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Company owner drives and leads small-group tours on country lanes and byways. Tours range from a 5-day mini-break, land-priced £845 (near $1,399) per person, to a 22-day tour at £3,495 ($5,788). Midway Motor Travel (Southerwicks, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 PNH, England; phone, in US, 800/214-8738, www.midwaymotortravel.com).
As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 29 destinations: Guinea, Lebanon, Côte d’Ivoire, Philippines, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Kenya, Afghanistan, Burundi, Nigeria, Haiti, Iran, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Chad, Nepal, Georgia, Sudan, Colombia, Algeria, Syria and Somalia.
The US Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua, has issued an alert that 1,752 confirmed cases of dengue fever were reported in Nicaragua from July to October 2009. The majority of cases were in the capital and in the department of Masaya.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-transmitted illness for which there is no vaccine and no specific treatment. A rare form of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever, is more severe and sometimes fatal; a few cases have been reported. Travelers should use anti-mosquito precautions. Visit http://Nicaragua.usaembassy.gov/travel_warnings.html.
In April, in response to the 2009-H1N1 pandemic, Cuba implemented a policy that allows it to quarantine arriving passengers who exhibit fever or flu-like symptoms. The nature of the selection process makes it almost impossible to predict when a traveler may be placed into quarantine.
The US Department of State usually cannot interfere with the rights of other countries to screen airline passengers entering or exiting their countries, nor can it influence the number of days in quarantine (the standard period is six days).
The Department of State alerts travelers to the possibility of election-related unrest in Zanzibar. Voter registration continues throughout the Archipelago of Zanzibar, which includes the islands of Pemba and Unguja, and is expected to conclude on Jan. 10, 2010.
The Department of State continues to warn against all travel to Lebanon, stating that, while Lebanon enjoys periods of relative calm, the potential for a spontaneous upsurge in violence is real.
The threat of anti-Western terrorist activity continues. Public demonstrations occur frequently. Rocket attacks from southern Lebanon into Israel continue to occur, most recently on Sept. 11, 2009. These attacks frequently provoke a military response from Israel.
The US Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, issued a notice of a recent increase of attacks on foreigners.
In September an Australian was attacked by two youths in a public restroom at the Kalemegdan fortress; two Frenchmen were attacked (one later died) by soccer “hooligans” at an expat restaurant, and a British citizen caught in crossfire between two rival narcotics gangs was shot outside a nightclub.
The Department of State warns against travel to Guinea, as the political situation there remains highly volatile. Although Guinea has been relatively calm since Oct. 5, the potential for violence remains high.
On Sept. 28, Guinean security forces opened fire on peaceful, pro-democracy demonstrators who had gathered in the national stadium in Conakry to protest plans by military leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, who seized power in a December 2008 coup, to run for president after he said he would not.
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq have seen a marked increase in the number of terrorist bombings on government and civilian targets. In October 2009 there were more than 19 separate attacks in the three countries, with more than 500 casualties.
In Kabul, AFGHANISTAN, bombs blew up at the Embassy of India and at a UN staff hostel. The luxury Serena Hotel was attacked, but the rocket failed and caused no damage; in January 2008 this hotel, with a largely international clientele, was damaged in a bomb attack.
A small-group tour (limit, eight) gives access to the backstage areas of the Sydney Opera House (phone +61 2 9250 7250, e-mail tourism@sydneyoperahouse.com or visit www.sydneyoperahouse.com). Visitors can stand on the Concert Hall stage, visit the orchestra pit and peek inside dressing rooms plus enjoy breakfast in the Green Room.
At AU$150 (near US$102), the two-hour daily tour starts at 7 a.m. Bookings are required; book online or at the Guided Tours Desk.