By Noreen Kompanik, TravelPulse

Owners of bed and breakfasts, the immensely popular trend of the 1980s and 1990s, faced a decline in interest among vacationers for a while in the 2000s.

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Perhaps it was because of the shared bath concept or the hotels and resorts popping up on the accommodation scene with their myriad amenities and benefits that made these once-coveted places less alluring to the traveler. Or perhaps, just a shift in travel trends.

Beds and breakfasts, however, have shaken off their dusty image and they’re back in a big way. Yes, you can still stay in stately historic mansions, former schoolhouses and old mills. But some of the trendiest properties are also featuring themed rooms, designer furniture and on-site activities such as wine and cheese pairing, afternoon tea, cooking classes, ski lessons or helping out on the property’s farm.

As a true bed and breakfast aficionado, I enjoy the affordability, personalized service, unique settings, romantic getaway opportunities, complimentary social hours and quiet, relaxed atmospheres.

Here are some of the destinations in the U.S. to enjoy your first (or next) bed and breakfast experience.

Cape May, New Jersey

This charming seaside town located at the southern tip of New Jersey is known for its beautiful beaches, Victorian architecture and relaxed coastal vibe, a blend of small-town America and old-world elegance.

Cape May is also renowned for its impressive selection of bed and breakfasts. Guests will find everything from colonial revival homes with wraparound porches and Victorian treasures to boutique offerings with eclectic design elements.

Fernandina Beach, Florida

The Addison B&B on Amelia Island, Florida. The island features the 13-mile-long Fernandina Beach. (Noreen Kompanik/Noreen Kompanik/TNS)

Located on Amelia Island in northeast Florida, Fernandina Beach offers 13 miles of pristine beaches, a rich history, a range of outdoor and water activities, a historic, quaint downtown, scenic beauty and a welcoming community.

Victorian architecture is a standout here, reflected in its many cozy bed and breakfasts that blend historic elegance with modern comforts. But you’ll also find Italianate, old Florida and New England designs as well.

Most homes are owned and operated by local families who also live on-property. And expect to enjoy gourmet breakfasts with that warm Southern hospitality the island is known for.

Charleston, South Carolina

Horse and carriage rides are a familiar sight throughout historic Charleston, South Carolina. (Noreen Kompanik/Noreen Kompanik/TNS)

This captivating coastal city seamlessly blends a rich, fascinating history, vibrant culture and true Southern charm.

Founded in 1670, Charleston is one of the oldest cities in the U.S. renowned for its well-preserved architecture, cobblestone streets and the Charleston City Market, established in the 1790s with Gullah artisans still creating handcrafted sweetgrass baskets in the marketplace.

The city’s historic district features iconic landmarks like Rainbow Row, the Battery promenade, and antebellum mansions which is why staying in the historic district is a must. Staying in a historic bed and breakfast sets the stage for the ideal getaway, and there are so many amazing options to choose from.

Dahlonega, Georgia

If you’re looking for a charming mountain town destination, think Stars Hollow or Hallmark perfection), Dahlonega, located in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains, delivers with charming bed and breakfasts that feel like a warm Southern hug.

The site of the first major U.S. Gold Rush in 1828, Dahlonega offers stays that range from historic homes near its storybook downtown to vineyard-view cottages snugged among the vines. And just venturing out a bit, you’ll find hiking trails and waterfalls, fishing and kayaking opportunities, wine tasting rooms, leaf-peeping in the fall, and an adorable downtown historic square.

Pacific Grove, California

For a small town, Pacific Grove, California, sports a good number of delightful Victorian bed and breakfasts, each providing a unique blend of historic charm, coastal beauty and personalized hospitality. (Noreen Kompanik/Noreen Kompanik/TNS)

Nestled between Monterey and Pebble Beach, this picturesque coastal town on the Monterey Peninsula is famous for its Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, where thousands of these magnificent insects migrate each fall and winter.

Lovers Point Park is a popular spot for picnicking, kayaking and catching the sunrise, being one of the few places on the West Coast where you can see the sun rise over the ocean.

For a small town, Pacific Grove sports a delightful selection of Victorian bed and breakfasts, each providing a unique blend of historic charm, coastal beauty and personalized hospitality.

Fredericksburg, Texas

Founded in 1846 by German immigrants, Fredericksburg still proudly celebrates its heritage with events like Oktoberfest and Maifest.

The gem in Texas Hill Country blends wine country flair with Southern hospitality and offers a historic main street with boutique shops, art galleries, bakeries beer gardens and cozy cafes. From mid-March through April, the hills are blanketed with vibrant wildflowers, the most notable, the bluebonnets.

Fredericksburg offers a diverse array of bed and breakfasts. Whether you’re looking for a romantic retreat, a rustic escape or a luxury stay, you’ll find one to suit your preferences.

Savannah, Georgia

The city of Savannah is like a dreamy blend of Southern elegance, spooky legends, moss-draped oaks and rich American history — all wrapped up in a walkable, artsy and totally photogenic package. If you’ve ever wanted to step into a storybook (or a movie set), Savannah is your spot.

Georgia’s first city, founded in 1733, was laid out in a grid of 22 beautiful public squares, each with fountains, statues and towering oaks. Historic mansions, inns and bed and breakfasts surround these picturesque squares, offering a multitude of places to stay. Bed and breakfasts are our favorites, and depending on what you’re looking for, you’ll find everything from Revival mansions with courtyards and Victorian inns with antique furnishings to haunted places (if you dare)!

