Travel News: WorldPride 2019 in NYC, London Is the Best Destination in the World, and the Plane That Flew in the Wrong Direction

As our colleagues at Lonely Planet reported earlier this morning, Icelandic super-bargain transatlantic carrier WOW Air has canceled all of its flights as the company appears to be in financial collapse. WOW's website announces that the company has ceased operations and suggests that stranded passengers contact other airlines in hopes of receiving a discounted "rescue" fare. (Aer Lingus, the flagship airline of Ireland, announced that it would provide rescue fares to WOW passengers with tickets to fly between today and April 11, subject to availability.) Passengers Stranded With WOW passengers stranded at airports and prospective European vacationers holding WOW tickets for upcoming trips asking, “What do I do now?” we offer some tips from the air-passenger-rights company AirHelp. Claim a Refund If you’ve booked using a travel agency or partner airline or package tour company, the company that booked your trip may be responsible for refunding some or all of the cost of your canceled flight(s). If you’ve booked directly with WOW using a credit card, the credit card company may be able to stop the payment to the airline and refund your fare. If WOW files for bankruptcy protection, there is also the chance that the airline would repay debited cash to customers. AirHelp CEO Henrik Zillmer cautions, "Customers who have booked their tickets directly with the airline do unfortunately have narrow chances of reimbursement of their costs and must address their claims directly to the bankruptcy trustee of the airline."

From vacation options in the countries that boast the highest levels of personal happiness to jaw-droppingly affordable domestic airfares to brag-worthy destinations, plus a brand-new options for researching and booking federal campsites, this week’s travel news is all about making your spring travel dreams a reality. Happiest Countries on Earth Although we can’t guarantee that visiting one of the world’s happiest countries will deliver a perfect vacation, we’re thinking it can’t hurt, right? In that spirit, we’re always interested to see the latest rankings of 156 countries by the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which analyzes survey data from Gallup including such factors as GDP, supportive social networks, life expectancy, freedom, and basic emotions such as happy and sad. For the second year in a row, Finland has taken the top spot. It’s also worth noting that four of its neighbors in Scandinavia and Northern Europe are the runners-up on the happiness scale this year, so this may be the year to plan that spectacular Norway road trip, a tour of Iceland, or pop over to Amsterdam to ogle the eye-popping spring tulips. Here, the top five happiest countries on earth (the United States, btw, ranked 19th): Finland Denmark Norway Iceland Netherlands Cheap Flights for April When it comes to round-trip domestic flights under $300, our friends at Skyscanner always come through with some great suggestions. They’ve crunched the numbers on the most affordable April flights, and their top 5 list could serve as your menu of spring break options. Here, the current ranking of the cheapest 5 flights, plus average prices (which are, of course, always subject to change): Long Beach, CA ($217.61) Myrtle Beach, SC ($223.16) Oakland, CA ($230.20) Denver, CO ($235.72) Chicago, IL ($244.09) Booking National Parks Campsites Just Got Easier We’re cheering “hip-hip-hooray” for Hipcamp. As we’ve already reported, Hipcamp makes it easier than ever to book exceptional camping experiences (some industry folks like to call it an “Airbnb for campers”). Now, Hipcamp has announced that, in addition to the thousands of public and private campgrounds it already lists, it will now list all federal campgrounds as well. That means researching and booking your next National Park camping adventure just got a lot more convenient, with not only Hipcamp but also other booking services gaining access to—wait for it—100,000 federal campsites.

