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William O’Connor

@woconnor11.bsky.social
443 followers 36 following 47 posts

Now at National Geographic. Subscribe to my weekly travel newsletter: gettingaround.substack.com Instagram: @woconnor11

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Reposted by William O’Connor
Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 29/09/2025
"TAKE OUT YOUR HEADPHONES! We all need to stop acting like technology makes anti-social behavior okay. Be polite. Be considerate. Think of others." This has bothered my a lot recently. If you want service on a flight, take your headphones out when the crew gets to your row. @woconnor11.bsky.social
gettingaround.substack.com
The one social media account giving me wanderlust
Paris restaurants charging Americans more, bad airplane headphone etiquette, is Albania worth the hype?
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
The first feature I’ve edited for National Geographic is up! So pumped 🤗
nationalgeographic.com
World War II treasure hunters love this rugged Greek island
Top collectors on the island have amassed hundreds of thousands of artifacts — and there are still more being found.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
We need to stop w this idea that traveling in and of itself makes you a better person! gettingaround.substack.com/p/rick-steve...
gettingaround.substack.com
Rick Steves annoys me again; updated Newport guide; a very cool literary trip
Plus, taxing tourists, miserable Positano, free national parks.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
My latest destination guide is out, this time for Amsterdam. Has all my favorite spots, including this relatively obscure gem gettingaround.substack.com/p/amsterdam-...
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
The post-COVID boom in tourism to Europe may be reaching its breaking point—today Louvre staff went on strike: apnews.com/article/louv...
apnews.com
The world’s most-visited museum shuts down with staff sounding the alarm on mass tourism
The Louvre Museum has failed to open on time Monday, leaving thousands of visitors stuck in long, unmoving lines.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
I really don’t understand how anybody who looks closely at what Airbnb is offering w its “relaunched” Experiences and new Services product is impressed or credulously repeating everything the company says is going to happen.
open.substack.com
What to Make of AirBnb's Grandiose Plans to Take Over Travel
Plus, Delta preps for business basic fares, United's getting doors, an alcohol ban fails in Scotland, and a cure for baldness would but a damper on Turkish tourism.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
This feels insane to me Southwest
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Letting things go 🧔🏻
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Wow Southwest is ending free checked bags policy! Going from two free checked bags straight to zero unless you’re Business Select (you get 2 still) or A-list or Southwest credit card holder (you get 1). Real risk of alienating price-conscious fliers at a moment that price-consciousness is increasing
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
The timelines offered are likely absurd, but I’m still enough of a dreamer to love all the possible innovation happening in aviation right now!
gettingaround.substack.com
The Plane You Fly On Could Soon Look Very Different
Plus, an exciting new hotel in Forte dei Marmi, Four Seasons Yacht F&B renderings, most-visited National Parks, and Southwest sneakily devaluing reward earnings.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
Yes it’s one of the more awe-inducing man-made things to see, but it’s become a deeply unpleasant experience
gettingaround.substack.com
Don't Go to This Famous Spring Festival
Plus, another knock against One Key, all the eggs in the rich traveler basket, a True Crime cruise, and crackdowns on nudist beach voyeurs.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Lololol tix for Fyre Fest 2 went on sale today
abcnews.go.com
Fyre Festival 2 ticket sales, details announced in reboot of infamous event
Tickets went on sale Monday for Fyre Festival 2, nearly eight years after the infamous Bahamas festival that led to its founder being convicted of wire fraud.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
A little exhibit on Sea Cloud (once the largest sailing yacht in the world) reminded me of what Harry Thaw said when he saw Mar-a-Lago…
open.substack.com
'I Killed the Wrong Architect'
Plus, Uber's new scammy policy, exoskeletons for hiking, and Mykonos as a risky hotel bet.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Just a reminder as you’re planning your spring and summer vacations — do NOT go to Giverny
gettingaround.substack.com
Don't Go to Giverny, It's a Beautiful Nightmare
Plus, one of Morocco's most over-the-top hotels opens a second location.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
My latest destination guide is out! This time for Rio de Janeiro :)
gettingaround.substack.com
Rio de Janeiro Guide: Where to Eat, Hike, Drink, Stay, and Explore
My guide to one of the most exciting cities in the world.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Hear me out! Buenos Aires is now an underrated destination devoid of hordes of American tourists
gettingaround.substack.com
Buenos Aires Has Become an Underrated Destination
Plus, RyanAir's spat with Spain gets nasty, Santorini volcanic activity, a Barragan restoration, and BILT's first cafe.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Tucson, Arizona is one of the most magical and charming places to visit in the U.S. w unforgettable hikes, a rich culture, and unique architecture. My latest destination guide is here! open.substack.com/pub/gettinga...
open.substack.com
Tucson, Arizona: What to Do, See, and Eat
The first time I went to Tucson, I didn’t get it. There was so much driving, and it was so dry, dusty, and unfathomably cold at night. It wasn’t until my third visit that I fell for this under-the-rad...
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Reposted by William O’Connor
Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 19/01/2025
It’s one thing for the new administration and his supporters to have an outpost in the middle of official Washington on Pennsylvania Ave, it would be a whole other thing for that outpost to be in the middle of local (very liberal) Washington in Adam’s Morgan. @woconnor11.bsky.social
open.substack.com
Elon Musk Wants to Buy a Hotel in D.C. (Reportedly)
Plus, a limit on drinks at airport bars, Japan's staggering numbers, Sofia Coppola's potential hotel project, and bad airline-food collabs.
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Reposted by William O’Connor
Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 14/01/2025
Rating trails is really hard. Fully agree with @woconnor11.bsky.social here (and prefer Komoot over AllTrails).
open.substack.com
A Popular Hiking App Has One Annoying Flaw
