Jaunted

Italy Travel / Tourism / Travel News / Travel Writing / Literary Travel / → All Tags

Oh Romeo, Romeo. Verona Considers Turning 'Juliet's Balcony' into Honeymoon Suite

Over in fair Verona, one of the most famous literary tourist sites is about to make it rain. Sadly the cash flow is only going their way as Verona is considering charging a few Euros to view the balcony and courtyard of "Romeo and Juliet," even if it isn't the real thing (because it's fictional).

Verona played home to the star-crossed lovers of Shakespeare's play, and it's said that certain families in the city's history were the inspiration for Shakespeare's play.

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Travel Tips / Crimes / Wine Travel / Argentina Travel / Mendoza Travel / Travel Photography / Tourism / Tourists / Travel Warnings / Travel Alerts / Travel Safety / Bike Travel / Active Travel / Tours / Bad Ideas / → All Tags

8 Travel Safety Tips to Avoid Getting Mugged

We were robbed. It may have happened just over a year ago, but we still live with the effects (like a fear that comes while biking and we hear a moped motor approaching). Read the full story, but also take away whatever knowledge you can from our horrible experience in order to prevent it happening to you while away from home.

Only a few days ago, Lifehacker posted a brilliant list of tips for travelers toting nice cameras, including how to deter would-be thieves. In this vein, we're revisiting our own 8 safety tips to avoid being mugged abroad:

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Greece Travel / Political Travel / Tourism / Travel News / → All Tags

Smile, You're in Greece!

It’s not exactly a time to party over in Greece—at least for the country’s residents—due to the ongoing financial problems, bailouts, and other money misery. We’re hardly experts when it comes to the economic situation in the region, but we do know they’re going to get an influx of cash sooner than later. That’s because the tourists are getting ready to arrive, as the weather gets warmer and those Greek islands become more and more appealing.

Obviously buying up some souvenir t-shirts isn’t going to save the economy, but a little extra cash from a few tourists certainly won’t hurt. That’s just one of the reasons that the country’s prime minister is asking residents to pitch in, and to show a smiling face to greet those coming to visit Greece.

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Tourism / New England Travel / SoNew / → All Tags

What is This 'SoNew' Place and Why Do They Want Tourists So Badly?

When it comes to travel and tourism there’s one way to get visitors to check out where you call home—a catchy name. We’ve seen neighborhoods across the country and around the world get the nickname treatment, and in New York City alone there’s quite a few of them—think TriBeCa, SoHo, and DUMBO. Now a whole section of the country is getting a new identity, as tourism officials hope to pack even more people in the area’s attractions, hotels, and restaurants.

Apparently doing its thing under the general area that’s known as New England isn't sufficient for some of the more southern states in the region, as spots like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut want a little more of the attention. Southern New England has plenty of stuff to see and do as well, so they’re welcoming you to stop by and visit SoNew.

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Cambodia Travel / Phnom Penh Travel / Travel Tips / PNH / Lists / What Not To Do In / Tourism / → All Tags

What Not To Do In Phnom Penh: The Top 5 Tourist Mistakes

This whole week we're highlighting our time in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, complete with recommendations on what to do. Today, however, the focus is on what not to do, as we spied some big tourist no-nos while in town, ones to avoid while on a trip to Cambodia's capital.

Here's our top 5 tips on what not to do while exploring Phnom Penh:

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Japan Travel / ANA / All Nippon Airways / Travel Websites / Tourism / → All Tags

Will Becoming a Manga Character Make You Travel to Japan? ANA Thinks So.

You’ll need to act quickly if you still want to escape on a spring break of your very own, and All Nippon Airways (ANA) is trying their very best to help you out by pointing you in the direction of Tokyo. A slick new website and interactive elements are part of the whole promotion called “Let’s Do Japan.”

Sure you can check out what’s available both on board and on the ground, but the way in which ANA is involved is pretty creative. They’re using what they’re calling the "Manganizer" to help you create your own manga—like a Japanese comic. Upload your photo or take a new one, and then you’re free to modify your image accordingly. Add glasses, snazzy eyebrows, and maybe even a little facial hair. After a brief load time you’ll be starring in your own comic, and the next thing you know you’ll be booking a trip to Japan—well, maybe.

