Travel Briefs

The ebooks “Ireland: Essential Walking Guide” and “Ireland: Essential Cycling Guide,” each with route maps, trail conditions and a cultural guide, are available for download from the Irish tour company Ireland Ways.Visit irelandways.com/travel-tips/download-free-fitness-ebook, click on the title of the book you wish to download and fill out the required form. (In doing this, you agree to receive the company’s emailed monthly newsletter.)

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While in Bangkok, you can take the 6½-hour “Small Teak Boat Canal Adventure” with Pandan Tour (780/488 Charoen Krung Rd., Bang Kho Laem, Bangkok 10120, Thailand; phone +66 08 7109 8873, thaicanaltour.com).Travelers board the boat (which seats five, including the English-speaking guide) and visit temples, markets, an orchid nursery and an artists’ colony. A Thai lunch is included. THB2,395 (near $72) per person; two people, minimum. Hotel transfers available at extra...

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On the guided “Colosseum Tour by Night” in Rome, Italy, tour members will visit the tunnels under what was once the Colosseum floor, where gladiators and animals were prepared for their entrances, and see the mechanisms that once operated the Colosseum’s elevators. Afterward, tour members will walk the Via dei Fori Imperiali among the Roman Forum ruins and visit the Piazza del Campidoglio on Capitoline Hill. €79 (near $94). 13 people maximum. Through Eternity...

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On the Southern Caribbean island of Curaçao, visitors can take any of five dives in a submersible with Substation Curaçao (Bapor Kibra z/n, Curaçao; phone +599 9 465 2051, www.substation-curacao.com).Among choices are the 1½-hour “Standard Dive” ($650 per person), which goes to depths of 500 feet to view research projects, the 1½-hour “Night Dive” ($800 pp), descending to 500 feet after dark, and a 45-minute “Adrenalin Dive...

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The US Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) launched on-site Global Entry Enrollment Centers at five airports on July 7: Vancouver International Airport (YVR), San Francisco International (SFO), Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS) and, in Houston, George Bush Intercontinental and (IAH) William P Hobby Airport (HOU).Global Entry gives enrolled travelers faster entry through Customs when returning to the US from another country. It also makes them eligible for TSA Preê (Pre-check),...

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Passengers on Etihad Airways can bid for the Etihad Select Upgrade (ESU), upgrading to a higher seating class, or, in economy class, for a Neighbor-Free Seat (NSF), bidding on up to three extra neighboring seats (an entire row).After purchasing a seat on an Etihad flight, a passenger may place his bid online at www.etihad.com/en-us/before-you-fly/my-upgrade-options/upgrade-yourself. There are minimum and maximum amounts allowed for bids, though Etihad has not revealed them. When making a bid...

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In July, some visitors to Thailand who were traveling on tourist visas were prevented from entering the country by Immigration officers when they could not show they were carrying at least 20,000 baht (near $600) in cash. Other reports indicated that travelers without the cash in hand were taken into custody for questioning before being allowed to enter the country. It appeared that travelers with multiple previous tourist visas for Thailand in their passports were more likely to be...

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In southern Switzerland, the world’s longest hanging pedestrian bridge opened on July 29. Located on the Europaweg trail between the towns of Zermatt and Grächen, the 1,620-foot Europabrücke (Europe Bridge) hangs 279 feet above the Grabengufer ravine. The Matterhorn is visible from the bridge.Another bridge on the trail was damaged by a rockfall and closed in 2010, forcing hikers to descend into the valley and climb back up the other side to continue on the trail. 

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