Travel Briefs

The family home in Wales where the poet Dylan Thomas lived and wrote for many years can be rented.

In Swansea, 40 miles northwest of Cardiff, the 4-bedroom house is set up as in the 1910s when Thomas lived. Furnishings are of the Edwardian era, and although there is an inside bathroom, heat, gas and electricity, there is no phone, TV, refrigerator or microwave.

The house sleeps six, with rates from £750 mid-week, £1,000 (near $1,455) weekend and £1,500 full week (Friday to Friday) in low season to, respectively, £1,050, £1,400 and £2,100 in high season (summer) and even...

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In Fiji, the tour company Feejee Experience (Fiji International Airport, Nadi, Fiji; phone +679 672 5950 or 672 3311, fax 672 0097, www.feejeeexperience.com) offers hop-on, hop-off bus itineraries to take at one’s own pace.

A minimum number of nights of accommodation are provided, and extras can be purchased at a discount. Each itinerary includes some meals, guided tours, cultural events and activities such as rafting. The basic pass is good for 12 months from purchase date.

For example, the 4-day “Hula Loop,” at NZ$456 (US$256), circumnavigates Viti Levu and includes Nadi...

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Elderhostel (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768) has renamed its programs “Exploritas,” though the organization, itself, will retain its original name.

Focusing more on the excitement of lifelong learning and exploration and less on age, their adventures, whose participants are mostly over the age of 50, will include new programs and services designed to appeal to baby boomers.

International offerings will include shorter experiences for those who have limited time availability or budget concerns. These programs can be booked back to back.

Also new is the networking feature on...

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In Britain, the upkeep of 72 lighthouses in England, Wales and the Channel Islands is overseen by Trinity House (Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4DH; phone 020 7481 6900, www.trinityhouse.co.uk), which was granted its charter by Henry VIII in 1514.

At 13 of these sites, visitors can stay in cottages that were once the homes of lighthouse keepers. Many have a minimum stay of two or three nights. 

Examples — three nights at Beacon Cottage, which is by Start Point Lighthouse in Devon and sleeps six, costs £683 ($1,065), while a week in Cornwall at Longships Cottage (sleeps four) at...

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The Marco Polo has been sold by Norwegian Cruise Line to Global Cruise Lines and will be operated under charter by Transocean (in UK, phone 0845 4300274, www.transoceancruises.co.uk, or see a travel agent). She will keep her name.

Based at London Tilbury, she will cruise the British Isles, North Sea, Baltic Sea and Russia and, in October ’08, across the Atlantic to the West Indies. Sample rates — £849-£2,799 (near $1,681-$5,543) per person for the 13-day Baltic-Russia and £2,299-£5,999 for the 33-day West Indies.

At the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, UK; phone 02 8332 5655, visit www.kew.org), in Greater London, two new installations open May 24, 2008.

• At the Rhizotron, an underground display, visitors will enter through a “crack” in the earth and watch a changing LED light mosaic that depicts the interactions between tree roots and soil microorganisms such as fungi. Animated wall displays further carry out the theme.

• Eighteen meters (59 feet) above ground level, the 200-meter-long Xstrata Treetop Walkway winds through Kew’s tree canopy, allowing visitors...

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Sake-no-jin, an annual sake fair held in Niigata City, Japan (130 miles northeast of Nagano), takes place March 13-14, 2010. Free admission, and guests 20 or older can pay ¥2,000 (near $21) for a cup to taste the sake of over a hundred producers. Niigata prefecture’s food specialties also are highlighted.

Japan National Tourism Organization (11 West 42nd St., 19th Floor New York, NY 10036; 212/757-5640, www.japantravelinfo.com).

Travelers on United Airlines now can add a package of amenities formerly available only to elite-level (loyalty) flyers. Premier Travel, which starts at $47 one way, can be booked online at www.united.com or purchased from an airport EasyCheck-in kiosk.

Perks include Economy Plus seating; early boarding; priority security line access (in the 15 US airports that offer this benefit; see website); premier check-in line access; bonus miles equal to 25% of flight miles, and the first two checked bags free.

The price depends on the route. Examples — Washington-New York one way, $47...

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