Smart Traveler

By Everett Potter Recal Mindful Adventure Travel is not your typical adventure travel company. In a world where mountain biking, rafting, and rock climbing are paramount, Recal offers memorable trips primarily aimed at those suffering from burnout. Consider their Quiet Park Series, held in locations like Olympic National Park, or their

Story and photos by Neil Wolkodoff Your baggage and contents are damaged on a trip with the airlines. They owe you. Maybe, maybe not. My travel golf bag had significant damage on a recent golf trip. It appeared to be caught in a belt or from a Velociraptor missing a

By Larry Olmsted Consumers have long been familiar with the saying caveat emptor, “let the buyer beware,” an ominous warning of how consumers can sometimes get screwed. This has increasingly been an issue with air travel, prompting the newer notion of “let the flyer beware.” Complaints regarding refunds and trip

By Larry Olmsted There have been a lot of news stories about the coming crush of holiday travel, with consumers booking Christmas vacation earlier than ever (CNBC), availability already growing tight and driving up prices (Wall Street Journal), while many tour operators have reported new record setting reservations for 2022,

  By Brian E. Clark MyMedic, the Salt Lake City based maker of first-aid kits, tourniquets and other medical supplies, was born of tragedy. But it inspired family members of the late Ken Udy, who was killed eight years ago in a New Mexico vehicle accident, to create a company

By Larry Olmsted Masks are back, like it or not, while for travelers they never went away. All flights, and in most places any public transport, requires them, and so do many destinations both domestically and abroad, especially indoors. Even where they are not required, they are a very good

By Neil Wolkodoff Vaccinated or not, there are steps you can take to further guard your health while traveling. Don’t assume where you stay is clean. Taking disinfectant wipes and hitting every hard surface that is typically touched is a good idea. Resorts and hotels are stepping up with better

  By Larry Olmsted Neos is not a new airline, but if you live in the U.S. it is new to you. And it is relatively new in any case, launched in 2002, giving it one of the youngest airline fleets in the sky, including six latest-generation Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

  By Everett Potter When the term medical flight is mentioned, most people envision some unlucky climber being airlifted from Everest Base Camp. They don’t think of someone like my father-in-law, who contracted Legionnaire’s Disease in his late 70’s while traveling in Estonia a decade ago. Yes, he did have

By Larry Olmsted As the Pfizer, Moderna and additional coronavirus vaccines continue their global rollout, most in the travel industry see a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and a slow return to travel normalcy. But personally, I expect a few of the pandemic induced changes to stick