Insights

As of Dec. 1, people who want to see the cities of Chongqing, Chengdu, Ningbo and Xi’an can now do so with the 144-hour (six-day) transit visa. The visa, also called the G visa, is available in 20 cities across China. 

Join us for conversations with two of America’s finest as we thank them for their service and learn whether deployment overseas changed how they travel the world today.

There is really no such thing as a “successful” traveler. You may have accomplished travelers or well-traveled people, but being a successful traveler is quite subjective and should be left up to the opinion of others.

Have you ever wondered what draws people to the morbid places associated with suffering or death? Auschwitz, Ground Zero, and Chernobyl come to mind.

The island of St. Maarten (Sint Maarten) is the common denominator in the stories of two different families whose lives were changed when they landed on the Caribbean island.  Join us to hear why St. Maarten was the backdrop to their positive life transformations. First, we’ll speak to Erik and Emily Orton about their decision to spend a year at sea with their five children.  The family of seven spent a year sailing from St. Maarten to New York.  The lessons they learned and the adventures they experienced are described in their book, Seven at Sea: Why a New York City Family Cast Off Convention For A Life-Changing Year On A Sailboat.  In their book, Erik and Emily remind us that we have the ability to customize our lives, regardless of our perceived constraints. Then, we’ll introduce travel writer Breana Johnson who lived as an American expat on the island [...]

Google will bring its travel-related apps and products under one landing page known as Trips. People who come to google.com/travel will find Google Flights, Google hotels search, the mobile Google Trips apps and others and plan out their travel easily and effectively. At Trips, users can look for a destination and choose their flights, travel guides, hotels or vacation packages.

The Caribbean! This is no doubt one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. It boasts of clean blue seas, sparkling white sand and the summer sun just makes everywhere else seem very drab. It is made up of more than 7000 different islands and each of them has a unique charm of its own. For the adrenaline junkies, the Caribbean islands will offer you the best and most challenging but yet exciting experiences you will ever endure. The adventures can range from scuba diving through underwater caves and volcanic ruins, zip lining through a rainforest canopy, river kayaking and many other activities that will make you feel on top of the world. Without further ado, here are the best adventure travel destinations for first-time visitors in the Caribbean. 1. Jamaica. Although this is one of the smallest islands in the Caribbean (4244 square miles), don't let its [...]

Americans interested in visiting Europe may want to do so before 2021. According to a report, the European Union said any U.S. travelers coming to the European Schengen area will need another kind of visa for entrance.

Prospective travelers who use the Kayak travel website can now filter their trips by aircraft model. The company has introduced the feature in the wake of an Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 8 crash on March 8 that killed everybody onboard. This was the second fatal crash for that model airplane. The first was five months ago, in October, that crashed in Indonesia shortly after the Lion Air jet took off. Kayak Chief Technology Officer Giorgos Zacharia said the company received feedback suggesting the website offer filters for aircraft models, which would allow customers to exclude or include different makes. He said the enhancement was a commitment to offering customers the information they needed to ensure confidence while traveling. Many countries’ aviation authorities have ordered that the 373 Max planes not be flown in their airspace. On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration declared they were banning the use of [...]

When I first visited Zimbabwe ten years ago, hyperinflation had sent the entire country into a controlled state of panic. While there was no specific ‘danger’ of which to speak, tourists were still frightened by the actions of President Robert Mugabe and the prospect of visiting a country in the midst of so much turmoil.

When we are at home, we pretty have much everything that we need. However, things are often different when we are traveling and we must learn to pack all the travel essentials. Many of us can admit that they do seldom forget to carry an item which they absolutely need. This is certainly irritating, even though there are numerous products which we can purchase after we reach our planned destination. There are, of course, a few travel essentials which are truly irreplaceable.

Last year, World Footprints published stories about people and places all over the world. Our writers told stories that helped our readers make deeper connections to a community, understand more about a foreign place while traveling more mindfully.