July 23rd 2021
While certain Americans have been fixated with traveling to space this week, the rest of us have been more excited that terrestrial locations like Canada and Ireland are opening up to U.S. tourists. Who needs space tourism when you’ve got Irish Folk songs and Maple syrup festivals?
The Pomelo team thinks that we’ve still got plenty of things to discover on this small planet, like hidden Nintendo Cafes and Turkish castle-themed ghost towns. So we’re not ready to start offering cheap space flight deals quite yet!
Need to Know
The best news for the intrepid traveler (especially those with a vaccine) is that countries continue to loosen restrictions. Besides the already mentioned Ireland and Canadian news, Malta has also announced that Americans can enter with an EMA-approved vaccine and a valid vaccine certificate.
JetBlue has added new routes, (35 to be exact) which should be welcome news for those in the northeast, where the routes are mostly located. With new routes to London, Honduras, and Canada, the expansion may open up new opportunities for cheap travel.
The virus continues to wreak havoc, as places like Thailand and the U.K. have still been reeling with the effects of the virus. Thailand has even halted domestic flights in an effort to contain the spread. Still, hope is on the horizon, as worldwide vaccination numbers have continued to increase, with over 26% of the entire world having received at least the 1st dose.
Around The World
- Health passes are becoming more common across Europe, with several countries such as Italy and France announcing efforts to require health passes for certain venues. With these countries and places like Greece also requiring vaccination proof to enter places like restaurants, flashing your vaccination I.D. might become almost as commonplace on your next Europe trip as awkward queries about the location of the nearest restroom.
- The French Bee, a low-cost airline, has begun offering service from New York to Paris. That means that your dream of a slice of pizza in Brooklyn in the morning and a baguette for dinner could be closer and closer to reality. We support your travel food dreams.
- British Airways will allow travelers to order in-flight dining during their flight from their mobile devices, starting July 19th. Every day, we become closer and closer to the future predicted by WALL-E.
- Swiss Airlines becomes among the first, airlines to fly with sustainable fuel. Now, if we could only get the auto industry onboard.
Travel Tips
Traveling to San Sebastián, Spain
By Kameryn Clark
San Sebastián, Spain
When I traveled to Spain at first, I was really only familiar with Barcelona and Madrid. I had no idea San Sebastián even existed! After talking with some locals in Barcelona, my friends and I knew we had to take a trip to San Sebastián and see what everyone was raving about! Nestled way up in the north corner of the country, close to the border of France, is Spain’s best-kept secret. San Sebastián is the perfect blend of quiet surf town, arts, and culture, along with the most amazing culinary experience you could find. Oh, and there’s also a mini amusement park on top of the mountain overlooking the ocean? Pretty rad. We only spent a long weekend in Basque Country, but left with full hearts (and bellies) and already planning out our next visits. It surely is a place I want to return to one day.
Arguably some of the best food in the country (maybe even the world?) this small town has multiple Michelin-starred restaurants and creative foods to try. Take your tastebuds on a journey through the city and dive into some of the best pintxos (another type of small tapas), cheesecake, and cider! I recommend going to La Viña for the best cheesecake of your life. Bergara and Borda Berri (order the risotto!) are just a couple of the top restaurants we enjoyed. Gilda. Some famous favorites to taste are the “Spanish tortilla,” solomillo, anchovies, txuleta, and pantxineta. Don’t be afraid to go bold!
Lastly, the good news is Spain is now open to U.S. travelers, vaccinated or not! This country is allowing U.S. travelers to enter with a QR code from the Spain Travel Health Portal. Travelers can download the SpTH app for all information needed. Current restrictions within Spain include mask-wearing in some locations, socially distancing, and limited capacity. However, most businesses and attractions are open to tourists! Circumstances are subject to change, but overall Spain is ready to welcome us back! Read more details here!
Humanitarian Spotlight
Have you ever wanted to take a trip from one of our deals but couldn’t find someone to go with? Or maybe you know exactly where you want to go and who you’re going with, but you’re worried about personal safety once you get to your destination?
As for personal safety tips and how to feel confident going out into the world, we suggest you check out Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) Global! ESD Global is a US-based nonprofit organization (NGO) that envisions a world where people can live safe, violence-free lives. To aid this vision, ESD Global offers self-defense instructor training to women and men from all over the world.
These instructors then have the tools to teach their communities how to “listening to their intuition, assessing their options, asserting boundaries, using de-escalation strategies, and provides tools for a range of mental, verbal, and physical responses.”ESD Global has trained 100 instructors who have in turn taught 6,540 individuals, including survivors of trafficking, girls at risk, rural women, social workers, refugees, students, mothers, daughters, hotel workers, and more. Visit their website to see their online course offerings and upcoming instructor training programs. Consider making a donation as well to help ESD Global offer scholarships for instructor training.
We’ve also created this resource to help you know where you can travel now and any requirements of your destination. Shoot us an email at [email protected] with any travel safety questions!
Also, feel free to reach out to [email protected] (our resident ESD instructor) with any questions on how to get in touch with your local ESD instructor! Good Vibes.
Subscriber Story
Never in our wildest dreams did we think we could afford Grand Cayman for our vacation destination. Somehow, just at the right moment, an email from Pomelo arrived. It boasted of roundtrip flights to Grand Cayman in the $200 range. I couldn’t believe it…but I had to find out.
After doing about 2 minutes of searching, I found the perfect flight and times, all for $198 roundtrip! The best part was this fit into our spring break vacation dates.
What a great surprise and definitely made our premium subscription worth it!