fewer crowds, but also because it benefits local businesses by helping to extend their season. Prices and availability of accommodation and transport tend to be better, too. With social distancing and crowd avoidance concerns, this approach makes even more sense. Shoulder season hikes sometime mean unexpected snow, which only adds to the beauty and adventure. How it played out: Although we considered taking this trip for a while, including possibly during the summer when weather is more reliable, we ended up blocking out the end of September and early October for it. This was not only in light of watching COVID-19 rates, but also in line with the idea that there we would encounter fewer travelers after the traditional high season. This worked out well in terms of fewer people on the trails and better prices at hotels and guest houses. 4. Lifelines: Ask a friend to send you important updates For the sake of joy, sanity and time management, we cut off our attention from most news during the trip. After a few days, however, we realized our disengagement and wondered whether we'd miss a news item which might affect our trip. We asked a friend in Berlin to alert us of developments like border restrictions or closures that might impact our trip or return home. How it played out: The day before our return, our lifeline (you know who you are), sent a Whatsapp message with COVID-19 rate increases across Central Europe. The following day, as we traveled by train from Italy to Germany, slow and tense border crossings caused us to miss our connecting train. While we weren't particularly happy about that, at least we weren't caught off guard. Had such information arrived at the start of our trip, we may have opted to cut the trip short. 5. Be OK following the local rules. When you travel, you are essentially a guest in someone's else home. Accept that you’ll be expected to comply with the requirements of the destinations you visit. That’s as true now with COVID as it's ever been, only the stakes are higher. If you aren’t willing to comply with local laws and requirements -– either as they are, or how they may develop in response to circumstances — don’t go. This also applies to any possible quarantine and testing rules back home. Otherwise, you'll make yourself and others miserable. Masks were the norm in the Dolomites of northern Italy, including in enclosed spaces like gondolas. 2022 Update on local Covid rules and requirements: Mask mandates and understanding which type of mask is required: Some places not only have a mask mandate for indoor (and sometimes outdoor) spaces, but they also have requirements related for what type of mask you need to wear. For example, in Berlin, Germany where we live it's required to wear either an KN95/FFP2 mask or medical mask as these are higher quality masks than cloth masks and offer more protection. This means that cloth masks are not allowed and you might be rejected from a grocery store or given a fine on public transport for not wearing the proper mask. Even outside of whatever the local requirements are, wearing a high quality KN95/FFP2 is just better for everyone's safety – yours and the people around you. Digital vaccination certificates: Many countries (or even sometimes cities like New York City) require you to show your proof of vaccination digitally, with an approved app. This allows restaurants, shops or other establishments to quickly scan your vaccination QR code to ensure that you meet the requirements to enter. Do your research to find out which apps are required in the place you want to visit and try to get yourself set up before you go by downloading the app and uploading your proof of vaccination. If that is not possible, then research what you need to do on the ground to get the approved digital certificate on your phone. For example, in Berlin some pharmacies will take the CDC vaccination card and provide an EU-approved vaccination QR code that can then be scanned and uploaded to approved EU app like CovPass. How it played out. We followed the rules and did what was asked of us. We also self-quarantined when we returned to Berlin, even though it wasn't technically required. It felt good to do so and contributed to the feeling that we're all responsible and have a role to play in everyone’s well-being. Choosing Safe(r) Activities and Alternative Destinations 6. Get Out(side)! Outdoor activities are considered a much lower risk for COVID-19 exposure. We enjoy hiking, so it was an easy decision to make hitting the trails and spending as much time outside in nature a key focus of our trip. To mitigate the risk of encountering crowds, we chose to hike at the end of the season. We also chose longer, more difficult hikes that were not as popular or well-known. As a result, we often shared the trail with very few people, or even had some entirely to ourselves. Social distancing was not an issue. Even in popular regions it’s possible to choose less trafficked trails and destinations (hint: choose the long hikes with a difficult rating). Enjoying a mountain pass all to ourselves in Tre Cime Nature Park. All of the vacations we've taken during the pandemic — Côte d'Azur, Cyprus, Baltic Sea, Portugal, Bavarian Alps — have focused on hiking, cycling or some sort of outdoor activity. This isn't just good from a health perspective to limit exposure and risk, but walking in nature or hiking is also good for one's mind and body. Immersing in and reconnecting with nature, especially during such a stressful time like the pandemic, can be so beneficial. How it played out: At Tre Cime Nature Park, home to the iconic and popular Tre Cime (Three Peaks), we chose the Comici Refuge trail, a longer, more challenging day hike passing the back side of these heavily Instagrammed peaks. While we encountered only a handful of others on the trail during our ascent (whose views were the best we'd see all day), we observed a line of people on the traditional trail headed for us at one of the mountain hut panoramas. We took a requisite photo or two of the actual Tre Cime, but then quickly continued on our path less-taken. 7. Go off the standard path, find alternative destinations. COVID-19 underscores this essential and timeless piece of travel advice. Whatever you think the ultimate goal or crown jewel of the place you are visiting ought to be, there is always something else. Alternative destinations are out there; do your research to uncover them. You'll typically find that the alternatives are just as good if not better than the snaps splashed all over Instagram and in travel magazines. Our first hike, Piz Galin, remained a favorite of the trip. How it played out: The Sexten-Brixen corridor of the Dolomites was our original goal. However, at the start of our trip, it was raining there. Weather forced us to expand our view. We discovered some mind-blowing hikes in the Dolomiti Paganella area, including the challenging Piz Galin (Galin Peak) trail outside of the town of Andalo. It turned out to be one of our favorite hikes of the trip. 8. Visit secondary cities and destinations. We chose smaller towns or secondary cities to overnight in the mountains. The idea: avoid busy streets full of people bumping into each other. There’s plenty of surprising beauty in the less visited. San Marino: exploring the castle walls vs. the busy old town streets. How it played out: Most of the small towns and villages we overnighted in had very few visitors. Streets were relatively quiet, humming with the pace of everyday local life. This allowed us to explore freely without having to dodge crowds. One exception to this was San Marino whose city center was surprisingly full. We outwalked the crowds to find more space. Transportation During Pandemic Travel 9. Wear a mask on all public or shared transport. Masks are typically a requirement on public or shared transport (e.g., flights, trains, buses, etc.). It makes sense since you are sharing the same confined space with others. When everyone wears a mask properly (yes, that means above the nose) it makes for a safer, less anxious ride for everyone. Update 2022: We now know a bit more about masks and their efficiency in protecting against airborne Covid so it is highly recommended to wear an N95/FFP2 mask or a medical mask instead of a cloth mask. That extra layer of protection could make a difference when you're in a closed space for hours. Wearing a KN95/FFP2 mask provides the most protection for you and others. How it played out: We had to wear a mask for the entire 9-10 hour train journey from Berlin, Germany to Bolzano, Italy. Was this a delight? No. For collective health and safety, were we willing to wear a mask and grateful that most everyone else wore one properly, too? You bet. 10. Use private transport. Our readers know that we sing the praises of public transportation. Especially now, it's a lifeline for many. However, private transportation (e.g., a rental car) makes some destinations more accessible. In Covid travel times, having our own car also reduces repeated exposure to groups of other people in shared transportation. How it played out: We picked up a rental car in Bolzano, Italy. We appreciated having our own transport across the Dolomites and down to The Marche and San Marino. It not only provided us the flexibility to make plans on the fly as we responded to changing weather, but it also saved us from spending many hours on and waiting for local buses. Choose Local Accommodation and Small Businesses 11. Choose locally-owned accommodation and shops. Keeping your money local when you travel isn’t anything new, but it takes on increased importance now. Many communities have suffered from the loss of tourism business this year. And small, family-run businesses with limited resources have often been hit the hardest. If possible, seek out businesses that align with your values regarding sustainability — caring for the environment, local community and economy. This could be efforts to reduce water and energy usage or a commitment to source food from local farmers. Local accommodation in the Dolomites often came with an incredible view. We also now look for apartments or hotel rooms that have some self-catering options. This makes it easier to avoid busy breakfast buffets, restaurants or other shared indoor spaces. How it played out: We deliberately looked for small, local B&Bs, restaurants and shops to ensure our money remained local to the benefit of the community. This also contributed to a more unique experience since we interacted with families in a more personal setting. 12. Book directly to keep your money local. Online booking sites are convenient. We use them often, but we're also aware they take a sizable commission from local providers. This is understandable. Booking sites offer a valuable service which requires resources to operate. However, given that many local tourism businesses are really struggling right now — and we need them to be around in whatever post-COVID-19 equilibrium emerges — you can support them even more now by booking directly with them. How it played out: As often as we could, we booked our accommodation directly either through the hotel’s own website or at their front door. Local accommodation providers were able to keep the entire amount of the booking, and we often received the same or lower prices and upgrades by negotiating directly. (Note to hotels: make it easy for travelers like us to book online through your website with a credit card!). Covid Safety for Restaurants and Dining 13. Eat outside. Or maybe eat in. Our preferred mode of restaurant dining these days is outdoors, even if it’s a bit chilly. As the weather turns colder in the Northern Hemisphere, many restaurants and shops now offer outdoor heaters or blankets. Take advantage of that. Alternatively, be prepared for a bit of chill with a hat and scarf. En plein air. Why not eat outdoors? If eating outside isn't an option because of weather or lack of tables outside, consider eating in. Order food from a restaurant and bring it back to your accommodation or pick up simple foods at the grocery store that can be like a picnic. Pair it with a bottle of local wine or beer and you've got a memorable meal. How it played out: When a restaurant offered outdoor seating, we took it and came prepared with jackets and hats if needed. 14. Choose off hours to eat in restaurants. If the outdoors aren’t possible and you must eat inside, choose odd hours (e.g., when restaurants first open for lunch or dinner). Although eating in an empty restaurant sometimes feels odd, restaurant owners and staff are happy for the business. We still enjoyed wonderful food and interaction with them. In the time of COVID-19, this approach also helps to avoid crowds of people confined indoors. How it played out: Because we had early mornings and long days of hiking in the mountains, we were often the first people at restaurants when they opened in the evenings. The food tasted just as delicious and we sometimes got extra attention. Hygiene and Health Safety for Travel During Covid 15. Focus on behaviors that limit close human contact. Science tells us that COVID-19 is transmitted mainly through human contact and interaction, airborne droplets and human concentration indoors, rather than through transmission via surfaces. Mask-wearing and controlling traffic or crowds is what matters most when it comes to COVID-19 travel safety. Going to extremes to avoid interaction with other people? How it played out: We appreciated the constant signs and reminders at local accommodation and shops for travelers to wear their masks indoors, as well as behavioral cues and notices about maintaining distancing, minding elevator restrictions, and complying with limited seating. Signs aligned with behaviors not only help inform our immediate behavior, but they reinforce that we're in this together for the collective good. 16. Put hygiene theater in its place. A lot of attention has been given to new COVID-19 hygiene measures, including the use of powerful disinfectants and the deployment of rigorous cleaning regimes. The urge to focus on what we feel is in our control — the cleanliness and disinfection of surfaces — is understandable. It makes us somehow feel safer, even if the science tells us that its effect may be marginal. Cleanliness is crucial, but don’t get lulled into thinking that new COVID-19 hygiene certifications alone will protect you. Note: If you are unfamiliar with the term hygiene theater, check out this article from The Atlantic. How it played out: To assess our potential risk of exposure in any establishment, we focused our attention more on how an establishment managed customer flow, numbers and crowds rather than how intensely or often it disinfected tables and surfaces after each customer. 17. As a default, wear a mask. And a high quality one. If you think that maybe you should wear a mask, then just do it. Even when it's not legally or technically required, err on the side of yes. This is especially true anytime you are talking to or engaging with someone who is not in your immediate or family circle. One of the safety campaigns said it best: “Für dich, für mich, für uns” (“For you, for me, for us”). We're in this together, all of us. This includes keeping your mask on when you order and pay in a restaurant. Although we were typically allowed to take our masks off after being seated at a table, it occurred to us that we remained in close proximity to wait staff when ordering food or settling the bill. So we did as many others did in Italy, and kept our masks on (or put them back on) during these transactions. Two decent behaviors for the price of one. How it played out: We always carried our masks with us. We put them on anytime we entered busy streets, walked outdoor fresh markets, entered into mountain huts, and, of course, anytime we were inside a shop, hotel or restaurant. Easy. 18. Do a Covid test when you return. Maybe self-quarantine. Travel and the movement of people are one of the ways that COVID-19 spreads quickly from place to place. Since asymptomatic carriers can still be contagious and unknowingly spread the virus to others, it's important to try to protect your home community from infection that you might have picked up on your trip. As a courtesy and for the safety and health of your own community, get tested when you return home from a trip, even if it's not required. If tests are not easily available, then consider self-quarantining for 10 days to eliminate person-to-person interactions. Update 2022: As we have testing easily and freely available to us in Berlin we will now get tested several times in the week we return from a trip. If multiple rapid tests come back negative then we won't do a self-imposed quarantine. We also usually take several Covid self-tests with us when we travel in case we start to experience a runny nose or sore throat and want to be sure it's a cold or allergies vs. Covid. How it played out: Since Italy was not a hot spot at the time, German regulations did not require us to either quarantine or get a COVID-19 test upon our return. However, since we'd traveled to several locations and encountered people as we ate inside restaurants and traveled by shared transport, we opted to self-quarantine for two weeks upon our return. We did so because we wanted to protect our friends and to minimize any risk to our neighborhood and community. Mindset: Expectations and Satisfaction 19. Manage your expectations. None of us is entitled to circumstances which make happiness seem the easier choice. Nor are we guaranteed conditions so that our photos match those of our social media heroes. Understand that the best laid plans can all go to shit. Then, manage accordingly. Even if it rains in your “escape from bad weather” destination. Urbino, Italy. How it played out: Our expectations were half to all rain, and to be on the run from the Dolomites to southern Italy. Everything else, gravy. Though there was a bit of rain here and there in the Dolomites, the trip was generally incredible in the mountains as we navigated weather conditions and made choices in line with everything we mentioned above. Only when a wall of rain moved in, did we head south to Urbino in The Marche. It even rained a bit in the town of Urbino. Perhaps the rain is what made the town so dramatic and charming? 20. And if it turns to shit? If things turn to shit, that’s all the more reason to be super-thrilled about the pre-shit moments and to reflect on what might be appreciated about the shit moment at hand. How it played out: As we reached Pedrotti Refuge hut, the highest point of one of our hikes, fog accumulated and the wind picked up. It even began to sleet. Conditions were far from ideal in a spot where on a sunny day you might see for miles. Despite this, our ascent had been rewarding and dramatic. We felt like heroes for reaching the pass, especially since our muscles were recovering from our hike the day before. At the top, we met a few other hikers — all very nice — including one who repeatedly referred to the “shit” conditions, especially in comparison to the sunny days he’d encountered in recent hikes elsewhere. On one hand, he had a point. The visibility was bad. On the other hand, I felt bad. For him. Disappointment seemed to define his moment. We enjoyed a beautiful hike. Not only the morning’s crystal blue skies we all shared, but the same skies whose drama swirled the mountain peaks around us. We celebrated our accomplishment, ate our picnic sandwiches and reflected on the vastness and solitude engulfing that rugged little hut, a feat of human will which had no business being tucked away up there. Our minds were absorbed by the magnificence of the moment. Blue skies on the way up. Beautiful. Clouds move in as we approach Pedrotti Refuge. Beautiful. Only temporarily was our focus taken off-track by someone else’s preconceived notions and disappointments regarding the way life ought to be. That for us was a lesson re-affirmed. In travel as in life, one’s satisfaction has much to do with expectations and how those expectations influence one’s view of what is. Spending your cycles atop a foggy mountain complaining about the weather condition: a waste. Things change. Witness the weather, especially in the mountains. And all of it out of your control. And yet, that changeable weather is part of the moment. Train yourself to see it, and that’s part of the beauty you’ll encounter. To us at least, that's what hiking in the mountains — and travel in general — is all about. Life, too. You can play the hands you're dealt as best as you’re able. Or you can complain about what in poker is called a “bad beat” – where you did everything “right” and it didn’t work out. If things turn bad, recognize and maybe even celebrate that you did the best you could. And is it really so bad? If there’s no sun shining on you at the moment, don't forget the sun in your rear view. Celebrate that you carried yourself to the top of the mountain. Or just celebrate the mountain. Stealing disappointment from the jaws of gratitude will only sour your travel experiences and your memories. With or without COVID-19. The post Traveling Safely During Covid: Research, Planning and Managing Risk appeared first on Uncornered Market.

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For many visitors, Málaga is simply a gateway to the crowded seaside resorts of the Costa del Sol. Relatively few will venture far from the beach. If they do, chances are they’ll head into the city which, after decades of being ignored by the masses, has undergone something of a reinvention. 

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There’s a tree I sometimes notice on my way to my boxing gym. It stands on an unsightly corner near the junction of Barking Road – which has the dubious honour of the eighth unhealthiest street in London – and one of the grubby arteries that feed into it.

The tree sits amid ugliness: overflowing bins from the chicken shop opposite, shards of glass from a smashed car window, a makeshift fence from unfinished building works, a fly-tipped cooker and fridge, and litter that rolls past like tumbleweed. In many ways, it’s a quintessential East London scene: a vast expanse of grime punctuated by striking beauty.

The post A life lived inside: reflections on my mother’s past appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

The word 'epic' does not do Alaska justice. The state is home to North America's largest mammals, national parks the size of countries and glaciers bigger than some US states. It is the least densely populated state in the USA; has 17 of North America’s highest mountains, 100 volcanoes, 3,000 rivers and over three million lakes.

The post 11 best day trips from Anchorage, Alaska appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

As a child, I lived with cockroaches in my family home. Our entire street had an infestation and it was months before the council got rid of them. I have seven siblings and not all of us fit on the sofa, so some of us would watch TV from the floor and I remember things scuttling by right next to my hand, making me leap up and scream. Sometimes, one would scurry across my pillow right before bedtime. This, quite understandably, gave me a mortal fear of bugs.

The post 10 countries that can save Earth’s most-threatened species  appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

Some of my most unforgettable moments have taken place under canvas. From unzipping the porch to reveal the needlepoint summit of Laila Peak on the K2 base camp trek to listening to the snap, crackle and pop of Greenland’s Russell Glacier under a midnight sun, these were experiences I could not have had in a hotel.

The post How to behave at a campsite: 12 dos and don’ts appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

This week, it will be exactly 10 years since Peter and I packed up everything we owned, put it in storage and went off on a year-long journey around the world. It started on 11th August 2014 with a 36-hour journey from London, through Singapore and Brisbane, to our final destination of Vanuatu.

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Nothing should get between a camper and a glorious night spent around a campfire beneath the stars. This step-by-step guide on how to build a campfire will help even the most reluctant urban dweller embrace this long-standing tradition of the wild.

The post How to build a campfire: a step-by-step guide appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

The most dangerous countries in the world to visit in 2024 have been updated in the latest Travel Risk Map

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In 2019, I was seven days into the eight-day Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland when the trail ahead began to fill with smoke. I had unwittingly walked into the middle of a wildfire during an unprecedented summer in the Arctic. 

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There was a time when climbing controversies were sportingly confined to the slopes. The petty trivialities, the robust exchanges and the heated clashes were just part of the cut and thrust of the mountaineering world.

As the field grew more lucrative and summiteers were furnished with fame and book deals, these once-discreet disputes began to spill off the slopes.

From contested first ascents to violent clashes at high altitude, we review some of history’s most fascinating climbing controversies.

The post Cold shoulder: 13 dramatic climbing controversies appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

New wonders and curiosities added to the Atlas.

One of the last remaining iron-hulled sailing ships from the 19th century has been lovingly restored and is now docked at New York’s historic South Street Seaport Museum.

First launched in 1885 from Southampton, England, Wavertree is a majestic relic of maritime trade. Measuring over 300 feet in length, this fully-rigged ship once carried cargo across the globe. She carried grain from Australia, nitrate from Chile, lumber from the west coast of the United States, and jute from modern-day Bangladesh. She called at ports on every continent except Antarctica. After 24 years of service, including at least three circumnavigations of the globe and surviving a Cape Horn storm that tore down her masts, Wavertree was eventually abandoned in the harbor of Punta Arenas, Chile, before being rediscovered and brought to New York.

Today, Wavertree stands as the crown jewel of the South Street Seaport Museum’s collection. Visitors can explore her decks, imagining the life of sailors who worked the ship’s ropes and braved treacherous seas. The vessel was meticulously restored between 2015 and 2016, with her hull repaired and rigging replaced, ensuring her historical integrity for future generations.

Her location at the South Street Seaport Museum, once the heart of the city’s maritime trade, places her in the midst of a waterfront that has witnessed the ebb and flow of commerce for centuries. The ship is a living testament to New York’s rich maritime history.

Different parts of this fort were built between the 11th and 14th centuries, which makes it the oldest fort in the Baltistan region. The fort exhibits distinctive Tibetan architecture, and it is no coincidence, since Baltistan used to belong to the Tibetan Empire from 7th to 9th centuries, and its influence is still present in the customs and language of the Balti people to this day. However, even if the architectural influences are Tibetan, it is believed that the inhabitants of Altit when the fort was built were mainly descendants of the Huns, which explains why Altit was also known as Hunukushal, or town of the Huns.

The history of the fort is drawn from a mixture of documented events and narratives passed down orally from one generation to the next. It is quite certain that a local mir (prince) commissioned the construction of Altit Fort, but his name was not recorded. Perched on top of a cliff with a vertical drop on the Hunza River, this fort enjoyed the dual strategic advantage of being impregnable and having a wide sweeping view of Hunza Valley. This location also meant that the structure had to be built to withstand extremely harsh weather conditions and occasional earthquakes. 

Towards the end of the 16th century, a dispute ensued between Shah Abbas and Ali Khan, two brothers belonging to the ruling family. As a result of this dispute, Shah Abbas had the Baltit Fort built just a few kilometers away. After years of conflict, legend has it that Ali Khan was immured alive by his brother in one of the walls of Altit Fort. This led some to believe that the fort has been haunted ever since.

Fort Altit has one single entrance, which is north of the fort, towards the village. Several rooms are open to the public, and so is access to the flat roof where the tower is located. Beautiful wood carvings can be seen throughout the fort, from the complex multi-layered ceiling topped with a sunroof to the intricate details of the door and window frames. A section of the fort consists of prison cells, and it is said that prisoners condemned to death were dropped from the roof along the vertical cliff south of the fort.

Stonehenge, Britain’s most captivating monument, continues to reveal pieces of its enduring mystery. Among numerous archaeological discoveries, dubbed by the press as the "King of Stonehenge," the Amesbury Archer reveals crucial details of life in the early Bronze Age. While some speculated he was involved in constructing Britain's most famous historical site, archaeologists disagree. Regardless, history experts have noted he may have been of importance due to the proximity of Stonehenge.  

Unearthed in May 2002 during a housing development excavation, the grave contained items typical of an early British Bronze Age burial. These items highlight the burial practices and culture of the period. Flint-knapping and metalworking tools, symbolizing the importance of weaponry, were found. Also unearthed were boar tusks and iron pyrite, typically used for fire-starting. On the skeleton was a black stone wrist guard on one forearm, a red wrist guard by the knees, a shale belt ring, and a pair of gold hair ornaments. These are now known as the oldest of their kind in England. The Amesbury Archer earned his epithet from the 16 barbed flint arrowheads discovered in his burial. 

Although initially challenging to analyze, archaeologists eventually identified the remains as those of a middle-aged man, aged 35 to 45, dating back to 2300 B.C. Genetic analysis revealed he had Steppe and Early European Farmer ancestry, belonging to haplogroup R-L151. Oxygen isotope analysis indicated he spent his childhood in Central Europe, likely in the Western Alps.  

The Amesbury Archer's anatomy has remained well-documented, revealing several unusual features including an unfused shoulder blade and spina bifida. He also sustained an injury resulting in a missing left kneecap, likely causing a painful bone infection, and had an eroded hole in his jaw, possibly indicating an abscess.  

Today, the remains and belongings of the Amesbury Archer reside in the Salisbury Museum and are on full display. The museum is also home to one of the King Alfred jewels, the Wardour hoard, and various archaeological discoveries from the Wiltshire and Hampshire area.

This story was originally published on The Conversation. It appears here under a Creative Commons license.

Across human history, no single animal has had a deeper impact on human societies than the horse. But when and how people domesticated horses has been an ongoing scientific mystery.

Half a million years ago or more, early human ancestors hunted horses with wooden spears, the very first weapons, and used their bones for early tools. During the late Paleolithic era, as far back as 30,000 years ago or more, ancient artists chose wild horses as their muse: Horses are the most commonly depicted animal in Eurasian cave art.

Following their first domestication, horses became the foundation of herding life in the grasslands of Inner Asia, and key leaps forward in technology such as the chariot, saddle, and stirrup helped make horses the primary means of locomotion for travel, communication, agriculture, and warfare across much of the ancient world. With the aid of ocean voyages, these animals eventually reached the shores of every major landmass—even Antarctica, briefly.

As they spread, horses reshaped ecology, social structures, and economies at a never-before-seen scale. Ultimately, only industrial mechanization supplanted their near-universal role in society.

Because of their tremendous impact in shaping our collective human story, figuring out when, why, and how horses became domesticated is a key step toward understanding the world we live in now.

Doing so has proven to be surprisingly challenging. In my new book, Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History, I draw together new archaeological evidence that is revising what scientists like me thought we knew about this story.

Over the years, almost every time and place on Earth has been suggested as a possible origin point for horse domestication, from Europe tens of thousands of years ago to places such as Saudi Arabia, Anatolia, China, or even the Americas.

By far the most dominant model for horse domestication, though, has been the Indo-European hypothesis, also known as the "Kurgan hypothesis." It argues that, sometime in the fourth millennium B.C. or before, residents of the steppes of western Asia and the Black Sea known as the Yamnaya, who built large burial mounds called kurgans, hopped astride horses. The newfound mobility of these early riders, the story goes, helped catalyze huge migrations across the continent, distributing ancestral Indo-European languages and cultures across Eurasia.

No single animal has had a deeper impact on human societies than the horse.

But what’s the actual evidence supporting the Kurgan hypothesis for the first horse domestication? Many of the most important clues come from the bones and teeth of ancient animals, via a discipline known as archaeozoology. Over the past 20 years, archaeozoological data seemed to converge on the idea that horses were first domesticated in sites of the Botai culture in Kazakhstan, where scientists found large quantities of horse bones at sites dating to the fourth millennium B.C.

Other kinds of compelling circumstantial evidence started to pile up. Archaeologists discovered evidence of what looked like fence post holes that could have been part of ancient corrals. They also found ceramic fragments with fatty horse residues that, based on isotope measurements, seem to have been deposited in the summer months, a time when milk could be collected from domestic horses.

The scientific smoking gun for early horse domestication, though, was a set of changes found on some Botai horse teeth and jawbones. Like the teeth of many modern and ancient ridden horses, the Botai horse teeth appeared to have been worn down by a bridle mouthpiece, or bit.

Together, the data pointed strongly to the idea of horse domestication in northern Kazakhstan around 3500 B.C.—not quite the Yamnaya homeland, but close enough geographically to keep the basic Kurgan hypothesis intact.

There were some aspects of the Botai story, though, that never quite lined up. From the outset, several studies showed that the mix of horse remains found at Botai were unlike those found in most later pastoral cultures: Botai is evenly split between male and female horses, mostly of a healthy reproductive age. Killing off healthy, breeding-age animals like this on a regular basis would devastate a breeding herd. But this demographic blend is common among animals that have been hunted. Some Botai horses even have projectile points embedded in their ribs, showing that they died through hunting rather than a controlled slaughter.

These unresolved loose ends loomed over a basic consensus linking the Botai culture to horse domestication.

In recent years, as archaeological and scientific tools have rapidly improved, key assumptions about the cultures of Botai, Yamnaya, and the early chapters of the human-horse story have been overturned.

First, improved biomolecular tools show that whatever happened at Botai, it had little to do with the domestication of the horses that live today. In 2018, nuclear genomic sequencing revealed that Botai horses were not the ancestors of domestic horses but of Przewalski’s horse, a wild relative and denizen of the steppe that has never been domesticated, at least in recorded history.

Next, when my colleagues and I reconsidered skeletal features linked to horse riding at Botai, we saw that similar issues are also visible in ice age wild horses from North America, which had certainly never been ridden. Even though horse riding can cause recognizable changes to the teeth and bones of the jaw, we argued that the small issues seen on Botai horses can reasonably be linked to natural variation or life history.

This finding reopened the question: Was there horse transport at Botai at all? Over the past few years, trying to make sense of the archaeological record around horse domestication has become an ever more contradictory affair.

For example, in 2023, archaeologists noted that human hip and leg skeletal problems found in Yamnaya and early eastern European burials looked a lot like problems found in mounted riders, consistent with the Kurgan hypothesis. But problems like these can be caused by other kinds of animal transport, including the cattle carts found in Yamnaya-era sites.

So how should archaeologists make sense of these conflicting signals?

A clearer picture may be closer than we think. A detailed genomic study of early Eurasian horses, published in June in the journal Nature, shows that Yamnaya horses were not ancestors of the first domestic horses, known as the DOM2 lineage. And Yamnaya horses showed no genetic evidence of close control over reproduction, such as changes linked with inbreeding.

How should we make sense of these conflicting signals?

Instead, the first DOM2 horses appear just before 2000 B.C., long after the Yamnaya migrations and just before the first burials of horses and chariots also show up in the archaeological record.

For now, all lines of evidence seem to converge on the idea that horse domestication probably did take place in the Black Sea steppes, but much later than the Kurgan hypothesis requires. Instead, human control of horses took off just prior to the explosive spread of horses and chariots across Eurasia during the early second millennium B.C.

There’s still more to be settled, of course. In the latest study, the authors point to some funny patterns in the Botai data, especially fluctuations in genetic estimates for generation time—essentially, how long it takes on average for a population of animals to produce offspring. Might these suggest that Botai people still raised those wild Przewalski’s horses in captivity, but only for meat, without a role in transportation? Perhaps. Future research will let us know for sure.

Either way, out of these conflicting signals, one consideration has become clear: The earliest chapters of the human-horse story are ready for a retelling.

William Taylor is assistant professor and curator of archaeology, University of Colorado Boulder.

Kamakura is a medieval city enclosed within mountains. Historically, before the advent of tunnels, people built kiridōshi for traffic; this was a narrow mountain pass cut straight out of cliffs, which made it difficult for enemies to invade.

While the most notable of those are remembered today as Kamakura's Seven Entrances, a number of lesser-known kiridōshi passes in and around the city remain. One example is the Yatozaka Kiridōshi Pass in the western residential district of Tebiro, one of Kamakura's least-touristed areas.

Two sections of this pass survive today, though only one remains public. Hidden among private residences and overgrown with weeds, the entrance to the Onna-zaka (“female slope”) section seems to shun attention, preferring to stay in oblivion.

Once you climb up the first slope, an ancient trail appears out of nowhere, wild and serene, almost eerie. Every now and then, Buddhist steles stand along the path and there is even a burial grotto typical of Kamakura, medieval in origin but still in use. Tree roots twist and tangle all around, silently watching the visitors as they hike.

Part of a low mountain sometimes called the Tatakaidō-mine (“battle road peak”), the pass was likely built in the Kamakura period, though some local historical records suggest that it underwent major renovation during the Edo period. It mainly served as a path connecting the Koshigoe district of Kamakura and the Katase coast, as well as a cemetery of sorts.

A more modern road was built just below the hill in 1957, replacing the ancient passes. Running towards Enoshima, this road also has a kiridōshi-like section in front of an old Buddhist temple called Shōren-ji, but many drivers pass by the area unaware of the historic trail hiding nearby.

The Historical Glass Museum in Redlands California is a jewel box filled with a uniquely American invention: pressed glass. The technique of pressing glass in a mold for mass production of goods was invented in the United States in the 1820s.

By the end of the century, glass factories dotted the country creating useful and beautiful objects in a rainbow of colors. Glass colors in the 19th century depended on minerals that were added to the glass as well as the temperature the glass was heated to in the kiln. One of those additions was uranium, which created beautiful but lightly radioactive glassware that glows under ultraviolet light. You can borrow a blacklight from the docents and go on a "glowy-glass" scavenger hunt. (Look for the corn vase, it is really spectacular.)

This museum has collections from every era of American glass manufacturing. There is cut glass made to mimic crystal, pressed glass, carnival glass, art glass, kitchenware, and even mid-century giftware with its bold colors and sleek lines. 

The museum started as a passion project of Dixie Huckabee, who founded the Historical Glass Museum Foundation in 1976. Many glass factories had gone out of business by this time, making American glass and increasingly less well-known art form. The foundation purchased the 1903 Victorian house in part because of its many large windows, which provide the proper light for glass displays.

Lots of work went into restoring the home and getting it ready to be a museum. It opened to the public in 1985 and for almost 40 years has been preserving an era in American manufacturing where beauty, form, function, and affordability were one. 

The Postbllok Memorial is an artwork by the artist Ardian Isufi and writer Fatos Lubonja. The memorial was inaugurated on March 26, 2013.

Postbllok was designed to be a memorial to the atrocities of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, and it is made up of three separate pieces. The first part of the memorial is a concrete military bunker, one of many that covered Albania during the Cold War. It serves as a symbol of the dictatorship that until relatively recently, held Albania in its grip. 

The second element is a section of the Berlin Wall. This is meant to symbolize Albania's isolation during the period of the dictatorship.  The section of the wall was a gift from the government of Berlin to Tirana. 

The final part of the memorial is a set of concrete girders taken from Spaç Prison, where, for a period Lubonja was imprisoned.  The girders stand lined up in a row, as they would have been in the halls of the prison.

The memorial stands in the neighborhood where the nomenklatura, Soviet administrators and bureaucrats, built their dachas. Specifically, the memorial stands in what was once the garden of the dacha of Mehmet Shehu, who served as the Prime Minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981.

Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024).

Imagine an Easter egg hunt in the dark—except the eggs can run away from you.

That’s what the puffling season is like on Heimaey, a volcanic island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago along the southern coast of Iceland. Every year in mid-September, lost and confused baby puffins wander the streets at night. “They’re everywhere,” says Audrey Padgett, manager of the Sea Life Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary in Heimaey. “It feels like puffins are raining from the sky.”

Heimaey is home to the world’s largest puffin colony. The neon-billed birds have dug more than a million burrows along the island’s steep, grassy cliffs, which rise above the town of 4,500 people. Once a source of food for islanders, they have more recently become some of Iceland’s most famous residents, attracting tourists and serving as unofficial mascots for the whole country. (Stuffed toy versions of the birds have become so ubiquitous as souvenirs that stores geared toward tourists are colloquially known as “puffin shops.”)

While puffins spend most of the year at sea, bobbing on the water and diving for fish, they return to the same burrow every summer to breed. From mid-April to early May, puffin pairs—who mate for life—can be spotted coming ashore to get comfy, lay eggs, and raise their chicks, who are known as pufflings.

The chicks hatch around July and are cared for by their parents for roughly 45 days. Just as the midnight sun ebbs and Iceland’s nights grow dark again, the young birds are ready to leave the colony. They’re supposed to aim for the open sea, using moonlight as their guide. However, they often become confused by the artificial lights across the harbor and end up stranded in town instead.

It’s a dangerous situation for the pufflings, who are usually too disoriented to correct their course. Instead, they wander around, swarming streetlights and making themselves vulnerable to hazards such as cars, cats, and walls.

That’s where the grassroots Puffling Patrol comes in. The human residents of Heimaey scour the streets at night, chasing down the chicks and placing them gently into cardboard boxes. They then take them to the Sea Life Trust, where the young birds are weighed, measured, and tagged. “Everyone gets into the weird habit of carrying around a puffling box,” says Ewa Malinowska, who runs the puffin hospital there.

Once they receive clean bills of health, the pufflings are taken to the cliffs and lobbed into the sea below, just like fluffy baseballs. They’ll remain at sea for two to three years before returning to the island and making a home in a burrow of their own.

Range: Puffins traverse the North Atlantic from Canada to Norway and as far south as Spain. Puffling rescue occurs on Heimaey, in Iceland.

Species: Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica)

How to see them: Look for clifftop colonies in coastal areas during the breeding season (late spring to late August or early September). Tourists who’d like to join the Puffling Patrol should check in at the Sea Life Trust first for guidance.

THE WILD LIFE OF: A Puffling Patrol Family

Sandra Sigvardsdóttir and her children, Íris Dröfn Gudmundsdóttir (age 8), Eva Berglind Gudmundsdóttir (age 6), and Sara Björk Gudmundsdóttir (age 15 months), live on the island of Heimaey and are famously prolific members of the Puffling Patrol. Every year, they rescue between 200 and 300 chicks during the four-week-long puffling season.

How did your family start looking for pufflings?

SANDRA: My first puffling ride was when I was three months old, and every year after that, so I don’t remember my first years as a puffling rescuer. But when I think back to being a kid, the most memorable thing is the excitement—Are we going to find some?—and the rush—Are we going to catch it? Now I try to do the same with my kids. We are like the crazy puffin family on the island—that’s how people think of us.

ÍRIS DRÖFN: I was born and raised into this. Every year, it’s what we live for.

What’s the puffling season like?

SANDRA: We go out every night, [starting] when we hear about the first puffling until we hear about the last one. So we really participate in the rescuing. It can get kind of crazy when the first puffling arrives, because everyone goes out, and you can see cars and flashlights on almost every street. There are crowds. It’s like Black Friday. And when the season ends, we start counting down to the next one.

What does a night of puffling rescuing typically entail?

SANDRA: We start looking around midnight, which is long past bedtime, so on the nights we plan to go out, the children go to bed very early. Then I wake them up when it’s time to start looking for pufflings. I do feel very lucky my children aren’t afraid of running around in the dark. On a good night, we bring home about 15 to 20 pufflings.

What kind of equipment do you need?

SANDRA: During the season, we keep boxes in our car. We put grass in the bottom of the boxes, so we can use them longer. When I was a kid, we used a box for two or three nights—then [the pufflings would] poop all over, and you cannot use the box anymore. But you don’t need much to get started. Since they arrive at night, you only need some reflective gear, flashlights, and patience.

ÍRIS DRÖFN: And pufflings.

What does a puffling feel like?

SANDRA: They’re soft and really small. You can hold them in one hand. They have a lot of down, and it’s just like the softest cotton you’ve ever touched. Sometimes if they are really small and they have too much down on their bottom and the wings, then we have to keep them at home for a few days before they can be released.

ÍRIS DRÖFN: They’re so soft, it’s like floating in the air.

Why do you enjoy helping pufflings?

ÍRIS DRÖFN: It’s fun when I go to school the day after, and I can talk to my friends about how many pufflings we found. There aren’t many parents who are as crazy as mine, so my friends don’t always get to go out every night. So we get the high score and can brag a little bit.

SANDRA: For us, the grown-ups, the joy is the happiness in the kids’ faces. There’s also the rush of trying to catch the pufflings before anything happens to them. Then when we catch one, it’s wonderful. And there’s the happy feeling of releasing them, knowing you’ve done something good.

Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders celebrates hundreds of surprising animals, plants, fungi, microbes, and more, as well as the people around the world who have dedicated their lives to understanding them. Pre-order your copy today!

Getting inside the abandoned Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School shouldn’t have been as easy as it was. It made me nervous, like it was a trap. The doors on the back of the building were wide open and, ducking inside, we made our way through the cavernous remains of the gymnasium. A pommel horse stood undisturbed in the center, but nearly every other surface, from the walls to the backboards of the basketball hoops, was smeared with graffiti. The school had closed just over a decade earlier. Still, the damage inside was appalling; The classroom floors were covered with plaster debris and, in some places, an admittedly beautiful carpet of moss. Glass display cases were shattered, and sharp, rusty bars from the drop ceilings jutted down into the hallways, ready to cut your head if you weren’t paying attention.

We passed lockers hanging ajar, covered with fading stickers, through the ruins of a large pool room, and finally to the school’s crown jewel: the massive auditorium. There was graffiti here, too, and stickers left on the seats memorializing an urban explorer who had recently passed away, but the long, luxurious red curtains on the windows and stage were intact, gently swaying as the building inhaled and exhaled through broken windows. As is often the case when exploring abandoned places, there was a sense of awe that comes with confronting something that seems too large and majestic to be left to rot, but somehow has been anyway.

Beneath the reverence, another emotion was bubbling up: anger. As I looked out across the grand theater from the stage and composed my shot, a quiet fury welled up in me. This was the third abandoned public school I’d photographed in a day. Every one was full of desks, books, and lab equipment, and every single one was well into a spiral of vandalism and decay from which it would likely never recover. Millions of dollars had been spent building and equipping these schools. Each one was part of a grand experiment, not even two centuries old, to provide education to the public regardless of income or upbringing. And here they were, treated like trash.

The public school system as we know it is a relatively new concept. Though the first taxpayer-funded public school was founded in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1644, and Puritans quickly established schools upon their arrival in the colonies, most schools in the early days of the United States were organized by families or churches. They often charged tuition, which excluded anybody without the resources to pay. These schools were often difficult to reach, staffed by poorly paid, inexperienced teachers, and attendance wasn’t required.

In the 1830s, reformers like Horace Mann argued that public schools, or "common schools," would bolster the nation’s economy by producing educated citizens instilled with civic virtues and should be provided without charge to all. This system, reformers argued, would reduce poverty and crime and provide an opportunity for advancement beyond the social class one was born into. The very idea of a meritocracy depended on each citizen being provided equal footing to grow and succeed based on their hard work and intelligence, rather than the amount of privilege they had been born into.

Even then, some critics resented the idea of using tax money to educate the children of others. There was also concern among education reformers that private schools would siphon off funding and students, perpetuating an inescapable caste system.

But by the 1870s, the public school system was relatively well-established, with 78 percent of children between five and 14 in the system. Though access lagged for nonwhite students, girls, and children with physical or developmental disabilities, progress was being made, and benefits to the public were immense. Literacy rates soared, guidelines and curricula were established, and the discourse that would lead to the decades-long battle culminating in the end of child labor in 1938 was taking root.

Publicly funded secondary schools, which we now would call high schools, didn’t rise to prominence until the early 20th century. It was during this period that Trenton Junior High School No. 1 opened in 1916. Construction took two years and cost $260,000 (equivalent to approximately $7.5 million today). It was built in the Collegiate Gothic architectural style, a mixture of Tudor and Gothic influences that had been popularized at places like Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. Like the Northeast Manual Training School in Philadelphia (later renamed Thomas A. Edison High School), which opened in 1905, or the Schenley High School in Pittsburgh, built in 1916, Trenton Junior High School was established with pride and ambition, representing a massive public investment in the community surrounding it.

All three schools were beacons of hope in their communities, where generations of students studied, played sports, and sometimes returned to teach. All three were eventually left abandoned in the 2000s. Schenley was later converted to apartments, and students at Thomas A. Edison High School were moved to a newer school building nearby run by a for-profit company. Trenton Junior High School No. 1, which was renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in 1990, closed in 2007, not long after an ugly incident where the New Jersey Construction Corporation dumped construction materials between Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School and its neighbor, the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, while classes were in session without properly ensuring dust was not spread throughout the buildings from the waste, which contained a frightening array of carcinogens and concrete aggregate, which can cause fatal lung disease when inhaled.

Surveying the wreckage of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, I found myself asking the same question I always do in the face of spectacular ruins: why in God’s name is this place abandoned? Was there really nothing better we could do?

The answer to that question is complicated. The public school system has taken a beating since the early 2000s: Since 2002, over a hundred schools have been closed in New York City alone, and during the 2009-2010 fiscal year, Detroit closed 73 of the 172 school buildings it had left. Across the country, budgets have been slashed, buildings shuttered, and teachers laid off.

According to the Public Accountability Initiative, "the austerity and privatization agenda for education goes something like this: impose big tax cuts for corporations and the .01 percent and then use declining tax revenue as a rationale to cut funding for state-funded services like public schools. Because they are underfunded, public schools cannot provide the quality education kids deserve." This leads to vocal criticism that schools are underperforming and a push to hand over the reins of the school system to private corporations running charter schools. It seems there was some legitimacy to the 19th-century reformers’ fear that for-profit competitors could pose an existential threat to the public education system.

The arguments between proponents of charter schools and public schools can get heated. Charter school advocates argue that they provide smaller class sizes, more flexibility and innovation, more accountability for students, and greater specialization. But public schools require a standardized curriculum and education levels for teachers, greater accessibility for students regardless of needs and backgrounds, and more extracurricular opportunities. Some teachers at charter schools feel safer, but they also tend to get paid less and are not offered the protections afforded by unionization. Wading into the middle of this debate seems counterproductive when both charter schools and public schools have myriad strengths and weaknesses, often reflected to varying degrees in each individual facility. A school in one area may be fantastic, and one district over a comparable institution may be woefully mismanaged.

Whether or not one believes charter schools are the way of the future, it’s hard to argue that they are capable of covering the range of needs that public schools are capable of. Well-funded public schools must be a priority if we are even to pretend we are a nation of equal opportunity. The public school system is one of the most critical rungs in the ladder between social classes, and kicking it out eliminates social and economic mobility. Closing a public school disrupts students’ lives, forcing longer commutes and erasing the communities they have built.

The phrase "American Dream" was popularized by the American historian James Truslow Adams. According to his definition, it meant "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." To Adams, the American Dream was a meritocracy, where personal people should be seen "for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." You can even trace support for public education back to the Founding Fathers—Thomas Jefferson passionately argued for free public schools, believing that they would prepare the populace to choose wise leaders.

Despite years of closures and budget cuts, some schools are fighting back: after parents, students, and teachers staged protests that included strikes, ousting and replacing school board members, and even an 18-day hunger strike, decisions to close schools in Oakland and Denver were reversed. These schools were predominantly attended by Black and Latino students; NEA Today reports that “while Black students account for just one-fifth of the overall Oakland student body, at four of the seven schools slated for closure, more than half of students are Black.” According to the U.S. News & World Report, 97.9 percent of students in the Trenton Public School District where Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School are Black or Hispanic/Latino.

Whether these victories represent an anomaly or part of a larger sea change toward protecting our public schools remains to be seen. It doesn’t matter for the Martin Luther King Junior Middle School, though: like the Thomas A. Edison High School in Philadelphia, it was destroyed by a fire and subsequently razed. Neighbors noticed flames shooting out of the building on May 15, 2023, shortly after five teens were spotted leaving one of the rear doors. These were probably the same doors left open when I visited it in 2018. Much as I appreciate an easily accessible entrance to one of the abandoned buildings I photograph, leaving a property unsecured for years greatly increases the odds that it will be a target for arson.

If you could somehow rewind time to before the fire, that moment when I had the building to myself is still out there somewhere. Go back a bit further, and hundreds of kids are celebrating their commencements in the auditorium or rolling their eyes at an assembly. Keep going through decades of that, and you’ll arrive at the point where the ground for the construction project was first broken. It’s a beautiful moment, one full of hope. They were starting a project to serve the public for centuries to come. Little did they know, it wouldn’t even make it through one.

For more about Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Thomas A. Edison High School, or Schenley High School, visit the Abandoned America website. You can also listen to the Abandoned America podcast here.

Matthew Christopher is a writer and photographer who has explored abandoned locations across the globe for two decades, chronicling the lost landmarks in our midst. You can find more of his work on his website Abandoned America or listen to his Abandoned America podcast.

Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was born as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson on January 27, 1832, in the Cheshire village of Daresbury. His father was the vicar of All Saints' Church, where Charles, his third child and eldest son, was baptized.

Now a major pilgrimage site to fans of Alice, Daresbury Church is home to Lewis Carroll Centre, where the author's biography and history of his books are shown on panels, as well as a small gift shop and a stained-glass window featuring the characters from Wonderland and Carroll himself.

Crowd-funded by Carroll fans to commemorate the centenary of his birth, the Lewis Carroll Window in the Daniell Chapel was designed by artist Geoffrey Webb and unveiled in 1935. It depicts the nativity scene attended by saints and biblical figures, along with Lewis Carroll—a clergyman himself—and the "dream-child" Alice with blonde hair and a headband.

Below the nativity are the denizens of Wonderland, based on the John Tenniel illustrations: the White Rabbit, Bill the Lizard, the Dodo, the Caterpillar, the Fish-Footman, the Hatter, the Dormouse, the March Hare, the Duchess, the Gryphon, the Mock-Turtle, the Cheshire Cat, the Knave and Queen of Hearts.

In addition to the Wonderlandish theming, the church is rich in Jacobean decor with carvings of angels, a griffin, and a green man, which Carroll himself must have (more than) once seen as a boy.

Just outside the Masvingo Army Barracks in Zimbabwe's tropical savanna sits a chapel honoring the refuge that Italian, German, and Austrian enemy aliens took there during World War II. 

The chapel was built between 1942 and 1946 mostly by Italians held at Number 5 Camp just outside of Masvingo. They were considered internees rather than prisoners of war because they were civilians.

After the war, two wings were added to the chapel, housing the remains of 71 Italian soldiers who died in the British Prison Camp of Fort Victoria, Masvingo. Today, the Roman Catholic Church uses the building for church services. Mass is celebrated each Saturday morning, and on the first Sunday in November of each year, a special memorial service is held for the Italians who died in the World Wars.

Among the hundreds of objects at an upcoming exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, there’s one that stands out: a lovely turquoise-tinted pitcher, shaped like a rooster.

Curator Katherine E. Kasdorf calls it “fabulous.” The ewer, she explains, dates back to 13th-century Iran. “The handle is shaped like the tail, and you imagine somebody pouring, and then the liquid comes out of the beak,” she says. “It's just a fun object. It would have been a fun conversation piece when it was being used, too.”

The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World, which opens on September 22, spans centuries and continents of culinary history. The exhibition’s objects originate everywhere from Spain to South Asia. The very oldest, Kasdorf says, date back to the pre-Islamic Sasanian Empire, which was located in Iran and part of present-day Iraq from the third through seventh centuries.

Many of the objects in the exhibition, such as the rooster ewer, combine beautiful design with their utility. But alongside spoons and serving trays are paintings and cookbooks. “Some of the earliest cookbooks from the medieval period were actually written in Arabic,” Kasdorf says. “There's a very long tradition of recipe books in the Islamic world.”

The Art of Dining originally began as a show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. That exhibition, which closed in August, featured 12 objects from the collection at Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). As for why DIA chose to mount their own exhibition, Kasdorf points to Detroit's robust Arab-American community. The city is home to the largest population of Arabic speakers in the United States, "in addition to being home to many other communities that might find some personal connection to the regions represented in the show,” Kasdorf adds.

Many of the objects on display are imbued with cultural meaning that might not be apparent at first glance. In the case of the rooster ewer, Kasdorf says it’s theorized that it was used for wine. “There's this tradition in Iran, going back to antiquity, where there is a very strong association between bird-headed vessels and wine,” she says. While many Islamic teachings forbid drinking alcohol, Kasdorf notes that wine-drinking "was a very strong part of elite banqueting during the Sasanian period. And these traditions of Sasanian elite banqueting were carried over by early Islamic courts as well.”

The exhibition goes beyond simply featuring serving dishes and cookbooks. The "Dressing for Dinner" section displays historical outfits and textiles such as napkins from the Ottoman Empire, and the "Music and Entertainment" section showcases instruments accompanied by QR codes for visitors to listen to them being played. There are also QR codes for historical recipes interpreted for the original LACMA exhibition by chef Najmieh Batmanglij, such as a 16th-century Iranian recipe for rice and lamb with chickpeas and barberries and a 19th-century Turkish recipe for a minced chicken pie.

The most modern work in the show was commissioned by LACMA from the artist Sadik Kwaish Alfraji. A Thread of Light Between My Mother's Fingers and Heaven is a multimedia installation featuring animation. The piece is also food-focused, centering on Alfraji's mother, her homemade bread, and family meals in Bagdad.

Kasdorf notes that while the original LACMA show and the upcoming exhibition at DIA are closely related, “we’ve really tailored it and personalized it for our audiences here.” For example, they held a town hall for community members to weigh in on the name of the show. “It was just really important to us that we listened to our community members and that we present the show in a way that is welcoming and resonant to them.

This section of the Toledo Museum of Art has been a draw for many poets, performers, and apostles of art. This "open-air courtyard" is contained within the museum and presents the illusion of being outside with tall ceilings and color-changing lights to accent the mood or performance. 

The most notable feature of the cloister gallery is its three medieval arcades. These are made up of capitals and columns from monasteries in southern France that were acquired by the museum in the early 20th century. The cloister was originally built as part of a museum expansion in 1933, and has recently been refurbished and expanded even further. 

Surrounded by religious artifacts, this area possesses a quiet respect and thoughtfulness. The gallery displays approximately 100 pieces of art from the Middle Ages. In the center of the courtyard is an Italian Marble wellhead with animal sculptures. This centerpiece calls your attention with all four sides sculpted with different scenes.  

The architecture for the pillars and columns changes with each side of the courtyard but mimics a Southern French style throughout. This has been a go-to spot inside the museum for years because of the ambiance and quiet respect within the hallowed four walls.

The Tower of Sir Richard Church is one of the few Ottoman constructed buildings surviving in Athens, and the only one of its kind.  When the Ottomans completed the siege of Athens in 1456, they respected many of the buildings and monuments. During the occupation they added infrastructure for a variety of purposes. One of these projects was a building constructed in the center of the Plaka area in the late 1700s for use as a Garrison.

The Garrison was built as a three-story tower and was unlike anything else in the area due to the unusually small windows and unique chimney, features of the Ottoman style at the time. This large tower was designed to have sightlines over the smaller, single-story houses that surrounded it. Upon winning their independence in 1833) he Greeks demolished most Ottoman constructed buildings as they didn’t want reminders of the 400 years of their miserable occupation.

Before the tower and other buildings on the property could be demolished, they were purchased in 1835 by Scottish historian George Finlay (Finlay also purchased properties on nearby Kekropos Street). Finlay was among many of the Philhellenes who had once fought for Greek Independence that remained in the new state. Another Philhellene who remained in Greece was Sir Richard Church, an Irishman who fought the Ottomans alongside Finlay and the Greeks.

Sir Richard Church was a career soldier, born into a prominent Quaker family in 1784 in Cork, Ireland. At the age of sixteen he ran away from home and enlisted in the army. Upon finding him, instead of bringing him home his parents bought him a commission as an ensign in the 13^th Somersetshire Light Infantry.

In 1800 he visited Greece for the first time and fell in love with the Greek people and culture. He then fought in the Egyptian campaign, during which he grew a strong hatred for the Ottomans. He then served in the 37^th regiment in Malta in 1803 where he was promoted to Lieutenant. In 1806 he was promoted to Captain of the Corsican Rangers. Church was instrumental in the British capture of the Ionian Islands in 1809. He then quickly recruited a regiment of Greek infantry and provided military training to Greek military leadership including Theodoros Kolokotronis. He then fought alongside them, getting wounded during the Siege of Santa Maura when his arm was shattered by a bullet.

In 1815 the British government disbanded its Greek regiments. Church was then appointed British military liaison to the Austrian armies in Italy, fighting in the Italian campaigns. In 1817 he entered the service of King Ferdinand of Naples, and in 1820 he was appointed governor of Palermo. A revolution later that year resulted in him returning to England.

Church married Elizabeth Augusta, daughter of a British diplomat in 1826. In 1827 Church went to Athens to assist the Greeks in the War of Independence, believing their struggle was a holy war. Elizabeth joined him in Athens for several years but became seriously ill and returned permanently to England. Church was given command of the Greek army, but his successes were limited so he was charged with overseeing partisan warfare in western Greece. He achieved many successes in this role and became a significant difference maker in the war effort.

After the Greek War of Independence Church remained in Athens and became a Greek citizen. When Finlay learned Church was remaining in Athens he gifted him the tower portion of the property. Church retired from the Army, became involved in politics and played an important part in the revolution of 1843 by which Greece became a constitutional monarchy. He was appointed a Senator for life, and upon the start of the 1854 Greek revolt in Epirus he returned to service upon the request of King Otto as a General in the Greek Army.

Sir Richard Church lived in Greece for the remainder of his life, passing away in March of 1873. He has been described as the ‘Liege Lord of all true Philhellenes.’ King George IV of the United Kingdom conferred on him a Knight commandership of the Hanoverian order. He was honored with a Greek state funeral and was buried in the First Cemetery of Athens near other heroes of the War of Independence. The inscription on Church’s grave reads: ‘Richard Church General who having given himself and all that he had to rescue a Christian race from oppression and to make Greece a nation lived for her service and died amongst her people rests here in peace and faith.’

Despite recent interior renovations and being protected by the Greek state the tower is vacant and the exterior is covered in graffiti. The portion of the property that included the house of George Finlay was renovated and is a prime example of the transition from the Ottoman style to a more modern style. There are plaques on both buildings that indicate the important role they played in the Greek War of Independence.

Glasgow, Montana is located in the middle of nowhere. Literally—in 2018, the Washington Post named it America's most isolated city, as it is at least four and a half hours from any direction from any metropolitan area. Glasgow is surrounded by even smaller towns (such as Fort Peck, pop. 239 in 2020) that rely on the "middle of nowhere" for jobs and supplies. Despite the isolation, Glasgow and its surroundings are rich in natural beauty, wildlife, and American history. And to celebrate all of this, the town has an (appropriately) tiny museum stuffed with a surprisingly big collection of everything relating to the area.

