✈️ Travel Tales, Talk & Tips
#threadcast 85
Tue 05-Nov-24
ℹ️ This is the #travelcast where we chat all things #travel
💬 Talk about your trips, discuss adventures and enjoy the world's delights!
- Where have you been, and where would you like to go?
- Post pics/vids, articles, tips, news and anything else related to travel
- Tag #leotravel and join the LeoTravel community
Bon voyage! 🧳 🛫
Potential Tropical Storm, Hurricane Tracking Toward Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cuba
A disturbance in the Caribbean may become Tropical Storm Rafael, impacting Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cuba with strong winds and heavy rain, potentially reaching hurricane strength.
Caribbean Airlines has canceled several flights to and from Jamaica as Tropical Storm Rafael continues to strengthen in the Caribbean.
#cuba #tropicalstorm #hurricane #rafael #jamaica #caymanislands #weather
In a statement, the airline confirmed that it "will not be responsible for transportation to/from an alternate airport or hotel/overnight expenses incurred by affected passengers."
Impacted travelers may rebook without fee or penalty by December 2, 2024.
United Airlines, Air Canada and WestJet have issued waivers for travelers booked on flights in the storm's track, including airports in Kingston, Montego Bay, Havana and others.
As many as four Royal Caribbean cruise ships have also adjusted their itineraries in response to Rafael, including Brilliance of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Vision of the Seas.
As of Tuesday morning, Rafael was located 80 miles south-southwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Rafael is expected to pass over the Cayman Islands late Tuesday before reaching Cuba on Wednesday.
Amtrak Winter Park Express Starting Early to Meet Increased Demand
Amtrak's Winter Park Express starts early in December due to increased demand, offering 69 roundtrips and expanded five-days weekly service for ski and non-ski passengers from Denver to Fraser Valley.
The seasonal rail service expands to five days weekly after the New Year, boasting 69 roundtrips this season—29 more than last season—the Winter Park Express will serve ski and non-ski passengers traveling from Denver to the Fraser Valley.
#rail #travel #winterparkexpress #denver #fraservalley #amtrak
The Winter Park Express season will start on the last two weekends of this year, December 20-22 and 27-19, plus January 3-5. Expanded service begins on January 9 and runs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays through March 31.
“The Winter Park Express is a great opportunity for Coloradans and visitors to explore our mountains without the hassle of driving or traffic,” Governor Jared Polis said.
“Now with expanded service and lower costs, Coloradans can save time and money on our way to enjoying our great outdoors,” Polis continued. “I look forward to taking the train into the mountains this season.”
Tickets for the trains serving both the Winter Park Resort and neighboring Fraser start at $19 per person ($9.50 for children) and are available now. Travelers can bring their skis and snowboards as a carry-on for no additional charge.
Lift tickets and other passes can be purchased directly from the Winter Park Resort website.
“We look forward to a bigger season than ever, with more than twice as many trips and an additional destination,” Amtrak Executive Vice President Dennis Newman said. “With the State of Colorado expanding its partnership with the resort and Amtrak, the future of passenger rail on this corridor is bright.”
Tuesday TravelCast on the go! Share all your travel chit-chat right here...
Yesterday's edition:
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Barcelona airport floods with 70 flights cancelled and trains affected
Article via Euronews
Where are the latest floods in Spain and is it safe to travel?
Article via TimeOut
Booking your next holiday? Consider these six trailblazing travel firms making the world a better place
Article via BBC Travel
Tell us about a great Scandinavian winter holiday
Article via The Guardian
Ryanair’s travel agent war left it wounded but not defeated
Article via Financial Times
Woman flies to Tenerife for holiday – but it gets ruined immediately
Article via Express
Estonia Travel Guide: Clean, Green and Serene
Article via Esquire
How OTAs Are Revolutionizing Travel Plans in the UK, Driving Growth in London, Manchester, and Edinburgh
Article via TTW
Most businesses lack plans to cut emissions from business travel
Article via edie
Clara Amfo launches new podcast with travel stories and life experiences
Article via PodcastingToday
High demand for September air travel
Article via ITIJ
Nium and HyperGuest Join Forces to Streamline Payments for the Travel and Hospitality Industry
Article via PR Newswire
Inside Travel Group to add more destinations following £20m investment
Article via Travel Gossip
Spending growth via travel agents slips back in October
Article via Travel Weekly
European business travel spending rises 10% in 2024 – GBTA
Article via BTN
I prefer the London Underground over owning a car - and this is why
Article via Express
2025 travel trends: family holidays and bucket list trips top travellers’ priorities
Article via ITIJ
Industry ‘on the edge of huge change’
Article via TBTM
https://inleo.io/threads/view/walterjay/re-leothreads-2hq7kwkfo
https://inleo.io/threads/view/taskmaster4450le/re-leothreads-w1jrqgyr
📍 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain 🇮🇨 🇪🇸
👉 What to do in this Canarian hub?
🎞️ The Intrepid Guide YouTube channel give their 17 tips!
Tips from the vid with timestamps…
Disney’s new all-access, skip-the-line plan can cost more than the park ticket does
Got a few hundred extra dollars? That will buy you one person’s access to Disney’s new service at its US parks, which allows you to go into a faster line at any time of the operating day – once per ride – without having to reserve it on an app.
#disney #park #skiptheline #travel #parks #florida #california
Mind you, that’s in addition to the cost of your park ticket.
The pilot launch of “Lightning Lane Premier Pass,” formally announced Wednesday by Disney, is being offered in extremely limited quantities. It’s designed to be purchased and used by few guests.
