Travel Briefs

March 2016 issue

Zürich festival

At Landiwiese Park, on the shore of Lake Zürich in Zürich, Switzerland, street performers from all over the globe will gather Aug. 18-Sept. 4, 2016, for the annual Theater Spektakel (www.theaterspektakel.ch/en). Ten stages will feature music, acrobatics and performance art. Some stage performances require tickets, most costing CHF25-CHF47 (near $25-$47). Tickets go on sale July 13; visit www.starticket.ch. Landiwiese Park is across from the Bahnhof Wollishofen S-Bahn stop and on the Tram 7 or Bus 161 and 165 lines. A ticket to the event includes free public transport in zone 110 on that...

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August 2016 issue

Italy for mobility impaired

Mobility-impaired travelers to Italy can plan trips that meet their needs with Accessible Italy (Via C. Manetti 34, 47891 Dogana, San Marino; phone +378 0549 941111, www.accessibleitaly.com).

The company assists in finding accessible hotel rooms and also will transfer travelers to and from airports, train stations and ports or to their destination of choice in a wheelchair-compliant van with English-speaking driver. Manual and motorized wheelchairs can be rented.

Accessible Italy also runs individual and group tours to popular locations, including 4-day, 3-night tours of Rome...

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June 2016 issue

First US-Cuba cruises in 50+ years

An agreement made between Carnival Corporation and the Cuban government on March 23 will allow a ship run by the Carnival subsidiary Fathom (Valencia, CA; 855/932-8466, www.fathom.org) to operate the first cruises from the US to Cuba since the 1960s. Fathom’s weeklong cruises aboard the MV Adonia, Miami-Havana-Cienfuegos-Santiago de Cuba-Miami, were scheduled to begin on May 1.

Initially, Cuban-born Americans were not going to be able to join the Fathom cruises. Cuban-born individuals, regardless of citizenship status, have been barred from entering Cuba from seagoing vessels...

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March 2016 issue

Uluru bike rentals

Visitors to Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia’s Northern Territory can ride on a 9-mile-long path around the base on a bike rented from Outback Cycling (phone +61 437 917 018, http://outbackcycling.com). Bikes can be rented 7 a.m.-2 p.m. daily. A 3-hour rental of a cruiser-style bike costs AUD45 (near $33) at the Outback Cycling bus, with a bike trailer, parked at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park’s Cultural Center. Due to park guidelines, Outback Cycling will not rent bicycles if temperatures are forecast to be 36°C (96.8°F) or higher.

May 2016 issue

Scotland travelpass

The Spirit of Scotland Travel­pass provides, within the allowed time period, unlimited travel on several railways as well as on routes in Scotland serviced by Scottish Citylink, Stagecoach and First Bus motorcoaches and Caledonian MacBrayne ferries. Pass holders also get discounts on selected tours and cruises and 20% off fares for ferries to the Orkney and Shetland islands.

A pass lasting eight days with four days of eligible travel costs £134 (near $192), and a 15-day pass with eight days’ travel costs £179.70. Passes can be booked in advance at www.britrail....

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December 2015 issue

Greek sites price hikes

The Greek Archaeological Council decided on Oct. 14 to increase entry prices to some of Greece’s most popular tourist sites starting Jan. 1, 2016.

Among fee hikes are the following. In Athens, the entry fee to the Acropolis will rise from €12 to €20 (near $22), and the National Archaeological Museum will cost €10. The fee goes from €6 to €15 at the Knossos archaeological site in Crete and from €8 to €12 at the archaeological site and museum at Mycenae. The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion will cost €10.

The new prices will be in effect during the peak summer season, April...

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June 2016 issue

Swiss train tunnel

In central Switzerland, the Gotthard Base Tunnel will become the world’s longest train tunnel when it begins operation, scheduled for Dec. 11, 2016. Located between the cities of Biasca and Erstfeld, the tunnel stretches 35.42 miles under the Gotthard massif and will knock up to a half hour off the travel time between Zürich and Ticino.

Between Aug. 2 and Nov. 26, 2016, limited seating is available on the special Gottardino train, whose passengers will travel the tunnel before it opens to regular traffic, stopping in the middle to tour the Sedrun control station. The...

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May 2016 issue

Likeways walking app

The Likeways app, available for free on iTunes, suggests walking routes in major cities worldwide. A user inputs his starting location and where he would like to walk to plus the kinds of sites he would like to see along the way (museums, shops, restaurants, etc.). Likeways then creates two walking routes: the shortest one from the user’s location to his destination and a longer route that includes sites of interest.

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