International Travel News

Travel Briefs

April 2016 issue | Appears on page 5

Uganda national parks card

New in Uganda, the Wildlife Card is a reloadable cash card that is accepted at five national parks — Murchison, Lake Mburo, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest — for both entrance fees and making purchases at park stores. Cards can be picked up and reloaded with money at any of the parks where they are accepted or at the Uganda Wildlife Authority office in Kampala (Plot 7 Kira Road, Kamwokya, Kampala, Uganda; phone +256 414 355000). The entrance fee at parks that accept...

April 2016 issue | Appears on page 36

Meet an Amsterdammer

Flyers on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines departing from the US or Canada with a layover of six hours or more in Amsterdam, Netherlands, can meet up with locals by using KLM’s “Layover with a Local” app, free on the website.

Through the app, a traveler is matched with an Amsterdammer based on shared language and interests. After arriving at Schiphol Airport, the app provides the traveler with instructions on where to meet the local plus a free ticket for a Dutch Railways...

April 2016 issue | Appears on page 36

Adäka Festival, Yukon

In Whitehorse, Yukon, July 1-7, 2016, the annual Adäka Festival (www.adakafestival.ca) celebrates First Nation culture and traditions, with music, dance and storytelling performances plus demonstrations of art, weaving and carving. Most events are free. Traditional-craft workshops are each offered for a fee.

The festival is held at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Center (1171 Front St., Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 0G9, Canada; 867/667-7698).

April 2016 issue | Appears on page 45

Wudangshan Airport

Wudangshan Airport (WDS), in the city of Shiyan in Hubei Province in central China, began commercial service on Feb. 5. Three airlines — China Express Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Loong Air — currently operate out of WDS, with service to five destinations: Kunming, Tianjin, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Xi’an. The airport is designed to accommodate 900,000 passengers a year. About 20 kilometers from the airport, the nearby Mount Wudang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is...

April 2016 issue | Appears on page 56

Polar snorkeling

Polar snorkeling and scuba diving at an additional $975 per person will be offered on all 2016 and 2017 Arctic and Antarctic sailings by Aurora Expeditions (Suite 12, Level 2, 35 Buckingham St., Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; phone +61 2 9252 1033, www.auroraexpeditions.com.au).

All necessary equipment will be provided, including a dry suit designed for polar diving, flippers and snorkel or scuba masks. Divers can expect to encounter sea anemones, urchins and arctic cod as...

April 2016 issue | Appears on page 61

Tour operators in the UK

The Association of Independent Tour Operators, or AITO (www.aito.com), represents 122 tour operators based in the United Kingdom.

AITO-member tour companies must provide financial protection for their customers in case a tour is canceled or interrupted, they must maintain accurate brochures and tour descriptions and they must provide quality customer service. If a dispute between a traveler and a tour company cannot be resolved, AITO also can arrange for the services of an...

April 2016 issue | Appears on page 61

Aurora Sky Station

In Lapland, Sweden, the Aurora Sky Station (STF Abisko Mountain Station, SE-981 07 Sweden; phone +46 980 402 00, www.auroraskystation.com/en), located in Abisko National Park, north of the Arctic Circle, offers great winter views of the northern lights, when they’re active.

SEK745 (near $87) includes a chairlift to the Sky Station, “warm aurora watching overalls” and a guided tour. Inside the station is a café, souvenir shop, lookout tower and northern lights exhibit...

April 2016 issue | Appears on page 61

Stargazing cruise, Australia

In Kakadu National Park, on the northern coast of Australia’s Northern Territory, the “Algohgarrng Experience” is a stargazing billabong cruise from Kakadu Tourism (Kakadu National Park, Australia; phone +61 8 8979 1500, wwwkakadu tourism.com).

Lasting 1½ hours and lit only by the stars, the cruise is guided by an indigenous member of the Kakadu clan, who will share his people’s stories of the night sky. It runs during the dry season (June-September)....