✈️ Icelandic Stopover.
The land of fire and ice fully opens back up for all.
👨✈️ The Briefing Room:
Notes and open topics from the editor’s desk.
Welcome Departures. The place to be for where to go and what to see. It has been an interesting past few days indeed. What seemed like a possibility became a reality. While I can completely understand most of us are exhausted from 2 years of nothing but bad news, let’s not forget that as we look for ways to escape a bit from our own day to day realities, there are those who this week were left without that possibility. Regardless if you are personally for, against or indifferent to what is going on in Ukraine, the lives of a large swath of fellow humans has been disrupted. Although to a lesser, maybe more indirect extent, events like the one unfolding in Eastern Europe always have ramifications for the rest of us. I have linked some non-profits at the end of the newsletter for anyone who would like to help. And now without further ado, let’s take it away!
Alvin
📰 This Week in Travel:
A TLDR approach to some of the week’s most important headlines.
Iceland lifts all COVID-19 restrictions. On Wednesday the government announced it would be lifting all its remaining pandemic related restrictions including limits on gatherings and operating hours as they move to achieving what they call “Widespread societal resistance”. A clear sign that the country is ready to shift towards a more endemic approach to the virus.
Air fares that were already on their way to higher prices this summer, will likely increase even more amid sanctions and disruptions around the Russian-Ukranian conflict. This is a huge setback for an industry already battered by 2 years of restrictions, travel bans and lockdowns.
Russian carrier Aeroflot is cancelling all flights to European destinations until further notice. This comes on the wake of several countries including Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Nordic and Baltic states announcing over the weekend they would be closing their airspace to all Russian air traffic.
📸 Destination Deep Dive:
Comprehensive multipart series on a single destination.
France Part 03
Last week on Destination Deep Dive: France Part 02 we wondered around Notre Damme, across the Seine river and by the oldest restaurant in Paris: La Tour d’Argent. This week, we go up the opposite bank of the river and to my new-old department store.
La Samaritaine
Founded in 1869 and located in the first arrondissement of Paris, La Samaritaine just reopened the doors to its 1/2 million square foot department store last summer after a 7 year renovation. The entire store is divided into 4 separate buildings and holds 90 departments of luxury goods. It’s a quick walk over Pont Neuf across the Seine river just north of Notre-Dame. The main building is listed as a historical monument by the French Ministry of Culture. So it can be a great place to visit whether you are shopping, browsing or just trying to escape indoors while in Region 1.
Official website:
https://www.dfs.com/en/samaritaine
Next week on Destination Deep Dive: France Part 04 we will explore an iconic bookstore also within walking distance of Notre Dame cathedral.
About Destination Deep Dives
Destination Deep Dives offer a more immersive look at one particular destination in a recurring format over a several editions of the newsletter. It is where I give myself room to explore a broader set of points of interests, for all travel styles and budgets. Think of them as small parts of a larger travel guide. Even though I will be publishing them all together as one guide at the end of the series, you may access them all as individual articles as inside their corresponding Departures edition here:
🗺 Bucket List:
Short highlight of a dream destination.
Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley
There are few natural wonders in the planet more awe inspiring than those in the North American Southwest. There are no amounts of photos or videos that will ever do the iconic landscape justice. You just have to be there. In this week’s Bucket List we zoom in to the little town of Page, Arizona. Although because of its small size, most people mark Page, AZ as a stop between destinations, for the purpose of this edition of Bucket List I will treat the town as the destination itself. But note that it is also a great halfway point between National Parks. Here’s the quick 411:
How to get there:
As with most attractions in this side of the country, driving will be an absolute necessity for most travelers. My favorite route, starts off after flying in to Las Vegas, NV as it not only has some of the best airfares, but also offers a great place to decompress before and/or after the long trek into the dessert. Depending on your preference, you might also consider flying into Flagstaff. The drive from Vegas to Page is about 4 1/2 hours while driving from Flagstaff to Page is just over 2 hours.
As always I have included links with map locations in all the photos. Though the Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley are open and accessible on your own by car, visiting Antelope Canyon, will require a tour through one of the local Native American run operators. Note that on most tours, bags are forbidden and although small handheld cameras are permitted, tripods and other camera support equipment is not.