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Religious Travel / Tourism / Italy Travel / Rome Travel / Museum Travel / Vatican City Travel / Pope Francis / → All Tags

The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel Reopen to Tourists After Conclave

There’s a new pope in town, but that doesn’t mean that pope-a-palooza is winding down anytime soon. If you’re lucky enough to be in Rome there are many opportunities to check out the goings on around the arrival of Pope Francis, and you’ll even be the first to score some fresh-out-of-the-box papal souvenirs. However, the whole conclave thing was an inconvenience to those looking to check out some of the Vatican’s best tourist attractions: the Musei Vaticani.

Beginning today—Monday—the Vatican Museums are once again open to the paying public, and that includes access to the Sistine Chapel. Visits to the Borgia Apartment as well as the Collection of Modern Religious Art are available too, so once again you’ll be getting your Euro's worth when you check things out.

With the warmer weather right around the corner, we’ve started to plan our spring and summer road trips. Sure there are the usual locations that are always a good choice, but we’re looking to also to be entertained on the way there. That’s why we’re recommending a few good distractions, with what we’re calling the five things you just got to drive past:

Corn Palace – Mitchell, South Dakota

It’s exactly what it sounds like, and is clearly a road trip must. It’s one part civic center and one part awesome, as the exterior decorations of corn, grain, and grass are refreshed and renewed each and every year. They’d love for you to stop in and visit, and they don’t even charge you for checking things out. Oh—and don’t worry about finding it—type “Corn Palace” into Google Maps, and it’ll know exactly where you want to head. At least it did for us!

World’s Tallest Thermometer – Baker, California

You’re driving towards the desert, and you just need to know how hot it is outside—problem solved. Just swing by the world’s tallest thermometer and you’ll be all set. It’s right by a Bob's Big Boy restaurant—another road trip must—and is in the town lovingly referred to as the gateway to Death Valley. We’d recommend filling up the tank in Baker before continuing on your journey, and of course be sure to snap a photo of the thermometer as well.

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Disaster Tourism / Russia Travel / Tourism / Tourism Boards / Space Travel / Science Travel / → All Tags

Russia Meteor Tourism Now Becoming a Thing

A Russian region once shunned as the site of the world's third-worst-ever nuclear disaster, in which hundreds of people were killed, has now become a potential tourist destination because it was hit by a giant space rock that injured thousands of additional people. The local tourism board is actually talking about making parts of the territory into a "Meteor Disneyland," a reference to last month's Russian meteor.

That's it.

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Greece Travel / Strikes / Athens Travel / Europe Travel / Tourism / Politics Travel / Travel Politics / Travel News / Tourism Industry / → All Tags

Major Strike (Intentionally) Grinds Greece Travel to a Halt

We hate getting involved in travel politics labor issues. We say things like 'hey, if your company or your country is in financial or economic trouble, maybe you should go to work,' which seems reasonable to us. You guys respond by yelling at us for - actual quote - "undermin[ing] the intrinsic and sacramental right for unions to strike or engage in collective bargaining." That's no fun for anyone.

That said, we'd be remiss if we didn't at least suggest the possibility that the 24 hour strike currently crippling Greece—which is specifically designed in part to disrupt travel and includes that country's civil aviation authority—is probably not going to help Greece's troubled economy.

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Romance Travel / Sex Travel / Valentine's Day Travel / Tourism / Travel Boards / → All Tags

Do Travelers Really Have Better Sex?

Gather around children, whilst we explain the difference between correlation and causation. This might sound a little bit condescending and pedantic, but that's only because we're going out of our way be condescending and pedantic. Ready?

Causation is when A causes B. Correlation is merely when A and B vary together in some way. Maybe it's because A is actually causing B. But maybe it's because B causing A, or maybe it's because they're both being caused by C, or maybe it's because A and B are actually the same thing, and so on. Easy enough, right?

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