By "everything," we really do mean everything that can be related to this area. There are things you'd expect to see in a place called the Pioneer Museum: a diorama dedicated to the Lewis and Clark expedition (which cut through this area), tools used by cowboys in the 19th century, and an impressive recreation of downtown Glasgow in the 1920s.

But there are also things you wouldn't see in most other museums, like an exhibit dedicated to the local high school. The school's song plays when you step in, and you can look at the cheerleading uniforms (the mascot is the Scotties) and read yearbooks going back decades. In the middle of the museum is a section dedicated to the local Boy and Girl Scout troops, and another section dedicated to old toys that belonged to residents.  Some items have notes from their donors explaining the item's backstory. There's a real local pride to the museum, which only adds to its charm.

The highlight of the museum, by far, is the large taxidermy room in the back. All forms of Montana wildlife are represented, from rattlesnakes to bison to an Audubon's bighorn sheep (an extinct subspecies) to multiple jackalopes. Some of the taxidermy is exceptional, such as the bucks mounted to look as though they're locking horns; others, like a bobcat with an unnaturally arched back, probably could've used some improvement. Some are so old that they have paled to the point of appearing blond. Yet the whole room is still an incredible experience, reminiscent of a Victorian cabinet of curiosities. This same section of the museum also hosts a recreation of a rancher's house and the aforementioned Western bar, both of which are so lovingly restored that you feel as though you're really in the Wild West.

When the waves are just right, this coral formation spouts seawater up to 20 meters into the air. The Hoyo Soplador also makes a thunderous sound as the water rushes through the narrow blowhole into the air. Since the blowhole is both easily accessible and free to visit, it's one of the most popular attractions in San Andrés Island in Colombia.

Part of what makes this natural wonder so special is its relative unpredictability. The wind and tides need to align properly in order to produce sufficiently powerful waves. Local business-owners tend to have a reasonable idea of when it'll go off, so it pays to ask around. 

The identity of the world’s earliest cookbook has long been a subject of debate—and depends a lot on what you consider a cookbook. Some scholars would say that De re coquinaria, an ancient Roman collection of recipes compiled around the 5th century takes the honor. But millennia before anyone whipped up a brain souffle, the ancient Babylonians were writing down recipes, some of which still work well today.

A set of four cuneiform clay tablets unearthed in what was once Mesopotamia contain the etched ingredient lists for dozens of aromatic stews, pies, and soups. Three of the tablets date back as far as 4,000 years. Researchers have been fascinated by these ancient “cookbooks” for years, but until recently, few people could actually see them. Since the 1930s, most of the 45,000 tablets, statues, and artifacts in the Yale Babylonian Collection had been stashed away in the bowels of Yale's Sterling Memorial Library.

This year, for the first time, much of the collection, including these long-buried recipe tablets, is on display for the general public at the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven. In March 2024, the museum reopened after a four-year, multimillion-dollar facelift. Part of the curatorial mission was to make these ancient treasures more accessible. To that end, the museum scrapped entrance fees and has gone to great lengths to bring these ancient texts to life.

“These great tablets, including one of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's oldest cookbook, and many, many others were only ever seen by a very small number of people,” says David Skelly, director of the Peabody. More than 200,000 people have visited since the reopening. “So in a real sense, these objects are being seen by large numbers of people for the first time.”

Thanks to the efforts of researchers, curious archeology enthusiasts can also engage with the tablets in a host of ways. Mohamad Hafez, a New Haven-based artist and the chef-owner of Pistachio, a restaurant showcasing dishes from his Syrian homeland, created a 3D-printed sculptural work entitled Eternal Cities, which draws parallels between the glimpses of daily life contained in the tablets and the current culture of the region.

He found quite a few, especially when it came to cuisine. “To me, recipe books and tablets are a tool to share culture, to share food with so many people in divided times,” he says. Although these ancient Babylonian recipes certainly differ from the food he serves at his restaurant, he sees certain commonalities.

Thanks to Agnete Lassen, the associate curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection, Hafez has some idea of what people in his home region ate millennia ago. Lassen and her colleagues have attempted recreating a handful of the recipes—with mixed results. “I remember her saying some were really inedible,” Hafez says with a laugh. A milky broth with lamb, for instance, had an unappetizing beige color and gloopy consistency.

Part of the problem with reproducing these ancient recipes is that the tablets are mostly ingredient lists, typically sans further instructions. Presumably, the person writing them assumed that the reader would have sufficient culinary know-how to parse the shorthand. For a modern-day scientist, filling in the blanks requires some serious guesswork.

A vegetarian stew—inexplicably titled on a tablet as “Unwinding”—and a braised lamb stew with beets both turned out surprisingly well. The latter recipe incorporates both sour beer and tallow, both of which were commonly used ingredients at the time. “There's blanks to fill in about how you would prepare and cook these things,” Skelly says. “But the mutton stew stood out as one that seemed more interpretable or familiar.”

As important as epic poems are, in many ways, it’s historical recipes and other mundane fragments of daily life that often captivate researchers’ imaginations. While most ancient cultures would have passed down something like a recipe orally, the ancient Babylonians were a highly literate society that etched even their everyday notes onto clay tablets.

“If you take all of the hieroglyphics we know about from ancient Egypt, you could fill up a bookshop. With Mesopotamian culture, you could fill up a massive library,” Skelly says. “It’s the equivalent of the phone calls and the emails of their day—thousands of documents that were written to literally be thrown away. It's helping us to reconstruct an entire culture down to the minutiae.”

All those documents show details about what people were eating or how wealthy they might have been. One even contains the complaints of an aggravated teenager. “This is the first moment in human history where someone's voice can go into our head,” Skelly says. “Across these thousands of years, you're actually hearing what people thought, what they believed, what they wanted to share. And that's an intimacy that we don't get before we can read the words of these folks.”

As Skelly points out, learning what people ate also helps paint a picture of trade and economic relations. The emphasis on grain-based dishes and beers highlights Mesopotamia’s role as the breadbasket of the ancient world, as well as one of the earliest places where humans transitioned to an agricultural society. And the diversity of ingredients mentioned speaks to how sophisticated the trade routes of this interconnected society must have been.

“There’s so much we can glean about how people connected with one another,” he says. “Even though these people are talking to us from 4,000 years ago, there's a continuity of civilization in this region that's connected to living culture and the communities that are there today.”

Much archeology centers on connecting the dots. By studying the architectural footprints of houses, leftover organic residues, and these bare-bones recipes, researchers can paint a picture of what life might have looked like—and how people once ate.

“It’s a history of Temperance, it's a little bit a history of beer, and it's certainly a history of social reform,” says Kris Butler of her book Drink Maps in Victorian Britain, published in July. Informed by her background as a lawyer, Butler delves into the late 19th-century push for anti-liquor legislation manifested in the “drink map.” Although their name might suggest guides for planning bar crawls, drink maps were drafted with quite the opposite purpose in mind.

From the 1870s until the end of the 19th century, the anti-alcohol movement published maps indicating where liquor could be purchased in a given British city, in an attempt to convince lawmakers to stop granting liquor licenses. “Because you can look at it and go, ‘Oh, my God, there's already way too many places to buy alcohol!’” Butler explains. Temperance organizations like the United Kingdom Alliance had drink maps produced for large cities like Liverpool and London as well as small towns, and paid for them to be published in pamphlets and newspapers with instructions for concerned citizens on how to get drink maps in front of the eyes of local magistrates and how to make their own.

Butler points out that at the height of the British Temperance movement, a small minority of the population was eligible to vote. For the many who could not, “this was their way to try to influence a lawmaker,” says Butler. Just one of many forms of grassroots Temperance activism, drink maps emerged from earlier “persuasive cartography”: maps designed to influence opinion and belief.

Drink maps ultimately fizzled out because “they didn't seem to be working,” says Butler. She notes that although three drink maps were produced for the city of Norwich alone, it saw a decrease of only about 25 pubs in as many years. Butler credits the disappearance of drink maps to a combination of factors both within and outside the Temperance movement, including societal changes that led to an overall decline in habitual binge drinking.

Gastro Obscura spoke with Butler about the prevalence of drink maps in the 1880s and ’90s, why they fell out of favor, and how pubs could be likened to a plague.

What was your research process like? Was there earlier research on drink maps to consult?

The strange thing is, nobody has done this. [Drink maps] are spread all over the U.K. in tiny little archives, so researching them was really a labor of love, and driving. The British Newspaper Archive was an especially important resource, because some of the drink maps are published in newspapers, and I could also read about [liquor] licensing sessions.

I've now identified 30 [drink maps] that exist today, but there are hundreds that I've read about or found in the minutes of meetings, or looked in the local legislative process and they talk about consulting a drink map from that town, and they just don't exist anymore. So I think there's more out there. I'm hoping the book will inspire people, especially in the U.K., to look around and see if their local pub has one. I found two in pubs that libraries don't have.

Are drink maps unique to the British Temperance movement, or were they also produced in other countries?

Drink maps were specific to targeting the U.K. magistrates, to try to get these lawmakers to stop granting licenses. So it had a really specific legislative, regulatory goal. In the U.S., there's a very different licensing system, and of course, geographically, we’re so much bigger, so it would not have really made sense over here. I have one book with a handful of U.S. drink maps, which was published in the U.K., trying to demonstrate how some American cities could use them. And it never took off. There are definitely maps made during Prohibition in the U.S., trying to use an image to get people to not drink so much, but they're more allegorical. It'll be a pretend place with a line in the middle saying something like, “On this side, if you go down Drink Road, you’ll drown in Beer Lake.”

Where do drink maps fit in with earlier “persuasive maps” mapping negative activities?

The idea came from cholera maps. The most famous one was used in London to identify a specific water pump; the mapmaker went around and figured out where people were dying, and connected it to a certain water pump, and had the pump handle removed from the water source. That's how they realized that cholera was spreading by water. That was in 1854, about 20 years before the first drink map was published.

I think that the first drink maps were [inspired by] the cholera maps. They even talk about the connection to sickness, to measles, to red bumps broken out on someone's face. At the time, there was a split in the medical field about whether alcohol was restorative, and not a lot was really known about the effects of alcohol on the body.

At first, there were little pamphlets published about the evils of alcohol. It might connect alcohol to drug use and crime, and sometimes it would have a fold-out map, but the text was primary. Around 1878 is the first time that a drink map appeared on the face of the booklet, and on the back was text about how to use the map to try to get lawmakers to stop granting licenses.

Were there professional cartographers involved in making drink maps?

Some drink maps were truly handmade, like the drink map of Oxford, which is just a hand-drawn map printed locally, and there's no known person who made it. But sometimes they would buy a base map. The YMCA, for example, was pretty prolific about making maps of different towns, and then leaving space for someone else to buy their base map and put their own interests on top of it. So no matter who bought it, they still had where all the YMCAs were indicated on the map.

How big of an impact on policy did drink maps actually have?

In one case [in 1882, in the borough of Over Darwen in Lancashire, England], after looking at a drink map, the magistrates decided to close half of the places to buy alcohol. Their rationale was, even if we close half of these, you still don't have to walk more than two minutes to buy another beer, which I just think is the most beautiful rationale I've ever read. It was challenged, and it held up on appeal.

But magistrates were just local, the big fish in the small towns, and they didn't want to cross the drink trade, which was very powerful. In some of the interviews I read at the time asking magistrates why they were still granting licenses, they said, “Well, we don't want to get sued or challenged by the drink trade.” So they didn't really stop granting licenses; it worked once, and then it really didn't work after that.

What changes in the Temperance movement and British drinking culture at the end of the 19th century made drink maps obsolete?

The Temperance people found other strategies to be more effective than drink maps, like a tax increase. But other things did serve to lessen the amount of drinking that was going on. Historians point to social reform as the big picture, but just generally, people were happier and healthier. They had drinking fountains, parks, libraries, museums, things they just didn't have at the end of the Industrial Revolution, when they were all packed into cities with nowhere to go, and nothing to do, but the church and the pub.

Drinking became more sociable. It became more common for men and women to go out and have a beverage together, and for the purpose not necessarily to be, “I got off work, I'm going to get shitfaced,” but instead to be, “It's a social occasion, we’re nervous, let's have a drink to loosen that up.”

What was the most surprising thing you learned in your research?

One thing that stood out is, I can now look at a map of a city and figure out where the magistrates lived, because there are no places to drink. They never approved licenses in their own neighborhoods. And if that wasn't clear, if it showed the type of licenses, I could kind of figure out where the wealthy people lived, because on the edge of those neighborhoods would be the off-licenses. Meaning you can't go sit there and drink, but you can go buy a bottle of whatever and take it home with you. So that's where they would send their servants to go get the alcohol that they would consume at home. You can pick a map of any of these cities and figure out the economic geography of the city, based on where you can buy alcohol.

Interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

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In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we'll explore the 200-year history of the lighthouse on Wood Island in Maine, which has been home to a celebrity dog, a grisly murder, some mischievous ghosts, and a monster storm that may or may not have been brought on by a pickpocket’s curse.

Want to hear more stories of mega storms, heroic sea rescues, and maybe even some more lighthouse ghosts? Here’s some information about Maine’s 60-plus historic lighthouses.

Summer may be winding down, but at Atlas Obscura, we’re already thinking about next year’s adventures—and we want to know where you’d love to visit in 2025. For two weeks only, you could be involved in Where to Wander, our selection of top travel destinations around the world that are Atlas Obscura–approved. Which places on your dream list are off the beaten path, less touristy, more immersed in local culture, and full of surprising wonders?

This past year, you all impressed us with your wanderlust for Vanuatu, Greenland, Bolivia, Mongolia, and even the small Arizona town of Bisbee. But the world is so grand, evolving, and full of hidden delights. So where are you longing to go next?

To participate, tell us about an obscure city, region, or country you’ve visited, are eyeing, or have just heard your friends talking about. Make sure to describe the destination with a few sentences—the more details you give, the more likely your answer could be published in our final list. Submit your nominations here: Where to Wander 2025 Readers’ Choice.

We’ll be accepting submissions until September 20 and will reveal the top five selections with the launch of Where to Wander 2025 at the end of this year. It’s almost time for new wonder-lust.

This piece was originally published in Grist and appears here as part of our Climate Desk collaboration.

Think back to the last concert you went to. Now replace the music that rang through the venue with an erratic series of pops, muffled staccatos, distorted taps, and sudden clicks. No single sound is quite distinguishable from another, all blending together in a medley of unsynchronized noise.

Except, instead of musicians, what you’re hearing is a mass of underground invertebrates. And they’re putting on an unorthodox show for the handful of humans who know where, and how, to tune in—a complex symphony of vibrations and pulses that relay the state of the very soils these organisms are moving within.

“You can actually use sound to listen to the soil, and get an indication of soil health, based on the little critters moving around,” says Jake Robinson, a microbial ecologist at Flinders University in Australia. He’s the lead author of a study just published in the Journal of Applied Ecology that found that ecoacoustics, or the study of environmental sounds, can not only be used to detect organisms in the soil, but also mined to identify the difference between restored and degraded land.

Although the practice of recording the sounds of nature has existed for over a century, using those recordings to analyze ecosystem health is a newer discipline. Scientists have, in recent years, started experimenting with using ecoacoustic tools to capture the full range of sounds in healthy ecosystems—such as in coral reefs, caves, and oyster beds—and applying those recordings to restoration efforts in damaged and degraded areas.

And yet, soils, and the many hidden species and organisms that subsist underground, haven’t been considered for such techniques. Until now.

“People in the past have thought ecoacoustics probably can’t be used for that, because there’s no vocalization or echolocation. We’ve shown that it actually can be used,” says Robinson. The trick, he notes, is deploying sensitive-enough microphones that allow you to detect the most minuscule of movements. “Things like millipedes, the little tappy legs, you can compare that to a worm, [which has] more of a slidey action. So actually, you can tell slight differences between the acoustic profiles of these little critters.”

From millipedes to nematodes, soils across the world teem with billions of living organisms that make up Earth’s biosphere and contribute to the global food supply. All told, the ground beneath our feet houses the most biodiverse habitat on the planet. “The more invertebrates that are in the soil, the more active that they are, the more different sounds and vibrations they are emitting,” says Robinson.

"Things like millipedes, the little tappy legs, you can compare that to a worm."

His team used a belowground sampling device and sound chamber to record and collect 240 soil acoustic samples from deforested plots, locations undergoing restoration, and those with at least some of their original vegetation in a corridor of grassy woodlands in Mount Bold, South Australia. After listening to the acoustic recordings first onsite, and then removing soil samples to analyze them in controlled conditions in the field, they discovered a pattern: The acoustic complexity and diversity of the soundscapes were significantly lower in the deforested plots.

Lack of diversity in a soundscape indicates that life belowground is missing, so the soils are likely to be in a state of degradation, meaning they are experiencing physical, biological, and chemical losses in quality. Degradation causes significant biodiversity decline, hampering soil’s vital ecosystem services, such as water cycling, and results in colossal consequences for the world’s agricultural productivity, curbing crop yields and livelihoods. It is a problem impacting more than three-quarters of land on Earth. “That could rise to 90 percent by 2050 unless we intervene,” says Robinson, echoing a warning issued by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2022. “We need to do something.”

Unsustainable land management, intensive farming practices, urbanization, and anthropogenic climate change can disturb and damage soil, triggering degradation—which, in turn, affects how much carbon soils have the capacity to store.

Degradation also creates a negative feedback loop for many soil species, reducing their chances of survival, and further deteriorating the soil. That’s because these soil organisms are themselves key to preserving soil health, so their presence is not only an indicator of soil viability, but also helps create that viability. Earthworms in particular augment global food production, contributing to the growth of more than 140 million metric tons of food every year by increasing plant growth and enriching soils. If earthworms were a country, they would be the fourth-largest grain producer.

In fact, in many parts of the world, counting earthworms is commonly deployed by farmers to measure soil health, but those measurements aren’t always accurate. “Everything has its place in ecosystem ecology. So if you’re only measuring one thing, you miss other parts,” says Victoria Burton, a postdoctoral researcher who studies soil biodiversity at the British Natural History Museum. One example is that in areas where earthworms are invasive, you’re likely to find plenty of the invertebrates in degraded habitats, which would make counting their abundance a poor benchmark for healthy land. This bolsters the case for widely applying soil acoustics for more accurate readings in agricultural and conservation contexts, she says.

Burton added that this research is the first of its kind to show how ecoacoustics can be used to identify soil health specific to the grassy woodland ecosystem—a study released last year, also helmed by Robinson, found similar results when measuring soil biodiversity in Britain’s temperate forests—but she has questions regarding how this technique would perform in other ecosystems. She’s exhilarated by the prospect, however: Her team is installing soil acoustic sensors in the museum’s gardens to better monitor changes to urban wildlife in the space.

Scientists aren’t only listening to underground realms for classification purposes. They’re also using acoustics to see if they can speed up the restoration process, according to Robinson. “The vision, I think, is to see if degraded soils can be played sounds that help them recover,” he says.

In another forthcoming study, his team discovered that, when they played certain sounds to a type of fungus called Trichoderma, widely used in agriculture to protect crops against diseases and improve plant health and revegetation, it effectively stimulated organism growth. Of course, this result is preliminary, but offers up major implications for how ecoacoustics could be applied to deteriorated soils on farmland. Monitoring soil health by way of soundscapes could be used by farmers and growers to figure out where they need to preemptively intervene. And playing back healthy soil recordings in eroded swaths of land could, in theory, encourage that beneficial fungi growth, jump-starting restoration.

As with any body of research in its infancy, just how this technology will be applied, and what degree of impact the use of ecoacoustics could wield in efforts to restore deteriorating soils, remains up in the air. The biggest uncertainties revolve around how different soil types and properties may affect sound transmission belowground, in addition to how this technique might perform in other ecosystems and geographies.

While researchers work to figure out those missing pieces, the natural symphonies found within soil are beginning to attract attention from unlikely sources. Last year, a composer in Norway reached out to Robinson with an unusual request: She wanted to incorporate sounds emitted by earthworms into one of her orchestral productions.

“It’s quite interesting to hear a millipede, who’s got tiny legs. It’s like a little hairy, high-frequency tapping sound. Then, for instance, a snail, which is like a slow, slimy, glide-y sound, and the worm is something in between,” said Robinson. “That’s like listening to Mother Earth, isn’t it?”

Formerly neglected by tourists but now fully on the beaten path, Portugal is having a moment. Yet the country still suffers from visitors thinking they’re in Spain. As a result, paella, tapas and sangría are now ubiquitous in the country that doesn’t really consume them, to the frustration of locals proud of their cuisine.

Whereas much of neighboring Spain’s food is influenced by the Mediterranean, it could be argued that Portugal’s is an Atlantic cuisine. This means many of the same ingredients and influences, but with the added element of that vast ocean. The Atlantic has provided for Portugal in the form of fish and seafood, but also in terms of access to the rest of the world.

Starting in the 15th century, the Portuguese became arguably the world’s most influential culinary middlemen, having had a large role in introducing sugar, tea, spices, and many other important ingredients to the western world, as well chilies and other staple vegetables and fruits to the eastern world, many of these items also having entered Portuguese cuisine.

With this in mind, we’ve assembled a list of eateries, stalls, kiosks and other venues that exemplify the uniquely Portuguese culinary offerings of Lisbon and Porto, the country’s largest cities. The list touches on a few items you’ve probably heard of, and where we think you should eat them, but also some culinary concepts, both ancient and contemporary, that may not have previously been on your radar, and that we think are worth seeking out.

Quiosque de São Paulo
Lisbon

Lisbon was once dotted with Art Nouveau-era kiosks, places where locals would stop for a drink or snack. Today, nearly two dozen remain in the city, yet the only one that harks back to the golden age of the genre in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is Quiosque de São Paulo. Come here for a short but delicious menu of snacks and drinks that is rarely seen these days, when Lisbon’s kiosks are more likely to sell hamburgers and Coke.

Casa dos Caracóis Lisbon

The Portuguese consume the most snails per capita of any Europeans. They’re a summer obsession in the country, and the go-to for all snail-related needs in and around Lisbon is Casa dos Caracóis, a seasonal emporium with branches across Lisbon that specializes in snails and snail peripherals.

A Ginjinha Lisbon

In the hills north of Lisbon, locals have been combining brandy, sugar and sour cherries for centuries. The drink, known as ginja – or ginjinha – ultimately became associated with Lisbon, especially around Largo de São Domingos, a square in the city’s historical center, where several vendors serve it. The oldest of these, A Ginjina, is a stuck-in-time marble stall that has been serving the bright red, sweet, sticky drink since 1840.

Piri Piri Trafaria

Cross the Tagus River from Lisbon to the former fishing village of Trafaria, where Piri Piri serves Goan-Mozambican-Portuguese dishes, an unlikely culinary mashup that became a staple in Lisbon in the 1970s, and that was also the inspiration for Nando’s peri-peri chicken.

Pastéis de Belém Lisbon

Think Portugal, and it’s likely you’ll picture an egg tart. The sweet snack has become virtually synonymous with the country, and today, dozens of vendors in Lisbon sell the dish, with variants ranging from vegan egg tarts to versions topped with ice cream. But to sample the sweet as it was intended, it’s necessary to head to this former convent bakery in Belém, just west of Lisbon, where it was invented and has been made since 1837.

Líder Porto

The people of Porto are known colloquially as Tripeiros, “Tripe Eaters,” because of their fondness for this particular ingredient. And this restaurant, located in a nondescript apartment building in a suburban neighborhood and helmed by the founder and president of the Gastronomic Brotherhood of Porto-Style Tripe (a real organization), is regarded as one of the best places in the city to get the stuff, which here braised with white beans and smoked and salted meats.

Semea
Porto

In northern Portugal, rabanadas – French toast to the rest of us – is serious business. Locals have refined the art of dressing up old bread via adding dried fruit, spices and decadent reductions of port wine. The chef behind this restaurant has taken this a step further, using contemporary culinary techniques to create an almost unrecognizable but utterly delicious modern twist on rabanadas.

A Regaleira Porto

If you know one Porto dish, it’s probably the francesinha. An over-the-top Portuguese take on the croque monsieur, the dish was allegedly invented at this restaurant in the early 1950s. Stop in for what is the classic version of the sandwich, as well as for what is almost certainly the world’s largest collection of francesinha-themed art.

Poças Vila Nova de Gaia

Porto is home to nearly 20 houses that produce the city’s eponymous fortified wine, but Poças is the only one still wholly owned by locals. In addition to preserving the family legacy, this house also produces some of the more boundary-pushing port wines (quinine wine, anyone?).

Conservas Pinhais Matosinhos

Matosinhos, just north of Porto, was once home to 54 canneries. Today, only one of these original houses exists. Conservas Pinhais, generally considered Portugal’s top cannery, has been in operation since 1920, and after a century, has opened its factory doors to guests in the form of tours, in addition to a cafe that serves a variety of tinned fish-based dishes and a gift shop with tinned fish-themed merch.

Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024).

Vultures are not always the most visually appealing birds. But bearded vultures, or lammergeiers, are beautifully done up, with glossy dark wings, long thin goatees, and KISS-worthy eye masks. Their chests, heads, and legs are especially impressive, colored the rich red brown of polished mahogany. They deserve much of the credit for their fashion sense. These vultures turn their feathers red on purpose, covering themselves in iron oxide by bathing in rusty water or rubbing themselves with damp red soil. They are the only birds known to intentionally color themselves, and exactly why they do is still not entirely settled.

Lammergeiers eat almost exclusively bones—the last remnants of the meals of other scavengers. Bones from anything smaller than a sheep they can eat whole. They’ll fly larger ones high into the air and drop them onto rocks over and over again until they break up into swallowable pieces.

Bones are cleaner than the blood and guts preferred by other vultures. (Lammergeiers have feathery heads, instead of bald ones like some of their cousins, because they don’t have to stick their faces inside gory carcasses.) But they’re still covered in bacteria, which are there doing their own jobs as decomposers. One theory holds that the birds’ iron oxide dye kills harmful microbes, keeping vulture parents from slopping them all over their nests. The vultures have been seen rubbing their ruddy chest feathers on their eggs, perhaps to pass on some of this protection.

Others think the coloring is a cosmetic strategy. When two lammergeiers want the same bones, they’ll square off, puffing up their feathers and swinging their heads around. A bird’s redness might indicate her fitness—her knowledge of the local iron sources, and the strength and spare time to really paint herself up. A darker-red vulture may intimidate a lighter-colored one enough that he leaves, avoiding a fight.

The idea that red is a particularly impressive color to these vultures is supported by another of their adornments: bright red bands around their eyes called scleral rings. When the situation calls, they can concentrate blood in those rings to make them extra big and bright—dyeing themselves from both inside and outside.

Range: Mountain ranges in Europe, Asia, and Africa, generally above 6,500 feet (2,000 m)

Species: Bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus), also known as lammergeiers

How to see them: You might spot these scavengers cruising along the tops of mountain ridges or to and from their cliff-ledge nests. From below, look for their thick diamond-shaped tails and rust-colored underparts.

Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders celebrates hundreds of surprising animals, plants, fungi, microbes, and more, as well as the people around the world who have dedicated their lives to understanding them. Pre-order your copy today!

In the very early hours of Sept. 4, Jacqueline Fazekas, a researcher at the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, spotted something moving in a suspicious arc across the sky. She quickly submitted her observations to the Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts. The database, available to the public and constantly updated, keeps track of, among other objects, the solar system’s known asteroids and comets. Within moments of the observations posting, other astronomers were also pointing their telescopes at the fuzzy dot.

What happened as the day unspooled was a small but important victory for science and the planet.

That fuzzy dot Fazekas spotted was, as you’ve probably guessed, an Earthbound asteroid. It was a veritable pipsqueak, just three to five feet long. There was almost zero possibility of it causing even minor damage. It was, in effect, an overgrown shooting star. Dubbed 2024 RW1, the rocky projectile burned up at 16:39 UTC in the skies above Luzon Island, in the Philippines, as a beautiful, blue-green fiery streak.

Earth gets hit by small asteroids pretty frequently. Just this year, several rocky wanderers from afar have been caught disintegrating above our heads, including a small asteroid that flamed out above New York City in July. In May, a comet’s icy shard could be seen burning up above Spain and Portugal as it plunged into the atmosphere at 100,000 miles per hour.

The point, really, is that our planet is in the path of a never-ending firing line of minuscule rocky asteroids and cometary fragments. Like 2024 RW1, they pose no harm. But RW1’s impact was different in an important way: Unlike the other examples, various space agencies knew this lithic missile was going to hit the planet ahead of time. And because of that, everyone on Earth is a little bit safer.

Everyone on Earth is now a little bit safer.

Shortly after Fazekas’s observations were fed into the Minor Planet Center database, NASA’s Scout program did some extremely quick calculations. Scout is an automated program that tirelessly peruses the database and tries to work out if a newfound moving object has a chance of impacting Earth within the next 30 days. The European Space Agency, or ESA, has a similar autonomous program named Meerkat, which also began tracking and assessing the object.

Scout and Meerkat typically work off just a handful of observations of a newly identified object, and initial impact estimates are very approximate, with often wide margins of error. As more observations come in, the object’s trajectory can be determined with greater precision and, if it has no chance of crashing into us, then great—everybody can rest easy.

But if those extra observations make an Earth impact likelier, and that object is big enough to cause damage, then NASA and ESA reason that the world should know, so that those in harm’s way can be told to, well, get out of harm’s way.

2024 RW1 was never a concern. The amount of sunlight it was reflecting allowed astronomers to estimate its size quickly—and anything that’s just a few feet across is essentially benign. All it was ever going to do was burn up in the upper atmosphere, shatter into extremely tiny pieces, and give those on terra firma a cool fireworks show.

The sort of asteroids that can cause damage don’t need to be much bigger than 2024 RW1, however. In 2013, a space rock exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk with the force of a small atomic bomb. People got sunburned, knocked off their feet, and blasted with a shotgun spray of glass as windows all over the city shattered. Fortunately, no one died, but more than 1,500 people required medical assistance. And that asteroid was just 60 feet across.

It could have been so much worse. In 1908, another asteroid exploded in the skies above Tunguska, a remote area of Siberia. This time, it wiped out an 800-square-mile patch of taiga in the blink of an eye. If it had happened over a city, hundreds of thousands of people would have perished. And this act of cosmic violence was caused by a space rock estimated to be around 150 feet across. Small increases in an asteroid’s mass boost the destructive potential exponentially.

So yes, 2024 RW1 wasn’t a worry. But an asteroid not much larger would have been a cause for great concern. Larger asteroids, say, those that are a few hundred feet across, are much easier for astronomers to spot. But asteroids the size of those that exploded over Chelyabinsk and Tunguska remain difficult to see in advance. And if one of them, with no advance warning, hits a city, the casualties could be enormous.

That’s why 2024 RW1 represents an important milestone in the history of planetary defense: It was spotted prior to impact which, for such a puny asteroid, is very impressive. Historically, most smaller asteroids are not detected until they hit. In fact, 2024 RW1 is only the ninth Earthbound asteroid identified prior to impact. (The first one was in 2008.) That RW1 was identified a full eight hours before it exploded over the Philippines means that, had it been a dangerous asteroid, there would have been time to alert people in the impact area to take cover, without question saving lives.

Planetary defense has, broadly speaking, two prongs. There’s the offense: missions to deflect or destroy Earthbound asteroids. In 2022, for example, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, managed to change a (harmless) asteroid’s orbit by smashing into it with an uncrewed spacecraft. It was a successful test of a technique known as a kinetic impactor, which could be used to knock an incoming and dangerous asteroid away from Earth.

But the other prong of planetary defense is all about detection: spying those hazardous Earthbound asteroids as early as possible to prevent a disaster from ever taking place. NASA and ESA are focused more on finding the somewhat larger “city killers”—asteroids 460 feet or larger—hanging about in near-Earth space; as the name suggests, these asteroids, should they hit a city, would annihilate it and kill millions. But the smaller, Chelyabinsk-trashers also need finding. It gives me great confidence that, already, the far punier Earthbound asteroid 2024 RW1 was found prior to impact.

In other words, 2024 RW1 wasn’t a threat, but it was a successful trial run for saving a city. Maybe yours.

Robin George Andrews is a doctor of volcanoes, an award-winning freelance science journalist, and the author of two books: Super Volcanoes: What They Reveal About Earth and the Worlds Beyond (2021), and the upcoming How to Kill an Asteroid: The Absurd True Story of the Scientists Defending the Planet (2024).

Indigenous Brazilians have fermented alcoholic beverages from the cassava root for thousands of years. These beer-like beverages go by names like cauim, caxiri, and tarubá. Fermentation is an important step in cassava processing—the raw root has chemicals that can turn into cyanide in the human body. Native peoples found that a bit of human saliva and some naturally occurring yeast could eliminate these toxins and improve the nutritious value of the tuber. When the technology of distillation arrived to the Munim River region (now in Maranhão), locals who already drank lightly alcoholic cassava beverages began to distill them. Tiquira was born. 

The name tiquira is likely derived from the Tupi word tykyre meaning "to drip." But it is a curiosity that the spirit has flourished in only one Brazilian state, Maranhão. Margot Stinglwagner, founder of Guaaja Tiquira, the first modern brand to produce the spirit starting in 2016, says “It’s a spirit that is also unknown in Brazil. A few people have heard about tiquira—but usually only people who have gone to Maranhão once.” Accordingly, the state moved to declare the spirit as a piece of Cultural and Intangible Heritage in September 2023. 

Part of the reason that tiquira has remained so isolated is that cachaça, Brazil’s rum, is far easier to produce. Because the rum comes from sugarcane, the sugar for fermentation is already there. “With cassava, you don’t have sugar,” Stinglwagner explains. “You must first transform the carbohydrates into sugar and then you can ferment and distill it.” To achieve this end, Guaaja Tiquira uses food enzymes instead of the traditional human saliva. Guaaja also differs from other distillers because they use full cassava roots where most tiquira moonshiners rely on processed farinha de mandioca, or cassava flour. 

“The majority of people produce it illegally,” laughs Stinglwagner. “The state does nothing about it.” Outside of the urban center, tiquira is invariably a homemade product. Generally, tiquira makers don’t separate the "heads" (the first drops of liquor from a distillation, which contain harsher alcohols including toxic methanol and other pungent and volatile flavor compounds) from the "tails" (the final liquid produced from distillation, which has a low alcohol content and can have unwelcome bitter flavors), meaning the spirit is stronger and may contain more toxins and impurities. Some even macerate marijuana into the combined spirit to produce the doubly-illicit tiquiconha.

Maranhenses believe that you cannot get wet or bathe after drinking tiquira, lest you become faint or dizzy. Zelinda Machado de Castro e Lima, one of the great chroniclers of folk culture in Maranhão, has recorded other traditions surrounding the drink. Firstly, it is typical to pierce a cashew with a toothpick and soak it in a glass of tiquira for several hours. It is then sucked as a sort of boozy lollipop. She also writes about the belief that those drinking coffee should avoid tiquira, while locals say that fishermen on the coast used the liquor to sanitize wounds incurred on the job. 

Finally, there is the curious question of the color of tiquira. In the tourist markets of São Luís, the spirit is always blushing a translucent violet. “They say that the color of tiquira is from tangerine leaves, but we tried to do it and the color from the leaves is not stable,” says Stinglwagner. “It is also not a strong color. The norms and laws for tiquira prohibit the addition of the leaves.” The violet color may be artificial (perhaps from food dyes), but some tiquiras do have a citrusy flavor. 

Tiquira today is still largely relegated to the world of moonshining, but with the government’s recognition of the spirit and new legitimate ventures like that of Guaaja Tiquira, Brazil could be seeing more of the cassava liquor outside of its home in Maranhão. 

“All the people say to me, ‘What is this new spirit?,’” says Stinglwagner. “I say, ‘It’s not a new spirit, it’s the oldest spirit from Brazil.’”

Know Before You Go

Tiquira is widely available in the downtown markets of São Luís, Maranhão. Both the local Mercado Central and touristic Mercado das Tulhas have many vendors selling tiquira. The commercial brand, Guaaja Tiquira, is also available in São Luís at Empório Fribal, in addition to Copacabana Palace and Fairmont Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, and Mocotó Bar e Restaurante in São Paulo. 

The origins of Germany’s Maultaschen are deliciously devious. Legend has it that, in the late Middle Ages, a lay brother named Jakob invented the stuffed pasta dumplings at the Maulbronn Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1147 by Cistercian monks in southwest Germany.

One direct translation of Maultaschen is “mouth pockets,” though “Maul” could just as easily refer to Maulbronn. Maultaschen are usually square dumplings (though sometimes they're rolled) and can be fried in a pan or served in broth. Commonly described as Germany’s version of Italian ravioli, they allegedly emerged as a way to use up an unexpected bounty of meat that Brother Jakob stumbled upon in the forest outside the monastery walls.

The twist? Although they abhorred waste, these monks weren’t allowed to eat the meat of four-legged animals, especially during the Catholic fasting period of Lent in the spring. So Brother Jakob minced the meat with herbs and onions and wrapped everything inside pasta dough, hiding the forbidden flesh from the eyes of his fellow monks—and even from the eyes of God.

In Swabia, the region encompassing much of Baden-Württemberg and part of Bavaria where Maultaschen originated, one of the colloquial names for the food references this deception directly: Herrgottsbescheißerle means “little God-cheaters.”

Everyone in Swabia has their version of the legend with more or less embellishment. Ludwig Nestler holds a master’s degree in heritage conservation and works for the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg, a government organization that oversees monuments like Maulbronn Monastery. His version of the tale includes a sack of stolen meat dropped in the woods by a fleeing thief, which inspires Brother Jakob’s trickery in the kitchen. But he acknowledges that there’s no undisputed “historically correct version” of how Maultaschen came to be. Similarly, everyone in Swabia has their own Maultaschen recipe, with unique ingredients for the minced filling, called Brät.

“Traditionally the Brät is made from pork mixed with herbs, onions, and occasionally bread crumbs for texture and stability,” says Nestler. Swabia, however, “was a rather poor region with limited amounts of meat due to rather unfertile land, so being adaptive and innovative has always been a part of the people’s nature.” As Maultaschen became popular, fish and seasonal vegetables like spinach, carrots, beets, and mushrooms became common inclusions.

Today, the European Union ties Maultaschen to Swabia with a Protected Geographical Indication, which lists required ingredients the authentic product should feature, but even the necessary inclusions are pretty loose, such as “pork and/or beef and/or veal” for meat Brät and “typical regional vegetables” for meat-free Brät. It speaks to the way the dumplings developed as subsistence food, used to stretch leftovers and reduce food waste.

Today, Germans throughout the country enjoy Maultaschen in dozens of flavors in all seasons thanks to grocery stores that stock packaged varieties made by companies like Ditzingen-based Bürger, whose mascot, Erwin, is a Maultasche (the singular form of the plural Maultaschen).

But the dumplings remain most popular in southern Germany. Maulbronn Monastery offers a special tour that pairs Maultaschen with wine from the monastery’s vineyards. And many locals, including Nestler’s family, still make them from scratch on special occasions—even during Lent, when meat might otherwise be off the menu. There’s no telling if it’s a fraud good enough to fool God, but it’s worth a shot.

In 1914, absinthe was outlawed in France. In the small mountain town of Pontarlier, the world capital of absinthe, the news devastated the livelihoods of thousands of local workers. Nearly all the town's distilleries closed their doors or relocated. But one producer, Distillerie Guy, remained open, all thanks to adaptation and innovation. Its bestselling drink, Pont (formally known as Pontarlier-Anis), was created as a result of the absinthe ban and remains a beloved classic at the distillery to this day.

Pont was the invention of George and Armaund Guy, whose family distillery had been making absinthe since 1890. Following the nationwide ban, the distillers continued to use their absinthe recipe, with one key change: excluding the supposedly “madness-inducing” ingredient, thujone, and replacing it with green anise. 

When poured, Pont is clear as the local mountain water it contains, turning to a cloud of white when diluted. It has a frosty freshness, not unlike the sensation of breathing after chewing on a mint, while whipping the tongue with a smooth licorice sweetness. 

The licorice taste comes from the distillation of green anise, differentiating it from the star anise used in other anise spirits such as ouzo or pastis. Compared to those spirits, "Pont is lighter, purer, more subtle,” says Sébastien Siredey, who works at Distillerie Guy. “It is distilled from natural ingredients. It is more haut-de-gamme than pastis."

Pont also appears in a powerful local mixed drink known as the “Sapont.” The drink is a portmanteau that combines Pont with Sapin, the French word for “fir tree” that's also the name of another liquor produced by Distillerie Guy. Their Sapin is made from local fir trees that provide a sharp botanical flavor. A Sapont mingles together Sapin’s pine-green color and Pont’s snow white, with an icy coolness and wood-infused licorice warmth.

As with absinthe, the strength of botanicals lends a slightly medicinal flavor to every bottle of Pont and Sapin. “We are the pharmacy of Pontarlier,” Siredey jokes. Absinthe, Pont’s troublesome predecessor, was in fact used for medicinal purposes, until it was popularized by French soldiers in the war in Algeria, who grew fond of it for more than its purported healing properties. 

In 1988, France legalized the sale of absinthe (with regulated thujone levels), but did not allow producers to use the word “absinthe.” This odd stipulation was overturned in 2011 and absinthe made its formal return. But despite the notoriety of the “green fairy” Pont has remained a favorite among local connoisseurs. 

When it comes to Distillery Guy, the workers prefer their signature liquor. “At apéro, it’s Pont," says Siredey. "Not one of us drinks absinthe.”

Your travel partner for life

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Trends in Wellness... Mother/Daughter Travel WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER, LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL • WWW.LIVELIFETRAVEL.WORLD We recently had the pleasure of planning such a trip for local resident, Erin McCarthy-Dates and her mother Joan. This past November, they traveled to Italy together! Here’s what they had to say about their trip… 10-NIGHT ITINERARY: ROME > FLORENCE > VENICE Anne: Was it hard deciding where in Italy to go and what to do? Erin: No, you planned everything (laughing)! I joked that we could do whatever Mother wanted, but of course you set up separate phone calls with each of us to make sure you knew what both of us wanted and took both of our preferences into account. I would have never had the time or energy to do any of it, which is why we wanted to work with an Italy specialist. A: What was your favorite part of the trip? E: I loved the day excursion to Siena in Tuscany from Florence. It was the quintessential Italian location for me, and the food tour was amazing. The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica were also fascinating and especially meaningful for my mother. A: How do you think this trip affected your relationship with your mother? E: This trip was a great bonding experience! It was nice to have time just the two of us, without the usual chaos that the rest of the family or a group can bring. I was struck by how many friends, family and even acquaintances mentioned how cool it was that we were doing this. Many people spoke about missing their own mom, and wishing they had 2 weeks back with her. Others said they realize we won’t have our loved ones with us forever, and how it’s important to appreciate them while we still have them here. It helped realize what a gift it was to have this opportunity together. A: What were the greatest challenges during your time together? E: Being away from my 2 kids and husband (and work) for 2 weeks created anxiety before I left, but it all worked out. ATTENTION ALL WOMEN: As it turns out, we can take vacations and the world (our jobs, our families) doesn’t stop without us. It’s a very important thing for all women to do. A: Travel tips for other Mother/Daughter Travel Duos? E: Having private tours with a guide were invaluable. We were able to learn so much more about a place and its history than we would have been able to do on our own. Consider going in the “low season.” It is less expensive, less crowded and you miss the heat of summer. Most importantly, leave the planning to a professional, I could have NEVER planned a trip like this as well. A: What was it like being there during the flooding in Venice? E: It was actually their “aqua alta,” so they expect flooding twice per day during November, and then the levels recede to normal. Obviously, this was much more than usual, and I don’t want to minimize the damage that citizens, businesses, and historic sites experienced, however, I was struck by how the Venetians really just got on with it. They all have rubber wading boots, and all of us tourists bought disposable galosha-style boots to fit right over our own shoes. Saint Mark’s square was like a big swimming pool at times, and we can say we were there for it! A: Are you planning to travel again with your mother, just the two of you? E: I could see us going somewhere domestically for a shorter duration and possibly including my daughter for a women’s family retreat of sorts. Ooh, I might be on to something there! A: Has it inspired you to travel more with your own daughter and family in general and if so, what’s up next for Erin? E: We have already started thinking about a family trip with the kids to the UK in 2021 and a couples only trip with my husband to Iceland, so yes, I’m definitely looking forward to a lot more travel and very excited about it. The post New Trends in Wellness appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Be a Smart Traveler appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Be a SMART Traveler WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER, LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL • WWW.LIVELIFETRAVEL.WORLD Here are some essentials to becoming a SMART Traveler: STEP (SMART TRAVELER ENROLLMENT PROGRAM): Register all International Travel with STEP. This ensures that the local US Embassy can contact and locate you in case of an emergency while traveling: https://step.state.gov/step/ IMPORTANT TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION: REAL ID: Deadline is 10/1/20 https://www.tsa.gov/real-id GLOBAL ENTRY: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry CLEAR: https://www.clearme.com/ VISA: Some countries require a visa to enter them, you should apply as early as possible as some are harder to obtain than others. https://cibtvisas.com/visa-quick-check Avoid lines by having the proper documentation PLAN AHEAD: Learn about your destination before you get there and arrive well-informed – We recommend the State Department as a trusted resource: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html STAY HEALTHY: Use one trusted source for all travel-related health information, including vaccines you may need: https://www.nc.cdc.gov/travel Other tips: Wash your hands often, travel with hand sanitizer and wipes, pack more than enough of your prescription medication (you may want to carry an extra scrip on you as well), get your annual flu vaccine, drink bottled water/stay hydrated. FINANCIAL SMARTS: Avoid international fees by using a travel credit card that waives them. Get a duplicate of your ATM card to travel with. Take out foreign currency once in destination using a bank ATM, avoid airport currency exchanges and never take out a cash advance on your credit card. Carry emergency fund cash on you at all times. Leave all of your valuables at home (including the engagement rings). Common Sense: The best advice that we could give any traveler today is to use plain old common sense. Be smart, be aware of your surroundings at all times and be prepared. Lock all doors and don’t go out alone at night (even on the beach). PLAN AHEAD: Get your passport renewed at least one year before it expires (reminder that kids passports only last for 5 years; adults for 10): https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/havepassport/renew.html Leave your passports locked in your hotel safe; carry a copy on your person while in destination (we travel with both paper copies and have them backed up in the cloud on our mobile devices). Make sure your travel advisor has copies of your updated passports pre-travel (do not email or text any ID or credit card info). Use RFID blocking and never store your passport in a carry on or check it with other luggage. A FEW FINAL TIPS TO KEEP YOU HEALTHY DURING AIR TRAVEL: A certain celebrity always travels with Neosporin and uses a Q-Tip to apply it gently in their nostrils before every flight (we are seriously going to try this!) I personally take and travel with Airborne (chewable tablets) and swear by them (pre, during and post air travel.) Beware of the water on planes, we recommend washing your hands with soap and water and then always using your hand sanitizer upon return to your seat. With all of this said, please don’t be afraid to travel, just be smart when you do. These same “essential tips” can also be applied to your everyday life. The post Be a Smart Traveler appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post 4 Honeymoons and an Anniversary appeared first on Live Life Travel.

It’s likely around the time when most of you are starting to think about your honeymoon. And while there is no right answer for everyone in terms of when to plan, we do have some general guidelines that we can share with you based on our professional experience: The sweet spot to have your honeymoon planned is roughly 9 months before your wedding (the exception to this rule is that places such as the Amalfi Coast and The Greek Islands can be planned even earlier given the short season, high demand and limited availability). If you are looking to book Sandals, they open their inventory 2 years before check-in date (vs. 1 year for most hotel inventory) and we recommend that you book as early as possible with your preferred agent as there are only benefits to doing so. If you are not sure where you want to travel for your honeymoon yet, you are not alone. Eighty-five to ninety percent of the couples we meet say the same thing and this is something that we specialize in, so no reason to worry or stress. We really do take care of everything. To help inspire all of you who are just starting to think about your honeymoon (or any other type of celebration travel), we would like to share with you ‘4 Honeymoons and a 20th Anniversary’ from 2019, along with their personal travel planning tips. Nicolle & Brian Africa Honeymoon Itinerary Highlights: Cape Town – 3 nights – Cape Point, Penguin Colony, Table Mountain Zambia – 3 nights – Victoria Falls, Elephant Café, Walking with Cheetahs, Sunset River Cruise, Private Dinner Kruger Park Safari – 4 nights – Mjejane River Lodge Johannesburg – 2 nights – Local Museums & Restaurants Honeymoon Travel Planning Tips: Even if you prefer to book your own travel, use a travel advisor for your honeymoon to make everything stress-free & super organized, as well as adding those special touches Be willing to try new things while you are in destination including experiencing the local culture and food Don’t be afraid to travel during the low season to take advantage of lower prices, more exclusive experiences and fewer crowds John & Becky Thailand Honeymoon Itinerary Highlights: Bangkok – 2 nights – Floating Markets, Street Food Tour Chiang Mai – 3 nights – Elephant Sanctuary, Night Market Tour, Visit to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep Temple Koh Samui – 6 nights – Big Buddha, Angthong National Marine Park Singapore – 1 day – Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Forest, Bumboat River Cruise Honeymoon Travel Planning Tips: Don’t be afraid to go big for your honeymoon; it’s a once in a lifetime experience, so make it count Don’t settle for the first travel advisor that you use if they are not for you; we tried several before we found Anne Always choose the “crazy” option – We opted for an extended layover in Singapore for the way home and ended up having an incredible experience that we would had completely missed if we had planned this on our own Dan & Amanda Riviera Maya Honeymoon Itinerary Highlights: 7 nights in an Over-The-Water Villa at The Rosewood Mayakoba Inclusive of an Adults-Only Beach Club with Pool and Taco Truck, Bicycles for the week, Private Plunge Pool and Hammock, Daily Breakfast and Private Boat Ride Honeymoon Travel Planning Tips: Choose a place that you love so much that you can return for anniversaries and other celebration travel including family travel Listen to the locals; We had the best tostadas of our entire life based on a recommendation of our driver in the village of El Publeto Be sure that your resort has a specified “Adults Only” section if it is a family resort; our favorite spot was the private beach club and adults only pool where the staff was impeccable Lynsey & Andrew Sicily Honeymoon Itinerary Highlights: 2 nights – Vineyard on Mt. Etna – Private Mt. Etna Summit Jeep Experience, Private Cooking Class with Wine Tasting 6 nights – Taormina – Evening Walking Tour with Culinary Experience, Pizza Making, Private Yacht Experience with Grotto Tours Honeymoon Travel Planning Tips: Whatever you do, DON’T skip your honeymoon Using a travel advisor is a MUST – All we had to do was show up and we were treated like celebrities the entire time, everything was perfect! Don’t overthink about anything, just enjoy it all. Sicily was perfect for us and even Andrew, who has never liked wine, acquired a taste for it there (we especially loved the Etna Rosso) Mike & Becky Amalfi Coast 20th Anniversary Itinerary Highlights: 3 nights – Rome – Colosseum Tour, Vatican with Sistine Chapel Tour 1 night – Naples – Archeological Museum with Authentic Pizza Dinner 3 nights – Sorrento – Private tour of Pompeii & Herculaneum, Lunch & Wine Tasting at Vineyard on Mt. Vesuvius, Lemon Farm Tour, Lunch & Shopping in Positano 3 nights – Ravello – Anniversary Dinner at Belmond Hotel Caruso Anniversary Travel Planning Tips: Having 24/7 in-destination contacts while traveling provided us with a peace of mind that we did not realize was available to us Go to Ravello on the Amalfi Coast; it was unbelievably beautiful, so laid back and relaxing and we felt so welcome there by the locals Make time to travel together for milestone anniversaries; It was the trip of a lifetime and we are so happy that we did it For more information on planning your next vacation, contact Anne Gordon at Live Life Travel. anne@livelifetravel.world www.livelifetravel.world The post 4 Honeymoons and an Anniversary appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Families Bond through Multi-Gen Travel appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Families Bond through Multi-Gen Travel WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER & LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL, LLC Click here to download article. Whether we like to admit it or not, life just passes us by way too fast. Having recently lost my grandparents, I can tell you that I have never been more grateful for all the time that we spent together -and how much we loved traveling with them every summer. It is the time you spend together, and the memories you make, that makes life worth living. Multi-generational travel has become very popular and with good reason. As families live further apart and lives are crazier than ever, it is important to carve out that time to have shared experiences, nurture family relationships and create those memories that will last a lifetime. Naturally this type of travel does not come without challenges. I recently spoke with two local women who have traveled as a Multi-Gen family and here are their stories: In April, Jeanne Sciocchetti, her husband and their daughter took Jeanne’s parents away to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. Here is what Jeanne has to say about Multi-Gen travel: “For more than ten years I had the idea I wanted to send my parents back to Bermuda, where they had honeymooned in 1969, for their 50th Anniversary. When it came time to plan, we decided to tag along with them for this trip down memory lane. Having three generations of our family together to share this experience made it so special. All of us being there with them and listening to all of their stories was magical, and it also gave my 7-year old daughter a chance to feel like she was part of their love story. Even though we all spend a lot of time together, this is not something that could have happened at home. The memories we made on this trip will last more than a lifetime – they’ll last for three lifetimes!” You can read the full story about their trip to Bermuda (from the Grandparents’ perspective) here in the Fall/Winter 2019 issue of Saratoga Bride. We also had the opportunity to speak with Kelly Wyland, who explains that doing two big trips in one year is not the norm for her family, but when you have opportunities like this, you have to go for it. Kelly and her family traveled to Ireland as an extension of a work trip and to France as a school trip with her daughter. Anne: What were some of the highlights of multi-gen travel for you? Kelly: While in Ireland, we had the opportunity to experience part of our family’s history going back many generations. In Paris, it was all about sharing experiences and making new memories. A: Any challenges? K: It was difficult at times for the grandparents to keep up with the younger ones when navigating busy streets and some older hotels did not have elevators. A: What are your suggestions for others planning a multi-gen trip? K: Be willing to compromise. Be aware of mobility issues and stamina, and plan accordingly. You don’t have to do everything together, but plan to meet up for lunch or dinner and share your experiences. Take tons of photos and don’t be afraid to ask strangers to take your picture so you can all be in it (and then offer to reciprocate!). A: Who did this trip affect the most? K: Honestly – me! I grew up with stories about my ancestors and Irish culture and have tried to teach my kids a little about that part of our family history. It was nice to have my mom to reminisce with, and my kids to learn with. We all have roots there and it was an unforgettable experience to step foot into the same country my ancestors left so many years ago. It’s something all of us will remember for the rest of our lives. Don’t wait to plan your Multi-Gen trip – life is too short. For more information on Multi-Gen contact: Anne Gordon Live Life Travel, an independent affiliate of Travel Experts Member of Virtuoso, Virtuoso Family, Culinary, Wellness Virtuoso Saveur Advisory Board. LiveLifeTravel.world | 518-966-2663 The post Families Bond through Multi-Gen Travel appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post 50 Years Ago appeared first on Live Life Travel.

