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(CNN) – In travel news this week: The ongoing drought has revealed lost ruins in the UK and Spain. Easter Island and Napoleon’s Atlantic exile of St Helena have finally reopened to visitors. And there’s more misbehavior in Italy, as tourists surf Venice’s Grand Canal and ride scooters around Pompeii.
Extreme weather
Countries around the world have experienced severe droughts and the situation has become so bad in Europe that many of its rivers and lakes are drying up. Here’s how this could hurt the region’s tourism, now and in the years to come.
In the United Kingdom, the ruins of a Welsh village that was submerged by a reservoir in the 19th century have been discovered. And in Spain, a circle of megalithic stones called the “Spanish Stonehenge” appeared in a depleted reservoir in the province of Cáceres.
Islands waive Covid rules
Some of the world’s most remote islands are welcoming tourists for the first time since Covid appeared on the map.
Rapa Nui, better known as Easter Island, has reopened with new demands for tourists. The return of tourism to the island known for its towering stone statues could mean new concerns for islanders who were worried about ill-behaved tourists even before the pandemic ended.
St Helena, in the mid-Atlantic, lifted its Covid requirements this month and weekly flights are set to resume in October, according to its tourism website. St. Helena is so obscure that it was chosen as Napoleon’s place of exile after he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Five years ago, it got its first ever airport.
The two-island Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis has been open to visitors for some time, but on August 15 it lifted all entry restrictions for Covid. Here is a guide to St. Kitts and what you need to know about Nevis.
Evil by nature
And in the southern coastal town of Sorrento, the mayor has had enough of scantily clad visitors taking their beachwear out into the street: He has imposed a fine for bare chests and swimming costumes.
News from Africa
And on the Botswana-Zambia border, the $260 million Kazungula Bridge, opened in May 2021, has transformed what was previously a slow and congested river crossing.
Home-rental behemoth Airbnb has transformed the travel industry, but it’s yet to hit Africa, perhaps because Airbnb it does not allow mobile money, which is an increasingly popular money transfer system on the mainland. A Cameroonian startup called Bongalo, backed by Google, hopes to make the most of this gap in the market.
Australia’s deepest cave
A group of Australian explorers have recently discovered the “Delta Variant”, a 401 meter deep cave in Tasmania.
Explorers recently discovered Australia’s deepest known cave, a 401-meter-deep (1,315-foot) cave in Tasmania. They named the epic new find the Delta Variant.
In case you missed it
Thailand’s health minister says tourists who smoke are not welcome in the country.
Nothing beats your tongue around frozen milk, cream and sugar on a hot summer day.
The small South American country of Uruguay has a lush green interior and a coast lined with beaches.
Airport lounges
When you’re at the airport and staring at another three-hour delay in the raucous masses of generational pop, the fancy world beyond the velvet ropes of the airline lounge seems very appealing. But how do you get in there cheaply, other than running in and hoping you don’t get caught? Our partners at CNN Underscored, a guide to product reviews and recommendations owned by CNN, have some tips on how to access some of the best airport lounges in the world.