Newport, Rhode Island

Bannister’s Wharf Newport, Rhode Island, known as the“ sailing capital of the world,” also has many B&Bs to choose from. (Noreen Kompanik/Noreen Kompanik/TNS)

Known as the “sailing capital of the world,” Newport has deep yachting roots and regularly hosts international sailing regattas. The coastal treasure sports a rich maritime history, legendary Gilded-age mansions and seaside charm that makes it feel as though you’ve stepped back in time.

Newport’s downtown waterfront is cobblestoned and full of boutiques, seafood restaurants, art galleries and colonial architecture. Bed and breakfasts here are uniquely arrayed, reflecting the character of the home, whether on the waterfront overlooking Narraganset Bay or on historic streets in town.

St. Augustine, Florida

As the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city, St. Augustine is a city draped in layers of history and cultural richness.

The city’s allure as a beautiful destination is woven from a rich tapestry of historical charm, architectural elegance, and natural beauty. The city’s cobblestone streets and well-preserved colonial architecture transport visitors to a bygone era, creating a sense of timelessness that is both enchanting and unique.

St. Augustine has many lodging options for visitors, but the most popular choices are its bed and breakfasts, located in Old Town or in a beach or waterfront setting.

©2025 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday described as “unfair” the decision by the Trump administration to suspend imports of Mexican beef cattle for 15 days due to the detection of screwworm in shipments.

Sheinbaum, who has spent the past few months scrambling to offset tariff threats by U.S. President Donald Trump, said she hoped the suspension would not result in another economic blow for her country.

“We do not agree with this measure,” she said at her morning press conference on Monday. “The Mexican government has been working an all fronts from the very first moment we were alerted to the screwworm.”

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The U.S. restricted Mexican cattle shipments in late November following the detection of the pest, but lifted the ban in February after protocols were put in place to evaluate the animals prior to entry into the country. But there has been an “unacceptable northward advancement” of the screwworm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement Sunday.

“The last time this devastating pest invaded the U.S. it took our livestock industry 30 years to recover,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on the X social media platform. “This can never happen again.”

The screwworm is a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly that can invade the tissues of any warm-blooded animal, including humans. The parasite enters the skin, causing serious and life-threatening damage and lesions.

Mexico’s Health Ministry issued an epidemiological warning this month after the first human case of screwworm myiasis, or parasitic infestation, was confirmed on April 17 in a 77-year-old woman living in the southern state of Chiapas.

By MATTHEW LEE, REBECCA SANTANA and MOGOMOTSI MAGOME, Associated Press

DULLES, Virginia (AP) — The Trump administration is welcoming a small group of white South Africans as refugees on Monday, saying they face discrimination and violence at home, which the country’s government strongly denies.

The decision to admit the 49 people also has raised questions from refugee advocates about why the group should be admitted when the Trump administration has suspended efforts to resettle people who are fleeing war and persecution and have gone through years of vetting before coming to the United States.

The group from South Africa arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on a private charter plane and was greeted by a government delegation.

President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that he’s admitting them as refugees because of the “genocide that’s taking place.” He said that in post-apartheid South Africa, white farmers are “being killed” and he plans to address the issue with South African leadership next week.

That characterization is strongly denied by the South African government and has been disputed by experts in the country and even an Afrikaner group.

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South Africa’s government says the U.S. allegations that the white minority Afrikaners are being persecuted are “completely false,” the result of misinformation and an inaccurate view of its country. It cited the fact that Afrikaners are among the richest and most successful people in the country and said they are among “the most economically privileged.”

Speaking at a business conference in Ivory Coast, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday that he spoke with Trump by phone recently and told him that his administration had been fed false information by groups who were casting whites as victims because of efforts to right the historical wrongs of colonialism and South Africa’s previous apartheid system of forced racial segregation, which oppressed the Black majority.

“I had a conversation with President Trump on the phone and he asked me, ‘What’s going on down there?’ and I told him that what you are being told by those people who are opposed to transformation back in South Africa is not true,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said he thought Trump “understood that.”

Santana reported from Washington and Magome in Johannesburg, and Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed to this report.

When a sinkhole all but shut down a section of West Seventh Street last Thursday evening, St. Paul Public Works officials soon discovered they had their work cut out for them.

Large enough for a person to fall into, the hole is some 35 feet deep, and repairs should take up to two months. Contractors will dig more than 30 feet through sandstone and limestone, assess the extent of the damage and then rebuild the sanitary tunnel.

The work, which was scheduled to begin Monday, also will entail installing new utility connections for surrounding businesses, building out a new shaft to the surface and then replacing the road surface, according to St. Paul Public Works Director Sean Kershaw.

Those efforts will take place inches from a 20-inch water main and adjacent to vehicles, pedestrians and businesses in the busy section of West Seventh Street located between Kellogg Boulevard and Grand Avenue. To prevent a collapse and ensure worker safety, crews will install temporary supports for the entire depth of the project. The majority of that work will be handled by specialized private contractors, Kershaw said.

It’s “still too early to determine a cause of the sinkhole on West 7th Street; however, voids are often caused by water,” Public Works spokeswoman Lisa Hiebert said by email. “We continue to monitor the area, but there are no other areas of concern that have been identified at this time.”

The affected area of West Seventh is open for local business access only, with one lane of traffic in each direction. Sidewalks remain open for pedestrians. Detours have been posted, and no impacts to water or sewer services have been reported for local businesses.

“The quick actions and expertise of our St. Paul Public Works and St. Paul Water Services crews made it possible to safely address the sinkhole on West Seventh Street,” said Mayor Melvin Carter, in a social media post on Friday. “Thank you for showing up and staying late into the night to get this done. West 7th is open for business!”

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