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This week in travel: some of the destinations in Asia with the most strict Covid policies are finally reopening, an annual ranking of the world’s coolest neighborhoods provides inspiration for your upcoming vacation plans, and Fat Bear Week weathers a cheating scandal in order to crown a new winner.
Hippest hoods
Singapore’s Changi is no ordinary airport. It has an indoor waterfall, a swimming pool, a movie theater, a butterfly garden and more. And now the spectacular megahub is set to get a whole lot bigger: Here are the latest details about the new Terminal 5, which will be as big as all four present terminals put together.
And over at Washington state’s Grant County International Airport, the world’s first all-electric passenger plane – named Alice – completed its first test flight on September 27. Watch here.
New inflight entertainment concepts unveiled this year at the 2022 Aircraft Interiors Expo in Germany hope to revolutionize the current inflight experience, and American Airlines has revealed new premium suites with privacy doors. However, not everyone thinks the trend for gated suites is a good idea. Here’s why.
Destination inspiration
The hit CNN series “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” returns on October 9. This time, the actor-turned-gourmand will be visiting Liguria, Puglia, Sardinia and Calabria. To whet your appetite in the meantime, sign up to our Unlocking Italy newsletter for a taste of la dolce vita.
On the other side of the Adriatic Sea, tourist numbers to Croatia have skyrocketed since the emergence of a certain hit HBO show featuring dragons and dynastic feuding. While most of the crowds throng in Dubrovnik, it’s still possible to have a more laid-back visit to the Dalmatian Coast. Here are seven lesser-known seaside towns to consider.
In North America, Canada removes all of its remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions on October 1. Here are 10 things the Great White North does better than anywhere else. And as the leaves turn russet and ocher, here are seven scenic drives across the United States where you can enjoy fall foliage.
The way we were
Today, low-cost roadside hotels are commonplace, but back when Kemmons Wilson opened the first Holiday Inn in his home town of Memphis, Tennessee, in 1952, it was a move that revolutionized 20th-century travel. Read the 70-year story here.
Meanwhile, in 1950s Soviet-era Hungary, travel options were limited, meaning that the country’s Lake Balaton became the region’s answer to the Riviera. The resort’s popularity is once again rising, earning it the nickname “The Hamptons of Hungary.”
Over in Asia, a rural, mostly uninhabited island called Sentosa was green-lit in the 1970s to become an urban playground: Here’s how it became Singapore’s favorite staycation hideaway.
Spotlight on Dubai
A Canadian company wants to built a series of enormous moon-shaped hotels around the world. For their launch city, they’ve chosen a city known for its ambitious architecture: Dubai.
While that project is still at the shooting-for-the-stars concept stage, the city’s striking new stainless steel Museum of the Future opened earlier this year. Here’s how the gravity-defying structure was built.
But beyond all the building bombast, there’s a gentler, low-key side to the city, too. Photographer Preet Uday’s images conjure up an evocative, wistful world of sherbet pinks and saffron oranges.
We won another Emmy, baby
So hot on the heels of “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” winning a Primetime Emmy earlier this month, this week, CNN Travel’s “The Hippie Trail” won a News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction. I know, right?! Gonna need a bigger mantelpiece. Check out our award-winning interactive here.
In case you missed it
The SS Mesaba merchant ship tried to warn the Titanic about the iceberg.
Now its wreckage has been found in the Irish Sea.
And in Israel, a 1,200-year-old shipwreck filled with cargo has been found.
Its discovery has rewritten the history books. Watch here.
“I’ve never seen so much lightning in an eye.”
A hurricane hunter reports from inside Hurricane Ian.
Strange moans and groans were heard blasting out over the PA on an American Airlines flight.
But what were the origins of the hoo-ha and harrumphing? Listen here.
Food at altitude
If we want our kids to turn into the adventurers of tomorrow, we need to get them kitted out properly as the tiny travelers of today. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have gathered together 20 of their favorite kids’ luggage sets and bags for family travel.
Top image: Singapore Changi Airport’s expansion plans are seen in a rendering (Changi Airport Group).