Travelers are shifting to summer 'coolcations' in these countries

Back to the Bahamas

The Bahamas has been a curious omission from the MSP route map ever since the COVID-19 pandemic waned. Now Delta Air Lines has announced 2025-26 service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Nassau, the capital of the archipelago nation. The four-hour flights will take off Saturdays from December to April on Airbus A319 aircraft. We found a round-trip fare for Jan. 3-10 for $635 in Basic Economy or $735 in Main Cabin (subject to change). Delta also announced new routes from its main hub of Atlanta to two traditionally harder-to-reach Caribbean countries: St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.

Simon Peter Groebner

Real alternatives

The TSA will begin enforcing the Real ID rule on May 7. Travelers who fly domestically will need to provide a compliant license at security checkpoints. If you don't yet have a Real ID, what else you can use? Approved substitutes include a state enhanced driver's license; U.S. passport or passport card; DHS trusted traveler card for programs such as Global Entry and Nexus; U.S. Department of Defense identification; Veteran Health Identification Card; U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential or identification issued by a federally recognized tribal nation. Foreign passports, permanent resident cards (aka "green cards"), border crossing cards and Canadian driver's licenses are also accepted.

The Washington Post

Coolcations rising

With the massive heat waves of the past few summers, travelers are shifting toward cooler destinations. According to travel insurance platform Squaremouth, there has been a notable increase in "coolcations," drawing travelers away from sun-drenched destinations like Spain, Italy and France. Iceland has emerged as the frontrunner in this trend, experiencing a year-over-year growth of more than 30%. Norway follows closely with a 27% increase in travel insurance purchases compared with last summer. Canada is up by 25% and Scotland is experiencing a 21% increase. Ireland breaks into Squaremouth's top 10 with a 17% rise in interest.

TravelPulse

Twice the water parks

For the first time since the COVID-19 era began, both Walt Disney World water parks will be open to guests at the same time. Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon will be available to the public starting May 21. The water parks closed down as a pandemic precaution in March 2020. Since March 2021, Disney World has operated the water parks on an alternating schedule of one open, one closed. Both water parks feature slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, splash pads and other watery attractions. This year, the resort is offering free admission to a water park to Disney hotel guests on their check-in day.

Orlando Sentinel