To preserve three culturally significant historical sites in the Al-’Ula region of northern Saudi Arabia, they will be closed to visitors until 2020 while an archaeological survey is conducted. The sites are the ancient Nabatean city of Mada’in Salih (Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site), Al-Khuraybah (aka Dadan) and Jabal 'Ikmah.
In addition, on April 1 Saudi Arabia began offering tourist visas for the first time since 2010.
The government of the Philippines closed off the west-central island of Borocay to tourists for six months, starting April 26, in order to upgrade infrastructure and clean up environmental damage caused by a sewage leak. According to the government, less than half of the island’s structures are connected to sewage-treatment facilities.
The island is a popular destination and attracted more than two million visitors in 2017.
The airport in Skopje, Macedonia, in an act of goodwill toward Greece, removed the moniker “Alexander the Great” from its name on April 3 and is now simply Skopje International Airport. (Its IATA code remains SKP.)
Greece has been at odds with Macedonia over the name it took upon declaring its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Macedonia, the nation, and the historical region of Macedonia in Greece, where Alexander the Great’s empire began, are geographically distinct.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of Swaziland (granted on Sept. 6, 1968), an absolute monarchy in Southern Africa, the king declared on April 19 that the country’s official name would henceforth be the Kingdom of eSwatini (Land of the Swazis).
Housed in the former offices of Harland & Wolff, the shipbuilding company that designed and constructed the HMS Titanic, the Titanic Hotel Belfast (Queen’s Road, Titanic Quarter, Belfast, No. Ireland, BT3 9DT, U.K.; phone +44 289 508 2000, www.titanichotelbelfast.com) opened in August 2017.
The hotel’s 119 rooms, some of which face the slipway where the Titanic was launched in May 1911, are furnished in Art Deco style to match the building’s restored original architecture.
On the private “Secret Gardens of Venice” walking tour, you will see three gardens in the Italian lagoon city not normally visited by tourists. Led in English by a member of a Venetian garden association, the 2-hour tour visits two convent gardens and one palace garden.
You must book in advance. The tour cost of €32 (near $38) per person does not include garden entry fees. Avventure Bellissime (5043 San Marco, 30124 Venezia; phone +39 04 197 0499, www.tours-italy.com/tour/private-venice-secret-gardens-walking-tours_124).
Editor’s note: This letter will be presented in two parts, one about the planning and one about the trip.
Those readers who are fans of the British TV show “Doc Martin” and who are planning a trip to England may want to visit Cornwall, where the show is filmed.
My friend Dennis and I found a place to stay listed on Airbnb.com in the village of St. Minver, just 6 miles from Port Isaac, the location used in the show. In July 2017, we stayed four nights at Sanderling Bed & Breakfast (Rock Road, St. Minver, Wadebridge, England, PL27 6PP, U.K.; phone +44 7811 803043, www.sanderling-rock.co.uk). We found it delightful.
Before we embarked on a 2-week South America cruise with Oceania Cruises, my husband and I were fortunate enough to spend three days and two nights in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the Algodon Mansion (1647 Montevideo St.; phone +54 11 3530 7777, www.relaischateaux.com/us/argentina/algodon-buenos-aires).
Our stay at this 10-room boutique hotel was the most fantastic experience of our entire trip!
I am subject to severe motion sickness during ship and air travel. After searching for years for a substitute for Dramamine, I found Sea-Bands in a drugstore in the US. When I wear them properly and follow directions on the carton, they work very well.
As an example of how effective I’ve found Sea-Bands to be, in the fall of 2008 I was on a flight landing in the Denver airport at the tail end of a storm. The hundred-passenger plane was being thrown up and down and sideways. While wearing my Sea-Band, I was able to read my book without any stress.