If you are a photographer or would like a more photography oriented experience, Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours has a 2 hour guided photography tour with smaller group sizes and allows for camera bags and tripods. They are a bit more money, but after doing both the regular sightseeing and photography tours, even just for the reduced crowd size I think it’s well worth the price difference.
Where to stay:
Not exactly luxury accommodations, but definitely on the high end for the area, the Hyatt Place Lake Powell offers great amenities while staying within close proximity to the town center and highway 89. For more reasonable lodging, La Quinta offers very competitive rates on rooms and suites. If you prefer a budget friendly, no frills option, look no further than the Rodeway Inn. With rooms commonly found under $40, it is the best budget alternative outside of camping. It is also conveniently located across the street from 2 sightseeing Antelope Canyon tour operators. So if you are not doing the photography tour, that alone might be enough reason to stay at Rodeway Inn.
The rich history and natural beauty of this entire side of the country is something that must be witnessed to really be appreciated. While in the area, go the extra mile and pay a visit to Oljato Monument Valley for even more jaw dropping landscapes. It’s an additional 2 hour drive from Page, but well worth it if you have the time.
🧳 Carry-on Only:
Travel experience, tech and accessory reviews.
AirFly - Bluetooth headphones anywhere.
No one can deny all the conveniences of wireless life. The ability of being able move about untethered and tangle free has spoiled us to no end. But passenger airliners even with all their modern amenities, still rely on the venerable headphone jack to interface with the onboard entertainment system. In comes a little company called twelve south to the rescue with their AirFly headphone to Bluetooth adapter. The device is about the size of a lighter and converts any 3.5mm headphone or auxiliary out audio jack into a bluetooth device. So not just for the plane. It also works great on the car, hotel or around the house with any legacy wired device. With its 16+ hour battery life and ability to connect 2 bluetooth headphones, it will keep the audio flowing non-stop on even the longest of trips.
💰 Deal of the Week:
Special sales and offers from all over the web.
In what surely is no coincidence, IcelandAir has published some of the best transatlantic round-trip fares of the season. Although limited for travel dates beginning April 20 through June 15 and August 15 through December 20, 2022, it’s a great opportunity to book yourself that long needed holiday. As with all Iceland air flights, you can arrange for a free stopover in Reykjavik for up to 7 days for even greater value. Here are some of the best deals as of this writing:
New York (JFK) to Dublin: $379
New York (JFK) to Rome or Bergen: $399
Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Stockholm or Helsinki: $399
Baltimore (BWI) to Amsterdam or Dublin: $399
Chicago (ORD) to Brussels: $419
Portland, Oregon (PDX) to Glasgow or Manchester: $499
Denver (DEN) to Zurich: $539
You will need to act fast though as the sale ends on March 8th. This link will take you straight to the sales page:
🛠 Hack of the Week:
Tips and tricks for better travel quality of life.
So it turns out water bottles can fly. So long as they are frozen solid. Though already obvious to some, most people don’t know that liquids in frozen or solid form do not count against liquid carry-on limits and will pass most country’s security screening checkpoints. According to the United States TSA, one of the more strict enforcers of this policy:
As with most security checkpoints, they clearly state that the final decision rests with the agent on whether an item is allowed or not. So always double check your departure country’s specific policies on liquids before flying. Also, don’t freeze your liquid in any non-disposable container just in case. But as someone who’s taken advantage of this little hack multiple times throughout the years, I can report I’ve never encountered any issues.
🇺🇦 For Ukraine:
The following organizations are looking for donations to help the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Eastern Europe:
Voices of Children - voices.org.ua/en
International Rescue Committee - rescue.org
Sunflower of Peace - fb.com/sunflowerofpeace
CARE - care.org
International Medical Corps - internationalmedicalcorps.org
Project Hope - projecthope.org
Kyiv Independent - kyivindependent.com
Razom for Ukraine - razomforukraine.org/donate/
All links above go directly to their respective websites. Feel free to read through each of their missions and support those that best line up with your values. In situations like this, even a little can help quite a lot.
🛫 About Us:
Departures is a free newsletter about photography, travel & lifestyle. To find out more about what this is, who I am and why should you be here, visit our dedicated about page here: