On the Sunday, September 27th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, you plan to head to Hawaii again, starting October 15, but Covid testing will be mandatory. United and Hawaiian have announced on site testing at SFO only to start. United’s instant test will be $250, Hawaiian’s is priced at $150. In Honolulu, drive through testing will be offered, and both airlines offer a less expensive non-instant testing option. Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks have reopened as the smoke situation has gotten better. Disneyland has not reopened yet and park management is getting antsy. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we discuss the testing for travel situation. What if everyone’s temperature is taken as they enter the airport? What is the traveling public willing to accept to get the ok to fly. Travelers are staying closer to home. A great close-to-home destination is Berkeley. Home to the University of California, it’s a funky town, with lots of great places to shop and eat. Staycations, daytripping, nearcations, whatever you call them, we aren’t wandering far from home these days. When will that change?
On the Sunday, September 20th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, travelers desperate to go ANYWHERE are holiday airfare, Shivaji Ds, The 'Other' Shangri-La, travel trendsscooping up flights to NOWHERE, we tell you why it's pretty hard to get COVID while flying and the airlines are all holding their collective breaths, hoping for more taxpayer money to avoid major layoffs. Our Smarter Traveler segment features information on what to buy and what NOT to buy: Why you should buy your holiday air tickets now, and why you should never buy jewelry on a cruise ship... We take you to Singapore, to meet a local author, Shivaji Das. His latest book is "The 'Other' Shangri-La". We talk about COVID travel trends. People really are staying closer to home, because many refuse to fly, at least for now.
On the Sunday, September 13th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, MGM Resorts in Las Vegas has a package to entice you to move your home office work into an MGM hotel room, at a pretty reasonable price. There's an updated travel warning involving Mexico and Holland America is putting five ships on European itineraries in 2021. We make you a Smarter Traveler by discussing COVID courtesy. What's appropriate has changed a bit, especially true if you are one of the few on the road right now. How do you greet someone, since hand shaking is not appropriate? What about tipping for take out and delivery food orders? Last week, Tom and Mark shared some of the history of Burning Man, the annual event in the Nevada desert, which was canceled this year due to COVID. We asked if anyone in our audience was there for one of the first "burns," back in the 80's, on Baker Beach in San Francisco. Guess what? We have one of the original Burning Man attendees, to give us a first hand memory of the gathering. Our guest is Gary Hogan, of Hawaiian Hotels. If that name sounds familiar to Hawaii travelers, it's because the Hogan family owed and operated Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays for many years, taking hundreds of thousands of visitors to the islands each year The family sold the main business years ago, and kept a few hotels, including the legendary Royal Lahaina on Maui's Kaanapali Coast. Gary and his family have a long Hawaii history, so he seems like the perfect man to discuss how the islands move forward on allowing visitors back to the islands.
On the Sunday, September 6th, 2020 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Southwest adds Palm Springs and Hawaii to its route map, as airlines try to pivot away from business travel to the leisure side. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we talk about the airlines getting rid of changes fees...or did they. Fact is there are many fares where the change fees are not waived. Plus, the airlines are playing a few other tricks. We have the first example of what Baseball Spring Training might look like next year, and Chris Elliott says to "beware of what "free" amenities might cost you in a hotel. Mark offers one of his Just One Man's Opinion pieces, focusing on the need for instant Covid testing to get travel started again. We tell you why it's a a good time to get your passport and we talk a little about the history of Burning Man, which has traditionally been held this time of year in the Nevada desert. In an unusual and fascinating interview we talk with the operator (and his wife) of a tiny ferry off the England coast. The operator, a former cruise ship employee, is taking advantage of cruise ships being temporarily parked off the coast in his area to offer special "Ghost Ship" or the idle cruisers. It's a story of how Covid circumstances and innovation is actually working in someone's favor. Welcome aboard the Mudeford Ferry...