From a new way to enjoy California’s legendary Highway 1 to a convenient tool for booking city-to-city train travel in Europe to NYC’s lesser-known theatrical offerings at a deep discount, this week’s travel news is all about surprising new ways to get out there and see more for less. California’s Epic Highway 1 Whale Trail A drive up or down Highway 1 along California’s Central Coast is a great vacation idea any time of year. With its epic views of the Pacific Ocean, charming communities you haven't visited yet, and gorgeous inland mountains and forests, the stretch of road from Big Sur down to Santa Barbara is pinch-me beautiful. But this time of year, especially now through the end of February, there’s an additional reason to love Highway 1: The self-guided Whale Trail. As you drive by one of America’s most important protected marine environments, keep an eye out for 34 species of marine mammals, including migrating gray whales, orcas, humpacks, and blue whales, not to mention the seals and sea otters often spotted year-round frolicking among the rocks offshore. The official Whale Trail is a series of sites ideal for pulling your car over and looking for marine life from shore—be sure to pack your binoculars, camera or smartphone, and a sense of wonder. Learn more at highway1discoveryroute.com. An Easy Way to Book Rail Europe Tickets Have you tried the tech-forward mobile booking platform Klook yet? The quirky moniker comes from the phrase “keep looking,” and the company has generated some positive buzz among travelers who like to book their trips via mobile devices and who value last-minute options, skip-the-line privileges at popular points of interest, and overall one-stop shopping. Now, Klook is partnering with Rail Europe, the leading distributor of European railroad products encompassing more than 50 train lines across the continent. Planning a European trip in 2019? You can give Klook’s new point-to-point booking site a try to obtain e-tickets or printed tickets delivered free by mail, seat reservations, and rail passes (klook.com). NYC’s Off-Broadway Week Budget Travel’s editors are based in New York City, and we know first-hand that there’s a wide world of exceptional theater happening beyond Broadway. A good way to explore cutting-edge theater at a price that’s right, NYC Off-Broadway Week offers two-for-one tickets for performances from February 11 through 24 (yes, that’s more than one week, speaking of extra value). Visit nycgo.com/offbroadwayweek to nab discounted tickets to one (or more) of more than 30 plays and musicals, including family-friendly plays, revivals of classic musicals, magic shows, and comedy. Productions include Avenue Q, Colin Quinn’s Red State Blue State, Drunk Shakespeare, The Play That Goes Wrong, and many more.

From the announcement of winners of TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Awards for hotels to new flights from more U.S. airports to and from Paris, today's travel news is designed to get you in the mood to book your next getaway. Paris on Your Mind? A French Budget Airline Debuts Flights From Several U.S. Airports We hate to break it to you, but we’re closing in on the moment when it’ll be too late to start thinking about Valentine’s Day gifts, and it’s never too early to start thinking about your summer vacation, either. If you’re looking to knock out that vacation planning and a present for your sweetheart in one fell swoop, XL Airways (xlairways.com) has a pretty enticing proposal. A French airline that’s offered seasonal nonstop flights to Paris from NYC at value prices for a decade, XL is expanding its American footprint to a total of four U.S. gateways. In addition to JFK, passengers can now fly to and from Miami, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. What’s more, the carrier is updating its jets' economy-class cabins, adding ergonomic seats with adjustable head rests, individual entertainment screens, and USB chargers. The flights are seasonal and currently available for booking. The New York to Paris route resumes on April 6 and runs through January 2020; L.A. flights will run from June 8 to September 9; San Francisco from June 23 to September 8; and Miami from June 24 to September 10. TripAdvisor Announces Its Travelers' Choice Awards for Hotels TripAdvisor, billed as the world’s largest travel site, revealed the winners of its 17th Travelers' Choice Awards for hotels last week. Millions of reviews, collected over the course of a year on more than 1.2 million properties on the site, were analyzed using a proprietary algorithm to recognize 7,812 hotels, B&Bs, inns, and resorts in 94 countries. That might sound like an astronomical number of winners, but it actually only accounts for less than one percent of the properties reviewed on the site. Charleston’s French Quarter Inn took top place as the #1 hotel in the U.S., but as far as concentration of top-rated hotels goes, California and Florida won 22 awards apiece, South Carolina clocked in with 14, and Massachusetts won 12. Globally, the United States proved its hospitality supremacy with 165 awards, the greatest number of winners, just ahead of Italy and Spain with 164 and 163 award winners, respectively. Now, about those top prizes. Desert Rivera Hotel in Palm Springs scored highest for Best Small Hotel. Jail Hill Inn in Galena, Illinois, won the prize for Best B&B or Inn, and Homewood Suites by Hilton Anaheim Resort (Convention Center) ranked best for family accommodations. Best Bargain honors went to the Trails Inn in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. For a list of winners, visit tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Hotels. A Maine Hotel Puts Frosty Beverages on the Menu We love a warm-weather winter escape as much as the next sun-starved Northeasterner, but leaning into the cold is often just as fun. Case in point: the igloo-style ice lounges at Maine’s Kennebunkport Inn, where visitors can cozy up for cocktails—think toasty toddies and bourbon-spiked cocoa—beginning January 25th. The lounges are stocked with thick blankets and fur-lined seats to keep the chills at bay, but if the cold gets to be too much, there are also communal firepits just outside the door (plus a cornhole board for those who prefer to embrace the frigid temps). Pop in for a drink or book an igloo-themed package and spend the weekend. (From $395 for two nights; kennebunkportinn.com/igloo-ice-lounge)