Arthur's Blog: A Compelling End-of-Summer Travel News Round-up with Info on India, Cuba, Russia, Nicaragua and more.

Not every traveler has a yen to visit India, but if you do, you'll be encouraged by the recent performance of the Indian currency, the rupee. It's now selling at nearly 56 to the dollar, and may weaken even further. At that historically low rate, everything in India is quite cheap to the bearer of U.S. dollars. Go periodically to XE.com for the latest rate and you may be encouraged to take the plunge.
Closer to home, the Central American nation of Nicaragua is also currently offered at ultra-low rates for land-and-air (and seems to be enjoying a boomlet in its tourism as a result). Not the cheapest package, but an excellent one nevertheless, is priced at $999 including round-trip air from Miami. That payment brings you an exceptionally comprehensive four-day tour of Colonial Nicaragua, from Granada to the capital of Managua, the 16th century capital of León Viejo, the market town of Masaya, the hot springs of San Jacinto, the active volcano of Masaya Naitonal Park, and more. The air-included price, good for September and October, also covers lodgings, breakfast, local guides everywhere, entrance fees, and all transfers. Contact Tico Travel (www.ticotravel.com; tel. 800/493-8426).
Nearly all the companies that received licenses to operate legal trips to Cuba in 2012, have recently revealed that they have not received renewals of those licenses from the U.S. Treasury Department bureau in charge of the matter. And thus, the largest single source of such trips (which shall here remain nameless) has (at least temporarily) discontinued sales and marketing for their way-in-the-future programs to Havana. As best I know, there is not a single trip scheduled for spring of 2013 and later that has yet received authorization. Why the hangup? I suspect there's been political pressure from the rigid opponents of travel to Cuba, and in an election year, no one seems to want to make an issue of it.
A number of cruise discounters are currently enjoying heavy sales of their Mediterranean and trans-Atlantic re-positioning cruises (autumn sailings from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean) by including airfare to or from Europe in the price of their cruises. If you're in the market for such a cruise, you might contact any of the various companies (CruisesOnly, VacationsToGo, OnlineVacationCenter, to name a few) and pointedly inquire as to whether they are able to arrange your air transportation. Since it's probable that these firms can get a lower price from the airlines than you can, such a request may result in major savings. And the matter should be raised even if the cruise discounter makes no reference to airfare in its literature or website.
A constant reader of this blog is Johann Thorsson, an Icelander who works as a marketing executive for DoHop.com, the Iceland-based airfare search engine. I know that because nearly every time I mention airfares in this blog, he immediately posts a comment that I should have named DoHop.com as a top source for advantageous prices. Can a little Iceland firm do battle with the giant U.S. companies in the field? I'd be interested to hear of any experiences that readers may have had with DoHop.com.
It's perhaps significant news that Russia has at last dropped its requirement that persons seeking a visa to that country present a written invitation to go there from a Russian company or individual. Starting momentarily, they will simply require that you show proof you have advance hotel reservations for your stay--surely an easier requirement to fulfill than the need to show a personal invitation. While Russia is a forbiddingly expensive country to visit, this easing of its visa requirements may encourage some would-be tourists to take the plunge.