Travel

NAIROBI — The State Department raised its Kenya travel advisory from Level 2 to Level 3, "Reconsider travel," on October 19. The department said the change reflected health risks. The advisory points to a CDC travel health notice on Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in Kenya. Kenya has confirmed cases, and local health authorities are tracing contacts to gauge the risk of further spread. Kenya's Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, Korir Sing'oei, said this week that the advisory is precautionary and imposes no restrictions on travelers. The CDC advises usual precautions, chiefly avoiding contact with people who have symptoms. Reports differ on the number of confirmed cases, with figures of eight and nine cited. Those counts are not independently verified here. Level 3 is not a ban, and flights continue to operate. Travelers face tougher decisions on insurance and trip-cancellation coverage, and the level will likely stay while contacts are monitored.

ST HELIER, Jersey — Storm Austen, the first named storm of the UK season, disrupted air travel on Friday. A red wind warning applied to the Channel Islands. Jersey cancelled morning flights, and Guernsey and Alderney airports were closed until noon. Flights were expected to resume in Jersey in the afternoon, though officials warned that further disruption was possible. St Mary's Airport in the Isles of Scilly recorded a 76 mph gust. Ports of Jersey said it expected severe disruption to flights and sailings, and the harbour stayed closed through the day. On the English mainland, Exeter Airport cancelled four Loganair flights to Jersey and Edinburgh. The Met Office had an amber warning for Cornwall and parts of western Devon, with gusts of 60 to 70 mph and up to 80 mph on exposed headlands. Authorities advised travelers to confirm their flights with their airlines before heading to the airport.

Florida's Coral Reef Resilience Program reports that reef areas in the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas National Park sit at Bleaching Alert Level 4, a rating that signals a risk of severe, multi-species mortality. Florida Bay and the backcountry are at Level 5. The program expects Keys alerts to stay at Level 2 or higher into November. Its field notes show the lower and middle Keys under the most stress, with heavy bleaching of elkhorn and staghorn corals and about 75 percent of live coral bleached at Newfound Harbor. NOAA's October 8 advisory says a strong-to-very strong El Niño is likely through early 2027. Nature reported bleaching in Florida, Pacific Panama and Kiribati by late August. For a Memphis diver, the Keys are a short flight to Miami plus roughly an hour's drive to Key Largo. Expect shallow patch reefs to look stressed, so book deeper wall and wreck dives. Recreational divers can report bleaching to the monitoring programs.

Cocos Island, a Costa Rican national park about 550 kilometers off the Pacific coast, is a liveaboard-only trip. Its rainy season, roughly June through November, is the traditional window for scalloped hammerhead aggregations at Bajo Alcyone, Manuelita and Dirty Rock. A Sea Turtle Conservancy expedition timed for peak post-mating activity found schools of only 5 to 20 animals and little cleaning-station activity. The team noted no fresh mating wounds on females and suggested El Niño may have shifted the season or pushed sharks below recreational depths. A recent review of a 10-night Okeanos Aggressor trip counted more than 70 hammerheads in one day, though strong currents and poor visibility cut some dives. Dives need advanced experience and comfort in current, and night dives are no longer permitted. From Memphis, fly to San José, usually with a connection, then transfer to Puntarenas for the roughly 36-hour crossing. One operator guide lists a $525 park fee.

TUXTLA GUTIÉRREZ — United Airlines begins Houston–Tuxtla Gutiérrez service on Oct. 28, the first nonstop between the United States and Chiapas since 2013. United Express flights, operated by SkyWest on 70-to-76-seat Embraer E175 jets, run Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. They leave Houston at 9:50 a.m. and reach Tuxtla at 12:45 p.m. The return leaves at 1:35 p.m. The route is year-round. It serves San Cristóbal de las Casas, Sumidero Canyon, Palenque and the Lacandon Jungle. Memphis travelers would connect in Houston. Because the outbound departs mid-morning, an early connection or a night in Houston is likely. Safety: the State Department rates Chiapas Level 3, Reconsider Travel, after its May 29 Mexico reissue. Risk is concentrated near the Guatemala border and on rural roads. The UK advises against all but essential travel on Highway 199 between San Cristóbal and Palenque. Daylight travel on main roads is the usual advice. The drier months are generally the easier time to go.

SAPPORO — United Airlines will start flying from San Francisco to New Chitose Airport near Sapporo on Dec. 11, according to the aviation trade site Simple Flying. Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners will fly the route three times a week. The 4,811-mile trip takes about 10 hours 45 minutes westbound and about 9 hours 5 minutes back. The site calls it the first direct link between the U.S. mainland and the airport and the only nonstop from the United States to Hokkaido. Air Canada begins Vancouver–Sapporo service just ahead of United. Hokkaido's appeal is deep winter snow, so the first flights suit a ski trip. From Memphis, travelers would connect to San Francisco on a domestic itinerary. Fares and the State Department's current Japan advisory should be checked before booking.