Travel

HAGÅTÑA, Guam — Super Typhoon Champi passed about 10 miles south of Guam early Sunday, leaving roughly half the island without power at one point, according to regional reports. A presidential emergency declaration followed. Airline disruption at A.B. Won Pat International Airport continues into Monday. At midday Sunday, the airport's board listed 35 cancelled arrivals and departures, 19 of them United's. Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Philippine Airlines and several Korean low-cost carriers also cancelled flights. The board shows flights restarting from midday Monday, but the airport authority says airlines decide when to resume. United has issued a waiver for tickets bought on or before Oct. 14 for travel Oct. 15 to 19 to Guam and nearby islands. Star Marianas Air expects normal service Tuesday. Damage assessments are not finished, and no timetable for normal tourism operations has been announced.

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines announced Oct. 15 that it will overhaul Rapid Rewards on Jan. 1, 2027. A-List members become Silver, A-List Preferred members become Gold, and a new Platinum tier includes unlimited Companion Pass trips. CNBC reports the thresholds as 35,000 tier points or 25 flights for Silver, 65,000 points or 50 flights for Gold, and 140,000 points or 100 flights for Platinum. Every Rapid Rewards credit card will earn one tier point per dollar spent. Points redemptions open on Icelandair, China Airlines and Etihad in spring 2027. Rental-car redemptions start in November. Southwest also named its planned lounges Icon, with Nashville and Austin among the first sites. The announcement follows the airline's move to assigned seating and bag fees. Southwest began Memphis-Austin nonstop service Oct. 1, six days a week, and now serves 11 destinations from Memphis.

MARSA ALAM, Egypt — Oceanic whitetip sharks are most reliably seen now at Elphinstone Reef off Marsa Alam and at the offshore Brothers Islands and Daedalus Reef. Operators place the peak in October and November. Elphinstone can be reached by day boat from Marsa Alam in about 90 minutes. The Brothers and Daedalus are liveaboard-only. Whitetips usually cruise at 10 to 40 metres in water of roughly 25 to 28C. Operators ask for Advanced Open Water certification, and some suggest 50 logged dives, because of exposed, current-swept walls. One operator lists seven-night departures from late October through December at about 1,062 to 1,499 euros. Feeding sharks is illegal in Egyptian Red Sea waters, and guides brief divers to stay vertical, stay grouped and keep the shark in view. From Memphis, plan on one or more connections to Hurghada or Marsa Alam.

RAJA AMPAT, Indonesia — Raja Ampat's main diving season began this month, and operators say the calm northwest-monsoon months run through April. Visibility is improving toward 25 to 35 metres, water is about 29 to 30C, and mantas are returning to Manta Sandy (roughly 10 to 16 metres) and Manta Ridge (18 to 25 metres). Peak manta activity comes December through March. Misool itineraries mostly resume from late October. Liveaboards are the usual way to cover the archipelago, and currents make it better suited to intermediate and advanced divers. On reef health, Mongabay reported on August 4 that a Greenpeace study found three firms still pursuing nickel rights on Waigeo and state-owned Gag Nikel still operating. Indonesia's energy minister said all other permits were revoked. Sorong is the usual air gateway. From Memphis, expect several connections.

TOYAMA, Japan — The Kurobe-Unazuki Canyon Route began tours on October 2. It joins the Kurobe Gorge Railway to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route through the works area of a hydroelectric station. Visitors ride a narrow-gauge tunnel railway, a 200-meter shaft elevator, a battery-powered tunnel train and an 815-meter funicular, and the trip passes the 165-meter Kumokiri Waterfall. The route was to open in 2024, but the Noto earthquake that January delayed it. It is sold only as guided packages through travel agencies, so reservations are required. A 2024 estimate put prices near 130,000 yen. Japan-based listings show the season running to November 30. From Memphis, travelers connect through a U.S. hub to Tokyo or Osaka and continue by rail to Toyama Prefecture. The State Department rates Japan Level 1, but warns that bear encounters on trails are rising.

CANARY ISLANDS, Spain — Air Canada begins the first nonstop flights between North America and Tenerife on October 25. Toronto flights run twice weekly through April 29, 2027, and Montreal service follows on October 31. They use the carrier's new Airbus A321XLR. Memphis has no direct link, so U.S. travelers would connect through Toronto or another hub. Travel press points to La Gomera, a short hop from Tenerife, as the quieter alternative. It is the third-least populated Canary Island, with a trail network of roughly 600 kilometers, and February highs average about 18C. The State Department rates Spain Level 2, citing terrorism and unrest. Its August 1 update raised only Ceuta, on the North African coast, to Level 3. The Canary Islands are unaffected by that change.