50 years ago... LOCAL COUPLE RETURNS TO SAME RESORT WHERE THEY HONEYMOONED TO CELEBRATE THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY! WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER & LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL, LLC Click here to download article. Ed and Chris Galka met in 10th grade homeroom. Being seated alphabetically, he sat behind her. In 1962 they went their separate ways for college, the service and other life lessons. After reuniting on October 4, 1968, they became engaged on Thanksgiving of that year. And married the following Spring… April 26, 1969. Now – 50 years later – they revisited their honeymoon destination for their 50th Anniversary! Travel Agent Anne Gordon asks them about their trip… Q. So, what was your first impression being back on Bermuda’s Elbow Beach, for the first time in 50 years? A. The Hotel (same as the honeymoon) has an updated entrance and more cottages. There are now restaurants, all along the beach, with breathtaking beach views!!! Q. What was the biggest surprise? A. Being greeted by Randy and his team – midday on Easter Sunday – with an enthusiastic welcome and a pitcher of Rum Swizzles! (A favorite drink from 50 years ago!!) There was even a Welcome Poster at the front desk -with pictures from our wedding and honeymoon! And then when they brought us to our luxurious and spacious beachfront suite (an upgrade thanks to Anne!), we were surprised to find they had even more wedding and honeymoon pictures framed and displayed throughout the suite. The amenities were amazing – from the photos to the Prosecco (on ice!) to the Happy Anniversary cake, it made us feel like royalty from the very start of our stay. Q. Has Elbow Beach changed over the past 50 years? A. The island looked the same, but the traffic is definitely worse, and the city of Hamilton is much more developed. One thing that has not changed over the years is that the people of Bermuda are just as friendly, kind and hospitable as they were 50 years ago! Q. Were the Rum Swizzles as good as you remember? A. Yes, however the volume consumed was much less this time! Q. What was your highlight of the trip? A. Celebrating the occasion with our family and close friends in such a beautiful resort was fantastic. From the amazing welcome and hospitality we felt from the entire staff at Elbow Beach during our stay, to the incredible dinner celebration at the Blu Bar and Grill on the evening of our 50th Anniversary and last night on the island, we had the trip of a lifetime! Q. Who went on this dream trip with you? A. Our daughter Jeanne, her husband Dino, and our granddaughter Lora planned the trip (with Anne’s help) and traveled with us to Bermuda for the occasion. We were also fortunate to have our dear friends Rich and Jill Mack join us for the week. Our friendship goes back to 1969 when they were our neighbors in Parkwood Village and we became very close friends. After they moved to Wilmington, NC in the late 1970s we stayed in touch and would vacation together, at first with all our children and then just the four of us. We planned a cruise to Bermuda together for a joint 40th Anniversary celebration but had to cancel last minute due to family illness, so when they heard we were traveling to Bermuda in April they asked if they could join us. It was an amazing week reminiscing, laughing and making new memories. Q. Any unexpected surprises? A. Absolutely! The incredible suite with the gorgeous view, the welcome reception and notes from the Elbow Beach staff, the gifts sent by friends to the resort, anniversary cakes brought to us on our first night and again at Blu! Q. Would you recommend this destination for others? A. Yes! We could have spent the entire week on property at Elbow Beach and felt fulfilled. Every day started with a delicious breakfast with a beautiful view served by an incredible wait staff. Mickey’s restaurant, which is right on the beach was our favorite spot for lunch and dinner and the atmosphere at night under the stars is very romantic. Where we were located, we could easily walk to the Lido complex which is where you find all the restaurants. The beach is gorgeous, and the water is an amazing aqua blue and crystal clear. Randy (Wilcott, Vice President of Sales and Marketing) made us feel so welcome. He met with us on several occasions, called to see how we were enjoying our stay and I’m guessing he made sure we were treated extra special at the “Blu Bar & Grill” where we had dinner on our actual Anniversary. They seated us at the best table overlooking the water! For help planning your next “trip of a lifetime” contact: Anne Gordon Live Life Travel, an independent affiliate of Travel Experts Member of Virtuoso, Virtuoso Family, Culinary, Wellness Virtuoso Saveur Advisory Board. LiveLifeTravel.world | 518-966-2663 The post 50 Years Ago appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Live, Life, Travel…Forget the Bucket! appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Live, Life, Travel... FORGET THE BUCKET WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER & LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL, LLC Click here to download article. When my 12-year old son told me that he had a “bucket list,” I was surprised by my mixed emotions. On one-hand, I was so proud that I had inspired him at such a young age to be so passionate about travel that he had his own list of “must see destinations.” However, when I think about a “bucket list” it conjures up feelings of people who almost missed out because they waited to enjoy life until it was almost too late, which is not how I want to live, not how I raise my son, and definitely the complete opposite of WHAT we should all be aiming for… Live Life Travel. Perhaps it is just a saying and I am taking it too literally; however, I view it as a mindset that we can be changing at home starting with our own children in very engaging, fun and educational ways. Instead of a “Bucket List,” we can make a conscious decision to start building “Life Lists” with our families from a very young age, which then creates both life and family goals. Here are some of the awesome benefits: Increased sense of community within the family through shared goals Better communication encouraging teamwork at home Education – Geography (we recommend not going to any destination before all children have completed their in-classroom education) Budgeting – Goals Parents become role models for their children in terms of prioritizing family time, being able to unplug from work, taking all of their paid vacation time TRAVEL BENEFITS FOR KIDS: Increased independence, self-esteem and self-confidence as well as developing intellectual curiosity, better cooperation skills and adaptability and increased tolerance and respectfulness of others. Education beyond the classroom… learning about different cultures, languages, history, currencies, museums/art as well as becoming global citizens. Vacation Benefits for Adults: Lowers stress, Heart disease prevention, Increased productivity, Better sleep, Irreplaceable memories and Experiences with your children (set goals for before the 1st child leaves for college). Naturally, as parents, our biggest challenges will always be: Having enough time Having enough money Or a combination of both at the same time We call this the “Time/Money Ratio,” and it is why planning and having goals is essential. For example, I made a commitment for my son and I to always spend February Break together when he started Kindergarten and since then, we have. However, February has become an extremely busy month for me and he’s turning 13 (new “Life Stage”) so we are re-assessing our Family Travel Goals. Perhaps it would make more sense for him to fly alone to Florida and spend more time with his Grandparents that week. This is a perfect example of why my family needs to re-assess our own goals right now. We also only have 5 years before he graduates from High School and we both know that we have certain places that we want to travel to together before then that we will need to save and plan for. Every family will have different obstacles, but the objective is to make a commitment, then work together towards the goal that is important to everyone. For your children, this will be the first of many “life lists.” Encourage your children – along with yourself – to seize the opportunity when it presents itself. Studying abroad or “volunteer travel” are both rewarding experiences for young travelers. If you are not sure where to start, speak to a travel advisor for a consultation and professional planning. LiveLifeTravel.world The post Live, Life, Travel…Forget the Bucket! appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Traveling with Autism appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Traveling with Autism Click here to download our article in Saratoga Family, or read online below. Travel is usually very easy for me to write about, but this article was a tough one and not because I did not do my homework (I am now a Certified Autism Travel Specialist (CATP*), but because of how frustrated I am at the lack of certified family vacation destinations that are available in today’s world. It is something that I am committed to changing as a Virtuoso Family Travel Specialist. It is not acceptable to me and it should not be acceptable to anyone that has a child with autism. As of today, there are only 4 family brands that I currently work with and recommend that are IBCCS* certified. Beaches – Locations in Turks and Caicos, Negril and Ocho Rios Nickelodeon Resort – Punta Cana (a second location opening soon in Riviera Maya in Mexico) Royal Caribbean – Family Friendly Cruise Ships; applies to children, teens and adults Sesame Place – Has a sensory guide for every attraction so parents can plan in advance (I believe that this should become the universal standard) One of our favorite initiatives of all is Julia. In late 2017, Beaches Resorts added Sesame Street’s newest, and first ever autistic character, Julia, to the collection of walk-around characters at Beaches Resorts and staff underwent extensive training. Based on data collected since the beginning of 2018, an average of 200 children per month took part in the Meet and Greet with Julia and the ‘Amazing Art with Julia’ painting activity, across all three Beaches Resorts. The introduction of Julia also brought with it an exciting new activity, ‘Amazing Art with Julia,’ teaching children how to express themselves through art. In this activity, children are greeted by Julia a 4-year-old girl character who has Autism. Julia, who loves to paint, highlights how people can express themselves through art. Using a range of materials, children have the opportunity to explore, experiment and create in this open-ended art activity. We need to adapt to the world that we live in today, we need to be inclusive, not exclusive and like it or not, the diagnosis rates for autism are increasing by 600%** every year. The latest numbers indicate that 1 in every 59 children are affected; 1 out of 42 of those children are boys. And don’t be fooled, “Autism Friendly” is not good enough. To become a Certified Autism Center, 80% of its full-time staff must go through the IBCCS certified training program (individuals are matched up to different certifications based on their education and experience). You are then certified for a 2-year period. Below is the reality of WHY we need change. We need to support and empower families with the ability to be able to travel. Vacations are essential to these parents and families now more than ever before. PARENT TRAVEL SURVEY (SOURCE: IBCCES) Over 1,000 parents who have a child on the spectrum were asked: Do you currently take vacations as a family? 87% responded “NO” Would you be more inclined to travel if autism certified options were available? 93% responded “Yes” Are you satisfied with current travel options for families with autism? 89% responded “NO” “We know that training and certification is the best way for organizations to ensure they can accommodate all families,” explained Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board Chairman. “IBCCES is proud to work with Aquatica Orlando and other leaders in the industry to increase the availability of certified options and help individuals have a safe and enriching experience when traveling or visiting a new place. With the rise in diagnosis rates of cognitive disorders, there is a huge need for these options and for organizations to make a long-lasting commitment to their guests.” “You have no idea how much it means to our family to finally find a travel professional who understands us! Thank you!” – Greg, parent with child on autism spectrum SOME BASIC TRAVEL TIPS FOR ALL PARENTS: Take your time and be patient Be aware, be creative and be prepared Focus on your children’s strengths – lots of positive re-enforcement Do what you enjoy doing with your child – Avoid trying to fix, cure or change them Relax (easier said than done said every parent ever); Kids sense your stress AUTISM TRAVEL RESOURCES: TSA: Dress rehearsals for individuals with autism for the entire experience of air travel covering everything from check in, security, boarding and deplaning. TheArc.org/WingsForAutism AutismTravel.com Ibcces.org Autism-Society.org AutismSpeaks.org Reach out to a Certified Travel Professional to help plan your next family vacation. As we know, each individual on the spectrum is unique as should be their travel plans and preparation, but together, we can make a difference. One day, one advisor, one family, one resort at a time. Please join our Facebook group to show your support as we urge resorts and other advisors to get certified so that our families, friends and neighbors can travel easier in the future. JOIN OUR FACEBOOK PAGE – “AUTISM TRAVEL AWARENESS” *The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) offers certification programs to travel professionals who help families and individuals with special needs prepare for their perfect vacation. A Certified Autism Travel Professional (CATP) is defined as a professional who has demonstrated that they are both knowledgeable and capable of providing support and travel related services to an individual on the autism spectrum as well as their family. **Source: CDC The post Traveling with Autism appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Ballsfest and Live Life Travel partner appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Ballsfest and Live Life Travel Partner Making Family Vacations a Priority for Those Who Need it the Most! Download a PDF of the article here. From the moment a parent hears the words “Your child has cancer,” their lives are forever changed. Life as they knew it quickly turns into a world of unknowns, worry, and fear, and strikes a stifling blow as the saying “Life can change in an instant” becomes a reality. A cancer diagnosis takes a tremendous toll on a family, emotionally, socially, physically, and financially. This is where the nonprofit Ballsfest comes into play. With their mission to lift the spirits of children, teens, and families battling childhood cancer, they strive to provide unique gifts and experiences, as well as year-round programs and services to help ease the stress and strain felt by families. Recognizing the importance of remaining positive, enjoying the moment, and creating memories, Ballsfest has provided families with unique travel experiences to do just that. We have found a partner who genuinely shares all of these same motivations with a mission that is stated clearly within the company’s name, one that she lives by herself and encourages others to as well, Live Life Travel. While already focusing on family travel locally in Saratoga Springs, NY, the partnership was a perfect fit. Anne Gordon, owner of Live Life Travel, LLC stated that “It is my belief that all families should prioritize time together, live life to the fullest, and spend as much time as possible creating family memories (while also unplugging). Having the chance to see the pictures of Evan and his family and how happy they were, (Evan’s Universal trip in January 2019 was the partnerships first collaboration together) is exactly why I love my job so much. Seeing Evan’s smile on a trip that I had the privilege of planning was just an incredible feeling of joy and I am really looking forward to creating more of that joy as our partnership moves forward with Ballsfest.” With the rigorous treatment schedules these families juggle, along with the financial implications of treatment related costs, travel typically falls to the wayside. The financial resources are not available for travel, while the importance of vacations and memory making remain so critical. Through this newly developed partnership, Live Life Travel will be the exclusive travel partner for all Baller trips. Live Life Travel shares in the belief that family vacations can truly help lift the spirits of the children and families living with a diagnosis. “We are committed to creating customized travel experiences for all of our Baller families. We have also pledged to make a financial donation to Ballsfest for every family that travels with us. In addition, we will create a page/button on our website where our clients can also make contributions. We feel that this is just the beginning of what will be a very meaningful partnership,” shared Anne. Angie Silipigno, Executive Director of Ballsfest NY, shared, “Having been in the field of childhood cancer for a long time, I know that it takes more than medicine to heal these children. While working to cure the disease, it is so important to heal the heart and spirit as well. Partnering with Live Life Travel to create once-in-a-lifetimes experiences for our Ballers immediately felt like the perfect fit. Having the confidence in Anne’s heart and passion to put together special travel packages for each family means the world to us. It is our mission to really bring joy, hope, laughter, and everlasting moments to these amazing children and their families during an extremely difficult time.” After a Baller is presented with their personalized trip idea, this partnership will go into full effect to develop a perfectly laid plan to build on the patient’s interests and deliver an unforgettable experience. BALLSFEST is a registered nonprofit organization that lifts the spirits of young children, teens, and families affected by cancer. The term “Ballsfest” was created as a play on words by testicular cancer survivor, Frank DeBlasi, to reflect his positive spirit and outlook throughout his own battle. With his passion for children, Frank has focused on helping those battling remains positive and hopeful. BALLSFEST provides personalized gifts and experiences to Ballers at an annual signature event, as well as year-round programming and support to patients and families. Live Life Travel is your local Virtuoso travel advisor specializing in custom global experiences. From family vacations, multi-gen travel, honeymoons, special occasion, groups and luxury/family cruise, we have unparalleled access around the world. We offer personalized experiences, customized to make everyone’s trip extraordinary. By booking with a local trusted travel advisor, you will also always have peace of mind, which is the ultimate luxury. Live Life Travel was founded in 2015 by Anne Gordon who encourages everyone to live life to the fullest and appreciate every day. Anne also promotes taking all of your paid vacation time and to please travel with your children. #livelifetravelnow www.livelifetravel.world The post Ballsfest and Live Life Travel partner appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Dream Honeymoons to Italy appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Dream Honeymoons to Italy Our Favorite Italy Destinations for 2019: AMALFI COAST AND SICILY Click here to download our article in Saratoga Bride, or read online below! Belmond Hotel Timeo - Taormima, Italy While we do not subscribe to the ‘one size fits all’ theory for any vacation, that especially goes for honeymoons! However, we do have our very favorite Amalfi Coast and Sicily towns as well as the “Best of The Best” hotel and excursion recommendations that should be on the top of everyone’s list when planning their Italian getaway. Amalfi Coast – SORRENTO is the northern most town on the Amalfi Coast and a great choice if you can only pick one town to visit during your stay on The Amalfi Coast as it serves as a great “home base” if you are unable to take an extended honeymoon. Day trips and excursions are easy from Sorrento including visiting the other coastal cliffside towns, spending a day on the water, taking the ferry over to Capri or even touring the ruins of Pompeii. Sorrento sits upon a cliff and faces the Bay of Naples with stunning views of Mount Vesuvius. There is a town square, Piazza Tasso that is lined with cafes, restaurants and shops along with narrow alleys with lots of hidden gems to be discovered. Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria – Sorrento, Italy Best of The Best Sorrento Hotel – Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria* One of the most iconic hotels of Italy and it is still owned and managed by the same family (and they live there!). Established in 1834, the hotel was built on the same property where Emperor Augustus had his private villa, so it is possible to see ancient Roman ruins across the five-acre private gardens which is also a paradise of orange, lemon and olive trees, all local staples of the coast. Original antiques, unique rooms, amazing views, a central location, stunning pool, a few restaurants and bars (one Michelin starred) all make this hotel an extremely special place on the Amalfi Coast. Best of The Best Sorrento Excursion The Lemon Farm Tour is our favorite, hands down. This half day tour is nothing short of spectacular as you have the opportunity to meet 3 unique Sorrento families and not only learn/watch them do their trade, but also taste/eat/drink/enjoy the results. It is not only delicious, but a very authentic experience and a lot of fun. From the lemon farm with limoncello, lemonade and olive oil to the cheese factory (amazing) and then off to pizza making with the “pizza man.” POSITANO is a village located south of Sorrento and is magically set within a steep cliff lined with narrow streets with a pebble beach along its coastline. Positano is the place to be and be seen and is usually very crowded during high season. There are a lot of great hotels, shopping, boutiques, cafes and bars, the most popular being ‘Music on the Rocks.’ John Steinbeck is quoted as saying “Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.” Harper’s Bazaar 1953 Best of the Best Positano Hotel – Le Sirenuse* Le Sirenuse opened in 1951, when four Neapolitan brothers turned their summer house in to a charming hotel overlooking the bay of Positano. Today, the 58-room boutique hotel is considered one of Italy’s best, yet it still retains the intimate and personal feel of a private home. We recommend enjoying the luxury spa, heated pool along with evening cocktails and great views at the romantic Champagne & Oyster Bar and then top the day off with dinner at Michelin starred restaurant, La Sponda. This infamous restaurant, which also boasts gorgeous sea views, is illuminated in the evening by four hundred candles that create an unforgettable atmosphere, especially for honeymooners. Palazzo Avivo – Ravello, Italy For those traveling in May and October, you can look forward to somewhat cooler temperatures and fewer crowds. During high season (June through September), we recommend Positano for those couples who want to be in the mix of fun and sun as it becomes a very lively town (sometimes crowded) and very hot during the days. A great pool is essential. And for those who book Le Sirenuse* with Live Life Travel (3 nights or more) in a Junior Suite or Suite, will receive a complimentary evening sunset cruise with bubbly during your stay. One of our favorite things to do, so an incredible deal. Best of the Best Positano Excursion Full Day Private Yacht Charter (and regardless of the wait time, the Blue Grotto is a MUST SEE) RAVELLO is set 365 meters above the Sea by Italy’s Amalfi Coast and home to iconic cliffside gardens, unbeatable views along with a quaint and historic Italian village. Best of the Best Ravello Hotels Belmond Hotel Caruso* was formerly an 11th-century palace. Our absolute favorite part of this hotel is the (almost unbelievable) infinity pool that boasts some of the best views in the world. You will also enjoy complimentary boat rides as part of your stay here. This pool is UNREAL! The truly something unique and special here for honeymooners is the “Infinity Dream Dinner,” which is a private candlelight dinner under the stars while floating on the hotel’s infinity pool, all with a private butler. Palazzo Avino* was built in what was once a 12th century private villa for an Italian noble family, then opened as a hotel in 1997. What makes this resort unique and a favorite of ours is their ‘Clubhouse by the Sea,’ which is located in Marmorata, a short 15-minute drive from Ravello (via complimentary shuttle starting at 930am daily). All hotel guests can enjoy the beach platforms directly on the sea along with a pool, restaurant and lounge chair service. Open May through October. Best of both worlds. As for excursions in Ravello, there is really no reason to leave the sanctuaries that are those two hotels. They are destinations in and of themselves. Of course, go into Ravello town and possibly do a walking tour, enjoy the shops and restaurants, but other than that, enjoy the view! TAORMINA, SICILY is a hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily. Sicily deserves a dedicated trip to see the entire island (we consider it one of the world’s best kept secrets), but if you want just a small taste (and you do), we recommend Taormina. Enjoy some best cannoli’s (we love Roberto’s) and cuisine of your life while strolling along the Corso Umberto. Best of the Best Taormina Hotel – Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo* The first hotel to be built in the city; you will enjoy views of the coast along with the beautiful Mount Etna. It is a Sicilian hideaway in the heart of town that fuels the imagination. Our favorite and most unique part of this hotel is its central location to town and the Greek Theatre (a must see). This resort also offers complimentary shuttle service to its sister hotel’s private beach at the Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea, the other “best” hotel in Taormina. You truly cannot go wrong with this choice since you get them both. Best of the Best Taormina Excursion – Mount Etna Plan for a full day guided tour of this incredible volcano. Venture to the summit, enjoy wine tasting (fun fact: some of the best wine is produced in volcanic soil). Pack a warm jacket, it’s cold up there, but you will literally feel like you are on another planet, it is one of the best experiences we can recommend. Definitely do the helicopter transfers if you can to get the absolute best views as well as maximizing your time on Etna. *Virtuoso property – All Virtuoso properties booked through Live Life Travel will receive VIP amenities that are not available online; contact for specifics To start planning your honeymoon today, email anne@livelifetravel.world Belmond Timeo Hotel - Taormina, Italy. The post Dream Honeymoons to Italy appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post SARATOGA FAMILY, The Ultimate Holiday Gift for Your Family: A VACATION!! appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The Ultimate Holiday Gift for Your Family: A VACATION!! It may be cliché, but also very true, the best gift that you can give your family (especially your children) is the gift of time. And what better way than traveling the world as a family. 4 TIPS FOR PLANNING ANY TYPE OF FAMILY TRAVEL 1) PLAN AHEAD – It’s never too early to start planning Tip: Airfare goes on sale 11 months in advance; We like the Hopper APP to track airfare prices 2) DON’T WAIT – Start them young; they grow up way too fast 3) ENGAGE – Let them be part of the decision; Inclusive family decisions always make every trip much more successful. 4) EDUCATE – Don’t tell the kids, but traveling the world is a totally super fun way to learn all of that “stuff” that they teach you in school. Tip: The SSCD kids learn about Ancient Rome, Greece, China, India and Egypt in the 6th Grade, we recommend taking them to these magnificent destinations after the 6th Grade. LIVE LIFE TRAVEL’S TOP PICKS FOR FAMILY TRAVEL BEACHES TURKS AND CAICOS – To us, this is comparable to what Disney World is to the rest of American children (but way better!); Contact us to receive your $250 spa credit Tip: We recommend booking 1-2 years in advance for this property (for high season weeks); there are 2 other Beaches located in Jamaica (Negril and Ocho Rios); we love them all ITALY – Ancient Rome is really something spectacular, especially after learning about it in 6th grade, we think that Italy is a trip that the entire family can enjoy; We also highly suggest heading down to Sicily, a hidden gem AFRICAN SAFARI – A must for every family; truly a once in a lifetime experience. We recommend the Cape Town – Sabi Sands – Victoria Falls combo if you want to do it right. HAWAII – A favorite destination for families over the Holiday Break and for good reason! We love the Grand Wailea in Maui and The Four Seasons Hualalai on The Big Island. Experience two very different landscapes as to what Hawaii has to offer ALASKA – Experience nature up close and personal with Lindblad Expeditions on the National Geographic expedition ships that have custom programs just for kids FOUR SEASONS RESORTS – In general, you just cannot go wrong, and we love them. Our top family choices are Nevis, Costa Rica, Anguilla, Chiang Mai and Langkawi. OUR #1 FAMILY TRAVEL RECOMMENDATION: GLOBAL CITIZENS WANTED ME to WE – A new travel partner to our Virtuoso family, this company is one of our very favorites. We would encourage you all to please check out their video on our Facebook and Instagram pages. If you want to make a difference in the world, if you want to make an impact with your children, if you want to create lifelong memories and a feeling that will never fade away, then ME to WE is what you are looking for. Travel itineraries currently include Ecuador, Kenya and India. Contact us to learn more! 52% of Americans do not take all their PAID vacation time. Please do not become or stay part of this statistic— Vacations are healthy, not only for you physically and mentally, but emotionally for your family, especially for kids. Life is short, make the most of it! The post SARATOGA FAMILY, The Ultimate Holiday Gift for Your Family: A VACATION!! appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Solo female travel anywhere and everywhere.

Syria was, literally and figuratively, a wild ride for me. I have millions of thoughts on my time there, but I’ll start with the first question everyone has: what was it like to travel to Syria?

For decades, travellers have been drawn to the Arab world’s hidden network of natural wonders, which spans from the lush palm groves of Oman to the dry oasis of Saudi Arabia. Mineral-rich hot springs, rejuvenating fountains that appear to breathe new life into the surrounding landscapes, are among the region’s most sought-after havens. Those in need of a vacation from the fast-paced world of today may take advantage of these geothermal spas and inexpensive luxury flights with Flyadeal for the ultimate rest and renewal. Read on to learn about some of the best hot springs in the Arab world.

Endless scenic roads leading everywhere and anywhere. Every kind of landscape, from snowy mountains to aquamarine coastline. A strong culture of hospitality toward foreign visitors. Motorcycle travel in Turkey (Türkiye) is a dream every biker should experience at least once.

Truck art motorcycle rental in Pakistan is a no-brainer. Here’s how we can make it happen for you in Islamabad.

Traveling overland in Turkey with your own vehicle but need to leave for some time? Here’s a guide to leaving your foreign vehicle in Turkey (Türkiye), based on my experience leaving my foreign motorcycle in Turkey for 2 months.

Traveling overland in the Middle East? You’ll likely end up at the Kuwait-Iraq border crossing eventually! Here’s what you need to know, based on my experience crossing the border by motorcycle in January 2023.

Biking through Iraq? Yes, it can be done! Here’s my guide to motorcycle travel in Iraq with everything I learned from one month of biking solo across Iraq.

Yep, solo female travel in Iraq is possible! I was there for a month, and I survived (and, dare I say, thrived). Here’s my guide with everything you need to know to travel Iraq as a solo woman.

A wee story from my visit to the Al Hasun Museum in Basra. It ended up being my favorite thing to do in Basra, Iraq!

A lot of travelers want to know if it’s possible to travel from Pakistan to India (or India to Pakistan). I’m here to say yes—yes it is! Here are ways to travel from Pakistan to India, border crossing tips, and more.

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

Remember Couchsurfing? It was a website that allowed you to stay with locals (for free) and always had a plethora of events and meetups you could attend no matter where you were in the world. It was one of the best ways to meet locals and travelers on the road. It was one of my...

The post How to Use Facebook Groups to Meet Other Travelers! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Remember Couchsurfing? It was a website that allowed you to stay with locals (for free) and always had a plethora of events and meetups you could attend no matter where you were in the world. It was one of the best ways to meet locals and travelers on the road. It was one of my favorite sites. Pretty much everyone on the team here used it a lot over the years. My Director of Content, for example, was not only an avid traveler who went on multiple multi-day trips with strangers thanks to Couchsurfing, but he was also a host, and he was even featured in a calendar they made one year! I used it to stay in places like Copenhagen, London, Oxford, Munich, Broome, Paris, Osaka, Athens, and so forth and so forth. I mean, I loved it. I met people in cities like Lyon just to hang out, did meet-ups in NYC, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and so many other places. But ever since the site started charging around 2013, and then instituted a paywall during the pandemic, fewer and fewer people have used it. These days, it’s a shell of its former self. While researching the latest edition of my book on budget travel (coming out in March 2025!), I rejoined Couchsurfing to see how active it was, and even in the largest metropolitan centers, there were barely a few dozen active profiles within the previous month. For example, London showed 229,457 total hosts but only 896 active hosts in the last six months — and only 496 active within the last month. That’s a big, big difference! It’s a real shame as Couchsurfing really changed the way people traveled. It was as ubiquitous as Lonely Planet! So, with Couchsurfing (and similar websites) pretty dead, where does one go to meet people now? Answer: Facebook — which is honestly the last place I would have thought, because, well, it’s Facebook, and most younger travelers don’t use it as much as TikTok or Instagram. After all, Facebook also has a well-deserved reputation as the place your aunt posts memes or your crazy cousin rants about racist stuff. But, whenever I sign into Facebook, I keep seeing posts from all sorts of groups in my feed, with people looking for travel buddies: backpacking Europe, backpacking Australia, digital nomads in (insert destination), find a travel buddy…the list of groups goes on and on. I was skeptical of them at first, because when I took a deeper look at the posts, it always felt like they were just sleazy guys hitting on young girls and AI-generated girl accounts designed trap someone. “Hi I’m Anna from US looking to travel dm me” doesn’t strike me as something an actual person would say. While female-only groups have been a legitimate way to meet people for a long time (Girls Love Travel being one of the most famous), the mixed-gender ones always felt a little sketchy. But they kept popping up in my feed. So I looked into them more carefully to see if they really were spammy. While there were many fake profiles and creepy dudes (sorry, guys, but it’s the internet, and there are tons of those), sometimes I did come across real people who seemed generally interested in meeting others, however few and far between they were. Are these groups really a good way to meet people? There was only one way to find out. I used the group Find a Travel Buddy while in Europe and posted some of my tentative plans. I got hundreds of responses and direct messages, which was pretty overwhelming. A lot of it was spam: people telling me to come visit them in India (I’m posting about Europe), people sending me hellos, a few marriage proposals, and some really inappropriate comments. (Side note: if I get those kinds of responses, I can only imagine what it’s like for women, who I often see edit their posts to ask people to stop coming on to them. Quite sad.) But I waded through all the junk and eventually found real people to meet up with. In the end, I only met a few of them, as either my plans shifted or theirs did. But the interactions I had were really great. I had an awesome night out in Freiburg, Germany, with a group of folks, and another with an Italian girl and her friends in Amsterdam. Each time, they took me around to places I wouldn’t have seen otherwise, and I got to meet locals. It was a good way to make new friends and find people to talk to. Even though you have to wade through a lot of garbage, I think these groups are great, especially if you are traveling alone. While I don’t have the personality to go on a multi-day trip with a stranger, I did love the ability to meet people as I traveled. If you’re looking to use them, here are some suggestions to minimize (but not eliminate) the garbage replies: Be specific about where you are going and when (otherwise, people will spam ya with “come visit X!”). Ask people who respond to be specific about themselves. Be clear about what you are looking for (age, kind of travel partner, gender, etc.) My current favorite groups are: Fina A Travel Buddy Girls LOVE Travel Backpacking South America Digital Nomads Solo Trips & Travelers From there, for safety, I would highly recommend looking at the profiles of respondents to make sure they are real and only meet in public places. Beyond that, have fun! These groups might not be as easy to use as Couchsurfing was, but at least there is something these days to help you meet locals and other travelers. I’m now a believer in and fan of these groups and will definitely be using them more on future trips. Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for everyone) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post How to Use Facebook Groups to Meet Other Travelers! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

I didn’t like Los Angeles at first. I found it too spread out and just didn’t like the vibes. I also felt there wasn’t a lot “to do” relative to a place like Paris or London or Tokyo. But, once I stopped trying to fit Los Angeles into the typical tourist mold and gave the...

The post The 6 Best Hotels in Los Angeles appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

I didn’t like Los Angeles at first. I found it too spread out and just didn’t like the vibes. I also felt there wasn’t a lot “to do” relative to a place like Paris or London or Tokyo. But, once I stopped trying to fit Los Angeles into the typical tourist mold and gave the city a chance, I really began to appreciate LA’s unique charm and laid-back lifestyle. That’s when I truly fell in love with the city, and I suspect you will too. It’s a city built for residents, not tourists. But, if you (like me) are a visitor, you’ll still need a great place to stay. Your choice of hotel can make or break a trip. Since the city is so spread out, where you stay will have a big impact on what you see and how much time you spend in traffic. I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels in Los Angeles over the years. To help you have an unforgettable time in the City of Angels, here’s a list of my favorite hotels in LA: 1. The Kinney The Kinney Hotel is a vibrant three-star boutique hotel in Venice Beach. I think it really captures the essence of the city’s laid-back, artistic spirit. I love the hotel’s fun and youthful character, with its colorful decor, quirky art installations, and retro-inspired furnishings. There are a lot of amenities here too, including a heated outdoor pool, a stylish lounge area with fire pits, bike rentals, and a fitness center. The hotel’s central courtyard is a social hub (which they call The Quad) and features ping pong tables and a cozy lounge space, perfect for relaxing or mingling with fellow travelers. The stylish rooms have a quirky vibe too, with wooden furniture and colorful artwork on the walls. The bathrooms, while a bit dated, are decently sized and covered in colorful tiles and artwork. They also feature complimentary toiletries and fluffy bathrobes. There’s underground parking on-site (rare for LA), which is perfect if you’re on a SoCal road trip. Book here! 2. Sixty Beverly Hills This contemporary four-star hotel is in the heart of iconic Beverly Hills. Sixty features sleek, modern interiors with mid-century design elements (like geometric shapes, minimalist wooden furniture, and wide open spaces). I especially love the rooftop pool and lounge with its panoramic city views. There’s also a trendy on-site restaurant and bar that serves inventive cuisine and craft cocktails. It’s pretty pricey, but that’s just LA. The rooms and suites are huge and boast sleek hardwood floors, custom furnishings, luxurious bedding, and floor-to-ceiling windows that offer stunning views of Beverly Hills or the LA skyline. Some rooms have balconies too. Amenities include a writing desk, plush bedding, a flatscreen TV, Nespresso machine, and a well-stocked minibar. The spacious bathrooms have marble countertops, rainfall showers, and luxury bath products. It’s the ideal choice for travelers seeking a stylish stay in one of LA’s most prestigious neighborhoods. Book here! 3. Venice V Hotel This historic 1915 building was once home to Charlie Chaplin. It’s since been renovated into a chic three-star hotel that perfectly embodies the eclectic and bohemian vibe of Venice Beach. It’s just steps away from the iconic Muscle Beach, and I really like that they provide helpful beach amenities, like beach cruisers as well as umbrellas and chairs to use. Each room is uniquely designed in one of three themes: Boho, Artist, or Dogtown. I love that all rooms have stunning ocean views, so you can wake up and gaze at the wide-open expanse. The beds are really comfy and have fluffy down pillows too. The spacious bathrooms have beautifully tiled walk-in showers, Aesop bath amenities, and soft bathrobes. This is the best place to stay if you want to splash out on a stay in one of LA’s most famous neighborhoods. Book here! 4. Shutters on the Beach Shutters on the Beach is a luxurious five-star hotel that exudes a classic, coastal charm reminiscent of a grand beach house. Located directly on the sands of Santa Monica, this seaside hotel has an inviting yet elegant atmosphere, with curated art pieces adorning the walls. I like the fact that they have a range of top-notch amenities, including a full-service spa, an oceanfront pool and hot tub, and multiple dining options (one of which provides breakfast) serving fresh, locally sourced cuisine. The hotel has a beachy design with airy, sunlit rooms. It also boasts hardwood floors, refined Tibetan rugs, artwork by local artists, and little in-room libraries. The rooms have all the amenities you’d expect from a hotel of this caliber. The plush bathrobes, slippers, and premium bath products are really lovely too. Most rooms even offer private balconies with stunning ocean views. It’s the perfect retreat for those who want laid-back luxury. Book here! 5. CitizenM Los Angeles This four star-hotel is the perfect spot for the modern traveler looking for comfort, style, and convenience without breaking the bank. I’m a big fan of this brand (they’re huge in Europe), with its minimalist design and vibrant, art-filled interiors. I also love all the communal spaces where you can work or unwind, from the cozy living room-style lobby to the rooftop bar with panoramic views of the city. The breakfast buffet is really expansive too with pastries, healthy choices, and hot dishes like scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages. Part of citizenM’s concept is to offer one room type that’s compact yet thoughtfully designed to optimize the space. All rooms have fridges, comfy king-sized beds, fluffy pillows, blackout blinds, and soundproofing so you can get a good sleep. The bathrooms are compact yet well-designed too, with rain showers and citizenM’s signature toiletries with a choice of “AM” or “PM” scents. I love that the rooms have wall-to-wall windows that let in plenty of LA sunshine too. It’s a trendy hotel that’s both inviting and functional, perfect for travelers who want to stay in DTLA (downtown LA) near all the art museums. Don’t miss The Last Bookstore just down the street! It’s my favorite bookstore in the city and a must for fellow book lovers. Book here! 6. Andaz West Hollywood This five-star hotel by Hyatt is the place to be if you want modern luxury right on the iconic Sunset Strip. (It was actually the first hotel on the strip!) I love this brand a lot and this location has a lot of open and airy spaces featuring local artists. The rooftop pool is the highlight of the hotel though. Make sure to come up here to relax on the loungers or take some epic panoramic photos. Another nice touch is the complimentary wine between 4pm and 5pm every evening. The rooms are spacious and stylish, offering floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of either the Hollywood Hills or Los Angeles skyline. Each room has a minimalist style and amenities like flatscreen TVs, Bluetooth speakers, and a complimentary minibar with snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. The beds are comfy, and I appreciate the spacious work desks too. The stylish bathrooms feature spacious walk-in rain showers, plush robes, and complimentary designer toiletries. Andaz is right in West Hollywood, the best choice for first-time visitors to the city. (It’s central to most things you’ll want to visit.) And, since it’s a Hyatt property, you can book rooms and suites on points (if you want to learn more about the world of points and miles, this post can help you get started). Book here! *** Los Angeles is a sprawling city where glitz and grit blend together, offering a unique mix of sun-soaked beaches, eclectic neighborhoods, and a diverse food scene that’s hard to beat. From the iconic Hollywood Hills to the artistic streets of Venice Beach, there’s always something new and exciting to explore. Just pick from one of the hotels above and you’re sure to have a great stay in the City of Angels! Book Your Trip to Los Angeles: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. For hostel suggestions, check out my list of the best hostels in Los Angeles! Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: Safety Wing (for everyone below 70) Insure My Trip (for those over 70) Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage) Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too. Want More Information on Los Angeles? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide to LA for even more planning tips! Photo credit: 2 – The Kinney, 3 – Sixty Beverley Hills, 4 – Venice V, 5 – Shutters on the Beach, 6 – citizenM Los Angeles, 7 – Andaz West Hollywood The post The 6 Best Hotels in Los Angeles appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

When I was a young backpacker, I didn’t think much about travel insurance. I browsed a couple plans, bought one, and went on my way. I mean, I probably I wasn’t even going to even need it, right? Wrong. While most of my travels over the past seventeen years have gone smoothly, I’ve definitely had...

The post Travel Insurance for Seniors: Frequently Asked Questions appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

When I was a young backpacker, I didn’t think much about travel insurance. I browsed a couple plans, bought one, and went on my way. I mean, I probably I wasn’t even going to even need it, right? Wrong. While most of my travels over the past seventeen years have gone smoothly, I’ve definitely had plenty of mishaps too, from missed flights to broken gear to serious medical emergencies. That’s why, these days, I never leave home without travel insurance. Not only does it offer peace of mind (to both me and my loved ones), but it ensures I’m made whole should something unexpected happen. Understandbly, I get a lot of questions about travel insurance. It’s a complex topic (and, if we’re being honest, a boring one that most people don’t want to research). Where things get especially complicated is when older travelers try to find a plan. Every week, I get emails from travelers in their 60s, 70s, and beyond asking for input on their policy options. This isn’t just because insurance is complicated (though it is). It’s because prices often skyrocket once you hit 65, and a lot of insurance companies don’t even cover travelers over the age of 70! So, to help you plan your golden years of travel, here are a few of the most common questions I get about travel insurance for older travelers: 1. What Does Travel Insurance For Older Travelers Cover? While every policy is different, a good plan will include the following: Medical coverage for at least $100,000 USD ($250,000 USD would be better though) Emergency evacuation coverage (at least $250,000 USD) Coverage for lost, damaged, or stolen possessions, like jewelry, baggage, documents, etc. Some coverage for your electronics Coverage for cancelations for hotels, flights, and other transportation bookings if you have a sudden illness, death in the family, or other emergency Coverage for political emergencies or natural disasters that may cause you to head home early Financial protection if any company you are using goes bankrupt 24/7 customer assistance In short, you want a policy that covers medical emergencies, your possessions and purchases, and provides 24/7 support. The most bare-bones plans generally cover medical emergencies, but not your bookings or possessions. If you’re a super frugal young traveler in your twenties, that might be fine. Personally, now that I’m older and travel with more valuables (and sometimes book nicer accommodations), I like to have coverage for my possessions and bookings too. Better safe than sorry, if you ask me! 2. What is the Age Limit for Travel Insurance for Older Travelers?? Unfortunately, travel insurance companies usually have age caps on their policies: 65–69 for most, though some offer insurance for those 70–75. For example, SafetyWing, my personal go-to travel insurance company, caps its plans at age 69. World Nomads, another popular company I’ve used for decades, has an age cap of 70. As a result, prices skyrocket once you hit 65. Since older travelers often have more health issues than younger ones, and since travel insurance is a for-profit industry, policy costs are higher for older travelers. It’s not fair, I know, especially since a lot of older travelers are perfectly healthy. But that’s just something to keep in mind when comparing plans. 3. How Much is Travel Insurance for Older Travelers? Prices vary based on your age, destination, and where you live, so there’s no “one price fits all” answer. However, travelers in their sixties and above should be prepared to spend at least $125 USD per month for a very basic plan. If you want more comprehensive medical coverage, as well as “cancel for any reason” coverage, prices can jump to over $400 USD per month. 4. I Want to Go on a Cruise. What Travel Insurance Company is Best? If cruises are your primary travel style, these three companies are worth checking out: Travel Guard – Travel Guard has specific cruise insurance policies, which makes it simpler than trying to find an add-on to another non-cruise-centric policy. It covers any emergency travel assistance, trip interruption, delay, and cancelation. VisitorsCoverage – VisitorsCoverage is an insurance marketplace with a specific cruise section that compares different plans, including the popular SafeCruise plan by IMG. This plan is designed for cruise travelers and includes everything you might need, including the add-on for “cancel for any reason” coverage. InsureMyTrip – InsureMyTrip is another insurance marketplace with a cruise-specific section. You can put in your dates, destination, and the cost of your trip, and it’ll pull up a variety of plans with pricing and coverage listed in an easy comparison format. 5. The Two Best Companies for Older Travelers Since older travelers have different needs when it comes to travel insurance, it’s important that you find a company that covers those needs. Here are what I think are the best travel insurance companies for older travelers: InsureMyTrip InsureMyTrip is an insurance aggregator that allows you to compare policies from over twenty companies. This is the best place for older travelers to shop around to get a quote. You’ll be able to search for policies that cover those your age, as well as offer “cancel for any reason” plans (an important perk for any older travelers with health concerns or who are booking expensive trips and don’t want to risk losing that money). Additionally, IMT also offers policies that cover certain preexisting conditions (which is a huge plus and something most other companies don’t include). Here’s a quick overview of IMT: Comparisons of plans from over 20 companies Guaranteed low prices Coverage for travelers over 65 “Anytime advocates” ask the insurer to give your claim a second look if you think it was unfairly denied Learn More! Medjet Medjet isn’t an insurance company but rather a membership program that offers comprehensive emergency medical transportation. As a member, you get 24/7 access to hundreds of air ambulances and expert medical transport escorts and staff, located all over the world. Why do I think this is a must-have for older travelers? First, while most insurance companies make sure you get to the “nearest acceptable facility” after an injury, Medjet ensures you get home. That means you won’t have to spend time in a foreign medical facility and can get back to your primary care physician right away. Second, most travel insurance companies will only evacuate you should there be turmoil or a natural disaster if the government says things are unsafe. If the government doesn’t declare an emergency, travel insurance doesn’t have to evacuate you, forcing you to pay out of pocket if you don’t feel safe. That’s not the case with Medjet. If you feel you need to be evacuated, they’ll make sure you get home safely. Finally, it has a high age cap (with coverage up to age 84), which is rare in the travel insurance industry. Here’s a quick overview of Medjet: Extensive medical transport coverage Offers regular coverage up to age 74 (with extended coverage up to age 84) Coverage for COVID-19 Limited time spent in foreign medical facilities Both short-term and annual plans Available to residents of the US, Canada, and Mexico Learn More! *** I never leave home without travel insurance. It’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way, and one I’m more adamant about as I get older. I think everyone should buy travel insurance before they travel — regardless of age. However, older travelers in particular should make sure they have the coverage they need in case something goes awry. While the policy options are more expensive (and sometimes less robust), there are still plenty of affordable plans to ensure you are protected as you enjoy your golden years of travel. Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for everyone) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post Travel Insurance for Seniors: Frequently Asked Questions appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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The post American Express® Gold Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Nomadic Matt has partnered with ThePointsGuy.com for our coverage of credit card products. Some or all of the card offers on this page are from advertisers and compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. Nomadic Matt and ThePointsGuy.com may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. This page does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. I love talking about travel credit cards. They’ve helped me travel the world for over a decade and saved me a fortune in flights, hotels, and other travel perks. I never get bored of comparing their perks, applying for new cards, and optimizing my benefits. These days, when it comes to travel rewards cards, there are generally two types that get a lot of attention: cards with low or no annual fees that are good for beginners; and premium cards for the jet set crowd, with their high fees and luxury perks. There aren’t too many cards that fall in between. Today I want to talk about a card that does: the American Express® Gold Card. While it’s a favorite among avid points and miles collectors, it often gets left out of the larger conversation. I think that’s a mistake, as this card has a lot to offer. The Amex Gold recently got a refresh and an elevated welcome offer, making it an excellent time to consider this powerhouse of a card. I personally think it’s a card more travelers should have in their wallet and it is one I use. Here’s everything you need to know about the Amex Gold to help you decide if it’s right for you: What is the American Express® Gold Card? The American Express® Gold Card is a card issued by American Express. I think it’s a great choice for travelers who enjoy dining out, as you’ll earn more points dining at restaurants (up to $50,000 on these purchases per calendar year), as well as a ton of statement credits in the same vein (I’ll get into specifics below). With this card, you’ll earn Membership Rewards® points, which you can transfer to any of their 21 airline and hotel partners (they have some solid partners too). This card offers: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back. Limited time offer. Offer ends 11/6/24. Earn 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1x points for the rest of the year Earn 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1x points for the rest of the year. Earn 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com Earn 2x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com Earn 1x Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. Up to $524 worth of statement credits (which I’ll break down below) No foreign transaction fees The card comes with a $325 annual fee (See Rates and Fees). Breaking Down the Amex Gold’s Statement Credits American Express is known for offering a lot of perks and benefits with its cards (that’s why I love their cards). As I mentioned, this card comes with up to $524 worth of statement credits. If you can take advantage of them, that’s more than enough to offset the annual fee. Since there are so many credits (all with their own fine print), I want to break each one down. Up to $120 in Uber Cash This is probably the easiest benefit for most people to use. When you add your Gold Card to the Uber app, you’ll get $10 in Uber Cash distributed each month, (adding up to $120 over the course of the year). You can use it for rides or to order food through Uber Eats, though I don’t love that you can only use it in the U.S. since I’m often on the road. Before your purchase, make sure that Uber Cash is toggled on as a payment method, and then after your purchase you’ll see the credit deduction on your in-app receipt. You must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. The Amex benefit may only be used in United States. Up to $120 Dining Credit On the flip side, I find this benefit a bit harder to use. You can earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Amex Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. I think it’s kind of a random assortment of companies, but if you use any of these companies often, that’s another $120 per year right there. Up to $84 Dunkin’ Credit This benefit was added with the card’s recent refresh. If you’re a fan of Dunkin’, with this credit you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with your Amex Gold Card at Dunkin’ locations. Since most are on the U.S. East Coast (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Florida have the most locations), it’ll be most useful to fellow East Coasters. Up to $100 Resy Credit This is another benefit that was recently added. Resy is a restaurant-reservation website (owned by Amex) where you can make reservations at over 16,000 restaurants around the world. With the Resy credit, you can get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with your Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants (or make other eligible Resy purchases). Unlike most of the card’s other statement credits, this benefit is rolled out semi-annually, meaning you get up to $50 credit in the first half of the year, and then the other $50 the second half. You can also check your progress in the app or website: I like semi-annual statement credits because they give you a bit more flexibility, although this is another credit that’s fairly easy to use if you dine out frequently. You don’t actually have to make a reservation with Resy; the restaurant just needs to offer Resy reservations. It’s easiest if you live in or frequently visit a major city that has a lot of restaurants on Resy. Up to $100 hotel experience credit This is the card’s only travel statement credit. With this benefit, you can receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. Eligible charges vary by property, but it could include dining credits (like complimentary breakfast) or spa treatments. Enrollment is required for select benefits mentioned in this section. Access to Amex Offers In addition to all those statement credits, by holding an American Express card you get access to Amex Offers. These are ever-changing offers where you can save money or earn bonus points with select retailers. The offers are targeted, so every cardholder has their own unique array of offers at any given time. Amex Offers are structured like this: Spend X, get Y amount back (like in the screenshot above; this is the majority of Amex Offers) Spend X, get Y number of bonus points Get additional Membership Rewards points per dollar you spend at that retailer (i.e. get 5 MR points per dollar you spend at The Gap) Get X% back when you use the link provided It’s important to know that you have to hit that “Add to Card” link before you can take advantage of each offer. While you probably won’t be able to take advantage of most offers, sometimes you may, which is another way to recoup the annual fee on this card. It’s worth it to check back every so often so you can add any offers to your card that you might use (just remember to pay with your Gold Card to redeem the offer). Using Your Membership Rewards Points With the American Express® Gold Card, you earn Membership Rewards points. To get the most out of your points, you’ll want to transfer them to one of Amex’s travel partners: Aer Lingus AerClub (1:1 ratio) Aeromexico Rewards (1:1.6 ratio) Air Canada Aeroplan (1:1 ratio) Air France-KLM Flying Blue (1:1 ratio) All Nippon Airways Mileage Club (1:1 ratio) Avianca LifeMiles (1:1 ratio) British Airways Executive Club (1:1 ratio) Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (1:1 ratio) Choice Privileges® (1:1 ratio) Delta SkyMiles (1:1 ratio) Emirates Skywards (1:1 ratio) Etihad Guest (1:1 ratio) HawaiianMiles (1:1 ratio) Hilton Honors (1:2 ratio) Iberia Plus (1:1 ratio) JetBlue TrueBlue (250:200 ratio) Marriott Bonvoy (1:1 ratio) Qantas Frequent Flyer (1:1 ratio) Singapore KrisFlyer (1:1 ratio) Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (1:1 ratio) Most transfers are instant, though a few (like Iberia and Cathay Pacific) can take up to 48 hours. You can also use your Membership Rewards points to book flights and hotels in Amex Travel, the travel portal. Though, as I’ve talked about before, this isn’t the best use of your points. I generally wouldn’t do it. American Express Welcome Bonus Restrictions Unlike other companies (like Chase), American Express only allows you to earn a welcome bonus once per card. Ever. Plus, you can’t earn a welcome bonus on a card at all if you already have (or have held) a higher tier card in the same family. For the Amex Gold Card, that means you won’t be able to get the welcome offer if you already have The Platinum Card® from American Express. I’m mentioning this because it’s important to think about if you want to get other Amex cards eventually. This means that for American Express cards, it’s best to open cards moving up in the food chain, so to speak (so get the Gold Card before the Platinum Card). Pros of the Amex Gold High earning rates at restaurants, US supermarkets, and on flights (when booked directly or through AmexTravel) Lots of statement credits Access to Amex Offers Cons of the Amex Gold High annual fee Not all the statement credits may be useful to you Who is the Amex Gold for? The main draw of this card is being able to earn 4x points on restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets. It stands alone in that aspect among cards with transferable points (the most valuable kind of points). If you are a foodie that can make use of the credits and other perks, then you’ll love this card. If you’re an avid traveler, this card is best used in conjunction with other cards (rather than as the only card in your wallet). It would pair well with another card that earns 3x on all travel and has more robust travel benefits (such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®). Plus, you’ll diversify your rewards into two of the most valuable points currencies: Amex’s Membership Rewards and Chase’s Ultimate Rewards. As with any credit card, you should not get this card if you’re already carrying a balance or plan to carry a balance. Interest rates for travel credit cards are notoriously high, and this card is no different. The points just aren’t worth it if you’re paying interest each month. This card is also not for anyone with poor credit, as you need excellent credit to qualify. (If that’s you, check out best credit cards for bad credit so you can start improving your score today.) *** If you’re a foodie like me and spend a significant portion of your budget on food, the American Express® Gold Card is a great card to add to your wallet. By racking up more points at restaurants around the world and U.S. supermarkets, you can use the spending that you already do to earn yourself flights and hotel stays around the world. And that’s what it’s all about! Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for everyone) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post American Express® Gold Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Known for its rich musical heritage and southern charm, Nashville is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. Whether you’re a country music fan or a foodie looking to indulge in some mouthwatering barbecue, this city has something for everyone. As a popular weekend destination (and bachelor/bachelorette hotspot), there are a lot of hotels...

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Known for its rich musical heritage and southern charm, Nashville is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. Whether you’re a country music fan or a foodie looking to indulge in some mouthwatering barbecue, this city has something for everyone. As a popular weekend destination (and bachelor/bachelorette hotspot), there are a lot of hotels here to choose from here. I’ve visited the city a handful of times over the years and stayed at some hotels that were really cool and unique. I’ve also stayed at some that aren’t worth your time (or money). Here’s a list of my favorite hotels in Nashville so you can plan your trip, have fun, and enjoy your time in the Music City: 1. The Russell This boutique property is housed in an all-brick church from the early 20th century. I love that they kept a lot of the original features, like the stained-glass windows, brick walls, and original pews (repurposed as headboards in the rooms). In keeping with the building’s history of supporting the East Nashville community, they donate a portion of the hotel’s proceeds to nonprofits that help those experiencing homelessness. That means that staying at The Russell for the weekend, for example, can provide someone in need with 16 nights of shelter. The Russell is a colorful property, with a bright lobby with high ceilings, eclectic furniture, and complimentary tea and coffee. Each of the 23 rooms features different decor (like local artwork) curated by one of Nashville’s most well-known designers. All rooms have the typical hotel amenities like a flatscreen TV, free toiletries, minifridge, Keurig coffee maker, desk, and even some unique perks like a noise machine and complimentary basket of local snacks. The bathrooms are colorfully tiled and have mirrors in the shape of church windows (a nice design touch). It’s a unique place to stay in East Nashville, a cool area of the city that’s packed with unpretentious (and great) restaurants, cutting-edge art galleries, and craft cocktail bars. If you’re on a road trip, there’s also a free parking spot right across the street. Book here! 2. Placemakr SoBro If you plan on staying in town for a while or want access to a kitchen, this hotel offers fully furnished studio, 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments. They all have an industrial chic design, with exposed pipes, tall ceilings, and colorful artwork on the walls. The huge windows let in a lot of light and give you great views over the city too. For even better views, there’s a rooftop pool and lounge area to hang out at. I like that it’s right next to many of the city’s main attractions (like the Johnny Cash Museum and the Ryman Auditorium) too. All units have a dedicated workspace (perfect if you need to do work on the road), a washer/dryer, a 55” Apple TV with streaming, and a fully equipped kitchen with a dishwasher, stove, sink, microwave, full size fridge, coffee maker, and stovetop kettle. Some units even have a private balcony. While there’s no breakfast on-site, you’re just a couple of blocks away from the 24/7 Sun Diner. It’s retro, kitschy, and fun, paying homage to the legendary artists (like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash) of Sun Records while serving up Southern favorites. I always eat here when I visit. Book here! 3. 1 Hotel Nashville When I want to splash out on a luxury stay, this is the hotel I choose. A five-star property, it has over 56,000 plants coating the façade, and I love all their attention to sustainability throughout. The hotel restaurant serves sustainably sourced farm-to-table cuisine from breakfast through dinner, and there are even electric Audi hotel cars that you can reserve if you’re heading out on a day trip. As an avid gym-goer, I also really appreciate the 24/7 fitness center (they offer complimentary group fitness classes for hotel guests too). There’s also a full-service wellness spa if you want something more relaxing. The spacious rooms are bedecked with wood-paneled walls and have tons of light thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The pillow top beds with sustainably sourced bedding are super comfortable, and in-room amenities include 55” flatscreen TVs, minibars, safes, Nespresso machines, and even yoga mats. I really like that every faucet has a filter, so you can avoid single use plastic bottles by either filling up your own bottle or using the provided upcycled wine-to-water bottles. While the bathrooms are a bit on the smaller side, I love the rainfall showers and the comfy bathrobes and slippers. There are complimentary eco-friendly toiletries too. It’s a really relaxing place to stay if you’ve got a bigger budget. Book here! 4. Bode This apartment hotel offers comfortable suites and apartments just a couple of blocks from Honky Tonk Highway and all the city’s museums. I think it’s the best value in the area. While it’s a modern hotel with no staff on-site (you check in online and get a keycode), I like that it has a cocktail bar and retro café (that serves breakfast sandwiches and smoothies), so there’s still a buzz about. There’s also a huge outdoor area with loungers, fire pits, and corn hole. As a solo traveler, I always appreciate it when hotels create these kinds of communal spaces to allow travelers to connect. The rooms have a warm and contemporary style, as well as really comfy beds. All rooms come with basic amenities like a flatscreen TV and tea/coffee maker, while the apartments have a kitchenette that features a dishwasher, fridge, and a microwave. Some of the larger apartments even have fun features like foosball tables. It’s perfect for travelers with a modest budget who want a central location. Book here! 5. The Graduate If you love Dolly Parton, you’ve got to stay here. This four-star boutique hotel is entirely Dolly-themed, with lots of bright colors, a retro theme, and vibrant, Dolly-inspired art and memorabilia throughout the property. I love how kitschy it all is. There are three restaurants on site: a lobby café that serves grab-and-go breakfast fare, an extremely Instagrammable rooftop cocktail bar offering panoramic views over the city, and on the weekends, there’s even a karaoke bar with an animatronic backup band. There’s a rooftop pool too, though it’s an additional cost (plus it’s tiny and requires a reservation, so I’d skip it). The rooms are spacious and have a country glam design, with striped walls, brightly patterned carpets, and portraits of country music stars over the headboards. All rooms have a velvet lounge chair, a large writing desk, an electric kettle with tea/coffee, and a flatscreen TV. The black-and-white tiled bathrooms are a dark and moody contrast, with pedestal sinks and complimentary toiletries. While the carnival-like atmosphere might not be for everyone (there are a lot of bachelorette parties and influencers taking photos, especially on weekends), if you want something super unique, this is the place! Book here! 6. Waymore’s Guest House & Casual Club To contrast with the loud Dolly hotel, this hip three-star hotel is a good choice for travelers who want a quieter, affordable place to stay. I like that there’s a café in the lobby that serves food all day: diner-inspired breakfasts in the morning and drinks and bar bites in the evening. It’s nice to come back from exploring and be able to get a bite to eat. There’s a really cool cocktail bar with DJ nights on the rooftop too. They offer a huge variety of rooms, including your standard hotel rooms, rooms with bunk beds, and suites with kitchenettes if you’re traveling with a group. The rooms all have floor-to-ceiling windows, writing desks, and local artwork on the walls. I like that the mini bar is stocked with local snacks too. The tiled bathrooms are pretty spacious, with walk-in showers and high-quality bath products. It’s a good choice for travelers looking for something simple yet stylish and affordable in East Nashville. Book here! *** From honky-tonk bars to legendary venues, Nashville hums with a contagious energy. It’s a fun, energetic city that you can easily spend a couple days exploring. And since there’s been a boom in unique hotels here in recent years, there are a lot of places to choose from. Be sure to pick one of my favorites above and get ready for an unforgettable stay in the Music City! Book Your Trip to the USA: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned! Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: Safety Wing (best for everyone) InsureMyTrip (for those over 70) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too. Want More Information on the United States? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on the US for even more planning tips! Photo credit: 2 – The Russell, 3 – Placemakr SoBro, 4 – 1 Hotel Nashville, 5 – Bode Nashville, 6 – The Graduate Nashville, 7 – Waymore’s Guest House & Casual Club The post The 6 Best Hotels in Nashville appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Quebec City is beautiful. While it’s regularly overlooked in favor of bigger destinations like Toronto and Montreal, this is where European explorers first arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. A cultural hub in the province of Quebec (as well as the province’s capital), the city’s Old Town is one of the best preserved in...

