As of May 31, the $10 fee charged to each foreign visitor flying into the Dominican Republic will be added to the airfare instead of being collected at Customs upon arrival. The island nation is hoping this reduces the hassle and time spent at the airport. Visitors arriving on cruise ships each still must pay the $10 in cash on arrival.
No visas are required to enter the Dominican Republic for US and Canadian travelers.
Jiuzhaigou, a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sichuan Province, southwestern China, reopened to the public on March 8, seven months after it closed due to damage from a magnitude-7 earthquake.
Due to the danger of future quakes, visitors now are limited to 2,000 per day, and each must show proof of insurance before entering.
The nature-park company Rainforest Adventures opened an ecopark, Rockland Estate (phone 721/543-1135, www.rainforestadventure.com/pages/stmaarten), in the Dutch Caribbean territory of Sint Maarten. It encompasses over 436,000 square meters of natural habitat, with only 3.6% built upon.
On Sadhu Island in Gujurat, western India, what will be the world’s tallest statue is expected to be completed in October 2018. “The Statue of Unity” will depict Vallabhbhai Patel, who was simultaneously the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister (1947-1950) of independent India.
Not counting its short pedestal, the steel statue will be 597 feet tall, more than 100 feet taller than the current tallest statue, the Spring Temple Buddha (420 feet) in Lushan, China. Within the statue, an observation level capable of holding 200 people is planned at 501 feet.
For an online calendar of events taking place in Tokyo throughout the year, visit www.gotokyo.org/en/topics_event/event_calendar/ecalview.html. The information is in English, and events can be searched for by date and location.
In Australia, the new Whimit pass allows you to board any Greyhound bus on any route during the period of validity. Available for 7-, 21-, 45-, 60-, 90-, 120- and 365-day periods, passes cost AUD249 to AUD1,499 (near $188-$1,132). Contact Greyhound (in Australia; phone +61 7 4690 9850, www.greyhound.com.au).
To view the total solar eclipse on Dec. 4, 2021, passengers on the ice-strengthened ship Akademik Ioffe will sail to the South Orkney Islands, just northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Chartered by Eclipse Travel (Sydney, NSW, Australia; phone +61 2 9016 2930, eclipsetravel.com), the ship leaves Ushuaia, Argentina, on Nov. 23 (cruise end date had not been announced), also visiting the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.
A 245-day ’round-world cruise aboard the 930-passenger Viking Sun departs London on Aug. 31, 2019, and visits 59 countries and 113 ports, including Reykjavik, Rio, Sydney, Mumbai, Luxor and Tunis.
Cabins run $92,990-$175,990 per person, double, which includes business-class air, beverage package, excursions and onboard gratuities. For $6,000 in excursion and onboard credit, book by Dec. 31, 2018. Viking Ocean Cruises (855/884-5464, www.vikingcruises.com/oceans).
In Rome, visitors can take a 2-hour tour of parts of what was Nero’s palace, the Domus Aurea, visiting rooms with impressive architecture and frescoes and then, in the Octagonal Hall, donning virtual-reality glasses that overlay computer-generated images onto physical spaces. The 200-room Domus, which was destroyed after Nero’s death and had its ruins built over, lies under portions of Palatine Hill.
At the Faraday Museum (www.rigb.org/visit-us/faraday-museum), in the Royal Institute of Great Britain (21 Albemarle St., London; phone +44 20 7409 2992), visitors can see physicist Michael Faraday’s 19th-century magnetic laboratory and artifacts dating back to the institute’s founding in 1799, including antique electrical and communication equipment and personal mementos from 14 Nobel Prize winners who worked at the institute.