Month: August 2021

CDC Updates Travel Advisory, Adding Puerto Rico and More to Highest Warning Level

By Steven I. Green 10 months ago

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned against traveling to United States territories Puerto Rico and Guam, and other destinations around the world due to an increase in coronavirus cases.

The agency on Monday raised the U.S. territories to a “Level 4,” indicating a “very high” level of COVID-19 transmission on the islands. The CDC didn’t explicitly advise Americans to avoid going to the territories, but noted that those who do travel to Puerto Rico or Guam should make sure they are fully vaccinated.

Puerto Rico is currently seeing a 10-14.9% test positivity rate on a 7-day average, while Guam is seeing a 5-7.9% test positivity rate for the same time period, according to the CDC’s data. Both are considered to have a “high” level of community transmission.

While travelers who fly into the U.S. from an international destination are required to get tested within three days of

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This Map Will Tell You When Your State Will Hit Peak Fall Foliage

By Steven I. Green 10 months ago

There’s been a change in the air recently.

Although we can try to deny it, leaves are already starting to change color as the fall season is upon us. And even though there are still a few weeks left of summer, it’s not too early to begin thinking about a trip to the woods to see the fall foliage.

And for those planning for travel during peak times of leaves changing, SmokyMountains.com is here to help with its annual Fall Foliage Map.

The map uses an algorithm developed from tons of data — like historical temperatures and forecast precipitation from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — to create a predictive map of when trees will reach peak viewing status around the country. The algorithm then produces a county-by-county breakdown of when colorful leaves are expected to peak that you can toggle through week-by-week.

“Similar to any meteorological forecast,

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Travel & leisure stocks outperform following full FDA vaccine approval By Investing.com

By Steven I. Green 10 months ago

© Reuters.

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – Travel and leisure stocks were outperforming in the UK on Tuesday after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved Pfizer (NYSE:) and BioNTech’s (NASDAQ:) Covid vaccination. It is the first jab to be fully licenced after previously receiving Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

Full approval

Approval of the vaccine is expected to lead to greater take-up amongst US citizens. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 31% of unvaccinated people said they were more likely to get vaccinated if the FDA gave full approval to vaccines, according to Bloomberg News.

Separately, many companies and organisations are expected to introduce vaccine mandates. The US military set this off, saying they would require all 1.3 million active-duty troops to get vaccinated.

Travel & Leisure shares jump

Shares in stocks jumped following the news. Cineworld (LON:) – which has operations in the

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What it’s like flying 2 of the world’s best airlines during the pandemic

By Steven I. Green 10 months ago






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A flight to Thailand is a long journey in economy. I’ve done it before — twice actually— but on my most recent trip, I was curious to experience life at the front of the plane.

I recently visited the Southeast Asia country through the nation’s “Phuket Sandbox” initiative, which allows vaccinated international travelers to visit without quarantine. Booking a hotel was fairly straightforward, but my flight reservations required a bit more research to comply with Thailand’s testing and entry requirements.

There’s been much said during the pandemic about whether flying business class is still worth it right now. Airlines, struggling to balance the budget, cut amenities travelers had grown to love and scaled back service. While I’ve

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