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Quebec City is beautiful. While it’s regularly overlooked in favor of bigger destinations like Toronto and Montreal, this is where European explorers first arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. A cultural hub in the province of Quebec (as well as the province’s capital), the city’s Old Town is one of the best preserved in all of North America. As a foodie and history buff, I love Quebec City. It’s a fun place to visit no matter the season, though I think it is especially beautiful in winter when it’s old world charm is covered in snow. It’s a popular getaway destination (for Canadians and visitors alike), so there are a lot of hotels to choose from here. Some are amazing and will greatly enrich your experience, while some, well, won’t at all. To help you make the most of your visit there and choose from the hundreds of hotels that will come up on booking websites, here’s my list of the best hotels in Quebec City. 1. Hotel AtypiQ Opened in 2022, this new three-star hotel offers excellent value for the location. It embraces a unique concept of offering super small rooms that are just big enough to accommodate the bed that folds down from the wall. The rooms themselves are minimalist, with light tones and lots of natural light, as well as a few wooden accents. The bathrooms are small too, but nice and new, with rainfall showerheads, complimentary toiletries, and cool murals on the shower walls. The in-room amenities are sparse (just a flatscreen TV) but there’s a shared kitchen where you can make food or grab a coffee, as well as a garden and terrace for when the weather is nice. There’s a simple free breakfast included (bread, fruits, meats) but you have to make it yourself using the shared kitchen. Overall, this is a super-efficient hotel that almost feels like a hostel. I think it’s a great value choice for budget travelers wanting the privacy of a private room and bathroom. Book here! 2. Fairmont Le Château Frontenac This hotel is one of the most iconic sights in the city (if not the entire country). Opened in 1893, the luxurious Château is such an important landmark, in fact, that you can take guided tours of the hotel even if you’re not staying here. If you do stay at this five-star hotel, it feels like you’re living in a historic palace. The spacious lobby is super opulent, with dazzling chandeliers and winding stairs that give the hotel that classic posh character. The rooms here are stylish and airy, though I do think that they feel a little outdated thanks to the bland carpet and color palette of the rooms. In-room amenities include a rainfall shower, desk, and coffee maker. The award-winning Château also boasts several gourmet restaurants and bars as well as an indoor pool, a hot tub, a spa, steam rooms, and a fitness room. The breakfast, while pricey, is amazing and has tons of options for all diets. If you want timeless luxury, stay here. Book here! 3. Hôtel du Jardin – Par Les Lofts This three-star hotel is comprised of spacious loft apartments, making it a great choice for groups or families (or anyone looking for a bit more space than your standard hotel room). It feels a bit like staying in an Airbnb, as there’s contactless check-in and passcode entry. The lofts feature a minimalist design with light tones and wooden accents, as well as huge grayscale animal portraits on the wall. The bright tiled bathrooms have rain showers with excellent pressure (something I always appreciate), desks, soft beds, coffee makers, and flatscreen TVs. While there’s no breakfast available, there are lots of places within walking distance where you can grab a bite (the neighborhood it’s in, Saint Roch, is actually one of the best areas of the city for foodies). Overall, it’s a simple but comfortable choice for couples or groups who want more space. I think it’s especially ideal if you’re planning a longer stay in the city, as this trendy neighborhood has more of a local feel than the Old Town. Book here! 4. Auberge J.A Moisan Travel back to Victorian-era Quebec in this charming four-star bed-and-breakfast. This B&B is decorated similarly to when it was first built in the mid-19th century, with floral duvets, colorful wallpaper, and exposed brick and wood. I like that you can enjoy the fantastic continental breakfast spread (there are fresh croissants!) in the Victorian parlor, hang out on the outdoor terrace, or prepare your own meals in the guest kitchen. The rooms are on the smaller side with few amenities (for example, there are no TVs in the rooms, though there is one with a Roku stick in the parlour that you can use). The cozy rooms have super comfy beds, antique lamps, and period furnishings, and many even have deep claw-foot tubs in the bathrooms (I find the bathrooms a bit small though). While it’s not a very spacious property, it more than makes up for it in charm and service. It’s one of the most unique stays in the city. Book here! 5. Chateau des Tourelles This cute three-star inn is just a 10-minute walk from the Old Town. The rooms are simply but tastefully decorated, with tons of natural light, hardwood floors, colorful walls, and even some exposed brick. All rooms have flatscreen TVs, a desk, and super comfy beds. Some of the suites have a private terrace and jacuzzi if you feel like splashing out. There’s no breakfast available, but there’s a Nespresso machine in every room and coffee/tea available in the common area 24/7. You’re walking distance to lots of dining options here too. What I especially like is that there’s a common rooftop terrace where you can hang out and take in the panoramic view over the city. Another plus is that you can reserve a parking spot if you have a vehicle. This is another place where check-in is done digitally, which is convenient if you’re arriving at an odd hour. Book here! *** Quebec City is a gorgeous, fun city that’s worth visiting no matter the season. With its vibrant food scene, amazing history and Old Town, and lively schedule of year-round festivals, I think Quebec City punches well above its weight. Just be sure to pick one of the hotels above for your stay. Do that, and you’ll be sure to have an amazing and comfortable visit to Quebec’s capital! Book Your Trip to Canada: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned! Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: Safety Wing (for everyone below 70) InsureMyTrip (for those over 70) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too. Want More Information on Canada? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Canada for even more planning tips! Photo credits: The post The 5 Best Hotels in Quebec City appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Last year, Google rolled out something called “the helpful-content update” (HCU). It felt that too many websites were over-optimized for search and not run by real people providing real answers based on firsthand experience. Instead, there were too many SEO farms pumping out bad content for search and ad revenue. Hence, the desire to put...

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Last year, Google rolled out something called “the helpful-content update” (HCU). It felt that too many websites were over-optimized for search and not run by real people providing real answers based on firsthand experience. Instead, there were too many SEO farms pumping out bad content for search and ad revenue. Hence, the desire to put “helpful content” (such as online forums like Reddit) at the top of the search results. After all, who better to have firsthand experience than a person posting about something on a forum? (Or so the logic went.) If you’ve used Google since last October, you’ve likely noticed this change. I think it sucks. I mean, I don’t care about a forum thread from 2013. I don’t want to search for answers through years of comments and replies, many of which are very out of date. I think this HCU has made Google results far, far worse. I recently tried to find a gym in Munich and rather than just list gyms in Munich, I got Reddit threads that were very outdated. While I think Google will eventually roll back some of these changes (they tend to roll back some changes after seeing how people react) because too many users are complaining about the quality of the results. Still, I think this is the first nail in the coffin for blogs, especially single-destination websites that don’t have a “clear expert” behind them. (These blogs were among the hardest hit in the update.) We bloggers have always lived and died by the algorithm. Whether social media or search, we are at the mercy of these companies. But these recent Google changes were some of the most extreme I’ve seen in the sixteen years I’ve been working online. Our search traffic is down 50% — and I feel like I’ve gotten off easy compared to people who have had their websites go to zero. Many bloggers have just stopped blogging and are now looking for “real” jobs. Only a few seem to have gotten anything from the new changes, most notably Rick Steves, who, because he has a forum, has actually seen his traffic go up. For the last couple of years, I’ve begun thinking that the Age of Blogging was nearing a close. Google has been making changes that pushes real content down in search results thanks to its ads, embedded widgets, and partnership spam at the top of the search results. People are instead moving toward social platforms to find information; for example, TikTok’s search is really good. And, as I mentioned in another post, while AI might not be ready for prime time yet, it’s coming along. Right now, it’s just spitting out terrible generic lists and content. I don’t think that creators have to worry about AI at all at the moment. The biggest issue for creators is search. Blogs were like the second iteration of the Internet after web forums and Geocities sites and, now, most users are shifting to short form video. While I don’t think blogs will go away completely, I don’t think they will be the source of information for people they once were. Google’s changes are only confirming this for me because if Google is looking at the future and saying “let’s downgrade this content” then one of the only visibility tools left for blogs is gone. I think that if you’re a blogger, you need to figure out how to not only be a blogger really quick. That means you can still keep your blog, but you’re going to need to diversify not only how you reach people but how you make money. What else can you do? Podcast? Video? Social media? Run events? Start a forum? (Forums are painful and hard to run though. I wouldn’t do it. I ran one for a bit and I’m glad we stopped.) To thrive in this new era, you’re going to need to be even more of a brand and personality on social media. You’re not going to be able to have an anonymous destination website. You’re not going to be able to just rely on affiliate and ad revenue. Even if Google reverses some of the changes, the writing is on the wall. I think these shifts will see a lot of the older bloggers (i.e., those that have been doing this for 10+ years) shifting to other things. For example, my friend Matt from Expert Vagabond is now doing 360° video. Bloggers will continue blogging and updating as long as the revenue is there. But as traffic fades, I think a lot of OG bloggers will slowly update less and less as they either pivot to something else or just enter a new phase of life as the Age of Blogs comes to a close. (That’s just my theory at least.) I don’t really know what that means for Google. If people produce less content because they know it won’t matter as it won’t get seen on search, what search results will Google have to show? What posts will their AI scrape (steal)? I think people will still produce travel stories and tips, but they will scale back as they focus on other types of content and endeavors. Blogs will just be one (smaller) piece of the puzzle. In the future, I think people will still reference blogs from creators and personalities they know and branded search will be bigger. After all, why comb through a bunch of garbage forum threads when you can just go to that blogger/creator’s website and see if they have information? Or maybe you’ll start using Bing and DuckDuckGo more. (We’ve actually seen about a 40% jump in traffic from Bing recently.) In the end, I don’t think blogs will disappear. They will be around the same way guidebooks will be around. Useful, still used, but not as popular as they used to be. Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for everyone) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post AI, Search, and the Travel Creator appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

The South Island of New Zealand is the country’s larger (but less-populated) island…but it’s also the most visually stunning. With just 23% of the country’s 5.2 million inhabitants, it’s a dramatic and beautiful island, home to wineries, wildlife, high-octane adventure sports, and pristine beaches. This is the island that people end up spending more time...

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The South Island of New Zealand is the country’s larger (but less-populated) island…but it’s also the most visually stunning. With just 23% of the country’s 5.2 million inhabitants, it’s a dramatic and beautiful island, home to wineries, wildlife, high-octane adventure sports, and pristine beaches. This is the island that people end up spending more time in and, while everyone sticks to just a few locations, there’s a lot of hidden areas here worth exploring. At a minimum, you’ll want to spend two weeks exploring. Anything less than that and you’ll feel rushed. As I said, there’s a lot to see here. That way you can see the big draws, get off the beaten path, do some good hiking, and not rush (travel between places can take longer than you think)! With two weeks to traverse New Zealand’s South Island, what route should you take? Where should you start, and where should you finish? Below is my suggested itinerary to help you plan your South Island road trip to will ensure that you see the highlights, make the most of your time, and get off the beaten path. New Zealand Highlights: South Island Just looking for a few pointers to start your planning? These are things I think every visitor should experience: Hike and marvel at the Franz Josef Glacier Go skydiving in Queenstown Ride the gondola in Christchurch Chill out on a boat cruise in Wanaka Explore the fjords of Fiordland National Park Looking to see the other island? Check out my detailed road trip itinerary for the North Island! Choosing the Right Vehicle Before you plan your route, you need a way to get around. Road-tripping New Zealand by campervan is very popular, especially among budget-conscious travelers, as the vehicle serves as both accommodation and transportation. If you want a campervan, there are five main rental agencies: Jucy Travellers Autobarn Spaceships Britz Wicked Campers Prices vary a lot. Your daily rate will change depending on where you pick up the vehicle, if you are dropping it off at a different place, how long you are renting it for, how far in advance you book, and when during the year you book (in the high season, prices seem to double!). If living out of a van for a few weeks doesn’t sound like your idea of a fun time, simply rent a normal car and book accommodation along the way. Discover Cars is my go-to rental site, as they search rental agencies big and small to find the best deals. You can use this widget to get a free quote for your car rental: New Zealand Road Trip Itinerary: A Two-Week South Island Route Start your trip in Queenstown. Even if your international flight lands in Auckland on the North Island, you can easily get a cheap flight to Queenstown, which also has direct flights to many major cities in Australia if your trip to New Zealand is part of a larger adventure. Days 1–3: Queenstown Queenstown is a picturesque town overlooking Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by the beautiful peaks of the Remarkables mountain range. It has an outdoorsy energy, with pedestrian lanes filled with shops and restaurants. Even though it has become hugely popular, I cannot express my love of Queenstown enough. I love sitting by the lake, watching the sunset with a bottle of wine, and hiking the nearby trails. Queenstown is also known as “the adventure capital of New Zealand.” It’s the launching pad for every sort of adventure activity you can think of, including zip-lining, bungee jumping, canyon swinging, rafting, and even skydiving. You can also try more unique activities like river surfing, jet-boating, go-karting, paddle-boarding, and paragliding. For something more laid-back, take a wine tour in and around Queenstown. I always do this when I visit (the grape of choice here is the light-red Pinot Noir). If wine isn’t your thing, enjoy a relaxing cruise on Lake Wakatipu for some stunning views! For a list of more things to do in Queenstown, check out my detailed guide. Where to Stay: Nomads Queenstown – Most rooms in this social hostel have balconies, the showers have excellent water pressure, and the pillows are thick and comfy. There are activities every night and a free dinner and quiz night on Sunday. It’s a fun and affordable place to stay. Days 4–6: Fiordland Named for its resplendent fjords (long, narrow inlets banked by steep cliffs, created by glaciers), Fiordland is one of the country’s most scenic and remote regions. (It’s home to numerous Lord of the Rings filming locations). Boasting gigantic mountains, deep lakes, swelling rivers, and untamed forests, the land is officially off-limits so as to protect these natural resources. I loved the area here. There’s a lot of good hiking and beautiful views. There are many fjords and sounds to explore in Fiordland National Park, but I particularly love Milford Sound. This amazing fjord is best known for the towering Mitre Peak and its surrounding rainforest. You can stroll the wooded shoreline trail for perfect views of the peak, or take the Chasm Walk on the Cleddau River to get close to powerful waterfalls. The fjord itself is home to seal and penguin colonies. You can often see pods of dolphins frolicking in the waters too. Explore by boat and check out the Milford Discovery Centre and Underwater Observatory to see rare black coral and other underwater life. Southern Discoveries is the only company doing cruises that include the Underwater Observatory, starting from 165 NZD. While less well known than Milford, Doubtful Sound is the deepest and second-largest fjord in the country. You can only get to Doubtful via boat. A wilderness cruise of Doubtful Sound costs 299 NZD. If you like hiking, one of the most popular walks in the national park is the Kepler Track, passing under snow-covered mountain peaks and lush verdant forests. It’s very close to the Te Anau basecamp, and the easy access and scenic views along the way make it a great choice. The whole loop is 37 miles (60 kilometers). It takes three or four days to complete. Note: There’s limited bus service in the area so having a car here would be very helpful. Where to Stay: Milford Sound Lodge – This is the only place to stay nearby. It’s not cheap, but the views are unmatched, the complimentary breakfast is delicious, and the contemporary rooms are cozy yet modern. If you don’t mind driving a bit more, you can stay in the closest town, Te Anau. Days 7–8: Wanaka Wanaka is a resort town framed by snow-capped mountains. As nearby Queenstown has become overcrowded in recent years, travel to Wanaka has exploded (and, in a way, also become overcrowded because it’s super small). It’s become popular with backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts, especially skiers and boaters. There’s not a ton to do besides enjoying the outdoors (which is what I love about it). Most people come for a few nights to hike (or ski in the winter), relax, and move on. Wanaka has become something of a smaller version of Queenstown, so you can expect plenty of adventure sports opportunities. I’m not an adrenaline junkie (and I don’t like heights). But if it’s your cup of tea, you can go skydiving, canyoning, rock-climbing, paragliding, jet-boating, or mountaineering, along with scores of other activities that will get your heart pounding. You can take a happy hour boat cruise, go fishing or hiking, or do another wine tour (there’s no such thing as too many wine tours!). The food scene here is really great too. For a list of more things to do in Wanaka, check out my detailed guide. Where to Stay: Mountain View Backpackers – This social hostel has a huge outdoor space with a grill, and a big table to congregate around that makes meeting people a breeze. I had many enjoyable nights spent drinking wine outside here while I chatted with other travelers. Day 9: Franz Josef Glacier In 1865, Julius von Haast christened the large, beautiful glacier on the South Island of New Zealand “Franz Josef Glacier” after the then-monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The name stuck, and today the glacier is a major tourist attraction. Hiking the glaciers is an unforgettable experience. Sadly, because they have receded and are melting quickly due to climate change, the caves and trails have been shut down. Now, the only way to trek on them is via heli-hike (an epic half-day or full-day helicopter/hiking experience). These are expensive (500 NZD), but the helicopter ride, trekking, and experience as a whole are worth the price in my opinion. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences you won’t regret. Conversely, you can just hike to the glacier face and take photos from a distance. There are tons of viewing points (where you’ll also see sobering photos of just how far the glaciers have receded over the years). There are also a lot of activities to do nearby. You can go trekking through a rainforest (yes, there is a rainforest nearby), admire towering waterfalls, and swim (or go kayaking) in pristine lakes. There are also some natural thermal pools that you can take a soak in to soothe your post-hike muscles. Where to Stay: Chateau Backpacker & Motels – Just a ten-minute drive from the glacier, this accommodation offers guests free homemade soup every night and free breakfast (including homemade waffles and pancakes). It has two communal kitchens if you want to cook, and a hot tub for relaxing. It’s a lively, social spot. Days 10–11: Abel Tasman National Park Drive just six hours north of glacial Franz Josef and you’ll be in beachy Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand’s smallest national park. With its turquoise water, dense jungles, and warm temperatures, you’ll feel like you’re in the tropics rather than New Zealand. It covers over 23,876 hectares (59,000 acres), meaning there are a lot of single and multiday hikes. The most famous is the 3-5-day Abel Tasman Coast Track, one of the Great Walks of New Zealand. The best way to see the park is by kayak. That way, you can explore all the little coves and beaches that really make the area special. Full-day rentals start at around 110 NZD, or you can join a guided kayaking tour starting at 190 NZD. You can also take a scenic cruise around the park for 95 NZD. If you’re aching for some serious surf, sand, and sun time, head to Te Puketea Bay. This pristine, crescent-shaped beach hugs up against turquoise waters, and lounging here is worth the journey to Abel Tasman alone. You can also walk up to the centuries-old Maori fort, called Pa, for excellent views of the surrounding nature. Where to Stay: Marahau Beach Camp – This accommodation offers dormitories and small private cottages, a communal kitchen, and a seasonal restaurant. There are also tent and campervan sites if you want to save money. It’s a chill, no-frills spot. From here, pick your last stop: either drive onward to Christchurch and end there, or take the ferry over to Wellington (an adventure in and of itself!) and end there. Either way, you’ll be able to catch a cheap and quick flight back to Auckland for your international flight home. If you’re heading to Christchurch, keep reading. If you’d like to visit Wellington, check out my North Island itinerary here. Days 12–14: Christchurch Though severely damaged by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 (over 185 people were killed and 3,000 buildings were damaged), Christchurch has rebounded and evolved into a brand-new city. This revival has instilled a newfound sense of hope and vibrancy, with more funky bars and markets, as well as new restaurants, shops, and exhibits. The locals have worked hard to rebuild, and there is a community spirit here that really shines. I love where Christchurch is going and I’m happy to see its revival. While there’s not a lot “to do” per se, the vibe is really relaxed, and it’s worth taking your time if you can. Be sure to ride the gondola, visit the Canterbury Museum, and tour Quake City (a unique and interactive museum that recounts personal stories from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes). For a list of more things to do in Christchurch, check out my city guide. Where to Stay: Urbanz– This is an awesome hostel downtown, with friendly staff and a huge kitchen. There’s also a bar, a pool table, fast Wi-Fi, laundry, movies, and comfy couches, as well as a parking lot. Things to Remember When Road-Tripping New Zealand To help you make the most of your road trip, please remember the following rules: Traffic flows on the left here (not the right, like in the US or Canada). You must always park your car in the direction that traffic is going (or risk a fine). There are plenty of pull-off points for taking photos — use them instead of stopping at a random spot along the side of the road, which can be quite dangerous given how tight the roads are here. Roads here are winding, so remember that it might take longer than you expect to cover a particular distance. As long as your current and valid driver’s license is in English, you don’t need an International Driver’s Permit. If you’re traveling by campervan, use the CamperMate app to find nearby campsites, gas stations, and dump stations. *** New Zealand’s South Island is an unforgettable destination, where I always have a blast. It’s a region loaded with epic landscapes, friendly Kiwis, and a rich culture. After visiting a bunch over the past decade and a half, I’ve learned firsthand how awesome a road trip there can be. Just follow the route above and you’ll be guaranteed to have an epic visit to this picturesque isle! Book Your Trip to New Zealand: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned! Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. If you’re looking for specific places to stay, here is a complete list of my favorite hostels in New Zealand. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: Safety Wing (best for everyone) InsureMyTrip (for those over 70) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too. Want More Information on New Zealand? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on New Zealand for even more planning tips! The post My Ultimate Road Trip Itinerary for New Zealand’s South Island appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

New Orleans is one of my favorite places in the world (and that’s saying something). There’s just something about this city. It’s magic. The people and energy make it impossible not to have a good time here. It’s really bounced back from Hurricane Katrina (I visited right after, and it was a completely different city)....

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New Orleans is one of my favorite places in the world (and that’s saying something). There’s just something about this city. It’s magic. The people and energy make it impossible not to have a good time here. It’s really bounced back from Hurricane Katrina (I visited right after, and it was a completely different city). I’m glad to see the city thriving. It’s a popular destination too, and not just because of Mardi Gras. A lot of conferences, music festivals, and bachelor/bachelorette parties are held here. There’s a lot to see and do here too. As such, there are a ton of hotels to choose from. But not all are worth staying at. So, to help you save time researching and ensure you have a great experience, here are my favorite hotels in New Orleans based on my countless visits: 1. Villa Convento Villa Convento is steeped in history. Located in the famous French Quarter, the building once housed a convent and is also rumored to be the “House of the Rising Sun” from the famed 1960s song by the Animals. Personally, I love the hotel’s Old-World charm: the impressive arched check-in desk, the wood-paneled and exposed brick walls, the chandeliers in the hallways. It’s gorgeous. There’s no breakfast offered here, but complimentary local coffee and tea are served throughout the day in the lobby. I appreciate that the standard check out is at 12pm too (if you’re here to party, you’ll appreciate that too). The villa has loft, balcony, and courtyard rooms, as well as suites if you’re traveling as a family or with friends. All rooms are bedecked with antique furniture like beautiful wooden headboards and nightstands, as well as artwork on the walls. The rooms and accompanying bathrooms are a bit small and don’t have a ton of amenities (this is a budget-friendly guesthouse after all), but all rooms have a flatscreen TV, a seating area, and complimentary toiletries. Some rooms have minifridges, though there’s also a fridge and microwave in the lobby for all guests to use. This is the perfect choice for budget-conscious travelers looking to be in the heart of the French Quarter. Book here! 2. Inn at the Old Jail As the name suggests, this Victorian building and national historic landmark was an actual jail in 1902. It then became a library before being transformed into a boutique hotel that’s now run by two brothers. While not everyone will want to stay in a former jail, I personally love the history and think it’s super unique. There are also great amenities, like a rooftop deck and a full guest kitchen to use (there’s no restaurant and thus no breakfast available on site). Each of the nine rooms here are distinct. If you aren’t easily creeped out, you can stay in their most budget-friendly room — literally called The Cage — where you’ll find a former inmate’s name carved into the wall. Otherwise, the rooms feature high ceilings, original hardwood floors, and wood-panel wainscoting on the walls that comes from reclaimed Katrina debris (something I find really neat). All rooms have antique furniture and queen beds with memory-foam mattresses. The bathrooms have joint shower/tub combos with classic subway-tiled walls and complimentary toiletries. The hotel is located in Tremé, an area that’s off the typical tourist trail. I love this area in particular because of all the traditional Creole and Cajun fare you can find here. It’s a great choice for foodies. Book here! 3. St. Charles Coach House Located on historic St. Charles Street in the Lower Garden District, this three-star hotel was built in 1921. They just renovated the entire place, so the rooms have a warm contemporary design, while the lobby and other common spaces feature historic touches like exposed brick. There’s no breakfast served at the hotel, but Avenue Café (less than a block away) serves tasty breakfast options for every palate. The rooms are spacious, with soft tones, a minimalist design, and lots of natural light. All rooms have a desk, comfy chair to sit in, Keurig coffee maker, flatscreen TV, fridge, and thick mattresses. I like that the newly updated bathrooms have a lot of counter space, bright and fun tiled floors, complimentary toiletries, and walk-in showers with great water pressure (always a plus for me). This is a great, budget-friendly place to stay in the leafy Garden District. Plus, the streetcar stops right out front so it’s easy to get around the city from here. Book here! 4. Creole Gardens Inn This friendly guesthouse is located in a historic 19th-century antebellum mansion in the Garden District. The couple who run the place are warm and welcoming, and every morning there’s a fantastic (and included) breakfast spread featuring freshly baked quiches, fruit, yogurts, and freshly baked sweet pastries like sticky buns and apple fritters. The tranquil inner courtyard is shaded with banana trees and the perfect place to relax after a long day exploring. The funky rooms are all different, from small rooms in the cottage to sprawling suites in the mansion. (There’s even a room that’s supposed to be haunted!) All rooms have boldly painted walls adorned with unique local artwork, hardwood floors, and eclectic furniture like four-poster beds and large wooden wardrobes. While the amenities are fairly basic, the beds are thick and comfortable, and the large windows let in a lot of light. I’d say this is a great choice if you’re looking for a bed and breakfast where you can experience true southern hospitality! Book here! 5. Serenity in the Marigny Serenity is like a cross between a high-end bed & breakfast and a resort. The rooms are on the first floor, and on the second floor, there’s a full-service spa. There, you can get a variety of massages or spend time in the sauna. There’s even a rooftop hot tub and lounge to relax in. As a B&B, breakfast is included. I like that it’s a healthy spread of lots of fresh fruits, yogurt, granola, pastries, and homemade hot dishes like pancakes or waffles. I also really enjoy that you can chat with the owners over breakfast to get local tips on what to see and do (and where to eat). It really makes the whole experience that much more personal. The rooms have a chic design, with modern art on the walls and unique chandeliers brightening the space. Each even has its own private entrance. While the rooms are a bit on the smaller side, they have comfy pillow-top beds, Smart TVs, and a desk. The big bathrooms are beautifully tiled and have rainfall shower heads with good water pressure. They also provide tons of towels as well as complimentary toiletries. This is a really relaxing and tranquil place to stay in the Marigny. Book here! 5. Maison Métier This place is perfect if you’re looking for luxury but want to stay in a bigger hotel with more facilities. Located in the Warehouse District, this five-star hotel is absolutely gorgeous. The highlight for me, though, is that there’s an eclectic cocktail bar on-site and you enter through a secret bookcase (it used to be a library). It’s a really cool bar too, with red built-in bookcases, colorful furniture, patterned rugs, and excellent drinks. There’s also a cocktail bar in the classically designed lobby too, where every evening they offer complimentary wine, cheese, charcuterie and fresh fruit. While breakfast isn’t included (and I find it kind of expensive), it’s delicious and served in yet another beautifully designed room with lots of natural light. As a hotel guest, you get access to the fitness center and pool across the street. As for the rooms, they are spacious and elegant, with high ceilings, large windows, and unique artwork on the walls. The huge bathrooms are stunning too, with deep soaking tubs, walk-in showers, tiled floors, and complimentary toiletries. In-room amenities include a 55” TV, mini-fridge, blackout curtains, and a seating area with sofa/chair. Another nice touch is that you can get coffee or tea delivered to your room every morning (for free). I absolutely love this hotel. It perfectly hits the mark of being both funky and interesting yet refined and luxurious. And it’s in a great location too! Book here! *** The Big Easy is one of those must-visit places in the world. It’s got a rich culture and unique energy that can’t be beat. Plus, there are tons of things to do (that don’t involve frozen drinks on rowdy Bourbon Street). No matter how you spend your time in NOLA, choose from the hotels above and you’re sure to have an excellent stay! Book Your Trip to New Orleans: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for everyone) InsureMyTrip (for those over 70) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too. Need a Guide? New Orleans has some really interesting tours. My favorite company is Take Walks. They have expert guides and can get you behind the scenes at the city’s best attractions. They’re my go-to walking tour company! Want More Information on the United States? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on the United States for even more planning tips! Photo credit: 2 – Villa Convento, 3 – Inn at the Old Jail, 4 – St. Charles Coach House, 5 – Creole Gardens Inn, 6 – Serenity at the Marigny, 7 – Maison Métier. The post The 6 Best Hotels in New Orleans appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Big news everyone! The Nomadic Network (TNN) is back! TNN is the community we built for travelers back in 2019. TNN’s goal was to connect fellow travelers through in-person meetups all around the world. In 2020, we shifted to virtual events, connecting you to a wide variety of voices that could teach you everything from...

The post The Nomadic Network is Back! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Big news everyone! The Nomadic Network (TNN) is back! TNN is the community we built for travelers back in 2019. TNN’s goal was to connect fellow travelers through in-person meetups all around the world. In 2020, we shifted to virtual events, connecting you to a wide variety of voices that could teach you everything from budget travel to itinerary planning to travel insurance to finding friends to information about specific destinations. We also ran 25 tours around Europe, the Middle East, and Mexico. Seeing all of these connections between like-minded travelers form true friendships was truly awesome and unforgettable. However, last summer, I realized that I wanted to focus my time more on writing books. That meant that I needed to scale back all my business endeavors so I made the difficult decision to pause TNN while I figured out a way to keep it going while balancing my new goals. I’m happy to say that I figured it out and TNN is back! One of our amazing TNN chapter leaders who has been with us since the beginning offered to take the lead and keep the community and tours alive. So, I’d love to introduce you to the person who will be running TNN going forward: Lisa Field! Lisa has been a proactive, inspiring community member who has stepped up time and time again over the years. Aside from hosting the Portland chapter’s monthly meetups, she attended at least 100 virtual events (!!), hosted a few events herself, and repped TNN at travel conferences. Here is us at TravelCon earlier this year: In 2019, she began building a travel blog with international travel tips and hacks and joined The Nomadic Network (TNN) as a founding chapter leader in Portland. She’s even ran local tours, offering hikes and snowshoe trips around the Pacific Northwest. So, when she offered to take over TNN, it seemed like a natural fit. Who better to lead the community into its next phase than a member of the community! That is, after all, the purpose of TNN. I wanted a place for travelers to find “their people” and change their lives for the better. So, what does this mean for you? I’ve given control of everything over to Lisa: the website, the infrastructure, the email list, and all social media accounts. Moving forward, you’ll be hearing from her. She’s getting everything set up to start hosting events in the fall and tours again next year. She’s going to keep the ethos of the program the same so the same spirit and vibe you’ve been used to will live on. TNN Community Events First, it means TNN events are back. Starting this month, TNN will host a few events geared toward connecting travelers to people and resources that get them traveling differently, better, and more. These events will still be pay-what-you-can to allow for as many people to access them as possible. Here are the first few: August Travel Happy Hour (Thursday, August 22) September Travel Happy Hour (Thursday, September 12) Value Travel: Finding the Balance Between Budget and Experience (Thursday, September 26) October Travel Happy Hour (Thursday, October 10) Depth Beyond Distance: Insights into Enriching Travel & Life (Thursday, October 24) And, if you’d like to be a part of the Portland, Oregon chapter, they are hosting monthly in-person meetups around the city. You can sign up for that here. 2025 TNN Tours These tours will be very similar to the TNN tours of the recent past. They’re still centered around traveling with like-minded travelers. They’ll still greatly prioritize hands-on cultural experiences and special, local interactions. They’ll also still lean toward budget consciousness, however, all of the accommodations will be at least three-star (everyone wants/needs a good night’s sleep after all) and tour prices will include many expected gratuities, to make it easier. Additionally, they’ll have an option for adding a carbon offset, and Lisa herself will be traveling on each and every tour herself! Use the code “LAUNCH” to get $200 OFF when you register for any tour before Sunday, August 18th, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT. Here’s a quick overview of the amazing tours happening in 2025: India (March 9–20, 2025) – Dive into India’s vibrant culture and history, from Delhi’s bustling streets to Agra’s awe-inspiring Taj Mahal and Jaipur’s stunning pink palaces. Savor a special dinner with a local family, witness the Taj Mahal at sunrise, and immerse yourself in village life with traditional crafts and lively Bollywood music. A highlight? Celebrating the world-famous Holi festival in Jaipur, joining locals in a joyous, colorful celebration of good triumphing over evil. This unforgettable adventure promises royal elegance, cultural richness, and the enchanting beauty of everyday life in India. More details here. Vietnam (March 24–April 4, 2025) – Embark on our unforgettable 12-Day Vietnam Odyssey Experience, journeying from Ho Chi Minh City’s vibrant streets to Hanoi’s ancient temples. Discover Hue’s imperial citadels, Hoi An’s lantern-lit charm, and Ninh Binh’s stunning landscapes with a local homestay. Glide through hidden caves on a sampan boat and hike through verdant rice paddies. If you want, you can even choose to extend your adventure with a magical three-day add-on to Bai Tu Long Bay, drifting among Halong Bay’s emerald waters. This trip promises an immersive bucket-list experience of Vietnam’s beauty and culture. More details here. Greece (September 24-October 1, 2025) – Think you know Greece? Think again — there’s so much more beyond the typical highlights. We’re diving deep into this incredible country, from Athens’ vibrant contemporary art scene and street food delights to the charming villages of Tinos and the historic allure of Naxos. In Athens, we’ll savor the city’s best street food and take a private tour of the iconic Acropolis. On Tinos, we’ll experience hands-on organic cooking at a historic farm, and in Naxos, we’ll taste local olive oils at the Eggares Olive Press. For those craving more adventure, our optional Santorini three-day add-on includes a breathtaking caldera hike and a sunset catamaran cruise with dinner on board. More details here. Peru (October 23–Nov 2, 2025) – Journey through Peru starting in Cusco, you’ll explore the ancient Inca Empire, historic sites, and vibrant markets before venturing into the Sacred Valley. Enjoy a day of hiking on the renowned Inca Trail, leading you through lush cloud forests to the breathtaking site of Machu Picchu, where you’ll witness a sunrise over this iconic World Wonder. Discover the secrets of Maras’ salt mines and Moray’s agricultural terraces, then immerse yourself in local life with a homestay on Lake Titicaca’s Amantaní Island. More details here. Morocco (November 6–16, 2025) – Join us on a captivating and colorful journey through Morocco! Start with the vibrant city of Casablanca and its breathtaking Hassan II Mosque, wander through the enchanting blue-washed streets of Chefchaouen, and then delve into the rich history and bustling markets of Fes after exploring the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis. Traverse the scenic Middle Atlas Mountains to Arfoud, where an unforgettable Sahara Desert adventure awaits with a camel trek, traditional music, and mesmerizing stargazing under the vast desert sky. Experience the stunning landscapes of the Dades Valley and the High Atlas Mountains, stopping at local cooperatives and immersing ourselves in the region’s serene beauty. Finally, explore Marrakech’s lively medina, with guided tours, vibrant markets, and time to shop, explore, and savor the vibrant culture. More details here. *** Since 2019, the TNN community meetups have been bringing travelers together, fostering connections and friendships. So if you want to meet like-minded people to talk to, swap travel stories, learn from, visit while you’re on a trip, or possibly plan a grand adventure with — be sure to check out The Nomadic Network! If you want to stay up-to-date on all things TNN, sign up here. I’m excited that TNN will continue to connect travelers and communities across the globe! Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for everyone) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post The Nomadic Network is Back! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

News releases from Gateway National Recreation Area.

Queens, NY –Construction begins on the Jacob Riis Park Boardwalk this week. This project focuses on the eastern end of the boardwalk and is expected to be complete by the end of December. Contractors will reconstruct the boardwalk surface, rehabilitate approximately twenty benches, and construct a new accessibility ramp near the bathhouse. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/construction-begins-on-jacob-riis-park-boardwalk.htm

Staten Island, NY –The beaches at Great Kills Park are closed for swimming. Bacterial levels in water samples taken from this body of water exceed local, state and National Park Service standards for recreational activity. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/swimming-beach-at-great-kills-park-is-closed-until-further-notice.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service (NPS) will begin demolishing Fort Tilden’s building T-9 in late July. The work is expected to take 10 weeks and includes abatement before the demolition starts. All equipment, materials and work performed will be within the existing fencing surrounding Building T-9. Visitor access to the rest of Fort Tilden will not be impacted. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/demolition-of-fort-tilden-s-t-9.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Due to extremely hazardous conditions Gateway National Recreation Area has restricted access to sections of Jacob Riis Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-park-access-restrictions.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y. - A temporary electric vehicle (EV) charging station and energy storage unit is now available for use in Gateway National Recreation Area. Part of a citywide pilot program, the park's first public EV charging station is located at Floyd Bennett Field in Gateway NRA’s Jamaica Bay Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/floyd-bennett-field-to-host-electric-vehicle-charging-and-energy-storage-pilot.htm

Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee to hold virtual meeting Thursday, November 9. Please contact Daphne Yun via email at Daphne_Yun@nps.gov for more information. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-thursday-november-9.htm

Broad Channel, N.Y. –Ferae Naturae (Wildlife), an exhibit of photographs by Frantz Michaud, will open on Sunday, September 17. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 pm – 4 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The opening reception is free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/local-photographer-presents-solo-exhibit-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

The beaches at Great Kills Park are closed for swimming. Bacterial levels in water samples taken from this body of water exceed local, state and National Park Service standards for recreational activity. Due to the increased human health risk, the National Park Service warns to avoid contact with these waters until further notice. For updates on this advisory, please go to Gateway National Recreation Area's website at www.nps.gov/gate or call 718-354-4606. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/swimming-beaches-at-great-kills-park-are-closed-for-the-2023-season.htm

Middletown, N.J.—Join Gateway National Recreation Area and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staff to welcome 40 new citizens at Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/welcome-40-new-citizens-at-the-sandy-hook-unit-lighthouse.htm

Broad Channel, N.Y. –New York City Natural, an exhibit of paintings by Jessica Dalrymple, will open on Sunday, June 11. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 pm – 4 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The opening reception is free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/local-painter-presents-solo-exhibit-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Middletown, N.J. –By the Sea an exhibit of paintings by Gregory Lewis, will open on Saturday, June 3. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 1 pm – 4 pm at the Fort Hancock Post Museum (Building 28) at Sandy Hook. The opening reception is free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/local-painter-presents-solo-exhibit-at-sandy-hook.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Gateway National Recreation Area will transition to a cashless fee system. Effective June 24, 2023, fee collections booths at Jacob Riis Park will only accept credit card payments for beach parking fees. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-moves-to-cashless-fee-collection-at-jacob-riis-park.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Gateway National Recreation Area will transition to a cashless fee system. Effective June 24, 2023, fee collections booths at Sandy Hook will only accept credit card payments for beach parking fees. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-moves-to-cashless-fee-collection-at-sandy-hook.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Jacob Riis Park is ready for summer. All bays are fully open to visitors this weekend. The placement of 360,000 cubic yards of sand has been completed. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/beaches-at-jacob-riis-park-ready-for-summer.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee held a virtual meeting on Thursday, April 27, 2023. The Committee made several recommendations at this meeting, including a recommendation that Gateway continue the Sandy Hook leasing program, soliciting partners in the adaptive reuse of the nationally significant structures. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/the-fort-hancock-advisory-committee-affirms-the-merits-of-the-sandy-hook-leasing-program.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will hold a virtual meeting on April 27, starting at 9 am. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-thursday-april-27.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service has authorized placement of approximately 360,000 cubic yards of sand along 5,000 feet of shorefront at Jacob Riis Park as part of the US Army Corps of Engineers, New York State, and New York City’s East Rockaway Inlet to Rockaway Inlet, and Jamaica Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management project. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sand-replenishment-at-jacob-riis-park.htm

Queens, N.Y. –Phenology Was My Refuge, Life Thrives at Jamaica Bay Amidst a Pandemic that Stopped the World, an exhibit of photographs by Angela Carcione, will open on April 2. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 pm – 4 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. The opening reception is free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/howard-beach-teacher-presents-photo-exhibit-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Queens, N.Y.  The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to invite visitors and stakeholders to the West Pond Habitat and Viewshed Management Open House on February 25, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. More information on the event, including optional registration, is available here: https://westpondvegetatation.eventbrite.com. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/open-house-at-jbwr-feb-25.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Tangible Nature, an exhibit of photographs by Dean Moses, is on view at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center through March 31. The exhibit documents the interaction of the park’s diverse visitors as they participate in outdoors activities including observing nature, beach cleanups, kayaking, and hiking. The Visitor Center is open 10 am to 4 pm, Friday through Monday. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-tangible-nature-exhibit-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

[Rockaway, NY]—One of Queens’ most beloved Art Deco gems, the historic bathhouse in Jacob Riis Park, is coming back to life after nearly half a century. Under the terms of a new 60-year lease from the National Park Service, signed today, Bathhouse Lodge LLC, doing business as CBSK Developers and Brooklyn Bazaar, will preserve and restore the 1932 bathhouse. The revitalized landmark will feature restaurants, a bar, pool, event spaces and 28 hotel rooms. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/national-park-service-signs-lease-for-historic-riis-beach-bathhouse-partners-unveil-50-mill-restoration-plans.htm

Middletown, N.J.—Join Gateway National Recreation Area and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staff to welcome 50 candidates become citizens at Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/welcome-50-new-citizens-at-gateway-national-recreation-area-s-sandy-hook-unit.htm

Queens, N.Y. –Chris Allieri and the NYC Plover Project received the national George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Excellence on Aug. 24 at the ceremony to Celebrate America’s National Parks and the Dedication of Those Who Serve. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nyc-plover-project-receives-national-award-for-outstanding-volunteer-service.htm

A variety of National Park Service (NPS) employees, volunteers and partners were honored at a ceremony to Celebrate America’s National Parks and the Dedication of Those Who Serve. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/08-25-2022-nps-awards.htm

Queens, N.Y. - The National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the conviction of the person(s) responsible for the intentional destruction of at least one American oystercatcher egg at the border of the Breezy Point Co-Operative and the National Park Service’s Gateway National Recreation Area Breezy Point Unit, Rockaway Point, New York. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/reward-offered-for-information-about-intentional-destruction-of-shorebird-eggs-and-nests-in-new-york.htm

Queens, N.Y. – On July 1, 2022, Gateway National Recreation Area closed a portion of Bay 1 located at Jacob Riis Park to swimming and water access. Beach erosion has created unsafe conditions along the Bay 1 waters and eastern beach, exposing deteriorating wooden groins and other structures. The exposed structures could be dangerous to swimmers. The closures will be adjusted as necessary but is anticipated to remain in place for the rest of the summer. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-park-bay-1-partial-closure.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service has selected Riis Beach Collective (RBC) for a seven-year lease for use of facilities at Jacob Riis Park. Riis Beach Collective was one of several applicants that submitted proposals in response to a recent Request for Proposals. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-awards-lease-to-riis-beach-collective.htm

Queens, N.Y. –Queens, N.Y. - The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce the inauguration of a Stewardship Plan for the East and West Pond area of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Gateway National Recreation Area. This planning effort will help define the future of this beloved area by identifying and developing strategies to advance management goals related to resource protection, education and interpretation, and the visitor experience. It will also expand upon other guiding documents for the East and West Pond area, including Gateway’s 2014 General Management Plan. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/east-and-west-pond-stewardship-planning-team-invites-public-input-for-planning-efforts.htm

On the agenda for the this meeting will be the National Park Service Associate Director for Park Planning, Facilities and Lands; Associate Director for Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science; and the Chief of Staff for Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. They will discuss the leasing program and Sandy Hook as a national pilot for addressing climate change issues. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/national-park-service-associate-directors-to-address-fort-hancock-advisory-committee-on-april-13.htm

NEW YORK— The National Park Service (NPS) and the City of New York have announced an agreement between the City and the NPS to facilitate a path forward for a critical coastal resiliency project on Staten Island and to clean up contaminated sites in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/the-national-park-service-and-new-york-city-announce-path-forward-on-construction-of-the-staten-island-coastal-storm-risk-management-project-and-remediation-across-three-boroughs.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee brings together experts from several disciplines and occupations, drawn mainly from the communities surrounding Sandy Hook, to make recommendations for the preservation and adaptive reuse of over 30 National Landmark historic structures under the National Park Service's leasing program. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-thursday-january-6.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a call for nominations for individuals who wish to serve a three-year term as a member of the Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee. The 60-day period for applications will end on October 25, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/members-needed-for-fort-hancock-21st-century-federal-committee.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee brings together experts from several disciplines and occupations, drawn mainly from the communities surrounding Sandy Hook, to make recommendations for the preservation and adaptive reuse of over 30 National Landmark historic structures under the National Park Service's leasing program. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-federal-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-on-thursday-sept-23.htm

Queens, N.Y. - The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, a project of the Fund for the City of New York, is pleased to announce the groundbreaking of an innovative living shoreline and restoration project at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/living-shoreline-and-restoration-project-begins-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Starting June 1 National Park Service (NPS) contractors will be onsite at the Great Kills Park during two different mobilizations conducting field activities associated with the NPS Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Remedial Investigation (RI). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/media-advisory-great-kills-fieldwork-2021.htm

Starting June 1 National Park Service (NPS) contractors will be on-site at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge working to address erosion at the West Pond Trail with the construction of a living shoreline. To ensure the safety of park visitors and to help facilitate this restoration project, the majority of West Pond Loop Trail will close starting June 1, 2021 through the duration of the project. In addition, project materials will be placed in a portion of the Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center parking lot, and parking will be limited during construction. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/media-advisory-west-pond-trail-closure.htm

Middletown, N.J. – Gateway National Recreation Area announced today that full beach closures of designated nesting beach areas will begin to be implemented starting this Friday, May 21, for shorebird conservation. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/beach-closures-implemented-for-shorebird-conservation-at-sandy-hook.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Gateway National Recreation Area will increase its beach parking fees at Jacob Riis Park. The additional revenue will fund infrastructure and maintenance needs and help enhance the visitor experience. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nps-increases-beach-parking-fee-at-jacob-riis-park.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Gateway National Recreation Area will increase its beach parking fees at Sandy Hook. The additional revenue will fund infrastructure and maintenance needs and help enhance the visitor experience. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nps-increases-beach-parking-fees-at-sandy-hook.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee brings together experts from several disciplines and occupations, drawn mainly from the communities surrounding Sandy Hook, to make recommendations for the preservation and adaptive reuse of over 30 historic structures under the National Park Service's leasing program. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-friday-april-23.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service has selected Riis Bazaar, LLC (Riis Bazaar) for a five-year lease for use of facilities at Jacob Riis Park. Riis Bazaar was one of several applicants that submitted proposals in response to a recent Request for Proposals. Riis Bazaar will offer a selection of year-round and seasonal food service along with a variety of music, events and pop-up vendors. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-awards-lease-to-riis-bazaar.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway) is releasing a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) in connection with the Silver Gull Beach Club and the Breezy Point Surf Club currently managed under contracts which expire December 31, 2021. The RFEI was developed to gather information from the public and potential operators about how the park might add additional services to improve the visitor experience at Silver Gull Beach Club and Breezy Point Surf Club in Gateway’s Jamaica Bay Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-issues-rfei-for-beach-clubs.htm

The National Park Service uses leasing to help preserve areas of historical significance, including Sandy Hook’s Fort Hancock. Join us to discuss Fort Hancock’s leasing program, including its progress over the past several years as well as the most recent proposal for rehabilitating the remaining buildings for residential and commercial use. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-open-house-nov-23.htm

Middletown, N.J. - Gateway National Recreation Area is proposing to increase parking fees in the park. These parking rates would go into effect for the summer of 2021. This would be Gateway’s first parking fee increase since 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/proposed-fee-increases-for-sandy-hook-2021.htm

Queens, N.Y. - Gateway National Recreation Area is proposing to increase parking fees in the park. These parking rates would go into effect for the summer of 2021. This would be Gateway’s first parking fee increase since 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/proposed-fee-increase-for-riis-park-2021.htm

Dead Horse Bay at Gateway National Recreation Area will be closed to the public in August due to the presence of radiological contamination at the site. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/dead-horse-bay-closed.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area’s Fort Wadsworth will not be open for fireworks viewing this year. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/no-wadsworth-fireworks.htm

Lifeguards will be on duty at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Jacob Riis Park beginning Wednesday, July 1. The beach will now be open for swimming. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/lifeguards-jr.htm

Lifeguards will be on duty at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Great Kills Park beginning Wednesday, July 1. The beach will now be open for swimming. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/lifeguards-gk.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area is increasing recreational access. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. Beginning Saturday, June 13, Gateway National Recreation Area will reopen access to Floyd Bennett Field for recreational activities such as fishing, biking, hiking. The Ryan Visitor Center, campground, archery and sports fields remain closed until further notice. Fishing permits are not being sold at this time, but 2019 fishing permits will be honored until further notice. Please follow regular park rules while visiting and maintain six feet of social distancing from other park visitors. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-to-increase-access-to-floyd-bennett-field.htm

Middletown, N.J. – Lifeguards will be on duty at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit beginning Saturday, June 13. Most beaches will now be open for swimming. Advisory signs noting which beaches are lifeguarded will be at the entrance and updated daily. Gateway National Recreation Area will resume collecting beach access fees at Sandy Hook on Wednesday, June 17. Daily fees are $15 per car. Fees are collected between 7 am and 5 pm. Restrictions on parking (50% capacity) at Sandy Hook will remain in effect through June 16. Parking will return to 100% capacity on June 17. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/lifeguards-and-entrance-fees-return-to-sandy-hook.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The demolition of buildings 119 and 120 located within the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark will begin on June 15. These historic buildings were flooded and extensively damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Buildings 119 and 120 were two of nearly one hundred temporary buildings constructed as part of the U.S. Army’s 700 series of temporary wooden buildings developed in response to the massive mobilization of World War II at Sandy Hook. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/demolition-of-buildings-119-and-120-at-sandy-hook-begin.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to provide limited recreational access and services for Canarsie Pier for the Memorial Day weekend. The National Park Service (NPS) is working service wide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/memorial-day-canarsie-pier.htm

Staten Island, N.Y. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to provide limited recreational access and services for the Staten Island Unit for the Memorial Day weekend. The National Park Service (NPS) is working service wide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/staten-island-memorial-day.htm

Middletown, N.J. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to provide limited recreational access and services for Sandy Hook for the Memorial Day weekend. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-memorial-day.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to provide limited recreational access and services at Riis Park and Fort Tilden for the Memorial Day weekend. The National Park Service (NPS) is working service wide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/riis-and-tilden-access-for-memorial-day-weekend.htm

Middletown, N.J. – A four-year program has been initiated to re-establish the Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle at Sandy Hook. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/northeast-beach-tiger-beetle.htm

Beginning May 9, Gateway National Recreation Area will reopen access to the Sandy Hook Unit with certain restrictions in place. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-gateway-national-recreation-area-available-for-limited-recreational-access-on-may-9.htm

Staten Island, N.Y. – Tangible Nature, a virtual exhibit of photographs by Dean Moses, is available for viewing on Gateway’s website at www.nps.gov/gate. This exhibit explores the relationship and rapport humans can have with nature. “More than a walk on the trail or a rest beside the water; nature is tangible, we can not only touch it, but we in turn can be touched by it. The photos were taken during I Love my Park Day, in May 2019 and show people exploring nature and outdoor recreation; and doing some hard labor in performing a clean-up.” Dean Moses https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tangible-nature-exhibit-online.htm

Effective immediately, Sandy Hook will be closed to all park visitors until further notice. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide update on our website www.nps.gov/gate and social media channels @GatewayNPS. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-closure.htm

Staten Island, N.Y. – Gateway National Recreation Area, in response to Executive Orders issued by the governors of New York and New Jersey, is announcing additional modifications to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As of March 20, Gateway National Recreation Area will offer no services outside those that support visitor or resource protection. At Gateway National Recreation Area, the following services will be suspended in order to comply with these state orders. Gateway will not issue permits, conduct on-site public or educational programs, collect trash, operate or provide restrooms, maintain roads or walkways (including plowing and ice melting), or provide visitor information and services. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-is-updating-earlier-modifications-to-operations-to-implement-latest-health-guidance.htm

Staten Island, N.Y. – Gateway National Recreation Area is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. All of Gateway’s facilities, including visitor centers and ranger stations, are closed until further notice. Programs and events are also temporarily cancelled until further notice. Where it is possible to adhere to the latest health guidance, our open spaces, including trails and shorelines, remain open for visitor use. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-is-modifying-operations-to-implement-latest-health-guidance.htm

The National Park Service received an exciting redevelopment proposal from Stillman Development International for 21 historic buildings in the main post area of Fort Hancock in the Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-proposal-for-adaptive-reuse-at-historic-fort-hancock.htm

Queens, N.Y. – “Exploring Gateway,” a photography exhibit capturing the “locations, worlds and points of time” at Gateway National Recreation Area will open on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/local-photographers-featured-at-exhibit.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Our National Parks, an exhibit of paintings by Jayne Holsinger, will open on Dec. 8. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibit will be on display for two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-our-national-parks-opens-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

You could spend Black Friday inside shopping. Or you could spend it at Gateway National Recreation Area. Help clean up the shores of Jamaica Bay, climb the lighthouse at Sandy Hook, or learn about New York’s harbor defense system in the nineteenth century and beyond. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/skip-the-stores-spend-black-friday-at-gateway.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is entering into an agreement with the Monmouth County Vocational School District (MCVSD) to facilitate the rehabilitation and reuse of Sandy Hook historic Buildings 23 and 56. MCVSD intends to rehabilitate the buildings to provide needed space and facilities for the Marine Academy of Science and Technology’s (MAST) campus which is located at Sandy Hook. As proposed the project will stabilize and rehabilitate historic Barracks building 23 to provide classroom and drill hall space. Mess Hall building 56 will be rehabilitated to provide for office and uniform storage space. The purpose of this pubic meeting is to provide an update on the project status and to provide an opportunity for the public to comment. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-public-meeting-oct-19.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Where Worlds Converge, an exhibit of photographs by Micah Bochart, will open on Sept. 29. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This free exhibit will be on display for two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-where-worlds-converge-opens-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Stop by the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Oct. 6, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and pick up your pass. Join National Park Service rangers for a day filled with adventure. Join National Park Service Rangers for a day filled with fun and excitement, including ranger-led adventure hikes at 11 am and 1 pm, a special production of City that Drinks the Mountain Sky by Arm-of-the-Sea Theater at noon, face painting, and special activities with NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers, Rockaway Artists Alliance, the Queens Library Bookmobile, American Littoral Society, and more. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fourth-graders-and-their-families-can-get-free-entrance-to-public-lands.htm

Staten Island, NY –We are proud to announce that the National Park Service (NPS) has selected Moonbeam Leasing & Management LLC as the new operator of the Great Kills Marina, located at Great Kills Park in the Staten Island Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-operator-at-great-kills-marina.htm

Highlands, N.J. --The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a Call for Nominations for individuals who wish to serve at three-year term as a member of the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee. The 30-day period for applications will end on Friday, October 4, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/call-for-nominations-for-fort-hancock-21st-century-federal-advisory-committee.htm

Jacob Riis Park Closed to Swimming, Sat. Aug. 24, 2019 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-park-closed-to-swimming-sat-aug-24-2019.htm

Highlands, N.J. – Thanks to the shared stewardship of Gateway’s visitors, plovers at Sandy Hook have had another successful breeding season. Forty one nesting plover pairs fledged 53 chicks this year. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/piping-plovers-fledge-53-chicks.htm

Results of the 35th Annual Women's Lifeguard Tournament held at Sandy Hook, July 31, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-35th-annual-women-s-lifeguard-tournament.htm

Join Gateway staff, Staten Island OutLOUD and the Staten Island Philharmonic to celebrate Independence Day at the Overlook at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island. OutLOUD will present a group reading of the Declaration of Independence at 1 p.m., followed by an afternoon performance by the Staten Island Philharmonic at 2 p.m. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-fourth-at-the-fort.htm

News Release and joint statement on cancellation of the 2019 Summer Concert Series. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-sandy-hook-concert-series.htm

News release and joint statement on the cancellation of the Sandy Hook Foundation 2019 Summer Concert Series. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-foundation-cancels-2019-summer-concert-series.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The Horseshoe Crab’s Crown, an exhibit outlining the creation of the children’s book written by Heather Feather and illustrated by Valentina Gallup, will open on June 9. There will be a live reading at 1:30 p.m., followed by the exhibit opening and reception from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. This exhibit will be on display for two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/horseshoe-crab-s-crown.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y.—Visitors of all ages are invited to join the National Park Service (NPS), Wilderness Inquiry, NYC H2O, and Urban Soils Institute for Canarsie Pier Paddle-Fest on May 25 and Canarsie Pier Family Day on May 26. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-canarsie-pier-paddle-fest-on-may-25-and-canarsie-pier-family-day-on-may-26.htm