The pass will be priced per person per day, based on date and demand. That can range from $137.39 to $478.19 (after tax) at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, available starting October 30.
At Disneyland Resort in California, the pass will be $400 (not taxable) per person per day, available from October 23 through the end of 2024. Variable pricing will begin in 2025 based on date and demand, ranging from $300 to $400.
‘The saddest thing I’ve seen in Italy’: Tiny Trevi Fountain stand-in pool draws scorn
When the city of Rome constructed what looks like a backyard swimming pool in front of the famous Trevi Fountain for tourists to toss their coins into while the baroque landmark is emptied for renovations, the reaction was swift — and brutal.
Erected late last week, the pool is adorned with unpainted plywood and sits behind a tall fence covered by transparent plastic, over which tourists throw coins in the hope of hitting the water.
#ttrevifountain #italy #travel #rome #europe
The loose change now scattered around the perimeter underscores just how challenging that is.
According to one police officer, who did not wish to be named, at the site on Saturday to keep order, the pool was built primarily to protect workers inside the emptied fountain from getting hit by coins.
And, he suggested, to ensure it continues to collect 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) a year in coins, which are given to charity.
La Dolce Vita Orient Express: Eat your way around Italy in style
In our travel roundup this week: the burning mountain whose flames never go out, how Antarctica became a hot vacation spot and what to expect from Italy’s first luxury sleeper train.
#travel #italy #train #railroad #sleeper
La Dolce Vita Orient Express
New details have been teased about the hotly anticipated La Dolce Vita Orient Express train and the upcoming Orient Express hotels in Rome and Venice, the first for the relaunched brand.
Three-Michelin-starred chef Heinz Beck will be creating distinct dining journeys inspired by the 14 Italian regions explored on the new train’s eight routes, including a truffle route between Rome and Nizza Monferrato and a Tuscan vineyards tour that visits Montalcino.
Launching in spring 2025, prices start at 3,500 euros a person ($3,794) for the luxury train which, in contrast to the 1920s elegance of the original, is inspired by the glamorous sophistication of 1960s and 1970s Italy.
The brand’s first Orient Express hotel will be the Orient Express La Minerva in Rome, followed by Orient Express Palazzo Donà Giovannelli in Venice. More details on those are set to be revealed this year.
Vietnam’s Revolution Express is another upcoming train journey to get locomotive fans excited. Two revamped 1960s steam trains are expected to return to the rails by 2025, traveling between the beach resorts of Da Nang and the former royal capital Hue.
Finally, the Trans-Mongolian Railway is one of the world’s most epic and scenic journeys. Here’s what it’s like on board and how to plan the adventure for yourself.
Prince William promotes conservation in South Africa, walks on trails near Table Mountain
Prince William went on an early-morning nature walk near South Africa's Table Mountain on Tuesday to promote the work of conservation rangers in a unique urban national park.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Prince William went on an early-morning nature walk near South Africa’s Table Mountain on Tuesday to promote the work of conservation rangers in a unique urban national park.
#southafrica #princewilliam #tablemountain #travel #nationalpark
The Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne met with some of the rangers who guard the Table Mountain National Park, an 85-square-mile (220-square kilometer) area that overlooks Cape Town and spills into the city’s suburbs in some areas.
William didn’t go to the top of the famous flat-topped mountain, instead strolling through nature trails on Signal Hill, a foothill that sits by the ocean’s edge.
The prince was accompanied on the walk by Megan Taplin, the park manager, and Robert Irwin, an Australian conservationist and the son of the late Steve Irwin, who was known as “The Crocodile Hunter.” William met with rangers, park firefighters and members of a K-9 dog unit.
“He got to learn about what they do on a daily basis and what challenges they face,” Taplin said. “We also spoke a lot about ranger wellness and how that’s really important that rangers are supported, that their families are supported, because they are doing quite dangerous work and difficult work.”
William is in South Africa to promote his annual Earthshot Prize, which awards $1.2 million in grants to five entrepreneurs or organizations for innovative ideas that help the environment and combat climate change. William set up the Earthshot Prize in 2020 through his Royal Foundation and the awards ceremony will be held in Cape Town — the first time it’s been in Africa — on Wednesday night.
The prince’s four-day visit is a kind of environmental roadshow and is heavily focused on climate and conservation, though he did break away from those issues on his first day in Cape Town on Monday to attend a rugby practice at a local high school and play a little of South Africa’s favorite sport with some of the kids.
Crowds flock to small Massachusetts town to send off New York's Rockefeller Christmas tree
This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree comes with a strong New England accent, and locals could not be more excited.
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — This year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree comes with a strong New England accent, and locals could not be more excited.
#massachusetts #rockefellercenter #newyorkcity #newengland #christmas
The Norway spruce that will travel to New York City hails from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was scheduled to be cut down Thursday and make the roughly 140-mile (225-kilometer) journey south, arriving Nov. 9 in midtown Manhattan.
The tree will be lit during a live TV broadcast on Dec. 4, featuring 50,000 multi-colored lights with a Swarovski star on top and remain on display until mid-January.
Local residents were flocking to the tree this week, which was planted 67 years ago in honor of the homeowner’s nieces and several workers could be seen high up in the 11-ton (9.97-metric ton) tree, tying up its branches for a trip down south.
It is the first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree to come from Massachusetts since 1959.
“There’s a lot of people coming to town that are interested in this. So people are at the house taking pictures and excited about it,” said Bernie Fallon, a resident of West Stockbridge, a town of 1,400 in western Massachusetts. “The talk of the town, local gossip and conversation is quite high.”