Travel

The coronavirus pandemic has restricted travel in the U.S. and around the world. The cancellation or postponement of trips has had a massive impact on the travel industry and leaves the future of travel itself uncertain.

So, what do you do if you make your living cruising around the world? Rick Steves is a PBS travel host, guidebook author and owner of a tour company that employs a hundred people and typically sends thousands of people across Europe each year. 

Many of us are about 12 weeks into being cooped up at home. Well, if we’ve followed public health guidelines to limit contact with other people. And even though the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state's safer-at-home order, the local hotel and Airbnb industry is still feeling the effects of people taking social distancing seriously.

As frequent travelers know, or just about anyone who’s ever stayed in a hotel, you’re pretty much guaranteed some reading material in your room. 

The Bible can be found in more than half of bedside tables in hotel rooms. Largely thanks to Gideons International, which has donated over 1 billion Bibles worldwide.

The website Atlas Obscura, which showcases the world's quirkiest wonders, has only been around for a decade. And in that time, the company has visited and catalogued more than 20,000 places.

Summer is the time when many of us get out of town and see the world. But taking time off work or flying to a far-off destination isn’t always an option. Day trips to nearby destinations offer a quick getaway.

This month’s Milwaukee Magazine features 10 suggestions for day trips around the Milwaukee area — all within 120 miles of city, including towns on Lake Michigan.

Rick Steves is known for his PBS travel show and for booking 30,000 people on his European tours each year. And while he claims to be neither environmentalist nor particularly environmentally savvy, Steves is trying to balance his success by reducing the carbon footprint of all of those travelers he leads on holiday.

Carolyn Weber has been dreaming of opening a hostel in Milwaukee for six years. Now, Cream City Hostel is coming to life in Riverwest. 

Hostels are historically places where young people can sleep cheap and simple. Over the years, they’ve evolved to attract young and old, individuals or families.

The hostel is on the corner of Center and Holton Streets in Riverwest. It's in what was a grand neighborhood bank that Weber says was built in 1920.

As Alice Cooper once sang, "School’s out for summer." For a lot of kids, that means they're just a few short days away from the point where they complain about being bored. 

While cold, snowy weather is not unusual for the upper Midwest, this week’s weather might be testing the patience of even the most devout fans of winter. At the very least, it might have you thinking about at least a brief getaway.

Whether traveling was a New Year’s resolution for you, or you have a longtime bucket list in your mind, contributor Andrea Khan, chief travel officer for The Family Backpack, has some suggestions for travel in our figurative backyard:

Editor's note: This piece was originally published on March 6, 2018.

When we say the word “vacation,” most Americans probably picture a white sand beach in Florida or perhaps an amusement park adventure with your family. However, guidebook author and PBS TV host Rick Steves urges you to use travel as an opportunity to get out of your comfort zone.

Lake Effect has recently featured segments about the latest hobby and family games and books you could consider for your holiday gift list. But if the people on your list prefer to be out and about, we've got you covered there too.

For a lot of people, traveling is a consistent life goal - whether it’s about adventure during their vacations from work, or working towards a retirement filled with travel. But in the case of the former, travel can be a challenge when you’re limited to only two or three weeks of vacation a year.

"Two weeks of vacation is not enough time - especially to stay in one country and really get the opportunity to soak in the culture," says Ann Davis, founder of Venture with Impact.

The great American road trip can be a cross-country sojourn, a long weekend, or even an afternoon.

It’s those latter two ideas – the shorter road trip that got contributors Dan Harmon and Mark Savage talking. Normally, they talk about cars. But both contributors are encouraging people to actually sit and enjoy using their cars through a classic American pastime.