Thanksgiving in China! The most interesting Thanksgiving of my 24 years…
I have lived in Wuhan, China for three years now, teaching English at Wenhua College, while returning home to America each Christmas and Summer break. This leaves a few holidays...
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Insider Tips on Taking the Best Photos on Your Vacation
Here are 10 helpful suggestions from travel writers and photographers for taking the best photos on your next vacation. The...
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Heads Up! Negative COVID-19 Test Among Revised Traveler Requirements for the U.S.
In revised traveler requirements, only non-citizen, non-immigrant travelers with proof of vaccination will be allowed to board an airplane for the United States.
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Holiday Travel Plans Holding Strong Says New Survey
Surprise! Despite Biblical plagues swirling around the globe, families are holding strong to holiday travel plans. More than three quarters of residents recently surveyed in Spain...
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The Latest Holiday Travel Tips and Trends for Winter 2021
Eager to travel this season and wondering about the latest holiday travel tips and hacks? We got you covered. There’s good...
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This Will Make Flying Safer
A lot has been done to make flying safer since the age of coronavirus began. Yet, it's still a big topic as confidence in leisure air travel -- and crowds -- increase. U.S. passengers...
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Farms Stays and Agritourism Around the World
Use this directory of agritourism resources -- agricultural businesses that extend hospitality to guests -- to plan farm stays. Your kids will learn where food comes from and will...
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The 51 Best Virtual Family Vacation Ideas for Staying Safe During this Pandemic
Don’t worry about safety, budget or logistics with our guide to the best virtual vacation ideas and digital family experiences for the winter and spring of 2021. Virtual travel...
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Health & Safety Guidance for Holiday Travelers
I won't tell you not to be among the holiday travelers, because my family is, but I will share the health and safety guidance that we practice to keep everyone safe. We follow...
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How To Avoid Typical Travel Ripoffs
As smart as we all are about buying vacation packages online, it's important to refresh our scam antennae to avoid travel ripoffs.
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Two Days in Cappadocia, Turkey
Get away from Turkey's big cities and find all the culture, beauty, and fresh air you're searching for in the west: Cappadocia. Ready...
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9 Lessons Learned: Michelle Obama on Becoming a Family Traveler
I recently learned some family travel lessons from former First Lady Michelle Obama. As one of the most traveled women in the world, she spent some of her White House years becoming a family traveler. Anyone...
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Reopening Soon? Summer Travel in the Untied States
Look ahead to travel reopening during summer 2020 and you’ll know why we call it the Untied States of America. The...
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Expats Living Abroad Are Sheltered During the Pandemic
Americans and other expats living abroad have been sheltered by their adopted communities during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, say correspondents for InternationalLiving.com,...
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Traveling to Cambodia: The Top Cambodia Destinations, Sites and Activities
Cambodia is one of Southeast Asia’s most intriguing destinations and the top Cambodia destinations are unforgettable. Still overcoming a brutally difficult past, the country...
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How Coronavirus Will Affect Your Travel Plans
Updated Mar. 29, 2020. As Passover, Easter and summer vacations approach, families around the world are very concerned about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and its impact on...
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Top 25 Recommended Rail Journeys Worldwide
Do you enjoy the rumbling of the rails? Rail journeys combine the contemplation of slow overland travel with the pleasures of getting somewhere, letting you take environmentally-friendly...
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11 Very Japanese Experiences To Love In Kanazawa
Anyone who experiences Kanazawa, known as "Little Kyoto" for its distinct shogun castle, Geisha district, quirky museums and fish market, falls in love with Japan. Like Kyoto,...
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Falling in Love with the Taj Mahal in Agra
On your first trip to India, fall in love with the Taj Mahal in Agra, a monument to love that is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This UNESCO...
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20 New and Familiar Trends in Family Travel
Looking back on a year of climate crises and social turmoil, it is surprising that many of the family travel trends noted in the past continue to play out. Family, this huge segment...
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Four Reasons To Plan Your Family Cruise With Holland America
Have you ever thought about taking the family on an Alaska cruise and worried the kids would be bored? Holland...
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More Time for Family Fun with FlightsFrom.com
Forget boring layovers, airplanes without in-seat video screens and expensive airport food. With FlightsFrom.com it’s easy to find a non-stop flight that meets all of your requirements...
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Family Travel Forum Announces Winners Of 2019 Teen Travel Writing Scholarship
(New York, NY – September 24, 2019) Family Travel Forum (FTF) and its travel industry partners congratulate the winners of the 2019 FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship. Completing...
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11 Tips For Traveling and Coping with Food Allergies
For the millions of people with food allergies (and their families), traveling can be a source of tremendous anxiety. Dining in unfamiliar cities and restaurants -- which may or may not...
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9 Questions About the Global Nomad Life You Are Too Shy to Ask
We recently corresponded with Sarah and Gavin Steiner of @AwaywiththeSteiners to learn more about traveling the world full time with kids. Sarah describes their clan as a typical Kiwi family, having...
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Travel in the Machine Age: Robots Join the Frontline Workforce
Since HAL and his offspring, C-3PO and R2-D2, first entered popular culture, humans have grown accustomed to the notion of benevolent robots being trained to serve them. And while...
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Packing Light: The Ultimate Checklist for Traveling with Your Family
Many people believe that it isn’t possible to pack light with kids without sacrificing your sanity, however, they are wrong. Now I’m not talking about "I'm a backpacker and I wear the same clothes...
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China Trip Planner Itinerary for First Time Visitors
Preparing for your grand tour of China, including creating an itinerary to meet your family's interests and managing your time, may be a little easier with these useful tips. When I began planning our...
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Travel Search Engine Smackdown Reveals Cheapest Airfares
FTF tests out travel metasearch engines to find which site returns the most results and cheapest flights. And the winner is Momondo.com.
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Sponsor Allianz Global Assistance Helps Student Travelers Every Day
We want to thank Allianz Global Assistance for their sponsorship of the annual FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship for 2019. Did you know they assist student travels every day, in many other ways? Operating...
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The Four Non-Travel Travel Books I Can’t Do Without
Even as a travel writer, or especially as a travel writer, some of my deepest understandings of place, my most intense sense of "being" somewhere come neither from actually being...
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8 Ways Travel Alerts Should Impact Your Vacation
Frightening travel alerts, amplified by the 24-hour news cycle and lots of genuinely bad news, have become a daily occurrence… and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although terror incidents, strikes,...
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Family-Friendly River Cruises
With 17 ships in its fleet, Uniworld is considered a first-class river cruising company. The company has been recognized by both...
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Trends: Halal Tourism, By and For Muslims
Travel by Muslims, whether or not they are actively religious or following Islamic social laws, is a market segment known as Halal Tourism. (Halal means a code of dietary laws, similar to the kosher dietary...
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Istanbul, Turkey: City of Ages
Turkey's capital city of Istanbul is not only full of family attractions, this classic stopover of world travelers has become one of Europe's hottest destinations.
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Yoga Tourism: The Mind Body Vacation
In this stressful age, the subject of yoga retreats as "vacation" comes up often. Travelers may ask, are they a good option for a parent-child or three generation getaway? The answer is yes,...
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Trending: Diversity and Inclusion in Tourism
The recent ITB Berlin travel trade conference featured several inclusive vacation opportunities for gay and lesbian couples with children, as well as several initiatives to celebrate travelers' increasing...
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Making Travel Sustainable
Travel close to home, stay longer, and don’t go at all are key takeaways from ITB Berlin on how to make tourism sustainable.
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The Internet of Things Sails Out to Sea
In a technologically stunning presentation in New York, Royal Caribbean Cruises unveiled its next generation of digital innovations aimed at making the passenger experience “frictionless”—giving...
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Disney Theme Parks Worldwide Expanding
At the annual fan-con #D23, organized by Disney’s most loyal fans in Tokyo this month, the company’s top executives revealed that characters from Pixar, Marvel and classic Disney franchises would...
