Telestial (800/707-0031, www.telestial.com) has a data service for phones on its prepaid SIMs, and while AT&T’s international data roaming rate is about 20¢ per megabyte, Telestial’s prepaid data rates run 5¢-3¢ per megabyte, depending on the country. The service is available on its line of cards, which run from the $5 “Passport Lite,” to the $59 Explorer SIM.
YAPTA (www.yapta.com) is a flight-search engine that finds options for you based on your flight dates, times and preferences. It tracks airfares on flights you want and notifies you via e-mail if the prices change.
Now YAPTA also notifies you when award seats become available for which you may use your frequent-flyer miles. Frequent-flyer programs currently supported include those of the airlines Alaska, Continental, Delta, United and US Airways. The service is free to use; the site carries advertising.
Forty-nine structures throughout Berlin, including the Brandenburg Gate and the TV Tower, will be showcased using projections and multicolored lighting installations during the Festival of Lights, Oct. 13-25, 2009. Contact the festival organizers, City-Stiftung Berlin (Sophie-Charlotte-Straße 113, 14059 Berlin, Germany; phone +49 30 3267 9887, fax 9884, www.city-stiftung-berlin.de).
Tracing football’s (soccer’s) growth from a game for the elites to a passion for all the 190 million people of Brazil, the Museu do Futebol opened in September 2008 at the Pacaembu Stadium (Praça Charles Miller, Consolçao, São Paulo) in São Paulo, east of the central downtown area.
See sports reel footage of Pelé and Garrincha. Put on 3-D glasses and watch Ronaldinho dribble a soccer ball to a samba beat without letting it touch the ground. Take a penalty kick at a goal and have the speed measured by a radar gun;
In Nara, the first capital of Japan, as of Sept. 6, 2008, international visitors receive free tickets at four museums simply by showing their passports.
A 30-minute train ride from central Kyoto, these include Nara Museum of Art (17th-century Ukiyo-e woodblock prints), Nara Complex of Manyo Culture in Asuka Village (Manyoshu, Japan’s oldest collection of poetry), Nara Museum of Folklore (Machiya-style houses, tools) and Archaeological Institute of Kashihara (items from 1938 excavation of Fujinoki Burial Mound).
Tokyo’s huge Tsukiji fish market once again is open to tourists, as of Jan. 19, 2009; a ban had been enacted Dec. 15, 2008. Tourists are allowed to visit the entire market from 5 to 6:15 a.m. They will be given guidelines against touching the 600-pound fishes and disrupting auctions with flash photography.
By joining the Royal Oak Foundation (New York, NY; 800/913-6565, ext. 205, or 212/480-2889, www.royal-oak.org), American visitors to Britain can enjoy unlimited free entry to more than 350 National Trust destinations: historic houses, gardens, castles, nature reserves and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
At hotels and holiday cottages owned by the National Trust, Royal Oak members also get a 25% discount on all published room-and-breakfast rates and a 10% discount on all published seasonal breaks, plus a free room upgrade.
Designed for self-drive travelers in New Zealand, the Kruse® audio guide includes more than 2,000 point-of-interest commentaries, among them Maori legends, suggestions for photo stops, information about flora and fauna and directions to sights such as fossilized whalebones.
The small device sits on a car’s dashboard and works with compatible FM radios. For car rentals of a week or more, the Kruse® costs NZ$10 (near US$6) per day, and for a 3- to 6-day rental it costs NZ$12.50 per day (minimum, 3-day rental).
Available only in conjunction with any of their travel insurance or medical evacuation plans, Medex Global Group, Inc. (Baltimore, MD; 800/537-2029 or 410/453-6300, www.medexassist.com) offers analyses of the quality of health care and medical facilities in any of 237 countries.
Each 360°m Global Medical Monitor report covers one country’s current medical alerts, top diseases, required vaccinations, health care conditions and medical risk ratings and also lists local preferred hospitals and Medex emergency contact information.
The Kids Travel Card is a customized photo ID card for children, with information such as home address, food allergies, parents’ names and emergency contact.
It costs $10.95 plus $10.99 shipping (in CA, add 7.75% tax) and includes a lanyard. Duplicate cards in the same order cost $4.95 (plus $3.25, lanyard).
Travel ID Cards (Box 214673, Sacramento, CA 95821; 800/462-2328 or 916/803-1665, www.kidstravelcard.com).