Departures

Inter-Rail change

A NEW range of Inter-Rail Youth passes will be available from next April, in addition to the original pass, which will continue to be sold at the 1993 price of pounds 249 and provide unlimited travel in 26 countries.

Ross Furby, managing director of British Rail International, says the European rail network will be divided into seven zones, and under- 26-year-olds will be able to buy a pass for one, two or three zones, or the entire network. 'We want to attract all young people, not just students,' he said. 'For those not wishing to use the full Inter-Rail network, a zonal pass will be considerably less expensive than the current one.'

A route through France into Italy and on to Greece and Turkey will require a pounds 209 two-zone ticket. Cards for a single zone, valid for 15 days, will cost pounds 179; and monthly passes for two and three zones will be sold at fixed prices of pounds 209 and pounds 229 respectively.

Flight of fancy

COMPUTER flight simulator enthusiasts are being offered the ultimate thrill: a session on the British Aerospace Concorde simulator in Bristol. The pounds 629 one-day course, through Goodwood Travel (0227 763336), includes pre- flight briefing, two hours on the simulator under the instruction of a British Airways training captain and a three- course lunch.

Teeth trouble? FOR THOSE who find themselves in far-off parts and in need of emergency repairs to fillings, cracked teeth, dislodged caps and crowns, the Emergency Dentist kit provides the step-by- step instructions and components required for making a repair.

The Emergency Dentist costs pounds 4.49 (inc p&p) from Fiona Mahon Associates, Box 204, Hayes, Middx UB4 9HN.

Strikes warning THE Foreign Office Travel Advice Unit (071-270 4129) is warning about hartals (strikes) called by opposition parties in Bangladesh. 'These suspend normal business, sometimes throughout the country, and make travel hazardous,' the unit says. 'People ignoring hartals can become targets for violence by pickets, and their vehicles may be damaged or destroyed.' A marked increase in armed banditry at night on main roads has also been noted.

Fair do

CAMPUS TRAVEL (071-730 8111) is holding a student and youth travel fair on 18 November at the Bloomsbury Theatre, Gordon Street, London. The fair, from 11am to 8pm, will features exhibitors and guest speakers, including travel equipment specialists and publishers.

Nice price BLUEBIRD EXPRESS (0444 235678) and GB Airways are operating charter flights from Gatwick to Nice over the Christmas and New Year period (from 19 December to 9 January), with fares from pounds 129.

Travel bookshelf Ten books of desert wanderings:

1. Desert, Marsh and Mountain: The World of a Nomad (Motivate Publishing, pounds 25) by Wilfred Thesiger

2. Arabian Sands (Penguin, pounds 6.99) by Wilfred Thesiger

3. The Life of My Choice (Flamingo, pounds 6.99) by Wilfred Thesiger

4. Impossible Journey: Two against the Sahara (Penguin, pounds 5.99) by Michael Asher

5. Tracks: Across the Australian Desert (Vintage, pounds 6.99) by Robyn Davidson

6. Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354 (Darf, pounds 15) by Ibn Battuta

7. The Passionate Nomad: The Diary of Isabelle Eberhardt (Virago, pounds 6.95) by Isabelle Eberhardt

8. Libyan Sands: Travels in a Dead World (Immel, pounds 7.95) by R A Bagnold

9. Day Trips to the Desert: A Sort of Travel Book (Sceptre, pounds 5.99) by Geoff Nicholson

10. Sai Bilma (Exploration Sahara, pounds 7.95) by Mike

Foster

Information supplied by The Travellers' Bookshop, 25 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ (071-836 9132).

Last-minute flights Avro (0293 567916): 11 November Gatwick to Almeria, seven/14 nights, pounds 99; 12 November Gatwick to Orlando, seven/14 nights, pounds 219; 17 November Manchester to Fuerteventura, seven/14 nights, pounds 129.

Jetlife (0322 614200): During November and December Gatwick to Barbados, 14 nights, pounds 269.

Mondial (081-314 1181): 8, 10 or 12 November Gatwick to Vienna, two to 30 days, pounds 145; 10 or 11 November Heathrow to Vienna, four to 30 days, pounds 155; 11, 12 or 13 November Heathrow to Budapest, three to five days, pounds 209.

Trailfinders (071-938 3232): Until 11 December with Virgin Atlantic Gatwick to Miami, pounds 190; Gatwick to Orlando, pounds 215 (travel must be completed by 25 December).

Late packages Inntravel Shortbreaks (0439 71111): 12 November Newhaven to Dieppe, two nights bed and breakfast at the Hotel du Gros Horloge in Rouen, pounds 107 including return ferry crossing with car; 12 November Gatwick to Toulouse, two nights half-board at the Hotel Chiffre in Albi, pounds 276 including car hire.

Something Special (0992 552231): 11 November Gatwick to the Algarve, 14 nights self-catering in villa with private pool, pounds 305; 11 November Gatwick to Orlando, 14 nights self-catering in three-bedroom villa with private pool, pounds 298.

Sunworld (0532 361717): 13 November Gatwick to Majorca, seven nights self-catering, pounds 149; 14 November Gatwick to Goa, 15 nights bed and breakfast, pounds 399; 25 November Birmingham to Malta, 28 nights self-catering, pounds 149.