Travel: Something To Declare

News From The Travel World

Saturday 23 January 1999 00:02 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Bargain of the week

London, and many other places in England, to Dublin for less than a tenner.

In real terms, this must be the lowest fare ever for travel from London to another European capital city. Because of the intense pressure on fares from airlines and rail operators, Eurolines (0990 143 219) has cut its one-way fare by bus and boat to pounds 9.99 - an amount that is in fact less than the air-passenger duty alone on a flight to Dublin. You can travel from London or from cities such as Birmingham and Manchester on any available service between now and 28 March, but bookings must be made a fortnight in advance. The return fare is pounds 19.50.

The same rules apply to travel to points beyond Dublin. A flat rate of pounds 13.99 single/pounds 27.50 return applies

A reader, Dick Clark, of Newport, writes to point out that you can save another 10 per cent by booking on the Internet (www. nationalexpress.co.uk). Enquiries this week have revealed a basic London-Dublin fare at the old rate of pounds 29. But the 10 per cent discount works for other National Express trips.

True or false?

The Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable shows all Mexican bus routes.

False, as the valiant editors explain in the new edition of this excellent publication (pounds 8.99):

"There are so many buses in Mexico that it is quite impossible to show them properly. For example, Cristobal Colon runs a service from the capital to Cuautla - a distance of about 150km (94 miles). They seem to have four grades of service, from `luxe' down to `ordinario'.

There are `luxe' buses at least three times hourly, generally non-stop; `semi-luxe' buses run at least three times hourly, sometimes non-stop, sometimes calling at principal places en route. `Directos' run even more frequently and call at all main points, while `ordinarios' run every few minutes and stop anywhere.

They all have different fares, and different overall journey times. In the space available to us virtually all we can do is list the service as `frequent' (an understatement if ever there was one) and quote the highest possible fare. There are also other operators on this route, and much the same situation applies between all cities of any significance."

Trouble spots

Why you should not take global positioning equipment to Russia, and why you should be ware of personal computers:

"The importation and use of GPS devices are subject to special rules and regulations. In recent incidents, foreigners using such devices were detained by Russian authorities and faced various charges, including espionage. There are no restrictions on bringing lap-top computers into the country for personal use. The software, however, may be inspected upon departure. Equipment and software have been confiscated because of the data contained."

US Department of State

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in