Travel

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, travel screeched to a halt in the United States. In April, airports were devoid of their usual crowds, with ghostly security checkpoints seeing a mere 4 percent of typical traveler volumes that month.

Daily passenger levels — which in 2019 were usually around 2 to 3 million travelers daily — dipped to their lowest levels in a decade; a mere 100,000 travelers passed through airports most days in April.

Read the entire article: Holiday travel numbers broke records. Will the trend continue in 2021? – The Washington Post

Everyone has their happy place. A place both real and imagined that brings them a sense of calm, joy, and pure happiness. For me, that’s the mountains in winter.

The fresh snow, crisp air, and joyful shrieks of skiers and snowboarders as they rip down the powder. But, being 2020, I thought my happy place was in peril. Until I visited Mammoth Mountain for opening week.

Read the entire article: Here’s What Skiing at Mammoth Mountain Looks Like Right Now | Travel + Leisure

To get the tastiest Thanksgiving dinner this year, you’re going to have to go to Cabo.

Auberge Resorts Collection’s two properties in Los Cabos — Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection, and Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection — announced in November that chef Mads Refslund, one of the world’s most acclaimed chefs, will celebrate the season of gratitude in Cabo with a limited series of exclusive dining experiences over Thanksgiving weekend.

Read the entire article: Famed Chef Mads Refslund Will Cook You an Unforgettable Thanksgiving Dinner in Mexico | Travel + Leisure

When I decided to travel to Mexico in the middle of the pandemic for more than a month, I didn’t have many supporters among my friends and family, with fair concern. The country is currently one of the hardest hit by the virus — and is now approaching nearly 900,000 cases.

Traveling now clearly isn’t an option for everyone, but my partner and I both felt we could get away and, with our employers having us work remotely, I probably had no better opportunity to work abroad than this one and only time.

Read the entire article: How I Worked From Home Abroad in Mexico for 35 Days During the Pandemic – The New York Times

With international leisure travel pretty much at a standstill, Iceland is using its pandemic downtime to make some major upgrades to its tourist infrastructure.

The Icelandic government is putting more than $12 million into improving roads, preserving popular sites, and revamping facilities at national parks, The New York Times reports. The government had already been planning to enhance its tourism infrastructure but decided to double down on its efforts as the pandemic has kept visitors away.

Read the entire article: Iceland Is Using Its Pandemic Downtime to Improve Its Roads, Parks, and Natural Wonders | Travel + Leisure

With the wildfires still raging in Oregon right now, we here at Food & Wine debated whether it was really the right time to run a story (which appears in our October print issue) about a happy communal dinner in the middle of Oregon wine country.

So we reached out to Clare Carver, who owns and runs Big Table Farm together with her husband Brian, for her take on the matter. She told us, “You know, in my community right now, I think people are really tired, but we’re all looking for joy, and this is a joyful story.

Read the entire article: At Oregon’s Big Table Farm, the Harvest Is a Feast | Food & Wine

Whether they’re arranging $300,000 private dinners with celebrity chefs or pop-up luxury campsites in the steppes of the northern Sahara, luxury travel agents and concierge services manage to make the impossible a reality.

Last summer, luxury concierge service Element Lifestyle secured the key to the Sistine Chapel so a New York family of six could open the doors and enjoy Michelangelo’s stunning artwork alone — an experience that cost roughly US$75,000.

Read the entire article: The wildest holiday requests from the super rich | CNN Travel

On all fronts there is a great deal of uncertainty around the coming autumn and it looks as if international travel is still a long way off for many of us.

However there are quite a few countries currently open to both tourism and business travel, many with no restrictions whatsoever.

Read the entire article: 9 Countries You Can Travel To Right Now

With vintage decor, classic ’70s games, and retro minibars stocked with old-school snacks and plenty of beer, the Miller Timeshare will give a few lucky visitors the grooviest end-of-summer vacation ever.

Miller Lite was introduced across the nation in 1975, and now, the beer brand is inviting fans to book this throwback home this September.

Read the entire article: You Can Book This Retro 1970s Time-travel Timeshare From Miller Lite for $96 Per Night | Travel + Leisure