Wildlife walking tours along the Atlantic coast in County Cork are offered by Ireland Wilderness (phone +353 21 2348015, www.irelandswildlife.com). Leaving from the Celtic Ross Hotel (www.celticrosshotel.com) in Rosscarberry, two 3-hour tours are available each day, weather permitting, April through September: a morning tour, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and an afternoon tour, 2-5:30. From October to March, only morning tours are available.
Wild animals can be viewed day and night through a floor-to-ceiling window in each guest's room in special lodges at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve (Nr. Ashford, Kent, CT21 4PD, England, UK; www.aspinallfoundation.org/port-lympne).
Within the reserve, at the Wolf Lodge, Tiger Lodge, Lion Lodge, Bear Lodge and Giraffe Lodge, each lodge's namesake move about freely in an adjacent enclosure. In the Giraffe Lodge, uniquely, guests can hand-feed the giraffes. Wildlife lodge rates range from £455 (near $582) to £1,000 per night.
Featuring multiple days of swimming with whales, all-inclusive tours in Australia, Tonga, Tahiti, Norway and Canada are led by the Australian company Whale Encounters (Forresters Beach, NSW; phone +61 [2] 4385 5454, www.majesticwhaleencounters.com.au). The tours, which often sell out more than a year in advance, cost AUD4,935-AUD6,899 (near $3,604-$5,038) per person, double occupancy. At press time, 2020 tours were open for reservations.
Originally built as a single-family house for an upper-class Dubliner in the early 18th century, the building at 14 Henrietta Street (14 Henrietta St., Inns Quay, Dublin 1, 001 HH34 Ireland; www.14henriettastreet.ie) had become a workers' tenement housing at least 100 people by 1911. Now a museum, opened on Sept. 18, 2018, the building's restored rooms display its entire history, from wealthy town home to courthouse to army barracks to tenement.
More than 30 gardens in Amsterdam, Netherlands, can be visited, including private gardens usually closed to the public, during Open Garden Days weekend each year, starting the Friday before the third weekend in June (in 2019, June 14-16).
A ticket, valid for all three days, is required to visit the gardens and can be purchased for €18 (near $20) in advance online at www.museumvanloon.nl/tickets/otd-ticket-2019 or €20 day of. For info and ticket-purchase locations, visit www.opentuinendagen.nl.
Taking place on an outdoor platform with views of Uluru (Ayers Rock), the "Sounds of Silence" dinner, in its 26th year, can be booked by guests at Ayers Rock Resort (phone +61 2 8296 8010 www.ayersrockresort.com.au).
The 3-course meal, served as a buffet with canapés, main entrée and dessert, features Australian ingredients such as kangaroo, crocodile, pepperberry and bush tomato. During the meal, an Aboriginal "star talker" will point out constellations and relate their significance to the indigenous peoples of Australia.
Any traveler entering New Zealand, if asked by a Customs officer to hand over his cell phone and pass code, must do so, according to a law (the Customs and Excise Act 2018) that went into effect on Oct. 1. Anyone refusing to do so will have his phone confiscated, be fined NZD5,000 (near $3,330) and face arrest and/or deportation.
Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific revealed on Oct. 24 that a data breach in March 2018 exposed the personal information of more than 9 million passengers. Information from passengers of its partner airline, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, also was compromised.
The data accessed included names, nationalities, dates of birth, mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. At least 860,000 passport numbers also were stolen. At press time, Cathay Pacific was in the process of contacting passengers who were affected by the breach to offer assistance.
Starting Jan. 1, 2019, JetBlue will begin offering "basic economy" fares on its flights. Details had not been revealed by press time, but it is expected that basic-economy passengers will still have all the in-flight amenities that full-fare passengers have (snack, soda, free Wi-Fi) and will be allowed one free carry-on. However, it is anticipated that fees will be charged for services such as checking baggage and picking a seat.
A new animal-welfare law on the Greek island of Santorini limits donkey rides to people weighing under 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Visitors often ride donkeys up the steep stairways from the port to the town of Fira, atop the island's caldera at 1,300 feet.
The law was instituted after images were shared of donkeys with serious saddle sores that were at least partly caused by the animals' having to carry particularly heavy tourists.
Fira can also be accessed via cable car or a 30-minute walk.