The demolition of the concession building at Beach Center at Area D of Sandy Hook has started. Beach Center D was previously home to the Seagull's Nest, a popular restaurant with beachgoers. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/demolition-of-beach-center-d-begins-at-sandy-hook.htm

From March 15 through September 15, no pets are allowed on Riis Park beach, Fort Tilden beach, West Beach (area between the Silver Gull Beach Club and Reid Avenue) and the Breezy Point Tip including the Bayside Beach. Pets are also not allowed on the ocean beaches in the Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/pet-restrictions-during-plover-season.htm

The osprey are back and the warm weather is here. Spring has finally arrived at Gateway. Come out and celebrate the season with us. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-spring-at-gateway.htm

Alcoholic beverages at the Sandy Hook Unit are now prohibited. This restriction will not affect visitors having weddings at the Sandy Hook Chapel or other permit holders. Smoking is also prohibited on beaches at Sandy Hook. Designated smoking areas are in all parking lots. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/alcohol-and-smoking-ban-now-in-place-at-gateway-s-sandy-hook.htm

Queens, N.Y. --Solitude, an exhibit of photographs by Agron Jashari, will open on Sunday, March 31. There will be an opening reception from 2 pm. – 4 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. This exhibit will be on display for two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/solitude-opens-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Are you interested in working at the country’s first urban National Park site? Are you passionate about New York and New Jersey history and nature? If so, consider applying to work at one of our three units: Sandy Hook, NJ; Staten Island, NY; or Jamaica Bay, NY. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/we-re-hiring.htm

The National Park Service seeks to fill multiple surf-lifeguards jobs at all three units of Gateway National Recreation Area for the 2019 summer season. These positions are currently open on USAjobs.gov. The closing date for these jobs is February 15, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/lifeguard-positions-available-at-all-three-gateway-units.htm

2018 Fishing Permits Extended for Duration of Federal Government Shutdown. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/news-releases2019permits.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area announced today some basic visitor services will reopen using revenue generated by recreation fees. Basic services include re-opening bathrooms, collecting garbage, picking up litter, and plowing of roads to visitor use areas. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/news-releases.htm

Visit Fort Wadsworth at 2 pm on Saturday, December 29 to meet an archaeologist. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/if-old-bones-could-talk.htm

The Mandarin duck seen recently paddling in ponds in Central Park brought much excitement to New Yorkers and on the Internet. But have you ever seen surf scoter, a sea duck with a clown-like face? They can be seen at Jamaica Bay in Queens. How about a long tailed duck, which can be seen at the Sandy Hook Unit in New Jersey? For bird and wildlife enthusiasts, Gateway National Recreation Area will hold two free events in November and December. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/see-the-surf-scoter-and-other-amazing-ducks.htm

Queens, N.Y. Soundless Landscapes, a solo show of recent work by Michael Berg&#é;s, at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Please come to see the show and greet the artist. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-soundless-landscapes-art-exhibit-opens.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has been selected to receive an Open OutDoors for Kids Focus City grant for the 2018-2019 school year from the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. Gateway will work with new partners to expand educational programs for local 4th grades in the school districts and communities adjacent to Jamaica Bay. Working together, NYC H2O, the Urban Soils Institute (USI), a division of the NYC Soil and Water Conservation District, and Gateway’s education staff will provide programs and activities focused on the diverse natural resources of Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/open-outdoors-for-kids-focus-city-grant.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Ninety-six hatchlings of the world’s most endangered sea turtle crawled out to sea this week on West Beach on the Rockaway Peninsula located within the Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway), National Park Service (NPS). Kemp’s ridley is the smallest of all sea turtles and critically endangered. It was listed in the United States as endangered throughout its range in 1970. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rarest-sea-turtle-nests-on-queens-beach.htm

Visitors of all ages are invited to celebrate the grand re-opening of both the Sandy Hook Lighthouse and the Fort Hancock Post Museum at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area on Sunday, September 30, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/re-opening-of-sandy-hook-lighthouse.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is please to announce a donation of sand fro the restoration of Spring Creek Park at the Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sand-donation-at-spring-creek.htm

Queens, N.Y. - An exhibit showing the transformation of religious offerings collected from monthly cleanups at Jamaica Bay will be on display at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center starting Aug. 19. The exhibit will be up for about two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/project-prithvi-exhibit.htm

Starting July 8 until approximately August 11, National Park Service (NPS) contractors will be on-site at Spring Creek Park conducting field activities associated with the NPS Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) response action. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/spring-creek-field-work-2018.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to demolish building 69, a WWII temporary barrack building at Floyd Bennett Field. The NPS has determined that the proposed demolition of building 69 will have an adverse effect on the Floyd Bennett Field Historic District. As required by National Historic Preservation Act, the NPS has notified the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation of the adverse effect, is consulting with New York State Historic Preservation Office, and has drafted a Memorandum of Agreement to that effect https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/demolition-of-building-69.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area invites the local community to join the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and its Traveling Trainer Team for training, education programs and service projects in Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/help-improve-jamaica-bay.htm

Join us at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center this Saturday at 2 pm for the opening of exhibit: "Drowning in Plastic: Why Recycling is Not Enough." https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-photography-exhibit-opening-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge-visitor-center.htm

We are proud to announce that the National Park Service (NPS) has selected Moonbeam Leasing & Management LLC, as the new operator of Gateway Marina, in the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-operator-at-gateway-marina.htm

Fort Tilden, a solo show of recent paintings by Chris Wright will begin on Saturday April 7 with an opening reception from 2 to 4 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Please come to see the show and greet the artist. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-fort-tilden-exhibit-opens-april-7-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Gateway is proud to announce that the National Park Service has signed a Letter of Intent with Brooklyn Bazaar for the Jacob Riis Park Bathhouse. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/letter-of-intent-signed-for-jacob-riis-bathhouse.htm

Sarah Nicholls exhibit opens at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on January 27 and will run for approximately two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/book-arts-exhibit-by-sarah-nicholls-opens-january-27-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

The National Park Service is seeking interested parties to redevelop historic structures and land at Fort Tilden East and Riis Landing in the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/honor-history-invest-in-its-future-gateway-seeks-new-uses-for-fort-tilden.htm

Join us the weekend of December 16 and 17 to celebrate Christmas at Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/christmas-at-fort-hancock-join-us-on-december-16-and-17-for-this-weekend-event.htm

Join the National Park Service (NPS) throughout October for the Herbert Johnson Lecture Series. All talks are held on Sundays at 2 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/herbert-johnson-fall-lecture-series.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is expanding our camping this year with a pilot partnership with Getaway. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/getaway-at-gateway-gateway-expands-camping-opportunities.htm

Join the National Park Service (NPS), on Saturday May 6, from 2-4 PM at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge for an exhibit opening and reception. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/painting-exhibit-by-denise-levine-opening-at-jbwr-on-may-6.htm

On Sunday April 30, 2017 at 10:15 United States Park Police Officers were dispatched to Plumb Beach for someone taking horseshoe crabs. Officer Fajardo and Greenberg arrived and observed Huase Chen harvesting horseshoe crabs from the waters of Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/illegal-taking-of-horseshoe-crabs.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 19,720,849 visitors to ten National Parks of New York Harbor (NPNH) sites in 2016 spent $656,984,900 in communities near the park. That spending supported 8,120 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $838,133,200. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/report-shows-visitor-spending-supports-more-than-8000-jobs-in-local-economy.htm

Today, partners came together to ensure kids across america can experience our national parks and public lands. The National Park Trust, The North Face, and the Outdoor Alliance for Kids joined the National Park Service to co-host an Every Kid in a Park event at Gateway National Recreation Area for 90 fourth graders from PS 119 in Brooklyn. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nyc-4th-graders-get-free-passes-to-visit-public-lands-and-waters.htm

The 2016 Herbert Johnson Lecture Series kicks off at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Sunday afternoon, September 25 at 2 PM with a presentation by Brooklyn-based artist and naturalist George Boorujy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/artist-and-naturalist-george-boorujy-to-present-at-the-2016-herbert-johnson-lecture-series.htm

On September 23-24 2016, the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway will participate in the National Parks BioBlitz. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/bioblitz-is-coming-to-sandy-hook.htm

Gateway seeks public comment for proposed parking fee increases in 2017. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-seeks-public-comment-concerning-proposed-2017-fee-increases.htm

The NPS proposes to partially deconstruct Hangar 38 at Miller Field, Staten Island, in response to Hurricane Sandy damage, and is requesting public review of the Memorandum of Agreement with the New York State Historic Preservation Office (NY SHPO). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/partial-deconstruction-of-hangar-38-miller-field-memorandum-of-agreement-available-for-public-review.htm

Gateway's annual photo contest returns. We are accepting photos that tell the story of "I found my park and it's Gateway" during the month of July. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-2016-photography-contest.htm

Gateway's Jamaica Bay will be holding a BioBlitz from June 10-June 11. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jamaica-bay-bioblitz.htm

Fourth graders will be able to use their Every Kid in a Park pass to waive parking fees at Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit and Jacob Riis Park in Queens between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 2016. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-invites-fourth-graders-to-use-their-every-kid-in-a-park-pass.htm

Gateway has issued the first lease for adaptive reuse at Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-issues-first-lease-for-adaptive-reuse-at-historic-fort-hancock.htm

On Friday, April 22, representatives of Gateway National Recreation Area, New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg (NJYC), and The Corps Network will cut the ribbon on a new porch for Building 26, the headquarters for Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit in Middletown. The ceremony will begin at 11 A.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ribbon-porch.htm

Superintendent Jennifer T. Nersesian announced the next step toward completing the Relocation of Hurricane Sandy Damaged Maintenance Facilities with a Finding of Nos Significant Impact (FONSI) for the preferred alternative. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-finding-of-no-significant-impact-for-staten-island-unit-maintenance-relocation.htm

Gateway is currently in phase one of rehabilitating the Sandy Hook Beach Center Areas for sustainability and resiliency as the park continues to recover after Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-plans-for-rehabilitation-of-sandy-hook-beach-centers.htm

The National Park Service has prepared an Environmental Assessment to evaluate a range of alternatives to address changes to access and visitor safety brought about by Hurricane Sandy at Fort Tilden Beach, Queens, New York. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-public-meeting-and-review-period-for-an-environmental-assessment-for-the-fort-tilden-shore-access-and-resiliency-project.htm

Law enforcement rangers arrested a man for poaching a deer in Sandy Hook. His trial is set for early April. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/poacher-arrested-at-sandy-hook.htm

Rolling Requests for Proposals are Open at Gateway's Fort Hancock https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rolling-requests-fro-proposals-are-open-at-fort-hancock.htm

United States Park Police conducted a surveillance operation in Jamaica Bay in response to an increase in suspected resource violations. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/united-states-park-police-catch-illegal-fishers-in-jamaica-bay.htm

Gateway Photo Contest opens on October 3. The top ten photographs will be displayed until the end of November https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-photo-contest-exhibit-opens-on-october-3-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

In celebration of Public Lands Day, Gateway National Recreation Area and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation welcome volunteers to help clean up the entrance to Great Kills Park along Hylan Boulevard. The event will occur Saturday, September 26 beginning at 9 A.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gk-entrance-cleanup.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a Call for Nominations for individuals who wish to serve a three-year term as a member of the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee. The 30-day period for applications will end on Thursday, October 15, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/c4n2015.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, September 18, 2015 beginning at 9 A.M. at the Monmouth County Eastern Branch Library, located at 1001 Route 35, Shrewsbury, New Jersey 07702. All meetings are open to the public, with a period set aside for public comment. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-sept-18-2015.htm

For 24 hours, citizen scientists will swarm the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, counting as many species as possible. At the same time, free fun and educational activities will take families and individuals into the coves and trails of this seven-mile peninsula on the New Jersey coast. The BioBlitz is co-sponsored by the American Littoral Society (ALS) and the National Park Service (NPS). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shu-bioblitz-2015.htm

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has named 13 members to the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee, including the re-appointment of seven members whose terms had expired and six new members. Membership of the Committee will increase from 20 to 22 members. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-new-members-2015.htm

Find Your Park and Celebrate the 99th Birthday of the National Park Service. All three of Gateway's units will celebrate Founders Day on August 23 and 25. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/find-your-park-and-celebrate-the-99th-birthday-of-the-national-park-service.htm

Come meet the young adults who are rebuilding the historic porch on Building 26, Sandy Hook’s Headquarters (built in 1899), and learn how Hands-On Preservation Experience (HOPE) and New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg are preserving America’s parks while building a brighter future for young people in need of a second chance https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/hope-porch.htm

Gateway NRA hosts the oldest and largest all-women lifeguard tournament in the nation, to be held on Wednesday, July 29 at Sandy Hook Unit's Beach Area E. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/allwoman2015.htm

The second annual Gateway National Recreation Area photography contest will be held during the month of July. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrating-the-nps-centennial-find-your-park-and-tell-us.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Committee will meet at 9 am on Friday, June 26 at the Beech Room of the Thompson Park Visitor Center. Thompson Park, located at 805 Newman Springs Road in Lincroft NJ, is part of the Monmouth County Park System. Members of the public are invited. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/facameetjune2015.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has made available for public and regulatory review the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Staten Island Unit Maintenance Facilities Project, Relocation of Hurricane Sandy Damaged Maintenance Facilities to More Sustainable Locations. This project would make the maintenance facilities resilient to coastal storm surges and flooding through relocation to areas outside the 100-year floodplain. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/environmental-assessment-notice-of-public-availability-and-open-house.htm

Fort Hancock's History House will open to the public on May 17 for the first time since Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/find-your-park-at-history-house-starting-may-17.htm

"Find Your Park" this summer in your backyard at Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-summer-gateway-offers-ways-to-find-your-park-right-in-your-backyard.htm

The camping fee at Gateway National Recreation Area has been set at $30 per night, beginning with the 2015 season https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fees-to-improve-camping-experience-at-gateway-national-recreation-area.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will meet this Friday, May 8 from 9 AM to 3 PM in the Beech Room at Thompson Park, part of the Monmouth County Parks System. All committee meetings are open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-mtg-may2015.htm

With the donation of materials from the Sandy Hook Foundation, Gateway National Recreation Area will repair and rebuild Sandy Hook's popular Observation Deck beginning Wednesday, April 1. The park expects the deck to be available to the public by the Memorial Day weekend. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/repair-deck.htm

Come to an open house to learn more about leasing an historic former Army building as a residence, bed-and-breakfast or home for a not-for-profit. The open house takes place Sunday, March 22 from 1-3 PM at the Sandy Hook Chapel. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rfp-openhouse.htm

25 young adults from all over the state of NJ will clean up Building 27 at Sandy Hook's Fort Hancock on March 12 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-jersey-youth-corps-volunteers-to-help-clean-up-historic-building-at-the-sandy-hook-unit-of-gateway.htm

The NPS, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration- Eastern Federal Lands Highway (EFLHD) is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate a range of alternatives to address access, safety, and shoreline resiliency at Fort Tilden, Gateway National Recreation Area due to changes brought about by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-begins-planning-process-for-the-fort-tilden-shore-road-shoreline-resilience-project-queens-new-york.htm

Join the NPS at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge visitor center to see the winners of the 2014 Gateway National Recreation Area Photo Contest. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/terrapins-tell-a-tale.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) will provide an update on the project status for the West Pond Environmental Assessment on Jan. 22 at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Center. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/national-park-service-to-hold-open-house-on-the-status-of-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge-west-pond-environmental-assessment.htm

Gateway will hold a public meeting on January 13 at the Ryan Visitor Center to discuss our proposed fee increases at Riis Beach. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-will-hold-public-meeting-on-january-13-regarding-proposed-fee-increases-at-jacob-riis-beach.htm

Gateway seeks new uses for historic buildings at Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-seeks-new-uses-for-historic-buildings.htm

Gateway will hold a public meeting on January 5 to hear comments about our proposed fee increase. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-will-hold-public-meeting-on-january-5-regarding-proposed-fee-increases-at-sandy-hook.htm

Gateway is seeking public comments on proposed fee hikes for camping throughout the park and beach parking at Jacob Riis and Sandy Hook. Gateway is also initiating a study into the feasibility of instituting metered parking at select locations throughout the park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-seeks-public-comment-concerning-proposed-fee-increases.htm

Come celebrate Fort Hancock's military history by joining the volunteers of the Army Ground Forces Association from October 24 through October 26. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-days-2014.htm

The winners of Gateway's first annual photo contest have been announced. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-photo-contest-winners-announced.htm

Gateway begins planning process for the proposed relocation of Hurricane Sandy damaged maintenance facilities to more sustainable locations within the Staten Island Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-begins-planning-for-proposed-relocation-of-damaged-maintenance-facilities-in-staten-island.htm

The NPS is preparing an Environmental Assessment in support of a proposed project to address damage to the maintenance facilities at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-begins-planning-for-proposed-relocation-of-damaged-maintenance-facilities-at-sandy-hook.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will meet Friday, September 12 at Brookdale Community College's Donald D. Wagner Student Life Center. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/facabrookdale.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area proposed Phased Rehabilitation of historic Fort Hancock https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/phased-development-plan-proposed-to-rehabilitate-fort-hancock.htm

The National Park Service welcomes public comment and regulatory review of an Environmental Assessment (EA) to extend the Multi-Use Path (MUP) at Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit. Comments are due by August 29, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/mup-3.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will meet at Twin Lights Historic Site in Highlands, NJ, on Friday, July 18 beginning at 9 am. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca7-14.htm

The National Park Service has extended the deadline for nominations to the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee by one week. The new deadline is Monday, July 21. Applicants must nominate themselves; a third party cannot nominate someone else. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/c4nextend.htm

The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) in support of a proposed project to address damage that resulted from a breach that occurred at the West Pond of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge during Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/westpondassess.htm

The National Park Service seeks nominations for individuals to be considered for appointment to the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/c4n.htm

Rockaway! Arts festival to celebrate the reopening of Fort Tilden and recognize ongoing recovery of the Rockaways. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rockaway-arts-festival-to-celebrate-the-reopening-of-fort-tilden-and-recognize-ongoing-recovery-of-the-rockaways.htm

For 250 years, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse has guided ships sailing to New York Harbor with beams of light. Now it broadcasts live streaming images of Sandy Hook to the entire world. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandycam.htm

A beacon of hope survives hurricanes, wars and a revolution--and it still works today. On Saturday, June 14, 2014, Gateway National Recreation Area will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse from 11 am to 4 pm. The public is invited to this free event. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shl250.htm

Audrey Tepper, historical architect, National Park Service (NPS), Technical Preservation Services Branch, will discuss the basics of the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program and national standards for rehabilitating historic buildings. These standards will be used for rehabilitation of historic buildings at Sandy Hook’s Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/teppertalk.htm

Gateway releases final General Managment Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-releases-final-general-management-plan-environmental-impact-statement.htm

Tourism to National Parks of New York Harbor creates more than $390 Million in Economic Benefit. Report shows visitor spending supports 4,395 jobs in local economy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tourism-to-national-parks-of-new-york-harbor-creates-more-than-390-million-dollars-in-economic-benefit.htm

Wood Chipping to Begin at Great Kills Park, Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/wood-chipping-to-begin-at-great-kills-park-staten-island.htm

Gateway receives dozens of responses to its Request for Expressions of Interest https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-leases-on-life-at-fort-hancock.htm

Media tour of Sandy Hook's Fort Hancock held November 8, 2013. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/invest-in-historic-shoreline-properties-media-tour-of-fort-hancock.htm

Honor History, Invest in its Future. Gateway seeks new uses for historic buildings at Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/honor-history-invest-in-its-future.htm

Jennifer T. Nersesian selected as superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-superintendent-at-gateway.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area Draft General Management Plan is Unveiled, Public Invited to Help Shape Vision for a Great Urban National Park https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-draft-general-management-plan-unveiled.htm

Next Fort Hancock FACA meeting June 28 2013 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-advisory-committee-to-meet-june-28-2013.htm

The Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting Friday, June 28, 2013, at Building 22, the NJ Sea Grant Consortium, located within Fort Hancock from 9 am to 5:30 pm. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-advisory-committee-to-meet-on-june-18-2013.htm

All lifeguarded beaches at Gateway National Recreation Area open this weekend. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/we-love-the-smell-of-sunscreen-in-the-morning.htm

Ready, Set, Launch! Great Kills Park's Boat Ramp Reopens to Public on May 25 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/great-kills-park-boat-ramp-reopens-to-public.htm

Sandy Hook reopens on May 1st for the first time since Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-reopens-to-public-on-may-1st.htm

Miller Field reopens to the public on April 20. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/miller-field-reopens-to-the-public-on-april-20.htm

Gateway Nation Recreation Area today announced a series of steps to rebuild the Nichols Marina in Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-plan-to-rebuild-nichols-marina-at-great-kills.htm

Twin W First Aid Squad (FAS), located in West Windsor, N.J., will donate an ambulance to the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area on Friday, March 22. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ambulance.htm

The Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee will hold its second meeting Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, N.J. from 9 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-march.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area announces more opening dates as the park recovers from Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-hurricane-sandy-recovery-update.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area and Rockaway Little League (RLL) have signed a seven-year lease on the use of a clubhouse and corresponding lands, which include ball fields, in Fort Tilden, part of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rll.htm

Gateway presents "Hurricane Sandy: Before and After," a photo exhibit featuring the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the park. The exhibit will open from 3-5 P.M. on Sunday, January 27 at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Queens. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandypix.htm

Tidewater, Inc. has been awarded a contract, through an Inter-Agency Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), to investigate and clean up radiological contamination at Gateway National Recreation Area's Great Kills Park on Staten Island https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-tidewater.htm

The Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting January 23-24, 2013 at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, N.J. (not at Monmouth University, as stated in the Federal Register notice). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-meeting-01-13.htm

It has been more than a month since Hurricane Sandy roared up the East Coast, making landfall on October 29 in southern New Jersey. The storm affected nearly 70 national park sites, including all 15 in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, from Sandy Hook (part of Gateway National Recreation Area) in New Jersey to St. Paul's Church National Historic Site in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., from Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey to Fire Island National Seashore on Long Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-parks.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area will reopen two sections of the park after Thanksgiving. These are the first areas of Gateway to reopen after Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-jbwr.htm

MillionTreesNYC and NYC Parks joined Gateway in planting 5,000 trees at Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field on Saturday, October 27 to celebrate the park's 40th birthday. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/milliontrees-oct2012.htm

Effective Monday, October 15, 2012, the Sandy Hook - Spermaceti Cove Visitor Center will close and relocate to the Sandy Hook Lighthouse Keepers Quarters. The Spermaceti Cove Visitor Center will be closed until spring 2013 based on visitor patterns and anticipated staffing levels for the coming year. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shuvcclosed2013.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area begins its yearlong celebration of its 40th anniversary with the annual celebration of Fort Hancock Days, to be held on Friday, October 26 through Sunday, October 28, 2012. Fort Hancock Days commemorates the establishment of Fort Hancock as an Army base on October 30, 1895. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/forthancockdays2012.htm

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has nominated 20 citizens to serve on the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee. This committee will provide recommendations for the historic reuse of more than 30 historic buildings in the Fort Hancock Historic Landmark District within Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-fort-hancock.htm

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a radiological survey of closed areas in Gateway NRA's Great Kills Park on Monday, August 27 through Wednesday, August 29, 2012. The first areas surveyed included the fishing area along Great Kills Harbor. Depending on the results of the survey, the fishing area may be reopened for use in 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-survey-8-2012.htm

Help Gateway choose among three draft management alternatives for the General Management Plan (GMP) which will guide the park for the next 20 years. The park will hold three open houses on the GMP in mid-September to discuss options. Each alternative lays out a different direction for the park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gmp-open-houses-2012.htm

Visit any of Gateway's three units on Saturday, August 25 for free programs celebrating the National Park Service's 96th birthday. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/founders-day-2012.htm

Your Park! Your Health! will celebrate the end of a successful summer engaging new communities with heart-smart outdoor recreation at Gateway this Wednesday, August 15, from 3-6 P.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ypyh-kayak.htm

On Monday, August 6, Gateway National Recreation Area welcomed its first overnight public campers at its new campground in the Horseshoe Cove area of Sandy Hook, N.J. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-inaugurates-overnight-camping-at-sandy-hook.htm

For the last few years, the National Park Service has worked with local communities to promote our "Leave No Trace" policy at North Channel Beach in Queens, particularly with the nearby Hindu community. Join us on Saturday, August 4 as volunteers pitch in to make this special place shine. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/cleanup-ncb-2012.htm

Help Gateway create a new vision for a great urban park in the 21st century. As part of the next phase of the on-going the General Management Plan (GMP) process, a series of outdoor information sessions will take place in August 2012 at three locations: Sandy Hook, New Jersey; Jacob Riis Park, Queens, and; Great Kills Park on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gmp-beach-2012.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) and the City of New York plan to establish a top-tier science research center focused on urban ecosystem restoration and resiliency within Jamaica Bay. Organizations interested in partnering with the City and the NPS are invited to submit Expressions of Interest between now and November 2, 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rfei-resilience.htm

Two piping plover nests were vandalized in two locations within the protected nesting area at Breezy Point, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, on the night of July 3. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/plover-eggs-stolen.htm

For the 28th time, Gateway NRA hosts the oldest and largest all-women lifeguard tournament in the country, again at our Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/pr-lifeguard-tourney-2012.htm

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today signed an unprecedented agreement between the National Park Service (NPS) and the City of New York Department of Parks of Recreation – spelling out ways the two agencies will cooperatively manage 10,000 acres of federal and city-owned parks in and around Jamaica Bay to promote visitation, education programs, scientific research and opportunities for outdoor recreation. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/seamless.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area invites the public to learn about and comment upon the development of an Environmental Assessment/Assessment of Effect (EA/AoE) for the park's upcoming Fire Management Plan. The EA/AoE sets out varying options for the park's wildland fire management program, including one chosen as a preferred alternative. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fire-ea.htm

On Friday, July 6, Gateway National Recreation Area will welcome its first overnight camper at its new campground in Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. Seven campsites, nestled among trees and historic fortifications, offer views of the Verrazano Bridge and New York Harbor. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/camp-si.htm

As of July 1, 2012, the Visitor Center at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island has closed for building repairs and restoration of museum exhibits. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-wadsworth-vc-closes.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area hosts Staten Island Borough Historian Thomas Matteo as he reveals the impact of the War of 1812 on New York City. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-the-bicentennial-of-the-war-of-1812-at-fort-wadsworth.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has issued its annual revision of the park compendium which details a park's basic operations and responsibilities to visitors. A compendium includes hours of operation for areas of the park, permits issued by the park and activities which are permitted or prohibited. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/compendium-2012.htm

The National Park Service will begin issuing an annual pass offering free entrance to all 397 national parks for active duty military members and their dependents. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/military-pass.htm

Thanks to funds available through the federal government’s Hazards Fuel Mechanical Treatment Project, Gateway National Recreation Area is helping create firebreaks in key high risk areas along the island’s southeastern shore, which will aid in protecting local residents from wildfires. A press conference is scheduled Thursday, May 17, 2012 in an open area on Kissam Avenue to mark this ongoing effort. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/mow-phrag.htm

On Sunday, May 20, Gateway National Recreation Area will host "Treasure Your Island," a community awareness day, at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place rain or shine from 11:30 A.M. to 4 P.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/treasure-2012.htm

Enjoy both the natural and historical sides of Sandy Hook Sunday, May 20, as Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit hosts Coastal Defenses Day and Ocean Fun Day. All events are free and will be offered rain or shine. Lunch may be purchased at the event. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ocean-coastal-defense-fun.htm

Swing into the 1940s when the Army Ground Forces Association (AGFA), hosts an evening of swing dancing at historic Fort Hancock, part of Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit. This fundraiser for AGFA takes place Saturday, May 19 as park of Coastal Defenses Weekend. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-swings.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area reopens the William Fitts Ryan Visitor Center on Saturday, May 5, 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ryan-reopens.htm

Nominations are being accepted for the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee. This new committee will advise the Secretary of the Interior on the development of a reuse plan and on future uses of the Fort Hancock Historic Landmark District, part of Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca.htm

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District is leading an ambitious effort to restore the Yellow Bar Hassock Marsh Islands, part of Gateway National Recreation Area. The project addresses the vanishing marsh islands by beneficially using clean sand from the New York - New Jersey Harbor deepening project to restore marsh habitat in the bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/restore-yellow-bar.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that more than 17.5 million visitors in 2010 spent $462.3 million in the National Parks of New York Harbor and the communities surrounding them. That spending supported more than 5,300 jobs in the local area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/npnh-brings-visitors-to-ny-area.htm

The National Park Service has chosen JBAY, LLC to operate beach club services at both the Silver Gull Beach Club and the Breezy Point Beach Club beginning April 1, 2012. Both clubs are located in the Breezy Point section of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jbay-beach-clubs.htm

The President's Fiscal Year 2013 budget released today requests $2.6 billion to support the bureau's critical national recreation, preservation and conservation mission. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/2012-nps-budget-request.htm

Five local juveniles were arrested Monday, January 30 by U.S. Park Police at Spring Creek, a wildland area of Gateway National Recreation Area in New York City. They were charged with lighting a fire in an undesignated area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/spring-creek-arrests.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has begun the restoration of a two-acre pilot project at Crooke’s Point, a section of Great Kills Park in Staten Island, to create a barrier island habitat. This project will replace non-native and invasive plant species with native trees and shrubs that will nurture a more diverse wildlife population at the coastal area. The National Park Service (NPS) is partnering with New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and MillionTreesNYC. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/crookes-point-restoration-begins.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area and the Rockaway Artists Alliance (RAA) signed a new cooperative agreement to expand programs offered within Gateway's Fort Tilden area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/raa.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has selected the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children for negotiation of a proposed lease for Officers Row Building #2, one of the historic structures at Fort Hancock located within Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit in Highlands, N.J. A Letter of Intent is required to begin formal negotiations of the lease terms. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/arfc.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area will hold its annual celebration of Fort Hancock Days Friday, October 28 through Sunday, October 30, 2011. Fort Hancock Days commemorates the establishment of Fort Hancock as an Army base in October 1895 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-days-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area invites the public to a meeting on Thursday, October 27 which will highlight the ongoing investigation and cleanup of contamination at Gateway’s Great Kills Park. The public will have the opportunity to examine documents and ask questions. Doors open at 6:30 P.M. at the Education Field Station at Great Kills Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-public-meet.htm

Scientists will report the latest data on the preservation and restoration of Jamaica Bay at State of the Bay--Revisited, a symposium at Brooklyn College on Thursday, October 20. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/stateobayma.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and Brooklyn College will host a scientific symposium concerning Jamaica Bay at the Brooklyn College Student Center on Thursday, October 20. State of the Bay: Past, Present and Future - Revisited is an all-day event featuring research by top scientists in the preservation and restoration of Jamaica Bay in New York Harbor. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/state-o-bay.htm

About 600 youth representing New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Boy Scouts of America, Brooklyn Council, the YMCA and the Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Inc., will join together to enjoy local stewardship and camping at The Great Urban Outdoor Event on October 15-16 at two parks in Brooklyn: Gateway National Recreation Area’s Floyd Bennett Field and NYC Parks’ Marine Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gao-2011.htm

Over 150 volunteers helped Gateway National Recreation Area identify animal and plant species at Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit September 16-17. The American Littoral Society co-sponsored the event with the park, attracting volunteers and sponsors. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shu-bioblitz-results-2011.htm

Beginning Sunday, October 2, several visitor centers throughout Gateway National Recreation Area will have new operating schedules. The new schedule is based on visitor patterns and anticipated staffing levels for the coming year. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/vc-hours-fall-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area will commemorate National Public Lands Day this September 24, and National Hispanic Heritage Month with an array of events around the park led by "Tu Parque, Tu Salud" interns who are focused on promoting health and fitness in Spanish-speaking communities in Brooklyn and Queens https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/npl-day-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area, in partnership with the American Littoral Society, will hold a 24-hour “wildlife census” of animals and plant species at the park’s Sandy Hook Unit in Highlands, N.J. One “species” that the park hopes to see in great numbers: volunteers. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shu-bioblitz-2011.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) issued two prospectuses for proposals to operate two beach clubs at Gateway National Recreation Area: Silver Gull Beach Club and Breezy Point Beach Club, both of which are located on the Rockaway Peninsula in New York. The new contract would allow the beach clubs to operate for approximately ten years, providing similar services to those that currently exist. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/beach-club-proposals.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has reopened almost all of its 26,000 acres to the visiting public. Exceptions include Fort Tilden in Queens and Gunnison Beach on Sandy Hook in Highlands, N.J. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/irene-b-gone.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has reopened most of its 26,000 acres to the visiting public. Some areas remain closed, including: Sandy Hook in Highlands, New Jersey; Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden in Queens; and the beach area at Great Kills Park on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/goodnite-irene.htm

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edwin G. Burrows discusses the role of Staten Island in the "Battle of Brooklyn" during the American Revolution, while military demonstrations and English colonial dancing illustrate life during wartime in the former colony of New York. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/battle-of-brooklyn.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area waives all parking fees on Thursday, August 25 in honor of NPS Founders Day. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fee-free-day-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area seeks public comments from Monday, August 15, 2011, to Friday, September 16, 2011, concerning proposed increases in parking fees at both the Sandy Hook Unit and the Jamaica Bay Unit. The proposed changes would take effect at the beginning of the 2012 beach season. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/pr-parking-fee-up.htm

Over 150 women from four states competed in the 27th annual All-Women Lifeguard Tournament, held at Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit on Wednesday, July 27. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/all-women-tourney-final.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area hosts the 27th annual All-Women Lifeguard Tournament at Sandy Hook Unit in New Jersey. Over 200 contestants are expected to participate. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/all-women-tourney-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area welcomes Outdoor Nation, a youth-led organization championing outdoor recreation, which will hold a summit at the park’s Floyd Bennett Field June 24-26. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/outdoor-nation-at-fbf.htm

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar proposed a series of first steps to link parks and other open spaces in the New York City metropolitan area to enable local communities, and especially young people, to connect with the natural beauty and history of the region. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/great-urban-park.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area’s Floyd Bennett Field is host to a replica of the 1911 Ely-Curtiss Pusher through Friday, May 20. The historic aircraft landed to commemorate the Centennial of Naval Aviation. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ely-curtiss-pusher.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-cleanup-cabrera.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tu-parque-tu-salud-internships.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit hosts not one, but two events: Ocean Fun Day on Saturday, May 21 and Coastal Defenses Day on Sunday, May 22. Both events are free of charge and lunch may be purchased at the event. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ocean-fun-coastal-defenses.htm

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On Sunday, April 10, 3,600 visitors attended the third annual "Treasure Your Island Community Awareness Day" at Gateway National Recreation Area's Fort Wadsworth. The event brought together 28 Staten Island community and cultural organizations. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tyi-2011-story.htm

The third annual Treasure Your Island, to be held Sunday, April 10 at Fort Wadsworth, showcases over two dozen Staten Island museums, parks, theater and cultural groups. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tyi-2011.htm

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On Saturday, January 22, join naturalist Dandelion Dilluvio from 10 AM - 11:30 AM for an indoor and outdoor presentation on wildlife winter survival strategies at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/waiting-out-winter.htm

See a surprising diversity of winter bird life at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge's West Pond with naturalist Ron Bourque. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/winter-waterfowl-and-much-more.htm

Nature photographer Johann Schumacher shares tips on getting that perfect shot. Bring your own camera and dress for the weather. Call 718-318-4340 first to make sure the park is open. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/photo-magic-with-johann-schumacher.htm

Several holiday activities will take place at Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit, located in Highlands, New Jersey. Most events are free of charge. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shu-holidays-2010.htm

Newly restored tennis courts cap a year of improvements by Gateway National Recreation Area to Frank Charles Park, a 20-acre section of Gateway in located Howard Beach, Queens. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fcp-tennis-courts.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gmp-open-house-nov-2010.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) recently awarded a $4.9 million contract for the restoration and rehabilitation of the William Fitts Ryan Center at Floyd Bennett Field, Jamaica Bay Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area (NRA) to RAAD Construction Group, LLC of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. RAAD Construction will rehabilitate the historic passenger terminal building and create a primary visitor facility and administrative center for Gateway. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ryan-center-rehab.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area hosts the annual Herbert Johnson Lecture Series at 7 PM on Wednesday evenings from October 20 through November 10, 2010. Lectures will take place at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/herbert-johnson-2010.htm

The playground area at Frank Charles Park, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, will close for two weeks to be resurfaced. This is part of a larger beautification project for the neighborhood park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fcp-playground.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit will hold its annual celebration of Fort Hancock Days Friday, October 22 through Sunday, October 24. Fort Hancock Days commemorates the establishment of Fort Hancock as an Army base in 1895. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-days-2010.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area's (GATE) Great Kills Park has reopened to the public. The main entrance, multi-use pathways, marina, boat ramp, beach center and Crooke's Point are all open at this time. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-reopens.htm

Great Kills Park on Staten Island has reopened to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-reopens-short-version.htm

Great Kills Park, a part of Gateway National Recreation Area's Staten Island Unit, has been burning since Wednesday, September 8. The fire is not out but under control. Approximately 200 acres have burned so far. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-fire.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is prohibiting water-based activities, including swimming and kayaking, on Friday, September 3 in anticipation of Hurricane Earl. https://www.nps.gov/gate/hurricane-earl.htm

Riding a bicycle along Sandy Hook's seven-mile Multi-Use Path is a great, and green, way to see the park up close. https://www.nps.gov/gate/green-ways-to-shu.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/america-is-your-park.htm

Nena Shaheed is this summer's Teacher-Ranger-Teacher at Gateway NRA. https://www.nps.gov/gate/trt-program-2010.htm

Parter organizations work with the National Park Service to restore an historic building for use as an education and research center. https://www.nps.gov/gate/barracks-building-22-restored.htm

Thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, boaters at Great Kills Park on Staten Island can borrow free children's lifejackets. https://www.nps.gov/gate/lifejacket-station.htm

The Sebago Canoe Club is sponsoring an “All Club Invitational” day of exploration on the waters of Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/sebago-canoe-club-explores-jamaica-bay.htm

Soar Productions presents "Murder On the Nile," a play by Agatha Christie, at Sandy Hook's historic Post Theater. Opening night on Friday, July 23 begins at 8 PM with a champagne toast. https://www.nps.gov/gate/murder-at-shu-post-theater.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/wildlife-artists-at-jbwr.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has been selected as one of 29 new marine protected areas added to the National System of Marine Protected Areas. https://www.nps.gov/gate/marine-protected-area.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/preservation-award-for-barracks-22.htm

About 100 volunteers documented over 500 animal and plant species at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Floyd Bennett Field. Results are still coming in and will be updated as scientists receive lab test results. https://www.nps.gov/gate/bioblitz-2010.htm

Barry Sullivan, superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area, has announced his retirement after a 34-year career with the National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/gate/sullivan-retires.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/enviromedia-mobile-canarsie-pier-may-2010.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is the place to visit on Sunday, May 23 from 10:45am – 4pm. Visit Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook and celebrate Coastal Defense Day and Ocean Fun Day. Opportunities to discover fortifications, tour gun batteries, touch sea creatures, and tour an aquarium are just some of the activities planned throughout the day. The event will kick off at 10:45am with a special ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the latest extension of the beloved Multi-Use Path (MUP). Visitors are encouraged to bring their bicycles to tour Fort Hancock and the rest of Sandy Hook in an eco-friendly way!  https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/a-family-fun-day-at-sandy-hook-may-23-2010.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/united-states-corp-of-engineers-news-release-may-2010.htm

The United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey and the United States Coast Guard Sectors New York and Delaware Bay announced on May 10th 19 new grants to promote the health and living resources of the coast and oceans of New Jersey. Gateway National Recreation Area received one of the environmental and conservation grants for $46,000 to remove marine debris along a 1.5 mile stretch of intertidal and foredune habitat at the North Beach of Sandy Hook. The grant was funded by community service payments made by Holy House Shipping AB, a Swedish shipping company that pled guilty to dumping oil-contaminated waste into the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/grant-for-marine-removal-at-north-beach-sandy-hook.htm

On Sunday May 23 at 1p.m., the latest extension of Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Multiple-use Pathway (MUP) will be unveiled to the public at a ribbon cutting ceremony. Visitors are encouraged to bring their bikes, roller blades, in-line skates out to the park for a spin. The project extends a new section of multi-use pathway to augment the existing Sandy Hook MUP system. The scenic asphalt pathway extends access from the existing multi-use pathway system at North Beach to Gunnison Beach and various historic sites and gun batteries at Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/mup-press-release-may-2010.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area received a grant for removal of marine debris from North Beach at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. This was one of 19 grants announced today by the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey and the U.S. Coast Guard Sectors New York and Delaware Bay. The 19 new grants totaled $1,531,391 and are to promote the health and living resources of the coast and oceans of New Jersey. The grants were funded by community service payments made by three shipping companies as part of their criminal sentences for violating federal laws aimed at eliminating vessel pollution. The three criminal cases were U.S. v. Clipper Wonsild Tankers Holding A/S et. al., U.S. v. Dalnave Navigation Inc., and U.S. v. Holy House Shipping AB. The prosecution of the cases by the U.S. Attorney’s Office was made possible through the combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/grant-received-for-removal-of-marine-debris-from-north-beach-at-sandy-hook.htm

Learn about the fun and educational events taking place at Gateway National Recreation Area. There is something for everyone. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-this-week-may-8-15-2010.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/arson-awareness-week-2010.htm

On April 22-23, as part of a celebration of National Park Week the Teacher to Ranger to Teacher Renay Moran-Kurklen camped out at the Ecology Village Campgrounds, Gateway NRA for the first time with her 4th grade students from the Renaissance School, Charter School #705. The students stepped off the yellow school bus bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited to experience a camping trip with a full agenda that included marine explorations, campfire with smores and ghost stories, and sleeping in tents under the Brooklyn night sky. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/trt-camping-experience-2010.htm

In an effort to celebrate National Park Week and Junior Ranger Day, “Junior Rangerpalooza” was held at the newly adorned Great Kills Education Field Station on Saturday April 24, 2010.  https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/junior-rangerpalooza-april-2010.htm

Three opportunities available for preemployment test in 2010, for the surf-lifeguard job at Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/opportunities-for-preemployment-test-at-gate-and-fiis-2010.htm

“Wham!” was the sound of an airbag as it hit the unbuckled driver with enough force to blow the ‘test dummy’s” head twenty feet in the air. “Crunch!” was the sound of a vehicle as its solid metal body smashed into pieces on the hard asphalt at over 60 miles per hour. But, absolutely not a single sound was heard when Allison Wheeler recalled the events leading up to her younger brother’s death in a drunk driving incident. “Oh my God,” were the words heard over and over again from teens attending the Rude Awakenings presentations and demonstrations at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit on April 22. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rude-awakenings-april-2010.htm

Macy’s motto, “Volunteering is Always in Fashion,” fits their commitment to volunteerism to a “t”. In fact that motto was sported on the t-shirts worn by their volunteers at the Frank Charles Park Clean-up on April 19. The volunteers looked their best and helped the park look its best because of their hard work. A group of about 35 volunteers, from Macy’s and Bank of America, in partnership with the National Parks Foundation and the National Park Service, contributed their time and effort to clean up the playgrounds, baseball fields and shoreline of Frank Charles Park. The site is located in the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/frank-charles-park-clean-up-april-2010.htm

Thanks to teacher Carl Ballenas and the Aquinas Honor Society from the Immaculate Conception School, a new Jacob Riis bust has been installed on the pedestal at Bay 9, the Mall in Riis Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/riis-bust-installed-2010.htm

Enjoy this exceptional PBS film dedicated to the little known treasures found in New York Harbor.  https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-wadsworth-film-festival-april-2010.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-national-park-week-from-april-17-24.htm

Celebrate National Park Week, National Volunteer Week, and Earth Day by volunteering to clean-up some of the park’s resources.  https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/earth-day-2010-jbwr.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/habitat-defenders.htm

“Ambassadors for Riis” Kick Off National Park Week Celebrations What do a missing bust, the town of Ribe, Denmark, a talented local artist, and Gateway National Recreation Area all have in common? Answer: A creative teacher and his talented class of honor students from the Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica Estates, Queens who brought them all together because of their interest in the history and legacy of Jacob Riis. Join us on April 17 at 2 P.M., at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Riis Park, Bay 9 to celebrate the start of National Park Week and the return of the historic figure Jacob Riis. How he is making his return is not only cause for celebration but an inspiring story of the dedication and commitment of youth to a project they believe in. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-bust-dedication-pr.htm

Lois and Sig Steine exhibition of artwork at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/steine-artwork-opening.htm

This week's programs at Gateway NRA, April 11-17, 2010 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-nra-april-11-17.htm

What do a missing bust, the town of Ribe, Denmark, a talented local artist, and Gateway National Recreation Area all have in common? Answer: A creative teacher and his talented class of honor students from the Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica Estates, Queens who brought them all together because of their interest in the history and legacy of Jacob Riis. Join us on April 17 at 2 P.M., at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Riis Park, Bay 9 to celebrate the start of National Park Week and the return of the historic figure Jacob Riis. How he is making his return is not only cause for celebration but an inspiring story of the dedication and commitment of youth to a project they believe in. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-returns.htm

This week's programs at Gateway NRA. April 4-10, 2010 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-nra-april-4-10.htm

STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 — On Sunday, April 11th, 2010, residents from all over Staten Island can experience the second "Treasure Your Island," a community awareness day that will take place at the Joan & Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center (JCC), 1466 Manor Road, from 12-4pm. The event is free, and everyone is invited to attend. Parents can learn about all the great things to do with their children, and students can learn about volunteer opportunities with organizations on the island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/treasure-your-island-april-2010.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/surfs-up-and-so-are-surf-lifeguard-opportunities.htm

Programs offered throughout the Units of Gateway National Recreation Area the week of March 14-March 20, 2010. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-national-recreation-area.htm

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National Park Service Northeast Regional Director Dennis Reidenbach has announced four winners of the Regional Director's Natural Resource Awards. The awards recognize outstanding contributions to natural resource stewardship in five categories that include park management,resource management, maintenance, and research. Gateway National Recreation Area Superintendent Barry Sullivan was named Superintendent of the Year for Natural Resource Stewardship. Sullivan was cited for leading a multi-disciplinary effort on the regional Ocean Stewardship Implementation Strategy. He led a successful effort to develop a network of coastal parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries and estuarine reserves and develop marine resource conservation initiatives with multi-agency collaboration. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-nra-superintendent-barry-t-sullivan-receives-natural-resource-award.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/65-year-old-sets-age-record-for-nps-surfguard-pre-employment-test.htm

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Gateway National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, has awarded a $600,000 design/build contract to the Cutting Edge Group, LLC, of Lake George, NY to complete improvements to the historic landscape at Jacob Riis Park, Queens, New York. Jacob Riis Park lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway Bridge-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, located in the middle of the Rockaway peninsula. The project includes the restoration of approximately 2,500 linear feet of the historic Ship's Rail located along the boardwalk areas along the beach as well as repaving the existing original walkways within the Back Beach Mall area, behind Bay 9. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/riis-park-ships-rails-to-be-ship-shape-in-2010-2.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/winter-animal-homes-2009.htm

Hear Every Voice: NYC and the National Park Service can now be seen online at www.thirteen.org. Created by Stephen Ogumah, this video documents a civic engagement project with the residents of Brooklyn and Queens, particularly the Caribbean immigrant communities. It was produced in partnership with Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and Gateway National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service. This project was created to coincide with the airing of the Ken Burns documentary about National Parks, America’s Best Idea, in September 2009. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/hear-every-voice.htm

National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Regional Director Dennis R. Reidenbach today announced that an independent third party has concluded its final review of the financing commitments submitted by Sandy Hook Partners, LLC (SHP) for the rehabilitation of historic Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook. Based on its review of all the information submitted, the independent third party reviewer, Maurice Robinson and Associates LLC, has determined that the financing commitments made by SHP are insufficient to meet the purposes and requirements of the lease. Based on this determination, the NPS has notified Sandy Hook Partners President James S. Wassel that the lease is null and void. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/termination-of-fort-hancock-rehabilitation-agreement-announced.htm

Step back in time at Sandy Hook during Fort Hancock Days! The Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area will hold Fort Hancock Days on Saturday evening, October 24 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sunday, October 25 from noon to 4 p.m. to commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Army facility on Sandy Hook in 1895. Join the Junior Ranger program and make model missiles, see a living history program and experience the life of Fort Hancock during the 1940s, or go back in time by watching WWII reinactments! There's something for everyone at Sandy Hook October 24-25. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-days-2009.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is pleased to announce that its 2009 General Management Plan Newsletter is now available in four languages. "The diversity of the region surrounding Gateway is rich with many cultures. By providing the newsletter about this new planning process in Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Russian, in addition to English, we hope to improve the dialogue between the park and the many visitors that recreate at Gateway," said Gateway General Superintendent Barry Sullivan. "This planning only comes around once every 20-plus years, so we need to not only share news about this effort but also receive valuable input from as many park users as possible." https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/2009-gmp-newsletter-translations-available.htm

On September 27, acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns’ much anticipated new documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,will premier on PBS. What better time to let New Yorkers know about the national parks right here at home. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/national-parks-week-new-york-city.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-the-400th-anniversary-of-henry-hudsons-voyage.htm

On Tuesday afternoon there was a chlorine leak in the Sandy Hook Sewage Treatment Plant located on the eastern side of the peninsula, near Gunnison Beach. Hazmat teams responded and contained the leak. As a precaution, visitors were escorted off Gunnison Beach due to their proximity to the plant. No employees or visitors were injured. The source of the leak was discovered and repairs were made during the overnight hours. The plant is back in operation today. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-beaches-reopen.htm

It's not often that one hears the words results, accomplishments, independence, opportunity, experience, and pride in one conversation. But, if you spend a little time talking with Community Resources Program Manager Toni Decker and Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE) Park Ranger Steve Salgo, you will. They both have been instrumental in connecting people with developmental disabilities to valuable volunteer opportunities at GATE. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/exceptional-park-projects-by-exceptional-people.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fire-damages-miller-field.htm

Celebrating Henry Hudson’s Quadricentennial Free programs beginning Thursday, September 3 will take place at Fort Wadsworth to celebrate Hudson’s exploration here 400 years ago. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/henry-hudson-quadricentennial.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is offering Manhattan riders who visit the park by New York Water Taxi ferry an opportunity to see more sites via the new National Park Service Visitor Transport Shuttle Service. The free shuttle originates at Riis Landing on the Rockaway Peninsula and stops at the Jacob Riis Park Boardwalk, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and at Floyd Bennett Field, including the Aviator Sports Center and the Historic https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/free-shuttle-at-riis-landing-jamaica-bay.htm

Anglers at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area can now do their part for the environment thanks to a grant from the Sandy Hook Foundation that provides bins for recycling discarded fishing line. Monofilament fishing line, another name for single-strand, high-density, nylon fishing line that is used on fishing reels and in the manufacturing of fishing nets, is responsible for untold damage to endangered marine wildlife such as birds, fish, manatees and sea turtles, and poses a hazard to boaters and swimmers. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/no-string-attached-sandy-hook-foundation-helps-park-adopt-fishing-line-recycling-program.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/wildlife-observation-platform-rebuilt.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-pilot-park-shuttle-bus-at-jamaica-bay.htm

Come out and play this weekend at Gateway! There's plenty of activities for all interests at the park. For example, why not learn about why birds use Jamaica Bay as an important pitstop on their migrations route? Interested? You can join naturalist, Ron Bourque, at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, August 22, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. to take a look at migrant shorebirds and learn why Jamaica Bay is a hot spot for these long distance travelers. Wear waterproof footwear. Bring binoculars, drinking water, sun and insect protection. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-august-17.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nps-announces-termination-of-fort-hancock-rehabilitation-agreement.htm

For many people, a trip to one of our country’s national parks is the culmination of a life long dream. “I always wanted to see Yellowstone,” or “When we retire we’re going to see…(fill in the name of your favorite national park),” are just a few of the comments rangers hear from visitors. Indeed, visits to national parks enrich the lives of many in this nation. However, not everyone can take the big “dream vacation”— often due to a variety of social and economic factors. Also, many people don't realize that there are plenty of national parks, like Gateway National Recreation Area in NY/NJ, right near their own backyards. The National Park Service (NPS) Teacher to Ranger to Teacher (TRT) Program offers a solution for those who may never get to parks out west and beyond. At Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE), Teacher-Ranger Renay Moran-Kurklen is one of those teachers. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/teacher-not-whiling-but-working-and-blogging-away-the-summer.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area's (GATE) Great Kills Park is participating in the Staten Island Dragonfly Atlas (SIDfA) program. Great Kills is located in the Staten Island Unit of GATE and the area provides habitat that contributes to specie richness and an abundance of dragonfly populations. The SIDfA project is the brainchild of the Nature Section of the Staten Island Museum. This 5-year project is designed to collect and analyze data about dragonfly populations on Staten Island. National Park Service (NPS) Volunteer Paul Lederer and Great Kills staff are participating in this citizen science endeavor to compile dragonfly information https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/citizen-science-program-at-great-kills-helps-build-dragonfly-database.htm

With a wing span of only 3-4 inches across and a migratory journey hundreds of miles long, the Monarch butterfly could use a break don't you think? The Monarch is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies and two groups have been working together to see that there is a "butterfly break" for the Monarch and all butterflies that come to and through Gateway National Recreation Area's (GATE) Great Kills Park on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-gives-butterflies-a-break.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/hooping-it-up-at-gateways-miller-field.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area spans from Jamaica Bay and Staten Island, NY to Sandy Hook, NJ. There's a variety of activities and programs for everyone. Take a look at what we have to offer this week.k https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-july-27-august-2-2009.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/25th-annual-womens-lifeguard-tournament.htm

In an effort to better manage the traffic delays leaving Sandy Hook caused by New Jersey’s Highlands Bridge replacement project, today National Park Service officials met with representatives from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT), including the Director of the Division of Traffic Operations and the Director of the Division of Construction Services and Materials. “The meeting was extremely productive,” said Dave Avrin, Superintendent of the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. “The DOT definitely shares our concerns about the impact the bridge construction is having on our visitors. We have worked together to find workable traffic flow solutions for years, and beginning this weekend we will all be implementing some changes that will make a difference to motorists when they exit the park,” Avrin added. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/changes-will-help-motorists-exit-sandy-hook.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/reward-offered-in-sandy-hook-poaching-case.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/learn-about-park-news-and-events-subscribe-to-rss-feeds.htm

The park is hosting a series of Open Houses in July and September to solicit input from the public regarding the future management of park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/general-management-plan-open-houses-announced.htm

Who Says There Are No Free Rides Anymore? Sandy Hook and Jacob Riis Park, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, are taking part in the nationwide Fee Free Weekend at America's National Parks program July 18-19. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fee-free-weekend-july-18-19.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-july-13-19.htm

There are many and varied programs each week at Gateway National Recreation Area. Join us for one, or more, that interest you. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-weeks-programs-at-gateway-july-6.htm

DIAMINDBACK TERRAPIN TOUR DAY AT JAMAICA BAY WILDLIFE REFUGE On Sunday, July 5, join a morning or afternoon ranger guided tour of promising terrapin terrain at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. You might get to see these marvelous turtles come ashore from their brackish homes to nest and lay eggs. Tours are at 10:00a.m. – 11:30a.m. and at 2p.m. – 3:30p.m.. Bring binoculars, sun and insect protection. For reservations and more information: 718-318-4340. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/july-5-terrapin-turtle-tour.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/review-of-fort-hancock-financial-information-continues.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/experience-americas-best-idea-this-summer.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/free-beach-parking-this-weekend-at-jacob-riis.htm

This Saturday and Sunday, June 20 & 21, the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area will be participating in the nationwide Fee Free Weekend at America’s National Parks. Although Sandy Hook has no entrance fee, a beach parking fee of $10 per car is charged between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This weekend all beach parking will be FREE. Sunday is also Father’s Day, and the Fee Free Weekend is a great opportunity to invite your dad and the rest of your family and friends to enjoy Sandy Hook and make some memories at a local National Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/free-beach-parking-this-weekend-at-sandy-hook.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-receives-funds-from-the-american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act.htm

Barry Sullivan, Gateway National Recreation Area General Superintendent, recently announced that the park has received funding to begin Phase I of the project to identify and potentially remediate the radium contaminated soil at Great Kills Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-receives-funding-to-deal-with-radium-contaminated-soil.htm

Media Advisory: Kick-off event for the Kayaking on Jamaica Bay Program, part of Gateway’s participation in a nationwide Active Trails program. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/kayak-program.htm

In order to help visitors get around Sandy Hook this summer, a jitney bus will transport visitors from the ferry dock at Sandy Hook to locations within the park. But, here's the kicker, it will be powered by French fry oil. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-shuttle-at-sandy-hook-helps-visitors-go-green.htm

Over the next century, climate change will significantly affect human and ecological systems. In the past few decades, climate change science has grown in certainty. While attention has historically focused on mitigation efforts, adaptation is beginning to emerge as an important area. Climate adaptation is critical, since current GHG concentrations will already cause climate change impacts in the next few decades. As a result, society must begin to take steps to prepare for and buffer against climate change impacts. At Gateway National Recreation Area, climate change adaptation means increasing ecosystem resilience and protecting cultural and recreational resources from damage or loss. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/long-term-resource-management-under-a-changing-climate.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-nighttime-regulations-will-close-the-parking-lots.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/the-forgotten-navy-flyers-from-queens.htm

Three Year Temporary Contract will keep the Silver Gull Club and the Breezy Point Beach Club Open Gateway National Recreation Area General Superintendent Barry Sullivan announced that an agreement has been reached that allows the Breezy Point Surf Club and the Silver Gull Club to continue to operate within the park for three more years. An agreement between the National Park Service (NPS) and Mr. Tom August, principle operator of the two clubs, was signed on April 15. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/breezy-point-beach-clubs-will-remain-open-this-year.htm

PHILADELPHIA, PA –The National Park Service (NPS) today announced nearly 800 projects totaling $750 million that can be completed across the country with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This major effort includes projects in the agency’s Northeast Region, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nps-announces-recovery-act-projects.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/treasure-your-island.htm

National Park Week, an annual week for celebration and recognition of our nation’s National Parks, will run from April 18-26, 2009. Visitation to America’s National Parks is on the rise, and last year Gateway National Recreation Area had the largest visitor increase of any park in the nation. Visitation at Gateway, America’s the third most visited National Park, increased by 618,000, bringing the total to 9,500,000 visitors. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-national-park-week-at-one-of-the-top-national-parks.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE) Public Affairs Office is pleased to announce that its news releases are now available via RSS feed. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rss-feeds-now-available-at-gateway-nra.htm

Barry Sullivan, General Superintendent of the Gateway National Recreation Area, today announced that the lease agreement between the National Park Service and Sandy Hook Partners, LLC is moving forward and is on schedule. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/project-to-rehabilitate-fort-hancock-buildings-moves-forward.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/temporary-closure-shifts-leagues-to-miller-field-from-great-kills.htm

This year the Gateway National Recreation Area, in conjunction with the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy, will offer a special program to introduce area residents to the joys of kayaking on Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/free-kayak-instruction-program-on-jamaica-bay.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sperm-whale-found-at-gateway-beach-investigation-to-reveal-cause-of-death.htm

In honor of Black History Month, Gateway National Recreation Area will present a program on the racial segregation that took place at Floyd Bennett Field during World War II. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/black-history-month-and-local-history-highlighted.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-pier-and-ferry-dock-envisioned-for-sandy-hook.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area access permits for activities on Staten Island, including fishing, boat launch, and birding will not be available until Sunday, March 1, 2009. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/permits-for-gateway-visitor-activities-delayed-at-staten-island.htm

The National Park Service is set to begin a long-awaited phase one restoration and improvement project at the William Fitts Ryan Visitor Center at Floyd Bennett Field. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/major-restoration-project-begins-at-floyd-bennett-field.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area access permits for activities in Brooklyn and Queens, ncluding fishing, off-road access, kayak and canoe launch, and surfing, will not be available until Sunday, March 1, 2009. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/permits-for-gateway-visitor-activites-delayed-at-jamaica-bay.htm

The National Park Service has begun the task of removing a small amount of soil that contains trace amounts of radioactive material from Great Kills Park on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-removing-radioactive-material-at-great-kills.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/testing-for-national-park-service-lifeguard-jobs.htm

News releases from Grand Canyon National Park.