Plus, RyanAir goes after unruly passengers, NYT 52 places, people bringing weird things through TSA.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
I spent last week visiting 10 of Mexico City’s most buzzed about new restaurants gettingaround.substack.com/p/mexico-cit...
gettingaround.substack.com
10 of Mexico City's Hottest New Restaurants
Plus, a new hotel in Palm Beach and TSA propaganda
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
American Airlines says vendor tech was to blame for outage that led to ground stop this morning. Unclear how long it will take to unravel the delays, as some hubs like Charlotte are facing big delays
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Tucson for Christmas for 3rd year in row!
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
The FTC just passed a rule banning junk fees for hotels and live events … as I’ve said in my newsletter about the companies fighting this: it’s not great if your business success is predicated on hiding the true cost
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
It stayed under the radar amidst all the Notre Dame news, but Santa Maria del Popolo also reopened recently after a major restoration www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/st...
yahoo.com
One of Rome's Most Iconic Churches Just Quietly Reopened
The basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo has a treasure trove of works by Caravaggio, Raphael, Bernini, and more. And it just reopened after a two-year restoration.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
For this week’s newsletter I went to try Ina Garten’s favorite cheeseburger! gettingaround.substack.com/p/i-tried-in...
gettingaround.substack.com
I Tried Ina Garten's Favorite Cheeseburger
Plus, Jonestown massacre site tourism, an iconic church not named Notre Dame reopens, and people really, really love Santa.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
This week’s newsletter is my destination guide for Montreal—a city I’d argue is the third-coolest in North America 😅 gettingaround.substack.com/p/montreal-g...
gettingaround.substack.com
Three Ideal Days in Montreal
Where to eat, drink, shop, and wander in one of the coolest cities in the Americas.
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Reposted by William O’Connor
Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 05/12/2024
A century in the making, Thessaloniki's Metro has finally opened, including an "impressive underground museum at the new Venizelou station, where passengers can see a marble-paved Roman road and hundreds of artifacts" found during construction. @aitorehm.bsky.social
politico.eu
Living Cities: A metro 126 years in the making
A collaborative journalism project seeking solutions to challenges faced by modern societies in an age of rapid change. By AITOR HERNÁNDEZ-MORALES with GIOVANNA COI Send tips here | Tweet @aitorehm…
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Some pretty fascinating stuff in American Airlines’ year-end summary. The top three domestic destinations for mile redemptions are Orlando, Boston, and Austin and for international it’s London, Cancun, and Cabo. Not see the through line for those domestic ones tho…
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
What if your Spotify wrapped is just boring?
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Watching this exchange between Sen Blumenthal and Delta exec and somehow Blumenthal is making the execs look reasonable (in part bc not clear Blumenthal has booked his own flights in a while…)
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Reposted by William O’Connor
Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 03/12/2024
“I think the current business plan is not going to work and, if they pursue it, Chapter 11 will be a brief pit stop on the way to Chapter 7,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy Tuesday. Read more: www.travelandleisure.com/united-ceo-s...
travelandleisure.com
United CEO Thinks Spirit Will Liquidate Assets Following Bankruptcy — What That Could Mean for Travelers
United CEO Scott Kirby weighed in on Spirits' financial struggles.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
I’ve been covering the local wars on lockboxes (Marseilles, Florence) but now Italy is outright banning self check-in Airbnbs! www.cnn.com/2024/12/03/t...
cnn.com
Italy bans Airbnb self-check-ins | CNN
The days of arriving late at an Airbnb in Italy and opening up the keybox to let yourself will soon be over after the country issued a ban on self-check-ins under a new law it says is needed to combat...
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
From a bajillion new routes to Palm Springs as well as options to the Caribbean, South Pacific, and more, here are some of the most exciting new route coming this month www.travelandleisure.com/most-excitin... (via @byerussell.com )
travelandleisure.com
With New Ways to Get to Palm Springs, Vail, the Caribbean, and More — Here Are the Airline Routes We're Most Excited About in December
In Travel + Leisure’s latest highlights of the most exciting new routes, December has carriers big and small kicking off dozens of new routes to the Caribbean, the South Pacific, desert abodes, and sn...
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
By the end of next year Frontier planes will have first class seating — and the airline released a rendering today:
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
If you've found yourself wincing every time you look at hotel prices in NYC there's a reason ... in September hotels in the city AVERAGED $417 a night (and those asinine amenity/resort/destination fees still going strong)
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
I wrestled with my initial feelings about the Notre Dame restoration, but after a couple days I still really don’t like it gettingaround.substack.com/p/the-photos...
gettingaround.substack.com
The Photos of Notre Dame Are Bumming Me Out
Plus, skyrocketing NYC hotel prices, a TSA water bottle hack, and the next big step in fully electric flight.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Grateful for everybody who has been reading my newsletter every week—I had no idea what to expect and it’s really been such a joy trying to help ppl travel better. gettingaround.substack.com
gettingaround.substack.com
Getting Around with William O'Connor | William O’Connor | Substack
Welcome to Getting Around, a weekly newsletter about traveling better. Click to read Getting Around with William O'Connor, by William O’Connor, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
The $250 million expansion of @longwoodgardens.bsky.social is open! I wrote about the truly stunning additions this week: gettingaround.substack.com/p/longwood-g...
gettingaround.substack.com
One of America's Greatest Treasures Just Got a $250 Million Jewel
Plus, urban sketching, the potential demise of Clear, and Japan sex tourism.
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William O’Connor @woconnor11.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Well I guess I’m over here now :)
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