Travel category, Page 27

Every day in airports across America, travelers confront facial recognition technology. It probably saves time. Federal officials say it’s making us safer. And for the millions whose mobile phones already recognize faces, this would seem nothing new. But how does old-fashioned privacy square with all these head shots and database...

There’s a festival for just about everything, including the humble-but-hearty bowl of bean soup. The 128th McClure Bean Soup Festival and Fair is set for Sept. 8-14 in the Snyder County community of about 900. The festival has its roots in an 1883 gathering of local Civil War veterans, who...

Deep in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, miles from any multi-lane highway (or any straight road, for that matter), through dense forests of Virginia pine and over trickling streams, I heard a familiar voice. “Illi-noa? Why that’s a ways away from he-uh, suh.” The woman at the front...

All across Europe, families and couples on vacation are seamlessly crossing borders with their beloved dog, cat or even ferret, thanks to the European Union Pet Passport scheme. Now, as a no-deal Brexit looms as a possibility for Britain, free pet travel is under threat. If the U.K. leaves the...

Want to blend in with the locals while traveling abroad? Here are a few tips for avoiding the dreaded “ugly American” stereotype: • Leave the athletic wear, sneakers, fanny packs, white socks and sandals at home. • Learn a few essential phrases in the language of the country you’re visiting....

Author Jeff Guinn of Fort Worth, Texas, has written acclaimed biographies about some really bad dudes: Charles Manson, Jim Jones and Clyde Barrow. And, oh yeah, the guys at the O.K. Corral. To be fair, Guinn is also the author of “The Autobiography of Santa Claus,” which launched his career...

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A New Zealand teenager who visited Disneyland and other Southern California tourist spots last week brought along more than just her luggage. She brought measles. Public health officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties issued a warning Friday that people may have been exposed to the...

Experience the thrills and chills of a Civil War-era skirmish aboard a train on a Northern Central Railway Steam Into History trip. Five Great Southern Train Raid excursions will depart the station in New Freedom, York County, on Aug. 24-25 for a living history ride featuring Union and Confederate soldiers...

An HBO miniseries featuring Soviet-era nuclear nightmares has sparked global interest in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and boosted tourism in Lithuania. The Baltic country, which served as the filming location for “Chernobyl,” has become a destination of so-called atomic tourism since the program aired earlier this year. At Ignalina nuclear...

UPHAM, N.M. — Spaceport America is no longer just a shiny shell of hope that space tourism would one day launch from this remote spot in the New Mexico desert. The once-empty hangar that anchors the taxpayer-financed launch and landing facility has been transformed into a custom-tailored headquarters where Virgin...

Some folks dream of riding along canals in Europe, but we can do the same thing much closer to home. Two of my friends and I navigated a 41-foot packet boat for a round-trip voyage of 88 miles on the Erie Canal from Macedon, N.Y., near Rochester, to Holley, N.Y....

Fans of “The Shawshank Redemption” are invited to a 25th anniversary celebration from Aug. 16-18 in Mansfield, Ohio, where the classic prison break movie was filmed around the old Ohio State Reformatory. Cast members including Bob Gunton (Warden Norton) will attend, along with director/screenwriter/producer Frank Darabont and Turner Classic Movies...

The Westmoreland Heritage Trail offers cyclists a chance to see the county’s natural beauty and rich history, all while getting some exercise. While a section connecting Export and Delmont has yet to be completed — that section presents the difficult problem of how to safely cross Route 66 — with...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A man reaches over a railing to pet a bison on the head in yet another example of dangerous behavior by visitors to Yellowstone National Park. A video shows the bison stepped away from the man standing on a crowded boardwalk near a thermal area. Nobody was...

ROME — Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn perched there without a care in the 1953 film “Roman Holiday.” But the Spanish Steps in Rome are no longer a place for sitting. Enforcing an ordinance that took effect last month, police officers patrolled the famed stone staircase Wednesday to tell locals...

If Gettysburg has a soundtrack, it’s a fife, drum and banjo, right? Not during Gettysburg Rocks, scheduled for Aug. 9-11. Held in February and August, the semiannual music festival features about 150 bands playing a variety of music genres at 20 area venues. Founded in 2014, the event benefits Four...

Take part in a family fly-fishing adventure and you’ll wake up in some of the country’s most pristine places. Here are five fabulous places to consider: 1. Jackson Hole, Wyo.: For an extraordinary angling experience, consider an overnight trip on the South Fork of the Snake River. On day one,...

In 1991, as the Soviet Union collapsed around him, Alexander Mishakov was summoned to a place that was off-limits to most citizens — the Metropol Hotel. Newly graduated from a technical institute, the 24-year-old had scored an interview for a breakfast chef position. Catching the first morning train into central...

Blues, jazz and bicycles will fill the streets of Erie during the first weekend of August. The Great Lake-side city will host the Lake Erie Cyclefest, featuring six rides for bicyclists of all ages and abilities, from Aug. 1-4. Rides include a sunrise circuit of the Presque Isle peninsula, a...