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✈️ Europe Border Delays, New UNESCO Sites & Alaska 2028
Published 6 days ago • 6 min read
The Places Where We Go - Travel Planning Briefing August 17, 2026
Happy National I Love My Feet Day from the USA. It's the perfect excuse to pamper your feet and prioritize your foot health. Did you know the average person will walk nearly 250,000 miles in a lifetime? And they're just the thing for hiking and long days of exploration during travel. Thank you, feet!
This week, we took a day trip with the littles to Santa Barbara, California, where we visited MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation for the first time. It's a great space for kids to explore in a STEM-focused way. While the kids had a great time during our morning visit, just know that a visit here can be a bit much on the wallet. Adult entry was $25 per person for a primarily kids-centric space.
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Pull out your shells to check zippers, seam tape, and hood drawcords, then refresh water repellency with a wash-in or spray DWR treatment if droplets no longer bead.
Open umbrellas fully to spot bent ribs, loose joints, or torn canopies, and consider upgrading to a compact, wind-resistant model for your daypack or glove box.
A five-minute audit now (including stashing a spare in your car) can save a soaked afternoon on your next trip—and keeps you ready when the first surprise storm hits.
Travelers heading to Europe are encountering mixed results with the EU’s new Entry/Exit System, or EES, which replaces traditional passport stamps with facial recognition and fingerprint checks for many non-EU visitors.
While some passengers are breezing through border control, others have faced confusing kiosks, technical problems, manual verification and hours-long lines—sometimes on different legs of the same trip.
For travelers, the key takeaway is to build extra time into airport connections and departures, avoid scheduling activities too close to arrival, and learn how the biometric process works before leaving home. Families with children under 12 and travelers unable to use the automated gates may also face longer waits.
UNESCO has added 25 new properties to its World Heritage List, spanning famous landmarks and lesser-known destinations across the globe.
The 2026 additions include Normandy’s D-Day beaches, Greece’s Mount Olympus, Tunisia’s Sidi Bou Saïd, Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Japan’s ancient capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara, and a collection of works by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, and South Sudan also received their first-ever World Heritage inscriptions.
For travelers, the expanded list highlights a wide range of experiences—from paddling through Okefenokee’s blackwater wetlands and cycling among ancient Japanese ruins to exploring historic fortresses, coral reefs, sacred landscapes, and modern architecture.
Travelers to San Francisco can now step into the world of ancient Egypt at the de Young Museum’s “Treasures of the Pharaohs” exhibition, the show’s first stop in the United States.
Featuring more than 100 artifacts across six sections, the exhibition explores Egyptian society, government, religion, and the afterlife, with highlights including rare gold objects and pieces from the intact tomb of Pharaoh Psusennes I.
The collection includes objects connected to both royalty and everyday Egyptians, many notable for their exceptional preservation and craftsmanship. The exhibition is open through January 31, 2027, making it a major cultural attraction for travelers planning a Bay Area visit.
SaleGetaways by Southwest is marking its first anniversary with new vacation package destinations and a limited-time promotion.
Travelers can now bundle flights, hotels, and car rentals for ski trips to Portland, Salt Lake City, Montrose for Telluride and Crested Butte, and Hayden for Steamboat Springs.
Beginning in October, packages will also expand to Austin, Santa Rosa, Tucson, Bozeman, Panama City Beach, Pensacola, and Destin/Fort Walton Beach. Through August 24, travelers can use promo code GETAWAYS2026 for a special “Spa Weekend” fare sale, with eligible travel through March 10, 2027.
Princess Cruises has opened bookings for its 2028 Alaska season, offering 185 departures across 14 itineraries aboard eight ships, including Star Princess.
Sailings range from four to 16 days and depart from Seattle, Vancouver, Whittier, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, with visits to destinations such as Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway.
Travelers can expect extensive glacier viewing—including 86 visits to Glacier Bay National Park—along with round-trip Inside Passage cruises and the popular one-way Voyage of the Glaciers.
For those wanting to explore beyond the coastline, Princess cruisetours combine cruises with wilderness lodge stays, scenic rail journeys, and visits to destinations including Denali and Kenai Fjords. The broad lineup gives travelers plenty of ways to experience Alaska by sea and on land in 2028.
Why Visit? From its thriving music and arts scene to its rich industrial history, Manchester, England offers visitors a unique blend of old-world charm and modern energy. With its bustling streets, stunning architecture, and friendly locals, this lively city is worthy of a visit when in England. We enjoyed several days in the city during one of our UK trips.
Top Things To Do:
Visit Old Trafford Stadium: Home to one of the most successful football clubs in the world, Manchester United, this stadium tour allows you to experience the excitement and history of this iconic venue.
Explore Northern Quarter: This eclectic neighborhood is known for its independent shops, trendy cafes, and vibrant street art. Take a stroll through its charming streets and discover some hidden gems.
Indulge in Manchester's Food Scene: From traditional fish and chips to innovative Michelin-starred restaurants, Manchester has a diverse culinary scene that will satisfy any foodie's cravings.
Travel Tip: For visiting Manchester, it's best to plan your trip during the summer months (June-August) when the weather is warm, and there are plenty of outdoor events happening. However, if you're looking for a budget-friendly trip, consider visiting during the off-season (October-March) when accommodation prices are lower.
Plan Your Visit: Check out our blog post on Manchester for more ideas and tips on how to plan your trip.
We’re big on planning travel, typically six months in advance. With an eye on February 2027, here are some top things you can consider for your travel itinerary:
Sedona International Film Festival — Sedona, Arizona - Independent films, documentaries, shorts, filmmaker discussions and special screenings are presented against Sedona’s distinctive red-rock landscape. (February 20 to 28, 2027)
Savannah Book Festival — Savannah, Georgia - Authors and readers gather in Savannah’s historic district for talks, presentations, signings and literary programs covering numerous genres. (February 4-7, 2027)
Quebec Winter Carnival — Quebec City, Canada - Ice and snow sculptures, nighttime parades, canoe racing, outdoor concerts and appearances by the snowman mascot Bonhomme animate the historic city. (February 5-14, 2027)
Adelaide Fringe — Adelaide, Australia - Australia’s largest arts festival begins in February and fills the city with comedy, theater, cabaret, circus, visual arts and unconventional performances. (February 19 to March 21, 2027)
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The Places Where We Go - Travel Planning Briefing August 10, 2026 Happy National Lazy Day from the USA, a day that gives us permission to relax and kick back. And that suits us especially well today after logging in a 35-mile walk this weekend from Santa Barbara to Ventura, California. We completed the Mission to Mission Pilgrimage Walk for a 5th consecutive year. It is hard. Perhaps when registration opens up around April each year, the memory of the struggle has worn off, and we sign up...
The Places Where We Go - Travel Planning Briefing August 3, 2026 Happy National Watermelon Day, a day that celebrates the taste of summer. And this refreshing fruit is also packed with vitamins A and C. Woo hoo! This past week, we attended a pop-up at our local AAA office and signed up for TSA PreCheck. With a few flights scheduled in the upcoming months, we're looking for a bit of lower stress getting through airport security with this item. Plus, it's good for five years. And we got some...
The Places Where We Go - Travel Planning Briefing July 27, 2026 Happy National Crème Brûlée Day - a day that celebrates the classic French custard dessert with a hard caramel top. We're back from camping in the Eastern Sierras. We camped at Creekside RV - it's located at a high elevation, over 8,000 feet, so we had some altitude adjustment. Our road trips from base camp took us to Bodie State Historic Park, a tour of lakes in the Mammoth Mountain area, and lots of fishing, where Julie caught...
