The following is a list of tour companies that, at press time, were known to require all tour members to be vaccinated:
• The Travel Corporation (ttc.com) family of brands, including Trafalgar, Costsaver, Insight Vacations, Contiki, Uniworld and others.
• Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon (866/755-8581, www.globusjourneys.com).
Sunscreen containing any of four ingredients — oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben — has been banned in Thailand. Each of those ingredients has been shown to kill coral larvae.
One of Thailand’s most famous beaches, at Maya Bay, has been closed to swimmers since 2018 to allow the coral reef there to regenerate from damage caused by human activities, including vandalism.
Italy’s national airline, Alitalia, will cease to fly on Oct. 15, 2021. Anyone who purchased a ticket for an Alitalia flight taking place after Oct. 15 was given the choice of changing their flight to a date before Oct. 14 or receiving a full refund.
Alitalia will be immediately replaced by the airline Italia Transporto Aereo, or ITA. No contact information for ITA was available at press time.
On Aug. 26, Austria and Croatia announced that COVID-19 vaccinations administered more than 270 days prior to entry to the country would no longer be accepted as valid for entry. Anyone wishing to travel to those countries who was vaccinated beyond the cutoff point would first need to receive a booster shot.
In June, the European Union’s governing body agreed to allow travelers from the US to enter but gave each member country the power to determine any prerequisites for US travelers.
On Aug. 30, the European Union Parliament recommended that its member countries deny entry to travelers from the US because of the increase in US hospitalizations, which on that date was more than 10,000 new hospitalizations per day. The recommendation is not binding, and each country can make its own determination whether or not to allow US travelers in.
Bulgaria was the first EU country to bar US leisure travelers, starting Sept. 1. No other country had done so by press time.
Lithuania Tourism has created an online map of “magical” objects and locations around the country. Visitors to the webpage can click on any of the 52 numbered locations to see a photo and a description of how the magic works there. Visit www.lithuania.travel/en/news/the-magical-map-of-lithuania-discover-over-50-places-where-wishes-come-true.
Starting Jan. 1, 2022, day-trippers to the city of Venice, Italy, will each be charged an entry fee. The entry fee is expected to be €3-€10 (near $3.50-$12), depending on the season and the anticipated number of visitors on that day. Those who are overnighting in the city or visiting relatives will be exempt.
A new smartphone app, “Cliffs of Moher,” has been created for the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience (www.cliffsofmoher.ie) in County Clare, Ireland. Free to download, the app contains information on points of interest plus an interactive map and a 13-track audio guide on the geological and human history of the cliffs.
On Krippenstein mountain, near Hallstatt, Austria, the 5fingers Observation Deck offers views of Hallstatt and the Hallstättersee from nearly 7,000 feet in elevation. Each “finger” of the deck points in a slightly different direction, and one finger has a reinforced-glass floor suspended 1,300 feet over the mountain.
Though, at press time, proof of COVID-19 vaccination was not required for Americans traveling to Mexico, on July 26, the state of Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula, announced that all businesses, including hotels, restaurants and shops, now require anyone entering to show either proof of vaccination or the results of a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 72 hours. Popular resort cities such as Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel are located in Quintana Roo.