In The Hague, Netherlands, a hop-on, hop-off tram catering to foreign visitors began service in June 2016, running every half hour from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The retro-style, cream-and-green-colored Tourist Tram runs through the city center to Scheveningen Beach, making 16 stops at places such as the Peace Palace, Beelden aan Zee museum and Kerkplein. Recorded commentary in English plays from speakers in the seats.
The Gatimaan Express began operating high-speed rail service from Hazrat Nizamuddin Station in Delhi, India, to Agra, location of the Taj Mahal, in April. The train makes the nearly 130-mile journey in about an hour and 40 minutes. Food service, TV and Wi-Fi are offered on board.
Starting on Aug. 1, American Airlines’ AAdvantage members will earn frequent-flyer miles based on the fare amount as opposed to the distance traveled. For each $1 spent, standard AAdvantage members each will earn five miles, while Gold, Platinum and Executive-Platinum members will earn seven, eight or eleven miles, respectively.
In making this change, American Airlines joins the other major US carriers, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, both of which switched their mileage programs from being distance-based to being fare-based in 2015.
United Airlines and Spain’s Iberia ended flights to Nigeria due to difficulties in converting Nigeria’s currency, the naira (NGN), into dollars. Nigeria has a shortage of dollars, as its government has blocked Nigerian banks from accessing foreign-currency markets since 2015. Iberia’s final flight to Nigeria occurred in May, while United’s Houston-Lagos route ended on June 30.
The first US-based credit card able to be used in Cuba was released on June 14 by Stonegate Bank (Pompano Beach, FL; 954/315-5500, www.stonegate bank.com). The Stonegate Platinum, World and World Elite MasterCards are the chip-and-PIN type and can be used at any point-of-sale (POS) terminal in Cuba.
To apply for a card online, visit www.stonegatebank.com/credit_cards.htm and, from the red “Online Applications” menu, select “Consumer credit card.”
On June 6, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) approved six US carriers to begin scheduling commercial flights to Cuba. They are American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Jetblue Airways, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines.
The approved destination cities in Cuba do not include Havana, but the DOT is expected to approve airline routes to Havana by the end of summer. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines both have requested Havana routes.
In northern Norway, guests of WolfLodge who meet certain requirements can interact with wild (but human-acclimated) wolves in an enclosure in Polar Park (N-9360, Bardu, Norway; phone +47 77 18 66 30, http://polarpark.no/polar-park-english.html).
Located in the park, WolfLodge has one double and five 3-bed guest rooms; two bathrooms that are shared; a common area with a kitchen, living room and fireplace; large skylights for viewing the northern lights, and large windows for watching the wolves roaming the grounds.
London visitors can enjoy a 4-course meal while sailing up the River Thames on a 3-hour dinner cruise with City Cruises (phone +44 20 77 400 400, www.citycruises.com). The river sightseeing ship travels round trip from Westminster Pier, passing the Houses of Parliament and St. Paul’s Cathedral and under the Tower Bridge.
The dinner cruise costs £80 (near $116) per person or £85 for a window seat. A table for four costs £320. On the website, click on “Dining,” then “Dinner Cruise.”
Visitors to Abu Dhabi, UAE, can rent bicycles from FunRideSports (phone +971 2 445 5838, www.funridesports.com), which has four locations in the corniche area on the western coast of Abu Dhabi, each open 4 p.m.-12 a.m. daily: Hilton Station (Corniche Rd. West, al Khubairah); Family Park (Corniche Rd. West, al Khalidiyah); Chamber Station (Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, Corniche Rd., al Markazaiyah West), and Meena Station (Meena St., Tourist Club area).
Visitors to Abu Dhabi, UAE, can download two free apps for iOS or Android. Abu Dhabi Events lists sports, music, food and cultural festivals in the city and environs. DARB provides bus and ferry schedules, airline arrival and departure times and customizable route maps with real-time traffic updates. Users can also hire a taxi and pay for public parking on DARB, which requires a 3G or Wi-Fi connection with the GPS enabled in order to function fully.