Grand Canyon National Park is seeking the public’s input on a proposed increase for backcountry permit fees. The proposed change would begin May 1, 2025. The existing $10 per application fee would remain the same and the nightly per-person fees would increase: the below-rim fee would go from $15 to $24 per person per night, and the above-rim fee would go from $4 to $6 per person per night. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/proposed-backcountry-fee-increase-may-2025.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim will transition to Stage 2 water restrictions due to rising water levels in reservoir tanks. Camper Services, operated by Delaware North, will reopen to the public. Water spigots in Mather Campground and Desert View Campground will be turned on. Fire restrictions throughout the South Rim will be lifted. However, the park will remain under Stage 1 fire restrictions, which require campfires to be contained within designated fire rings in maintained campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/transition-to-stage-2-water-restrictions.htm

A new National Park Service report shows that 4.7 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2023 spent $768 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 10,100 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $1.0 billion. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-spending-2023-report.htm

On Monday, Sept. 9, at approximately 9:15 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a missing boater in the area of Lower Nankoweap Camp (river mile 53.5) along the Colorado River. On Tuesday, Sept. 10, park rangers, responding via helicopter, located a body in the Colorado River near river mile 63.5. Initial information suggests the body is that of a 71-year-old male who was reported missing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-boater-located-september-2024.htm

On Sept. 7 at approximately 5:30 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a fatality at Poncho’s Kitchen, near river mile 137 along the Colorado River. Park rangers responded to the scene and found the victim, Patrick Horton, 59, of Salida, Colorado. Horton was on the 10th day of a non-commercial river trip along the Colorado River and was discovered deceased by members of his party. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-at-ponchos-kitchen-september-2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will reopen hotels on the park’s South Rim beginning Thursday, September 5 and transition down to Stage 3 water restrictions. Park water utility crews successfully completed complex repairs to the Transcanyon Waterline late last week and resumed pumping water without identifying any new breaks. The park will operate under Stage 3 water restrictions until the water storage tanks have adequate capacity to return to routine water conservation practices. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/transition-to-stage-3-september-5.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 4 water restrictions on the South Rim starting the afternoon of Thursday, August 29, due to a series of four significant breaks in the 12½ mile-long Transcanyon Waterline that supplies water from the canyon for use in the park. Since July 8, the park has faced challenges with water supply, and currently, no water is being pumped to either the South or North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/temporary-closure-of-hotel-accomodations.htm

On Tuesday, Aug. 27, at approximately 4 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a solo backpacker who had failed to check in with a family member while attempting the Thunder River Trail-Deer Creek loop. On Aug. 28, at about 9:45 a.m., National Park Service (NPS) search and rescue personnel, responding via helicopter, located a deceased individual along a route connecting Lower Tapeats Camp and Deer Creek Camp. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-near-thunder-river-trail-aug-2024.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is beginning public review of a programmatic agreement to establish a more efficient process to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in Grand Canyon National Park. Public comments will be accepted from August 29 – September 28, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-section-106-programmatic-agreement.htm

On Sunday, August 25, at approximately 3:40 p.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted to an emergency via a satellite phone call from a commercial river trip near Fossil Rapid (river mile 126) on the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report that CPR was in progress on an 80-year-old male who had entered the river after his boat flipped at Fossil Rapid. Despite the efforts of the group and park rangers flown in by helicopter, all resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-at-fossil-rapid-august-2024.htm

On August 25 at approximately 11:30 a.m., the body of Chenoa Nickerson, 33, from Gilbert, Arizona, was discovered by a commercial river trip near river mile 176 in the Colorado River. Park rangers responded and recovered the body, which was transported to the rim by helicopter and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner. Nickerson was reported missing following a flash flood that struck Havasu Canyon (river mile 157.3) on August 22. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/recovery-of-chenoa-nickerson.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is actively engaged in search and rescue operations following a flash flood that struck Havasu Creek on August 22, 2024. The flash flood, which occurred shortly before 1:30 p.m., led to several hikers being stranded in the affected area. Rescue efforts began promptly, with an initial flight taking off before 3 p.m. to assist individuals stranded both below and above Beaver Falls. Currently, there is one individual, Chenoa Nickerson, who is believed to be missing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-havasu-creek-august-2024.htm

Effective immediately, the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin phasing into greater water restrictions and conservation measures due to a new break in the Transcanyon Waterline. The North Rim will begin preliminary water conservation measures. Until park staff repair the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/additional-water-conservation-measures-implemented-august-2024.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will reimplement mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. These water restrictions are in response to a pipeline break along the North Kaibab Trail. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms and campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-reimplemented-aug132024.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Explor South Rim, LLC to operate visitor services under a 10-year concession contract. The existing bicycle rentals, guided bicycle tours, and food and beverage services at Grand Canyon National Park will transition to the new concessioner on January 1, 2025.  The contract requires seasonal bicycle rentals, as well as guided daily bicycle tours conducted during the spring, summer and fall. The contract also requires year-round, "grab and go" food and beverage service targeted toward hikers, bikers and pedestrians in the Mather Point area of the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-selects-explor-south-rim-concessions-contract.htm

Park staff successfully restored the pump at Havasupai Gardens that supplies water to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and all water restrictions have been removed. Visitors, residents, and businesses should consistently practice basic water conservation and be mindful of their water usage at all times. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-lifted-august-2024.htm

On Tuesday, August 6, National Park Service personnel located a body below Twin Overlooks along Desert View Drive following a multi-day search. Park rangers recovered the body which was located approximately 150 ft. below the rim. The body was transported to the rim and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. The individual was identified as Leticia A. Castillo, 20, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-recovered-below-desert-view-drive.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will reimplement mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. These water restrictions are in response to a pump failure at Havasupai Gardens. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms and campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-reimplemented-south-rim.htm

On Thursday, August 1, at approximately 7:30 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who had attempted a BASE jump from Yavapai Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Park rangers responded and located the body of a deceased male approximately 500 feet below the rim, along with a deployed parachute. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/base-jumper-recovery-at-yavapai-point.htm

On Wednesday, July 31 at 10:40 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim approximately ¼ mile west of Pipe Creek Overlook. Responding rangers located the body of Abel Joseph Mejia, 20, of Hickory, North Carolina 400 ft. below the rim. Mr. Mejia was near the edge of the rim when he suffered an accidental fall. An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-recover-20-year-old-near-pipe-creek-overlook.htm

Park staff repaired the damaged pipeline that supplies water to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and all water restrictions have been removed. Visitors, residents, and businesses should consistently practice basic water conservation and be mindful of their water usage at all times. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-lifted-july-2024.htm

Heritage Days will return to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park Friday, August 2 through Sunday August 4th. Each day, Heritage Days programs and demonstrations will run from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. throughout the North Rim developed area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-heritage-days-2024.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. These water restrictions are in response to a failure in the Trans Canyon Waterline after it was shut off for repairs. Crews were trying to repressurize the line when there was a break, causing an extension of the current water outage. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/news-release.htm

On July 7 at approximately 2 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail, approximately 100 feet below the Bright Angel Trailhead. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-the-bright-angel-trail-within-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is announcing modified closure dates of inner canyon trails and facilities to support the Transcanyon Waterline (TCWL) construction project. These closures are necessary for the protection of staff and visiting public during an extensive TCWL construction effort along the Bright Angel Trail. Visitors will still be able to use the upper portion of the Bright Angel Trail, from the South Rim to Havasupai Gardens, and the Tonto Trail during the Oct. 21, 2024-May 14 closure period. The South Kaibab Trail will remain open for all hikers. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/modified-waterline-closures-october-2024.htm

On June 29 at approximately 7 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a semi-conscious hiker on the River Trail, approximately halfway between the Silver Bridge and Black Bridge near Phantom Ranch. The hiker became unresponsive shortly thereafter and bystanders initiated CPR as three National Park Service (NPS) paramedics responded from Phantom Ranch. All attempts by bystanders and NPS personnel to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-river-trail-june-2024.htm

Effective on Monday, July 1 at 8 a.m., Stage 2 fire restrictions are rescinded for the entire Grand Canyon National Park. Increased monsoonal activity throughout northern Arizona has significantly lowered the fire danger risk within the last week. Grand Canyon National Park will remain in Stage 1 fire restrictions which requires that a campfire always be in a designated fire ring within a maintained campground. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-lifted-july-2024.htm

The staff at Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy are proud to announce a milestone celebration marking 10 years of the Cultural Demonstration Program. A celebration event marking the 10-year anniversary will take place at the Desert View Watchtower on Saturday, July 6, 2024, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the 11 Associated Tribes of Grand Canyon through traditional demonstrations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrating-10-years-of-cultural-demonstrations.htm

Due to warm and dry weather conditions and increasing fire danger, Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 21. The restriction encompasses the entire park including all campgrounds, residential areas, backcountry sites and developed recreation sites including: Phantom Ranch, Cottonwood Campground, Havasupai Gardens Campground and the Colorado River corridor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage2-fire-restrictions-begin-june21-2024.htm

On June 16 at approximately 6:45 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail, approximately 0.5 miles east of the Pipe Creek River Resthouse. All attempts by bystanders and National Park Service (NPS) personnel to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. The hiker was a 41-year-old male who was hiking out of the canyon from an overnight stay at the Bright Angel Campground near Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-along-the-bright-angel-trail-june-2024.htm

Beginning Friday, June 21, the Bright Angel Point Trail on the North Rim leading to Bright Angel Point will be closed for construction. This closure is necessary for the protection of staff and visiting public during an extensive repair effort to the Bright Angel Point Trail. The trail will be closed to all pedestrian traffic as National Park Service (NPS) personnel replace asphalt, move large rocks, and operate equipment in these areas. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-point-trail-closure-2024.htm

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for parts of Grand Canyon National Park. The warning is in effect from 8 a.m. Thursday, June 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 7 for areas below 4,000 feet in the canyon including Phantom Ranch and Havasupai Gardens. Forecast temperatures in the shade range between 105 F/41 C and 111 F/44 C. Hotter than normal temperatures will also hit the rims, with highs of 92 F/33 C on the South Rim and 85 F/30 C on the North Rim. The National Park Service recommends not hiking below the rim during the excessive heat warning. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/summer-safety-hike-smart-2024.htm

On May 18, 2024, at approximately 12:00 am, Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim structure fire department and law enforcement rangers responded to a structure fire within a concessionaire housing area. Prior to the arrival of the fire department, an employee used a fire extinguisher to put out most of the fire thereby potentially saving the lives of other residents and several cabins surrounding the structure fire. The fire department’s further suppression efforts extinguished the fire completely. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-responds-to-structure-fire-on-bourbon-street.htm

The 34th annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 1 through Saturday, June 8, 2024, on the South and North Rims of Grand Canyon National Park. National Parks such as Grand Canyon are protective havens for some of the last remaining dark skies in the United States. Dozens of telescopes will offer views of planets, double stars, star clusters, nebulae, and distant galaxies. By day, keep an eye out for solar telescopes pointed at the sun. Weather permitting, expect spectacular views of the universe! https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/star-party-2024-announced.htm

On Friday, May 10, National Park Service personnel were notified of a body in the Colorado River near river mile 6. Park rangers responded and recovered the body which was transported to Lees Ferry and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. Initial information indicates the body is that of missing person Thomas L. Robison. The Coconino County Medical Examiner will confirm positive identification. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-along-colorado-river-may2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park announces the release of a new video that invites visitors to experience Grand Canyon through the lens of Indigenous peoples and the 11 Associated Tribes. “We Are Grand Canyon” stands as a testament to the profound connection between the Grand Canyon and the 11 Associated Tribes that have called it home since time immemorial. This collaborative project, years in the making, is a joint effort of the Intertribal Working Group, Grand Canyon Conservancy, and Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-announces-new-tribal-film.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Sunday, May 15 at 6 a.m. to mark the official start of the 2024 season. Grand Canyon Lodge and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their 2024 seasonal operations on this date. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-reopens-may-15-for-2024-season.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. On April 21, 2024, a vehicle belonging to Thomas L. Robison of Santa Fe, NM was found abandoned at Lees Ferry within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Thomas Robison, 58, is believed to have attempted to travel down the Colorado River with his small dog on a wooden raft. Robison is described as a white male, 5’10” in height and 160 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-underway.htm

The Preventive Search and Rescue (PSAR) program at Grand Canyon National Park is pleased to announce the launch of its innovative HIKE SMART film project aimed at enhancing hiking safety awareness among visitors. In response to evolving communication trends and the increasing influence of social media, PSAR managers recognized the need to update its messaging approach. With platforms like YouTube and social media shaping public discourse, staff developed an approach to the important PSAR message through engaging video to effectively convey vital safety messages. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/new-hike-smart-film-announced.htm

The National Park Service is announcing temporary day-use trail closures for the North Kaibab Trail north of the Manzanita Day Use Area to the Supai Tunnel. The Manzanita Day Use Area will be available for use during the closures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/announcement-temporary-trail-closures-north-kaibab-april-2024.htm

The National Park Service is announcing Havasupai Gardens Campground and the Bright Angel and Tonto Trails will reopen for public use April 15, 2024. The areas were closed Dec. 1, 2023, for Transcanyon Waterline project construction activities. Plateau Point Trail, from Havasupai Gardens to Plateau Point remains closed until June 20, 2024. During this time, Tonto Trail hikers will be able to use a trail detour to connect to and from the Bright Angel Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/reopening-of-trails-and-campground-april-2024.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is beginning a public review of a programmatic agreement to remove and replace the Grand Canyon Railway wooden ballast bridge at the South Rim in Grand Canyon National Park. Public comments will be accepted from Feb. 7 until midnight, March 7, 2024. The wooden ballast bridge, constructed in 1925-26, is in poor condition resulting in safety concerns. The bridge crosses over Bright Angel Wash, north of the historic Powerhouse building and Village Loop Bypass Road, in Grand Canyon Village. Trains cross daily over this bridge as they travel between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon Village, providing the only train access into a United States national park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/public-comment-on-wooden-ballast-bridge-opens.htm

Today, Thursday, February 1, 2024, the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park for specific launch dates within calendar year 2025. A total of 482 permits will be available for 12- to 25-day river trips. Eligible individuals may apply online at the weighted lottery website: https://grcariverpermits.nps.gov. Applications will be accepted online through noon Mountain Standard Time on Monday, February 26, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-announces-2025-river-lottery.htm

Grand Canyon National Park congratulates U.S. Park Ranger Elizabeth “Betsy” Aurnou as the 2023 winner of the National Park Service (NPS) Wright Brothers National Aviation Safety Award. Aurnou was nominated by her team for her diligence and leadership in removing hazardous and historic telephone lines from the main flight corridor in the park. Since 2020, she has worked collaboratively with many divisions to facilitate the removal of sections of telephone line from challenging and technical terrain within the inner canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2023-wright-brothers-aviation-award.htm

On November 16 at approximately 1:30 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center was alerted of an emergency by a personal locator beacon on the Bright Angel Trail, approximately 1.5 miles north of Havasupai Gardens. A hiker was reported unresponsive, and a rescuer immediately responded on foot from Havasupai Gardens. Additional National Park Service (NPS) search and rescue personnel responded via helicopter. Upon arrival, rangers pronounced the hiker deceased. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-bright-angel-trail-nov2023.htm

Beginning November 15, National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, anticipate initiating prescribed burning within the North Rim developed area of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-burns-north-rim-nov-2023.htm

The National Park Service is announcing modified closures to support the Transcanyon Waterline construction project. The construction areas and schedule are subject to change and visitors are encouraged to check the park’s website for the current operational status. Intermittent trail delays of up to 30 minutes in the vicinity of construction work may occur as necessary throughout the project. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/modified-tcwl-closures-november-2023.htm

Grand Canyon releases a new podcast series featuring Tribal artists. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-speaks-podcast-released.htm

Effective April 1, 2024, Grand Canyon National Park will increase the cost of overnight backcountry permits. Grand Canyon began charging for overnight backcountry permits in 1997 and last modified backcountry fees in 2022.The cost recovery charge for overnight backcountry permits will increase for all permits that begin on or after April 1, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-fee-increase-october-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with staff from the Kaibab National Forest and Bureau of Land Management, anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments from October 16-31, on the North Rim, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. On Monday, October 16, ignitions will occur on the Atoko Point unit, located on the far eastern edge of the Walhalla Plateau. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-prescribed-fire-october-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will begin day-use operations on October 16, 2023. Grand Canyon Lodge will close and no overnight accommodations, including camping, will be available to visitors to the North Rim. Visitors exploring the North Rim on, or after, October 16 should plan to be self-sufficient and bring enough food and water for the day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-transitions-to-day-use-oct16-2023.htm

On September 5, park managers implemented mandatory water restrictions for the South Rim due to diminished water supplies. Water utilities crews were able to get water flowing again, and on September 18, the restrictions were lifted. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-restrictions-lifted-09-08-2023.htm

The National Park Service is announcing the expected Transcanyon Waterline construction-related closures to Grand Canyon National Park trail and campground areas today. The construction areas and schedule are subject to change and visitors are encouraged to check the park’s website for the current operational status. Intermittent trail delays of up to 30 minutes in the vicinity of construction work may occur as necessary throughout the project. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/announcement-of-tcwl-construction-closures-september-2023.htm

On September 9 at approximately 1:55 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received an emergency call of a hiker in distress on the North Kaibab Trail approximately one mile south of Cottonwood Campground. Soon thereafter the hiker became unresponsive and bystanders initiated CPR. Attempts to resuscitate the hiker were unsuccessful. The victim has been identified as 55-year-old, Ranjith Varma of Manassas, Virginia who was hiking from the South to North Rim (Rim-to-Rim) in a single day.   https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-north-kaibab-trail-september-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is working to remove invasive species and protect native species of fish in the Colorado River with $258,000 from the Inflation Reduction Act. This project is part of a nationwide effort to restore natural habitats and address climate change impacts.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ira-to-help-protect-native-fish-in-colorado-river.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. This is due to diminished water supplies. Crews continue to investigate challenges with water treatment and cannot pump water from Roaring Springs to the South Rim to replenish water stores. They are working to reestablish water treatment and ensure drinking water is safe for the public. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-south-rim-september-2023.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 4.7 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2022 spent an estimated $759 million in gateway regions near the park. This spending supported a total of 9,990 jobs, $346 million in labor income, $576 million in value added, and $1.0 billion in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2022-visitor-spending-to-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The Grand Canyon Lodge will officially commence their 2023 seasonal operations on Sunday, July 23. Since June 2, limited visitor services have been available due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline that led to water conservation measures. The water pipeline has been fully repaired and water conservation measures for the North Rim are no longer in effect. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-resumes-full-visitor-services-july-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will soon be moving its backcountry permit reservation system to Recreation.gov. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-permits-move-online.htm

A man pled guilty to leading illegal backcountry packrafting trips in the Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/illegal-packrafting-plea-deal.htm

Heritage Days will return to the North Rim within Grand Canyon National Park July 28 through July 30, 2023. Each day, Heritage Days programs and demonstrations will run from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. throughout the North Rim developed area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/heritage-days-2023.htm

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced the award of $27.5 million to the National Park Service (NPS) for the Grand Canyon National Park Shuttle Bus Fleet Replacement project in Arizona. The project includes 30 new buses, including 10 new battery electric buses and 20 new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, to replace the current aging fleet and the installation of charging infrastructure to support the new electric buses. An estimated 6 million people visit the park each year and use the free shuttle buses to access destinations throughout the Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shuttle-bus-award-announcement-july-2023.htm

On July 2 at approximately 6:30 p.m., a U.S. Park Ranger received a report of a distressed day hiker in the Tuweep area of Grand Canyon National Park. The hiker, a 57-year-old female, was attempting an eight-mile hike in the remote Tuweep area of the park when she became unconscious. A ranger arrived on scene and pronounced the hiker deceased. On July 2, the high temperature at Tuweep was well over 100°F (38°C), with the high temperature at Phantom Ranch, near the Colorado River along the North Kaibab trail, reached approximately 114°F (46°C). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/heat-related-fatality-reported-in-grand-canyon-july-2023.htm

The National Park Service announces the selection of North Rim Hospitality, LLC, to provide lodging, food and beverage, retail, and other services at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park under a concession contract that will be effective for 15 years from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2038. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-concessions-contract-selected.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is beginning civic engagement to seek public input on proposed improvements to the water system at the North Rim and inner canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. Public comments will be accepted from June 22 until midnight, July 5, 2023, and used to refine the project proposal. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-seeks-public-comment-water-delivery-north-rim.htm

The public is invited to celebrate Juneteenth on June 19 at Grand Canyon National Park. This day of events, including special programming, food and live music is sponsored by the National Park Service and Grand Canyon Conservancy. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-juneteenth-at-grand-canyon-national-park-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Ed Keable announced the National Park Service’s selection of 16 companies to provide guided interpretive multi-day whitewater trips on the Colorado River in the park. These trips last from three to eighteen days, starting at Lees Ferry in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, continuing through Grand Canyon National Park, and ending at Pearce Ferry within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/selection-of-sixteen-commercial-companies-colorado-river-trips.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers will resume prescribed burning on the South Rim this week. On Wednesday, June 7, fire personnel will continue working on the Grapevine unit, approximately 0.5 miles south of the “Duck on a Rock” overlook along Highway 64 (Desert View Drive). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-continues-june-2023.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park has reopened today, June 2, for day use, with limited visitor services and water conservation measures due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline. The National Park Service recommends that visitors bring their own drinking water and food with them. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-north-rim-reopens-summer-2023.htm

On May 21 at approximately 9 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail above the Three-Mile Resthouse. National Park Service (NPS) emergency services personnel responded down trail and soon thereafter the hiker became pulseless. All attempts to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. The victim has been identified as a 36-year-old female from Westfield, Indiana who was attempting a hike to the Colorado River and back in one day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-bright-angel-trail-may-2023.htm

The thirty-third annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held Saturday, June 10 through Saturday, June 17, 2023, on both the South and North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. National parks such as Grand Canyon are protective havens for some of the last remaining dark skies in the United States. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-star-party-news-release-2023.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open as scheduled, on June 2, with limited visitor services and water conservation measures due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline. A landslide from winter storms destroyed more than 300 feet of the North Rim water pipeline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-to-reopen-june2-with-limited-services.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with personnel and resources from Saguaro, Rocky Mountain National Park as well as Dinosaur National Monument, anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments from May 10-12, on the South Rim, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-planned-beginning-may-10-2023.htm

From May 2-23, 2023, the composting toilet located at the “Tip Off” on the South Kaibab Trail will be closed for needed maintenance. There will be no restroom facilities available for public use during this time. Hikers should plan ahead before entering the canyon and use either the restroom facilities at Cedar Ridge or at Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tip-off-composting-toilets-closed-february-march-2023.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has scheduled meetings to provide information to the public and respond to questions about multiple construction activities at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The meetings will include a presentation by NPS staff featuring the Transcanyon Waterline (TCWL), Bright Angel Substation and the substation access road projects with a question-and-answer period. These meetings will be an opportunity for community members to learn about construction updates and anticipated impacts to park operations, residents, and visitors. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-schedules-public-informational-meetings-for-south-rim-construction-activities.htm

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed as the cause of mortality for three California condors found in northern Arizona, according to wildlife officials. The Arizona-Utah population moves throughout northern Arizona and southern Utah, using the landscape within Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, the Kaibab Plateau, and surrounding areas. To date, the virus has not been detected in the other condor populations in California or Baja California, Mexico. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-as-cause-of-three-california-condor-mortalities-in-arizona.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Friday, June 2 at 6 a.m. to mark the official start of the 2023 season. Following a record-setting snow season, this delayed opening is necessary to ensure the safe plowing of State Route 67 and allow staff to reopen visitor facilities on the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-to-reopen-june-2-for-2023-summer-season.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is preparing for a multi-year $208 million rehabilitation of the Transcanyon Waterline (TCWL) and related upgrades to the associated water delivery system within the inner canyon and South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. This critical investment will ensure the park is able to meet water supply needs for the next 50 plus years, supporting 6 million annual visitors and approximately 2,500 year-round residents. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/transcanyon-waterline-construction-contract-announced.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park can expect long lines and full parking lots during the spring break season, which spans from early March through mid-April. As a result of increased visitation, traffic regularly backs up at all entrance stations, with wait times of up to one to two hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Parking lots begin reaching capacity by 12 p.m. and shuttle bus wait times may be prolonged. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-break-tips-2023-announced.htm

On February 17 at approximately 3 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail below Havasupai Gardens. National Park Service (NPS) search and rescue personnel arrived on scene at approximately 3:30 p.m. and pronounced the individual deceased. The victim is described as a 56-year-old male from Pewaukee, Wisconsin who was attempting a day hike to the Colorado River and back. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-bright-angel-trail-february-2023.htm

Today, Wednesday, February 1, 2023, the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park for specific launch dates within calendar year 2024. A total of 459 permits will be available for 12- to 25-day river trips. Eligible individuals may apply online at the weighted lottery website. Applications will be accepted online through noon Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2024-noncommercial-river-trip-lottery-period.htm

Starting on December 2, 2022, through February 26, 2023, the Cultural Demonstrator Series will transition to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center (GCVC) on the South Rim. Every Friday through Sunday, artists from traditionally associated tribes of Grand Canyon will be in the lobby from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cultural-demonstrators-series-transitions-to-gcvc-winter2022-2023.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a Wetland Statement of Findings for the Transcanyon Water Distribution Pipeline project. Public comments on the proposed action will be accepted Nov. 21 until midnight, Dec. 23, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-seeks-public-comment-for-wetland-statement-of-finding.htm

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted unanimously (19-0) earlier this month in favor of the formal request submitted by the National Park Service on behalf of the Havasupai Tribe to change the name of Indian Garden (FID #6209) to Havasupai Gardens. Earlier this year, the Havasupai Tribe passed Resolution 29-21 which provided a formal request to the National Park Service to change the name. Havasupai Gardens is along the Bright Angel Trail and is a frequent stop for day hikers and backpackers exploring the backcountry of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/indian-garden-officially-renamed-to-havasupai-gardens.htm

On October 26 at approximately 3:30 p.m., an electrical fire was reported at El Tovar Hotel within Grand Canyon National Park. Structural firefighters from the National Park Service (NPS), Xanterra Fire and Security and Tusayan Fire Department responded with the first unit arriving within three minutes of the initial report. A circuit breaker malfunctioned in the basement of the hotel causing smoke but there were no open flames found by responders. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/firefighters-respond-to-el-tovar-for-reported-electrical-fire.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent, Ed Keable, has announced the availability of a prospectus for a business opportunity in the park to provide lodging, food and beverage, retail, and other visitor services on the North Rim. The prospectus released today outlines this business opportunity, describes the existing business, and provides details on how to submit a responsive proposal. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opportunity-announced-for-north-rim-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will transition to day-use operations on Sunday, October 16, 2022. At that time, the Grand Canyon Lodge and North Rim campground will close, and limited services will be available to visitors. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-transitions-to-dayuse-october16-2022.htm

After several weeks of pipeline breaks and water restrictions, water in storage tanks on both North and South rims of Grand Canyon National Park have reached sustainable levels. Visitors, residents, and businesses should continue to use basic water conservation practices and mindful water use at all times. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/parkwide-water-restrictions-lifted-september-2022.htm

Water delivery to Grand Canyon National Park's South and North rims has been restored and the park is beginning a phased-in approach to easing water restrictions. The amount of water in reservoir tanks is increasing daily and once sustainable levels are reached the park will continue to ease water restrictions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-to-ease-water-restrictions-september-19-2022.htm

On September 11, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 58 bison from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. All bison were transferred to the Intertribal Buffalo Council, who transported the animals to the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bison-reduction-efforts-complete-for-2022.htm

On Saturday, September 10 at approximately 2:12 p.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted to a flipped boat with multiple injuries from a river trip near Bedrock Rapid on the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center then received a report that CPR was in progress. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/river-incident-at-bedrock-rapids-sept-2022.htm

Effective immediately, the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin phasing into greater water restrictions and conservation measures due to a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will remain in current water conservation status. Until park staff repair the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/additional-water-conservation-measures-for-south-rim-september-2022.htm

On September 4 at approximately 7:30 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a deceased backpacker along the Thunder River Trail, approximately one mile from the confluence of Tapeats Creek and the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-thunder-river-september-2022.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will re-implement mandatory water conservation measures on both the North and South rims of the park. This is due to diminished water supplies as a result of a major pipeline break discovered on September 3 in the inner canyon along the North Kaibab Trail. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms, and at the campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-reimplements-water-conservation-september-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Ed Keable has announced the Prospectus Release for the 16-contracts to provide guided interpretive multi-day whitewater tours within Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. These tours will provide guides, boats, gear, meals and interpretation of Grand Canyon's spectacular natural and cultural resources. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opportunity-announced-for-colorado-river-grca.htm

Grand Canyon National Park biologists have received confirmation that a bat collected along the Colorado River in mid-August has tested positive for rabies. Wildlife managers generally report an increase in human-bat interactions in summer months. Individuals who have had physical contact with a bat are advised to seek medical attention and be assessed for appropriate medical treatment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-tests-positive-for-rabies-along-colorado-river-august-2022.htm

On Friday, August 26 at approximately 3:30 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim west of the Bright Angel Point Trail on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Responding rangers located the body of a 44-year-old male approximately 200 ft. below the rim. The visitor was off trail when he accidentally fell off the edge. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-recover-body-below-bright-angel-point-august-2022.htm

Effective immediately, all Dragon Fire closure areas on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park have been reopened to the public. These areas include the Tiyo Point Trail, the Widforss and Outlet Canyon backcountry use area, and the Widforss Forest Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-fire-closure-areas-open.htm

A variety of National Park Service (NPS) employees, volunteers and partners were honored at a ceremony to Celebrate America’s National Parks and the Dedication of Those Who Serve. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/08-25-2022-nps-awards.htm

Della Yurcik, Backcountry Park Ranger at Grand Canyon National Park, has been selected to receive the 2022 National Park Service (NPS) Harry Yount Award for excellence in the field of rangering. The Harry Yount Award annually honors a NPS Ranger who consistently excels in the performance of duties that serve park visitors and protect the natural, historical and cultural resources of parks. The award is named after the nation's first park ranger and is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a park ranger today. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/della-yurcik-receives-harry-yount-award.htm

Matthew Snider, Compost Crew Leader at Grand Canyon National Park, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 National Park Service (NPS) Excellence in Natural Resource Stewardship through Maintenance award. This award recognizes an employee for outstanding contributions in natural resource management by a Facilities Management employee. This award is given to one individual, once a year. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/matthew-snider-receives-2021-directors-award.htm

Grand Canyon National Park lifted its mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim when water storage reached an acceptable level on August 15, 2022. Water at Mile-and-a-Half and Three-Mile rest houses will remain off until crews are able to complete repairs to the damaged pipe above Mile-and-a-Half rest house. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/sr-grca-np-lifts-water-conservation-measures-as-water-tank-levels-return-to-normal.htm

The Peregrine Fund and Bureau of Land Management at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument are hosting a celebration on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 24 by releasing captive-bred California Condors at 1 p.m. MDT (noon MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time) to take their first flights in the wild. The event will be held in-person at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument for anyone interested in traveling to the area, and it will be live streamed via The Peregrine Fund’s YouTube Channel. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/california-condor-release-2022.htm

Effective this weekend, Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory water conservation measures due to diminished water resources and storage on the South Rim. This measure is a reversal from earlier this week when water restrictions were lifted, as park managers have learned that storage tanks on the rim are not refilling at a sustainable rate. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms, and at the campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-implements-new-water-conservation-measures-august-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park lifted its mandatory water conservation measures when water storage on the South Rim reached an acceptable level on Aug. 1, 2022. Currently, the water at Mile-and-a-Half and Three-Mile rest houses will remain off until crews are able to repair the damaged pipe above the rest house at Mile-and-a-Half. For the most up-to-date information, please consult the Critical Backcountry Updates page. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-lifts-water-conservation-measures-as-water-levels-return-to-normal.htm

Over the last several days, the Dragon Fire has been holding at approximately 1,309 acres in size. The 135-personnel assigned fire has had minimal spread due to monsoonal precipitation over the Kaibab Plateau. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-fire-holding-and-meeting-resource-objectives.htm

As of July 22, the Dragon Fire grew to approximately 733 acres and has 47 personnel assigned. The fire spread across the planning area with low to moderate fire behavior. The lightning-caused fire began July 17 and is being allowed to fulfill its natural role in a fire-dependent ecosystem. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-fire-grows-at-steady-pace.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory Level 2 water conservation measures due to diminished water resources. At Level 2, measures require that all concessions operations switch to disposable dishes and utensils; alter menus to use less water for food prep and dish washing; adopt low water use for hotel room cleaning; and serve drinking water at restaurants by request only. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-begins-on-south-rim-july-2022.htm

The Dragon Fire, located on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is approximately 85 acres in size. The lightning-caused fire began July 17 and is being allowed to fulfill its natural role in a fire-dependent ecosystem. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-fire-on-north-rims-grows-to-85-acres.htm

On the morning of July 13, 2022, for more than 4 hours, Grand Canyon National Park did not meet a treatment requirement to provide sufficient levels of disinfectant due to a waterline break near Ribbon Falls on the North Kaibab Trail. The break triggered loss of the chlorination and pressure for pumping in sections of the waterline, impacting the following areas: Manzanita, Cottonwood, Phantom Ranch, and the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/roaring-springs-system-failure-july-2022.htm

On July 1, 2022, juvenile smallmouth bass were found in the Colorado River below the Glen Canyon Dam. Smallmouth bass are a predatory non-native fish that have adversely impacted native and federally protected fish in the upper basin of the Colorado River over the last 20 years. The National Park Service (NPS) is working closely with partners and stakeholders to coordinate rapid response actions to address this finding in accordance with previously approved management plans. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/invasive-smallmouth-bass-colorado-river-below-glen-canyon-dam.htm

Heritage Days will return to the North Rim within Grand Canyon National Park. After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Heritage Days will be held from August 5 through August 7, 2022. Each day, Heritage Days programs will run from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. in various locations throughout the North Rim developed area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-heritage-days-2022.htm

Effective immediately, Stage 2 fire restrictions are rescinded for the entire Grand Canyon National Park. Increased monsoonal activity throughout northern Arizona has significantly lowered the fire danger risk within the last week. Grand Canyon National Park will remain in stage 1 fire restrictions which requires that a campfire always be in a designated fire ring within a maintained campground. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-restrictions-lifted-june-2022.htm

Park staff and contractors have successfully repaired the electrical system that supports water delivery from the Roaring Springs Pumphouse to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Water restrictions have been removed and the park has resumed basic water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-implements-stage1-water-conservation-june-2022.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 4.5 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2021 spent an estimated $710 million in gateway regions near the park. That spending supported 9,390 jobs in the local area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-use-spending-to-grand-canyon-2021.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will implement a new pilot advance day-use ticket reservation system for the Tuweep Visitor Use Area, July 21, 2022. Park staff are managing for significant and steadily increasing visitation at Tuweep since 1995, along with limited park staffing in the area, ongoing vehicle safety, and natural and cultural resource concerns. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/implementation-tuweep-pilot-day-use-reservation-system-20220621.htm

On June 11, at approximately 2:00 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a passenger on a commercial river trip who had fallen into the Colorado River. Commercial guides were able to reach the woman by boat. The commercial guides pulled her from the river and began CPR. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-on-the-colorado-river-near-pipe-creek-beach-20220613.htm

The 32nd annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 18, 2022, through Saturday, June 25, 2022, on both the South and North rims of Grand Canyon National Park. This is the first onsite event since 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-hosts-32nd-annual-star-party-20220609.htm

On June 2, 2022, the Cultural Demonstrator Series returned to Desert View within Grand Canyon National Park. After an absence of more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series returns in-person every Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The series will run for 14 weeks from June 2 through September 2, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cultural-demonstrator-series-resumes-in-person-at-desert-view.htm

On June 2 at approximately 5:50 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a hiker in distress on the Bright Angel Trail above Three-Mile Resthouse. Soon thereafter the hiker became unresponsive and bystanders initiated CPR. All attempts to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. The victim has been identified as 41-year old Melanie Goodine from Ottawa, Ontario who was hiking out of the canyon after hiking to the Colorado River earlier that day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-bright-angel-june-2022.htm

Due to warm and dry weather conditions and increasing fire danger, Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 26, 2022. The restriction encompasses the entire park including all campgrounds, residential areas, backcountry sites, and developed recreation sites including: Phantom Ranch, Cottonwood Campground, Indian Garden Campground and the Colorado River corridor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-may-2022.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park this Memorial Day weekend should expect long lines and full parking lots. Traffic regularly backs up at all entrance stations, with the longest wait times between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Parking lots, especially near the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, will reach capacity by 12 p.m. and shuttle bus lines will be long. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/memorial-day-weekend-tips-2022.htm

The National Park Foundation (NPF) recently announced its fiscal year 2022 investment in service corps programs across the country, including support for a Native Conservation Corps. This program provides opportunities to Indigenous youth for career shadowing in natural resource stewardship and protection, along with recreational experiences at multiple National Park Service (NPS) units. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/npf-grant-native-conservation-corps.htm

Starting Saturday, May 28, the National Park Service (NPS) will offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park Visitor Center and the gateway community of Tusayan, Arizona. The Tusayan Route will run at 20-minute intervals between 8 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. daily through September 9, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-shuttle-begins-may-28-2022.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Sunday, May 15 at 6 a.m. to mark the official start of the 2022 season. Grand Canyon Lodge and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their 2022 seasonal operations on this date. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-reopening-2022.htm

Following an investigation by Rangers of the National Park Service (NPS), a man pled guilty for conducting business operations without permits within the remote backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park. William “Billy” Chandler Woods of Flagstaff, Arizona, pled guilty on April 8, 2022, and was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation and is banned from Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area for the next two years. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/illegal-backcountry-guiding-april-2022.htm

On Monday, April 4 at approximately 6:30 p.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted of an unresponsive river trip participant near Ledges Camp (river mile 152) along the Colorado River. Due to darkness, Grand Canyon National Park requested Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) emergency helicopter response. DPS arrived on scene at Ledges Camp at approximately 8:30 p.m. and pronounced the individual deceased. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-near-ledges-camp-colorado-river-april-2022.htm

Following an investigation by Rangers of the National Park Service (NPS), on Friday, March 25, a man pled guilty for violation of the group size limitation on a rim-to-rim hike within Grand Canyon National Park. Joseph Don Mount was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation and is banned from all national parks, national monuments, and federal lands within the state of Arizona. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/washington-man-pleads-guilty-illegal-r2r-hike.htm

On Thursday, March 24 at approximately 11:18 a.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted of an emergency by a personal locator beacon from a non-commercial river trip near Hance Rapid on the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center then received a report that CPR was in progress. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/boater-fatality-at-hance-rapid-march-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is beginning civic engagement to seek comments on implementing a three-year pilot advance day-use reservation system to manage day-use visitation to the Tuweep Visitor Use Area including all park areas within Toroweap Valley and the Kanab Plateau. A $2 ticket fee per vehicle is proposed for visitors to get to Tuweep. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tuweep-day-use-civic-engagement-2022.htm

March 18 through April 6, 2022, the Mile-and-a-Half composting toilet facility will be temporarily unavailable on the Bright Angel Trail. Hikers should plan ahead before entering the canyon and use either the restroom facilities at the Bright Angel Trailhead or at the Three-Mile Rest House. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-restroom-closure-spring-2022.htm

A project to repave roads and parking areas within Mather Campground at Grand Canyon National Park will begin in early June and continue through October 2022. Periodic closures will occur within Mather Campground throughout the summer and a fixed number of sites will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mather-campground-repaving-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the National Park Service Utah Parks Group anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments as early as next week downriver from Lees Ferry, Az. within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/news/20220304.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the National Park Service Utah Parks Group anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments as early as next week downriver from Lees Ferry, Az. within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-lees-ferry-march-2022.htm

Effective July 1, 2022, Grand Canyon National Park will increase the cost of overnight backcountry permits. The charge of $10 per backcountry permit remains the same; the nightly per person fee will be increased from $8 per person to $12 per person or stock animal camping below the rim in designated backcountry camping areas. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-camping-fee-increase-2022.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park this spring break can expect long lines and full parking lots. As a result of increased visitation, traffic regularly backs up at all entrance stations, with the longest wait times between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Parking lots, especially near the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, start reaching capacity by 12 p.m. and shuttle bus lines will be long. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-break-tips-2022.htm

At approximately 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call of a single car accident near the South Entrance Station along Highway 64 in Grand Canyon National Park. 26-year-old Haley McCormick of Tusayan, Arizona suffered fatal injuries when the vehicle she was driving collided with a tree. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-respond-to-vehicle-accident-february-2022.htm

Beginning Feb. 8, 2022, the first phase of short-term repairs and upgrades to the Phantom Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) will begin. Work is anticipated to be completed by December 2022 and includes two phases of hauling equipment via helicopters. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/phantom-ranch-wastewater-treatment-plant-construction-begins.htm

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2023-river-lottery-opens.htm

Beginning Thursday, January 6, National Park Service (NPS) fire managers will begin pile burning along the Hwy. 64 corridor on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/winter-pile-burns-begin-on-south-rim-2022.htm

On Tuesday, December 21, at approximately 8:04 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an overdue hiker in the vicinity of the Boucher Trail within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-found-deceased-boucher-trail-december-2021.htm

Beginning December 1, 2021, visitors traveling to Grand Canyon National Park this winter season should be prepared for modified changes in operations. Visitors should also plan ahead and anticipate temporary road closures and poor driving conditions whenever winter storms pass through the area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-transitions-to-winter-operations-2021-2022.htm

A series of prescribed fire projects will begin Tuesday, November 30 and continue throughout the week at various locations across the North Kaibab Ranger District on the Kaibab National Forest. Approximately 6000 acres are scheduled to be ignited at the following specific locations beginning Monday, November 30, and continuing through Sunday, December 5. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-burns-scheduled-for-north-rim-fall-2021.htm

Bison reduction operations are now complete for 2021 on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. In total, 36 bison were removed through live capture and transfer, and five were removed lethally, reducing the impacts of the herd on the park’s water, vegetation, soils, and culturally significant sites and locations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bison-reduction-complete-for-2021-north-rim.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers-working with resources from Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Zion National Park and the Kaibab National Forest anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments as early as tomorrow, November 16, 2021, on the South Rim, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-planned-for-south-rim-november-2021.htm

Beginning Monday, October 18, National Park Service (NPS) fire managers will begin pile burning along the Hwy. 64 corridor on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-pile-burning-south-rim-2021.htm

Effective October 11, 2021, the National Park Service (NPS) will begin shutting off water to the upper Bright Angel and North Kaibab Trails. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-water-availability-changes-october-2021.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will begin transition to day-use operations on Saturday, October 16, 2021. At this time the Grand Canyon Lodge will close and limited visitor services will be available. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-transitioning-to-day-use-october-2021.htm

Due to high Covid-19 transmission levels in counties surrounding the condor release site, and to help prevent further spread of the virus, partners hosting the 26th annual California Condor Release are strongly encouraging the public to attend the live stream event online. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/public-encouraged-to-attend-virtual-california-condor-release-sep-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has successfully located missing person, Clifton Beck. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-located-near-roosevelt-point-sep-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. On Tuesday, September 14 at approximately 9 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an overdue backpacker in the vicinity of the Walhalla Plateau on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-walhalla-plateau-sep-2021.htm

The Peregrine Fund and Bureau of Land Management at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument are hosting a celebration on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 25 at 1 p.m. MDT (noon MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time) by releasing captive-bred California Condors to take their first flights in the wild. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/26th-annual-condor-release-takes-flight-september-2021.htm

After weeks of extensive searching, the National Park Service (NPS) is reducing the scale of the search for Charles Lyon of Tyler, TX who went missing at Grand Canyon National Park on June 10, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-in-limited-mode-september-2021.htm

On Saturday, August 28, at approximately 4:19 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an injured non-commercial river trip participant in the Deer Creek Narrows within Grand Canyon National Park. The participant fell approximately 50 feet while on a hike in the narrows and could not be located by members of the river trip. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-at-deer-creek-august-2021.htm

On Monday, August 23, National Park Service personnel located a body below Yavapai Point following a multi-day search and rescue operation. Park rangers recovered the body which was located approximately 430 ft. below the rim. The body was transported to the rim and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. Based on evidence found with the body, the individual is believed to be missing person Gabor Berczi-Tomcsanyi. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-recovered-august-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has successfully located missing person, Arturo Hernandez. On Tuesday, August 24 at approximately 2 p.m., search and rescue personnel located Hernandez via helicopter along the Hermit Trail near Breezy Point. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-located-august-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. On Monday, August 23 at approximately 4:30 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of two overdue hikers on the Hermit Trail within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-initiated-near-hermit-creek-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing person on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.Gabor Berczi-Tomcsanyi, 45, a Hungarian national, is believed to have traveled to the South Rim on or around July 19, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/august-2021-missing-person-search-initiated.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Deputy Superintendent Louis Rowe has announced the selection of Angela Boyers as Chief Ranger for the Division of Visitor and Resource Protection. As chief ranger of Grand Canyon National Park, Boyers will manage a complex program that includes law enforcement, emergency services, wildland and structural fire, aviation, fee collection, backcountry operations, and a regional dispatch center. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/chief-of-visitor-and-resource-protection-selected.htm

On July 20 at approximately 2:50 p.m., the Grand Canyon Communications Center received a report of multiple individuals struck by lightning at the Bright Angel Trailhead during a monsoonal thunderstorm. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/lightning-strike-causes-injuries-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On July 19 at approximately 9:47 a.m., the Grand Canyon Communications Center received a report of a hiker with a medical emergency in progress on the Bright Angel Trail. The caller determined that the hiker did not have a pulse while on the phone with dispatchers.   https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-the-bright-angel-trail-7-19-21.htm

On July 14 at approximately 6:00 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of two individuals missing and multiple parties injured after flash flood activity impacted Tatahatso Camp near River Mile 38 on the Colorado River. Grand Canyon Search and Rescue sent two paramedics to the scene to assess and treat patients. Active monsoonal weather in the area limited access to the scene for overnight search and rescue operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tatahatso-flash-flood-july-2021.htm

On July 14 at approximately 4:49 p.m., the Grand Canyon Communications Center received a report of CPR in progress on an unresponsive hiker at the Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse on the Bright Angel Trail. The hiker, (Rodney) Jason Hatfield, 44, of Washington, Louisiana, was on a multi-day hiking trip and returning from Phantom Ranch when he began experiencing difficulty hiking up the Bright Angel trail near Indian Garden. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-bright-angel-trail-july-2021.htm

Due to monsoonal activity and heavy rainfall, Grand Canyon National Park will rescind Stage 2 fire restrictions as of 6 a.m. Friday, July 16. Grand Canyon National Park will remain in stage 1 fire restrictions which requires that a campfire always be in a designated fire ring within a maintained campground. Inner canyon users can use gas cook stoves, but campfires and other open fires are never allowed below the rim. River users should continue to follow the conditions of their permit regarding fires along the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage2-fire-restrictions-lifted-july-2021.htm

Beginning July 17, 2021, visitors traveling to Grand Canyon National Park should be prepared for changes in shuttle bus operations. The following changes will be in place from July 17 through November 30, 2021 unless otherwise noted. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shuttle-bus-changes-summer-fall-2021.htm

On June 22 at approximately 1:20 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting CPR in progress approximately a half mile below the South Kaibab Trailhead. Bystanders initiated CPR and National Park Service (NPS) EMS personnel responded and assisted with resuscitation efforts. All attempts to resuscitate the victim were unsuccessful. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/june-2021-hiker-fatality-on-south-kaibab-trail.htm

On June 20 at approximately 1:15 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a backpacker experiencing heat illness on the Tonto Trail near Monument Creek. The backpacker, Michelle Meder, 53, of Hudson, Ohio was on a multi-day backpacking trip from the Hermit to Bright Angel Trail. Hiking down the Hermit Trail on June 19, she became disoriented and later unconscious. On June 20, responding rangers determined Meder to be deceased; the cause of death is believed to be heat-related. On June 20 the high temperature at Phantom Ranch was approximately 115°F (46°C). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/june-2021-hiker-fatality-on-tonto-trail.htm

On Monday, June 15 at approximately 10 a.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted to a personal locator beacon activation from a non-commercial river trip near Hance Rapid on the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center then received a report that CPR was in progress. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/boater-fatality-colorado-river-june-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. Charles Lyon, 49, of Tyler, Texas, was last seen at the Best Western hotel in Tusayan, Arizona on June 10, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/june-2021-missing-person-lyon.htm

Due to warm and dry weather conditions and increasing fire danger, Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 11, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/june-11-2021-fire-restrictions.htm

The 31st annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held virtually June 5-12, 2021. The park will bring the wonders of the night sky into the virtual realm through a series of live video premieres on Grand Canyon’s official Facebook page. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-virtual-star-party.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park this Memorial Day weekend and through the summer season can expect long lines, full parking lots and crowded conditions. To make the most of a visit to the park during this time, park rangers recommend the following pro tips. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/summer-2021-season-tips.htm

Hikers and backpackers hiking in the inner canyon are strongly encouraged to be prepared for excessively hot temperatures—greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit this spring and summer season. Hikers attempting rigorous distances, such as ‘Rim to Rim’ through the inner canyon, must be self-reliant and understand their own physical limitations to prevent emergency situations for themselves and responders. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-urges-visitors-to-hike-safely.htm

The gate at the entrance to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Saturday, May 15 at 6:30 a.m. to mark the official opening of the North Rim for the 2021 season. Grand Canyon Lodge and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their 2021 seasonal operations on this date. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-to-open-may-15-for-2021-season.htm

On April 26, 2021 at approximately 11:00 a.m. MST, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a satellite phone report of a boating accident on the Colorado River near Kwagunt Rapid at river mile 56. A commercial river trip requested assistance with an overturned motorboat and reported boater injuries. The park swiftwater rescue team responded with two crews of rescue boats which launched on April 26th and arrived on scene the morning of April 27. Due to adverse weather conditions, the park helicopter was not able to immediately respond. A 60-year-old female on the trip died in the event. On the afternoon of April 27, the park helicopter evacuated two injured individuals and the deceased. Salvage operations of the overturned boat are ongoing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/one-fatality-and-two-injured-on-colorado-river-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), seeks skilled volunteers to assist with the removal of bison on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in the fall of 2021. Interested parties should carefully read this announcement and the information in the links below. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-seeks-skilled-volunteers-for-north-rim-bison-reduction.htm

April 25 through May 10, 2021, the Cedar Ridge composting toilet facility will be temporarily unavailable to hikers on the South Kaibab Trail. Hikers should use the restroom facilities at the trailhead before entering the canyon.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cedar-ridge-composting-toilet-facility-on-south-kaibab-trail-temporarily-unavailable.htm

After a multi-year effort, the National Park Service and the Utah Geological Association have published Grand Canyon National Park Centennial Paleontological Resources Inventory: A Century of Fossil Discovery and Research, available for public download on the Utah Geological Association website. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/centennial-paleontological-inventory.htm

Beginning April 13 and continuing until May 7, 2021, visitors hiking along the Bright Angel trail near Phantom Ranch will experience a closure of the Silver Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River near Phantom Ranch. The closure will prohibit hikers from crossing the bridge Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. as necessary repair work is completed on electrical utilities. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-announces-temporary-closures-along-the-bright-angel-trail-and-silver-bridge-near-phantom-ranch.htm

Park officials, working with tribal and state officials, stakeholders and community leaders, announced the reopening of the Park's east entrance gate on April 8, 2021. The east entrance, along Arizona State Highway (Hwy) 64, has been closed since April 1, 2020. The intent of the closure has been to minimize visitor traffic through the Navajo Nation and other communities east of the Park, respecting the health and safety need of park neighbors during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-re-opens-east-entrance-gate-4-8-2021.htm

Following an investigation by Special Agents of the National Park Service (NPS) Investigative Services Branch, a man has been sentenced for misappropriation of government property and interfering with agency functions by providing false information within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/isb-grca-case-update-03182021.htm

On Wednesday, March 3, National Park Service personnel located a body and motorcycle below the South Kaibab Trailhead after a multi-day search and rescue operation. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-recovered-below-skth-march-2021.htm

Starting March 2, Grand Canyon National Park’s Cultural Demonstrator Program at Desert View will launch the ‘History Behind the Arts’ video series. This series will feature cultural demonstrators from the 11 traditionally associated tribes of Grand Canyon and will highlight the history of tribal crafts and personal interviews with artisans. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-virtual-cultural-demonstrator-series.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. John Pennington, 40, of Walton, Kentucky was last known to be on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon near Yaki Point. Pennington abandoned his vehicle at Yaki Point on or around February 23, 2021 and is believed to be traveling alone. Currently, Pennington may be traveling on a yellow motorcycle with Ohio plates (2005 Suzuki GSX-R600). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-initiated-february-2021.htm

On Tuesday, February 23, the National Park Service located a body below the rim near Trailview Overlook along the Hermit Road. The body was recovered and has been identified as Lillian Meyn, age 31, of Woodside, California. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-below-rim-february-2021.htm

Beginning March 1, 2021, visitors traveling to Grand Canyon National Park should be prepared for modified changes in shuttle bus operations compared to previous years. The spring schedule will be in place from March 1 through May 28, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-spring-shuttle-bus-schedule.htm

On Monday February 15, Grand Canyon National Park will begin repairing a leak in the Transcanyon Pipeline (TCP) at Phantom Ranch. As part of this repair, the TCP will be turned off and trail closures will be in place to allow crews to fix the existing pipeline. The project is expected to continue through Thursday, February 18. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/transcanyon-pipeline-shutdown-february-2021.htm

2/7/21 Update: Coleman has been located outside of Grand Canyon National Park and is no longer reported missing. The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. Stephen Coleman, 60, of Portland, Maine was last seen on Dec. 20, 2020, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Coleman is believed to be traveling alone and indicated he was going hiking in the Grand Canyon. Coleman’s whereabouts are unknown and he may have been transient and traveling in the Arizona area from Maine. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-underway-2-6-2021.htm

On Monday, February 1, 2021 the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. The permits are for specific launch dates within calendar year 2022. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2022-noncommercial-river-lottery-opens.htm

Between February 2-5, 2021, Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from the Alpine Interagency Hotshot Crew and the Arizona Conservation Corps Veterans Fire Corps—will conduct prescribed pile burning at Indian Garden as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pile-burning-at-indian-garden-feb-2021.htm