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Vounteer Vacations Where Going Away Means Giving Back
Interest in volunteer vacations has grown as travelers seeking a local experience realize their presence affects a destination -– for better (creating jobs) or worse (degrading the environment). Because...
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5 Multigenerational Vacation Ideas For Winter Getaways
According to AAA, 103 million Americans traveled over the 2016 holiday season, a 1.5 percent increase over the previous year. Although 9 out of 10 vacationers took road trips, air travel was also up...
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Innocents Abroad: Students Traveling Alone
For teens and college students, the freedom of their first trip or study abroad program without parents can be a rush. Empower them to stay safe by sharing this advice. Parents often...
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10 Tips To Avoid Hassles At U.S. Borders
Whether your cellphone contains confidential business documents or you’re packing homemade cranberry sauce, unless you’re exempted by diplomatic status, everyone crossing U.S. borders is subject...
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What Makes Best Western Hotels Special
When I recall the Best Western hotels we’ve stayed in, there’s always a pleasant surprise, an offbeat architectural detail, unexpected kid-friendly perk, or a free breakfast buffet worthy of a five-star...
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Safe Travel At Home And Abroad
Even though you may have the most responsible and trustworthy kid in the class, her BFF may be the type that finds trouble wherever she goes. It's not hard for your young travelers to have a fun but...
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7 Reasons Why Suzhou Is China’s Best Adventure With Kids
If you’re considering a family trip to China, put Suzhou on your must-see list. This traditional city is just far enough off the tourist track to feel like a bona fide discovery, yet...
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Four Great Days In Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok's mix of modern and traditional keeps boredom at bay, making it a great destination for dynamic families touring southeast Asia. People are praying to a statue of Buddha built on the...
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Mi Casa, Su Casa: Home Exchanges
What's the best money-saving and culturally educational accommodations option available to travelers today? Well, I'm not planning a trip to the French Caribbean right now, but the idea of a complimentary...
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Rajasthan – You May Not Have Heard Of!
Rajasthan in India is a land of history, heritage and great architectural marvels. The former ‘Land of Rajputana’ is dotted with a number of heritage sites, some of them are listed among the UNESCO...
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Feel Like a King at Heritage Hotels in Rajasthan
We all have heard the stories of kings and queens and royal empires. What if you could re-live those fantasies? Rajasthan, the land of royals and the well-renowned seat of Rajputana gives you an incredible...
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5 Reasons Families Favor Airbnb Vacations
Everyone looks forward to a family vacation, but planning for it, especially when there are so many new choices in transportation, lodging, reservations and more, can be overwhelming. After the decision...
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Tips for Family Travel in Japan
I have traveled with my children to this far-off country on two occasions and want to share tips for family travel in Japan. Specifically, I took my daughter, Brianna (at age 6 and 8) to Japan twice, and...
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Secure Tourism Summit Reveals What’s Next in Airport Security
The first Secure Tourism Summit was held in New York City on April 9,2017. It was sponsored by the industry trade organization, US...
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China Launches Action-Packed Adventure Park
Coinciding with the 2016 Year of China-U.S. Tourism, Discovery Communications has launched its first branded “outdoors” theme park in China. The Discovery Adventures Moganshan Park,...
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Save Big On College Visits And Student Travels
I've found that packing smartly, shopping around for flights, and bundling flights and hotels into one efficient travel package make instant savings that can be used for more important student expenses. Parents...
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Ahoy Matey! 10 Special Family-Friendly River Cruises
Cruise fans know that ships provide an effortless family vacation, a way to see the world without hauling suitcases or changing hotels. And while megaships accommodate adults and kids with a huge variety...
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Kidzania Makes Play Out Of Work
Parents (practitioners of the helicopter style or otherwise), often fret about what their kids are going to turn out to “be” and how much influence they will have once they’re grown up. A...
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Ripleys Is Everywhere, Believe It Or Not
What's more kid-friendly fun than a tour around the Ripley's world of odd and fascinating, quasi-museum attractions that teach as well as entertain? In honor of the annual Sword Swallower's...
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