Travel Briefs

August 2008 issue | Appears on page 83

Busabout in Europe

Busabout Explorer (258 Vauxhall Bridge Rd., Victoria, London SW1V 1BS, U.K., phone +44 020 7950 1661, fax 7950 1662, www.busabout.com) offers independent trips through its bus network in Europe on three loops. It costs $639 to ride one loop, $1,069 to ride two loops and $1,319 on three with a Busabout pass, valid May through October.

The Northern Europe loop connects Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Paris and Amsterdam; the Western loop, Madrid, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Paris, Bern and Nice, and...

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August 2008 issue | Appears on page 94

Airport parking

AirportParkingReservations.com (Suffield, CT; 800/727-5464) offers a listing of parking lots near 65 U.S. airports. The service allows price comparisons and the ability to reserve a space instantly for a fee equal to the price of the first day of parking plus $5.

All of the parking lots listed offer free shuttle and luggage service to the airport.

August 2008 issue | Appears on page 94

Rent a bike in Paris

In Paris, the self-service bicycle rental service Velib allows anyone to pick up and drop off any of more than 20,000 bikes at 1,450 automated stations.

Using a Navigo pass or credit card, a person can buy a one-day access card for €1, a weekly card for €5 or an annual card for €29 ($45). After the access card purchase, riding for the first half hour is free, but a supplement of €1 is charged for the next half hour, €2 for the next half hour and €4 for every half hour after that. Five...

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August 2008 issue | Appears on page 94

Race car museum, Hamburg

Open since April in Hamburg, Germany, the museum “Prototyp” (Shanghaiallee 7, Beim Lohseplatz; phone 040 3999 69 68, www.prototyp-hamburg.de) shows the history of race car driving. On three floors are 50 cars, from a 1949 Porsche to the Jordan 191 in which German Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher gave his debut.

Open 10-6, Tuesday-Sunday. €7.50 ($12) adult. 

August 2008 issue | Appears on page 94

Travel bottles

Pitotubes (199 E. 52nd, Ste. 362, Boise, ID 83714; 208/853-1416, www.pitotubes.com) offers TSA-compliant travel containers. All the bottles hold fewer than three ounces and are shatterproof, leak-proof (even under pressure changes) and refillable. Tops can interchange a pump or spray head.

Bottles and small jars at $5 to $10 each are sold at various retail stores and online. The biggest kit includes six bottles (two each of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.7 ounce) in a quart bag for $52.

August 2008 issue | Appears on page 96

Porsche museum

The Porsche museum, being built next to the Porsche factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany, will open in fall 2008, exhibiting 80 of the most valuable Porsche cars. The on-site museum (Porscheplatz 1; www.porsche.com) will remain open until the new museum is officially open. Admission is free.

August 2008 issue | Appears on page 96

Catch Mini Israel

El Al has partnered with Mini Israel, a park near Latrun with scale models of over 360 tourist attractions in Israel, to offer airport check-in, security checks and luggage transfer to passengers who wish to visit the park before departing Ben Guryon airport. Visitors can see the park and arrive at the airport up to 55 minutes before takeoff.

The service costs $40 each for two people or $65 for a single, not including airport transfers, or $110 and $185, respectively, with airport...

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August 2008 issue | Appears on page 96

Eyre Peninsula

On the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, you can spend AU$89 (near US$82) on a “Seafood & Beyond…” rewards card and get AU$100 (US$92) worth of discounts at participating hotels, attractions and tours along the “Seafood & Aquaculture Trail.”

When you present the card, not only do you receive a 10% discount, you also earn AU$1 reward point back for every AU$10 spent. The reward points can be spent at seafood restaurants along the trail.

A guide is included that lists...

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