On November 19, 2020, Michael T. Reynolds, National Park Service Regional Director of Regions 6, 7, and 8, and Ed Keable, Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park, signed a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the implementation of the Grand Canyon National Park Telecommunications Plan outlined by the 2019 Telecommunications Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-1-14-telecommunications-fonsi-signed.htm

Following an investigation by Special Agents of the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB) and US Park Rangers, a man has been sentenced to serve time in prison for disorderly conduct-fighting and interfering with agency functions by resisting arrest within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/isb-case-update-01142021.htm

Grand Canyon National Park announces the award of the contract for the South Rim’s shuttle bus operation to Paul Revere Transportation, L.L.C. The ten-year contract is in effect from December 1, 2020 through November 30, 2030. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shuttle-bus-contract-awarded-to-paul-revere-transportation.htm

Galen Howell, fixed wing pilot at Grand Canyon National Park, has been selected as the 2020 National Park Service (NPS) Aviator of the Year. This award recognizes an individual who has performed mission(s) of significant consequence and valor or has actively promoted the advancement or recognition of an NPS aviation program, mission or service. This award is given to one individual, once a year.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/howell-nps-2020-aviator-of-the-year.htm

On December 15 at approximately 7:41 a.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a fatality above the Black Bridge on the South Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/12-15-20-visitor-fatality-on-south-kaibab-trail.htm

Beginning December 1, 2020, visitors traveling to Grand Canyon National Park this winter season should be prepared for modified changes in operations. Visitors should also plan ahead and anticipate temporary road closures and poor driving conditions whenever winter storms pass through the area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-2021-winter-operations.htm

National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, plan to begin conducting pile burns north of the Grand Canyon the week of November 16, 2020. Hand piles composed of woody debris are located near the NPS developed zone at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park as well as around Big Saddle, Demotte, and Jacob Lake on USFS administered lands. Fire managers anticipate conducting prescribed burns through mid-December, as conditions allow, to reduce hazardous fuels and enhance site protection at these high-priority locations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-11-16-prescribed-pile-burn-nr.htm

On October 13, 2020 at approximately 12:00 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call alerting officials to a potential suicide. Responding staff conducted an initial hasty search and located a body below the rim just east of the Yavapai Geology Museum. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/victim-identified-yavapai-geology-museum.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will begin day-use operations on October 19, 2020. At this time, the Grand Canyon Lodge will close and no overnight accommodations, including camping, will be available to visitors at the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-begins-day-use-operations-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park rangers urge inner canyon hikers to hike smart while visiting the park this fall season. Hikers and backpackers attempting rigorous distances, such as ‘Rim to Rim’ through the inner canyon are strongly encouraged to be self-reliant and to understand their own physical limitations in order to prevent emergency situations for themselves and responders. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-urges-visitors-to-hike-smart-this-fall-season.htm

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission (AZGFD) and the National Park Service (NPS) entered into an agreement on Friday, September 25, 2020 to reduce the number of bison present on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-10-01-nps-azfgd-bison-agreement.htm

Effective September 24, 2020, the National Park Service (NPS) will shut off water to the Supai Tunnel water filling station on the North Kaibab Trail for the remainder of the season. This adjustment is in response to an ongoing water pump failure at the Roaring Springs Pumphouse. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-change-availability-on-north-kaibab-trail.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) is initiating additional water conservation measures on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to ensure that the area's facilities can remain open until a replacement water pump can be repaired at the Roaring Spring Pumphouse. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/additional-water-conservation-measures-on-north-rim.htm

On September 26, The Peregrine Fund will release up to four California Condors atop the spectacular ledges of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona. Since the public is unable to watch from the annual viewing site, the opportunity to observe the release virtually on The Peregrine Fund’s YouTube Channel. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-california-condor-release.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has reopened the Silver Bridge to all foot traffic following a formal structural assessment. The Silver Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River along the Bright Angel Trail is located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon near Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/silver-bridge-reopens.htm

Following an investigation by Special Agents of the National Park Service (NPS) Investigative Services Branch and U.S. Park Rangers, Thomas Grabarek, 71, of Flagstaff, Ariz., pled guilty on September 8, 2020 to misdemeanor violations for starting a wildland fire within Grand Canyon National Park. The Cottonwood Creek Fire ignited approximately 64 acres in the Inner Canyon along the Tonto Trail near Horseshoe Mesa. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cottonwood-fire-2019-plea-deal-reached.htm

On September 4, in cooperation with the Intertribal Buffalo Council, Kaibab National Forest, and Arizona Game and Fish Department, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 57 bison from the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fifty-seven-bison-relocated.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) has closed the Silver Bridge to all foot traffic due to structural safety concerns. The Silver Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River along the Bright Angel Trail is located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon near Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/silver-bridge-temporarily-closed.htm

As part of its phased reopening, the National Park Service (NPS) continues to increase recreational access and services at Grand Canyon National Park. Park officials are pleased to announce the resumption of modified shuttle bus services on September 5. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-shuttle-buses-resume.htm

Paleontological research has confirmed a series of recently discovered fossils tracks are the oldest recorded tracks of their kind to date within Grand Canyon National Park. In 2016, Norwegian geology professor, Allan Krill, was hiking with his students when he made a surprising discovery. Lying next to the trail, in plain view of the many hikers, was a boulder containing conspicuous fossil footprints. Krill was intrigued, and he sent a photo to his colleague, Stephen Rowland, a paleontologist at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cliff-collapse-reveals-313-million-year-old-fossil-footprints-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has received confirmation that a bat collected at the Whitmore Helipad, located along the Colorado River near river mile 187 on August 6, has tested positive for rabies. The rabies positive bat did not come in contact with any visitors. In recent months, wildlife managers have reported an increase in human-bat interactions. Individuals who have had physical contact with a bat are advised to seek medical attention and be assessed for appropriate medical treatment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-tests-positive-for-rabies-in-grand-canyon-national-park-august-12-2020.htm

Effective immediately stage 2 fire restrictions are rescinded for the entire Grand Canyon National Park. Increased monsoonal activity throughout northern Arizona has significantly lowered the fire danger risk within the last week. Visitors and residents are now allowed to use charcoal grills and have campfires.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-lifted-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The Bureau of Reclamation urges those recreating on or along the Colorado River through Glen and Grand canyons to exercise increased caution as possible sudden fluctuations in water releases to meet summer energy demands may cause rapid changes to the river’s flow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/reclamation-urges-public-to-exercise-caution-below-glen-canyon-dam-due-to-potential-for-rapid-fluctuations-in-river-releases.htm

This is the final update for the Thumb Fire unless conditions change significantly. The Thumb Fire is 100% contained. The final acreage reported for the fire is 8,354. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/thumb-fire-switches-to-monitor-status.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will temporarily close the Cape Royal and Point Imperial Roads on the North Rim in order to complete necessary road improvement projects. This closure will be in effect from sunset on Sunday, July 26, through Thursday, July 30. The Cape Royal and Point Imperial Roads as well as all overlooks along these roads will reopen to the public on July 31 at 6 a.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/two-roads-on-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-will-temporarily-close.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures on the North Rim due to a water pump failure within the Transcanyon Pipeline system at Roaring Springs. Park staff and contractors are working on repairs to the system. The estimated timeline for repair and replacement is unknown and water conservation measures will remain in effect for the North Rim until further notice. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-implements-water-conservation-measures.htm

The Thumb Fire is approximately 6,200 acres. Growth yesterday was primarily in the southern portion of the fire perimeter. Fire behavior was active with single tree torching and surface fire of three to four foot flames where the fire was consuming grass. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/thumb-fire-grows-to-6-200-acres.htm

Located along the western edge of the Great Thumb Mesa, the Thumb Fire is burning in pinon-juniper and brush. Fire managers are actively working to suppress and monitor the Thumb Fire while providing for point protection of identified sensitive natural and cultural resources. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/thumb-fire-grows-to-3800-acres-2020-0719.htm

Recent monsoon activity in the region resulted in two new lightning ignited fires. Fire crews are actively working to suppress and monitor the two fires. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-fire-crews-respond-to-two-fires.htm

On Friday, July 3 at approximately 12:35 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim west of Mather Point. Responding rangers located the body of Maria A. Salgado Lopez, 59, of Scottsdale, AZ approximately 100 ft. below the rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-rangers-recover-body-below-mather-point-07-04-20.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) is requesting all river trips, both commercial and non-commercial, to voluntarily bypass Havasu Canyon on the Colorado river, located at river mile 157. This request is an effort to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to further safeguard the Havasupai people and their traditional lands. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-requests-river-guides-boaters-bypass-havasu-07-01-2020.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) is implementing modifications to operations at Phantom Ranch through the year 2021. The Phantom Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant (PRWWTP), located at the bottom of Grand Canyon, requires critical rehabilitation due to deferred maintenance and increased visitation levels. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-phantom-ranch-opps-mod-06-30-2020.htm

The entrance gate to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Tuesday, June 30 at 6 a.m. following the reopening of Highway 89A and State Route 67. The North Rim will open for day use only and visitors are encouraged to be self-sufficient as services may be limited on the Kaibab Plateau following the Mangum Fire. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/n-rim-grca-np-to-open-for-day-use-06-29-2020.htm

On June 24 at approximately 5:36 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a fatality approximately half a mile above the Tip Off resthouse on the South Kaibab Trail. CPR was initiated and National Park Service personnel responded from the South Rim via helicopter. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-south-kaibab-trail-in-grand-canyon-national-park-june-26-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park rangers responded to multiple heat related search and rescue incidents this past weekend. Hikers and backpackers attempting hikes in the inner canyon are strongly encouraged to be prepared for excessively hot temperatures and to understand their own physical limitations in order to prevent emergency situations for themselves and responders. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/multiple-search-and-rescue-incidents-over-weekend-due-to-excessive-heat.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park has temporarily closed the North Rim until further notice due to the Mangum Fire near the park. The Mangum Fire is located on the Kaibab National Forest and is not within Grand Canyon National Park at this time. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-temporarily-closes-north-rim-due-to-mangum-fire-2020-06-12.htm

The 30th annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held virtually June 13-20, 2020. While the on-site event at Grand Canyon National Park has been cancelled on both rims due to concerns over COVID-19 this year, the park hopes to bring the wonders of the night sky into the virtual realm through a series of video premieres on Grand Canyon’s official Facebook account. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-s-2020-star-party-will-be-hosted-virtually.htm

The National Park Service is asking visitors to take caution and not to approach wildlife, especially wild rabbits. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHDV2) was recently detected in a dead jackrabbit found within Grand Canyon National Park, making it the first detected case in the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-warns-visitors-to-beware-of-wild-rabbit-carcasses.htm

Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Grand Canyon National Park is increasing recreational access. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-increases-recreational-access.htm

Grand Canyon National Park implemented Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim May 25, which will be effective until further notice. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-implements-stage-2-fire-restrictions.htm

Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Grand Canyon National Park is increasing recreational access and services. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-is-beginning-to-increase-recreational-access-at-the-south-rim.htm

Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Grand Canyon National Park is increasing recreational access to selected South Rim viewpoints. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-is-beginning-to-increase-access-to-south-rim-viewpoints.htm

From May 1 through August 31, the Department of the Interior will conduct a Macro-invertebrate Production Flow at Glen Canyon Dam. This experiment, also known as a Bug Flow, aims to improve egg-laying conditions for aquatic insects, which are the primary food source for endangered and native fish in the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bor-news-water-experiment-to-be-conducted-along-the-colorado-river-while-maintaining-hydropower-production-this-summer.htm

US Park Rangers of Grand Canyon National Park seek tips from the public to aid a vehicle burglary investigation. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/grca-rfi-04132020.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) announced today the appointment of Edward Keable as the superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park. Keable, a 34-year veteran of federal service, will begin his new role within the next 60 days. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/grand-canyon-superintendent-ed-keable.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) received a letter today from the Health and Human Services Director and Chief Health Officer for Coconino County recommending the full closure of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-closed-04-01-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park, in response to guidance from Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is announcing additional modifications to operations to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-modify-additional-opps-to-implem-loc-health-guid-03-26-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote public safety. As of, March 24, 2020, Grand Canyon river rafting trips including administrative, research, private and commercial trips, are suspended until May 21, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-modify-river-ops-for-health-guidance-03-20-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities. 03/19/2020 https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-np-transitions-to-limited-services-03-19-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-np-modifying-operations-to-implement-latest-health-guidance.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures for the South Rim and inner canyon from March 7-22, 2020. A leak was detected along the transcanyon pipeline near Phanton Ranch, and park staff are working to repair the break. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-03-17-2020.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce that the 2020 Edwin C. Bearss History Fellowship has been awarded to Jeremy Childs, a member of Grand Canyon National Park's Division of Interpretation and Resource Education, at Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-bearss-fellowship-award-recipient-announced.htm

Shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park Visitor Center and the neighboring town of Tusayan, will resume on March 1, 2020. Buses will run daily at 20-minute intervals between 8 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-tusayan-shuttle-begins-march-1-2020.htm

The National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020. The permits are for specific launch dates within calendar year 2021. A total of 462 permits will be available for 12- to 25-day river trips. Applications will be accepted online through noon MST on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-river-lottery-01-31-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's permit office is temporarily extending the permit processing time periods effective Feb. 14, 2020 until this summer. This change will impact commercial use authorizations (CUA) and special use permit (SUP) applications submitted after Feb. 14. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-permit-processing-updates.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will join national park sites around the country in celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with free entrance to the park. Entrance fees will be waived for all visitors arriving to Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-mlk-day-at-grand-canyon-fee-free.htm

National Park Service rangers located Martin Edward O'Connor and evacuated him from the inner canyon via helicopter at approximately 10 a.m. today in Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-man-from-texas-found-alive-at-grca-2020-01-02.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park for Martin Edward O'Connor, 58, of La Porte, Texas, last seen on Dec. 22, 2019, at Yavapai Lodge on the South Rim of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-initiated-at-grand-canyon-2019-12-30.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures for the South Rim, including Desert View, from Dec. 9-19, 2019, for scheduled maintenance at the Indian Garden North pump house. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-initiates-water-conservation-measures-for-maintenance-20191206.htm

The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has potentially been detected on a fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes) at Grand Canyon National Park. The bat was captured and sampled for the fungus in April 2019 during routine surveillance by park biologists. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-fungus-potentially-detected-at-grand-canyon-20191204.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposed Telecommunications Plan and Environmental Assessment from Dec. 2, 2019 until midnight on Jan. 6, 2020. If approved, the plan would provide a framework and guidance for the future construction and operation of telecommunications infrastructure. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-requests-public-input-on-a-telecom-plan-and-ea-at-grca-20191202.htm

In advance of a winter storm, Grand Canyon National Park will close Desert View Drive, on the South Rim at 7 p.m. (MST), Wed. Nov. 27, 2019. Additionally, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) took precautionary measures by closing state Route (SR) 67, the 43-mile highway, between Jacob Lake and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Tues. Nov. 26. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-prepares-for-winter-storm-2019-11-26.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures for the South Rim, including Desert View, from Nov. 11-18, 2019, for scheduled construction at the Indian Garden South pump house. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/scheduled-construction-at-grand-canyon-initiates-water-conservation-measures-20191107.htm

Grand Canyon National Park backcountry users can seek out shade and an opportunity to rest from the elements at the new Tipoff Shelter along the South Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-kaibab-trail-shelter-now-available-2019-11-04.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is hosting free Native American heritage and diversity events in early November 2019, as well as offering fee-free entry in honor of Veterans Day on Monday, November 11, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-native-american-heritage-month-diversity-and-honor-veterans-at-grand-canyon-20191029.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will begin installing five water test wells within the inner canyon at Phantom Ranch next week. The construction will begin Oct. 28 and is expected to conclude on Dec. 5, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-installs-new-test-wells-2019-10-24.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim will begin day use operations on Nov. 1, 2019. Visitors exploring the North Rim after Oct. 31 should plan to be self-sufficient, bringing enough food and water for their stay, as services will not be available. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-n-r-to-begin-seasonal-day-use-operations.htm

Grand Canyon National Park documented the fifth wild hatched California condor chick on Oct. 10, 2019, in the Southwestern wild population, making it an annual record number of chicks, or nestlings, within the region. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/record-number-of-sw-condor-chicks-2019-10-23.htm

Water connectivity to Grand Canyon's South Rim is restored. The park has removed water restrictions and resumed basic water conservation measures. A valve leak, which prevented water from being pumped between Indian Garden and the South Rim was identified and replaced by park staff. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-np-s-rim-returns-to-normal-water-operations-2019-10-15.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures for the South Rim on Oct. 10, 2019, due to a loss of water connectivity. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-initiated-at-grand-canyon-2019-10-10.htm

The National Park Service approved a plan to protect native fish and other aquatic species in the Colorado River below the Glen Canyon Dam within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/news/10092019.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim will transition to seasonally reduced services beginning at noon on Oct. 16, 2019. Grand Canyon National Park would like to remind the public to plan accordingly if they intend to visit the North Rim after Oct. 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/gcnp-n-rim-transitions-to-reduced-services-2019-10-02.htm

The 11,000-acre lightning caused wildfire which is located on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest became active last week during a wind event that produced wind gusts to 45 mph. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-grows-helicopters-to-assist-2019-09-26.htm

National Park Service staff closed the doors on livestock trailers yesterday, securing 31 bison inside to transfer them to the InterTribal Buffalo Council who will take them on the journey to join their new herd with the Quapaw tribe in Oklahoma. The transfer of the bison concluded the Grand Canyon National Park's pilot program for corralling and relocating bison from the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/31-bison-from-the-north-rim-are-relocated-20190919.htm

Construction to replace two water pumps at the Grand Canyon National Park Indian Garden north pump house is beginning Sept. 23, 2019, and continuing into May 2020. The construction will require visitors to use a marked bypass trail around the construction site along the Bright Angel Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/indian-garden-water-pumps-being-replaced-2019-09-17.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 10th anniversary of National Fossil Day and the 26th anniversary of National Public Lands Day entry fee-free on Sept. 28, 2019. National Fossil Day events include a paleontology symposium Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Shrine of the Ages Auditorium, featuring four guest speakers https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-national-public-lands-and-fossil-day-at-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has received confirmation that two bats collected along the Colorado River in the park last month tested positive for rabies. The rabies-positive bats, both Canyon Bats, were deceased at the time of collection and did not come in contact with any visitors or staff. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bats-found-in-grand-canyon-national-park-test-positive-for-rabies-20190912.htm

Grand Canyon National Park rangers responded to an emergency call of assistance for a 77-year-old man on a river trip Sept. 3, 2019, below Deer Creek Falls on the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-colorado-river.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is implementing its pilot bison reduction activities on the North Rim this month through live capture and removal of approximately 60-100 animals. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-relocates-bison.htm

Park staff repaired the damaged pipeline that supplies water to the North and South Rims of Grand Canyon National Park and water services have been restored to facilities. The park has removed water restrictions and has resumed basic water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-normal-water-ops.htm

Pipe installation of the Grand Canyon North Rim waterline will result in the closure of the Lodge entry road by the Grand Canyon North Rim Visitor Center Sept. 3 to 26, 2019. Expect commercial traffic detours to the Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge and decreased parking opportunities. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-north-rim-traffic-detours-08-30-2019.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures on the North and South Rims on Aug. 30, 2019, due to a water pipeline break that occurred on Aug. 29 on a section of the pipeline north of Phantom Ranch, along the North Kaibab trail. Until park staff repairs the break, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-initiates-water-conservation-measures-2019-08-29.htm

Grand Canyon National Park joins multiple national parks across the country by offering an official park app. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-free-mobile-app.htm

The Grand Canyon National Park Airport in Tusayan will be added as a free park and ride location for park visitors from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2, 2019, to alleviate some of the holiday traffic. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/overflow-park-and-ride-labor-day.htm

The National Park Foundation, National Park Service, and the Department of Energy partnered with BMW of North America to donate 100 EV charging stations for locations in and near national parks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/electric-vehicle-charging-stations.htm

The Ikes Fire, which has been managed by a Local Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT), transitioned to a local Type 4 Incident Commander effective this morning, Sunday, August 25, 2019. This will be the Final Ikes Fire News Release unless significant fire activity occurs. North Rim Closures: Powell Plateau Trail, The North Bass Trail, Fire Point, Swamp Point, and the W4 road north of the intersection of the W4 and W1 Roads. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-command-transitions-to-type-4-team-closures-remain-20190825.htm

Over the past two days, firefighters made progress with firing operations along Forest Road 223. This tactic is conducted to strengthen and improve the northern boundary of the planning area. The North Rim Village and businesses are open. However, road and trail closures remain in effect for the Ikes Fire planning area for Grand Canyon National Park and the Kaibab National Forest. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-holding-after-tested-by-winds-20190823.htm

Yesterday, firefighters did minimal hand ignitions along the National Park Service W4 Road as the fire progressed slowly to the west. Crews did not conduct firing operations along Forest Road 223 as more prep work is needed before putting additional fire on the ground. Smoke from the Ikes Fire, along with other fires in the area, will be visible throughout the area and may cause smoke impacts. The North Rim Village and businesses at Grand Canyon National Park are OPEN. Temporary trail and road closures for the Ikes Fire Planning Area within Grand Canyon National Park include: Powell Plateau Trail, North Bass Trail, Fire Point, Swamp Point, and the W4 road heading north starting at the intersection of the W4 and W1 roads. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-expands-crews-continue-to-meet-objectives-20190821.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the National Park Service’s 103rd birthday by visiting the park for free on Aug. 25, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-invites-the-public-to-celebrate-the-national-park-service-s-103rd-birthday-by-visiting-the-park-for-free-on-aug-25-2019.htm

Yesterday, firefighters moved west along the W4 road and improved the boundary line with hand ignitions. Crews also created debris piles to clean up vegetation along the forest floor and hazard trees. Fire managers completed a reconnaissance flight to assess fire behavior within the interior of the fire perimeter. Fire effects are consistent with land managers’ objectives and are expected to remain as such based on current conditions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-behavior-aligns-with-land-managers-objectives.htm

Yesterday, crews continued to patrol and hold the northern boundary and improve line. Firefighters on the southern boundary lit debris piles constructed in the early phases of line preparation. This tactic deprives the fire of excess fuel as it spreads to the west. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-holding-well-within-perimeter.htm

Yesterday, the Ikes Fire grew to approximately 4,297 acres and has 87 resources assigned. Despite gusty winds and dry conditions, the fire spread across the planning area with low to moderate fire behavior. The weather will continue to be drier than normal with no chance of precipitation in the forecast. Light winds are expected out of the southwest at 8-10 mph with gusts up to 18 mph. Smoke from the Ikes Fire, along with other fires in the area, will be visible throughout the surrounding area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-progresses-at-steady-pace-20190818.htm

The lightning caused Ikes Fire has burned through approximately 3,500 acres of the pre-determined 7,785 acre planning area. Currently, there are 88 resources assigned to the Ikes Fire. Yesterday, gusty winds prevented firefighters from carrying out firing operations. Crews patrolled the perimeter on the northeast and eastern portion of the fire while other personnel continued to prep the west side of the Forest Service Road 223. Observed fire behavior was active with backing fire along ridge tops and single tree torching. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/incident-objectives-being-met-on-ikes-fire-20190817.htm

The Ikes Fire is approximately 3,289 acres, 42% contained, and has 89 resources assigned. The natural caused lightning fire is being utilized to fulfill its natural role within a fire-dependent ecosystem. The lightning-caused wildfire is actively burning within a 7,785-acre planning area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-moves-across-landscape-as-containment-increases-20190816.htm

Warm, dry weather conditions have led to additional growth on the Ikes Fire, which is now approximately 1,535 acres and 20% contained. Smoke settled into the Grand Canyon overnight as temperatures cooled but smoke may begin to lift as temperatures warm up throughout the day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-spreads-crews-secure-planning-area-20190815.htm

The public invited to the 23rd annual public condor release scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, and witness first-hand a spectacular release into the wild of several captive-bred young condors on National Public Lands Day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ca-condor-release-saturday-sept-28-at-vermilion-cliffs.htm

The Ikes Fire is being utilized to fulfill its natural role within a fire-dependent ecosystem while providing for point protection of identified sensitive natural and cultural resources. Resource objectives include reducing hazardous fuels, promoting forest regeneration, improving wildlife habitat, and restoring more open forest understory. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-ecological-benefits-20190814.htm

The Ikes Fire has grown to 85 acres due to warmer, drier weather over the past few days. Over the weekend, Grand Canyon identified 3 lightning caused fires. The Royal Fire, Sinkhole Fire, and Outlet Fire located on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park are 100% contained due to full suppression tactics. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-grows-due-to-warmer-drier-weather-20190812.htm

The Ikes Fire has seen minimal growth over the past 2 days due to multiple rain showers over the fire area. Due to moisture, fire activity has been limited, however, the fire continues to burn within the duff layer of needles, leaf litter, and downed logs along the forest floor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-remains-active-despite-rain-20190810.htm

Grand Canyon National Park would like to invite the public to the eighth annual season of "Echoes from the Canyon". This living history event will feature day time and evening programs August 16 –19th. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/echoes-from-the-canyon.htm

The Kaibab National Forest instituted a Temporary Area Closure for all National Forests System lands and roads within the Ikes Fire Planning Area. This Order will be in effect beginning at 8:00 AM on August 8, 2019, and shall remain in effect until September 27, 2019, or until rescinded, whichever comes first. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/kaibab-national-forest-temporary-area-closure-for-ikes-fire-20190808.htm

The Ikes Fire moved into the northeast portion of the planning area that has a history of little to no fire activity in over two decades. This wildfire is consuming heavy fuel accumulations on the forest floor and is helping ensure the ecosystem will be healthier and more resilient in the future. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-promotes-healthy-forest-regeneration-as-fire-activity-increases-20190807.htm

The Ikes Fire continues to grow despite the minimal amount of moisture received from recent storms. Fire is estimated at 77 acres. Crews continue to prep the perimeter of the planned burn area. Road and Trail closures remain in place. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-grows-to-58-acres-despite-monsoon-weather-08062019.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has temporarily instituted closures for the portion of the Ikes Fire Planning Area that is within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-implements-temporary-road-and-trail-closures-on-the-north-rim.htm

The Ikes Fire, which started on July 25th, is approximately 28 acres. Rain on Wednesday significantly reduced fire behavior, resulting in almost no new fire growth. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/precipitation-temporarily-slows-ikes-fire-growth-on-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The Ikes Fire, which started on July 25th, is approximately 25 acres. Fire behavior was active with surface fire of three to five foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs. The fire is backing and flanking towards the east. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-on-grand-canyon-national-park-north-rim-grows-to-25-acres.htm

Grand Canyon's Volunteer Program wrapped up a week-long experiential training session for college students with the Alternative Break Citizenship School. Approximately 75 students from over 40 colleges participated in educational sessions and hands on service work at the park July 22 to 26, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/alternative-break-citizenship-school.htm

Recent monsoonal activity in the region resulted in several new lightning ignited fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park over the past several days. Fire crews are actively working to suppress three fires within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-suppressing-three-fires-on-north-rim.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) completed an interagency safety review finding no radiation exposure health risk to employees or visitors from uranium ore samples at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/final-report-concludes-no-radiation-exposure-from-uranium-ore-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

National Park Service Requests Public Input on a Telecommunications Plan at Grand Canyon National Park https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/telecommunications-plan.htm

On Wednesday, July 10, 2019, National Park Service personnel were notified of a body in the Colorado River below Lava Falls near river mile 181. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-july-2019.htm

The National Park Service is conducting a missing person search within Grand Canyon National Park.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire resources completed ignition operations on the Long Jim Prescribed Fire. Crews will continue to patrol the unit and mop up any areas along the fires perimeter that may threaten the holding line. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-resources-at-grand-canyon-complete-ignition-operations-on-long-jim-rx.htm

Importance health notice for Grand Canyon South Rim community members. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/community-notice.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers continue to treat the Long Jim Prescribed Fire unit, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. On Tuesday, June 18, 2019, crews successfully treated 180 acres. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-managers-at-grand-canyon-continue-prescribed-fire-adjacent-to-grand-canyon-village.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers will initiate a prescribed fire treatment today, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. The Long Jim Prescribed Fire is adjacent to the developed area on the South Rim, east of South Entrance Road and south of Highway 64 (Desert View Drive) East. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-managers-at-grand-canyon-initiate-prescribed-fire-adjacent-to-grand-canyon-village.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers-working with resources from Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Bryce Canyon National Park, Saguaro National Park and Kaibab National Forest anticipate initiating a prescribed fire treatment as early as tomorrow, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-managers-at-grand-canyon-plan-prescribed-fire-adjacent-to-grand-canyon-village.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is officially certified as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dark-sky-designation.htm

The damaged pipeline that supplies water to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park has been repaired and most water services have been restored to North Rim facilities. The park will lift water restrictions and return to basic water conservation measures on Saturday, June 8, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-water-operations.htm

On Tuesday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 5 staff from the Division of Science and Resource Management (SRM) will be applying herbicide to the traffic islands on South Entrance and Yavapai Roads to remove grasses that attract elk in these congested areas of the Grand Canyon Village. The intent of the removal is to minimize conflicts between wildlife (elk) and both visitors and residents along the road corridors. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-entrance-and-yavapai-herbicide-use.htm

Beginning Tuesday, June 4, the National Park Service road crew will begin a three-week pavement preservation project to seal cracks in the older asphalt surfaces around the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/road-preservation.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's summer season is set to begin in the next few weeks, plan ahead to make the most of your trip! https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitation-tips.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that the 6.3 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2018 spent $947 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 12,558 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $1.2 billion. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-economic-benefit.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) is initiating water conservation measures on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to ensure that the area's facilities can remain open until the repairs are made to the damaged water pipeline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-level-2-water-conservation.htm

An international team of paleontologists has united to study important fossil footprints recently discovered in a remote location within Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. A large sandstone boulder contains several exceptionally well-preserved trackways of primitive tetrapods (four-footed animals) which inhabited an ancient desert environment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/newly-discovered-fossils.htm

Due to water turbidity and maintenance issues, some of the water filling stations and flush toilets normally available along the North Kaibab and Bright Angel Trails at this time of the year will not be open until water conditions change and/or water line repairs are made. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-users-advised-of-changes-to-water-availability-on-north-kaibab-and-bright-angel-trails.htm

From Tuesday, May 16 to Wednesday, May 17 the Grand Canyon National Park Division of Science and Resource Management (SRM) will apply minor spot spray treatments of herbicide around the Grand Canyon Lodge and campground in the North Rim Developed Area to aid in the control of an especially invasive grass species for which mechanical removal is ineffective. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-apply-herbicide-on-nr-2019.htm

The twenty-ninth annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held Saturday, June 22 through Saturday, June 29, 2019 on both South and North Rims of the park. Amateur astronomers from across the country will volunteer their telescopes and expertise for the enjoyment of park visitors. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-grand-canyon-national-park-100th-anniversary-during-star-party-week-june-22-29.htm

Finding of No Significant Impact signed for the Transcanyon Water Distribution Pipeline project in Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/finding-of-no-significant-impact-for-transcanyon-waterline.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers anticipate initiating prescribed pile burning this week as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-south-rim-piles-project.htm

The gate at the entrance to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 a.m. to mark the official opening of the North Rim for the 2019 season. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-2019-season.htm

At 1:05 p.m. on April 23, 2019, Grand Canyon National Park rangers responded to a call reporting that a person needed help at rocky point west of Pipe Creek Vista. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-at-pipe-creek-vista.htm

From April 15 to 30, 2019 the Grand Canyon National Park Division of Science and Resource Management (SRM) will be applying cut-stump and occasional spot spray treatments of herbicide to invasive plants along the banks of the Colorado River to aid in the control of several invasive plant species for which mechanical removal is ineffective. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-apply-herbicide-along-co-river-2019.htm

A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by Kate Hammond, Acting Regional Director for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service (NPS), for a site plan to transform Desert View in Grand Canyon National Park into an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site and share a unifying message from the park's traditionally associated tribes: "we are still here". https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/finding-of-no-significant-impact-signed-for-the-desert-view-inter-tribal-cultural-heritage-site.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 49th anniversary of Earth Day during National Park Week with free entrance on Saturday, April 20, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-earth-day-at-grand-canyon-national-park-with-fee-free-entrance-on-april-20.htm

Starting on approximately April 8, 2019 Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C., a concessionaire within Grand Canyon National Park, will be fulfilling a contractual obligation to rebuild the Maswik South lodging complex and construct new roads near Maswik South. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-rebuilding-maswik-south-lodge.htm

On Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at approximately 11:30 am, Grand Canyon National Park rangers responded to a call reporting that someone had fallen over the canyon rim east of Yavapai Geology Museum. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/over-the-edge-fatality.htm

Each year in the spring (March - June) Grand Canyon National Park experiences an increase in turbidity in the drinking water. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-snow-melt-causes-annual-turbidity.htm

Visitor Fatality at South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-at-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On April 3, 2019, Grand Canyon Railway, in consultation with the National Park Service (NPS), will be applying herbicide along the railroad tracks including those within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-railway-herbicide.htm

Spring Break is one of the most popular times to visit Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-break-tips-for-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Preliminary findings of an interagency safety review conducted last week at Grand Canyon National Park indicate no current exposure concerns for park employees and visitors from uranium ore samples previously stored in buckets at the park's Museum Collection building. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/preliminary-findings-indicate-no-current-uranium-ore-exposure.htm

A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by Kate Hammond, Acting Regional Director for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service for the rebuild of the Maswik South lodging complex and the construction of new roads near Maswik South at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fonsi-signed-for-maswik-south.htm

The National Park Service is accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. The permits are for launch dates within calendar year 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-noncommercial-river-trip-lottery.htm

The National Park Service and the Department of the Interior are coordinating with federal and state agencies to investigate and address concerns of exposure to uranium rock samples previously stored at Grand Canyon National Park's Museum Collection building. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-reviews-uranium-exposure-at-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy invite the public and park partners to join National Park Service staff in celebrating the 100th anniversary of Grand Canyon’s designation as a national park. To celebrate this significant milestone, Grand Canyon National Park will waive entrance fees for visitors coming to the park on February 26. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-100th-anniversary-commemoration.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) will again offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan in 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-shuttle-starts-march-1.htm

Following the enactment of the continuing resolution, staff at Grand Canyon National Park will resume regular operations this week, including opening visitor centers, offering ranger programs, opening permit offices, and collecting fees at entrance stations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-visitor-services-reopen-following-shutdown.htm

Using revenue generated by recreation fees Grand Canyon National Park has reopened the South Rim and Desert View entrance stations to provide information and safety messages to visitors.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/park-accessibility-possible-with-rec-fee-dollars-and-az-state-support.htm

During the partial shutdown of the federal government due to the lapse of appropriations, national parks will remain as accessible as possible while still following all applicable laws and procedures. Park roads, lookouts, and trails at Grand Canyon National Park will remain accessible to visitors. Visitor services provided by park concessioners and other entities will also remain open and operational, including lodging, restaurants and food service, grocery stores, retail locations, bicycle rental, concessioner provided tours, and park shuttle operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-np-accessible-to-public-during-partial-government-shutdown-2018-12-22.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will be joining national park units across the country in honor of Veterans Day with fee-free entry into the park on November 11. On November 14 Grand Canyon National Park will host a Native American Heritage Celebration with special presentations and demonstrations recognizing the many accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices made by America's first people. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/veteran-s-day-native-american-heritage-month.htm

Following a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline earlier this month, Grand Canyon National Park now has enough water in storage to scale back to Level 1 basic water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-1-water-conservation-seasonal-trail-water.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on the Maswik South Rebuild Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA will be available for public review and comment for a 30-day period from October 25 to November 25, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/maswik-south-rebuild-ea.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public review of a site plan/environmental assessment that proposes to modify facilities at Desert View to create an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/desert-view-inter-tribal-cultural-heritage-ea.htm

Elyssa Shalla, park ranger at Grand Canyon National Park, has been selected as a recipient of the Intermountain Region 2018 Freeman Tilden Award. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/elyssa-shall-regional-award.htm

National Park Service (NPS) Rangers of Grand Canyon National Park and Special Agents with the NPS Investigative Services Branch (ISB) are investigating a double-fatality that occurred at Grand Canyon National Park on, or around, September 18, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-seeking-tips-to-aid-double-fatality-investigation-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

At approximately 1:00 am this morning, October 11, an officer involved shooting occurred on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The suspect is in custody at this time. The National Park Service (NPS) does not believe there to be any ongoing safety concerns for the public. The park remains open and all visitor services are available. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ranger-involved-incident-under-investigation-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on the Transcanyon Water Distribution Pipeline (Pipeline) Environmental Assessment (EA). Public comments will be accepted for a 30-day period from today, Wednesday, October 10 through Saturday, November 10, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-requests-public-review-of-the-transcanyon-water-distribution-pipeline-ea.htm

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has reopened US 89 between Cameron and US 160 on the Navajo Nation. Traffic has been restored in both directions following damage caused Wednesday by heavy rains. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/highway-89-has-reopened-between-north-and-south-rim-of-grand-cyn-nat-pk.htm

Grand Canyon National Park implemented Level 2 water conservation measures on Wednesday, October 3, due to a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. This morning Water Utility staff at the park responded to another pipeline break. Additionally, attempts to pump water beyond Indian Garden yesterday failed. Park staff are currently assessing the situation and attempting to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-nat-pk-prepares-for-potential-increase-in-water-conservation-methods.htm

Highway 89 has been closed due to flooding and road wash out between Cameron and Highway 160 southwest of Tuba City. Grand Canyon National Park remains open to the public. However, detours are in place, extending travel times to the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hwy-89-closure-affects-travel-to-n-and-s-rim-of-grand-canyon-nat-pk.htm

North Rim operations in Grand Canyon National Park will begin day use operations on Thursday November 1, 2018. At that time, the Visitor Center, Backcountry Office and Campground Kiosk will be closed. The Entrance Station will be unstaffed, but fees will continue to be collected via an automated machine. Limited park staff is present on the North Rim year-round https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-north-rim-transitions-into-day-use-area-november-1-2018.htm

Grand Canyon National Park implemented Level 2 water conservation measures due to a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. Until park staff repairs the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-2-restrictions-implemented-at-the-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate National Fossil Day on Wednesday, October 17, 2018. Events are designed to celebrate National Fossil Day and will be held throughout the day to highlight the importance of fossils and their uses. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-fossil-day.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Christine Lehnertz has announced the availability of a prospectus for a business opportunity in the park to provide lodging, food and beverage, retail, and other visitor services on the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opp-announced-for-hospitality-contract-on-n-rim-of-grand-canyon-nat-pk.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 25th anniversary of National Public Lands Day fee-free on September 22, 2018. This year in celebration of National Public Lands Day, the National Park Service(NPS) is focusing on restoration and resilience. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-nat-public-lands-day-at-grand-canyon-np-fee-free-day-sept-22-2018.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has received confirmation that a bat collected at Phantom Ranch on August 31, 2018 tested positive for rabies. The rabies positive bat did not come in contact with any visitors. All individuals who have had physical contact with a bat have been advised to seek medical attention and be assessed for appropriate medical treatment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-positive-for-rabies-in-grand-canyon-natl-park-09-14-2018.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal changes on the morning of October 16, 2018. The North Rim transitions to reduced services with the Visitor Center, gift shop, campground and entrance station remaining open for visitor use. The Grand Canyon Lodge, food services, Canyon Trail Rides and park ranger programming will no longer be available. These operations will resume on May 15, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-north-rim-operations-begin-seasonal-changes-oct-16-2018.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on an Expanded Non-native Aquatic Species Management Plan and Environmental Assessment in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Glen Canyon NRA) and Grand Canyon National Park below the Glen Canyon Dam. Public comments will be accepted for a 30-day period from Sept. 11 to Oct. 11, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-seek-public-comment-expanded-non-native-aquatic-species-mgmt-plan.htm

Wildlife biologists will be putting GPS collars on ten adult elk between late August and October of this year to gather movement data of the elk at Grand Canyon National Park. The GPS collar information will be used to inform the development of a draft elk management plan. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/wildlife-biologists-to-begin-gathering-gps-data-for-elk-at-grand-canyon-np.htm

Effective August 21, 2018 Kolb Studio will be closed and a detour will be in place while work is being completed along the Rim Trail. This project will be completed on August 23, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rim-trail-detour-historic-kolb-studio-temporarily-closed-august-21-23-2018.htm

As the Obi Fire winds down, temporary road and trail closures will expire on Saturday evening, August 18th, 2018. Some road and trail closures will remain in place due to fires on the neighboring Kaibab National Forest. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/final-press-release-for-obi-fire.htm

The Obi Fire slowly increases in size as firefighters near Cape Royal and begin to scale back on backfiring operations. Temporary road and trail closures are still in effect. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-slowly-increases-to-10-067-acres.htm

Temporary road and trail closures for public and firefighter safety continue at Grand Canyon National Park. These include the Swamp Ridge Road, the North Bass Trail, and the Powell Plateau Trail. Fire Point, the Nankoweap Trail, and the Point Imperial Trail remain closed. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-grows-to-9-921-acres.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has implemented new temporary closures for public and firefighter safety. These include the Swamp Ridge Road, the North Bass Trail, and the Powell Plateau Trail. Fire Point, the Nankoweap Trail, and the Point Imperial Trail remain closed. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20180810-grca-new-temp-road-trail-closures-obi-fire-8100-acres.htm

This is a summary of current fire related closures for Grand Canyon National Park. Today, new temporary trail closures were implemented that include the Nankoweap Trail, the Point Imperial Trail, and Fire Point on the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-08-08-current-grand-canyon-national-park-closures.htm

The Obi Fire is estimated at 7,420 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds combined with dry, unstable air contributed to the fires growth. Fire behavior was active with isolated tree torching and surface fire of two to four foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-08-07-obi-fire-7420-acres-temporary-road-trail-closures-nr.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has temporarily closed Cape Royal Road. Included in this closure are Cape Final Trail, Cliff Spring Trail, the northern section of the Ken Patrick Trail from Point Imperial to Cape Royal Road, and the southern section of the Ken Patrick Trail from Cape Royal Road to the old Bright Angel Trail. The road to Point Imperial and all other North Rim trails and facilities are open at this time. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-08-05-north-rim-temporary-road-trail-closures-obi-fire-3350-acres.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will implement closures of the Cape Royal Road, Cape Final Trail, and Cliff Spring Trail tomorrow August 4th, 2018 at 9:00 pm. This closure is for public and firefighter safety as crews continue to prep the Walhalla Plateau. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20180803-temporary-road-trail-closures-nr-obi-fire-2270-acres.htm

The Obi Fire is approximately 1000 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds throughout the day allowed fire to grow through pine needles and downed logs. Fire behavior was active with single tree torching and surface fire of one to three foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-on-grand-canyon-national-park-north-rim-grows-to-1000-acres-stina-fire-on-kaibab-national-forest-grows-to-25-acres.htm

The Obi Fire is approximately 941 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds throughout the day allowed fire to grow through pine needles and downed logs. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-nr-grandcanyon-941-acres-20180729.htm

The Obi Fire, which started on July 21st, is approximately 743 acres. Growth of the fire perimeter today was primarily in the northern and southeastern portion of the fire perimeter. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-nr-grandcanyon-743-acres-20180728.htm

On May 14, biologists with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation released endangered humpback chub, an endangered fish species endemic to the Colorado River basin, into Bright Angel Creek - following six years of successful removal of nonnative trout. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/humpback-chub-release-ba-creek-may-2018.htm

The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, along with the DUI Abatement Council, granted Grand Canyon National Park $10,000 to improve highway safety and stop impaired driving. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-awarded-state-grant-to-improve-highway-safety-and-stop-impaired-driving.htm

The Obi Fire, which started on July 21st, is approximately 578 acres. Daytime growth was slower despite active surface fire in downed logs and needle cast and a few instances of single tree torching. The fire continues to move to the north and east displaying moderated fire behavior due to overcast skies and scattered light rain showers. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-grand-canyon-np-nrim-grows-to-578-acres.htm

Recent monsoonal activity in the region resulted in an several new lightning ignited fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park over the past several days. Fire crews are actively working to suppress three fires within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-nat-park-suppressing-3-fires-on-north-rim.htm

The National Weather Service in Flagstaff, Ariz. has issued an excessive heat warning for the surrounding area, including Grand Canyon National Park at Phantom Ranch and Indian Gardens. This warning will be in effect from Monday, July 23 to Wednesday, July 25 at 8 p.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/excessive-heat-warning-issued-for-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Fire crews are actively working to suppress the lightning ignited Imperial Fire. Currently the fire is estimated to be three (3) acres in size and is located along the Cape Royal Road near Vista Encantada. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/imperial-fire-being-suppressed-on-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-20180718.htm

Increased monsoonal activity has significantly lowered the fire danger risk for Grand Canyon National Park. On Friday, July 13, 2018 at 8:00 am stage 2 fire restrictions will be rescinded for the entire Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-lifted.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposal to demolish and rebuild the Maswik South lodging complex (Maswik South), and to construct two new sections of road to improve traffic flow in the vicinity of Maswik South. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/maswik-south.htm

Safety First. A trip to Grand Canyon can be both fun and safe by keeping these few tips in mind. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/safety-first-at-the-rim-2018-07-03.htm

In place of the park's nightly evening program, visitors can learn about characters from Grand Canyon's past as they come to life and share their stories about life on the rim. Opening night is Friday, June 29 at 8:30 pm at McKee Amphitheater with additional presentations on Friday, July 27; Saturday, July 28; and Sunday July 29. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/echoes-from-the-canyon-2018.htm

National Park Rangers at Grand Canyon National Park are strongly urging visitors to Grand Canyon, especially inner canyon hikers, mule riders, and backpackers to be prepared for excessively hot days in the coming weeks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hike-smart-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Will Ease North Rim Water Restrictions https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-water-restrictions.htm

Due to a malfunction in the pump that supplies water to the North Rim of Grand Canyon, the North Rim will enter Level 2 water restrictions on Monday, June 18, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-level-2-water-restrictions.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon, especially inner canyon hikers, mule riders, and backpackers, need to prepare for excessively hot days in the coming weeks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hike-smart-reminder.htm

The U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service will implement additional fire restrictions, also known as Stage II fire restrictions, across the North Kaibab Ranger District, and the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon of Grand Canyon National Park beginning at 8 a.m. this Friday. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions.htm

NPS fire managers remind visitors and residents that fire danger in the park is very high. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/reminder-of-very-high-fire-danger.htm

The National Park Service reminds visitors to enjoy Grand Canyon safely and to remember a visit to Grand Canyon is not like going to the zoo-there are no fences to separate you from real wild animals. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/view-wildlife-safely-2018-1.htm

The 28th annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 9 through Saturday, June 16, 2018 on the South and North Rims of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-star-party.htm

A national park service report shows that more than 6.2 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2017 supported the local economy. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-gcnp-economic-benefit.htm

The gate at the entrance to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 7:30 am. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-2018-season.htm

Another major phase of the South Rim Roads Improvement Project is set to begin Thursday, April 19, when contractors pave Village Loop Drive. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-rim-paving.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate Earth Day during National Park Week fee-free day on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Plaza near Mather Point from 10 am to 2 pm. All Earth Day activities are free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-earth-day-fee-free-day.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Grand Canyon National Park will modify its entrance fees beginning June 1, 2018 to provide additional funding for infrastructure and maintenance needs that enhance the visitor experience. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-entrance-fee-changes.htm

After several weeks of pipeline breaks and water restrictions, water in storage on the South Rim of Grand Canyon has reached sustainable levels. Park operations will return to and stay at Level 1 water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-1-water.htm

Residents and visitors to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park over the last week and a half have reduced their water consumption, resulting in the ability of the park to refill water storage tanks to sustainable levels. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-rim-modified-level-3.htm

On March 29, 2018, the National Park Service (NPS) will begin installing one test well and two monitoring wells next to Bright Angel Creek near Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/test-wells.htm

The South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park has implemented Level 3 water restrictions following a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-3-restrictions.htm

On Friday, March 16, 2018 Grand Canyon National Park will begin phasing to Level 3 water restrictions and conservation measures due to a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-3-water-restrictions-to-be-implemented-at-the-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-on-friday-march-16.htm

Grand Canyon National Park implemented Level 2 water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-rim-level-2.htm

Grand Canyon National Park visitors planning to hike, camp, recreate, and take in the breathtaking views of Grand Canyon National Park during spring break 2018 should also prepare for long lines and road construction. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-break-hacks.htm

In recognition of Grand Canyon National Park's 99th birthday, the National Park Service and Grand Canyon Association unveiled the logo for the park's upcoming 2019 Centennial. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/centennial-logo.htm

The National Park Service will again offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan in 2018, starting March 1. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-route-2018.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Christine Lehnertz has announced the availability of a prospectus for 16 business opportunities to provide guided whitewater tours on the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/river-running-prospectus.htm

In honor of African American History Month, Grand Canyon National Park will host a special evening program to highlight the African American experience in Northern Arizona and contributions to Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/african-american-history-month.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposal to modify facilities at Desert View to create an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site. The NPS is preparing an environmental assessment (EA), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, to develop and evaluate alternatives. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/desert-view-public-input.htm

On Thursday, February 1, 2018 the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. The permits are for specific launch dates within calendar year 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2019-river-lottery-open.htm

Another phase of the 2018 South Rim roads improvement project will begin the week of February 4, which will include full closures of several Grand Canyon Village intersections. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/february-4-detours.htm

Following the enactment of the continuing resolution, staff at Grand Canyon National Park resumed regular operations Tuesday, January 23, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-services-resume.htm

Crews repaired one of the pumps at Indian Garden and park managers feel confident that enough water is in storage to scale back to Level 1 basic water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-1-water-conservation.htm

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Grand Canyon National Park will join national park units across the country and offer visitors free entrance into the park on Monday, January 15, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mlk-jr-fee-free-day-2018.htm

Grand Canyon National Park remains in Level 2 water conservation measures due to water delivery system issues and may implement further restrictions next week. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-continues-to-conserves-water.htm

As part of the 2018 Federal Highways Administration’s South Rim Roads Improvement project, additional construction and detours will begin Monday, January 8 at the South Entrance Road and Desert View Drive (Arizona Highway 64 East) intersection. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/road-construction-south-entrance-road-and-desert-view.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is implementing immediate Level 2 water conservation measures due to water delivery system issues. Due to a water pump failure that occurred with the Transcanyon Pipeline pump system located at Indian Gardens, the primary pump is inoperable and is not currently flowing water to the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mandatory-water-conservation-due-to-indian-garden-pump-failure.htm

On December 20, 2017 a private Colorado river trip participating in a day hike up the Monument Creek drainage, discovered human remains. Investigating Rangers located evidence at the scene indicating the remains are likely those of 72 year old Raafat "Ralph" Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovery-monument-creek.htm

Construction will begin as early as January 2, 2018 at the Hermit interchange to resurface and improve the Hermit Road and Village Loop intersection. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-south-rim-roads-improvement.htm

Fire managers will take advantage of continued warm, dry weather conditions over the next several weeks and may initiate additional prescribed fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-rx.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public input on an Expanded Non-native Aquatic Species Management Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA) in Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GCNRA) below the Glen Canyon Dam. Public scoping will be held for a 30-day period from November 15 to December 14. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-public-scoping.htm

On Friday, November 10 at approximately noon, the National Park Service located a body below the rim on the Rim Trail, between Pipe Creek and Mather Point. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-on-south-rim.htm

On Thursday, November 9 Grand Canyon National Park will host a Native American Indian Heritage Celebration. Park entrance is free November 11-12 for Veterans Day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/veterans-day-native-american-heritage.htm

The National Park Service is conducting a search for a missing person within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/legus-missing-person.htm

National Park Service (NPS) and US Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, anticipate initiating more prescribed fire (Rx) treatments this week as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-zone-rx-fires.htm

The Kaibab Suspension Bridge, also called the Black Bridge, will close to foot traffic while trail crews replace wood decking and tread boards. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/repairs-close-black-bridge.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has closed the yurt located at CC Hill on the North Rim effective September 21, 2017 for safety concerns. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20171003-grand-canyon-nr-yurt-permanently-closed.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal shut-down of most visitor services on Sunday, October 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-to-close.htm

After pleading guilty to several charges, a man was sentenced to imprisonment and supervised probation during a recent court hearing. Nathan D. Goodman, age 36, is also banned from Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/man-sentenced-for-dui.htm

Lisa Carrico, a 33-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), has been selected as Deputy Superintendent of Operations and Science at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/lisa-carrico-selected-as-deputy-superintendent.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will join national park sites around the country in celebrating National Public Lands Day with free entrance to the park. Entrance fees will be waived for all visitors arriving to Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday, September 30, 2017. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fee-free-national-public-lands-day.htm

The National Park Service has selected three companies to provide logistical services in support of administrative river missions along the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park. The apparent awardees are Ceiba Adventures, Inc, Colorado River & Trails Expeditions, and Grand Canyon Whitewater, LLC. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-09-08-nps-selects-river-logistics-companies.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) will work with cooperating agencies and partners to reduce the size of the bison herd on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/09-06-17-nps-to-reduce-bison-herd-at-grand-canyon-nat-park.htm

VERMILION CLIFFS, Ariz. – California Condors will be released to the wild in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. The public is welcome to observe the release from a viewing area where spotting scopes will be set up and project personnel will be available to answer questions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/public-invited-to-release-of-california-condors.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will join national park sites around the country in celebrating Founder's Day with free entrance to the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/founders-day-fee-free-entrance.htm

Hydration while hiking is critical to human health- ensure that you are drinking enough water for physical activity. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/updated-water-treatment-advisory-lifted.htm

Hydration while hiking is critical to human health-- ensure that you are drinking enough water for physical activity. Grand Canyon National Park is advising hikers that they need to treat their drinking water at the following locations: Cottonwood Campground Manzinita Resthouse https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-water-treatment-advisory.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is advising hikers that they need to treat their drinking water at the following locations: Indian Garden **NEW LOCATION** Cottonwood Campground Manzinita Resthouse https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-treatment-advisory.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park can now learn more about the role wildland fire plays at Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/short-wildland-fire-film.htm

On Wednesday afternoon search and rescue crews located a body believed to be Sarah Beadle of Fort Worth, TX. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-located-near-black-bridge.htm

The National Park Service is conducting a missing person's search within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-at-grand-canyon.htm

The National Park Service announces a solicitation for award of up to three contracts to provide logistical services in support of administrative river trips along the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-07-05-grand-canyon-seeks-river-contracts.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposal to replace the obsolete Trans-Canyon Water Distribution Pipeline (Pipeline). The analysis of the project to replace the Pipeline and development of alternatives through an environmental assessment (EA) is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-07-05-pipeline-public-comment-sought.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Chris Lehnertz invites Flagstaff area residents and park lovers to a Community Conversation on July 11 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff. Superintendent Lehnertz will be joined by several park staff members at the event. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/invitation-to-community-conversation-with-park-superintendent-and-staff.htm

The National Park Service would like to remind everyone that the best way to enjoy Fourth of July at Grand Canyon National Park is safely. Visitors and residents are encouraged to contribute to a safe and enjoyable park experience on Fourth of July by drinking responsibly and not driving under the influence. With the holiday fast approaching, visitors and residents are also reminded that fireworks are prohibited within Grand Canyon National Park at all times. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-4th-of-july-safely-at-grand-canyon-national-park-v.htm

After nearly 100 years since its opening, Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery will close to new burials due to lack of space. Although the cemetery is closed to new plots, some burials may continue for individuals with a spouse or immediate family already interred in the cemetery. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-06-26-historic-pioneer-cemetery-has-closed.htm

Bringing Fido or Freda to visit Grand Canyon National Park can be an once-in-a-lifetime experience for you and your furry family members, but before you plan your great American road trip, be sure to follow these suggestions from Park—and Bark!— Rangers. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-issues-warnings-to-pet-parents.htm

After three days of extensive searching, the National Park Service (NPS) will reduce the scale of the search for missing hiker, 72 year old Raffat "Ralph" Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-hiker-update.htm

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for parts of Grand Canyon National Park. The warning is in effect from 10 am Saturday, June 17 to 8 pm Wednesday, June 21 for areas below 5,000 feet in the canyon including Phantom Ranch and Indian Garden. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/summer-safety.htm

Search efforts continue in Grand Canyon National Park for missing hiker, 72 year-old Raafat “Ralph” Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-hiker-search-continues.htm

On Tuesday, June 13 at approximately 7:45 pm, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting an overdue hiker. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-hiker-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers completed ignition operations on the Long Jim III Prescribed Fire. Crews will now monitor the unit and mop up any areas along the fire’s perimeter that may threaten the holding line. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/long-jim-rx-ignitions-complete.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from Sedona Fire Department, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park, Saguaro National Park and Kaibab National Forest—are continuing operations on the Long Jim III Prescribed Fire. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-continues.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from Sedona Fire Department, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park, and Kaibab National Forest—anticipate initiating a prescribed fire treatment this weekend as weather and fuel moisture conditions allows. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/long-jim-3-prescribed-fire.htm

The NPS has announced that it will extend the public comment period on the Initial Bison Herd Reduction Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA will now be available for public review and comment through June 14, 2017. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/initial-bison-herd-ea.htm

Grand Canyon National Park and Yuntaishan Geopark from the Henan province of China renewed their five-year Sister Park Agreement on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/sister-park-agreement.htm

At approximately noon on Sunday, May 21, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call about a single car accident on Center Road in Grand Canyon Village. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/motor-vehicle-accident.htm

