Travel news this week: Shipwrecks and a crowdfunded island
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Discoveries of wrecks
It was a good month for wreck hunters.
Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship HMS Endurance has been discovered more than 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) deep in Antarctica’s Southern Ocean, more than a century after it sank in 1915.
Meanwhile, the 130-year-old wreck of the Atlanta ship has finally been discovered at the bottom of Michigan’s Lake Superior, a shipwreck history society recently announced. The 172-foot (52-meter) schooner barge was carrying a load of coal when it sank in a storm in May 1891.
Rule changes and reopenings
Ireland is one of the latest countries to lift all Covid-related travel restrictions (just in time for St. Patrick’s Day on March 17).
After being closed for two years, Malaysia will reopen its borders to international visitors on April 1, and fully vaccinated travelers will not have to self-quarantine. And on March 27, India will resume regular international commercial flights for the first time since the pandemic began.
US domestic travelers no longer need to take a Covid test or show proof of vaccination to enter Puerto Rico, and Hawaii is dropping those same measures for domestic travelers starting March 26. Hawaii will also lift its mask mandate – the last US state to do so.
The Maldives and Belize have dropped Covid testing for fully vaccinated arrivals, and inside Belize curfews have ended and masks no longer need to be worn outside.
As for places with high Covid caseloads, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has moved some old Covid success stories into its highest travel risk category.
War in Ukraine
Airbnb hosts in Ukraine have been inundated with bookings from customers around the world – and they have no plans to check in.
It’s all part of a social media campaign to send money to beleaguered Ukrainians as their country struggles against the Russian invasion.
Elsewhere in hospitality, hotel chains Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt are among the major companies pulling out of Russia.
Sanctions against theft continue to have a significant impact. Thailand, a popular holiday destination among Russians, has found itself faced with thousands of stranded Russian tourists. And a conveniently located small airport which intensified during the cold war and the Covid could be in demand once again.
Small island, big ambitions
A group of investors have funded $250,000 to buy their own Caribbean island.
Coffee Caye is an uninhabited 1.2 acre island off the coast of Belize, and the band wants to use it to create their own country called Islandia.
Although it is the first crowdfunded island, it is not the first micronation. Many self-proclaimed kings, presidents, and emperors have declared themselves rulers of their own private empires over the years. Here are a few.
love and money
Italy’s capital region of Lazio – home to beautiful hilltop towns and Rome, the Eternal City – has earmarked $11 million in Covid recovery funds to go to couples planning weddings or civil unions in the area this year .
The scholarships offered amount to approximately $2,200 per couple (€2,000). While it won’t cover your dream destination wedding in any way, the cash could certainly cover some outfits and flowers.
For your honeymoon, we suggest Ischia, the island in the Gulf of Naples made famous by Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. Or maybe Sicily, which Anthony Bourdain visited for his “Parts Unknown” series in 2013.
In case you missed it
The cable cars arrive in Paris.
A new spherical hotel room in Swedish Lapland lets you sleep surrounded by birds.
They said that women were not strong enough to work in the kitchens of Chinese restaurants.
Get ready, travel
They don’t call them red eyes for nothing. If you’re having trouble falling asleep on an overnight flight, our partners at CNN Underscored, a CNN-owned product review and recommendation guide, have put together this roundup of products to help you fall asleep. And during Sleep Week, March 13-19, check out more great gadgets for a good night’s sleep in the CNN Underscored newsletter.