Friday around the planet: A roundup of news and inspiration for the week ending April 8

Welcome to Friday Around the Planet, a roundup of some of the travel-related news and inspiration you might have missed over the past week.

Let's start this week's wrap-up of travel news and inspiration with something that will warm even the chilliest of hearts.

Penguins.

Editor-at-large Sebastian Modak recently traveled to Antarctica and the photos alone will fuel your wanderlust to see the frozen continent. if you’ve ever wondered how to travel to see penguins, whales and other wildlife that call the Southern pole home in person, check out this awe-inspiring account of his visit.

Lonely Planet social media manager and photographer Amanda McCadams started a project nearly two decades ago to photograph Unesco World Heritage sites. So far, she’s visited more than 70 of them. Check out the ones she calls her favorite so far.

Meanwhile, if you’re planning a trip to Ireland this summer, bookmark this list. Our team in Ireland put together a list of the country’s 20 best pubs.

Travel logistics news

After hearing the next piece of news, I immediately began daydreaming of working from a café near the piazza in Siena then, to the beat of Beyoncé's Partition, closing my laptop to savor a glass of Brunello.

Italy is working on a digital nomad visa for remote workers. There are not a lot of details yet, but I’m waiting for those with equal anticipation as I have for the posts on the Cheap Italian Dream Homes account on Instagram.

We also learned this week it’s about to get a bit easier to fly from the United States to Greenland.

A bit of an “oops” from Spain this week when the Spanish Tourism Board in the UK mistakenly tweeted that unvaccinated UK travelers could enter the country ahead of Easter if they provided a negative COVID-19 test. They later removed the tweet and confirmed UK visitors do need to be fully vaccinated to enter Spain.

Some other COVID-19 related travel restriction news this past week:

Japan has loosened its travel ban. But don’t make travel plans yet
Greece has again eased some of its COVID-19 travel requirements
Belize has rolled back its in country COVID-19 restrictions but entry requirements remain

News about nature and the outdoors

Mark your calendar. In honor of the start of National Park Week, entry to US National Parks will be waived on April 16. Need some inspiration? Check out this list of 10 national parks where you can arrive by Amtrak.

The oldest national park, Yellowstone, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. If you’re planning to visit, don’t miss these tips from a Yellowstone guide or some of the best waterfalls in the park.

Meanwhile, did you know that around this time every year, thousands of Sandhill cranes descend along the Platte River in Nebraska? The migration draws in birdwatchers from around the world. Here’s how to see it.

Ahead of Earth Day, here are some more resources to help make your travels more sustainable:
Sustainable travel: 6 simple tips for making a positive impact
10 best sustainable trips for families
10 incredible sustainable travel experiences around the world

A free online version of our Ukrainian phrasebook

Ending here on a more serious note: we here at Lonely Planet know there are a lot of volunteers — from nonprofit organizations to everyday citizens — who are stepping up to help those fleeing the violence in Ukraine. To help bridge some of the common language barriers they might encounter, we’ve made a PDF version of our Ukrainian phrasebook available to download for free online.

Whether you need it to better connect with someone fleeing violence or you just want to learn more about the Ukrainian language and culture, we hope that you find this a helpful resource. Please share it with others who might find it useful as well.