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This week’s roundup of travel articles explores the realities of life on a perpetual cruise, travelers visiting the world’s most infamous destinations, and how the pandemic nearly wiped out cargo ship tourism.
For centuries, cargo ships have welcomed paying passengers, making cargo ship tourism a niche but enduring industry.
The golden age of tramp and banana boat navigation was the first half of the 20th century. But just before the coronavirus pandemic hit, there were still six major companies booking passengers on cargo ships bound for remote ports of call.
For enthusiasts, this is a way to visit off-the-grid destinations untouched by mass tourism and experience life’s romance and adventure on board a working vessel.
Most of the pre-pandemic businesses are no longer open. Health and safety issues in the age of COVID-19, combined with heightened security onboard ships as the seas become increasingly dangerous due to war and piracy, have brought closure for many.
While your options may be fewer, there are still some great cargo ship trips to destinations like Namibia, Iceland and French Polynesia. Companies such as Aranui and Neoliner Origin are expanding cargo-passenger services.
Read here to find out where the ocean can take you.
New visa rules for Australia and Japan
Australia has long been popular with backpackers and young people looking to see the world and find casual work. However, the government has announced that it will significantly reduce the number of working holiday visas from 31,000 to 5,000. To have a chance, visitors must pay hundreds of dollars to participate in a lottery-style poll.
The government says this is to adjust admissions to prioritize skilled immigrants who are believed to bring more value to the country’s economy. But not everyone is happy about it.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, Japan is experiencing a tourism boom, with record numbers of tourists arriving in recent years. The number of people settling down for long-term stays, including work and study, also hit a record high last year.
However, a series of strict immigration policies imposed by the Japanese government have caused some foreign residents to wonder, “Is it time to say goodbye?” ” I have doubts.
Here’s a selection of content for CNN subscribers. After a rocky start and no shortage of drama, the residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey is set to enter service at the end of 2024. But by the time retired schoolteacher Sharon Lane took the “Forever” cruise in June 2025, most of the initial operational challenges had been resolved and she was excited about a life afloat forever.
CNN caught up with her a year later to find out if reality matched expectations and how she and other passengers were faring.
There are even more unusual ways to explore the world than living on a cruise ship and traveling with cargo. Earlier this year, CNN interviewed travelers who chose to vacation in conflict zones, radiation sites, and volatile border areas.
This trend is known as “dark tourism,” and it has two distinct aspects. These include people visiting countries classified as dangerous by other countries, such as North Korea, Afghanistan and Haiti, and people going to places where infamous incidents have occurred, such as Guyana’s Jonestown and Cambodia’s Killing Fields.
Our streaming subscription service CNN All Access expanded internationally to Canada and the UK this week. In his CNN series “Parts Unknown,” Anthony Bourdain visited lesser-known destinations around the world. Take a look at his 2013 trip to Libya to see the situation there two years after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
Explore the world’s largest floating village
These are the 25 places National Geographic thinks you should visit in 2027.
And the reason.
It’s a protest movement. Washington’s makeover. The new iPhone era.
What do you remember about that week?
My diving vacation turned out to be a huge failure.
A fun trip turned into a 13-hour fight for survival.
“Cake huts” are a new British concern.
And they’re popping up everywhere.