The 27th annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 17 through Saturday, June 24, 2017 on the South and North Rims of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-star-party.htm

Repairs to the damaged water pipeline serving Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim were completed ahead of schedule this week, allowing lodging for those with prior reservations, campgrounds, and other services to open May 15 as normally scheduled. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-open-2017.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has announced that the Initial Bison Herd Reduction Environmental Assessment (EA), which evaluates management actions related to bison on Grand Canyon’s North Rim, is available for public review and comment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bison-ea.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will open as scheduled May 15 with limited visitor services despite major storm-caused breaks in the only pipeline that supplies its water. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-water-hauling.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 5,969,811 visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2016 spent $648,170,900 in communities near the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/econ-benefit-2016.htm

On Friday, April 28 the Grand Canyon Regional Communications was notified by a commercial river trip that they located a body on the Colorado River at River Mile 152. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/recovery-from-river.htm

The North Kaibab Trail is now open. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-kaibab-trail-open.htm

At approximately 12 pm on Sunday, April 23, Grand Canyon National Park was alerted to a personal locator beacon activation near Hance Rapid on the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/colorado-river-fatality.htm

After five days of extensive searching, today the National Park Service (NPS) is reducing the scale of the search for two hikers who went missing at Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday, April 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-limited-mode.htm

On Saturday evening, April 15 the National Park Service received an alert from a personal locating beacon in a backcountry area of Grand Canyon National Park near the confluence of Tapeats Creek and Thunder River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-hikers-tapeats.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open as scheduled, on May 15, with limited visitor services and water conservation measures due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-open-may-15-water-conserve.htm

This week, Grand Canyon National Park trail crew was able to repair a section of the Colorado River Trail damaged by a rockslide. The trail between Pipe Creek and Silver Bridge is now open to foot traffic and remains closed to stock use. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/river-trail-open-to-hikers.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 47th anniversary of Earth Day during National Park Week fee-free days on Saturday, April 22, 2017. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/earth-day-park-week-2017.htm

Due to an unanticipated rockslide the National Park Service (NPS) will close the Colorado River Trail between Pipe Creek and the Silver Bridge for trail repair starting Monday, April 3. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/repairs-close-river-trail.htm

On Monday, March 27, Grand Canyon National Park will begin daily closures of the North Kaibab Trail at Redwall Bridge to remove debris from a storm-caused rockslide. During this time, rim-to-rim travel will be restricted. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-kaibab-ribbons-falls-temporary-closures.htm

On Tuesday, March 14, at 4:17 pm, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting that a visitor had fallen from the rim of the canyon west of Mather Point. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mather-point-fatality.htm

Each year in the spring (March – June) Grand Canyon National Park experiences an increase in turbidity in the drinking water. This increased turbidity is caused by snow melt and spring rains. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/annual-turbidity2017.htm

Beginning in mid-February the National Park Service will rehabilitate the pump houses at Indian Garden and the Black Bridge near Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pumphouse-and-black-bridge-repairs.htm

The National Park Service will again offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan, Arizona in 2017. Service will begin March 1 to help ease spring break congestion on the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-route-starts-march-1-2017.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will join national park sites around the country with free entry into the park in honor of President’s Day Monday, February 20, 2017. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fee-free-presidents-day.htm

Grand Canyon National Park annual passes are available for purchase for 2017. This annual pass provides free entrance for a year exclusively to Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-annual-pass.htm

At approximately 5 pm on Saturday, January 28, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a man who had fallen from the rim near the South Kaibab trailhead. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fall-south-kaibab-trailhead.htm

On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-noncommercial-river-lottery.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will join national park sites around the country in celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with free entrance to the park. Entrance fees will be waived for all visitors arriving to Grand Canyon National Park on Monday January 16, 2017. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mlk-fee-free-day.htm

As the National Park Service (NPS) prepares for a second century of service, Grand Canyon National Park celebrates the significant accomplishments of the NPS centennial celebration and looks ahead to its own park centennial in 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grcacentennialsuccess.htm

At approximately 12:30 am on December 12, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call alerting rangers to an overdue individual at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/possible-suicide-twin-overlooks.htm

Grand Canyon National Park celebrated its 6 millionth visitor as its final National Park Service Centennial event. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/6-millionth-visitor-2016.htm

At approximately 9 am on Thursday, December 1, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call alerting rangers to a potentially suicidal individual at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/potential-suicide-grand-canyon.htm

Following a storm last weekend, and with a chance for more snow on Friday, visitors to Grand Canyon National Park should be prepared for snowpacked and icy roads. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/winter-hiking-driving.htm

Fire managers will take advantage of favorable weather conditions over the next several weeks and initiate prescribed burns on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-fall-prescribed-burns.htm

On Wednesday, November 9, Grand Canyon National Park will host a Native American Indian Heritage Celebration and will waive entrance fees on Veterans Day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2016-native-heritage-and-veterans-day.htm

On October 3 and 5, 2016, Grand Canyon National Park partnered with Arizona Department of Public Safety and the US Department of Transportation to support ongoing inspections of all commercial traffic entering the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2016-commercial-vehicle-inspection.htm

Fire managers at Grand Canyon National Park anticipate initiating two prescribed burns on the North Rim this week as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/slopes-and-hse-rx.htm

The U.S. Department of the Interior today released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) for Glen Canyon Dam operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/final-eis-glen-canyon-adaptive-management.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal shut-down of most visitor services on Saturday, October 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/season-close-north-rim.htm

On Tuesday, September 20th National Park Service personnel located a body on the Colorado River at River Mile 139. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovery-colorado.htm

National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, anticipate initiating a prescribed fire treatment this fall as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow near the boundary line between the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab NF and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fall-prescribed.htm

National Park Service crews searched by air, water, and foot yesterday and today for missing river guide, Joshua Tourjee. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-for-river-guide.htm

Celebrate National Public Lands Day with free entrance to Grand Canyon National Park Saturday, September 24. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-public-lands-day.htm

A National Park Service Search and Rescue crew was flown into the Canyon early this morning to begin the search for missing river guide, Joshua Tourjee. Tourjee was reported missing on September 12 by his river trip after failing to return to camp the previous evening. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-river-guide.htm

On Monday, September 12 the National Park Service received a satellite phone call from a commercial river trip reporting a missing guide near River Mile 137 also known as Pancho’s Kitchen. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-river-guide-tourjee.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites bird enthusiasts of all levels to participate in a weekend of birding fun and excitement including a LIVE radio broadcast with Talkin’ Birds Radio. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-bird-festival.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is turning 100 years old on August 25, 2016 and to celebrate the anniversary, Grand Canyon National Park will waive entrance fees August 25-28. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fee-free-august-25-28.htm

On July 30th, rangers located human remains below Pima Point. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/remains-located-pima-point.htm

On July 25, National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis presented the 2015 National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Wildfire Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Award to the Grand Canyon Helitack Crew. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/helitack-receives-national-ems-award.htm

Today additional resources arrived to support the Fuller Fire. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/type-2-team-fuller.htm

Firefighters conducted an aerial reconnaissance flight this afternoon and estimate the Fuller Fire is approximately 1,324 acres. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/point-imperial-rd-closure.htm

Warmer, drier weather has led to increased fire activity on the Fuller Fire. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fuller-fire-increased-activity.htm

On Friday, July 8, 2016 Park Rangers responded to a call from hikers on the South Kaibab Trail reporting a woman who fell from Ooh Aah Point. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ooh-aah-point-fatality.htm

National Park Service fire managers on the North Rim of Grand Canyon have decided to manage the Fuller Fire for multiple objectives. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fuller-fire.htm

Grand Canyon Village is no longer in level 1 water conservation mode and water operations have returned to normal. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/normal-water-operations.htm

On Monday, June 27 at approximately 4:45 pm, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a visitor over the edge at Mather Point. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mather-point-over-the-edge.htm

Grand Canyon National Park rangers will implement a selective sobriety checkpoint July 4th in an effort to assure the safety of park visitors and residents. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/july-4th-sobriety-checks.htm

Water restrictions at Grand Canyon National Park have been scaled back to basic conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-1-water-update.htm

Grand Canyon National Park remains at mandatory Level 2 water conservation measures due to diminished water resources. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/continued-mandatory.htm

Floyd E. Roberts III of Treasure Island, FL, remains missing in a remote area of western Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-hiker-western-canyon.htm

Beginning at 8 am on Thursday, June 23rd Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory Level 2 water conservation measures due to diminished water resources. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mandatory-water-conservation.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is requesting that all visitors and residents on the South Rim of Grand Canyon begin instituting water conservation measures. A break in the Transcanyon Pipeline was identified today; in addition to the breakdown of one of the Indian Garden pipeline water pumps that provide water to the South Rim storage tanks. The combination of these situations has resulted in immediate water conservation guidelines for all consumers on the South Rim. The North Rim is unaffected by these issues. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-june-21.htm

Fifty-two year old Floyd E. Roberts III of Treasure Island, FL, remains missing in western Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-missing-hiker.htm

On Saturday June, 18 at approximately 3 pm the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a missing person near Kelly Tanks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-western-grand-canyon.htm

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for parts of Grand Canyon National Park from Sunday, June 16 to Wednesday, June 22. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/excessive-heat.htm

Yesterday, National Park Service (NPS) fire managers successfully treated 994 acres with prescribed (Rx) fire on the South Rim of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shoshone-rx-success.htm

National Park Service fire managers anticipate initiating a prescribed fire near Shoshone Point Thursday, June 9 as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shoshone-prescribed-fire-june-9.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) announced at last night’s Star Party that Grand Canyon National Park is now a Provisional IDA International Dark Sky Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/provisional-dark-sky-park.htm

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for parts of Grand Canyon National Park. The warning is in effect beginning today Friday, June 3 at 10am through Sunday, June 5 at 8 pm for areas below 4,000 feet in the canyon including Phantom Ranch. Temperatures at Phantom Ranch could reach 113 F/45 C. Areas above 4,000 feet including the South Rim will experience high temperatures in the 90s. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/excessive-heat-warning.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park over Memorial Day weekend can expect long lines, crowds, and full parking lots. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/busy-memorial-day.htm

The twenty-sixth annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 4 through Saturday, June 11, 2016 on the South and North rims of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/star-party-2016.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) and its partners invite the public to a re-dedication ceremony at the Desert View Watchtower on Sunday, May 22, 2016 at 10:30 am. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/desert-view-ceremony.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga today announced his retirement effective June 1, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/superintendent-dave-uberuaga-announces-retirement.htm

National Park Service (NPS) fire managers anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatment in Grand Canyon Village Thursday, May 19, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/village-prescribed-fire-may19.htm

The Cave of the Domes is closed to protect roosting bats and other sensitive cave resources. Bats are particularly sensitive to human disturbance and will abandon roost sites. As a reminder all caves in Grand Canyon National Park are closed to protect sensitive resources. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cave-of-domes-reopened.htm

National Park Service (NPS) fire managers are postponing prescribed fire treatment in Grand Canyon Village Thursday, May 5 due to predicted high winds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/village-prescribed-fire-postponed.htm

National Park Service (NPS) fire managers anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatment in Grand Canyon Village Thursday, May 5, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/village-prescribed-fire.htm

The National Park Service will again offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan, Arizona in 2016. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-shuttle-2016.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 5.5 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2015 spent $584 million in communities near the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tourism-economic-benefits-2015.htm

The gate at the entrance to North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Sunday, May 15 at 7:30 am. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-open-2016.htm

Celebrate Earth Day at Grand Canyon and commemorate the National Historic Preservation Act https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/earth-day-2016.htm

Search and Rescue crews continued looking for missing woman Diana Zacarias of Natchitoches, LA. Crews spent yesterday and today looking for Zacarias by foot above and below the rim. The park helicopter has assisted ground searches. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-zacarias.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will waive entrance fees April 16-24, 2016 to celebrate National Park Week and the National Park Service Centennial. To join in on the week-long celebration, visitors can attend ranger programs, cultural demonstrations, and Earth Day events. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-week-fee-free-days.htm

On Sunday, April 3 the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a phone call reporting a missing individual last known to be at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-woman-zacarias.htm

Due to rodent activity and the potential exposure risk to hantavirus, the National Park Service has temporarily closed Cave of the Domes. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cave-of-the-domes-closure.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park this spring break can expect long lines and full parking lots. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-break-crowds.htm

On March 16th or 17th, Grand Canyon Railway, in consultation with the National Park Service, will apply herbicide along their railroad tracks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/herbicide-application-railroad.htm

Each year in the spring (March – June) Grand Canyon National Park experiences an increase in turbidity in the drinking water. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/annual-turbidity.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has announced a 30-day public comment period seeking input on changes to the scope of the Bison Management Plan at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-bison-ea.htm

The National Park Service announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period for Grand Canyon National Park’s Backcountry Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement . https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-deis-comment-extension.htm

On February 21, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a car below the rim near Lipan Point on Desert View Drive. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-lipan-point.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites public to a special dark skies program with Charley Bulletts from the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/darkskiesstorytellingatgrand-canyon.htm

On Monday, February 1, 2016 the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in 2017. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-noncommercial-river-lottery.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) announced today another opportunity for the public to weigh in on revisions to Grand Canyon National Park’s Backcountry Management Plan (BMP). The NPS began developing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for this plan in 2011 in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-plan-webinar-and-open-house.htm

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Grand Canyon National Park will join national park units across the country and offer visitors fee-free entry into the park on Monday, January 18, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mlk-fee-free-2016.htm

The U.S. Department of the Interior has released a proposed framework for adaptively managing Glen Canyon Dam over the next 20 years with the goal of creating certainty and predictability for power and water users while protecting environmental and cultural resources in Grand Canyon National Park and the Colorado River ecosystem. The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) is available to the public for review and comment for 90 days. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/interior-proposes-adaptive-management-framework-for-glen-canyon-dam.htm

Over the last 24 hours Grand Canyon National Park has received heavy snowfall resulting in significant snow accumulation. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/winterweather2016.htm

This week, the National Weather Service is predicting several large winter storms across Northern Arizona, including Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20160105-winter-weather.htm

To kick off the new year and to celebrate the National Park Service’s Centennial, Grand Canyon National Park is participating in the 127th Rose Parade Friday, January 1, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20151218-rose-bowl.htm

Hikers near Phantom Ranch reported a fatality in Bright Angel Campground on Sunday, December 6. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-campground-fatality.htm

National Park Service fire managers anticipate initiating a prescribed fire near Shoshone Point Monday, December 7 as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shoshone-point-prescribed-fire.htm

The Arizona Department of Transportation has closed State Route 67 between Jacob Lake and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The North Rim is now closed to vehicle traffic for the winter. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-winter-closure.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) announced today another opportunity for the public to weigh in on revisions to Grand Canyon National Park’s Backcountry Management Plan (BMP). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-plan-draft-eis.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate Native American Heritage Days on Monday, November 9th, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/native-american-heritage-days-2015.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to start the celebration for the upcoming National Park Service Centennial on Saturday, November 7 and visit the REI Village. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rei-village-at-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon Trail Crew will replace toilets at Cottonwood Campground. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cottonwood-toilet-replacement.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will offer free entrance to everyone on Veterans Day, November 11. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fee-free-veterans-day.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is in the process of replacing a portion of the Transcanyon Pipeline (TCP) at Phantom Ranch. As part of the construction process, the TCP will be turned off to allow crews to connect the new portions of the pipeline to the existing pipeline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/temporary-pipeline-shutdown.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate Earth Science Week (ESW) and National Fossil Day festivities during the week of October 11-17, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/earth-science-week.htm

Grand Canyon National Park, the National Park Service Office of Public Health, Coconino County Public Health Services District, and other park partners are investigating a positive case of tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) contracted by a recent visitor to the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tick-borne-relapsing-fever.htm

Crews finished repairing a break in the Transcanyon Pipeline that occurred north of Phantom Ranch earlier this week. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pipeline-break-fixed.htm

At approximately 2:30 pm on Saturday, September 26th the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call alerting officials to a potential suicide west of the South Kaibab Trailhead. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-rim-suicide.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal shut-down of most visitor services on Friday, October 16. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-seasonal-closure.htm

Water utility staff at Grand Canyon National Park will begin repairs to a break in the Transcanyon Pipeline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/september-pipeline-break.htm

Tree removal and trimming will occur adjacent to the Bright Angel Trail near the Indian Garden day-use area Monday, September 28 through Wednesday, September 30. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/indian-garden-tree-trimming.htm

Weekends through autumn, join jewelers, silversmiths, weavers, potters and more during Desert View Watchtower's Cultural Demonstrator Series. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/watchtower-cultural-demonstrators.htm

Celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 26, with free entrance to Grand Canyon and all national park units across the country. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fee-free-public-lands-day.htm

At 4:05 p.m. on Sunday, September 13 the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting that an unidentified male was possibly struck by lightning on the South Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-south-kaibab.htm

Visitors and residents may experience short delays during construction to South Entrance Station and Hermit Road. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-entrance-and-hermit-road-construction.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga has announced the award of a concession contract to Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C. Xanterra will provide lodging, food services, retail, transportation, mule rides, and other services on the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/award-of-hospitality-contract-on-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Heavy rains caused major road damage in the Tuweep area of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/storms-damage-tuweep-roads.htm

Because of a break in the Transcanyon Pipeline, there is no drinking water available on the North Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pipeline-break.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites all fourth graders and their families to visit the park for free. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/every-kid-in-a-park.htm

A river trip reported a hiker fatality on Friday, August 28. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fence-fault-route-fatality.htm

The Desert View Watchtower at Grand Canyon National Park will host the final artist in the annual Cultural Demonstrator Series. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/last-2015-desert-view-demonstration.htm

The National Park Service is turning 99 years old on August 25 and Grand Canyon National Park wants to give you a present- free admission! The usual entrance fee will be waived for all visitors to Grand Canyon on Tuesday, August 25. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-99th-birthday.htm

Justin Kremer of Tempe, AZ has been successfully located by search crews earlier this afternoon. Kremer was reported as missing on Friday, July 31st with a last known location of West Rim Drive. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-individual-located-at-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Friday, July 31, 2015 the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a phone call reporting a missing individual at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/justin-kremer-missing-person.htm

The National Park Service invites the public to the 22nd annual Native American Heritage Days on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, August 6 and 7, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-native-american-heritage-days.htm

Eric Graff received the National Park Service's inaugural Tom Clausing Aviation All Risk Programs Award. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/eric-graff-wins-national-award.htm

Grant to help transform Desert View into a cultural heritage site. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/desert-view-tribal-heritage-grant.htm

Join award-winning western singer Dave Stamey and the Alternative Break Citizenship School for a free concert. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dave-stamey-concert.htm

Relive Grand Canyon's history with park rangers in character as notable figures from the past. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/echoes-from-the-canyon-returns.htm

On July 11th, the North Rim celebrates the unique culture of the area with Western Arts Day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-western-arts-day.htm

Hiker fatality on Grand Canyon's North Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-kaibab-trail-fatality.htm

Visitation at Grand Canyon National Park is up 20 percent in 2015. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/record-breaking-visitation.htm

A man who died while hiking the Bright Angel Trail has been identified. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-trail-fatality-identified.htm

The trail between the El Tovar Hotel and the train depot will close for repairs July 1. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/el-tovar-walkway-detour.htm

On Thursday afternoon, hikers reported to a park ranger that a member of their party needed help. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-fatality.htm

Managers of both the Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona were recently recognized for the leadership role they've played in managing wildland fire across the landscape and jurisdictional boundaries for the purpose of improving forest health conditions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-award.htm

Coconino County Public Health Services District and Grand Canyon National Park will begin monthly monitoring for plague. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-and-coconino-county-to-monitor-for-plague.htm

Twenty-two year old Morgan Heimer remains missing on the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park; and a six day search by the National Park Service has turned up no additional clues as to his whereabouts. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/heimer-update.htm

A National Park Service search mission continues in efforts to find Morgan Heimer. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-search-for-missing-river-guide.htm

A Grand Canyon National Park search and rescue mission continues for Morgan Heimer of Cody, WY who went missing June 2 at River Mile 213 on the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/guide-still-missing-on-colorado-river.htm

Fire crews report that the Pinon Park fire is now 100% contained. On Wednesday, June 3 at approximately 3 pm the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a wildfire at Pinon Park located within the South Rim Village. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pinon-contained.htm

Wildland firefighters respond to fire at Pinon Park located within the South Rim Village. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-rim-village-fire.htm

On Tuesday, June 2 at approximately 8 pm the National Park Service received a satellite phone call from a commercial river trip reporting a missing guide at River Mile 213 near Pumpkin Springs. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/guide-missing.htm

The twenty-fifth annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 13 through Saturday, June 20, 2015 on the South and North rims of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/free-telescope-viewing-at-grand-canyon-june-13-20.htm

On May 20th, a private boating trip reported the wreckage of an airplane to park rangers at Diamond Creek. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/park-rangers-respond-to-report-of-plane-wreckage.htm

On Sunday, May 24th, park rangers responded to a report of an unconscious man in the vicinity of Grand Canyon Visitor Center. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-at-south-rim-of-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon will celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-to-celebrate-asian-american-heritage-month.htm

Effective June 1, 2015, Grand Canyon National Park will increase park entrance fees and the cost of overnight backcountry permits. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-announces-fee-increases.htm

On Monday, May 11th the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center was contacted by the Tallmadge, OH Police Department reporting a missing man who was believed to be suicidal and currently at Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/intervene.htm

From May 23 to September 25, 2015, Grand Canyon National Park will offer shuttle bus service between the park and the neighboring town of Tusayan, AZ. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-shuttle-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Repairs of a break in the Transcanyon Pipeline near Phantom Ranch are complete. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-pipeline-repairs-complete-in-inner-canyon.htm

Alejandro Bussot, 25, of Miami, FL has been identified as the potential suicide victim at Grand Canyon National Park. Body recovery teams were able to reach the victim, who was located approximately 250 feet below the rim, earlier this morning. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/victim-identified.htm

A break in the Trans-Canyon Water Pipeline late on Monday, May 4th has resulted in the implementation of water conservation measures for the inner canyon and no water availability at Roaring Springs or Cottonwood. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation.htm

At approximately 5:45 a.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call alerting officials to a potential suicide. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/possible-suicide.htm

Fire managers plan a prescribed fire within Grand Canyon National Park near Grand Canyon Village. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-fire-managers-plan-prescribed-fire-for-grand-canyon-village.htm

The National Park Service is able to confirm that yesterday’s over the edge incident resulted in a fatality. Earlier today the body of the victim was recovered by short haul operation utilizing the park helicopter. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/over-edge-fatality.htm

On Thursday, April 30 at approximately 4:20 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a man who had fallen from the edge of the rim trail east of Mather Point. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/over-edge.htm

Replacement of the Transcanyon Pipeline at Phantom Ranch has progressed and the contractor has replaced over a quarter mile of pipeline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/construction-continues-on-transcanyon-pipeline-replacement-at-phantom-ranch.htm

National Park Service (NPS) fire managers anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatment for the Shoshone Rx during the week of April 27 as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shoshone-rx.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that over 4.7 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2014 spent $509 million in communities near the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-tourism-creates-509-million.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim will open Friday, May 15 for the 2015 summer season. All NPS operations will be available by 8 am that day and Grand Canyon Lodge North Rim and Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-to-open-may-15-2015.htm

College students from around the country participated in Alternative Spring Break by helping Grand Canyon National Park's wildland firefighting crew. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/alternative-spring-break.htm

Local artisans will share their culture and crafts with Grand Canyon National Park visitors at the Desert View Watchtower. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dv-cultural-demonstrations.htm

Grand Canyon National Park joins in the Find Your Park Campaign and will celebrate with Earth Day events and a fee-free weekend, April 18-19 https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-week-2015-04-18.htm

Twenty-one year old Drake L. Kramer remains missing at Grand Canyon National Park; and a six day search by the National Park Service has turned up no additional clues as to his whereabouts. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/kramer-limited.htm

Today National Park Service Search and Rescue crews expanded the search area for missing San Antonio man, Drake L. Kramer. Kramer, 21 was reported missing by family on Monday, February 2. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/expand-kramer-search.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will be joining national park units across the country in honor of Presidents Day with fee-free entry into the park on Saturday, February 14, 2015 through Monday, February 16, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2015-fee-free-pres-day.htm

On Monday, February 2, 2015 the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a phone call reporting a missing individual last known to be at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-man2015.htm

Sunday, February 1, 2015 Grand Canyon National Park will open the permit lottery for 2016 Noncommerical River Trip launch dates. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2016-lottery.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will begin replacing a portion of the Trans-Canyon Pipeline at Phantom Ranch beginning on Monday, January 26, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/replace-portion-tcp.htm

Grand Canyon National Park announced the award of the contract for operation of the South Rim’s shuttle bus services to Paul Revere Transportation, L.L.C. The five-year contract is in effect from December 1, 2014 through November 30, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20150113-gc-award-shuttle-services.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will be joining national park units across the country in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day with fee-free entry into the park on Monday, January 19, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20150119mlk-fee-free.htm

Grand Canyon National Park staff have completed repairs to the Trans-Canyon Water Pipeline. Water restrictions have been lifted and Xanterra South Rim LLC has resumed normal operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/13dec2014-pipelinerepair.htm

Visitors hiking to Phantom Ranch must be self-sufficient and be prepared to carry or treat all drinking water. A break in the Trans-Canyon Water Pipeline and inclement weather delaying equipment from reaching repair crews, has resulted in a water shortage at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20141211_pipeline-break-phantom.htm

A prescribed fire treatment will take place on the Campground unit of the Bright Angel Rx on Wednesday, November 19, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20141118-nr-prescribed-fire-planned.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is proposing to increase entrance fees into the park. The single vehicle entrance fee would change from $25 to $30 for a seven day pass. The park’s annual pass would increase from $50 to $60. The current rate of $12 per individual or motorcycle would increase to $15 per individual and $25 for a motorcycle. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/proposed-fee-increase.htm

On October 14-15, 2014, the Grand Canyon Fee and Commercial Enforcement Unit partnered with the Grand Canyon Concessions and Fee Management Offices to support ongoing inspections of all commercial traffic entering the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2014-commercial-inspection.htm

In observance of Native American/Alaska Native Heritage Month, Grand Canyon National Park is sponsoring a series of special events on Tuesday, November 11 and Wednesday, November 12. All are invited to participate in these presentations and demonstrations as we recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices made by First Americans. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2014-native-american-heritage.htm

In honor of those that serve and have served in the United States military, national park units around the country, including Grand Canyon National Park, will be offering everyone fee-free entry on Tuesday, November 11. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/veterans-day-2014.htm

The National Park Service is lifting a drinking water advisory that was issued on Friday, October 31st for the following areas along the North Kaibab Trail, Manzanita Rest Area (Roaring Springs) and Cottonwood Campground within the backcountry at Grand Canyon National Park. Water in the rest of the park including South Rim Village, Desert View, Indian Garden, Phantom Ranch and North Rim Developed Area continues to be safe to drink. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/lift-advisory.htm

The National Park Service is issuing a drinking water advisory for the following areas along the North Kaibab Trail, Manzanita Rest Area (Roaring Springs) and Cottonwood Campground within the backcountry at Grand Canyon National Park. The rest of the park including South Rim Village, Desert View, Indian Garden, Phantom Ranch and North Rim Developed Area is not affected by this advisory and water is safe to drink. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/drinking-water.htm

National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatment during the fall and winter months as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-zone-fall-2014-rx.htm

A bat recently removed from an area along the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park has tested positive for rabies. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-rabies-october-2014.htm

On Friday, September 19, at approximately 4 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a 911 call from a visitor reporting that a male hiker had fallen and was having trouble breathing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/male-hiker-dies-while-hiking-on-north-kaibab-trail.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act on September 25th and National Public Lands Day on the September 27, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/wilderness-npld-day.htm

The staff on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin to shut down most visitor services and facilities on Thursday, October 16; the North Rim will remain open to visitors through December 1 or until snow closes Highway 67 leading into the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2014-north-rim-seasonal.htm

On Saturday, September 13, 2014, Grand Canyon National Park will dedicate the park as a Globally Important Bird Area as part of its 7th Annual Celebrate Wildlife Day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/september-2014-wildlife-day.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) will begin issuing Special Use Permits on an interim basis for organized, non-commercial rim-to-rim and extended day hiking and running in the inner canyon of Grand Canyon National Park. The inner canyon is defined as the area below Tonto Platform (Tipoff and Indian Garden) from the South Rim and below Manzanita Resthouse (Pumphouse Residence) from the North Rim. Permits will be issued to groups with activities planned for after September 15, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/interim-permits-r2r.htm

In celebration of the National Park Service’s 98th birthday all 401 national park units, including Grand Canyon National Park will waive entrance fees on Monday, August 25, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/august-25-fee-free.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga has announced the availability of a prospectus for a business opportunity in the park, to provide lodging, food services, retail, transportation, mule rides, and other services on the South Rim. This business opportunity is very similar to solicitation CC-GRCA001-15A, announced on March 11, 2014, with the exception that the initial leasehold surrender interest has been reduced to approximately $57 million, and the franchise fee has been adjusted to 14%. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opportunity-south-rim-august-2014.htm

The National Park Service has selected DNC Parks & Resorts at Grand Canyon, Inc., a subsidiary of Delaware North Companies, Inc., to provide a variety of visitor services at Grand Canyon National Park for the next 15 years. This is one of two concessions contracts that are expected to be awarded this year. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-awards-concession-contract-to-dncpr.htm

National Park Service personnel have located a body several hundred feet below the rim in the last known vicinity of missing Glendale, AZ resident Marc Buckhout. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-located-august-6.htm

National Park Service employees continue to search for missing Glendale, AZ resident Marc Buckhout. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-buckhout.htm

The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a missing individual on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-individual-august-4.htm

The National Park Service invites the public to the 21st annual Native American Heritage Days on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/native-american-heritage-days.htm

Grand Canyon In Depth is the video podcast series that explores the natural and human history of Grand Canyon National Park. The series features park rangers, scientists, and historians as they take us beyond the rim of the canyon to discover the diversity of life and the extraordinary beauty of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/in-depth-podcast.htm

Growth continued yesterday on all fires being managed for resource benefits with multiple objectives. Today crews continue to do preparation work ahead of managed ignitions and ignitions may occur on some fires. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/july-27-fire-updates.htm

National Park Service fire managers on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon are managing the Kanabownits Fire for multiple objectives. Lightning ignited the fire Tuesday, July 8, about one mile northeast of the historic Kanabownits Cabin on the Walla Valley Peninsula. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/kanabowntis-july-25.htm

National Park Service fire managers on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon have decided to manage the Kanabowntis Fire for multiple objectives. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/kanabowntis-july-22.htm

On Wednesday, July 16 sometime between 2:30-3 p.m., MST, a bat landed on a visitor while she was standing in front of the Tusayan Museum, just west of the Desert View Visitors’ Center within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2-bats-positive-rabies.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 4,564,841 visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2013 spent $476,194.8 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 6,238 jobs in the local area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tourism-to-grand-canyon-national-park-creates-476-million-dollars-in-economic-benefit-report-shows-visitor-spending-supports-6238-jobs-in-local-economy.htm

A man who died while hiking the North Kaibab Trail in Grand Canyon National Park has been identified as 47-year old Andrew Sammler of Lancaster, OH. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-identified.htm

The body of a man recovered from the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park on July 4th has been identified as that of Victor Tseng. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-identified.htm

At 2:20 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a 911 call from a visitor reporting CPR in progress on a male hiker on the North Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-july-11.htm

Fire restrictions to be lifted in Grand Canyon on Tuesday, July 8, at 8 a.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-restrictions-imposed-last-month-in-grand-canyon-to-be-lifted.htm

This morning at approximately 9:30 the National Park Service received a call from a commercial river trip that had located a body in the Colorado River at approximately River Mile 182 on river right within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-from-colorado-river-in-grand-canyon.htm

At approximately 11:30 am the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting CPR in progress just above Three-Mile Rest House on the Bright Angel Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality.htm

National Park Service Search and Rescue crews continue to look for Victor Tseng of Phoenix, AZ who went missing at River Mile 157 on the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues.htm

On Friday, June 27 at approximately 3:40 p.m. the National Park Service received a satellite phone call from a commercial river trip reporting a missing passenger at River Mile 157 known as Havasu Rapids. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-man-on-colorado-river-within-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) today announced plans to dedicate one of the nation’s newest National Historic Landmarks, the 1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines Aviation Accident Site in Grand Canyon National Park. This site commemorates a horrific airline collision over the Grand Canyon in 1956. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/1956-nhl-designation.htm

On Wednesday, June 11 at approximately 2:00 p.m. the National Park Service received a call reporting an unconscious male kayaker at Badger Rapids, river mile 8 on the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/kayaker-fatality-badger-rapids.htm

On Monday, June 9 at approximately 9:40 p.m. the National Park Service received a 911 call reporting an unconscious man at the Desert View Campground within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-at-desert-view-campground.htm

The Galahad Fire has been contained to the point where no direct threats remain to park resources. The fire will continue to burn across the southern portion of the Walla Valley Peninsula west of the W-4 Road until wetting rains arrive, typically in mid-July. Currently it is estimated to be 4,363 acres and 50% contained. The increase in containment reflects ongoing holding actions by firefighters along the W-4 Road. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/galahad-fire-likely-to-burn-until-wetting-rains-arrive.htm

Due to increased fire danger throughout Grand Canyon National Park, park officials will be implementing fire restrictions for all areas within the park except the Colorado River corridor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-restrictions-june-13.htm

Due to the hard work of firefighters and the successful plan they implemented, the Galahad Fire has been contained to the point where no direct threats remain to park resources. The fire is not out, but the chances of it crossing existing containment lines have been greatly reduced. The fire is estimated to be 3,102 acres and 30% contained. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hard-work-and-good-planning-pay-off-on-the-galahad-fire.htm

On Wednesday, June 3 at approximately 7:20 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call via satellite phone reporting a female in and out of consciousness from an apparent allergic reaction at river mile 168 on the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/boater-fatality-on-the-colorado-river-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Firefighters had another good day on the Galahad Fire holding it west of the W-4 Road and continuing to strengthen and improve existing containment lines. The fire is estimated at 2,950 acres and 30% contained. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/progress-continues-on-the-galahad-fire.htm

Firefighters made good progress today in strengthening and holding the established containment lines on the Galahad Fire. Once again hot, dry and windy weather challenged firefighters but they were able to keep the fire to the west of the W-4 Road, which is the major focus of fire managers. These same weather conditions are forecasted for the rest of the week. The fire is estimated at 2,702 acres and 5% contained. This containment is based on the portion of the fire in which firefighters are continuing to control. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/firefighters-make-good-progress-on-galahad-fire.htm

Red Flag conditions consisting of high temperatures, low relative humidity and gusty winds challenged firefighters again today, but they were able to hold the Galahad Fire west of the W-4 Road. These same weather conditions are forecasted for the rest of the week. The fire is estimated at 2,172 acres. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/firefighters-overcome-challenge-of-red-flag-conditions.htm

Firefighters were successful today in holding the Galahad Fire to the west of the W-4 Road, even though they were faced with higher temperatures, lower relative humidity and gusty winds. Yesterday, these same conditions caused three spot fires across the W-4 road to the east, but firefighters were able to quickly contain them. The fire is estimated at 1,975 acres https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/firefighters-hold-the-line-on-the-galahad-fire.htm

Today’s weather brought higher temperatures, lower relative humidity and gustier winds, which tested containment lines. Late afternoon winds caused four spot fires east of the W-4 Road containment line. A plan was in place in anticipation of the predicted weather and potential spot fires. Firefighters, aided by engines, responded and are working to contain the spot fires across the W-4 Road and south of the Kanbowbitz Cabin. These challenging weather conditions are expected to continue over the next few days. The fire is now estimated to be 1,550 acres. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/weather-conditions-challenge-firefighters-on-galahad-fire.htm

Once again, favorable weather conditions today allowed firefighters to make good progress in building and improving containment lines along the W-4 Road to the north and south of the historic Kanabownits Cabin. These containment lines have been constructed to protect the cabin and hold the fire west of the W-4 Road on the Walla Valley Peninsula. The fire is now estimated at 1,100 acres. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/firefighters-continue-to-make-progress-on-galahad-fire.htm

Due to favorable weather conditions today, including lower temperatures, higher relative humidity and lighter winds the Galahad Fire showed little growth and is now estimated at 743 acres. The fire remains west of the W-4 Road and south of the historic Kanabownits Cabin. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/weather-helps-firefighters-meet-management-objectives.htm

National Park Service fire managers on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon are managing the Galahad Fire for both resource and protection objectives. Resource objectives for the fire include returning fire to a fire-adapted ecosystem in order to maintain forest health. Protection objectives for the fire include protection of sensitive cultural resources and wildlife habitat. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/galahad-fire-continues-to-meet-objectives.htm

The twenty-fourth annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 21 through Saturday, June 28, 2014 on the South and North Rims of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-hosting-24th-annual-star-party.htm

National Park Service fire managers on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon have decided to manage the Galahad Fire for multiple objectives. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/galahad-fire-to-be-managed-for-multiple-objectives-on-the-north-rim-of-the-grand-canyon.htm

On Friday, May 23, four fire starts were reported on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The North Rim of the park is currently at High fire danger and the South Rim is at Very High. A storm this afternoon produced rain and hail on the North Rim moderating fire behavior. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/multiple-fire-starts-on-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Although Grand Canyon National Park received below-average precipitation this winter, the warm spring caused vegetation in the park to thrive. Now, fine fuels are quickly drying out as winds and temperatures rise, increasing the risk of wildfire. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/memorial-day-fire-aware.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) will again offer free shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan, Arizona in 2014. The Tusayan Shuttle will be available from Saturday, May 10 through Friday, September 5 and will run at 20-minute intervals between 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. daily. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-shuttle-at-grand-canyon-national-park-begins-saturday-may-10-2014.htm

Grand Canyon National Park on September 1, 2014 will begin requiring reservations for all campers who wish to stay at the Tuweep Campground. After September 1, visitors who plan to camp at Tuweep will need to have a permit issued by the National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-to-require-camping-permit-at-tuweep-campground.htm

At approximately 1:10 p.m. Monday, April 28, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a female that had fallen off the rim at Mather Point located on the South Rim of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-victim-at-grand-canyon-national-park-identified.htm

The Arizona Department of Transportation will open Highway 67 to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Thursday, May 15 by 8:00 am; and Grand Canyon Lodge North Rim, a Forever Resorts property, and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will commence their 2014 seasonal operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyons-north-rim-to-open-may-15-for-the-2014-summer-season.htm

Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) will hold two informational, online meetings as part of the scoping process for a bison management plan and environmental impact statement. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/public-scoping-webinars-planned-for-grand-canyon-national-park-bison-management-plan-eis.htm

Bureau of Reclamation, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, BIO-WEST, Inc., and the Arizona Game and Fish Department, National Park Service (NPS) biologists successfully released nine adult endangered razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) in the Colorado River downstream of Lava Falls (River Mile 180). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tagged-razorback-suckers-released-in-grand-canyon.htm

Throughout the upcoming field season, National Park Service staff will be applying herbicide to targeted high priority invasive plant species in Grand Canyon National Park's developed areas. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/herbicide-to-be-applied-within-developed-areas-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Go wild for the history, nature, trails, and archeology of Grand Canyon National Park during National Park Week, April 19 through 27, 2014. To get the celebration going, Grand Canyon National Park will waive entrance fees on April 19 and 20. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/go-wild-for-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce the latest step to manage the impacts of bison on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP). After meeting with cooperators Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD), U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)--over the last several months, the NPS will initiate public scoping later this week for a bison management plan and environmental impact statement (EIS) to be prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-seeks-public-input-on-a-bison-management-plan-and-environmental-impact-statement-for-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Tuesday, March 18 at approximately 6:30 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call via satellite phone reporting a fatality on the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/kayaker-fatality-on-the-colorado-river-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Saturday, March 15 at approximately 8:00 a.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a man who had fallen off the rim near El Tovar Lodge. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-at-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Saturday, March 22, 2014, Grand Canyon National Park will host its seventh annual Archaeology Day celebration, commemorating Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-to-host-archaeology-day-on-march-22.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga has announced the availability of a prospectus for a business opportunity in the park, to provide lodging, food services, retail, transportation, mule rides, and other services on the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opportunity-announced-for-hospitality-contract-on-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Sunday, March 9 at approximately 2:00 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive male at the South Entrance Station. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that over 4.4 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2012 spent $454 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 6,010 jobs in the local area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tourism-to-grand-canyon-national-park-creates-454-million-in-economic-benefit.htm

Park Rangers recently recovered skeletal remains from the Hermit Creek drainage within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/human-remains-found-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service will burn piles of woody debris between Monday, February 24 through Wednesday, February 26 at Indian Gardens within Grand Canyon National Park depending on weather conditions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pile-burning-at-indian-gardens-within-the-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will host author and conservation activist Audrey Peterman for a special evening program on Monday, March 3 in honor of Black History Month. Ms. Peterman and her husband Frank authored the book Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-to-celebrate-black-history-month-with-special-guest-audrey-peterman.htm

On Thursday, February 13th, Grand Canyon Railway, in consultation with the National Park Service (NPS), will be applying herbicide along their railroad tracks including those within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/herbicide-to-be-applied-along-railway-within-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will join National Parks across the country to celebrate Presidents Day Weekend, February 15-17, with fee free admission. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/presidents-day-fee-free-weekend-2014.htm

Grand Canyon Association (GCA), the official nonprofit partner of Grand Canyon National Park, today announced a $1 million donation from Arizona Public Service (APS) that will establish the Grand Canyon Trails Forever Endowment to help preserve and protect Grand Canyon’s trails. This is one of the most significant private, philanthropic gifts in Grand Canyon’s history. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-association-receives-one-million-dollars-from-arizona-public-service-to-initiate-the-trails-forever-endowment-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The Coconino County Medical Examiner has identified the woman who died in a motor vehicle accident in Grand Canyon National Park on Friday, January 31, 2014 as Yuan Gao, 24 of China. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/motor-vehicle-fatality-victim-at-grand-canyon-national-park-identified.htm

Today at 2:12 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call from a park employee about a 2 car motor vehicle accident on South Entrance Road, approximately 3 miles north of the park’s South Entrance Station. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/motor-vehicle-fatality-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Saturday, February 1, 2014 the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-lottery-for-2015-noncommercial-river-trip-permits-opens-february-1.htm

Horace P. Albright Training Center was officially listed to the National Register of Historic Places on September 30, 2013. The only National Park Service (NPS) training center in the West and located within the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park, the Center is a state significant Historic District exemplifying simple, practical, modernist design of the Mission 66 Era. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/albright-training-center.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will be joining national park units across the country in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day with fee-free entry into the park on Monday, January 20, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-to-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day-with-free-entry-2014.htm

The body of a man recovered from below the rim of Grand Canyon National Park late last year has been identified as that of Yoshikazu Yamada, a Japanese National. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-from-below-south-rim-late-last-year-identified.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) today released a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Comprehensive Fisheries Management Plan for the Glen Canyon reach of the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GLCA), and for all waters within Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA). The plan will take a long-term comprehensive approach for fisheries management in waters between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead within GRCA and GLCA, with the goals of maintaining a balance between a quality recreational fishing experience in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam, known as the Lees Ferry area, while preserving and restoring the unique native fisheries within GRCA. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-today-released-a-finding-of-no-significant-impact-for-the-comprehensive-fisheries-management-plan-for-glen-canyon-and-grand-canyon.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is now closed to vehicle traffic for the season. Arizona State Route 67, leading to the North Rim closed on December 2, 2013. State Route 67 and all services on the North Rim are expected to re-open for the 2014 season on May 15, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2013-north-rim-closed-for-season.htm

National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forrest Service (USFS) fire managers working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program plan to conduct a prescribed fire on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park the week of November 18th. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-slopes-prescribed-fire.htm

Last week, fire managers successfully treated 800 acres with prescribed fire (Rx) in one of the last remaining unburned areas on the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/800-acres-successfully-treated-with-prescribed-fire-on-south-rim.htm

On, Thursday, November 14, Grand Canyon National Park will be celebrating National Native American Heritage Month with special presentations and demonstrations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2013-native-american-heritage-month-celebration.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers plan to conduct a prescribed fire on the South Rim the week of November 4th. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/horsethief-prescribed-burn-planned-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service will begin burning piles of woody debris over the next few weeks on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park depending on weather conditions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pile-burning-to-begin-at-south-rim-of-grand-canyon.htm

In honor of those that serve and have served in the United States military, national park units around the country, including Grand Canyon National Park, will be offering everyone fee-free entry during the Veterans Day weekend. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-to-waive-entrance-fees-for-veterans-day-weekend-2013.htm

National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, are preparing for multiple prescribed fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Fire managers anticipate initiating these prescribed fire treatments during the fall and winter months as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-fire-managers-preparing-for-multiple-prescribed-fires-on-the-north-rim.htm

Grand Canyon National Park continues to welcome visitors from across the United States and the globe. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-open-to-visitors.htm

National Park Service Enters Agreement with State of Arizona to Re-open Grand Canyon National Park Park Service is in the process of negotiating similar agreements with other states https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-enters-agreement-with-state-of-arizona-to-re-open-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Wednesday, September 25 at approximately 1:00 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call with a report of a deceased 67 year old female on the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park at River Mile 209. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2013-09-27_fatality-on-col-river-within-grand-canyon-nat-pk.htm

The National Park Service will begin eliminating turfgrass (lawns) around the historic El Tovar Hotel and adjacent rim lodges as part of a long-term plan to re-landscape the area with native vegetation consistent with the historic Grand Canyon Village rim landscape. Weather permitting; the two-day project will begin on Tuesday, September 17. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-continues-exotic-plant-management-by-eliminating-lawns-in-historic-district-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The staff on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin to shut down most visitor services and facilities on Tuesday, October 15; the North Rim will remain open to visitors through December 1 unless snow closes Highway 67 leading into the park prior to December 1. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/facilities-on-grand-canyons-north-rim-to-begin-seasonal-closures-park-remains-open-for-day-use.htm

Recent heavy monsoonal rainfall caused damage to portions of the South Kaibab Trail approximately one-half mile below Cedar Ridge closing the trail to livestock use. Trail crews have completed work to remove debris from the trail. The trail is now open to livestock as well as foot traffic. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-crews-repair-south-kaibab-trail-after-monsoonal-rain-damage.htm

Cape Royal Road at Grand Canyon National Park Closed. All Other Roads Including Point Imperial Road Remain Open https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-cape-royal-road-at-grand-canyon-national-park-closed.htm

Recent heavy monsoonal rainfall has caused damage to portions of the South Kaibab Trail approximately one-half mile below Cedar Ridge and to the North Kaibab Trail below Supai Tunnel. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/heavy-monsoonal-rain-causes-trail-damage-to-grand-canyon-trails.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will be joining national park units across the country in celebrating National Public Lands Day (NPLD) with fee free entry into the park on Saturday, September 28, 2013. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-to-celebrate-national-public-lands-day-with-fee-free-entry-september-28.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has begun improvements to Cape Royal Road on the North Rim. Beginning September 3, 2013 Cape Royal Road from Roosevelt Point to Cape Royal Point, at approximately mile 11.5, will be closed for repaving. Vehicles over 20 feet in length will not be permitted on Cape Royal Road for the duration of construction. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/updated-road-improvements-to-temporarily-close-portion-of-cape-royal-road-on-the-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park was recently the site of “Camping 101” a family camping opportunity provided by the Camp Moreno Project which promotes family camping experiences for underserved audiences. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-hosts-camping-101-and-the-camp-moreno-project.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has begun improvements to Cape Royal Road on the North Rim. Beginning September 3, 2013 Cape Royal Road from Roosevelt Point to Cape Royal Point, at approximately mile 11.5, will be closed for repaving. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/road-improvements-to-temporarily-close-portion-of-cape-royal-road-on-the-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Friday August 9 at approximately 2:00 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call from a park volunteer with a report of an unconscious male hiker on the North Kaibab Trail approximately one half of a mile below the trailhead within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-north-kaibab-trail-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

In celebration of the National Park Service’s 97th birthday all 401 national park units, including Grand Canyon National Park will waive entrance fees on Sunday, August 25, 2013. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-offers-free-admission-on-august-25.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga has announced the availability of two prospectuses for business opportunities in the park, to provide lodging, food services, grocery stores, retail, transportation, mule rides, an RV campground, a service station and other services on the South Rim. The two prospectuses released today outline these business opportunities, describe the existing businesses, and provide details on how to submit responsive proposals for either or both. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opportunity-announced-for-two-hospitality-contracts-on-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Park staff responded to multiple incidents Friday, July 26, 2013. Monsoonal weather patterns resulted in localized flooding affecting portions of Grand Canyon Village and Bright Angel Trail. Additionally, rangers responded to two motor vehicle accidents. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/multiple-incidents-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

At approximately 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, July 21 the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting that an Arizona Raft Adventures (AZRA) river guide required medical attention as a result of a lightning strike. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/river-guide-evacuated-off-colorado-river.htm

The National Park Service invites the public to the 20th annual Native American Heritage Days on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/twentieth-annual-native-american-heritage-days.htm

On Sunday, July 14, the National Park Service found two small lightning-caused fires burning on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. On Monday, July 15, a third lightning-caused fire was detected. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-to-manage-three-fires-on-north-rim-for-multiple-objectives.htm

Employees of Grand Canyon National Park have been recognized for outstanding achievement and leadership in the promotion of public and employee safety in 2012. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-employees-receive-several-safety-awards.htm

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on Monday, July 15 a lightning strike near Mather Point resulted in several visitors reporting injuries to the Grand Canyon Visitors Center. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/lightning-causes-minor-injuries-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On Tuesday, July 16, 42 college students, from 27 colleges and universities around the country will descend on Grand Canyon National Park to learn the art of facilitating an alternative break experience. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-to-host-alternative-break-citizenship-school-2013.htm

Monsoonal weather patterns have moved into the Grand Canyon area decreasing fire danger. As a result, on Wednesday, July 10 at 8:00 a.m. fire managers will lift all fire restrictions within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-restrictions-to-be-lifted-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

A woman who died while hiking the South Kaibab trail in Grand Canyon National Park has been identified as 48-year old Sibylle Borger of Fredericksburg, VA. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/female-hiker-who-died-on-south-kaibab-trail-identified.htm

On Sunday June 30 at approximately 3:30 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call from the emergency phone at Phantom Ranch Boat Beach with a report of an unconscious female hiker approximately three quarters of a mile above Phantom Ranch on the South Kaibab Trail within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2013-06-30-hiker-fatality.htm

Grand Canyon National Park and the entire National Park Service join the nation in mourning the tragic loss of 19 firefighters, including 18 elite firefighters from the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew based in Prescott, AZ. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-expresses-deepest-condolences-on-19-firefighter-deaths.htm

Grand Canyon National Park staff have completed repairs to the Trans-Canyon Water Pipeline. Crews are monitoring the re-pressurization of the pipeline, which should be completed by noon on Sunday, June 30. Xanterra South Rim LLC will resume operations Sunday; guests at Phantom Ranch are being advised that water restrictions may resume if another break occurs during re-pressurization. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-pipeline-repair-complete-at-grand-canyon-national-park-services-resume-at-phantom-ranch.htm

Pipeline Break in Grand Canyon National Park Results in Continued Suspension of Phantom Ranch Operations https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-pipeline-break-in-grand-canyon-national-park-results-in-continued-suspension-of-phantom-ranch-operations.htm

The National Park Service invites the public to the annual Western Arts Day on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Western Arts Day celebrates the western culture which helps define what Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona, and Southern Utah are today. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-north-rim-to-celebrate-western-arts-day-2013.htm

As a result of a series of breaks in the Trans-Canyon Water Pipeline, Phantom Ranch at the bottom of Grand Canyon is currently experiencing a water shortage. Visitors hiking to Phantom Ranch must be self-sufficient and be prepared to carry or treat all drinking water. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pipeline-break-in-grand-canyon.htm

Due to extreme fire danger throughout Grand Canyon National Park, park officials will be implementing fire restrictions for all areas within the park except the Colorado River corridor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20130626-fire-restrictions.htm

Interagency News Release: The Halfway Fire remains 100 percent contained and is exhibiting minimal fire behavior. Overnight, no growth or creeping of the fire occurred. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20130621-halfway-fire-final-update.htm

Interagency News Release: The Halfway fire is currently 100 percent contained and exhibiting minimal fire behavior as it moves into areas that previously experienced either prescribed fire or wildfire. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20130620-halfway-fire-update.htm

Interagency News Release: The Halfway fire is currently burning north of the Ten X Ranch and 5 miles due east of Tusayan, AZ. The fire, which is burning on National Forest and National Park Service lands, is approximately 125 acres in size (100 acres on National Forest/25 acres on NPS). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20130619-halfway-fire-update.htm

The Halfway fire is currently active burning north of the Ten X Ranch and 5 miles due east of Tusayan, AZ. The fire is approximately 60 acres in size and is burning on National Forest and National Park lands. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20130619-halfway-fire-active.htm

On June 23rd, 2013, Grand Canyon National Park will host “President Theodore Roosevelt Salutes the National Park Service.” This special program is a living history portrayal of the 26th President of the United States as performed by Joe Wiegand at 8:30pm, Sunday, June 23rd, 2013 at McKee Amphitheater located on the South Rim behind Park Headquarters near Parking Lot A. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-presents-living-history-performance-of-president-theodore-roosevelt.htm

Travel with fun-loving Muppets Elmo and Murray from Sesame Street to two of America’s most popular national parks in a new online series, Sesame Street Explores National Parks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/sesame-street-explores-national-parks.htm

National Park Service (NPS) biologists found spawning translocated endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) in Havasu Creek during a recent fisheries monitoring trip that occurred between May 6 and May 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/translocated-humpback-chub-spawn-in-havasu-creek.htm

On Saturday, May 18th, 2013, over 500 people gathered to celebrate the trailhead renovation of one of Grand Canyon National Park’s oldest and most visited trails. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-dedicates-the-newly-renovated-bright-angel-trailhead.htm

Join the Active Trails Team, Bright Angel Bicycles, and Grand Canyon Law Enforcement for the 2013 Bike Rodeo 5–7 pm May 20, 2013, at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center flag pole. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-active-trails-to-kick-off-2013-season.htm

The 23rd annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 8 through Saturday, June 15, 2013 on the South and North rims of Grand Canyon National Park. This event is sponsored by the National Park Service, Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (South Rim), and Saguaro Astronomy Club of Phoenix (North Rim), with funding from the Grand Canyon Association. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/astronomers-to-provide-free-telescope-viewing-at-grand-canyon-national-park-june-8-15-2013.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s longtime volunteer Sjors Horstman recently received a Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Service Award – the highest volunteer award in the state of Arizona. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyons-longtime-volunteer-sjors-horstman-receives-governors-lifetime-achievement-volunteer-service-award.htm

Throughout the upcoming field season, National Park Service staff will be applying herbicide to targeted high priority invasive plant species in Grand Canyon National Park’s developed areas. Developed areas of the park have increased levels of human disturbance, which contribute to the high concentration of invasive plants in these areas. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-staff-to-apply-herbicide-within-developed-areas-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service Comprehensive Fisheries Management Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) for waters between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead within Grand Canyon National Park (Grand Canyon) and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Glen Canyon) is available for public review and comment. Comments will be accepted from May 9 through June 10, 2013. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-announces-availability-of-comprehensive-fish-management-plan-environmental-assessment.htm

The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USGS-Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department will translocate endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) to two tributaries of the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/translocation-of-endangered-humpback-chub-to-tributaries-of-colorado-river-in-grand-canyon.htm

Shuttle service resumes between Grand Canyon National Park and Tusayan, AZ https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-route-shuttle-to-resume-service-between-tusyan-arizona-and-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park and the Grand Canyon Association will dedicate the renovated trailhead for Bright Angel Trail, one of the oldest and best known trails in the National Park system. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-trailhead-dedication-and-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-saturday-may-18.htm

The park commemorated the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day with a weekend of activities April 19 – 21, 2013. The weekend included a film about conservationist Aldo Leopold, a keynote presentation by author Mary Ellen Hannibal, and a day of fun and educational activities all centered on celebrating and protecting the Earth. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-celebrates-earth-day-with-a-weekend-full-of-activities.htm

The Arizona Department of Transportation will open Highway 67 to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Wednesday, May 15 by 8:00 am; and Grand Canyon Lodge North Rim, a Forever Resorts property, and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will commence their 2013 seasonal operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyons-north-rim-to-open-may-15-for-the-2013-summer-season.htm

Grand Canyon to Celebrate Wildlife Day https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/public-invited-to-grand-canyons-celebrate-wildlife-day-events.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will kick off National Park Week with a weekend of Earth Day activities and then will join national park units around the country in waiving entrance fees on April 22 – 26, 2013. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2012-04-11_np-week.htm

Each year in the spring (April – June) water turbidity increases in the drinking water within Grand Canyon National Park. This increased turbidity is caused by snow melt and spring rains recharging the aquifer, as well as by increased water flows through rock formations to the point of supply for Grand Canyon National Park's water supply system supplied from Roaring Springs. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/annual-turbidity-in-water-caused-by-spring-snow-melt-at-grand-canyon.htm

The body of a woman recovered from the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park on March 22 has been identified as that of Kaitlin Anne Kenney. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2013-04-01_kenney-ident.htm

https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2013-03-22_recovery.htm